Alexander-The Seer and Changer of Time
by bored411
Summary: I thought it was a dream. All of it. It was too good to be true, but now I have a choice to make. Do I go back? Do I save the man who's always saving others? Can I save the Doctor? "Oh Alexander. My Alexander. You managed to save one person... One big important person, hundreds of times over... and he doesn't even remember if he thanked you." 9-12 DoctorxOC (Classic Who later on)
1. Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

**Hello! For those who know me and those who don't, I'm very glad you've discovered my latest fanfic. It _is_ an OC fanfic and i did my best to keep it as original as i could. i tried to go for something a bit different from the usual, but i hope you guys and girls enjoy it. I will be updating it semi-regularly about once a week or once every other week since i've written up 36 episodes already. but anyway, i'm rambling, please review and let me know what you think! **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own character. **

* * *

It was bright. Very bright. I swear that I had _just_ fallen asleep for a nap after a long afternoon of taking care of my bratty younger siblings—I had _six_, mind you. It's not easy—but if that was true, why was it so bright? I groaned, feeling as though I had been hit by a car with how badly my body ached, and I sat up; rubbing my head with my eyes clenched shut at the brightness.

"Sandy, what's with the lights?" I complained to my younger sister, who was known to not care whether I had just gone to sleep or not.

When I opened my eyes though, I was very much confused, because there was no Sandy or bed or my room, for that matter. All there was, was an expanse of white and rather large pieces of silvery metal hanging suspended in the air. Now I wasn't stupid. At least, I'd like to think so. So when I wake up to _this_ I quickly began thinking, trying to figure out what happened. _So…I'm dreaming, right? Or I'm dead. Which I'd rather hope _isn't_ the case. If I had to choose, dreaming over death, dreaming would win every time, so let's go with that._ I stood up, wobbling slightly as I frown at the ground that…wasn't really there. _How's it doing that? Dream or not, most of mine at least had some sort of natural element of physics in it and a floor, but the feeling of a floor without a physical _floor_ has never happened befo—_I shook my head, smacking the palm of my hand to my head.

"Nope. Shush brain. Who cares about the physics _or_ the floor? Dream or not, I need to find a way out of this."

Taking a deep breath, I started walking through the pieces of twisted metal, giving those a few glances as something in the back of my head tingled. As though this was familiar somehow. _I am getting a sense of deja vu._ I thought, just before I tripped over something and let out a yelp of surprise as I smacked my face into the ground.

"_Ow._" I groaned, lifting my head and touching my nose carefully with my hand to make sure I hadn't done too much damage, when my eyes widened.

I was surrounded, almost, by the metal pieces and as I scrambled up to see what had happened, I was hit with a realization. I was in the middle of it all. _Whatever this metal came from…_ I turned around from the outer ring of metal and back to the center of empty circle I was standing in. _It was all one thing. One object sitting right here._

"It's like a video getting paused in the middle of an explosion…" I muttered, jumping when a loud hum echoed in the room, sounding almost in pain. "Hello?"

I spun around, searching for the source, but there was nothing other than the metal bits and—_Is that a crack?_ I frowned, hesitantly stepping towards the dark crack in the center of the circle, leaning over to get a look through it, but I couldn't see anything. I wrinkled my nose though at the musty smell coming from it and stood back upright, rubbing my nose. _Huh, odd._ I was startled once more by that hum, but this time, I caught sight of a glowing ball just sort of hovering behind me. Like I said before, I'd like to consider myself not completely stupid, so I knew better than to just go and poke something, even if I was curious. The thing was, the ball seemed to _want_ me to touch it and before I knew what was going on, my arm was acting on it's own and reaching for it.

And I don't just mean my curiosity got a hold of it. No. I mean it was _literally_ not me reaching for it. I was trying to pull my arm back, but it didn't even budge! It just kept pulling me closer to the glowing orb as the hum returned, almost _encouragingly_.

"Uh, not cool! I'd rather not touch the creepy ball thing, if you don't mind! So could I _please_ have my arm back?!"

Whatever was doing this didn't listen to me though and once I'd realized there was nothing I could do to stop my rebellious arm from touching the ball, I simply grimaced as my hand touched it. Needless to say, I wasn't pleased as a burning fire of pain seemed to race up my arm and over my shoulder at the contact, causing me to shout as the pain became nearly overwhelming and I stumbled back. Back, into that crack I had been looking at earlier and that only caused more pain, managing to knock me out before I could figure out what was on the other side. And what I had just been thrown into.

* * *

"Ugh, my head." I groaned, lifting my face from the metal floor I was on and placing a hand on my head.

My shoulder also hurt for some reason—rather painfully, I might add—but that was quickly forgotten as a hot breath of air was snorted across my face. Hesitantly, I opened my eyes and quickly scrambled up to a sitting position at the _huge_ beast in front of me.

"T-T-That's not right." I stuttered out, looking at the animal and taking in it's large, spiky, reptilian appearance. "Y-You're a… a dinosaur. An Ankylosaurus!"

It took a step towards me and I scooted back a little, but I was already up against a wall and I really hoped it knew how big it was compared to me and wouldn't crush me on accident. Oddly enough though, it was nudging my hip with it's nose and I slowly reached into my pocket and pulled out one of a handful of apple candies in my pocket; something I used to bribe my siblings into behaving.

"D-Do you want one?"

It's large, club of a tail swung back and forth behind it excitedly, reminding me of a dog and I hesitantly unwrapped the candy and held my hand out; the large dinosaur eating it happily and giving me a chance to stand up, even more confused than I was before in the white room. _Alright. A dinosaur in some metal building of some sort. I-I don't think this can be anything _other_ than me dreaming._ The dinosaur nudged me again, nearly knocking me over with it's large head and I gave it another candy. _Where am I supposed to go from here? I suppose sticking with this thing would be best, in order to keep from being eaten by the carnivores that are probably hanging around, but_—

Suddenly, I was lifted off my feet and tossed, landing on a sloped surface and nearly falling off if I hadn't grabbed one of the large spines within reach. With wide eyes, I felt myself being nudged again and I shifted my position on the dinosaur's back, lost as to why the dinosaur tossed me on top of it but very excited at the same time.

"I-I'm riding a dinosaur…" I chuckled out of nervousness. "Heh, I'm riding a freakin' dinosaur."

I made a decision then, to enjoy my dream for what it was worth and—with a good grip on the Ankylosaurus – I pulled a long branch from off a nearby tree and with a string from my pocket, did what any sane person would do while riding a dinosaur. I tied a candy to the end of the stick and held it out like a fishing pole with a grin.

"Onwards, Danny!" I called out, naming it and leading it back down the hallway where it came from. "God, I love my dreams!"

We bounded around, occasionally stopping Danny and giving it a candy, before we found yet _another_ Ankylosaurus who seemed to be a bit jealous of the treats Danny was receiving. I tried to get us away from the other one, but that wasn't working out well and it followed us into an elevator type room; forcing me to share the candy I had left—something Danny wasn't too pleased about. As the elevator opened, the two began to fight a bit, ramming each other and shifting me off balance as I tried to keep hold and get them to stop. At the same time though, I heard voices and saw people running from the dinosaurs as they rushed out of the elevator. _People? Actual _people_?! I'd travel with people over dinosaurs any day! But first I need to stop these two!_

I tossed a handful of the candy off to the side, out of sight of Danny but within reach of the other Ankylosaurus so that it would leave, and then used my candy fishing pole to lead Danny away from it and over towards the people. People that I actually recognized! _Is that Lestrade from Sherlock?_

"I can take one of them. Short blow up into the throat." He whispered to his companions, holding a large knife.

_And Amy Pond! And the Eleventh Doctor! And—Is that a pharaoh?_ Blinking in surprise, I turned Danny towards them as the Doctor went to argue with Greg.

"Now that's not very nice." I said, catching their attention from atop the dinosaur. "They're _dinosaurs_! Herbivores at that. Practically harmless."

The Doctor grinned up at me along with Amy as the others stared in shock. "Alex!"

_How does he know—Oh wait. Dream, duh. _I gave him a small wave with my free hand, only to have to grip Danny as the other Ankylosaurus returned and bumped into us.

"Oi! No fighting!" I called out, before tossing the rest of my candy away and jumping off Danny as they both went after it.

I landed with a wince, the height I jumped from sending a wave of pain up my legs for a second, before brushing myself off and pulling a hand through my hair. "Whelp, that could've gone better."

'Greg' gave me an odd look. "Were you just riding that thing?"

I nodded, holding out my fishing pole. "Yeah. Used the proverbial 'carrot on the stick' trick."

I was suddenly pulled into a hug by the Doctor and dropped my pole in surprise, holding my hands up in surrender.

"Um, h-hello." I peeked over at Amy and mouthed the words 'help me' to which she did.

"Um, Doctor? Weren't we doing something?"

He pulled away, but kept a hand on my shoulder, making me slightly uncomfortable. "Right! Yes! Well, to sum things up, we're on a ship filled with dinosaurs!"

Amy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I think we've got that part."

The group moved over to make sure the Ankylosaurus' had passed and Rory came over; someone I hadn't noticed was there.

"Okay… So… How, and _who's_ ship?" He asked, counting off his fingers as I ducked out from under the Doctor's arm and stood over by Amy, who grinned.

"Well, there's so much to discover. Think how wise we'll be by the end of all this." The Doctor responded, sending me a sad look, though I didn't have any idea what for.

"Sorry, sorry." Brian, Rory's dad, spoke up. "Are you saying… dinosaurs are flying a spaceship?"

"Brian, please. That would be ridiculous. They're probably just passengers." The Doctor said in exasperation before holding up a finger. "Did I mention missiles?"

"Missiles?!"

I looked over at that as well, my brain finally picking up on what episode we were in. _Don't know why I didn't realize it before. You'd think the Ankylosaurus should've given me a clue._

"Didn't want to worry you. Anyway, six hours is a lifetime." The Doctor said, nudging Brian. "Well, not _literally_ a lifetime. That's what we're trying to avoid. And we're all really clever."

He chuckled like it was funny, but Rory was shaking his head in an attempt to stop the Doctor from making things worse. Thing was, the Doctor wasn't really paying attention and shined his flashlight—_Torch_, I reminded myself—over towards a monitor in the wall nearby.

"Ooh, let's see what we can find out. Come on."

We all headed over and once he'd brushed the cobwebs off the monitor, he turned around with a grin.

"Right! Introductions! Alex, you know Amy and Rory. This is Brian, Rory's dad; Neffy, and Riddell—though you probably knew all of that anyway." He muttered the ending, before joyfully throwing a hand out in a grand gesture. "They're my gang! Gang, this is Alexander Holmes, residential time jumper!"

I gave them all a little wave. "Hello."

_Time jumper? What is he talking about?_ I thought, getting a bit confused as a little inkling formed in the back of my mind about this possibly not being a dream. _But that's impossible._ I shook my head, ridding myself of the thought as the Doctor sonicked the monitor to turn it on and Amy touched a couple of scratch marks on a nearby wall.

"How many dinosaurs do you think are on here? Did you see any, Alex? Other than your friend?"

I shook my head. "Just the two and I stuck with them because they won't eat me."

"Good choice." Rory muttered, over by the Doctor and Brian as they looked over the screen.

"Oh, well done, whoever you are. Looking for engines. Thank you, computer. Look at that. Different sections have different engines, but these look like the primary clusters. Where are we now, computer? We need to get down to these engines."

"What happened?" Nefertiti questioned, making us turn over to find the trio gone.

"Oops, forgot about that." I muttered, it having slipped my mind that the trio would've been teleported away.

"Oh great." Amy said with a roll of her eyes. "Do you at least know where they've gone? You usually know things."

I nodded. "Yeah, sure. They were teleported down to the engine room, but how do _you _know that _I_ know?"

She raised a brow, pointing her torch at me and giving me a look over. "Where did you come from? Before here, I mean."

I blinked, confused. "Well, I was at home taking a nap and then in some white room and then here. Why?"

She looked surprised before running a hand through her hair. "Right. Um, first time here then. Just, uh, keep doing what you're doing. The Doctor will explain it later."

I was suspicious, but nodded. "Alright. Shall we, uh, go see what we can find then?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Who knows. We might beat the Doctor to the punch for once."

We all agreed and started walking around in search of the Doctor or anything that could help us. As we did though, we stumbled upon some broken eggs on the ground.

"There's clearly more than just two of those creatures." Riddell commented, drinking from a flask.

"Hey, put that away!" Amy scolded, lightly smacking his arm. "I need you sober."

"It's medicinal." He grumbled. "And I don't take orders from females."

"Ooh, you're going to regret that, Greg."

He frowned at me. "Why are you calling me that? My name's Riddell."

"Not to me, _Greg_. And like I was saying, you better be nice to us females or Neffy's not going to be happy." I said, gesturing over at said woman who nodded.

"Yes. You best _learn_ to take orders from us. Any man who speaks to me that way, I execute."

"You're very welcome to try." He smiled, but Nefertiti sent him a look that said—given the chance—she would kill him on the spot.

Amy though, was ignorant of the tension and leaned over to her. "Sorry. What was your name again?"

"Lady of the Two Lands. Wife of the great King Amenhotep. Queen Nefertiti of Egypt."

"I'll be damned." Riddell said, taking off his hat as Amy made a similar exclamation.

"Oh my God. Queen Nefertiti."

"_And_ here we go." I muttered with a roll of my eyes as Amy went fangirl on the woman.

"I learned all about you in school. You're awesome. Big fan. High five." She raised her hand, but Nefertiti just stared at it, before she put it down. "Yeah, a bit behind on that. You're really famous."

"Shush. Listen." Riddell said and we all went quiet to hear some heavy breathing.

Pointing all of our torches downwards, we spotted a sleeping adolescent T-Rex at our feet.

"Okay." Amy said in a whisper. "At a guess—"

I cut her off, speaking in an excited hushed whisper. "A juvenile T-Rex and we're standing in the middle of a dinosaur nest! This is the coolest dream ever."

"Alex?"

I glanced over at Amy, who gave me a pointed look.

"I know you think this is a dream and all, but can you just pretend that this is a real situation for the moment?"

I hesitated, whining a bit. "But… it's a miniature king of the dinosaurs…"

"Yeah, and if it _wakes up_, it'll eat us." She said.

"I propose retreat." Riddell said and we started heading back the way we came, only for the lizard to make a wheezing noise and Riddell changed his mind. "Or perhaps forwards."

"Agreed." Amy said as Riddell went to step over it. "Just don't wake the baby."

He stepped on an egg shell and the lizard twitched in it's sleep, making everyone jump. Thankfully, Riddell managed to make it over the lizard, though he wobbled a bit, and he chuckled quietly as the rest of us let out sighs of relief and started to head down the next hallway.

"Who are you anyway?" Amy questioned and Riddell put on his cocky voice.

"John Riddell. Big game hunter in the African plains. I'm sure you've heard of me too."

He swiped a finger across the rim of his hat, but Amy shook her head.

"No."

"Well you clearly have some alarming _gaps_ in your education."

"Or men who hunt defenseless creatures _just_ don't impact on history. Face it, she's way cooler than you." Amy sang, making Nefertiti laugh.

"Ha. And you, Amy. Are you also a Queen?"

"Yes. Yes, I am." She said, making me snort, only for her to punch me in the arm. "Oi, shut it. No laughing!"

Riddell chuckled as well as Nefertiti turned to me.

"What of you, Alex?"

"Nah. I'm nothing important like that. I'm just a kid along for the ride." I waved off.

"And your relation with the Doctor?" She questioned, confusing me.

"What relationship? Like I said, 'along for the ride'. I barely met him today, though I've known him for a while now."

"I knew it." Amy whispered under her breath, but I heard her.

"What?"

Nefertiti wasn't finished though. "He seemed quite taken with you though. Are you sure?"

I turned back to her, furrowing my brows. "Yeah. Pretty sure."

_What's going on? Amy keeps mentioning things that don't make sense and the Doctor liking me? That's never happened before. In my dreams—sure, he'll be friendly, but that's it. I was always just another companion because I knew that there were other people he loved and who loved him and, being human meant that nothing more would happen anyway. So why is everyone talking like he really cares for me?_

"Bit of weed killer wouldn't go amiss in here." Amy said, pulling me from my thoughts as we all walked into what appeared to be a lab overgrown with plants and cobwebs.

"Whoever was running this vessel left in a hurry." Riddell said.

"Maybe a plague came and took them." Nefertiti said after.

"No, there'd be corpses and bones."

"Unless the animals ate them."

"Whoa, Chuckle Brothers. Lighten up, would ya?" Amy said, stopping them from arguing more.

I rolled my eyes before wiping the cobwebs from off another monitor, turning to them. "Over here, ladies… Greg."

"I'm _Riddell_."

I ignored him, waving my hands to allow Amy to start pushing buttons. Once the lights came on, we all looked around in slight surprise—minus me, of course.

"How'd you know how to do that?"

"Well," Amy turned off her torch, setting it down. "I've spent enough time with the Doctor to know that whenever you enter somewhere new, press buttons."

"What else have you learned from him?" Nefertiti asked, as Amy picked up a disk-like object and put it in the slot, pushing another button.

"Don't stop at button pressing."

The screen fizzed to life, showing static as the video started playing and a voice could be heard.

"_One hundred and seventeen years."_

Amy smirked with a chuckle. "Data records."

"The ship's owners?" Riddell asked as Amy began button pressing again.

"Could be… Come on. Help us out."

"_Mainly cryogenic. I will continue to work."_

I heard the sounds of dinosaur calls and the pitter-patter of claws on the floor and turned with Riddell to see the silhouette on the wall. Not the silhouette of a T-Rex, but that of a Velociraptor.

"Not good." I muttered quietly under my breath.

"How about a picture, hm? Come on, for me." Amy asked, before dropping the smile and slapping the side of the monitor.

"_Far beyond our_—"

"Look." Nefertiti pointed to the screen as a picture of a reptilian-hominoid appeared on screen with the occasional glitch. "Oh, it's beautiful."

"_I can't tell how far we have come. Far enough to avoid the destructive impact forecast for our planet. Far enough for me to feel a profound sense of loss."_

"What is that?"

"A Silurian." I said, before I realized something and pouted. "Aw man. I don't get to see the Triceratops."

Amy turned to me as I explained with a wave of the hand. "The trio of boneheads who got teleported to the engine room would've made it back on board by now after being taken in by the guy who has this ship. They meet a Triceratops on the way—Big plant eater with three horns and a big…" I made a gesture behind my head. "…plate thing on it's head—and he really likes Brian's golf balls. They get to play fetch with it and I missed out."

"Really?" Amy gave me a disbelieving look. "You got to _ride_ some big spiky dinosaur thing—"

"An Ankylosaurus." I corrected, making her roll her eyes.

"Whatever. And you're whining because you didn't get to play _fetch_ with another one?"

I gave her a look. "We're in space, on a ship, with _dinosaurs_. That's every five year old boy's wet dream."

"But you're not five nor are you a boy." She argued, brows furrowed in confusion.

"Doesn't mean I can't like dinosaurs." I quipped back as the Silurian went on.

"_Of the fifty species loaded, only one has had any difficulty surviving. All the others are thriving and we expect them to be able to repopulate."_

"Probably a Brachiosaurus." I muttered. "Too big, very gentle things, but not exactly the best things to have aboard a tiny ship."

"We're on an Ark. A Silurian Ark." Amy said, having decided to ignore me for now.

"Lizard people herding dinosaurs onto a _Space Ark_? Absolute tommyrot." Riddell complained.

"Says the man who just got here via a time and space machine." I said with a roll of my eyes as Nefertiti agreed.

"Only an idiot denies the evidence of their own eyes."

"Egyptian queen or not, I shall put you across my knee and spank you."

"Oh lord." Amy muttered as the two started arguing… or flirting, depending on the perspective.

"Try, and I'll snap your neck in a heartbeat."

"Oh, they certainly bred firecrackers in your time."

"Oh, no, no. Please don't start flirting. I already have one set of flirting companions. I'd rather not have another."

"Really?" I questioned. "Who?"

She gave me a look but didn't answer as Nefertiti went on.

"If the Doctor trusts Amy, so do I. Stop doubting her."

The argument ended there and Riddell frowned slightly.

"If this ship was built by—"

"Silurians. Yeah." Amy said.

"Yeah, where are they?"

She frowned and then stood upright to face him. "Surprisingly good question."

I sighed as they eyed each other and leaned down to the computer myself. "Display signs of homo-reptilia."

The scanner went over the map of the ship, before displaying 'no life signals detected'. I moved back, showing Amy.

"There's none here."

She looked at the screen and frowned. "But where have they gone?"

"Perhaps they found another world, left the ship." Nefertiti offered, but I shook my head.

"They wouldn't leave the dinosaurs and they wouldn't come back to Earth knowing that there'd be no place for them or people like Greg over here will hunt them back down to extinction."

"_Riddell!_" He growled, but I ignored him again as Amy spoke.

"So what's changed between then and now? Wait. Computer, show me the ship at launch with all life signals."

It did, a large number of dots scattered on the map and I grinned, leaning over to speak as well.

"Now show the ship today with all life signals."

The number of dots diminished.

"Thousands less." Amy commented. "But why?"

"Let's play spot the difference." I said. "Computer, show both images side by side."

"What are you looking for?" Riddell questioned.

"What changed." I said, as Amy continued for me.

"Spot the difference, like she said. What changed and what happened to the Silurians?"

Nefertiti tapped the center of the map. "The center."

"Computer, zoom in to the center." I said.

"Hold on."

"What is it?" Riddell asked, all of us looking at the red shape in the center of the map.

"Another ship." I answered. "Someone else is on this ship and I don't doubt for a minute that they had something to do with the Silurians' disappearance."

"Is this from you knowing things, Alex?" Amy questioned and I grimaced.

"Well… um… possibly? I mean, I could tell you—"

"No. Don't." She said, waving a hand at me to stop me. "I don't want to know. You've told me before that talking about these things could mess up time lines and paradoxes and other… time things."

"Uh, good to know?" I pointed at her then. "Shouldn't you call the trio? I'm sure the Doctor would like to know about the Silurians and, uh, Rory might want to know you're alright."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Alright." Pulling out her phone, she started to pace before Rory finally picked up. "Where are you?"

I couldn't hear the other line, so I just kept an eye out for the raptors that would soon show up.

"Rory, this is a Silurian ship. Can you give me to the Doctor?"

There was a bit of a pause, before she spoke again; my ears perking up at the sound of the claws tapping on the floor again. _Velociraptors hunt in groups. They'll gather together first._

"This is an Ark built by the Silurians. They were looking for another planet… None on board. I mean, thousands of stasis pods, all empty." She hung up the phone with a sigh and shake of her head, before turning to us. "So? What now?"

"We've got a pack of Velociraptors heading our way." I said seriously, starting to worry about what would happen if I die here and not wake up in my bed at home.

"Oh great. Raptors. Just what we need… How do you know that?" Amy questioned. "We don't get eaten, do we?"

I shook my head. "No. Listen."

Everyone went silent and I raised a finger.

"There. Did you hear it? Tapping. Clicking. Whatever you want to call it."

"And what does that have to do with raptors?" Riddell questioned as I popped open a panel and started pulling out the two guns they had there and loading them

"Think. With dinosaurs, they have flat feet that 'thump' on the ground. That's how you've heard them coming so far, yeah? So what does the clicking mean?" I turned to him and tossed him a gun. "Clicking means claws. Claws that are just tapping the ground. Velociraptors have one hooked claw that curves to hover just above the ground. The clicking is coming from them."

He frowned, still suspicious. "Then how do you know it's a group?"

I smiled innocently. "Easy. Fossil records show that Velociraptors most likely hunted in groups. They hunt big prey, so they have to be fast and smart. And you can't kill something big without numbers. That, and I've seen at least three shadows pass that wall already."

"Hm. Alright. I'll admit." He turned to me with a small smirk. "I'm starting to like you."

I smiled back a bit, before Amy snatched my gun from me.

"No weapons!"

I rolled my eyes and showed her the ammo. "Calm down. They're stun guns."

Riddell nodded. "Enough to make a dinosaur take a nap. Even the Doctor couldn't object to that."

She sighed, passing it back to me. "You're almost clever. Can you even shoot that thing?"

I smacked the ammo in and cocked the gun with a grin. "Dad gave me shooting lessons out in the desert all the time."

"You and the Doctor, are you his queen?" Nefertiti asked Amy.

"No, I'm Rory's queen. Wife." She corrected. "Wife. I am his wife. Please don't tell him I said I was his queen. I'll never hear the end of it."

I smirked despite knowing she wasn't talking to me. "I'll think about it."

She sent me a frown as Nefertiti went on.

"And the Doctor, does _he_ have a queen?"

Amy nodded, making me raise a brow in her direction before she caught me looking and she suddenly stopped. "Uh… Nefertiti? I thought you had a husband?"

_She's ignoring me…_

"The male equivalent of a sleeping potion."

"You clearly need a man of action and excitement. One with a very large weapon." Riddell cocked his gun and I groaned.

"Ew."

Amy gave me a look before I followed him towards the doorway, hearing her behind me as she talked to Nefertiti. "So, human sleeping potion or walking innuendo. Take your pick."

"_That's very bad indeed. Completely unhelpful."_

We all turned at the voice and wandered over to the monitor up on the wall to see the trio wandering around.

"_Doesn't the ship have any defense systems installed?"_

"_Good thinking, Rory!"_ The Doctor kissed him full on the lips before turning to the computer. _"Computer, show us weapons and defense systems."_

Our own screen flashed the words 'No systems available' and the Doctor started lightly slapping Rory on the cheeks.

"_Oh, well, that was a waste of time, wasn't it? Getting my hopes up like that."_

"_What ship doesn't have weapons?"_

"_Ah, they're an ancient species, Rory, still full of hope."_

"_What about the control deck? _You_ said we should go to the control deck next."_

"_It's too late. It won't make any difference."_ The Doctor told Brian, walking off.

"_Would could at least try—"_

"_It won't work, Rory! The missiles are locked on!"_ The Doctor yelled at him and I sighed.

"How long has he been away from you guys?" I asked Amy and even she seemed a little surprised at the Doctor's behavior.

"Ten months, but he's usually got yo—I mean…"

I frowned at her starting to get a little annoyed at how she kept dancing around the subject. "Alright. What's going on? Just tell me."

She looked away awkwardly. "Um, well… I already said the Doctor will tell you."

"I don't care. He's forgetful and I want to know, _now_."

"Alright then." She stood up straight, having gathered some confidence. "You remember how I told you to treat this like it was real for a while?"

"Yeah. And?"

She took a deep breath and looked at me seriously. "It's real."

"What?" I frowned, not wanting to believe what she'd just said.

"It's really real. All of this?" She gestured around. "Dinosaurs outside, the Doctor, space. All of it is real. We don't know why or how, but you somehow travel around the Doctor's time-line and pop up here and there."

"But that's—"

I was cut off as a bright light emanated from the screen beside us and a couple of large robots and an older man on crutches showed up. Immediately, my throat tightened as I remembered what happened next.

"Amy, I need to get down there."

"What?"

"I need to get down there now." I said, turning to the monitor controls and scrambling to try and figure out which buttons to push to activate the teleport, hanging my gun off my shoulder. "Come on, come on. Teleport. Teleport."

"_You were telling the truth, Doctor. Earth has launched missiles. This vessel is too clumsy to outrun them, but I have my own ship."_ Solomon—I remembered—said.

"_You won't get your precious cargo on board, though. Just be you and your metal tantrum machines."_

"_We do not have tantrums!" _One of the robots complained before Solomon shushed it and I smacked myself in the forehead.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid! Duh! Voice commands! Computer, how many teleports are you capable of to the area in the video?"

Words flashed across the screen. 'Two available teleports'. I smirked.

"Perfect. Amy, I have to go. There's one more teleport here, but I need the other one."

"What? What for?"

I smiled. "To save a life. And Neffy?"

She faced me in confusion as I looked at her seriously.

"Do whatever _you_ think is right." Nodding to them, I turned to the computer. "Computer, teleport me to the area in the video."

It did so, me disappearing in a flash of light as Solomon spoke and Nefertiti realized why I said what I did.

"…_I had the IV system, scan the entire ship and it found something even more valuable. Utterly unique. I don't know where you found it, or how you got it here, but I want it."_

"_I don't know what you're talking about."_

"_Earth Queen Nefertiti of Egypt. A face stamped across history. Give her to me, and I'll let the rest of you live."_

* * *

"No." The Doctor said seriously, not willing to let one of his companions get hurt because of him again.

"You think I won't punish those who get in my way? Whatever they're worth?" Solomon said, tapping a crutch on the ground.

The Doctor moved back as a robot stepped around Solomon and aimed it's gun at the Triceratops, the same moment a flash of light popped up a few feet away. Just as the robot went to shoot however, another blast hit it, zapping it and causing it to shut down and topple over.

"Whoops, sorry, was he one of yours?" Alex cocked the stun gun and aimed it over at the other robot, face dead serious. "Because I don't take kindly to violence."

"Alex!" The Doctor shouted in absolute shock. "What are you doing here?!"

"Bit busy, Doctor." She replied back. "Don't think I won't shoot the other one, Solomon, because these dinosaurs are very kind and gentle creatures and if you _dare_ to try and kill this one again, I'll take you both out."

"Hm." He smirked. "You have quite a bit of spirit I see." He turned back to the Doctor as the robot raised it's weapon towards me. "Bring her to me, or the robot will make it's way through your corpses. Starting with that one."

The Doctor hesitated and Alex frowned, eyeing him from the corner of her eye.

"You better not be hesitating because of me. Because I swear to God, I will punch you if you are."

"Oh, I've missed you, Holmes." He smiled, turning over to Solomon and loosing the grin. "And the answer's, no."

Just then though, Amy, Riddell, and Nefertiti flashed into the room, confusing the Doctor even more.

"What are you doing?"

"I demanded to be brought here." Nefertiti said, voice full of authority.

"No, no, no, no, no way."

"It isn't your choice, Doctor. It's mine." Nefertiti glanced over at Alex and the Doctor groaned again.

"Alex, why do you always have to meddle with people?"

"What?" She questioned, confused once more.

He ignored her and looked seriously at Nefertiti. "Listen to me. If you go with him, I can't guarantee your safety."

"You saved my people. I am in your debt."

"No. N-No debts. You don't owe me anything."

"Then I do it on my own."

"No. Neffy. Neffy."

"No! Take her and I shoot you!" Riddell shouted, raising his weapon.

"Put your weapon down. Let me make my choice."

"Do it, boy." Solomon demanded as the robot turned it's gun from Alex to him.

Riddell lowered his weapon and Nefertiti turned to Alex.

"Alex. You are capable of seeing futures, yes?"

"Sure."

"Then can you promise me what the Doctor couldn't?"

Alex looked at her seriously and gave the briefest of nods, to which Nefertiti nodded back and moved over to Solomon's side.

"My bounty increases." Solomon smirked. "And what an extraordinary bounty you are." He reached a crutch up towards her, but she slapped it away.

"Never touch me."

Immediately, he brought a crutch up to her throat and pinned her to a column.

"I like my possessions to have spirit. It means I can have fun breaking them." He dropped the crutch and sneered at her. "And I will break you in with immense pleasure." He then turned to the Doctor. "Thank you, Doctor. Computer, take us back to my ship."

"_Hostile targeting in progress. Hostile targeting in progress. Hostile targeting in progress. Hostile targeting in progress._" The computer repeated once Solomon teleported away.

"Bingo."

"What is it? Doctor?" Rory asked, and Alex smirked, slinging the gun over her shoulder.

"He's got a plan."

He grinned. "_Oh_, you bet I do. Computer, teleport us to the control deck."

They were all teleported and he pointed down at the two chairs covered in cobwebs.

"Okay, control deck."

"So, what's the plan?"

The Doctor lifted his head out of the area he'd just popped the top off of and gave Rory a look.

"Come on. The missiles are locked onto us. We can't outrun them. We have to save the dinosaurs and get Nefertiti back from Solomon. Isn't it obvious?"

"Um, it's sort of the opposite of obvious."

"Seventeen minutes before the missiles hit. We need to turn this ship around." The Doctor explained, shining his sonic screwdriver into the control panel.

"You said it was too late. That there wasn't any time."

"Ah, yes, but I didn't have this plan then, did I? Riddell? Keep an eye out for dinosaurs."

"I was rather hoping you'd say that." He smirked, passing Brian his gun as he took off his coat.

"No killing any. Rory, Brian, get rid of the cobwebs. Alex, come here."

Alex stepped forward beside him, confused. "What's up?"

He popped his head out from the open hole, turned around, grabbed her by the face and slammed his lips into hers. It took a moment before he pulled back with a grin and pat her shoulder; eyes closed in happiness.

"Good job with saving Tricy. Now go help Riddell with the dinosaurs."

He quickly turned back to the control panel, but Alex didn't move, frozen to the spot; something Amy quickly noticed and called out to the clueless Doctor.

"Doctor?"

"What _now,_ Pond?" He said, poking his head out to pout at her.

She gave him a pointed look and tossed a thumb over at Alex. "Yeah, it's her first time."

He frowned, confused. "First time for what?"

"Everything."

That made his eyes widened and he turned to the still stiff Alex who was now pointing at him with her mouth gaping.

"W-W-What… W-Why did you…"

"Oh dear." He said, turning back to Amy. "_Everything_?"

"Yup." She said, popping the 'p'.

"Right." He grabbed Alex by the shoulders and carefully eyed her. "Alex? I'll explain everything later."

"B-But you just—"

He shook his head. "Yes, yes. I know. Sorry. Didn't mean to… Well, I _did_, but that's not the point. We're running out of time, so I need you to just forget about the kiss for now and go help Riddell with the dinosaurs, yes? I'll explain everything later. Promise." He kissed her on the forehead and pushed her towards Amy. "Can you get her outside?"

She nodded, pulling Alex along as she turned to her; very much in the same state she's been in.

"H-He kissed me."

"Yup."

"The Doctor, h-he—"

"Yes, yes. I know." Amy rolled her eyes, pushing the red-head out the door and with Riddell. "Now go take care of the Veloci-whatevers."

Riddell frowned and went to complain, but before he could, he spotted one of the raptors and aimed his gun.

"Come on, boy. I'll get you."

It gave out a call, which shocked Alex out of her stupor as another approached and she aimed her gun at it; only for two more to show up.

"Hell's teeth." Riddell complained, lowering his gun a bit. "That's really not fair."

"Told you they hunt in packs."

"Yeah, well, that's no help to us at all, is it? What are you doing out here anyway? This is a two _man_ job."

"Yeah? Well, I'm about as man as you can get, if you haven't noticed." Alex explained, pushing the Doctor's kiss out of her head for now to focus on the danger in front of her. "Look like one, act like one, fight like one. None of that slapping and pulling hair bit. Nah, I pack a punch. Took _three_ different martial arts classes and a boxing class. Shooting trips with my dad. ATV rides. Nearly tried out for American football in high school."

"You mean like rugby?" He questioned and Alex shrugged.

"A bit, yeah. And if you didn't notice before," She smirked at him. "I just shot a robot, saved a Triceratops, threatened a murderer, and rode an Ankylosaurus. I think I can handle this."

He smirked at her, cocking his gun. "Quickens the blood, doesn't it?"

"Oh, you bet."

"You know what I want more than anything?"

"A dinosaur tooth?" She questioned and he grinned even wider.

"Oh yeah." He shot an approaching raptor, excitedly. "Dinosaurs ahead, lady at my side, about to be blown up. I'm sure I've never been happier."

"Shut up and shoot." Alex quipped back. "I want a tooth too."

* * *

A number of shots later, and the two of us stood beside one another with equal grins; about six stunned Velociraptors lying around us and two dinosaur teeth tucked away in our pockets.

"Heh, not bad." Riddell grinned at me, both of us a little out of breath.

"Not bad yourself." I smiled back.

"Oi! No flirting!"

We both spun around at the Doctor's voice, surprised to see him standing there with Nefertiti and the others and I paled; mind going back to the kiss and body not really knowing whether to be shocked or a little flattered. Riddell went over and spoke a bit with Nefertiti and the other four approached me, but before the Doctor could say anything, Amy spoke up; her arm around Rory's waist.

"Wow. You two really did a number on these guys."

"What?" I looked around, remembering the raptors and nodded. "Oh, right. Yeah. Forgot about them." Turning to her with a smile, I decided to ignore everything for a bit longer, pulling the tooth out of my pocket. "Look! I got a Velociraptor tooth!"

Rory's eyes widened along with Amy's. "You didn't… I mean, did you knock out a dinosaurs' _tooth_?"

I nodded, tucking it away again with a grin at Rory. "Oh, yeah. It got too close, so I hit it with the butt of the gun."

"You knocked out a dinosaur's tooth." He said again.

"That _is_ what I just said, yeah?" I shrugged, turning away and tucking my hands in my pockets; gun hanging off my shoulder as I walked around the unconscious dinosaurs. "Doesn't matter though. They'll grow another. They're like crocs and alligators. They loose teeth all the time and constantly replace them. They'll live."

We all headed back to the Tardis and I kept my distance from the Doctor, sticking with Amy and Rory just chitchatting about dinosaurs and such, before the Doctor grinned and bounded towards the blue box.

"So, dinosaur drop off time."

"Actually, we think home for us." Rory said, stopping the Doctor just as he entered the doorway.

"Oh, fine. Of course."

"Not forever. Just a couple of months."

"Right. Yes. I'm pretty busy anyway. I mean, I've got to drop everyone back." He turned to me and I stiffened, though he looked a bit sad. "And I need to explain things to Alex."

"About that." Brian stepped forward, looking between the couple and over at the Doctor with a small smile. "Can I ask a favor? There's something I want to see."

Brian sat on the edge of the Tardis door not long after we dropped off Nefertiti and Riddell, eating a sandwich and sipping tea as he looked over Earth. Amy and Rory went over to peek out as well and the Doctor came up behind them with a small smile, but I watched as it slowly fell off his face, my stomach clenching a bit in worry. I'd seen him do that a lot when he thought no one was looking. In the TV show, anyway. I always sympathized with him when he did that, because I knew that I did the same thing sometimes. Even now, I felt my face drop and I turned my eyes back up towards the ceiling of the Tardis.

I was given a quick look around when we'd first stepped in, having not seen it before other than in my dreams and on the TV. I mean, I still thought I was in a dream, but there was still that nagging sensation in the back of my mind telling me that there _was_ a small chance it wasn't. And the evidence for that was stacking up. The Tardis was just so complex that I doubted my mind could've come up with every switch and knob on the console or the complicated wiring below it, or even the _sound_. The sound was what got me the most, because it was like it seemed to reverberate through my head and it made my shoulder tingle a bit for some reason. And it felt like I could almost understand it. Not in an actual speaking-to-me-in-words sort of way, but just understanding that it was pleased to see everyone or worried about the sad look the Doctor had. It was weird and, it was another reason I was starting to doubt everything.

"Right then!" The Doctor called out, flipping some switches as Brian came back inside and the Tardis doors closed. "Time to drop off the Ponds! There we go!"

The wheezing of the Tardis stopped and everyone said their goodbyes; Amy promising to hit the Doctor for me if he tried anything and Rory giving me a small smile. Once they were gone, the Doctor dropped the dinosaur ship off on a planet very much like the prehistoric Earth, letting the beasts run off into their new home as he posted up a sign declaring the planet Siluria. After he took a quick photo to send Amy and Rory, he returned to the Tardis where I had waited and sent it up to drift, turning around to lean up against the console and face me with a sad look on his face.

"Stop it." I said, frowning and confusing him.

"Stop what?"

I pointed at him, rather rudely. "That face. Stop it."

He touched his face with his own frown. "What face? Am I making a face?"

"Yeah. You're making a face that says you know what's going on but I don't and you're upset about it. And I don't like it. I don't like you being upset for me and I don't like not knowing things. So explain. What's going on? Because I can't figure everything out. I'm not clever like you. I'm confused and lost and nothing is making _any_ sense and I just—"

I was cut off as arms wrapped around me, not even realizing that my hands had started shaking or that my throat had tightened with the onslaught of tears trying to break through.

"Sh. It's okay." The Doctor hummed, resting his head on top of mine in comfort, but I couldn't do it.

I could never handle someone hugging me when I was in the process of breaking down. I was supposed to be strong. I was the oldest of seven. It's just something that had been ingrained in me since I was little. I was the oldest, so I had to be strong for everyone. I couldn't cry, and people hugging me when I was trying to pull myself together only made it that much harder to do. Even if it was the Doctor.

"N-No. It's not okay!" I said, wincing at my loud voice and at the look the Doctor gave me when I pulled away. "Just… Just tell me what's going on."

He looked at me worriedly, hands out like he was trying to calm a frightened animal; an action I immediately didn't like.

"You time travel. You jump around my time-line and pop up in different places with me. I haven't quite worked out how yet, but it has something to do with the mark on your shoulder."

My eyes widened in a slight panic. "What? W-What mark?!"

"Alex, please. Just listen."

I took a step back, but nodded, knowing that I needed to hear everything before I started just blurting out questions; though I was now biting my bottom lip and my fingers danced nervously on my thigh.

"I didn't know that this was your first time here and I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." He said sadly, though eyeing my fingers warily.

"Stop it." I muttered, clenching my hand around the fabric of my pants. "Stop saying that like it's your fault."

"Oh, Alex." He breathed out with a soft smile. "You always cared for others more than yourself."

"What about us?" I asked, lifting my head to look at him worriedly. "Amy kept skipping around it and even Neffy—"

"I'm sorry." He apologized again. "I can't tell you."

"Spoilers?" I questioned, stealing River's line with a shaky smile.

He sent a small smile back. "Spoilers."

I winced as my shoulder ached, bringing a hand up to rub it, before I noticed the Doctor's eyes widened. This worried me.

"W-What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Your shoulder hurts?" He asked and I nodded, cringing again as the pain steadily grew worse.

"Yeah. Ngh, don't know why. It's getting worse."

His expression saddened, before he knelt down in front of me as I leaned against the railing, my breathing growing more ragged as the pain grew.

"I'm sorry, Alex."

"W-Why? What's happening?"

"You're going to meet another me. Maybe the same me, but earlier or later in my time-line. Maybe a different me with a different face." He placed a hand on mine, squeezing it reassuringly as I grit my teeth with a quiet grunt of pain; my shoulder feeling like it was on fire. "Things are going to be hard on you, Alex, but you have to remember; this isn't a dream. This is _real_. What's going to happen to you is actually happening."

"B-But that can't—"

"Please, Alex. You have to trust me."

I glanced over at him, seeing the seriousness in his worried gaze as I was slowly enveloped in light but I still wasn't sure. How could any of this be real? The Doctor, the adventures, any of it. It was impossible, but the look he was giving me settled that seed of doubt in my mind and, as the light fully enveloped me and the pain reached an all time high, I let a tear fall. Because if this were true, if everything was real, then everything I had before was gone. And everything I was about to deal with, could _actually_ kill me.


	2. Tooth and Claw

**Thanks for the reviews and here's the next chapter! ^^ **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything Doctor Who, just my character(s)**

* * *

I shivered as a breeze cut through my shirt, my face pressed into the grass under me and I let out a shaky breath as I tried to pull back my emotions. _It's can't be true. It can't be._ I let the breath out, forcing myself to sit up with a cringe, a hand gripping my aching shoulder tightly as I looked around. I was near a dirt road in the middle of nowhere.

"I-I don't… What?"

I swiveled my head around, searching for anything familiar or even a building of some kind, but there was nothing and I suddenly felt abandoned, missing the Doctor already. _No._ I shook my head, building up my confidence and standing, hand still on my protesting shoulder. _I can't just sit here and mope. As much as I want to… No. I need to suck it up a-and just… Try to figure out what's going on._ I decided that following the road would be my best bet and started down it, shivering at how cold it was without my usual hoodie which was no doubt waiting for me back home.

_Home… Can I ever go back? Is this really not a dream?_ I sniffled, before sneezing, the grasses having bothered my allergies a bit. Rubbing my nose, I turned to look behind me to see how far I'd gone, before I heard the tell-tale sign of a gun being cocked and stiffened.

"You will explain your presence." A man in a red coat demanded from up on a beautiful black horse, his pistol aimed at me along with the rifles of the other men behind him.

"U-Um, sorry. I'm a bit lost?" I said, though it sounded more of a question. "Could you tell me where I'm at?"

He frowned. "How can you be ignorant of your location? We're in Scotland."

"Oh. Right, um, good to know. I, uh…like your horse. Could you give me a ride to the next town?" I gave him a nervous smile only for him to cock his gun.

"You will pass without question or I will shoot you on the spot."

"A-Alright!" I said loudly, hands up. "Sorry! I really didn't mean to bug you. I just really don't know where I am. I'm lost and my, um, friend kind of ran off so I was just wondering."

"Let him approach."

The man up on the horse didn't take his eyes off me as he spoke to whoever was in the carriage and said that.

"I don't think that's wise, ma'am."

"Let him approach." She repeated and he gave an almost exasperated look, speaking to me without even lowering his gun.

"You will approach the carriage and show all due deference."

I had no idea what that last bit meant, so I assumed he meant show some respect for whoever had asked for me because I wasn't completely daft. I knew that whoever was in there must be important if she had this many people guarding her. So I nodded hesitantly and swallowed thickly as I wandered over to the carriage, a footman climbing down and opening the door to reveal someone _very_ familiar, though I couldn't quite place who she was. As my brain clicked in, I remembered to show respect and quickly bowed my head; the soldier from before moving his horse not far behind me, making me nervous.

"Ma'am."

She eyed me for a moment. "You, do you not know who I am?"

I stiffened and hesitantly looked at her, trying to get my mind to work long enough to figure out where I'd seen her before.

"I-I'm sorry, ma'am. You seem familiar, but I can't quite place it. I'm, uh, very confused at the moment and don't even know where I am or how I got here, really. So I apologize for not recognizing you right away." I said, bowing my head again nervously in fear that my lack of knowledge at the moment could get me killed by the man behind me.

"Hm. For not knowing who I am, you are very respectful."

I nodded. "You must be important for these soldiers to be guarding you, ma'am."

"And educated as well, though I must question what a woman such as yourself is doing in man's dress, miss…"

I felt my face heat up in embarrassment at being caught by someone who was obviously very regal and not exactly from this century.

"Alexander Holmes, ma'am. I-I, um…" I struggled to think of an excuse, but she waved it off.

"No matter. I have daughters of my own, so it is nothing to me."

"Thank you, ma'am." I bowed again and she nodded.

"Yes, well, I suppose I could allow you to join us until we reach the next town, though I will not be responsible for any misgivings that occur along the way."

"Of course, ma'am."

"It is settled then. Drive on!" She called out and the footman closed her door and the group started forward with me walking behind the carriage with a number of armed soldiers.

As we walked the way I came from, I steadily grew less nervous, but more confused. My mind was bouncing from question to question; where I was at; what episode this was, if it was an episode at all; if this whole thing was really real; where the Doctor was and what I was supposed to be doing in all of this. Everything was just getting more and more confusing and I could feel the stress building up inside me the more I thought about it. So, I did what I do best and forgot about it. Most of it, anyway. I was still trying to figure out who the woman in the carriage was and I probably wouldn't drop that until I found out. Just then though, the carriage was pulled to a halt once more and as I went to find out what was wrong, one of the soldiers pulled me back sternly.

"Stay here."

I hesitated, but did as I was told, not being able to hear much of anything until the woman in the carriage asked for whoever stopped us to be allowed to approach as well. I snuck to the side to see and felt relief flow through me once the footman moved and allowed me to see the Tenth Doctor and Rose greeting the woman, who—I now discovered—was the Queen of England. Queen Victoria. Rose attempted a curtsy as I tried to move past the soldiers without being noticed.

"Rose Tyler, ma'am. And my apologies for being so naked." She chuckled in embarrassment as the Queen spoke.

"I've had five daughters. It's nothing to me."

Rose must've spotted me then, for her face lit up and she bounded over to me. "Alex!"

I stiffened when she pulled me into a hug, awkwardly patting her on the back with a small chuckle, noticing the Doctor's frown aimed my way. "Um, hello, Rose."

She pulled away with a grin, pulling me by the wrist over by the Doctor as the Queen eyed me.

"Are these your friends you were speaking of before? I believe you only mentioned one."

"Ah! Yes! Sorry. I hadn't known they would both be here." I said, apologetically.

"Very well." She turned to the Doctor. "Doctor, show me these credentials."

He handed her the psychic paper and she looked it over as Rose hugged my shoulders with a grin.

"Why didn't you say so immediately?" The Queen exclaimed, handing it back. "It states clearly here that you have been appointed by the Lord Provost as my protector."

"Does it?" He looked down at it, obviously not seeing anything. "Yes, it does. Good. Good. Um, then let me ask. Why is Your Majesty traveling by road when there's a train all the way to Aberdeen?"

"A tree on the line." She explained, face stoic and sending a shiver up my spine.

_Though that could be because it's cold too… A thin t-shirt and some pants aren't exactly made for cold, Scotland weather._

"An accident?" The Doctor questioned.

"I am the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Everything around me tends to be planned."

"An assassination attempt, ma'am?" I questioned, only a little surprised.

It wasn't just the presidents after all who got attacked.

"What? Seriously?" Rose questioned. "There's people out to kill ya?"

"I'm quite used to staring down the barrel of a gun."

"Sir Robert MacLeish lives but ten mile hence." The soldier on the horse said from behind us. "We've sent word ahead. He'll shelter us for tonight, then we can reach Balmoral tomorrow."

"This Doctor, his timorous beastie, and Ms_._ Holmes will come with us." The Queen said.

"Yes, ma'am. We'd better get moving. It's almost nightfall."

"Indeed. And there are stories of wolves in these parts. Fanciful tales intended to scare the children. But good for the blood, I think. Drive on!"

The footman closed the carriage once more and we all moved to the back as we followed. I sighed in relief though, glad I at least had something familiar to hang on to with the Doctor and Rose here.

"I'm so glad you guys showed up." I breathed out, making Rose turn to me with a raised brow.

"Why? Something happen at wherever you were at before this?"

I pulled a hand through my hair with a bitter chuckle. "A-Actually, I just got told all of this is real and I'm still trying to wrap my head around it."

"Of course it's real." The Doctor snapped, making me look at him in confusion.

"What's wrong with you?"

He glared at me and went to answer, but Rose pushed between us, rolling her eyes.

"Ignore him. But seriously? You told me that you heard about this being real your first time jump."

I nodded. "Yeah. This is, uh, my second, actually."

Her eyes widened. "No way! Seriously? Then you haven't met us yet?"

I shook my head. "No. I mean, I know _of_ you, but I don't actually _know_ you yet."

"In that case—" She stuck out her hand for me to shake with a grin. "Rose Tyler! Nice to meet cha."

I shook it with a small smile myself. "Alexander Holmes." I then peeked around her to look at the Doctor who was frowning at the back of the carriage. "Nice to meet you too, Doctor."

He scowled at me, but then Rose started talking, distracting us both.

"It's funny though, because you say assassination and you just think of Kennedy and stuff. Not her."

"Every powerful person in history had _some_ attempt on their life." I said, shrugging.

The Doctor ignored me though. "1879? She's had… ooh… six attempts on her life? And I'll tell you something else. We just met Queen Victoria!"

Rose grinned, smacking his arm. "I know!"

"What a laugh!"

"She was just sitting there."

"Like a stamp."

"I wanted to say, 'we are not amused'." Rose said in a nasally voice. "I bet you five quid I can make her say it. Eh, Alex?"

I waved my hands. "Ah, no. I don't have money and it's kind of cheating if I know the outcome, don't you think?"

"Ooh, right." She said with a wince, turning back to the Doctor. "What about you, eh?"

"Well, if I gambled on that, it'd be an abuse of my privileges of a traveler of time."

"…Ten quid?" Rose offered.

"Done."

'_Tooth and Claw', right? I think that's what episode I'm in. I just can't remember everything. It's been a while since I watched this episode. It's got something to do with wolves, monks, and… some plant._ I rubbed my eyes with the palm of my hands as we finally reached the building we'd be staying the night in. I felt a hand on my shoulder and glanced over at a worried Rose.

"You alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. My head's just a bit messed up with everything that's going on and I'm… having trouble remembering what happens here."

"When was the last time you slept?" She questioned. "The, uh, future you always said it was hard finding time to sleep. Maybe you're just worn out."

I nodded with a sigh. "Yeah. Maybe."

"Useless."

I frowned, looking at the Doctor in confusion at why he was acting the way he was, but before I could ask, Sir Robert spoke and Queen Victoria stepped out of the carriage.

"Your Majesty." He bowed deeply.

"Sir Robert. My apologies for the emergency. And how is Lady Isobel?"

"She's… indisposed, I'm afraid. She's gone to Edinburgh for the season and she's taken the cook with her. The kitchens are barely stocked. I wouldn't blame Your Majesty if you wanted to ride on." He said, looking nervous and rather pale.

"Not at all. I've had quite enough carriage exercise and this is… _charming_, if rustic. It's my first visit to this house. My late husband spoke of it often. The Torchwood Estate." She smiled, looking pleased. "Now, shall we go inside? And, pleased excuse the naked girl."

"Sorry." Rose apologized, still looking pretty amused about being called naked.

The Doctor tried to explain to the man. "She's a feral child. I bought her for sixpence in old London Town. It was her or the Elephant Man, so…"

I held back a snicker as Rose gave them a look.

"Thinks he's funny, but I'm _so_ not amused. What do you think, ma'am?"

"It hardly matters." The Queen said, turning back to Robert. "Shall we proceed?"

Everyone made to head inside, but I couldn't help but give Rose a small smile as she grumbled under her breath.

"So close."

"You'll get her next time, I'm sure." I said, ignoring the Doctor's glare trying to drill a hole through my head.

She returned my small smile and we watched as the soldiers were given their orders and pulled a small box out of the carriage and into the house; my eyes on the bald servants.

"So what's in there, then?" The Doctor asked.

"Property of the crown. You will dismiss any further thoughts, sir." The soldier on horseback said before giving out the rest of the orders and we headed inside.

The group of us were led up to a sort of observatory and I stared in amazement at the large telescope in the room.

"Wow…"

"This, I take it, is the famous Endeavor." The Queen said.

Sir Robert nodded. "All my father's work. Built by hand in his final years. Became something of an obsession. He spent his money on this rather than caring for the house or himself."

"I wish I'd met him. I like him. That thing's beautiful. Can I, um?" The Doctor waved a hand towards the telescope.

"Help yourself."

Rose, the Doctor and I wandered over, I myself placing a hand on the sleek metal.

"What did he model it on?" The Doctor asked, looking it over.

"I know nothing about it. To be honest, most of us thought him a little, shall we say, eccentric."

The Doctor chuckled moving over to look through it, though the man wasn't quite done.

"I wish now I'd spent more time with him and listened to his stories."

"It's a bit rubbish. How many prisms has it got? Way too many. The magnification's gone right over the top. That's stupid kind of—"He leaned over towards Rose. "—Am I bring rude again?"

"Yep."

"But it's pretty. It's very… pretty."

"It's amazing." I muttered, catching their attention. "The design is brilliant and the technology is _way _ahead ofit's time." I peered through the scope and stood back upright again. "He must have been a great man. Smart too."

"And the imagination of it should be applauded." Queen Victoria said, heading over as I nodded.

"And I _do_ applaud."

"Mm, thought you might disapprove, Your Majesty." Rose said. "Stargazing. Isn't that a bit fanciful? You could easily not be amused, or something, no?"

The Doctor shook his head with a smile as Queen Victoria gave them a look, obviously catching on to what Rose was trying to get her to say.

"This device surveys the infinite work of God. What could be finer? Sir Robert's father was an example to us all. A polymath, steeped in astronomy and sciences, yet equally well versed in folklore and fairytales."

"Stars _and_ magic, huh? I like him more and more." The Doctor said as he leaned up against the telescope for a second before wandering off.

"Oh, my late husband enjoyed his company. Prince Albert himself was acquainted with many rural superstitions, coming as he did from Saxe Coburg." The Queen told Rose who hummed, looking lost.

"That's Bavaria." The Doctor whispered to her, having come up from behind her.

"When Albert was told about your local wolf, he was transported." The Queen explained to Sir Robert as the Doctor frowned in curiosity.

"So, what's this wolf then?"

"It's just a story." Robert replied.

"Then tell it."

He seemed nervous or frightened, hesitating to tell it and when he did, he was cut off by his servant immediately.

"It's said that—"

"Excuse me, _sir_. Perhaps her Majesty's party could repair to their rooms. It's almost dark."

"Of course. Yes, of course." Robert replied, though it felt like the room grew a little more tense.

"And then supper. And could we find some clothes for Miss Tyler? I'm tired of nakedness."

"It's not amusing, is it?" Rose tried again, making the Queen turn and send her a look before turning back to Robert, as her and the Doctor shared a smirk.

"Sir Robert, your wife must have left some clothes. See to it. We shall dine at seven and talk some more of this _wolf_. After all, there is a full moon tonight."

"So there is, ma'am." He bowed and we all left the room.

Rose and I were sent to the same room after the Queen gave away the fact I was indeed a woman, but I didn't mind. I had a tough time explaining to her that I wouldn't wear any of the dresses offered though, but she eventually gave in, as my stubbornness started to show. Right now though, I was lying back on the comfy bed as Rose dug through the wardrobe for a nice dress, but I was still curious about something.

"So, Rose?"

"What's up?" She asked, holding a dark green dress in front of her as she looked in the mirror.

"Why's the Doctor keep glaring at me? Did my, uh, future self do something wrong?" I rolled over on my stomach, lying my head on my folded arms to look at her as she checked out another dress; this one a peach-ish hue.

"Well, you told me not to give you hints about the future you, but… Yeah. He's a bit upset about something you did, though I don't know what. He won't tell me."

"Well isn't that peachy." I grumbled, rolling back over with a frown. "I'm being blamed for something I haven't even done yet."

She chuckled, swinging around a deep blue dress with a grin on her face. "You've done the same to him at least one before, but I'm sure he'll get over it."

"He must." I mumbled. "His, uh, next regeneration is… friendly."

She gave me a smug grin. "_Just_ friendly?"

"Overly so, but…" I frowned over at her. "_Oh_, no. Don't you even think about it, Rose Tyler!" I scolded, sitting up and pointing at her. "There is _no_ way he'd ever like me that way!"

She continued to smile, setting the dress down on the bed. "Uh-huh, and what about you? No feelings for the guy?"

"I've been here _two days_, Rose. Not exactly time to earn feelings. Besides." I flopped back with a sigh, closing my eyes with my hands behind my head. "I've never had a boyfriend, so how would I even know?"

"Wha—"

"Ah!"

I jumped up into a sitting position at the yelp and spotted Rose standing in surprise before the second wardrobe where a maid cowered inside.

"Oh dear. I've just remembered something."

"W-What's that?" Rose asked, keeping her eyes on the maid.

"The monks."

* * *

Once the maid explained some more about the monks who attacked the household and where the servants were, Rose took her hand as I searched the room for a weapon of some sort. _Nope. Nope. Nu-uh. That won't work. Ah-ha!_ I smirked, pulling out a letter opener from a drawer and tucking it in my back pocket for later use, listening in to Rose and the maid's conversation.

"Listen. We've got a friend. He's called the Doctor. He'll know what to do. You've got to come with us."

"Oh, but I can't, miss."

"What's your name?" Rose asked.

"Flora."

"Flora, we'll be safe. There's more people arrived downstairs, soldiers and everything, and they can help us. I promise. Come on. Okay? Come on." Rose helped her up and she nodded towards the door, myself going first and checking the hallway.

"All clear."

We all headed out, Rose holding the maid's hand as we walked, but we quickly came upon an unconscious soldier.

"O-Oh, miss. I did warn you." The maid stuttered out.

"He's been drugged." I said, having knelt down and checked his pulse, before I heard a scream and turned back to see Flora being grabbed by a monk before another came out and reached for Rose. "Oh no you don't!"

I quickly pulled out the letter opener and, from my knelt down position, jabbed it into the monk's leg as the other dragged Flora away. He shouted in pain, dropping Rose as I quickly yanked the make-shift knife out and pulled her down the hall towards where the other monk took Flora.

"W-What's going on?!" Rose asked. "Who are they?!"

"Like I said! Monks!" I told her, her wrist in my hand as I rounded the corner only to get punched in the face. "Alex!"

I had fallen back at the hit, but quickly got back up despite my blurry vision.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." I said as a warning as the man grabbed Rose. "I just stabbed your friend in the leg for touching her."

He grew angry and shoved Rose back behind him to another monk before he took a martial arts stance. I rolled my eyes though, recognizing it right away from the martial arts movies I used to watch as a kid.

"Oh look, wudang. You've been watching too many '_Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon_' movies." I said, moving into a stance of my own. "Don't know if it'll work, but I know Aikido and Muay Tai Kickboxing."

I adjusted my grip on the letter opener so it was parallel to my forearm, taking a deep breath to steady myself despite my mind screaming for me to run. _I can't just leave her. The Doctor's already mad at me, but if I leave Rose, he'll be furious and… She's been so nice even though I don't know a thing about her. I can't just not try._ I let out the shaky breath I was holding, glancing at Rose as she struggled with the other monk who hadn't left yet, and then gave the monk ahead of me a small smirk.

"Let's dance."

* * *

The Doctor, the Queen, Robert, and the soldier (Reynolds) sat around a dining table waiting for Rose and Alex to show up, only for one of the butlers to walk in with a tray and a glass.

"Your companions beg an apology, Doctor. The one's clothing has somewhat delayed her and the other claims that she is not feeling well." He said, moving around to the other side of the table as the Doctor licked his finger off.

"Oh, that's alright. Save her a wee bit of ham and don't care much for the other." He said with a frown.

He'd been suspicious of Alex from the moment he first met her as the Ninth Doctor and when she started proving that she knew things before he did, that suspicion only grew. She helped at first and he was fine with that since Rose seemed to like her. But then Bad Wolf happened and she just _let it_. That's what had him so angry with her. She could've stopped it, saved Rose from having to go through that, but she just sat back and watched; and _that_ made his blood boil.

"The feral child could probably eat it raw." The Queen joked, earning some overzealous laughter from Reynolds and drawing the Doctor out of his thoughts.

"Very wise, ma'am. Very witty."

"Slightly witty, perhaps." She said, giving him a look. "I know you rarely get the chance to dine with me, Captain, but don't get too excited. I shall contain my wit, in case I do you further injury."

"Yes, ma'am. Sorry, ma'am."

"Besides, we're all waiting on Sir Robert. " The Doctor piped up, tossing his napkin down and trying to distract himself. "Come, sir. You promised us a tale of nightmares."

"Indeed. Since my husband's death, I find myself with more of a taste for supernatural fiction." The Queen agreed.

"You must miss him." The Doctor said, softly, knowing the feeling of loosing someone; or nearly, in Rose's case.

"Very much." She replied, voice breaking as she went on. "Oh, completely. And that's the charm of a ghost story, isn't it? Not the scares and chills, that's just for children, but the hope of some contact with the great beyond. We all want _some_ message from that place. It's the Creator's greatest mystery that we're allowed no such consolation… The dead stay silent, and we must wait…" She let out a breath, composing herself. "Come. Begin your tale, Sir Robert. There's a chill in the air. The wind is howling through the eaves. Tell us of monsters."

* * *

I groaned as my head pounded loudly in my ears, feeling the cool stone wall behind my back, and cringing as my ribs ached along with my arms.

"Alex? Alex! Are you alright?!"

"Not so loud." I slurred, wincing at Rose's voice and moving to rub my eyes; the clattering of the chains holding my arms up above my head stopping me and making me sigh. "We're in the basement, aren't we?"

"Well, why don't you open your eyes and find out, you ninny."

I did, slowly opening my eyes with a frown aimed her way. "I'm _not_ a ninny."

She winced. "Ooh, not with that face you're not. How's your head? You're bleeding a bit."

I managed to lower my hand enough to gingerly probe the—rather large—lump on my head and grimaced. "It's hurts. That's for sure."

Seeing the blood on my fingers, I sighed and glanced back at Rose.

"How bad is it?"

She gave me a nervous look. "You really want to know?"

I gave her a blank expression. "Oi, I just single-handedly fought two monks skilled in Chinese martial arts with a letter opener. I think I deserve to know how I did."

"Well, if you want the truth, you didn't do very well." She quickly shook her own chained hands as though not to offend me. "I mean, it looked pretty cool and all, but you still got your butt kicked."

"Did I at _least_ get a few hits in?" I asked, hand lazily gesturing to my head above me. "My head's a little muddled and I can't remember much of it."

She nodded with a grin. "Oh yeah. A few, actually. I couldn't of done that."

I smiled a bit back, wincing as my bruised jaw ached in the process. "As long as I did something. The Doctor would kill me if I didn't. That, or your mother."

Rose chuckled. "_Oh_ yeah."

We laughed a bit, but a women chained up over by Rose shushed us.

"Don't make a sound. They said if we scream or shout, then he will slaughter us."

Rose sent the young man in the cage a glance as I did the same, silently wondering why I wasn't chained up to the others and was on my own. _Probably because they didn't want them 'conspiring with the enemy', so to speak. Either that, or they just wanted me closer to the wolf so he'd eat me first._ I winced at that thought. _Yeah, best not think about it now._

"But he's in a cage. He's a prisoner. He's the same as us." Rose countered the woman.

"He's _nothing_ like us." She said, shaking her head. "That creature is not mortal."

The man opened his eyes to reveal pitch black irises, the people around us cowering and looking away, but I just stared back. Afraid, sure, but also a bit curious. I mean, it's not everyday I get to see an actual werewolf.

* * *

"The story goes back three hundred years. Every full moon, the howling rings through the valley. The next morning, livestock is found ripped apart and de… devoured." Robert said, the Doctor watching him closely.

"Tales like this just disguise the work of thieves. Steal a sheep and blame a wolf, simple as that." Reynolds said, trying to look tough for the Queen.

"But sometimes a child goes missing. Once in a generation, a boy will vanish from his homestead."

* * *

Rose stood up, the woman warning her.

"Don't, child."

I didn't stand, not knowing how my body would handle that at the moment, but still checked out the young man with Rose, who was now practically at my side.

"Who are you?" Rose asked, sounding nervous and frightened.

"Don't enrage him." A man from behind us said as Rose knelt down to the wolf-man's eye level.

"Where are you from? You're not from Earth. What planet are you from?"

"Oh, intelligence." The young man said slowly as Rose spoke up again.

"Where were you born?"

"This body? Ten miles away. A weakling, heartsick boy, stolen away at night by the brethren for my cultivation." His voice grew deeper, more menacing. "I carved out his soul and sat in his heart."

* * *

"Are there descriptions of this creature?" The Doctor questioned, growing more and more curious, wondering where Rose was and why she was missing out on this.

"Oh, yes, Doctor. Drawings and woodcarvings. And it's not merely a wolf. It's more than that. This is a man who _becomes_ an animal."  
"A werewolf?" The Doctor leaned forward, excitedly.

* * *

"Alright. So the body's human… But what about you? The thing inside?"

"So far from home." He whined.

"If you want to get back home, we can help."

"Why would I leave this place? A world of industry, of workforce and warfare. I could turn it to such purpose." He said.

"How would you do that?"

"I would migrate to the Holy Monarch."

"You mean Queen Victoria?"

_Great. Just what England needs. An alien queen. _I thought with a roll of my eyes, though my mind seemed to actually consider the notion. _I wonder what that would be like?_

"With one bite, I would pass into her blood and then it begins. The Empire of the Wolf. Many questions." He suddenly lunged forward, making me flinch and cringe as pain flared up my side; everyone else scooting back in fear. "Look. Inside your eyes. You've seen it too!"

"Seen what?"

"The Wolf. There is something of the Wolf about you."

"I don't know what you mean." Rose said, and I stayed quiet about the Bad Wolf, knowing that any memory of it was wiped from Rose's mind.

"You burnt like the sun, but all I require is the moon."

"Creepy." I muttered, trying to keep from shaking in fear myself.

* * *

"My father didn't treat it as a story. He said it was fact. He even claimed to have communed with the beast, to have learned its purpose. I should have listened. His work was hindered. He made enemies. There's a monastery in the Glen of Saint Catherine. The Brethren opposed my father's investigations." Robert said, looking over his shoulder slightly at the monk who wandered over to the window and began muttering under his breath.

"Perhaps they thought his work ungodly."

"That's what _I_ thought. But now I wonder." Robert looked over at the man again, the Doctor following his gaze. "What if they had a different reason for wanting the story kept quiet? What if they turned from God and worshiped the wolf?"

The Doctor understood then and sat up, eyes sharp. "And what if they were with us right now?"

* * *

The doors to the basement were opened, allowing moonlight in and I groaned, forcing myself to stand despite the pain and gestured to Rose.

"Rose, get back."

"Why?" She asked, though doing as I said.

"Because…" I turned to her seriously. "He's a werewolf."

Her eyes widened as the young man in the cage leaned towards the moonlight happily.

"Moonlight." He hummed as I gathered up the small amount of chains binding me to the wall and started yanking on it.

"Rose! The nails on the brackets won't hold, so get everyone tugging on your chains!"

The man removed his cloak as the wind picked up and she quickly realized the severity of the situation.

"All of you! Stop lookin' at it! Flora, don't look." Rose said, speaking to the maid I had first seen her with, as she stood. "Listen to me. Grab hold of the chain and pull!"

Some of them began pulling, but not everyone. They were too fixated on the transforming man behind us, so Rose got their attention.

"I said pull! Stop your whining and listen to me! All of you! And that means you, your Ladyship. Now, come on. Pull!"

* * *

Everyone had stood at that point and Reynolds had his gun out as they shouted over one another.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

"Explain yourself, Sir Robert!"

"What's happening?"

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. They've got my wife."

"Rose! Where's Rose?! Where is she?!"

The Doctor quickly guessed where she was and ran out of the room, leaving Reynolds with his gun trained on the monk at the window. "Sir Robert, come on!"

"Tell me, sir!" Reynolds ordered. "I demand to know your intention!"

The monk continued his chanting.

"What is it that you want?!"

He suddenly stopped, turning around. "The throne."

He then disarmed Reynolds and threw him to the ground. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Robert ran down a corridor in the hopes of making it to Rose and the others in time. Alex practically forgotten if it weren't for the Doctor's anger. _This is _her_ fault!_

* * *

"One, two, three, pull!" Rose chanted, before she fell back, the chain having come off the wall.

"Mind helping me now?!" I asked, begging practically as sweat dripped down the side of my head.

My vision was getting even more blurry with the pain from my head and side, and I was already struggling to even hang onto the chains at this point. Thankfully, Rose hurried over to help me, only glancing briefly at the wolf now sitting in the cage and getting a few of the others to help as well. It was just then that the Doctor and Robert burst through the door.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Rose shouted at him as the chain finally broke away from the wall and I very nearly collapsed right then and there. "Come on, Alex! Get up! We can't stay here!"

I nodded, getting her help to get back up on my feet as Robert went to grab his wife. The Doctor though, was more focused on the werewolf in the cage trying to break free.

"Oh, that's beautiful."

"Only until it rips your head off!" I told him as it started to break free of the cage.

"Out, out, out, out, out!" He called out then, helping a little in getting the servants out.

We both sort of paused though, admiring the wolf, because… well, it _was_ a werewolf and an amazing sight to see, but we soon rushed out as it threw the roof off the cage, the Doctor locking the door behind him with his sonic screwdriver. We hurried down the hall then and the steward began handing out guns before ordering Isobel to get the women out of here. The Doctor set about removing the shackles from the servants and Rose, though I seemed to have been forgotten by him again.

"It could be any form of light modulated species triggered by specific wavelengths. Did it say what it wanted?" The Doctor rambled quickly.

"The Queen, the Crown, the throne. You name it." Rose responded.

A loud crash echoed from down the hall and the Doctor quickly ran off to go check it out leaving me to toss my hands up in exasperation and lean up against the table next to Rose; the one person who was nice to me anymore.

"Oh yeah! Love the chains!" I called out sarcastically, before Rose left me too to go watch the Doctor.

I felt rather left out and between that and my head pounding angrily at all the noise, I suddenly just wanted to go home. _Or take a nap. That'd be nice._ I didn't have long to worry about that though, before I was shoved back against the wall by the Doctor as he rushed back into the room with Rose and the line-up of men in front of us set off their rifles at the werewolf the moment it rounded the corner. It retreated and the men smiled smugly, the Doctor shouting orders.

"Alright, you men. We should retreat upstairs. Come with me."

"I'll not retreat." The steward said, turning around angrily. "The battle's done. There's no creature on God's Earth that could survive such an assault."

"That's because he's not from Earth." I grumbled under my breath as I pinched the bridge of my nose against the headache; unheard as I tried to remember what else happened in this episode that I might be able to prevent.

"I'm telling you, come upstairs!" The Doctor shouted as the man made his way back into the corridor.

"And I'm telling _you_, sir, I will sleep well tonight with that thing's hide upon my wall." He walked down a bit further, before coming back with a grin. "He must have crawled away to die."

Just as he said that though, he was hoisted upwards by the wolf, making me cringe as I started to remember the people who all died in this episode.

"There's nothing we can do!" The Doctor said, pushing Rose up the stairs as I struggled to catch my breath, the man's screams echoing in my head.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." I muttered quietly, leaving the room as the other men attempted to kill the werewolf to no avail.

I felt sick at knowing that I hadn't remembered this. That I hadn't remembered that man dying and that I couldn't save him, now that I did. I remembered the few others who died in this episode too, but I was panicking and having a hard time trying to figure out what it was I could do in order to save them. To save Reynolds and Sir Robert. Heck, there was no guarantee that if I did, someone else wouldn't be killed in the process. If Sir Robert didn't fight the werewolf outside the door to the observatory, who's to say it didn't break the door down sooner and kill the Queen? The same held true for Reynolds.

"Your Majesty? Your Majesty!" Sir Robert called out, snapping me from my trance for the moment as the Queen rushed down the stairs.

"Sir Robert? What's happening? I heard such terrible noises."

"Your Majesty, we've got to get out. But what of Father Angelo? Is he still here?"

"Captain Reynolds disposed of him." She said, though I already knew it was more likely _she_ who killed him.

"The front door's no good. It's been boarded shut. Pardon me, your Majesty. You'll have to leg it out of a window." The Doctor said after checking it, completely ignoring me as he held out a hand to allow the Queen into the drawing room first where Sir Roberts spoke first.

"Excuse my manners, ma'am, but I shall go first, the better to assist Her Majesty's egress."

"A noble sentiment, my Sir Walter Raleigh."

"Yeah, any chance you could hurry up?" The Doctor questioned, now not being the time to discuss things.

Gunshots went off then, Robert ducking away as the Doctor rushed forward to spot the three monks outside the window with rifles.

"I reckon the monkey boys want us to stay inside." The Doctor muttered.

"Do they know who I am?" The Queen frowned.

"Yeah, that's why they want you." Rose said, looking a bit worried. "The wolf's lined you up for a… a biting."

"Stop this talk. There can't be an actual wolf." She replied in disbelief.

A loud howl echoed around the building, causing us all to launch to our feet and hurry back out into the corridor to where the wolf was starting to break the door down.

"What do we do?" Rose questioned.

"We run."

"Are you… _serious_?" I breathed out, leaning heavily against the wall and holding my side, with grit teeth.

The Doctor rounded on me with a harsh glare, practically snarling. "_Shut up_. This is all your fault."

"How is this _my_ fault?!" I growled back, extremely frustrated with his attitude towards me at this point, but Rose interrupted us once more.

"Doctor!"

He turned away from me and to the Queen, jogging in place for a moment. "Your Majesty, as a Doctor, I recommend a vigorous jog. Good for the health. Come on!"

He took her hand and started leading us up the staircase as we heard the door break down and the wolf coming up after us. We continued running down a corridor, hearing the wolf right behind us—which was bad news for me, being in the back – and just when I thought I wouldn't make it, I was hit across the shoulder and knocked down, just as a gunshot went off and the wolf ran back down the hall.

"Alex! Are you alright?!" Rose asked, hurrying over and helping me to my feet, pulling me around the bend with her and the others as I let out a hiss of pain, a new wound bleeding onto my shirt.

"I'd be better if I wasn't stuck in the back of the line." I complained, Rose checking the wound on my upper arm.

"Ah, you're bleeding." She looked around in a panic, before I let out a sigh.

"Rose, tear the bottom of my shirt."

"What?" She looked at me confused.

"Just do it. Tear it into a strip. Make-shift bandage."

"Ah! Right!" She did that and started dressing my wound, as Reynolds cleared his throat to get our attention.

"I'll take this position and hold it. You keep moving, for God's sake!" He said loudly, turning towards the Queen. "Your Majesty, I went to look for the property and it was taken. The chest was empty."

"I have it. It's safe." She replied.

"Then remove yourself, ma'am. Doctor, you stand as her Majesty's Protector. And you, Sir Robert… you're a traitor to the crown."

"Bullets can't stop it!" I shouted, in the hopes that perhaps I could at least help him somehow, though I silently knew it would be a lost cause.

"Then I'll buy you time. Now run!"

Rose and I hesitated, but we followed after the others, only to pause in the doorway to a study of some sort. Reynolds stood at the end of the corridor and fired off a few shots before he was attacked by the wolf. I struggled to look away and shoved Rose towards the Doctor inside the room, walking in after her as Robert shut the doors.

"Barricade the door."

Rose grabbed a chair and put it in front of the door as the rest of us began stacking other objects in front of it as well; I, myself, ignoring my wound for now, despite the blood soaking my new bandage. Once we finished, the Doctor hushed us, the wolf howling but not attacking.

"It stopped." The Doctor said, climbing on top of the objects in front of the door to listen to the other side. "…It's gone."

Rose still looked worried and I could understand why. "Listen."

The wolf seemed to be walking around the room.

"Is this the only door?" I asked, voice quiet.

"Yes." Robert said, before seeming to realize something. "No!"

Him, the Doctor, and I ran towards the other door and barricaded that one as well, before Rose shushed us again and we listened.

"I don't understand. What's stopping it?" She questioned as it ran off and I sank to the floor with a cringe debating on whether or not to just tell them.

"Something inside this room. What is it? Why can't it get in?" The Doctor questioned.

"I'll tell you what though." Rose said.

"What?"

"Werewolf?" She said with a smirk, making the Doctor grin excitedly.

"I know!"

I rolled my eyes as they hugged and the Doctor held her at arms length.

"You alright?"

"I'm okay, yeah." She turned to me then. "God, but Alex isn't."

"Yeah, no, don't mind me." I said, waving my chained hands about with a cringe. "Go enjoy yourselves talking about your pretty little beastie while I sit here still chained up."

"_Oh_ no." The Doctor said, quickly stomping over towards me and lifting me off the ground by my torn shirt, pushing me up against the wall harshly in his anger. "You talk about this _now! Right now!_"

"Ah!" I yelped, clenching my eyes shut as pain racked my form, Rose trying to pull him off me.

"Doctor! You're hurting her!"

He turned to her with a glare as well. "She knows things, Rose! She knew about this the whole time! She didn't save you before and now she's doing it again!"

"Save me from what?" Rose questioned, but the Doctor turned his attention back to me, pushing me harder against the wall as I grunted.

"Tell me what you know, _now_." He growled. "Because if you don't, I might just leave you to the wolf."

"Doctor!" Rose shouted in outrage as I glared at the man in front of me.

"And what do you want me to tell you, huh?" I growled at him. "There's nothing I can tell you that hasn't already happened. You can't just change the future! Time doesn't work like that!"

"Time can be rewritten!" He shouted back. "Now tell me! Tell me how to beat it!"

"And then what?!" I cried in return, feeling that horrible guilt building up in me and tears threatening to fall. "You try to save someone and _you_ die?! What then?! Everyone will get eaten!"

"No one will get eaten if you would just tell—"

"I can't!" I shouted, finally loosing it as tears slid down my face and he let me go; my body sliding back down to the floor as I shook my head and cried. "Y-You think I like this? You think I-I _enjoy_ knowing who's going to die?" I looked up at him, desperately trying to get him to understand where I was coming from. "You're not the only one having to make hard decisions, Doctor! You're not the only person who's stuck living alone and watching everyone around them die, unable to do anything about it! So stop reminding me of it! Stop reminding me t-that this isn't a dream! J-Just…" I lowered my head into my hands, shoulders shaking in fear and guilt and sorrow. "Just _stop_."

* * *

"Oh, Alex." Rose muttered, coming over and hugging Alex as she sobbed, having finally lost to the pile of emotions that had been building up inside her for the past few days.

Rose turned her head to glare harshly at the Doctor, who—up until now—had been staring at Alex in shock at what she'd said, a slight guilty feeling settling itself in his gut.

"How could you?" She growled at him. "She's only been trying to help!"

The Doctor snapped out of it then, frowning at her for trying to defend the other woman. "What? She got Reynolds killed! She nearly got _you_ killed!"

"She tried to _save_ me! You're blaming her for something she hasn't even done yet, without hearing her side of the story! Without even looking at what she's trying to do _now_! She _got_ these injuring trying to protect me!"

"What?" Now he was really lost, looking over Alex and finally seeing the dried blood on the side of her head and the bruises on her jaw and peaking out from under her torn shirt.

Rose was right. He'd been so angry about what another version of Alex had done, that he hadn't even stopped to notice that this was an earlier, _younger_ Alex. One who was only trying to help and was obviously very new to his world. The world of aliens and danger. The guilty feeling in his stomach grew, putting a bad taste in his mouth, but he was stubborn and refused to let it completely sway his judgment; though he did speak a bit softer this time.

"Alex. Tell me what you know."

"I-I can't." She stuttered out. "There's nothing you can do."

The Doctor grit his teeth in frustration, but before he could possibly snap at her again, Rose stepped in, brushing Alex's hair back and speaking gently.

"Alex, please. There has to be _something_ you can tell us."

It took a moment, but she nodded, lifting her head and wiping her eyes with a grimace, as though she was disgusted that she'd been crying.

"I-It's um, mistletoe. That's what's keeping the wolf out. It's how the monks control it."

"Of course!" The Doctor said, smacking himself in the face with his hand. "It's bursting with lectins and viscotoxins."

"I'm sorry, ma'am." Sir Robert suddenly apologized to the Queen. "It's all my fault… I should have sent you away. I tried to suggest something was wrong. I thought you might notice. Did you think there was nothing strange about my household staff?"

The Doctor turned to him with a shrug. "Well, they were bald, athletic. Your wife's away, I just thought you were happy."

Rose stood up then, now that Alex had calmed down and put in her own bit, hoping to lighten up the atmosphere.

"I'll tell you what though, ma'am. I bet you're not amused now."

"Do you think this is funny?" The Queen snapped.

"No, ma'am. I-I'm sorry." Rose apologized, realizing now that what she'd said was probably not the best thing.

"What, exactly, I pray tell me, someone, please. What exactly is that creature?"

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck in nervousness as he responded. "You'd call it a werewolf, but technically it's more of a lupine wavelength haemovariform."

"I should I trust _you_, sir? You who change your voice so easily? What happened to your accent?"

"Oh right, sorry, that—"

"I'll not have it." She interrupted. "No, sir. Not you, not that _thing_, none of it. This is _not_ my world."

Everyone grew quiet after that, not wanting to argue further with the Queen, and the Doctor set about checking out the carving on the door while the rest of them sat around; though he did unlock Alex's chains after Rose pestered him.

"Mistletoe…" He muttered, turning to Robert. "Sir Robert, did your father put that there?"

"I don't know. I suppose." The man said, holding his hands up in a shrug as the Doctor looked over at the other door.

"On the other door, too. Alex, a carving wouldn't work on it's own. What else is there?"

Alex wearily looked up from the floor where she'd been staring dazedly for a while. "Oh, um, the oil, I think."

The Doctor frowned, before turning back to the door and _licking_ it. "Viscum album, the oil of the mistletoe. It's been worked into the wood like a varnish. How clever was your dad?! I _love_ him!" He grinned.

"Nevertheless, that creature won't give up, Doctor, and we still don't possess an actual weapon." Sir Robert said, having lost nearly all hope in getting out of this.

"Oh, your father got all the brains, didn't he?"

"Being rude again." Rose scolded the Doctor as he wandered over to the bookshelf.

"Good. I meant that one. You want weapons? We're in a library. Books! Best weapons in the world." He put on a set of glasses. "This room's the greatest arsenal we could have." Grabbing a set of books, he tossed them to Rose. "Arm yourself."

Alex grunted, starting to get up to help as well, but the Doctor sent her a pointed look.

"No. You stay there, Alex."

"But I—" She started off, but his glare stopped her, before he realized what he was doing and lightened up, turning away.

"You're hurt. You need to rest. Can't have you slowing us down when we need to get out of here."

"Oh… Sorry." She muttered, sitting back down dejectedly and Rose smacked the man on the arm with a small glare herself.

"Oi, behave."

He rolled his eyes and went back to searching, the group speaking over one another as they searched for a book that could help, until the Doctor found one that may have just what they were looking for.

"Ooh." He hopped down from his place on a step ladder and walked over to the desk, placing the book down. "Look what your old dad found. Something fell to Earth."

"A spaceship?" Rose asked.

"A shooting star. 'In the year of our Lord 1540, under the reign of King James the Fifth, an almighty fire did burn in the pit'." Robert read. "That's the Glen of Saint Catherine just by the monastery."

"But that's over three hundred years ago. What's it been waiting for?"

"Maybe just a single cell survived. Adapting slowly down the generations, it survived _through_ the humans, host after host after host." The Doctor explained to Rose and the rest of them.

"But why does it want the throne?"

"That's what it wants. It said so. The… The Empire of the Wolf."

"Imagine it. The Victorian Age accelerated. Starships and missiles fueled by coal and driven by steam… leaving history devastated in its wake." The Doctor said hauntingly.

"Sir Robert." The Queen suddenly spoke up, standing from her place. "If I am to die here—"

"Don't say that, Your Majesty." He cut her off.

"I would destroy myself rather than let that _creature_ infect me." She insisted. "But that's no matter. I ask only that you find some place of safekeeping for something far… older and more precious than myself."

"Hardly the time to worry about your valuables." The Doctor quipped, but Alex called out.

"No. Listen to her. I-I can't remember, but it's important."

The Doctor eyed her in suspicion, but upon seeing her scrunching her face up in pain as she rubbed her face with her hand, he figured that whatever blow she'd taken to her head must have been a bad one if she was having trouble remembering things. So he stayed silent and listened to the Queen.

"Thank you for your opinion, but there is _nothing_ more valuable than this." The Queen reached into her purse and pulled out a large diamond, about the size of her palm.

"Is that the Koh-I-Noor?" Rose questioned in shock.

"Oh, yes. The greatest diamond in the world."

"Given to me as the spoils of war." The Queen explained as they came closer. "Perhaps its legend is now coming true. It is said that whoever owns it must surely die."

"Well, that's true of anything if you own it long enough. Can I?"

The Doctor reached out and the Queen handed it over, allowing him to observe it.

"That is so beautiful."

"How much is that worth?"

"They say the wages of the entire planet for a whole week." He told Rose.

"Good job my mum's not here. She'd be fighting the wolf off with her bare hands for that thing."

"And she'd win."

The two of them chuckled, and even Alex smiled a bit, though no one else was in such a good mood.

"Where is the wolf? I don't trust this silence." Robert muttered, walking away to check the room no doubt, though the Doctor was curious about other things.

"Why do you travel with it?" He asked the Queen.

"My annual pilgrimage. I'm taking it to Helier and Carew, the Royal Jewelers at Hazelhead. The stone needs re-cutting."

"Oh, but it's perfect." Rose said.

"My late husband never thought so."

He turned to Rose then, trying to impress her with a bit of trivia. "Now, there's a fact. Prince Albert kept on having the Koh-I-Noor cut down. It used to be forty percent bigger than this. But he was never happy. Kept on cutting and cutting." Explained the Doctor as they all looked over the diamond some more.

"He always said… the _shine_ was not quite right. But he died with it still unfinished."

"Unfinished…" The Doctor realized something then, and he tossed the diamond back to the Queen, who caught it; shocked. "Oh, _yes_. There's a lot of unfinished business in this house. His father's research, and your husband, ma'am, he came here and he sought the perfect diamond. Hold on, hold on. All these separate things, they're not separate at all, they're connected! Oh, my head, my head! What if this house, it's a trap for you. Is that right, ma'am?" He spouted quickly after messing up his hair and pacing a bit.

"Obviously."

"At least, that's what the wolf intended. _But_, what if there's a trap inside the trap?"

"Explain yourself, Doctor."

"What if, his father and your husband weren't just telling each other stories. They dared to imagine all this was true, and they planned against it, laying the real trap not for you but for the wolf."

Alex got up with a quiet yelp, bringing the Doctor's attention towards her.

"Oi, what did I say?"

She rolled her eyes, pushing herself off the walk and walking towards him with a frown. "I _would_, Doctor, but you see. I remembered something else."

"Oh, and what's that?" He scoffed, not pleased with her ignoring him and then not telling him something else.

"There's no mistletoe on the ceiling." She said, pointing up as dust flitted down from said ceiling, everyone looking up to see the wolf standing on the glass dome above as it cracked.

"That wolf there…" The Doctor breathed out, before everyone ran to the barricaded doors. "Out! Out! Out! Out! Out!"

The Doctor quickly threw aside the things in front of the door as the wolf fell down and landed on the desk in the middle of the room; the rest of the group hurrying out before him as he shut the door.

"Get to the observatory!" He shouted from behind them, before pulling ahead.

Rose was in the back this time and the wolf right behind her, so when she paused and started to scream, the wolf mere inches from her, Alex doubled back and grabbed her just as water was thrown on the wolf, stopping it for some reason.

"Good shot!" The Doctor complimented as Alex tried to calm her breathing down; shaking hands still on Roses upper arms as she steadied herself.

"Thanks, Alex." Rose said, and she nodded.

She let her go as the trio hurried to the end of the hall to check for the wolf; Robert and his wife having their moment before they hurried back and rounded the corner once the maids had returned downstairs.

"Come on!" The Doctor said, Robert gesturing ahead.

"The observatory's this way."

Once in said room, the Doctor quickly speaking to him.

"No mistletoe in these doors because your father wanted the wolf to get inside. I just need time. Is there any way of barricading this?"

"Just do your work and I'll defend it." Robert said, still standing outside the doors.

The Doctor didn't get what he was implying. "If we could bind them shut with rope or something."

"I _said_ I'd find you time, sir. Now get inside." He repeated, the Doctor growing serious before finally speaking.

"Good man."

He closed the door, leaving Rose to stare at it in shock, before going over to Alex.

"Will he be alright?"

She looked up at him in fear and he clenched his jaw.

"_Will he be alright_?"

She hesitated before looking down and shaking her head. "N-No. No, he won't."

He turned away from her with a shout, kicking a nearby chair in frustration and making her jump, before he turned to the Queen, working quickly. "Your Majesty, the diamond."

"For what purpose?" She questioned.

"The purpose it was designed for."

The door clicked as Robert locked it from the outside and the Queen handed the Doctor the diamond before he called to Rose. She hurried over and they grabbed the rungs of a large wheel.

"Lift it. Come on."

Alex hurried over as well, ignoring the glare the Doctor sent her way as she worked past the pain and strained herself to turn the wheel with them; her wound reopening in the process.

"Is this the right time for stargazing?" Rose grunted.

"Yes it is."

They heard Robert screaming outside and Alex let out a soft whimper as tears threatened to trail down her cheeks once more and she muttered quietly under her breath

"I-I'm sorry. I'm _so_ sorry."

His guilt couldn't get any worse, but the Doctor shifted his gaze away from her anyway and looked over at Rose as she continued.

"You said this thing doesn't work."

"I-It's not a telescope." Alex grunted, causing the Doctor to nod.

"It doesn't work as a telescope because that's not what it is. It's a light chamber. It magnifies the light rays like a weapon. We've just got to power it up."

"It won't work. There's no electricity!"

The Doctor gave her a look, trying to get her to catch on, and thankfully she did. "Moonlight. But the wolf _needs_ moonlight. It's _made_ by moonlight."

"You're seventy percent water but you can still drown. Come on!"

The wheel was nearly in the right position, but Alex was starting to feel woozy, her hands starting to slip from the rungs and her eyes blinking to try and clear the fog from her vision.

"Come on!" The Doctor pushed and she gave one last heave before the wheel was in the right position; the werewolf breaking down the door and standing tall before the frightened Queen, the light not quite hitting the beast. Thankfully, the Doctor was quick on his feet and hurried over, sliding the diamond along the floor into the moon light, reflecting it onto the wolf. The breast roared and floated in the air, returning to the young man it was before, crucified by the moonlight.

"Make it brighter. Let me go." He begged, and the Doctor did just that, until the man disappeared; transforming back into the wolf and leaving with a howl.

The Queen though, seemed distracted by something on her wrist, making the Doctor a little concerned.

"Your Majesty? Did it bite you?"

"No, it's… it's a cut, that's all."

"If that thing bit you—"

"It was a splinter of wood when the door came apart. It's nothing."

"Let me see." The Doctor asked, reaching for her wrist, but she quickly hid it.

"It is nothing."

No one said anything more about the subject and as the dawn arose, everyone began making their preparations to leave; the Doctor having looked at Alex's wounds after Rose's pestering and cleaning them up a bit better. They couldn't leave just yet though and were currently down on one knee before Her Majesty as she spoke.

"By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Sir Doctor of Tardis." She tapped the Doctors shoulders with a sword, moving down to Rose. "By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Dame Rose of the Powell Estate." She did the same to her, before going to Alex. "By the power invested in my by the Church and the State, I dub thee Dame Alex of Tardis." She said, tapping her shoulders as well. "You may stand."

"Many thanks, ma'am."

"Thanks. They're never going to believe this back home."

"I… appreciate your kindness." Alex formally replied after the Doctor and Rose.

"Your Majesty, you said last night about receiving no message from the great beyond… I think your husband cut that diamond to save your life. He's protecting you even now, ma'am, from beyond the grave." The Doctor said softly.

"Indeed. Then you may think on this, also. That I am _not_ amused."

"Yes!" Rose quietly cheered, having finally got her wishes, though the Queen wasn't yet finished.

"Not _remotely_ amused. And henceforth… I banish you."

It took them all a moment to comprehend that, the Doctor catching on the quickest as Alex sighed.

"I'm sorry?"

"I rewarded you, Sir Doctor, and now you are _exiled_ from this empire, never to return." She took a step forward, not happy in the slightest. "I don't know what you are, the three of you, or where you're from, but I know that you consort with stars and magic and think it fun. But your world is steeped in terror and blasphemy and death, and I will _not_ allow it. You will leave this shores and you will reflect, I hope, on how you came to stray so far from all that is good, and how much longer you will survive this _terrible_ life. Alex is the only one of you who may understand this, though I doubt she will leave because of me, thanks to her stubbornness. I hope she teaches you something, Doctor." She snapped before stepping back; all of them having gone silent at her scolding. "Now leave my world, and _never_ return."

The three of them headed out after that, managing to hitch a ride from a man riding by with a small cart of hay.

"Whoa!"

"Cheers, Dougal!" The Doctor called out, having quickly gotten over being scolded earlier; Dougal driving off.

"No, but the funny thing is, Queen Victoria _did_ actually suffer a mutation of the blood. It's historical record." He explained to Rose. "She was hemophiliac. They used to call it the Royal Disease. But it's always been a mystery because she didn't inherit it. Her mum didn't have it, her dad didn't have it. It came from nowhere."

"What, and you're saying that's a wolf bite?" Rose questioned, making him take in a breath through his teeth.

"Well, maybe hemophilia is just a Victorian euphemism."

"For werewolf?"

"Could be."

"Queen Victoria's a werewolf?"

"Could be. _And_ her children had the Royal Disease. Maybe she gave them a quick nip."

"So, the Royal Family are werewolves?"

"Well, maybe not _yet_. I mean, a single wolf cell could take… a hundred years to mature. Might be ready by, oh… early 21st century?"

"Nah, that's just ridiculous! Mind you, Princess Anne."

"I'll say no more."

"And if you think about it, they're very private. They plan everything in advance. They could schedule themselves around the moon! We'd never know! And they like hunting! They _love_ blood sports." Rose ranted on as they entered the Tardis. "Oh my God, they're werewolves!"

"I feel a bit left out on this." Alex muttered quietly, knowing about the hemophilia but nothing about the rest of what they were talking about; having been American in her old world.

Plus, she'd been ignored by the Doctor the moment they left the Torchwood estate. Forcing her to have been left out of their conversations anyway. Now though, he glanced at her and nodded towards the hall.

"Come on. Let's get you fixed up properly. Rose will have my head if I don't."

"Right here!" Said woman scolded, smacking his arm with a grin.

Alex nodded and followed him into the medic bay, allowing him to smear some goop on her arm wound and bruises, before bandaging her up; Rose having headed to the kitchen to make tea.

"I'm sorry." Alex muttered, catching the Doctor's attention as he performed a few final scans.

"What's that?"

"I'm sorry for… for Reynolds and Robert and the steward. I… should've told you and maybe then, they'd be…" She trialed off, fingers tapping away on her legs in her nervousness.

The Doctor sighed, having thought it over as they had been preparing to leave about what the young woman before him had said back in the study.

"It's as you said. There was nothing we could've done." He admitted and she looked over at him in slight shock.

"B-But… With Rose, I could've… I mean, there must have been something I could've done! Something the future me didn't think of!"

He stiffened, remembering the moment with Bad Wolf when the future Alex just stood there knowingly and watched Rose get in the Tardis, but he hadn't been looking at her properly then either and—as he thought back to it—he thought there may have been tears in her eyes then too. _She's been suffering, having to make these choices, and I didn't even think to look. Even now…_ He looked over at her as she rambled on about things she could've done, her voice tight with worry. _God, what have I been doing?_

"No."

Alex stopped talking, worry seeping in as the Doctor stared her down.

"I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you, especially over something you haven't even done yet." He shook his head, standing and pushing the screen overhead away; scans finished. "I should've considered your position in all of this and didn't. It's not your fault and…" He pulled a hand through his hair with a frown. "I'm sorry for how I treated you."

He turned back to look after a moment of silence and his eyes widened as Alex sat there with tears streaming down her cheeks and a smile on her face; her body glowing a gold light. He watched as she disappeared from off the med-table and shook his head with a small smile when he thought about the words she'd mouthed to him before she disappeared.

"_Thank you."_

Rose wandered in then with a tray of tea smiling, until she saw the empty bed.

"I just finished the tea!" She then rounded on the Doctor. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" He said honestly, tossing up his hands in surrender. "Really!"

She narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion and set the tray down, sternly poking a finger into his chest. "You better not have, mister. If I hear anything later about you being mean to her, you better expect a good beating. I'm not about to let you bully her after all she's done for us."

He smiled down at her in amusement and acceptance. "Alright, alright. I'll play nice, the next time I see her, yeah? Now come on. What do you say we go visit a planet famous for it's purple lakes? Eh?"

She eyed him still, but finally smiled. "Yeah, alright. But you better keep to that promise!" She said as they walked out of the medical bay.

He chuckled. "Of course."


	3. Planet of the Ood

**Here's another chapter ^^ let me know if you guys/girls like it with a review, please! and i'm open to friendly advice as well! don't hesitate to leave me a message if there's anything you wish to know. and check out some of my other fanfics too, if you want :)**

* * *

When I landed this time, I was grateful to find myself in the Tardis, but not so grateful to find the same Doctor I'd just left, poking his head around the console to spot me.

"Alex!" He shouted with a grin, though I quickly panicked, remembering how angry the other man was with me and immediately thinking that this one would hate me too.

Because even if he did say sorry before I left, I knew he hadn't forgiven me for what the future me did and what I had just done—or not done—while at the Torchwood estate.

"I-I'm sorry!" I called out, forcing myself to stand and using the railing behind me to hold myself up and make my way towards the Tardis doors. "I didn't mean for w-whatever it is I've done or am going to do or whatever! So I'll just go! Really!"

He tilted his head, confused and headed around the console, coming towards me and making me quickly glance at the doors to guess how long it'd take for me to reach them before the Tenth Doctor reached me.

"What are you talking about Alex?"

He got a good look at me and his eyes suddenly flashed in anger, causing me to make a run for the doors in fear that he was going to attack me like before. I'm not usually afraid of much of anything, or if I am, I hide it well. But if _you_ had the Oncoming Storm suddenly dashing your way, I'm sure you'd run too. I couldn't even reach the door handle before he grabbed my wrist and spun me around; my lower back pressed up against the railing behind me; leaving me with nowhere to go.

"Who did this to you?" He growled, making me cringe and quickly try to find a way out of my predicament. "_Tell me_, Alex."

Those familiar words had me panicking even more and, being completely trapped, I did what any sane person would when cornered. I punched him in the face.

"_Ow_!"

Immediately, I looked down at my fist and then over at the Doctor on the floor holding a hand to his face with wide eyes, coming to the realization of what I'd done and made another bolt for the door.

"Alex, wait!"

I yanked on the handle and just before I fell out into the Time Vortex, I was grabbed around the waist and pulled back into the Tardis; falling back on the floor and breathing hard at my scare before stiffening as the Doctor let out a sigh of relief.

"Geeze, can you at least let me figure out what's going on, before you go and try hurtling yourself into the Time Vortex? _Man_, you have a hell of a right hook."

My mind struggled to catch up with what was happening, my eyes staring at his arm around my waist in fear and confusion. _Why did he save me? No, of course he would've saved me. I would've died. He'd do that for anyone, right? But he was going to feed me to the wolf before! Why would he threaten me only to save me moments later?! Why can't I just _think_?!_ My head pounded in my ears and I only now realized the amount of pain coming from my ribs at being yanked back into the Tardis, but everything in my head was just so muddled and I couldn't concentrate on anything other than the fact that nothing was making sense.

"Alex?"

I flinched at the Tenth's voice and went to apologize, only for him to wrap his arms around my shoulders and pull me against his chest in a hug; being careful of my wound.

"Please, Alex. Tell me what's wrong."

I didn't know what to do. That sense of panic in me was getting worse and I couldn't figure out for the life of me what was going on and why the man who hated me, was currently hugging me and speaking so… _nicely_. It reminded me of the Eleventh Doctor I'd met only with less childish excitement and more caring. _But that can't be right. The Tenth Doctor… he hates me! After everything I didn't do with Rose and who _knows_ how many others! He… He _has_ to hate me._ _He just has to._

"Oi, Spaceman! How's a lady supposed to get any shut eye if you're in here yelling all the time?" A new voice said, drawing my attention to the red-haired woman who'd just walked in with her hands on her hips, until she spotted me. "Is that Alex? Why didn't you _tell_ me Alex was here?!"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, I was getting to tha— Oi!"

I was suddenly pulled up and out of his grip, Donna looking me over before pulling me into a protective hug and glaring at the Doctor still on the floor.

"She's a mess! What did you do to her?!"

"Me?! Why does everyone assume it's always me?!" He complained, standing.

Donna gave him a pointed look and he threw up his hands.

"That was _one time_! Like it's _my_ fault she didn't hear me say 'duck'!"

Donna scoffed. "Right. Then explain _this_, Spaceman. Hm? What happened this time?"

"Like _I_ know! She hasn't said anything other than apologies since she got here and then tried to jump right out into the Time Vortex!" His eyes softened as he looked at me and I felt my throat tighten at how hurt he looked, as though he didn't know who I was or why I was acting this way.

For some reason, that look upset me. _I_ was supposed to be the one hurt. He was the one who hated _me_. So why was he making it look the other way around? Why did _I_ suddenly feel like the bad guy?

"I-I'm sorry." I said, catching their attention as I eyed him in confusion, before looking down and putting a hand to my bandaged head. "I don't… My mind's a bit muddled. We were… with Queen Victoria and the werewolf and you were so angry and now…"

I didn't know what else to say. My head hurt too much and all I wanted to do was lie down somewhere and scream and cry, but my own pride wouldn't let me. At least, not until I was alone and had some answers.

"Queen Victoria…" The Doctor pulled a hand through his hair, staring at me sorrowfully. "I'm so sorry, Alex."

"I-I just want…" I clenched my eyes shut, not knowing how to say what it was I wanted, but the Doctor seemed to understand and nodded.

"Your room's down the hall. The Tardis will move it closer and will give you something to help you sleep and take care of the headache."

I nodded and slowly pulled myself away from Donna, just wanting to get away from everything. I walked down the hall and opened the first door I came across, before taking a tablet on the bedside table and collapsing on the bed; curling up around the blankets to sleep.

* * *

Donna was confused, not having _ever_ seen Alex as freaked out as she was just now and not really knowing what to do to help the young woman; who, after only knowing for a week or so, had quickly worked her way into her heart.

"What happened with Queen Victoria?" She finally asked, hoping that knowing the situation would help her with the woman later.

The Doctor sighed, turning to the console and fiddling with whatever he could get his hands on to distract himself from what had just occurred. "I… had just had someone close to me nearly die and because it was so early in my time-line, I was still suspicious of Alex. So when she just stood by and let it happen… Well, I got angry. I didn't understand her then. Why she couldn't do anything. So when a younger version of her just popped in, I just…"

Donna frowned. "You took it out on her."

He nodded, solemnly; knowing _now_ that what he'd done to Alex then, and a number of other times, was wrong.

"What about her injuries? Those weren't—"

He shook his head. "No, no. Those weren't from me." He couldn't help but smile at this next bit. "My, uh, companion at the time told me she had… fought a couple of monks trained in some martial arts, with only a letter opener. She _lost_, obviously, but I wish now that I had been there to help her… She didn't even know what I was upset about and she still tried to make it up to me. God, why was I so stupid back then?!" He shouted, kicking the console before wincing at his now-injured foot.

Donna rolled her eyes. "We all make stupid mistakes, Spaceman. That's why it's up to the future us to fix it."

"When did you get to be so clever?"

"I'm Donna Noble. I've always been clever." She winked, making the Doctor smile.

"Alright then." He said, turning around to lean against the console. "So what should we do to fix this?"

She smirked. "Oh, I have a few ideas."

* * *

I woke up feeling emotionally drained despite the good amount of sleep I'd gotten. _The Tardis must've done something, otherwise I probably would've never actually slept._ I slowly sat up, cringing as I pulled a hand through my hair realizing now that I looked and felt disgusting; especially since I had fallen asleep in what I was wearing. As I looked around though, I was struck by confusion; not recognizing the room I was in or the things in it.

There was a book shelf stuffed full of history books and mystery novels with a couple of alien or mechanics books here and there. But then there was two whole shelves that had a variety of knickknacks that I couldn't tell you what they were other than alien. I got up out of bed, tossing the dark blue covers aside and went over to the shelves, poking a finger through a blue hologram of a planet shaped like a cube. _What the…_ I then spotted a very familiar dinosaur tooth that was now strung up like a necklace and I held it up. Confused, I checked my pocket only to find my own missing. I shook my head, choosing not to think about it, but took it with me and went to leave the room to find a wardrobe or closet or something to change, but the door wouldn't budge and I groaned.

"Oh, come on. I just want a change of clothes and a shower." I complained, pressing my forehead against the wood door.

I heard a creak behind me and the Tardis hummed, making me turn around and see a closet that I hadn't noticed before with it's door open. Rolling my eyes at the Tardis, I headed over and grabbed the only set of clothes in there; a pair of somewhat-baggy jeans and a comfy, long-sleeved, black sweatshirt. It was odd, I myself having expected loads of clothes to be waiting in the closet, but there was just this one. I even shoved my head into it to look, but this was it. Shrugging it off, I went for the door again, but it remained locked.

"What now?" I pouted up at the ceiling and with another hum, I turned to find yet _another _door opened that I hadn't seen. "Oh, now you're just showing off."

The Tardis seemed to chuckle at that and I rolled my eyes before walking into the bathroom and showering. I had a lot to think about as I cleaned myself up. Now that my headache was gone and my injuries were practically all healed up, my mind was finally working the way it should and I felt really guilty as to how I treated the Tenth Doctor when I showed up here. _This is obviously way after Rose since Donna's here and I just treated him the same as the last Tenth Doctor I was with. God, I'm so stupid sometimes._ I groaned, pressing my forehead against the cool tiled wall of the shower, before the water suddenly went cold and I yelped; trying to turn the water off but it kept going.

"Alright! Alright! I'm getting out!" I shouted, clambering out of the shower and slipping, smacking my head against the wall with a 'crack'. "O-Ow."

I put a hand to my head, frowning up at the ceiling as I grabbed a towel to cover myself, flipping the Tardis the bird.

"The hell!"

She immediately retaliated by tossing me out of the bathroom head-over-heels, throwing my clothes in my face once I'd landed. Grumbling to myself about grumpy Tardis's as I pulled the clothes off my face and dried myself up, tugging on my jeans, dinosaur tooth necklace and underwear before she tilted the whole room and I tumbled out the door into the hall; my sweater smacking me again in the face once I'd sat up to complain about the abuse I was receiving. Deciding that complaining more wouldn't help, I simply frowned and pulled my sweater on before anyone could come down the hall and find me sitting there in my bra. _Stupid Tardis. The hell is her problem?_ I froze, hearing something coming from down the hall behind me and my eyes widened as I remembered something important. _Crap._

"She can read my mind."

Turning around, I spotted hundreds upon thousands of—what appeared to be—balls from a ball pit thundering their way towards me.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me!" I shouted, turning tail and running for my life.

I came to a fork in the road and went to go right, but stopped as I saw _chickens_ of all things charging after me. Quickly, I went to the left and, after being jumped by the chickens a few times, I managed to pull the door to the console room open and slam it shut behind me; panting with wide eyes as the Doctor and Donna peered out from behind the console.

"Alex? What's wrong?"

"And, why are there feathers in your hair?"

The Tardis chuckled again and I scowled up at the ceiling. "It's not funny!"

The Doctor and Donna shared a look, before they too chuckled and headed my way.

"So what happened then?" Donna asked, pulling a feather out of my hair. "You have a pillow fight?"

I pointed towards the Doctor in frustration. "Your _Tardis_ decided that I was finished with my shower, drenched me in cold water, threw me out of the room half naked, and then proceeded to chase me down the hall with hordes o-of plastic balls and angry chickens! I don't even know why she _has_ chickens!"

"She does? Hm." The Doctor put a finger to his chin. "I owe Casanova a chicken."

I sighed, moving away from the door and rubbing my forehead. "You're more than welcome to face the horde on your own then."

He shrugged and opened the door, but there was nothing there and he turned to me as I stared with my mouth gaping open.

"I don't see any horde of chickens _or_ plastic balls."

"B-But… They were… Oh, I give up." I tossed my hands up in the air. "Let's just go somewhere before she attacks me with mops or angry wet cats."

The Doctor and Donna chuckled, the later saying something about getting me tea while the Doctor moved towards the jump-seat I was now sitting in; sitting beside me and crossing his ankles with his hands in his pockets.

"How are you feeling?"

I sighed, knowing that I couldn't be angry with him over something the Tardis did and… over what his past self did.

"Better. Still a little beat up and the chickens didn't help."

He chuckled at that, reaching over and pulling another feather off of me and dropping it to the floor. "Well, she certainly hasn't done that to any of my other companions."

"Just me?" I asked, curious.

He nodded, patting the railing behind him with a grin. "She must like you."

The Tardis hummed and I rolled my eyes. "Good to know she chases people with chickens when she likes them."

"Oh, she's done other stuff to you before. Future you's, anyway."

"I'll have to start preparing for war whenever I walk in here then." I said, ideas already running through my head.

The Doctor chuckled, catching my attention. "Aha, that would explain the one time you came in holding a garbage can lid like a shield! And the other time wearing an American football helmet!"

"Pft." Even I couldn't help but chuckle at that, the Doctor smiling over at me before he slowly dropped it.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you back then."

I shook my head, dropping my smile as well. "No. I shouldn't have acted the way I did when I landed in this time. I'm not usually so…" I waved my hand around. "…crazy. Don't know what happened."

He tapped my temple lightly with his finger. "You had a concussion. It's understandable that you'd be confused… And I want you to know that I _did_ forgive you back then. I was still suspicious, but I started to see where you were coming from after that."

I glanced over at him, curious. "Is that why you're so nice to me now?"

"Well, there's that." He said, but didn't continue, leaving me hanging.

"And?"

"And what?" He asked back, innocently.

"You can't just leave it there!" I chided. "You made it sound like there's another reason!"

"Oh, I can't tell you that." He said, seeming to get a kick out of riling me up.

"Why not?"

He leaned in close, making me lean back in surprise, before he smirked. "Spoilers."

I blinked a few times as he stared, unmoving, heart pounding away in my chest out of nervousness or something else, I didn't know; before Donna suddenly walked in.

"Got lost trying to find the kitchen! Can you believe that?"

The Doctor suddenly pulled back and I continued to stare, frozen in my place as Donna grinned devilishly.

"Was I interrupting something?"

That knocked me out of my trance and, consequently, my chair as well.

"What?!" I landed with a 'thump' on the floor as the Doctor and I both turned to her with shakes of our heads, faces red.

"What?! No! I wouldn't—"

"Interrupting _what_?! We weren't doing anything!"

The two of us looked at each other before back at Donna as she laughed.

"Yes, alright, _Spaceman_. No need to get your boxers in a twist. Come on, Alex. Come get your tea."

I jumped up and hurried over, taking the tea from her and relishing in the taste, it being perfect somehow; though I was never a tea drinker in the first place.

"Oh man, this is good."

"I would think so." Donna beamed. "You told me just how you like it."

"I did?" I questioned, plopping back down in the jump-seat as the Doctor started moving around the console, looking down into the cup. "Huh. I've actually never had tea before now." I drank some more. "Don't know why."

"Are you serious?!" Donna asked back in surprise as the Doctor peeked around the console with his mouth gaping open.

"You've _never_ had a good ol' cup of tea?!"

I shook my head. "Nope. I came from America. They're more of coffee people, but I wasn't allowed to have any, so I stuck to soda. _God_, this is good though."

The Doctor scratched his head. "I didn't know that. How did I not know that?"

I shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal. I'm not super talkative about myself or anything like that."

The two looked at each other before snorting and laughing.

"Alex? _Our_ Alex not talkative?"

"Right? Can you believe that?"

I looked over at them in confusion. "Am I… missing out on something?"

Donna nodded. "Dear, you _love_ to talk."

The Doctor quickly agreed. "Oh yeah. Everything from history bits to questions to crazy ideas."

"But…" I furrowed my brows. "I mean, not _that_ much. Maybe here and there but… all the _time_?"

They both nodded.

"That's just who you are." Donna said, shrugging.

"I actually think you just like the attention—Ow!"

Donna had punched him and gave me a roll of the eyes and a smile as I chuckled.

"Come on Spaceman. Stop being rude and lets go on an adventure already."

He grinned and started running around the console, flipping switches and pushing buttons, making the Tardis rock violently back and forth and causing my tea cup to fall down into the lower layers of the Tardis with a crash.

"Oops."

The Doctor fell back into the jump-seat beside me, winked, and then was launched back into the console, where he flipped a switch and stopped the wild ride.

"Set the controls to random. Mystery tour. Outside that door could be any planet, anywhere, anywhen in the whole wide u—are you alright?" He asked Donna.

"Terrified." She admitted. "I mean, history's one thing but an alien planet?!"

"I could always take you home."

"Yeah, don't laugh at me. I'm not leaving her stuck here with you."

"Oi!" He said, sounding offended though we all knew she was teasing, and he went serious. "I know what it's like. Everything you're feeling right now. The fear, the joy, the wonder? I get that."

"Seriously? After all this time? I'd think Alex would have more of a clue than you."

"Yeah, probably. But why do you think I keep going?"

"Oh, alright then. Let's go!"

I chuckled and headed over to where they both were, Donna walking towards the door. "This is barmy. I was born in Chiswick. I've only ever had package holidays. Now I'm here! This is so. I mean it's… I don't know, it's all sort of… I don't even know what the word is!"

She bolted out the doors as the Doctor grabbed his coat and put it on, tossing me a long, dark, thick Belstaff coat that I caught in confusion.

"Your signature coat. You left it here the last time you popped off saying something about someone else needing it." He chuckled as I put it on with an excited grin. "Didn't know you'd be talking about yourself."

"Oh, this is so cool!" I shouted, bounding over and hugging him out of impulse, with a big grin on my face. "Thanks a ton!"

He hugged me back before I let him go and spun around with the coat flapping at my knees.

"Oh man! I feel like freakin' Sherlock Holmes!" I looked up at him and grabbed his wrist, pulling him out the Tardis doors. "Come on Watson! The game is on!"

"Oi! How come _I'm_ Watson?!" He whined and I smirked over my shoulder.

"Because I have the coat and my name is Alexander Holmes!"

I could feel him rolling his eyes at my antics as I rushed out into the frigid air with him right behind me.

"Snow!" I cheered, letting his hand go and running off a little ways.

"Oh, real snow! Proper snow at last. That's more like it. Lovely. What do you think?" He asked Donna, who was standing there rigid in her dress.

"Bit cold."

"Look at that view." He gestured over at a large rock bridge of some kind, covered in icicles.

"Yep, beautiful, cold view." She complained as he quickly went off into a monologue, herself ducking back into the Tardis for something warmer to wear.

"Millions of planets, _millions_ of galaxies, and we're on this one. Molto bene. Bellissimo, says Donna, born in Chiswick. All you've got is a life of work and sleep, and telly and rent and tax and takeaway dinners, all birthdays and Christmases and two weeks holiday a year, and then you end up here. Donna Noble, citizen of the Earth, standing on a different planet. How about that Donna?" He turned around, but she'd disappeared. "Donna?"

Taking my chance, I launched a snowball at him, hitting him in the back of the head and laughing.

"Ahaha! I gotcha!"

He grinned and bent down to gather his own snowball as I did the same. "Oh-ho! Not for long you don't!"

Just then, Donna came out of the Tardis in a thick black, fur lined, hooded coat, distracting the Doctor as he paused mid throw.

"Sorry, you were saying?"

"Better?" He asked, just as I hit him again and laughed. "Oi!"

"Lovely, thanks." She chirped, bounding down to where he was at and ignoring me as the Doctor chucked his snowball and missed.

"Comfy?" He asked, keeping his eye on me.

"Yup!"

"Can you hear anything in there?!" I called out.

"Pardon?!" She joked with a grin as the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Alright. As I was saying, citizen of the Earth—" He stopped as a rocket flew over us.

"Rocket." Donna breathed as I brushed off my hands and joined them. "Blimey, a real proper rocket. Now that's what I call a spaceship. You've got a box, he's got a Ferrari!" She said, smacking the Doctor on the arm as I chuckle. "Come on, lets go see where he's going."

The Doctor glanced over at the Tardis as she tromped down the hill, before looking at me. "_That's_ a Ferrari? The Tardis is a Ferrari! That thing is… is a Volkswagen _bug_ compared to the Tardis!"

I pat his arm with a chuckle, before heading down after Donna. "Oh yeah, because _every_ Ferrari has a hallway full of chickens!"

"You're never going to let her live that down, are you?"

"Nope!" I chirped back, bounding through the snow like an excited kid. "Oh, I missed snow!"

Donna smiled at me. "When was the last time you saw snow?"

"I lived in Southern California, so we never got snow. I went up to a maths camp my senior year of high school though and had a blast." I paused in my excitement with a frown. "Until I got a cold the second day…" My frown grew sadder then, a realization coming over me. "That was ages ago…"

The Doctor came over and hugged me, making me stiffen before relaxing a bit; knowing that this Doctor was different than the last and was at least similar to the Eleventh as far as the touching and friendliness goes. I hadn't mean to get sad though, but the reminder that I wasn't in my old world anymore still hadn't completely sunk in and mentioning it kind of upset me.

"Don't worry, Alex." The Doctor said softly. "I'll be here with you. I'm not going to leave you alone."

I nodded and he released me, ruffling my hair before moving a bit ahead.

"Come on, then! This way!"

We headed off across one of the rock bridges, steadily growing more chipper as we chuckled and skipped along before the Doctor stopped and I did as well.

"Hold on, can you hear that?"

I frowned a bit, hearing something as well. "I think so."

He looked over at Donna. "Donna, take your hood down."

She did, but she still looked confused. "What?"

"That noise is like a song."

"It's… sad." I said, looking around for the source, but the Doctor found it first.

"Over there!" He took off running and Donna and I hurried after him, before he skidded to a stop beside a person on the ground.

Thing was, I quickly recognized the alien and stopped, standing above it with a shocked look.

"What is it?!" Donna questioned.

"It's an Ood." I said, nearly a whisper as the Doctor took a stethoscope out of nowhere and put it in his ears.

"But it's face."

"Donna, don't. Not now. It's a he, not an it. Give me a hand."

"Sorry." She apologized, coming to kneel next to him in the snow.

I shook my head, moving around it to kneel down across from the Doctor and her in confusion. "But how can I hear it? I shouldn't be able to hear it."

The Doctor sent me a glance, before focusing on the Ood, trying to find it's heart. "I don't know where the heart is. I don't know if he's got a heart." He looked at Donna. "Talk to him, keep him going."

"It's alright. We've got you." Donna said, obviously not knowing what else to say. "Um, what's your name?"

The orb in it's hand lit up. "Designated Ood, Delta 50."

Donna reached for the orb, but I stopped her, just resting my hand on the orb sadly.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for what they've done to you."

Donna seemed to realize then that the Ood was dying and gestured over to the Doctor. "I'm Donna and this is the Doctor and Alex. Just what you need, a doctor. Couldn't be better, eh?"

"You've been shot." The Doctor announced, the Ood speaking again.

"The circle…"

"No, don't try to talk." Donna said, but he continued.

"The circle must be broken."

"Circle? What do you mean? Delta 50? What circle?" He put a hand on it as it closed it's eyes and slowly shifted it's head. "Delta 50? What circle?"

It suddenly opened it's eyes to reveal that they were red and the Doctor grabbed Donna and pulled her far away from it, I myself only taking a few steps back as it sat up and growled, almost. It then collapsed and I sighed, looking back at the Doctor.

"He's gone." I stepped forward along with Donna, kneeling at it's side and moving it's hands into a more restful position; holding it's orb over it's chest.

"Careful." The Doctor warned, but I ignored him as Donna brushed the snow off his head.

"There you go, sweetheart. We were too late." She turned to the Doctor then. "What do we do? Do we bury him?"

"The snow will take care of that. Alex?"

I looked over at him, any cheerfulness from before gone as I remembered this episode.

"Do you know what he meant?"

Slowly, I nodded, turning away and standing up. "I can't tell you. I-I want to, but if I do then…"

He came over and pat my shoulder comfortingly; something I didn't expect after how his past self reacted to me not saying anything about what I knew.

"That's alright. I understand."

Donna looked over at us then, still confused. "Who was he? What's an Ood?"

"They're servants of humans in the 42nd century. Mildly telepathic. That was the song. It was his mind calling out." The Doctor explained, pulling me into a one-armed hug.

"I couldn't hear anything." Donna said with a small shake of her head, standing up to join us. "He sang as he was dying."

"His eyes turned red."

"What's that mean?"

"Trouble." The Doctor replied. "Come on."

We started walking off and he explained a bit more.

"The Ood are harmless. They're completely benign. Except the last time we met them, there was this force, like a stronger mind, powerful enough to take them over."

"'We'?" I questioned.

He nodded, giving me a squeeze. "Yeah. You really loved the Ood. Still do, it looks like."

I gave a small smile at that, as Donna—ever curious—asked more questions.

"What sort of force?"

"Oh, long story."

"Long walk." She countered.

"It was the Devil."

"If you're going to take the mickey, I'll just put my hood back up." She said in disbelief as he went on.

"Must be something different this time though. Something closer to home." He took a running start to get up a hill, the three of us spotting a building of some kind down below. "Ah-ha! Civilization."

It took us a while to get down there and as we did, I tugged on the Doctor's sleeve to get his attention.

"Doctor, how come I could hear the Ood?"

He scratched his head. "Uh, well I'm not too sure about that. You had a rough time with the Devil too, but I think it may have something to do with that mark you have and how you got here with the time jumping and whatnot."

"Why does everyone keep mentioning some mark?!" I asked, keeping my voice down so Donna didn't overhear.

"Because you have one." He poked my left shoulder blade. "Right here. I haven't seen the whole thing, but when you pop off, it's always that shoulder you're holding and that's where the glow comes from. So I'm guessing it has to do with your time jumping. That, and like I said, for some reason, telepathic beings seem to have more of an effect on you. It's why you can understand the Tardis in a way, and probably why you can hear the Ood song too." He messed up his hair again as we hurried over to a group of men and women being led around on a tour, him already flashing his psychic paper at the guard to get us in this far. "I haven't figured it out exactly, but that's what I've come up with so far."

I sighed, messing up my own hair in slight frustration. "Alright. I suppose that's better than knowing nothing at all."

He smiled, ruffling my hair as I frowned up at him. "That's the spirit! Now then… Sorry, sorry, sorry. Late. Don't mind us. Hello!" He chirped at the woman before us who was leading the group. "The guards let us through."

"And you would be?"

Out came the psychic paper again.

"The Doctor, Alexander Holmes, and Donna Noble."

Donna nodded with a smug grin. "Representing the Noble Corporation PLC Limited, Intergalactic."

"Must have fallen off my list. My apologies. Won't happen again. Now then, Doctor Holmes, Mrs. Holmes, Ms. Noble, if you'd like to come with me."

I blinked, a little embarrassed as I pointed between the Doctor and me. "We're not married."

The Doctor though, seemed to have a different idea and pulled me up against him with an arm around my shoulders.

"Aw, don't mind her. We're newlyweds. She still doesn't like people to know."

"W-Wha?! We're not—"

He winked down at me as my face heated up and I turned to Donna, but she was quietly snickering at my discomfort as the woman (Solana) nodded.

"Of course. And here are your information packs, vouchers inside." She smiled, handing the Doctor a plastic container, before hurrying the group to another room. "Now, if you'd like to come with me, the Executive Suites are nice and warm."

An alarm went off, stopping the three of us.

"Oh, what's that?" The Doctor asked.

"Sounds like an alarm." I muttered, but Solana poorly shrugged it off.

"Oh, it's just a siren for the end of the work shift. Now then, this way! Quick as you can!"

The Doctor shrugged over at Donna and we entered the suite where three Ood were up on small pedestals and another serves drinks.

"As you can see, the Ood are happy to serve and we keep them in facilities of the highest standard. Here at the Double O—that's Ood Operations—we like to think of the Ood as our trusted friends."

I winced at all the lies she was spouting, my fingers tapping my right thigh as I grit my teeth and tried not to say anything; focusing instead on the quiet Ood song echoing in my head.

"We keep the Ood healthy, safe, and educated." She continued. "We don't just breed the Ood, we make them better. Because, at heart, what is an Ood but a reflection of us? If your Ood is happy, then you'll be happy too."

_Liars._ My mind growled, hearing the sadness in the Ood song mix with what I was feeling. _They're only happy to serve because you forced them to be. Their 'facilities' are metal crates with hundreds of them packed in like cattle! How could they be your trusted friends if you're treating them like stock! They're living creatures too!_

"_The circle must be broken."_

"You alright, Alex?" The Doctor asked, putting a hand on my shoulder and making me jump, tearing my eyes away from the Ood I had been staring at since we got in here and not seeing how he eyed my previously tapping fingers.

"What? Yeah, no. I'm…" I glanced back at the Ood. "I'm fine."

Solana started walking around to where the Ood were and began doing her demonstration.

"I'd now like to point out a _new_ innovation from Ood Operations. We've introduced a variety package with the Ood translator ball. You can now have the standard setting." She turned to the first Ood on the pedestal. "How are you today, Ood?"

"I'm perfectly well, thank you." He responded.

"Or perhaps after a stressful day, a little something for the gentlemen." She moved on to the second one. "And how are you, Ood?"

"All the better for seeing you." He replied with a husky female voice.

"And the comedy classic option." She went to the third. "Ood, you dropped something."

"D'oh!" He responded with a classic Homer Simpson voice, the people laughing whereas I just glared at them all from a corner of the room with my hands in my pockets.

"All that for only five additional credits. The details are in your brochures. Now, there's plenty more food and drink, so don't hold back."

The Doctor began his move, putting on his glasses and walking over to the lectern to mess with the computer for the big screen. Donna, on the other hand was taking Solana's advice and went for the food and drink before heading over to him as I did the same.

"Ah, got it."

The screen before us changed and I silently wondered how no one seemed to care we were messing with it, but figured it was just because they were only interested in themselves.

"The Ood Sphere." The Doctor hummed. "I've been to this solar system before. _Years_ ago. Ages. Close to the planet Sense Sphere. Let's widen out." He pushed a few buttons and the screen zoomed out, adding points on the picture and lines to connect them as he walked around to the front. "The year 4126. That is the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire."

_Great and Bountiful, more like Greedy and Heartless._ I mentally frowned, wondering how humans could've gone from worrying about global warming and saving the rainforests to _this_.

"4126?" Donna questioned in shock. "It's 4126. I'm in 4126."

"It's good, isn't it?" The Doctor smiled.

"What's Earth like now?"

"Bit full. But you see, the Empire stretches out across three galaxies."

"It's weird. I mean, it's brilliant, but… Back home, the papers and the telly, they keep saying we haven't got long to live. Global warming, flooding, all the bees disappearing."

"Yeah, that thing with the bees is odd."

"But look at us." She went on uninterrupted. "We're everywhere. Is that good or bad though? I mean, are we like explorers? Or more like a virus?"

"Virus." I grumbled, rubbing my forehead in aggravation as the Doctor sent me a glance.

"Sometimes I wonder."

"What are the red dots?"

"Ood distribution centers."

"Across three galaxies? Don't the Ood get a say in this?" She walked over to the first Ood and spoke to him. "Um, sorry, but—"

She stopped, not knowing if he was listening to her, so she tapped him to get his attention; the Doctor and I heading over.

"Hello, tell me. Are you all like this?"

He held up his orb. "I do not understand, miss."

"Why's he saying 'miss'? Do I look single?" She asked, offended and the Doctor kind of rolled his eyes, sending me a shake of his head in disbelief.

"Back to the point."

"Yeah." She said, doing just that. "What I mean is, are there… any _free_ Ood? Are there Ood running wild somewhere, like wildebeests?"

"All Ood are born to serve." He replied. "Otherwise, we would die."

"You can't have started like that." Donna said in disbelief. "Before the humans—"

I watched as the Ood twitched unnaturally and I winced myself, his voice echoing in my head.

"_The circle must be broken."_

"—what were you like?"

"The circle." He said, the Doctor quickly seeing what was going on.

"What do you mean? What circle?"

"The circl—The circle…is…"

"Ladies and gentlemen all Ood to hospitality stations please." Solana said, the Ood going off and stopping us from finding out more.

The Doctor pulled off his glasses. "I've had enough of the schmoozing. Do you two fancy going off the beaten track?"

He held up the map that came with the brochures.

"Rough Guide to the Ood Sphere?" Donna read off it, grinning. "Works for me."

"Anything to get out of here." I complained, following them out.

We made it to a fence, causing the Doctor to pull out his sonic, but before he let us in, he looked over at me.

"You sure you're doing alright?"

I nodded. "The sooner we stop this, the better."

He gave me a nod in return and after a bit of walking, we headed up some stairs that overlooked an open area with marching Ood. One fell down and I gripped the railing in front of me tightly, ignoring the bitter cold that cut into my hand as a man cracked a whip, demanding the Ood stand back up.

"Servants? They're slaves."

The Doctor seemed to agree, putting his hand over mine and for once, I didn't freeze up or pull away.

"Last time I met the Ood, I never thought. I never asked."

"That's not like you." Donna commented.

"I was busy. So busy I couldn't save them. I had to let the Ood die. I reckon I owe them one."

"Sounds like I didn't do anything either." I muttered, feeling bad for also being there but not doing anything to save them.

The Doctor turned to me seriously. "_Don't._ Don't you blame yourself, Alex. They weren't the only ones fighting something that day and you were doing everything you could to help."

"Sorry." I muttered, now feeling a bit bad that I had upset him, though I wondered why he didn't see it that way with himself.

He had done everything _he_ could to help too, but he blamed himself for their deaths even now. And I wasn't just talking about the Ood.

"That looks like the boss." Donna said, pointing out someone down below.

"Let's keep out of his way. Come on."

We left our perch and went back downstairs to check out some of the warehouses; the Doctor donning his glasses again as he looked at the map. He walked right past a room, but Donna and I stopped before she gave me a wink and brought her hand up to her lips. I quickly covered my ears and was glad I did as she let out a loud whistle, startling the Doctor and making him turn back to us.

"Where'd you learn to whistle?" He asked, tucking the map and his glasses away once more.

"West Ham, every Saturday."

"Can you teach me how to do that?" I asked, the Doctor pulling out his sonic and unlocking the metal door.

"Already did." She winked, making me smile and giving me a chance to look forward to something, only for us to walk into the room full of storage containers; my smile slipping off my face.

"Ood export. You see?" The Doctor said as we walked, pointing up at a large claw carrying a container. "Lifts up the containers, takes them to the rocket sheds, ready to be flown out all over the three galaxies."

"What, you mean, these containers are full of…"

I nodded, sadly. "Ood."

The Doctor went over and opened one of the containers, revealing the Ood inside and the pungent odor of sweat and other bodily fluids.

"Oh, it stinks." Donna complained. "How many of them do you think are in each one?"

"Hundred? More?" The Doctor responded.

"A great big empire built on slavery."

"We haven't changed much." I muttered, trying to keep from being sick as I stood near the door, away from the Ood.

"Oi, I haven't got slaves." Donna said, sounding offended.

"Who do you think made your clothes?" The Doctor countered, though it didn't help.

"Is that why you travel round with a human at your side? It's not so you can show them the wonders of the universe, it's so you can take cheap shots?"

"Sorry." He apologized.

"_Don't_… Spaceman." She looked over at the Ood then. "I don't understand. The door is open, why don't you just run away?"

One of the Ood in the front held up it's orb. "For what reason?"

"You could be free."

"I do not understand the concept." He said with a tilt of his head.

"What is it with that Persil ball? I mean, they're not born with it, are they? Why do they have to be all plugged in?" Donna asked and I suddenly couldn't take it anymore.

"I-I'm sorry." I said, quietly, drawing the Doctor's and Donna's attention towards me as I backed away. "I'm so, _so_ sorry."

I could feel them watching me, the Ood. I could tell that they knew that I knew what happened to them; what needs to be done to save them. That I knew about their hindbrain being removed and replaced with those translator orbs, and that they needed the electric pylons removed from around the Ood Brain. They knew this and I could tell that they knew I was staying quiet about it, that I was dragging this out to keep some stupid plot in line, when I could've just saved them the moment we walked in. And the worst part was, they weren't angry with me. They just kept singing that sad, _sad_ song.

* * *

Once Alex had backed out of the container, Donna looked worriedly over at the Doctor.

"What is she sorry for?"

He turned away from the door and over to the Ood. "I don't think she was talking to us."

"But why would she be apologizing to the Ood? She hasn't done anything wrong."

"That's just the kind of person she is." The Doctor said, glancing at the open door once more. "She's too kind for her own good."

He sighed, pulling a hand through his hair before turning back to the Ood. "Ood, tell me. Does the circle mean anything to you?"

"The circle must be broken." All of the Ood said at once.

"Oh, that is creepy." Donna said, but the Doctor was unbothered.

"But what is it? What is the circle?"

"The circle must be broken."

"Why?"

"So that we/they can sing." The Ood said along with Alex, who was standing in the doorway once more, with a hand on her head.

An alarm went off then and the Doctor turned around. "Oh, that's us. Come on!"

He grabbed Alex by the wrist and Donna followed after, everyone running in search of an exit. Once again, the Doctor missed the door—one that Donna stopped at—and he dragged Alex along with him. He paused and looked around confused.

"Where'd she go?"

"Back at the door you passed." Alex breathed out, before he tugged her along again, guards starting to show up.

"Donna! Where are you?!" He shouted as they ran, Alex rolling her eyes before everything grew quiet.

"That's not good."

"What's that?" He asked, stopping.

She looked up and paled. "I forgot about the claw."

"What claw?"

"That one!"

She pointed up at the large claw that was heading their way and his eyes widened, pulling her with him as they both ran from it.

"Stupid idiot with a power complex!" She shouted, the two of them ducking and rolling as the claw tried to grab them.

They got back up and the Doctor pushed her left as he went right. "Split up!"

She nodded and went down the other way, and the Doctor kept running as the claw followed him. He then jumped over some barrels, but before he could get up, the claw reached down for him. He figured that'd be it, but it suddenly stopped and he let out a long sigh of relief. It didn't last before he was grabbed by a couple of guards and brought around to a container where he could hear Donna shouting.

"Doctor, get me out of here!"

"If you don't do what she says, you're really in trouble. Not from me, from _her_."

The head of security nodded to the container. "Unlock the container."

Donna ran out and hugged him in relief as the guards let him go.

"There we go. Safe and sound." He smiled, looking around. "Have you seen Alex?"

"Hello? Container?"

"Right."

She rolled her eyes. "Never mind me though, what about them?"

The Ood from her container walked out and killed one of the guards, causing the others to panic.

"Red alert! Fire!"

Guns went off, but bounced off harmlessly off of the giant claw that suddenly shut the doors on the Ood.

"Alright, Alex!" The Doctor cheered, but Alex's voice came over the loudspeaker.

"Thank me later! Run!"

The guards seemed to realize why as another container opened up and most of them did run, except the head of security, who stayed behind to try and kill the Ood unsuccessfully. The Doctor ran out, waiting in the doorway for a moment as Alex hurried out too, grabbing her hand along with Donna's and putting some distance between them and the manic Ood. Solana had followed after them as well, and once they were somewhat safe, Donna used that chance to get upset with her.

"If people back on Earth knew what was going on here—"

"Oh, don't be so stupid. Of course they know."

"They know how you treat the Ood?"

"They don't ask, same thing." She said, before the Doctor started demanding answers.

"Solana, the Ood aren't born like this. They can't be. A species born to serve could never evolve in the first place. What does the company do to make them obey?"

"That's nothing to do with me."

"Oh, what, because you don't ask?" The Doctor snapped back.

"That's Doctor Ryder's territory."

"Where's he? What part of the complex?" He pulled out the map, but she hesitated. "I could help with the red eye. Now show me!"

"There. Beyond the red section."

"Come with me. You've seen the warehouse. You can't agree with all this. You know this place better than me. You could help."

Alex grabbed his sleeve, shaking her head with a wince. "Don't bother. She won't help."

The Doctor went to argue, but Solana proved Alex right as she called out.

"They're over here! Guards! They're over here!"

* * *

We were running again but we managed to get away, only run into more guards.

"This way!" The Doctor shouted, steering Donna and I in a different direction before we found another door.

"T-They're… They're going to gas them." I panted out, hearing the song get louder. "We need to hurry."

The Doctor nodded, before he too could hear the song. "Oh, can you hear it?"

I nodded, but Donna still looked confused. Ignoring her for now, the Doctor used his sonic to open the door.

"I didn't need the map. I should've listened."

We hurried in and the Doctor sonicked the lock, shorting it out before he pulled a torch out of his pocket.

"Hold on. Does that mean we're locked in?" Donna asked, but he brushed past her.

"Listen. Listen, listen, listen, listen." He repeated as I pushed past him and led the way, eyes sad.

The song was so loud now. So loud and so sad that I wondered how I hadn't started crying yet. Even in the show, the song was powerful, but hearing it myself—like this—it was near unbearable.

"Oh, my head." The Doctor hissed through his teeth as I felt my knees give out. "Whoa there!"

He caught me and slowly lowered me to the ground in front of the cage we were facing and bringing his hands up to the side of my head. Immediately, I pulled away.

"No."

He looked surprised, tears welling in my eyes as I scooted away from him.

"Please don't take it from me. They just… They just want to be heard."

"Alex, I don't know what kind of damage it can do. It's already hurting me, so it has to be—"

I shook my head, quickly bringing a hand up to it as I cringed at the pain that flared up. "Please don't. They're hurting more. _So_ much more. I just want them to be heard."

"Alright." He said, giving in reluctantly and helping me up.

"What is it?" Donna questioned.

The Doctor winced again. "Can't you hear it? The singing?"

He shined his torch at the cage with the Ood and turned on a light to reveal them to Donna and I. The Ood quickly looked up, before moving back to where they were as the Doctor turned off the torch in surprise.

"They look different than the others." Donna said as they moved further back in the cage.

"They're unprocessed." I said, pulling the Doctor closer as Donna followed.

"Alex is right. They're natural born Ood, before they're adapted to slavery. Unspoilt. That's their song."

"I can't hear it."

"Do you want to?" He asked, the three of us kneeling before the cage, my forehead pressed up against the cool bars.

Donna nodded. "Yeah."

"It's the song of captivity." He said, trying to discourage her almost.

"Let me hear it." She repeated, looking over at me. "She said they wanted to be heard, so let me hear it."

"Face me." He said and once she did, be brought his fingers up to her temples to let her hear it. "Open your mind. That's it. Hear it, Donna. Hear the music."

He removed his fingers and Donna looked over at the Ood as she started to cry.

"Take it away." She said after a few moments.

"You sure?" He asked.

She shook her head. "I can't bare it."

He pressed his fingers to her temples once more and took the song away as she apologized.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay." The Doctor said, barely a whisper.

"But you can still hear it. You and Alex."

"All the time." He agreed.

I pushed a hand through the gaps in the bars. "They're so sad. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Donna looked at me, heart breaking because now she knew what the Doctor and I were suffering through. There was a creak as the Doctor opened the cage with the Ood and there was noise from above us.

"They're breaking in." Donna said, sounding worried.

"Ah, let them." He said, helping me up again and leading me into the cage.

We all knelt down in front of the Ood, I myself struggling to keep my composure as the Doctor questioned them.

"What are you holding? Show me."

The Ood were hesitant, but one lifted his head.

"Friend." The Doctor said, gesturing to us. "Doctor, Donna, Alex, friend. Let me see. Look at me. Let me see."

The Ood moved forward, but instead of going to the Doctor as expected, he came towards me and held his hands out, showing the small brain he was holding.

"I'm sorry." I cried, finally letting some tears fall as I looked up at the Ood. "I'm so, so sorry."

"Is that—"

The Doctor nodded. "It's a brain. A hindbrain. The Ood are born with a secondary brain. Like the amygdala in humans. It processes memory and emotions. You get rid of that, you wouldn't be Donna any more. You'd be like an Ood. A processed Ood."

"So the company cuts off their brains?"

"And they stitch in a translator." The Doctor hissed out through his teeth.

"Like a lobotomy." Donna said sorrowfully.

Their words where hitting too close to home. I knew how the Doctor's time with Donna ended and for them to be talking about what they were, it hurt. I suddenly felt like I was apologizing to Donna too, for what was going to happen to her. There was no way to save her, I knew. Not without messing up everything following her. Just like there was no way I could've stopped all the Ood being processed.

"I-I'm sorry." I repeated, the Doctor pulling me into a hug as I cried for the Ood and for Donna.

"I spent all that time looking for you, Doctor, because I thought it was so wonderful out here." Donna said, upset. "I want to go home."

The Doctor looked at her in near disbelief, just before the door above was broken in and the guards came down the stairs.

"They're with the Ood, sir."

The Doctor let me go and stood up, quickly shutting the door and shouting at the man and his guards.

"What are you going to do then?! Arrest me?! Lock me up?! Throw me in a cage?! Well, you're too late! Ha!"

Of course, his shouting didn't last long before they reopened the cage and pulled us all out. From there, we were brought up to the man's office and were handcuffed to the pipes in his wall.

"Why don't you just come out and say it? FOTO activists." The man demanded.

The Doctor was quick to snap back. "If that's what the Friends Of The Ood are trying to prove, then _yes_."

"The Ood were nothing without us. Just _animals_ roaming around on the ice."

"That's because you can't hear them."

"They welcomed it!" The man argued. "It's not as if they put up a fight."

"You _moron_!" I shouted, teeth grit in pain as the tears just kept going; my head feeling like it was being split apart. "Let me put _your_ brain in your hands and see if you don't give up! They _have_ to be peaceful! They have no choice, because any creature like that would have to trust anyone it meets! I hope you grow bald like them and tentacles shoot out of your mouth!"

He flinched back at the quip I made about his hair, and even the Doctor seemed surprised about my outburst, saying nothing as the man stepped a bit closer.

"The system's worked for 200 years."

"There's a difference between it working and them being _patient_." I snapped back, making him step towards me in anger.

"I might just leave you outside to beg your precious Ood for mercy."

"I'd rather be with them than with the animals in front of me." I growled, reaching my free hand up and pulling a handful of his hair out easily, dropping it on the floor. "_Oops_."

The man turned to a guard and growled. "Guard!"

The guard nodded and slammed the butt of his gun into my stomach, knocking the air out of me and making me fall to my knees before he cuffed my other hand to the bars behind me as well.

"Alex!" The Doctor shouted and I tried to reassure him, but I couldn't catch my breath just yet. "You stop this! Stop this right now! Leave her alone!"

The man—Halpen, I remembered—simply adjusted his suit lapels and went back to business. "Anyway, all we've got is a rogue batch. The infection is about to be sterilized."

The Doctor's eyes widened as I hung my head. "The gas."

Halpen sent us a look. "How did you know that?"

"Who cares how I know?! You can't do that!" He shouted, far angrier than I remembered when I watched the episode.

_It's been a while though… Not that it matters right now. I need to save them._ I suddenly cringed, the voices getting louder and louder, making me let out a small whimper as I grimaced and hung my head.

"Alex? Alex! What's wrong?!"

Halpen smirked. "Hm, perhaps she'll watch her mouth next time."

"Alex, Alex, please! Tell me what's wrong!" The Doctor pleaded and I let out a small whimper again as the pain in my head grew worse.

"The circle must be broken." I said, shaking and looking up slightly as sweat slid down the side of my face. "The Ood are coming."

An alarm went off, distracting Halpen after his eyes widened at my words.

"What the hell…" He left the room with the one scientist and Ood Sigma following him out, as the Doctor struggled to try and reach me.

"Alex. Let me help. As soon as we're out of here. I can stop it."

I shook my head. "N-No. They just want to be heard."

"Then let me dim it. Make it quieter. That's all I'll do. Promise."

I was hesitant, but nodded, willing to allow him to at least soften it a little. It was then though, that Halpen returned.

"Change of plan."

"There are no reports of trouble off-world, sir." The scientist said; Ryder, I think his name was. "It's still contained to the Ood Sphere."

"Then we've got a public duty to stop it before it spreads."

"What's happening?" The Doctor asked, bringing their attention back to us.

"Everything you wanted, Doctor. No doubt there'll be a full police investigation once this place has been sterilized, so I can't risk a bullet to the head." He smiled, nervously. "I'll leave you to the mercies of the Ood."

"But Mr. Halpen, there's something else, isn't there? Something we haven't seen." The Doctor stopped him, though Donna was lost.

"What do you mean?"

"A creature couldn't survive with a separate forebrain and a hindbrain, they'd be at war with themselves. There's got to be something else. A _third_ element. Am I right?"

"And again, so clever." Halpen said.

"But it's got to be connected to the red-eye. What is it?"

"It won't exist for very much longer." He snapped, getting to the Doctor's face. "Enjoy your Ood."

They all left, leaving us three alone and handcuffed to the pipes, the Doctor growling in frustration to try and get the cuffs off.

"Come on."

"Don't bother." I said, leaning my head back and closing my eyes with a quiet sigh, cringing as my stomach ached from where I'd been hit. "The Ood will find us soon."

"I'm not giving up." The Doctor snapped, but I just stayed silent; my head hurting too much to explain what I meant.

"Well, do something. You're the one with all the tricks. You must have met Houdini." Donna panicked.

"Do I go?" I asked, peeking an eye open and causing the Doctor to roll his eyes.

"_Timing_, Alex."

"Just curious." I muttered, as he spoke again.

"These are _really_ good handcuffs."

"Oh, well, I'm glad of that. I mean, at least we've got quality."

The door opened then and three Ood appeared, all with what everyone keeps calling 'red-eye'. _You'd think they'd realize that it's just when something's interfering with their mind… thingy. It's not a disease._

"Doctor, Donna, Alex, friends!" The Doctor said in a hope to stop them.

Donna followed. "The circle must be broken!"

They continued to repeat that over and over, but I stayed quiet, my head aching as I tried to figure out if it was possible for me to pass what they were saying along to the unprocessed Ood that started all of this. _Come on. Listen. If I can hear you, then it should work the other way around. Doctor, Donna, Alex, friends. The circle must be broken. I'm sorry. Please!_

I heard the two beside me stop and peeked an eye open to find the orb held in front of my face, but not moving any closer. It took a moment, the noise in my head growing louder and making me whimper in pain again as I pressed my head harshly against the metal pipes, but it finally stopped and the three Ood in front of us spoke.

"Doctor Donna, Alex, friends."

"Yes! That's us! Friends! Oh, yes!" They both cheered, excitedly as the Ood started to help us out of the handcuffs.

Once I was released though, I just sat there, breathing heavily. I was so tired. My head was just filled with the Ood song and them begging for the circle to be broken. It hurt, but it was so sad that I couldn't bare for it to just get taken away.

"Alex, hey. Look at me."

A hand held my cheek and I wearily opened my eyes to look at the Doctor, who was eyeing me with worry.

"I'm going to do it now, okay? I promise I won't do anything more than quiet it some."

I nodded slowly, my head feeling like dead weight. He put his fingers to my temples and I closed my eyes with him, opening my mind to let him quiet the noise. It was a strange feeling. It wasn't what you would think, but it was just like someone gently touching you. Like holding your hand or brushing a hair off your head. I could tell he was there, but it wasn't uncomfortable like I would've thought. Then again, he was only quieting the noise. I was sure that it would probably feel more intrusive if he had been going through my memories or something.

I felt him pull back out of my mind and I opened my eyes to give him a small smile, knowing that he was still going to be a bit worried; though what made me think that, I couldn't be sure.

"Thank you." I said, watching as he smiled before helping me up.

"Well, come on, then. We've got us some Ood to save."

We hurried out and dodged the bullets aimed for the Ood, before we stopped down an alley.

"I don't know where it is! I don't know where they've gone!"

"What are we looking for?" Donna asked as we started running again.

"It might be underground. Some sort of cave, or a cavern, or—" He stopped, looking around for a moment, before I felt something in my head and looked up.

"This way…" I muttered, before half dragging myself and the Doctor towards where I was getting this odd feeling from.

"How do you know?!" Donna questioned, though still following.

I gestured to my head with my free arm—the other wrapped around the Doctor's back as his held my waist, helping to keep me standing; my mind not having yet caught up with my actions. "There's this feeling in my head. Like a tugging. One of the Ood or something."

"Can you do that?!" She asked, before turning to the Doctor. "Can she do that?"

I felt him shrug. "Looks like it."

"Duck!" I suddenly shouted, all of us falling to the ground just before an explosion went off a ways behind us.

"Alright?" The Doctor asked, checking on Donna and then me.

I just smiled, leaning up on my elbow once I rolled over. "And there he is."

The Doctor and Donna turned as well to see Ood Sigma standing before us. Once I was helped up, I felt him poking around my head and I let him in. Once I'd opened my eyes, I nodded and turned to the Doctor.

"He said he'd take us to them."

"Are you serious?" Donna questioned. "You can actually talk to him?"

I shrugged. "Seems so. Trust me. _I_ don't even know what's going on."

"Well, no time to sit around and figure it out. Lead the way!"

Ood Sigma bowed his head and started to lead us over to the right warehouse. I sighed in relief, still struggling a bit as far as walking goes, but I could feel myself getting better now that the noise was quieter. The Doctor seemed to notice this as well and gave me an encouraging smile.

"How are you doing?"

"Better." I replied, just about able to move on my own, though the Doctor kept next to me to help me when I stumbled. "Now I'm just trying to remember what happens next."

"Don't push yourself." He said seriously. "Your mind's already overworked."

"Yeah, but if I can just save one more life, won't that make today just a bit better?" I said, smiling a bit, causing him to shake his head with a small grin just as we stopped outside the warehouse.

"_You_—"

I didn't expect for him to do _exactly_ what Eleven did when I first met him back in the '_Dinosaurs on a Spaceship' _episode, grabbing my face and slamming his lips to mine before pulling away and moving over to sonic the door. I stood there, frozen once more and not really knowing what to do before he opened the door and turned to me.

"Well? Aren't you coming?"

I pointed to my face. "But you just—"

He rolled his eyes and grabbed my wrist. "Yeah, come on! I'll explain later!"

"Y-You said that last time!"

"Did I?" He questioned, looking lost as I remembered that that was the future him. The Eleventh regeneration.

That thought was thrown aside though, the moment we stopped and saw the Ood Brain; Halpen and Ryder standing nearby and Ood Sigma coming down the stairs after Donna.

"The Ood Brain. Now it all makes sense. That's the missing link. The third element binding them together. Forebrain, hindbrain, and this; the telepathic center. It's a shared mind, connecting all the Ood in song."

There was a click, the cocking of a gun and I groaned, having long gotten tired of the weapons after dealing with them a number of times already.

"Cargo." Halpen said, stepping out from the shadows with Ryder. "I can always go into cargo. I've got the rockets, I've got the sheds. Smaller business. Much more manageable, without _livestock_."

"He's mined the area." Ryder said.

Donna was shocked. "You're going to kill it?"

"They found that thing centuries ago beneath the Northern Glacier." Halpen explained, unconcerned.

"Those pylons."

"In a circle."

"The circle must be broken." I muttered after the Doctor and Donna; the song getting louder now that I was here with the center of it all, but not overbearingly so, since the Doctor muted it some.

"Damping the telepathic field. Stopping the Ood from connecting for 200 years."

"And you, Ood Sigma. You brought them here. I expected better." Halpen scolded, ignoring the Doctor.

"My place is at your side, sir." Ood Sigma said, moving over to where he was obediently, though he seemed to share a look with me as Halpen laughed.

"Still subservient. Good Ood."

I smirked a bit as Halpen seemed to furrow his brows in confusion at something; knowing that his own transformation was beginning. Ood Sigma seemed to share my joy, smiling back in my mind.

"If that barrier thing's in place, how come the Ood started breaking out?" Donna asked and the Doctor shrugged.

"Maybe it's taken centuries to adapt. The subconscious reaching out?"

"Or maybe it's had helped." I whispered, remembering what was to happen to Ryder.

"But the process was too slow. It had to be accelerated." Ryder said, stepping forward. "You should never give me access to the controls, Mr. Halpen. I lowered the barrier to its minimum. Friends Of The Ood, sir. It's taken me _ten years _to infiltrate the company and I succeeded."

"Yes. Yes you did."

I growled and rushed forward, punching Halpen in the face before he could throw Ryder over and kill him and the man stumbled back before lifting his gun to shoot me.

"Alex!"

I wasn't stupid though, and I was already twisting my body around; heel kicking the gun over the side of the railing where it was destroyed by the Ood Brain below.

I rolled my head to crack my neck as I bounced up and down in place. "Ooh, that was nice. I missed practicing that. You look a bit choked up there, Mr. Halpen. Something wrong?"

"_Alex_." The Doctor growled, worry lacing his tone, and I gave him a grin from over my shoulder.

"I'm alright. Knew what I was doing. Especially that bit before." I turned to Halpen and tilted my head innocently. "Do you remember my threat?"

Ood Sigma took that moment to turn and speak. "Would you like a drink, sir?"

Halpen laughed. "I think hair-loss is the least of my problems right now."

"_Oh_, you're right there." I said, Ood Sigma standing next to me with the glass.

"Please have a drink, sir."

"Are you protecting _them_ nooooow." He frowned a bit, working his mouth around, obviously very confused as to what was going on.

"What was it I said? Something about tentacle mouths." I mused as Halpen started to catch on.

"Please have a drink, sir."

"Have… Have you… poisoned me?"

"Natural Ood must never kill, sir." Ood Sigma replied.

"What is that stuff?" The Doctor questioned.

"Ood graft suspended in a biological compound, sir."

"What the hell does that mean?" Halpen asked, holding a hand to his head.

"Oh dear." The Doctor said as I nodded.

"Oh dear, is right."

"Tell me!" Halpen shouted.

"Funny thing, the subconscious. Takes all sorts of shapes. Came out in the red-eye as revenge. Came out in the rabid Ood as anger, and _then_ there was patience. All that intelligence and mercy, focused on Ood Sigma. How's the hair loss, Mr. Halpen?" The Doctor said, starting to understand why I had a grin on my face.

Halpen reached up and pulled another handful of hair off his head, panicking.

"What have you done?"

"Oh, they've been preparing you for a _very_ long time. And now you're standing next to the Ood Brain. Mr. Halpen, can you hear it? Listen."

He shakily looked over at the Ood Brain and my grin grew.

"'I hope you go bald and shoot tentacles out your mouth'." I repeated, mockingly.

"What have you—I'm not—"

Ood Sigma moved aside and Halpen eventually raised his hands up to his head and peeled away the skin, revealing an Ood face before tentacles came out of his mouth.

"They… They turned him into an Ood?"

"Yup." I said, popping the 'p'.

"He's an Ood."

"I noticed."

The new Halpen Ood groaned a bit more, before spitting out a small hindbrain into his hands.

I wrinkled my nose. "Ew, alright. I love the Ood and all, but that's still gross."

"He has become Oodkind. And we will take care of him." Ood Sigma said; and Donna let out a breath, shaking her head, confused.

"It's weird, being with you two. I can't tell what's right and what's wrong anymore."

"It's better that way." The Doctor responded. "People who know for certain tend to be like Mr. Halpen."

I nodded, looking down at my hands as they shook in front of me. Donna's words made me feel sick to my stomach. I was actually _enjoying_ Halpen's suffering at being turned into an Ood. Was this really something to be _happy_ about?

Some beeping started going off and the Doctor let out a surprised 'oh', having forgotten about the explosives until now. Thankfully, he deactivated them in time and smiled.

"That's better. And now! Sigma, would you—" He suddenly stopped, looking over at me as I looked down at the Ood Brain with conflicted feelings. "Would you allow _Alex_ the honor?"

I quickly turned to him in shock. "Me?"

The Doctor nodded. "Why not? You have a special connection with them. Led us _right_ to Ood Sigma. I think you should do it."

Ood Sigma bowed his head in agreement. "The honor is yours."

I slowly nodded, heading over and the Doctor took my hands in his, leading them over the buttons I needed to press to stop the dampener on the Ood Brain as he grinned.

"Stifled for 200 years, but not anymore. The circle is broken. The Ood can _sing_!"

Immediately, the song echoed through the room and the rest of the buildings, all of the Ood joining in. I finally felt relaxed as the song stopped being a sad one of captivity and became one more of hope and thanks. The five of us left the warehouse and once Ryder had given me his thanks, he rushed off to help spread the message; the rest of us heading back towards the Tardis. We were joined by Ood Sigma and a number of others and I lightly kicked the snow at my feet, still feeling a bit upset about this whole thing.

"The message has gone out." The Doctor told the Ood. "That song resonated across the galaxies. Everyone heard it. Everyone knows… The rockets are bringing them back. The Ood are coming home."

"We thank you, Doctor Donna, Alex, friends of Oodkind. And what of you now? Will you stay? There is room in the song for you." Ood Sigma offered, but the Doctor shook his head a bit.

"Oh, I've… I've sort of got a song of my own, thanks."

"I think your song must end soon."

His face quickly dropped. "Meaning?"

"Every song must end." The Ood Sigma replied, before looking at me. "Though yours is only beginning, Alexander, the Seer."

I raised a brow at the nickname, but nodded. "Okay…"

"Yeah." The Doctor turned to Donna. "Um, what about you? You still want to go home?"

"No. Definitely not."

"Then we'll be off." The Doctor replied back to the Ood, who raised their hands in song.

"Take this song with you."

"We will." Donna nodded.

"Always." The Doctor followed.

"Forever." I grinned.

"And know this, Doctor Donna. You will _never_ be forgotten. Our children will sing of the Doctor Donna, and our children's children. And the wind and the ice and the snow will carry your names forever." Ood Sigma said and we turned to get in the Tardis, before he stopped me. "And Alexander the Seer, there is great danger ahead for you and some songs _must_ end, but you must not blame yourself, for you have the kindest of hearts that even Oodkind are incapable of having."

I gave them a shocked look. "But I-I'm not… I'm nothing special. How could I—"

"The answers will come." Ood Sigma replied. "And Silence will fall."

That sent a chill down my spine, quickly making me pale in fear.

"And with it, a song will end. A song with two endings. But only _one_ will happen and it will be up to you."

"W-Wha? But I don't—"

"Goodbye, Alexander. The Seer… and Changer of Time."

"Alex!" I heard the Doctor calling from in the Tardis and I hesitantly turned and walked in just as the Tardis took off.

The Doctor spotted me though and come over, looking confused.

"Hey, are you alright? You look a bit pale." He frowned, looking up at the Tardis. "Did she say something to you?" He half-heartedly smacked the railing. "What have I told you about picking on Alex?"

"No." I said, making him turn back to me as I shook my head. "It's nothing."

He then headed over to me and frowned down at me, confusing me and enticing a little fear to well up in my stomach again.

"You shouldn't have done what you did to Halpen." He reached over and brushed his fingers over my stomach lightly, enticing a small cringe from me. "He could've seriously hurt you!"

"But he didn't!" I called back, wondering why he was so angry with me. "Like I said, I knew what I was doing! I've gotten into fights before!"

"He had a _gun_, Alex!"

"And I took care of it, didn't I? Why can't you just… Why can't you just trust me?" I asked. "You've already asked for me to trust you and I-I really am trying, because you're the only person here for me to trust. But how am I supposed to believe you if you can't even give me that trust back?"

"Alex, I—"

I then quickly changed the subject, poking him in the chest.

"_You_ still haven't explained what that… _thing_ you did before, was all about." I folded my arms in front of me. "Go on then. You want me to trust you? Explain."

"O-Oh. Well you see, there's this, uh, _thing_ that happens and it sort of, um…" He trailed off, pulling a hand through his messy hair; any previous anger forgotten.

"Well? Go on." I said, pushing him. "What 'thing'?"

"Well, it, um… It involves you and it sort of… kind of involves me too. And what happens is, we sort of, uh, accidentally, um…"

I winced as my shoulder began to ache and my eyes suddenly widened as I remembered what happened the last time it did that. The Doctor noticed this and grinned.

"Ah! Well then, looks like you'll be popping off so—"

"_Oh_ no." I said, grabbing his shirt in a fist before he could back out of our conversation, glaring at him half because of pain and the other because I knew what he was pulling. "You better finish explaining right now, Spaceman, or I'm going to make sure whatever companion I run into next will make your regeneration a living nightmare."

His eyes widened and he quickly started to ramble. "Are you serious? You can't do that!"

"Try me." I growled and he held up his hands in surrender.

"Alright! Alright! It was, um, b-back with Martha and we sort of, um went and um, well…"

I was nearly completely engulfed in light and I shook him. "Out with it!"

"Something changed and we—"

Just before he could say anything, I time jumped, landing in the dark in some old house, alone.

"That little _rat_." I hissed under my breath, before growing into a yell "I'm going to freaking KILL HIM! AGGHHHH!"


	4. Hide & Daleks in Manhattan

**Another chapter for you awesome people ^^ thank you to those who reviewed and favorited this too! It's nice to know people like it. This is a bit sorter than usual, but the next few chapters i'll post in a few days or so will make up for it :)**

* * *

The Eleventh Doctor grinned excitedly at his newest adventure, his companion Clara at his side as they knocked on the large wooden door and stepped just out of view so that when it opened, they could give the people inside a nice scare. As soon as the door opened, he waited _just_ a moment, before poking his head out excitedly with a shout.

"Boo! Haha! Hello!" He grinned, before going serious. "I'm looking for a ghost."

"And you are?" The man, Alec Palmer, asked.

Clara then took her chance to step out from behind the Doctor, smacking an umbrella against her hand. "Ghostbusters."

The Doctor chuckled a bit at that, liking the reference, before he flipped out his psychic paper. "I'm the Doctor."

"Doctor what?"

"If you like." He said, ignoring the actual question, gesturing to his companion. "And this is Clara."

He then pushed past Palmer, hurrying over to the machinery he knew would be set up in the entry room.

"Ooh! You are very dedicated! _You_ are Major Alec Palmer. Member of the Baker Street Irregulars, the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare." The Doctor moved in closer, speaking in a whisper now. "Specialized in espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance behind enemy lines." He then spoke up excitedly once more. "You're a talented watercolorist, professor of psychology and ghost hunter. Total pleasure. Massive."

He shook the man's hand as he took off his glasses with an angry look, and the woman spoke up this time.

"Actually, you're wrong. Professor Palmer spent most of the war as POW."

"Actually, that's a lie told by a very brave man involved in very secret operations." The Doctor went and whispered to Palmer again. "The type of man who keeps a Victoria Cross in a box in the attic, eh?" He patted the man's arm and went over to the woman. "But you know that, because you're Emma Grayling!" He held her shoulders and kissed the air beside both her cheeks in greeting. "The Professor's companion."

"Assistant." She corrected.

"It's 1974. You're the assistant and '_non-objective_' equipment." He did his little air-quotes and turned to Clara with a grin. "Meaning psychic."

"Getting that. Bless you, though." She replied, the Doctor patting Palmer's arm again and moving over towards her as Palmer explained to Emma.

"Relax, Emma. He's Military Intelligence. _So_…" He went back to speaking to the Doctor. "What is all this in aid of?"

"Health and safety. Yeah, the Ministry got wind of what's going on down here. Sent me to check that everything's in order."

"They don't have the right."

"Don't worry, guv-nor. I'll be out of your hair in five minutes. Oh!" The Doctor snapped his fingers and pointed to a piece of equipment on the table excitedly. "Oh, look. Oh, lovely. The ACR 99821. Oh, bliss. Nice action on the toggle switches. You know I do _love_ a toggle switch." He stopped playing with said switch and sat on the table beside Clara. "Actually, I like the word toggle. Heh. Nice noun. _Excellent_ verb."

Clara had reached over to play with the toggle switch too, but the Doctor smacked her hand off it.

"Oi, don't mess with the settings."

He then swung himself up off the table and pulled out his sonic screwdriver, scanning them as he walked over to the nearest doorway.

"What's that?" Palmer asked.

"Gadget. Health and safety. Classified, I'm afraid. You know, while the back room boffins work out a few kinks."

"What's it telling you?" Clara inquired.

"It's telling me that you haven't been exposed to any life-threatening transmundane emanations. So…" He spun around and clapped his hands, moving to grab a candelabra. "Where's the ghost? Show me the ghosts."

A bang echoed through the house, but he was unbothered.

"It's ghost time."

They hurried off to explore the house a bit, the Doctor leading the way, but he was starting to get a bad feeling. As though he had forgotten something from a long time ago that was about to come back and haunt him.

"I will not have this stolen out from under me, do you understand?" Palmer told him, but he wasn't paying attention; more caught up on this feeling.

"Um, no. Not really. Sorry." _What could it be? What could I have forgotten?_

"I will not have my work stolen, then be fobbed off with a pat on the back and a letter from the Queen." Palmer explained. "Never again. This is _my_ house, Doctor, and it belongs to _me._"

The Doctor stopped and gave him a look, before going down another hall and looking it over, Clara speaking up.

"This is actually your house?"

"It is."'

"Sorry." Clara was a little confused. "You went to the bank and said, 'you know that gigantic old haunted house on the moors? The one the dossers are too scared to doss in? The one the birds are too scared to fly over?' And then you said, 'I'd like to buy it please, with my money'."

"Yes. I did, actually."

"That's incredibly brave." She admitted, knowing that she might never do that.

"Listen, Major." The Doctor said, taking over the talking after a creak echoed through the house. "We just need to know what's going on here."

"For the Ministry."

"You know I can't answer that."

It took him a moment, but Palmer soon sighed sharply out his nose and turned away.

"Very well, follow me."

Palmer showed them back to the room where his things were set up and pinned a few more photos onto a board. The Doctor distracted himself by photographing his odd poses, but Clara was asking Emma questions instead.

"So what's an empathic psychic?"

"Sometimes I sense feelings, the way a telepath can sense thoughts. Sometimes though. Not always."

"The most compassionate people you'll ever meet, empathics." The Doctor explained further, drinking from a milk glass. "And the loneliest. I mean, exposing themselves to all those hidden feelings, all that guilt, pain and sorrow and—"

"Doctor?" Clara cut him off.

"Yes?"

"Shush."

"Would you care to have a look?" Palmer said, turning the board around and then stepping away from the board, ready to explain. "Caliburn House is over four hundred years old, but she has been here much longer. The Caliburn Ghast. She's mentioned in local Saxon poetry and Parish folk tales. The Wraith of the Lady, the Maiden in the Dark, the Witch of the Well."

"Is she real? As in, actually real?" Clara asked, and Palmer clarified.

"Oh, she's real. In the seventeenth century, a local clergyman saw her. He wrote that her presence was accompanied by a dreadful knocking, as if the Devil himself demanded entry… During the war, American airmen stationed here left offerings of tinned Spam. The tins were found in 1965, bricked up in the servants' pantry, along with a number of handwritten notes. Appeals to the Ghast. 'For the love of God, stop screaming'."

"She never changes." Clara noted, the Doctor going to grab the candelabra to get a better look. "The angle's different, the framing, but she's always in exactly the same position. Why is that?"

"We don't know." Palmer said. "She's an objective phenomenon, but objective recording equipment can't detect her—"

"Without the presence of a powerful psychic." The Doctor finished for him.

"Absolutely. Very well done." He complimented, removing his glasses as Emma suddenly spoke up.

"She knows I'm here. I can feel her calling out to me."

"What's she saying?"

"Help me."

Clara looked over towards and entryway, where she thought she saw something move, but there was nothing there, so she went back to looking at the photos with the Doctor.

"The Witch of the Well…" He frowned, turning to Palmer. "So where's the well?"

Palmer silently sighed, leading the Doctor over to a set of plans on a table nearby. "A copy of the oldest plans that we could find. There is no well on the property. None that we could find, anyway."

Everyone's heads snapped up as there was a loud 'thump' from above them, a ghastly shout echoing through the house.

"—KILL HIM! AGGHHHH!"

Everyone stiffened, Palmer and Emma looking scared.

"That's… That's never happened before."

"Really?" The Doctor questioned, but there was something about that ghastly shout that had a chill running up his own spine.

Even so, no one dared offer to go up and check it out. It was soon forgotten. It wasn't until later that the Doctor snuck over to Clara and tapped her on the head, making her jump with a small gasp.

"You coming?" He whispered, the candelabra still in his grasp.

"Where?" She whispered back.

"To find the ghost."

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Because you want to. Come on." He turned and took a few steps before she could speak.

"Well, I dispute that assertion."

"Eh?" He turned back around, shocked by her response. "I'm giving you a face. Can you see me? Look at my face." He said, nodding his head towards the hall in a way that he didn't want to attract attention, but they already were.

Clara took a moment, but gave in. "Fine." She walked over, but paused beside him. "Dare me."

"I dare you. No takesies backsies."

She shook her head and took the candelabra from him and left, him clapping with soft chuckles before Emma called out to them.

"The music room is the heart of the house."

He gave them a nod, slightly upset they got caught, but the two of them left with only the candelabra to shed light, eager to find something worth while. They walked down the long corridor, cautiously peeking around a corner before stepping out into another.

"Say we actually find her." Clara said. "What do we say?"

"We ask her how she came to be… whatever she is."

"Why?" She whispered, causing him to do the same.

"Because I don't know and ignorance is… what's the opposite of bliss?"

"Carlisle."

He snapped his fingers. "Yes. Yes, Carlisle. Ignorance is Carlisle."

They peeked around another corner and stepped out before entering the kitchen. Behind them something moved in the shadows, but they were ignorant to it's presence. The Doctor ducked to check under a table, popping back up and looking around with Clara, even searching inside a tea pot, to no avail. Still no ghost. Finally, they strolled into another room with a large harp in it, the Doctor heading in first with his screwdriver alight.

"Ah, the music room. The heart of the house." He paused, turning towards Clara. "Do you feel anything?"

"No."

"Your pants are so on fire." He said, catching her in a lie and making her chuckle as he fiddled with the screwdriver again.

He patted it, breathing on it a bit, before pointing it towards another entryway, checking the readings as Clara whispered behind him.

"Do you feel like you're being watched?"

"What does being watched feel like?" He whispered back. "Is it that funny tickly feeling on the back of your neck?"

"That's the chap."

"Then yes. A bit. Well, quite a big bit."

He wandered away from her, looking around as a creaking came from behind her in the shadows. She spun around, but there was nothing there.

"Doctor? That feeling's getting worse."

"I thought so too." He said, heading back her way. "But it's more like… we're not alone."

The candelabra suddenly went out and they booth stared at one another with wide eyes as they spotted a figure out of the corner of their eyes.

"That's because you're not." It breathed out.

* * *

"Ah!" Clara screamed along with the Doctor, both backing up into the moonlight seeping in through the curtains; her holding out the candelabra threateningly and him doing the same with his screwdriver.

"Stay back! I _will_ use this!"

I rolled my eyes, slapping the device away from my face. "What are you going to do? Assemble a cabinet at me?" I then stepped forward into the moonlight, smiling at the woman at his side. "Hello, Clara."

"A-Alex!" She breathed out in relief as I chuckled, only for her to smack me in the arm, accentuating her next words. "Why. Did. You. Do. That?!"

She smacked me once more and I waved a hand at her, stepping back out of her reach.

"_Ow_! It's _his_ fault! Smack him!" I countered, rubbing my arm where she'd hit me.

"What did _I_ do?!" He exclaimed and I rounded on him with a glare.

"Do?! You kissed me! _Again_! And you _still_ haven't explained it!"

"I _told you_ it's spoilers! Where have you been, anyway?!" He said, both of us in each others faces at this point.

"Planet of the Ood! With Donna! And a Tenth regeneration who _apparently_ doesn't hate me!" I tossed my hands up, speaking sarcastically. "Whoo! How nice to know! Rose-Tenth hates my guts, offers to feed me to a werewolf and then Donna-Tenth thinks it's okay to just pop a kiss in the middle of an Ood revolution! Perfectly normal! Oh, and let's not forget to mention _yelling_ at me afterwards!"

"He had a gun!" The Eleventh argued. "You could've been shot!"

"But I wasn't!" I sang, waving a finger at him, before getting angry once more. "Oh, but that's right. I'm expected to trust you blindly! You can't even tell me why I'm here!"

"I explained this already! You jump through my time-line!"

"That's not what I'm asking!" I shouted back, hating the fact that tears were starting to well up again. I'd been crying far too much lately. "I-I still don't understand… W-Why can't anyone tell me?"

"Oh, Alexander." He stepped forward and pulled me against him, running a hand through my short auburn hair. "My poor Alexander. You've been trying so hard, haven't you?"

I gripped the back of his coat tightly and grit my teeth, trying to use that to keep me from crying. After a moment, I let go and he pulled back, leaning over and holding my upper arms.

"Come on, now. No more crying."

I frowned at him wiping my eyes even though no tears had fallen. "I'm not crying."

He smiled. "Of course not, but there's more than one way to cry, Alex and it doesn't have to be with tears."

"Stop being so clever." I said back with a small smile.

"Ah, see? There's the Alex I know and love." He kissed my forehead and stood upright, making me roll my eyes and flush slightly as his words sunk in._ Love?_ "Now then! Ghosts! The Witch of the Well! Sorry, Clara, kind of ignored you for a bit there." He apologized, but she just smiled and waved a hand about.

"Ah, no. It's fine. It's always fun watching you two bicker."

"Right. So, Alex." He turned back to me. "What do you know about this, hm? Anything you can tell us? Any hints?"

I thought about it for a moment, face scrunched up in a frown. "Hm… She's not a real ghost. I know that, but there was something else…"

"That's alright then. No rush! Well, unless it's something life threatening, then I do suggest you rush." He chuckled and I shook my head.

"Nah. This was a very… relaxed episode." I then paused, letting his hand go and looking over at him as I realized what I said and cringed a bit. "Have I told you about that?"

"This was a TV show back in your world. I was played by different actors, currently—" He spun around, giving me an exaggerated bow. "Matt Smith. Do love a good Smith. But anyway!" He wandered around the room a bit. "My life turned into a television series staring myself and my companions, fighting monsters, defeating bad guys." He made a stabbing motion like a fencer. "Protecting the universe! Yes, I do believe you've told me."

I shook my head with a chuckle, before heading over to Clara and putting an arm over her shoulders. "Then I hope you remember, I'll be corrupting Clara with my evil ways since you didn't tell me anything, Doctor."

"Oh, you can't do that! I like Clara!" He complained, making Clara look over at me and back at him with a smile.

"Oh, I do believe she can, Doctor."

He groaned, moving over towards a doorway, grumbling to himself. "Just what I need, someone _else_ to push my buttons."

Clara and I chuckled, before she turned to him; the Doctor moving in and out of a certain entryway.

"Cold spot. Spooky. Cold. Warm. Cold. Warm. Cold. Warm. Cold—"

"Could you give us a little light then, Doctor?"

He waved his sonic at us and the candelabra lit back up again, just as the creaking started.

"Alex? Did you hear that? I think she's here."

"Possibly." I shrugged, but headed over to the Doctor, curious about the cold spot he was dancing in and out of.

"Cold spot?"

"Warm. Cold. Look. Try it."

He took my hand and pulled me forward, the temperature going down a few degrees, before pulling me out; the temperature going back up.

"Ooh, that _is_ weird." I began dancing in and out with him, copying his earlier mantra. "Warm. Cold. Warm. Cold."

He stopped and pulled out a piece of chalk, moving me out of the cold spot and drawing a circle.

"Doctor?" Clara muttered behind us as I questioned him.

"Where did you get the chalk?"

"My pocket, of course." He responded as he finished the circle. "Time Lord technology."

"Riiiiiight." I drawled out. "Bigger on the inside."

He sent me a smirk, pulling out his sonic and scanning the floor as Clara spoke up.

"Doctor."

"What?"

"I'm not happy."

"No." He answered simply, before walking out.

She gave me a look and I just shrugged, waiting for her as she called out after him.

"Hey!"

The two of us caught up with him and headed down a hall, before there was a loud noise, making the Doctor flinch.

"Ooh, that was cool!" I grinned, looking up and around.

"Cool? Are you serious?" Clara questioned in disbelief, but turned to the Doctor as I didn't answer. "What was that?"

The noises continued and then the candelabra was suddenly blown out.

"Oh-ho, _yes_!" I grinned, leaning between the shocked Doctor and Clara in excitement. "Isn't this the greatest?!"

"You aren't freaked out by this?" She questioned me as the temperature dropped and we started seeing our breath in the air.

"No way. I laugh at horror films. 'Sides, I've seen real ghosts and I already know that this isn't one. What's there to worry about?"

She laughed shakily. "You're out of your mind."

"Only a bit." I chuckled, the three of us moving over towards the window; my mood having picked up a bit now that I was distracted.

The Doctor breathed into his hands, pointing at the window as it quickly frosted over. The noise started up again and the Doctor spun around, scratching his head, whereas Clara breathed out fearfully.

"Okay. What is that?"

"It's, uh… I-I… Uh, it's a very loud noise. It's a very loud, very angry noise." He stuttered out, leaning against the wall on his elbow.

I slapped his side playfully. "Oh, just admit it. You don't know _what_ it is."

He pouted at me as Clara questioned it again.

"What's making it?"

"I don't know." He finally answered in frustration. "Are _you_ making it?"

The noise went off, louder this time and causing the Doctor to quickly grab me and scurry us both over to Clara. I rolled my eyes.

"Big chickens."

"It's nice you're fine, but Doctor?" Clara whispered.

"Yes?"

"I may be a teeny tiny bit terrified."

"Yes?" He grinned, starting to look more excited than scared.

"But I'm still a grown-up."

"Mainly, yes, and?"

"There's no need to actually hold my hand." She quickly whispered out.

He looked down and held up his hands, one of mine too, and gestured for me to hold up my other hand, which I did. All four empty.

"Clara?"

"Yeah?"

The Doctor shook his hands and they looked at each other in shock before looking behind us just as lightning flashed, revealing something crouched in front of the curtain.

My own eyes widened at the creature and I pointed at it in shock as the Doctor and Clara screamed and ran down the hall behind me.

"Ah! I remember now!"

The Doctor returned and grabbed my wrist, pulling me with him. "That's nice! Let's go!"

We rushed down the stairs and into the room where the psychic and professor were, just as a rotating black mirror showed up. The Doctor let me go, leaving me on the bottom step as he too out his sonic screwdriver and started scanning it.

"Have you seen this before?" He asked the man.

"Never."

The Doctor grew frustrated with his sonic, which appeared to be malfunctioning, and quickly reached for the camera that the professor was holding.

"Camera! Camera!"

He starts taking pictures as the glass cracked, but my eyes were on Emma, who was seeing the woman in front of her. I was careful, but put my hands on her shoulders, staying as calm as possible as I spoke quietly.

"Don't be afraid, Emma. Stay calm. Breathe."

"Doctor!" I heard Clara call, getting his attention and drawing it towards the two of us and what we were seeing.

I slowly let go of her shoulders as the ghostly woman turned towards us, and gestured to Emma once I got the professor's attention.

"Catch."

"Wha—" He couldn't even finish before Emma collapsed and he caught her before she hit the floor.

There was a loud crash then and I turned with Clara to look upstairs where words appeared, and I called to the Doctor.

"Doctor? Might want to check this out."

He turned around and made his way up the stairs to look at the words, reaching out before they—along with the mirror—disappeared. After that, the Doctor quickly went to develop the film from the camera and Clara and Emma went to rest after their scare. I would've joined them, but I wasn't scared and I felt that I wouldn't be much help in their conversation about Professor Palmer and his feelings for Emma. Instead, I set about making some tea with what was left over in the kitchen, knowing that Emma and Clara would rather that than the whiskey they were undoubtedly drinking now. Unfortunately, that meant that I was alone and that meant that I was left to think.

"Thinking can be the worst pastime, sometimes." I muttered under my breath, hoping that I was making the tea right.

_There's nothing super big about this episode other than the Doctor nearly getting trapped in a pocket universe with the monster Romeo, but… _I sighed, taste testing the tea before putting the pot on a tray and searching for some glasses. _Look at me. Still worrying about other people. Good quality, sure, but… I wish there was someone who'd look out for me. God, now I'm being selfish._ I shook my head, grabbing the tea cups I found and quickly cleaning them out. _There was just never anyone at home I could talk to about anything. Not even my parents understood. And now… now I'm even more alone than I was before and… I wish I could go back._ I stared down at the tea cup in my hand, flipping it around to look at the little floral design on it as it reminded me of the fine china my mom kept around the kitchen at home. I sighed and went to reach for a towel, but the glass slipped out of my hand and broke in the sink, making me wince as a piece cut my finger.

"Just what I needed." I muttered, sticking the bleeding appendage in my mouth. "Another reminder that this isn't just a dream."

Once I'd grabbed another cup and cleaned up the mess, I headed back out with the tea, about to announce myself, only to find the two of them already had tea and were chattering away happily. I slowly closed my mouth, looking over them sadly, and went back to the kitchen where I sat at the table with a sigh and drank by myself, though the tea had long gone cold by the time I took the first sip.

* * *

"Alex! Alex, where are you?!" I heard the Doctor calling out after a while of sitting in the dark with only a candle and my depressing thoughts to keep me company. "Ah, there you are… Are you alright?" He asked, after coming up behind me.

I quickly plastered on a small smile, looking at him from over my shoulder. "Hm? Oh yeah. I'm fine. What's up?"

He gave me a look, but nodded his head towards the door. "We were going to take some pictures in the Tardis."

"Oh, okay." I got up, pushing my chair in, moving to head out, but he grabbed my wrist and stopped me.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

My chest clenched. I wanted to tell him, but I pushed past the feeling and just nodded with a grin.

"Yeah. I told you, I'm totally fine."

He hesitantly nodded and we headed over to where Clara was waiting with an umbrella. The Doctor grinned and gestured forward.

"Off we go then!"

The Doctor and I hurried through the rain uncovered, though I didn't mind, and Clara did her best to cover herself—and sometimes him too—with the pink umbrella. She stopped him though, once we were under an arch and he gave her a look.

"I've got this weird feeling it's looking at me. It doesn't like me." She whispered, speaking about the Tardis in front of us.

I nodded, agreeing. "She attacked me with chickens and plastic balls the last time I was in her."

Clara leaned over to look at me from the other side of the Doctor. "Seriously?"

I nodded. "I've got feathers to prove it."

Demonstrating my point, I reached into my pants pockets and pulled out some small, white feathers that had gotten caught on me from earlier and dropped them on the ground.

"Ooh, that's not very nice." She said with a wince.

"You weren't the one running." I quipped back, the Doctor rolling his eyes.

"The Tardis is like a cat. A bit slow to trust…" He hurried over to it. "…but you'll get there in the end." He hurried and opened the door, before turning towards us both and pointing. "But she _likes_ you, Alex. In a… jokingly sort of way."

He headed in then and Clara and I hurried over too, but the door closed and I rolled my eyes as Clara knocked.

"Good to know she likes to tease me even now."

The Tardis hummed in a laughing way and I frowned at it, waving a finger.

"There better be no chickens this time, you pesky thing."

The door opened and Clara and I both headed in—myself a bit cautiously—as the Doctor moved back towards the console.

"Hey." Clara called out, holding her wet umbrella in question as the Doctor spun some sort of knob. "You need a place to keep this."

"I've got one." He replied, pointing and we looked, but there was nothing there. "Or I had one… I think I had one."

"And I think she's just hiding it from us." I muttered, eyeing the ceiling in distrust.

"Look around. See if you find it." The Doctor said, ignoring my muttering as he peeked under the console for it. "Did I have one?"

Clara raised a brow at me and I shrugged, so she just started shaking the umbrella out right there.

"Am I going mad?" The Doctor questioned with a frown, before spotting Clara. "No! Not in here!" He took the umbrella from her. "How do you expect her to like you? She's _soaking_ wet." He tapped the umbrella on the step before placing it down on the ground nearby. "It's a health and safety nightmare."

Clara looked up. "Sorry." She whispered and the Tardis grumbled.

"Ooh." I mused, leaning over towards Clara. "She's only _barely_ accepting that apology."

"Well, what else am I supposed to do?" She asked and I shrugged again, only for her to frown. "Wait, you can understand it?"

I pointed at her. "There. Stop calling her 'it'. That might help. And yeah." I looked back up at the ceiling. "I can understand the gist of what she's saying."

"How?"

"Dunno. Ask him." I said, tossing a finger over my shoulder at the Doctor before wandering my way around the room to peek in the hallway door for the threat of chickens.

"So!" Clara jumped off the first stair and started bouncing around to the Doctor. "Where are we going?"

"Nowhere. We're staying right here. Right here, on this exact spot, if I can work out how to do it." He said, flipping levers and causing the lights to dim as I made it to the hallway door.

"So, when are we going?"

He laughed. "Heheh. Oh, that is good." He gave her a high-five. "That is top-notch."

"And the answer is?"

"We're going always." He gave a quick spin around just as I opened the door and peeked through it.

"We're going always." Clara repeated.

"Totally!" He chirped

"That's not actually a sentence."

I looked down the hall one way to see nothing, but the moment I turned the other way, a huge wave came out of nowhere and drenched my top half before I could pull my head out; leaving me sputtering.

"Well, it's got a verb in it." The Doctor wandered out beside me from another doorway with an orange spacesuit, holding it up and spinning around. "What do you think?"

"Uh, color's a bit boisterous." Clara responded with the Doctor grinning afterwards.

"I think it brings out my eyes."

"Makes my eyes hurt."

The Doctor lowered the suit dejectedly at that, turning to me to complain—most likely—only to find me with my arms crossed over my chest blowing a wet strand of hair off my forehead.

"Did you go swimming?"

"_No_, I didn't go swimming." I snapped, tossing a thumb over my shoulder at the wall. "_Sexy_ here decided I needed another shower and _drowned_ me the moment I poked my head into the hallway to check for chickens."

He grinned. "See! Told you she likes you!"

He bounded up the stairs back to the console, pulling on the orange suit as he went, before starting the Tardis up to take us back in time. I climbed up as well, clinging to the railing as I shouted over the noise.

"What part of '_drowned me_' didn't compute in that giant head of yours?!"

The Tardis landed and he shoved a helmet on before grabbing the old-fashioned camera and heading out, leaving me scowling up at the ceiling and pointing rudely at it.

"This is _your_ fault."

The Tardis hummed and I moved over to the console still pointing up at her.

"Don't you sass me!"

I heard chuckling then and turned my frown over to Clara.

"S-Sorry." She apologized between chuckles. "It's just kind of funny watching you argue with it—her."

I pulled a hand through my soggy hair with a grimace. "Remind me to laugh at you next time she picks on you then."

Some cloth fell on my head out of nowhere and I pulled it off, eyeing the ceiling once more.

"Oh yeah, thanks! _Now_ you start being nice to me."

I dried my hair with the towel, grumbling under my breath as the Tardis hummed out a chuckle and Clara moved over to watch the door just as the Doctor returned from outside.

"Back off!" He said, waving his arms as Clara held up her hands and took a few steps back. "Hot suit! Hot, hot, hot!"

He moved over to the console, suit still on and steam starting to come from it as Clara moved over between me and him; myself leaning up against the console.

"When are we?"

"About six billion years ago. It's a Tuesday, I think." He sent the Tardis off again, before removing the suit and heading towards the doors. "Come on then!"

Clara shared a glance with me before grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the Tardis into a jungle.

"Ooh, reminds me of the Silurian ship and Danny."

The Doctor turned around to face me. "Who's Danny?"

"The Ankylosaurus I rode, remember?"

"Ah! Right!" He pointed out a rather large dragonfly as it landed and he started taking pictures again as Clara peeked around my side.

"You rode on a dinosaur?"

I nodded. "Time jumped with one right in front of my face. It like the apple candies I had so I tied one to a stick, it tossed me on it's back and off we went."

"Aw, cool!" She said excitedly as I gave her a smug grin and a wink.

The next place we traveled to was one of the first versions of the house, before Clara and I were back in the Tardis as he traveled into the far future; back in his orange suit.

"Back in a mo!" He called out, opening the door before turning back. "You alright, Clara?"

She smiled a bit. "Totally. Peachy-keen."

"Okay then. But don't press any buttons, or pull any levers, or make any funny faces. Actually, don't move. Stand completely still. Don't breathe. Well… you can breathe. But shallow breathes."

Clara held up a thumbs-up and he returned the gesture, before pointing at me.

"And no fighting."

"She started it." I grumbled, looking up at the ceiling once more as Clara moved over to a monitor to watch him outside.

I popped up behind her though and spoke, knowing what she was worried about.

"You know, you're a rather good liar."

She jumped, closing her eyes briefly. "Don't _do_ that. God, you love scaring me, don't you?"

I smiled, taking a step back and leaning up against the console beside her. "Only a bit. Scaring people is fun. I like watching them jump…" I then grew serious. "But you're avoiding the question."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you caught me. You want a medal?"

I shook my head. "Nah. I just want you to talk. Not to me." I corrected, nodding my head towards the doors. "To him though. He'll get worried."

"Are you… not worried?"

"I am, but I just…" I paused thinking. _What do I want?_ "I just want him to understand you a bit more. Understand _people_ a bit more."

"And you're okay with this?" She gestured to the screen in slight confusion. "We just watched the life cycle of the Earth. You could tell him too, you know."

I shook my head. "Can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't care." I said, looking towards the screen of the devastated Earth. "I can't. Sure, it's the Earth, but it's not _my_ Earth. I'm stuck bouncing around the time stream of a character I watched on the TV. So this… doesn't effect me the way it does you." I turned back to her. "That's why I couldn't possibly tell him what you're feeling right now."

She was quiet for a moment and then went to say something, but the Doctor returned, cutting her off from whatever it was she wanted to tell me.

"What's wrong?"

Clara went silent, though I could see there were tears in her eyes and she was upset. About what I said or what she'd just saw, I could exactly tell.

"Did the Tardis say something to you?" The Doctor questioned, taking off his gloves and slapping at the console. "Are you being mean?"

"No, it's not that." Clara finally said, I myself feeling the Tardis's version of her rolling her eyes. "Have we just watched the entire life cycle of Earth, birth to death?"

"Yes." He said, unbothered, though I caught him sending me a glance as I wandered over to the railing and leaned on my elbows to stare at the wall and listen in.

"And you're okay with that?"

"Yes." He sounded a little confused now.

"How _can_ you be?" She questioned and I could hear the disbelief in his voice as he replied.

"The Tardis. She's _time_. We… Wibbly vortex and so on."

"That's not what I mean."

"Okay. Some help. Context. Alex, come help me with this."

I turned around and shook my head. "You're on your own for this one, Spaceman."

He sent me a look, but I ignored it and he turned back to Clara.

"Cheat sheet… Something?"

"I mean, one minute you're in 1974 looking for ghosts, but all you have to do is open your eyes and talk to whoever's standing there. To you, I haven't been born yet… and to you I've been dead one hundred billion years…" Clara said, voice holding a twinge of sadness. "Is my body out there somewhere? In the ground?"

"Yes, I suppose it is." He said, almost snapping as he wandered over to the stairs and holding onto the railings, staring down below.

"But here we are, talking. So I am a ghost. To you, I'm a ghost. We're all ghosts to you. We must be nothing."

"No." He looked back at her. "No. You're not that."

He headed down the stairs and she followed after him, the two of them stopping.

"Then what are we? What can we possibly be?"

"You are the only mystery worth solving." He said, sending her another glance before moving downstairs to put the suit back.

What he didn't hear, was what she said next, directing the question to me.

"How can he say that?" She headed my way, looking upset. "How can he say that like we're just some kind of puzzle to him?"

I sighed, pulling a hand through my hair, having not expected the conversation to have continued, let alone go in this direction.

"It's not that. He's just… He has a hard time getting close to people, is all." I tapped my fingers against my thigh. "He's lost a lot of people and I guess he's just forgotten how to act around them. It's not that we're a puzzle to him, I mean, not entirely. He might just… be saying that to convince himself that that's all it is. He doesn't want to get close to someone only to loose them again, so he takes the stand-offish 'I'm the Doctor' personality in the hopes that if he's cruel at just the right moment, people won't get close."

_It's kind of sad that it only seems to do the opposite. He's so desperate to not be alone and have someone with him that he picks up people who make him curious. Then he treats them like a puzzle or a pet, planning on dropping them off when he's finished, but both people end up worming their ways into each others hearts… and then… he's alone again._

"Do you… Do you really think that's it? That's the reason?" Clara asked and I shrugged, pushing off the railing and brushing a hand along the console; feeling a tingling in my shoulder as I did.

"Who knows. Maybe. It was just a guess on my part. I may know some things, but no one knows everything." I smiled a little. "Not even the Doctor."

I cringed as my shoulder suddenly started aching and I groaned.

"Really? I don't even get to finish?"

Clara looked over at me worried as I started to glow and gripped my shoulder. "You're leaving?"

"Looks like it." I grunted, before remembering something. "Oh! Make sure the Doctor doesn't forget about Romeo!"

"Who?"

"Not who. What! I told you, the ghost isn't the only one needing saving. Romeo has to get back with his Juliet! He'll understand, so don't let him leave until he does. And Clara?"

I steeped forwards, grimacing as the pain increased, but put my hands on her shoulders with a small grin.

"Stick with him. Help him understand and most of all…" I leaned closer, smirking devilishly. "Make his life hell."

With that, I time jumped, not knowing that the Doctor had heard everything from down below the stairs. _Everything_, and he couldn't help the soft smile that had crept onto his face.

_She knows me better than she thinks._

* * *

Now, I'm used to popping up in strange places by this point but even this was a bit of a stretch.

"Now that's just gross." I grimaced, lifting up my hand and flinging the sewage off of it.

That's right. Sewage. Somehow, for one reason or another, I'd landed in a sewer in who knows where. Lovely, right? No. Not really. I got up, moving to wipe my hand on my coat, but stopped sort, not wanting to ruin it. So instead, I wiped it on my pants. They were pretty much ruined anyway after all the running around I've done with the Ood and the short time I was with Clara and the Eleventh Doctor. _It's not like they're designers or anything either. Just some ratty old things, but comfy nonetheless. Just how I like 'em._

"Now then." I looked around and tucked my hands in my pockets. "Time to find a ladder and a way out of here."

Easier said than done, it seems, because I ended up walking around for a long while with no such luck. The ladders I did find had manhole covers on them that had been sealed shut from the outside. Things couldn't really get much worse. With no sign of the Doctor or anything alien, I started to wonder if I had just time jumped somewhere he wasn't, despite what I'd been told about jumping only around his time-line. Just as I was thinking this though, I heard a squeal coming from behind me. _Was that… No…_ I turned and started walking backwards as shadows approached. Once the group were in view, I immediately groaned.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me."


	5. Evolution of the Daleks

**Alright, i lied. here's the next chapter early ^^ i figured the last one wasn't exciting enough and thought this would make up for it. though i will warn you, there's a _tiny_ bit of character cruelty in here. to my own character, mind you. i was a bit mean to her in this chapter, but please, _please_ review and let me know what you think! i love hearing feedback.**

* * *

"Pig-men! Seriously?!" I shouted, running through the sewer tunnels without the slightest idea of where I was going. "Couldn't just drop me off someplace nice like a beach or a museum. Nooooo. Had to be the sewers of Manhattan with freakin' pig-men!"

I turned the corner and scowled at the choice up ahead. _Another fork in the road. Alright then, left or right?_ _Eenie meenie miney—_ I suddenly stopped my mental decision making upon seeing people running down the tunnel to the right. _Familiar_ people.

I grinned. "Right it is."

I picked up my pace and rounded the corner right next to the Tenth Doctor.

"Alex!"

"Hello!" I grinned up at him, mentally questioning if this Tenth was angry with me or not. "You being chased by pig-men too?"

The squealing behind us picked up and he shouted with a grin.

"Sounds like it!"

"Who's this, then?!" Someone shouted from behind me and I turned back with a surprised look.

"Ah! Martha Jones!"

"Introductions later!" The Doctor called out. "Running!"

"Where are we going?!" Martha questioned as we reached another tunnel.

"This way!" The Doctor hurried down it and we followed along, before he spotted something and changed directions behind us. "It's a ladder! Come on!"

"Hope you have your sonic! All the ladders I came across had sealed shut manhole covers!" I called out, coming up behind him.

"Don't leave the Tardis without it!" He said, opening it and we all hurried up.

Unfortunately, Frank—the young boy who was with the group—hung back and the Doctor wasn't able to pull him up before the other man shoved him aside and closed the cover.

"We can't go after him." He grunted, closing it, but the Doctor tried to stop him.

"We've got to go back down. We can't just leave him."

"No. I'm not losing anybody else!" The man shouted, shoving him off the manhole cover. "Those creatures were from Hell. From Hell itself! If we go after them, they'll take us all!… There's nothing we can do. I'm sorry."

The Doctor turned to me and I stepped back, fearing that he would react like the Tenth Doctor with Rose and snap at me for not telling him anything again, but I had seriously forgotten about Frank getting taken by the pigs. There wasn't really time to think about what was going to happen next, what with the whole being chased by pig-men, but I knew that wouldn't convince the Doctor.

"I-I'm sorry." I whispered, taking a hesitant step back from him. "I didn't remember. T-The pigs… I couldn't—"

He shook his head, looking upset, but not actually getting angry at me. "No. It's fine. I understand."

I eyed him warily, not expecting him to just be accepting it like that so soon after what should've happened to Rose and the parallel world, but thinking about it was quickly tossed aside when a woman stepped out, pointing a gun at us.

"Alright then, put 'em up."

Martha quickly did so and I hesitantly joined with the other man beside me as she cocked the gun.

"Hands in the air and no funny business."

The Doctor joined us with his hands up and the woman narrowed her eyes at us.

"Now tell me, you schmucks… what have you done with Laszlo?"

"Who's Laszlo?" Martha questioned and the woman gave us a look.

"You mean you don't know?"

I shrugged, hands still raised. "No, not really. Just popping in."

She frowned and nodded behind her. "Come on. I'll tell ya, but only 'cause I trust ya."

We followed her out and I nudged the Doctor as we walked.

"You're… really not upset with me? About Frank?"

He stayed silent a bit and then sighed. "I am. Don't get me wrong, it's still frustrating, but… I can't keep getting angry at something that's not your fault."

I frowned a bit, eyeing him before tossing an elbow in his ribs.

"_Ow_!" He hissed at me, but I just gave him a look.

"It's not your fault either, so stop making that face."

He frowned. "What face? Am I making a face?"

I snickered at the familiar lines that I had heard from the Eleventh Doctor and he gave me a strange look as we entered a dressing room and the woman sat down. _Tallulah, that's her name. Just needed to see the sign on the dressing room door. And if I remember right, Laszlo is… part pig-man now. He get's a good ending though, so no worries there._

"So, uh, who's Laszlo?" I asked, hoping to get the conversation rolling.

"Laszlo's my boyfriend. Or _was_ my boyfriend until he disappeared two weeks ago. No letter, no goodbye, no nothing. And I'm not stupid." She pointed the prop gun at her head, obviously making everyone nervous. "I know some guys are just pigs, but not my Laszlo—"

I snorted, covering it up as a cough when I got stares, but I couldn't help it!

"—I mean, what kind of guy asks you to meet his mother before he vamooses?"

"Yeah. It might, might just help if you put that down." The Doctor finally said, confusing her for a second before she realized what he was talking about.

"Huh? Oh, sure." She tossed the gun onto some dresses on a chair and everyone flinched back but me. "Oh, come on. It's not real. It's just a prop. It was either that or a spear."

"That'd be funny." I remarked. "Put ya hands up or I'll run ya through." I mocked with a chuckle, earning one from her as well before Martha stepped up.

"What do you think happened to Laszlo?"

"I wish I knew. One minute he's there, the next, zip. Vanished."

"Listen, um… What was your name?" The Doctor asked her, moving closer.

"Tallulah."

"Tallulah." He repeated, but she cut him off before he could continue right on.

"Three 'L's and an 'H'."

"Right. We can try to find Laszlo, but he's not the only one. There are people disappearing every night."

"And there are creatures." The man behind us muttered. "Such creatures."

"What do you mean, creatures?"

"Look, listen, just trust me. Everyone is in danger. I need to find out exactly what this is." He pulled a green brain looking jellyfish thing out of his coat and I stuck out my tongue, pointing at his coat.

"Did you _really_ keep that in there?"

He ignored me and went on. "Because then I'll know exactly what we're fighting."

"Yuck." Tallulah grimaced.

"Will you help us?"

She nodded. "Yeah, sure. Whatever you need, as long as it helps me find Laszlo."

"Then I'm going to need some parts. Electronics things like that. Anything you guys can find." He said, speaking to all of us now.

"Hold on." Martha said, pointing to me. "You never said who he was."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, tossing a hand over at me. "Martha, Alexander Holmes. Alex, Martha Jones and Solomon."

Solomon gave me a small nod before going off to do what we were told, but Martha was confused.

"Wait, so what's he doing here? He just popped up!"

"Yeah, she does that." He said before heading off towards the storage area we came out of.

"_She_?!" She shouted after him and I smiled, easily spotting the jealously that Martha was known for.

"Yeah, I get that a lot. I think it's the hair." I said, tugging a strand of my hair as the two of us walked down the hall in search of something that could be useful.

She eyed me warily. "How do you know him? The Doctor."

"Jump around his time line apparently." I said, picking up a hat and grinning at the fez I found underneath it, plopping it on my head. "Oh, the Eleventh would love this."

"Eleventh? Eleventh what?"

"Doctor." I chirped, digging through the rest of the chest of drawer it had been sitting on top of. "Met him first. This one's a bit iffy. One minute he likes me the next he's threatening to kill me. I'm going to have to start figuring out which one's which."

Finding nothing, I moved on and she quickly caught up with my long strides; being just a smidge shorter than the Eleventh Doctor at 5' 9".

"But you said Eleventh. What does that mean?"

I raised a brow. "He hasn't explained that to you yet?" I paused, thinking, before I snapped my fingers. "Oooooh, that's right. He doesn't explain that until '_42_'. Eh, you'll find out. Regeneration and all that."

I waved it off and she frowned, just as I found something that might be handy.

"Ah-ha! Perfect! Loved to chat more, Martha, but I think the Doctor could use this. Go cheer up Tallulah!" I said, holding up the object I had before running down the hall, hearing her call out from behind me.

"But that's just a telephone!"

* * *

"How's the brain thing coming?" I asked, dropping off the telephone as he gave me a look.

"It's artificial." He turned a dial on the contraption he made. "Genetically engineered. Whoever this is, oh, they're clever."

The lights flickered and he glanced up, before going back to the brain jelly. I was starting to remember more about this episode and as I did, I also remembered what we were facing here and I worried about how I would tell the Doctor. _Even if I told him now, what good will that do? Sure, he'd have more time to plan something effective, but… what if he just decides to throw Martha and I in the Tardis and try to do something on his own? What if ends up getting himself killed? What if he turns into the Oncoming Storm and everything after him gets ruined? No Eleventh, no Donna, no Clara, no Amy and Rory, no River, none of it. I can't let that happen! I can't let him get hurt either, but…_ I glanced at him in worry and fear, chewing on my bottom lip and pulling the fez off my head to hold in my hands, tapping my finger against it. _But he may go back to Rose-Tenth if I don't. He might hate me again. Will I really risk that?_ I grit my teeth, setting the fez aside and clenching my hand around the fabric of my pants tightly. _I'll have to. If it means everything ends up going okay, I'll have to let him hate me again._

"Fundamental DNA type 467-989." He said, drawing me out of my thoughts as he put a stethoscope away and continued to mutter to himself. "989. Hold on, that means planet of origin… Skaro."

He turned to me as I yawned; the lack of sleep the past few days getting to me even though my mind was racing.

"It's from Skaro."

"Mm? Skaro…" I tapped my temple with a finger. "Why's that so familiar?" _Is that where the Daleks are from?_

He groaned, standing up and grabbing my hand, pulling me out of the room. "Come on! I'll explain later!"

We both headed backstage where Tallulah was gathered with her co-stars, and the Doctor grabbed her.

"Where is she? Where's Martha?"

"I don't know. She ran off the stage."

I smacked my forehead. "Of course! How could I forget! Come on, Doctor! My turn to drag you around!" I shouted, pulling him towards the back room where the manhole was—deciding that I would get to him and the Dalek talk later—just as Martha began screaming.

"Martha!" The Doctor called out the moment we entered, only to see the manhole cover open.

"Ugh! Too late! I was too late!" I grumbled, yanking on my hair as the Doctor pulled on his coat. "God, if I could just get my timing right—"

"Think about that later, Alex." He said, just as Tallulah rounded the corner.

"W-Where are you two going?"

"They've taken her." The Doctor replied, sounding angry, and I hoped it wasn't because of me.

"Who's taken her? What're you doing?" She complained as he climbed down into the sewers with me right behind him. "I said, what the hell are ya doin'?"

The Doctor pulled out a torch, but before we could go anywhere, Tallulah started coming down after us.

"No, no, no, no, no way! You're not coming." The Doctor argued.

"Tell me what's going on!" She demanded, already part way down the ladder.

"There's nothing you can do. Go back!"

"Look." She finished coming down and glared at the Doctor. "Whoever's taken Martha, they could've taken Laszlo. Couldn't they?"

"Tallulah. You're not safe down here."

"Then that's my problem." She growled back. "You've got your other girl over there with you, so who says I can't?"

The Doctor turned to me and frowned again, turning back. "She's not safe either. You should both go back."

"Doctor." I called out, not pleased he was even thinking about leaving me out of this. "I should probably mention that you're not going to win this argument and the longer we stand here fighting about who stays and who goes, the farther away Martha is getting. And I'll have you know that I've already dealt with robots and dinosaurs and murderers and werewolves and ghosts. So if you try to keep me out of _anything_, you can be sure that I'll ignore you and do it anyway." I frowned. "Now I suggest you save us a lot of trouble and just get moving, Spaceman."

"Yeah." Tallulah said right after, taking my side. "Now which way?"

She started walking off down a tunnel and I rolled my eyes, following after the Doctor as he called back to her.

"This way."

She hurried back after us and he gave me a look.

"Dinosaurs?"

I nodded." Yup. I got to ride one even. Ankylosaurus apparently like apple candies."

"And ghosts?"

I waved a hand. "Can't talk about that yet. She wasn't really a ghost, but was close enough."

"But you said murderers." Tallulah spoke up. "Are you a cop or something?"

I shook my head. "Nah. Thought about it. Wanted to be a detective, but changed my mind right before I got my AA degree." I smirked. "I was studying to be an anthropologist."

The Doctor groaned and I smacked his arm.

"Don't you groan at me. It's not the same as an archeologist. I study the lives of humans, not history. Well… not exactly."

"What happened?" Tallulah asked, confusing me.

"What do you mean."

"Well, you said 'was'. You _were_ studying to be a—" She waved her hand about. "Human person or whatever. So what happened? What stopped ya?"

I felt like I had been dipped in ice, not even realizing that I had used past tense until now. _When did I start accepting that I wasn't going back?_

"I, um…" I scratched the back of my head, chuckling, though the smile didn't reach my eyes. "Got sidetracked. Started traveling with the Doctor. Haven't had a chance to do much else since."

I could feel their eyes on me, like they knew something was wrong, but Tallulah managed to change the subject as we ducked under a gate.

"When you say they've taken her, who's _they_ exactly? And who are you two anyway? I never asked."

"Sh." The Doctor said, having heard something.

"Okay. Okay."

"Sh, sh, sh, sh, sh, sh, sh." He continued, but she kept going as he caught sight of a shadow.

"I mean, you're handsome and all—"

He grabbed her, covering her mouth and quickly pulling her back as I spotted the shadow and paled. I quickly followed after them, hiding in the shadows as the Dalek passed by and went down the hall.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no." The Doctor muttered as we came out of hiding. "They survived. They always survive while I lose everything."

"That metal thing? What was it?" Tallulah asked, as I started backing up, fearing what was to happen next.

"It's called a Dalek. And it's not just metal, it's alive."

"You're kidding me." She laughed, but the Doctor was dead serious.

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" He snapped. "Inside that shell is a creature born to hate, whose only thought is to destroy everything and everyone that isn't a Dalek too. It won't stop until it's killed every human being alive."

"But if it's not a human being, that kind of implies it's from outer space." She said, taking a look at the Doctor to see him still being serious. "Yet again, that's a no with the kidding. Boy. Well, what's it doing here? In New York?"

"Nothing good." He said, before he rounded on me, making me flinch back and cower against the wall in the corner we'd been hiding in as he stomped his way over. "Why didn't you tell me? I told you to tell me anything important, so why didn't you tell me about them?!"

"W-What was I supposed to do? Tell you, and then what? You die? Martha dies? I-I have to stay quiet."

He stomped forward, making me press myself into the wall in fear, despite trying my best to not show it. "If you would have just told me—"

"You would've gone off and done it alone! What good does that do?!" I said back, trying to keep my voice from shaking. "You die and Martha and I are stuck here in 1930 and the Daleks win. End of mankind. As long as everything goes the way it should, everything works out!"

"What about Frank? And Laszlo? And Solomon and anyone else who dies in the process?! Does that mean nothing to you?!"

"Hey! Why're you yellin' at her like that?!" Tallulah demanded, trying to pull him away from me to no avail.

"Because she knows! Because she always knows and never says anything until it's too late!"

"That's not true!" I called back, remembering the Triceratops and Ryder; two beings I had saved while risking my life and a paradox.

"What about Rose?! And Mickey! And Jack! What about the Ood?! And all the other people who died because _you_ didn't save them!"

His words hurt. All of them cutting into me like knives. It was horrible, because he was telling me of people I hadn't even met yet and how I was behind their deaths. Proving that I simply stood back and let them die despite knowing about what would happen to them. But for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what he wanted me to do. Did he want _me_ to replace them? To die for them? Did he want me to put the entire universe at risk for one person or a couple of people? Did he want me to tell him beforehand so that he would just never go to those places and they would end up dying without him even being there to prevent things? What could he possibly expect me to do? I was only human. An unfortunate human being who got stranded alone in a world that had been played out as a television series, giving me the knowledge to know what happens but giving me nothing to prevent any of it. _Even the Ood called me a Changer of Time, but I've done nothing. I haven't changed anything. I'm useless, just like he says._

"What do you want me to do?" I asked, voice cracking as I spoke, tears in my eyes. "What could you _possibly_ expect me to do?"

"It's too late for that." He growled, before spinning around and storming off with Tallulah, leaving me alone in the sewers to hate myself.

* * *

"Stupid. I'm so stupid and useless. What good am I knowing all this stuff if there's nothing I can do about it?!" I slammed my fist against the wall behind me, having sat here for a while, staying quiet when the occasional pig-man passed by.

My hand hurt now, but I still couldn't figure out what I was supposed to do. There had to be a reason I was brought here in the first place. Some reason as to why it was me and not someone else, not someone without foreknowledge or just a different person altogether.

I sighed, resting my head on my knees and thinking. "What can I do? There has to be something."

"_Useless."_

"…_people who died because _you_ didn't save them!"_

I swallowed thickly, feeling the tears start up again, but that only made me more frustrated.

"Stop it. Stop crying like some stupid little kid." I scolded myself, furiously wiping my eyes. "You're 25, for Pete's sake."

I made myself stand and gathered up all my strength. I was done being the pushover. I was done crying and getting upset every time the Doctor yelled at me. And I was sick and tired of people dying.

"You want me to do something, Doctor?" I turned and started running down the sewer tunnels back to where we'd come in. "Then I'll do something."

I didn't know how long I had been underground, but once I'd gotten back up and hurried out of the building that Tallulah worked at, the sky was dark. I knew exactly where I needed to be, but I could already feel nervousness creeping up on me for what I was about to do and who I was about to face, but I shoved it back. I was done being that Alex. I was done being scared and cautious and I was _done_ being yelled at. So I ran. I ran as fast as I could to Central Park, determined to prove that I could be someone better. That no matter what the Doctor said, I wasn't _useless_.

I could already hear screaming and I pushed myself to go faster as I approached Hooverville, which was being attacked by pig-men. I shoved the people I found away from the beasts as I struggled to reach the center where I knew everyone would be. I shouted to the few people who were running to move back to the center of the make-shift town and thankfully they did, the pig-men closing everyone off anyway. As I ran though, I cringed at the gunshots going off, knowing that the residents of Hooverville were now protecting themselves in the only way they knew how; fighting. Suddenly, the shooting stopped and I just reached the clearing as a Dalek floated over. Quickly, I ran over, knowing that Dalek Sec had set up a visual at this point and waved my arms to attract the Dalek's attention.

"Oi! Dalek Sec! I've got a proposal for you!"

"Alex! What are you doing?!" The Doctor shouted, making me turn to him with a harsh glare.

"I'm doing what you wanted." I scowled, before looking back up at the Dalek who was now watching me. "Come on then! Before you give any orders, talk to me! Because I've got something you want!"

The Dalek floated a little closer and spoke. "Elaborate, human."

I smirked, though I could vaguely feel my hands shaking. "You know me, don't you?! Scan me! Come on!"

The Dalek did so and shifted in place. "The Seer."

"That's right." I grinned, glad I wasn't wrong about them having already met me and knowing who I was.

"Exterminate the Seer!"

"Wait! Wait!" I shouted, worried for a moment. "You don't want to do that! You can use me, right? I know everything that's going to happen next! Everything you could possibly want to know!"

"Alex, w-what are you doing?!" Martha questioned, but I ignored her.

"I'll come with you! Willingly! But I have a condition."

"I do not understand. It is the Seer… The urge to kill is too strong…" The Dalek said, talking to itself almost. "I obey… what is your condition?"

I smirked a bit, glad that they were at least listening now. "Leave everyone here alone. Don't kill them or hurt them or anything. Get the pig-men to leave and stay away from Hooverville and everyone in it and I'll go with you." I swallowed thickly, doing my best to keep face in front of the Doctor's biggest enemy. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know, just leave them alone."

The Doctor ran up to me, grabbing my arm in a tight grip as he growled at me.

"What are you doing? You can't go with them! They could kill you!"

I yanked my arm out of his grip and growled right back. "Yeah? So what. You'd rather have me dead anyway."

He looked shocked, but I kept going.

"You'd finally be rid of me, the pain in the butt _kid_ who won't tell you what's going to happen next. The _useless_ _brat_ who does nothing but get people killed. Well, you know what? If I die here, then at least I saved all these people. That what you want, isn't it?" I turned away from him and stepped forward, closer to the Dalek. "So? What do you say, Dalek Sec?"

"…Condition accepted. You will follow, Seer. All forces retreat."

A couple of pig-men grabbed me, leading me back to the underground area that the Dalek were hiding out in, and not once did I look back to see the Doctor's hurt expression.

* * *

"Doctor." Martha hurried up to him, grabbing his arm as he stared off to where Alex had left. "Why did she do that? She just left with them!"

"It's my fault." He finally said, pulling a hand through his hair in anger and frustration. "I _know_ that she can't tell me anything! I knew that and I still— Agh!"

He grabbed a nearby barrel and threw it before stomping off towards where she'd gone.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Martha called, chasing after him.

"I'm going after her. It's my fault she did this, so it's my responsibility to get her back."

"No! You can't go!"

"I've got to. The Daleks just changed their minds. Daleks _never_ change their minds. And Alex could be in danger."

"Let me come with you!"

"Martha, stay here. Do what you do best. People are hurt. You can help them. Let me go."

She reluctantly let him go and he started to walk off, before he doubled back and pressed something into her hands.

"Oh, and here. You'll figure it out."

He ran off then and she looked down at the psychic paper in question, before heading back to do what he told her; her stomach twisting at the thought that he was doing this for Alex, not just the Daleks.

* * *

A Dalek led me into the lab where Dalek Sec was and I tapped on my thigh nervously as I faced him and the others as confidently as I could.

"Why didn't you kill me?" I asked, curious for more than one reason. _What did I do that could've made them want to exterminate me on the spot?_

Dalek Sec turned around. "You showed courage."

I furrowed my brows, knowing that the Daleks were supposed to be hateful creatures, but remembering that Dalek Sec was the one who started to defy that; if only for a moment.

"You spared me because of that?"

"It's excellent." He replied as I tilted my head a bit.

"You're acting awfully human for a Dalek."

"The Doctor is the last of his kind and now I am the first of mine."

I shrugged. "Alright then. Ask away. What do you want to know?"

He walked past me as I tucked my hands in my pockets. "We tried everything to survive when we found ourselves stranded in this ignorant age. First, we tried growing new Dalek embryos, but their flesh was too weak."

"Right. The weird green jelly thing the Doctor found in the sewers was one of those." I nodded, slightly confused as to why he was telling me this and not just asking me questions.

"It forced us to conclude what is the greatest resource of this planet. Its people." He flipped a switch and the lights turned on above me, revealing the bodies up above and making me sigh as I looked at them all.

"Why did you do this to so many people?" I asked, him flipping another switch to bring a bed down.

"We stole them. We stole human beings for our purpose. Look inside."

I shook my head, not wanting to and already knowing what I was going to find. "No need. I already know what this is. The Final Experiment, right?"

Dalek Sec nodded. "He is near death, his mind wiped, ready to be filled with new ideas."

"Dalek ideas."

"The Human-Dalek race."

I sighed, shaking my head and pulling a hand through my hair, looking up sorrowfully. "How many people?"

"We have caverns beyond this storing more than a thousand."

_A thousand people… Are their deaths my fault too?_ "They can't be turned back, can they?"

"Everything that they were has been lost."

I nodded, still confused. "Why are you even telling me this?"

"You have foreknowledge. You know what needs to be done for me to complete my plan."

I shook my head. "Sorry, buddy. But my foreknowledge only works to a point. I don't know a lot of specific details, so I can't really help you finish this plan."

"You will help us." A Dalek said, rolling over and pointing it's gun at me.

I frowned. "Yeah, but I can't. I may have foreknowledge, but I'm not smart. I can't tell you anything other than what I already know."

"Then tell us what you know." It demanded and I rolled my eyes.

"Alright. Fine. I know you guys have hooked up a conductor to the top of the Empire State building to get energy from a solar flare. I know Dalek Sec here—" I tossed a thumb over at said being. "—is the man, who's DNA is going to be given to all these bodies to make them Human-Dalek. I know that you need a genius to keep going, since Sec over here wants to keep the human heart too, even though that means you won't be 'supreme beings' anymore."

"And that is good." Dalek Sec said, but the other Daleks weren't happy about that.

"That is incorrect."

"Daleks are supreme."

"No, not anymore!" Dalek Sec yelled.

"But that is our purpose." The Dalek argued.

"Then our purpose is wrong! Where has our quest for supremacy led us? To this? Hiding in the sewers on a primitive world, just four of us left… If we do not change now, then we deserve extinction."

I shrugged. "See? Problem is, I don't know how to help you guys do this. I'm not smart and your pals over here probably won't let you add more human to the DNA anyway."

I nodded over towards the two Dalek who were arguing before, but Dalek Sec was confident.

"I am their leader."

"Yeah, but even the most powerful leaders can get kicked off the throne." I quipped back.

"Daleks must follow orders."

"Dalek Sec commands, we obey." The two chirped, though I rolled my eyes.

"Right. Sure. For all I know, you're just saying that because I caught on to your little coup d'etat."

They stayed silent at that, before Dalek Sec stepped forward. "If you don't help me, nothing will change."

"And I already said, I can't help you." I frowned, worry twisting my stomach because I didn't know what they would do when they found out I was useless. "I can't do any of this DNA stuff you want. The most I can tell you was that nothing you're trying to do here is going to work. The Doctor will stop you, just like he always does."

He seemed to frown at me and gestured to the Daleks. "Restrain her. If she cannot help us then we can use her to bring the Doctor here."

A couple of pig-men came in and grabbed me roughly, chaining me up to one of the pillars in the room and I sighed, allowing it to happen.

"No point in that! This Doctor hates me! He won't come…"

The words sounded hollow to my own ears and I lowered my head at how true I knew it was. This Tenth may have at least accepted me before, but now that this has happened, I knew he wouldn't care. I had done the only thing I thought possible to make him see that I wasn't useless and all I did was prove that I was.

"He will come if you are in danger." Dalek Sec said and I stiffened, looking up and barely covering my fear.

"So what? You just threaten me? That won't work either, you know! I already told you he hates me!"

Dalek Sec ignored me and turned to one of the other Daleks. "Activate visual and audio feeds in Central Park and this building."

The Dalek went and did as it was told and I looked up to see the screen behind Dalek Sec with me on it as a Dalek stared over at me.

"What are you doing? He won't come. I already said he won't come!"

The Dalek turned it's eyestalk over to Dalek Sec as he addressed the Doctor. "The Seer has proven useless, Doctor, and we have lost our need for her. So unless you wish for us to exterminate her now, we demand your presence."

The Dalek turned to me and I frowned as a couple of pig-men lifted me to my feet.

"Don't you do it, Doctor. If you give them what they want, I swear I'll—"

I was cut off as a Dalek came over and pressed it's plunger to my stomach, electricity surging through me as I let out a yelp and crumpled; only the pig-men keeping me on my feet.

"Don't do it, Doctor." I growled, cringing as I looked over at the Dalek showing this to him. "I'm fine. I can—"

I was electrocuted again and again, fading in and out of consciousness as I struggled to stay strong and just deal with it; my mind telling me that I deserved at least this much for letting so many people die because of me.

"Enough."

I slumped over as they finally stopped, breathing heavily and feeling numb as I shook from the aftershock.

"If the Doctor won't come, then we have no use for her." Dalek Sec said, waving a hand at me. "Finish her. End transmission."

"Exterminate." A Dalek said, rolling over and raising it's gun at me as the screen disappeared and I struggled to even face them with how exhausted and hurt I was. "Exterminate."

"Whoa, now. You're pretty impatient. Do you know how long it takes to find this place?" A familiar voice said and the Dalek rolled away from me, the Doctor leaning down to my eye level as I frowned.

"You shouldn't have come." I wheezed.

He brushed a hand over the side of my face. "I'm sorry, Alex. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said those things to you and I'm sorry."

"You've… said that before." I frowned. "How do I know… this won't just happen again?… I can't trust you."

He looked so hurt, but I couldn't bring myself to forgive him. Not when he didn't forgive me.

"Alex, I—"

"Don't." I snapped, turning my face away. "Just… go save the world and leave me be."

He pulled away slowly, but stood, speaking to Dalek Sec.

"You wanted me here. Now I'm here. What do you want?"

* * *

The Doctor started doing what needed to be done to help Dalek Sec, already noticing how human he already was and knowing that this could be his chance to finally do something about the Daleks. He glanced over at Alex occasionally though, hearts clenching as she sat there slumped over and shaking. He wanted to help her, he really did, already knowing that she had been badly burned from the electricity heating up the Dalek's plunger that had been pressed up against her, but she already made it quite clear that she didn't want anything to do with him. _What have I done? She was only trying to help and I…_ The Doctor turned away once more and focused on what he was doing.

"There's no point in chromosomal grafting. It's too erratic." He explained to Dalek Sec, running over to another table with beakers on it. "You need to split the genome and force the Dalek-Human sequence right into the cortex."

"We need more chromatin solution."

"The pig slaves have it." The Dalek answered Dalek Sec.

The pig slaves started coming in with large crates and the Doctor spotted Laszlo among them.

"These pig slaves, what happens to them in the grand plan?"

"Nothing. They're just simple beasts. Their lifespan is limited. None survive beyond a few weeks." Dalek Sec said, before speaking to the Daleks again. "Power up the line feeds."

The Doctor watched them carefully as he went over to speak with Laszlo. "Laszlo, I can't undo what they've done to you, but they won't do it to anyone else."

"Do you trust him?" The man asked, nodding to Dalek Sec.

"I know that one man can change the course of history. Right idea in the right place at the right time, that's all it takes. I've got to believe it's possible." The Doctor explained, moving over to finish what he was doing and not seeing the Dalek that Alex was eyeing that had been watching him.

He did, however, move over towards her in search of some answers that may help him.

"Alex, there's something I need to know."

She scoffed, cringing and holding an arm over her stomach. "If you really want to know, you save the world, Laszlo lives, Dalek Sec dies and Dalek Caan gets away. Ta-da. Now you know what I know. Happy?"

His eyes widened, having not expected her to just tell him everything and, not knowing what else to do now that he got his answers, he silently nodded and went back over towards Dalek Sec.

"The line feeds are ready." A Dalek announced and the Doctor nodded, using a syringe to pull up the solution.

"Then it's all systems go."

"The solar flare is imminent. The radiation will reach Earth in a matter of minutes." Dalek Sec said.

"We'll be ready for it." The Doctor replied, injecting the solution into the lines. "That compound will allow the gene bonds to reconfigure in a brand new pattern. Power up!"

The pig slaves and Laszlo flipped the switches and Dalek Sec ordered a Dalek to do the next step.

"Start the line feeds."

"There goes the gene solution."

"The life blood."

An alarm started going off and everyone looked around in confusion.

"What's that?"

"What's happening? Is there a malfunction?" Dalek Sec asked, but the other Daleks just looked at one another and ignored him. "Answer me!"

"Oh, no, no, no, no. The gene feed! They're overriding the gene feed!" The Doctor shouted as Alex shook her head slowly.

"I told you. Even the biggest king gets knocked off his throne."

"Impossible. They cannot disobey orders!"

"The Doctor will step away from the controls!" A Dalek ordered, aiming it's gun at the Doctor.

"Stop! You will not fire!" Dalek Sec ordered as another Dalek rolled forward.

"He is an enemy of the Daleks."

"And so are you." The Dalek shifted it's gun at Dalek Sec and he continued to argue.

"I am your commander! I am Dalek Sec!"

The Doctor though, knew better and held out a hand to keep him from doing anything crazy.

"You have lost your authority."

"You are no longer a Dalek."

"What have you done? What's going into the gene feed?" The Doctor questioned, more worried about that than anything.

"The new bodies will be 100% Dalek."

"No. You can't do this!"

"Pig slaves, restrain Dalek Sec and the Doctor!"

They did as they were told, but Laszlo was the one who grabbed the Doctor as the other Dalek went about continuing their plan. Laszlo spotted the lift though and nodded towards it, moving the Doctor back.

"There's the lift."

"What about Alex?" The Doctor looked down over at her and Laszlo did as well.

"Only if we hurry."

The Doctor nodded and snuck out his sonic, the two of them moving over towards her before he hurriedly unlocked her chains.

"What are you doing? Just go." She grumbled at him, but he frowned.

"I'm not leaving you. Not this time."

Once she was freed, he hoisted her up just as the lift dinged and he nodded towards Laszlo.

"After you."

The two started running, the Doctor practically carrying Alex as he brought her into the lift and used his sonic to close the doors; the Daleks ordering the pig slaves to stop them. They were too late though and the Doctor turned to Laszlo in the lift.

"We've only got minutes before the gamma radiation reaches the Earth. We need to get to the top of the building." He then noticed Laszlo breathing heavily and leaning against the wall of the lift. "Laszlo, what's wrong?"

"Out of breath. It's nothing."

Alex shifted, grunting. "He's dying. Pig slaves only last a few weeks."

The Doctor looked at her and then back at him with a frown, but he cut him off before he could say anything.

"We've escaped them, Doctor. That's all that matters."

"I _will_ save you." He said, squeezing the man's shoulder in reassurance as they stepped out of the lift.

"Doctor!" Martha shouted as the Doctor smiled a bit.

"First floor, perfumery."

"I never thought I'd see you again!" Tallulah said, rushing forwards as Laszlo did the same, embracing her.

"No stopping me."

The Doctor was a bit slower to get out of the lift with Alex hanging off his shoulder and he gently lowered her to the ground as he called out to Martha.

"Martha, see if there's anything you can do about Alex. She—"

"I know." Martha said, rushing over to kneel beside her. "We saw. They showed it in Hooverville too."

He slowly nodded, before getting up and moving to the blueprints of the building as she spoke; checking over Alex as well.

"We've worked it out. We know what they've done. There's Dalekanium on the mast. And it's good to see you too, but the way."

"Oh, come here."

She got up and they chuckled as he lifted her off her feet in a hug. Just then though, the lift doors shut and Alex called out to them.

"You two done? They're not going to just sit around and let you mess with things, you know."

He quickly let Martha go and rushed towards the doors. "No, no, no, no, no! See?! Never waste time with a hug!" He called out to Martha as she rushed over too and he tried to stop the lift with his sonic; only to smack a hand against the wall in anger. "Agh! Deadlock seal. I can't stop it."

"Where's it going?!" Martha asked as he tucked his sonic away and looked around.

"Right down to the Daleks and they're not going to leave us alone up here, like Alex said. What's the time?"

"Uh, eleven fifteen." Frank said, Alex glancing over.

"Where's Solomon?"

"He stayed down in Hooverville. Wanted to protect them should those things come back."

She nodded, letting out a long breath and leaning her head back against the pillar behind her. "Good, good. He's still alive."

The Doctor gave her a look. "What do you mean still alive?"

"He was supposed to die when the Daleks attacked Hooverville, along with a number of others." She explained, cringing as she adjusted her position.

"But they didn't… You saved them by stopping the Daleks from attacking."

She glared over at him. "You wanted me to save people, so that's what I'm doing. Now stop wasting time and remove the Dalekanium."

He wanted to say more, wanted to thank her in some way for saving those people and yell at her for putting herself in such danger, but he knew she was right and that there was other things he needed to focus on right now. So he turned away from her and hurried to the open area of the floor they were on, looking below.

"Oh, that's high. That's very—Blimey, that's high."

"And we've got to go even higher. That's the mast up there, look." Martha gestured up a ladder to the piece up above. "There's three pieces of Dalekanium on the base. We've got to get them off."

"That's not we, that's just me."

"I won't just stand here and watch you."

"No, you're going to have your hands full anyway. I'm sorry, Martha, but you've got to fight."

She reluctantly agreed and the Doctor began his climb; her, Laszlo, Frank and Tallulah gathering up things they could use for weapons, standing before the lift worried.

"The lift's coming up." Martha said worriedly.

"I should have brought that gun."

"You… idiots." Alex breathed out, frowning at them. "Stop trying to fight them… and use your heads."

"What are you talking about?!" Martha shouted, starting to get worried as her doctor instincts kicked in and spotted the signs of a fever on Alex.

Laszlo suddenly toppled over, shocking everyone.

"Laszlo?! What is it?" Tallulah asked, him struggling to hold himself up.

"No. It's nothing. I'm fine. Just leave me."

She brushed a hand over his head as he leaned against a pillar. "Oh, honey. You're burning up. What's wrong with you? Tell me."

"One man down and we ain't even started yet?" Frank muttered, keeping his eyes on the lift.

"Lightning, Martha!" Alex called out. "Use it!"

She frowned, trying to figure out what Alex meant, before her eyes widened. "That's it! Alex, you're a genius!"

"You would've figured it out." She grumbled. "I just sped up the process."

"Come on, Frank! Help me gather up all the metal! Make a path to the lift!"

He did so and they started connecting pieces of pipes and chairs, but Tallulah wasn't understanding.

"What the hell are you two clowns doing?!"

"Even if the Doctor stops the Dalekanium, this place is still going to get hit. A great big bolt of lightning, electricity all down this building. Connect this to the lift and they get zapped."

"Oh my God, that could work."

"It will." Alex said, eyes shut as she grimaced.

"Then give us a hand." Frank told Tallulah, who quickly went to help.

Once they finished, everyone gathered together, Frank helping move Laszlo over to where Alex was as Martha pressed a hand to her head.

"You're burning up too. That's not good. You got burned, right? Let me see it." She reached towards Alex's shirt, but she didn't move.

"No. I'm fine. We have more important things to worry about."

Frank hurried over and huddled close as well. "I've got it all piped up to the scaffolding outside."

"Come here, Frank. Just sit in the middle and don't touch anything metal."

"Yeah."

The lifts opened and the pig slaves started to step out, but that was when the lightening hit and killed them all. Martha was the first up, hurrying over to see them and Frank laughed in relief as Tallulah looked on in shock.

"You did it, Martha."

"They used to be like Laszlo. They were people and I killed them."

"No." Laszlo said, having managed to get up and walk over. "The Daleks killed them. Long ago."

"What about the Doctor?" She said, pushing past them as she remembered he was out there. "Alex, do you know anything?!"

"He got… a bit of a jolt. He'll be okay… Find his screwdriver."

She nodded, worried about how Alex looked, but she was more worried about the Doctor. Her and Frank hurried up to the top and found him collapsed and she held the screwdriver they'd found down below, out towards him.

"Doctor! Doctor? Look what we found halfway down. You're getting careless."

She was worried that he was dead, but Alex had already mentioned things that were impossible and she'd saved them all once already, so she had a little bit of trust in her.

"Oh, my head." The Doctor groaned and she laughed in relief.

"Hiya."

"Hi. You survived then."

"So did you. Just about. Alex was right, there."

"Usually is. She already knows what's supposed to happen."

"She can see the future or something? Is she like… a psychic?"

"Or something."

She chuckled a bit, disbelieving, but dropped the smile as she glanced over at the mast. "I can't help noticing there's Dalekanium still attached."

The Doctor sat up quickly at that and they all hurried back down to where the others were at. Once they was there, Laszlo and Tallulah joined them as they over looked the city.

"The Daleks will have gone straight to a war footing. They'll be using the sewers, spreading the soldiers out underneath Manhattan."

"How do we stop them?" Laszlo asked.

"There's only one chance. I got in the way. That gamma strike went zapping through me first." He said, hurrying back inside and stopping in the middle of the room.

"Yeah, but what does that mean?"

"We need to draw fire. Before they can attack New York, I need to face them. Where can I draw them out? Think, think, think, think, think."

"The theater."

He snapped his fingers. "Right! Alex, you geniu—"

He stopped upon seeing her, covered in sweat and shaking slightly with her eyes closed.

"Oh, Alex, Alex, Alex." He quickly knelt down to her and brushed a hand over her forehead. "Not good. Your temperature's too high."

"I'm fine." She bit out, making him frown.

"No, you're not. So stop acting like you are." He scolded, before softening. "Now let me see."

She didn't move her arm, but she was too weak to protest as he moved it aside and looked at her stomach. He winced, seeing the burn was already festering and blistering over, but there was nothing he could do about it. Not here. He had to get her into the Tardis.

"Martha. I want you to take Alex and get her into the Tardis. Wait for me there."

"What?! No! I want to come with you!"

"Martha! I said get her to the Tardis! Now!" He yelled, shocking her, but Alex grabbed his arm to bring his attention back to her as she sat up straighter with a snarl on her face.

"No. You go with them and you stop the Daleks. _Together._ I'm not going to have you die on me because you decided to do it alone."

"Alex, I'm not going to argue with you." He growled right back. "If I leave you here or even try to take you with us, you'll die. I'm not going to risk that."

"Why? So I can stick around and tell you who's going to die and what enemy you're going to face next? Hell, why don't I just tell you your whole life story while I'm at it!—Ngh!"

She crumpled over, gripping her stomach and the Doctor quickly held her shoulders to try and steady her.

"Calm down. Breathe."

"I'll breathe when I feel like it." She growled out, making him roll his eyes.

"Martha—"

"If you even _think_ about having her take me to the Tardis, I swear to _God_ I will fight every step of the way even if I kill myself in the process."

"Why are you so against this?!" He shouted, starting to get frustrated with Alex and her lack of concern for her own well-being.

"Because I have nothing left! So why does it matter?!" She shouted back, making him reel back in shock. "My family isn't here! My friends aren't here! My life was _never_ _here_! I tried to help people! I tried to keep everything the way it was supposed to be and managed to help some people live who were supposed to die! I tried to give this stupid life a purpose! But all you did was shoot it down! Nothing I did was good enough for you, so why should I bother anymore?! Why should I care when no one else does?!"

She let out a whimper, her free hand reaching for her shoulder and as she started to glow, the Doctor struggled to figure out something to say.

"No, no, no. Alex, I never meant—I didn't—I _do_ care about you. You can't do this, because I _do _care!"

She shook her head, not believing him and as she glowed even brighter, he gripped her shoulders tight in a desperate attempt to keep her there.

"I'm sorry! Please! You have to believe me! I'm—"

She disappeared, leaving him there completely devastated because he had once again left her behind.

"I never knew." He muttered quietly, Martha stepping over towards him slowly. "I never asked and she… She was all alone and I never knew."

"She didn't… I mean, she never said anything? Gave a hint or… or anything?"

He shook his head. "Not once. Not once did I see it. I know the signs and… and I ignored them all. I ignored them all and got so angry, so frustrated because she knew things I didn't and I hurt her over and over and over again without realizing… without _seeing_ anything. And now she's gone. And… I can't even fix it."

"Well… sure you can." Tallulah said, stepping forward a bit. "I mean, I may not know what's going on or where she just up and poofed off ta, but you'll see her again. I'm sure of it."

Martha nodded. "That's right, yeah? You can see her again and you can fix it, everything back to normal!"

"No."

"No?"

He stood up and frowned, facing the lift. "Nothing can go back to normal if I don't fix this. If I don't stop the Daleks here and now, nothing will change. So I can start by doing that." He turned around with a small smile. "She wanted me to save the world, so let's get on it, eh?"

* * *

**Oh! one more thing, do you guys want me to give hints to what happens next? like a few quotes from the next chapter or what episode it will be or something like that? let me know please! :)**


	6. The Power of Three

**Here's another chapter! i get the feeling i shouldn't be updating this as crazy as i have been, but i can't help it ^^ that, and i haven't really been up to updating my other stuff for some reason. *sigh* but anyway, please read and review! let me know what you think. i was a _tad_ bit mean to the Doctor here, sorry.**

**and a birthday shout out to Warfstache24 hope you have an awesome birthday! :) and thank you a ton for your kind words.**

* * *

The Eleventh Doctor was twirling around the Tardis console, planning on visiting one more planet before dashing off to check in on the Ponds. He'd been alone for a few weeks once Alex had popped off and he wanted some company on his next trip. He was thinking a nice trip to Central Park would do some good. Have a picnic or something. It was just then though, that he caught sight of a golden light from the other side of the console and his grin stretched at what that meant.

"Alex!" He chirped, poking his head around the console, only to stare in confusion when there was no sign of the short haired woman. "Alex?"

He set the Tardis adrift and went to walk around the console, when he spotted a pair of shoes on the ground.

"Alex?!" He hurried over, falling to his knees before the collapsed woman and brushing the hair off her sweaty forehead, spotting the edge of a blistered burn under her shirt; which had slipped up a bit when she landed. "No, no, no, no, no."

He quickly gathered her up, apologizing when she whimpered in pain, and rushed her down the Tardis hallway to the medic bay. Once he'd laid her down on the bed, he began rushing about, searching through bottles of medical salves and other alien fluids for what he needed. He felt like his body wasn't keeping up with the demands in his head and already he could feel panic welling up as doubts started creeping in. He had just saw a future her a few weeks ago, but time could be rewritten and if he somehow didn't manage to help her now, there was that slim chance that he would never see her again and he couldn't let that happen.

"Ah-ha!"

He found what he needed and rushed to her side, starting to prepare an IV and hooking the pouch up to it before connecting it to her. He knew it wouldn't work right away and continued to rush about, getting the things he needed to cool her down from her fever and other things for the burn on her stomach.

"I'm sorry, Alex. This will hurt a bit, but I'll try to be gentle." He whispered, not even knowing if she could hear him or not, though he hoped she was unconscious enough to not feel the pain he was about to cause her.

He cringed every time she whimpered in pain as he rubbed some cream onto the wound as gently as he could. It would heal the burn a lot faster than it would usually take, but there was still the chance of scarring and it would still take at least a week to heal; not including the high fever she had. It wasn't so much that it was a bad burn, but there was internal damage too and he was afraid that _that_ was what could ultimately kill her even though the solution he was giving her should prevent it.

Once he'd finished and bandaged up the wound properly, he cleaned himself up and moved to sit at her side, picking up her hand and holding it up to his forehead as he apologized.

"I'm sorry, Alex. I'm so sorry."

* * *

Five days had passed and her fever had finally broke. The Doctor had skipped any trips he was planning to make while she was there, and continued to stick by her side and keep an eye on her, only leaving when he needed to eat or clean himself up. He continued to apologize to her everyday, because the moment he saw the wound on her stomach, he knew where she had come from and what she'd just been through and he hated it. He hated what the Daleks did to her and he hated the way his past self reacted to what she had been trying to do. He knew now that she had only been trying to protect him. She sat there and constantly took abuse from his past self and it took him so long to realize what she was trying to do. What she _had_ been doing.

His Ninth regeneration was clueless and confused by her presence and knowledge of things, but that quickly turned to hatred when Rose became Bad Wolf. After that, his Tenth threw that hatred right back at her, not caring whether it was the younger Alex or the older one, as long as he had someone to blame for the people who died around him. There was a turning point, sure, where he began to finally see what she was doing, but it had taken too long. _Far_ too long.

"You were only trying to protect me." He whispered, brushing her head with his hand as she slept; having been put into a coma-like state in order for her to heal as quickly as possible. "You let me get angry at you, because if you weren't there, I'd only have myself to blame. You were only trying to help me… and I hurt you so much."

He held her hand between both of his, pressing it to his forehead as he tried not to cry. She was one of the few people who could get him this emotional. She was his only constant. The only companion he had who was always there. And he, was hers. The only person she had left who never left her. And he hated how much he hurt her.

* * *

I woke up slowly, vision blurred and confused. My body felt weighted and sluggish. Slowly, I lifted myself into a sitting position and looked around the room not recognizing it. _Where…_ A humming echoed in the room and I relaxed slightly, recognizing the comforting noise of the Tardis as I struggled to remember what had happened.

"_Why didn't you tell me?"_

"… you_ didn't save them!"_

"_Why are you so against this?!"_

"_He will come if you are in danger."_

"_Exterminate the Seer!"_

I felt like I was running out of air and quickly let out the breath I had been holding unknowingly. _I was… with the Daleks and then the Doctor, he…_ I shivered, holding an arm over my stomach as I grit my teeth to try and shove back everything I was feeling, but it was hard. _So_ hard, because everything was just pressing against me, demanding to be let out, but I wasn't letting it. I couldn't. I promised that I was going to be stronger this time around and already I had broken that. Already, I had admitted that I was alone. Saying it out loud had just confirmed it for me and I wasn't ready yet. I wasn't ready to admit to myself that this was real, but he had pushed me to that point. He pushed me to the breaking point and then left me to deal with it alone.

I wrung my hands together tightly, feeling as though I was about two second away from either breaking down in tears or hitting something until I was numb. _I-I just… can't… I need something… Someplace I c-can just be alone. No yelling, no running, no Doctor, no aliens, no people. J-Just somewhere for me to sit down and figure all of this out. That's all I want._

"Alex?"

I stiffened as a hand reached out for me, before looking up and seeing the Eleventh Doctor, looking far more raggedy than usual. He smiled a bit, hair messed up and a suspender having slipped off his shoulders with a tired look in his eyes, and all I could think of was that _I_ did this to him. That this was _my_ fault.

"I'm glad to see you're up." He replied, looking me over and checking a few of the scanners nearby with a smile. "Everything looks normal now, though there's still a bit of scarring…" His smile fell and he looked at me with a sorrowful expression. "I'm so sorry."

I slowly nodded, pulling a hand through my hair with a grimace at how it felt, the Doctor noticing and pushing the scanner aside with a renewed smile.

"I'll have the Tardis get you some new clothes and you can go ahead and shower now. It's been a week and a half since you popped up, so I'm sure you could use it. Well, I could probably use one too." He chuckled, looking down at his appearance and back at me. "I'll meet you out by the console and then we can go somewhere fun! Someplace to relax you a bit and get us both back into the swing of things! Maybe Kandalath or the planet Venice!"

I nodded silently, moving past him to go and take my shower, not seeing the worried and hurt expression on his face as he watched me go. Once I was back in the room, that I think might be mine, I frowned slightly at the couple of new objects lying around and the messy desk top that had bits and pieces of something electronic lying all over it. I shook my head and pulled a hand through my hair, moving over to the closet and grabbing the clothes within it; a pair of grey sweatpants, a thin white t-shirt, and a dark hoodie. I soon stepped into the shower and it was then that I notice the crescent shaped scar that just touched my bellybutton.

"…_there's still a bit of scarring."_

I touched the pink flesh, expecting pain, but there was none and I decided to ignore it after I shivered upon remembering the Daleks. As I showered though, my mind still wandered back to the Tenth Doctor and whether or not he had managed to work everything out back on Manhattan. _Did he save Laszlo? Did Dalek Sec still die? Did anything I tell him make a difference?_ I realized that I could technically ask the Doctor I was with, but I didn't want to. I just wanted to clean up, get comfy and be alone for a while.

When I finished, I caught sight of something over my shoulder in the mirror and frowned, touching the spot on my shoulder to see the dark marking that the Doctor had mentioned. Scary thing was, I recognized it as Gallifreyan and I suddenly realized why the Doctor had never seen it. I couldn't let him. Shivering that thought away, I got dressed and went out to the console room barefoot, plopping down in the jump-seat as the Doctor grinned and bounded around the console; back to his cheery self, it seemed.

"So! Like I said, we can go to the Venice and ride some gondolas. That's nice and relaxing! Or we could head on over to Kandalath and ride some—"

"Doctor?" I called out, stopping him as he peeked around at me and smacked a hand to his forehead.

"Right, yes. No. I should let _you_ choose!" He flipped a switch and turned to me, leaning back up against the console with a grin. "Where would you like to go the, Alex? Anywhere, anywhen! Your choice!"

I paused, silently hating what I was about to say because I knew it would crush him, but I couldn't handle it any more.

"… Amy and Rory's."

He continued to grin as he spun back around, flipping switches and pulling levers.

"Right! Off we go then to Am—" He stopped, suddenly realizing what I had just said and turning his head towards me. "Amy and Rory's… You said Amy and Rory's?"

I nodded, feeling that pressure build up once more as his hurt look cut right through me, my hand shaking as it tightly gripped my pants. "Yes… Please."

He eyed me for a moment longer before nodding, going back to the console and sending us off without another word.

* * *

The doorbell rang over at the Pond's house and Rory reluctantly grabbed a robe and climbed out of bed, opening the window to see who it was. Upon spotting his own father, he groaned; Amy joining him at the window.

"Dad, it's half past six in the morning."

Brian hardly seemed to care. "What are ya doing lying around?" He held up a little black box. "Haven't you _seen_ them?"

He spun around, causing Rory and Amy to look and sure enough, the whole area was littered with little black cubes. Amy and Rory looked at one another before hurrying down the stairs to join Brian, curious and confused about the cubes.

"What are they?" Rory asked.

"Nobody knows. They're everywhere."

"Well, where did they come from?" She looked around, then paused, narrowing her eyes. "Wait…"

There, up on top of a children's climbing frame, was the Doctor holding a cube and examining it in curiosity; a magnifying glass in hand.

"Doctor."

He turned to her and gave a forced smile. "Invasion of the very small cubes. That's new."

"Something you haven't actually seen before, that's rare." She remarked, before looking around. "Alex with you?"

The group immediately noticed that she'd hit a tender spot and they started to worry.

"Doctor?"

"Right, yes. She's… in the Tardis." He replied, a bit more frazzled that usual before he perked up again. "Come along then, Ponds! Get dressed first!"

They went back inside to change, before they started heading over to the Tardis, but Amy grabbed Rory's arm to get his attention.

"Don't you think something's odd?"

"Yeah. He's normally over the moon about Alex being around, but he seems a little…"

"Blah." Amy replied, sticking out her tongue in emphasis. "Do you think they're fighting or something?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe."

They entered the Tardis to find the Doctor spinning around in confusion.

"Well, she was here. Maybe she just popped off to her room for a bit." He muttered, a sad look coming onto his face before he went and distracted himself with the cube he had; though the moment wasn't missed by Amy and Rory.

"Something's definitely wrong."

"Oh yeah."

They turned to the Doctor though, knowing that this cube thing could be far more than they expected and that paying attention to him for the moment would be better than searching for the missing woman; especially if she didn't want to be found.

"All absolutely identical. Not a single molecule's difference between them. No blemishes, imperfections, individualities."

"What if they're bombs? Billions of tiny bombs. Or transport capsules maybe, with a mini robot inside. Or deadly hard drives. Or alien eggs? Or messages needing decoding. Or they're all parts of a bigger whole. Jigsaw puzzles that need fitting together." Brian went on, having tried to think of everything they could be ever since he saw them.

"Very thorough, Brian. Very, very thorough. Well done. Stay here. Watch these." The Doctor plopped his own cube on top of Brian's walking off. "Yell if anything happens."

He went and grabbed a set of large wires hanging from a coat rack as Amy and Rory gathered up some more wires and electronic bits that were lying about.

"Doctor, is this an alien invasion? Because that's what it feels like." Amy commented as Rory did the same.

"There couldn't be life forms in every cube, could there?"

"I don't know and I really don't like not knowing." He started towards the door and paused, turning around and running towards the Tardis hall to shout. "Alex! Are you coming?!"

There was no reply, but he stood waiting by the entryway and Alex did come out, wearing some tattered sneakers with her hood up and a backpack over her shoulders. Amy and Rory glanced at each other and back at the quiet duo as they headed over, before the Doctor bounded out the door.

"Onward then! And I hope you don't mind if Alex stays with you for a bit should I pop off somewhere."

Amy blinked, glancing over at the woman who seemed to look a bit more threatening with the baggy clothes she was wearing. "No, no. That's fine. Always room for Alex. You can take the guest bedroom upstairs if you want."

Alex glanced at her and nodded, not saying a word and that worried Amy nearly as much as the look in her eyes. They just seemed, sad and scared and so many other things that the woman wasn't expressing because her face stayed perfectly blank. Amy hardly even noticed that the Doctor had parked the Tardis right in her lounge until Alex wandered off in another direction to drop her things off upstairs.

"Right. I need to use your kitchen as a lab. Cook up some cubes. See what happens." The Doctor said, starting to fill a pot with water.

"Doctor, what happened to Alex?" Amy asked, her and Rory eyeing him as he tensed, facing away from them.

"Alex… is having some trouble… accepting things the way they are."

"What? You mean like the whole time travel and alien bit?"

The Doctor shook his head, turning off the water now that the pot was full.

"No. She showed up in the Tardis, _dying_, Amy. She'd been tortured for a while by Daleks because I left her behind and didn't understand what she was trying to do for me."

"Are you serious?" Rory questioned, not believing that the man before him would ever do that to Alex, of all people.

The Doctor glared at him over his shoulder, snapping harshly. "_Yes_, I'm serious, Rory. It was a different me. A younger, _stupider_ me who didn't understand that she was only trying to help!" He realized that he was shouting and turned away, calming down a bit, though his hands gripped the counter in front of him tightly. "She finally realized that this was reality for her now and if I could change everything I said to her before she came here, I would, but I can't. So now it's up to her to accept it."

The room was quiet for a moment, before Amy snapped out of it.

"She was… _tortured_? Is she alright? You said she was dying…"

"She's fine." He said softly. "I managed to fix everything, but it took a week and a half. She'll still be weak, so I need you two to take care of her for me."

He turned and looked at them, extremely worried and obviously not wanting to leave her behind, but knowing that he might have to.

"But shouldn't _you_ do something? Say something to her?"

He shook his head. "I'm quite possibly the last person she wants to see right now."

"What? But she li—"

"No, she doesn't." He said, cutting her off and smiling sadly. "Not yet, and if she doesn't get out of this… maybe not ever."

"But that can't…" Amy looked towards the kitchen doorway, suddenly very worried for the Time Lord and the woman upstairs. "No. She'll get over it. I _know_ she will." Amy looked back at the Doctor, face serious. "The Alex I know won't just sit around and mope. You watch, Doctor. She'll be back to her old self in no time."

He smiled. "Oh, Amy. My Amelia Pond. Oh, how I've missed you."

"You too, Spaceman."

He chuckled at the familiar nickname that Alex seemed to have spread around his companions, but Rory cleared his throat.

"I'm due at work."

"What?" The Doctor looked at him confused. "You've got a job?"

"O-Of course I've got a job. What do you think we do when we're not with you?"

"I imagined mostly kissing." He replied, Rory nodding a bit since it was mostly true.

"I write travel articles for magazines and Rory heals the sick." Amy said, before Rory started talking to her.

"My shift starts in an hour. You don't know where my scrubs are?"

"In the lounge, where you left them."

The Doctor made a disgusted face at that and Amy just gave him a look in return. She eventually rolled her eyes and started helping the Doctor with what he was making, him looking up.

"All the Ponds, with their house and their jobs and their everyday lives. The journalist and the nurse." He started sonicking a bundle of wires together. "Long way from Leadworth."

"We think it's been ten years. Not for you or Earth, but for us." She clarified. "Ten years older. Ten years of you, on and off."

"Look at you now. All grown up." He smiled, right before a loud crashing noise happened and a group of armed men stormed in the house.

"Trap one. Kitchen secured." The man in front of him said.

"Trap three. Back garden secured." Another man said into his radio from outside the sliding glass door.

The Doctor and Amy shared a confused glance before Rory and Alex were led in; both without their 'trousers' and standing there in boxer shorts.

"There are soldiers all over my house, and we're in our pants." Rory complained, throwing his hands out as Amy gave him a look.

"My whole life I've dreamed of saying that and I miss it by being someone else." She then spotted Alex fidgeting beside him a scowl on her face. "And why are you in just your pants? Least… I hope those are yours."

She sent the Doctor a look, but he glanced away from Alex, red in the face.

"What?! Don't look at me! Those aren't mine!"

"They're mine." Alex replied, glaring at the soldier beside her and Rory. "And I was changing into jeans when these _dogs_ marched in."

The soldier frowned in return, just as a woman walked in and Rory pulled Alex over to the Doctor.

"All these muscles and they _still_ don't know how to knock. Sorry about the raucous entrance. Spike in Artron energy reading at this address. In the light of the last 24 hours, we had to check it out and, uh, the dogs do love a run out."

Alex stuck her tongue out at the guard when the woman said that.

"Hello. Kate Stewart, head of scientific research at UNIT. And with dress sense like that—" Kate held out a scanner that showed two hearts. "You must be the Doctor."

Said man saluted.

"I hoped it would be you. Though your companion is a little harder to find."

She went and scanned Amy and Rory, before turning to Alex and doing the same, smiling as she did.

"Ah, there we go. Abundance of Artron energy concentrated in the shoulder. You must be Alexander Holmes."

Alex's frown returned and she gave the Doctor a pointed look, but he waved it off.

"Later." He whispered, before turning back to Kate. "Tell me, since when did science run the military, Kate?"

"Since me. UNIT's been adapting. Well, I dragged them along, kicking and screaming, which made it sound like more fun than it actually was." She explained.

"What do we know about these cubes?"

"Far less than we need to. We've been freighting them in from around the world for testing." She moved around to the other side of the table. "So far, we've subjected them to temperatures of plus and minus 200 degrees Celsius, simulated a water depth of five miles, dropped one out of a helicopter at ten thousand feet and rolled our best tank over it. Always intact."

"That's impressive. I don't want them to be impressive. I want them vulnerable with a nice Achilles heel." The Doctor frowned.

"We don't know how they got here, what they're made of, or why they're here."

"And all around the world, people are picking them up—" He picked a cube up and tossed it. "—and taking them home."

"Like iPads have dropped out of the sky. Taking them to work, taking pictures, making films, posting them on Flickr and YouTube. Within three hours, the cubes had a thousand separate Twitter accounts."

"Twitter?" He muttered, disgusted once more, before he paced a bit, watching Alex who shivered a bit as she leaned against a counter nearby.

"I've recommended we treat this as a hostile incursion. Gather them all up and lock them in a secure facility. But that would take massive international agreement and cooperation."

"We need evidence." He said, putting his tweed jacket over Alex, who frowned, but took it. "The Cubes arrived in plain sight, in vast quantities, as the sun rose." He wandered over to Amy and Rory, pulling Alex along with him before patting them all on the back. "So, what does that tell us?"

"Maybe they want to be seen. Noticed." Amy answered.

"Or more than that, they want to be observed. So we observe them. Stay with them round the clock. Watch the cubes, day and night." He tossed another cube up, kissing it with a grin. "Record absolutely everything about them. Team cube, in it together."

Thing was, the Doctor could only handle so much boredom and the moment the soldiers had gone, Alex grumbled something about trousers and locked herself up in the guest bedroom. It had been four days since and with no movement from the cubes and no cheerful Alex to goof around with, the Doctor found himself in a predicament.

"Four days." He groaned, upside-down on the couch in the lounge. "Nothing. Nothing!" He grabbed a cube from off the table angrily, slapping it. "Not a single change in any cube, _anywhere_ in the world. Four days and I am still in your lounge!" He complained, pulling himself upright a bit, Amy and Rory rather fed up with his lack of patience.

"You're the one who wanted to observe them." Amy quipped.

"Yes, well, I thought they'd do something, didn't I? Not just _sit there_ while everyone eats endless cereal!" The Doctor pulled himself up over the back of the couch and Rory rolled his eyes.

"You said we had to be patient."

"Yes! You! You!" The Doctor called out, jabbing a finger in Rory's direction as he came out of the kitchen. "I hate being patient! Patience is for wimps!"

He stopped shouting and plopped back down between the two, stressed.

"I can't live like this. Don't make me. I need to be busy."

"Fine!" Amy shouted. "Be busy! We'll watch the cubes!"

He quickly went off and did everything he could think of. He painted a fence, kicked a soccer ball five million times, mowed the lawn, fixed Rory's car, _and_ vacuumed the house. When he finished, expecting to have been gone for ages, he hurried back inside and plopped down between the two once more.

"That's better. Nothing like a bit of activity to pass the time. How long was I gone?"

Rory glanced at his watch. "About an hour."

The Doctor's grin held for a moment before he started shaking his head. "I can't do it."

Jumping up and over the couch once more, he hurried into the Tardis, Amy and Rory following in confusion.

"Where are you going?"

He ignored her question and the two of them followed him into the Tardis to where they all found Brian sitting there comfortably in a lawn chair.

"Brian! You're still here." The Doctor said, a bit surprised.

"You told me to watch the cubes." Brian answered easily.

"Four days ago."

"Ah! Doesn't time fly when you're alone with your thoughts?"

The Doctor chuckled, knowing that that was the very opposite of true, at least in his case.

"You can't just leave, Doctor." Rory said.

"Yes, of course I can. Quick jaunt, restore sanity. Ooh, hey!" He snapped his fingers, moving around to drape his arms over Amy and Rory's shoulders. "Come if you like."

"They can't just go off like that." Brian scolded him, confusing him.

"Can't they? Can't you? That's how it goes, isn't it?"

"I've got my job." Rory told him, making the Doctor immediately start mocking him in his so-called stressed mood.

"Oh yes, Rory. The universe is awaiting, but you have a little job to—"

"It's not little. It's important to me." Rory snapped, a bit angry at how the Doctor was just dismissing his job like nothing. "Look, what you do isn't all there is."

The Doctor looked around for some sort of support from someone, but even Amy wouldn't look his way.

"I never said it was."

Everyone stayed quiet and the Doctor nodded, feeling a bit dejected as he removed his arms from the Ponds' shoulders.

"Alright. Fine. I'll take Alex with me and—"

"Doctor, Alex hasn't left the guest bedroom other than to eat and go to the restroom." Amy explained. "I really don't think she's up for it right now."

"Then… I'll be back soon. Monitor the cubes. Keep an eye on Alex. She'll want to be alone for a while. Call me. I'll have the Tardis set to every Earth news feed."

He went and picked up a cube, fiddling with a switch as the group left and he watched the Tardis doors close with an upset look, feeling more alone than he's felt in a long while.

* * *

September came and went with no sign of the Doctor returning to check on the cubes—though they weren't doing anything at all—and Amy and Rory suddenly realized what they had done during the month of October.

"I said yes. I committed." Rory muttered, the two of them sitting up in bed, both kind of stunned.

"And I committed to being a bridesmaid. Months in advance. Like I know I'm going to be here." Amy said back, the two looking at one another now.

"So the Doctor's God-knows-where, the cubes aren't doing anything at all… Did real life just get started?"

"I like it." Amy replied after a pause.

"So do I." Rory sipped at his drink, before realizing something. "What about Alex? It's been a month now and no actual word other than a missing box of cereal or two."

"Do you think she's okay?" Amy questioned, not liking the woman's unending silence.

"Dunno. I mean, she's still eating, so that's good."

"Yeah, but not leaving the room?"

Rory shrugged. "The Doctor _did_ say that she'd need some time to herself."

"But Rory, it's been a whole _month_. What if she's… You know, what if she's doing something really bad up there?"

"You mean like hurting herself?" He asked, suddenly very worried as well. "She doesn't seem like the type, but then again… no one really does."

Amy fidgeted before throwing off the covers and standing up. "Let's go check on her."

He nodded, getting up as well. "Yeah."

The two of them headed down the hall and over to the guest bedroom, but neither could gather up the courage to knock on the door and instead leaned up against it to try and listen. There was some clattering and cursing, before there was a crash and the two pulled their heads away from the door and quickly opened it.

"Alex?!"

"Alex, are you alright?!"

The both rushed in to find Alex sitting on the bed, cross-legged, and clutching at her hand which was bleeding. Amy quickly rushed over and Rory headed for the door.

"I'll get the first aid kit."

Amy sat on the bed beside Alex and held her wrist, frowning down at her bleeding hand before up at her face.

"What were you thinking?! I know you're upset and all but resorting to _this_?!"

Alex frowned right back. "What are you talking about?"

"What am I—Alex, you just hurt yourself!"

Alex suddenly realized what Amy was saying and looked hurt. "You… You think I cut myself? Purposely?"

"Obviously!" She said loudly as Rory finally came back in, breathing a little hard and holding up the first aid kit.

"I got the—"

"I was trying to fix the toaster! I wouldn't—How could you think that I-I would—" Alex stood up, backing away from Amy and shaking her head. "You honestly thought I would cut myself?"

Amy seemed to realize she'd said something wrong and glanced over at Rory for help. He was always better at this sort of thing.

"Alex, we were just worried." Rory said, setting the first aid kit down on the bed and approaching her slowly with his hands out. "You haven't spoke to anyone in days and are always cooped up in here. We knew you were depressed, so what else were we supposed to think when we walked in to find you bleeding?"

She shook her head, staring down at her hands. "I was only trying to help. That's all I wanted to do. I just want to stop being useless."

Amy and Rory shared a look before Rory walked over and took Alex's uninjured hand, leading her back to the bed.

"Let's get you fixed up."

She followed and sat down with the two of them as he patched her up.

"You're not useless, you know." Amy said, picking up a piece of the dismantled toaster. "I, for one, couldn't do this."

"I've been trying to put it back together for over a week." Alex grumbled, tossing her good hand over to a large portion on the floor. "I can't even put a stupid toaster back together. And the Doctor, he… he can make DNA scanners and robot dogs and can do genetic engineering and can fly the Tardis and knows more about anything in this universe than anyone else… How am I supposed to compare to that?"

Rory finished tying up the bandage on her hand, the wound being a rather large one that would probably scar over in time, though it didn't need stitches; something he was grateful for. On the other hand, the way she was talking didn't comfort him in the slightest.

"Alex, you can't be saying that this is all because you're not as smart as the Doctor. _Nobody's_ that smart."

She shook her head, her other hand lightly touching the bandages. "You don't get it. He's always had all these other companions… Ones who save the universe over and over again, and all I have is this foreknowledge—I _know_ what's going to happen to them, to you, to River, to everyone and I can't do a single thing about it."

"Sure you can. You can help!" Amy said, smiling and patting Alex on the shoulder, but she looked up with a glare.

"You think it's easy? You and the Doctor and everyone always thinks it so freakin' easy!" She shouted, a hand gripping her hair tightly as she clenched her eyes shut and bowed her head. "Time can be rewritten. That's all he ever says, but it _can't_. It _can't_ but he always expects me to be able to do it somehow. But I can't just save them, because everything else will be ruined. More people will die, the wrong people will be saved, _he_ could die and then what? Nothing. Everything will turn into nothing and it'll all be my fault. Why doesn't he understand? Why doesn't anyone understand?" She muttered, curling up into a ball and practically forgetting that Amy and Rory were even there. "I can't even fix a bloody toaster. How am I supposed to fix time? How am I supposed to prove that I'm not useless when it's so obvious I am?"

"You're _not_ useless." Rory said sternly, tired of how Alex was treating herself. "You're not the Alex we know. The Alex _we _know is strong and never cried or complained about anything unless it was for a _darn_ good reason. She's reckless and smart, and proved herself time and time again whether the Doctor was around or not. She didn't need his praise to get things done and if he yelled at her for not saying anything, so what? She'd yell right back and put him in his place, because she and the Doctor _understood_ each other!"

"And I'm not her!" She shouted back angrily.

"Yes, you are!" He returned. "I don't care if your 25 or 30 or 50! You're still the same person whether you believe that or not! Just like this Doctor is the same as the last one and the one before that and the one _after_ this one and after that!"

"Rory's right!" Amy said, standing up as well, since everyone else was. "Our Alex doesn't mope around depressed all the time! She's out running around with the Doctor! Saving lives and caring for people when the Doctor couldn't! And you know what? She goes on adventures that she didn't even know about! And she _still_ does amazing things! So why can't you do that, huh?" Amy lowered her voice, looking right at Alex who was so lost and upset and afraid, much like a child; like the Doctor. "I get it. You're scared and confused about everything and that's fine, but don't you think you're going about it the wrong way?"

Rory nodded, also calming down, picking up the toaster part on the ground and holding it out to Alex. "You've already started, in a way. Just need to stop worrying about proving yourself to him, and start doing it for yourself. Who needs another Doctor anyway?"

Amy grinned as Alex took the toaster part with a confused frown. "Yeah. I sure don't. I've got myself a good pal right here. Alexander Holmes, the _Saver_ of Time. Ooh, I like that." Amy turned to Rory. "Can we keep that?"

He rolled his eyes, turning back at Alex as she sat on the edge of the bed, and he knelt down in front of her with a hand on her knee. "Look, all we're saying is that you need to stop caring about what the Doctor thinks of you, because from what we've heard, you've already saved a _lot_ of people. Far more people than the Doctor could've managed on his own and… you make him better. As a person, he just…"

"He's more human." Amy said for him, making him nod as Alex finally spoke up.

"_God_, I hate you two."

"Wha—"

Alex cut Amy off before she could get angry, by hugging her and Rory tightly. "I hate it when you're right."

Amy sighed, rolling her eyes and patting Alex's back as Rory smiled a bit and did the same.

"Yeah, well, better get used to it, 'cause we're always right." Amy said with a smirk, but Alex didn't move. "Alex?"

Amy pulled back and Rory let her lay on his shoulder before Amy poked her head around to look at him.

"She's asleep."

He rolled his eyes. "Of course."

They both chuckled though and he held her up as Amy cleared the bed of any toaster parts, before Rory laid her down and they both tucked her in.

"You think she'll cheer up after this?"

"Who knows. Maybe if the Doctor comes back soon. She might actually be happy to see him now." Amy chuckled, before the two headed off to their own bed, neither knowing just how long it'd be before the Doctor returned.

* * *

It was November now and sitting at the table in the kitchen was Brian with a cube and a video camera; Rory moving about behind him with two mugs.

"Brian's log, day 67."

"You, uh, you can't call it that." Rory quipped, leaning over to his father. "Brian's log?"

"Brian's log, day 67." Brian repeated, ignoring Rory as he walked past to sit at the table beside Alex; who was fiddling with a small fan. "Cube was quiet all night, once again. Cube was quiet all day, as per previously. No movement. No change in measurements. End of entry."

Brian turned the video camera off and Rory gave him a disbelieving look.

"You stay up and watch it all the time."

"I film it while I'm asleep. When I wake up, I watch the footage on fast forward. I email the result to UNIT. My middle name is diligence."

"Wow. I can't wait to see day 68." Rory mocked, unimpressed.

"Don't mock my log. I'm doing what the Doctor asked."

"Yeah, Rory." Alex said, lifting up the magnifying glasses she'd made out of some old prescription glasses of Brian's. "Don't mock the log. It's actually quite handy. I taught him how to use the email, by the way."

She replaced her glasses and Rory rolled his eyes. "Of course, you'd be on his side."

"Did you ever think that maybe he likes Amy more because she doesn't make fun of him all the time?"

"Yeah, Rory. I bet you never thought of that. You should be nicer to me. I _am_ your father, after all."

Rory looked between the two in disbelief. "Are you two teaming up on me?"

Amy walked in then and he turned to her.

"Amy! They're teaming up on me!"

She raised a brow, looking over at Alex who was pretending to work with the fan innocently, before looking back at Rory.

"Well somebody's got to." She replied smugly, moving to get her own drink. "How's the blog, Brian?"

"Great, as always." He replied, good-naturedly.

"Alright. And the fan, Alex?"

"Just a few more tweaks and it should work again."

"Does nobody care about me in this house?" Rory questioned, tossing his hands up in exaggeration.

"Aw, somebody feeling left out?" Amy teased, before kissing him briefly. "I have an article to write. Alex, make sure you return those books to the library today. They'll be overdue if you don't."

"Right." Alex said, waving a screwdriver at the large stack of books on history and mechanics. "You think I could buy the one about World War II submarines? It could come in handy later."

"If you want. The Doctor left the credit card in your coat, though I don't know how that could be handy."

"Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff." Alex replied and Amy chuckled a bit before heading upstairs to work on her article for the travel magazine, silently glad that Alex had started to return to the woman her and Rory knew.

* * *

It was December and Alex was growing anxious. Amy and Rory had already started noticing little ticks of hers. She'd take things apart that weren't broken now, just to see if she could put them back together and she'd stare listlessly at the TV even when her favorite shows were on, just tapping her fingers against her thigh which made them nervous. She once paced back and forth for three hours muttering under her breath about why her blueberry muffin only had two blueberries in it. That, and she spent a good amount of time in her room with books from the library; history books, mechanic books, 'How To' books, medical books, just about anything you could think of.

"This is starting to get ridiculous." Rory muttered to Amy, the two of them having sent Alex out to buy more cereal and fish fingers.

"I'll say. She's starting to act like the Doctor a bit too much. Did she say when he's coming back?"

"Only said it'd be a while. Some time next year." Rory shrugged. "She wouldn't give me much more than that. Have you seen the jigsaws?"

She nodded. "She bought frames for them all. She's probably got hundreds by now."

"Yeah, my only suggestion is stay out of her room. Last time I went in there, there was red string all over the place. Said she was trying to solve a murder from the TV. You think she's lost it?"

Amy shook her head. "Nah, think she's just bored, really. She just lasted a lot longer than the Doctor. He only lasted four days, remember?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah. Maybe we should find her a job? You know, something to distract her?"

"Distract who?"

Rory and Amy jumped as Alex came back in with arms full of groceries.

"We were just…" Rory looked over at Amy.

"Thinking about finding you a job!" Amy replied honestly as they got up to help with the groceries.

"Not fast food. I don't do fast food." She replied, heading out to get more groceries from the car.

Amy looked at Rory in shock before they both followed her out. "You mean you'll do it?"

She shrugged, grabbing another load of groceries. "Sure, why not? It'll keep me occupied, out of your hair, give me a reason to get out of the house other than for books." She turned to look at them both with a small frown. "I think the librarian hates me now, though I don't know why."

"I do." Rory grumbled, only to be nudged in the ribs by Amy, who gave him pointed look.

They went into the kitchen with their own load of groceries, and Alex turned around with a grin.

"Pick a good one."

* * *

June. It was June. 9 _months_ since the Doctor had left to stop being bored and _6 months_ since I had gotten a job in an attempt to _not_ be bored.

"Being normal sucks. How do you people cope with it?!" I complained, hanging upside-down on the couch in the lounge as various—rather drunk—party guests nodded around me. "I mean, I started as a bag boy in a grocery market and moved up to manager in three months! I've never been so bored in my life!"

A man beside me held up his drink. "I hear ya. I was just promoted too and I feel like I've just been thrown a ton of problems."

"I don't even _have_ problems! I work at a grocery store." I growled, pulling myself up and launching myself over the back of the couch. "The biggest problem I have is a spill in aisle three. Drinks?"

"Here."

"Me too."

"Mn."

I nodded and moved outside to get them something a bit less potent than the alcohol they'd been drinking, bumping into Amy on the way.

"Hey, sorry Alex for making you deal with them." Amy apologized. "I know how you are with parties."

"Parties, smarties. You have any less… alcoholic drinks?" I wrinkled my nose and she nodded, pulling out her phone.

"Yeah, over by the punch. I'm going to call the Doctor, 'kay?"

"Sure, whatever. Not like he checks his messages." I waved her off and she rolled her eyes, but it was to be expected.

I had long gotten frustrated with the Doctor after the third or fourth month of being stuck here. According to Amy and Rory, he was really worried when I was upset, so I'd figured he'd at least check up on me. 9 months later, and not even a phone call.

"Stupid Doctor." I grumbled, grabbing three drinks and wandering back over towards the lounge, passing Amy on the way as she spoke on the phone. "He gets to go off and have _fun_ while I'm stuck here being all normal. I wanted it, sure, but _9 months_? I'm _so_ going to hit him when I se—"

Someone ran into me with a huge bouquet, spilling the punch I had all down the front of my shirt and pants.

"Oi! These were new pants, you—" I cut myself off as I heard the drunks over on the couch laughing and pointing.

"Check it out! Holmes messed his pants!"

"Ahaha! Couldn't find the restroom?!"

I snarled and rolled my eyes. "Oh, yeah, laugh it up! You stupid bundle of drunks!"

I wiped my shirt, flinging my hands to get the punch off and turning to glare at the person who had caused this, only to see the back of a tweed jacket.

"Oh, _no_ he didn't." I growled, stomping over as he passed the bouquet to Amy and clapped, heading back my way only to stop when he saw me coming for him.

"Alex! Glad to see you're back to your—"

I cut him off my punching him in the jaw, making him stumble back a few steps and hold his face in shock.

"—old self… What was that for?!"

"Nine months!" I shouted back, stepping towards him and feeling a little pride when he took a half step back, hand still on his jaw. "Nine months of waiting and you spill _punch_ on me! I just bought these pants!"

"I-I can buy you new ones!" He said, eyes wide in surprise. "The Tardis! She'll make you some! And—" He grabbed me in a hug, pulling away quickly. "Nine months, sorry!"

"_Oh_, sorry ain't going to cover it, mister." I growled, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and pulling him to the Tardis with Amy and Rory following behind in confusion.

I shoved him inside and peered out the door at them.

"Excuse us for a moment."

* * *

Amy and Rory exchanged looks as they stood outside the Tardis doors, hearing shouting and crashing and what sounded like a chicken at one point.

"Should we, uh… go in?" Rory questioned, pointing at the door.

"I don't know if she'd let us." Amy replied, just as the door swung open and the two of them cautiously stepped inside to find something unexpected.

Alex was sprawled out in the jump-seat, calmly flipping through a magazine that had appeared out of nowhere wearing new clothes and the Doctor was missing.

"Um, where's the Doctor?" Amy questioned, the two of them walking towards her as she licked her finger and flipped to the next page.

"He'll be here in about…" She glanced up as the Tardis hummed. "Three, two, one…"

The hallway door opened and the Doctor rushed out, turning round to hold it closed as he panted breathlessly, soaking wet with feathers stuck to his clothing and hair, a bruise on his jaw and little rips and tears in his shirt; his pants missing completely to show off a pair of Tardis blue boxers with stars on them.

"_Oh_, the chickens." He muttered, eyeing the door fearfully. "Could never forget about the chickens. Always the chickens."

Amy smiled a bit, unable to _not_ find this amusing. "What did you do to him?"

"Nothing much." Alex replied, tossing the magazine over the side of the railing and getting up with a stretch. "Just, you know, teaming up with ol' Sexy here to dish out some well deserved revenge."

She patted the railing fondly, earning a pleased hum in response as the Doctor headed over, a finger pointed at Alex and a scowl on his face.

"_You_ are never teaming up with her again. You hear that?!" He called up to the Tardis. "Never!"

The Tardis hummed and Alex chuckled a bit. "She found that funny."

"And _you_." He stomped over to her and Amy and Rory watched as the woman stopped chuckling and stiffened, though not moving back as the Doctor got in her face. "You are a conniving and _evil_ person. You're just…" He paused, eyeing her before grabbing her face and pressing his lips to hers, much to the surprise of everyone in the room. "You are just too darn clever and I _love_ that."

He smiled as he pressed his forehead to hers, before bouncing away and around the Tardis console.

"Ponds! Go get changed, the Tardis has picked out some things for you to wear on our little trip and don't worry!" He patted the console and gave them a grin. "I've fixed all the bugs, we'll get you back to your party a few minutes after you left."

Amy scoffed, gesturing over to Alex who was once again frozen and gaping like a fish. "And what're you going to do about that?"

Rory agreed. "You _do_ know what you just did, right?"

The Doctor winked. "A little revenge for the chickens." He then turned back around happily. "Go on then, while I go and unfreeze Alex."

Amy and Rory headed off and as they walked into the wardrobe, Amy laughed.

"Do you think he'll ever get tired of that?"

"What? Freezing Alex?"

Amy nodded. "Yeah, I mean, he _obviously _knows what effect he has on her or else he wouldn't being doing it." She turned around, holding up the dress the Tardis picked out. "I think he gets off on it."

"Yeah, well… I hope for Alex's sake he gets tired of it." He grabbed the tuxedo he was given and raised a brow, wondering where the Doctor could possibly be taking them.

"I don't know… Remember when she did it to him that one time?"

Even Rory couldn't help but laugh a bit at that. "I've never seen him so surprised."

Amy laughed as well. "Who would've thought? The Doctor, stunned into silence."

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"Where is it? I remember something about this place, but I can't find it." I grumbled, before I stumbled upon a page and stopped. "Oh crap."_

_There on the page was everything I remembered about this episode and I slowly flipped to the page before it, groaning at the large number 9 on it._

_"Just what I need. Big ears."_


	7. The Long Game

**Thank so much to those who reviewed and here's the next chapter ^^ i would've posted it yesterday, but i got home late after school and gym. but anyway, please review and let me know what you think!**

**Eromon****: Thank you so much for your compliments on Alex. And to answer your question, yes, she ages just like everyone else. _However..._ i can't say that you're wrong either. Spoilers and all that. ;) And the Bad Wolf episode won't happen for a while, but you'll definitely see snippets of the aftermath and such in her relationship with the early 10th Doctor.**

* * *

I groaned, gripping my shoulder with a frown as I looked around at the hustle and bustle of people in front of me.

"That was rude." I muttered, rubbing my aching shoulder and rolling my neck. "I was in the middle of being chased by Henry the VIII. Like it's _my_ fault I accidentally accepted his marriage proposal."

Standing up and getting off the dirty floor, I looked around, finding the place familiar but not being able to place it. Behind me was a giant set of numbers and I pulled at the collar of my shirt. _139\. Floor? The 139__th__ floor maybe?_

"That's a lot of floors." I said under my breath, wandering over to a gate and heading through it to find a huge window revealing the Earth down below. _Far_ down below. "Peachy. Dragged out of the 16th century and smack dab in the middle of space." I smacked myself in the forehead. "And I forgot to ask him about the Artron energy! God, you'd think my brain would remember things a little faster."

I began digging through my pockets grumbling to myself as I headed back out to where I was before, everyone having up and left, leaving me alone as I pulled out a black notebook.

"Ah-ha! Now then…" I flipped through the book quickly, scanning the pages. "…where am I?"

The book was my own little River journal, something I kept to keep track of episodes I remembered and the details in them as well as my own adventures with the Doctor. I constantly forgot things anyway and remembered things too late. It's not that my memory was bad or anything, it's just that I watched some episodes a long time ago and others more recently and… I had kind of been packing my head full of other things while at Amy and Rory's, so I was worried my mind would start shoving things out to make room. Stupid thinking, but I'd read studies on it so it's not impossible and I didn't want to take the risk of forgetting important things that happened when it could save lives.

"Where is it? I remember something about this place, but I can't find it." I grumbled, before I stumbled upon a page and stopped. "Oh crap."

There on the page was everything I remembered about this episode and I slowly flipped to the page before it, groaning at the large number 9 on it.

"Just what I need. Big ears."

* * *

The Ninth Doctor led Adam into the room full of food carts with an arm over his shoulder and a grin on his face.

"Come on, Adam. Open your mind. You're going to like this. Fantastic period of history. The human race at its most intelligent. Culture, art, politics. This era has got fine food, good manners—"

"Out of the way!" A man interrupted him, shoving past the two of them and Rose as the vendors started opening up shop, people flooding out to wait in line for lunch.

The trio looked around in confusion.

"Fine cuisine?" Rose questioned, not seeing anything _fine _about the junk food being displayed in the food cart.

"My watch must be wrong." The Doctor checked it. "No, it's fine. It's weird."

"That's what comes of showing off. Your history's not as good as you thought it was."

"My history's perfect." He quipped back at her.

"_Well_, obviously not."

"They're all human. What about the millions of planets? The millions of species? Where are they?" Adam questioned, looking around in confusion.

"Good question. Actually, that is a good question." The Doctor bounded over and draped an arm over the young man's shoulder. "Adam, me old mate, you must be starving."

"No, I'm just a bit time sick."

"No, you just need a bit of grub." He pat Adam on the stomach before going up and talking to the man serving out of a food cart. "Oi, mate. How much is a kronkburger?"

"Two credits twenty, sweetheart. Now join the queue."

The Doctor smiled, before pointing to the side. "Money, we need money. Let's use a cashpoint."

Adam and Rose followed after him, but before he could reach the cashpoint, someone rushed over and poked him in the chest.

"You. You're the Doctor, right? No, wait, of course you are. Can't go wrong with the big ears." They said, causing the Doctor to frown and put a hand up to his ear.

"Oi!"

Rose moved around him, giving the person a confused look. "Who are you? How do you know the Doctor?"

The person grinned, smile just barely visible from under their hoodie, grabbing her hand and shaking it with both of theirs.

"Rose Tyler. Nice to meet you again, though you don't know me, but that's fine. First impressions are always fun. _God_ I'm tired." They spouted out quickly, rubbing their face before turning to the Doctor. "You. I need you. Got any money?"

He raised a brow, eyeing the person suspiciously. "That's not something I'd tell you, mate."

"Shame." They grumbled, looking around. "I could help you, you know. It'd be fun… maybe… dangerous, sure. God, it's hot. Is the room spinning? Why's the room spinning?"

The person quickly fell and the Doctor grabbed them out of reflex, looking over at Rose in surprise.

"What just happened?"

* * *

The trio sat at a table, the auburn headed _woman_ sitting in front of them and stuffing her face full of the food they'd brought.

"God, never thought I'd missed food so much. Been here three days, mind you."

"You've been here _three_ _days_ with no food?" Rose questioned. "Don't you have money?"

"Nope. Popped up without it. Left the credit card in my other pants." She smiled at them, before going back to her food, the Doctor frowning and eyeing her suspiciously.

"Who are you? How do you know me?"

"Alexander Holmes. And I've met you…" She paused, holding up a hand and ticking off fingers. "…eight times now? Though this is the first time meeting _this_ you, but technically _you_ knew me first."

He frowned. "How could I know you first? We've never met!"

She waved her hand. "Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff." She glanced up at him and waved her fork at his face. "Don't know what I think about the ears though. Definitely different."

"What is with you and my ears?! It's always the ears!" He complained, tugging at them as Rose rolled her eyes and turned back to Alex.

"Alexander? Isn't that a guy's name?"

She shrugged. "Parents wanted a boy, they got me. Just call me Alex."

"Right… So I'm confused. How do you know the Doctor? And me. You knew my name before I even told it to you. And you said you just… _popped_ up here?"

"Yeah, sorry. Bit confusing that. Don't really know myself why I just pop in and out of his time-line." She tossed a thumb over at the Doctor, who quickly brought his attention away from his ears and back to her.

"My time-line?"

She nodded, grabbing her drink and finishing it off with a sigh. "Yes. Future you is fun and all, sometimes rude, and no, not ginger."

He frowned a bit, touching his short hair. "I've always wanted to be ginger."

"Doctor!" Rose smacked his arm and he nodded, pulling out his screwdriver and scanning Alex.

"Right… human, it seems." He grumbled, tilting his head a bit at the object. "With a lot of Artron energy. But that can't be right. You only get that if you've time traveled and it's all focused on one point! Never seen that before."

"My shoulder. It's been mentioned before, though I didn't know it was connected to time travel. Good to know. Now, what do you know about this place? Hm?" Alex gestured to the room of people rushing about. "Because I know quite a bit, though you _might_ want to ask those two ladies over there." She pointed over to a couple of women passing by. "They work here, probably know more."

The Doctor stood up and pointed over at her. "Rose, keep an eye on her. See what else you can find out."

Rose nodded seriously and he wandered off to go speak to the two women before Rose turned to eye Alex suspiciously.

"So… you travel around the Doctor's time-line, meet future him, and future me?"

She nodded. "Yup. We get along nice. Doctor's a bit of a jerk later, tried to feed me to a wolf, but nothing we can't sort out." Alex suddenly stopped, opening and closing her mouth and putting a hand up to it. "God, have I been talking like that this whole time? He's rubbed off on me more than I thought."

"Who has?" Adam asked, finally popping into the conversation, though he was obviously confused.

"The Doctor. He rambles."

"You noticed?" Rose asked, smiling a bit. "He just goes on and on sometimes, yeah? And half the time you have no idea what he's going on about."

Alex nodded with a grin. "Has he talked to the Tardis yet? That's fun to watch."

Rose laughed. "Right?! Makes me want to ask, 'do you two need a room'?"

They both chuckled and gossiped a bit about the Doctor, before Rose remembered Adam and passed him a drink.

"Here, try this. It's called Zaphic. It's nice. It's like, uh, Slush Puppy."

"What flavor?" He asked, hesitant and Alex gave him a smile.

"Beef."

"Oh my God."

Rose and Alex chuckled, but Adam wasn't feeling the same.

"It's like everything's gone. Home, family, everything."

"Ooh, I remember that." Alex hummed, tucking her arms into the pocket of her hoodie with a more serious expression on her face. "They're not gone though. Not completely. For _you_, anyway."

"What?"

Rose pulled out her phone, passing it to him. "She's right. This helps. The Doctor gave it a bit of a top-up. Who's back home, your mum and dad?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Phone 'em up."

"But that's 198,000 years ago." He argued.

"Phone's universal." Alex quipped. "Calls through time and space, long as you know the area code."

"How do you know that?" Rose questioned as Adam started to call.

"Told you. I've met the Doctor before. Not the first time he's fixed up a phone. Not mine though."

"Left it in your other pants?" Rose questioned with a grin, but Alex stayed somber.

"No. Just have no one to call."

Rose's smile dropped and she went to ask something else, but Adam was getting excited about her phone connecting to his house, distracting her. Just as he hung up though, a loud buzzer went off and Alex groaned.

"Do they _have _to make that so loud? It's just the end of the lunch hour."

"Oi!" Rose turned to the Doctor as he nodded. "Mutt and Jeff…" He paused, looking at Alex. "And person. Over here!"

* * *

I rolled my shoulders once we were into the newsroom, muscles stiff after having hung around floor 139 for three days on my own. Things were going pretty well too, for my first impression on the Doctor, I was just trying to stop channeling the Eleventh Doctor and get back to my old self. Rambling was _not_ something I did and it kind of frustrated me that I was doing it now. _That's the Doctor's thing. I may have been bored for over 9 months, but I will _not _turn into a babbling, smart arse of a Doctor._

"Now, everybody behave." A woman spoke up, making me pull out my book to try and remember her name. "We have a management inspection. How do you want it, by the book?" She asked the Doctor.

"Right from scratch, thanks." The Doctor smiled over at Rose, before catching me flipping through my book and skimming over the pages, leaning over right before I snapped it closed. "What're you doing? What's that?"

"A death note."

He gave me a strange look and I rolled my eyes.

"Fine. It's my little black book. Full of secrets and futures, _yours_ to be more specific, so no peeking."

He frowned, but couldn't worry about that now as Cathica started speaking again.

"Okay. So, ladies, gentlemen, multi-sex, undecided or robot. My name is Cathica Santini Khadeni. That's Cathica with 'C' in case you want to write to floor 500 praising me, and please do." She said pointedly at the Doctor as I sighed and she continued. "Now, please feel free to ask any questions. The process of news gathering must be open, honest, and beyond bias. That's company policy."

"A-Actually, um, it's the law." Another woman—Suki—said, making Cathica jealous.

"Yes. Thank you, Suki. Okay. Keep it calm. Don't show off for the guests. Here we go." Cathica got into the chair in the center of the room. "And, engage safety."

Everyone in the room hovered their hands over the silver boards in front of them as lights on the walls lit up. Cathica snapped and a hole opened up on her forehead, making me stick my tongue out in disgust as the people around her place their hands down.

"And three, two, and spike."

A light came down from the orb above her feeding information directly to her mind and the group around me looked over at her in confusion; aside from myself and the Doctor.

"Compressed information, streaming into her. Reports from every city, every country, every planet, and they all get packaged inside her head. She becomes part of the software. Her brain _is_ the computer." The Doctor explained.

"If it all goes through her, she must be a genius."

"Nah, she wouldn't remember any of it. There's too much. Her head'd blow up. The brain's the processor. As soon as it closes, she forgets." He said, walking around the group as Rose and I followed.

"So, what about all these people round the edge?"

"They've all got tiny little chips in their head, connecting them to her and they transmit 600 channels. Every single fact in the Empire beams out of this place." He went and leaned back up against the railing as Rose knelt down to look at one of the people; myself wandering over to Suki and questioning if there was anything I could do. "Now that's what I call power."

Rose wandered back and spoke with Adam. "You alright?"

"I can see her brain." He replied.

"Do you want to get out?"

"No. No." He quickly said, sounding excited almost. "T-This technology, it's amazing."

"This technology's wrong." I said, getting the Doctor's attention as well as everyone else's.

"What?" Rose questioned.

The Doctor shook his head. "No, she's right. It is wrong."

"Trouble?"

The Doctor turned to her with a grin. "Oh, yeah."

Just then, I spotted Suki flinch and struggled to think of what I could do. _There's not much. I could warn her about Floor 500, but she's an army girl. The moment I tell her I know about her, she could kill me on the spot or deny everything. I'd break into the lift, but it's not like I have a sonic screwdriver._ I glanced over at the Doctor. _And it's not like he'd let me borrow his. Probably ruin any trust I could possibly get from him if I tried to steal it from him. Even if it _were _to save a life. Which means there's only one other thing I can possibly do. And I'd really rather not._

Suki's hands were thrown back off the silver board and Cathica frowned at her.

"Come off it, Suki. I wasn't even halfway. What was that for?"

"Sorry." She apologized. "It must've been a glitch."

"Oh." Cathica sighed, getting up from the seat just as a computerized voice pinged.

"_Promotion_."

Cathica immediately looked hopeful, moving closer to the screen. "Oh, come on. This is it. _Come on_. Oh God, make it me. Come on, say my name, say my name, say my name." She repeated as the screen changed and the computer spoke up once more.

"_Promotion for… Suki Macrae Cantrell. Please proceed to floor 500._"

"I don't believe it. Floor 500." Suki stood up, speaking softly, but excitedly.

"How the hell did you manage that? I'm above you!" Cathica complained.

"I don't know. I just applied on the off chance." Suki chuckled. "And they've said yes!"

"That's so not fair. I've been applying to floor 500 for _three years_."

"What's floor 500?" Rose questioned and the Doctor responded cryptically.

"The walls are made of gold."

_Shame that's not what's really up there._ I thought as we left the room to bid our farewells to Suki.

"Cathica, I'm going to miss you. Floor 500, thank you." Suki grinned over at the Doctor.

"I didn't do anything."

"Well, you're my lucky charm."

"Alright." He shrugged. "I'll hug anyone."

They hugged and she laughed as Rose wandered over to Adam, the two of them speaking as I kept my eye on Suki, gathering up my courage for what I was about to do.

"Oh, my God. I've got to go. I can't keep them waiting. I'm sorry!" She called out, dashing over to the lift as I wandered closer to it as well. "Say goodbye to Steve for me."

The doors started to close and I took my chance, diving in just before they could and giving the shocked Doctor and co. a friendly wave.

"See you soon!"

Once they closed though, Suki stared at me in shock.

"W-What are you doing?!"

I sighed, thinking of how to explain this without possibly being shot. "Look, hard to explain this, but I'm sort of… psychic." I nodded, liking where this was going so far. "I see the future and I know that you're not really Suki, you're some anarchist person here to figure out what's going on with Satellite Five. Now, you have to listen to me, because you're right. Something's wrong, but it's detrimental that you listen, because you're not going to fool them. That's why they called you up here. They already know. Your cover's been blown."

She gave me this confused look. "What are you talking about? How can I not be me?"

I rolled my eyes, pulling a hand through my hair in exasperation. "Right, you're really good at acting. Kudos to you." I suddenly had a thought and turned around to her. "You don't believe me, yeah? Then I'll prove it. The moment those doors open, there won't be any walls of gold, everything will be frozen over. Ice everywhere. It'll be freezing."

She frowned a bit then, still playing the Suki act. "What are you saying? Of course the walls are made of gold."

I grabbed her by the shoulders, eyeing her seriously. "And if I'm right. If what I said is true, then you'll have to give me a chance, because no one comes back from Floor 500 and if I've never been up here, then how do I know what it looks like?"

She went to answer, but the lift stopped and the doors opened behind me. I stepped aside as she headed out into the frozen room and I followed after her as the doors to the lift started to close.

"I told you." I said, watching as she spun around to face me, only to run past and grapple with the doors to the closed lift. "Won't work. Don't bother."

She glared at me before tossing her bag down and pulling out a torch. She wandered around for a moment, before starting to head off elsewhere and I quickly caught up with her and grabbed her arm.

"You can't. If you go any further, you will die."

She pulled away from me. "And how do I know this isn't some test or something? How do I know that you're not working for them?"

"You've got to be kidding me." I grumbled, before grabbing her arm again and pulling her over towards the lift. "I don't have time to argue with your other personality, okay? I'm trying to save your life and if you don't want to listen, then too bad."

I spun around, swinging a punch at her face and she swiftly reached up and used my momentum to pin me to the ground with a knee in my back as I groaned into the floor.

"Ngh, see? Reflexes always betray you. Now start being an anarchist and stop acting like an idiot. You _will_ die if you go in there to find who's in charge."

"And how can I trust you?" She growled, Suki completely gone and the anarchist coming out as she pushed her knee further into my back.

"Seriously?!" I called out, gritting my teeth. "I just predicted the future twice, blew your cover with an educated guess, and am attempting to save your life by getting you out of here and you _still_ think I'm working for them?! What do you want from me?!"

"How about an ID?" She questioned and I stiffened, dropping my face into the floor with a groan.

"Of all the things I don't have… You wouldn't happen to believe I'm a time traveler, would you?" I peek up at her and sighed. "Of course not. Who would?"

She yanked me up off the floor with much more strength than one would've expected from 'Suki', and led me over to some piping hanging over head before pulling out handcuffs and attaching me to it as I rolled my eyes.

"Really? I try to do something nice and this is what I get?" I looked up towards the ceiling. "Someone up there must be laughing their head off." I then glanced down. "Or someone down there."

The woman then pulled out a gun and pointed it at me. "Tell me who's in charge. Who controls Satellite Five?"

I groaned, shaking my head. "Nobody ever listens. You don't even care that you're going to die. Why does nobody listen? Am I _really_ that unbelievable?"

She stepped closer. "Who controls Satellite Five?"

"I don't know." I lied easily, frowning up at her. "And even if I did, unless it would get you to leave, I wouldn't tell you."

She snarled at me, kicking my shin and heading over towards the other exit as she tucked her gun away, adopting the 'Suki' persona once more, leaving me bitter about the kick and upset because she was going to be yet another person I couldn't save. _God, I changed to be better and I'm still useless._

* * *

After arguing with Cathica for a while and discovering that Satellite Five has been the cause of the huge 90 year set back, the Doctor decided that it was about time he figured out why it was so hot in the building and where that Alex person had run off to.

"We are so going to get in trouble. You're not allowed to touch the mainframe. You're going to get told off." Cathica said, acting nervous as the Doctor scanned the couple of doors with his sonic screwdriver.

"Rose, tell her to button it." He replied, knowing that Cathica wouldn't listen to him if he tried to tell her himself.

"You can't just vandalize the place. Someone's going to notice!" She went on as the door opened and he started digging through the mass of wiring.

"This is nothing to do with me. I'm going back to work." Cathica finally said, heading off, much to the Doctor's pleasure.

"Go on, then. See ya!"

But she stopped. "I can't just leave you, can I?!"

"If you want to be useful, get them to turn the heating down. It's boiling." Rose complained. "What's wrong with this place? Can't they do something about it?"

"I don't know. We keep asking. Something to do with the turbine."

"Something to do with the turbine." The Doctor mocked.

"Well, I don't know!"

"Exactly. I give up on you, Cathica. Now, Rose. Look at Rose."

Rose stood up with a smile.

"Rose is asking the right kind of question."

"Oh, thank you." She said, bending back down to check the wires.

"Why is it so hot?"

"One minute you're worried about the Empire and the next, it's the central heating!"

"Well, never underestimate plumbing. Plumbing's very important." He said, ripping out a set of wires to which Cathica rolled her eyes and turned away.

Finally, the Doctor found what he was looking for and pulled out a monitor with a set of schematics on it.

"Here we go. Satellite Five, pipes and plumbing. Look at the layout." He said, stepping out of the way for Cathica to check out the schematics.

"This is ridiculous." She said, looking at it. "You've got access to the computer's core. You could look at the archive, the news, the stock exchange, a-and you're looking at pipes?"

"But there's something wrong." He said, trying to get her to look.

"I suppose."

"Why? What is it?" Rose asked, confused.

"The ventilation system." Cathica said. "Cooling ducts, ice filters, all working flat out channeling massive amounts of heat down."

"All the way from the top."

"Floor 500."

"Something up there is generating tons and tons of heat and I think our little friend knew something about that, and that's why she snuck into the lift with Suki." The Doctor said.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm missing out on a party. It's all going on upstairs. Fancy a trip?" Rose grinned, but Cathica was against it.

"You can't. You need a key."

"Keys are just codes and I've got the codes right here." The Doctor said, taking the screen and typing some things in. "Here we go. Override 215.9"

"How come it's giving _you_ the code?" Cathica questioned in disbelief.

The Doctor though, knew exactly why, looking up at the camera on the monitor. "Someone up there likes me."

The group headed over to the lift and the Doctor and Rose climbed in, but Cathica stayed behind.

"Come on. Come with us." Rose offered, but Cathica shook her head.

"No way."

"Bye!" The Doctor waved with a grin, glad she hadn't actually accepted.

"Well, don't mention my name." Cathica said, thinking that it might be best _not_ to be promoted. "When you get in trouble j-just don't involve me."

She then hurried off and the Doctor leaned over to Rose.

"That's her gone. Adam's given up. Looks like it's just you and me."

"Yeah."

"Good."

"Yep." She smiled and the Doctor put in the card key before taking her hand, the doors closing, before Rose paused.

"What about that Alex woman then? You think she's okay?"

"Dunno." He replied. "I'd say she's clever, but I haven't known her that long."

"But she's known you."

He shrugged. "Yeah, well, I can't base my opinion off of that. She could be lying for all I know."

"I don't think so." Rose replied, making him look at her. "She knew all about you and even about the Tardis too. You can't tell me that's just a coincidence."

"Maybe someone told her about me." He argued and Rose shook her head.

"No. I think she really _does_ know you."

The lift doors opened then and they both stepped out, eyeing the cold, frozen over area cautiously.

"The walls are not made of gold." The Doctor replied, not even turning to Rose as he spoke. "You should go back downstairs."

"Tough." She said, heading further into the room, before spotting someone familiar. "Alex? Alex! It's you!"

She rushed over and Alex tilted her head back to look at her with a small, shaky smile.

"H-H-Hello, Rose. Glad you two dec-c-cided to show up. Wouldn't happen t-to have the s-sonic screwdriver on you, w-would you? B-Bit cold and my a-arms are asleep."

The Doctor headed over and unlocked the cuffs, eyeing her slightly frosted appearance as she rubbed her arms to get more warmth back into them.

"How'd you end up hanging from there?"

"Nice to s-see you too." She smiled, before hugging Rose. "Oh, I m-missed you."

She chuckled and hugged Alex back. "Me too, though I don't know about the Doctor."

"He's mean." Alex frowned, pouting childishly.

"You're not answering." He scolded, not liking how familiar Alex was acting with Rose.

She rolled her eyes, releasing the blonde. "If you really want to know, little Miss _Not_-Suki decided that I was lying when I said she was in danger and decided to show her true self by handcuffing me to the pipes and demanding answers that I couldn't give her."

Rose looked around in disbelief. "Suki's here? I don't see her and she really handcuffed you?"

Alex grew serious once more, looking over at a doorway further off. "I told her not to go in there."

The Doctor moved in her line of sight and grabbed her shoulder to turn her around. "Why? What's in there?"

Alex eyed him for a minute, the two just looking at each other and making Rose shuffle in slight annoyance.

Alex suddenly grinned. "Would you believe that I can't tell you?"

The Doctor frowned, but noticed something. The grin she had wasn't reaching her eyes and he'd seen that look before. He'd had it himself many times. The happy-go-lucky grin with eyes mourning silently in sadness. There was something very wrong happening and she wasn't saying anything, so he'd have to go and look for himself. He'd get answers from her later.

"Come on, Rose." He said, turning to the blonde and taking her wrist. "I think it's best we find out what's behind door number one."

"W-What about Alex?"

Alex grinned, having easily caught up and jogging lightly beside them. "I'm coming. Not going to miss out on a bit of adventure, eh?"

Rose grinned back and they slowed down as they approached a door covered in plastic strips of cover, the Doctor letting her go as they walked in to see a white haired man overlooking a number of screens with other half-frozen people; including 'Suki'.

"I started without you. This is fascinating. Satellite Five contains every piece of information within the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. Birth certificates, shopping habits, bank statements, but you three, you don't exist." He chuckled.

The Doctor glanced at Alex suspiciously, who was frowning and muttering under her breath.

"If they knew I was there, they could've let me down. Jerks."

"Not a trace. No birth, no job, not the slightest kiss. How can you walk through the world and not leave a single footprint?" The man continued as Rose spotted the woman on the far end of the row of typers.

"Suki. Suki! Hello? Can you hear me? Suki?" She wasn't responding and Rose turned angrily to the man. "What have you done to her?"

"She's dead." Alex replied solemnly.

"She's working." Rose responded in disbelief.

"They've all got chips in their heads and the chips keep going, like puppets." The Doctor explained.

"Oh! You're full of information. But it's only fair we get some information back, because _apparently_, you're no one. It's so rare not to know something. Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter, because we're off. Nice to meet you. Come on." The Doctor turned to go, but two men grabbed him as Suki grabbed Rose and two others grabbed Alex.

"Tell me who you are." The man asked, the Doctor and Alex being spun around to face him.

"Since that information's keeping us alive, I'm hardly gonna say, am I?" The Doctor quipped.

"Well, perhaps my Editor in Chief can convince you otherwise."

"And who's that?"

"Oh, you _really_ don't want to know." Alex groaned, earning curious looked from both the Doctor and the Editor.

"It may interest you to know that this _isn't_ the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. In fact, it's not actually human at all. It's merely a place where humans happen to live."

There was growling and snarling and the man quickly apologized.

"Yeah. Yeah. Sorry… It's a place where humans are _allowed_ to live by kind permission of my client." He corrected, pointing up as the snarling continued.

Everyone looked up, though Alex had been already for a while now, and Rose took the chance to ask what it was.

"What is that?"

"You mean that thing's in charge of Satellite Five?" The Doctor asked right after.

"That _thing_, as you put it, is in charge of the human race. For almost a hundred years, mankind has been shaped and guided, his knowledge and ambition strictly controlled by it's broadcast news, edited by my superior, your master, and humanity's guiding light, the mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe. I call him Max." The Editor grinned, the Doctor giving a nod and a smile in return.

Thing was, the grin didn't last long before the three of them were locked up in manacles beside each other. The Editor though, remained his pleasant self.

"Create a climate of fear and it's easy to keep the borders closed. It's just a matter of emphasis. The right word in the right broadcast repeated often enough can destabilize an economy, invent an enemy, change a vote."

"So all the people on Earth are like… slaves." Rose commented.

"Well, now, there's an interesting point. Is a slave a slave if he doesn't know he's enslaved?"

**"Yes."** The Doctor and Alex said at the same time, both serious and angry.

"Oh. I was hoping for a philosophical debate. Is that all I'm going to get? _Yes_?"

"Yes." The Doctor replied, making the Editor laugh.

"You're no fun."

"Oi, let me out of these and I'll beat your butt to the ground and then you can see how fun we are." Alex quipped.

"Oh, she's tough, isn't she? Though, you two don't seem to know her very well."

Alex rolled her eyes. "I know them better than they know me. Big whoop. I know you and Max quite a bit too."

"Oh, do you?"

She shrugged. "Sure. He's the thing generating so much heat which is being channeled downstairs and you're basically his man-puppet who does all his work for him. The only reason no one's noticed anything is because you just mess with their chips and get rid of any thought of it."

The Editor smirked. "Oh, you are quite clever. You and your friend here." He said, gesturing to the Doctor. "But that's why you're so dangerous. Knowledge is power, but you remain unknown." He snapped his fingers and the trio squirmed as electricity surged through the cuffs. "Who are you?"

He snapped again and the surge stopped, the Doctor glancing at Rose.

"Leave her alone. I'm the Doctor, she's Rose Tyler. We're nothing. We're just wandering. And I don't know who she is." He nodded towards Alex, who was shaking and gritting her teeth. "We just met her today."

"Yeah, sorry." She grit out, still shaking, though the Doctor was unsure why, the electricity had already stopped. "Alexander Holmes. Resident t-time jumper and not from this universe. Hello."

"You're not from this universe?" The Doctor questioned. "But that's impossible!"

The Editor rolled his eyes. "Tell me who you are!"

"I just said!" The Doctor said, looking back at him.

"Yes, but who do you work for? Who sent you? Who knows about us, who exactly—" He stopped and there was a growl. "Time Lord."

"What?" The Doctor questioned in disbelief.

"Oh, yes. The last of the Time Lords in his traveling machine. Oh, with his little human girl from long ago." The Editor brushed a hand over Rose's cheeks, but she pulled back.

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Actually, he kind of does." Alex grimaced, drawing their attention to her as she nodded towards Rose. "Her little boyfriend was greedy for knowledge and instead of getting it, they're taking it from him."

"What?!"

"Young Master Adam Mitchell?" The Editor said, snapping his fingers as a screen showed up with Adam sitting in a chair, a light streaming his information to the orb at the top of the room.

"Oh my God, his head!" Rose said, not really knowing what it was she was seeing.

"What the hell's he done?" The Doctor questioned, before getting a bit more upset. "What the hell's he gone and done?! They're reading his mind. He's telling them everything!"

"And through him, I know everything about _you_. Every piece of information in his head is now mine. Though there's still nothing about you, Miss Alexander Holmes."

She shrugged. "I'm a mystery."

He rolled his eyes and turned back to the Doctor. "And you have infinite knowledge, Doctor. The Human Empire is tiny compared to what you've seen in your T-A-R-D-I-S. Tardis."

"Well, you'll never get your hands on it. I'll _die_ first."

"Yeah, about that…" Alex muttered, nodding her head towards the screen as the Tardis key came out of Adam's pocket.

"You and your boyfriends!" The Doctor scolded Rose.

The Editor smiled. "Today, _we_ are the headlines. We can rewrite history. We could prevent mankind from ever developing."

"And no one's going to stop you because you've bred a human race that doesn't bother to ask questions. Stupid little slaves, believing every lie. They'll just trot right into the slaughter house if they're told it's made of gold." The Doctor snarled.

An alarm started going off then and the Editor moved over to the screens in confusion.

"What's happening?"

Max growled up above and the Editor finally figured it out.

"Someone disengaged the safety." He snapped a finger and a new screen popped up, showing Cathica stopping his plans. "Who's that?"

"It's Cathica." Rose recognized, and the Doctor grinned.

"She's thinking. She's using what she knows!"

"Terminate her access." The Editor demanded, but the Doctor wasn't listening.

"Everything I told her about Satellite Five, the pipes, the filters, she's reversing it! Look at that. It's getting hot." He said, nodding over towards the melting icicles.

"I said terminate! Burn out her mind!" The Editor demanded, but it was too late.

Sparks flew off of the screens as the people he'd been controlling fell lifelessly to the ground. Alarms went off and downstairs, people were panicking, but Rose had managed to get her manacles off, moving to help the Doctor.

"She's venting the heat up here." He explained with a laugh. "The Jagrafess needs to stay cool and now it's sitting on top of a volcano."

The Jagrafess growled and the Editor apologized. "Y-Yes. I'm trying, sir, but I don't know how she did it. It's impossible! A member of staff with an idea."

The Jagrafess growled and snarled as the Editor tossed Suki out of the chair she was in to try and stop Cathica; Rose trying to help the Doctor escape his manacles. Luckily, she found his sonic and pulled it out.

"What do I do?"

"Flick the switch!"

She did and began scrambling to unlock him as he spoke to the Editor.

"Oi, mate, want to bank in a certainty? Massive heat in a massive body, massive bang. See you in the headlines!"

"Oi! What about me?!" Alex called out and Rose quickly released her as well, before the Doctor grabbed her and they bolted from the room.

They made it to the room Cathica was in and the Doctor snapped his fingers, making the doors on her forehead close as he smiled at her and helped her out. Everything having been resolved.

* * *

I watched as the Doctor spoke to Cathica about leaving and I silently wondered why I hadn't popped off yet. _You'd think it'd happen now that everything's all patched up, but it's like it _wants_ me to sit around and get the Ninth Doctor angry when I answer his questions._

"What about your friend?" Cathica asked and the Doctor frowned.

"He's not my friend." He snapped, getting up and heading over towards Adam, who was a few feet behind me.

"Now, don't—" Rose started, but was cut off as the Doctor passed her, Adam trying to act nonchalant.

"I'm alright now. Much better. And I've got the key." He held up said object and pointed at it. "Look, i-it's… It all worked out for the best, didn't it?" He shrugged, but the Doctor grabbed me by the wrist and then opened the Tardis, tossing me in and throwing Adam in behind me as Adam tried to defend himself. "You know, it's not actually my fault, because _you_ were in charge."

Once inside the Tardis, the Doctor shoved Adam down into the jump seat as I leaned against the railing, staying silent as the Doctor lifted off. It was a short trip and he soon grabbed Adam by the shoulder, leading him towards the door, only to pause and glare at me.

"You stay right there. Don't touch anything."

I held my hands up in surrender. "Alright. That's fine."

He left though and the Tardis hummed, disgruntled along with the Doctor, making me pat the railing.

"There, there, ol' girl. Things'll get better. She'll start getting slightly better boyfriends and he'll cheer up. No worries."

She relaxed a bit and I grinned, only for her to drop a shoe on my head.

"Oi! Don't be rude!" I complained, rubbing my head and picking up the shoe, waving it at her. "I was just trying to cheer you up!"

I spotted another shoe on it's way down and quickly dodged it, grinning up triumphantly.

"Ha! You missed!"

That was apparently a bad thing to say, because the number of shoes falling tripled and I was forced to run around the console in an attempt to dodge them all. That being said, I'm sure it was an odd sight for the Doctor and Rose when they popped back in.

"Oi! What'd I say about not touching anything?!" The Doctor complained as Rose looked around with a gaping mouth.

"Are these _shoes_?"

The Doctor bent down and picked one up. "_My_ shoes! Oi! Where are you?!"

I poked my head up cautiously from below deck, eyeing the ceiling. "She started it! I was only trying to cheer her up and then she started dropping shoes on me!" I scoffed then, slowly coming back up the stairs. "And you say she likes me. Ow!"

I rubbed my head as another shoe hit me and the Tardis chuckled as the Doctor sent her up and made her drift in the Time Vortex; shoes disappearing as he turned to me.

"You can understand her?"

"In a way." I grumbled, still rubbing my head. "I can understand when she's happy or sad or _laughing_, but nothing with words. No, 'hi, how are you doing?' or 'here, let me drop shoes on you or attack you with _chickens_'!"

The Tardis chuckled again and I groaned, smacking myself in the face.

"Did I seriously just set myself up for that? Stupid, stupid, stupid."

"The Tardis has attacked you with _chickens_?" Rose asked with a chuckle and I pointed at her seriously.

"Oi, don't make fun of me. You'd be freaked out too, if she just up and tossed you out of your room half naked and a ramble of chickens came out of nowhere."

She held her hands up in surrender, though still smiling and the Doctor frowned.

"Alright, I want some answers. Who are you?"

"Alexander Holmes." I repeated for what felt like the hundredth time that day. "Residential time traveler who jumps around your time-line thanks to some mark on my shoulder packed with Artron energy. Thanks for that last bit, by the way."

He frowned. "How did you get here?"

I raised a brow. "You mean here like, in Satellite Five? Or here as in—"

"This universe. You said you were from a different universe and that's impossible. No one can travel between universes."

I shrugged. "Yeah, I don't know that bit. I was taking a nap at home then popped up in some white room, then popped up with your future self. I convinced myself it was a dream up until… oh, six months ago? Probably earlier than that, but six months ago is when it really sank in."

Rose stepped up then, eyeing me cautiously. "But then, what about your family? Can you get back to them?"

I watched her for a moment, expression blank, though her question hit hard. "Oh, Rose Tyler." I gave her a small sad smile. "It's never that easy."

The Doctor nodded, explaining to Rose, but he kept his eyes on me. "She's right. Travel between universes is all but impossible. Time Lords used to be able to do it. They controlled it, actually, but once they… Once they were gone, that all disappeared and everything was locked up. Don't know how Alex here got through, but going back or having any contact with that other universe is virtually impossible."

Rose looked shocked. "So… you can't see or hear from your family or friends? Never again? And you're okay with that?"

I sighed, not liking how this conversation was turning towards a subject I really didn't want to talk about. "Not okay with it, no. I just have to accept it. There's nothing I can really do about it." I glanced over at the Ninth Doctor. "Not even _he_ can do anything about it."

"Are you serious?" Rose questioned, glancing at the Doctor to find his face serious, before looking back at me. "But… You… You looked so happy a-and excited."

I smiled a bit. "Gotta make the best of it." I turned to the Doctor then. "And about the foreknowledge, you're not really going to believe me even if I told you."

"Try me." He said and I shrugged.

"Alright. In my world, you were the main character of a British TV show, so I know a good amount of your life from episodes in that series. Though I don't know everything and I probably know the least about this regeneration of you." I explained, gesturing to him. "Wasn't a big fan of you for some reason, though the next regenerations are a different story."

Rose looked over at him cautiously. "Regeneration? What's that?"

"I'll explain it later." He told her, before eyeing me suspiciously. "Let's say that's true, then should you _really_ be telling me this? You could cause a serious paradox. Throw the time stream into chaos."

"Not really. I mean, I know what to say and what not to. I've had a lot of time to think about it, actually. I'm not stupid, well… not completely, anyway. I'm doing better!" I defended at their odd looks. "And besides, the regeneration thing isn't a big spoiler. Everyone dies at some point. Some people, more than once. Ooh." I grimaced, gripping my shoulder as it started to hurt. "That smarts."

"What? What's wrong?" Rose questioned, looking worried and I waved it off with my free hand.

"Oh, just getting ready to pop off somewhere else." I smiled, before cringing again. "Pain in my shoulder is what let's me know, though I _do_ wish it was a little nicer, maybe actually drop me off on _time_ and not three days early. Or on a beach! That'd be nice."

"So you're just going to leave?"

"I'll be back." I smiled. "I rather like you, Rose Tyler." I then rolled my eyes over at the Doctor as he moved a smidge closer to Rose. "You two, Big ears."

"They're not that big!" He complained.

"Look in a mirror, Spaceman." I chuckled, before the light grew and I gave them a small wave. "Good to see you two though! It's nice being able to make a first impression for once. I'm tired of meeting everyone after they already know me. Laters! Oh! And don't be too mean to Mickey, Doctor. He means well."

With that, I popped off, not hearing the Ninth Doctor as he turned to Rose and raised a brow. "Did she mean Mickey Smith?"

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"I'm on a beach! Ah-ha! I finally got my wish! Whoops!"_

_I stumbled and flopped right back down in the water, but continued to laugh at my situation, glad I wasn't anywhere insanely dangerous for once. _Then again, is that fire I smell?_ I paused, sniffing, and slowly tilted my head back to find a rather large… thing smoking behind me on top of a building._

_"So much for being somewhere safe."_


	8. The Time of Angels

**Thank you guys so much for the reviews! Here's the next chapter and i hope you enjoy it. I'll try to get the next chapter up in the next couple of days, but i'd appreciate a nice review from you guys! :) they keep me going.**

* * *

"God, that was a rougher landing than usual." I groaned, rolling onto my back and staring up at the sky, spread eagle.

Water lapped up the back of my shirt and hoodie, and I would've moved, but they were already ruined since I had apparently hit a rock on my landing and passed out for a time. I gingerly touched a cut on my forehead and winced at the pain it sent through my head, before dropping my arm. It took me a moment of lying there, before I bolted up with a huge grin, wobbling slightly as my vision spun.

"I'm on a beach! Ah-ha! I finally got my wish! Whoops!"

I stumbled and flopped right back down in the water, but continued to laugh at my situation, glad I wasn't anywhere insanely dangerous for once. _Then again, is that fire I smell?_ I paused, sniffing, and slowly tilted my head back to find a rather large… _thing_ smoking behind me on top of a building.

"So much for being somewhere safe." I muttered, recognizing the scene and suddenly wishing that I was somewhere else. "Hate to say it, but I'd rather be with the werewolf."

'_The Time of Angels'. One of the last places I want to be._ I tilted my head back forward and sighed, before getting up and pulling off my soggy shoes and socks to wander barefoot on the beach. It wasn't long before I heard the Tardis and silently felt glad that I wouldn't end up here for days on end with nothing to do or eat. I silently watched from the distance as the Eleventh Doctor poked his head out and popped back into the Tardis, only for River Song to walk out and stare up at the crash site. _Hm, haven't met her yet, but I wonder if she's met me? Hope I made a good impression if she did. I rather liked her in the series._ Shrugging out of my thoughts, I wandered closer as she was joined by the Doctor and Amy, another thought coming to mind. _I wonder if Amy's met me yet…_

"What caused it to crash? Not me." River questioned, their voices finally drifting over to me as I approached.

"Nah. The airlock would've sealed seconds after you blew it. According to the Home Box, the warp engines had a phase shift. No survivors." The Doctor replied, teetering on his feet with his hands behind his back.

"A phase shift would have to be sabotage. I did _warn_ them."

"About what?"

She ignored him as I tried to figure out how to bring their attention to me, shivering at the chilly breeze cutting through my soaked clothes. "Well, at least the building was empty. Aplan temple. Unoccupied for centuries."

The Doctor moved a little closer to her with a frown on his face, before he turned and spotted me.

I grinned and waved. "Hello!"

"Alex!"

A childish grin spread across his face and he ran towards me, hugging me tightly as I patted his back, a bit less awkwardly now that I was somewhat used to his touchy-feely nature.

He pulled back, looking me up and down with a slight frown and holding me at arms length. "Ooh, must be the one before the regeneration. Not used to me hugging yet. Sorry."

I blinked, not sure what he meant by that and shrugged. "Don't know what you're talking about, but I've never been much of a hugger. I just came from Ninth you, Satellite Five with the funny…" I waved a hand to my forehead. "…doors to the mind thing with Adam and the blob on the ceiling."

He tilted his head. "You mean the Jagrafess?"

I snapped my fingers. "That's the one!"

He chuckled, before noticing the cut on my forehead and quickly getting in my face as he brushed the bit of hair that was covering it and frowned seriously. "What happened?"

I fidgeted under his gaze and took a step back. "Dunno, actually. Must've hit a rock when I landed. It's just a small thing so it's nothing to worry about but, uh…" I peeked around him to see an angry looking Amy and a grinning River Song. "…Amy seems to be glaring at me. Have we not met yet?"

The Doctor glanced at her and winced, before leaning down to whisper quietly. "Actually, you met just before this. Can't tell you much, it's in your future."

"Got that." I whispered back, leaning over like he was and feeling like a couple of children sharing a secret. "But what's with the evil eyes?"

"I don't think she likes you."

"Ah." We both looked over at Amy and cringed at the look she was sending us as she crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" She said, nodding over to River who appeared to be silently chuckling at the Doctor and I.

"Amy Pond, Professor River Song."

River gasped. "I'm going to be a professor some day, am I? How exciting. Ahaha, spoilers." She smiled, typing something away on the object in her hands, before giving me a look. "Nice to see you again, Alex, though this is the first for you, yes?"

I nodded, but grinned, attempting to cheer her up since she looked a bit upset about this being our first meeting; for _me_, anyway. "Nice to meet you too, River! Always did love you."

She winked with a smile, successfully cheered up and went back to her typing as Amy whispered none-to-quietly to the Doctor.

"Who is she and how did she do that? She just left you a note in a museu—"

"Shh." The Doctor shushed her, earning a smile before he took my hand and started walking me towards the blue police box; River explaining to Amy behind us as he spoke to me. "You go ahead. You know where the wardrobe is, just grab what you need. Clean yourself up. There's a first aid kit under the sink. We'll be waiting out here."

I blinked, before what he said finally registered in my head and I turned around to stop him. "Wait, Doctor!" The door closed before I could catch him, making me lower my hand with a worried look up at the ceiling. "I'd rather you didn't leave me in here alone."

The Tardis seemed to hum in mocking laughter and I shivered upon remembering the shoe and chicken fiasco. _Rather not have a repeat, but I guess I'm on my own then._ I made my way towards the hallways and hesitantly searched for my bedroom, reaching it on my first try, but still being cautious. You could never trust a Tardis. I knew that the minute I let my guard down, she'd try something and I was extremely cautious as I quickly showered and pulled out some other clothes. I thought she'd pick something horrible just to get back at me, but it was still clothes I liked; quite a bit, actually.

I pulled on the skinny jeans, black combat boots, thin white shirt, grey hoodie, and new coat still worried about what the Tardis was planning. Yet the whole time, nothing happened as I patched up the wound on my forehead. And once I reached out for the door handle, I eyed her and raised a finger.

"You're planning something and I don't like it."

She hummed innocently and I walked out, eyeing her the whole way back to where the Doctor, Amy, and River were along with some clerics dressed in soldier attire. I knew what was going on _and_ what was going to happen, so I quickly searched for something to occupy myself as I thought. Thankfully, I spotted a cleric putting up a tent and quickly offered my services to help him, zoning out a bit as I thought about Amy and what was going to happen. _Should I stop her from getting the Angel in her head? I mean… It's important to a point because the future Doctor needs to get her to remember and that was his chance to, but… If she didn't have to, I'd rather she didn't… Maybe I should just avoid it altogether? The Weeping Angels freaked me out a bit on the TV… _I let out a sigh, wiping the bit of sweat on my forehead and looking up to see that we'd finished just it time. It was getting dark.

"Thanks again, sir." The young cleric said and I nodded, shaking his hand and ignoring the fact that he thought I was a guy; it happened all the time anyway.

"Sure thing, Bob."

We headed our separate ways and I steeled myself for what I was going to do. _I'll go in with her and just see what happens from there. Even if she does get the Angel in her head, at least she won't be alone through the whole thing. I wonder if there's anything I can do for Bob and the other clerics though. _I frowned as I considered what I could do, but only came up with problems should I manage to save them. _The most I could do is give them a hint to warn them._

"Alex! What are you doing over there?" The Doctor called out and I bounded over towards him, trying not to think about it for now.

"I was helping Bob set up a tent."

He smiled. "Sounds like you. Come on. You should wait with Amy in the Tardis where it's safe."

I raised a brow, pointing to my left. "But Amy's right here."

He glanced past me to a waving Amy as he frowned, turning back to the large box of parts in front of him and scanning them with his sonic screwdriver.

"You letting people call you _sir_." Amy noted as he picked up something. "You never do that."

He gestured to me lazily. "Alex lets them call _her_ sir."

Amy rolled her eyes, turning around and hopping up on the box as she brushed off her hands. "Yeah, but I was asking about you."

He ignored her, so she continued to speak.

"So, whatever a Weeping Angel is, it's really bad, yeah?"

"Now that's interesting." He said, looking at some box of gadgets that caught Amy's attention, before turning to her in frustration. "You're still here. Which part of wait in the Tardis till I tell you it's safe was so confusing?"

"Ooh, you are all Mr. Grumpy today." She mocked as I sighed and shook my head, knowing the dangers of a Weeping Angel, but still smiling a bit at her calling him Mr. Grumpy.

"A Weeping Angel, Amy, is the deadliest, most powerful, most benevolent life form evolution has ever produced. And right now, one of them is trapped inside that wreckage and I'm supposed to climb in after it with a screwdriver and a torch, and assuming I survive the radiation long enough, and assuming the whole ship doesn't explode in my face, do something incredibly clever which I haven't actually thought of yet. _That's_ my day. That's what I'm up to. Any questions?"

I raised my hand with a smile. "I've got one."

"Shoot."

"Can I start calling you Mr. Grumpy now?"

He rolled his eyes as Amy spoke up again.

"Is River Song your wife?"

He turned to her and sighed, knowing that everything he'd just said completely flew over the girl's head.

"Because she's someone from your future, and the way she talks to you, I've never seen anyone do that. She's kind of like, you know… heel, boy. She's Mrs. Doctor from the future, isn't she? Is she going to be your wife one day?"

He looked at her. "Yes…"

The pause was a little long, enough to make Amy's mouth drop open in shock, before he continued his sentence.

"You're right. I am _definitely_ Mr. Grumpy face today." He then turned to me. "And no, you can't call me that." He pouted. "You always came up with nicknames for me."

"But they suited you, eh, Big ears?" I chuckled, making him pout and tug on his ears.

"It was always the ears with that one." He muttered in complaint.

"What about Alex?" Amy questioned, pointing at me suddenly as the two of us gave her a confused look. "Are you two married? You get on well enough."

"Us?" We both pointed at each other and shared a look before looking back at her.

"Oh no. No way. Me with her?"

"What are you saying? Why would I marry him?"

We turned back to one another again with frowns.

**"Why not? Is there something wrong with me?"** We both said at the same time and Amy gave us a look.

"Creepy."

"Doctor!" River called out from the 'drop module' that the clerics had set up. "Doctor!"

The Doctor tossed his hands up in exaggeration as Amy gave a smart alack response.

"Oops. Her indoors."

"Father Octavian!"

Said man hurried up and the three of us followed after, Amy getting curious.

"Why do they call him 'father'?"

"He's their Bishop. They're his clerics. It's the 51st century. The Church has moved on." The Doctor replied, bouncing into the container with a hint of annoyance as I peeled off my coat and left it on a chair by the door, knowing it'd get stuffy in there. _Wonder why the Doctor's annoyed. Because of River maybe? Or because Amy's not taking this seriously?_ I glanced between them both as we walked in, but kept my comments to myself, swallowing thickly upon spotting the video of the Weeping Angel on the screen in front of us. I can be brave when I want to be, but even the statues back home bothered me sometimes.

"What do you think?" River asked. "It's from the security cameras in the Byzantium vault. I ripped it when I was on board. Sorry about the quality. It's four seconds. I've put it on loop."

"Yeah. It's an Angel. Hands covering its face."

"You've encountered the Angels before." Father Octivian observed.

"Once, on Earth, a long time ago. But those were scavengers, barely surviving."

"But it's just a statue."

"Only when you're looking." I muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear and earning a smirk from River.

"That's right."

I smiled a bit, but only because I knew I had to be strong for when the others weren't. I knew how this episode was and with all the panic that will be happening later, someone had to stay calm. I just hoped that I'd be able to be that person despite the worry and fear knowing at my stomach.

"Where did it come from?"

"Oh, pulled from the ruins of Razbahan, end of the last century. It's been in private hands ever since. Dormant all that time." River said.

**"There's a difference between dormant and patient."** The Doctor and I said at the same time; him giving me a small smile while I smiled back and tapped my fingers on my leg to ease my anxiety.

"What's that mean, 'it's an Angel only when you're looking'?" Amy questioned with River responding.

"The Weeping Angels can only move if they're unseen. So legend has it."

"No. It's not legend. It's a quantum lock. In the sight of any living… creature, the Angels literally cease to exist. They're just stone. The ultimate defense mechanism." The Doctor explained.

"What, being a stone?"

"Being a stone… until you turn your back."

He turned and gave us a smile, though the tapping of my fingers on my thigh increased with my uneasy feeling, my eyes focused on the stone Angel in the video. I was already beginning to feel nervous about actually facing this thing, but I hid it the best I could. The Doctor, River and Father Octavian walked out then, but Amy and I stayed behind, her moving towards the doorway while I moved towards the remote._ Maybe I can turn it off now and just prevent it all from happening._ I picked up the controller and pushed the pause button, but nothing happened and I grimaced. _You've _got_ to be kidding me._ I tried the stop button and the eject button, but nothing happened; Amy shouting to the trio outside.

"Anybody need _me_? Nobody?"

She headed back in, seeing me with the remote and raised a brow as I grit my teeth and kept from showing the fear settling in my gut.

"What're you doing?"

I quickly turned to her and set the remote down, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her towards the door.

"You need to get out. _Now_." I ordered, deciding that I'd rather take in the Angel than have her deal with it.

"What? What for?" She then glanced over my shoulder and must have spotted the video of the Angel behind me, calling out to River as we reached the doorway. "Doctor Song? Did you have more than one clip of the Angel?"

"No, just the four seconds."

Amy then turned to me as I struggled to get her out the door. "But it moved. It's peeking out from behind it's hands, so how—"

"Amy, listen. I don't have time to explain, but you _really_ need to get out of here."

She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. "Uh, _no_. I don't. You're not in charge of me."

I groaned. "Look, now's not the time. The Angel is—"

The door suddenly slammed shut behind her and I looked over my shoulder at the Angel who was now facing the screen.

"Too late."

"Too late? For what?" Amy brushed past me and leaned close to the screen, before turning away as I reached out to stop her. "Has it moved?"

"Don't turn away!"

She turned back and jumped, the Angel having moved closer to the screen. Not taking her eyes off it, she walked around the table and picked up the remote as I watched the Angel; stomach twisting in knots of fear, though I kept it well hidden.

"It's not going to work. I've already tried."

She ignored me, trying to turn off the TV only for it to turn back on time and time again, before she finally set it aside; speaking to the video. "But you're just a recording. You can't _move_."

"The image of an Angel _is_ an Angel, Amy." I said, moving towards her to try and pull her away from the video, but she caught sight of the plug and began tugging on it. "That's not going to—"

"We have to try!" She yelled at me, making me groan back and actually attempt to help.

_It's a long shot, but maybe with two people we can—_ I looked up with Amy and we both took a step back away from the screen where the Angel was _even_ closer. Finally, she seemed to realize we were in a situation and she hurried over to the door as I walked backwards to follow.

"Doctor?"

With no response, she went to try and turn the handle of the door, calling me over to help.

"But someone needs to—"

"I don't _care_. We need to get out of here!"

"Were you _always _this demanding?" I muttered under my breath, mind racing to try and remember what second the glitch was on as I tried to help her turn the wheel.

We stopped and looked up to find the Angel baring it's teeth at us and Amy leaned up against the door, voice cracking as she called out once more.

"Doctor?"

She went back to the door, but I was finished with that.

"It won't work. It's locked everything."

"And how do you know?! Huh?!" Amy yelled at me. "How could you possibly know?! You always claim to know all of this stuff, but you never told me how!"

"Do we _really _have to do this right now?!" I argued back.

"You better tell me now, or I swear—"

"Because this is just a TV show, okay!" I shouted back, dragging a hand down my face as my indifferent mask broke. "I've seen all of this. I _know_ what happens, so if you could just _listen_ to me, we can live through this without incident!"

Amy went to argue, but her eyes widened and I turned to find that the Angel had become a hologram, sending shivers up my spine as Amy yelled for the Doctor.

"Doctor! It's in the room! Doctor!"

Finally, we were getting a response from him as he smacked the door.

"Amy?! Alex?! Are you alright?! What's happening?!"

I began speaking. "It's coming out of the TV! It's not solid, but—Never mind! There's nothing we can do! Everything's locked!"

"Don't take your eyes off it! Keep looking at it! It can't move if you're looking!"

"Amy. Amy, listen to me, please. You can't look at it."

She rounded on me, but I kept my eyes on it, fear keeping them locked on it's eyes despite my head telling me not to.

"But the Doctor said—"

"I _know_ what he said. But please. Trust me. Don't look at it. I'll do that. And if you have to look, don't look at it's face."

"Why? Why can't I?"

"I can't explain it right now. There's not much time. We can stop it, but I can't remember how." I said with a grimace, wishing I hadn't left my book outside with my coat.

"What?!"

Just then, the Doctor's voice spoke up from behind the door. "Don't blink, Amy, Alex! Don't even blink!"

"Doctor! Help us!" Amy called out, before looking at me. "W-What do we do? If you can't remember then—"

"No, no, no, no, no. It's not that I can't remember, it's just that I… God, how to explain this…"

"Better hurry it up, Alex!" She shouted at me, making it even harder to think.

"Shut up! I know! I know! I just can't think! You're making things worse!"

"Can you turn it off?!" The Doctor called in.

"Doctor!"

"The _screen_! Can you turn it off?!"

"No!" I called back, starting to feel my eyes water; my hands clenching and unclenching at my sides. "We've tried! _Everything_ is locked! The door, the plug, the remote, the video, everything!"

"Try again, but don't take your eyes off the Angel!"

**"We're not!"** The two of us shouted, before I tilted my head slightly towards her.

"Amy. Can you get the remote?"

"But we've already tried."

"I know, but… that thing that I don't really remember? I know bits and pieces of it. We need to pause the video."

"I tried that!"

"And so have I!" I called back, feeling my eyes watering to the point I knew I would have to look away. "Fine! Watch the Angel! Stare at it's _chest_ though, okay?"

"Why? What are you going to do?"

"Just watch it! My eyes are watering. If you can watch it while I wipe my eyes, then it won't move. Just make _sure_ you watch it's chest and not the face."

"Right. Chest. Not the face."

Once I knew she was watching it, I closed my eyes and rubbed them with my fists, moving towards the Angel and snatching the remote from off the far end of the table, moving it closer.

"Each time it moves, it'll move faster. Don't even blink." The Doctor instructed from the other side of the door.

"Have you _tried_ not blinking?!" I shouted back angrily, taking a deep breath to try and calm myself as I put my focus back on the Angel. "Amy, you can stop."

She let out a long breath and I tried to stare at the Angel's chest instead, but I could already feel sand in the corner of my eye and I knew that it was already too late for me. _Let's just hope I saved Amy, though I can't be sure if she was staring at it's chest or not._

"It just keeps switching back on!" Amy called out, having tried to turn off the TV again.

"Yeah. It's the Angel."

"But it's just a recording."

I grimaced, blinking one eye and then the other as the sand itched. "I already told you, Amy. The image of an Angel is an Angel. That video is the same as a real one."

"Right on the dot, Alex." The Doctor said, though I felt gross at the compliment because it had nothing to do with my own intelligence.

It was all just information from the show.

"Doctor? What's it going to do to us?" Amy questioned.

"Just keep looking at it. Don't stop looking."

"Just tell us. Tell us! Tell us!"

"Amy! Will you shut up!" I shouted. "If you really want to know, it'll send you to some time period years ago where you'll be forced to start over and live until you die! Happy?! Now you know! So can you _please_ just be quiet?"

My voice cracked at the end as I struggled to keep from either bursting out in tears or getting even more upset. I always put on a tough air, but even _I_ get scared. And right now, I was terrified. I grit my teeth, keeping my eyes on the Angel's chest, angry at myself for having stared at it in the eyes for so long, but also because I was letting out my fear in the one way I knew how; by getting angry. I didn't mean to direct it at Amy, I usually direct it towards myself, but she just kept acting different from the Amy I knew. The Amy who would stay strong the whole time. And I knew I couldn't blame her for that, but right now, I wish I did have that Amy here because I could use that extra bit of support.

"Amy, Alex! Not the eyes! Look at the Angel but don't look at the eyes!" The Doctor shouted from outside.

Amy turned to me in surprise at my information proving to be true, but I just forced a small smile and pointed towards the remote as I tried to keep from showing my fear.

"You need to pause the video."

"We've _tried_ that."

"That's the thing. I can't remember when, but there's a glitch in the video. Find it, Amy. Please. I'll need to blink soon."

She nodded and grabbed the remote, eyes scanning the video behind the Angel, searching for the glitch as the Doctor continued to tell us not to look at the eyes. I had been looking at it's chest for a while now, but the sand was still there and there was a pounding in my mind like something was squeezing my head. _The Angel, no doubt._

"Okay. I think I found it. Alex, I think I found it." Amy said, holding up the remote. "One, two, three, four!"

She pushed the pause button and the Angel turned to static before disappearing, the Doctor and River finally being able to come in the room and myself moving to lean against the wall with a hand on my face; eyes clenched shut.

"I froze it." Amy said as the screen turned off. "There was this sort of blip on the tape and I froze it on the blip."

I let out a sigh. "It wasn't the image of the Angel anymore. It was just static for that one second."

"That was good, yeah? It was, wasn't it? That was pretty good." Amy muttered, obviously shaken up with our near death experience.

I was as well, but when you grow up with six younger siblings and a tough outer appearance, you get used to hiding. And hiding what I was feeling, was something I do very well.

"That was amazing." River said, the Doctor waving his screwdriver over at us before checking out the TV.

"River, hug Amy." He demanded, confusing Amy.

"Why?"

"Because I'm busy."

"I'm fine!" She said, looking insulted—from what I could see as I peeked out from behind my hands.

"You're _brilliant_." River complimented, turning her and giving her a hug.

"Thanks. Yeah, I kind of _creamed_ it, didn't I?" Amy said pointedly to the Doctor, who caught me standing in the back of the container, giving me a small smile.

"Yeah. Alex really did, huh?"

Amy's eyes widened and she rounded on me. "What?"

I shook my head, closing my eyes again and tilting my head towards the ceiling. "It was all Amy. I just kept an eye on the Angel."

_I need to keep my eyes closed for as long as I can. Maybe it'll slow down the process._

"So it was here? That was the Angel?"

"A projection." I muttered as the Doctor spoke up.

"Alex is right. It was just a projection. It's reaching out. Getting a good look at us. It's no longer dormant."

Just then, there was a loud explosion outside and the Doctor rushed to the door, Father Octavian calling out to him.

"Doctor, we're through!"

He peeked back in with a small smile. "Okay… Now it starts. Come on, Alex!"

He grabbed my hand and pulled me out, the two of us heading towards the hole that the clerics were working on.

"Are you alright?"

I gave him a confused look. "What?"

He stopped and held me by my shoulders, leaning down the few inches he needed to get eye level with me. "Are you alright?"

I furrowed my brows slightly. "Yeah. I'm fine. I'm always fine."

He appeared to get a little angry, almost, when I said that and I stiffened at the look he sent me.

"No you're not, Alex. I know you're not always fine, because you _get_ scared. I know there's things that really get to you. You may hide it well…" He picked up my hands, holding them palm up in his and showing me how they still quivered slightly. "…but everyone out there has something that scares them. And I can tell. You're scared, right now. You're frightened and worried and concerned, but you're keeping it all inside of you. And all of that will just burst out of you one day and I don't know when that day is or if I've forgotten it or wasn't even there for it, but I want you to know that right now, I _am_ here and I _will_ protect you."

I didn't know what to say to that. No one has ever saw through me like that before and to have him say that with _complete honesty?_ I just couldn't comprehend it. My mind was running a million miles a minute, but all it was screaming was the same question. _What?!_

"Doctor!"

He stood upright and pulled away to go head down the hole, calling out to River and Amy as they approached and I rubbed at my eyes. _Dang it. Need to keep them closed._

"Keep an eye on Alex for me, River!"

"Okay, sweetie!" She called back, glancing down at me. "Are you alright?"

I nodded, deciding that I should keep this Angel in my head quiet for now since there were far more things to worry about and I already knew how to keep it in check. As we all climbed down the ladder into the hole, I kept my eyes closed and listened as the Doctor asked for a gravity globe and the clerics soon passed it to him.

"Where are we? What is this?" Amy questioned.

"It's an Aplan Mortarium, sometimes called a Maze of the Dead."

"Sounds cool." I muttered, pretending to be looking around with my torch.

"What's that?"

"Well, if you happen to be a creature of living stone…" The Doctor trailed off and I couldn't help but open my eyes to watch as he launched the gravity globe into the air, lighting up the room. "…The perfect hiding place."

"Well I guess this makes it a bit trickier."

I looked around in awe though, the whole area looking absolutely stunning in my eyes, even if the statues _we__re_ all Weeping Angels.

"Ha, a bit, yeah."

"It's amazing." I muttered, too loudly, apparently; seeing as the Doctor and River shot me grins.

"I'll say."

"You always were one to find beauty in everything."

I scoffed at the word 'beauty', but continued to look around.

"A stone Angel on the loose amongst stone statues. A lot harder than I'd prayed for." Octavian said, followed by River and the Doctor.

"A needle in a haystack."

"A needle that looks like hay. A hay-like needle of death. A hay-like needle of death in a haystack of, er, statues. No. Yours was fine."

I chuckled. "Good one, Mr. Grumpy."

He pouted at me as Octavian spoke to his clerics.

"Right. Check every single statue in this chamber. You know what you're looking for. Complete visual inspection. One question. How do we fight it?"

"We find it, and hope." The Doctor said and I quickly headed over to Bob, patting his arm to get his attention.

"Hey, Bob?"

"Ah, yes, sir." He said, looking surprised I was speaking with him again.

"I just wanted to say, uh, stay safe, I guess. And don't trust the statues or even the communicator unless they're right here, alright? Promise me. Promise me that even if the clerics ask you to come to them that you won't. Joke or not."

"Um, alright, sir." He said hesitantly and I nodded.

"And Bob? It's… It's okay to be scared." I told him.

He gave me an odd look, but I noticed the Doctor getting further away and mock saluted him before bounding off to catch up; giving River a glance as Octavian grabbed her. She gave me a small smile and mouthed for me to go on, so I did, glaring a little at Octavian before following after Amy. We headed up a ways before I paused to admire the stone architecture once more, but my eye began to itch again. I was only half prepared for the feeling of sand to slip through my fingers as I rubbed at it, and stiffened, just before River pat my shoulder and made me flinch.

"You alright?"

"Fine." I grumbled as Amy doubled back with a small smile.

"So, what's a Maze of the Dead?"

"Oh, it's not as bad as it sounds." River sighed, digging through her backpack. "It's just a labyrinth with dead people living in the walls."

Amy gave her a look and River gave in.

"Okay. That was fairly bad."

"No way." I said, making them both turn to me. "That's great!"

"You think dead people in the wall is great?" Amy asked, obviously questioning my sanity.

"Oh yeah. You'd be surprised. There's a lot you can learn from a nicely preserved corpse."

"Alright, sorry. That's just gross."

River shook her head. "No. She's right. What was it you said you were studying, my dear?"

"Anthropology with a focus on Forensic Anthropology." I paused then, turning to her with a raised brow. "Have I told you before?"

She nodded, before turning to grab Amy's arm, rolling up the sleeve of her sweater. "Right now. Give me your arm. _This_…" She held up a rather large syringe. "…won't hurt a bit."

"Ow!" Amy yelled once she'd been injected.

River smiled. "There, you see? I lied."

"Rule number one." I murmured and she gave me a wink before speaking to Amy again.

"It's a viro-stabilizer. Stabilizes your metabolism against radiation, drive burn, anything. You're going to need it when we get up to that ship. Alex, you're next."

I took off my coat and rolled up the sleeves of my hoodie, letting out a grunt when she injected me, before adjusting the clothes and rubbing my arm. _Ow…_

"So what's he like? In the future, I mean." Amy asked River about the Doctor. "Because you know him in the future, don't you?"

"The Doctor? Well, the Doctor's the Doctor."

"Oh. Well, that's, um… very helpful. Mind if I write that down?" Amy quipped back and River shrugged.

"Alex would know more on that subject." River said, throwing Amy's wrath on me and then shining her torch over at the Doctor nearby. "And yes, we are."

"Sorry what?" He responded, playing innocent.

"Talking about you."

"I wasn't listening. I'm busy." He said.

"Hey, Mr. Grumpy. Your little toy is upside-down." I pointed out, not really knowing what to call the tablet thing he had.

"Yeah…" He muttered, glancing over at me in embarrassment.

"You're so his wife." Amy muttered to River.

"Oh, Amy, Amy, Amy. This is the Doctor we're talking about. Do you really think it could be anything that simple?"

"Yep."

River took in a deep breath. "You're good. I'm not saying you're right, but you are _very_ good."

Amy chuckled a bit and I quietly snuck over to the Doctor's side, away from the red-head who would undoubtedly try to question me about the Doctor the moment she had a chance. Once I was by him though, I kept my distance from the statues he was observing, eyeing them warily, before leaning up against a wall and closing my eyes with a shaky sigh. I didn't want to close my eyes, knowing that all the statues were Weeping Angels, but if it could buy me some time, then I'd do it; as long as there was someone nearby to watch out for them for me. My time didn't last long though, before we heard gun shots and my eyes snapped open when the Doctor grabbed my wrist and pulled me along after him.

"No time for snoozing, Alex!"

When we reached where the shooting was coming from, the Doctor looked over the bullet torn statue as the cleric apologized. Bob, the cleric.

"Sorry. Sorry, I thought… I thought it looked at me."

"We know what the Angel looks like. Is _that_ the Angel?" Octavian scolded.

"No, sir."

"No, sir, it is not. According to the Doctor, we are facing an enemy of unknowable power and infinite evil. So it would be good, it would be _very_ good, if we could all remain calm in the presence of décor."

The Doctor released me and headed over to talk to Bob and I tried to focus on what they were saying, but my head was feeling even heavier. I knew the Angel wouldn't be happy that I knew how to counter it, but the weight it was putting on my mind only made me want to keep my eyes closed more. It was like it was trying to put me to sleep or something.

"Alex? Are you alright?"

I felt a hand touch my cheek and I flinched back, opening my eyes to see a worried Doctor there.

"Huh? Yeah, no. I'm fine. Just tired."

"When was the last time you slept?"

It took me a moment, but then I remembered the rough nights of sleep I had gotten on Satellite Five. "Yesterday. I'm fine."

He hesitated, but nodded and went back to leading the way through the archways upwards.

"Isn't there a chance this lot's just going to collapse? There's a whole _ship_ up there." Amy questioned.

"Incredible builders, the Aplans." River commented.

"Had dinner with the Chief Architect once. Two heads are better than one." Said the Doctor, his torch light up on the ceiling.

"What, you mean you helped him?"

"Ah, no. I mean he had two heads." The Doctor corrected her, speaking to River next. "That book, the very end, what did it say?"

"Hang on." River dug through her pack until she found the book.

"Read it to me."

"What if we had ideas that could think for themselves? What if one day our dreams no longer needed us? When these things occur and are held to be true, the time will be upon us. The time… of Angels."

* * *

I panted heavily as we climbed, having just hiked up to the fourth floor. With the Angel in my head weighing down on me I was straggling near the back of the group as everyone conversed ahead of me.

"Are we there yet? It's a hell of a climb." Amy complained.

"The Maze is on six levels, representing the ascent of the soul. Only two levels to go."

"Lovely species, the Aplans. We should visit them some time." The Doctor said cheerfully.

"I thought they were all dead?"

"So is Virginia Woolf. I'm on her bowling team. Very relaxed, sort of cheerful. Well, that's having two heads, of course. You're never short of a snog with an extra head."

"Doctor, there's something. I don't know what it is." River tried to explain as I racked my own mind to try and remember; the Angel getting in the way.

_That's right! The heads!_ "Doctor?"

He ignored me. "Yeah. There's something wrong. Don't know what it is yet either. Working on it. Of course they started having laws against self-marrying. I mean, what was that about? But that's the Church for you." He babbled, shining his torch on Octavian. "Er, no offense, Bishop."

"Doctor, I think I know—"

This time I was cut off by Octavian as he took the lead. "Quite a lot taken, if that's alright, Doctor… Lowest point in the wreckage is only about 50 feet up from here. That way."

I rolled my eyes and picked up the pace, grabbing the Doctor's sleeve and stopping him.

"What is it, Alex?"

"The _heads_."

He gave me a confused look. "The heads?"

I groaned, wiping a hand down my face and dragging him over to a statue, pointing at it. "Yes, you idiot. Count the heads!"

"Oh."

"What's wrong?" Amy asked, stopping a few feet ahead of us.

River had overheard us and it clicked for her too. "Oh."

"Exactly." The Doctor turned to me, grabbed my face in both his hands, and promptly kissed me right on the lips before pulling back with a huge grin. "Brilliant, Alex!"

I stiffened, but quickly snapped out of it, throwing my hands up. "How many times are you going to do that?! Seriously!"

He grinned, practically bouncing in place as he told everyone about the statues and I wiped a hand down my face with a groan. Amy though blinked in surprise beside River and I.

"Maybe I was wrong."

"What?" I questioned, still annoyed.

"Maybe _you're_ his wife"

"I'm not!" I called back, but she gave me a disbelieving look and I knew I wouldn't be able to convince her of that anytime soon.

Thankfully, I didn't have to at the moment, because the Doctor got our attention.

"Okay. I want you all to switch off your torches."

"Sir?" One of the cleric questioned.

"Just do it."

Everyone listened and did so, leaving only the Doctor with his on and I closed my eyes.

"Okay. I'm going to turn off this one too. Just for a moment." He answered back as even River wondered what he was thinking.

"Are you sure about this?"

"No."

Everything went pitch black, even with my eyes closed, before his torch came back on and Amy spoke quickly in shock.

"Oh my God. They've moved."

I heard the clicking of torches coming back on and reluctantly opened my eyes to follow the group as they went after the Doctor, who was examining the statues.

"They're Angels. All of them." He finally said, River still shocked into disbelief.

"But they can't be."

"Clerics, keep watching them." He said, going off with River and Amy, as I stayed with the clerics and shut my eyes again.

_I'm sorry, Bob. _I thought silently, hearing the trio come back, but not opening my eyes yet as River spoke up.

"But there was only one Angel on the ship. Just the one. I _swear_."

"Could they have been here already?" Amy offered as an explanation.

"The Aplans. What happened? How did they die out?" The Doctor questioned.

"Nobody knows."

**"We know."** I muttered, the same time the Doctor did, but Octavian argued the point.

"They don't look like Angels."

"And they're not fast. You said they were fast. They should have had us by now." Amy also said.

"Look at them. They're dying, losing their form. They must have been down here for centuries, starving."

My stomach growled then and I chuckled nervously, feeling eyes on me as I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly.

"Sorry."

"Will someone give her a flapjack?" The Doctor called out and I was soon handed a granola bar to chew on as I grumbled.

"Not my fault I was dropped off three days early with no money. Stupid time travel…"

"Losing their image?" Amy questioned as the Doctor nodded.

"And their image is their power. Power…" He clapped then, realizing something. "Power!"

"Doctor?"

"Don't you see? _All_ that radiation spilling out the drive burn. The crash of the Byzantium wasn't an accident, it was a rescue mission for the Angels. We're in the middle of an _army_, and it's waking up." He explained quickly, though it didn't really please any of the group.

"We need to get out of here fast."

"Bob, Angelo, Christian, come in, please." There was silence as Octavian spoke into his communicator. "Any of you, come in."

"It's Bob, sir. Sorry, sir."

I stiffened and waited, unsure about whether he listened, but knowing that even if he did, he probably still wouldn't have made it all the way back up to us.

"Bob, are Angelo and Christian with you? All the statues are active. I repeat, all the statues are active."

"I know, sir. Angelo and Christian are dead, sir. The statues killed them, sir." Bob replied, before the Doctor snatched the communicator from Octavian.

"Bob, Sacred Bob, it's me, the Doctor."

"I'm talking to—"

The Doctor spoke over Octavian, ignoring him. "Where are you now?"

"I'm talking to my—"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, shut up." The Doctor shushed him rudely.

"I'm on my way up to you, sir. I'm homing in on your signal."

"Ah, well done, Bob. Scared keeps you fast. Told you, didn't I. Your friends, Bob. What did the Angel do to them?"

"Snapped their necks, sir."

I peeked my eyes open to see everyone sharing a glance.

"That's odd. That's not how the Angels kill you. They displace you in time. Unless they needed the bodies for something." The Doctor explained, before Octavian snatched his radio back.

"Bob, did you check their data packs for vital signs? We may be able to initiate a rescue plan."

"Oh, don't be an idiot. The Angels don't leave you alive." The Doctor said, taking it back. "Bob, keep running. But tell me, how did you escape?"

"I didn't escape, sir. The Angel killed me, too."

I snapped my eyes shut, swallowing thickly.

"I'm sorry." I whispered under my breath. "I tried, but I'm so, so sorry."

"What do you mean, the Angel killed you too?"

"Snapped my neck, sir." Angel Bob explained to the Doctor. "Wasn't as painless as I expected, but it was pretty quick, so that was something."

"If you're dead, how can I be talking to you?"

"You're not talking to me, sir. The Angel has no voice. It stripped my cerebral cortex from my body and re-animated a version of my consciousness to communicate with you. Sorry about the confusion."

"So when you say _you're _on your way up to us—" The Doctor asked, getting an idea of what was going on now.

"It's the Angel that's coming, sir, yes."

"No way out." The Doctor spouted out quickly, before Octavian started giving out orders.

"Then we get out through the wreckage. Go!"

"Go, go, go. All of you run." The Doctor said, but Amy walked up to him in worry.

"Doctor."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm coming. Just go. Go, go, go."

I started to go after them, but paused by the Doctor and Octavian. "I'm sorry."

Octavian gave me a strange look, but the Doctor's eyes widened as he realized what I was apologizing for.

"Oh, Alex." He hugged me quickly before pulling away. "It's okay. I understand and there was probably nothing any of us could've done. Now go."

I nodded and followed down after everyone, rubbing my eye as it itched. Octavian came down not long after and I felt my anger rise, knowing what he'd just said to the Doctor and I grabbed his shirt.

"Oi, what's your problem?" He growled, but I was just as angry and snapped back at him.

"Don't you _dare_ go and try to push the blame on him for what happened because he's lost _far_ more people than you ever will and I'm not going to just sit back and let you do that to him. Especially when it's just as much my fault as it is his or yours or anyone else's."

He glared down at me and grabbed my wrist to pull my hand off, but I held firm, surprising him. "Let go."

"Then you leave him be." I demanded back, before he shoved me off and headed down with the others.

I let out a sharp breath from my nose and pushed myself off the rock he'd shoved me into, only for my hand to stop and not want to let go. _Oh no…_ I looked down at it, finding it to look like stone and took a deep shaky breath. _Come on, me. You can do this. It's not actually stone, remember?_ I went to pull away, believing it as so, but it still didn't budge. _Okay then. What did the Doctor do? He bit Amy, right? So pain. Pain should work._ I pinched the back of my hand as hard as I could, but felt nothing despite the bruise that would probably now be forming there.

"N-Not good."

The Doctor rushed down then, excitedly—it looked like—breezing past me with a grin.

"Don't wait for me. Go, run."

"I can't." I said, not knowing what else to do.

He stopped, backtracking and grabbing my arm as I shook my head.

"Seriously. It won't move. I know it's not true, but it looks stone to me."

He frowned at me and then looked back at my hand, before back at me and shining his torch in my eyes, making me wince.

"You looked into the eyes of an Angel, didn't you?" He questioned and I sighed.

"Sorry. I know I wasn't supposed to but if I didn't do something, it would've been Amy."

"God, what am I going to do with you, Holmes." He said with a small smile, but I wasn't exactly happy at the moment and he went back to serious mode. "It's messing with your head. Your hand is not made of stone."

"Yeah. I know." I replied. "I know that. I've tried believing it and pulling my hand away, but it didn't work. Even tried pinching it. Nothing."

His torch started flickering and I felt my breath hitch as he glanced down at it.

"The Angel _is_ gonna come and it's going to turn this light off, and then there's nothing I can do to stop it. So do it." He ordered. "Concentrate. _Move your hand_."

I struggled, forcing myself to believe that it wasn't stone, but it still wouldn't budge. "I-I can't. I _know_ it's not stone, but it won't move!"

"Then we're both going to die."

I frowned. "Stop being dramatic. You can leave and I'll be fine. I don't even belong in this universe anyway. I'm not even supposed to _exist_ here."

He suddenly grabbed my face, making me stiffen at his furious glare. "Don't you _dare_ say something like that, Alexander. You belong here just as much as Amy or River or even myself. I promise you, that I will do everything in my power to prove that. So if you even _think_ that you're unimportant, I will kiss you senseless right now."

I felt my face heat up at the furious yet caring expression he had as well as what he'd just said, and I forced my mouth to move.

"W-What is it with you and kissing?"

He rolled his eyes with a sigh, before spotting something behind me, making me turn to look and see the Angels slowly getting closer.

"O-Oh boy."

"Keep your eyes on it." He demanded. "Don't blink and for _God's_ sake, not the eyes."

"_Oh_, why can't you just run?"

"Because I'm not leaving you here."

"But I'm not even that important! I-I'm just some college kid who liked sci-if and mysteries and things that make you think!"

"But you're _my_ Alex. _My_ Alexander Holmes. _My_ sci-if, mystery, thinking college student who's always there for me even when I was a stupid twit who had no idea why you were here." He said. "You can move your hand."

"I've _been_ trying!" I argued back, not taking my eyes off the statues. "Just go! Everyone here will die without you and so many people have already died because of me so just—"

"_None_ of those deaths were because of you!" He shouted, making me flinch and flashback to the Tenth Doctor, though I tried to forget about it. "God, this is not the time to be having this conversation. Alex, just move your hand. It's not stone!"

"I know! But that doesn't change the fact that I can't move it and that you seriously need to get away now, because they've gotten closer than they did in the show and we're wasting time and I don't want more people to die because of me!"

"Alexander Holmes." He spoke quietly, pressing his forehead to the side of mine. "You are magnificent and I'm sorry."

"Please tell me you're leaving." I muttered.

"Oh, no. I'm not leaving you. Never. I'm sorry about this."

I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my hand and yelped, tearing my eyes away from the statues and holding my hand.

"Ow!"

He grinned. "See? Not stone. Now run."

"You bit me!" I shouted at him as he pointed the light behind me.

"Yeah, and you're alive."

"You left a mark!"

"Yeah, and you're alive. Did I mention?" He said, pulling me behind him.

"But my God, your teeth! My siblings didn't do that much damage! Have you got alien teeth?!"

"Yeah. Alive. All I'm saying."

"Just thought I'd mention it." I teased a bit to ease up my anxiety, before we both bolted down the path and back to where everyone else was gathered.

"The statues are advancing along all corridors. And, sir, my torch keeps flickering." One man said, followed by Octavian.

"They all do."

"So does the gravity globe." River said, eyeing the orb up above as I headed over towards her and Amy, closing my eyes again.

"Clerics, we're down to four men. Expect incoming." Octavian told the men as the Doctor spoke.

"Yeah, it's the Angels. They're coming. And they're draining the power for themselves."

"Which means we won't be able to see them."

"Which means we can't stay here." The Doctor corrected

"Two more incoming." A cleric called out and River spoke softer.

"Any suggestions?"

"The statues are advancing on all sides. We don't have the climbing equipment to reach the Byzantium." Octavian said, making things a bit worse along with a nervous River.

"There's no way up, no way back, no way out. No pressure, but this is usually when you have a _really_ good idea."

"There's always a way out." The Doctor suddenly said as things grew dark and light again, and he repeated himself. "There's always a way out."

"Doctor? Can I speak to the Doctor, please?" Angel Bob called out over the communicator.

"Hello, Angels. What's your problem?"

"Your power will not last much longer, and the Angels will be with you shortly. Sorry, sir." Angel Bob replied, but the Doctor was suspicious.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"There's something the Angels are very keen you should know before the end."

"Which is?"

"I died in fear."

I grit my teeth that those words, knowing that the Doctor would _not_ be happy with what they were doing, but knowing that him getting angry with the Angels may help him think faster.

"I'm sorry?"

"You told me my fear would keep me alive, but I died afraid, in pain and alone. You made me trust you, and when it mattered, you let me down. I'm sorry, sir. The Angels were very keen for you to know that."

"Well then, the Angels have made their second mistake because I'm not going to let that pass. I'm sorry you're dead, Bob, but I swear to whatever is left of you, they will be sorrier." The Doctor said and I felt my chest clench as I remembered how upset his face looked back when I first watched this episode at home, causing me to peek out at him as Angel Bob spoke again.

"Ah, and can I speak with Alex, sir?"

The Doctor turned to me, speaking back to Angel Bob. "What for?"

"The Angels have something to tell her as well. And sorry for the mistake of gender, ma'am."

The Doctor slowly handed me the communicator and I pressed the button.

"No, it's fine. I, uh, prefer 'sir' anyway. What… What do you want to tell me?"

"Just that we've heard of you, Alexander the Seer, and we know what you're capable of."

I raised a brow, suspicious. "Thanks?"

"Oh, it's not a compliment, sir. The thing is, you're capable of knowing what's going to happen but you still allow it to. The Angels are envious, sir."

I stiffened, not liking what he was implying. "W-What do you mean?"

"The Angels are envious, sir, because you're capable of watching so many people suffer and die when you have a chance to stop them. Like with me, sir. You had a chance. Warned me, even, but you didn't actually want to save me did you? That's why I died, isn't it? Because I wasn't important to you?"

The Doctor snatched the communicator back from me angrily. "That's enough, Bob. You wanted me angry, well you've gone and done it. You upset my Alexander so don't expected me to stand here and let you continue."

"But you're trapped, sir, and about to die." Bob answered.

"Yeah. I'm trapped. And you know what? Speaking of traps, this trap has got a great big mistake in it. A great big, whopping mistake."

"What mistake, sir?" Bob asked and he ignored it, turning to Amy.

"Trust me."

"Yeah." She nodded and he turned to River.

"Trust me?"

"Always." She said, before he turned to the clerics and Octavian.

"You lot, trust me?"

"Sir, two more incoming." A cleric called out as Octavian nodded.

"We have faith, sir."

He then turned to me, coming up behind me and pulling me into a hug as I realized I was shaking.

"It's alright, Alex. Everything's going to be alright. I promise. So don't listen to him, yeah? Just listen to me. Do you trust me?"

I nodded, voice shaky as I spoke. "H-Hard not to."

He pressed his face to the side of my head and tightened his hug as he kissed my temple. "That's my girl."

He then let me go and hurried towards Octavian.

"You trust me, then give me your gun. I'm about to do something incredibly stupid and dangerous. When I do, jump!" The Doctor jumped in place, but the bishop looked doubtful.

"Jump where?"

"Just jump, high as you can. Come on, leap of faith, Bishop. On my signal."

"What signal?"

"You won't miss it." The Doctor replied, raising his gun up in the air.

"Sorry, can I ask again?" Angel Bob called out. "You mentioned a mistake we made."

"Oh, big, big mistake. Really huge. Didn't anyone every tell you? There's one thing you never put in a trap. If you're smart, if you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow, there is one thing you never, ever put in a trap." The Doctor snapped, his anger showing again.

"And what would that be, sir?"

"Me." He smirked, before firing the gun up into the air.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"Alex?" River came over, grabbing my upper arms. "Alex, what's wrong?"_

_It was an effort just to get my mouth open and when I did, what came out of it was not what I was trying to say._

_"Four."_


	9. Flesh and Stone

**Next chapter, as promised ^^ Hope you guys like it and thanks to those who reviewed! I'm really glad a lot of you like Alex's character so much. And please let me know what you think about this chapter! :)**

* * *

I couldn't hear anything. My head was ringing, the Angel making it feel far too heavy to move, and my eyes were reluctant to open. I didn't want to get up, really, but I couldn't tell if this was just because of whatever head injury I'd just sustained or the Angel trying to do something. I was starting to hear voices now, but everything was muffled. I then felt someone grabbing my arm, pulling me to a somewhat upright position and patting the side of my face. I groaned and wearily opened my eyes to see River looking at me concerned, shining a light in my face that took me a second before I turned away from it. _Too bright._

"She might have a concussion." I heard her say as I brought a hand to my aching head with a groan.

"What happened?" I questioned, looking around confused and trying not to get too dizzy.

"We jumped." River explained and Amy came over in question.

"Jumped where?"

"Up. Up. Look up." The Doctor replied, but she ignored him as I looked up to see the Angels reaching towards us angrily down below.

"Oh." I muttered, feeling myself falling back as my sense of balance was suddenly thrown off, but River put a hand on my back and pushed me up.

"Try not to move so much, sweetie. Are you feeling dizzy? Nauseous? Any loss of memory?"

I furrowed my brows and held a hand to my head as I closed my eyes in thought. "Yes, kind of, and no. I remember what happened."

She nodded with a smile once I looked over at her, but Amy was still lost.

"Where are we?"

"Exactly where we were." River said as I pointed up.

"Look up."

She looked over at me with a frown and the Doctor got in her face a moment.

"Move your feet."

She did and he knelt down to the hatch as she finally looked up.

"Doctor? What am I looking at? Explain."

"Oh, come on, Amy. Think. The ship crashed with the power still on, yeah? So what else is still on?" He questioned, having got up to stand beside her.

"The gravity." I muttered, earning a grin from him.

"Right on, Alex! One good jump and up we fell." He said, jumping in place, turning back to Amy. "Shot out the grav globe to give us an updraft, and here we are."

He went back to sonicking the hatch and I frowned, closing my eyes once more.

"Never did get that last bit. You're going to have to explain it better later, Doctor. Not now. My head hurts."

"Will do, Alex."

"Doctor, the statues." Octavian said, sounding a bit tense. "They look more like Angels now."

"They're feeding on the radiation from the wreckage, draining all the power from the ship, restoring themselves. Within an hour, they'll be an army."

The hatch finally opened and the lights started sparking out on the bottom of the ship.

"They're taking out the lights." The Doctor said, before pointing his screwdriver up at the Angels. "Look at them. Look at the Angels… Into the ship now. Quickly, all of you." He said, hopping down into the hatch himself.

"How? Doctor!" Amy called out, before peeking inside the hatch.

"It's just a corridor. The gravity… orientates to the floor. Now, in here, all of you. Don't take your eyes off the Angels. Move, move, move." He ordered.

River helped me up, letting me lean on her as my head pounded and my body swayed, I myself closing my eyes as she helped lower me into the ship and one of the clerics helped me inside and onto the floor over by the Doctor as he scanned a panel beside the closed door.

"How are you doing, Alex? How's your head?"

"It's been better. Don't know if it's the Angel or the head trauma, but I really just want to take a nap."

"Not yet, Alex. Stay awake, okay?"

I nodded as Octavian rushed over along with his men, opening my eyes regrettably.

"The Angels. Presumably they can jump too?"

The hatch above us closed and the Doctor looked over at it with a frown. "They're here now. In the dark, we're finished."

An alarm started going off and a door nearby closed, the Doctor scrambling towards it, only a bit too late.

"This whole place is a deathtrap." Octavian said, but the Doctor disagreed.

"No, it's a time bomb. Well, it's a death trap and a time bomb. And now it's a dead end. Nobody panic." He looked around a bit. "Oh, just me then."

I raised my hand. "Nope! I'm kind of panicking myself, actually."

He gave me a reassuring smile, before pointing at the door that'd just closed. "What's through there?"

"Secondary flight deck." River responded.

"Okay, so we've basically run up the inside of a chimney, yeah?" Amy asked, River moving over to a monitor. "So what if the gravity fails?"

"I thought about that." The Doctor said to her, before kneeling down to the door.

"And?"

He got back up and pointed a finger in her face. "And we all plunge to our deaths. See? I thought about it." He looked back over at the door briefly. "The security protocols are still alive. There's no way to override them. It's impossible."

"How impossible?" River asked, basically asking him how long it would take for him to do it.

"Two minutes."

The lights flickered and the hatch opened.

"The hull is breached and the power is failing."

"Way to stay positive." I muttered under my breath tiredly.

"Sir, incoming!" A cleric called out, an Angel hand appearing just outside the hatch.

"Doctor, lights!" Amy panicked and he struggled to get them on.

One Angel appeared and then four and then they were inside the corridor with us.

"Clerics, keep watching them." Octavian ordered.

"And don't look at their eyes. Anywhere else. Not the eyes." The lights turned on and the Doctor headed towards the door again. "I've isolated the lighting grid. They can't drain the power now."

"Good work, Doctor." Octavian praised.

"Yes. Good, good, good. Good in many ways. Good you like it so far."

"So far?" Amy questioned.

"Well, there's only one way to open this door." The Doctor explained, opening a panel and digging through the wires. "I guess I'll need to route all the power in this section through the door control."

"Good. Fine. Do it."

"He'd need to turn out the lights." I grumbled. "He said _all _of the power."

Octavian turned to the Doctor to confirm this as he went to look at the Angels, and he nodded.

"How long for?"

"Fraction of a second, maybe longer. Maybe quite a bit longer." The Doctor rubbed at his face.

"Maybe?"

"I'm guessing. We're being attacked by statues in a crashed ship. There isn't a manual for this!" He rushed back over to the door and Amy panicked a bit.

"Doctor, we lost the torches. We'll be in total darkness!"

"No other way!" He said back loudly, before turning to me. "Alex, how long? Do you know?"

I rubbed at my face, thinking. "Um, I think it was only for 15 seconds? Maybe a little more?"

"Right. Bishop."

Octavian went over to River to confirm his decision. "Doctor Song, I've lost good clerics today. You trust this man?"

"I absolutely trust him."

"He's not some kind of madman, then?"

"…I absolutely trust him." She replied after a pause and I chuckled a bit as the Doctor went back to the panel.

"Excuse me."

"And what about her?" Octavian gestured to me with a stern frown. "The Angel said she knew what would happen. About Bob and the others, but she just stood by and didn't say anything. How can we trust her?"

I grit my teeth, staying silent and feeling everyone's eyes on me, before River spoke.

"I trust her just as much as I trust the Doctor."

"She let people _die_."

I flinched, but River continued to stick up for me.

"And she saved the universe from a paradox in doing so."

Octavian glared at me, but then moved over to whisper to River. I knew what he was doing and I wasn't happy about it, so the moment he stopped, I threw my broken torch at his back, making him turn angrily to me.

"Get the stick out of your arse and stop blaming others for things that could happen." I growled, ignoring the surprised looks I received from River and the others. "If your men die, _you're_ the one with the responsibility to tell them it'd be dangerous. They knew what they were getting into, so stop blaming others."

He scoffed, turning away from me and facing the Angels; though River mouthed a 'thank you' to me.

"Okay, Doctor. We've got your back."

"Bless you, Bishop." Said man replied, taking some wires from Amy; though he wasn't very cheerful after having undoubtedly heard our conversation.

Octavian began giving orders and the Doctor turned to me.

"Can you move now? I'll need you to help Amy."

I nodded, pushing up off the ground and ignoring the ache in my head and my slightly spinning vision. "Yeah. I can help."

"Okay, when the lights go down, the wheel should release." He explained, moving towards the panel. "Spin it clockwise four turns."

_Hm, this is where Amy starts counting down. I guess I should be glad I haven't started. Perhaps keeping my eyes closed really does help._ I mused, going to stand by Amy by the door.

"Ten."

The Doctor turned back. "No, four. Four turns."

I frowned, giving Amy and the Doctor an odd look. "Yeah. I know."

He went back to the panel and called out to everyone, sonic screwdriver buzzing. "Ready!"

"On my count then." Octavian said. "God be with us all. Three, two, one. Fire!"

The lights went out and River, Amy, and I started pulling at the wheel as gunshots echoed in the corridor, lighting it up for fractions of a second to show us the steadily advancing Angels. There were shouts from the Doctor and Amy as the door started opening, but I couldn't hear them over the noise of the gunshots and the pounding in my head. Thankfully, we all got through to the next corridor and dashed down to the next door, which was far easier to open. Everyone managed to get in and from there, we rushed to the control panel as the clerics made a perimeter.

"Doctor!" Amy called out from beside him as I leaned against the panel with a hand on my head, eyes shut.

"Do you _have_ to yell? He's right next to you." I complained, hearing a clang as Octavian probably put a magnet on the slowly opening door.

"What're you doing?" Amy questioned.

"Magnetized the door. Nothing could turn that wheel now."

"Think again." I said, pointing at the door as the wheel started turning, albeit slower than before.

"Dear God."

"Ah, now you're getting it." The Doctor chirped, moving around. "You've bought us time though. That's good. I am good with time."

_Unless someone's waiting._ I thought with a scoff.

"Doctor."

I heard another door opening and Octavian quickly sent a cleric to magnetize that one.

"We're surrounded." River said as a third door was sealed.

"Doctor, how long have we got?" Octavian asked.

"Five minutes max."

"Nine."

He turned to me. "Five."

I waved a hand at him, still holding my head with my eyes closed. "Yeah. Five. I know."

"Why'd you say nine?"

I stiffened, opening my eyes to look at him. "I said nine?"

He gave me a look, but before he could say anything the doors started opening and River spoke up.

"We need to find another way out of here."

"There isn't one." Octavian said and I sighed.

"There's always another way."

"You're on a roll today, Alex! Course there's another way. This is a galaxy class ship. Goes for years between planet falls. So, what do they need?"

River spun around. "Of course."

The Doctor snapped his fingers at her, but Amy was lost.

"Of course what? What do they need?"

Everyone ignored her as Octavian spoke. "Can we get in there?"

"Well, it's a sealed unit, but they must have installed it somehow." He rushed over to a wall and knelt down to it's base. "This whole wall should slide up. There's clamps! Release the clamps!"

The clerics helped him move things aside before the Doctor used his sonic to release the clamps.

"What's through there?" Amy asked. "What do they need?"

"Air." I muttered, glancing at her as I headed over to the Doctor. "They need to breathe."

The wall went up and the Doctor smiled as Amy gaped in shock.

"That's… That's a…"

"It's an oxygen factory." River answered, but I rolled my eyes at her.

"You're no fun."

"It's a forest." Amy said and I pointed at her.

"See? She gets it."

River nodded with a roll of her eyes as well. "Yeah, it's a forest. It's an oxygen factory."

I shook my head with an amused look as the Doctor spoke.

"And if we're lucky, it's an escape route."

"Eight." I scoffed, River speaking.

"What did you say?"

I glanced at her in question. "What?'

I turned back to see the Doctor watching me again, before he turned back to the forest and clapped his hands.

"Is there another exit? Scan the architecture. We don't have time to get lost in there."

"On it." Octavian said, stepping into the forest. "Stay in there until I've checked the rad levels."

I sighed, moving towards the forest as well. "They're fine. Nothing to worry about."

He glared at me from over his shoulder, but didn't argue as the Doctor came in behind me with Amy questioning the forest.

"But trees? On a space ship?"

"Oh, more than trees. Way better than trees. You're going to love this." He looked up before pulling off a moss covered panel to reveal tubes underneath. "Treeborgs! Trees, plus technology. Branches become cables become sensors on the hull. A forest sucking in starlight, breathing out air. It even rains. There's a whole mini-climate. This vault is an ecopod running right through the heart of the ship. A forest in a bottle on a space ship in a maze. Have I impressed you yet, Amy Pond?"

"Oh yeah." She laughed and I nodded as well, looking up at the ceiling of wires coming from the trees.

"Seven."

"Seven?"

I looked back at him as he stomped up towards me. "What?"

"You said seven."

"I said seven?" I questioned. "But I don't—"

"You did." River agreed and I turned and watched as the Doctor eyed me and Octavian spoke up from behind him.

"Doctor, there's an exit, far end of the ship, into the Primary Flight Deck."

He turned to him briefly. "Oh, good. That's where we need to go."

"Plotting a safe path now."

"Quick as you like." The Doctor said, making me uncomfortable with how he stayed in my face and moved slightly, eyeing me.

"Doctor? Excuse me? Hello, Doctor? A-Angel Bob here, sir." A voice came from his communicator and he wandered back to where River was as he pulled it out of his pocket and answered.

I followed after him and Amy and he sat in a chair as I leaned up against a panel, tapping my thigh in worry, because I was starting to realize what was going on. _Numbers. Am I counting down? But, I know I'm not supposed to know I'm counting down—Amy didn't—and wasn't closing my eyes supposed to slow it down? And why am I so tired?_ I felt my eyelids drooping and closed them, listening to the Doctor as he spoke to Angel Bob.

"Ah, there you are, Angel Bob. How's life? Sorry, bad subject."

"The Angels are wondering what you hope to achieve." Angel Bob said, not even slightly bothered.

"Achieve? We're not achieving anything. We're just hanging. It's nice in here. Consoles, comfy chairs, a forest. How's things with you?"

"The Angels are feasting, sir. Soon we will be able to absorb enough power to consume this vessel, this world, and all the stars and worlds beyond."

"Well, we've got comfy chairs. Did I mention?" The Doctor quipped.

"We have no need of comfy chairs."

"I made him say comfy chairs." The Doctor said, sounding pleased with himself as Amy chuckled and I shook my head with my own slight laugh.

"Six."

He suddenly stood up as I opened my eyes wearily. "Okay, Bob, enough chat. Here's what I want to know. What have you done to Alex?"

"There's something in her eye."

"What's in her eye?"

"We are."

He rounded on me and got in my face again and I leaned back a bit.

"Oi, back up. I'm five." I paused, realizing what I said now and groaned. "Oh, come _on_. I've already gotten to five? I swear I was five—_fine_."

"You're counting." River said and I nodded, holding my head and closing my eyes again.

"Yeah, I know. Sorry. Thought I'd slow it down, but guess not."

"You're counting down from ten." The Doctor said, as I opened my eyes again; feeling more and more tired every time I closed them. "You have been for a couple of minutes."

"Why?" Amy asked, making us turn to her.

"I don't know." The Doctor replied.

"What? But…" She looked at me, pointing a finger. "Wait. You said before! You told me before the Doctor did not to look at it's eyes! You… You told me to look at it's chest." She started to look slightly upset. "Was… Was this supposed to happen to _me_?"

I gave her a small smile. "Sorry. Do you want it back?"

"No! Why would—"

Angel Bob cut her off. "We shall take her. We shall take all of you. We shall have dominion over all time and space."

The Doctor plopped back into the chair. "Get a life, Bob. Oops, sorry again. There's power on this ship and no where _near_ that much."

"With respect, sir, there's more power on this ship than you understand."

There was a screeching sound that started up and I grabbed my head, the noise starting up the headache I'd thought had gone away.

"What is that? Dear God, what is it?"

"They're back."

The noise stopped and I sighed in relief as Angel Bob explained.

"It's hard to put it in your terms, Doctor Song, but as best I understand it, the Angels are laughing."

"Laughing?" The Doctor questioned.

"Because you haven't noticed yet, sir. The Doctor in the Tardis hasn't noticed. Alex has, but only because she already knows."

"Doctor—" Octavian started, but the Doctor shushed him.

"No. Wait. There's something I've…" He looked behind him to see a large crack on the wall. "…missed."

Everyone else looked up at it as he hurried over and pushed a crate under it, Amy sounding scared.

"Doctor, that's… That's like the crack from my bedroom wall from when I was a little girl."

"Yes."

"Okay, enough. We're moving out." Octavian said, moving to go as River nodded.

"Agreed. Doctor?"

"Yeah, fine."

"What're you doing?!"

"Right with you." He continued, though not paying any attention as he climbed on top of the box and pointed his screwdriver at the crack.

"We're not leaving without you." River said sternly, but I grabbed her arm with a shake of my head.

"We have to go. He'll be alright."

She hesitantly eyed me. "Do you promise?"

I raised a brow, confused about why she would ask me that, but nodded. "Yeah. Promise."

She gave me a small smile and grabbed Amy. "Come on, Amy."

"Doctor?!"

"Come on!" River called, and I trailed after them, giving the Doctor one last bit of advice.

"Ditching the coat will save your life!"

"Now?!"

"No! Later! Trust me!"

"With my life!" He shouted back as I hurried after River and the others, a warmth spreading through my chest at those words.

_With his life…_

* * *

As we hiked through the forest though, I could feel the Angel in my head getting restless. I tried to keep my eyes closed as long as I could, but with the uneven terrain under my feet, that only caused me to stumble around. I was so tired though. I felt like my entire body was being weighed down with lead and after a point, I stopped. Breathing felt strange. Like it was becoming a struggle to get anything in my lungs with the weight settled in my body. And I was _so_ tired. I wanted to just lie down on the ground and sleep for as long as it took for the tiredness to go away.

"Alex?" River came over, grabbing my upper arms. "Alex, what's wrong?"

It was an effort just to get my mouth open and when I did, what came out of it was not what I was trying to say.

"Four."

I slumped down onto a rock and grabbed at my head, lying down and trying to close my eyes, but they wouldn't.

"Med scanner, now." I heard River demand as Amy came over.

"Is she okay?"

"I don't know."

"Doctor Song." Octavian spoke up. "We can't stay here, we've got to keep moving."

I felt—more than saw—my arm being lifted up and River wrapped the med scanner around it as she spoke.

"We wait for the Doctor."

"Our mission is to make this wreckage safe and neutralize the Angels. We should just leave her if that means we achieve—"

"Father Octavian." River snarled, a tone coming out of her voice that sent shivers up my own spine. "If _anything_ were to happen to Alex, you can be sure that the Doctor would become a bigger enemy than the Angels. And when he is in the room, your one and only mission is to keep him alive long enough to get everyone else home. And trust me, it's not easy. Now, if he's dead back there, I'll never forgive myself. And if he's alive, I'll never forgive him. And Doctor, you're standing right behind me, aren't you?"

"Oh, yeah."

"I _hate_ you." She said, making me want to chuckle, but I was too tired to even do that.

"You don't. Bishop, the Angels are in the forest." He said, bounding down towards me.

"We need visual contact on every line of approach."

"How did you get past them?"

"Found a crack in the wall and told them it was the end of the universe."

"What was it?" Amy asked, eyeing me.

"The end of the universe." He said, before reaching towards the med scanner. "Let's have a look then."

"What's wrong with her?" Amy asked and River shook her head.

"Nothing. She's fine."

"No, I'm not." I replied, catching the Doctor's eyes. "I'm dying."

"Yes. You are."

"Doctor!" River scolded and he spoke angrily back.

"Yes, you're right. If we lie to her, she'll get all better. Right. And this is Alex we're talking about. She's different."

"She can still get scared!"

"But she's not! Are you, Alex?"

I managed a small smile. "No."

"See?" He said, before looking back at me. "Now, I need you to explain, because you know what's happening to you, Alex. Something's in your eye. What does that mean? Does it mean anything?"

"Angel." I got out.

"Yes, I know."

"Eyes." I bit out again, slumping towards the edge of the rock, but River grabbed me, pulling me back.

"Shut up."

"Let him think." River whispered to me and I let out a long breath that would count as a sigh.

_He was the one who asked me what it meant._

"What happened? She stared at the Angel. She looked into the eyes of an Angel for too long."

"Sir! Angel incoming." A cleric called out followed by another.

"And here."

"Keep visual contact. Don't let it move." Octavian ordered as the Doctor began pacing.

"Come on, come on, come on. Wakey, wakey. She watched an Angel climb out of the screen. She stared at the Angel and, and—"

"The image of an Angel is an Angel." Amy said. "Could that be part of it?"

"A living mental image in a living human mind. But we stare at them to stop them getting closer." He sat down as I slowly smiled a bit, wheezing now. "We don't even blink, and that is exactly what they want. Because as long as our eyes are open, they can climb inside. There's an Angel in her mind."

He covered his mouth and I grimaced as I struggled to keep my mouth from saying the next word.

"Three. It's for fun." I told him, before he could ask Angel Bob.

"Please shut up. I'm thinking. Now, counting. What's that about?" He said, ignoring me as he pulled out the communicator. "Bob? Why are they making her count?"

"To make her afraid, sir."

"Okay, but why? What for?"

"For fun, sir."

The Doctor got angry and threw the communicator away, before Amy's eyes widened.

"That's what she just said. Doctor! She's been trying to help!"

His brows furrowed and Amy quickly stuttered an explanation. "S-She said… After she said three, she said 'it's for fun'. She knew what you were going to ask and she just tried to answer it to save time! She may know how to stop it!"

The Doctor moved to sit in front of me again and smacked his forehead. "Duh, stupid. I'm always so stupid. I _really_ need to start listening to you more."

"Yeah, you do." I breathed out. "But it's not working."

"What's not working? Tell me."

"You'd starve the Angel. W-With a TV you'd pull the plug, shut it off. It's in my head, closing the eyes should stop it."

He snapped his fingers. "_That's_ why you kept closing your eyes! You lied, told me you were tired, but you were trying to buy yourself time!"

"Yes." I said, looking at him. "B-But it's the same as if I didn't. And I _am_ tired. So tired. That didn't happen in the show. What do I do?"

He got up and started pacing, talking out loud. "You're right. Closing your eyes would work. _Should_ work. So why isn't it? You knew… The Angels knew that you would know how to counter it, so they're trying something else. Some other way to take you over, but what?"

"Quickly." River said, my body getting heavier every second.

"W-What if we just knock her out?" Amy asked. "Wouldn't that stop it?"

"No. If we knock her out, the Angel would just take over… Oh."

"Doctor. She's got seconds." River said, the beeping from the med scanner getting slower.

_Like my heart._ I noticed, not wanting to move.

"That's it! The Angel knew that Alex would start closing her eyes as often as she could to slow everything down. So they started encouraging it! Alex falls asleep and the Angel can take over!"

"But what about keeping them open? You said that'll kill her too." River responded and the Doctor nodded.

"Right, but sleeping and just closing her eyes are two different things. We need to keep her awake, but keep her eyes closed. Alex, close your eyes!"

"I don't want to." I said, though not wanting to say it. "Why did I—"

"That's the Angel talking, Alex. It's afraid. Do it. Close your eyes."

I did and that tiredness came over me immediately.

"She's not stabilizing." River said and the Doctor quickly sat me up.

"What're you doing?" I asked slowly, slumping over as River, Amy and he straightened me up.

"Alex, I'm really sorry for this. You need to promise me you won't open your eyes, alright?"

"Okay."

"Promise me."

I frowned. "Why do you people keep saying that?"

"Because Alexander Holmes never breaks a promise." He replied, the smile in his voice relaxing me.

"Okay. I promise."

I kept my eyes clenched shut, wondering what he was going to do, when I suddenly felt him slap both of my cheeks, _hard_.

"Ow! What the f—"

"Language!"

"I'll watch my language when you tell me why you slapped me! That _hurt_!" I shouted back, hearing River and Amy chuckle.

"It was all I could think of to keep you awake!"

"Next time think of something better!" I scolded, rubbing my cheeks as River took off the med scanner.

"She's normalized, but still weak. Dangerous to move her."

"So what do we do?" Amy asked. "We can't just leave her here."

"Sir? Two more incoming."

"Three more over here." The clerics called out as Octavian spoke.

"Doctor, we're too exposed here. We have to move on."

"We're too exposed everywhere. And Alex can't move. And anyway, that's not the plan." He spouted.

"There's a plan?" River questioned.

"I don't know yet. I haven't finished talking. Right! Father, you, your clerics, and Amy are going to stay here. Look after Alex. If anything happens to her, I'll hold every single one of you _personally_ responsible, five times over. River, you and me, we're going to find the Primary Flight Deck which is… A quarter of a mile straight ahead. And from there, we're going to stabilize the wreckage, stop the Angels and cure Alex."

"How?"

"I'll do a thing."

"What thing?" Amy questioned him.

"I don't know, it's a thing in progress. Respect the thing. Moving out!" He clapped, but Octavian wasn't having it.

"Doctor, I'm coming with you. My clerics will look after Ms. Holmes. These are my best men. They'd lay down their lives in her protection."

"I don't need you." I heard the Doctor tell him.

"I don't care. Where Doctor Song goes, I go."

"What… You two engaged or something?"

"Yes." Octavian replied bitterly. "In a manner of speaking."

I raised my hand. "Wait! Question!"

"What is it, Alex?" I heard the Doctor answer.

"Oh, well… Take them with you." I said, pointing around with no clue who I was pointing at. "Leave me and go."

I felt his hand touch my knee and jumped a bit, still getting used to no sight.

"I won't. I'm not going to leave you alone here, Alex."

"Then leave Amy with me—"

"Oi!"

I ignored her. "But don't leave the clerics. Please."

I could feel him eyeing me and he started whispering. "What is this about? Is this something to do with what happens next?"

"I can't tell you, but you can't stay here and if they're left with me, more people will die. And they will die forgotten and I can't have that."

"Why Amy?"

"Because… something will happen and it will be something she needs to see and I may be weak, but she has a mean slap and I'm still strong enough to keep her from dying the same way the clerics would have."

I felt something brush my face and stiffened, until I realized that it was the Doctor's hand.

"Oh, my brave Alexander."

I felt his hand grab the side of my face and quickly held a finger between him and I, just as his nose bumped into it.

"Oi, still don't know what's with the kissing. And do you _really_ have to do it with a jealous Amy around?"

"Mn." He whined. "Just this once?"

I rolled my eyes under my eye lids, feeling heat creep up the back of my neck. "Didn't I just say I have no idea _why_ you keep kissing me? Should you really be doing that with someone who doesn't know what it's all about?"

"Mn, fine. Cheek?"

"Yeah, I guess." I said and felt him peck me on the cheek before kissing my forehead and leaning his head up against mine.

"Stay safe."

"I know what's going to happen. I'll be fine. You just make sure you use your head." I said back, feeling like a mother and falling back into that persona I used when I was back home with my siblings. "Glad you left your coat."

"Saved my life, like you said." He replied, a smile in his words as he pulled back. "Any more advice?"

I nodded. "I don't like him, but keep Octavian away from the Angels and trust River. No matter what, trust her."

"Good advice. Sound advice. I'll remember that." He rattled off and I stopped him, somehow grabbing his shirt sleeve.

"Don't lie."

"Who says I'm lying?"

"Rule number one."

I felt him stiffen and he sighed.

"I'll remember."

"Promise me. Make an Alexander Holmes promise."

"A what?"

I groaned. "I know. Sounds stupid, even to me, but just do it."

He grabbed my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Alright. I promise. An Alexander Holmes promise."

I nodded and felt his hand slip out from mine, silently squashing down the dread in me as Amy started arguing with him.

"Doctor? Why can't I come with you?"

"I want to say you'll be safer here, but I'm _not_ exactly sure that's true. Alex?"

I shrugged. "She's about as safe here as she would be over there, I would think."

"See? There. And Alex knows best at the moment because she's the only one who knows what's going on. And I'll be back for you two soon as I can. I promise."

"You always say that." She countered.

"I always come back." He replied. "Good luck, Alex, Amy. Clerics, change of plan, you're coming with me."

"But sir—"

"Don't argue. Lives are being saved. Now come on. Amy, do your best to keep an eye on the Angels, but remember, don't look them in the eyes." He said, before he shouted up to where River and the others probably were. "River, I'm going to need your computer!"

"Yeah. Later…" Amy muttered, taking a seat beside me and I reached over and hugged her shoulders.

"Hey, it's alright. I know it doesn't mean much coming from me, but everything will turn out alright. Promise."

"Sure. Ah! Doctor! I thought you were going. Did you forget something?"

"Oh, Amy Pond." I heard him say, but I immediately knew that it wasn't the same Doctor who'd just left. "You need to start trusting me. It's never been more important."

"But you don't always tell me the truth." She said back and I squeezed her shoulders reassuringly.

"If I always told you the truth, I wouldn't need you to trust me." He said and Amy hesitated.

"Doctor, the crack in my wall, how can it be here?"

"I don't know yet, but I'm working it out. Now listen. Remember what I told you when you were seven?"

"What did you tell me?"

"No. No, that's not the point. You have to remember." He said, before I felt hands grab mine. "And Alex. Oh, my brave Alexander. You're far too strong for your own good."

"Yeah, well… glad you got a new coat."

He chuckled a bit. "Always so clever. But you have to start trusting me too, Alex. Start telling me when things are wrong. Not with others, but with yourself."

I stayed silent, knowing that this was a future Eleventh Doctor, and wondering what happened between us that always made him so… _knowledgeable_ about me. To the point that he could figure me out so easily. His hand brushed the side of my head and I winced when he touched the small injury on my forehead from when I first landed here.

"And try to take better care of yourself. Stop jumping into dangerous situations, eh? You're going to make me feel old."

"Worrywart." I grumbled, but feeling glad when he chuckled again, before his hand fell away and I heard Amy calling after him.

"Doctor? Remember what? What did you mean? Doctor?!"

I felt her shift next to me, but I grabbed her wrist, pulling her back down beside me. "Sorry, Amy. But you're going to have to trust me on this. I really need you to stay here."

"Why? So I can die with you?" She chuckled bitterly and I sighed.

"Oh, Amy. Amelia Pond. Talk with me. How's Rory?"

"How do you know about Rory?" She asked and I turned to her, raising a brow.

"Really? You'll accept that I know the future, but one mention on your soon-to-be-husband and it's suddenly impossible?"

"Well, put yourself in my position." She countered, though I felt her stiffen, letting me know that the Angels were getting closer. "Foreknowledge is one thing, but past knowledge? Knowledge about people you've never met? And trust me. I'd know if you met Rory."

"Ah, and there's the feisty Amy I know." I smiled, though my head started to feel heavy again. "And I'm glad you picked Rory, so don't be too mean to him. He's the kind of guy every woman should want to have."

"Really?" She questioned me in disbelief, before snorting. "I can see why you and the Doctor are a thing."

"We're not." I said back.

"Sure you're not. So why'd he try to kiss you then?"

I stiffened, blushing a bit. "I-I don't know! I keep asking him, but he always says it's spoilers."

"Ooh, so he's done it more than once. That's good to know… Is he any good?"

"Amy! You're getting married!"

"Just curious." She countered, though I could tell she was nervous as my head drooped.

"Amy?"

"Hm?"

"How're the Angels doing?"

There was a paused as she spoke. "They're closer."

"Mn. Think you could do something for me?"

"Dunno. Do I have to?"

"Yeah, 'cause I'm starting to feel tired. Think you could—"

"Oh, no problem."

She slapped me hard across the face and I clutched at my cheek with a groan.

"_Ow._"

"You awake?"

"Yeah! Kind of hard not to. _God_ you've got a good slap."

"Uh-oh." Amy muttered and I frowned.

"Uh-oh, what?"

"Well, uh, the lights are flickering."

I sighed. "It's the Angels. They're tearing wires out of the trees. Don't worry though. Just keep watching them."

"How can you be so calm about this?" She hissed at me and I held up a hand, knowing that she could see it shaking just as I could feel it.

"I'm not, actually. I'm just very good at hiding it. Comes with sibling responsibility."

"You… have siblings?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Six of 'em."

"Holy… _Six?_ What, your parents just couldn't get enough of each other or something?"

I chuckled, knowing that us talking was only to keep from panicking over the approaching Angels. "Or something."

"So which one are you?"

"Oldest. Like I said, responsibility. Gotta be strong because otherwise, nobody is."

"That's… What, um, what do you do when it gets… you know, overwhelming?"

"I went to the gym and did kickboxing twice a week, but mostly I just… suffered."

"Oh… Wha—" Amy cut herself off and I frowned.

"Amy? What's going on? I hope you're watching the Angels."

"No. They're gone." She muttered and I felt her stand up, quickly grabbing her wrist and stopping her as I realized what happened.

"Amy, don't go near it."

"But it's the same shape. It's the crack in my wall."

"Amy, listen—"

"It's following me. How can it be following me?"

"Amy!" I shouted, pulling her towards me. "Now listen. I want you to just shut up and listen for a moment, okay?! It's not following _you_. Got it? It never was. The crack is from an explosion. An explosion so big that it put cracks in the universe. All _over_ the universe. Not just where you go, but everywhere there are cracks in time because time is being undone."

"H-How do you know?"

I groaned. "_God,_ Amy. I know a lot of things, okay? Now you have to understand something though. The reason the Doctor took the clerics with him is because they would've died here. They would've gone closer to look at the crack and everything about them would've been forgotten. Their time streams would've been erased. So you can't go near it, because it will happen to you too. Even the Angels are running from it. So we need to go too."

"But—"

"Amy, please. _Please_ don't argue. I promise you, the Doctor will figure it out, but right now, we need to move."

Just then, I heard a crackle and paused. "What's that?"

"Ah! A communicator. I completely forgot about it. One of the clerics gave it to me just in case."

"Yeah, that's good and all, but why's it going off?" I asked, before hearing it clearer; assuming that Amy took it out of her pocket.

"Amy? Amy, Alex, are you both there?"

"Doctor?" Amy responded and I sighed, standing up and still holding onto her wrist.

"Amy, Alex, I'm sorry. I've made a mistake. I should've never have left you both there."

I reached for the communicator and Amy handed it to me. "Oi, don't you go blaming yourself, Spaceman. I told you to leave us. Now, you want us to come to you, right?"

"Yes. Turn on the spot."

"What?" Amy questioned, but I nodded and did so, turning her with me as the Doctor continued.

"When the communicator sounds like my screwdriver, that means you're facing the right way. Follow the sound. You both have to start moving _now_. There's Time Energy spilling out of that crack and you have to stay ahead of it."

Amy took the communicator from me. "But the Angels! What about the Angels?"

"I'm sorry, I really am, but the Angels can only kill you." He replied, but Amy kept asking questions.

"What does the Time Energy do?"

"Just keep moving!" He shouted as Amy started pulling me along.

"Tell me." She demanded.

"If the Time Energy catches up with you, you'll have never been born. It will erase every moment of your existence. You will never have lived at all. Now…" He calmed himself down a bit. "Alex, keep your eyes shut and Amy, keep her awake. And both of you keep moving."

I snatched the communicator from Amy and spoke to him, knowing that he was not in a good mood.

"Doctor. Two things. Where are the clerics and the bishop?"

There was a pause and I sighed. "Alright. I understand, but now it's your turn to listen to me, yeah? I know you're scared and you're angry and you want us to stay safe. And I _promise_ you, we will. Okay? An Alexander Holmes promise. From me to you. So… don't get too upset. Calm down, think, and stay safe. And River? I know you're listening too and I know I don't know you as well as you probably hoped and that you're afraid too. You're afraid about what Octavian knows and I get that, but… you need to think too, because you have a big part to play. So prove it to him. Prove it to the Doctor that he can trust you as much as I do."

There was silence from the communicator, before the Doctor finally spoke in a soft sigh. "Thank you."

I rolled my eyes, keeping them shut. "Well, you know how you get, Mr. Grumpy."

There was the briefest of chuckles from Amy and I handed her back the communicator as we started walking again. It was hard and I was making our progress slow, but we were doing pretty good, up until the Doctor spoke up again.

"Amy, listen. I'm going to need you to do something for me and for Alex."

"What?"

"You're going to have to make sure she walks like she can see. You need to maneuver her along carefully because there are Angels in the forest."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, just… Keep moving."

We did and I paused again, taking the communicator.

"Doctor, watch your blood pressure." I said over it, earning a groan in response.

"God, I hate it when you do that." He complained.

"And I don't like it when you yell at people. So we're even."

I handed it back to her and we started moving once more, until Amy gasped.

"The Angels…"

"Alright. Don't panic." I told her, but her grip on my hand was tightening.

"_Panic_? How am I supposed to _not_ panic? We're surrounded by Angels!" She hissed and the Doctor spoke back up.

"Amy, listen to me. This is going to be hard, but I _know_ you can do it. The Angels are scared and running. And right now, they're not interested in you or Alex. They'll assume you can see them and their instincts will kick in. All you've got to do is led Alex and walk like you can both see."

We didn't move and I nudged her.

"Amy, it's okay. Promise."

"You're not moving." The Doctor responded. "You _have _to do this. Now. You have to do this!"

I sighed, taking the communicator again and scolding him. "Temper. You're freaking her out."

"Well she should be—"

I cut him off. "Ah! One more ecstatic word out of you, and I'm tossing the communicator."

"Alex—"

"Shush." I scolded, hanging onto the communicator and squeezing Amy's hand in reassurance. "Come on, Amy. You can do it. You want to prove it to him, yeah? That you're better than River? Then do it by getting us through this."

"O-Okay." She muttered, starting to tug me forward. "Turn a little to the left… Okay, now walk diagonally… Now forwards… There's a stick in the ground, just walk over—Ah!"

I tripped, accidentally taking her down with me and dropping the communicator.

"Sorry! You need to talk faster and walk slower and _please_ tell me you're watching the Angels."

"How can I when you're on top of me?!"

"Not good."

I heard stone moving and stood up, turning around and holding a hand out behind me.

"Amy, please tell me you've gotten up or are looking at the Angels."

There was no response and I swallowed thickly.

"Amy?"

I felt myself shaking then, still hearing stone moving and just as I took a step back, I was suddenly in someone's arms.

"Don't open your eyes. You're on the Flight Deck." River's voice said and I let out a long stuttering breath.

"Thank God. _Oh_, thank God." I muttered, feeling my legs start to give out as River helped me to a seated position.

"And thank you, sweetie." She whispered, quietly. "Thank you for keeping us all calm."

"My pleasure, t-though I wish I could calm myself down a bit. I'm guessing you took Amy first."

"Yes. Sorry. It only allows one at a time."

"No. No problem. Not at all." I said, though my heart was still racing. "Dumb question, I'm sure, but… Can I get a hug?"

"Of course, sweetie." She hugged me and I clung to her tightly, still shaking, before an alarm went off.

"What's that?"

"The Angels are draining the last of the ship's power, which _means…_ the shield's going to release."

"And that's bad, yeah?" Amy asked, but no one really had to answer as the wall lifted up to reveal the Angels; something I was only guessing, since I was still incapacitated.

"Angel Bob, I presume."

"The time field is coming." Angel Bob's voice rang out. "It will destroy our reality."

"Yeah, and look at you all, running away. What can I do for you?"

"There is a rupture in time. The Angels calculate that if you throw yourself into it, it will close, and they will be saved."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Could do. Could do that. But why?" The Doctor asked.

"Your friends will also be saved."

"Well, there is that."

River suddenly let me go and I sighed.

"Don't bother, River. It wouldn't work if you did it. The Angels are a more complicated time event that you and the Doctor's more complicated than all of them."

Angel Bob spoke up again. "You could always throw yourself in, ma'am. You're almost as complicated as the Doctor, Alexander the Seer."

"Yeah, I could, I suppose. But there's just one thing you Angels don't understand."

"And what is that, ma'am?"

I smirked. "I trust the Doctor and I know when to get a grip."

"Good catch, Alex." I heard the Doctor say. "Amy, River. You two need to get a grip too."

"What?"

"Give me your hands." I ordered, rolling my eyes, and groping around for Amy and River's hands before they both handed me one and I pressed them to the railing of the console behind us.

"Get a _grip_ guys. Literally, not figuratively. And hang on." I told them, grabbing the railing on another part of the console myself.

"Oh, you geniuses." River complimented, but Angel Bob didn't get it.

"Sir, ma'am, the Angels need you to sacrifice yourselves now."

The Doctor explained. "Thing is, Bob, the Angels are draining all the power from this ship. Every last bit of it. And you know what? I think they've forgotten where they're standing. _I_ think they've forgotten the gravity of the situation. Or to put it another way, Angels—"

There was an alarm going off now, but we were ready.

"—Night, night."

The gravity went off and we all clung to the railing desperately as our feet left the floor and the ship turned, undoubtedly causing the Angels to all fall into the crack and close it shut behind us. There was the sound of the sonic and gravity restored itself, all of us falling back to the floor as I sighed and opened my eyes, rubbing my head with a free hand.

"Man, that's better."

"Alex! Close your eyes!" Amy shouted, but I waved her off.

"No need. No more Angels. Including the one in my head. I'm fine now." I brushed myself off and got up, stretching with a grunt. "Ooh, that's _soooo_ much better. No more headache either."

I was suddenly grabbed and spun around, clinging to whatever had a hold of me as I silently panicked at the thought of gravity having turned back off, before I was set back on my feet and look up to see a grinning Doctor.

"Oh, my Alexander!"

He shoved my face into his shoulder again and I held my arms out, not really knowing what to do.

"U-Um, hello. I'm guessing you were worried?"

"Extremely so." He responded and I sighed, dropping my hands and hugging him back; because I too had been worried, even if I _did_ know we'd be fine.

I heard snickering though and peeked around the Doctor with a frown at a smiling River and Amy.

"Oi. I don't want to hear nothing from you two. One of you was just as freaked out about this as I was and the other is jealous that they're not being hugged right now. I'll leave it to you two to figure out who is who."

I felt an aching in my shoulder then and grimaced, pulling away from the worried Doctor as I grabbed my shoulder with a hiss of pain.

"Does it ever stop hurting?" I asked him. "I could do with a bit less of that."

He shook his head, sadly. "Not that I know of. I'll miss you though, Alex."

I rolled my eyes. "You'll probably see me soon and if you're lucky, it'll be a me who doesn't care about the whole…" I waved my hand around. "Touchy-feely bit."

He chuckled and I smiled, peering around him to the other two. "See you again soon, Amy. Perhaps on better terms next time. And you too River. Maybe next time the two of us can go somewhere fun and tease the Doctor."

"Oi." He complained as River laughed with me.

"Oh, we already do, sweetie. Goodbye."

I pointed a finger at her. "Never goodbye, River."

She nodded with a smile. "See you later, Alex."

I grinned, liking that response better and then popped off, glad that everyone was happy, but still upset that my attempt at saving the clerics and Octavian was for naught.

* * *

**_Sneak Peak:_**

_I bounded up the stairs, hardly winded after running so much with the Doctor, but I knew it wouldn't last when the alarm went off; the voice of a cat coming over the intercom._

"Attention patients, visitors, and staff. There has been a breach in security. Stay calm and on the lookout for a young human male, with short red hair, wearing a long coat, denim trousers, and a white t-shirt. Alert the staff immediately if he is spotted."

_"Great. I'm on the wanted list. "_


	10. New Earth

**Ah-ha! hello again, guys and girls ^^ i had a wonderfully pain in the butt weekend due to the internet, tv, and phone lines all going down at once until this afternoon. otherwise i might've updated this sooner. sorry. and thanks a ton to those who reviewed recently on this! i love the feedback from you guys. :) anyway, here's the next chapter. hope you like it, and please review!**

**Chai Tea: thanks so much for your compliments on how i changed the Time of Angel's chapter. i wanted it to be different, so i'm glad.**

**Tyantha: Thanks for reviewing and i'm super happy that you like how i'm easing Alex into this whole thing. as for how the story first started out with the metal pieces, i can't tell you much about that. spoilers and all, but it will all be explained sooner or later :) as for how alex appears, bits and pieces will be brought up as far as how her hair is styled and her eye color etc. sorry i didn't get into her appearance much. i actually dislike it when people go on describing a lot of details and i totally understand if i put too little in here. i might have gotten a little carried away...**

* * *

I sat up with a groan, closing my eyes as I rolled my shoulders, cracking my neck as I stood up and opened my eyes. Immediately, my face dropped and I paled. The green pods were all over the place and a heavy weight settled in my stomach.

"Oh dear. This is one of the _worst_ places I could be."

I heard a door open and went to find a place to hide, but it was either get caught or hide in a pod and I'd rather not be in a pod should the door close and I be stuck in it. Especially since I knew where I was and it was no where good. _New New York underneath that crazy cat hospital with the human farm and with a Tenth Doctor _right_ after Rose and Bad Wolf._

"O-Oh, he's going to hate me." I muttered, deciding that I'd have to make a bolt for it.

Luckily, I had surprise on my side and the moment that two cats came downstairs, I ran right at them.

"Hello! Wrong floor! Bye!"

Their eyes widened and I pushed past them, but they had their claws out and scratched at me from behind. I cringed, feeling the claws rake my back through my coat and shirt, but I was still running, so I had a plus there. I bounded up the stairs, hardly winded after running so much with the Doctor, but I knew it wouldn't last when the alarm went off; the voice of a cat coming over the intercom.

"_Attention patients, visitors, and staff. There has been a breach in security. Stay calm and on the lookout for a young human male, with short red hair, wearing a long coat, denim trousers, and a white t-shirt. Alert the staff immediately if he is spotted._"

"Great. I'm on the wanted list. " I grumbled, pounding the button for the lift as I heard the two cats approaching. "Come on, come on, come on. Bingo!"

The lift opened and I dived in, shutting the doors quickly as I pulled out my black book and quickly skimmed the pages until I had what I wanted. _Ward 26, but if I just pop up there with a warning out for me, then we're going to have some issues. Think. Disguise. Where does someone get a disguise in a hospital?_

"Staff locker room!"

The lift went up and I fidgeted, making sure the book was tucked safely away deep in my pocket as disinfectant started being sprayed on me. I let it, not enjoying it as much as the Tenth would have—having to ignore the stinging of my back—but letting it do as it pleased before I was clean and the doors opened.

I quickly grimaced. "Me and my smart ideas."

Running into the room _full_ of cat nurses, I did my best to dash past them to another lift, hitting the button and running in a loop to grab clothing as inconspicuously as possible before reaching it once it landed. Needless to say, it wasn't only my back that was bleeding now, but also left side of my jaw running down to my neck and collarbone.

"Ward 26." I said quietly to not give the cat nurses yelling outside a chance to know where I was headed.

The disinfectant stung again, but I ignored it the best I could as I looked over what I grabbed and stuck my tongue out in distaste.

"There's no way this'll fit me, let alone be something I enjoy." I grumbled, tearing the nun outfit for make-shift bandages for my neck, before tossing it aside and deciding to take my own risks, digging into my pockets for something handy. "There's got to be something in here I can use."

My future self seemed to sometimes leave things behind in the coat pockets which made it handy for me later, but what I pulled out though was not what I expected and I deadpanned at the object.

"Right, so _now_ the Tardis gets back at me? I was looking for a weapon or disguise or a hat or something! Not a freakin' Groucho glasses!" I complained, waving the glasses with a fake nose and mustache attached in the air in frustration; knowing that it was the Tardis who left this in my pocket and not the future me.

I didn't have much of a choice though as the lift stopped and I begrudgingly put them on, taking my coat off and draping it over my arm as I walked in, hoping that with the lame disguise and no coat actually on would throw people off long enough to nab the Doctor and at least get him somewhat clued in to what was going on here. _That, and I think that if I'm going to be a wanted person here, he should join me._

Walking out, I was glad that I wasn't immediately attacked as I searched around the room for the Doctor. I spotted the Face of Boe off in the back of the room, but knew now wasn't the time to say hi to the old Jack Harkness since I was already getting a couple of stares from cat nurses. Finally, I spotted the Doctor heading towards the cubicles closer to the lift where I was and I managed to grab him and pull him around the corner quickly.

"Oi! What—"

I covered his mouth with my hand, cautiously looking over at the nearest visible patient who was thankfully ignoring us as the large man sipped at some wine. I let out a sigh of relief and looked up at the now glaring Tenth Doctor, rolling my eyes.

"Look. I know you don't like me and are pissed because I did nothing during the whole Bad Wolf incident, but now is not the time. Okay?" I snapped at him, looking around cautiously again as he pulled my hand off this mouth in a tight grip.

"What the hell are you doing here and where's Rose? What have you done with her?"

"I _just_ showed up here maybe five minutes ago and at the moment, I'm sort of wanted in this hospital because I saw something I shouldn't have. Now, I haven't seen Rose, but she should be here soon, if my timing is right, and…" I turned to him. "When she shows up, you have to understand that I didn't do anything and I can't tell you what to do about it."

He immediately snarled and grabbed the front of my shirt, making me stiffen, but I put on a brave front; more annoyed about his attitude than anything right now.

"If she is in danger, I swear I will hold you personally responsible fifty times over."

"Fine." I snapped. "If she's hurt in anyway after all of this, you can feed me to a werewolf or chuck me out into the Time Vortex or something, Spaceman. But right now, there's more important things to worry about."

"Nothing is more important than Rose being safe." He growled, shoving me away from him. "Now take off those stupid glasses."

I rolled my eyes, but took them off, replacing my coat and moving out of view of the patients and cat nurses just as Cassandra—masquerading as Rose—popped up around the corner, catching the Doctor's eye.

"There you are. Come and look at this patient." He said, leading her over to a hovering man whose skin was a vibrant red. "Marconi's Disease. Should take years to recover. _Two_ days. I've never seen anything like it. They've invented a cell washing cascade. It's amazing. Their medical science is _way_ advanced. And this one…" He brought her over to a white skinned man. "Pallidome Pancrosis. Kills you in ten minutes and he's fine. I need to find a terminal. I've got to see how they do this." He said, bringing her back over to where I was waiting; keeping myself from being spotted. "Because if they've got the best medicine in the world, then why is it such a secret?"

"I can't Adam and Eve it." Cassandra said in a bad accent, making me roll my eyes. "Who's this?"

The Doctor glared at me—knowing something was up, no doubt—before giving Cassandra a look. "What's with the voice?"

"Oh, I don't know. Just larking about New Earth." She took a deep breath, putting her hands on her hips and looking him up and down hungrily. "New me."

"Well, I can talk. New New Doctor." He chuckled, but she just hummed, my stomach flopping in what I assumed was nervousness.

"Mm, aren't you just—"

She launched herself up at him, making out with him and I grimaced, turning away and rubbing my neck until pain traveled up my spine, reminding me of the wound I had there. _This scene always made me uncomfortable, though I don't know why it's bugging me this badly. Maybe because it's actually real to me now?_

"T-T-Terminal's this way." Cassandra said, catching her breath and walking over towards me, eyeing me with a small smirk. "Ooh, you're not so bad looking yourself."

I raised a brow, about to correct her, but she looped her arm around mine and started walking with me; I myself feeling the Doctor's heated glare focused on the back of my head.

"What's your name again?" She asked. "My mind's not quite working right now."

"Alex. A-Alexander Holmes." I said, mentally smacking myself for giving her my full name which sounded like a guy's anyway. "Though, uh, you might want to watch what you say around the Doctor. He's getting suspicious, Cassandra."

She looked at me in surprise and I gave a nervous grin, fidgeting because her grip tightened around my arm.

"How do you know who I am?" She whispered, eyeing me.

"Right, sorry. I pop in here and there in the Doctor's time-line. He kind of hates me at the moment, but Rose and I get along. But I, uh, kind of know future things. Past things. Stuff like that. I won't blow your cover though, if that's what you're worried about. Things will work out, so I won't get involved."

We approached the computer terminal and the Doctor looked it over.

"Nope. Nothing odd. Surgery, post-op, nano-dentistry. No sign of a shop. They should have a shop." He whined, before Cassandra pulled me over to it with her.

"No, it's missing something else. When I was downstairs, those Nurse Cat Nuns were talking about Intensive Care. Where is it?"

"You're right. Well done."

"Why would they hide a whole department?… It's got to be there somewhere—"

"Actually…" I spoke up, making them turn to me; Cassandra curiously, but the Doctor angrily. "I know why it's hidden, but it's… hard to explain."

"Get started." The Doctor growled, making me frown over at him.

"Well, Mr. Grumpy, I figured it'd be better if you saw for yourself and perhaps we could do something about it then. But if you just want me to tell you about it, then I guess I could take all the fun out of it. Fine with me."

"No." He snapped, turning back to the terminal. "Shut up. I'll figure it out."

I nudged Cassandra and smirked, knowing that I had just turned the tables on him and she chuckled back before giving him a suggestion.

"Search the sub-frame."

"What if the sub-frame's locked?" He asked back, testing her.

"Try the installation protocol."

"Yeah. Of course." He said, pointing his sonic at the screen. "Sorry. Hold on."

After a moment, the wall lifted up to reveal another hallway and I cringed, looking behind me to see a cat nurse talking to another and pointing in my direction.

"Intensive Care. Certainly looks intensive." The Doctor said and I grabbed him and hurriedly pulled Cassandra and him along.

"Yeah, how about we get in before the crazy nurses start coming after us. They seemed to have realized that I'm their security breach."

The door closed behind us as we headed down the hall and Cassandra gaped at me in shock.

"That alarm was for _you_?"

I nodded, eyes scanning the corridor for the area I had come out of when I popped up here. "Yeah. Like I said to the Doctor, I saw something I shouldn't have and that was because I popped up in the ICU. Had to rush past them and then took the lift to get a disguise once my appearance had been let out, but _apparently_ every cat nurse in the world decided to get changed in that moment and the trip to the locker room was like walking into a cheese shredder."

She picked at my coat and the make-shift bandaged around my neck. "That explains your tattered clothes, though I must say they work for you."

"U-Um, thanks? But I'm—"

The Doctor cut me off. "Why didn't you just tell me you were already down here?"

I sent him a look. "Uh, because I was being chased by rather angry cat nurses with sharp claws and was trying not to draw attention to myself? And why do you think I came to find you? Believe me. I would've just steered clear of you if I had a choice, but I figured you'd want to know what was going on down here and…" I trialed off as we reached a grated set of stairs. "And I'd rather they not have to suffer any more."

He eyed me as I waved for Cassandra to go first and then he pushed past me before I could follow, making me roll my eyes at his childishness. _He's starting to make me wonder what I was so afraid of before. Oncoming Storm, sure. I'm afraid of that, but this is just him being cranky that I know more than he does._ My lip twitched up in amusement, but that quickly stopped as we approached a pod and he sonicked it open.

"That's disgusting." Cassandra muttered, a hand over her mouth as I looked in on the man covered in boils with a sorrowful expression. "What's wrong with him?"

"I'm sorry." The Doctor said, shaking his head. "I'm so sorry."

He closed the door and sonicked open another with a woman in it, much in the same shape as the man.

"I'm sorry." I muttered, wishing I could help them, but I knew there was nothing _I_ could do.

Only the Doctor was capable of helping them.

"What disease is that?" Cassandra asked.

"All of them. Every single disease in the galaxy, they've been infected with everything."

"What about us? Are we safe?"

I nodded, feeling her grab my arm again. "Yeah. The air's clean, but one touch and you have every disease they have."

The Doctor closed the door and went to lean on the railing, overlooking all of the pods in the room as Cassandra and I did the same.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He snarled and I flinched.

"I did. I went looking for you the moment I got here."

He turned to me angrily. "You could've done something."

I scoffed, pulling my arm away from Cassandra and leaning it on the railing as I ran my hand through my hair. "Do what, exactly? In the show, you're the one who saves them."

"Then _change_ the show! Because this isn't a show, Alex, this is real!"

I could feel my patience slipping, but I stayed as calm as I could. "You think I don't know that? I'm not stupid."

"Apparently you are!" He yelled at me. "You have to be, if you can't even deviate from a _show_."

"Oh, you just don't get it, do you?" I snarled, glaring at him angrily and feeling proud that he stiffened. "I don't deviate from the show because one event leads to another. I change time here and people will never be born. People will die. _People_ will never exist." I stood upright, moving towards him and stopping just in front of him. "And I'm the one stuck making that decision. I'm the one stuck between choosing to save my friends' lives or letting the universe burn. And I could just walk away. Just like you want. I could just pop up somewhere and decide that I'm not going to help and I'm not going to cause problems, but I don't."

"You should." He replied, still glaring, but I could see he was eyeing me like he was trying to figure something out; much like the Eleventh did. "You should just go and leave Rose and I alone."

"And people will die." I answered back. "I can't save everyone, just as you can't, but there are those I can save and that's why I stay. I stay to save that one person, that one creature that I can. And I do it for _you_." I said, poking him in the chest, before turning back to the railing and leaning on it again. "So yell at me all you want, Doctor, because I'm here to save lives, not argue with a man who doesn't want to listen."

Things grew quiet between us for a while before Cassandra spoke up, turning the conversation in a different direction.

"How many patients are there?"

"They're not patients." I muttered.

"But they're sick."

The Doctor, still angry from our conversation, turned his anger at this problem; something I was grateful for.

"They were _born_ sick. They were _meant_ to be sick. They _exist_ to be sick. Lab rats. No wonder the Sisters have got a cure for everything. They've built the ultimate research laboratory. A human _farm_."

He turned and the two of us followed, Cassandra choosing not to hang off my arm for now.

"Why don't they just die?"

"Plague carriers. The last to go."

"It's for the greater cause."

I tensed at the new voice, eyeing Novice Hame with caution as the wound on my neck itched in remembrance.

"Novice Hame." The Doctor said, looking cross. "When you took your vows, did you agree to this?"

"The Sisterhood has sworn to help."

"What? By _killing_?!" The Doctor shouted.

"But they're not real people. They're specially grown. They have no proper existence." The cat tried to explain, but I wasn't having it.

"You've killed thousands!" I growled, angry by her naivety. "The moment they start feeling again, you _incinerate_ them!"

The Doctor was even more displeased with that. "What's the turnover, hm? Thousand a day? Thousand the next? Thousand the next? How many thousands? For how many years? _How many_?!"

"Mankind needed us. They came to this planet with so many illnesses. We couldn't cope. We did _try_. We tried everything. We tried using clone-meat and bio-cattle, but the results were too slow, so the Sisterhood grew its own flesh. That's all they are. Flesh."

"These people are alive."

"But think of those humans, out _there_. Healthy and happy because of _us_."

"And what about the people in here?!" I shouted, absolutely ticked. "Don't they deserve to be happy too?!"

The Doctor agreed, though reluctantly. "If they live because of this, then life is worthless."

"But who are you to decide that?"

"I'm the Doctor. And if you don't like it, if you want to take it to a higher authority, then there isn't one. It stops with me."

He was face-to-face with Novice Hame now, but before we could get any further with our argument, Cassandra stepped up, raising a hand.

"Just to confirm, none of the humans in this city actually _know_ about this."

"We thought it best not." Novice Hame said with a slight bow.

"Hold on." The Doctor said. "I can understand the bodies. I can understand your vows. One thing I can't understand, that _Alex _won't tell me about, what have you done to Rose?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose with a sigh, ignoring the bit of anger he sent at me. "It wasn't the cats."

Novice Hame agreed with me. "We haven't done anything."

Cassandra spoke up though, hugging my arm innocently. "I'm perfectly fine."

"These people are dying and _Rose_ would care." The Doctor said, before Cassandra sighed.

"Oh, alright, clever clogs. Smarty pants. Lady-killer." Cassandra said, letting my arm go to pull out the Doctor's tie.

"What's happened to you?"

"I knew something was going on in this hospital, but I needed this body and your mind to find it out."

"Who are you?"

"The last human." She said in his ear.

"Cassandra?"

"Wake up and smell the perfume." She then sprayed something up his nose and he collapsed, I myself just barely managing to catch him and groaning under his weight.

"God, Doctor, you need to loose some pounds." I muttered, setting him down as Novice Hame rushed to his side in shock.

"Y-You've hurt him! I don't understand. I-I'll have to fetch Matron."

"You do that, because I want to see her." Cassandra said, barking orders at the cat nurse. "Now run along! Sound the alarm!"

The cat took off and Cassandra yanked on a set of tubes, setting off an alarm, before heading towards the Doctor and I.

"Uh… I'm guessing that you're not going to just let me go." I said, backing up into the door of a pod behind me as she stalked closer.

"Oh, I don't know, _Alexander_." She said huskily, making me swallow and try to back up further as she adjusted my coat collar. "You've been _such_ a great help, but I can't have you interfering."

_God, I sometimes hate looking like a guy._ "Who, uh, who says I would interfere?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not thick, Alex. You two may have been arguing, but I still heard that bit you said about suffering for him. That just _proves_ you would stop me if I were to say, throw him in a disease pod. Chip?"

I noticed Chip behind her putting the Doctor in an open pod, before glancing back at her and she moved even closer.

"Y-You got me there." I said, chuckling nervously.

"Yes, well, it's a shame. Like I said before, you are _quite _the catch."

"Yeah, about that. You see I'm actually—"

I was cut off as she shoved her lips hungrily to mine and my eyes widened, before she used my coat lapels to push me towards the open pod and shoving me in on top of the Doctor.

"Sorry~" She sang, spraying me in the face with the same perfume she hit the Doctor with, closing the door as I slumped over and everything turned black.

* * *

I was woken up by a patting on my face and opened my eyes to see Rose giving me a look before turning to the Doctor.

"He's awake."

"Good. Less weight to carry." The Doctor replied and I realized that it wasn't Rose who had waken me, but Cassandra.

"Says you." I grumbled, getting up and holding my neck with a wince. "You weren't exactly a light weight to carry. You're welcome by the way. I saved you from a really nasty headache."

He scoffed as Cassandra slammed a door shut and rushed back over to us.

"We're trapped! What are we going to do?!"

"Well, for starters, you're going to leave that body." The Doctor replied, pointing to some machine in the archway. "That psychograft is banned on every civilized planet. You're compressing Rose to death."

"But I've got nowhere to go. My original skin's _dead_." Cassandra said, rounding on the Doctor.

"Not my problem. You can float as atoms in the air. Now, _get_ _out_." He demanded, pointing the sonic screwdriver at her. "Give her back to me."

"You asked for it."

She took a deep breath in and then exhaled a cloud that hit the Doctor.

"I'm in my head." Rose said, holding her head. "Where'd she go?"

"Hm~"

I looked over at the Doctor and felt myself stifle a chuckle, knowing what had happened and finding it hilarious. _Oh my God, I love this part._

"Oh my, this is… different."

"Cassandra?"

"Goodness me, I'm a _man_! Yum, so many parts. And hardly used. Oh, oh, two hearts! Oh, baby, I'm beating out a samba!" Cassandra said, moving in a dancing motion in the Doctor's body, but Rose didn't find it amusing.

"Get out of him."

"Oh, he's slim and a little bit foxy." Cassandra turned to Rose with a teasing smirk. "You've thought so too. I've been inside your head. You've been looking. You like it."

I couldn't help it then and just burst out laughing, holding my stomach as Rose glared at me, face flushed in embarrassment.

"Alex!"

"S-S-Sorry! It's just… Heheheh… He's always so serious and… she just made him look like an idiot!" I blurt out between laughs, Rose rolling her eyes with a small smile.

Just then, the door burst open and the diseased people started coming in, causing me to stop laughing and Cassandra to freak, smacking Rose on the arm in her panic.

"What do we do? What would _he_ do? The Doctor, what the hell would he do?!"

Rose spotted a ladder and pointed it out. "Ladder. We've got to get up."

Cassandra quickly shoved her aside. "Out of the way, blondie!"

Cassandra then began climbing the ladder and Rose went next, myself following. Rose though, still wasn't pleased about Cassandra being in the Doctor's body and called up to her.

"If you get out of the Doctor's body, he can think of something."

"Yap, yap, yap. _God_, it was tedious inside your head. Hormone city."

"We're going to die if—"

"Ah!" I called out, one of the cat nurses having somehow managed to climb up the ladder after us and grab my ankle.

"All our good work, all that healing! The good name of the Sisterhood. You have destroyed everything!" She called up to us as I struggled to kick her off me and keep a hold of the ladder.

"Go and play with a ball of string." Cassandra said with a roll of her eyes.

"Everywhere, disease. This is the human world. Sickness!"

Just then, a diseased person grabbed her ankle and she fell down the shaft screaming as said sick person worked their way up the ladder.

"Move!" I shouted, making Cassandra let out a yelp and scurry up the ladder.

We stopped at a door on our left, but Cassandra wasn't doing the best of jobs trying to get it opened and the diseased people were getting closer.

"Now what do we do?"

"Use the sonic screwdriver." Rose told her.

Cassandra pulled said object out of her pocket, looking at it in slight disgust. "You mean this thing?"

"Yes, I mean that thing."

"Well, I don't know how. That Doctor's hidden away all his thoughts." She said, making Rose angry.

"Cassandra, go back into me. The Doctor can open it. Do it!"

"Hold on tight."

They switched again and Cassandra groaned. "Oh, chavtastic again. Open it!"

"Not till you get out of her."

"We need the Doctor."

"I order you to leave her!"

The switched once more and I rolled my eyes as they started arguing once more.

"No matter _how_ difficult the situation, there is no need to shout."

"Cassandra, get _out_ of him!"

"But I can't go into you, he simply refuses. He's so rude."

"I don't care. Just do something."

"Just go into me!" I shouted up at them, catching them by surprise.

"Well, alright." She complained, moving to transfer into me, but she somehow missed and ended up in one of the sick people below me.

"Oh, sweet Lord. I look disgusting!"

The Doctor opened the door, holding out a hand to Rose. "Nice to have you back."

He then glared at me, but offered me a hand as Cassandra below us growled in frustration.

"No, you don't."

Cassandra forced her way into me this time, just as the Doctor closed the doors.

* * *

"That was your _last_ warning, Cassandra!" The Doctor complained, though not sounding too bothered.

Cassandra though, was staring blankly ahead of her. "Inside her head… They're so alone. They keep reaching out, just to hold us… All their lives and they've never been touched."

The Doctor held out his hand and helped her up, saying nothing since he felt bad for the diseased people, but she kept going.

"A-And Alex, she… she's only been trying to help, but you just throw her aside. And she's so lonely and scared, but she hides it all just because she wants to prove she's useful to you."

Rose sent the Doctor a concerned look, knowing that Alex wasn't the best at telling her feelings and only wanted to help. But she also knew that there were things she wasn't telling the Doctor and that's why he was so untrusting towards her. She didn't have a chance to think about it more though before the pounding on the door got them focused on escaping and thankfully, they found an exit this time; leading them back to the Face of Boe's room where a woman charged at them angrily with a chair.

"We're safe, we're safe, we're safe!" The Doctor called out loudly in his defense. "We're clean, we're clean! Look, look!"

"Show me your skin." She demanded and the trio did so.

"Look, clean, look. If we'd been touched, we'd be dead."

She hesitantly lowered the chair and the Doctor quickly began trying to figure out the situation.

"So what's been going on up here? What's the status?"

"There's nothing but silence from the other wards. I think we're the only ones left. But I've been trying to override the quarantine. If I can trip a signal over to New New York, they can send a private executive squad." The woman said.

"You can't do that. If they forced entry, they'd break quarantine."

"I am _not_ dying in here."

"We can't let a single particle of disease get out. There is ten million people in that city. They'd all be at risk. Now, turn that off!" The Doctor shouted.

"Not if it gets me out."

"Alright, fine. So I have to stop you lot as well. Suits me. Rose, Novice Hame, everyone! Excuse me, your Grace." The Doctor said as he went behind the large man and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. "Get me intravenous solutions for every _single_ disease. Move it!"

Everyone began scrambling to do as he said, but he noticed Cassandra rubbing at her neck with a wince.

"Oh, what is it now?"

"I just realized… I kissed a girl!" Cassandra gasped out, making the Doctor snort before noticing the red peaking out from under her hand.

"Why are you holding your neck?"

Cassandra glared at him and pulled her hand away, showing him the white strip of cloth that had been bled through.

"She's hurt."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, grabbing some gauze from a nearby nurse's cart and removing the cloth to see three long scratches going down to her collarbone. He didn't know why, but there was a heavy feeling in his stomach at seeing the wounds on Alex and it must have shown on his face.

"She didn't say anything about it because she didn't want you to be bothered by her." Cassandra said, frowning at him. "Why are you so angry at her anyway?"

"Why don't you just ask her?" He grumbled, wrapping the bandages around her neck carefully.

"She's locked most of her thoughts away, but some things are still slipping through." Cassandra said, sighing. "It's not like she wants you to stop hating her or anything. She just wants you to understand what she's dealing with. She's lost _everything_, Doctor. And she just figured that you would be one of the few people who would understand that."

He went quiet, not commenting on that because he _did_ understand what that felt like and the guilty feeling in his stomach was growing. The only thing was, his mind kept reminding him of Bad Wolf and Alex just standing by to let it happen, and his feelings for Rose along with the frustration towards what happened clouded his judgment. So he changed the subject in order to not dwell on it.

"Anywhere else?"

She turned and gestured to Alex's back, where another set of scratches were, and he patched that up as well before returning to what he was doing. He grabbed a piece of metal from off a bed that he needed and a tube which he used as a rope to carry the packages of solution.

"How's that? Will that do?" He asked Rose.

"If I knew what these were for, I might say yes." She replied, a bit lost as to what he was doing.

He ignored her and hurried to the lift, opening it after telling Cassandra to stay where she was.

"Didn't you say the lifts weren't working?" Rose asked.

"Not moving. Different thing. Here we go." He put the sonic screwdriver in his mouth and took a running start towards the lift, grabbing a hold of the cable as Rose let out a tense breath of relief.

"Could you not do that? And what do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm going down." He said around the screwdriver, using it to attack a metal piece to the cable, before looking over at Rose. "Come on."

She rolled her eyes, before jumping on the Doctor's back. "You're completely mad!"

"Going down!" He called out, dropping them down the rope quickly, braking before they reached the stopped lift.

"That was fun." Rose said, slightly out of breath.

"Now, listen. When I say so, take a hold of that lever." The Doctor said.

"There's still a quarantine down there, we can't—"

"Hold that lever!" He said loudly, desperately. "I'm cooking up a cocktail. I know a bit about medicine myself."

He began tearing off the ends of the solution bags with his teeth, pouring the liquid into the tank above the lift, one after the other.

"Now, that lever's going to resist, but keep it in position." He told her, opening the hatch for the lift and climbing down. "Hold onto it with everything you've got."

"What about you?"

"I've got an appointment. The Doctor is in." He said, before jumping down into the lift.

He then opened the lift door with his screwdriver, catching the attention of the diseased people in the other room, calling out to them.

"I'm in here. Come on!"

"What are you _doing_?!"

"Pull that lever!" The Doctor told her and she did.

"Come and get me, come on! I'm in here, come on! Hurry in! Come on!" He shouted, just as the disinfectant solution he conjured up began spraying on him and the sick people walking towards him. "Come on, come on."

The sick began to get healthier and the Doctor smiled a bit, shouting at them.

"All they want to do is pass it on! Pass it on!"

He continued to shout that as the diseased people began passing on the cure to one another before Rose jumped down to join him in the lift.

"What did they pass on?"

He smiled, walking out with her. "I'm the Doctor and I cured them."

One of the ladies came over and hugged him, him returning the hug with a grin.

"Oh, that's right! Hey. There we go, sweetheart!" He then led her over to another and he started walking around, looking at some of the others. "It's a new subspecies, Rose! A brand new form of life! _New_ humans! Look at them, look! Grown by cats, kept in the dark, fed by tubes, but completely, _completely_, alive! The human race just keeps on going. Keeps on changing! Life will out! Ha!"

He grinned over at Rose and she grinned in return. It took them a moment before they could get back upstairs to the room where the surviving group had been. Announcements began being called out loudly as the police began showing up, but the Doctor was far more excited by something else.

"The Face of Boe!" He called out, him and Rose rushing through Ward 26 where the big face sat and Cassandra crossed her arms with a huff.

"About time you got here. The police were about to take me in for questioning!"

The Doctor ignored her and buttoned up his suit as he faced the large head.

"You were supposed to be dying."

_"There are better things to do today. Dying can wait."_

"Oh, I hate telepathy. Just what I need, a head full of big face." Cassandra commented.

"Sh!" The Doctor hushed.

_"I have grown tired with the universe, Doctor, but you have taught me to look at it anew."_

"There are legends, you know, saying that you're millions of years old." The Doctor said, getting closer and kneeling down in front of him.

_"There are? That would be impossible."_ The Face of Boe laughed.

"Wouldn't it just. I got the impression there was something you wanted to tell me."

_"A great secret."_

"So the legend says."

_"It can wait."_

"Oh, does it have to?" The Doctor whined.

_"We shall meet again, Doctor, for the third time, for the last time, and the truth shall be told."_ He then shifted his gaze to Cassandra and she stiffened. _"May I speak with the Seer?"_

Cassandra looked confused, before her face scrunched and she held her head, eventually lowering her hand and blinking in surprise.

"Woah. Did I really just switch places with Cassandra?"

The Face of Boe chuckled as even the Doctor and Rose looked at Alex in surprise.

_"You have a strong mental presence, Seer. It was why you and the Ood were very close."_

"That doesn't really explain it, but alright." She said, scratching the back of her head. "What'd you want to tell me?"

_"We will meet soon, for the first time."_

She raised a brow. "That's it?"

He blinked at her slowly. _'I will now speak only to you. The others will not be able to hear me, so speak in your mind only in response.'_

Alex nodded. _Alright._

'_We will become close friends, you and I. And I wish to let you know that I will listen to anything you have to say, for all of time.'_

_That's good to know._ Alex replied with a chuckle. _I always did like you in the series, Jack._

He smiled a bit, but spoke seriously. _'You will face many troubles with this version of the Doctor and I wish you luck, Alex. However, do not let your problems pile up inside you. You must let them out from time to time and when you must, it will not only be myself who will be there to help you. Trust the people you have here, and do not loose sight of who you are.'_

Alex nodded with a sad smile before gripping her head and groaning.

"How the hell did she do that?" Cassandra complained. "And talk about crowded, her head was like a mass of random information."

The Face of Boe spoke to them all again._ "Until that day, Doctor, Seer."_

He then phased out, traveling to some unknown destination and leaving and the Doctor a little upset.

"That is enigmatic. That—That is—That is textbook enigmatic." He said, before rounding on Cassandra.

"What did he tell Alex?"

She shrugged. "Dunno. She shut me out."

He rolled his eyes before standing and facing her. "And now for you."

She realized what he meant and started complaining. "But everything's happy. Everything's fine. Can't you just leave me? You don't like Alex anyway."

"You've lived long enough. Leave that body and end it, Cassandra." He said, knowing that he at least owed Alex that much after she got Cassandra out of Rose for so long.

Cassandra immediately began crying. "I don't want to die."

"No one does."

"Help me."

"I can't."

"Mistress!" Chip rounded the corner, looking pleased.

"Oh, you're alive!"

"I kept myself safe. For _you_ mistress." He smiled.

"A body… and not just that, a _volunteer_."

"Don't you dare!" The Doctor warned her. "He's got a life of his own."

"But I worship the mistress!" Chip argued. "I welcome her."

"You can't, Cassandra! You—"

Cassandra ignored him and transferred over to Chip, Alex dropping towards the floor; though Rose managed to help her out.

"You alright?"

She stood up, before her knees buckled again and Rose caught her once more.

"Whoa! You okay?"

"Been better. Just give me a minute to remember how my legs work." She chuckled, Rose having to help her to the floor.

"Oh sweet lord." Cassandra said, holding up her arms. "I'm a walking doodle."

"You can't stay in there." The Doctor said, getting back on the task at hand. "I'm sorry, Cassandra, but that's not fair. I can take you to the city. They can build you a skin tank and you can stand trial for what you've done."

"Well, that would be _rather_ dramatic. Possibly my finest hour, and certainly my finest hat, but I'm afraid we don't have time. Poor little Chip is only a half-life and he's been through so much. His heart is racing so. He's failing. I don't think he's going to last—" Cassandra suddenly started falling, the Doctor and Rose catching her and helping her to her knees.

"You aright?"

"I'm fine." She said, holding a hand to her chest. "I'm dying… But that's fine."

"I can take you to the city." The Doctor offered once more.

"No. You won't. Everything's new on this planet. There's no place for Chip and me anymore… You're right, Doctor. It's time to die… That's good."

The Doctor helped her up along with Rose. "Come on. There's one last thing I can do."

Rose helped him walk and the Doctor turned to Alex, speaking softly to keep the other two from hearing.

"Is there anything I can do?"

Alex shook her head. "No, but she'll be happy."

He felt frustrated that there was nothing he could do to save Cassandra, but knew that it wasn't Alex's fault this time around and, as she started to glow, he gave her a small nod of goodbye earning a surprised look before Alex beamed a grin a him; disappearing in a spark of light.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"Where did they come from?"_

_"From me." The Doctor said, glancing at Jenny and then the man beside her. "And Alex, it seems."_

_"From you and Alex?" Donna questioned. "How? Who are they?"_

_"Well, she's… Well, she's my daughter and he's Alex's son."_


	11. The Doctor's Daughter

**Here's the next chapter ^^ it's a bit early, but i'm sure you all don't mind. though apologies in advanced! you'll understand when you reach the end ;) and thanks a ton for the reviews! this one's a bit long and there's _quite_ a number of page breaks, but i hope you guys and girls enjoy it and please let me know what you think. :D**

* * *

I popped up in a very shaky Tardis, stumbling through the hallways and trying to find the console room. Once I did, I spotted the Tenth Doctor, Donna, _and_ Martha all clinging to the console and being tossed about; the same time I was thrown forward into the Doctor, who I clung onto like a life support.

"Bad time to be popping up I see!" I called out over the noise and he grinned, hugging me around the waist and making me wince as his arm pressed against the scratches on my back. "Watch the back, Spaceman!"

He moved his arm up a bit higher, but continued to grin. "Alex! Perfect timing! The Tardis controls are stuck!"

"Good to know!" I called out, grabbing onto the console before calling out to the other two. "Nice to see you both again, Martha! Donna!"

"You too!" They both called back, before Donna complained.

"What the hell is it doing?!"

"Like I said, the controls aren't working!" The Doctor replied, the console sparking as he was flung towards the jump-seat; his spare hand visible below him. "I don't know where we're going, but my old hand's very excited about it."

"I thought that was just some freaky alien thing. You're telling me it's yours?!" Donna said, sounding slightly disgusted.

"Well…"

"It got cut off. He grew a new one." Martha explained.

"You are completely impossible!"

"Not impossible. Just unlikely." He chirped back as I rolled my eyes.

"What are you talking about?! You got lucky!"

There was a loud spark and a bang, before everyone flew away from the console, myself and the Doctor landing somewhat safely in the jump-seat.

"So what have you been up to, Alex, that caused this?" He lightly touched my neck bandage and I sighed tiredly, pulling a hand through my hair.

"Let's see, since the Ood? I've been to a haunted house, the sewers of Manhattan, a friend's house, Satellite Five with the forehead doors—" I snapped my finger to emphasize. "—playing hide and seek with Weeping Angels, and I just came from a New New Earth hospital running from angry cat nurse nuns."

Donna and Martha headed over.

"Sewers?"

"Forehead doors?"

"Cats?" The Doctor questioned, reaching over and pulling the bandage from my neck as I winced and glared at him, smacking his leg as a rebuttal.

"Yeah, they didn't like me running into their locker room and that _hurts_ by the way."

Donna raised a brow as Martha went to get the medical salves the Doctor told her to get and he pushed me forward to look at the bandage on my back as well.

"Why were you in a _cat_ locker room?" Donna asked, curious and slightly weirded out.

"Because _these_—" I pulled out the Groucho glasses. "—don't exactly work as a disguise when security is on the look out for me."

The Tardis hummed a chuckle and I frowned up at her.

"It's not funny you crazy blue box!"

The Doctor chuckled. "It couldn't have been that bad, Alex."

I turned to him with a frown. "Couldn't have been that bad? I was forcibly kissed by a _girl_!"

"You kissed a girl? _Again_?!" Martha questioned, walking over and handed the Doctor the salves, that he quickly applied to my scratches.

"_She_ kissed _me._" I grumbled, before the Doctor told me to stand and remove my coat.

I did so and shivered as his cold hands touched the bare skin of my back as he lifted my shirt to put the salve on my other wound.

"Hey! There's no more wound!" Donna said in amazement, pointing at my neck and the Doctor grinned, wiping the extra salve from his fingers onto my shirt, to which I grimaced.

"Of course. They weren't that bad and were relatively clean, so the salve fixed them right up. Go grab a change of clothes, Alex, and then we'll go check out where we landed."

I grumbled, hoping I would've just been able to take a nap or something after running on no sleep for a good day and a half, when clothes fell over my head. I pulled them off and immediately scolded the Tardis.

"I can't even walk to the closet without you doing something?! Ugh!"

I heard the others laughing at my misfortune as I went to my room and changed into the grey tank top, black long-sleeved wide-collared shirt, and dark jeans the Tardis had dropped on me, grumbling under my breath before heading out to the console room.

"You ready?" The Doctor asked and I nodded, trying to get out of my tired slump and perk up a bit at wherever we were about to walk into.

We all headed out and looked around at the junky looking area, but I immediately didn't like it.

"Why would the Tardis bring us here, then?" The Doctor muttered as he went over to a nearby standing piece of metal and wiped his fingers over it, sniffing.

"Oh, I love this bit." Martha said quietly behind me with Donna.

"I thought you wanted to go home?"

"I know, but all the same. It's that feeling you get."

"Like you swallowed a hamster?"

"Doctor, I don't like this." I said, moving towards him. "This doesn't look like a junkyard. It looks like a make-shift military—"

"Don't move! Stay where you are! Drop your weapons!" Voices shouted and all of us raised our hands at the sight of the men pointing rifles at us.

"We're unarmed. Look, no weapons." The Doctor said, he and I flipping our hands around to show our lack of weapons. "Never any weapons. We're safe."

"You sound like you do this often." I grumbled quietly, earning a wink from him as one of the men spoke.

"Look at their hands. They're clean."

"Alright. Process them. Those two first."

A soldier grabbed the Doctor and another grabbed me, pulling us both towards two machines.

"Oi, _oi_!" The Doctor complained. "What's wrong with clean hands?"

"I think I know." I said back, nervousness clenching in my stomach as both our right arms were shoved into some device. "And I'm not going to like it!"

"What's going on?" Martha asked as Donna spoke and I braced myself.

"Leave them alone!"

"Something tells me this isn't about to check my blood pressure. Agh!"

"Ah!" I let out a yell as well, trying to pull my arm out to no success as something scratched and dug at the back of my hand.

"What are you doing to them?!" Donna asked as we both continued to yell out in pain.

"Everyone gets processed." A soldier said as the Doctor explained a bit.

"It's taking a tissue sample. You okay, Alex?!"

"Not really! Ow! God, that hurts!" I cried out, pressing my forehead to the machine and clenching my eyes shut against the pain.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow. And extrapolated it. Some kind of accelerator?"

Both our arms were released and I quickly pulled mine out of the machine, the Doctor grabbing my wrist and pulling me over to him as Martha checked out both our hands along with Donna.

"Are you two alright?"

I grimaced. "It looks better than it felt."

The Doctor though, was distracted by something else. "What on Earth… That's just—"

Two sets of glass doors opened and two people stepped out. One, I recognized as Jenny, the Doctor's daughter, but the other was a whole new person; I myself knowing that I hadn't been around in the show to have gotten a clone myself.

"That's different." I muttered, looking at the dark brown haired man who stepped out with bright blue eyes and a skinny but toned body.

"Arm yourselves." The head soldier told them, tossing them both a large gun as Martha started asking questions.

"Where did they come from?"

"From me." The Doctor said, glancing at Jenny and then the man beside her. "And Alex, it seems."

"From you and Alex?" Donna questioned. "How? Who are they?"

"Well, she's… Well, she's my daughter and he's Alex's son."

Jenny smiled over at him as the man did the same to me. "Hello dad."

"How's it going, mum?"

"This way." The head soldier commanded and we started following, but I stuck to the Doctor, eyeing my supposed son as he marched alongside Jenny.

"Um, just to let you know, this doesn't happen in the show. I mean, _she_ does but my, uh… _son_ doesn't. I-I'm guessing this has something to do with my presence mucking things up?"

"Well, not mucking up really. Just the universe's way of filling in the extra space? Hard to explain."

I furrowed my brows, Martha and Donna walking beside us and listening in. "But he's got brown hair. No one in my family had brown hair. It was either red or blonde or black. So where'd the brown come from?"

Martha and Donna let out short sniggers and I glanced at them in question, but Martha waved it off mouthing that she'd explain it later so I dropped it for now as we approached the military base. I reached for my pocket to pull out my black book with information on this episode, but winced when I realized I hadn't put on my coat before walking out of the Tardis and that I'd be on my own for this one. The Doctor must've noticed my slightly panicked expression and took my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze and for once, I didn't pull away; feeling like that's just where my hand belonged, in his.

"Did you say daughter?" Donna questioned. "And son?"

"Mm, technically." The Doctor hummed as Jenny and—my newly dubbed son—Lukas set themselves up to protect the military base.

"Technically how?" Martha asked and the Doctor quickly went off on a rant.

"Progenation. Reproduction from a single organism. Means one parents in biological mother and father. You take a sample of diploid cells, split them into haploids, then recombine them in a different arrangement and grow. Very quickly, apparently."

I rolled my eyes, spotting Donna and Martha's confused looks.

"Cloning, in a nut shell."

Donna nodded, understanding that, but the Doctor pouted at how I simplified it when it was much more complicated than just simple cloning. But he'd get over it.

"Something's coming." Jenny called out as shadows lined the walls and figures headed over, shooting.

"It's the Hath!" The head soldier called out as he, Jenny, and Lukas started shooting back; the Doctor pushing us behind him a bit.

"Get down!" Jenny called back to us and Martha and I dived to the ground as a stray bullet flew past our heads.

The Doctor and Donna moved behind one area as Martha and I moved behind another, but the Hath were fast approaching.

"We have to blow the tunnel! Get the detonator!" The head soldier ordered, but the Doctor was immediately against it.

"I'm not detonating anything!" The Doctor shouted back, checking on a wounded soldier as another fell and Martha and I were grabbed by two Hath.

Martha screamed in panic, but I stayed relatively calm knowing that they weren't going to hurt us, though my heart pounded away in my ribcage. We were pulled back over by the Tardis as Jenny dived for the detonator and the soldier ordered them to continue.

"Blow the thing! Blow the thing!"

"Martha! Alex! No! Don't!" The Doctor called out, but Jenny pushed the button and they were forced to run as the detonator exploded and the tunnel collapsed; Martha and I being knocked out in the process.

* * *

I winced when I woke up, sprawled out on the dirty ground with Martha on top of me and I sighed.

"You'd think I'd learn not to jump into danger at this point."

Martha coughed, pushing herself up and seeing that she'd been on top of me. "Sorry."

I shrugged. "Used to it. N-Not the women on top of me thing!" I blurted out, seeing how she could take it the wrong way. "I meant being sprawled on my back. No wait, that doesn't sound right either. I meant—"

I was cut off by a chuckle and Martha got up, reaching down to help me to my feet.

"It's alright. I know what you meant."

"That's good. I was running out of different ways to say that." I smiled, before we both heard a pained gurgling cry and spotted an injured Hath not far from us.

Martha immediately went into doctor mode and knelt down beside him as he clutched his right shoulder.

"Hold on. I've got you. It's your arm, yeah?"

He gurgled and Martha fidgeted confused.

"Is that a yes?"

The Hath turned to her and nodded with a grunt, Martha shaking her head.

"Let me examine it. Keep still. Still. Yeah?" She held out her hands. "No move."

He nodded again and I sat back and watched as Martha mumbled to herself.

"Half-fish, half-human? How am I supposed to know?"

"Just do what you would do for anyone." I told her, giving her and the Hath a reassuring smile as I knelt next to her. "I'm sure he'd appreciate it either way."

She nodded, checking his shoulder. "Is that a shoulder? Feels like a shoulder. I think it's dislocated."

There was a crash and more Hath soldiers arrived, pointing their guns at us, and Martha and I held our hands up.

"I'm trying to help him. I am a doctor and he is my patient, and I'm not leaving him."

The Hath still pointed their guns at us, but they weren't advancing so I nudged Martha and put my hands down.

"Go on. I think they'll let you."

She nodded. "Grab his shoulder, Alex. I'll need your strength."

I did as she said and she turned to the Hath.

"Now this is gonna hurt. On three, Alex, I want you to give a swift yank back, okay?"

"Sure thing."

She held the Hath's arm as I held his shoulder with my palm on the base of what I was guessing was his shoulder blade and she counted down.

"One, two, three!"

She pulled as I yanked and his shoulder slipped back into place as the other Hath aimed their guns once more and we launched our hands up in the air. Thankfully, the Hath we helped was on our side and stopped them from possibly killing us. Martha was thankful and all, but I could tell she wanted answers and I smiled a bit as she spoke.

"Now then. I'm Doctor Martha Jones. Who the hell are you?"

I smiled a bit and put a hand on her shoulder. "_These_, Martha, are called Hath. And they're sort of at war. I'll explain more on the way. Now then, Hath!" I grinned at the fish people. "Take us to your leader!"

Martha scoffed. "You just couldn't help it, could you?"

I winked at her. "I've always wanted to say that."

* * *

Donna and the Doctor followed after Jenny and Lukas down a tunnel and Donna got curious.

"I'm Donna. What's your name?" She asked Jenny, hoping to have something to call her other than 'that girl'.

"Don't know. It's not been assigned."

"Well, if you don't know that, what _do_ you know?" She asked.

"How to fight."

"Nothing else?"

The Doctor explained. "The machine must have embed military and tactics, but no name. She's a generated anomaly."

"Generated anomaly. Generated. Well, what about that? Jenny." Donna asked, coming up with a name on the spot.

"Jenny. Yeah. I like that. Jenny." Said woman grinned.

"What do you think, _Dad_?" Donna teased with a grin.

"Good as anything, I suppose."

"Not what you'd call a natural parent, are you?"

"They stole a tissue sample at gunpoint and processed it. It's not what I call natural parenting." He countered.

"Rubbish. My friend Nery's fathered twins with a turkey baster. Don't bother her."

"You can't extrapolate a relationship from a biological accident."

"Uh, Child Support Agency can."

"Look, just because I share certain physiological traits with simian _primates_ doesn't make me a monkey's uncle, does it?"

"I'm not a monkey. Or a child." Jenny told him, though he seemed less inclined to care.

Donna nodded and turned to the other male in the group. "What about you?"

He glanced at her and raised a brow. "What? My name?"

"Sure. You're like Jenny, right? Let's give you a name."

He smiled, reminding Donna and the Doctor of the familiar red-head who was with Martha. "Actually, my mum already gave me a name. She was calling me Lukas."

The Doctor rolled his eyes with a slight smile. "She would."

Donna raised a brow. "What'd ya mean?"

"She has a habit of naming or nick-naming things she likes. Animals, people, machinery. You name it. She once called a toaster oven Lincoln. Claimed that toast was the only thing that never tells a lie."

Donna scoffed. "Are you sure she's alright in the head?"

He smiled a bit as well. "Sometimes, I'm not sure."

The group entered the military base and the Doctor quickly decided that now was the time to get some answers.

"So, where are we? What planet is this?"

"Messaline." The head soldier said. "Well, what's left of it."

All around them, men and women were being processed and cloned, or were moving around crates of equipment, but Donna was confused.

"But this is a theater."

"Maybe they're doing Miss Saigon." The Doctor quipped, sitting on a crate nearby.

Donna ignored him. "It's like a town or a city underground. But why?"

A white haired man approached and the Doctor stood right back up again.

"General Cobb, I assume."

"Found in the western tunnels, I'm told, with no marks. There was an outbreak of pacifism in the eastern zone three generations back, before we lost contact. Is that where you came from?" Cobb asked.

"Eastern zone, that's us. Yeah. Yeah." The Doctor lied. "I'm the Doctor, this is Donna."

He nodded to Donna as Jenny and Lukas spoke up.

"And I'm Jenny."

"Lukas." Said man held up a hand with a grin.

"Don't think you can infect us with your peacemaking." Cobb scoffed. "We're committed to the fight, to the very end."

"Well, that's alright. I can't stay anyway. I've got to go and find my friends." The Doctor grinned, putting his hands in his coat pockets.

"That's not possible. All movement is regulated. We're at war."

"Yes. I noticed. With the Hath. But tell me, because we got a bit out of circulation, eastern zone and all that. So who exactly _are_ the Hath?"

* * *

Martha and I were led into the Hath camp and I immediately could spot the similarities between this and what the other camp were doing. Both were making clones to fight the war and both had obviously forgotten what this whole fighting thing was all about. The group was told something by our Hath friend, and they swarmed us and pat our heads and shoulders in a friendly fashion, making me chuckle as Martha did the same.

* * *

"Back at the dawn of this planet, these ancient halls were carved from the earth. Our ancestors dreamt of a new beginning. A colony where human and Hath would work and live together." Cobb explained as Donna, Jenny, Lukas and the Doctor walked through the theater.

"So what happened?"

"The dream died. Broken, along with Hath promises. They wanted it all for themselves. But those early pioneers, they fought back. They used the machines to produce soldiers instead of colonists and began this battle for survival."

"There's nothing but earth outside, why's that? Why build everything underground?" Donna asked, having climbed up to a window.

"The surface is too dangerous."

"Well, then why build windows in the first place? And what does this mean?" She gestured to a plaque with a set of numbers written across it.

"The rites and symbols of our ancestors. The meaning's lost in time." Cobb explained, but the Doctor felt that something was up.

"How long's this war gone on for?"

"Longer than anyone can remember. Countless generations marked only by the dead."

"What? Fighting all this time?" Donna questioned in disbelief, back at the Doctor's side.

"Because we must. Every child of the machine is born with this knowledge. It's our inheritance. It's all we know." Jenny piped up as Lukas frowned slightly.

"How to fight and how to die."

* * *

Once all of the Hath greetings were done, Martha and I stood in front of a hologram projection and stared at it as the Hath watched us, like they wanted us to do something with it.

"Right." Martha said, looking at them in confusion. "So… We're here."

She pointed on the map and the Hath hummed, turning to look at each other. I had no idea what was going on, so I just stayed quiet, wondering what the Doctor was up to as well as how Lukas was doing with him. _He's not exactly the happiest guy in this episode, if I remember right._

* * *

The Doctor also looked at a map exactly like the ones the Hath were currently looking at.

"Does this show the entire city, including the Hath zones?" He asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"Well, it'll help us find Martha."

The head soldier shook his head. "We've more important things to do. The Progenation machines are powered down for the night shift, but soon as they're active, we could breed a whole platoon from you two."

"I'm not having sons and daughters by some great big flippin' machine." Donna looked over at Lukas and Jenny. "Sorry, no offense, but you're not… Well, I mean, you're not real."

"You're no better than him!" Jenny complained. "We have bodies. We have minds. We have independent thought. How are we not real?"

Lukas nodded, feeling slightly offended as well. "Jenny's right. What makes us so different from you?"

"Well said, soldiers." Cobb complimented. "We need more like you, if we're to find the Source."

"Ooh, the Source." The Doctor hummed, interested in this new bit of information. "What's that, then? What's a Source? I like a Source. What is it?"

"The Breath of Life." Cobb said mysteriously, something that made the Doctor want more details.

"And that would be?"

"In the beginning, the great one breathed life into the universe. And then she looked at what she'd done and she sighed." The head soldier explained.

"'She'. I like that." Jenny smirked and Lukas nodded with a hand on his chin.

"Yeah. Me too, for some reason."

"Right. So it's a creation myth." The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"It's not a myth. It's real. That sigh. From the beginning of time it was caught and kept as the Source. It was lost when the war started, but it's here. Somewhere. Whoever holds the Source controls the destiny of the planet."

"Ah!" The Doctor shouted, swinging a hand through the hologram and pulling out his sonic screwdriver. "There's a suppressed layer of information in this map. If I can just…"

Using his sonic, the map shrank and even more tunnels and chambers were added to it.

"What is it? What's it mean?" Donna asked, unsure what he'd just done.

"See? A whole complex of tunnels hidden from sight."

"That must be the lost temple. The Source will be inside. You've shown us the way and look, we're closer than the Hath. It's ours." Cobb said excitedly.

* * *

The map in front of us started to change and soon added more tunnels to the picture and Martha pointed it out.

"Hold on. Look." She grew excited and called the other Hath over as I crossed my arms with a smile.

"The Doctor did that. It's a new map. A whole different set of tunnels."

The Hath started celebrating and congratulating us as though we were the ones who did something, before Martha turned to me in shock.

"I think we just started a war."

* * *

"Tell them to prepare to move out. We'll progenate new soldiers on the morning shift, then we march. Once we reach the Temple, peace will be restored at long last." Cobb ordered a man, but the Doctor was a bit worried.

"Uh, call me old fashioned, but if you _really_ wanted peace, couldn't you just stop fighting?"

"Only when we have the Source. It will give us the power to erase every stinking Hath on the face of this planet."

"Hang on, hang on." The Doctor said, putting up his hands. "Second ago it was peace in our time, now you're talking about genocide!"

"For us, that means the same thing." Cobb replied.

"Then you need to get yourself a better dictionary." The Doctor told him sternly, hand on his hips. "When you do, look up genocide. You'll see a little picture of me there and the caption will read 'over my dead body'!"

Cobb laughed, not taking him seriously. "And you're the one who showed us the path to victory. But you can consider the irony from your prison cell. Cline, at arms."

Cline, the head soldier, aimed his gun at the Doctor, Donna, Jenny and Lukas.

"Oi, oi, oi, oi!" Donna said, eyeing the gun. "Cool the beans, Rambo."

"Take them." Cobb ordered. "I won't have them spreading treason. And if you try anything, Doctor, I'll see that this woman dies first, since the other was taken by the Hath."

"Come on, this way." Cline said, nodding his gun towards where the prison cells were.

The Doctor ignored him for a moment though and pointed a finger at Cobb.

"I'm going to stop you, Cobb. You need to know that."

"I have an army and the Breath of God on my side, Doctor. What'll you have?"

"This." He tapped his forehead, but Cobb hardly worried.

"Lock them up and guard them."

"What about the new soldiers?" He asked, talking about Jenny and Lukas as they stepped forward.

"Can't trust them They're both from pacifist stock. Take them all."

Cobb pushed Jenny towards Lukas who glared at the man as he caught her, before they were led into an underground cell. The Doctor tossing his coat onto the bench inside before sitting down.

"More numbers." Donna said, drawing their attention to the panel above the door. "They've got to mean something."

"Makes as much sense as the Breath of Life story." The Doctor grumbled as Jenny turned to him in surprise.

"You mean that's not true?"

"No. It's a myth." Donna said, sitting down beside the Doctor. "Isn't that right, Doctor?"

"Yes, but there could still be something real in that temple. Something that's become a myth. A piece of technology a weapon."

Lukas nodded, eyes scanning the cell. "Behind every myth there is some truth."

The Doctor eyed him carefully, his words sounding like something Alex would say, but before he could think about how similar Lukas was to her, Donna interrupted his thoughts.

"So, the Source could be a weapon and we've just given directions to Captain Nutjob?"

"Oh, yes."

"Not good, is it?"

"That's why we need to get out of here, find Martha and Alex, and stop Cobb from slaughtering the Hath." He looked up, spotting Jenny and Lukas eyeing him. "Wha—What are you—What are you staring at?"

"You keep insisting you're not a soldier, but look at you, drawing up strategies like a proper general." Jenny said, almost excited.

"No, no. I'm trying to stop the fighting."

"Isn't every soldier?"

"Well, I suppose, but that's… that's… technically, I haven't got time for this. Donna, give me your phone. Time for an upgrade." He said, pulling out his sonic screwdriver.

"And now you've got a weapon." Lukas said, tilting his head a bit at the contraption.

"It's not a weapon."

"But you're using it to fight. Isn't that what a weapon's for?" He asked, Jenny smirking beside him and he crossed his arms and watched the Doctor sonic Donna's phone with curiosity.

"I'm going to learn so much from you. You are such a soldier." Jenny grinned.

"Donna, will you tell her?"

"Oh, you are speechless. I'm loving this. You keep on, Jenny. You too, Lukas."

Lukas smiled a bit just as the Doctor rang up Martha's phone.

"_Doctor?"_

"Martha! You're alive!" The Doctor shouted, standing up.

"_Doctor! Oh, am I glad to hear your voice. Are you alright?"_

"I'm with Donna, we're fine. What about you? Is Alex with you?"

Donna held out a hand to Jenny and Lukas, who were eyeing them. "And Jenny and Lukas. They're fine too."

"Yes, alright." He said to her, before letting Martha know. "A-And Jenny and Lukas. That's t-the woman and man from the machine. The soldiers. My daughter and Alex's son. Except they aren't. They're—They're… Anyway, where are you?"

"_I'm fine too, by the way!"_ He heard Alex chirp over the phone, sending a wave of relief through him.

"_We're in the Hath camp. We're okay, but something going on. The Hath—Oi!"_

The Doctor stiffened, getting worried only to hear Alex on the phone.

"_Oh, shut it. I know what's going on… Hello, Doctor! You've caused quite a situation over here."_

"What do you mean?" He asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"_Well, your little trick with the map worked both ways. The Hath are marching off to meet with your clone people."_

"With both armies heading that way, there's going to be a bloodbath."

"_You never know, Doctor. But what do you want us to do?"_

"Just stay where you are. If you're safe there, don't move, do you hear?"

"_What's that? The battery's dying and even if it wasn't, I'd still completely ignore your order to stay put. So see you at the Source, Doctor!"_

"No, Alex! Don't you dare ha—" He frowned, looking at the phone. "She hung up on me."

He tried to dial again, but the phone wouldn't connect so he growled in frustration and passed it back to Donna as chants started up outside.

"To war! To war! To war!"

"They're getting ready to move out. We have to get past that guard." He said to Donna, but Jenny and Lukas weren't going to be left out.

"We can deal with him."

"No, no, no, no. You're not going anywhere." The Doctor said, grabbing her arm to stop her and Lukas pausing just behind.

"What?"

"You belong here with them. Both of you."

Donna immediately didn't like that, moving to their side. "They belong with us. With you and Alex. She's your daughter and he's her son."

"They're soldiers! They came out of that machine!" He said, raising his voice angrily.

"Oh, yes. I know that bit. But what do you think Alex would do?"

He frowned at her, shaking his head. "Oh, don't you drag her into this."

"Yeah? Listen. Have you got that stethoscope? Give it to me." She demanded and the Doctor hesitated. "Come on."

He pulled it out and passed it to her. Donna put it in her ears and Jenny eyed her warily.

"What are you doing?"

"It's alright." Lukas said, drawing her attention to him as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I trust her. Don't you?"

Jenny nodded and Donna gave them both a small smile before placing it on the left side of her chest and then on the right.

She smirked and took it out, passing them to the Doctor. "Come here. Listen. And then tell me where she belongs."

The Doctor put them in and listened as Donna move it from one side to the other of Jenny's chest. The Doctor pulled the device out and put it away, stepping back to lean against the wall.

"Two hearts."

"Exactly."

"What's going on?" Jenny asked, confused.

Donna was a bit too. "Does that mean she's a… what do you call a female Time Lord?"

"What's a Time Lord?" Jenny asked in confusion.

"It's who I am. It's where I'm from." The Doctor replied, not looking happy, but feeling torn about the whole situation.

"And I'm from you."

"You're an echo, that's all. A Time Lord is so much more. A sum of knowledge, a code, a shared history, a shared suffering." He snarled, battling the feelings growing up in him, before calming himself. "Only it's gone now, all of it… Gone forever."

"What happened?" Jenny asked.

"There was a war."

"Like this one?"

He laughed bitterly. "Bigger. Much bigger."

"And you fought… and killed?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"Then how are we different?" She asked, not seeing anything strange or odd with her and Lukas, compared to the man in front of her, yet he seemed more than willing to deny any relationship.

Lukas stepped forward. "I'm sorry."

The Doctor eyed him, having heard those words so many times before from the one person he wished was here with him right now.

"What about you, huh? You don't have two hearts and you're _not_ Alex. You're nothing like her."

"Doctor!" Donna scolded. "He's plenty like her! I know you've seen it too!"

"Doesn't matter." Lukas said, shaking his head. "It doesn't matter if he likes me or not, because I trust him." Lukas smiled a bit a him. "And that's what matters, right? Knowing that despite all odds, he'll work everything out whether he's doing it for me or for someone else."

"Lukas…" Donna muttered and he grinned over at her.

"'Sides, I never shot that gun. I'm no soldier." He looked over at the Doctor. "I already had battle techniques in my head from my mum. Knew how to shoot a gun too."

The Doctor didn't like that and growled at the man. "She was _never_ a soldier."

Lukas shook his head. "Nah, but the strategies are the same for chess, yeah? Just got to know where to move the pieces."

Donna and Jenny looked between the two men, wondering what was going to happen next, and the Doctor sighed, pulling a hand through his hair.

"I'll never be able to understand that woman." He grumbled, thinking of Alex and how she had once again surprised him; without even being there, at that! "Go…" He waved a hand at Cline. "Go do your thing."

The two so-called soldiers beamed at each other and headed towards the guard as Donna came over and pat his back.

"Good job, Spaceman."

* * *

Once the phone battery died, Martha chose to try and ask the Hath for a charger, but that didn't seem to be going so well.

"I need to charge it up. I need power. Do you understand?"

"No, Martha. He doesn't. He's a bit busy upgrading the map." I told her, pointing at it as it changed to a 3D one. "See?"

"In 3D! Oh, you're a clever Hath." She told him, slapping a hand playfully against his shoulder. "So this is where everybody's headed. But look. Those tunnels sort of zigzag. If Alex and I went up and over the surface in a straight line, we'd get there first."

The Hath started to disagree with her and she frowned.

"Why not?"

A set of charts and readings popped up and she looked at them as I did.

"Those are readings for the surface."

"Doesn't look too bad." She said, glancing at the Hath. "Nitrogen and oxygen about 80-20. That's fine. Ozone levels are high and some _big_ radiation spikes, but as long as we're not out there too long…"

The Hath bubbled a bit and Martha eyed him warily.

"We have to find our friends."

We both started to walk off, but stopped as the Hath seemed to ask to come with us and she nodded.

"Come on then."

I grinned as well. "Always room for one more!"

* * *

Jenny peeked through the cell bars over at Cline as Lukas leaned his back up against them on her right, very nonchalant.

"Hey."

"I'm not supposed to talk to you. I'm on duty." Cline said.

"I know. Guarding me." She sang, scooting closer to him. "So, does that mean I'm dangerous? Or that I need protecting?"

"Protecting from what?" He asked, moving closer to her as well, facing her through the cell bars.

"Oh, I don't know. Men like you?"

They laughed before she grabbed him and kissed him, pulling him close enough to the cell that Lukas was able to grab the pistol from his belt, aiming at him.

"'ello. Now how about you keep quiet and open the door then, eh?" He grinned.

Cline seemed to hesitate, but Lukas cocked the gun and Cline hurriedly did as he was told, Jenny and Lukas sharing a grin.

"I'd like to see you and Alex try that." Donna challenged the Doctor.

Once they were all out and headed down the stairs, Lukas had to pull Jenny back as he spotted a guard.

"That's the exit."

Lukas lifted his gun, but the Doctor scolded him immediately.

"Don't you dare."

Lukas raised a brow, having not planned on actually shooting the gun other than to cause a distraction, but Donna pushed both him and the Doctor away from each other.

"Let me distract this one." Donna offered. "I have picked up a few womanly wiles over the years."

She flipped her hair and started to make her move towards the stairs, but the Doctor quickly stopped her.

"Let's save your wiles for later. In case of emergency."

He started digging through his pockets for something and found just what he needed. A little mouse toy was wound up and set on the ground, squeaking away until the guard spotted it and headed over to pick it up. Just as he did though, Jenny knocked him out with a swift karate chop to the neck.

"Nice." Lukas complimented and she smiled over at him, but the Doctor was less than pleased as he jumped up off the stairs with Donna.

"I was going to distract him, not clobber him!"

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" She pouted, not seeing why he was so upset.

"She only knocked him out."

The Doctor though, rummaged through the man's pockets before picking up the toy.

"They must all have a copy of that new map." He pointed the toy at her and Lukas in frustration. "Just stay there. Don't hurt anyone."

The mouse squeaked before he shoved it away and stormed off, but Jenny took one look at Lukas who smiled.

"Well, he's no commanding officer, yeah? So _why_ are we listening to him?"

She grinned back at him. "Ooh, I like you."

They both chuckled before chasing after him, neither knowing just how much like their 'parents' they really were.

* * *

Martha, the Hath and I hurried up a set of stairs to a door heading out to the surface, but the Hath stopped behind us and we looked down at him as he waved his arms, telling us to stop.

"You can stay down here and live your whole life in the shadows, or come with Alex and I and stand in the open air. Feel the wind on your face. What's it going to be? It's up to you, but nothing's going to stop us, eh?" Martha looked at me and I nodded.

"Oh, yeah. New planet surface? What's there to _not_ be excited about?"

We headed up to the small ladder and Martha let me go first to do the grunt work and open to heavy hatch. Wind blew in my face and I hurried up onto the rocky surface before Martha and the Hath followed.

"I knew you couldn't resist it!" Martha told him through the howling of the wind.

The place looked rather bleak, but I could tell that there was some chances for it with the dead trees and the tall spires in the distance.

"Uh, language?" Martha told the Hath as he spouted out some swears in his amazement. "Come on."

We all started heading up the rocks and I stuck to the back this time, wondering what I was going to do to stop what was going to soon happen.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cline had been found tied up and gagged and the Doctor's now-wanted group followed a map he'd snatched until they stopped.

"Wait!" He held up a hand, looking around. "This is it. The hidden tunnel. There must be a control panel." He said, pulling out his sonic in search.

"It's another one of those numbers." Donna pointed out. "They're everywhere."

"The original builders must've left them." The Doctor said, guessing. "An old cataloging system."

"You've got a pen? Bit of paper?"

The Doctor started digging through his pockets before he found them, handing them to her as she continued.

"Because, do you see? The numbers are counting down. This one ends in 14. The prison cell said 16."

"Always thinking, both of you. Who are you people?" Jenny asked.

"I told you, I'm the Doctor."

"The Doctor? That's it?"

"That's all he ever says." Donna sang.

"So, you don't have a name either? Are you an anomaly too?"

"No."

"Oh, come off it. You're the most anomalous bloke I've ever met." Donna scoffed just as the Doctor removed a panel of wood to reveal a control panel.

"Here it is!"

"And Time Lords?" Lukas asked, watching the sonic screwdriver in fascination. "What're they for?"

"For? They're not… They're not _for_ anything." The Doctor replied, confused.

"So what do you do?" Jenny asked as he grunted.

"I travel… Through time and space."

"He saves planets." Donna explained. "Rescues civilizations, defeats terrible creatures, and runs a lot. Seriously, there's an _outrageous_ amount of running involved."

Jenny chuckled at that as Lukas smiled, just as the Doctor got the door to open.

"Got it!"

"Squad five, with me." They heard Cobb's voice echo down the corridor, along with gunshots.

"Now, what were you saying about running?"

The group rushed down the passageway with the soldiers following behind them, but were forced to stop as their way was blocked by criss-crossing lasers.

"That's not mood lighting, is it?" Donna joked, the Doctor pulling his mouse toy out and tossing it into a laser; it sparking and disintegrating.

"No, I didn't think so." Donna muttered as Lukas pouted a bit.

"Poor mouse."

The Doctor rolled his eyes at that, before moving to a box nearby and working on it. "Arming device."

Jenny and Lukas stood beside him to do what they could to help, but Donna wandered a bit, to yet another metal panel with numbers on it.

"There's more of these. Always eight numbers, counting down the closer we get."

"Right. Here we go." The Doctor said, just as a bang and shouts echoed down the hall.

"You better be quick." Donna told him.

"The general…" Jenny and Lukas started heading towards the hall, but the Doctor grabbed them both.

"Where are you going?"

"We can hold them up." Jenny said, trying to help.

"No. We don't need any more dead."

"But it's them or us!"

"It doesn't mean you have to kill them."

"I'm trying to save your life!"

He argued with her, before putting his hands on her shoulders. "Listen to me. The killing. After a while, it infects you and once it does, you're never rid of it."

"We don't have a choice. I'm sorry." She said, rushing off as he called after her.

"Jenny."

"We always have a choice." Lukas said, smiling over at the Doctor and catching his attention. "I'll watch out for her."

"You better." He grumbled, before Lukas followed after Jenny with the pistol he had.

Once there, he knelt beside her and they open fired on Cobb and his men.

The Doctor though, went back to work as Donna gaped in shock as bullets hit some things further behind her.

"Told you." The Doctor said. "Nothing but soldiers."

"They're only trying to help." She argued.

Jenny and Lukas, meanwhile had ducked down to think up a plan, though Lukas was the one doing that and Jenny was staring down at her gun questioning what her mind was telling her and what the Doctor has said.

"Jenny, Lukas, come on!" The Doctor called out ahead of them.

"Coming!" She replied, but didn't move as Lukas spoke up.

"I know what it's like, you know. I may not have my mum here, telling me things like what the Doctor's doing for you, but I know that there's a part of me that doesn't want to hurt people and it's fighting with the part that does."

"Then why're you different from me? How come you're not having this big of an issue?"

Lukas put a hand on his chest. "It's like he said, I'm not a Time Lord like him or an echo of one like you. I'm just a human like my mum and I don't know her much at all, but I do know that she has never wanted to hurt someone, even if they were bad; because _I_ don't want to hurt anyone."

She frowned at him. "But you're shooting too."

He grinned at her. "Yeah, but I'm not aiming at them."

"Cease fire! Cease fire!" Cobb called out and the shooting stopped just as the Doctor got the lasers down in the other room.

"Jenny, Lukas! Leaving! Let's go!"

"You're children of the machine." Cobb called out to them. "You're on my side. Join us! Join us in the war against the Hath. It's in your blood. Don't deny it."

Lukas and Jenny stood up, but Lukas put his gun away—whereas Jenny aimed it at Cobb— and he put a hand on her shoulder as he spoke softly to her.

"I won't force you to choose, Jenny. It has to be your decision."

He stepped away then, looking over his shoulder before taking a deep breath and heading around the corner where the Doctor and Donna waited at the end of the passageway.

"Come on, Lukas! Where's Jenny?!"

He rushed over to them. "She's choosing, Doctor!"

The Doctor looked down the passageway with worry, calling out once more. "Jenny, come on!"

She rounded the corner laughing and a sense of relief flooded through him.

"That's it!"

"Hurry up!"

The lasers suddenly appeared before she reached them and she stopped, trapped.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. The circuit's looped back."

"Zap it back again." Donna demanded.

"The controls are back there."

Gun shots started going off behind Jenny and she panicked a bit.

"They're coming."

"Wait. Just… There isn't… Jenny, I can't—"

"I'll have to manage on my own." She tossed her gun aside and lifted up her arms. "Watch and learn, father."

With a series of flips and cartwheels, Jenny passed every laser; much to the shock of Donna and the Doctor.

"No way." Donna gasped. "But that was impossible!"

"Not impossible. Just a bit unlikely." The Doctor rushed over and hugged her tightly, grinning from ear to ear. "Brilliant! You were brilliant! Brilliant!"

"I didn't kill him. General Cobb. I could have killed him, but I didn't. You were right. I had a choice." She grinned up at him, before looking over at a smiling Lukas. "Thank you, Lukas."

"Welcome."

Just then, the door down the hall clanged open and Cobb and his men soldiered through.

"At arms." Cobb ordered and the men lifted their weapons as Lukas led Jenny and Donna out of the range of fire.

"I warned you Cobb. If the Source is a weapon, I'm going to make sure you never use it." The Doctor said seriously.

"One of us is going to die today and it won't be me." Cobb said, before firing, the Doctor ducking down the next passageway, silently hoping that Alex and Martha were having a better time on their end.

* * *

Martha and I were doing our best to navigate the rocky terrain and I knew what was going to happen soon. I was just waiting for the line and hoping that I would be fast enough to stop the Hath from dying.

"It can't be much further." She said, taking a few more steps and slipping on a rock. "Ah!

"Martha!" I called out, quickly grabbing her arm and scraping my hand on the rocks below me as I laid down to try and keep her from falling further down hill.

We still fell a good ways down and I quickly pulled her up beside me, before pushing her higher, just as the bubbling black water made it's way up to my knees. _Come on, come on!_ I dug my hands into the dirt to try and slow my decent, but it was too late. Instead of Martha, _I_ was waist deep in the bog and quickly sinking further.

"Alex!" Martha called, but I didn't struggle, knowing better than to do that.

"Don't! Hold on. Let me think!"

The Hath slid down the steep terrain carefully, landing beside Martha as they stood on the bank of the bog.

"Think?! You're sinking!"

"Yeah, but not as quickly as I could be! Now, can you reach me?"

She tried, stepping a single foot into the bog before I stopped her.

"No! Don't go further!"

"I'm not leaving you!"

I rolled my eyes. "I didn't tell you to. Hath! Can you grab Martha's arm?"

He nodded and did so, Martha finally catching on.

"A human chain!"

I nodded. "Hath, don't go further than having one foot in the bog or else you'll sink too, but hang on to Martha as she tries to reach me, yeah?"

He bubbled in agreement and they slowly made their way over to me. I was now chest deep in the sludge, but thankfully, Martha and the Hath were just long enough to reach me and I grabbed her hand as they started backing up and dragging me out. Once back on safe land, I laid back and breathed heavily, a grin stretching across my face as I pat the Hath on the leg.

"Thanks, Hath. You too, Martha. I didn't think that'd work."

"Work?! You nearly sank into a bog!"

I waved a finger feeling a bit unnerved by my scare, but a sinking bog was _not_ the most dangerous thing I'd dealt with.

"Correction, _you_ nearly fell into a bog."

She frowned down at me as I sat up and wiped the sludge off me with a disgusted look.

"You traded places with me? Why did you do that? Would I have died in that?"

The Hath looked between us, confused and I sighed.

"Yeah, sorry. I can see the future. And no, you wouldn't have—"

"Then why—"

I pointed over at the Hath. "_He_ would have. He would've jumped in to save you."

She shook her head, shocked. "No, but… You and him, you could've done the chain and—"

"No." I said, seriously. "Because I was here and ready for it, I was able to slow down our fall, so I didn't go in as far as you would have otherwise. You would've been too far and one of us would've had to have jumped after you. I'd probably have done it, but he'd probably beat me to the punch."

Martha turned to the Hath. "You would've done something like that to save me?"

He bubbled out a response and nodded. Martha grinned and hugged him.

"Ooh, you're the greatest." She turned to me then and hugged me as well. "You too. Thank you for saving him."

She whispered the last bit to me before we started up again, being a lot more careful this time as we progressed. Though I had this nagging feeling that saving Jenny wouldn't be nearly as easy as saving the Hath was.

* * *

"So, you travel together, but you're not together with anyone?" Jenny asked as her, Lukas, Donna and the Doctor made their way through the tunnels closer to the Source.

"What? No. No. No way. No, no. We're friends, that's all. I mean, we're not even the same species. There's probably laws against it." Donna said, before eyeing the Doctor. "Although, I don't know what that means for Alex."

Jenny chuckled as the Doctor sent them both an annoyed frown.

"And what's it like, the traveling?" Lukas asked, popping into the conversation.

"Oh, never a dull moment. It can be terrifying, brilliant and funny. Sometimes all at the same time. I've seen some amazing things though. Whole new worlds."

"Oh, I'd love to see new worlds."

"Me too." Lukas agreed to Jenny's worlds.

"You will, won't they, Doctor?"

"Hm?" He hummed, pretending like he wasn't listening.

"Do you think Jenny and Lukas will see any new worlds?"

"I suppose so." He said with his lip curling up ever so slightly, shocking Jenny and making Lukas grin.

"You mean… You mean you'll take us with you?"

"Well, we can't leave you here, can we? And Alex would have my head if I tried."

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Jenny chirped, hugging him. "Come on, let's get a move on." She said, bounding off ahead as Lukas followed.

"Careful, there might be traps!" The Doctor called after them as Donna smirked.

"Kids. They never listen and it looks like you'll have your hands full with those two. They're already rather close." She looked over at him to see how he'd react to that, but she didn't expect the serious look on his face. "Oh, I know that look. I see it a lot round our way. Blokes with pushchairs and frowns. You've got dad-shock."

"Dad-shock?" The Doctor questioned.

"Sudden unexpected fatherhood. Take a bit of getting used to."

"No. It's not that."

"Well, what is it then? Having Jenny and Lukas in the Tardis, is that it? What're they going to do, cramp your style? Like you've got a sports car and they're going to turn it into a people-carrier?" Donna asked, but the Doctor decided that she deserved to know.

"Donna, I've been a father before."

"What?"

"I lost all that a long time ago, along with everything else."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. Why didn't you tell me?" She asked. "You talk all the time, but you don't say anything. You and Alex both."

"I know, I'm just… When I look at them now, I can see them. The hole they left, all the pain that filled it… I just don't know if I can face that every day."

"It wont stay like that. They'll help you. We all will."

"But when they died, that part of me died with them… It'll never come back. Not now."

"What about Alex? Hm? Don't you think she feels that way about him?" Donna nodded over at Lukas. "I mean, she had siblings. _Six_ of them. And she took care of them like they were her own kids. Does she feel the same about Lukas as you do about Jenny?"

"I don't know, Donna." He admitted. "We understand each other better than we think, but it's mostly because we've gone through similar things. We've both lost everything, so we know that some feelings won't ever return. Part of her died with her family just as mine did with my family."

"I'll tell you something, Doctor." Donna said, facing him seriously. "Something I've never told you before… I think you're wrong."

Gunshots went off then and Lukas and Jenny rushed back over to where the Doctor and Donna had paused.

"They've blasted through the beams. Time to run again." Jenny looked up excitedly. "Love the running. Yeah?"

"Love the running." The Doctor agreed.

They took off running, but were forced to stop at a dead end.

"We're trapped!" Donna said, but the Doctor disagreed.

"Can't be. This must be the Temple." He rushed over to a red wall. "This is a door."

Donna though, was focused on another metal panel. "And again. We're down to 12 now."

"Got it!" The Doctor called out, having sonicked open a control panel.

"I can hear them." Lukas called out, fidgeting slightly at remembering he had no weapon to protect himself as he had tossed his away in the firefight earlier.

"Nearly done."

Donna frowned. "These can't be a cataloging system."

"They're getting closer." Jenny called out this time.

"Then get back here." The Doctor ordered.

"They're too similar. Too familiar." Donna muttered about the numbers.

"Not yet."

"Now!" He shouted again, before getting the door open. "Got it!"

One his side, Donna joined him entering the Temple, and on the other, Martha, the Hath and Alex entered.

"They're coming." Lukas said, pushing Jenny in front of him and into the Temple. "Close the door."

The Doctor closed it just in time and Jenny grinned up at him.

"Oh, that was close."

"No fun otherwise." He replied, before they dashed off further inside.

"Not what I'd call a Temple." Donna muttered, their group still a ways away from Martha's group; who were trying to warm up after suffering through a freezing walk on the surface.

"It looks more like—

"Fusion drive transport. It's a spaceship." The Doctor said, cutting off Jenny.

"What, the original one? The one the first colonists arrived on?" Donna asked, but the Doctor made a face.

"Well, that could be, but the power cells would've run down after all that time. This one's still powered up and functioning. Come on!"

He hurried off up some stairs as the others followed, before they spotted a section of wall being cut through slowly.

"It's the Hath." Jenny said. "That door's not going to last much longer. And if General Cobb gets through down there, war's going to break out."

The Doctor rushed around the corner and put on his glasses as he found something. "Look, look, look, look, look, look. Ship's log. 'First wave of Human-Hath co-colonization of planet Messaline'." He read off the screen.

"So, it's the original ship." Lukas stated, brows furrowed in slight confusion.

"What happened?" Donna asked.

"Phase one, construction. They used robot drones to build the city."

"But does it mention the war?" Donna asked as he skipped to the end.

"Final entry. 'Mission commander _dead_. Still no agreement on who should assume leadership. Hath and humans have divided into factions'. That must be it. A power vacuum. The crew divided into two factions and turned on each other." He explained, though Donna was looking over at a digital set of numbers. "Start using the progenation machines, suddenly you've got two armies fighting a never-ending war."

"Two armies who are now both outside."

"Look at that." She said, catching their attention.

"It's like the numbers in the tunnels." The Doctor responded.

"No, no, no, no. But listen." Donna waved a finger. "I spent six months working as a temp in Hounslow Library and I mastered the Dewey Decimal System in two days flat. I'm good with numbers. It's staring us in the face."

Lukas moved over to her and eyed the numbers before realization dawn on his face. "Oh."

Donna nodded at him with a smirk. "'Oh' is right, big boy."

"What is it?" Jenny asked and Lukas pointed at the numbers.

"It's a date."

The Doctor quickly stepped over.

Donna nodded. "Assuming the first two numbers are some big old space date, then you've got year, month, day. It's the other way round, like it is in America."

"Oh! It's the New Byzantine Calendar."

"The codes are completion dates for each section. They finish it, they stamp the date on. So the numbers aren't counting down. They're going out from here, day by day, as the city got built."

"Yes. Oh, good work, Donna." The Doctor complemented.

"Yeah, but you're not getting it. Lukas?" She passed him the notepad and he skimmed it before his eyes widened.

"The first number is 60-12-0-7-17. Today's date is 0-7-24. It's only been seven days. The war's only lasted seven _days_."

Jenny was lost though, completely confused by this new information. "But they said _years_."

Donna shook her head. "No, they said _generations_. And if they're all like you, and they're products of those machines—"

"They could have 20 generations in a day. Each generation gets killed in the war, passes on the legend. _Ooh_, Donna, you're a genius." The Doctor said again, shaking her.

Jenny still wasn't convinced. "But all the buildings, the encampments. They're in ruins."

"No, they're not ruined. They're just empty. Waiting to be populated." The Doctor said, expression shocked. "Oh, they've mythologized their entire history. The Source must be part of that too. Come on!"

The rushed down the way to another corner, but everyone stopped upon seeing the other group across the way.

"Doctor!"

"Martha! Alex! Ooh, I should have known you two wouldn't stay away from the excitement." He rushed over and hugged Martha before spotting the Hath standing behind Alex and pulling Martha behind him, glaring. "You get away from her. Alex, come over here."

She just rolled her eyes. "Really? I'll have you know he's saved my life and you should know better than to judge a book by it's cover, Doctor. 'Sides, haven't you figured out what's going on yet? They're not even enemies."

Lukas stepped up beside him, peeking around his shoulder to look up at him. "Mum's got a point."

"Ooh, fine." The Doctor grumbled, but Alex didn't move.

"_Doctor_."

He let go of Martha with a groan and stepped towards the Hath, holding out a had to shake.

"Sorry for that and… Thank you for saving Alex."

The Hath seemed to smile at him as he gurgled pleasantly and shook the Doctor's hand. Alex nodded and started walking over to the Doctor, but walked past him to Donna.

"Donna! I missed you! Hope you set the Doctor straight for me while I was gone." She stood there as Donna hugged her, still not really one for hugging, and Donna nodded.

"Oh, you bet I did." She then pulled back, wrinkling up her nose. "Ooh, you're filthy! What happened?!"

"We took the surface route." Martha replied, pointing up as she hugged Donna and Alex moved over to smile at a surprised Jenny and a grinning Lukas who bear hugged her.

Alex then turned to the Doctor who was pouting childishly and she rolled her eyes, opening her arms.

"Oh, come here."

He saw what she was offering and grinned, bounding into her arms and hugging her as he spun her around and she complained.

"Oi! Put me down! I offered a hug, not a Merry-Go-Round!"

The group chuckled, but their joy was quickly cut off as they heard Cobb shouting down the way.

"That's the General. We haven't got much time." The Doctor said, putting Alex down.

"We don't even know what we're looking for."

Alex raised a hand. "Actually, _I _do. Follow your nose."

The group soon realized the smell of flowers and were quick to head towards it, though none of them were expecting what they found.

* * *

I was nervous. Oh _man,_ was I nervous. I still hadn't figured out what I was going to do. I thought about taking the gun off Cobb before he could pull it out, but he's a soldier, he'd realize what I was doing and that'd only speed up the process. I thought about telling everyone, but who'd believe me? Sure, maybe the Doctor, but I wasn't stupid. I could cause a whole 'nother war if I wasn't careful. The humans would think everyone was picking sides again and everything would blow up in my face. So what could I do? There had to be something I could do. But the way I saw it, Cobb was still going to pull the gun on the Doctor and Jenny was still going to jump in the way. _Lukas_ might even jump in the way. He might do it to protect the Doctor or even to protect Jenny—which I wouldn't put past him, the two of them seemed to have good chemistry. If he did, though, what else could I do? I was trying so hard to figure it out, but all I could see was one of the people I cared for, dying because everything went wrong.

"Oh, yes... _Yes_… Isn't this brilliant?" The Doctor questioned, not quite pulling me out of my thoughts, but at least tuning me back into the real world as everyone approached a glowing orb.

"Is that the Source?" Donna questioned as the Doctor set his coat on a crate nearby.

"It's beautiful." Jenny commented.

"What is it?"

"Terraforming." The Doctor explained. "It's a third generation terraforming device."

The Hath behind us bubbled in curiosity and excitement and Lukas grinned at him, the two seeming to be quite the buddies now.

"So why are we suddenly in Kew Gardens?" Donna questioned, confused.

"Because that's what it does. All this, only bigger. Much bigger. It's in a transit state. Producing all this must help keep it stable before they finally—"

The Doctor was cut off as Hath soldiers and Cobb and his men stormed the area, all guns aiming at one another, as the Doctor stood between them with his arms out; the Hath friend of ours stopping his side as well.

"Stop! Hold your fire!"

"What is this? Some kind of trap?" Cobb asked, demanding answers.

"You said you wanted this war over."

"I want this war _won_." Cobb clarified.

"You can't win. No one can. You don't even know why you're here. Your whole history, it's just Chinese whispers, getting more distorted the more it's passed on." The Doctor explained, gesturing to the globe as the Hath translated to his friends. "This is the Source. This is what you're fighting over. A device to rejuvenate a planet's ecosystem. It's nothing mystical. It's from a laboratory, not some creator. It's a bubble of gases. A cocktail of stuff for accelerated evolution. Methane, hydrogen, ammonia, amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids. It's used to make barren planets habitable. Look around you. It's not for killing, it's bringing life."

The Hath had already put their weapons down and were looking up at the plants as he went on.

"If you allow it, it can lift you out of these dark tunnels and into the bright, bright sunlight. No more fighting, no more killing." He then picked up the globe. "I'm the Doctor and I declare this war is over!"

He smashed the globe and it's gasses escaped, glowing as they floated up into the atmosphere. The soldiers all put down their weapons as they watched, human and Hath alike, but there was one man who didn't. The same one I kept my eyes on as my mind panicked. _What do I do? What can I do? I have to stop this, but how?! Someone's going to die either way! What could I possibly do?!_

"What's happening?" Jenny asked the Doctor who smiled down at her.

"The gasses will escape and trigger the terraforming process." He said, looking so fond of her; his daughter.

_How could I do this to him? How could I let her die for him? His only family. Even if she's just an echo, the way he looks at her. He _cares_ for her. He loves her like she was his own._

"What does that mean?"

_He's had kids. He's lost his kids. He's lost everything. I remember how devastated he was when she died in his arms. How many people has he had to hold as they died right in front of him? How many of his children? I can't let him loose another child. I just can't._

"It means a new world."

Jenny smiled up at him, before spotting Cobb as he raised his weapon. I was too far from him to deflect the aim of his gun elsewhere. I was incapable of taking the weapon off him. I was so useless. People died because of me. People were _going_ to die because of me.

"No!" Jenny called out and the Doctor turned as Cobb fired his pistol.

_No is right. I'm sorry, Doctor._

The bullet tore through muscle and bone, embedding itself through the heart and into the shoulder of the person standing before the Doctor, but that person wasn't Jenny. She'd been pushed out of the way in the last second. Pushed away, by me.

The Doctor held me as my knees buckled and Cobb was brought to his knees by a few soldiers; Martha, Donna, Jenny, and Lukas quickly coming over as I struggled to do much of anything past the pain.

"Alex! Alex, talk to me, Alex. Please, Alex. You can't do this. Not to me. Please."

I hardly felt Martha's fingers on my neck checking my pulse. Nor could I hear Donna asking whether I was going to be okay or not. All I could do was stare up at the Doctor as he looked at me in panic, eyes searching for anything he could do.

"I-I did good… yeah?" I asked, but he shook his head, holding me closer and sending pain up my shoulder, but I didn't care.

"You idiot." He scolded, breathlessly. "What were you thinking? Y-You've been _shot_."

His voice cracked on the last word and I cringed as my heart struggled to beat.

"S-Sorry… I couldn't think o-of anything else." I glanced over at Jenny as she clung to Lukas, both with tears in their eyes as they watched me silently.

"W-Why? Why did you do this?!" He asked, tears slipping down his face.

I managed to reach a shaky hand up, brushing a tear from his face. "Because… you were so fond of her… she's your _daughter_… y-you can finally have a p-piece of your family back."

"What about you?! What about Alex?! _My_ Alex?! You were supposed to stay here! You were supposed to be with me always! You're my constant! The one who never leaves! You make me better! You've always made me better and now… What am I supposed to do without you now?! Alex, please! Tell me! What am I supposed to do?!" He begged, but my breath was starting to hitch, blood clogging my throat as I struggled to help; to give him some sort of answer.

"L-Live… Live and always forgive… Always find… something beautiful." I said, smiling a bit, but everything was numb now.

My lungs that had felt like fire were now relaxing and my heart slowed down to a halt. A part of me was scared. I was dying. I didn't want to, nobody did, but it happens to everyone and I was lucky. I got to die with someone else telling me I mattered. That I meant everything to them. That they—

"Please! Alex! I-I love you! Y-You can't…"

They _loved_ me. Not as a friend or family member. They _loved_ me. The Doctor _loved_ me. And that made me so happy. Happy and scared, because he wasn't supposed to love me. He was supposed to love Rose, marry River. But I was also scared because now I would never see him again. I wouldn't hear him laugh and bicker with me like Eleven. I wouldn't have him yelling at me and teasing me like Ten. I wouldn't have him being suspicious and worried like Nine. I would never meet Twelve. Everything was ending right here. And suddenly, I didn't want to. _Please… don't make me leave him._

* * *

The Doctor watched as Alex's eyes closed and any life signs, any hope he had of her living through this died, along with her. It was like someone had ripped his hearts to pieces and thrown them away to burn. A worse pain than regeneration because he knew that this was a younger Alex. This was one who hadn't loved him like he did. This was one who was still fighting with everything that happened to her, still battling with his younger self. And to have her taken from him so soon, before she could experience anything and ruining every chance he had of meeting her again, he didn't know what to do. He pressed his lips to hers as a final goodbye, begging some part of him to save her, but knowing that it was already too late. It only became worse when her shoulder glowed and her body disappeared from his arms, because now, he didn't even have a body to bury. He was left with nothing but two empty hearts and a fury burning in his chest.

He stood up and furiously stomped over to where Cobb was kneeling on the ground, picking up his discarded pistol and aiming it right between the man's eyes. He stood there, cocking back the hammer and breathing hard, hatred scorching deep inside him as the Oncoming Storm begged for him to shoot the man in front of him. And he considered it. He was absolutely furious over what Cobb had done, because that was _his Alex_ who had just died in his arms. The woman he _loved_ despite her being human. Despite her not being able to save everyone. Despite her secrets and habits and pain. He _loved_ her and now he never could again and to put a bullet in the very man who caused it all would have been almost _relieving_. But Alex's final words came back to him.

"_Live and always forgive…"_

He lowered the gun, flipping it over and waving it in Cobb's face.

"Alex never would. Have you got that? I would, but Alex would _never_." He stood up, still furious, but speaking to everyone. "When you start this new world, this world of human and Hath, remember that! Make the foundation of his society a woman who never would!"

He threw the gun away and sat on the ground, cross-legged and frowning at the floor.

"Doctor?"

The man didn't look up, so Lukas sat in front of him, speaking calmly.

"I didn't know my mum very well, and she didn't know me… but she gave me my name despite that and… well… would you mind… telling me about her? About my mum?"

The Doctor looked up at Lukas who, despite everything he'd done so far and everything he'd been through, didn't say 'I'm sorry' to him or get angry over what happened. He just wanted to hear stories. He wanted to know about the woman who could barely be called his mother, yet was willing to give her life for Jenny and for him. The woman who forgave.

"She was a brave woman." The Doctor started off, getting up and leading Lukas and the others back. "A stubborn, cunning, ridiculous woman…"

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"N-No. That… That's impossible…"_

_It wasn't supposed to be here. It was _impossible_ for it to have appeared here... _What if I don't end up with them? What if I end up in the middle of the Time War? Or with Cybermen? O-Or in the Time Vortex or something?_ I frowned then, clenching my fists around my pants angrily. _No. What am I thinking? I already know what I'm going to do, because_… I relaxed and nodded, determined. _

_"Because they will have always loved me no matter what I choose…" I reached a hand out slowly. "And he will always save me."_


	12. The God Complex

**Hey! Here's the next chapter and thanks so much for the reviews! I'm glad you guys liked what i did with putting Lukas in there and i hope you enjoy this chapter as well. It should explain some things you have been asking me, in any case. And please review! They totally make my day ^^ And sorry if the sneak peak isn't much this time. It's hard to find a quote without giving everything away.**

* * *

"Alex! Would you wake up already?! You need to watch your little sister so I can go run some errands."

I bolted upright, eyes searching frantically for the Doctor or Cobb or anyone, but all I saw was my room. My room back home. _I-I'm… home? But I… I was with the Doctor. I was jumping through his time stream and… and I was shot…_ My mother poked her head around the corner with a frown on her face.

"I'm leaving. Your sister's in the front room watching TV. She'll want lunch soon, so make sure you get her something."

I nodded slowly, pulling a hand through my hair. "Y-Yeah. No, that's fine. I'll remember."

She eyed me, but nodded herself as she lifted the hand holding her keys up. "I don't know when I'll be back."

"Okay."

She walked out and I heard the door close a few moments later, before I climbed out of bed and wandered into the living room where my baby sister sat on the couch happily watching some cartoon on the TV. I slowly walked over to the couch and sat down, just staring into space. _It was a dream? But… he said it wasn't. He said it was real and I-I felt like it was real. How could it not be? I-I was chased by monsters and hurt and saved people's lives and lost people. How could all of that not be real? _I jumped when my baby sister patted my leg.

"Snack, snack."

I nodded, getting up and struggling to keep my mind in reality, because this is my life, right? This is where I'm supposed to be. Here, with my family and friends. _But they were my family too… _My mind argued and I suddenly realized, that I really wanted to go back. I wanted to go back to the Doctor, the adventure, the danger, the companions. But looking down at my sister as she bounded along beside me happily, I felt like a horrible person for being so willing to leave everything a second time. For selfishly wanting to leave everyone who cared for me for a dream. Because that's all it was, right? Just a dream.

* * *

Four years. It had been four whole years and I felt horrible. The first few months, I had dreams of being there again. Of being with the Doctor and everyone chasing aliens and fighting bad guys, but then I'd wake up and I suddenly felt hollow. My family had started noticing the changes and suggested I get a job as I finished up graduate school. They were convinced that because I sat around after I got out of classes that I'd become depressed with a lack of things to do. I tried to convince them otherwise, but that was about the time they noticed the markings on my shoulder and we got into a fight about me getting a tattoo.

I hadn't noticed, really, that the markings from my so-called dream were actually real. And then I started to notice other things too, that made no sense if it had just been a dream. The scar on my palm from cutting myself on the toaster at Amy and Rory's, the crescent burn mark on my stomach from the Daleks in Manhattan, the bullet wound on my shoulder, and phantom aches as though I would pop off back to the Doctor at any moment. And after a while, I believed that I would. I had even guessed that the Artron energy in my shoulder was what was responsible for saving my life from the bullet I'd been shot with. So for a while I did believe that it was just recharging and would whisk me away to the Doctor. That only lasted a few months though, before reality caught up with me and slapped me in the face.

I did eventually follow my parent's advice and got an internship working out in South America doing excavations of old Incan civilizations while I finished up my degree. I slowly pushed aside what had happened to me back with the Doctor and ignored my mind telling me that it had been real, because even if it was, it wasn't any more. I couldn't really watch the TV show anymore because the few times I did, it crushed me to know that I couldn't be there.

I was doing good though. Better than I thought I would've, anyway. I eventually finished my degree, got my doctorate, and moved away from my family to start over somewhere else; and chose to work in the British Museum with some of the artifacts and bones they had there until I'd be needed to excavate something elsewhere. My family was surprisingly fine with it and didn't mind that I'd left, saying that it seemed to make me happier and while it sort of did, there were days where I just felt lonely. And as much as I enjoyed my job and what I did, I occasionally felt the need to do something more… adventurous.

I was a lot more fidgety than I had been before because of this and it had gotten to the point where I had difficulty sleeping without medication. I just felt as though I had to be moving and doing things all the time. _A side effect of being with the Doctor._ I told myself and simply let it be.

Things change though, and I never would've expected them to change the way they did.

* * *

"Alex! Did you get the dating done for number 57?" My coworker, a lithe man with curly brown hair, asked me as I hovered over a desk with a microscope and a half-made skull that had been smashed to pieces by an elephant.

"I set it to the lab ages ago. The carbon-dating should be done." I responded, finding where the fragment of skull belonged and carefully plastering it to the larger piece. "Can you believe this guy was possibly publicly executed by an elephant? Emma upstairs said it was a common occurrence in South and Southeast Asia from as early as 700 BC."

He made a disgusted face. "Good to know."

"She also mentioned that they were often used as war animals because, unlike horses, they were willing to trampl—"

"Okay!" He called out loudly, cutting me off and putting a hand on my shoulder to stop me from picking up another piece of bone. "I think you've been down here too long, Alex. You're spouting strange history facts again. So why don't you head on upstairs and grab a bite to eat. I think it'll do you some good."

I sighed, but set down my equipment and got up with a stretch, knowing that he was right. I'd been working on the skull for five straight hours now and a break was very much needed.

"Alright, but you're picking up the dating for number 57."

He let out his own sigh as we headed towards the door. "That's fine. Anything's better than hearing you talk about killer elephants."

"It's not their fault they were being trained as—"

"I don't want to hear it!" He called out, covering his ears as I checked out of the room with a chuckle.

I always had fun teasing him. Once I was out and into the main part of the museum, I went outside and got myself a nice sandwich to eat before returning. It was odd though, because the section of the museum I was in was completely empty and I knew that shouldn't be the case, seeing as it was midday and it should be chock full of students and parents and kids being led around in tour groups. Yet, there was no one here and the whole hall seemed rather dark. I wandered a bit, looking at the glass cases scattered about with rare artifacts in them, before I saw a light up ahead. My curious nature kicked in and I headed towards it, but was shocked at what I found.

"N-No. That… That's impossible…"

There in the middle of a display case was a large glowing crack just floating in the air. I reached for it, but quickly pulled back. It wasn't supposed to be here. It was _impossible_ for it to have appeared here, but vaguely, I felt that I was wrong. That I had gotten into the _Doctor Who _universe through this crack the first time, though I couldn't remember at all how that could've happened.

I looked around for anyone else to prove that what I was seeing was actually here, but there was no one around. I glanced back at the crack, feeling my shoulder heat up a bit just looking at it. Everything in my head was telling me to stay put though, to not touch it, because if I did, I'd lose everything I had here a second time. But my heart was telling me to reach out. Telling me that I'd be safe and I'd end up back with the Doctor and my dream could be real. My stomach twisted uncomfortably as I tried to reason with myself over what I should do.

_I have my job here! And my family and friends and this time, I actually have a choice. I can just walk away right now and everything will just be normal. Me working at my job, visiting my family on holidays, watching TV and—_ I cut my thoughts off, feeling that nagging feeling of doubt well up in me. _And suffer. Isn't that what I'd be doing? All this time I've just been suffering. I haven't been sleeping well, and have just gotten back to socializing within the past year or so. It's been so hard without them, but would I be willing to just dump my life behind for a little adventure?_

I fidgeted nervously, suddenly feeling as though whatever was on the other side of that crack was the exact opposite of what I wanted. _What if I don't end up with them? What if I end up in the middle of the Time War? Or with Cybermen? O-Or in the Time Vortex or something?_ I frowned then, clenching my fists around my pants angrily. _No. What am I thinking? I already know what I'm going to do, because…_ I relaxed and nodded, determined.

"Because they will always love me no matter what I choose…" I reached a hand out slowly. "And he will always save me."

* * *

Jackson Reiss shivered at the thought of going back in to check on Alex, worried that she might have ignored his advice on getting something to eat and have just returned to work on the destroyed skull the moment she'd gotten him to pick up the carbon-dating information for number 57. She did little things like that sometimes. She once convinced him to get her a soda and some barbecue while she was working on cleaning the bones of another victim of odd circumstances who'd been trapped in a Florida bog for who knows how long. He still didn't know how she could stomach eating something like barbecue ribs in the same room as a dead body. Pushing the door open to the lab, he peeked in cautiously.

"Alex?"

He walked in seeing no one and frowned, wondering where she could be, before he suddenly stopped. Scratching his head, he suddenly questioned what he was doing.

"Why am I in here? I know I was going to check on something…" He shrugged, turning to leave, before noticing a half-done skull on the desk nearby and groaning. "People never clean up after themselves anymore! Oh, that's fine. We'll just let Jackson do it. God knows he doesn't have anything else to do."

He shook his head and grumbled under his breath about lazy anthropologists, but there was still this nagging in his head as he cleaned up the bits and put them away properly. Like he was forgetting something. Something important about whoever was working on the skull. He shrugged it off though, after taking a few moments and not coming up with anything. After all, who in their right mind would be excited about putting together a skull of a man crushed by an elepha—_ How did I know that?_ He wondered, glancing at the skull but seeing no tell-tale sign that an elephant had done anything to it. _Hm, odd._ He flicked out the lights and left the room, looking over the paperwork he had in his hands, not knowing that he'd completely forgotten everything about a certain red headed woman. Alexander Holmes had suddenly become nonexistent.

* * *

I woke up with my shoulder killing me and my head aching terribly as I groaned and rolled onto my back, clutching my shoulder tightly. _I know it's been four years, but my _God_, does that hurt._ I sighed, wincing as my shoulder ached, and furrowing my brows as I realized that I was lying on a set of stairs that seemed to continue on for a while. _Not the first time I woke up confused on some stairs, but this _doesn't_ look like my flat… and last I checked, I'm not drunk._

"Let's go to Ravan-Skala, he says." A familiar voice said from somewhere below me. "The people are 600 feet tall, you have to talk to them in hot air balloons, and the Tourist Information Center is made of one of their hats, he says. I'm sorry, but I don't see any huge hats."

I stood up quickly, ignoring the ache, and peered over the side of the stairs I was on to see Amy, Rory, and the Eleventh Doctor looking down below.

"And you guys didn't invite me?" I called down, grinning as they quickly turned around to look up at me in surprise. "Shame on you!"

"Alex!" They all cheered with large grins before I headed downstairs towards them.

Once there, Amy strangled me in a hug and I hugged her tightly back, glad that I was here with them again, but she quickly let me go and smacked the back of my head.

"Ow! What'd I do?!" I whined, rubbing the back of my head where she hit me, with a pout.

"That's for something you haven't done yet, but I'll have you know I didn't appreciate it."

I gave her a disbelieving look. "What?!"

The Doctor rushed over and spun me around in a hug with a grin. "Oh! I missed you, Alex!" He set me down and smiled at me. "And I'm not going to be mean like Amy."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Oh right! 'Cause _you're_ not the bad guy."

He looked over at her smugly, letting me go. "Of course I'm not. That's why I have you."

I raised my eyebrows in shock, seeing where this was going and silently debating on whether I should stop them or just let it happen. Because, I'm sorry, I _know_ it's going to be hilarious. _Amy and the Doctor arguing about this? Oh yeah, this ought to be good._

"What?! You have me around so that _I_ can be the bad guy?!"

"Well, you _are_ a bit on the brash side and can be quite scary when you want to be and—"

I had stepped back to where Rory was standing, pinching the bridge of his nose with a sigh, and nudged his side.

"Hey, you have any popcorn? This looks like it'll be getting good."

"Alex!" He scolded me loudly.

I held my hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright."

I walked over to the bickering duo and stood between both of them.

"Okay, I think you two are done. Can we figure out where we're at, now?"

"I'm not that scary!"

"Yes you are! Look at you now! That's plenty scary if you ask me!" They shouted at one another, completely ignoring me.

I felt my eyebrow twitch in annoyance and sighed, taking in a deep breath and shouting.

"Oi! I said shut it!"

They both stopped, turning to me in surprise as I pointed at the Doctor.

"You, need to be nice to Amy and not make fun of her."

He pouted as Amy crossed her arms over her chest smugly, before I turned to her.

"And _you_ shouldn't be so easy to goad into a fight… and you can be a bit scary when you want to be." I saw she was about to start arguing again, but held up a hand to stop her. "But! I've been told I can be scary sometimes too, so maybe it's the hair."

I gestured to my own red hair and that got a chuckle from her, so the group of us smiled at one another, before Rory came over a lot more relaxed.

"So, now that everyone's done fighting, I suppose it's _my_ turn to say hello to Alex?"

I grinned over at him as he opened his arms and I hugged him as well. "Hello, Rory."

"Hello, Alex. How have you been?"

I shrugged, letting him go. "Better now that I'm back here, that's for sure."

Amy raised a brow. "Back? Where have you been?"

"Wherever you've been, you haven't been getting much sleep, despite me telling you time and time again." Rory said, going into nurse mode. "You look tired."

"No, not tired." The Doctor said, eyeing me and moving closer. "_Older_. Much older. When were you last with me?"

I hesitated, feeling as though I was about to receive a scolding the moment he knew where I had been and remembered what I'd done.

"I was… with you, Donna and Martha… and… Lukas and Jenny. I was with your Tenth self and I was sort of… you know."

Amy eyed us as the Doctor's expression went from shocked to angry to sad and back again.

"Hold on. He may know, but I don't and neither does Rory. What happened?"

I felt nervousness creep up on me then, weighing heavily on my mind as I worried over how they would react. "I-I, sort of—"

"You _died_." The Doctor cut me off, making me wince as Rory and Amy turned to him in shock.

"S-Sorry about that."

"You died?!" Amy shouted, grabbing my upper arms and glaring at me angrily. "What were you thinking?!"

"I-I was actually having trouble thinking." I told her, seeing the Doctor's point on her being scary for myself. "H-He was military, so it's not like I could've taken the gun from him."

"You were _shot_?!"

The Doctor pulled a hand down his face, expressing how I felt.

"W-Well, it was either the Doctor get shot, his daughter get shot, or my son get shot. So there, uh, wasn't really much of a choi—"

"Daughter?!"

"Son?!"

Her and Rory exclaimed, and the Doctor covered my mouth before I could say anything else, since everything I was telling them only seemed to make the situation worse.

"Yes. DNA samples were taken from us at gunpoint and used to genetically engineer—"

I pulled his hand away from my mouth, knowing that he was going to ramble on about something they wouldn't get.

"Clones!"

He sighed, covering my mouth again. "Sort of. Not exactly. Clones would be exact copies, these were simply people created using—"

"Okay, alright. We get it. Not clones, but your 'children'." She used finger quotes for emphasis. "But that still doesn't explain how you got here after being shot or where you were before this."

I raised my hand excitedly, wanting to show that I knew the answer to this as I mumbled loudly behind the Doctor's hand. The group raised a brow in amusement, before the Doctor lowered his hand with a small smile.

"Alright, alright. Amaze us."

"Artron energy!" I said with a smile.

"What?" Amy deadpanned, having no idea what I was talking about.

I pointed to my shoulder. "It's a bundle of energy in my shoulder that's somehow connected to why I bounce around the Doctor's time stream. My guess is, when I was shot in the same area—" I pulled the collar of my shirt and white lab coat over to show the old bullet wound. "—the Artron energy pooled into that spot and healed it, also sending me back to my old universe, which is where I've been for four years." I paused, fixing my shirt. "Although, I don't know how long it was for the Doctor nor why I was sent back to my old universe and not somewhere else in his time stream. Am I right though?"

I looked up at the Doctor who pat my head with a smile.

"Couldn't have said it better myself… Well, I could have, but your answer works too."

I pouted and nudged him in the ribs. "Show off."

"Hold on." Rory spoke up, catching my attention. "What were you _doing_ for four years?"

I shrugged. "This and that. Finished up my schooling. I'm a certified anthropologist now." I grinned, before going on. "Saw three psychiatrists, excavated an old Incan site in South America, moved to London, and started working in the British Museum. I was working on putting together a skull crushed by an elephant, before I found a way back here."

Rory mouthed the word 'elephant' in confusion, but Amy was more worried about other things.

"Wait, so you left everything you had to come back here, a second time? Your family, friends, job? All of it?"

I stiffened, but nodded, rubbing the back of my neck. "Y-Yeah."

"How could you do that?!" She asked, making me wince at the hurt tone she had. "They loved you and you just threw it all away?!"

I winced, remembering that Amy had no family and how she'd give everything to have her mom and dad, whereas I just left them behind.

"Is it really living if you're never happy?" I asked her, cautiously, but also very upset. "My parents are the ones who sent me to psychiatrists, because when I got back, all I wanted to do was be here. I became depressed and couldn't sleep. Nothing was worth while anymore, and when I left for London, they were happy for me, because _I_ was happy. I hate myself for doing it again, but now… we can all be happy." I shook my head, starting to get depressed. "For all I know, my entire existence has been erased and they won't even know who I am anyway."

I walked over to the stair railing, propping my arms on it and resting my chin.

"But I'm sorry. I can't begin to understand how you feel about it, and I never wanted to make a choice like that, but… I've always done things for everyone else's happiness in my universe and…" I chuckled bitterly. "I suppose that wasn't the best moment to choose to be selfish."

I heard her sigh and tensed, waiting for her to yell some more, but she didn't.

"God, you make it so hard to stay mad at you. I don't know how the Doctor does it."

I peered over my shoulder as he too, sighed.

"I don't. She usually gets her way. Oh, but enough about that! Aren't you excited?!" He spun around, gesturing to the hotel.

"How can you be excited about a rubbish hotel on a rubbish bit of Earth?" Amy asked as he hurried up the stairs with me following behind him, glad for the change of topic and that Amy wasn't too angry at me now.

"Because, simple Ponds, this is not Earth. This has just been made to look like Earth. The craftsmanship involved, can you imagine."

"What?" She questioned, the group of us hurrying back down to where the Tardis sat. "Then where are we?"

"I don't know. Something must have yanked us off course." He then spotted a plant. "Look at the detail on that cheese plant!"

He touched a leaf of the fern and smelled it, I myself standing beside him with a raised brow, before he offered the leaf to me. I quickly raised a hand and waved it in disagreement, mouthing the words 'no thanks'. He shrugged and move over to a bowl of apples, taking one out as Rory started asking questions.

"Right, but who would mock an Earth hotel?"

The Doctor tossed the apple and turned to them. "Colonists maybe. Recreating a bit of home, like when ex-pats open English pubs in Majorca." He grinned excitedly and breathed out a chuckle before taking a bite of his apple. "No, whoever did this, I am shaking his stroke her hand stroke tentacle."

"Could you repeat that in English?" I asked, looking around and searching for something that might jog my memory as to where we were at.

"No, not really. But what do you think, Alex? Any idea?"

"Hm, dunno. Looks familiar, _sounds_ familiar, but I need a bit of a memory jog."

"Have you seen these?" Rory called out, drawing our attention to a wall of photographs. "Look at the labels underneath. Commander Halke: defeat. Tim Heath: having his photo taken. Lady Silver-Tear: Daleks."

The name of the alien caught the Doctor's attention and we joined Rory to look over the photos as Amy pointed out a few more.

"Paige Barns: other people's socks. Tim Nelson: balloons. Novice Prin: Saber Wolves. Royston Luke Gold: Plymouth?"

I spotted one though and pointed at it, feeling my memory starting to jog into place. "Lucy Hayward: that brutal gorilla. This isn't good."

"What does it mean?" Amy asked me and I turned to the Doctor.

"Doctor, what are Sontarans known for?"

"Waging war." He replied, and I nodded, pointing to the photo of Commander Halke; a Sontaran.

"So what would 'defeat' be to them?"

His brows furrowed and he eyed me, seeing how I wasn't giving him a straight answer, but I think he had the general idea. He just pretended not to and shrugged.

"I don't know what those photos mean, but let's find out." He rang the bell on the desk and a trio of people suddenly came out screaming and brandishing weapons; though the rat guy was waving a white flag.

"Whoa!"

"Blimey, that was a bit quick."

"We surrender." The rat said as Rory held his hands out calmly.

"No, it's okay. We're not—"

"We surrender." The rat interrupted him as he tried again.

"We're nice."

"S-She's threatening me with a chair leg." The Doctor spouted, pointing at the nurse in front of us.

"Who are you?" She demanded as the younger man spoke up.

"Oh God. We're back in reception."

"We surrender." The rat said again.

"I've never been threatened with a chair leg before." The Doctor started to hide behind me, but paused. "No, hold on. I tell a lie."

Amy and Rory started arguing and the trio in front of us were talking over one another and I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"This is why I dislike people." I muttered, before the nurse finally shut everyone up.

"Okay, I need everyone to shut up, now!"

"Rita, be careful, yeah?" The younger guy said, spotting her waving the chair leg a bit recklessly.

"Their pupils are dilated. They're as surprised as we are." She announced to her group. "Besides which, if it's a trick, it'll tell us something."

"Oh, you're good." The Doctor said, coming out from his place behind me. "Oh, she's good. Amy, with regret, you're fired."

"What?" She questioned, giving him a look.

"I'm kidding." He said, though I spotted him making a phone sign with his hand and telling the nurse they'd talk, to which I smacked him upside the back of the head. "Ow!"

"Behave."

He pouted at me for a moment, rubbing the back of his head where I'd hit him, and then turned to the rat.

"I take it from the pathological compulsion to surrender, you're from Tivoli."

"Yes. The most invaded planet in the galaxy. Our anthem is called, 'Glory To Insert Name Here'."

"You with the face—"

I smacked him again. "Rude."

He rolled his eyes. "Sorry. Howie, right? You said you were surprised to be back in reception."

"The walls move. Everything changes." He explained.

"You, clever one. What's he talking about?" The Doctor asked, turning back towards the desk.

"The corridors twist and stretch. Rooms vanish and pop up somewhere else. It's like the hotel's alive."

The Doctor flicked off the radio, turning the elevator-like music off. "That's quite enough of that." He muttered as the other group went on.

"Yeah, and it's huge with, like, no way out."

"Have you tried the front door?" Rory asked.

"No. In two days, it never occurred to us to try the front door. Thank God you're here." Rita, the nurse, mocked.

Amy laughed, quickly stopping as Rory sent her a look, just as the Doctor opened the front doors.

"They're not doors, they're walls. Walls that look like doors. Door walls, if you like. Or dwalls. Woors even, though you'd probably got it when I said they're not doors. I mean, the windows are—" He flung the curtains back to show more white bricked walls. "—Right. Big day for a fan of walls."

Amy nudged me in the ribs. "And you like _that_?"

I shrugged, not really thinking into what she might have been implying. "I think it's kind of…" I frowned. "What's another word for 'cute' that doesn't make me sound girly?"

"Pft."

Her and Rory laughed and I pouted as the group in front of us went on.

"It's not just that. The rooms have _things_ in them."

"Things? Hello! What kind of things? Interesting things? I love things, ask anyone. Ask Alex!"

I rolled my eyes. "He likes things."

Rita and Howie shared a look, before turning back to us. "Bad dreams."

"Well that killed the mood."

I mentally sighed, wondering if he saw the connection between that and the photos we saw.

"How did you get here?" He asked and Howie fidgeted as Rita answered.

"I don't know. I'd just started my shift. I must have passed out because suddenly I was here."

"I-I was, uh, blogging. Next thing, this." Howie said, followed by the rat.

"I-I was at work. I'm in town planning. We're lining all the highways with trees so invading forces could march in the shade."

"Oh." The Doctor hummed as he nodded.

"Which is nice for them."

"Yeah." Everyone agreed.

"So what have we got?" The Doctor asked, pacing. "People snatched from their lives and dropped into an endless, shifting maze that looks like a 1980s hotel with bad dreams in the bedrooms." He pulled out a rubix cube, immediately catching my attention; eyes watching it as he tossed it. "Well, apart from anything else, that's just rude."

I bounced from foot to foot, reaching a hand out childishly. "Can I have that?"

Everyone gave me an odd look, but the Doctor winked and tossed it to me.

"What do you think I pulled it out for?"

I grinned, quickly twisting and turning it as he bounded up the stairs.

"We'll pop back to the Tardis. I'll do a planet-wide diagnostic sweep and then we'll have a sing… song."

He put his hands out, searching for it as I grinned and passed the cube I had to Rory.

"Mix this up for me."

His eyes widened at the solved cube, Amy cut him off before he could say anything.

"Where's the Tardis? You parked it there, didn't you?"

"What's a Tardis?" Howie questioned.

"Our way out. And it's gone." Rory said dejectedly, but still mixing up the rubix cube for me.

"Okay, this is bad." The Doctor hurried down the stairs. "At the moment, I don't know how bad, but certainly we're three buses, a long walk, and eight quid in a taxi from good."

"I could've told you that." I muttered, grinning when Rory handed me back the rubix cube to solve.

The Doctor ignored me, rubbing his forehead, and turned to Rita. "Are there any more of you?"

"Joe. But he's tied up right now."

"Doing what?"

"Doctor?" I said, glancing up at him seriously. "They mean literally tied up."

The Doctor sent me a glance and Rita nodded in confirmation, before he smiled a bit.

"Could you show me?"

"I guess, but I hope none of you are afraid of dummies."

"I'm surrounded by them." I joked, tossing the finished rubix cube over to the Doctor who caught it and looked it over with a grin.

"You've improved." He complimented, as we followed Rita and the others to where Joe was.

I nodded. "Had to keep the hands busy."

"I know what you mean." He chuckled, as we entered a room full of laughing dummies and a man tied to a chair.

Creepy thing was, the dummies all stopped laughing and turned their heads towards us the moment we did. The Doctor though, kept calm and approached Joe.

"Hello. I'm the Doctor."

"We're going to die here." The man said, sending a shiver down my spine.

"Well, they certainly didn't mention that in the brochure. Is Joe there? Can I have a quick word?" He asked, grabbing a chair.

"Oh, it's still me, Doctor. But I've seen the light. I lived a blasphemous life, but he has forgiven my inconstancy and soon, he shall feast."

"Well, you've been here for two days. What's he waiting for?"

"We weren't ready. We were still raw."

The Doctor gave him a look. "But now you're what? Cooked?"

"If you like. Soon you will be too. Be patient. First, find your room."

_I hope I don't find mine._ I mentally shivered.

"My room."

"There's a room here for everyone, Doctor… Even you."

"You said you'd seen the light now."

"Nothing else matters anymore. Only him. It's like these things. I used to hate them. They make me laugh now." He laughed, looking around at the dummies. "Ahaha. Gottle o' geer. Gottle o' geer. Ahaha."

The dummies laughed as well, making everyone shift around nervously.

"You should go." Joe said, stopping, but still smiling. "He'll be here soon."

The Doctor got up and grabbed a luggage trolley, pushing it under Joe's chair.

"I think you should come with me."

He began moving him and nodding for us to follow him back to the reception room, myself sticking to the back of the group, wondering how I could tell him that I can't stop anything in this episode. It was virtually impossible to stop someone from having faith in something, so what could I do?

"Why you four? That's what I don't understand. Aside from all the other things I don't understand." The Doctor said once we were in the reception room, drawing me from my thoughts as he turned off the music again.

"What does it matter? Sooner or later, someone will come along and rescue us. Or enslave us." The rat said, looking rather pleased with the idea of enslavement.

"First, we find the Tardis. Quick thing before we go. If you feel drawn to a particular room, do not go in, and make sure someone else can see you at all times. You too, Alex. No wandering off."

I rolled my eyes. "Right, cause everyone listens to that rule."

"_Alex_." He said sternly and I sighed.

"Yeah, yeah. Alright."

"Joe said, 'he will feast'. Is there something here with us?" Rita asked, looking rather worried, and Joe laughed.

"Something to add, Joe?" The Doctor questioned, smiling though definitely not finding anything funny.

"Here comes a candle to light you to bed. Here comes a chopper to chop off your head. Chop, chop, chop, chop."

"Can we do something about him?" Howie asked as Joe laughed again.

I frowned, puzzled as the Doctor searched his pockets for some duct tape, no doubt. "_Oranges and Lemons_? Odd nursery rhyme to choose. I'd say pick something happier, but… most aren't."

"Really, Alex? Random facts _now_?" Amy questioned and I shrugged.

I was nervous, okay? With there being nothing I could possibly do to save anyone here, I more than a bit anxious to leave and tended to spout history facts and such.

"Ah-ha! Here we go. Try that." He tossed the tape over to Howie, who taped Joe's mouth shut, before the Doctor grabbed my hand and pointed down the hall. "This way, then! Come on!"

The group followed after us and I glanced down at our hands.

"Um, you don't have to hold my hand, you know."

"I know." He smiled, looking around as we walked down some halls.

"Then why don't you let go?"

He turned to me and grinned. "Because I like holding your hand."

I frowned in confusion, but he just beamed and continued walking with my hand in his, so I just let it slide. Something told me he wouldn't let go even if I asked anyway, so what's the harm? The Doctor peered down a hall before doubling back with me, the others ahead of us now; the rat wheeling Joe as he spoke.

"Personally, I think you've got the right idea. Times like this, I think of my old school motto. 'Resistance is Exhausting'."

Amy groaned a bit, before Howie started talking to Rory behind us, though I paid no attention to it. If I remembered right, Howie was a very anti-social, computer nerd with school bully problems. It's not that I didn't like him or anything. I rather enjoyed his part in the show, but this was real now and knowing that he was going to actually die was a bit much. I didn't really want to get attached to anyone here really because of it, so I kept my mouth shut; though the PE teacher who stopped us had me surprised.

"Hello." The Doctor said and I blinked at the man.

"Have you forgotten your PE kit again? Right, that's it. You're doing it in your pants." The teacher announce, before heading back into the room.

The Doctor looked over at me and I shrugged, not recognizing the man, and we turned to the others to check with them, only to spot Howie reaching for a door.

"Hey! Don't!" The Doctor let me go and rushing over, stopping in front of him as the door opened to reveal a group of laughing younger women.

"Oh look, girls. It's H-H-H-Howie!"

They laughed and before another girl could make a quip at him, I reached over and grabbed the handle, shutting the door. He quickly backed up and shook his head as everyone looked at him.

"This is just some m-m-messed up CIA stuff. I-I-I'm telling you."

The Doctor moved forward and draped an arm over his shoulder. "You're right. Keep telling yourself that. It's a CIA thing. Nothing more."

The Doctor and Rory helped move him along, but I glanced back, knowing that the minotaur was there watching us somehow. A hand fell on my shoulder and I quickly turned back around to see the Doctor eyeing me.

"You alright, Alex? Was there something there?"

I shook my head. "No. But…" I sighed, dragging a hand through my hair. "You're not going to like this."

"Like what?"

"This… This…" I waved my hand, trying to find something else to call it other than an episode. "This _adventure_."

He frowned, looking ahead and hugging me around the shoulders tightly. "I hate it when you say that."

I blinked, looking up slightly at him confused. "Huh?"

He looked over at me sadly. "You tell me that on occasion and when you do, you're usually right. I don't like it and I don't like what it does to you."

"How do you mean?" I asked, not sure what he meant, though I watched as he flicked a light and then fingered some scratches on the ceiling.

"What do you make of these?" He asked me instead, ignoring my question as I looked up at the marks.

"Um, could be claw marks, but they're not the usual deep in the middle lacerations like you would see if they were. Not to mention they're on the ceiling, which is odd. Horns, maybe?"

"Hm."

I didn't mind giving him that hint, because who knows how many species of alien he had in his head that had horns.

"Uh, guys?"

We heard Rory calling out, but no one paid much attention as Amy came over towards us with some papers.

"Look."

Before we could, there was a loud roar down the hall, freaking us out and making us back up slowly.

"Okay, whatever that is, it's not real. Yeah?"

"No. No, I'm sure it isn't. But just in case, let's run away and hide anyway. In here." He pointed to a door behind Amy and most of us when in there, but Rory was still outside and Rita and Joe backed into another room.

"Rory, come on!" The Doctor called out to him as Amy, Howie, and I had our eyes on the Weeping Angels in our room. "Come on!"

"Ai!" The Doctor squeaked out, also a bit spooked at seeing them and he quickly covered my eyes.

"Hey!"

"Don't look at them, Alex. Not the eyes! Stare at the chests. The chests."

"I would, but you're covering my eyes." I grumbled as I heard Amy give Howie an order not to blink.

I pulled the Doctor's hand away from my face and he panicked, but I smacked his hand away with a frown as the lights flickered and the Angels moved.

"Amy, Alex. Get back."

I groaned, stepping forwards. "You idiot."

"Alex, don't!" He shouted and I sighed, waving a hand through the Angel beside me.

"Not real. It's a dream. It's using fear just like all the doors."

The Doctor immediately assumed it was Amy and began trying to comfort her, but Rory figured it out, just as there was stomping coming down the corridor. The Doctor, curious as always, started for it, but Amy was hesitant.

"Doctor, what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry. I just have to see what it is. Just, I have to see." He gave her a reassuring smile and peered through the peep hole, whispering under his breath as the minotaur passed by. "Oh, look at you. You are beautiful."

"Yeah? You said that about the werewolf too, before you threatened to feed me to it." I grumbled as he backed away from the door quickly.

"Are you _always_ going to hold that over my head?" He questioned me and I went to answer, but he shook his head. "No, no. Never mind that."

He peered back through the peep hole, spotting a freed Joe, no doubt.

"He's going after Joe." There was silence and a bit of stomping before he opened the door. "Leave him alone!"

He dashed down the hall, chasing the beast, but I knew it was a useless effort. He would find Joe, but not the beast. Sighing, I turned to the others in the room and tossed a thumb at the door.

"It's all clear. The Doctor ran off, but I know where he'll be, so it's best we stick together and head on out. Better than staying here with the fake Weeping Angels."

They agreed fairly quickly and hurried out into the hall one after the other, before we started walking; myself leading the way.

"Wait, um, Alex, right?" Howie asked me and I nodded.

"Yup."

"H-H-How do you know where he'd be? The Doctor?"

I pushed open a door and spotted Rita sitting on a bed being scolded at by her father. Turning to the others and closing the door a bit, I sighed.

"Stay here."

They nodded hesitantly and I headed in, poking my head through her father's fake chest and grinning to help try and ease the tension.

"Hello again, Rita."

"Y-You. You're that… Doctor's friend." She sniffled out, wiping her eyes of her tears.

"Actually, the name's Alex and I'll have you know, I had a mum like him." I said, pointed up at the man who was still getting angry about a B+ grade in mathematics. "Got mad about my grades all the time. Even the good ones! I once got a 98% and she said if I actually tried, I would've got 100, like that 98 didn't even matter. But you know what I did?"

I stepped through her father and stood in front of her, blocking her view of him and smiling lightly.

"I stopped caring. As long as I passed, I didn't care what she thought and I started getting Cs and Bs all the time. She got mad, of course, but what could she do about it? You though. You kept going, didn't you?"

I knelt down in front of her as she wiped her eyes some more.

"You got better grades just to make that old man happy, yeah? That's better than me and way braver." I stood up and held out a hand. "Now, come on. Let's go."

* * *

The group of us were back in the room with the dummies, who had stopped reacting completely now that Joe was gone, and we were all trying our best to relax. Howie and Rory were working together to blockade the room, Amy was trying to comfort Gibbis (the rat), and Rita made tea and was passing it out. I was on my own though, sitting at a table and nursing a glass of whiskey I'd nabbed from the bar. I felt bad for not telling Howie about the whole 'knowing what's going to happen' thing, but I knew that if I did, the moment something bad happened, everyone would turn on me and that'd only make things even more tense than they already were. I let out a soft sigh and drank some more, glancing over at the Doctor as he talked to Rita, just as Amy called him over.

"Doctor, look at this." She passed him the papers from her pocket. "I found it in a corridor. I completely forgot I had it."

He smacked her on the head with the papers before leaning up against a table and reading them out loud.

"Eh, my name is Lucy Hayward and I'm the last one left. It took Luke first. It got him on his first day, almost as soon as we arrived. It's funny. You don't know what's going to be in your room until you see it, then you realize it could never have been anything else. I just saw mine. It was a gorilla from a book I'd read as a kid. My God, that thing used to terrify me. The gaps between my worships are getting shorter, like contractions. This is what happened to the others, and how lucky they were. It's all so clear now. I'm so happy. Praise him."

"Praise him."

All eyes went to Howie, who had been organizing silverware as the Doctor spoke, whereas I was turning the napkins into swans and opera houses; my table now completely piled with them along with the chairs and floor around me.

"What did you just say?" The Doctor questioned him and he looked confused for a moment.

"Nothing." He seemed to be struggling with something and then blurted out, "Praise him!"

He covered his mouth as Gibbis stood up and backed away.

"This is what happened to Joe!"

Everyone started talking over one another in a panic and I covered my ears, placing my elbows on the table and gritting my teeth. I hated it when people did this. When everyone was talking over one another arguing or panicking. The Doctor then held up his sonic screwdriver, causing the radio to screech loudly and shut everyone up, for which I was very grateful. Uncovering my ears when he stopped, I grabbed my glass and went back over to the bar to refill it; knowing I'd need the buzz to keep from strangling Gibbis as he spoke.

"Don't you see? You'll lead it right here!"

"What do you suggest?" Rita questioned.

"Look, whatever it is out there, it's obviously chosen Howard as its next course. Now, tragic though that is, this is no time for sentiment. I'm saying if it were to find him, it may be satisfied and let the rest of us go."

"It won't." I said, not facing the group as I poured my drink. "It's running on instinct now. It will keep going until it's stopped."

Gibbis flopped down in a chair, dejectedly. "All I want to do is go home and be conquered and oppressed! Is that too much to ask?"

"It's okay." Rita said. "I'll stay with Howard. You take the others and go."

"No." The Doctor stated firmly. "We stay together."

I heard him move to Gibbis and drank from my glass deeply, before the Doctor took it from me.

"That's enough for you."

I frowned a bit, pulling a hand through my hair, having expected the Doctor to leave, but he stayed there next to me, eyeing me with a sad look on his face.

"Is there anything I can do?"

I went to say no, but I knew that would just make everything worse, so I sighed. "I can't tell you."

He nodded, but kissed the side of my head. "I'll save them. I promise."

He walked over to the panicking Howie and I tapped my fingers anxiously on the counter. _Don't. Don't make promises you can't keep._

"Howie, any second now, it's going to posses you again." The Doctor said, putting a comforting hand over his shoulders. "When it does, I'm going to ask you some questions. Please try to answer them."

Howie was seated in a chair and the rest of us gathered around, myself included.

"I hope my mum's alright. S-She going to be w-w-worried."

"Howie?"

Howie's expression changed and the Doctor grinned, tapping his fingers on the table.

"Howie. Howie, you're next. We're all dead jealous. So, tell us. How do we get a piece of the action?"

Howie laughed, putting a finger in front of his mouth as though he was holding back a big secret.

"Why isn't he possessing all of us?"

"You guys have got…" He tapped the side of his head. "…All these distractions. All these obstacles. It'd be so much easier to just let it go. You know? Clear the path."

"You want it to find you?" Amy questioned. "Even though you know what it's gonna do?"

"Are you kidding? He's going to kill us all? How cool is that!"

Howie laughed and the rest of us got up and huddled a few feet away from him; the Doctor speaking up.

"It's as I thought, it feeds on fear."

_Wrong!_ My mind shouted and I winced, turning my head away to focus on something else in the hopes that my own expression wouldn't give anything away to the Doctor.

"Everything, the rooms, Lucy's note, even the pictures in reception, has been put here to frighten us. So we have to resist it. Do whatever you have to. Cross your fingers, say a prayer, think of a basket of kittens, but do not give in to the fear."

"Okay, but what are we actually going to do?" Amy asked.

"We're going to catch ourselves a monster."

He told us the plan and we all got in our places. I wanted to stay with Howie and Gibbis in the hopes that stopping Gibbis from releasing Howie might save him, but I knew that it wouldn't, so I stuck with Amy and Rita for now. Because I knew that this was when Amy found her room and perhaps I could stop her. _Then again, won't that just mess things up even more?_ I winced and put a hand to my head, a headache starting to form from the whiskey I drank earlier.

"You alright?" Rita asked as we entered a room.

"Yeah." I chuckled, nervously as I tapped the side of my head. "Headache. Little too much whiskey."

"That's why I told you to have tea instead… Though you're not British, are you?"

"Sorry." I apologized, rubbing the back of my neck. "I'm American, actually."

I saw she wasn't paying attention and turned to see a rather sad looking clown sitting on the bed behind us.

"Anything to do with either of you?"

I shook my head, as did Amy, before Rita looked over at the clown.

"How's it going?"

"Don't talk to the clown." Amy groaned as I chuckled.

My laughter didn't last long though, before we heard the minotaur stomp past and enter the Spa where we were going to trap it. The three of us hurriedly shut the doors and jammed a piece of wood through the handles.

"Rory! He's in!" Amy shouted as we heard crashing and stomping coming from inside the room.

We couldn't hear the Doctor speaking with the creature, so Amy glanced over at me as I leaned against the wall.

"So what do you know about this thing? Anything useful?"

I winced as Rita looked over at me suspiciously and curiously.

"Amy, not now."

Amy was ignorant of what she was doing. "What? Why not?"

"Do you know something about this thing?" Rita questioned as I dragged a hand down my face and Amy realized what she'd done.

"Oh."

"Yeah, thanks, Amy." I grumbled, before tapping my fingers across my thigh. "Well, no stopping it now." I turned to Rita and held my hands out in a shrug. "I'm sort of psychic. I know what's going to happen next and I jump through the Doctor's time stream interfering in what I can. So, yeah. I know what that is. It's a minotaur-like alien who does things to people that I can't speak about yet because that's spoilers."

Rita frowned, confused. "Spoilers? What, you mean like if you tell us there's going to be a paradox or something? Like in the movies?"

"Sure. Let's go with that. But it's like I said before, the minotaur is acting on all instinct now. He's so old he doesn't even remember why he's doing it or what for and he can't stop himself."

"My master, my lord. I'm here!" We heard a shout and I let out a long slow breath.

"I'm sorry."

Amy's eyes widened in a knowing look whereas Rita looked confused, before they both opened the doors; hearing a loud crash from the minotaur breaking the glass.

"Stay back!" The Doctor called out as the minotaur burst through the door Rory was waiting at. "Pond, bring the fish."

"What? The fish? Oh, the fish."

The Doctor rushed over to Rory as Amy grabbed the fish and I followed.

"Where'd he go?" The Doctor asked, Rory lying on the ground.

"Somebody hit me. Was it Amy?"

The Doctor chuckled before rushing off and I put a hand on Rory's shoulder.

"Not Amy. Sorry. I could ask her to hit you though, if you like."

"Uh, no. No. I'm good."

"Rory, are you alright?" Amy asked, rushing in with Rita.

It was then that she looked up and I swallowed thickly, struggling to keep myself from stopping her and focusing on Rory.

"We should find the Doctor." Amy muttered, getting up and heading towards the door.

Rita glanced at me before getting up and rushing over to her. They spoke for a moment, before they turned to me.

"Come on!"

I nodded and got up, helping Rory up before he hurried to Amy's side and we rushed down the halls to find the Doctor. As we did though, I suddenly stopped. There was this tugging in my head and I turned to my right to find a door labeled with the number 13. Already, I could hear the whispers of 'praise him' in the back of my mind and I tried to step back, step away from the door, but my feet moved forwards instead. Reaching out, I turned the knob and instantly froze. It was just like Lucy wrote in her note. You don't know what it is until you see it and then you know, it could never have been anything else.

I took a deep breath and closed the door, pressing my forehead against it, shaking. _Why that? Of all things, why did my biggest fear have to be that?_

"Alex?"

I jumped, moving away from the door and looking over at Rory, who was eyeing me cautiously.

I gave him a shaky smile. "Right. Sorry. Finding the Doctor."

I started to move past him, but he grabbed my arm, looking serious.

"You found your door, didn't you?"

I stiffened, still quivering. "…Yes."

"Are you alright?"

I scoffed, laughing as I sent him a broken grin. "Not in the slightest… but you and I both know we can't just sit around and talk about it, so let's go find the Doctor."

He nodded slowly, but instead of letting me go, he came up beside me and draped an arm around my shoulders, giving me a side hug.

"You're always the strong one, Alex, just remember that there's people here to be strong for you too."

We soon reached where the others were, Howie dead on the ground, and Gibbis rounded the corner.

"He got free. He overpowered me." He claimed and I started moving over towards the Doctor, shaking off Rory's arm. "Might leave us alone now. Maybe now we'll be safe."

I stood before the angry Doctor and stopped him before he could move past me, swallowing down my fear from the glare he sent my way and the room I'd found earlier.

"Stop this."

"Stop what?" He growled. "He let Howie get killed and I was stupid enough to leave him there to do it."

"Yeah? Then I was twice as stupid for not choosing to stay with him, and three times as stupid for not saving Howie's life."

His eyes softened, looking guilty. "Alex, I didn't mean—"

"I don't want to hear it, Spaceman, because everyone messes up and sometimes those screw-ups hurt people, sometimes people are killed because of it, but that doesn't mean you go around blaming yourself for everyone's mistakes. And what was Gibbis supposed to do, huh? He's been oppressed and enslaved his whole life. That's all he knows, so when someone gives him a chance to live, he's going to take it, just like any other species. It's just like the minotaur we're chasing now. It was his instinct and you can't change that nor blame him for it. Okay? So stop being Mr. Grumpy and lets go help that minotaur."

I hesitated, but reached out and took his hand, turning away so he wouldn't see my flushed face as I pulled him down the hall; not knowing that he was grinning childishly behind me along with Amy and Rory.

* * *

Despite Alex's talk with him, the Doctor later stood in front of a photo of a smiling Howie; the description underneath reading 'girls'. He spotted Rory heading his way and silently questioned if he was going to give him a stern talking to like Alex had done in the hallway moments earlier. Before Rory could though, the Doctor distracted him.

"Have you found your room yet?"

"No. No. Is that good or bad?" Rory asked, making the Doctor wonder about the answer.

"Maybe you're not scared of anything."

"Well, after all the time I spent with you in the Tardis, what was left to be scared of?"

"You said that in the past tense." The Doctor said, having caught the minute mistake and stepping away from the photo.

"No, I didn't… You know, Howie had been in speech therapy. He'd just got over this massive stammer. What an achievement. I mean, can you imagine? I'd forgotten not all victories are about saving the universe."

The Doctor smiled a bit at that, but spotted Rory fidgeting and questioned him on it.

"Is there something else?"

Rory turned around, rubbing the back of his neck and glancing at the ceiling nervously. "Ah, well. There is, but I just don't know if should…" He suddenly shook his head, shifting to look down at the floor. "No. You should know."

"Know what?" The Doctor asked, stepping forward in worry. "Rory, what should I know?"

Rory sighed, muttering to himself. "She's going to hate me for this…" He turned to the Doctor. "Alex found her room."

The Doctor's eyes widened, his hearts pounding away in his chest as he moved closer to Rory and gripped his upper arms tightly.

"What did she see? Rory, what was in her room?" He demanded, fear working it's way through his veins at the thought of Alex facing her worst fear.

"I-I don't know! Really!" He said, holding his hands up in surrender at seeing the Doctor's worry. "She had the door closed before I got there, but she was really shaken up. I… I've never seen her like that. What… I mean, what could make her look so scared?"

The Doctor let him go and pulled a hand through his hair. "I don't know, but she sees so much… She _knows _so much, that whatever it is, we _all_ need to be afraid of it."

* * *

"Oi!" I called out, startling Gibbis as he turned to me in a panic; the gold fish bowl in his hands. "Last I checked, that's not food."

"I-I was just… moving him!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah? Then, I'm just taking him away from you."

I took the bowl from him and moved it over to where I had been sitting, putting the bowl down in front of me and ignoring the look I received from Gibbis as I wiggled my finger at the fish. _Least I can save this life, as small as it is._

"Alex? Do you know where the Doctor is?"

I looked up and looked around the room, not seeing Rita or Gibbis and knowing what was to happen next.

I let out a long breath and nodded, standing and scooping the goldfish into a cup with some water, to make it easier to carry. "Yes. He's in the security room… Sorry."

Amy frowned and we hurried along.

"What are you apologizing for? You do that sometimes and it's sometimes hard to figure out why."

I grit my teeth and gazed down at the goldfish in the cup I had. "It's best not to know why. I sometimes wish I didn't."

"…It's got something to do with Rita, doesn't it?"

"Amy." Rory stopped her from pressing further and I silently thanked him just as we rushed into the security room where the Doctor was on the phone with Rita.

"What's going on? Rita's disappeared." Amy said, before spotting said woman on the cameras. "What's she doing there?"

"Rita. Rita, _please_. Let me find you." The Doctor begged.

"_You stay where you are. Please, let me be robbed of my faith in private._"

'_Robbed of my faith'. She's telling him exactly what it's going to do to her._ I turned away from the screens and circled my finger around in the water in the cup.

"Look. Rita, Rita. Go into the room. Lock the door!"

"_I'm not frightened. I'm blessed, Doctor. I'm at peace. I'm going to hang up._"

"No. No, no, Rita."

"_Goodbye, Doctor._"

"Rita!"

"_Thank you for trying._"

"Rita, please! Please! _Please_."

She set the phone down and the Doctor hung his up, watching until the minotaur blocked the screen and he used his sonic screwdriver to shut the video of her off.

"This is what you meant before." Amy said, drawing their attention to me and I kept my gaze on the fish in my hands, swimming round in the cup. "Why you apologized…"

"Amy, just drop it." Rory muttered softly, trying to help me out.

She was stubborn though. "Was there… anything you could've done?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. Even if I told you everything, this would've still happened."

"But… But you can't see that, right? You can't see every possibility, so how can you know if you don't—"

_She doesn't get it!_ "Try?! And then what?!" I shouted, as unhappy about this as they were. "What if I changed it and you died?! Or Rory?! Or the Doctor?!" I lowered my voice, knowing that getting angry wouldn't help the situation. "One little change, and the universe goes up in flames. I can't save everyone, nobody can, but there's always one I can save. Even one as small as a goldfish."

The Doctor got up then, heading out looking furious and we all followed after him, slower.

"Sorry." Amy said as we walked and I shrugged.

"It's fine. No one really gets it anyway. Had the same issue convincing the Doctor, you could imagine. Most of the people I let down were his companions. Rose… Donna… I haven't even been there yet, but I already know I just let things happen. I have to."

I didn't want to mention that I wouldn't be able to help them or River either. I had a hard enough time admitting I let down Rose and Donna, not to mention the Doctor.

"No kidding." She muttered, before frowning in confusion. "But why were you hiding it from Rita?"

"Because. The moment people know, they have someone to blame when things go wrong. I-I… don't mind really. The Tenth Doctor does it to me a lot and I've gotten used to it, but… I didn't want them causing more tension with what was going on. Dissension in the ranks, so to speak. Some might take my side, some wouldn't, we'd split up, and then things would get even worse. It's best just to stay quiet."

Amy suddenly grabbed the cup with the fish in it and passed it to Rory, confusing me.

"Hold this."

"Huh? A-Alright, but why—"

He was cut off as a slap rang out and I blinked in surprise at my suddenly stinging cheek.

"Ow!" I shouted, holding my face and turning to her in shock. "Why'd you hit me?!"

She rolled her eyes, passing me back the cup and fish as she started walking off again. "Because you were getting all depressed and I got tired of it."

"You hit me because you got _tired_ of me?!" I asked, slightly offended as Rory and I caught up with her.

"Mostly." She said and my mouth dropped open in shock, before she smirked. "But I kind of missed the old Alex too. You know. The whiney one with the ridiculous history facts who acts like a child alongside the Doctor."

"Hey! I'm not _that_ childish!" I whined and, her and Rory shared a look before laughing.

Of course, we were interrupted when we returned to the reception room to see the Doctor destroying the room in his anger.

"Speaking of childish." Amy grumbled and I sighed, raising a hand.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll get him."

They both nodded and went to sit at the table across from Gibbis, who eyed the fish I had as I passed it to Rory and told him to keep an eye on it. He rolled his eyes, but did so and I walked into the other room and ducked as the Doctor threw something behind him. Rolling my eyes, I walked over to him and hugged him from behind. He froze instantly, the leg of a chair in his hand as he breathed heavily from the exertion of his tantrum.

"Please stop."

He lowered the chair leg, but didn't move as I pressed my forehead to his back.

"God, you're so tense. I can feel the knots in your back through my face."

My joke did nothing to ease the tenseness in his shoulders and I sighed.

"I'm sorry. I should've told you or something."

"No… No, it's my fault. I should've seen the signs and stopped her."

"'Why is it up to you to save us'?" I quoted, remembering what Rita had told him in the hall from the show. "She said that, right? And you said it was because you blamed yourself for bringing Amy and Rory here, but that's not right. They _chose_ to come. They made that choice for themselves. And they will do it again."

"Future tense." He muttered, covering my hands with his in front of him.

"Spoilers. Pretend you didn't hear that."

He chuckled, but slowly stopped. "Oh, what are we going to do with ourselves, Alex?"

"Two people carrying the burden of the universe." I muttered, but nudged him with my head. "Better than just one of us alone though, right?"

"Hm." He turned around and hugged me tightly, pulling me to his chest as I flushed a bit and he laid his chin on my head. "Much better."

I stiffened, not really used to hugging just yet and especially not used to the twisting of my stomach. _Am I getting sick or something? But that can't be right. I've felt fine. It could be nervousness, but what for? Sure, I don't like hugs, but I'm actually not all that uncomfortable._ He hadn't moved yet and we were just standing there in silence, before I finally spoke.

"Um, shouldn't we go and figure this out?"

"Do we have to? I rather like it right here."

"_Doctor_." I grumbled, embarrassed.

"Yes, alright."

He let me go and took my hand, pulling me into the other room with a grin as I turned red at the looks Amy and Rory were giving me.

"Alright then! Tantrum done! Now let's talk monsters." He sat us both down at the table Amy and Rory were sitting at and started ranting. "Okay. It preys on people's fears and possesses them. But Rita wasn't afraid. She was brave and calm. Maybe it's something to do with the people, some connection between the four of you that'll tell me how to fight it."

I raised my hand, wiggling my fingers to catch his attention. "Actually, we've already been told what it does, and it's not fear."

He furrowed his brows. "What do you mean? Give me a, a hint or something. A clue. Quiz before the test."

"Yeah. Or I could just tell you. You're about to figure it out anyway."

"No, no, no. Don't tell me then. Let me figure it out… Though a hint would be helpful."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, Mr. Grumpy."

He frowned. "I am _not_ Mr. Grumpy."

I pointed at his face. "That right there, proves you are."

"Alex!" Amy shouted, surprising me. "Would you just give him the hint already?!"

"Alright, alright. Calm down… Ms. Grumpy." I muttered the last bit, earning a chuckle from the Doctor and a glare from her.

"_Alex._"

"When you were talking to Rita, she told you what the minotaur was going to take. What she was being _robbed_ of." I told him, lying my chin on the table. "And I'm sorry. Once you realize it… you're not going to be happy."

He frowned in thought for a moment, before everything clicked into place. "Oh, no. Oh, no, no."

"Doctor, what is wrong?"

"It's not fear. It's faith." He got up and started to pace. "Not just religious faith, faith in something. Howard believed in conspiracies, that external forces controlled the world. Joe had dice cufflinks and a chain with a horseshoe. He was a gambler. Gamblers believe in luck, an intangible force that helps them win or lose. Gibbis has rejected any personal autonomy and is waiting for the next batch of invaders to oppress him and tell him what to do. They all believe there's something guiding them, about to save them. That's what it replaces. Every time someone was confronted with their most primal fear, they fell back on their most fundamental faith." He stopped and rubbed his face. "And all this time, I have been telling you to dig deep, find the thing that keeps you brave. I made you expose your faith, show them what they needed."

"But why us? Why are we here?" Rory asked, confused.

"It doesn't want you. That's why it kept showing you a way out. You're not religious or superstitious, so there's no faith for you to fall back on. It wants her." The Doctor said, pointing at Amy as I got up and grabbed another whiskey from the bar.

"Me?" She got up and moved to sit beside the Doctor. "Why?"

"Your faith in me… That's what brought us here."

"But why do they lose their faith before they die and start worshiping… it?" Rory asked.

"It needs to convert the faith into a form it can consume. Faith is an energy, the specific _emotional_ energy the creature needs to live. Which is why at the end of her note, Lucy said—"

"Praise him."

"Exactly."

My head ached as flashes of the words passed through my mind, fear floating into my veins as my hand holding my cup shook.

"No. Oh, please, no." Rory muttered.

"It wasn't me." Amy said, waving her hands as I felt their eyes shift to me.

"Alex?"

I could feel my breathing picking up pace as the stomping of the minotaur came from above. I was scared. _This wasn't supposed to of happened. It wasn't supposed to have been _me_. I can't see my own time line! H-How am I supposed to stop this?!_ My mind panicked, thrown into chaos due to my strong mental presence; which seemed to be the wrong words to describe it, seeing how easy it was for things to get into my head.

"Alex!"

I felt two hands slip from my temples as I gasped in air and slumped against the bar counter; the Doctor having an arm around my waist to hold me up as he eyed me in worry.

"Good. You can hear me now. We have to go. _Now_."

I nodded as he pulled me up and half-carried me down the hall with the minotaur chasing us. The others were already running and we were in the middle of the group with Amy and Rory, but the moment we reached an intersection in the hallways, I put on the brakes and clutched at my head as the voices grew even louder and my eyes caught sight of the minotaur behind us.

"Alex!" The Doctor shouted, trying to pull me along. "What are you doing?"

"He's beautiful." I muttered, loosing control over my thoughts for a moment, before Rory came back to help the Doctor drag me away from the minotaur and into a room down the hall.

The room we entered though was not the one I wanted to see at all.

* * *

"No…" Alex breathed out, eyes scanning the room quickly in the search for an exit, but Rory was blocking the only one.

"Um, who's that?" Amy questioned, eyeing the six foot something man before them dressed in blue with a brown coat to match his messy spiked up brown hair and ratty converse on his feet; and the Doctor took a hesitant step back as he stared in shock.

"It's me. Her greatest fear… is me."

"_You_." The image of the Tenth Doctor snapped, making Alex freeze where she was. "How _dare_ you! How dare you take her away from me!"

Alex started shaking her head, unable to get any words out as the actual Doctor rushed to her side, helping her to the ground as her knees gave out.

"Alex. Alex, please. It's just a dream." He told her, his own hearts clenched in pain that his past self would be her greatest fear.

"Um, Doctor? It's changing." Amy said and he looked up to see a woman with dark blond hair, someone he didn't recognize, but Alex definitely did.

"How could you?" The woman scolded. "How could you just leave us like that? How could you just toss us aside like we were _nothing_?! We were your _family_!"

"N-No. I-I-I didn't mean… I just wanted to be happy." Alex breathed out, voice barely a whisper as more people appeared.

"I thought we were friends." A fake Rose said.

"You didn't even stop what happened." A fake Donna snapped.

Then, a mirror copy of the Eleventh Doctor showed up, flanked by the Ninth and Tenth regenerations.

"How _pathetic_. All of that knowledge up there, and you're still so _useless_."

The real Doctor had had enough and moved in front of the panicked Alex, grabbing her shoulders and blocking her view of the other Doctors and their companions.

"Alex, Alex, listen to me. I can't save you from this. There's nothing I can do to stop this."

"I-I know." She muttered, her whole body shaking in fear as the minotaur pounded on the door.

"Good. That's good, but you have to understand, Alex. That person? That person right there?" He pointed at the angry Eleventh Doctor behind him. "That is me. I am the same as my Tenth regeneration and I'm sorry, but I _hate_ that you just let those people get hurt without doing anything. So you should stop believing that I'm better than the Tenth me, because I'm not."

"I-I know." She repeated, confusing him.

"Then why is he still coming? Why is the minotaur still coming?" He questioned out loud, looking briefly at the door, before it clicked. "Oh. Oh, you _know_. God, how could I be so _stupid_."

He smacked himself repeatedly upside the head as Amy called out in worry.

"Doctor?!"

He grabbed Alex again and forced her to look at him. "Alex, listen. It's your belief in the show. You think you know everything that happens. You believe that everything in the show you watched will happen, or that it will all be ruined should you change a big part of it, yeah? Stop it. Stop believing that the show is real, because it can't be. _This_ is real. The danger, is real. The pain and heartbreak is real."

"B-But—"

"No. No 'but's. Think of all the creatures you've saved. Jenny and the scientist back with the Ood and all the people back in Hooverville. Think of all the people you've _tried_ to save."

The minotaur burst into the room and Rory protected Amy off in a far corner as the Doctor ignored the beast and went on.

"You never thought of them as characters in a story. They were _people_ to you. Actual people. Beings that could think for themselves. Had their own actions decided by their own choices. Look at you now… You said so yourself, this wasn't suppose to happen. _Lukas_ wasn't supposed to happen. Those people weren't supposed to live, but they _did_ because you chose to not believe in a plot and to make your own choice. So do it now, Alex."

The minotaur staggered back and the Doctor pressed a hand to Alex's cheek.

"Alexander. _Oh_, my Alexander. You've never needed that plot stuck in your head. You managed to save one person… One _big, __**important**_ person, hundreds of times over, without it. You were doing it out of the kindness of your heart and it took him _so_ long to see it that he doesn't even remember if he thanked you." The Doctor smiled softly at Alex, seeing her shoulder start to glow as he pulled her in for a tight hug. "So thank you. Thank you for fighting. Thank you for caring. Thank you for leaving everything behind just to come back for me. And thank you. Thank you so much for saving them… and for saving me."

She slung her arms around his neck as she cried quietly, thanking him back between broken sobs, before she was engulfed completely and sent somewhere else. _Hopefully. _He thought. _Hopefully to a Doctor as grateful for her presence as I am._

* * *

**_Sneak Peak:_**

_"Stop laughing. Why are you always doing that? Are you all simple or something?"_

_The group stopped and the hooded figure moved towards him._

_"And what's wrong with laughing? Eh? Are we not allowed to enjoy ourselves in a troubling time, Mr. Grumpy?"_


	13. Robot of Sherwood

**Hello again ^^ Just felt like updating this again and thanks again to those who reviewed! i'm glad you guys go out of your way to give me little comments and such and i hope you'll enjoy this chapter and that i got the Doctor in character. he's a tough one to write out, especially _this_ Doctor. But anyway, please review and let me know what you think! :) Oh! and a bit of a warning, there's a hint of torture in this chapter. sorry...**

**Chai Tea:**** the crack will _definitely_ be brought up again later, but not for a long while, unfortunately. i still need to get around to the episode about it. but i'm glad you liked the elephant bit i put in the last chapter. i was trying o find something just totally out there, as far as a crushed skull goes, and discovered that little tidbit with the help of google :D**

**Guest:**** thanks so much for your review! i know there's a lot of people out there who don't review, but it's always nice as a writer to get that little bit of feedback and i'm glad you chose to review this time around.**

**10th Squad 3rd**** Seat: sorry about making you cry. it definitely was a bit of a tear jerker though. and try not to blame Amy so much. she has no family, after all and for someone to give up what Alex did would be tough for anyone to hear. especially someone in Amy's predicament _without_ a family. giving up a happy, successful life for another isn't always a choice everyone would make, Doctor or not. thanks for your review though :) your reviews always get me thinking.**

**Mari Clair Roemajji Celts:** **I'm super glad you enjoy a number of my fanfics. ^^ and it's a better plus that mine encouraged you to read others. (i personally suggest the "Time Child" series by _Dannifielding_ and the "Wanderer of Time" series by _Tinker16_. They're both really good.) and as for Alex reminding you of Natsu, they are very similar. a lot of my characters are because they reflect me in some ways. (both are rather stubborn and protective of their friends, for example.) and as for updating "Silent Guardian", i'm not sure when i'll get around to it. i started a bit on the next chapter of "Street Smarts" but haven't really gotten anywhere for my other fanfics. finding the motivation to write them lately has been tough. i'll do my best though :)**

* * *

_What the hell._ That's all I had to say about all of this. Because, seriously? It had been six months. _Six_. Since I had popped off and landed in the middle of a forest alone with no sign of the Doctor. Hours had passed before I had decided to find something to do to bade my time, but once the first week had passed by with no sign of him, I had to make a choice about what I was going to do if he didn't show up for a while. So I did. And my God, was it the best decision I had ever made. And an exciting one at that.

Screams came from the small town down below the hill top I was on and I frowned from under my cloak, turning my horse and looking down at the town as knights tossed people about. I spotted a black horse among them and felt my lip twitch in annoyance as I recognized the man atop it. I tapped the weapon at my side in reassurance and turned my horse towards the town.

"Hyah!"

We took off in a gallop as we spotted the man himself moving towards a few knights, an older man, and a younger woman in chains. As I neared the town, I drew my bow and knocked an arrow, aiming for a knight who wasn't paying attention before letting the arrow fly. It scratched his arm and he spun around, but I simply grinned under my cloak as he wobbled and fell to the ground, passed out. _I'm so soft._ I mused, approaching the man that the knight had been chasing and pointed at a group of people still running about.

"Get everyone out of here. I will take care of the knights and the Sheriff."

"Thank you! Thank you, sir!"

I bobbed my head once, before turning my horse to the backside of a building and stopping him there. I pat his neck as he pawed quietly at the ground and listened in as the Sheriff spoke with the older man.

"Take me. Spare this child." The man begged, but the Sheriff was more interested in the chest of gold his knight was holding.

"Take you? A lardy lack-wit like you? It's labor we require up at the castle. Labor and gold. Not old men and their worthless baubles. This will be a great help, Master Quayle, believe me. Newcomer to Sherwood, are we?" He asked the younger woman.

"Yes, my lord."

"You may also prove useful. Bring her."

The knight took her and the older man had a fit.

"Your days are numbered, you filthy cur!" He spat in the Sheriff's face and I had to give him credit for that, but I knew it would only cause more problems.

"You shall live to regret that. Actually, no. You won't."

I shot my horse into a gallop and drew my own sword, blocking the Sheriff's own as he tried to run Master Quayle through.

"Oh, dear. Have I interrupted something?" I asked mockingly, smirking at the man's shock before grabbing Master Quayle and throwing him onto the back of my horse. "That's a shame. I'm borrowing him. Toodles!"

I launched my horse off again, one hand hanging onto my horses mane as the other held onto the back of Master Quayle to keep him from falling off as we galloped into the forest; a small group of knights following us.

"No! Go back!" Master Quayle shouted. "We must go back for her!"

"Sorry! No can do! Max can only take two passengers and she'll be fine!" _I hope._

"Who's Max?!" He shouted and I grinned back at him.

"The horse, of course. Ah, we've got company. Hang on!"

I pushed him down and turned around so I was riding backwards on Max, scaring him as I drew my bow and launched another arrow. It hit a knight in the leg and he went down, before I tucked my bow away, despite the three other knights still after us.

"Y-You're mad!" Master Quayle shouted and I laughed.

"Only a bit! Max!" I whistled and he let out a neigh, as I stood up and grabbed a hold of a low branch, allowing myself to hang there as Max went on and I used my legs to knock two knights off their horses.

I hopped down and ducked as the third knight swung his sword at me, before pulling out my own sword and lightly nicking the two knights just getting up off the ground. They fell back down in a heap and I swung my sword around expertly as the last knight turned his horse around and charged. I easily deflected the move and turned the same as he did, before I let out another whistle. The knight was cautious and looked around, but nothing happened, so he galloped back towards me, which was a mistake. Max strode quickly out of the forest and nudged the other horses hind legs, tripping it and causing the knight to tumble out of his saddle head-over-heels until he landed right before me.

He looked up and I grinned, cutting his shoulder lightly. "Nighty night."

Since they were taken care of, I helped Master Quayle off of Max and led over the knight's horse, passing the reins to him.

"You should go back to your town. The people there will need someone to perk them up a bit."

He took the reins, eyeing me suspiciously as I clicked my tongue a few times and Max wandered over, allowing me to pet his muzzle.

"Who are you?"

I glanced at him and smiled, pulling myself up onto the bareback of Max. "A friend."

And with that, I headed off, back towards the group of people I had made home with as I waited for the Doctor who may, or may not, come.

* * *

Robin Hood had led the Twelfth Doctor and Clara to his hideaway to introduce them to his group of comrades to impress her and satisfy the Doctor, who demanded it. He still found the man to be an odd one, fighting him with not a sword but a _spoon_ of all things and managing to defeat him, no less. Clara though, was lovely and he felt rather taken by her due to how much she reminded him of his lost one.

"Let me introduce you to my men." He said, keeping a grin on his face as he gestured to the first man in the line up. "This is Will Scarlet. He is a cheeky rogue with a good sword arm and a slippery tongue."

"My lady." Will bowed as the men laughed and the Doctor pulled out some of his hair to scan with his sonic screwdriver. "Agh! What do you want with my hair?"

"Well, it's realistic. I'll give you that."

Clara looked away in slight annoyance and Robin decided to just continue on.

"And this is Friar Tuck. Aptly named for the amount of grub he tucks into."

"You skinny blackguard." The man laughed, stepping forward to playfully punch Robin, but stumbling when the Doctor grabbed his sandal and pulled it off. "Oi! What are you doing?!"

"This isn't a real sandal!" The Doctor shouted back.

"Yes, it is!"

The Doctor sniffed it and wrinkled his nose. "Oh, yes, it is."

Robin gave Clara an odd look, but she avoided it as he introduced the next man. "This, uh, is Alan-a-Dale. He's a master of the lute, whose music brightens up these dark days."

Said man stepped forwards and sang back. "Stranger you are welcome here, in Sherwood's bonny glade—Ow!"

The Doctor had stabbed him with a needle. "Sorry, sorry, sorry. Blood analysis." He then checked the readings. "Oh. All those diseases. If you were real, you'd be dead in six months."

"I-I-I am real." The man stuttered out, holding his shoulder.

"Bye." The Doctor said, as Robin moved on and he made his way past the largest man.

"And this, is John Little. Called Little John. He's my loyal companion in many an adventure."

"Oh!" Clara yelped, as a smaller man jumped forward and she pointed at him in shock as everyone laughed. "Oh, I can't believe it's you. You really are Robin Hood and his Merry Men."

"Aye!" Robin said, pointing at her. "That is an apt description." He stopped though, lowering his hand and instead using it to scratch the back of his head. "If we weren't missing a person. Have you lot seen her anywhere?"

Clara looked confused and even the Doctor became curious, seeing as there was no mention of a 'her' in his merry group of men in the tales.

"Oh! I think she took her horse out for some food or something."

"Right then." Robin turned to Clara with a small smile. "Sorry. Seems she's out. She does that a lot though. We've grown used to it."

"Who?" Clara asked, hoping to get some answers.

"Oh, our newest member. She sort of forced her way into our little group. In a good way!" He clarified. "She's certainly a tough one. Good with a sword, better with animals, and pretty smart when it comes to plants. She's always out picking up 'herbs' she calls them, and flipping through a book, claiming to have been waiting for someone; though it's been six months or so since she showed up."

"Must be some guy she's waiting for." Clara said. "Did she say who she was?"

"Bit of a mystery, really. Told us to just call her—"

"Oi!" A voice called out, stopping him in his tracks as they all looked up at the black hooded figure riding a horse down the steep ledge expertly. "You didn't say we had company! Now I have to go catch more fish!"

It was only after they'd landed and climbed down that they noticed the person had been riding bareback and had a large bundle of fish over their shoulder. They passed it over to the larger of the men, who took it and moved over towards the fire, as they continued.

"Either that, or Friar Tuck is going to have to tuck in a little less this time."

The group laughed, but the Doctor wasn't as pleased.

"Stop laughing. Why are you always doing that? Are you all simple or something?"

The group stopped and the hooded figure moved towards him.

"And what's wrong with laughing? Eh? Are we not allowed to enjoy ourselves in a troubling time, Mr. Grumpy?"

The Doctor froze, eyeing this new character, but not getting a good look due to their hood covering a good portion of their face.

"What did you call me?" He questioned.

"Mr. Grumpy." They repeated. "Cause that's what you are, yeah? A grumpy old man who can't even laugh anymore."

"Oi! You can't talk to him like that!" Clara shouted, stomping over as Robin grabbed the person's arm and pulled them back.

"Right. Sorry about that. She's got a bit of a mouth on her. But I suppose I should introduce you?" He said, almost questioning whether he should or not. "You see, this is—"

"Clara?" The figure questioned, stepping away from Robin.

"Yeah?" Clara replied, before realizing something. "Wait, how do you know my name?"

"Clara Oswald! The Impossible Girl!" The figure said, a grin peeking out from under their cloak. "You wouldn't _believe_ how long I've been waiting for you to show up."

"Right, no, of course." Clara replied, pretending like she had a clue what they were talking about, before giving them a look. "Sorry, do I know you?"

They smacked themselves in the face. "Right! Duh, the cloak. Sorry." They smiled, reaching up to pull the hood down. "Sometimes I forget I have this thing on."

They pulled the dark hood down and Clara gaped in shock at the smiling red-head.

"Alex?"

"The one and only." She said, before giving Clara a look. "And I'll have you know, _six months_. That's a long time to wait."

Clara grabbed her in a hug, squeezing tightly as Alex chuckled and hesitantly hugged her back. "God, I've missed you!"

"Six months~" She sang back and Clara pulled away.

"Alright. You miss me more."

"You bet." Alex smiled, before looking around. "So, where's the Doctor?"

* * *

"Alex?"

I turned to Clara with a raised brow, only to find her pointing to the older man I had called Mr. Grumpy earlier. I was confused, wondering why she was gesturing to him when I asked about the Doctor, but when I looked at the man's shocked and _hurt_ expression, I felt my chest clench tightly in guilt. _But why? Why do I feel guilty over the look of someone I've never met?_ But there was something about him, something familiar, that had me stepping over towards him.

He was older with a stern looking face, but his clothes were actually rather dramatic with a sinister feel to them. It was his eyes though that caught me. They were far older than he was and, despite his best efforts to remain serious, I could see hurt and caring and a multitude of other emotions swimming through them. They were the same eyes I'd seen on only one other man.

I gave him a look. "Ooh, you really are Mr. Grumpy now, aren't you?"

"Don't call me that." He grumbled and I chuckled.

"Oh, but why not? You are, aren't you? Just look at your eyebrows." I used my own fingers to make angry eyebrows on my forehead.

"What's wrong with my eyebrows?!"

"They're grumpy." I replied with a snicker and he frowned.

"Oh yeah? Well, look at you! Your hair's stuck up all over the place. You look like a Quevvil!"

I brought a hand up to my hair. "Do not! I-I don't even know what that is!"

"A Porcupine-like alien species from the planet—"

"Oh, whatever! At least I'm not dressed up like some cliché evil villain!"

He rolled his eyes. "Oh no. You look more like a _monk_."

"You try finding something decent to wear in 1190!" I quipped back.

He smirked smugly. "I don't have to. I've got the Tardis."

"Shame you can't even pop up somewhere on time." I said with a roll of my eyes.

"It's not _my_ fault Clara couldn't make up her mind! I wanted to go see the Ice Warrior Hives or the Tumescent Arrows of the Half-Light! But _noooo_, We had to come see Robin Hood! The man who doesn't exist!"

He tossed his hands up in exaggeration and I took that chance, diving in for a hug and surprising him.

"What are you doing?" He muttered.

"I missed you." I replied.

"Yes, but why hugging? You don't hug. This body doesn't do hugging."

"It's hard _not_ to hug after dealing with Eleven and six months of nothing but men in tights."

He sighed but reluctantly hugged me back just as Clara cleared her throat.

"Ahem."

I groaned. "Whaaaat? I'm enjoying the hug."

"Yeah, well, Doctor? Weren't you doing something?"

"Oh, yes!" He said, pulling away from me and grabbing a goblet, tossing the water out of it as I pouted over at Clara; heading towards Robin. "I'm going to need a sample."

"Of what?"

I struggled to stifle my laughter as Clara hurried over and pulled him away.

"Ahem, excuse me. Sorry." She smacked me upside the head to stop my laughter, before rounding on the Doctor. "What are you doing?"

"Well, they're not holograms, that much is obvious. Could be a theme park from the future. Or we might be inside a miniscope!"

"Oh, shut up."

"A miniscope! Yes, of course! Why not?"

He wandered over to the apples we had stocked up on and I chuckled as I pat her shoulder.

"Better not to meet your heroes. We met Shakespeare once."

"You met Shakespeare?" She repeated in disbelief.

"Well…" I scratched the back of my head. "Not yet. But, turns out he was a ladies man and only sounded good in his writing. The first thing out of his mouth is 'Ah, shut your big fat mouths'!"

"You're kidding."

I shook my head. "Nope. Ah, but I better go help him figure this out. You'd think he'd ask since I've been here six months."

Clara scoffed. "The Doctor never asks for help."

"But that doesn't mean he won't need it." I replied over my shoulder before bounding off towards the Doctor.

_The _new_ Doctor. A Doctor I've never met, a plot I don't know, a different personality I don't understand. Why send me here? What could I possibly do here?_

"You're thinking too hard. It's annoying."

I frowned over at the Doctor as he looked through the apples. "Like you would know. Last I checked, you weren't a mind reader… At least not without the whole finger-to-temple thing."

"I don't need to do that to know what you're thinking."

I raised a brow in disbelief, snatching the apple from him and taking a bite. "Oh, really?"

"Yes, really." He said with a roll of his eyes.

"Prove it."

He sighed, before standing upright, a good couple of inches taller than me. "You're scared. More scared than you let on. Which is understandable. You've been here for six months, waiting for me and when I show up, I'm not the Doctor you expected."

"That's not—"

"I'm not finished." He snapped with a glare, shutting me up. "Now, this is your first time meeting me, though not my first meeting you, so I know that you have no foreknowledge of what happens here, adding to your fear. Couple that with a new me, six months on your own, your young age, and an unknown danger, and I'm more than certain that you should be a blubbering mess on the floor right now. So cry. Go on. Do it once I turn my back. I don't like the whole eye thing." He waved a hand at his face and turned around, as I gave his back a look.

"I'm not going to cry."

He spun his head around. "What? Why not? The younger you was always blubbering about something. Always apologizing."

I flushed in embarrassment, realizing that I _did_ do that quite a bit. "S-Sorry."

He spun around and pointed at me. "Ah! See?"

I shoved his finger out of my face. "Oh hush. You'd be freaked out if you were still trying to come to terms with a TV show being real. Heck, you're freaked out right now seeing a real Robin Hood!"

"I am not 'freaked out'." He replied, mockingly. "I am simply looking for an explanation for something impossible."

"Oh, right. Of course. Silly me." I said sarcastically with a roll of my eyes. "Just to let you know though, it _is_ all real. I've been here six months and nothing strange has happened other than, you know, the whole Robin Hood thing and the weather." I tossed my hands up in emphasis. "It never changes."

His eyes widened and he quickly rushed over to Robin. "What time is it, Mr. Hood?"

Robin looked up. "Somewhat after noon."

"No, no. Time of year? What season?"

"Oh, Dame Autumn has draped her mellow skirts about the forest, Doctor. The time of mists and harvest approaches."

"Yeah, yeah. All very poetic. But it's very _green_ hereabouts though, isn't it? Like I said, very sunny." The Doctor said, walking past them a little to look around the forest.

"So?" Clara questioned.

"It never changes." I told her, having followed after the Doctor. "Six months and it's been this way the whole time."

The Doctor sent her a look. "Have you been to Nottingham?"

"Climate change?"

"It's 1190."

Robin didn't seem to care much though and excused himself. "You must excuse me. The Sheriff has issued a proclamation and tomorrow there is to be a contest to find the best archer in the land. And the bounty, it's an arrow made of pure gold."

"No! Don—Don't go. It's a trap."

"Well, of course it is! But a contest to find the best archer in the land? There is no contest."

The group laughed and I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, come on now, Robin. You've got some contest right here!" I said with a smug grin. "I didn't run around on Max hunting for six months for no reason! I'll give you a good ol' challenge."

"And I cannot wait, Alex!" He grinned. "For I already know you're a fine archer who is capable of possibly besting even me with your willowy ways."

The group laughed again, but the Doctor was more than tired of the laughing.

"Right! That isn't even funny. That was bantering. I am totally against bantering."

The group sent him odd looks, but stopped laughing as Clara turned to him.

"How can you be so sure he is not the real thing?"

"Because he can't be."

"When did you stop believing in everything?"

"When did you start believing in impossible heroes?"

There was a pause as Clara and I shared a look, and she spoke to him first.

"Don't you know? In a way, it's rather sweet."

She walked off and I handed him an apple.

"You know, you shouldn't downgrade yourself so much, Doctor. You're a hero to a lot of people, whether they know it or not."

* * *

I had managed to last against Robin Hood until the final of the ten rounds, in which he bested me when the wind changed directions mid shot. He pat my back with a grin before I moved over to where the Doctor was.

"Where did you learn to shoot?" He asked and I shrugged.

"I would mess around as a kid with toy ones, but I've always wanted to learn. And who better to learn from than Robin Hood?" I chuckled. "Practice makes perfect though."

"Hm. You should've asked. I could've taught you ages ago."

I gave him a look. "Really? When? While we were fighting aliens?"

"I would've made time."

"Mhmm. Sure." I replied, glad to know that the Doctor still had a bit of childishness tucked away under his new tough exterior.

"In the contest for the golden arrow..." A herald said loudly, the prize in his hands. "...after ten rounds, the battle is betwixt our Lord Sheriff and the stranger known as Tom the Tinker."

Cheers rang up from the crowd and I watched as the two men moved forward.

"Take your places."

The Sheriff waved his hand after discussing something with Robin and the target was moved back another 20 paces. It didn't bother the Sheriff though and he landed a bulls-eye right off the bat.

"Now, Tinker, Let us see thy true face."

Robin took his time and let his arrow fly, cutting right through the Sheriff's arrow.

"Ye Gads! He has split the arrow!" The herald called out. "Truly, he is the finest archer in all England. Come forward, Tinker, and claim your prize."

The two men bowed to each other, but suddenly the Doctor snatched my bow and grabbed an arrow from my quiver, doing something to it, before letting it fly right through Robin's arrow. My mouth dropped open in shock as everyone gasped and began clapping.

"I'm the Doctor. My skills as a bowman speak for themselves. I claim my reward."

The herald knelt and the Doctor picked up the arrow, looking it over.

"A mere bauble." He threw it, much to everyone's shock and I went over to him confused.

"What are you _doing_?!" I hissed.

He ignored me and looked at the Sheriff. "I want something else."

"Name it."

"Enlightenment."

Robin launched another arrow to split the Doctor's and I looked at the target impressed. The Doctor though, rolled his eyes, shooting off an arrow and having it bounce off a knight's armor and split Robin's arrow. Robin, in turn, didn't even look as he launched his own arrow and split the Doctor's. I moved over to Clara as she clapped.

"You know what this is? This is a 'who's got the bigger arrow' contest."

She grinned. "I wouldn't be surprised."

"This is getting silly." The Doctor said, shoving my bow back in my hands before pulling out his sonic screwdriver and blowing up the target.

"Oh right. Because _that_ wasn't silly." I muttered, rolling my eyes and reaching a hand towards my sword as the Sheriff spoke.

"Fascinating. Seize him!"

Knights began drawing their swords and I drew my own, watching in amusement as Clara pulled a large spear off a weapons rack and dropped it before adjusting her hold on it.

"What are you doing?" The Doctor questioned us. "Put those down."

"I'm fine. I take Year Seven for after school Tae Kwon Do." Clara replied as I smirked.

"Ooh, that's good. I've taken three different martial arts and boxing classes, plus I've been sword training here for six months along with archery and studying poison herbs. I've already saved a number of people from the Sheriff."

"Show off." Clara grumbled as I winked.

"Oh, you bet."

"Don't worry, Doctor. I'll save you." Robin said, standing in front of said man with his own sword."

"I don't need saving."

"Your honor is safe."

"I know.

"For I am Robin." He removed his hat as everyone cheered. "Robin Hood!"

He went and attacked a knight, managing to cut off it's arm to reveal it being a robot arm.

"Oh dear." I mumbled as the Doctor turned to me.

"I thought you said nothing was strange here."

"Well sorry." I complained. "All the knights I've dealt with were human."

The Doctor dove forwards and picked up the robot's arm excitedly, only for it's helmet to split and reveal a face with a glowing blue cross in the center.

"Now we're getting somewhere."

"Take them! Kill the rest! Kill them all!" The Sheriff ordered and the knights began shooting beams out of their faces, blowing things up and making the people panic.

We were soon surrounded and the Doctor gestured to Robin.

"He surrenders!"

"What?"

"Ha!" The Doctor called out as he hit Robin's wrist and made him drop his sword.

"Ooh, aikido! That was a fun class." I grinned, earning a small smirk from the Doctor in return as I put my sword down and held my hands up in surrender.

I wasn't stupid. I knew the Doctor was up to something and decided to follow along in order to not get blown up.

"You miserable cur." Robin cursed. "I had them on the run. Flee, lads! Flee!" He called out to the Merry Men. "Live to fight another day!"

"To the dungeons with all of them." The Sheriff commanded and four knights grabbed our shoulders and led us away.

"What are you up to?" Clara questioned the Doctor.

"Quickest way to find out anybody's plans, get yourself captured."

"Explains a lot, don't it." I said to Clara and she sighed.

"No kidding."

After a while, we were all chained up in a dungeon and already tensions were getting high.

"Splendid. Enchained."

"Yep." Clara said to Robin's complaint.

"Trussed up like turkey-cocks. Thanks to your friend."

"Shut it, Hoodie. I saved your life." The Doctor snapped.

"I had the situation well in hand."

"Long-haired ninny versus robot killer knights? I know where I'd put my money."

"Oh, here we go." I grumbled with a roll of my eyes, with the Doctor on my left and Robin on my right.

"If you had not betrayed me, I would have been triumphant."

"You would have been a little puff of smoke and ashes." They argued.

"Oh, ha!"

"You'd have been floating around in tiny little laughing bits in people's goblets."

"Balderdash. Ha!"

"Oh, right. Here we go. It's laughing time." The Doctor complained.

"Well, you amuse me, grey old man."

"Guard! He's laughing again! You can't keep me locked up with a laughing person."

"Oh, I find that quite funny. Do you know? I feel another laugh coming on. Ah-ha-ha-ha!" Robin mocked.

"Guards, I cannot remain in this cell! Execute me now!"

"You heard him. Execute the old fool."

"No, hang on. Execute him."

"I do not fear death, so execute away."

"Execute him. I'd like to see if his head keeps laughing when you _chop it off_!"

"Oh, Robin Hood always laughs in the face of death."

"Yes, rolling around the floor laughing. I would pay good money to see that."

"Guard!"

"Guard!"

"Guard!"

"Guard!" They both shouted, before I had had enough.

"Will you two _shut up_!" I shouted, dragging out the last bit until they went silent. "God, you've given me a ripe headache. And seriously? I _doubt_ there's a guard outside. Did you two get that at all?"

"Oh."

"I did, in fact." Robin said, starting up again.

"No, you didn't."

"She said shut up." Clara scolded as well. "The Doctor and Robin Hood locked up in a cellar. Is this seriously the best that you can do? You're determined to starve to death in here squabbling."

"Well, I'll tell you one thing. I'd last a lot longer than this desiccated man-crone."

"Really?" The Doctor scoffed.

"Really."

The Doctor leaned forwards to try and talk to Robin over me. "Well, you know what? I think you'll find I have certain genetic advantage—Oh!"

I had easily punched him in the shoulder since he'd given me extra chain to do so, though it wasn't as hard as I would've liked.

"I'm not going to have you two starting up another 'who's got the bigger balls' competition."

"Alex!" The Doctor scolded me and I rolled my eyes.

"Really? You're going to scold me for saying 'balls' when you two have been bickering like children over what? _Pride_? Who can die _slower_?"

"It would definitely be me though, wouldn't it." The Doctor said as Clara spoke up, preventing me from trying to strangle the Doctor with my chained hands.

"There was supposed to be a plan. Do any of you three have a plan?"

I let out a sigh and leaned back against my post. "I figured the Doctor had one, though I haven't the slightest of what it could be now that we're in this predicament."

"Of course I have a plan." The Doctor piped up, just as Robin did.

"I too, have a plan."

"Okay. Robin, you first." Clara decided.

"Why him?"

I groaned, yanking on the Doctor's chain. "Shut up. Robin, what's your plan?"

"…I am… biding my time."

"Thank you, Prince of Thieves. Last of the Time Lords?" Clara groaned, before turning to the Doctor.

"Yes. I have a plan."

"If it involves using the sonic screwdriver, then I suggest keeping your mouth shut, because last I checked, the Sheriff took it." I grumbled, frowning at him and peering around him at Clara. "It's always the screwdriver."

"You're telling me." She muttered in return as the Doctor spoke.

"Right okay. Well, l-l-let's hear Robin's plan first."

"Oh, for God's sake." Clara and I both groaned, just as the door opened.

"See? There was a guard." Robin said haughtily. "There was a guard listening the whole time. I knew it. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

A man with virtually no teeth came in and spoke. "The Sheriff himself commanded me to listen, to find out which of you is the true ringleader."

"Ah. So he can do the interrogating. Very wise." The Doctor complimented.

"Excellent. He will get nothing from me." Robin said, before the two started arguing.

"No, no, no, no, no. He will get nothing from me, because interrogation, that's where I always turn the tables. You see, that's my plan."

"Just hurry up and take me to him."

"No, no. Chop-chop. Come on."

The man started unlocking Clara's chains and the two men went silent as Clara groaned.

"Seriously."

"Come on. Stand by that wall."

She did and he went and undid my chains as well.

"Me too?" I questioned. "Well, aren't I lucky."

"No." The Doctor breathed out as the two of us were led out.

"What are you doing?!"

"Don't be ridiculous!"

The door clatter shut behind us and was locked, before Clara and I were led upstairs, myself questioning this whole thing.

"So why both of us? There can't be two ringleaders."

"Hard to choose between the two of ya." The guard said. "But there's more than one way to get answers."

I groaned. "Of course."

* * *

Clara was extremely worried for Alex. They had been separated once she'd been seated with the Sheriff at a table full of food and, judging from what the guard had said, Alex was going to possibly be tortured for answers while she was simply going to be asked for them. _I'll have to make this quick or at least convince him to stop whatever their doing to her._

"Eat, my lady, eat. Let it not be said that the Sheriff of Nottingham is a poor host." The man across from her said as he chowed down.

"I had a bag of crisps this morning, thanks, and I'm more worried about my friend you took away." She muttered, trying to focus.

"Your words are strange, fair one."

"Mm, I should think they are."

"But I like you. You're refreshingly direct."

"You can take the girl out of Blackpool." She said quietly as the Sheriff pulled some items out.

"Taken from your friend's strange tunic. An intriguing gallimaufry. Including this wand." He held up the sonic screwdriver. "Evidently a thing of awesome power… Tell me, are you from beyond the stars?"

"You're the one with the robot army. You tell me."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Robin were coming up with a plan now that two of their companions had been taken.

"I'm sorry?"

"No. Beat your breast." Robin said again. "Moan. Groan as though twenty devils possessed your guts."

"What for?"

"So as to attract the attention of that gargoyle-faced guard."

"It's your plan. You moan." The Doctor argued.

"No, no. No, it won't work."

"Why?"

"Oh, because you're clearly more advanced in years and you have a sickly aspect to you."

"I have a what?" The Doctor asked, offended.

"You're as pale as milk." He explained. "It's the way with Scots. They're strangers to vegetables."

"I'm not moaning. You moan."

"Fine. If you want something doing…" He started groaning loudly, before muttering to the Doctor quickly. "Can I rely upon you to do the rest?"

"Yes, yes. I know the drill."

The guard spoke through the grill on the door. "What is this din?"

"No business of yours, cur." The Doctor said, before speaking to Robin. "Speak up. I can't hear you."

"What ails him?" The guard asked.

"None of your business"

The guard entered anyway. "I said, what ails him?"

"Well, if you must know, he's having a nervous breakdown."

"A what?"

"He's like this whenever he's in any kind of danger. He just can't seem to cope. He gets so afraid. He goes into a kind of fit. I honestly believe that he may die of sheer fright, like some tiny, shivering little mouse. Oh, God. I think he's soiled himself." The Doctor quipped, riling up Robin.

"Let him die. It will save us the trouble of executing him." The guard said, making to leave before the Doctor quickly stopped him.

"And what about the reward?"

"Reward?"

"Oh God, I shouldn't have said that."

"Tell me!" The guard demanded.

"He carried a vital message. The Prince has promised a bounty."

"A big one?" The guard asked, curious.

"An enormous one."

Robin started mumbling and the guard moved close to try and hear him.

"What's that? Say again?"

"Come closer… Your breath stinks like a serpent. Has anyone ever told you that?" Robin said, before head butting him and knocking the guard out, before rounding on the Doctor. "Soiled myself?"

"Did you? That's getting into character. Okay, keys."

"I'll get them."

"No, no. I'll get them."

They both started arguing and using their feet to try and get the keys.

"I'm fine. No, no worries. I've got them!"

"I've got them! I'll get—"

Unfortunately, the keys slipped through a grating in the floor, plopping down into the water far below.

"Well, there is a bright side." The Doctor murmured.

"Which is?"

"Clara and Alex didn't see that."

As they slumped back in anguish, Clara was trying to get the Sheriff back to other things, namely helping Alex.

"But enough of tawdry matters." The man said, getting up and using his dagger to pick up a piece of sweetmeat. "Let us talk of softer, sweeter things."

"Ah, good. Yes. I was hoping we'd get round to that."

"You were?" He questioned, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Mm. Or so I would say, but I worry over my friend who you've taken away. Perhaps you could ease my mind with news of her safety first?"

"Hm." He let out a short scoff. "I would, however, she has since previously stopped a number of my missions. I suppose I could send a guard down there though, to check on her."

"That would be great." Clara smiled a bit, still worried, but hoping the guard would return with good news.

"Now, you were looking forward to this?" The Sheriff questioned again and she nodded.

"Oh, yes. For I have known I was destined to draw the eye of a great and powerful man for a long time. Ever since I saw those mysterious lights in the sky."

"You saw them too?"

"And those strange mechanical men, with their promises."

"I too have experienced this." The Sheriff said, still watching her warily.

"Really? Well, I would have never guessed. Tell me your story."

"Tell me yours."

"Oh, no, no, no. But you have to go first."

"Why so?"

She moved her hand so that it was covering his on the goblet he'd taken from her. "Because great men always precede."

"You have a point."

"Your story then?"

She backed off and he moved to sit on the arm of her chair.

"Once upon a time, there was a brave and clever and handsome man."

"I can almost picture him. I don't even have to close my eyes." Clara said, purposely flirting, before he stormed up.

"Unappreciated by his royal master."

She followed. "Prince John?"

"The very same." The Sheriff said, with a hint of disgust.

"Then came the lights in the sky, and everything changed."

"The skyship came to Earth in a fury of fire."

"I'd almost call it a crash. I remember it well." Clara said, trying to get more information as they circled one another.

"A craft from heavenly spheres, bedight with twinkling lights and miracles beyond imagining. The most beautiful thing the brave and handsome man had ever seen."

"And I suppose the mechanical men saw you as their natural leader?"

"It was I and I alone to whom the mechanical men then imparted their secrets. Shortly, I shall be the most powerful man in the realm. King in all but name, for Nottingham is not enough."

"It isn't?"

"After this, Derby."

"Right." She said, eyeing him.

"Then Lincoln. And after Lincoln—"

"Worksop?"

He stabbed his dagger into the table with a shout. "The world!"

* * *

"S-So, uh, any hints as to what questions you want answered? I'd rather not have the experience of the rack." I said with a wince, wrists tied above me and ankles tied below me on the medieval torture device.

"Hm?" The man who'd tied me here tilted his head in question.

I gave him a slightly desperate look. "You, uh… You don't know what to question me on, do you?"

"No, I do!" He said, snapping his fingers and smirking at me. "I'm supposed to ask you how you know about the knights and why you're here."

"Easy questions." I said, trying to sound confident, though I was struggling seeing how I was tied to a rack; one of the worst torture device of the medieval period. "I'm here because I was dropped off here six months ago and was waiting for my friends to show up. I know about the knights because they attacked us during the arrow competition. Ta-da! Can you let me go now?"

He grinned manically. "Nope!"

"What?! But I answered your questions! What more do you want?!"

"To test this, of course!"

I paled as he neared the crank and felt myself shaking, suddenly wishing I had thought of a way to escape this, but even now I couldn't think.

"N-No. You don't want to do that! Y-You should use it on someone else! Someone stronger! I-I-I'll snap like a twig—Agh!"

I was forced to grit my teeth, very nearly biting my tongue as he turned the crank a few times and my limbs were pulled in either direction. He cranked it a few more times, and I started to feel an ache in my back and shoulders. As the man turned the crank even further, the slight ache grew worse before it was a searing, white hot pain to which I started yelling as loud as I could with my diaphragm stretched to the point of shortening my breath.

"Stop! Stop it!… Please!" I clenched my eyes shut tightly as he turned it a few more turns and I let out one final shout. "DOCTOR!"

There was a shout and a loud banging, but the tension in the ropes wasn't released and I let out short, shaky breaths, peeking open my watery eyes to see a worried Doctor rushing to untie me with an arm still chained to a large stone that Robin was carrying.

"Stay with me, Alex. You'll be alright."

My arms were released and I let out a whimper at the agony that raced through my shoulders as I struggled to lower them below my head. Every muscle in my body ached and there was a searing pain in my left shoulder that hadn't gone away, even as the Doctor undid the bindings on my ankles. I slid down the board to my feet, but they quickly gave out from under me and I just huddled on the ground, holding my shoulder as I shivered in fear over what had just happened to me and what could've happened if the Doctor didn't show up when he did.

And the Doctor was right. I was scared, _far_ more scared than I let on and this had only built upon that fear because I had no idea what was going to happen next. I didn't know who those robots are or if the Doctor made it out of this unscathed or where Clara was at and if she was safe. Heck, I just barely made it out of my own situation alive and that was only because of the Doctor happening to be nearby. What would happen if he wasn't around next time? What if he doesn't make it or he's not even around? I was lucky I manage to survive here for six months on my own without him. And I worked hard to get strong here. I learned sword fighting and archery, but what good did it do me? When my weapons were taken away, I was left with nothing. I was useless once again and that scared me, because how was I supposed to help anyone, _save_ anyone, if I couldn't even get myself out of a tough situation?

Two hands pressed themselves to the sides of my head and I felt my already panicked breathing hitch as I was turned to face the Doctor.

"Alex. You need to calm down. I need to know if you're alright and I can't do that if you're on the verge of a panic attack."

I nodded and tried to slow down my fast-paced breathing, but every time I tried to take a deep breath, it felt like I wasn't getting enough air. Seeing this, the Doctor shifted his hands so that his fingers were on my temples and he eyed me cautiously.

"I'm going to help okay? You have to let me help or we aren't going to be able to get anywhere."

I gave him a jerky nod, before feeling him push his way into my mind. It wasn't as gentle as the first time he did it, but I understood because my mind was in such a panic that I could have given him resistance unconsciously. I felt him settle a weight on my mind, slowing my thoughts and leaving me rather drowsy before he pulled back and Robin headed over; having gotten out of the chains as well.

"Is she alright?"

"No. Not in the slightest." The Doctor said, pulling my one arm away from my shoulder and feeling around it as I cringed a bit; not entirely without pain, though the weight in my head numbed it slightly. "Her shoulder is dislocated."

"Then we need a doctor." Robin said, but the Doctor shook his head.

"There's no time. I'll have to reset it here." He turned to me and shifted so that he had one hand wrapped around my upper arm and the other pressed against my shoulder. "This is going to hurt and it will stop the dampener I placed on your mind, Alex. On three. One, two—"

He rammed my arm back into the socket as I grit my teeth and cringed at the flare of pain that wound it's way through my shoulder, unable to mask the quiet whimper that escaped my lips. I doubled over, clutching my arm close to my side and glared weakly at him.

"Y-You said on three. T-That was _two_."

"Oh good. You can count." He said sarcastically, before helping me up and steadying me as my legs protested at the weight.

"S-Shut up." I bit out. "Let's just go."

"Not until we find Clara." He said, hurrying out of the room with Robin and I following, though Robin was kind enough to stay back with me as he voiced his concerns on my condition.

"Are you alright, Alex?"

"Not _really_." My voice cracked on the last word as I cringed at the pain that raced up my legs and lower back from moving so soon.

It was like pulling a muscle in your whole body and then having to run around afterwards. My shoulder didn't feel too bad now that the Doctor had reset it, but because I was forced to immobilize it on my own, any movement of the arm itself sent another wave of aches.

"At last!" The Doctor called out, having approached a metal door and opened it, leading us in. "Something real. No more fairy tales."

"Where is this place?" Robin asked, shocked at what he was seeing, I'm sure.

"A spaceship. More 29th century than 12th. Data banks, data banks, data banks. Where was this ship headed?" The Doctor said, having started to talk to the computer as we wandered over to see the results. "The Promised Land again. Like the Half-faced Man, but more sophisticated. It disguised itself as a 12th century castle. It merges into the culture, tries to keep a low profile, so no one notices." He moved over to a lit orb in the center of the room. "That explains the robot knights. But the engines… The engines are damaged. They're leaking radiation into the local atmosphere, creating a temporary climate of staggering benevolence."

"I beg pardon?"

"The weather." I explained to Robin, sitting on the ground to rest my aching legs. "Everything's green when it should be brown and orange and red. It's autumn. There should be cold breezes and rain, maybe even snow. Not sun."

The Doctor nodded. "And there is even an evil Sheriff to oppress the locals. This explains everything. Even you."

"It does?" Robin questioned, obviously still lost as the Doctor wandered back over towards us.

"Well, what does every oppressed peasant workforce need? The illusion of hope. Some silly story to get them through the day, lull them into docility, and keep them working. Ship's data banks. Full of every myth and legend you could hope for, including Robin Hood."

Robin started looking over the images of Robin Hood stories flashing across the screen as the Doctor frowned at him.

"Isn't it time you came clean with me? You're not real and you know it. Look at you. Perfect eyes, perfect teeth. Nobody has a jaw line like that. You're as much a part of what is happening here as the Sheriff and his metal knights. You're a robot."

"You dare to accuse me of collusion with that villain, the sheriff?!"

"I dare."

"You false-tongued knave! I should have skewered you when I had the chance!"

"I would like to see you try!"

"Boys, really?" I questioned, feeling a headache coming on to join my other aches and pains, just before the door was blasted open.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." The Doctor said, moving towards the group of knights and the Sheriff and Clara as they were led in.

"Surrender, outlaw."

"Very good." The Doctor complimented, apparently not taking this seriously anymore.

"Kill him. Kill Robin Hood."

"You can drop all that stuff now, sheriff."

"Doctor?" Clara called out, not liking where this was going. "Alex could you possibly…"

I sent her a look that said I wouldn't be much help the way I was and she gave me a worried glance before looking over at Robin as a knight approached him.

"He is not what you think he is. This is all play-acting." The Doctor explained.

"We can't just let them kill him!" Clara scolded him, stomping past him and towards Robin.

"You're not fooling anyone, Sheriff."

The knight shot a blast, but it missed and knocked Robin over towards the window, where Clara moved to stand in front of him protectively as another knight approached. Robin though, had other plans and grabbed her around the arm and waist before yanking them both out the window much to myself and the Doctor's shock.

"Noooo!"

"Clara!" The Doctor and I shouted, him getting up to check out the window as I tried to get up, but my muscles had been overextended due to the rack and were practically useless at the moment.

The Sheriff and him shared a quiet conversation that I wasn't privy of hearing, before the Doctor turned around to angrily face the man.

"Stop pretending. You and your fancy robots. I get it. I understand."

_He's not furious. _I thought, eyeing his rather calm demeanor after loosing Clara out a window. _Clara must be alright then. Or he has hope. Other wise the Doctor I know would've jumped right out that window after them._

"Oh, so you too know my plans?"

"World domination?" I quipped, not expecting the shocked look the Sheriff gave me. "Oh, you can't be serious."

The Doctor ignored this exchange though. "You and your robots plundering the surrounding countryside for all it's worth." He paused, seeming to realize something at that moment. "Gold. Gold. Of course. Gold. You are creating a matrix of gold to repair the engine circuitry."

"This is the scheme the Mechanicals have devised. Soon this skyship will depart. Destination, London. There, I will obliterate the King and take my rightful place as ruler of this sceptered isle."

"It won't work. There's not a chance. I've seen the instruments. There's been too much damage. You are stoking up a gigantic bomb!"

The Sheriff made a shushing motion before pointing out the knight who approached the Doctor and knocked him out.

"Take them both and chain them down in the engine room." The Sheriff ordered, as a knight headed my way and yanked on my injured arm, making me cry out as it was dislocated again and I was dragged by the useless limb down to the engine rooms with the unconscious Doctor.

Once chained, I cradled my injured arm as best I could and stuck close to the Doctor and the wall desperately trying to think up a plan of escape, but to no avail. _Come on. Think! T-There has to be something I can do. Anything._ I struggled to come up with some sort of plan as my shoulder and body ached and clouded my mind. I then spotted the woman watching the Doctor and I and went to ask her something, when the Doctor stirred and a sense of hope filled my chest.

"Glad to see you're awake, sleeping beauty." I said, as a robotic voice announced the engine capacity to be at 48 percent.

"It's not enough. That's not enough. It'll never make orbit." He said, sitting up and I rolled my eyes.

"Oh yeah, no. I'm fine. Thanks for asking." I said sarcastically, cringing as I shifted my shoulder and a noise echoed around the area.

"That's the engines, building in power. Stupid, stupid Sheriff." The Doctor then started pulling against the chains around his wrists. "Argh! Go on, give! Give, you stupid things!"

It seemed then, that he noticed the woman watching us, who I had ignored for a moment as he had started his struggle.

"What are you looking at?"

She was quiet for a moment and the Doctor rolled his eyes before turning to me.

"She a friend of yours?"

I shook my head, wincing and he eyed me carefully, before leaning over and looking at my shoulder.

"You've dislocated it again."

"Well, yeah. The stupid robot dragged me down here by my arm. I didn't really have a choice." I grumbled and he rolled his eyes before turning back to the woman as she spoke.

"You know what's going on here, don't you?"

"Of course I do." The Doctor boasted and I sighed and ignored him as he blabbered on to the woman about what he'd discovered using as big of terms as he possibly could, as though he was challenging her to see just how smart she was.

"I think I understand you. The Sheriff's using the gold to replace something."

"That's the principle." The Doctor replied, though I could see that he was upset since it was more complicated than that. "But he's a moron. If he tries to fly this ship, it'll explode and wipe out half the country. What we need is a little riot. Time to reflect on lasers and gold. Spread the word."

She freed his hands from the chains and hurried off to do just that as the Doctor came over to me and did the same. I gingerly moved my arm and he quickly reset my shoulder again as I cringed in pain, before grabbing a rope nearby and starting to tie it around me.

"What are you doing?"

"Stabilizing it." He replied, quickly glancing over his shoulder to make sure a robot wasn't watching. "Otherwise you may dislocate it again and cause more damage."

I nodded in understanding as he tied my arm to my side and I kept an eye out for the woman from before. Once he'd finished, he sat back down and pretended to be chained still, but spoke with me since the woman had yet to return.

"I have a question for you."

"Hm?" I hummed, shifting to a more comfortable position.

"How did you realize who I was?"

I chuckled. "Only the Doctor could be that rude."

He rolled his eyes. "_Really_."

I let my chuckles die out and smiled down at the ground. "It took me a minute, but I'd know you anywhere. How could I not?"

He scoffed, not harshly or anything, just letting me know he didn't appreciate the cryptic answer. But it wasn't like I'd just blurt out 'your eyes'. I _knew_ saying that would embarrass the crap out of me.

"Why did you treat me the same?" He asked and I turned to him in question.

"Why? Why not?" I responded. "You're still the same person underneath all of that grumpiness. I've already seen it."

He turned to me with furrowed brows. "Seen it? How?"

I shrugged with a grin as I looked upwards. "Well, you're rude like the Tenth, childishly argue like the Eleventh, and still get all suspicious and ramble like the Ninth—though I've only met him once. The way I see it though, you're still the same mad man who runs around saving the universe in a blue box. Different body, different personality, whatever. There's always a bit of the Doctor I know in there somewhere."

"You are always—"

The woman from before skidded around the corner and cut the Doctor off as he turned to her.

"Have you done it?"

"Yes." She nodded, kneeling down over by us and hiding a gold plate just behind the Doctor as a robot knight came over.

"You are fit for labor. Stand aside while this peasant unit is freed."

"I'm afraid you're a little late."

"Explain." The robot demanded, charging up the laser on it's forehead.

"I'm already _free_!" The Doctor sang, before grabbing one of the gold plates the woman had brought over and holding it up to reflect the laser just behind the robot.

It then turned to the woman and she held up her plate as well, blocking it and causing the robot to shoot it's own head off. The three of us chuckled a bit and got up, just as more knights came and the rest of the workers pulled out their own gold plates. The knights started shooting and a few of the workers went down as some of them made a run for it, but the robot knights were falling as well and we outnumbered them. Soon, there was only one left and we all surrounded it before it shot a laser and the beam multiplied before converging and destroying it. The workers cheer and tossed their plates aside, but the deep rumbling echoing through the building had the Doctor and I worried and we quickly shouted for everyone to get out while they still had a chance.

"Out, out! Everyone, quickly! Get out! Quickly!" He hurried, before the woman stepped up to him.

"You've saved us all, clever one." She kissed him on the cheek and I felt my stomach twist as I looked away in slight confusion. "Thank you."

_I better not be getting sick or something. That's the last thing I need while traveling with the Doctor._ The Doctor touched his cheek as she ran off and I shoved back that feeling in my stomach—denying that it was anything more than a slight stomach ache—as it was announced that the engine capacity was at 82 percent and the Sheriff revealed himself.

"You are _indeed_ an ingenious fellow, Doctor. But do you really think your _peasants_' revolt can stop me?"

"I rather think you're the revolting one around here. I'm bantering. I'm bantering." He complained, glancing at me briefly as I struggled to hold back a snicker, before he turned to the Sheriff who was holding the decapitated head of one of the robot knights. "Listen to me. You don't have enough gold content to seal the engine breach. If you try and take off, you'll wipe out half of England."

"Liar! From my sky vessel, I shall rule omnipotent."

"You pudding-headed primitive. Shut down the engines. What you're doing will alter the course of history."

"I sincerely hope so, or I wouldn't be bothering." He said, tossing the head into something and making a waving motion with his other hand, causing the robot knights to move closer.

"Listen to me. It doesn't have to end like this. Shut it all down, return Clara to me and I'll do what I can." The Doctor said, making me eye him in confusion.

_What makes him think the Sheriff has her?_

"I don't have Clara."

"Robin's one of yours."

I rolled my eyes. _Oh, the robot theory. _The Sheriff held up a hand, stopping the laser charging robots from killing us.

"What did you say?"

"He's one of your tin-headed puppets, just like these brutes here."

"Robin Hood is not one of mine."

"Of course he is. He's a robot, created by your mechanical mates."

"Uh, actually, he's not." I piped in, but was quickly ignored.

"Why would they do that?" The Sheriff asked.

"To pacify the locals, give them false hope. He's the opiate of the masses."

"Why would we create an enemy to fight us? What sense would that make? That would be a terrible idea."

"Yes! Yes, it would… Wouldn't it? Yes, that would be a rubbish idea. Why would you do that? But he can't be. He's not real. He's a legend!" The Doctor said as I sighed.

"How many times have I told you? All myths and legends are based on some sense of truth."

"Too kind!" A familiar voice rang out and we looked up to see Robin. "And this legend, does not come alone."

Clara peeked out from behind him and waved with a grin. "Hiya!"

Robin stabbed his dagger into a tapestry and slid down it with Clara on his back, before they landed.

"You alright?"

"Hell yeah."

"Good." Robin threw his dagger at the Sheriff and drew his sword as the man knocked it away. "My men have taken the castle."

"No!"

"Now I'm going to take you."

"This one's all mine." The Sheriff told the robots, deactivating them with the amulet around his neck. "What do you say, outlaw? A final reckoning?"

"Oh yes." The two of them started sword fighting as Clara headed over to us.

"Are you okay?" The Doctor asked her.

"Fine. Yeah. How are you holding up, Alex?"

"Been better. Glad to be off the rack, that's for sure."

Her eyes widened. "The rack?!"

I went to explain, but the Doctor cut me off.

"Explain later. We don't have long."

The building shook and we all eyed the ceiling warily.

"Doctor?"

"I know. The whole castle's about to blow."

Or so he said, but we continued to stand and watch Robin and the Sheriff fight. After a while they were both up on a beam over a boiling pot of gold and the Sheriff cut Robin's arm, forcing him to drop his sword. When he did though, he opened his arms and managed to dodge the Sheriff's blow and knock him back off the beam into the molten gold below. Once Robin came down, he turned to us nervously.

"Sorry was that, uh… Was that showing off?"

"That was amazing." Clara complimented, but the castle shook then and a chuck of the room fell, making us panic slightly.

"Run! Come on, run!" The Doctor shouted and we hurried out.

We ran out of the castle and across the moat once we'd gathered up the Merry Men and turned to watch as the castle crumpled and a ship came out.

"It's never going to make it. Not enough gold. It'll never make it into orbit." The Doctor said, before coming up with something. "Where is it? Where did it go?'

"Where did what go?"

"The golden arrow."

"Tuck!" Robin called out and said man brought it over.

"You took it?" The Doctor asked in shock.

"Of course we did. We're robbers."

"I love you boys." The Doctor said, making them smile a bit as he took the bow and arrow.

"Doctor, what are you suggesting?"

"Golden arrow. It might just be enough gold content to get the ship into orbit and out of harms way."

He then passed the bow and arrow out to Robin who stared at it in shock.

"No, it has to be you. My arm is injured."

The Doctor went to do it, but he couldn't even knock the arrow.

"You're good at this. I saw you. You won the tournament." Clara said in disbelief and I groaned.

"You cheated, didn't you?"

He begrudgingly admitted. "Yes. I added a homing device to the arrow."

"What have I told you about cheating?" I scolded, silently hoping that there was a point when future me scolded him about cheating.

"Not to." He grumbled as Clara took the bow and arrow from him.

"Oh, brilliant. Right. Let me have a go."

"You? You do Tae Kwon Do. That's not the same thing as this."

"My friends. Surely we can manage it together?" Robin said, kneeling on the ground and bracing it with his feet as the Doctor and Clara both held an end of the bow and I knocked the arrow in place before Robin took it and aimed.

The arrow flew true and hit the ship, giving it just enough power to get into orbit only for it to explode. The Merry Men all cheered and laughed with Robin as Clara and I stood by the frowning Doctor.

"Still not keen on the laughing thing?"

"No, no, no, no." He abruptly denied and she laughed with Robin. "Come on. Let's go back to the Tardis."

The group followed us to the blue box and the Doctor left Robin and Clara alone to say their goodbyes, before she headed into the box and I gave him a grin.

"Goodbye, Robin. It was nice staying with you and your Merry Men."

He nodded. "And it was nice having a bit of feminine touch around the camp."

"Oi. I'm not that feminine." I said, kicking him in the shin playfully.

"Far more than you think, Alex." He grinned, going to hug me, but not being sure what to do with my arm still tied to my side.

I rolled my eyes and gave him a one-armed hug. "Don't stop looking for her."

"I won't." He said back, before we backed off and I headed into the Tardis.

Immediately, I was cautious and Clara chuckled at me as I walked slowly up the steps and eyed the console room.

"What are you doing? She's not going to do anything, you know. Not when you're injured."

"You can never trust this one." I said, earning a chuckle from the blue box just before the Doctor came in and started up the ship.

"Admit it. You like him." Clara challenged him and he begrudgingly gave in.

"Well, I'm leaving him a present, aren't I?"

I rolled my eyes. "_Our_ present. I found her first."

"But I'm the one who brought her here."

"Well, I saved her friend from being killed."

"And left her behind in the process."

"Max could only carry one person!" I argued and we went on to argue for a while more, playfully bantering despite the new Doctor's dislike of it, until Clara shut us up.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"Ah, yeah. Hello, Doctor. Martha."_

_He grinned. "Oh, it's nice to see you." He then gave me an odd look as he tilted his head. "Are you wearing anything?"_

_Red tinted my cheeks and I looked away nervously. "U-Um, about that..."_


	14. The Lazarus Experiment

**Here's the next chapter. I'll do my best to update this every other day or so, but i've got a real nasty cold and my birthday is on thursday :D though i doubt much will happen that day, but whatever. anyway, here's the next chapter and thanks a ton to my reviewers ^^ please tell me what you think of this one!**

* * *

I sighed, rather relaxed for once as I went to take a nice shower after a whole week spent with the Twelfth Doctor and Clara. We all got on rather well enough, though his sense of time was as worse as ever. Clara had told me more than once to not send him out for coffee and expect him to be back anytime soon. Things were nice though and far less running around as the Doctor was convinced I would dislocate my arm again before it was fully healed. I personally, thought it was fine and had started taking the sling off when he wasn't looking, but he always seemed to know and caught me before I could, more than half the time. Thankfully I didn't need it now.

It was weird though, him caring for me as much as he did and sometimes I wondered what was in it for him, but I figured he was like this with everyone, though Clara had told me more than once that that wasn't true. Just thinking that he believed me to be someone special had my stomach twisting itself into knots, so I tried not to think of it like that and figured that he was just being his usual friendly Eleventh self… even if he was the Twelfth. I frowned to myself and shut off the water, stepping out of the shower and drying myself off, when I began to feel the familiar aching in my shoulder and my eyes widened.

"Oh _no_. Not _now_!"

I quickly grabbed a towel and covered myself, reaching out to grab my clothes, but I popped off before I could and I cringed, warily peeking open my eyes to see if I was out in public or something. Finding myself in someone else's bathroom was a plus, but I would have no choice but to poke my head out and ask the nearest person for some clothes.

"Oh, but how would I explain this? 'Yes, hello. Sorry about this, but I just popped up here to have a quick wash and seemed to have misplaced my clothes. You wouldn't happen to have any'?" I bit out through my teeth as I started pacing.

I paced for a bit longer, before stopping and pulling a hand through my wet hair, deciding that not doing anything wasn't going to get me anywhere. So I took a deep breath, steeled myself for embarrassment, and cracked open the door.

"Hello?" I called out, looking around. "Nothing suspicious here, just a naked person looking for some clothes in someone else's house."

Stepping out into the hallway, I looked around before pointing at the doors.

"Eenie, meenie, miney… mo."

I headed towards the white door that was cracked open and poked my head in to find the side of a blue police box, making me grin as I playfully slapped it.

"Hello there, Sexy! Glad to see you here!… Though I wish I knew where 'here' was."

"Alex? Alex, is that you?"

I stiffened at the familiar voice of the Tenth Doctor and poked my head around the side of the box with a nervous grin.

"Ah, yeah. Hello, Doctor. Martha."

He grinned. "Oh, it's nice to see you." He then gave me an odd look as he tilted his head. "Are you wearing anything?"

Red tinted my cheeks and I looked away nervously. "U-Um, about that. Could I, um… go get dressed? I sort of popped off when I got out of the shower a-and didn't have a chance to um…"

I glanced down at the white towel covering me and back over at the Doctor who also flushed as he messed up his hair and glanced away briefly.

"Oh, yeah. Sure."

Martha chuckled as I came out from behind the Tardis and hurried inside the open door—red faced—before rushing to the wardrobe. Thing was, the Tardis wouldn't give me anything other than a dress, so I quickly scowled up at her.

"There is no way you're getting me to wear that! I'd rather go out there naked!"

She hummed at me, daring me, so I got up and started towards the door in only my towel. Just as I reached the open door, she slammed it shut and groaned in complaint, making me smirk triumphantly.

"If we're doing fancy dress, then I demand a tux, sweetheart. I don't do dresses."

She begrudgingly complied and I heard the engines start up for a moment, confusing me, because I had this feeling that we hadn't even moved. Shrugging it off, I picked up the undone bow tie and gave it a look. _I don't know how to tie one of these…_ The Tardis laughed and I frowned up at her.

"Oh, shut it! Give me a regular tie and I'm fine!"

In response, she chucked me out of the wardrobe and left me to fend for myself. And by fend for myself, I mean go find the Doctor and make him do it. He wasn't in the console room, so I poked my head out and spotted him talking with Martha as she dug through her closet.

"You wouldn't happen to know how to tie this, would you, Doctor?" I held up the bow tie in question and he came over, taking it from me and starting to tie it around my neck once I'd stepped out of the Tardis.

"I thought you'd know, see as you're wearing a tux." He gave me a look. "No dress?"

I tossed a thumb over at the Tardis. "She tried, but I threatened to walk out in a towel. You wouldn't see me caught dead in one of those death traps."

"They're not that bad, Alex." Martha said, having pulled out a dark maroon dress. "You're just not used to it."

I rolled my eyes, as the Doctor finished my bow tie, and gave her a look. "Yeah, well, it'll take a lot more than the Tardis to get me to wear one. I'd rather a nice warm coat."

The Doctor chuckled, before patting my shoulder, leaning over to speak softly. "You look fine, Alex. Very charming."

I grinned up at him as he headed into the Tardis to change himself and Martha went to the bathroom for her own makeover. It took a while, but we were soon on our way to the black-tie event with Martha and the Doctor explaining what had caught their interest enough for us to investigate. I quickly recognized the episode as '_The Lazarus Experiment'_ and was actually excited to meet the younger Lazarus because he was also a character in another TV show I had really enjoyed back in my world and wrote a number of the _Doctor Who _episodes as well. _Hehe, I get to meet Mycroft aka. Mark Gatiss. I'm so excited!_

"You look rather excited, Alex. Something going on that I don't know about?" The Doctor asked me as we walked.

I nodded. "Yup! In my world, the man who acts as Lazarus is someone I really look up to, and I get to meet him!"

He pouted. "What, and I'm not?"

I shrugged. "You are, but I get to see you all the time and sometimes you're nice to me and other times you're not. Meeting this guy is a once-in-a-lifetime chance!"

I heard Martha chuckling and I turned to her in confusion, before glancing at the Doctor who was still pouting.

"What?"

The Doctor began messing with his cuffs and ignored my question. "Ugh, black-tie. Whenever I wear this, something bad always happens."

"It's not the outfit. That's just you. Anyway, I think it suits you. In a James Bond kind of way." Martha said with a smile.

I nodded, agreeing. "Very spy-ish."

"James Bond?" He said in disgust, before he actually seemed to consider it. "Really?"

Martha and I chuckled as we all headed up the stairs to the 'Lazarus Laboratories' building where the party was being held. She stopped though, as we approached.

"Um, how are we supposed to get you all in? You need to be on the list."

"Well, I can be your plus one." The Doctor said. "And, uh, you're family, right? Special privileges. Alex can be your plus two."

"Yeah, like that's going to work." Martha said with a roll of her eyes.

"Just try it." I shrugged. "Act serious enough and they'll believe you. No one questions someone who looks and acts like they know exactly what they're talking about."

The Doctor tossed a thumb my way. "She's right."

Martha groaned. "Ugh, fine."

Sure enough, the trick worked and we were all allowed into a room set up with a machine in the center and waiters walking around with food trays and champagne.

"Oh, look! They've got nibbles! I love nibbles!" The Doctor said excitedly, snatching some of the snacks from off a tray.

He handed me one and I ate it as Martha gave us a look, but she was soon distracted by her sister rushing over and hugging her.

"Hello!"

"Tish!"

"You look great. So, what do you think? Impressive, isn't it?"

"Very."

"And two nights out in a row for you. That's dangerously close to a social life."

"If I keep this up, I'll end up in all the gossip columns."

"You might, actually. You should keep an eye out for photographers. And mum. She's coming too. Even dragging Leo along with her."

"Leo in black-tie? That I _must_ see." Martha said, before spotting Tish eyeing the Doctor and I. "This is, uh, the Doctor."

The Doctor shook her hand, mouth full of 'nibbles'. "Hello."

"And this is Alexander Holmes."

I smiled and shook her hand too. "Hey. Just call me Alex."

"Are they with you?" Tish asked, looking at me out of the corner of her eye.

Martha nodded, seeing the hidden implication in her words. "Yeah."

"But he's not on the list. Neither or them. How did they get in?"

"They're my plus two. Alex was a, uh, last minute thing though. Came with the Doctor, not me."

"Oh." She eyed me and I silently wondered if she was a bit confused about my gender.

That happened sometimes and I usually didn't correct people because, well, it was always funny to watch them once they realized it. But this time, I figured I wouldn't want Martha's sister getting the wrong idea, especially since she was looking at me in a rather… _friendly_ manner. _Best not have a companion's sister trying to hit on me without knowing I'm a girl._

"Actually, I, uh—"

"So, this Lazarus, he's your boss?" The Doctor questioned, cutting me off and ruining my chance to explain things to Tish.

"Professor Lazarus, yes. I'm part of his executive staff."

"She's in the PR department." Martha said, trying to downgrade her sister, it seems.

_Then again, her sister seems like the type to exaggerate._

"I'm head of the PR department, actually."

"You're _joking_."

"I put this whole thing together."

"So do you know what the Professor's going to be doing tonight? That looks like it might be a sonic micro field manipulator." The Doctor asked, getting back on track.

"He's a science geek. I should've known." She turned to me as I eyed the free bar. "What about you, Alex?"

"Hm?" I turned back around and smiled a bit, rubbing the back of my neck. "Oh, I, uh… I'm not so great with technology. Took apart a toaster once. Took me two weeks to put it back together and hurt myself in the process." I held up the hand with the scar on the palm. "I've gotten better though! Fixed that, a fan, and the plumbing at my friend's place."

"Ooh, a handyman then. I wouldn't mind someone to help around the house." She hummed, making me realize that I had somehow been inadvertently flirting with her.

"Um, I-I don't think—"

She turned away from me before I could finish and gave Martha a small smile.

"Got to go back to work now. I'll catch up with you later."

"Science geek? What does that mean?" The Doctor questioned, before pointing at me as I pulled a hand through my hair with a worried look on my face. "And was it just me, or was she flirting with Alex?"

"She meant that you were obsessively enthusiastic about it, and… yeah, I think she was." Martha turned to me with a raised brow. "Do you usually make people confused about your gender?"

I nodded with a sigh. "Not purposely, but… yeah. It's not the first time a girl has hit on me." I suddenly paused, eyes wide. "Oh man. I wonder what I'm going to do when I meet Vastra and Jenny… Oh, I hope they don't kill me."

The Doctor gave me a look before I pointed at Martha.

"You. You fix this. Tell her I'm a girl or not interested or gay or something."

"What? Why me?" She asked, getting a little annoyed. "Why can't you do it?"

"One, she's _your_ sister." I counted off on my fingers. "Two, I've already tried but keep getting interrupted. And three…" I sighed, giving her a pitiful look. "No one ever believes me when I tell them."

She groaned, tossing up her hands. "Fine! Alright, I'll tell her your gay or something."

The Doctor gave _her_ a look this time. "Why not just tell her Alex is a girl?"

I answered for her. "It's easier to say I'm gay. What with the masculine figure, the short hair, male attitude and boy's name. It's like trying to convince a monkey that a banana is a leaf. They know what both are, but if you paint a leaf yellow and call it a banana, even they'll have a hard time not believing it."

"You sound like you've done that before."

I gave him a look. "Not the banana, no. But I tried convincing a kid once, in high school, that I wasn't a guy; after him believing I was for two weeks. He thought I was joking." I turned, heading for the bar as I spoke over my shoulder. "Sometimes people don't see what's right in front of them until it's too late and then they blame the other person. Trust me. It's easier to say I'm gay and just get it over with. And Doctor?"

"Hm?"

"Watch out for the mother. Be nice. Don't lie. You know what that gets you." I pat my cheek and he paled, realizing what I meant as I chuckled and headed over to the bar.

It'd been a long while since I had a drink and I felt that one was about due. Humming to myself with a smile on my face, I sat on a bar stool and cheerfully sipped my whiskey. I mean, how could I not? After a week of relaxing and popping up here, where there would be one—easily preventable—death and three avoidable ones, I could actually _be_ cheerful. There wasn't the usual unease and worry that seemed to plague me with the other adventures and I was with a Doctor who was friendly and didn't hate me. The only issue I had was with Tish and her apparent crush on me, but that would be fixed once Martha gets a hold of her. All in all, I was going to enjoy this free bar while I had a chance, because who knows what sorts of trouble I'd get into next.

"Oh, you're a rebellious one, aren't you?"

I quickly felt my mood get ruined by the man who sat down beside me and I ordered another drink since mine was near empty.

He swirled the drink in the glass he was holding, though I didn't bother to look at him. "I wonder who you could be? I don't believe Lazarus has any _female_ companions who would cross-dress. Though you must be an interesting person to go to such lengths to crash the party."

I scoffed. "I won't be the one crashing the party. Lazarus will do that all on his own." I took a drink and set it down, looking over at the man with a frown. "'Sides, I don't know how my being here is any of your… concern…"

My eyes widened and my throat grew tight at the short haired man sitting beside me, who I'd instantly recognized. The Master sat beside me—though at the moment he'd be known as Harold Saxon—and the grin he sent at me had a shiver racking my spine in fear, because this man scared me. Scared me to my very core, more than the Daleks even. The Daleks weren't so scary once you realize they were octopuses inside salt-shaker robot suits, but the Master was someone who'd gone mad. Someone so insane that he'd keep coming back with new plots to destroy the Doctor, to bring back the Time Lords, to drive others insane. He was scary because, unlike the Daleks who were aliens born to hate, the Master was a Time Lord like the Doctor who'd gone rogue. Who'd lost everything he had and was driven crazy by a maddening sound in his head that no one understood.

"You recognize me then. That's good. Means my name's getting out there." He said, sipping his drink as his fingers drummed the familiar four beat pattern on the counter. "Though I'm still curious. Who are you? It's not everyday I get to see a woman pulling off a tuxedo. Can't say I don't like it though."

He eyed me, making the room suddenly feel a lot hotter as sweat slid down the back of my neck in my panic. _What do I do?! I can't tell him who I am! W-Why is he even here?!_ _I need to get out of here, now! _I grabbed my drink with a shaky hand and downed the rest of it, thanking the slight bit of courage the buzz of the alcohol gave me.

"I'm sorry, Mister Saxon, but I'm really a nobody who just tagged along with a friend. Someone I need to get back to before she realizes I've been hanging out at the bar."

I stood up and went to go, but he grabbed my wrist rather tightly as he stood as well and leaned close.

"Already? That's a shame. You recognized me right away and I was hoping to get to know you a bit better."

Bile rose in my throat and I struggled not to show how afraid I was of him as I pulled my wrist out of his and smiled politely.

"Unfortunately, I'm not interested. Now if you'll excuse me."

I got lucky and Lazarus took that time to bring everyone's attention to him and his machine and I was able to sneak away, up the stairs in search of Lazarus's office. _I-I need something to distract myself. A-And perhaps I can save Lady Thaw. Anything to get him out of my head._ I thought as I tapped my fingers nervously on my thigh, not knowing that I was drumming out the beat of four just as the Master had.

* * *

Lazarus had been reborn into another, younger, man and the Doctor frowned, not liking this much at all. This wasn't the kind of technology people should have, much less be able to use. He'd nearly blown himself up when the system overloaded, but the Doctor still felt that there was something he was missing.

"It can't be the same guy. It's impossible. It must be a trick." Martha said as Lazarus took photos with some younger women.

"Oh, it's not a trick. I wish it were."

"What just happened then?"

"He just changed what it means to be human." The Doctor said, before frowning and looking around. "Have you seen Alex? She was the one who really wanted to meet this guy, but she's not even around."

Martha looked around too, having expected the young woman to have been at the free bar she was eyeing earlier, but the only person there was another man with short hair, who was approached by a few other men before they all walked out.

"No, I haven't seen her." She turned back to the Doctor with a look. "Bet you anything, she's hiding from my sister."

He frowned a bit, a feeling of unease forming in his stomach. "I don't even think your sister would stop her from this. Come on."

He headed over to Lazarus and Lady Thaw beside him, the man stuffing his face full of nibbles.

"Richard!" Lady Thaw scolded, but he ignored her.

"I'm famished."

"Energy deficit. Always happens with this kind of process." The Doctor said, popping into the conversation as Lazarus eyed him suspiciously.

"You speak as if you see this everyday, Mister…"

"Doctor. And well, no. Not everyday, but I have some experience of this kind of transformation."

Lazarus smiled. "That's not possible."

"Using hypersonic sound waves to create a state of resonance. That's inspired." The Doctor complimented, showing off his knowledge.

"You understand the theory, then."

"Enough to know that you couldn't possibly have allowed for all the variables."

"No experiment is entirely without risk." Lazarus said, before eating another nibble.

"That thing nearly exploded. You might as well have stepped into a blender."

"You're not qualified to comment." Lady Thaw interjected, annoyed with this newcomer.

"If I hadn't stopped it, it would have exploded."

"Then I thank you, Doctor. But that's a simple engineering issue. What happened inside the capsule was exactly what was supposed to happen. No more, no less."

"You've no way of knowing that until you've run proper tests." Martha counted, only for Lazarus to laugh.

"Look at me. You can see what happened. I'm all the proof you need."

"This device will be properly certified before we start to operate commercially." Lady Thaw said with a smug smile.

"Commercially? You _are_ joking. That's cause chaos." Martha said loudly, shocked at what damage something like that would cause.

"Not chaos. Change. A chance for humanity to evolve. To improve."

"This isn't about improving. This is about you and your customers living a little longer." The Doctor snapped, getting annoyed at this naïve, greedy side of humanity.

"Not a little longer, Doctor. A lot longer. Perhaps indefinitely."

"Richard, we have things to discuss. Upstairs." Lady Thaw said, leading him away as he waved and sent back a few final words to the Doctor.

"Goodbye, Doctor. In a few years, you'll look back and laugh at how wrong you were." Lazarus said, sticking out his hand in an apparent shaking gesture, only to take Martha's and kiss the back of it.

"Ooh, he's out of his depth." The Doctor commented to her. "No idea of the damage he might have done." He then wrinkled his nose. "Why the heck does Alex like him? I mean, I'm better, aren't I? I'm not just trying to fill my pockets." He pulled a hand through his hair haughtily. "And I'm better looking too, I'd think."

Martha rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath. "Really, how do I deal with you two?" She then gave him a serious look. "So what do we do now?"

"Now? Well, this building must be full of laboratories. I say we do our own tests."

"Lucky I've just collected a DNA sample then, isn't it?" She said, waving her fingers as she motioned to the hand Lazarus had kissed.

"Oh, Martha Jones, you're a star." The Doctor grinned, before the two made their way towards the stairs, Martha more than glad at the praise and feeling rather lucky herself that Alex wasn't there to take the Doctor's attention.

* * *

_O-Oh dear. _I thought, tucked away behind a column as Lazarus and Lady Thaw argued. I knew what was going to happen soon and my heart pounded away in my chest, pumping adrenaline through my veins as I waited for the tell-tale sign that Lazarus was changing. _I hope this works. I hope I can get her away in time, but then where the heck am I supposed to go?_ _Just have to hope I make it out okay._ I swallowed, listening as I finally heard Lady Thaw panicking.

"Oh! Richard! Is it some kind of seizure?"

"Not quite, Lady Thaw!" I said over Lazarus's cries, grabbing her shoulder firmly as I pulled her away from the man.

"What should I do?" She asked, looking up at me and frowning. "And who are you?"

"A friend. And there's no time to explain, you need to run. _Now._"

"What? Whatever for? I don't understand what's happening!"

I watched as Lazarus started to change, his form becoming monstrous and Lady Thaw screamed before I pushed her towards the door.

"Go! Now!"

She ran off in a panic and I smiled a bit, glad I'd saved her, before I heard the inhuman screech from behind me and spun around just in time to dodge a rather large scorpion tail.

"W-Whoa! Now hold on there!" I ran around the table in the center of the room, putting it between me and him. "I just wanna talk! I mean, I've always admired you! Well… sort of."

I grabbed an office chair as he tried to maneuver around the table and pushed it towards him, it moving under his leg and tripping him as I went around to the other side of the table again.

I nervously smiled. "Believe it o-or not, I'm actually a woman! Never liked dresses, so sorry if that confused you, but are you really sure you want to do this? If you're really that hungry, go grab some more nibbles!"

He climbed on top of the table and my eyes widened, searching for an escape and I grabbed a metal tray from off the table and slid it onto the floor as I dove on top of it and used it to skid across the ground under the table as Lazarus stabbed his tail into the ground where I had been. I picked up the plate with a grin, tossing it a bit and catching it again.

"Ooh, I like this."

A screech rang out again and I went back to panicked as Lazarus approached me and I backed up cautiously, hanging onto the plate for now.

"Come on. You don't want to eat something like me! Look at me! I'm skinnier than a twig! Not to mention…" I grinned as I reached behind me. "I'm right by the exit. Thanks!"

I opened the door and slammed it shut, back pressed against it, just as Lazarus's tail stabbed through the wood right next to my head, making me pale.

"O-O-Oh crap!" I squeaked out, before making a mad dash for the closest door I could find, diving into the storage closet and closing the door behind me just as I heard the tell-tale crash of the door being broken through.

I held my breath, listening to the clattering, before I heard it leave and slumped to the floor with a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank God."

I waited a bit longer before I took my chance and peeked out the door into the corridor and hesitantly took a step out, before bolting back into his office out of breath and still panicking with the metal plate clenched tightly in my hand. I heard the ding of the lift and, panicking as I believed it to be Lazarus returning, and held up the metal plate to smash it on his head when he came out. The doors opened and I shouted as I went to bring the plate down, but stopped it as they grabbed my hands and one of them flipped on the lights.

"Alex! Alex, it's me! Calm down!"

I blinked at the Doctor in front of me cowering slightly under the metal plate above my head and his hand on my wrist.

"A-Ah… H-H-Hello." I stuttered out, not really having the capacity to think at the moment, still panicking. "D-Don't mind me. Just panicking, is all."

"Oh, Alex." He sighed, letting my wrist go as I lowered the metal plate shakily, and pulling me into a tight hug.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm down, before smacking his back with the metal plate.

"Okay. Let me go. Still not a hugger."

"You will be."

I deadpanned. "Not today."

He chuckled before letting me go and Martha looked over the room.

"This is his office, alright, but what happened?" She turned to me and I nervously smiled, holding the plate on my shoulder.

"Should I start with the crazy Lazarus monster, or the fact that I saved a life and this plate is really handy?"

"Lazarus monster?" Martha questioned and I nodded, shakily moving towards a chair and sitting down tiredly.

"Oh yeah. Big thing with a scorpion tail. Nearly got me if I hadn't used the plate to slide under the table and hide in a broom closet."

The Doctor came over, eyeing me as I pulled a hand through my hair. "Alex, you said you saved someone. Who?"

"Lady Thaw." I replied, looking up at him with my elbows on my legs. "Otherwise she would've had the life sucked out of her. Literally."

He smiled a bit, reaching down and holding my head with a hand as he kissed the top. "Good job, Alex."

"It's not over yet." I muttered, eyeing him seriously. "I don't know what I've changed. By eating her, he should've gathered some energy to keep him stable, but because I've stopped it… There's only supposed to be one other death…"

He grew serious and grabbed my shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly. "We won't let any more happen, Alex. Now come on. We have to find him."

I nodded and got up, following after him as they pressed frantically at the lift button and we hurried in; myself forgetting that Lazarus would be heading up to the roof with Tish in my panic. I did remember though, but by that time, we had already reached the bottom floor and I bit my lip as I tried to think of what to do. _She's in no danger as long as the Doctor gets there in time, but I changed things, so she might actually _be_ in danger. Not to mention if I don't go back, Martha will be pissed for me not telling her. And they'll find out soon enough._ I nodded to myself, turning around and walking back into the lift after the Doctor and Martha headed over to talk to Leo and Francine. _Sorry, Doctor. But I can't take the risk that I've really screwed things up._

I tucked the metal plate under my shirt as the lift dinged and opened when it reached Lazarus's office, and I quickly found the way up to the roof, taking it and opening the door.

"Well, you're looking pretty good for your age." Tish commented as Lazarus smiled.

"Thank you."

"Can I?" Tish asked, reaching up towards his face.

"Of course."

"Actually! I wouldn't do that." I called out, making her pause and turn to me as Lazarus did the same with a glare.

"Alex?" Tish questioned with a frown, turning her back to Lazarus as I walked towards her quickly and grabbed her wrist, pulling her away from the man.

"Stay away from him." I told her, eyeing the man cautiously.

"What? What for?" She frowned, before her eyes widened. "Hold on a minute! My sister told me about you! You just want him for yourself, don't you!"

"W-What? No!" I scrambled to answer as she pulled out of my grip. "I mean, I respect his work, but I wouldn't—"

_Slap!_

My head snapped to the side after she slapped me and I touched my cheek lightly in shock before looking back at her.

"Don't _lie_ to me, Alex. You already did that once by not telling me you were _gay_ of all things!"

I groaned, catching the smirking Lazarus behind her, before he flinched and cracked his neck. _Not good. He's already starting and the Doctor's not here yet!_ I grabbed her wrist again and ignored her protests as I pulled her behind me and backed us both up to the door.

"Look, I don't care what you think—"

"Excuse me?!"

I grit my teeth, eyes focused on the man before me. "Just shut up and listen for a moment! He's not what you think he is!"

"Alex is right." The Doctor said, making me sigh in relief before I frowned at him.

"You're late."

"No I'm not." He said, before wincing and pointing to his cheek. "Did she do that?"

I rolled my eyes. "She didn't like that I lied about being _gay_."

"Ooh, and I thought mothers were bad."

Martha came over and took her sister from me, who started shouting in anger.

"What's going on?! What are you doing here?!"

"Tish, not now."

Lazarus smirked, looking over at me. "Glad you gave me another chance to get you, _Alex_, seeing as we missed our chance before."

I wrinkled my nose in disgust as the Doctor moved in front of me and faced him.

"I wouldn't have thought you had time for talk, Lazarus, what with you being busy defying the laws of nature and all."

"You're right, Doctor. One lifetime's been too short for me to do everything I'd like. How much more I'll get done in two or three or four." Lazarus smirked, but the Doctor countered him easily.

"Doesn't work like that. Some people live more in twenty years than others do in eighty. It's not the time that matters, it's the person."

"But if it's the right person, what a gift that would be."

"Or what a curse… Look what you've done to yourself."

"Who are you to judge me?"

"Martha! What is going on?!" Tish demanded again, but Martha just pointed at Lazarus as he transformed again. "What's that?!"

"B-Big scorpion thing." I muttered. "Told you."

"Run!" The Doctor shouted and we all bolted back down the stairs to the elevator.

"Are you okay?" Martha asked Tish and she glanced at me.

"You were trying to save me."

I nodded, wincing a bit as I rubbed my cheek. "Yeah. Though I suppose I deserved the slap for—"

I was cut off as she grabbed my face and kissed me, before letting go.

"I know you don't like women, but thank you."

I stared, mouth gaping open in shock as my mind tried to reboot and Martha and the Doctor struggled to figure out whether to either laugh or stare in shock as well. The lights suddenly went out though and an alarm went off as I leaned back up against the wall with a hand on my forehead.

"Why does this keep happening to me?" I muttered under my breath. "Why does everyone have to kiss me? It's not like I want it or asked for it."

"What's happening?" Martha asked, and Tish responded.

"An intrusion. It triggers a security lock-down. Kills most of the power, stops the lifts, seals the exits."

"He must be breaking through the door. The stairs! Come on, Alex! There's time to worry about your sexuality later!"

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me down the stairs after him, and after a little while, there was a loud crash and we paused briefly.

"He's inside!"

"We haven't got much time!" The Doctor shouted, and we soon reached the reception room. "Tish, is there another way out of here?"

"There's an exit in the corner, but it'll be locked now."

"Martha, setting 54, hurry." He passed the sonic to her and turned to the people. "Listen to me! You people are in serious danger! You need to get out of here right now!"

"Listen to him!" I shouted along with him. "Didn't you see Lady Thaw?! She was panicking for a reason, now go!"

A woman scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. The biggest danger here is choking on an olive."

Of course, it was that moment that the mutant Lazarus showed up and crashed the party, making everyone panic as he jumped down and smashed a table. The Doctor turned to me, pushing me back.

"Alex! You too!"

I shook my head, hopping down and searching for the woman who was going to be killed through the group of panicked people. "Not yet, Spaceman!"

I spotted her just as Lazarus and the Doctor did.

"No! Get away from her!"

I took my chance and rushed between the two, shoving her back towards the exit and making her run, just as Lazarus's tail went to strike.

"Alex! No!"

The tail stabbed right at me, but instead of killing me and sucking out my life force, I was launched back across the room, slamming into a wall and falling to the ground in so much pain that I couldn't breath, let alone try to move as Lazarus turned towards Francine and Leo. _No… leave them alone…_

"Lazarus! Stay away from them!" The Doctor shouted, distracting the monster as Martha ran to her family.

I blinked slowly, scrambling try and catch my breath. Something was wrong. I couldn't breath and it felt like my chest was being sat on by an elephant. I couldn't think, couldn't remember what happened next or why I was alive. I could only think of one thing. _Doctor…_

* * *

Once Martha had opened the doors to let everyone out of the building, she stared back at the entrance in worry.

"I've got to go back."

"You can't!" Her mother argued "You saw what that thing did! It'll kill you!"

"I don't care, I have to go." Martha said, tired of being pushed around by her mother all the time.

Her mother stepped forward. "It's that Doctor, isn't it? That's what's happened to you. That's why you've changed."

"He was buying us time, Martha. Time for you to get out, too." Tish said as well, worried for her sister.

"I'm not leaving him." She argued back. "And Alex is still in there! You want me to leave her too?!"

"_Her_?!"

Martha rolled her eyes, before dashing back up the stairs and into the building, her mother calling after her.

"Martha!"

Martha hurried into the reception hall, searching for the red hair she had become familiar with and spotting Alex on the ground. Something was wrong though, and Martha quickly found out what.

"Y-You're alive?!"

She rolled Alex onto her back, enticing a near silent cry from the woman who clenched her eyes shut at the pain. Martha then realized that the woman couldn't breath and was quickly going from pale to blue in the face as she tried to catch her breath.

"A-Alex, come on. Deep breaths. You need to take deep breaths." Martha said, believing her to just be panicking, but Alex shook her head, grabbing at her shirt and tuxedo jacket as though trying to pull them off.

Assuming that by making things less restrictive would help her breathe, Martha quickly began undoing the buttons on the clothes, before she noticed at something was off and pulled the lower half of the shirt open to reveal a horribly dented in metal plate. Alex weakly clawed at it, eyes beginning to roll up as she ran out of air, and Martha struggled slightly before managing to pull it off the woman who quickly gasped and coughed, making to roll onto her side, but Martha held her down.

"There! Deep breaths, Alex! I can't let you roll over just yet. Y-You may have cracked ribs." Martha told the woman as color steadily returned to her face, and Martha held up the dented plate. "And where did you get this idea? You could've gotten killed!"

Alex smiled a bit."T-Told you… it was handy… S-Saved my life… I would've… been a dead husk… on the ground… otherwise… I'd take bruised ribs… over death… any day."

Martha rolled her eyes and stood, hearing a crash overhead as Alex carefully sat up and waved her off.

"Go on. He'll need your help." Alex said, surprising Martha as she smiled shakily; no doubt in quite a bit of pain. "I-I'll catch up."

Martha nodded before hurrying up the stairs to chase after the Doctor, as Alex called out after her.

"Tell him I'm okay!" She shouted, before wheezing and cringing in pain, frowning down at her ruined shirt and the large multi-colored bruise that was forming; muttering to herself. "Note to self… _Never_ do that again."

* * *

"What now? We've just gone round in a circle!"

"See?" I chuckled, waving from my position on the ground with a hand around my middle. "Told you I'd catch up with you."

Martha rolled her eyes. "You didn't even have to move!"

I grinned, though my teeth were grit tight in pain as I forced myself to stand; using the wall behind me as support. "Yup! I just took the easy way. You're the one who had to run—Oof!"

I grunted as the Doctor rushed over and hugged me around the shoulders with a hand pressing my head into his shoulder; his chin resting on top of it.

"Oh, Alex. Don't do that. Please. Don't do that ever again."

"I don't plan on it." I grit out. "But you're kind of hurting me."

He pulled away, holding me gently by the shoulders as I doubled over slightly in pain.

"Ngh, that smarts."

There was a crash and the Doctor quickly started pulling me towards the machine in the center of the room as Lazarus headed towards us

"We can't lead him outside! Come on, get in!"

I was stuck between Martha and the Doctor, and was breathing heavily as a bead of sweat slipped down the side of my head. Fingers brushed the side of my head gently and I looked up slightly to see the Doctor's worried brown eyes. I mouthed the words 'I'm fine' and he nodded as Martha spoke up.

"Are we hiding?"

"No, he knows we're here, but this is his masterpiece. I'm betting he won't destroy it, not even to get at us."

"But we're trapped!" Martha countered.

"Well, yeah. That's a slight problem."

"You mean you don't have a plan?"

"Yes, the plan was to get inside here."

"Then what?"

I rolled my eyes, shifting slightly with a wince. "He's working on it. Works better on the run."

He smiled. "See? Alex gets it."

"In your own time then." Martha scoffed, before the Doctor went to reach into his pocket, squishing me against Martha behind me and making me let out a quiet cry of pain before he stopped.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and kissed the top of my head as I rested it on his shoulder. "Sorry."

"Just hurry up." I muttered, far too tired and sore to do this for much longer.

Martha also didn't seem to like what he was doing. "What're you going to do with that?"

"Improvise. Alex, I need to move."

I nodded, leaning against the side of the wall instead of him as he slid down to the floor and began doing something with the internal wiring of the machine.

"I still don't understand where that thing came from." Martha said. "Is it alien?"

"No, for once it's strictly human in origin."

"Human? How can it be human?"

"Probably from dormant genes in Lazarus's DNA. The energy field in this thing must have reactivated them. And it looks like they're becoming dominant." The Doctor explained.

"So it's a throwback."

"Some option that evolution rejected for you millions of years ago, but the potential is still there. Locked away in your genes, forgotten about until Lazarus unlocked it by mistake."

"Why couldn't he have just turned into a Neanderthal? _Ardipithecus ramidus _or something?" I complained, making the Doctor chuckle.

"It'd make things easier, wouldn't it? Nice shoes, by the way, Martha."

The machine lit up and started working as Martha panicked a bit.

"Doctor, what's happening?"

"Lazarus turned the machine on." I muttered, as she grew louder.

"And that's not good, is it?"

"Well, I was hoping it was going to take him a little bit longer to work that out." The Doctor said as lights started flashing and she went on.

"I don't want to hurry you, but—"

"I know! I know! Nearly done."

"Well, what are you doing?!"

I answered this time. "He's turning the machine back on him. Making the energy go outwards instead of in with us."

"Will that kill it?" She asked.

"When he transforms, he's three times his size. Cellular triplication. So he's spreading himself thin."

_That doesn't answer the question. _I mentally rolled my eyes as they both shouted.

"We're going to end up like him!"

"Just one more!"

Thankfully the Doctor managed to make it all work out and the blast went out at Lazarus, before the Doctor stood and let us out, helping me along carefully as Martha let out a sigh of relief.

"I thought we were going to go through the blender then."

"Really shouldn't take that long just to reverse the polarity. I must be a bit out of practice." The Doctor said, before leading me over to where Lazarus was lying naked on the ground.

"Oh God. He seems so human again. It's kind of pitiful."

"'This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but a whimper'." The Doctor quoted, before a couple of paramedics came in and he smiled. "Ah, hello, yes. Could you check her for me?"

He pushed me forwards a bit and a paramedic nodded and helped me out of the room as I glared over at the Doctor, vowing to tear him a new one for passing me aside like that. Good thing was, my ribs weren't broken, just cracked and once I had been given some pain medication and an icepack wrapped to my ribs, I was told to not do any strenuous activity for a while and was sent on my way; catching up with the Doctor, just in time for him to get slapped by Martha's mother.

"Ooh, I warned you about that."

He rubbed his cheek and groaned. "All of the mothers, every time."

"He is dangerous. I've been told things." Her mother said as the Doctor continued to move his jaw around tenderly.

"What are you talking about?"

"Look around you. Nothing but death and destruction."

"This isn't his fault. He saved us! All of us!" Martha countered, before her brother felt he had to get his bit in.

"And it was Tish who invited everyone to this thing in the first place. I'd say technically, it's her fault."

Tish elbowed him as I hesitantly stepped forward, hands up to try and calm them down a bit.

"Miss Jones, please consider what would've happened if he _wasn't_ here. Things could've been far worse."

She turned to me and slapped me hard across the face as well, shocking me.

"Mum!"

I looked at Francine and held a hand to my abused cheek as she growled at me.

"I don't want to hear anything from you, you _liar_. Lying to my daughter not only once, but _twice_?! You… You despicable _dike_."

I flinched back at her words a pang of hurt running through my chest, just before there was a loud crash and the Doctor grabbed my wrist with an angry glare at Francine; dashing off towards the noise. I heard Martha following us and I clutched at my side and leaned up against the ambulance with the corpses in it, breathing hard with a cringe.

"Lazarus, back from the dead. Should have known, really."

The Doctor started using his sonic screwdriver just as Tish ran over, Martha looking in the ambulance in shock.

"Where's he gone?"

"That way. The church."

"Cathedral. It's Southwark cathedral. He told me." Tish said, adding her bit in.

I shifted with a painful grimace. "Can we _walk_ this time?"

He gave me a small smile. "I suppose we could."

I went to respond, before feeling that painful ache in my shoulder start up and sighed. "Never mind then. Looks like I've got someplace else to be."

"W-Wait, what's going on? What's happening to Alex?" Tish asked, completely lost as to what I was saying and why my shoulder was now glowing.

"I'll tell you later." Martha said, as the Doctor paused what he was doing and gave me a sad look.

"Already?"

I nodded. "Looks like it but have fun with Mr. Scorpion-Man. I'll see all of you again sooner or later, though I wish it would be on better terms."

"What do you mean?" Martha asked, but before I could even hint anything, I was gone.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"Alexander Holmes, the Seer." She hummed, still smiling. "I'd never thought I'd meet you, though you're just as famous as the Doctor, here. Is he around here too?"_

_I shrugged, wincing as my ribs shifted. "I wouldn't rightfully know. I've been popping up early, lately. He might not show up for months." I glanced over at the sphere, it's presence making me uncomfortable. "Then again, he might show up sooner."_


	15. Army of Ghosts

**Hello! updating again ^^ This one will be a crazy chapter, so i hope you're all prepared and thanks so much to those who reviewed! It's always nice to hear from readers. And i hope you all review on this one too, to let me know what you think. It'll definitely be another tough one for Alex. And it's a short one too, sorry. the next chapter will be up thursday sometime :)**

* * *

"Ooh, that was rough." I groaned, a bit out of breath and in quite a bit of pain.

My ribs did not like the rough landing. I considered taking a few more pain meds, but I'd just had some, so I decided not to and instead take a look around. I quickly wished I hadn't. _O-Oh no. No, no, no, no, no! This is the _last_ place I wanted to be! Anywhere but here! Anywhere but—_ I was cut off by loud stomping footsteps heading this way and I forced myself up, determined not to show any weakness to the people about to burst through the door. I held my hands up in surrender with a slightly nervous smile at the soldiers who'd burst through and aimed their guns at me.

"Exactly the welcome I was expecting! Good job, boys and girls." I chirped, though my stomach was twisting itself into knots.

A woman walked out with a grin and I quickly recognized her as Yvonne, the leader and head of Torchwood Institute.

"Oh, how amazing! Splendid! What a happy day!" She said, clapping her hands as the soldiers stood up and did the same.

My lip twitched as I lowered my hands and gave a quick gaze around the room, ignoring the buzzing in the back of my head at the large bronze sphere hovering behind me, and spotting the fidgeting scientist, Rajesh, in the background. I'd hardly noticed him when I first discovered where I was; though there was no sign of Mickey yet.

"Alexander Holmes, the Seer." She hummed, still smiling. "I'd never thought I'd meet you, though you're just as famous as the Doctor, here. Is he around here too?"

I shrugged, wincing as my ribs shifted. "I wouldn't rightfully know. I've been popping up early, lately. He might not show up for months." I glanced over at the sphere, it's presence making me uncomfortable. "Then again, he might show up sooner."

"Ah, so you know about it then? The sphere… What is it?"

I turned back to her with a smile. "Can't tell you. Not yet, anyway. Need the Doctor's permission first."

She narrowed her eyes at me, smile dropping. "But even you said that could be months."

I dropped my smile as well. "Not my problem. Any knowledge I have is staying mine until he shows up. Might as well handcuff me to a post and have Rajesh over there watch over me, because I'm not saying a word."

She frowned, brows furrowed in anger, before she turned to one of the soldiers. "Do it."

He nodded and hurried over, shoving me rather harshly towards a railing nearby and pushing me down to my knees as he went to pull my hands behind my back, but I protested then.

"Oi, at least let me keep one arm free. I cracked my ribs in my last adventure!"

He turned to Yvonne, who nodded and he handcuffed my free hand to the railing, to which I took a deep breath, cringing, before sitting back and getting comfortable.

"We could just torture you, you know." Yvonne said. "There's always other ways of getting answers."

I scoffed. "Oh, right. You know, that's the third time I've heard that. Between the medieval rack and the electrocution, I wonder what you could come up with." I rolled my eyes towards her, looking bored. "You should probably write that down in whatever record you're keeping of me, Yvonne. Might come in handy."

She appeared shocked, before growing serious once more. "It seems we were wrong about you, Seer."

"Alex, please. I don't do titles unless it'll get me out of trouble."

She ignored me and went on. "You're a lot more loyal to the Doctor than we first expected. Like a dog following it's master."

I ignored the jab, though it did hurt a bit, and she turned to leave, taking the soldiers with her as she glanced over her shoulder at me.

"If he doesn't show up in the next few days, we will get answers."

"Good luck~" I sang, closing my eyes and leaning my head back against the railing, before the heavy door closed shut and I let out a long sigh; my ribs protesting at the movement. "He better not be late this time. Lord knows I've had enough of that."

_The next few days are going to suck too. What am I supposed to do to not get bored around here?_ I looked around, but there was nothing and I silently hoped that the Doctor would show up soon, or at least Mickey, because I didn't handle boredom well. _Though, I suppose that's what I get for telling them to cuff me down here. _I gazed up at the sphere with a frown. _Suppose it gives me time to come up with a plan. A lot of people are going to die soon and if I can just save even one of them…_ I looked away and down at my hand wrapped around my ribs; realizing I was still wearing the tuxedo from Lazarus's party, though not really caring. There was something far more important on my mind… _Rose…_

* * *

The Doctor was walking with Yvonne, Jackie, and a group of soldiers to wherever or _whatever_ Yvonne wanted to show him that was causing the ghosts to pop up. He had a bad feeling about all of this, but there wasn't much he could do until he figured out what was going on. It made him wish Alex was here, because she could at least hint to him a few things. He still didn't care for her though. Sure, Rose liked her, but Alex knew things and he easily grew frustrated with how she would just stand back and let them happen. After New New York though, he could tell that she was at least _trying_ to help and the time not too long ago with the supposed Devil taking over the Ood… She was in so much pain and still trying her best to help him… He was beginning to understand what she had told him time and time again, but not only that. He was actually beginning to like the spunky red-head. There was just something about her.

"All those times I've been on Earth, I've never heard of you." He piped up, trying to push the thoughts of Alex out of his head.

"But of course. You're the enemy." Yvonne cheerfully replied. "You're actually named in the Torchwood Foundation Charter of 1879 as an enemy of the Crown."

"1879." He hummed, wincing as he remembered what he'd threatened to do to Alex that night with the werewolf. "That was called Torchwood. That house in Scotland."

"That's right. Where you encountered Queen Victoria and the werewolf."

"I think he makes half of it up." Jackie quipped, not pleased that she was being dragged along into all of this.

"Her Majesty created Torchwood Institute with the express intention of keeping Britain great and fighting the alien horde." Yvonne ignored her.

"But if I'm the enemy, does that mean that I'm a prisoner?"

"Oh yes. But we'll make you comfortable, though your other companion proved difficult." She muttered, loosing her smile for a moment. "And there's so much you can teach us. Starting with this."

She held her key card up and the heavy door opened, before the group headed in and she smiled. "Now, what do you make of _that_?"

The Doctor stared up at it, completely baffled and Rajesh decided then was the best time to greet him, holding a hand out for him to shake.

"You must be the Doctor. Rajesh Singh. It's an honor, sir."

"Yeah…" The Doctor breathed out, not taking his eyes off the sphere as Rajesh lowered his hand.

"What is that thing?" Jackie questioned and Yvonne answered.

"We've got no idea. Ah, though I suppose now your companion might answer, Doctor."

The Doctor snapped his eyes to her, brows furrowed in confusion. "You keep saying companion. What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said." She replied, before turning to Rajesh. "How's she holding up?"

"Ah, r-rather well, actually. She's been meditating, though it's already been three days, ma'am."

"Three days for what?" The Doctor demanded, starting to get angry since they were apparently doing something to someone he knew.

Yvonne sighed. "No food or water. You were taking a while to show up and she wouldn't talk. So we went to option two."

"Torture?!" He shouted and she flinched.

"It's hardly worth being called that since she's handling it so well, and we didn't want to physically harm her. The moment she started showing any signs of deterioration, we would've gave her what she needed."

"You keep saying 'she'." Jackie piped in, frowning in anger and annoyance at what these supposed scientists were doing to someone. "Who is it?"

"Rajesh."

The man nodded and hurried over to the side, through another set of doors with two soldiers following. There was some commotion, making the Doctor exchange looks with Jackie, before Yvonne explained with a sigh.

"She's already injured at least twelve of my men. Almost makes me wonder why she hasn't even attempted escaping yet."

The Doctor raised a brow at that, disbelieving. "She's hurt a dozen of your men, but never escaped?"

Yvonne nodded, just as the door opened and a figure in a dirty tuxedo stepped out angrily, Rajesh rushing after her in a panic.

"I-I'm sorry, ma'am! She knocked out the soldiers and—"

Yvonne waved him off just as the furious woman walked over to the Doctor and kicked him in the shin, making him hop and complain.

"Ow!"

"Ow is right, you pompous arse!" The red-head shouted, the Doctor quickly realizing who it was, though not appreciating the hard kick to the shin; though he was sure she would've punched him if her hands weren't cuffed behind her back. "You're late! Again! I mean seriously?! Nine months one time, six months the next, now a week and a half?! I swear, if I pop off somewhere again and you aren't right bloody there, I'll make you _wish_ Torchwood would take you in and dissect you! I'll punch you right into your next regeneration if I have to!"

The couple of soldiers who'd recovered, grabbed her arms and pulled her back, though the Doctor noticed her wince slightly.

"Really, Alex?" He complained, putting his hurt leg down with his own slight cringe. "No, 'hi' or 'hello'? Just a _nice_ kick to the shin?"

"Oh, I only hit your shin?" She said, her teeth were clenched tight in anger still, before she started struggling against the soldiers again. "Come over here then so I can aim a bit higher!"

"Ooh, I like her." Jackie said with a smirk at him, earning a frown, before he turned it to Yvonne.

"Let her go."

She raised a brow. "She just threatened to maim you, and you want me to let her go?"

"She's injured."

Yvonne nodded. "She had cracked ribs when she first showed up here. They're virtually healed by now. She could still do some harm."

He glared at her, but she didn't budge, instead rolling her eyes and nodding to the soldiers, who pulled Alex over to some railing in front of the sphere and handcuffed one of her hands to it. However, with her other hand free, she grabbed the leg of the leaving soldier and yanked upwards, tripping them successfully before yanking off their shoe and throwing it at the Doctor; who ducked.

"Get over here so I can strangle you!"

He sighed himself, pulling a hand through his hair as he turned to Yvonne who gave him an exhausted look.

"She wasn't this bad at first, more witty than threatening. We don't know what happened."

"Well, probably lack of food. She gets cranky when she's hungry. Headache too, possibly. Alex? How's you head?" He waved his hand nonchalantly. "With the sphere and all."

She frowned, glaring at him. "What do you think?"

The Doctor nodded, wrinkling his nose. "Yeah, definitely a combination of those two, maybe a few other factors."

Yvonne glanced at her briefly. "Well, it'd be best if she stayed restrained for now, for all of our safety. And perhaps you'll answer our questions a bit quickly with her in our hands."

Alex scoffed, leaning back against the railing in a huff. "Yeah right. He hates me. I already told you that. He threatened to feed me to a werewolf."

"He did?!" Jackie asked in shock and the Doctor sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"We're not exactly on good terms."

"Not if you threatened to feed her to some wolf monster you're not." Jackie quipped back and Alex smiled a bit.

"Ooh, I like her."

The Doctor rolled his eyes with a groan. "Just what I need. Alex and _Rose _getting along."

"Doctor." Yvonne said, trying to get things back on task. "The sphere?"

He nodded. "Right, right. 'Course."

"What's wrong with it?" Jackie questioned and Rajesh questioned her back.

"What makes you think something's wrong with it?"

"I don't know. Just feels weird."

The Doctor walked away from the group and approached the sphere, standing on the stairs and putting on some 3D glasses as Yvonne spoke.

"Well, the sphere has that effect on everyone. Makes you want to run and hide, like it's forbidden."

She approached as well, and Rajesh started his own explanation of what they've tried doing.

"We tried analyzing it using every device imaginable. But according to our instruments, the sphere doesn't exist. It weighs nothing, it doesn't age. No heat, no radiation, and has no atomic mass."

"But I can see it." Jackie said, and Rajesh took off his glasses.

"Fascinating, isn't it? It upsets people because it gives off nothing. It is absent."

"Well, Doctor?" Yvonne asked.

"This is a Void ship."

"And what is that?"

The Doctor put away his glasses. "Well, it's impossible for starters. I always thought it was just a theory, but it's a vessel designed to exist outside of time and space, traveling through the Void." He sat down on the stairs as Rajesh kept asking questions.

"And what's the Void?"

"The space between dimensions. There's all sorts of realities around us, different dimensions, billions of parallel universes all stacked up against each other. The Void is the space in between, containing absolutely nothing. Imagine that. Nothing. No light, no dark, no up, no down, no life, no time. Without end… My people called it the Void. The Eternals call it the Howling… But some people call it Hell."

"You're so dramatic." Alex scoffed, though the Doctor eyed her carefully, seeing how she hadn't lifted her head and just stayed slumped over.

Rajesh ignored her though. "But someone built the sphere. What for? Why go there?"

"To explore? To escape? You could sit inside of that thing and eternity would pass you by. The Big Bang, end of the universe, start of the next, wouldn't even touch the sides. You'd exist outside the whole of creation. Though I suppose Alex would know all about it."

"Can't tell you much." She grumbled. "It was used to escape something, but telling you what it escaped from and who's inside is spoilers."

The Doctor frowned and Alex looked up at him, dead serious.

"And you won't like it one bit…" She looked back down. "I'm sorry."

He didn't like that. Not for a second. He understood her not telling him everything, but from what she was saying, whatever was in the sphere was dangerous. _Extremely _dangerous. Not only that, but she apologized and he knew that when she did that, something was going to go wrong for whoever she said it to. So her saying it to _him_ only made things worse.

Yvonne didn't know this though, and instead chuckled, pleased. "You see, we were right. There is something inside it."

"Oh, yes." The Doctor muttered, before Rajesh spoke up.

"So how do we get in there?"

"We don't! We send that thing back into Hell. How did it get here in the first place?" The Doctor said, getting up and pointing at it.

"Well, that's how it all started. The sphere came through into this world, and the ghosts followed in it's wake."

"Show me." He demanded, heading out the door, before pausing and glancing at Alex. "You coming?"

She shook her head, lifting a shaky hand as she smiled a little. "Nah. I'm good."

He frowned, eyeing her. "You sure?"

She nodded, though he noticed her head sway a little. "Totally. And don't worry about blondie. I promise she'll stay safe for now. Jackie too."

He gave a nod, understanding that she was talking about Rose and if there was anything he could believe from Alex, it was her promises. Alex though, turned to Yvonne with a sad look.

"I'm sorry."

Yvonne tilted her head. "For what?"

Alex drooped her head back down and stayed silent, before the Doctor turned to Yvonne.

"Get her some food and water."

Yvonne nodded and sent Rajesh to do it as the Doctor went to the left and she called out to him.

"No, Doctor."

He turned around and went the other way, determined to discover what was going on and what was in that sphere as well as why the ghosts were popping up. And hopefully prevent whatever was going to happen to Yvonne.

* * *

Once Mickey delivered a nice meal, I began eating it one-handed—Rajesh was too afraid to uncuff me—until I spotted a familiar blonde in a lab coat walk in, staring up at the sphere. _And so it begins._ I continued to eat quietly, her having not noticed me yet, and I just listened in as Rajesh approached her.

"Can I help you?"

"I was just…" She gestured up at the sphere and he gave it a quick glance too.

"Try not to look. It does that to everyone. What'd you want?"

"Sorry." She apologized, trying to get back in focus, no doubt. "Um, they sent me from personal. They said some man had been taken prisoner. Some sort of Doctor? I'm just checking the lines of communication. Did they tell you anything?"

"Can I see your authorization?"

"Sure."

She handed him the psychic paper and I bit my lip to stifle the chuckles threatening to escape.

"That's lucky. You see, everyone at Torchwood has at least a basic level of psychic training. This paper is blank, and you're a fake. Seal the room. Call security." He said into his earpiece, before turning briefly to Mickey. "Samuel, can you check the door locks? She just walked right in."

"Doing it now, sir." Rose caught sight of him and stared in shock as he held a finger to his lips and went to check to doors.

"Well, if you'd like to take a seat." Rajesh said and just as she turned to do so, I finally let my laughter escape.

"Ahaha! Oh my God, that was so funny! The look on your face!"

"Alex?!" She turned to me in shock as I clutched my side and tried to stop laughing; it was starting to hurt. "Why didn't you tell me you were here?! And why didn't you warn me the psychic paper wouldn't work?!"

"A-And miss that wonderful display?! No way! Look!" I held up my fork. "I even have a meal to eat while I watch."

She rolled her eyes, though smiled; amused, I suppose. "Why are you here? You just pop up again?"

"As always." I replied, taking another bite of my food. "Been here a week and a half. Doctor was late as always."

"Least they're taking care of you… sort of." She said, pointing to her own wrist to comment on my handcuffs.

I shook my head, pointing my fork over at an annoyed Rajesh. "First meal in three days, thanks to these guys. That's what I get for telling them I was hungry."

"Are you serious?!" She said in shock, but Rajesh was done letting us discuss things and moved between us, gesturing to the chair in front of the desk.

"Sit."

She sighed and did as he said, before he got into contact with Yvonne.

"Yvonne? I think you should see this. We've got a visitor. We don't know who she is, but funnily enough, she arrived at the same time as the Doctor and knows Alex."

I couldn't hear what was going on between them, but I already knew what was happening and settled down to finish the rest of my meal. _Who knew prison food could be so good?_ _My God, these potatoes are heaven!_ I eyed Rose as she waved to the computer in front of her.

"Sorry… Hello."

There was a bit more conversation, before Rajesh suddenly frowned and stood up, a hand to his earpiece.

"Yvonne, I thought you said the next Ghost Shift was canceled. What's going on? Yvonne?"

There was a large rumble and I shifted my gaze to the large sphere before us, taking the last bite of my food and pulling out a bobby pin from the pocket of my tux. _Thank you me, and thank you internet._ I began picking the cuffs as everyone rushed over and the room shook again.

"It's active."

"You bet it is." I said, rubbing my chaffed wrists now that I was free and Rajesh stared at me in shock.

"H-How—"

I smiled innocently, twirling the handcuffs around my finger before tucking them away in my pocket. "Internet. James Bond movies. You know, I wanted to be a cop when I got older, but I was told I'd make a better bad guy."

"Are you serious?" Rose questioned and I shrugged.

"It's true. I watched so many cop shows and movies, that I could probably hide a body easily. Theory only though. I'd never actually do it. Anthropology is more fun. I get to play with the bodies without all the legal issues."

She wrinkled her nose in disgust, before the room trembled again and we turned our attention to the sphere once more. Rajesh though, was trying to get into contact with Yvonne again.

"We've got a problem down here. Yvonne, can you hear me? Yvonne, for God's sake, the sphere is active! The readings are going wild! It's got weight, it's got mass, an electromagnetic field. It exists!"

There was a loud 'thunk' as the door sealed itself and he went on.

"The door's sealed. Automatic quarantine. We can't get out!"

"It's alright, babe." Mickey comforted Rose. "We've beaten them before, we can beat them again. That's why I'm here. The fight goes on."

"The fight against what?"

"What do you think?"

It shook a few more times, the three of us crouching to keep our balance and slightly out of fear as I spoke up.

"Actually, Mickey, we've got more than one problem here and we're stuck with the worse of the two."

"What'd you mean? We had them beaten, but then they escaped. The Cybermen just vanished. They found a way through to this world, but so did we. What else could we be dealing with?"

Rose interrupted me though. "The Doctor said that was impossible."

"Yeah, but it's not the first time he's been wrong."

"What's inside that sphere?" She asked, looking between us both.

"No one knows." Mickey said. "Cyber Leader. Cyber King. Emperor of the Cybermen. Whatever it is, he's dead meat."

"Not quite." I muttered, drawing their attention back to me as I pointed at the sphere. "What's in there isn't connected to the Cybermen at all, actually."

"Then what's in there?"

"Our worst nightmare."

Rose gave me a look. "You're just being dramatic."

I looked over at her, dead serious. "You'll understand when you see them." I turned to Mickey though and smiled. "Good to see you though, Mickey-Micks!"

Rose nodded at him as well. "Yeah. Good to see you."

"It's good to see you two too." He said with a small smile, before there was another tremble from the sphere and Mickey took off his earpiece and coat, tossing them aside, much to Rajesh's astonishment. "Here we go."

Rajesh put on his glasses, just as the sphere started to open up.

"I may not know what's in there, but I'm ready for them. I've got just the thing." Mickey took his chance, dashing over to where he'd hidden his gun and aimed it. "This is gonna blast them to hell."

"Samuel, what are you doing?" Rajesh questioned and I sighed as Mickey spoke.

"My name's Mickey. Mickey Smith. Defending the Earth."

He cocked the gun and I rolled my eyes over at Rose. "And you were saying _I'm_ dramatic? Besides…" I looked up at the sphere. "That won't do anything against _them_."

Four figures floated out of the sphere and Mickey frowned.

"That's not Cybermen."

"Told you." I muttered as we all took steps back.

"Oh my God." Rose said in disbelieve as the _Daleks_ landed in front of us and the leader spoke.

"Location Earth. Life forms detected! Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate! _Exterminate_!"

I stood in front of the trio behind me and crossed my arms over my chest with a smirk, ignoring the worry in my stomach and my mind telling me to run, because this? This is the story of how I save Rose Tyler.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"You're still here."_

_She nodded. "Yeah, can't leave you all on your lonesome."_

_He glared at her, feeling anger well up in him. "Why didn't you tell me?"_

_She gazed at him sadly, having gotten her hopes up that he wouldn't be angry for once, only to have him prove her wrong again. "Because I didn't have any other option."_


	16. Doomsday

**Thank you reviewers, new and old! ^^ i had a fun birthday full of video games and pizza, and here's the update i promised, though it's a bit late. Any and all questions about Rose staying or leaving will be answered here and i hope you guys let me know what you think again with a review. :) anyway, here you go!**

* * *

The Daleks continued their approach, shouting 'Exterminate!' again and again and I sighed with a roll of my eyes.

"You don't want to do that. We know more than you think, _Dalek Sec._"

The Daleks froze in place, shutting up as I smirked.

"Oh yeah, that's right. I know you. I know all about you and so do my friends back here." I tossed a thumb over at Rose and the others, who stared in surprise at my confident bravado as I stepped closer and leaned down a bit to stare into the eyestalk of the black Dalek. "We know all about the Daleks and the Time War. Now how could we know that, hm? If you want to know, keep us alive. You'll need us anyway, right?" I leaned over and waved a hand at the capsule behind them. "For your little box back there. So let us live. My friends and I."

Mickey and Rose nodded. "Yeah, Daleks. Time War. Me too."

"I know all about those."

Rajesh joined in. "Yeah. And me."

Dalek Sec turned back to me. "You will be necessary." It then turned around to the others. "Report. What is the status of the Genesis Ark?"

I visibly relaxed, pulling a shaky hand through my hair with a silent sigh.

"Status, hibernation." Dalek Jast said.

"Commence awakening! The Genesis Ark must be protected above all else!"

The other three Daleks went over to said ark and put their plungers on it as Mickey spoke.

"The Daleks. You said they were all dead." He questioned Rose, who turned to him.

"Never mind that. What the hell's a Genesis Ark? Alex, do you know?"

I nodded. "Yup, but I can't tell you anything until the time is right. The only hint I can give you is that it's exactly what the name says it is."

It took a moment, but then Dalek Sec turned to us. "Which of you is least important?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rose asked, but the Dalek just repeated the question.

"Which of you is least important?"

"No, we don't work like that. None of us." Rose said again, making the Dalek angry.

"Designate the least important!"

Rajesh went to move, but I stopped him and stepped forward.

"Oi, Dalek Sec, can I just call you Sec? Much easier." I said, but didn't give the Dalek time to respond. "You want the least important to get an update on the history, yeah?"

"The Daleks need information about current Earth history." It responded and I smiled.

"Good, good. Thing is, I got a good way for you to get it, you see? A way that doesn't need you to sacrifice any of us, yeah? Cause you don't want to do that. The more of us you have, the more energy you have for the Ark. And you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"The Daleks need information."

"I know. So here." I walked over towards a computer and tossed a hand out to it. "Internet. Has everything you need to know about current and past Earth history. You get what you want and I technically get nothing, other than my buddy Rajesh over there still living."

I reached down and picked up the main box for the computer and put it on the desk as the Daleks gathered around it and pressed their plungers against it, all the information on the computer flashing across the screen before it shut off and the Daleks headed back towards the Genesis Ark with me following.

"The technology spoke of a second species invading Earth infected by the superstition of ghosts. Dalek Thay, investigate outside."

"I obey." Dalek Thay said, rolling out the door.

"Establish visual contact. Lower communications barrier." Dalek Sec ordered and a screen appeared above, tinted in blue as we looked through the eyes of Dalek Thay.

"_Identify yourself!" _Dalek Thay demanded and the two Cybermen in front of it halted.

"_You will identify first."_

"Oh, I like this bit." I smiled, actually genuinely amused by what was about to happen next and earning a punch in the arm by Rose.

"Don't be smiling at this!" She hissed at me.

"Why not?" I pouted. "They're gonna start arguing in a bit and I think it's quite funny. Just trying to ease up the atmosphere a bit. 'Sides, I already saved Rajesh over there. Let me have my fun."

She groaned. "Ugh, you and the Doctor. Always finding the worst times to find amusement."

I winked. "You know it."

"_State your identity." _Dalek Thay demanded again.

"_You will identify first."_

"_Identify!"_

"It's like Stephen Hawkins meets the Speaking Clock." Mickey quipped, though I hadn't the slightest what he was talking about.

"—_illogical and you will modify."_

"_Daleks do not take orders."_

"_You have identified as Daleks."_

"Pft." I snickered indignantly, unable to help my little outburst. "Looks like you guys messed up there."

"Outline resembles the inferior species known as Cybermen." Dalek Sec announced, ignoring what I'd said.

They kept going on a bit, before I remembered something, turning to Rose.

"Oi, Rose. You're gonna get a call. Answer it, but don't say anything and leave it on. Gotta let your mum and the Doctor know you're safe and it'll give them a chance to listen in."

She nodded and a moment later her cell phone went off. She carefully snuck her hand in her pocket and answered it, doing as I asked, before I turned to Rajesh.

"Don't do anything or try anything without my direction. Understand?"

He nodded, having realized that I knew more than he would've thought and that if he was going to get out of here alive, he'd have to do as I said.

"We must protect the Genesis Ark." Dalek Jast announced, as the Cybermen spoke up some more.

"_Our species are similar, though your design is inelegant."_

I smiled again, having fun with their little banter and leaning over towards Dalek Sec. "You know, he's got a point. You look like overgrown salt-shakers."

The Dalek turned to me and then back at the screen as Dalek Thay countered.

"_Daleks have no concept of elegance."_

"_This is obvious. But consider, our technologies are compatible. Cybermen plus Daleks. Together we could upgrade the universe."_

"_You propose an alliance?"_

"_This is correct."_

"_Request denied."_

The Cybermen both did some sort of odd salute and drew their guns. _"Hostile elements will be deleted."_

They shot at Dalek Thay, who returned the bullets, killing them both with a shout of 'Exterminate!'. It was then that the leader of the Cybermen opened a visual link with us, obviously not pleased.

"_Daleks be warned. You have declared war upon the Cybermen."_

"This is not war. This is pest control!" Dalek Sec countered and I hissed.

"Ooh, you're gonna need some ice for that burn."

Rose hit me again, but I just grinned, ignoring her.

"_We have five million Cybermen. How many are you?"_

"Four." Dalek Sec replied, sounding confident… if Daleks could sound confident.

"_You would destroy the Cybermen with _four_ Daleks?"_

"We would destroy the Cybermen with one Dalek!" Dalek Sec announced and I pretended to swing a baseball bat.

"Ooh, and chalk up another for the Daleks~"

"Alex!" Rose hissed.

"You are only superior in one respect." Dalek Sec said, going for another.

"_What is that?"_

"You are better at dying."

"And it's out of here!" I chuckled, Rose shoving me this time.

"Are you trying to get us killed?!"

"Nah, they can't kill us. I told you, they need us." I tapped her forehead. "Come on, Rose use your noggin. You're the Defender of the Earth, after all. _Think._"

She frowned, shoving my hand away and crossing her arms. "I hate it when you say that."

"But it's true. Rose Tyler, Defender of Earth!" I grinned, tossing my hands out. "It's got a nice ring to it. Better than Alexander the Seer, or Mickey, the tin dog."

"Oi!" Mickey said in frustration and I turned to him with a smile, draping a hand over his shoulder and patting his chest.

"Oh, come on now, Mickey! You're better than any ol' tin dog. And I'll tell you what." I leaned closer and smirked devilishly. "You'll find a girl soon enough and she's quite the catch~ Look forward to it."

"Wait!" Dalek Jast called out just as the communications cut off. "Rewind image by nine rells. Identify grid seven gamma frame. This male registers as enemy."

"Both female's heartbeats have increased." Dalek Sec said, as Mickey rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. Tell me about it."

Dalek Sec turned to me as I let Mickey go and walked up seriously; all smiles gone.

"Identify him."

"Alrighty. That's the Doctor."

The Daleks all scooted back and my confident smirk was back.

"Oh, what's this? Five million Cybermen is no problem, but one Doctor?" I leaned forwards, hands on my hips. "Now you're scared and you better be. Especially since you don't know who I am yet, do you?"

"Identify!" Dalek Sec commanded and my grin grew.

"Alexander Holmes, the Seer. Nice to meet ya. And you know what that means, yeah? I'm sure you've heard the rumors."

"You see the future."

"Yup. And you know what I see?" I glanced across the three Daleks in the room. "I see your failure. Your deaths, your destruction, your humanization. I see all of it."

"You are lying!" Dalek Sec says and I shrug.

"Alright, believe what you will. Go play with your box."

Dalek Thay rolled in then. "Cyber threat irrelevant. Concentrate on the Genesis Ark."

The four of us humans were lead to a corner as the Daleks went back to the Genesis Ark, but Mickey was still confused.

"Why are we being kept alive?"

"They might need me." Rose said, glancing at me as I yawned and leaned against a wall, moving to sit cross-legged on the floor.

"What? What is it?" Mickey pressed for answers, but she stayed silent as he turned to me. "And what's with you? You're acting rather weird."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Sorry. I know. I've been a bit off. Lack of everything, really. I haven't eaten, drank, or slept in a few days. Well, I haven't slept for about five days now. Don't know how I'm functioning. Insomnia doesn't help."

"What? Are you serious? Alex, mate, that's not healthy."

"Tell me about it." I grumbled, leaning my head back against the wall and closing my eyes. "But I had to. I had to come up with a plan. I had to save Rajesh and…" I trailed off, knowing that I couldn't mention how I had to save Rose, had to change the plot and possibly ruin everything; because she was my friend.

I couldn't leave her behind. Mickey then pulled out a circular yellow object, showing it to us.

"I could transport out of here, but it only carries one and I'm not leaving you three." He said, looking at all of us, but his eyes lingered on Rose, who noticed.

"You'd follow me anywhere. What did I do to you all those years ago?"

"Guess I'm just stupid." He said, pocketing the device just as Rose took his hand.

"You're the bravest man I've ever met."

"What about the Doctor?"

She hissed a breath through her teeth, looking up. "Ooh, alright. Bravest human."

"Well, I can't think what the Daleks need with me. I'm nothing to them."

Rose looked over at them. "You could be. Whatever's inside that Ark is waking up and I've seen this happen before."

"Ah, looks like you're catching on. Good job, Rose." I smiled and she smiled back, before turning back to Mickey as Rajesh and I listened on.

"The first time I saw a Dalek, it was broken. It was dying. But I touched it. The moment I did that, I brought it back to life. As the Doctor said, when you travel in time in the Tardis, you soak up all this, um… background radiation. It's harmless. It's just there. But in the Time War, the Daleks evolved so they could use it as a power supply."

"I love it when you talk technical." Mickey flirted and I turned to Rajesh with a finger pointed in my mouth, fake gagging.

"Shut up. If the Daleks have got something inside that thing and it needs waking up…"

"They need you."

"You've traveled in time, any of us will do, though I don't know about Rajesh."

He shook his head sadly, but I pat him on the back.

"It's alright. I'll get you out and keep their attention on me."

"O-Okay."

"But why would they build something they can't open themselves?"

"The technology is stolen. The Ark is not of Dalek design." Dalek Sec said, popping into our conversation.

"Then who built it?" Rose asked.

"The Time Lords. This is all that survives of their home world."

"Hm, I wonder how you got it off. Snuck away during the war in the Void ship, yeah? Cowards." I scoffed, but Dalek Sec wasn't pleased with that.

"We are not cowards!"

"Yeah, yeah." I waved off, starting to get more annoyed at all of this than anything.

What can I say? I get mood swings when I'm running on little to nothing.

"What's inside?" Rose questioned, trying to get back on topic.

"The future."

I sighed. "More like the end of it."

"Final stage of awakening!" Dalek Jast announced and the four Daleks backed away from the Genesis Ark, before Dalek Sec approached me.

"Your hand-print will open the Ark."

"Actually, I've got so much time stuff, I might just blow up your little box there."

"Where is the proof?" He demanded and I sighed.

"Don't have any, but are you willing to take that risk?"

Dalek Sec went quiet, before turning to Rose. "Then your hand-print will open the Ark."

Rose turned to me with a frown, but I winked, silently letting her know that this was supposed to happen.

"Well tough." She said, figuratively putting her foot down. "Because I'm not doing it."

"Obey or the male will die."

She looked at me in worry for Mickey and I nodded, telling her to go and she started walking towards it.

"I can't let them."

"Rose, don't." Mickey said, but she ignored him.

"Place your hand upon the casket." Dalek Sec demanded.

"Alright!" Rose snapped it him. "They're going to kill us anyway, so what the hell." She said, before I recognized that spark in her eyes; she had a plan. "If you all, um… escaped the Time War…" She wandered closer as Mickey, Rajesh, and I were moved over by her by another Dalek. "Don't you wanna know what happened?"

"Place your hand—"

"What happened to the Emperor?"

"The Emperor survived?!" The Dalek said in shock.

"Till he met me. Because if these are going to be my last words, then you're going to listen." She said sternly. "I met the Emperor, and I took the Time Vortex and I pulled it into his head and turned him into dust. Do you get that? The God of all Daleks, and I destroyed him. Ha!" She laughed.

"You will be exterminated!" Dalek Sec shouted, but before he could shoot her, I moved between her and him, just as the Doctor popped up.

"Well, now, hold on wait a minute." He said, walking in with his 3D glasses on and his hands in his pockets.

"Alert. Alert." One of the Daleks said as Dalek Sec rolled forward.

"You are the Doctor!"

"Sensors report, he is unarmed." Dalek Jast announced and the Doctor agreed.

"That's me. Always."

"Then you are powerless." Dalek Sec concluded.

"Not me. Never." The Doctor pulled off his glasses and looked at Rose. "How are you?"

"Oh, same old. You know." She said with a smile, though she spoke through her teeth.

The Doctor turned to Mickey. "And Mickety-Mick-Mickey! Nice to see ya!"

They fist bumped as Mickey smiled. "And you boss."

The Doctor spotted Rajesh then and smiled to him as well. "Nice to see you're still around, Rajesh."

He nodded, shakily gesturing to me as I yawned again. "All thanks to her, it seems."

"Ah, Alex. You're ribs feeling alright?"

I nodded, pulling a tired hand through my hair. "Yeah, though my wrists are a bit messed up from the cuffs, but whatever." I paused though, eyeing him suspiciously. "But why're you being so nice to me? You didn't like me, last I checked."

"Well—"

He was cut off by Dalek Jast.

"Social interaction will cease!"

Dalek Sec spoke up then. "How did you survive the Time War?"

"By fighting." The Doctor said, growing serious. "On the front line. I was there at the fall of Arcadia. Someday I might even come to terms with that. But you lot ran away!"

"We had to survive."

"The last four Daleks in existence. So what's so special about you?"

"Doctor, they've got names. I mean, Daleks don't have names, do they?" Rose questioned and I sighed.

"Look. I'll make it easy." I pointed at the black Dalek. "Dalek Sec…" Then I pointed at the others in order. "Dalek Thay, Dalek Jast, and Dalek Caan. Also known as the Cult of Skaro."

"How do you know this?" Dalek Sec demanded and I rolled my eyes.

"I told you. I'm the Seer. It's my job to know."

"Oh, I thought they were just a legend." The Doctor said, ignoring us as Rose questioned once more.

"Who are they?"

"A secret order above and beyond the Emperor himself." The Doctor explained, walking around. "Their job was to imagine, think as the enemy thinks. Even dared to have names. All to find new ways of killing."

"But that thing, they said it was yours. I mean, Time Lords. They built it. What does it do?" Mickey questioned.

"I don't know. Never seen it before."

"But it's Time Lord." Rose countered, confused at why the Doctor knew nothing about it.

"Both sides had secrets. What is it? What have you done?"

"Time Lord science will restore Dalek supremacy." Dalek Sec said.

"What does that mean? What sort of Time Lord science? What do you mean? Alex?"

I shook my head. "I can't. Not now." I looked up at him, seeing his anger, though he tried to hide it. "Later. Promise."

He eased up a bit at that and nodded as Rose spoke.

"They said one touch from a time traveler will wake it up."

"Technology using the one thing a Dalek can't do. Touch. Sealed inside your casing. Not feeling anything ever, from birth to death, locked inside a cold metal cage. Completely alone. That explains your voice. No wonder you scream."

"The Doctor will open the Ark!"

"The Doctor will not." He mocked, laughing at the angry Dalek Sec.

"You have no way of resisting."

"Well, you got me there. Although, there is always this." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver, though Dalek Sec seemed disbelieving.

"A sonic probe?"

"That's screwdriver." The Doctor corrected.

"It is harmless."

"Oh, yes. Harmless is just the word. That's why I like it. Doesn't kill, doesn't wound, doesn't maim. But I'll tell you what it does do. It is very good at opening doors."

He pushed the button and the doors burst open, letting in Cybermen and people from Pete's world in to attack the Daleks. I quickly grabbed Rajesh and pulled him down, out of the firing range as I brought him over towards the door that the Doctor was holding open to let us out.

"Come on then, Rajesh! Hurry up!"

We stumbled through and the rest eventually followed before the Doctor closed the door and began barking orders.

"Jake, check the stairwell. The rest of you, come on!"

As we ran, Mickey explained that he'd touched the Genesis Ark and apologized.

"I just fell, I didn't mean it!"

"It was going to happen eventually, Mickey." I said, panting and blinking out spots in my vision. "It's fine."

The Doctor agreed. "Without us, they'd have opened it by force. To do that, they'd have blown up the sun. You've done us a favor." He kissed the top of Mickey's head. "Now, run!"

And we did. I was so tired though, that I could tell I was slowing down, and once we'd approached two Cybermen facing away from us and I knew what was going to happen, I slumped down onto the floor, panting and rubbing my side where my ribs slightly ached. Pete shot down the two robots to reveal Jackie.

"Pete?"

"Hello, Jacks." The man responded.

"I said there were ghosts, but that's not fair! Why him?"

"I'm not a ghost."

"But you're dead. You died twenty years ago, Pete."

The Doctor stepped up to explain. "It's Pete from a different universe. There are parallel worlds, Jackie. Every single decision we make creates a parallel existence, a different dimension where—"

"Oh, you can shut up." Jackie said, making him move back as she spoke to Pete again. "Oh, you look old."

"You don't."

I closed my eyes, trying to ease the pounding headache in my head from lack of food and water and the sudden exercise I'd just done. I brought a knee up and rested my elbow on it as I laid a hand on my forehead. _I can't keep this up. Not like this, but I have to. If I'm going to save Rose, then I have to._ I felt a hand touch my leg and I peeked an eye open to see the Doctor kneeling in front of me.

"What? I'll get up, just give me a minute."

"No, it's not that. I was just… checking up on you. Mickey told me what happened."

"Oh, did he." I frowned, glaring at said man's back and enjoying it when he glanced at me fearfully before turning away.

The Doctor drew my attention back to him though. "So you're sure you're doing okay? Look out of breath to me."

"You would be too, if you just recovered from cracked ribs and had to run without food or water in ages. Though the meal I had just before this was great. I'd eat it all day if I could, but you know. Dalek and Cybermen invasion and all. Can never catch a break." I realized what I was doing and wiped a hand down my face. "Sorry. That's the sleep deprivation talking."

"No, it's uh… It's fine. Really."

I eyed him suspiciously. "You're doing it again. Being nice."

"I don't have to be mean all the time, Alex, and… I guess I kind of get where you're coming from now." He pulled a hand through his own hair. "It's frustrating, but nothing I can do. Or you, for that matter. But you said you'd tell me about the Genesis Ark? What is it?"

I sighed. _Always business with him._ "The Time Lord technology is easy. It's just like the Tardis, but that's all I can tell you for now. If I told you everything now… something could go wrong. You'll find out in a bit though, if that helps."

He nodded, a thoughtful look on his face as he got up from his crouch. "Alright. I suppose I can deal with that."

I raised a brow. "Really? No yelling that I've ruined everything by not telling you? Or that I've somehow cost the lives of millions by staying silent?"

He winced, holding his hand out to help me up. "Have I really said that?"

I gave him a look, but took his offered hand. "Yeah, you have."

"Sorry."

I shrugged, yawning again with a stretch. "It's alright, I guess. I'm not the same as the first few times I met you, so I'll be sure to knock some sense into the younger you the next time he gets like that."

He cringed again, making me realize that I would indeed be knocking some sense into him, if him holding his cheek was anything to go by. Smiling, I watched him lead the way again, muttering under his breath about me abusing him and decided that, maybe, just maybe, I liked this side of him. My heart fluttered in agreement though, and that's when my smile fell and I frowned slightly, touching my chest. _Well, that was weird._

* * *

Once the Doctor had grabbed the Magnaclamps and saw the Daleks lift the Genesis Ark up and out of the facility, he knew he had to see what was going on and rushed everyone up to the top floor; though they took the lift this time, giving Alex and everyone else a break. When they made it, he set the Magnaclamps down and Alex collapsed in an office chair as Rose and everyone else looked out the windows.

"Did you figure it out yet, Doctor?" She asked, panting. "I could just tell you now."

He shook his head, glancing at her as she wearily watched him. "You said it was like the Tardis, yeah? Tardis tech is advanced and complicated. That could be anything."

Rose frowned. "Wait a minute. It's like the Tardis? So what? It's bigger on the inside?"

Alex smirked and the Doctor's eyes widened, before he turned to Rose and grabbed her face, kissing her on the forehead excitedly.

"Oh, you genius! That's it!"

Alex's smile faltered though and she gave the Doctor a sad look. "It's like I said though, Doctor. You won't like it. It's exactly what they called it."

He steeled himself at those words and looked outside, just as the Genesis Ark opened up and millions upon millions of Daleks flew out.

"The Time lords put those Daleks in there?" Mickey questioned. "What for?"

"Genesis Ark." Alex chimed in, closing her eyes and leaning her head back. "It's an Ark full of Daleks. They're going to start a so-called new generation with them. The name make sense now?"

The Doctor nodded, before answering Mickey's question. "It's a prison ship."

"How many Daleks?" Rose asked, though hesitating.

"Millions."

Daleks and Cybermen began fighting, shooting at one another and any human who got in the way. Pete though, took one look at it and walked away.

"I'm sorry, but you've had it. This world's going to crash and burn There's nothing we can do. We're going home." He took a yellow button from a soldier and passed it to Jackie. "Jacks, take this. You're coming with us."

"But they're destroying the city!" She argued.

"I'd forgotten you could argue." He chuckled, putting it around her neck. "It's not just London, it's the whole world. But there's another world just waiting for you, Jacks. And it's safe as long as the Doctor closes the breach. Doctor?"

Said man turned around, grinning with his 3D glasses on his face. "Oh, I'm ready." He rushed over to the computer. "Equipment right here, thank you, Torchwood. Slam it down and close off both universes."

"Well, we can't just leave. What about the Daleks? And the Cybermen?" Rose questioned.

"They're part of the problem, and _that_ makes them a part of the solution." He said, pointing at Rose and swinging his hand around. "Oh, yes!"

She laughed, before he looked at everyone.

"Well? Isn't anyone going to ask?" He waved his fingers at his face. "What is it with the glasses?"

"What is it with the glasses?" Rose questioned him, amusing him as she chuckled.

"I can see! That's what! Because we've got two separate worlds, but in between the two separate worlds, we've got the Void. That's where the Daleks were hiding. And the Cybermen traveled through the Void to get here. And you lot, one world to another, via the Void. Oh, I like that. Via the Void." He grinned, as Alex shook her head in amusement, before handing the glasses to Rose. "Look. I've been through it. Do you see?" He wiggled around as she put a hand out, touching something around him.

"What is it?"

"Void stuff."

"Like um, background radiation!"

"That's it. Look at the others. And the only one who hasn't been through the Void, your mother. First time she's looked normal in her life."

"Oi." She complained as Alex called out to him.

"Be nice, Spaceman. Rajesh is clean too."

He rolled his eyes before continuing his explanation, running towards the wall as Rose followed. "But the Daleks lived inside the Void. They're bristling with it. Cybermen, all of them. I just open the Void and reverse. The Void stuff gets sucked back inside."

"Pulling them all in!"

"Pulling them all in!" He confirmed with a grin.

"Sorry, what's the Void?" Mickey questions, making Alex sigh over-dramatically in the background, though the Doctor explained it.

"The dead space. Some people call it Hell."

"So you're sending the Daleks and Cybermen to Hell." Mickey put on his own yellow button and smirked at Jake. "Man, I told you he was good."

Rose realized something then and dropped her smile. "But it's like you said. We've all got Void stuff. Me too, because we went to that parallel world." She looked at her hand before removing the glasses. "We're all contaminated. We'll get pulled in."

He grew serious as well. "That's why you've got to go. Back to Pete's world." He paused, turning to Pete. "Hey, we should call it that. Pete's World." He turned back. "I'm opening the Void, but only on this side. You'll be safe on that side."

"And then you close it… for good?" Pete asked.

"The breach itself is soaked in Void stuff. In the end, it'll close itself. And that's it. Kaput." The Doctor explained.

"But you stay on this side?"

"But you'll get pulled in." Mickey said

"That's _why_, I got these." He picked up a Magnaclamp. "I'll just have to hold on tight. I've been doing it all my life."

"I'm supposed to go." Rose said, looking upset, though the Doctor appeared to pay no mind to it as he set the Magnaclamp down and went over to the other computer.

"Yeah."

"To another world, and then it gets sealed off."

"Yeah."

"Forever. That's not going to happen." She laughed in disbelief.

The building shook and Pete took up his leader role once more.

"We haven't got time to argue. The plan works. We're going. You too. All of us."

"No. I'm not leaving here." Rose said

"I'm not going without her."

"Oh, my God. We're going!" Pete shouted, not used to this sort of arguing coming from his wife, though no one noticed that Alex hadn't moved from her seat.

"I've had twenty years without you, so button it. I'm not leaving her!"

"You've got to." Rose said, stopping her mom from going on.

"Well, that's tough."

"Mum. I've had a life with you for nineteen years, but then I met the Doctor and Alex, and all the things I've seen them do for me, for you, for all of us. For the whole _stupid_ planet and every planet out there. He does it alone, mum, because Alex isn't always there with him."

Pete slowly took out his button as the Doctor did the same.

"But not anymore, because now he's got me." She took a few steps back, and the Doctor slipped the yellow button around her neck. "What're you—"

She was cut off as Pete held his button down and the whole group vanished, the Doctor gazing at where they had been sadly. He turned to go back to the computer, but spotted Alex, who'd gotten up and moved closer.

"You're still here."

She nodded. "Yeah, can't leave you all on your lonesome."

He glared at her, feeling anger well up in him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

She gazed at him sadly, having gotten her hopes up that he wouldn't be angry for once, only to have him prove her wrong again. "Because I didn't have any other option."

"You always have an option. If you'd told me this sooner—"

"There you go again." She chuckled bitterly, pulling a hand through her hair. "It always comes back to that, don't it? If I'd told you sooner, you'd have saved her somehow. You'd of come up with a new crazy plan that would somehow save all of us. Let me guess, next time you'll say I should've died instead, yeah? That's a shame though, because she's not gone yet, Doctor. And you'll see her again not just now, but in the future. Promise."

He scowled. "What are you—"

A flash of light appeared and Rose popped up, looking around.

"I think this is the on-switch."

He rounded on her and grabbed her by her upper arms. "Once the breach collapses, that's it! You will never be able to see her again! Your own mother!"

Alex flinched in the background, her own mother long gone ever since she decided to come back, though Rose's response gave her a bit of courage.

"I made my choice a long time ago and I'm never going to leave you." Rose said, pausing slightly before continuing. "So what can I do to help?"

The Doctor hesitated, but saw no way to stop her and a part of him didn't want to, so he gave in and pointed over at the computer. "Those coordinates. Set them all at six… And hurry up!"

Rose took off the yellow button and went to do as he said, Alex moving to him cautiously.

"Anything I can do?"

He frowned at her, before turning away. "Go stand around and watch. It's what you always do anyway."

She hesitated, but nodded and went over towards where Rose was just as the woman announced something.

"We've got Cybermen on the way up."

"How many floors down?" The Doctor questioned, rushing over and pushing Alex out of the way.

"Just one."

He rushed back to his own computer, speeding up the process as Alex spoke.

"It's fine. They won't make it up."

"Right, yeah. Thanks for the hints, _Seer_." The Doctor hissed sarcastically, whereas Rose was actually curious.

"Why not?"

Alex gave her a sad look. "Yvonne. She got turned into a Cybermen, but she always believed that she did her duty for Queen and country, so she's stopping them from coming up… Though I wish I could've saved her."

"Course you do." The Doctor quipped and Rose frowned over at him, before looking sadly at Alex, who she could tell was hurt by his comment, though the older woman did good to hide it.

"Sorry."

Alex gave her a slight smile, before the computer gave an announcement.

"_Levers operational."_

The Doctor grinned and grabbed the Magnaclamp as Rose smiled back.

"That's more like it. Bit of a smile. The old team."

"Hope and Glory, Mutt and Jeff, Shiver and Shake." He smiled back.

"Which one's Shiver?

"Oh, I'm Shake." He gave the Magnaclamp to Rose and he set his own up on the opposite wall as her. "Press the red button."

She did and he turned to her and Alex.

"When it starts, just hold on tight. Shouldn't be too bad for us, but the Daleks and the Cybermen are steeped in Void stuff. Are you ready?" He asked, speaking more to Rose than Alex, as the two women went over to the lever in preparation to lift it as the Doctor lifted his.

"So are they." Rose muttered, spotting a small group of Daleks in the window.

"Let's do it!"

They all pushed their respective levers up as the computer announced the levers were online, and the trio grabbed the Magnaclamps; Alex and Rose hanging onto one together.

"Emergency!" A Dalek wailed as they all started to get sucked in.

"The breach is open! Into the Void! Ha!" The Doctor laughed as the group held on for their lives and more Daleks and Cybermen flew into it.

Suddenly though, there was a spark and the lever behind Rose and Alex started lowering.

"_Offline."_ The computer announced and Rose went to reach for it, but Alex stopped her with a small smile.

"I got it!"

"Are you sure?!"

Alex nodded, though Rose was suspicious, because there was something wrong with her smile.

"Course!"

So Alex started reaching for it and was forced to let go of the Magnaclamp as she grabbed the lever. She grunted and strained herself, but managed to get it upright again.

"_Online and locked."_ The computer announced, but Alex wasn't done yet and the pull was getting stronger.

"Alex! Hold on!" The Doctor shouted along with Rose as she started reaching for Alex, who's eyes widened.

"No! Don't! Leave me!"

"But you'll fall in!"

"It's fine! Even if I do, I-I'll just pop off somewhere else!" Alex argued, though Rose could see it now.

She could see what was hiding in Alex's eyes. Fear.

"You can't prove that! You could get stuck there!"

"It doesn't matter!" Alex shouted in return, tears starting to slip down her face as she smiled. "Because he hates me anyway! And you're my friend! I can't let you get dragged into this! He'll only hate me more! A-And if giving myself up to save you makes him happy… then I'll do it!"

Alex's fingers started slipping from the lever, her body still week from the rough time she's been through, and she closed her eyes; unable to see the shocked expressions of the Doctor and Rose, and unable to see Rose's determination as the woman reached for her anyway. Alex's fingers finally slipped and she started to fly back, but her wrist was caught by Rose, who pulled her back to the lever slowly.

"I'm not leaving you!"

Rose managed to get Alex just close enough to grip the lever once more, but then she slipped on the smooth tile under her feet and lost her grip on the lever.

"No! Rose!"

Alex desperately reached out for her and the tips of their fingers brushed, before Rose flew backwards towards the Void, as the Doctor and Alex cried out for her. Her father popped up and caught her, taking her away to safety, but the breach closed and devastation fell upon the two people remaining and the one woman stuck on the other side.

* * *

_No. No, no, no, no, no! This was supposed to work! I-I-It _had_ to work! She was supposed to be safe! I-I was supposed to save her! So why?! Why does this have to happen?!_ My breath was coming out in gasps as I slowly sank to the ground and stared at the white wall with tears sliding down my cheeks. I flinched at the sound of footsteps as the Doctor walked over to the white wall and pressed himself up against it, trying to get as close to Rose as he could. I looked down at my hands as they shook, eyes wide in my panic, and mind shouting at me how it was my fault. I wasn't strong enough. I wasn't smart enough. I didn't try hard enough. I didn't think long enough.

My friend, who'd laugh with me and smile at me and joke around with me and tease me. Who would stay friendly to me, even when the Doctor wasn't, who'd defend me when he got mad. My friend, who the Doctor _loved_ and cared for more than anyone else on Earth, was gone. And it was all my fault.

There were footsteps again and they headed towards me as I buried my face in my hands and cried, begging, _pleading_ forgiveness. From the Doctor, from Rose, and from myself.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I-I tried. It's all m-my fault. She's gone a-and… I killed her. It's my fault. I-I should've done something more. I-I should've tried harder. I'm s-s-sorry. I'm so sorry."

The footsteps stopped in front of me as I went on and on, apologizing again and again, but something unexpected happened. I was grabbed and instead of throwing me aside, or shouting, or blaming me, I was pulled close and shoved tightly up against the Doctor's chest as I cried. I weakly tried to pull away, but he held me even tighter and I hated him for it. He was supposed to hate me, to yell at me and threaten me. He was supposed to _blame_ _**me**__!_ So why? Why was he doing this? Because even as my shoulder ached and started to glow, he held me tightly to him as I cried, saying a few final words just before I popped off. Words, that I couldn't accept from someone who I'd just torn apart.

"It's okay… I forgive you."

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_I hated that sad look he gave me, because it wasn't what I wanted from him. I wanted him to yell at me, to hate me for what had happened, but this was Eleven. The Doctor who was kind and caring and who could never hate me...But I didn't want that right now, so I pushed his caring aside._


	17. The Lodger

**Here's the next chapter. it's a bit sad for Alex, but it picks up ^^ and thanks to those who reviewed! you guys are the best!**

* * *

I landed, but paid no attention to my surroundings as I held my shoulder and sat on the curb, trying to control myself and stop crying. _Why? Why did he hold me? I-It was my fault she's gone… H-He should've yelled at me. H-He should've…_ My chest and side ached as my ribs groaned in protest at the strain I was putting on them after just healing, and I forced myself to take a deep breath and wiped my eyes, getting a good look around only to chuckle bitterly.

"O-Of course. I have no idea where I'm at."

I stood, only to feel my legs shake and tumble back down onto the unforgiving concrete sidewalk. It seems I had done too much running around with how weak I was and my energy level was near gone. _I need food… a good meal and then a good nap._ I grunted as I got up a second time, able to steady myself and think a bit better now that I'd calmed down slightly. Though, it won't be easy to get over what'd just happened and the friend that I'd lost. I walked a little bit, feeling rather ridiculous in the messed up tuxedo I was wearing wandering around in the middle of the night. _I probably look like a mess._

I sighed, before feeling my shoulder ache terribly, clutching at it with a cringe as I leaned against a fence. _What the…_ The ache went away and I frowned, having no idea why the ache had occurred yet not popped me off somewhere else like usual. The only thing I could come up with was that it had something to do with whatever adventure I was going to get involved in. _Though I wish I knew where I was and… what Doctor I'm with._ My heart sank at that, worry gnawing at my stomach at what I was going to do when I did bump into him, but I pushed that thought aside as I spotted a familiar house. One that made me swallow in nervousness because I now knew where I was and who I was going to meet. _Come on, Alex. You can do it. Just go up there and ring the bell. You'll be fine… even if he hates you for what you've done… J-Just stay strong._

I swallowed thickly before heading to the door, careful as I stumbled slightly, my legs starting to feel rather numb and my headache returning. Once I'd rung the bell, I used the door frame to hold me up and waited as the door was opened and Craig gave me an odd look.

"Can I, uh, help you buddy? Need to use the phone or something? I can, um, call you a cab, if you want."

"I'm… looking for the Doctor, actually." I breathed out, exhaustion creeping in far faster than I would've liked.

"Right. A doctor." Craig turned and seemed to be debating on whether to leave me there or go grab the phone. "I'll just, um, grab the phone and—"

A familiar brown head of floppy hair peeked around the corner of the doorway and his eyes widened.

"Alex!"

"Wha—You know him?" Craig questioned as the Eleventh Doctor pushed past him and helped me; tossing my arm over his shoulder and helping me into the living room and onto the couch.

"Course I know her!" The Doctor chirped, sounding rather pleased I was there. "You want an omelet, Alex?"

I nodded slowly, leaning back against the couch and closing my eyes, unable to look at the Doctor right now. Not until I could make sure I could keep my emotions in check.

"I could eat the whole fridge, actually, so you better make more than just one omelet."

"On it! I'll make you a feast!"

He bounded off to the kitchen happily and Craig seemed to have caught on to what he'd said.

"Wait, _she_?! And hold on, how much food are you making?!"

"Do you want some, Craig?"

"No, I don't want some! W-What am I going to do for breakfast tomorrow if you're sitting there using everything in the fridge?!"

"We'll go shopping tomorrow, if you want." The Doctor said, the sound of something sizzling in a pan reaching my ears. "I've always wanted to visit a grocery shop. Alex and I will go and pick up everything you need. Right, Alex?"

"Sure, sure." I muttered, feeling my body relax as my mind started to drift, aiming for sleep rather than trying to stay awake long enough for food.

"Hold on, does that mean she's staying?" Craig questioned. "She your girlfriend or something? Where will she sleep?"

"She'll stay with me in my room!" The Doctor grinned, his voice getting closer. "We'll be roommates. It'll be like a sleepover!… Alex?"

A hand was brushed across my forehead and I wearily opened my eyes to see his worried face and a plate with three omelets stacked up on it in his other hand.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, no. I'm fine." I muttered, sitting upright and taking the plate of food from him. "Just… tired. I haven't slept in a while." I took a bite of the food and my eyes widened. "O-Or eaten." I quickly began scarfing the food down with a groan. "Oh, this is great…"

"Alex, when was the last time you'd slept or eaten?" He asked, before bringing up the dreaded question. "Where were you before this?"

I stiffened, but tried not to show it as I spoke, forcing a smile. "Oh, you know. Out and about. Met future you. He was rude. And uh, went to a party with the Tenth you and Martha. That could've been more enjoyable if it weren't for Lazarus changing into some scorpion monster and cracking my ribs. That metal serving plate saved my life. Heh." I chuckled a bit, but he was still eyeing me and even Craig seemed to be getting uncomfortable.

"Alex."

I dropped my smile and looked down at my half eaten food as I picked at it with my fork. "I was at Canary Warf."

His eyes widened before softening and I hated it. I hated that sad look he gave me, because it wasn't what I wanted from him. I wanted him to yell at me, to hate me for what had happened, but this was Eleven. The Doctor who was kind and caring and who could never hate me. The man who wouldn't even _think_ about getting angry with me, even if I believed it to be my fault. But I didn't want that right now, so I pushed his caring aside.

"I don't want to talk about it, okay?" I said, finishing my food. "I just want to get cleaned up and go to sleep." I picked up my plate and made for the kitchen, before grimacing as I remembered something. "I don't have any clothes…"

"You can use something of mine." The Doctor said, coming up behind me and cleaning up the kitchen a bit. "It should have materialized by now. Just pick something and I'll see about getting some of your things by tomorrow."

"Okay. Thanks." I turned around to head to his room, but he was right there in front of me, causing me to step back, only to bump into the counter. "Doctor?"

His hands touched the edge of my hips and I stiffened, glancing down at them before back up at him as he press his forehead to mine and closed his eyes with a sigh.

"I'm sorry."

That frustration swelled up within me again, but with his hands on my hips and how close he was standing to me, it was hard to stay angry. Especially with the twisting of my stomach making me nervous.

"S-Stop it. Why are you apologizing?"

He opened his eyes and I further pressed myself up against the counter, shifting my own eyes away from his as he searched my face.

"It's not your fault what happened." He said, making me swallow thickly because I knew that wasn't true.

"I said I didn't want to talk about it." I mumbled, shifting my gaze down and struggling to ignore the small circles his thumb was rubbing on my waist as his other hand moved up to brush across the side of my head; pushing my hair out of the way.

"But I do… because it wasn't your fault and I know you think it is, but it's not. There was nothing either of us could've done."

I grit my teeth, closing my eyes in frustration and leaning my forehead against his chest to hide my face. "I could've told you! We could've stopped it! I tried to stop it and—"

"And you were nearly taken from me instead and that is something I would never forgive myself for."

I shook my head. "I don't get it. I don't get… _you._ One minute you hate me then you're all clingy and then there're times when I don't know what you are. And I came back because I wanted to help you. I just didn't want you to get hurt anymore."

"I know." He said, hugging me and resting his chin on top of my head. "You're always trying so hard to save me, but there are times when you need to let _me_ save _you_." He pulled away and held me at arm's length, looking serious. "So stop trying to do everything on your own. Let me in and…" He smiled a bit. "Let's do it together, okay?"

I nodded, not knowing what else to say now that he'd disarmed any retort I had, and he kissed my forehead before pushing me towards our room.

"Now go get cleaned up and get some rest. I'll try not to wake you."

I gave in to what he said and pulled out some of his clothes that would work as pajamas, hoping that maybe my head would be clearer when I got up tomorrow. Because despite what he said, there was still a part of me that would always blame myself for what happened to Rose, and for what would happen later with the other people I wouldn't be able to save.

* * *

Craig watched the whole exchange between Alex and the Doctor apprehensively. He was very confused by this whole thing; the fact that Alex was actually a woman, that her and the Doctor were rather close and that something had happened between the two of them that couldn't really be explained. Not only that, but apparently Alex would be joining the Doctor. But there was one thing still bothering Craig, and it was the way the Doctor looked at Alex once she'd walked out of the room.

"So, um…" Craig rubbed the back of his neck in nervousness and pointed at the doorway. "She's your girlfriend then? She's a bit… odd. Masculine too, but then again, it's your choice on who you like and, erm, she rather suits you… in a way. Not that I'm judging you two or anything. Just saying." He said, waving his hands when the Doctor turned towards him.

The Doctor rushed over and got in Craig's face, brows furrowed as he eyed him seriously; making the poor man rather concerned that he'd said something wrong to upset the Doctor.

"We look like we're together?" He questioned, tilting his head curiously. "How, Craig? Explain."

"U-Um, well, you two were rather close in the kitchen a moment ago." Craig glanced away nervously. "And, um, you look at her weird."

"Weird how?" The Doctor asked again and Craig groaned.

"I-I don't know! You've just got this look, like you're worried about her and care for her. Why are you asking me this anyway? I just wanted to know if you were together or not."

The Doctor smiled suddenly, an abrupt change from his serious demeanor a moment ago, and he pat Craig's cheek.

"Just curious, Craig. Thank you."

"Curious? About what? What people think of you two or something?" Craig asked, his own curiosity spiking.

"Or something." The Doctor said, looking around the room and picking up a few pieces of things, such as an old earpiece. "And we're not together. Well… not yet. Well…" He paused, looking up before settling his eyes on the mold in the corner. "It's complicated."

"Complicated how?" Craig asked, heading over to look up at the rot as well.

"Complicated." The Doctor replied mysteriously. "By the way. That. The rot. I've got the strangest feeling we shouldn't touch it."

The Doctor pat his shoulder, before heading towards his room, pausing by the bathroom only to hear silence and heading into his own room to find Alex already asleep on the bed. She seemed to have just pulled on the boxer shorts and one of his button-up shirts before collapsing on top of the covers. Her hair was still a bit damp and there was a small towel around her neck, but other than that, she was sleeping peacefully.

"Oh, Alexander." The Doctor whispered, moving onto the bed and reaching over her to pull the blankets out from under her and scoot her over to the right side of the bed, covering her up and giving him room to relax on the bed beside her.

Once they were both settled, he made a few adjustments on the earpiece he'd picked up and put it in, lying back on the bed and speaking quietly so as not to disturb Alex, but loud enough that he could be heard.

"Earth to Pond. Earth to Pond. Come in, Pond."

"_Doctor!"_ Amy shouted, the earpiece screeching, before she lowered her voice. _"Sorry."_

"Could you not wreck my new earpiece, Pond?" He complained. "How's the Tardis coping?"

"_See for yourself."_ Amy replied and he listened to the groaning and humming sounds of the Tardis, making him sit up in worry.

"Ooh, nasty. She's locked in a materialization loop, trying to land again, but she can't."

"_Hm, and whatever's stopping her is upstairs in that flat. So, go upstairs and sort it."_

"I don't know what it is yet and anything that can stop the Tardis from landing is big." He said, standing up on the bed and being careful not to step on Alex. "Scary big."

"_Wait… Are you scared?"_

"No, course not." He said, before pulling a hand through his hair. "Well, maybe a little bit, but I can't go up there until I know what it is and how to deal with it. Not to mention I can't just leave Alex down here… Not that she'll let me."

"_Alex is there? Can I talk to her? Say hello?"_

The Doctor looked down at Alex with a soft expression. "She's asleep. Had a rough time her last pop. Hasn't slept in days and just ate enough to feed three grown men twice her size. I don't doubt she'll wipe out a whole box of cereal tomorrow morning."

"_Ooh, that bad?"_

"Yes, and it is vital that this man upstairs doesn't realize who and what I am, Alex included. So no sonicking. No advanced technology. I can only use this because we're on scramble. To anyone else hearing this conversation, we're talking absolute gibberish." He hopped down from off the bed and picked up a bottle off the dresser, messing with it a he went on. "Now all we have to do is pass as ordinary human beings. Simple. What could possibly go wrong?"

The Doctor put on some round sunglasses and looked at himself in the mirror as Amy scoffed.

"_Now, Alex I understand, but have you seen you?"_

"So you're just going to be snide. No helpful hints?"

"_Hm, well here's one. Bow tie, get rid."_

The Doctor pulled down the glasses a bit. "Bow ties are cool." He tucked them away in his pocket before looking at a book now. "Come on, Amy, I'm a normal bloke. Tell me what normal blokes do."

"_They watch telly, they play football, they go down to the pub."_

"I could do those things. I don't, but I could."

There was a bang from upstairs and a whimper from behind him and he turned to see Alex curled up in a ball clutching her shoulder unconsciously as she slept; pain evident on her face.

"Hang on. Wait, wait, wait. Amy?" He muttered, climbing back onto the bed and touching Alex's hand lightly as she gripped her shoulder. "Hang on, Alex."

He could hear the Tardis going crazy through his earpiece and hoped that Amy was going to be alright, before looking around the room to see clocks spinning their hands rapidly in all directions; including his own wristwatch.

"Interesting. Localized time loop."

"_Ah! What's all that?!" _Amy cried out, trying to be heard over the Tardis noise.

"Time distortion. Whatever's happening upstairs is still effecting you." He went back to Alex's side, worried as sweat began to collect on her brow. "It's effecting Alex as well."

"_What? How?"_

"I don't know." He muttered, brushing the back of his hand across her forehead to check for fever, but there was no change in temperature. "Has something to do with her shoulder. It's causing her pain."

The noise of the Tardis died down and Alex relaxed, breathing harder than before, but loosening her grip on her shoulder and returning to her peaceful slumber.

"_It's stopped… Ish…"_ Amy said. _"How about your end? Is Alex alright?"_

"My end's good. She's calmed down." The Doctor replied.

"_So, doesn't sound great, but nothing to worry about?"_

"No, no, no. Not really. Just keep the zigzag plotter on full. That'll protect you."

"_Ah!"_ Amy yelped.

"Amy, I said the zigzag plotter."

"_I pulled the zigzag plotter."_

"Wait, you're standing with the door behind you?"

"_Yes."_

"Okay, take two steps to your…" He stood up and mimicked his own instructions. "…right and pull it again."

He heard her relief and began moving around the room and tossing a few things onto the bed. "Now, I must not use the sonic. I've got work to do. Need to pick up a few items."

"_Hey!"_ Amy complained, but he ignored her and soon put the scooter and clock onto the floor beside the bed, moving over towards Alex once more.

"I'll be back, Alex." He smiled as he kissed the side of her head. "Don't wait up."

And with that, he rushed out of the house, determined to get some things to set up a machine that could help him figure out what was going on upstairs. Without his sonic. _But at least I've got Alex._

* * *

I slept relatively well, I only woke up once in the night, but was so comfortable that I quickly fell back asleep; not knowing that the arm wrapped around my stomach wasn't my own. When I woke up this morning though, I was fairly well rested but, since I was not a morning person, I was slow getting up. I didn't bother getting dressed, too tired to care, and stepped out into the hall with a yawn as I rubbed my eyes. I didn't even care that the Doctor was naked except for the blue towel around his waist and that Sophie was standing there in surprise.

"Oh, um, hello. Who are you?"

I furrowed my brows in a puzzled frown, my name sort of drifting somewhere lost in my head as my mind struggled to comprehend it was awake.

"Ah, yes. Sorry." The Doctor went over to my side and draped an arm over my shoulders, smiling. "This is Alexander Holmes. She's with me. Goes by Alex."

I half-heartedly waved. "Hello…"

Sophie smiled a bit. "Right. Yes. Hello… Are you two, um…"

"Sure." I muttered, turning to the Doctor and missing his shocked expression completely, as I gave him a blank expression. "What's for breakfast?"

He lifted a finger and bopped me on the nose. "I, will get on that for you. To the kitchen!"

I nodded and followed him into the kitchen where Craig was on the phone.

"Hang on a sec." He turned to the Doctor and I. "We've got a match today, pub league. We're one down and so is the other team, if you two fancy it?"

"Pub league. A drinking competition."

I sighed, pulling a hand through my hair beside him. "No, he's talking about socc—football. Sorry… words." I grumbled, moving past them to search the cupboards and finding some cereal and snatching a banana from off the counter.

"Don't mind her. She doesn't deal with mornings." The Doctor explained as I found a spoon and started cutting up bits of banana and putting it into a bowl Sophie was nice enough to get me.

"Now, football. Football. Yes, blokes play football. I'm good at football, I think."

"You've saved my life and the other team's too apparently."

They pat each other on the cheek then Craig went back to speaking on the phone.

"I've got two people. Yeah, alright. I'll see you down there." He then turned to Sophie. "Hey, Soph."

"Hey, I though I'd come early and meet your new flat mate. Don't remember you mentioning there were two."

I spotted the Doctor at the fridge and he grabbed the milk, pouring some into my cereal for me before drinking from the carton.

"Do you play, Sophie?" He asked and the two chuckled.

"No. Soph just stands on the sidelines. She's my mascot."

"Mm, bad words, mate." I muttered, scooping a spoonful of cereal into my mouth before quickly scooping another, starving.

"I'm your mascot?" Sophie questioned him, sounding offended. "Mascot?"

"Well, yeah, not _my_ mascot. It's a football match. I can't take a date."

"I didn't say I was your date."

"Neither did I."

The Doctor shared a glance with me, before smiling politely at Craig and handing back his toothbrush.

"Better go get dressed."

"The spare kits are just in the bottom drawer. Um, Alex?"

I glanced up at him, hand holding my spoon in my mouth.

"The other team is wearing green this time, so that's the one you get, unless you and the Doctor want to switch. Doesn't matter. But, um… Are you sure you want to do this?"

I paused, glancing up at him slowly. _He is _not_ going to say what I think he's going to say._ The Doctor seemed to realizing what was about to happen and quickly tried to stop Craig.

"Uh, Craig? I wouldn't do tha—"

Craig didn't pay attention to him. "I mean, we could always see if there's another bloke out there who could play instead."

I looked at him sternly. "You saying girls can't play football, Craig?"

His eyes widened as he realized that that was what it sounded like and quickly waved his hands. "N-No! I wasn't saying that. It's just, well, you looked pretty weak yesterday and I thought—"

"It was a rough day." I frowned, before pushing aside my bowl and pointing at him. "I'll bet you then. Twenty pounds says my team will win."

He gave me a look. "Nah, that's impossible."

I stood up and went over, getting in his face and definitely making him uncomfortable. "Just watch me."

I then headed out to the bedroom to grab my jersey and change, missing the conversation still going on in the kitchen.

* * *

Craig stared open-mouthed at the doorway Alex had disappeared through, before turning back to the Doctor and Sophie. "D-Did she just threaten to beat my entire team on her own?"

The Doctor nodded with a sigh. "Yes, she did. And I wouldn't be surprised if you owe her twenty pounds by the end of today."

"W-What?! You… You don't seriously believe…"

Even Sophie seemed against him. "She did look rather determined, Craig."

The Doctor went over to him and draped an arm over his shoulders. "Let me tell you something about Alex. Most people tend to not get on her bad side, and one way to do that, is by not bringing up femininity. She is a firm believer that women can do just about everything men can if they try hard enough."

"You can't be serious…" Craig said, surprised. "I mean, I get some things, but _football_?"

The Doctor clapped his back and went to put the milk back in the fridge. "You'd be surprised what she can do, Craig. She's taken three martial arts classes, a boxing class, and knows how to sword fight as well, I believe. I've seen her take down things twice her size." He paused, shivering. "You're just lucky you never challenged her to arm wrestle."

Craig began to worry as the Doctor rubber his elbow with a wince of remembrance and went to his room to change. Thing was, he'd forgotten Alex had gone in there to change and made Craig jump as he flew out of the room on his back with a nice fist shaped bruise forming on his cheek.

"A-Are you alright?!" Craig asked, rushing over while the Doctor stared blinkingly up at the ceiling with red tinted cheeks.

"Right. Remind me not to do that again."

* * *

"What are you actually called? What's your proper name?" Craig asked the Doctor as the four of us walked through the park to where the match was to be played.

"Just call me the Doctor."

"Yeah." Sophie said, not seeing the issue with it.

"I can't just go up to these guys and go, 'Hey, this is my knew flat mate. He's called the Doctor'."

"Why not?" The Doctor asked, also not seeing what was wrong.

"Because it's weird!"

"Alright, Craig. Soph."

"Hey." The two greeted the fellow football player.

He shook hands with Craig, before the Doctor did the same, doing that weird kiss greeting. _I'll have to tell him not to do that._ I thought, rolling my eyes and heading over to introduce myself to the other team. It was easy enough and soon I was given a position and the game started. I had to admit, the Doctor was good. I hadn't played soccer/football in a long time, but I quickly got used to it and after the first round, I was ready to go. The other team loved him, but I was about to make things a lot more difficult and once the whistle was blown, I quickly rushed forward and through a group of teammates, snatching the ball right out from under the Doctor's nose and heading towards the goal.

"Alex?!"

I smirked, before launching the ball into the goal, scoring for my team and earning pats on the back before I stopped by the Doctor and Craig.

"Let the games begin, boys."

And boy, did they. I gave the Doctor a run for his money, but he did the same in return and we were all tied up by the last round. Half the crowd were cheering for him and the other half for me, but I knew I was just about spent. I was panting and hadn't done much running around lately thanks to Torchwood, but I was determined to see it through to the end. Unfortunately, I ended up tripping over the back of one of my teammate's feet when I rushed forward to stop the Doctor from making a goal and we lost by one point. My team thanked me for helping them out though and bought me something to drink before waving me off and heading home.

I turned around and rolled my shoulders as I caught sight of the Doctor speaking with Sean from his team, before Craig opened a can and it sprayed all over him. I rolled my eyes in amusement, but then my shoulder suddenly burned and clutched at it with a hiss of pain. It was agonizing and I fell to my knees, hearing Craig open his soda again and again, before someone placed a hand on my other shoulder.

"Alex, are you alright?"

"No, ngh!" I cringed, doubling over and leaning against him as he held me with one hand and turned on his earpiece with the other. "Why's it hurt?"

"I don't know. It's got something to do with whatever's upstairs messing with the time. Seeing as you pop around through time, whatever's effecting the Tardis is effecting you also."

I frowned, gritting my teeth. "I-I'm connected to the _Tardis_?"

"Yes. I'll explain later." He said, before speaking to Amy. "Amy? Amy?"

I couldn't hear the other side of the conversation, but I doubted it'd be of much use. The pain was growing to be near overbearing and I felt on the verge of passing out.

"What does the scanner say?… yes, yes. I-I-It's good. Uh, zigzag plotter. Zigzag plotter, Amy… Amy? Are you there? Amy?" He asked worriedly, starting to rub circles on my back as I tried to control my breathing. "Hang on, Alex. You can do it."

Amy must have picked back up then, because he let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank heavens. I thought for a moment the Tardis had been flung off into the Vortex with you inside it. Lost forever… How are the numbers?"

The pain subsided, but still left me very much winded and on the verge of passing out.

"Fives? Even better. Still, it means the effects are almost unbelievably powerful and dangerous, but don't worry. Hang on, okay?" He glanced down at me and brushed a hair from my sweaty face. "How are you holding up, Alex?"

I frowned, trying to focus on him, but finding myself unable to. "Stop… moving around and… I'll let you know…"

He frowned, that much I could see, before holding his hand over my eyes. "Relax, Alex. Oh! And Amy wants to say hi. Say hi, Amy."

"_Alex! How are you? Well, not as great as you could be I suppose, since you're somehow connected to all of this."_

"Mm, I've been better… and Amy?"

"_What's up?"_

"You'll be fine… Promise."

There was a pause, before she spoke again. _"Thanks, Alex."_

The Doctor pulled the earpiece away and spoke up once more. "Right then. I've got some rewiring to do and I best get Alex to rest. Bye Amy."

He hung up on her just as Craig and Sophie headed over.

"Hey, we're about to head home and… is she okay?"

I went to say I was fine, but the Doctor spoke up before I could.

"No. Not really. She's exhausted. Football after not sleeping for days on end is not the best idea. Her immune system is in fluctuation and I really need to get her back."

They were saying some other things, but my hearing was fading in and out. I was just so exhausted and the Doctor's arms were so comfortable.

"Alex? Hey, hey, hey. Stay with me. No sleeping! Not yet."

I could feel him patting my cheek, but I was just so tired and soon fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

I was uncomfortable. I felt like I was sleeping on a rock, though I had to admit I was warm and felt better than before. My shoulder still ached slightly, but it was nothing I couldn't handle and I didn't feel like I was popping off somewhere, so that was good. I felt gross though, still sticky with sweat from the football game, and I forced myself to wake up despite my body still begging me to sleep. Immediately, I smacked the top of my head into something and let out a hiss of pain as I glared at the offending object; which happened to be some crazy spinning device that the Doctor had set up in the middle of the bed. _Explains why I'm on the floor._

"Ah, Alex, good. You're awake."

I frowned over at the Doctor as I rubbed my head, him grinning pleasantly, oblivious to my frustration. "What is that and why is it on the bed?"

"It's a scanner!" He smiled, as I picked my way out from where I was and proceeded to smack him upside the back of the head as I passed him to get to the drawers with _my_ clothes in it—them having popped up this morning. "Ow! Why did you hit me?"

"Because you made me sleep on the floor and built your science experiment on the bed."

He pouted. "There wasn't enough room for it elsewhere."

I hung my clothes over my shoulder and gave him a look. "I'll remember that when I can't find someplace to put my miniature legos. I'll be sure to leave them all over the Tardis floor."

His mouth dropped open in shock, but I walked out of the room before he could say anything about that, silently wondering if I had miniature legos tucked away in my room on the Tardis. _If not, I'll be sure to ask for some next trip._ I thought with a smirk, before heading into the kitchen as my stomach growled, deciding to grab a snack before I went to shower. I was just in time too, it seems, because I caught Craig reaching out towards the rot in the wall.

"Craig!"

He turned around quickly, losing his balance and I hurried over to help him, only for us both to end up touching the rot in the process.

"Ah!" Craig cried out, looking at his fingers and I cringed and looked at my palm, flexing my fingers.

"_Ow_." I then proceeded to punch Craig rather harshly on the arm. "You moron! What did the Doctor say about touching the rot?! Now I've touched it too!" I sighed, dropping my hand and moving to dig through the cupboards in the kitchen. "Ugh, he's going to be so pissed at me."

"W-Why? Is it bad?"

"Yeah. Course it's bad. Why would he tell you not to touch it if it wasn't bad?" I questioned him, raising a brow as he looked between his fingers and me in worry. "You'll be fine, Craig. Go to bed."

"B-But you said it was bad! What's going to happen?!"

"Nothing." I reassured him, knowing that it was a lie, but that there was nothing I could do about it now. "Is this all the tea you have?" I asked, pointing to the jar on the counter.

"Uh, no. There should be more in the cupboard by the sink." He said, shaking his head before heading to his own room. "I'm um, going to bed. Night, Alex."

"Night Craig." I said, sticking my head into the cupboard and grinning when I found the unopened tin of tea hiding in the back. "Ah-ha!"

I quickly heated some hot water and poured it into the tea pot, dropping handfuls of tea bags into it and stirring it as best I could; having remembered what the Doctor had done when Craig touched the rot. _Enzymes and Tannin. I think that's what he said and I can't remember what he pulled from the trash, but I'd rather not find out. I'll stick to the powerful tea._ Wrinkling my nose, I lifted the tea pot to my mouth with a grimace.

"Bottoms up." I muttered, tilting the drink and forcing myself to swallow the bitter liquid and doing my best not to gag on the taste.

I coughed and choked once I'd drank a good portion of it, wishing I could wash it down with water, but not knowing if that would stop it from helping me. Heck, I didn't even know if drinking the tea this soon would do anything for me, but I had to try and once I'd chugged down some more of the tea—promising myself that I'd never drink tea again—I glanced at the amount left and worried about Craig. _I can't just leave him like that. If I remember right, he stopped breathing in the show. If I could prevent even that then…_ Nodding to myself, I poured the rest of the bitter tea in a cup and knocked on Craig's door.

"Hm? Oh, Alex. Do you need something?" Craig asked, already looking tired.

"Just made too much tea." I said, passing him the cup. "Thought you'd want some."

He took it. "Thanks."

Once he sipped it though, I could see him struggle not to gag and I put on an innocent façade.

"Is it not good?"

"A-Ah, no! I-It's good! Ah, um…" He quickly chugged the rest of it down, struggling not to make a disgusted face as he forced a smile. "I-It was great. Delicious."

I smiled back and took the cup. "Alright. Night, Craig. And… sorry about the Doctor." I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "He's not good at seeing signals."

Craig nodded in understanding and gave me a little wave. "Night Alex."

I bobbed my head before cleaning out the pot in the kitchen and heading to the shower, already feeling drained. _The poison's moving faster than I thought. Let's hope that tea helps._

* * *

The Doctor had headed into the kitchen the next morning, staying as quiet as he could as he made breakfast for Craig and Alex, who were both still asleep. Alex had moved a number of pillows and blankets onto the floor next to the bed since he'd set up his scanner on it, and made a nest for herself last night before falling asleep quickly. He would've woken her, but he knew she needed her rest and let her be in the hopes that she'd wake up in a good mood and enjoy the breakfast he was making her. Craig though was a bit different. The Doctor felt that he should thank the man after he'd let him into the flat and after Alex had scolded him about being more sensitive to other people's feelings. According to her, he was a bit thick in that aspect and may have upset Craig with his showing off during the football match and interrupting his moment alone with Sophie. So he decided to make him breakfast as well, and made one of his best dishes before heading to Craig's room. _He's going to be late for work._ The Doctor noted as he went and knocked on the man's door.

"Craig? Craig? Breakfast. It's normal. Craig?"

The Doctor began to grow worried when the man didn't answer, and opened the door, seeing the man still in bed and quickly setting the breakfast tray down on the bed as he rushed over.

"Craig… Craig, Craig." He grabbed the man's arm, unhappily, flipping it over to see a dark green vein trailing up from his hand. "I _told_ you not to touch it. Look, what's that, hm? It's an unfamiliar and pretty obviously poisonous substance. Oh, I know what'd be really clever, I'll stick my hand in it!"

He leaned over Craig's face and let out a sigh of relief.

"Good. At least your breathing, but how? That should've stopped you breathing moments ago, unless you've somehow gotten something to combat the poison already." He ruffled his hair, getting up and grabbing the teapot from off the breakfast tray. "Argh! Don't think about that now! I've got to make a combatant!"

He rushed into the kitchen and began stuffing the pot full of teabags. "Right, reverse the enzyme decay. Excite the tannin molecules."

He then grabbed something out of the trash and added that to it, pounding the substance with a spoon, before it was a liquid once more. He then sat at Craig's side and had him drink from the mouth of the teapot.

"I've got to go to work." Craig croaked out.

"On no account. You need rest." The Doctor told him, setting the spoon aside and tipping the teapot again. "One more."

Craig made a face as he swallowed, still trying to justify his need to go to work. "It's the planning meeting. It's important."

"You're important." The Doctor placed a hand on Craig's head. "You're going to be fine, Craig."

"This… Is it because I touched the rot?" He asked and the Doctor nodded.

"Yes. I can't explain it to you right now though, so rest."

Craig swallowed, breathing hard. "W-What about Alex? Is she okay?"

The Doctor quickly frowned. "What? Why wouldn't she be?"

"She… She touched it too. She tried to stop me… but we both almost fell and she touched it."

The Doctor's eyes widened and as Craig fell asleep, he rushed out of the room and back to his, picking his way haphazardly through the debris and tumbling to his knees beside Alex.

"Alex! Alex! Oh, please be alright, Alexander." He muttered, pulling the blankets back a bit and flicking his eyes over her sweaty pale face in worry. "Tea. I need the tea."

He rushed out and returned with the tea, propping Alex up on some pillows and tilting the teapot up to her lips. She drank it, grimacing as she opened her eyes and frowned at him.

"What are you doing?" She mumbled, voice hoarse.

He let out a sigh of relief, tightening his grip on her hand. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I-I should've seen it. I should've known."

"You idiot…" She grumbled, closing her eyes again. "You're supposed to be at Craig's work."

He quickly shook his head as she drank from the teapot again. "No. I can't. I have to stay here. Take care of you. This shouldn't of happened and you tried to prevent it, but got hurt instead, and I can't watch that happen again."

"You're… such a worrywart." She sighed quietly, before reaching up and pulling his lips to hers and flopping back on the pillows out of breath as the Doctor stared at her with his mouth gaping open as she mumbled. "I'll be fine… promise…"

She fell back asleep as the Doctor got up, face red and a hand over his mouth; questioning whether it was the fever making Alex delirious enough to kiss him, or if something had finally changed between them.

* * *

I woke up feeling a lot better than before, but still feeling a little sick and not really having any clue what happened while I was sick. _There was something… I remember waking up, but everything is fuzzy._ Grumbling under my breath, I picked my way out of the room, only to cringe at the shouting from the Doctor and Craig in front of me in the hall.

"What have we done?"

"For a start, I wasn't talking about Alex. She's been nothing but nice. But _you_… You were talking to a cat!" Craig said, loudly as the Doctor tossed the paper bag of money over his shoulder.

"Lots of people talk to cats."

"And everybody loves you, and you're better at football than me, and my job, and now Sophie's all 'oh, monkeys, monkeys'! And then—" He turned towards me and jumped. "A-Alex. How long have you been there?"

I smiled and waved my fingers. "A while, and don't mind me. You were on a roll."

Craig nodded and stomped past me to push open the door, turning to the panicking Doctor. "And then there's that!"

"It's art! A statement on modern society!" The Doctor tried to cover, moving past us both and turning the scanner off. "Ooh, ain't modern society awful."

I leaned my head over to Craig, arms folded over my chest. "It's a scanner, if you really want to know."

"Alex!" The Doctor whined as Craig stomped over to him and poking him in the chest with his finger.

"Me and you, it's not going to work out! You've only been here three days! These have been the three weirdest days of my life!"

"Your days will get a lot weirder if I go."

"It was good weirdness! It's not, it's bad weird! I can't do this anymore!"

"Craig, I can't leave this place. I'm like you. I can't see the point of anywhere else. Madrid? Ha, what a dump! I _have_ to stay."

"No, you don't! You have to leave!"

"I can't go."

"Just get _out_!" Craig shouted, grabbing the Doctor's coat lapels and pulling him forward threateningly.

"Right. Only way. I'm going to show you something, but shush. Really, shush. Oh, I am going to regret this."

"Not in the long run, you won't." I called out, earning a frown from him before he turned back to Craig.

"Okay, right. First, general background." The Doctor head butt Craig and I winced.

"Ooh, I'll, uh… go prep some ice packs for you two."

I walked out and to the kitchen, wincing as I heard the two groan and complain and shout in the other room, and I went and started dropping ice cubes into two little plastic baggies as they went on.

"_Shut up!_"

I chuckled at hearing the Doctor shout and shaking my head, going to close the ice box, but knocking over the tin full of teabags with a clatter and sighing.

"Of course."

I picked those up and headed back into the Doctor's room, tossing the ice pack to him and handing the other to Craig as the Doctor called up Amy on his earpiece.

"Amy."

"That's Amy Pond!" Craig said loudly as the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Oh, of course, you can understand us now. Hurrah." He then spoke to Amy. "Got those plans yet?… I've worked it out with psychic help from a cat."

"Aw." I whined. "I didn't get to see the cat?"

He raised a brow. "I thought you didn't like cats."

"Hey. I don't like those crazy alien cat things. But normal cats are nice."

He smiled a bit and went back to talking to Amy. "Yes. I know he's got a time engine in the flat upstairs. He's using innocent people to try and launch it. Whenever he does, they get burnt up, hence the stain on your ceiling." He told Craig, who waved a finger dramatically at the ceiling.

"From the ceiling!"

"Well done, Craig. Uh, and _you_, Miss Pond, nearly get thrown off into the Vortex as well as Alex here having trouble with her—"

I cringed then, my shoulder aching terribly once more and the Doctor's eyes widened as he rushed over.

"—Shoulder. Alex, stay with me. How bad is it? Scale of one to ten."

"D-Depends." I grit out with as much of a smile as I could muster. "You want the truth? Or if I can handle it or not?"

"The _truth_, Alex."

"Oh, alright. In that case—" I cringed, unable to stifle the whimper that escaped my throat. "Ngh, _t-twelve_."

"Okay. Alright. The only thing I can do is take care of whatever's up there."

"People are dying. People are dying. People are dying." Craig went on in a loop as the Doctor contacted Amy.

"Amy."

"They're being killed!" Craig said, managing to pull out of the loop.

"Someone's up there."

The Doctor went to get up, but placed a last kiss on my forehead and brushed my hair back. "You stay here. I'll take care of it. Promise."

I didn't want to, but the ache in my shoulder left me no real choice, so I gave in begrudgingly; before I remembered something and stopped him.

"Doctor."

He paused in the doorway along with Craig.

"It's Sophie. Hurry."

He nodded and they both rushed upstairs—or into the spaceship, if you would. I wasn't going to just sit here though. Sure, I was in a heck of a lot of pain, but I couldn't just sit back and do nothing. I _had_ to get up there. So I forced myself up, leaning against the wall for support as I went into the bathroom and dug through the medicine cabinet for some pain medication. Downing a few, I struggled to head up the stairs and entered the ship just in time, it seemed.

"The correct pilot has now been found." The hologram image of an elder man announced robotically as the Doctor responded.

"Yes, I was a bit worried that you were going to say that."

Energy shot out of the console, attaching to the Doctor and making my knees very nearly buckle beneath me as the Doctor spoke to Amy on the other line; myself going unnoticed by everyone in the room.

"It's pulling me in. I'm the new pilot… No, I'm way too much for this ship. My hand touches that panel, the planet doesn't blow up, the whole solar system does."

"The correct pilot has been found."

"Oi! Autopilot!" I called out, straightening up and trying to appear strong despite my shoulder feeling like someone was twisting a knife in it. "You heard the Doctor! If you take him, then you'll get nowhere and the solar system blows up!"

"Alex!" The Doctor shouted, hand hovering above the panel. "I told you to stay downstairs!"

I raised a brow his way. "Is it still called 'downstairs' if there is no 'upstairs'?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but shut it, suddenly very confused as I turned back to the autopilot and went on.

"Come on, autopilot! You need a strong human, right? You got one right here!"

"W-What? Is she… Is she offering herself to that thing?" Craig questioned as the old man hologram turned my way.

"You know I'm strong. I'm still standing with my stupid shoulder practically trying to rip itself off. Scan me! I'm chock full of Artron Energy and I can't stay in one place for very long. Don't you think I have a better chance of getting you off this planet in one piece than him?" I asked, nodding towards the Doctor who finally realized what I was doing.

"Alex! What are you thinking?! You can't!"

The energy launched out of the console and hit me in the chest, making me double over as the pain in my shoulder grew worse and I was pulled towards the console.

"Alex!"

The Doctor rushed to my side and tried to pull me away, but I glared at him.

"You idiot! Use your brain! Think up a way to stop this thing!"

"Why did you do this?!"

I rolled my eyes, grabbing a hold of a beam. "God, you can be so dense sometimes…"

"Alex!"

"To buy time!" I shouted at him, the pain getting worse. "Now stop worrying about me and use it to figure out how to stop this thing!"

He looked torn, but quickly steeled himself and nodded, turning to Craig and Sophie. "It doesn't want everyone. Craig, it didn't want you."

"I-I-I spoke to him and he said I couldn't help him." Craig remembered.

The Doctor nodded, going on. "It didn't want Sophie before today, but now it does. Why? What's changed?"

"Ngh!" I grit my teeth tightly as I lost my grip on the pillar and held my wrist with my other hand, hovering just above the console. "Hurry up!"

The Doctor shook his head, pulling a hand through his hair as he paced. "No. No, I gave her the idea of leaving. it's a machine that needs to leave. It wants people who want to escape. And you don't want to leave, Craig. You're Mister Sofa Man."

"Doctor!" I called out and he spoke quicker.

"Craig, you can shut down the engine. Put your hand on the panel and concentrate on why you want to stay."

"Craig, no." Sophie said, but Craig straightened up.

"Will it work?"

"Yes." The Doctor reassured him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Is that a lie?"

"Of course it's a lie."

I groaned as Craig hesitated. "Craig! You've been in the Doctor's head, right? Then you'll trust me when I say this. I promise it'll work!"

"That's good enough for me. Geronimo!" He called out, slapping a hand on the panel with a shout.

The energy released me, throwing me off balance, but thankfully the Doctor caught me. Problem was, my shoulder was on fire and I could hardly breathe with how much pain I was in, and my vision was going black at the edges.

"Hang in there, Alex."

"Craig…" I breathed out. "Help Craig!"

He nodded and allowed me to curl up in a fetal position on the ground as he rushed over to Craig.

"Craig, what's keeping you here? Think about everything that makes you want to stay here. Why don't you want to leave?"

"Sophie. I don't want to leave Sophie. I love Sophie."

"I love you too, Craig, you idiot."

I saw Sophie place her hand on top of Craig's as they stared back at each other and the Doctor went over to my side and held me close.

"Honestly, do you mean that?" Craig asked.

"Of course I mean it. Do _you_ mean it?"

"I've always meant it. Seriously though, do you mean it?"

"Yes."

"What about the monkeys?"

The Doctor groaned. "Oh no. not now Craig. Not again. The planet's about to burn. For God's sake! Kiss the girl!"

"Kiss her!" I shouted after, though just doing that made me feel extremely light-headed.

They did and both were released from the panel, and the pain in my shoulder began to slowly subside.

"Help me. Help me. Help me." The autopilot repeated over and over again, as the hologram flickered between different appearances.

"Big no." The Doctor muttered, looking down at me as he brushed my hair back. "Can you stand?"

I shook my head slowly, knowing that I wouldn't be able to right away, and he nodded, helping me up with my arm over his shoulder as Craig spoke.

"Did we switch it off?"

"Emergency shutdown." The Doctor clarified, moving with me towards the door. "It's imploding. Everybody out, out, out!"

We all hurried out of the room, down the stairs, and outside; turning around just in time to see the 'upstairs' turn into a spaceship and implode, leaving behind a simple one story house. A man carrying his child walked past and Craig stared at them in disbelief.

"Look at them. Didn't they see that? The whole top floor just vanished."

"Perception filter. There never was a top floor." The Doctor explained, before we all headed back inside.

Once there, Sophie and Craig went to the main room as the Doctor helped me to our room and sat me down on the bed. I rubbed my shoulder with a grimace, still feeling the left over aching and the Doctor slowly reached out and touched my shoulder as well.

"Does it still hurt?"

"Yeah, but I figured as much. I'll get used to it in a bit and it'll fade." I went to shrug, but thought better of it. "I just feel a bit useless this time around. I think I was unconscious or asleep most of the time. Not much I can do about it now though."

The Doctor's gazed hardened, surprising me as he spoke. "You are _not _useless, Alexander. And I don't want you to ever think that you are, because you are important to me. Do you understand?"

I blinked, still pretty surprised. "Yeah, uh, I know." I rubbed the back of my neck and turned away a bit, trying to hide the red dusting my cheeks. "You've told me that before and I've kind of, heh, stopped caring about what the younger you says about the whole useless bit. I guess we're even then, what with us both being rude to each other all the time."

I chuckled a bit, hoping to ease up the suddenly tense atmosphere that the Doctor had created, and apparently I succeeded because he tackled me in a hug, causing me to wince and fall back onto the bed as he spoke; his nose pressed to the nape of my neck and my face a bright cherry red.

"Oh, Alex. _My_ Alex. I've missed you."

"I, uh…" I sighed and relaxed, brushing a hand through his hair like I used to do with my little siblings back home. "I missed you too."

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"A-Alex?"_

_I turned, holding a hand to my nose, and spotted the Tenth Doctor having just walked through the hallway doors._

_..._

_"H-H-Hey, Spaceman. Don't, um… Don't cry. Come on. I don't even know what's going on, so you can't cry."_

_"You don't… You don't remember?"_


	18. The Unicorn and the Wasp

**Haha, whoo! Updating early! Why? because i feel like it and you guys totally deserve it with all the nice reviews i'm getting for this story ^^ thanks a ton for them, you guys, seriously. they always perk my spirits up. and here's the next chapter! i hope you enjoy it. ;)**

* * *

My landing was a bit rougher this time around, my shoulder aching far worse than usual, but I shrugged it off to having something to do with the shoulder pains from my last adventure. Taking a look around though, my eyes widened upon spotting the vintage car sitting in the driveway of a rather large house and I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Well then. I can't say I expected this."

I looked around behind me and smiled upon spotting the Tardis tucked away between some bushes, launching myself up and rushing towards it.

"Oh, I've missed you, Sexy." I stopped though, suddenly frowning at the box and pointing my finger at her suspiciously. "I haven't seen you in a while, so you must be up to something. I'll be watching you."

She hummed innocently and I slowly peeked my head into the console room, looking around to make sure I wasn't going to walk into something unpleasant, but all was calm, so I headed in. _Maybe, if I walk quietly enough, she'll forget I'm here._ Of course, the moment I thought that, the grating I was walking on tilted and I tripped, falling onto my face. I got up holding a hand to my nose and shook a fist up at the ceiling.

"You rotten blue box! What the heck is your problem?! Dropping things on me, chasing me, and tripping me too?! I'll find a way to get you back one day, you know! Maybe I'll graffiti all over you! Yeah! I'll find the most permanent paint I can find and just scribble all over you! We'll see how you like it then!"

"A-Alex?"

I turned, holding a hand to my nose, and spotted the Tenth Doctor having just walked through the hallway doors.

I hesitated, not knowing if this was the Doctor that liked me or hated me, but smiled nonetheless. "Hello! Sorry for the noise. Your blue box friend thought it'd be funny to trip me on the way in." I pulled a hand away from my nose and winced at the blood on it. "Lovely." I covered my nose again and waved my fist up at the ceiling. "I hope you had your fun! I'll get you! You wait and see!"

"But that's… That's impossible."

I glanced over at the Doctor, confused. "What? That your Tardis tripped me and gave me a bloody nose? Or me getting revenge on her? Nothing impossible about tha—"

I stopped talking as he approached, seeing the hurt in his eyes, which shined with tears.

"H-H-Hey, Spaceman. Don't, um… Don't cry. Come on. I don't even know what's going on, so you can't cry."

"You don't… You don't remember?"

My eyes scanned his face, my heart pounding in my chest at the expression he was making, feeling as though it was being ripped in two.

"I-I, um… I bounce around, remember? I don't even know where I am, plot wise. So I'm a bit mixed up at the moment."

"Alex?" The two of us turned to see Donna standing there with a hand over her own mouth and tears quickly forming. "Oh my God. Is it really you?"

I pat my body with my free hand, double checking that I was actually here and tilted my head in confusion. "Feels like I'm here. Am I transparent or something and I don't kno—"

I was tackled in a hug by the crying Donna and became more confused.

"Y-You're okay. Oh my God, you're alive! We thought you were dead, but how…"

I blinked, still lost but also trying to connect the dots and my eyes widened in shock as I realized where in the Doctor's time-line I was. _1920s with Donna… This is right after '_The Doctor's Daughter'_… Oh no… They thought I…_

"Oh my God… I-I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." I apologized, hugging Donna back as she sobbed into my shoulder and I glanced up at the Doctor's heartbroken, yet relieved, expression. "You thought I was… You thought I was dead. I-I mean, I _was_, but I… I didn't know I'd come back and you two… H-How long? How long have you thought…"

"A little over a month." The Doctor said and I felt my chest clench with guilt, questioning if I should've tried harder to find a way and contact this Doctor and Donna to let them know I was okay.

"A-A whole month…" I breathed out, before Donna pulled away from me and wiped her eyes.

"W-Well then, now that I've had a good cry…"

_Slap!_

I cringed at the stinging sensation from my left cheek as she went on to shout at me.

"You big idiot! How could you do that to us?! A whole month we thought you were dead and—" She cut herself off upon spotting my bloody nose. "Oh my God, did I do that?!"

"Ah, no. The Tardis did, actually. Tripped me when I came in through the door." I corrected her, rubbing my cheek and mouthing the word 'ow' dramatically.

She had a mean slap, and apparently she wasn't through.

"Oh… Well, I'm glad she did that! You deserve it after making us worry so much!"

I sighed, feeling horrible because I was sure that I could've told them somehow; though I didn't know how, exactly.

"I know. I'm really sorry." I apologized, keeping my gaze on the ground as she scolded me.

"Yeah, well… You better be." She said, before pulling me into a hug once more, surprising me. "I'm just glad you're okay." She pulled away quickly then, getting up and brushing herself off. "Now then, I'm going to go get you something for your nose. I'll leave you two alone."

She glanced at the Doctor and I, before heading back out into the hallway. I returned to rubbing my cheek and using the sleeve of my long-sleeved shirt to wipe at the blood still coming out of my nose.

"What is it with the slapping?" I muttered, a little annoyed. "I mean seriously. Between the hitting and the kissing, I don't know which is worse!"

"Kissing?"

I didn't hear the Doctor's question and went on. "I mean, I've been slapped five times! Sure, the first ones were to keep me awake, but _five times_?!"

"Kissing. You said kissing." The Doctor muttered and I hardly heard him, not really paying attention to the shocked and angry look on his face.

"It just keeps happening! It's like no one's figured out yet that I have no idea what's going on and they just… Ugh! Women!"

The Doctor suddenly let out a breath, starting to chuckle in relief and I turned to his with a raised brow, confused.

"Did I miss something?"

"Women." He chuckled, now helping me up off the floor. "You were talking about women."

"Yeah, who'd you think I was talking about?" I asked as he pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it under my nose and I took it from him to hold myself. "I mean, between you and the women, I have no clue what to think anymore." I snapped my fingers, pointing at him with a frown. "And you _still_ haven't explained that to me! What is it with you and the kissing?! I swear, almost every time I meet you or the Eleventh you it's always, 'you're brilliant' mwah! Or, 'I've missed you' mwah! Do you just go out of your way to make up some reason to kiss me? Because I'm still completely lost as to why it's such a big thing for you."

He grinned innocently. "But you _are_ brilliant." He brushed a loose bang from my forehead, moving closer as I eyed him suspiciously. "And I _do _miss you."

"You're doing it again." I muttered.

"Doing what?" He asked, as my lower back bumped into the center console and I immediately stiffened.

"Avoiding the question and, um, the whole moving closer to trap me thing."

He was quiet for a moment, pressing his forehead to mine and his hands on my waist, before speaking softly.

"Do you remember what I said before you… died?"

"_Please! Alex! I-I love you!…"_

I stiffened a bit as those words flitted through my head, suddenly questioning if he had been talking about loving me as family or something more.

"I meant it, Alexander." He said, almost whispering as I felt heat creep up my neck and face, and I lowered the handkerchief from my nose.. "I really do love you."

_W-W-What?! N-No! He can't! H-He's supposed to love Rose a-and River! H-How could he love me?! I-I'm human! I probably won't live past 80 a-and I'm not smart or anything! A-A-And I don't love him—_ My mind panicked, especially when I could feel my heart pounding away in my chest and my stomach twisting as realization came over me. _O-Oh no. I-I can't love him! I-I-I haven't even known him that long!_ And yet my heart was racing and I realized that I actually didn't feel all that uncomfortable in the position we were in as opposed to before when I'd first popped up in the Doctor Who universe and froze up every time. Heck, the kissing was almost something I _expected_ now when I bumped into him. _When did this happen?! When did I start liking him?! Wait, maybe I'm still sick or something. Maybe it's all a trick my mind and body are playing on me. I-I mean, I can't like him. He's rude and yells at me half the time a-and is clingy and just kisses me out of nowhere a-a-and…_

I couldn't stop thinking about him. My mind just went on and on and on, and we just stared at each other until he put his hands on either side of my head and kissed me. And I didn't pull away. I don't know why, but I couldn't. And before I even realized what I was doing, I leaned forward myself, kissing him back.

"Oi! Get a room, you two!"

We broke apart and turned to Donna as our faces turned red in embarrassment; although my face was far worse than the Doctor's, who was smiling a bit.

"Donna! You took your time."

She rolled her eyes, passing me another handkerchief. "Yeah, well, I wanted to let you two have your moment, though I didn't expect you both to be snogging each others brains out when I walked back in."

I was still trying to comprehend what I'd just done, so I stayed quiet with my bloody nose pressed to the handkerchief as Donna wound her arm through mine.

"Now then. 1920, yeah? Gonna need to get changed. We'll see you outside, Spaceman. No peeking."

"Course. Don't mind me." He said, removing his coat and draping it over the tree-like railing before waving over his shoulder and heading out the door. "Have fun, you two!"

The door closed and before I could say anything about what the Doctor and I had been doing, Donna pulled me to the wardrobe and closed the door behind me; hand on her hips as she turned around to face me with a huge grin on her face.

"Mm, come on. Spill the dirt. It's not everyday I see you two snogging like that."

My face immediately flushed red and I waved my hands back and forth. "N-No! It's not like that! H-He always does that a-a-and I don't have a clue why! This is just like what he always does!"

"Oh, you know I don't believe that. I'm not thick." She said with a roll of her eyes, before moving about and searching through the 1920 style dresses; which kind of surprised me, seeing as my own closet just handed me one outfit and I had to deal with it. "I've seen when he catches you unawares, and you totally freeze up like a block of ice. I didn't see that here." She smirked at me from around the changing room door. "You were _enjoying_ it."

"W-Was not." I stubbornly refused, turning to the wardrobe myself for something to change in to, but only finding a single outfit there, making me frown.

"Oh, you were too!" She called out from the changing room as I opened and closed the doors of the wardrobe in the hopes of getting something else, to no avail. "You're head over heels for him, aren't you?"

"I am not!" I called back, taking my own outfit and heading in to another changing room across the way from hers. _I can't be…_

"Yeah, well, deny it all you want sweetie. But when love hits you, it hits you hard and there's no stopping it once it does."

"That's great to know." I muttered under my breath, before walking out in my black slacks, dress shoes, white dress shirt, grey vest, red tie, and black fedora; very 1920s and also very _masculine_ clothing, just how I liked it.

Donna walked out in her dress and her eyes widened. "Oh, and I thought _I_ looked good. Alex, you look amazing! _Very_ handsome."

She wiggled her eyebrows at me as I chuckled.

"You look great too, Donna. You'll definitely catch some eyes in that dress."

"Says you." She teased as we headed out and into the console room. "You'll be turning all sorts of heads with that get up."

I groaned, realizing what she meant. "Oh, don't you start. I've been kissed by girls far too much for my liking."

"I wasn't talking about them." She chirped, making me raise a brow in question as the Doctor knocked on the Tardis doors and called in to us.

"We'll be late for cocktails!"

Donna nudged me with her elbow with a pointed look and I frowned upon realizing who she meant.

"Donna!" I hissed in complaint, going to argue, but she grinned and ignored me, opening the door and leaning against the frame smugly.

"What do you think? Flapper or slapper?"

He smiled. "Flapper. You love lovely."

She smirked back. "I'm not the only one."

She then grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the Tardis, causing me to grab my fedora so it wouldn't fall off as I stumbled.

"Oi! No need to pull me! I can walk." I complained, frowning at Donna who smiled innocently as she shut the Tardis doors and I brushed myself off, giving the Doctor a glance as he eyed me with a grin.

"Well, aren't you a handsome devil." He chirped, flicking the end of my hat up a bit further on my head.

I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore the cheeky look Donna had beside me as I stuffed my hands in my pockets with slightly red cheeks. "Yeah, well, there's no way I'm wearing a dress. 1920 or otherwise. So 'handsome' is all I can get."

He smiled, reaching around me and pulling me into his side, surprising me. "It's good I like handsome then, isn't it? My handsome little Alexander."

"I'm not little!" I frowned up at him, a little upset that he was a good number of inches taller than me; unlike Eleven who only beat me by an inch or two.

"Course you are!" He chuckled, before he let me go and the three of us headed around to the back where the party was being held; Donna grinning smugly with a twirl of her small purse.

"Random fact." I mumbled, catching their attention as we walked over. "1920s is when Kool-Aid was invented and Wonder bread… and Milk Duds…"

They both gave me odd looks and I pouted.

"Shut it. I need a drink. Blame him." I waved a finger at the Doctor who looked flabbergasted.

"_Me_? Why me?"

"You're the one who kissed me!" I complained, before quickly lowering my voice to not catch attention. "And you also just told me you loved me and I'm still trying to get my head back in order. Give me a break."

He smiled a big goofy grin, Donna's hand on his arm, and me facing the other way with a frown. "Oh, come on. You know you liked it."

Heat quickly spread up my face and I kicked him in the shin. "S-S-Shut it!"

He chuckled and held up his had to catch the attention of the staff. "Good afternoon!"

"Drinks, sirs? Ma'am?" Davenport, the young butler, offered.

"Sidecar, please." Donna said.

"Give me a Ward 8." I followed.

"And a lime and soda, thank you."

He walked off to get them and an older butler spoke up from behind us.

"May I announce Lady Clemency Eddison."

A blonde woman walked out in a blue dress and the Doctor held his arms out in greeting.

"Lady Eddison."

She shook his hand and he hers, though she was confused. "Forgive me, but who exactly might you be, and what are you doing here?"

"I'm the Doctor and these are my companions Alexander Holmes and Miss Donna Noble of the Chiswick Nobles."

She held out her hand and I politely shook it with a bow of my head and a polite smile.

"Afternoon, Lady Eddison. You look lovely."

"What a charmer." She smiled, before holding out her hand to Donna, who also shook it with a small curtsey and putting on a posh accent.

"Good afternoon, my lady. Topping day, what? Spiffing. Top hole."

"No, no, no, no, no. Don't do that. Don't." The Doctor stopped her, before showing the woman her psychic paper. "We were thrilled to receive your invitation, my lady. We met at the Ambassador's reception."

"Doctor, how could I forget you?" She said, as we headed over towards the refreshments table and she picked up her drink; though I knew she still had no idea who we were. "But one must be sure with the Unicorn on the loose."

"A unicorn? Brilliant. Where?"

I nudged him in the ribs. "She's talking about _The_ Unicorn. The jewel thief that's been stealing precious gems left and right?"

Lady Eddison nodded. "Nobody knows who he is. He's just struck again. Snatched Lady Babbington's pearls right from under her nose."

"Funny place to wear pearls." Donna joked as we all took our drinks from Davenport, sipping them as Greeves—the older butler—announced another guest.

"May I announce Colonel Hugh Curbishley, the Honorable Roger Curbishley."

The younger son of the household pushed his father in his wheelchair over towards the rest of us.

"My husband and my son." Lady Eddison introduced.

"Forgive me for not rising. Never been the same ever since that flu epidemic back in eighteen."

I leaned towards the Doctor and Donna. "World-wide influenza epidemic. 22 million people were dead by 1920."

"Well aren't you just chock _full_ of facts." Donna grumbled and I grinned as Roger headed over.

"My word, you _are_ a super lady." He charmed Donna.

"Oh, I like the cut of your jib. Chin, chin."

The Doctor smiled over at him politely and shook hands. "Hello. I'm the Doctor."

"How do you do?"

"Very well."

He nodded, before catching sight of me, his eyes widening. "Hello, and who might you be? You're quite dashing."

I shook his hand with a smile. "Alexander Holmes. Nice to meet you, Mister Curbishley."

"Please." He said, leaning slightly closer. "Call me Roger."

My smile wavered as he tightened his grip on my hand briefly before pulling back and Davenport approached, eyeing me with a slight glare. _Oh dear. Not again._

"Your usual, sir?"

"Ah. Thank you, Davenport. Just how I like it." Roger said, eyeing him fondly, but also taking a look at me, sending a shiver up my spine as I chose instead to listen to Donna.

"How come she's an Eddison, but her husband and son are Curbishleys?"

"The Eddison title descends through her. One day, Roger will be a lord." The Doctor explained as I drank deeply from my glass, finishing it off quickly.

"Robina Redmond." Greeves announced, a young woman stepping up in a red and black dress.

"She's the absolute hit of the social scene. A must." Lady Eddison told us, turning to the woman as she approached. "Miss Redmond."

"Spiffing to meet you at last, my lady. What super fun."

"Reverend Arnold Golightly." Greeves announced once more, drowning out the conversation Lady Eddison was having with Miss Redmond as a red-headed priest stepped forward.

"Ah, revered. How are you?" Lady Eddison asked, shaking his hand as I felt eyes on me.

Roger was watching me as Miss Redmond spoke to him, paying no attention to her really.

"I heard about the church last Thursday night. Those ruffians breaking in."

"You apprehended them, I hear." Mr. Curbishley spoke up.

"As the Christen Fathers taught me, we must forgive them their trespasses. Quite literally."

"Some of these young boys deserve a descent thrashing." Roger said, watching me as Davenport walked over and took his drink, passing him another.

"Couldn't agree more, sir."

Thankfully, Roger turned his sights to him and I swallowed thickly as Davenport made his way over and replaced my drink as well, a subtle glare aimed at my face. _It's not like I _want_ him to like me. God, this is just what I need._

"Typical. All the decent men are on the other bus."

"Or Time Lords." The Doctor said, watching me.

"Or women." I muttered under my breath, silently questioning what I was going to do since it appeared that Roger liked me and Davenport was most definitely jealous.

"Now, my lady. What about this special guest you promised us?" The Reverend questioned just as another blonde woman walked over.

"Here she is. A lady who needs no introduction."

Everyone started clapping and she appeared embarrassed.

"No, no. Please, don't." She said, bowing her head to Lady Eddison. "Thank you, Lady Eddison. Honestly, there's no need." She then turned to us, holding her hand out. "Agatha Christie."

"What about her?" Donna questioned.

Agatha gave us a look, though I knew exactly who she was and was trying not to bounce in excitement. "That's me."

"_No_. You're kidding."

"Agatha Christie. I was just talking about you the other day. I said, 'I bet she's brilliant'. I'm the Doctor. This is Donna and Alex." He shook her hand. "Oh, I love your stuff. What a mind. You fool me every time. Well, almost every time. Well, once or twice... Well, once. But it was a good one."

I put a hand on his chest and moved a little in front of him, smiling at Agatha Christie. "Ignore him. He's too smart for his own good. And you're books are amazing. I'm a big fan."

She nodded, shaking my hand and eyeing the Doctor behind me. "You two make a rather unusual couple."

Donna and him waved their hands. "We're not a couple."

"Oh, no, no, no, no. We're not married."

"Well, obviously not. No wedding ring." Agatha said, gesturing at Donna. "I'd stay that way if I were you. The thrill is in the chase, never in the capture. Though I wasn't talking about you two."

The Doctor and I quickly sent each other glances, realizing that she meant us, before I waved my own hands in a panic.

"N-No. We're not—"

The Doctor cut me off though, grinning. "Oh. Oh, you don't miss a trick. Though I'm sure you can keep a secret?"

She smiled as I gaped up at him in shock. "My lips are sealed."

"Mrs. Christie, I'm so glad you could come." Lady Eddison interrupted, holding her by the shoulders and leading her a few steps away. "I'm one of your greatest followers. I've read all six of your books. Uh, is, uh, Mister Christie not joining us?"

"Is he needed?" She asked, looking uncomfortable. "Can't a woman make her own way in the world?"

"Don't give my wife ideas." Mr. Curbishley chuckled, before Agatha wandered off to talk with Roger and a few other guests.

The Doctor though, picked up the newspaper from off the man's lap. "Excuse me, colonel."

"I say, where on Earth's Professor Peach? He'd love to meet Mrs. Christie." Roger said loudly, drawing my attention away from the Doctor momentarily.

"Said he was going to the library." The Reverend responded as the Doctor gestured for us to come over and Lady Eddison sent her maid to go fetch him.

"The date on this newspaper."

"What about it?" Donna asked the Doctor.

"It's the day Agatha Christie disappeared. She's just discovered her husband was having an affair." He explained, rolling up the newspaper as Donna and I glanced over at said woman.

"You'd never think to look at her, smiling away."

"Well, she's British and moneyed. That's what they do. They carry on. Except for this one time. No one knows exactly what happened. She just vanished. Her car will be found tomorrow morning by the side of a lake. Ten days later, Agatha Christie turns up in a hotel in Harrogate. Said she'd lost her memory. She never spoke about the disappearance till the day she died, but whatever it was…"

"It's about to happen." Donna finished.

"Right here, right now."

"Professor!" A loud voice called out and the maid, Chandrakala, rushed out of the house frantically. "The library! Murder! Murder!"

The Doctor, Donna, Agatha Christie and I rushed to the scene, the other guests moving a bit slower.

"Oh, my goodness." Greeves exclaimed as the Doctor and I knelt by the body; him putting on his glasses as I spoke.

"Blunt force trauma to the parietal bone just above the lamboid suture." I muttered.

He lifted the man's wrist. "Watch broke as he fell. Time of death was a quarter past four. Alex, tell me what you find on the body. I'll check through the desk."

I nodded as Donna pointed out the pipe on the floor and Agatha got up.

"A bit of pipe… Call me Hercules Poirot, but I reckon that's blunt enough."

I spotted Agatha picking something out of the fire, just as the Doctor did, though we both stayed quiet about it as he finished going through the papers.

"Nothing worth killing for in that lot. Dry as dust. Alex?"

"Well, not much to tell. I'm used to working with bones after all, but I'd say he either saw the blow coming and turned to get away from it, or was caught unawares. The odd thing is the angle though." I mused, getting back into my old anthropology mindset.

The Doctor knelt back down beside me as I pointed it out. "Oh, that is odd."

"What? What's odd?" Donna asked and I leaned back to sit cross-legged on the floor, waving my hand nonchalantly.

"The _angle_, Donna. Professor Peach is a decent height, but the angle of the hit came from above, swinging down in an arc from the right side. So the attacker is not only right handed, but attacked from above. And last I checked, there's not a being on this Earth who's tall enough to do this."

"No." She breathed, catching on to what I was saying and I gave her a wink as Agatha spoke up.

"Excuse me, but is it possible he was kneeling?"

I shook my head, pointing at the body. "Nope. Look at the way he's laid out. You wouldn't fall that way if you were kneeling or sitting on the ground and there'd be a slight bit of bruising on his knees." I reached over and lifted up his pant leg to show her. "And if he was moved, then there'd be signs of that, like the bunching of the carpet or scuff marks." I looked back and smiled at her, tapping my head. "Good thinking though."

"Hold on." Donna spoke to the Doctor. "The _Body In The Library_? I mean, Professor Peach, in the library, with the lead piping?"

"It does sound very Cluedo, doesn't it?" I teased, just as the other guests showed up and started pushing in.

"Let me see."

"Out of my way!"

"Gerald?"

"Saints preserve us."

"Oh, how awful."

"Someone should call the police." Agatha stood up, but the Doctor stopped her, waving his psychic paper about.

"You don't have to. Chief Inspector Smith from Scotland Yard, known as the Doctor. And Inspector Alexander Holmes. Miss Noble is the plucky young girl who helps us out."

"I say." Lady Eddison breathed as the Doctor tried to get them to leave.

"Mrs. Christie was right. Go into the sitting room. I will question each of you in turn."

"Come along. Do as the Doctor says." Agatha remarked, starting to herd them out. "Leave the room undisturbed."

"The plucky young girl who helps us out?" Donna complained once they were gone and the Doctor slid down onto the floor in search of clues.

"No policewomen in 1926."

"I'll pluck you in a minute. Even _Alex_ gets to be the police! Why don't we phone the real police?"

"Well, first off, Alex can play the part and that was _real_ clever, by the way, Alex. Brilliant." He winked at me and I smiled.

"Glad to be of service."

He then went back to his search, using some tool to scrape up something off the wood floor as he spoke to Donna. "And the last thing we want is PC Plod sticking his nose in, especially now I've found this." He stood up quickly, showing us the honey-like substance on the tool. "Morphic residue."

"Morphic? Doesn't sound very 1926." She commented.

"It's left behind when a certain species genetically re-encode."

"The murder's an alien?"

I rolled my eyes at her. "That's why I said there's not a being on this _Earth_ who could do this."

"Which means that one of this lot is an alien in human form." The Doctor said as she expressed her doubt some more.

"Yeah, but think about it. There's a murder, a mystery, and Agatha Christie."

"So?" He sniffed the substance. "Happens to me all the time."

He passed it to me and I sniffed, not really sure what I was supposed to smell, before he passed it to Donna who sniffed before wrinkling her nose in distaste once she realized she'd actually sniffed it.

"No, but isn't that a bit weird? Agatha Christie didn't walk around surrounded by murders. Not _really_. I mean, that's like meeting Charles Dickens and he's surrounded by ghosts at Christmas."

"Well…" The Doctor looked at me as I winced.

"Ooh, haven't been there yet. Spoilers."

"Oh, come on! It's not like we could drive across country and find Enid Blyton having tea with Noddy. Could we? Noddy's not real. Is he? Tell me there's no Noddy."

"There's no Noddy." He told her, before bounding out the door with us following.

"Next thing you know, you'll be telling me it's like _Murder On The Orient Express_, and they all did it."

"Murder on the Orient Express?" Agatha said in confusion, popping out from a doorway we passed by and stopping us as Donna nodded.

"Ooh, yeah. One of your best."

"Not yet." I muttered to her.

"Marvelous idea though." Agatha commented.

"Yeah, tell you what. Copyright Donna Noble, okay?"

"_Anyway_…" He said, trying to get things back on track. "Agatha, Alex and I will question the suspects. Donna, you search the bedrooms. Look for clues." He whispered briefly. "Any more residue." He then pulled out a large magnifying glass. "You'll need this."

"Is that for real?"

"Go on. You're ever so plucky." He mocked and she took it as I looked in his pocket, trying to figure out how he managed to fit that in there.

"I swear, you could pull a harpoon out of here and it would hardly be surprising!"

"Time Lord tech." He told me with a grin, before clapping his hands excitedly. "Right then. Solving a murder mystery with Agatha Christie. Brilliant."

"How like a man to have fun while there's disaster all around him." She snapped, making me wince and the Doctor loose his smile.

"Sorry. Yeah."

"I'll work with you, gladly, but for the sake of justice, not your own amusement."

"Yeah."

He sucked in a breath between his teeth and I sighed, pulling a hand through my hair and replacing my fedora.

"She's, um, got a point. Even I got a bit carried away there."

"No, you were brilliant." He reassured me, pulling off my fedora and I tried to snatch it back to no success.

"I was clever, sure, but I was smiling. The dead deserve as much respect as the living." I stopped trying to grab the cap and grew frustrated with myself. "God, that was rule number one. How could I just—"

"Alexander."

"Wha—"

I turned, but he kissed me, cutting off my words of protest as he hid us away with my hat. Once he pulled away, he plopped the hat on my head and smiled softly, despite my stunned expression.

"You were brilliant." He took my hand and started pulling me after Agatha. "Now come on. We've got a mystery to solve.

_God, I don't understand him sometimes…_

* * *

Interview after interview and there were still no leads. I mean, I had a good laugh, sure. I knew that Roger was actually out back having a good snog with Davenport, Miss Redmond was actually the Unicorn, Curbishley was reading porn, and Lady Eddison had a small drinking problem, but none of what we were getting was going to point the Doctor to the Reverend being a wasp alien. And I knew better than to tell him, seeing how he wouldn't like me taking the fun out of it all and the rest of the deaths in all of this were preventable. I just had to make sure I'd be in the right place at the right time.

"Doctor? Alexander?"

I flinched, the Doctor doing the same with an apology, the two of us having gotten lost in our thoughts on the sofa nearby.

"Sorry."

She frowned at the both of us, before going on with whatever she was talking about.

"Charlemagne lived centuries ago."

"I've got a very good memory."

"He does." I nodded, earning a smirk from him.

"For such experienced detectives, you both missed a big clue." She challenged us and the Doctor quickly responded.

"What, that bit of paper you nicked out of the fire?"

"You were both looking the other way."

"Yeah." I hummed. "But we saw you reflected in the glass of the bookcase."

"You crafty duo." She complimented, before pulling out the small slip of paper to show us. "This is all that was left."

The Doctor quickly got up, setting his tea down with a clatter as I approached as well.

"What's that first letter? 'N' or 'M'." He asked, Agatha quickly answering.

"It's an 'M'. The word is maiden."

"Maiden!" He shouted, making her jump while I just twitched. "What does that mean?"

I shrugged. "Could be part of a sentence or phrase. Maiden name, maiden voyage, iron maiden. List goes on."

"We're still no further forward. Our nemesis remains at large. Unless Ms. Noble's found something."

The Doctor went to go, but I stopped him, grabbing his wrist. "Alex? What's wrong?"

I shook my head. "Nothing, but I figured I'd go and check with the staff downstairs while you two check up on Donna. No doubt there'll be some gossip flying about that may help us."

He nodded, but eyed me suspiciously. "Alright, but be careful."

I rolled my eyes. "Ooh yeah. The maid might attack me with a rolling pin. I'll be fine, Spaceman."

He bobbed his head once more before dashing out of the room and I went to go as well, but it seems that Agatha had stayed behind.

"Alexander, how did you manage to fool the police force?"

I raised a brow at her. "What'd you mean?"

She gave me a smug look. "You hide it well, but you're actions with the Doctor speak a little differently. I'm questioning how a woman of your stature managed to sneak her way into the police force unnoticed."

I smirked at her and winked. "I didn't."

Before she could question me further, I bounded out and headed downstairs to the servant's quarters and the kitchen, knowing that any moment now, Lady Eddison's head maid would rush out of the room to go inform her of our searches. Already, I could overhear their conversations, hiding just behind the door and out of sight of those going in or coming out.

"A murder? That's put the cat among the pigeons and no mistake."

"It is not the stuff of gossip, Mrs. Hart. Continue with your work."

"But who'd want to do in the old professor? He was always asking questions about that book of his. What's all that about?"

"A dead man's folly, nothing more. Though perhaps if he asks about… I must go and see Milady."

_Here she comes._ I mused, waiting until she rushed out and I followed after her, close enough that I could help, but far enough away that she wouldn't notice me unless she turned around. Once outside, she hurried along the gravel pathway with me being as quiet as I could behind her, just before she stopped; hearing the grating of stone coming from up above. She screamed as the gargoyle fell, but I rushed over and shoved her out of the way; the two of us taking a rather harsh tumble and knocking our heads roughly on the drive.

I heard the familiar buzzing of the wasp and struggled to keep my vision from spinning as I called out.

"Doctor!"

Said man quickly rushed over along with Donna and Agatha, and they checked us over as the Doctor pointed out the wasp flying up above.

"There!"

The wasp flew off and he turned to us.

"Come on! Alex, stay with her."

I nodded as they rushed off, not really having a choice with how my head ached and my vision swam upon just sitting up, but I wished I could've gone. I hated just sitting around. It wasn't long though, before the Doctor returned and as Agatha checked on Chandrakala as he brushed his hand over a pretty large bump on my head.

"O-Ow." I muttered, wincing at the pain his fingers caused and glaring half-heartedly at him.

He frowned. "I told you to be safe."

"And I was." I grumbled. "Saved her life though, you're welcome." I then looked over at the unconscious woman. "She _is_ okay, right?"

Agatha nodded. "Just unconscious. She'll probably wake up in a few hours with a headache. And how are you?"

The Doctor helped me up to my feet and I wobbled a bit before steadying myself.

"I've been better. Definitely will have a headache and I think I'm bleeding a bit, but nothing more than a scratch. Better than what could've happened, anyway."

I nodded towards the broken gargoyle and they nodded, Agatha collecting someone to help Chandrakala to a bedroom to rest before we all moved into the drawing room and the Doctor set about cleaning and bandaging the small wound on my head.

"My faithful companion, this is terrible." Lady Eddison cried as she and the rest of the guests were led into the room for questioning.

"Excuse me, my lady." Davenport interrupted her politely. "But she was on her way to tell you something."

"She never found me. She's unconscious instead."

"Alex?" The Doctor questioned now that he'd finished wrapping my head and handed me some tea. "Did you find out anything?"

I nodded, easily lying through my teeth. "She said something about a poor little child."

The Doctor looked around. "Does that mean anything to anyone?"

"No children in this house for years." Mr. Curbishley stated. "Highly unlikely there will be."

He sent a pointed look at Roger and Davenport who shuffled at being put on the spot, though I gave them both a small smile; earning one in return from Roger, but getting a small frown instead from Davenport.

"Mrs. Christie, you must have twigged something." Lady Eddison said, steering the question away. "You've written simply the best detective stories."

"Tell us, what would Poirot do?" The Reverend asked.

"Heavens sakes. Cards on the table, woman. You should be helping us."

"But… I'm merely a writer." Agatha said nervously.

I nodded, wincing at the small headache. "You shouldn't put so much pressure on her. That's not going to help anyone."

They all ignored me as Ms. Redmond leaned over towards her.

"But surely you can crack it. These events, they're exactly like one of your plots."

"That's what I've been saying. Agatha, that's got to mean something." Donna brought up, tone lighter and not trying to put too much pressure on her, but it didn't look like that was helping either.

"But what? I've no answers. None. I'm sorry, all of you. I'm truly sorry, but I've failed. If anyone can help us, then it's the Doctor and Alexander. Not me."

The group turned to us, but we didn't exactly have any answers either, so the group dispersed to await dinner preparations. I stayed where I was as Donna went to go comfort the distraught Agatha. The Doctor stayed with me as well, rubbing circles on my back as I battled the headache trying to form and struggled to figure out what I was going to do next. _The Doctor's supposed to get cyanide poisoning, but I don't want him to get hurt. But then if he doesn't, then he won't know about the poison and finding the wasp will be that much harder. So what do I do?_

The Doctor pat my back hard, making me frown up at him as he smiled. "You're thinking too hard again. You're going to get wrinkles."

"Says you, ya old man." I quipped back.

"Oi! I'm still in my golden years."

"More like your silver years. Is that a grey hair?" I teased, making him pout.

"I'll have you know, there's not a single grey hair on this head."

"Ooh, yeah. That's not what Twelve would've said."

"What?! Are you saying I get old?!"

I shook my head with a smirk. "Oh no. I'm saying you _are_ old."

"Says you! You're what now, _40_?"

"I'm 30! I'm not that old!"

"Ooh, I don't know. You sound rather cranky for only being 30."

"I'm _allowed_ to be cranky when I have to baby-sit a 900 year old Time Lord who finds it funny to watch me run around in circles!"

He smirked smugly. "_Oh_, you know you like it."

"Not when you kiss me out of nowhere and I have no idea what's going on, I don't!"

"No, I'm pretty sure you like that too." He chuckled as I snarled.

"Why you little—"

"Ahem."

We both stopped and turned towards the door to see Donna and Agatha standing there with grins on their faces.

"If you two are done flirting now, we've found something you might want to see."

"We weren't—" I started off, before realizing that my hand was fisted around the Doctor's shirt—I myself having grabbed onto it and pulled him towards me so that he was leaning over the armchair and over _me_ in a rather compromising pose—and I quickly released him and straightened myself out. "We weren't flirting." I mumbled with a red face.

"Course not." Donna said with a roll of her eyes as the two of them came into the room. "And I'm the Queen of England."

"Now then." The Doctor grinned, obviously pleased about our little teasing fest and my embarrassment. "What's this about a clue?"

"It's this box we found out in the garden." Agatha said, passing it over to him.

He set it down on the table and started opening it, immediately smirking in interest as he saw what was inside.

"Ooh, someone came here tooled up. The sort of stuff a thief would use."

"The Unicorn, he's here."

"Or she." I muttered under my breath as the door opened and Greeves showed up with the drinks.

"The Unicorn and the Wasp." The Doctor hummed.

"Your drinks, ladies. Doctor. Mr. Holmes."

"Very good, Greeves." The Doctor said, patting him on the back and reaching for his drink, but I grabbed it first, giving him a serious look.

"_Don't_ chug it down."

He gave me a look, taking it from me. "Alright, alright. I'll sip at it."

I nodded, taking my own drink from Greeves and taking a small sip, not really feeling up for a drink right now with my head aching the way it was. I was more worried about the Doctor.

"How about the science stuff. What did you find?"

"Vespiform sting." He said, having left for a moment to check the sticky substance in the Tardis earlier. "Vespiforms have got hives in the Silfrax galaxy."

"Again, you talk like Edward Lear." Agatha commented, completely baffled.

"But for some reason, this one's behaving like a character in one of your books."

"Come on, Agatha. What would Miss Marple do? She'd have overheard something vital by now, because the murderer thinks she's just a harmless old lady." Donna said, but Agatha looked at her curiously.

"Clever idea. Miss Marple? Who writes those?"

My vision shifted and I blinked, rubbing my temples and starting to feel sick. _Ugh, and my headache's worse. What the heck…_

"Um, copyright Donna Noble. Add it to the list."

"Donna." The Doctor said seriously and I knew what was about to happen.

"Okay, we could split the copyright."

"No. Something's inhibiting my enzymes." He murmured, before bolting up and doubling over with a shout. "Argh! I've been poisoned."

"What do we do? What do we do?" Donna asked, waving her hands as Agatha sniffed his drink.

"Bitter almonds. It's cyanide. Sparkling cyanide."

He got up and ran, stumbling out the door with the rest of us following him down into the kitchen. Something was wrong though. Very wrong. My throat was burning and the room kept shifting on it's axis, making me dizzy and nauseous. _No…O-Oh no. It can't be._ My head pounded and once we headed into the kitchen to find the Doctor drinking heavily from a bottle, Agatha wrung her hands together nervously.

"I'm an expert on poisons. Doctor, there's no cure. It's fatal."

He poured some of the ginger beer on him before spitting out some, setting it on the counter he and I were leaning on; myself trying to hide my symptoms for now because I could use the shock later. _Hopefully, I'll live through this though. I didn't even take half a sip._ _But why poison me too? Because I got in the way?_

"Not for me. I can stimulate the inhibited enzymes into reversal. Protein! I need protein!"

Donna brought over a jar. "Walnuts?"

"Brilliant." He stuffed his mouth full of them and then started making a hand gesture.

"I can't understand you. How many words?" Donna asked, playing along with his charades as he held up a finger.

"One. One word. Shake. Milk shake. Milk? Milk? No, not milk. Shake, shake, shake. Cocktail shaker. What do you want, a Harvey Wallbanger?"

"Harvey Wallbanger?!" He gasped in disbelief.

"Well, I don't know!"

"How is Harvey Wallbanger one word?!"

I grabbed the jar of anchovies from off the counter unsteadily and passed them to Agatha to give to him as Donna passed him a bag of salt.

"What is it?"

"Salt!"

"No, too salty."

"Oh, that's too salty." She complained as Agatha handed the jar to him.

"What about this?"

"What's that?" Donna asked.

"Anchovies." She replied as Donna turned to him and he downed the jar of fish, before returning to the hand signs.

"What is it? What else?"

"Mm, it's a song? Mammy? I don't know. Camptown Races?"

"Camptown races?!"

"Well, alright then, Towering Inferno."

"It's a shock. Look, shock. I need a shock."

"I-I got one." I breathed out, catching their attention as they all turned to me and I gave him a worried look. "I-I-I think I've been poisoned too."

His eyes widened before he took a step away from the counter and breathed out a grey cloud of smoke, shocking everyone in the room except me; seeing as I was now rushing past him to vomit in the sink.

"Detox." He muttered, wiping his mouth. "Oh my. I must do that more often… I mean the… the detox."

I coughed, hacking in the sink now that I'd stopped vomiting and slumped over the edge of it as he rushed over in worry, practically holding me up now that my knees had gone week.

"Alex! Alex, how much? How much did you drink?"

"H-Half a sip… maybe." I breathed. "Sorry… I knew about you but… didn't think…"

"No, no, course not." He muttered, removing my fedora and rubbing my lower back as I started to vomit again. "Donna, I need you to run to the Tardis, go to the medic bay, and in the first shelf on the right there should be a bottle with blue liquid in it, bring it here."

"Alright."

"Hurry!" He shouted after her as she rushed out, I myself leaning more heavily up against the counter, shaking. "Don't worry, Alexander. You'll be alright."

"Course." I muttered, turning to give him a tired smile. "Can't leave you alone… or you'll piss off… Queen Elizabeth again."

He winced. "Ooh, still don't know why she has it out for me. You're welcome to clear that up though."

I chuckled a little, trying to ignore the burning in my stomach and the black spots in my vision. "S-Spoilers…"

I closed my eyes and didn't even noticed when my legs gave out completely or that the Doctor had lowered me to the ground as he panicked.

"Alex! Alex, come on, stay with me!"

My breathing was picking up the pace and I could feel my heart racing as though it was beating out of my chest. My headache had increased and the Doctor's shouting had my ears ringing and my head pounding, before a foul smell in front of my nose made me groan.

"Come on, Alex. You need to drink this. Please."

He brought my hand up to the small vial, but I couldn't get my muscles to work and my hand limply fell back onto my lap. I wasn't sure what happened next. It was all sort of fuzzy for a moment, but I suddenly couldn't breathe as something was pressed to my mouth and forced me to drink the bitter liquid. I coughed and choked as it burned the back of my throat, but the headache dulled and the fiery sensation in my stomach all but dissipated as I opened my eyes a crack to see the Doctor's worried face before me. _Oh… he kissed me again, didn't he…_

"Alex. Alexander, please. Please be okay." He begged and I slowly lifted a shaky hand up and poked the space between his eyebrows.

"Y-You'll get wrinkles… worrying so much… And did you kiss me again?"

His face quickly relaxed and I swore I saw tears in his eyes as he hugged me tightly, burying his face in the crook of my neck.

"You're okay. Oh, thank God, you're okay." He breathed out as I steadily started to feel a lot better—though my stomach was very much upset and I probably wouldn't be able to eat anything much more than soup for a while—but it was fine, because I was still alive.

"Doctor…" I breathed out, wincing a bit. "Y-You're kind of making it hard to breathe."

He pulled back, hands on my shoulders as he looked me over with an apology. "Sorry… You _are_ feeling better now?"

I nodded as he helped me stand up with him, and I wobbled, the room shifting as I put a hand to my head. "Well, I was."

"Alex?" He asked worriedly.

"Hold on. Give me a minute to reacquaint myself with gravity." I muttered, allowing him to hold me upright as my vision slowly returned to normal. "Alright. I should be good as long as there's no quick moving around for a bit."

"Right. Got it. I know, how about we go and join the others for dinner." He turned to the maids and waiters in the room. "I'm assuming it's just about done then?"

One of the maids hesitated, before nodding. "Y-Yes. Nearly finished."

"Good. Then there's one thing I want you to do. Could you lace all of the bowls of soup with pepper?"

Everyone looked confused, but he just smiled.

"Doctor's orders."

They reluctantly agreed to do so as Donna, Agatha, him and I all headed into the dinning room where the table was already set up; the group of us sitting down, though I was careful to choose my seat so that it'd be near where Roger sat. I wasn't about to let him get killed while I was still able to help.

"You two are impossible." Agatha commented. "Who are you?"

"Ah, now that's something you'll have to figure out on your own, Agatha Christie." The Doctor winked with a grin and she smiled back, obviously up for the challenge.

It was moments later—after I leaned back in my seat and took a quick cat nap—that the other guests started arriving in the dinning room and took their seats; my calculations being correct when Roger _gladly_ sat beside me with a smile.

"Hello again, Mr. Holmes."

I gave him a polite smile back. "Alex is fine, Roger."

"Of course, Alex." His smile grew, though I could feel Davenport's glare on my back and the Doctor eyeing me from across the way.

Thunder and lightning had started up outside, rain pouring down and battering the windows as everyone was seated and the bowls of soup were passed out. I was slow to eat though, stomach still in protest and the spiciness of the added pepper making it churn uncomfortably.

"A terrible day for us all." The Doctor piped up, drawing everyone's attention to him. "The Professor struck down, Ms. Chandrakala attacked, and yet we still take dinner."

"We are British, Doctor. What else must we do?" Lady Eddison snipped back, though I wondered how long that excuse would hold up.

_The British will be British, I suppose._ I mused, sipping a bit more of my soup.

"And then someone tried to poison my colleague and I. Any one of you had the chance to put cyanide in our drinks. But it rather gave me an idea."

"And what would that be?" The Reverend questioned.

"Well, poison. Drink up."

Everyone suddenly stopped eating and drinking, eyeing the food and wine with wide eyes full of fear, until the Doctor continued.

"I've laced the soup with pepper."

"Ah, I thought it was jolly spicy." Mr. Curbishley commented, having not stopped the whole time.

"But the active ingredient of pepper is piperine, traditionally used as an insecticide. So, anyone got the shivers?"

Lightning suddenly flashed and one of the windows was slammed open, the wind blowing out the candles on the table as thundered rumbled loudly.

"Listen, listen, listen, listen!" The Doctor ordered as a buzzing echoed in the room.

"No… it can't be." Lady Eddison breathed out as everyone looked around and lightning lit up the room again; myself keeping a hand on Roger's arm in preparation.

Agatha stood up slowly. "Show yourself, demon!"

"Nobody move. No, don't! Stay where you are!" The Doctor ordered, but Mr. Curbishley was already rolling away as Davenport and the others ran for it.

The wasp appeared then and Greeves took Donna by the shoulders and pulled her away as I grabbed Roger and shoved him towards the door with the Doctor.

"Go!"

He hurried and rushed out as I shouted at the others.

"Under the table now!"

Ms. Redmond, Lady Eddison, and Davenport listened and did just that—the latter taking Mr. Curbishley along with him—as I faced the wasp unsteadily, but with a smirk.

"Oh, come on now. Why bother with them when you can go for the big guns, yeah? I'm the one who's been getting in your way. That's why you poisoned me. Shame it didn't work. Looks like you'll just have to try harder, eh? Or _pray_ a little more." I mocked, dropping the hint that I knew who the wasp was.

Sure enough, the large wasp headed my way and I ducked, just barely avoiding the large stinger before I grabbed a silver platter with a grin, spinning it in my palm.

"Ooh, and looks like you're out of luck there, buzz boy. I've got a silver platter."

He charged at me again, but his stinger just scraped along it and slid off harmlessly.

"Oh, sorry! Missed again, did ya? God not on your side?"

Lightning flashed, momentarily blinding me and the buzzing stopped, making me cautious as I was now trying to get used to the darkness again and had no visual of the wasp.

"Hiding in the dark now, are we? Or did you buzz off?"

Lightning flashed just in time, allowing me to spot the shadow of a human figure behind me raising a knife and I dove down, feeling it cut into my back, but baring with the pain before the man disappeared and the Doctor and the others returned.

"My jewelry." Lady Eddison breathed out, once her and the others crawled out from under the table. "The Firestone. It's gone. Stolen!"

"Alex!"

I grunted as I got up from off the floor, Roger having rushed over to help me up, surprisingly, before Davenport came over to help as well.

"Are you alright?"

I nodded, but when Roger pulled his hand away to find blood, everyone panicked.

"You're bleeding!"

"What?! Alex!" The Doctor rushed over as I was lowered into a chair so he could see. "Alex, why do you have to get yourself into these messes!" He scolded as I cringed at his touch.

"Sorry. You know me. Saved another life, oh, but get a little scratched in the process and it's the end of the world."

"This isn't a scratch, Alex!" He said, frowning angrily at me. "You're going to have a scar from this! What happened?!"

Davenport spoke up. "He told us all to get under the table and then, um, kept it occupied."

"Saving lives, like I said." I complained, standing up with some pain. "Got Roger out of the room, but who's to say it wouldn't choose someone else? Just covering all my bases."

"What about you?!" The Doctor shouted at me, grabbing me by my shoulders and starting to make a scene. "I've _told_ you not to do this! A hundred times, I've told you! Why can't you listen?!"

"Yeah, hello. Earth to Spaceman? One, that hurts." I said with a stern frown, pushing his arms off me. "And two, this is the first time you've told me that. _Maybe_ the second time. Although I'm pretty sure that was a different you, and even if it was!" I said, before he could argue. "You can't tell me you wouldn't have done the same in my position."

"I wouldn't!" He argued. "I would've found a way for everyone to be safe! Including myself!"

"Oh right. Like you haven't done this before. Should I start naming them? Counting them off? Because I can, you know. Mr. Oh-Let's-Sacrifice-Myself-For-Earth-Again-And-Again!"

"That's different!"

"How?!" I shouted back, the sheer intensity I did it with, causing me to cringe and double over slightly with a hand on my side; unable to do much more than grip my shirt in pain. "Because your life doesn't matter?! Because your family's gone and you don't belong here?!"

"Yes!"

"Then how are we different?!" I yelled, my emotions getting the better of me now as tears pricked the corner of my eyes and he realized what just happened; quickly softening up and holding his hands out cautiously.

"Alex, I—"

"Shut up." I snapped, turning to go. "I don't want to hear it."

I stormed out of the room, gritting my teeth against the pain in my back and heading outside to the Tardis; the only place I wanted to go at the moment. _He just makes me so angry! He's no different than me, other than the fact that he's a Time Lord, but what difference does that make?! He can still die and get hurt. I just… I just want to be useful. And saving people's lives is the only way I know how. It saves him from having to deal with it. From having to blame himself for their deaths. From getting hurt. But then he gets angry and I don't know why, so I get angry back and then everything turns into a mess._

I walked into the Tardis soaking wet and probably looking like a miserable wet cat with my hair plastered to my head—having lost my fedora back during the scramble—my shirt torn, and blood slowly sliding down my back. I warily plodded off to my room, dripping water after me with a muttered apology to the Tardis about it, but she seemed to sense what was wrong and hummed back in worry and comfort, bringing my room closer for me and even opening the door and presenting me with new clothes laid out on the bed. I wasn't sure what I was to do with them though, seeing as my wound was still fresh and cleaning it and bandaging it by myself would be a pain, but I'd have to, so I headed to the bathroom and began the daunting task of carefully removing my shirt and searching for the alcohol.

"Come on… just a little bit. That's all I need." I muttered to myself under my breath, tongue sticking out as I tried to tip the bottle of alcohol just enough to get a little bit down my back.

Of course, that was the moment someone had to knock on the door, startling me and causing me to tip it more than I wanted to, making me yelp and double over in pain as I gripped the edge of the sink and tried not to cry.

"Ahhh, that hurts!"

"Alex? Are you alright?"

"No. Not really." I muttered with a hiss of pain as I stood back upright and reached for the new bandages on the counter. "Just give me a minute."

I bandaged myself up the best I could and proceeded to put on my new shirt carefully, wincing when my wound ached, before I opened the door and frowned over at the Doctor; who was waiting patiently on the edge of my bed with one of my globey knickknacks in his hands. Upon spotting me, he quickly put it back on the shelf and stood up, making to help me, but I brushed past him and gingerly sat on the far end of the bed; picking up some sort of wooden puzzle toy and messing with it.

"What do you want, Doctor?" I asked, not lifting my gaze. "I was going to go back once I finished changing."

"I, um… I wanted to check up on you and… apologize." He said, though I was hesitant to accept his apology. "I didn't mean to yell at you. I have a temper. You know that, and I just… I was worried. I'd just gotten you back and to see you hurt so many times today… I was just…"

"Scared." I answered for him, turning to face him with a small frown. "Why can't you just say that? Why can't you just admit that you're scared? Because you're a big ol' Time Lord? Is that it? Because last I checked, being a Time Lord doesn't make you an emotionless rock and it doesn't make you better than everyone else." I turned away, eyes back on the puzzle toy in my hands. "Like I said, we're not all that different… Even I get scared."

He moved closer to me on the bed, sitting beside me now as he placed a hand on my leg, making me slightly uncomfortable; though I hid it well. "Yeah, but you don't exactly admit it either."

"Then you better start setting a good example, Mr. Time Lord." I teased, tired of the tense atmosphere. "Or I might never tell you when I'm scared."

"Alright then… I was scared." He admitted, moving even closer and lightly touching my back. "I was scared that you were going to leave me again and not come back this time. That I would lose my Alexander, my only family. And I don't want that to happen. Not again."

"Then I'll tell you… um… I'm actually _really_ afraid of wasps." I muttered, cheeks tinted a light shade of red at my admittance. "My knees were shaking like crazy when I was facing that thing. Might have actually died if it weren't for that silver platter."

He chuckled, carefully pulling me closer. "You and those platters. I might have to start hiding one in your coat someday."

"It'd probably come in handy compared to what the Tardis puts in there."

The Tardis hummed innocently and we both chuckled; myself allowing him to just hold me in a side hug for a while.

"You know, I'm not your only family. You've got Martha and Donna and Rose and Jack and all sorts of people later. Even if they're not around, they're still your family." I told him, feeling him stiffen slightly.

"Perhaps, but you're the only one who comes back. You're the only one who's always there. Even when you're… well, not always there." He muttered with a small frown, confusing me.

"What do you mean?"

He looked down at me sorrowfully and shook his head, before pressing his nose to my temple and holding me a little tighter. "I'm sorry. I can't… It's spoilers for you, but it will happen soon and… I'm sorry."

"No, um, hints?" I asked, feeling nervousness creep in.

"Just…" He pulled away, looking at me seriously. "Just keep fighting it. Don't ever stop fighting it. Because I'll stop it. I promise I will."

I nodded, looking at him worriedly. "A-Alright. Then, um, confession number two. That look scares me."

He smiled a bit at that, but the unease didn't go away. Thing was, I knew he was stubborn too and probably wouldn't tell me anything about it. So I did the only thing I could do and dropped it for another topic, looking down at his hand around my waist and poking it.

"You and Eleven have this whole touchy-feely thing going on."

I felt him bristle at that and wondered what I'd said to upset him, but he clued me in right away as he wrinkled his nose.

"Is it _bad_ that I'm jealous of a future me?"

I gave him a look. "But aren't they all the same you? I mean, Nine is still Ten who is also Eleven who's Twelve." I paused, rubbing my forehead. "Ooh, I think I just confused myself. Too many numbers."

He chuckled a bit but looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Yeah, but I'm not them yet, so I guess it's okay to be upset? Hm…"

I sighed, peeling his arm off me and getting up, taking note of his pout as I raised a brow at him.

"Don't pout at me, mister. I still don't know what to make of this whole thing between you and me, and it's starting to _really_ weird me out." I sighed and pulled a hand through my hair, looking away at his slightly hurt expression, muttering quietly under my breath so he couldn't hear. "It's not that I _mind_ it, but I'm completely new to all of this and it's _so_ going to mess things up later if I feel the same."

_Do I feel the same? I-I'm not sure. Not minding it, might mean that I _do_ feel the same, but then again, I've been around his and touchy-feely Eleven so much, who's to say I'm not just used to it?_ Arms wrapped loosely around my neck and the Doctor rested his chin on my head, annoying me a bit.

"What are you doing?"

"You were thinking too hard." He replied; as I thought about whether or not I should duck and watching him fall over, since he was leaning his weight on me.

"Well I have a lot to think about. And shouldn't we be getting back to, you know, the whole mysterious wasp issue?"

"Mm, but I like it like this." He complained and I rolled my eyes.

"That's nice, but—" I cut myself off as I felt the familiar ache in my shoulder and groaned. "But it looks like I've got places to go, so you should get back to Donna and them. I doubt she's having fun entertaining a group of potential murders."

"So soon?" He whined, dropping his head to my shoulder and making me stiffen as his breath brushed across the crook of my neck and his hands shifted down to hug my waist. "But I wasn't done yet."

"Done with what, exactly?" I questioned, starting to squirm in his hold before he held me tighter and spoke quietly in my ear.

"Teasing you."

Face flushing a vibrant red, I put more effort into my struggles and managed to latch a hold of the door knob to help me pull away from the chuckling Doctor.

"I think _I'm_ done now!" I called out as he pulled on my waist.

"But Alex!" He whined childishly.

"Nope! I can deal with some unexpected kissing to a point, but this is a bit—Ah!"

My hand slipped as the door knob _disappeared_ into the wood—no doubt the Tardis's doing—and the two of us fell back onto the bed, somehow switching our positions and getting the bottom half of my white button-up shirt caught on something; popping the buttons open from just above my navel, down. Eyes squinted in pain from my back and the increasing ache in my shoulder, I frowned at the Doctor in annoyance.

"Your stinckin' Tardis. I swear, I'm spray painting graffiti on her the next time we meet. Now get off."

He hovered above me and seemed to scan me up and down, to which I took _great_ pains not to punch him, before he looked back up at my angered expression with a smirk.

"But I rather like this view of you."

"And I rather like _not_ bruising my knuckles by punching you in the face."

"Oh, you wouldn't do that!"

I leaned up and grabbed his tie, snarling at him in the small distance that separated us. "Try me."

He smirked back, moving just close enough that our noses brushed against one another. "Maybe I will."

I opened my mouth to respond, but it was then that I popped off, leaving behind a disappointed Doctor who flopped on the bed with a childish pout.

"And right when we were getting somewhere…" He then got up with a grin, bounding out the doors with a chuckle. "But she's so much fun to tease!~"

* * *

**_Sneak Peak:_**

_"Oh great. It's her again." Someone grumbled upstairs, before calling out and grabbing my attention. "Oi! What'd you do to my Tardis this time?!"_

_I looked up at him and blinked, seeing the big-eared Ninth Doctor leaning on his arms over the railing with a questioning look._

_"Ah, it's big-ears again." I said, blankly._


	19. Boom Town

**Next chapter ^^ whoo! i'm super glad you guys like the tenth teasing alex. and thanks a ton to my reviewers! please let me know what you think on this chapter too, please :) Oh, and the next chapter will be _crazy_, so look forward to thursday~**

* * *

"Oof." I landed on a bed with a grunt and cringed as my back stung and my shoulder ached. "Least I'm in a bed this time." I grumbled, sitting up to find myself in my room once more; something I was glad for.

Getting up, I checked my back in a mirror and was glad to see that my wound hadn't reopened or bled through my shirt and the bandages. Taking that as a good sign, I looked around my room for signs of where I was in the Doctor's time-line and frowned at how empty it was. _Must be pretty early then, if my room's bare of it's usual knickknacks._ _I guess 1920s wear won't work though._ I went to my closet, but there was nothing in it except for a beret styled hat and a pair of half-palm, fingerless gloves. I frowned up at the Tardis, but took the items and put them on; wondering why I hadn't gotten a new shirt and still hesitant seeing as I threatened to spray paint graffiti on her the next time we met. So when I headed for the door, I picked up a wooden cricket bat that was leaning up against the wall in preparation for whatever she was going to throw at me and peeked out around the doorway into the hall.

There was nothing there, but I wasn't stupid and knew that she'd pulled this trick on me before. I wasn't going to be afraid this time around, because _nothing_ could trump the herd of chickens she'd sent after me and besides, I had a weapon this time around. Smirking smugly, I walked out into the hall and shut my door, twirling my cricket bat around confidently.

"Alright then, sweetheart, bring it on." I challenged.

Nothing happened and I grinned, turning around and starting my walk to the console room, but froze upon hearing a sound echo down the hall.

_Gobble._

Stiffening, I looked over my shoulder with a worried expression as the noise came again.

_Gobble._

Turning around fully, I full on laughed when a single turkey rounded the corner and caught sight of me.

"That's it?! A single turkey?! Sexy, dear, you've lost your touch!" I said, raising my cricket bat in preparation. "I'll take on a single oversized chicken any day."

_Gobble. Gobble._

My smirk slowly fell off my face as I realized that it wasn't the turkey in front of me what was making that noise and it turned it's head as _dozens_ of turkeys came out from around the corner behind it. And suddenly, it seemed that the first turkey's eyes sparked dangerously when it turned back to me, making my face drain of color as it gobbled and started the attack.

"Y-You've _got_ to be kidding me." I breathed out as the barrage of giant birds charged towards me angrily and I bolted down the hall as quick as my feet could carry me. "I hate you, you stupid blue box!"

The Tardis chuckled in amusement as I slipped and skidded around a corner, a turkey flying over my head and pushing off the wall as I barely managed to barrel around it and pick up speed to the door of the console room. I burst out of the hallway and slammed the door behind me, feeling the turkeys angrily slamming themselves against it as I breathed hard and tipped my falling beret back up on my head.

"Oh… my God… She sicked giant chickens on me…"

"Hey, Doctor? Looks like you picked yourself up a stowaway." A voice called out, but I ignored it, still quivering after my scare.

"I mean, sure. I threatened to graffiti her, but that was a future her and it's not like I have anything to do it with." I rambled, looking down at the cricket bat in my hands. "W-What was the point of this if she was going to sick those things on me?"

"Oh great. It's her again." Someone grumbled upstairs, before calling out and grabbing my attention. "Oi! What'd you do to my Tardis this time?!"

I looked up at him and blinked, seeing the big-eared Ninth Doctor leaning on his arms over the railing with a questioning look.

"Ah, it's big-ears again." I said, blankly.

"They're not that big!" He complained as Rose rushed over and leaned on the railing beside him.

"Alex! What are you doing in here?"

"Um, currently?" I asked, hesitantly pulling away from the door and poking at it with my cricket bat, jumping when there was a loud bang from the other side and scrambling to hold it closed again, turning to her with a nervous smile. "Being attacked by the Tardis again. She's mad because I threatened to spray paint graffiti on her for giving me a bloody nose."

The door banged again and I swallowed thickly in worry.

"_Very_ mad, it seems."

The Doctor rolled his eyes and headed downstairs, pulling me off the door. "Move it. Let me see."

"I wouldn't—" I said, but was cut off as he pulled the door open and I raised my cricket bat, coming behind him and peeking around his shoulder nervously.

"There's nothing here." He said, grinning at me like the cocky man he is. "Absolutely nothing."

"No way!" I shouted, shoving my way past him and frowning down the empty hallway. "She attacked me with a horde of turkeys! I swear!"

"Sure she did." He said sarcastically as I walked back into the console room with a scowl.

"She always does this." I grumbled under my breath. "She _likes_ making me look like an idiot. Never shows the Doctor anything. Che."

"Anyone going to introduce us? Or am I going to have to do it myself?" A new voice said as I headed up on deck with the Doctor and the others, catching sight of the grinning Jack Harkness.

He quickly picked up my mood and I bounded over with a grin, holding out a hand.

"Alexander Holmes. Call me Alex and I already know who you are, Jack."

He chuckled, shaking my hand. "Oh, am I famous already?"

I caught the Doctor rolling his eyes as he passed us. "She's a time traveler, or so she says."

I nodded, going into a bit more detail. "I'm from the future. Well, sort of. Well, in a way. Well, not really." I ranted, having picked up the habit from the Doctor. "I sort of just pop around in the Doctor's time-line. Or the Tardis's. I still haven't quite figured that bit out yet. Got a bunch of Artron energy stored up in my shoulder though. Comes in handy and saved my life once already. Though my shoulder still aches from time to time. Other than the whole popping off post-aches."

I frowned a bit, rubbing my shoulder where the old bullet wound was, before I perked back up and danced around Jack to shake Mickey's hand.

"And hello to you too, Mickey! Can't forget about ol' Mickety-Mick-Mickey."

"Hold on. So you know me from the future then?"

I nodded. "Yeah. That and the show, but I'm not explaining that whole bit to you. Things get more confusing that way, but does anyone mind me asking…" I turned around with a grin, tilting my head and stuffing my hands in my pockets. "Where are we?"

* * *

Once I'd discovered that we were in the episode _'Boom Town'_ I ended up getting pulled along into the group's little hang out session, thanks to Jack. I was glad that I would be able to enjoy myself while I was here, but knew that things would get quite a bit more serious as time progressed. I was also glad that I could see Rose again, but after what happened in _'Doomsday'_, I was more cautious around her and kept some distance. I still blamed myself for what happened to her that day, no matter what the Doctor said, but I also felt this need to be more protective of her too. It was nice to get to know Jack though. Since it was a first time for both of us to meet each other, it was a good chance for me to actually get to know someone slowly; even if I did know a whole lot more about him that he probably realized.

We both had a blast though, teasing the Doctor and Mickey and harmlessly making flirty comments to one another. Already it felt like we were going to be good friends. Although the whiskey he bought me, sealed the deal in my books.

"I swear, six feet tall and with big tusks!"

"You're lying through your teeth!"

"I'd have gone bonkers! That's the word. Bonkers!"

"I mean, it turns out the white things are tusks and I mean tusks! And it's woken, and it's not happy."

Everyone was laughing and shouting over one another as I just smiled and enjoyed the show, drinking my third glass of whiskey.

"How could you not know it was there?!" The Doctor asked, but Jack was on a roll and kept telling his story.

"And we're standing there, fifteen of us, naked!"

"Naked?!" Rose questioned loudly.

"And I'm like, 'oh, no, no. It's got nothing to do with me'." Jack said in a funny voice. "And then it roars and we're running. Oh my God, we are running! And Brakovitch falls, so I turn to him and say—"

"I knew we should've turned left!" Mickey interrupted as everyone laughed good-naturedly.

"That's my line!"

"I don't believe you. I don't believe a word you say ever. That is so brilliant." Rose said, but I caught sight of the Doctor looking the other way, looking not very pleased. "Did you ever get your clothes back?"

_Oh… I almost forgot…_ I thought, sighing as he got up and left the table to snatch the newspaper from the man reading behind us. _Things get serious now._

"No. I just picked him up and went right for the ship, full throttle. Didn't stop until I hit the space lanes. I was shaking. It was unbelievable. It freaked me out and by the time I got fifteen light years away, I realized I'm like this." Jack finished with a laugh as the Doctor spoke up.

"And I was having such a nice day."

The group turned to him as he held up the front page, showing the image of the new Mayor of Cardiff; a Slitheen in disguise. He turned to me then with a frown, returning the man's newspaper and glaring down at me.

"Why didn't you say anything?" He questioned as I sighed and swirled the bit of whiskey I still had left. "You knew this was going to happen, right? Why not tell me so I can fix it before things get out of hand?"

"Because this is the way it's supposed to happen." I replied, finishing off my drink and putting the glass down as I leaned back in my chair and folded my arms over my chest. "If I told you right away, who's to say it would all work out? This way, at least I know how things will go. And they'll go perfectly fine if you just do what you always do."

"And what's that?" He growled out, and I tilted my head with a grin.

"Be brilliant."

He pulled back a bit, obviously not expecting me to compliment him and stroke his ego, but he went along with it and turned to the others at the table.

"Come on. We've got a mayor to visit."

We all got up and headed after him to the City Hall, but he stopped me, prodding me in the chest.

"_You_ can just go pop off somewhere else. You've interfered enough."

I frowned up at him. "I can't control when or where I pop off and what have I done. I'm not the alien trying to blow up the planet."

"We don't need you." He snarled at me and then stormed off, leaving me there in surprise and hurt.

He was fine with me the first time we met. Sure, a little suspicious, but he still got along with me well enough. But now he was acting like he hated me. Just because I didn't tell him about the Slitheen? I didn't understand and it hurt to see that he was treating me a lot like the younger Tenth did after _'Bad Wolf'_. I wasn't going to be like before though. I wasn't going to go off and sulk somewhere. I was tired of doing that and I'd gotten stronger and smarter. I'd studied up on all sorts of things back when I was with Amy and Rory those nine months, plus the stuff I managed to sneak from the Tardis library when I was with the Twelfth. I was going to be useful, even if he didn't want me to be around. Because that's what I was here to do. I was here to help him. To help him and protect Rose. And I wasn't going back on that.

"Hmph. I'll show him." I grumbled, before taking off towards the Tardis, in the hopes that she'd let me in and let me borrow a book.

_Maybe even give me something to help. Who knows?_

* * *

"According to intelligence, the target is the last surviving member of the Slitheen family, a criminal sect from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious, masquerading as a human being, zipped inside a skin suit. Okay, plan of attack, we assume a basic 57-56 strategy, covering all available exits on the ground floor. Doctor, you go face to face. That'll designate Exit One, I'll cover Exit Two. Rose, you Exit Three. Mickey Smith, you take Exit Four. Alex—" Jack paused, looking around. "Where's Alex?"

"Gone." The Doctor replied, none to pleased about the mention of the auburn haired woman. "We don't need her."

Jack gave him a look, but went along with it, though he already missed the grinning red-head. "Alright. Have you lot got that?"

"Excuse me. Who's in charge?" The Doctor challenged.

"Sorry. Awaiting orders, sir." Jack muttered in monotone, rolling his eyes slightly.

"Right, here's the plan." The Doctor paused but then spoke up with a smile. "Like he said. Nice plan. Anything else?"

"Present arms." Jack called out.

"Ready." The Doctor said, pulling out his phone, followed by Rose and Mickey.

"Ready."

"Ready."

"Ready. Speed dial?" Jack questioned.

"Yup."

"Ready."

"Check."

"See you in hell." Jack said with a grin, before everyone took off to their designated positions; though Mickey was a bit slow getting there, feeling unsure about how nonchalant everyone was being.

"It's like they do this everyday or somethin'." He muttered under his breath as he tried to figure out where he was supposed to be.

"Hey, Mickey!"

He jumped, but relaxed upon seeing an out of breath Alex heading his way.

"Come on. I'll show you where you need to be."

She started leading him outside and down the path a ways and Mickey allowed her to, having no hard feelings for the girl and rather liking her. She seemed to be the almost normal one of the group, though her foreknowledge of everything kind of weirded him out a bit.

"So, um, what're you doing here? I thought the Doctor said you'd gone off somewhere."

"Oh, you know him." She hummed, checking the area to see if they were in the right place. "Hates it when people know things before him. And I'm a walking encyclopedia full of future knowledge."

"And…" Mickey trailed off, not quite connecting the dots.

"He doesn't like me." Alex explained with a wrinkle of her nose. "But he'll get over it… Sooner or later."

"What, you mean he doesn't like you in the future either?" Mickey questioned, catching the small wince she gave before she turned to him with a shaky smile.

"Well, the next version of him hates me up until something changes and then he gets all touchy-feely. Can't make up his mind, I think." She explained. "One minute he's, 'Why didn't you tell me?! I'll feed you to the werewolf!' and the next he's all, 'You're brilliant! Why didn't I think of that?!'." She sighed then, rubbing the back of her neck. "Makes me miss the touchy-feely him. And I'm the person who doesn't do hugs."

A chime went off then and Alex pulled out a pocket watch from her vest, checking it briefly.

"Ah geeze. Gotta go." She turned to Mickey and pointed a thumb over her shoulder. "You're alien friend will be heading this way soon. She'll practically walk right into you if you just stand here and it'll save you from looking like an idiot for not knowing where you were supposed to be." She smiled then, patting him on the shoulder as she rushed past him. "Good luck, Mickey-Micks!"

She then rushed off and left behind a very confused Mickey Smith, wondering why it was that she seemed so upset to him despite the smile on her face.

Meanwhile, the Doctor was rushing to the Mayor's balcony and leaning over the railing to catch sight of Margret as she made a bolt for it; after hearing about his appearing at her office. Seeing this, he pulled out his phone and called Jack, Mickey and Rose.

"Slitheen heading North."

"On my way." Rose replied, followed by Jack.

"Over and out."

"Oh my God…" Was all Mickey got out, starting to get anxious as he wondered what he was supposed to do once the alien showed up.

The Doctor though had started to struggle with her receptionist who'd clambered out of the window behind him.

"Leave the Mayor alone!"

While Jack and Rose were jumping over obstacles and rushing outside, Mickey was already out there and nervously bouncing from foot to foot, trying to mentally convince himself that he could do it. _Come on then, Mickey. Shouldn't be that hard. Just gotta stand here like Alex said._

"Margret!~" The Doctor sang as he climbed down some temporary scaffolding from the balcony after her, as she ran from Jack and Rose.

"Who's on Exit Four?!" Jack called out as Rose and the Doctor came up alongside him.

"That was Mickey!"

"I'm right here!" Mickey called out, running towards Margret as she skidded to a stop and looked between him and the others.

"Alright, Mickey!" Jack grinned, making him smile confidently at knowing that he'd done something right.

_Although, Alex was the one who pointed me in the right direction. I'll have to thank her later._ Margret suddenly ran at him though, and Mickey panicked a bit, only for her to vanish.

"She's got a teleport! That's cheating!" Jack complained. "Now we're never going to get her!"

"Oh, the Doctor's very good at teleports." Rose reassured him with a grin as the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pushed the button; Margret reappearing in front of them and now running towards the Doctor, Rose, and Jack.

She quickly turned around and teleported away again, but the Doctor brought her back as Mickey joined the group, only for the Doctor to have to do it again; leaving her panting in front of them.

"I could do this all day." He smirked, and she huffed, holing up her hands in surrender.

"This is persecution. Why can't you leave me alone? What did I ever do to you?" She asked.

"You tried to kill me and destroy this entire planet." The Doctor responded easily.

"Apart from that."

"All sorts of things. Come on then. Back to the office with you."

The group headed back into City Hall, moving to the main meeting room as the Doctor spoke.

"So, you're a Slitheen, you're on Earth, you're trapped. Your family gets killed but—" He cut himself off upon seeing Alex sitting cross-legged on the table in the center of the room, playing with a small car from off the model before her. "What are you doing here?! I thought I told you to scram!"

"And I did." She said, smiling still. "But I came back. Ta-da!"

"I already said we don't need you." He argued, but she just hopped off the table.

"And you probably don't, but I'm still sticking around. Rose'll need me. Won't you, Rose?"

Rose raised a brow, shrugging. "Dunno. Maybe."

"There, see?" She grinned, before draping an arm over Mickey's shoulders. "And if not, I'm sure Mickey and I could do something fun. Jack could join us too. Boys night out."

"Whatever." He scoffed, before continuing his little monologue from earlier. "But like I was saying, your family gets killed, but you teleport out just in the nick of time. You have no means of escape. What do you do? You build a nuclear power station. But what for?"

"A philanthropic gesture." Margret claimed, eyeing the red-haired woman dressed up like a man from the 1920s, cautious of her. "I've learnt the error of my ways."

"And it just so happens to be right on top of the rift." The Doctor went on, eyeing the model on the table as Margret played innocent.

"What rift would that be?"

"A rift in space and time." Jack clarified. "If this power station went into meltdown, the entire planet would go—Schbomf." He said, making the sound effects of a mini-explosion.

"This station is designed to explode the minute it reaches capacity." The Doctor explained, seriously.

"Didn't anyone notice? Isn't there someone in London checking this sort of stuff?" Rose asked, confused as to how someone could miss something like this.

"Most nuclear power stations only get safety checks periodically along with semi-annual safety checks region by region." Alex said, the Doctor giving her an odd look.

"Where'd you hear that?"

"I got bored at the library." She said, tossing the model car she had back onto the table as Margret spoke up.

"We're in _Cardiff_. London doesn't care. The South Wales coast could fall into the sea and they wouldn't notice." She paused then, looking slightly disgusted. "Oh. I sound like a Welshman. God help me, I've gone native."

"But why would she do that? A great big explosion, she'd only end up killing herself."

"Mickey." Alex scolded. "She's got a name, you know."

"She's not even a she, she's a thing." He countered, making Alex frown and prod him in the chest.

"Yeah, and you're technically a big ol' water bag with little calcium bones inside to hold you together. Humans aren't the only species in this universe, Mickety-Micks. So you best get used to being polite to weird alien species."

Margret stared at the woman in confusion. She hadn't expected this Alex person to stick up for her, seeing as the Doctor just said she's tried to blow up the planet once before. Not only that, but to actually scold the person she had her arms around, a _friend_, over something like calling an alien species an 'it'. It just seemed unnatural. The humans she's always encountered were rude little creatures, who would never consider giving something strange or different the time of day. _What an odd human._ She mused, as the Doctor spoke up.

"Oh, but she's clever." He said, pulling out a section of the model on the table and turning it over to reveal electronics. "Fantastic."

"Is that a tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator?" Jack asked, in amazement.

"Couldn't' have put it better myself." The Doctor praised as Mickey and Rose stared on in confusion.

"Ooh, genius! You didn't build this." Jack said, taking the object from the Doctor and looking it over on the table.

"I have my hobbies. A little tinkering." Margret lied, but Alex sighed as Jack went on.

"No, no, no. I mean, you _really_ didn't build this. _Way_ beyond you."

"I bet she stole it."

"Mickey." Alex chided again. "Everyone is innocent until _proven_ guilty. So shut your mouth and stop being such a negative Nancy."

Margret felt her lips twitch up in a smirk, but quickly shoved it back. "It fell into my hands."

"Is it a weapon?" Rose asked, but Jack put it down on the ground as he explained; Alex watching the Doctor as he checked out a banner for the project.

"It's transport. You see, if the reactor blows, the rift opens. Phenomenal cosmic disaster. But this thing shrouds you in a force field. You have this energy bubble. Zroom! So you're safe. Then you feed it coordinates, stand on top, and ride the concussion all the way out of the solar system." Jack explained.

"It's a surfboard." Mickey said in disbelief.

"A pan-dimensional surfboard, yeah." Jack said, as Margret complained.

"And it would've worked. I'd have surfed away from this dead end dump and back to civilization."

"You'd blow up a whole planet just to get a lift?"

"Like stepping on an anthill." She snapped at Mickey, angry with him for being a jerk to her this whole time.

"How'd you think of the name?" The Doctor suddenly asked.

"What, Blaidd Drwg? It's Welsh."

"I know, but how did you think of it?"

"I chose it at random, that's all. I don't know. It just sounded good. Does it matter?" She asked, moving over towards him as he turned around and repeated the name.

"Blaidd Drwg."

"What's it mean?" Rose asked

"Bad Wolf." Alex responded, the Doctor frowning as he looked at her.

"But I've heard that before. Bad Wolf. I've heard that lots of times." Rose said, voice shaking a bit.

"Everywhere we go. Two words following us. Bad Wolf. Alex, what do you know about it? Tell me, _now_."

She frowned over at him. "I actually don't really know that much. I told you, I wasn't really into watching the series when you were in it. All I know is that it has something to do with leading you back to the event that caused it. Some sort of loop reminding you that it's there."

"How can they be following us?" Rose asked, confused about this whole thing and worry edging into her voice.

"Nah, just a coincidence." The Doctor said with a smile, hoping to take her mind off it and not worry her so much, despite the fact that he felt Alex knew more than she was letting on. "Like hearing a word on the radio then hearing it all day. Never mind. Things to do. Margaret, we're going to take you home."

He clapped his hands together and started heading to the door, but Jack frowned.

"Hold on, isn't that the easy option, like letting her go?"

"I don't believe it! We actually get to go to Raxa—" Rose stopped, frowning as the Doctor rolled his eyes and she tried to figure out how to pronounce the name. "Wait a minute! Raxacor—"

"Raxacoricofallapatorius." The Doctor repeated, hoping it'd help.

"Raxacorico—"

"—fallapatorius.

"Raxacoricofallapatorius. Wha!"

"That's it!" He cheered with her, hugging her.

"I did it!"

Alex raised a brow. "It's not that hard. Raxacoricofallapatorius."

Rose pouted immediately. "How come you can say it right the first time?!"

Alex just grinned at her. "I've got good ears. Once I hear it right and repeat it in my head a few times, it just comes out right."

"They have the death penalty." Margret said, snuffing out the pleasant moment swiftly. "The family Slitheen was tried in its absence many years ago and found guilty with no chance of appeal. According to the statutes of government, the moment I return, I am to be executed. What do you make of that, Doctor? Take me home and you take me to my death."

"Not my problem." He replied, blank faced and serious, before he headed out; everyone following in silence as they all headed back to the Tardis.

Once there though, Margret was enthralled by the box.

"This ship is impossible. It's superb. How do you get the outside around the inside?"

"Like I'd give you the secret. Yeah." The Doctor said, fiddling with some parts on the console.

"I almost feel better about being defeated. I never stood a chance. This is the technology of the Gods."

"Don't worship me. I'd make a very bad God."

"Says the man who's from the species that call themselves '_lords_'." Alex mocked with a roll of her eyes, making him frown.

"Oi. I didn't pick the name. And like I said, I'd make a bad God. You wouldn't get a day off, for starters. Jack, how we doing, big fella?"

"This extrapolator's top of the range. Where did you get it?" Jack asked Margret, who played innocent once more.

"Oh, I don't know. Some airlock sale?"

"Must've been a great big heist. It's stacked with power."

Margret eyed Alex though, feeling something in the look the woman gave her that said she had an idea of where the Slitheen got the device. _But how would she know about him?_

"But we can use it for fuel?" The Doctor questioned, slightly unsure.

"It's not compatible, but it should knock off about twelve hours. We'll be ready to go by morning." Jack told him, going back to wiring the device up to the console.

"Then we're stuck here overnight."

"I'm in no hurry." Margret commented as Rose smile.

"We've got a prisoner. The police box is _really_ a police box."

"You're not just police though." Margret said, making her stop laughing. "Since you're taking me to my death, that makes you my executioners. Each and every one of you."

"Well, you deserve it." Mickey said, and Margret glance briefly over at Alex who frowned; surprising her once again, before she turned to Mickey.

"You're very quick to say so. You're very quick to soak your hands in my blood, which makes you better than me, _how_, exactly?"

Mickey stayed silent as she went on.

"Long night ahead…" Margret sat down on the captains chair. "Let's see who can look me in the eye."

She looked at Mickey, but he turned away, so she shifted her eyes to Rose who quickly did the same. Even the Doctor was unable to match her stare, so she turned her eyes to Alex, curious to see if the woman would do the same despite standing up for her a handful of times. Oddly enough, she didn't. Alex stared right back at her with this lingering sadness hiding away in her eyes. Almost as if she felt sorry for Margret, and it was Margret herself, who had to look away; feeling as though Alex knew more than she let on and was staring right into her soul.

* * *

I felt bad for Margret. I mean, I knew that she was lonely and upset about her family and I understood that it wasn't entirely her fault that she became this kind of person. Or alien, as it were. One thing I believe I told the Doctor before, was that I had looked into joining the police force back home. I was always into solving the mysteries and putting away bad guys, but I gave up on it. Part of the reason being that I knew I'd have to put away some really bad people, but those people could have their reasons. They might've had a rough childhood that led them to petty thefts. Or their school life could've been bad because they were different, and that turned them to gangs, who accepted them for who they were. Not all people were bad just for the sake of being bad, so I turned to anthropology to learn about people. All sorts of people. The good, the bad, the ugly, the alien. Anything and anyone I could find. So this sort of thing with Margret? It was something I really didn't like and I was just glad that she got a second chance in the end. Something I knew the Doctor hadn't learned how to do yet. Give people second chances.

"So, what's on?" Jack spoke up, making me drift away from my thoughts and catch sight of the scanner the Doctor was watching Rose and Mickey on.

"Nothing. Just…" He trailed off, shutting the monitor off as he fiddled around with some things and Margret spoke up from below deck.

"I gather it's not always like this, having to wait… I bet you're always the first to leave, Doctor. Never mind the consequences, off you go. You butchered my family and then ran for the stars, am I right? But not this time. At last you have consequences. How does it feel?"

"I didn't butcher them." He said, holding up a piece of metal in the light.

"Don't answer back. That's what she wants." Jack warned him, but he still responded.

"I didn't. What about you? You had an emergency teleport. You didn't zap them to safety, did you?"

"It only carries one. I had to fly without coordinates. I ended up on a skip in the Isle of Dogs."

The Doctor started laughing and I couldn't stand it.

_Slap!_

I slapped him, ignoring the shocked looks I received as I snarled up at him.

"Who do you think you are, huh? Alien or not, _bad guy_ or not, she's talking about people who have died! Show some respect!"

He brought a hand to his cheek in shock, eyes wide at my scolding, but eventually turned to Margret—who was also surprised.

"Sorry."

"No, it's… it's fine." She said, looking between him and I as I stormed off and leaned up against the railing in a huff.

_Stupid Doctor._ I mentally grumbled. _You'd think he, of all people, would know better than to laugh at the death of someone's entire family._ My chest clenched in pain and I suddenly felt the hard hit of home sickness, having been able to forget about my family momentarily with everything that's been going on lately. But now it was coming back hard, filling me with guilt, even as I tried to distract myself with a book I'd taken from the library about Slitheen and Raxacoricofallapatorians; muttering the facts under my breath.

"Bribed their way into government, people rose up, sentenced to death. Used Venom Grubs to dispose of family, not willing to engage in criminal activities to do so. If surrounded, typically grab one by back of neck and threaten until demands followed. For skin suits, need heavier person, but gas exchange causes flatulation noises. When under threat, females can manufacture a poison dart in finger and excess poison can be exhaled through lungs…"

I stopped as a spot on the page darkened and I realized a tear had slipped out. I quickly scrubbed at my face and grit my teeth in annoyance. _Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why am I crying? I chose to leave them. There was nothing left for me back home. So why? Why can't I just forget about them?_

"Hey. Are you crying?"

I stiffened slightly at Jack's inquiry and pulled my hand away with a smile, trying to hide all traces of my being upset.

"Nah. I'm fine. Just zoned out a bit there. Did the Doctor leave with Margret already?" I asked, looking around and not spotting the duo.

"Yeah, but are you sure you're okay?" He asked, getting up and walking away from the wires and parts for a minute.

"Yeah. I'm just reading." I muttered, smile slipping as I turned back to the book, though I wasn't able to read it.

"Hey, I may not know you that well or anything, but even I know when someone's upset about something." He said, moving to lean on the railing beside me and peering over a bit. "Was it because of what the Doctor said?"

"…No. No, it's just… It's just something that I thought I'd forgotten rearing it's ugly head back up. It's nothing."

"Nothing, huh. Then why're you crying?" He asked, but I couldn't answer as I rubbed at my eyes once more and tried not to outright sob as he took the book from me and set it aside, before he wrapped me in a gentle hug.

It took me a moment before I was able to compose myself and he let me go, looking down at me with a small smile.

"Better?"

I nodded, wiping away the remnants of tears. "Y-Yeah. Sorry. I was just… remembering my family."

"Ah, I'm guessing they're not around anymore then."

I shook my head. "No. T-They're probably fine. It's just… I can't ever see them again. I chose not to and I haven't had a chance to think about it until just now… and what the Doctor said just…"

"Just sort of blew it up in your face. I understand." He said with a nod, before grabbing my wrist and pulling me over to where the wires and extrapolator were. "Here! Distraction 101. What do you know about wiring?"

"I-I can wire up a toaster and a fan." I muttered. "Mostly household things."

He gave me a look. "That's it? I figured you'd be all over the library in this thing."

I shrugged. "Haven't had a chance. I usually don't stay on the Tardis for very long. Earth is a different story."

"Ooh, I hear some interesting stories coming on. Continue." He chuckled, handing me some wiring and showing me what to do with it.

So I went on to distract myself and tell Jack about some of the trips I'd been on with the Doctor, swearing him to secrecy due to the massive spoilers involved. But as we went, I also forgot about what would happen when we finally hooked the extrapolator up to the Tardis, and I quickly regretted it.

* * *

The Doctor and Margret sat in a nice restaurant and, after several attempts of Margret's to try and kill him, he was silently glad that he'd overheard some of the facts that Alex had been mumbling under her breath. _I probably wouldn't have brought the breath freshener otherwise._ He wondered what was up with her though. She'd been acting strangely and he hadn't expected her to, not only stand up for Margret time and time again, but to also slap him. _She seems more like a punching person._ But that wasn't what was bothering him. What she said though, really impacted him and he silently questioned what had made him act that way. He didn't usually laugh at people who'd lost loved ones, because he had lost everything. He felt that this might be true of Alex too, since she seemed passionate enough to hit him for what he'd started to do. _It's hard to tell with her. She keeps everything so close to the chest and as suspicious as I am of her foreknowledge and how she keeps popping up everywhere, there's no way for me to figure anything out without strapping her down and running tests. And not only would she kill me for that, but so would Rose. And who's to say it'd give me any answers to this whole thing?_ He mentally sighed. _God, that woman is already messing with my head._

"I promise you, I've changed since we last met, Doctor." Margret said quietly, bringing his attention back to her. "There was this girl, just today. A young thing, something of a danger. She was getting too close. I felt the blood lust rising, just as the family taught me, I was going to kill her without a thought. And then… I stopped."

The Doctor looked down, wondering. _Is that possible? For someone to change so easily? So quickly?…_

"She's alive somewhere right now. She's walking around the city because I can change. I _did_ change. I know I can't prove it—"

"I believe you." He said, his thoughts changing.

_No. People can't change just through one or two good deeds. I would know…_

"Then you know I'm capable of better."

"It doesn't mean anything."

"I spared her life." She argued, before he went off, talking about everything that was running through his mind as his thoughts turned back to the war.

"You let one of them go, but that's nothing new. Every now and then, a little victim's spared because she smiled, because he's got freckles, because they begged. And that's how you live with yourself. That's how you slaughter millions. Because once in a while, on a whim, if the wind's in the right direction, you _happen_ to be kind."

"Only a killer would know that." She snapped back, making his face fall; because to him, she was right. "Is that right? From what _I've_ seen, your funny little happy go lucky little life leaves devastation in its wake. Always moving on because you _dare_ not look back. Playing with so many peoples' lives, you might as well be a God… And you're right, Doctor. You're absolutely right. Sometimes you let one go... Let me go."

He stared at her, considering it seriously. He could just let her go. Send her off to some other planet, give her a real chance to change, but something told him it wouldn't be that easy. She'd end up going and being the quote-on-quote 'bad guy' again and nothing will have changed. People could _die_ because he just let her go. And their deaths would be on him.

"In the family Slitheen, we had no choice." Margret ranted on, but the Doctor was hardly paying attention; too many thoughts running through his head. "I was made to carry out my first kill at thirteen. If I'd refused, my father would have fed me to the Venom Grubs."

A deep rumble sounding a bit like thunder echoed through the air and the Doctor turned away from her to listen; a worried feeling settling in his stomach because the sky was clear of clouds. _That's no thunder._

"If I'm a killer, it's because I was born to kill. It's all I know! Doctor, are you even listening to me?"

"Can you hear that?" He asked, wondering if he was imagining it.

"I'm begging for my life."

"No, listen. Shush." He said, holding up a hand, before the glasses on the table began to rattle.

Suddenly, the noise grew louder and the windows shattered as lights went out across the bay and people panicked. He started rushing out and Margret was quick to follow him down the stairs, getting worried about the handcuffs as the distance between them grew.

"The handcuffs!"

The Doctor waited at the bottom of the steps before taking the cuffs off her and taking her by the hand.

"Don't think you're running away."

"Oh, I'm sticking with you." She said as they started running towards the Tardis. "Some date this turned out to be!"

They headed down some stairs, dodging rubble and then came to a halt, spotting the Tardis a ways away and a bright light coming from the top of it.

"It's the rift. The rift's opening." He said, before running once more and pulling out his key in the process; cracks splitting the ground around them.

He struggled to get the key in the lock with all the shaking, but once he did, he rushed inside to see the Tardis's lights flickering, Jack panicking, and Alex slumped over against the railing a complete mess.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"It just went crazy!" Jack shouted, the Doctor heading over to the console as it sparked violently.

"It's the rift. Time and space are ripping apart. The whole city's going to disappear!"

Jack though was rushing over to Alex, asking if she was alright. "Come on. Hang in there, Alex."

"What's wrong with her?" The Doctor asked questioning what could possibly be her problem when there was something bigger to worry about.

"I don't know!" Jack snapped at him, surprisingly protective of the red-head. "She just started clutching her shoulder in pain when the Tardis went crazy! Ah! She's bleeding!"

The Doctor, upon hearing there was blood, rushed over to them and quickly identified the source, lifting up the back of her shirt to reveal bandages that were soaked through.

"Oi!" He shouted over the noise, turning her pale face towards him. "Why didn't you mention this?!"

"I-I didn't… want to bother… you." She breathed out between breaths, body tense in a vain attempt to battle the pain in her shoulder.

"Bothered me?! Are you an idiot?! If you're hurt, I need to know!" He then turned to Jack. "Jack, there's bandages in the medic bay. First door on the—"

"No!" Alex cried out, cringing once more as she stopped them. "F-Fix the Tardis… I-I'm connected to it somehow. This injury can wait… Go!"

He didn't want to just leave her, being injured and in pain, but if what she said was true, then fixing the Tardis would be their best option. So he got up and went to the console, Jack soon following as they tried to figure out what was going on.

"It's the extrapolator." Jack called out, once he'd figured what was causing it. "I've disconnected it, but it's feeding off the engine! It's using the Tardis. I can't stop it!"

"Never mind Cardiff, it's going to rip open the planet."

Rose suddenly ran in. "What is it?! What's happening?!"

"Oh, just little me!"

Margret, seeing her chance, took her large, clawed arm out of her body suit and went to grab Rose, but Rose was pushed aside and she ended up grabbing Alex by the throat instead. It didn't matter to her so much. Sure, she'd rather have the annoying blonde, but either way Alex was leverage. A stirring in her stomach though told Margret that she really _didn't_ want to kill Alex, who was the one person who stood up for her in this whole thing. _Oh well._

"One wrong move and she snaps like a promise." Margret threatened and the Doctor frowned as Rose rushed to his and Jack's side. "I might've known."

"I've had you bleating all night, poor baby. Now shut it." She said, moving them up the few steps before talking to Jack. "You, fly boy, put the extrapolator at my feet."

Margret, seeing his hesitation, jolted her arm a bit and threatened Alex; who cringed, but gave him a small smile.

"G-Go ahead… Jack… Don't worry… about me." She wheezed out.

He reluctantly moved the extrapolator to Margret's feet once he received a nod from the Doctor.

"Thank you." Margret said, sincerely. "Just as I planned."

"I thought you needed to blow up the nuclear power station." Rose questioned, trying to keep Margret stalled for the Doctor to come up with a plan.

After all, she liked Alex and the woman had just risked her own life by keeping Rose from being in her place. Whether Rose was a bit jealous of her or not, she couldn't just let Alex get killed.

"Failing that, if I were to be _arrested_, then anyone capable of tracking me down would have considerable technology of their own." Margret explained, tightening her grip on Alex's throat and making her breath shorten even further. "Therefore, they would be captivated by the extrapolator. Especially a magpie mind like yours, _Doctor_. So the extrapolator was programmed to go to plan _B_." She then grabbed a fist full of Alex's hair and yanked back hardly, seemingly taunting the group as Alex winced in pain. "To lock onto the nearest alien power source and open the rift. And what a power source it found. I'm back on schedule, thanks to you."

"The rift's going to convulse. You'll destroy the whole planet." Jack said, also stalling for time.

"And you with it!" Margret swung Alex to her other side and moved to stand on the extrapolator. "While I ride this board over the crest of the inferno all the way to freedom. Stand back, boys and girls. Surf's up."

Just then though, Alex let out a cry of pain, her knees crumpling beneath her as a part of the console opened up to shine light on Margret's face.

"Of course, opening the rift means you'll pull this ship apart." The Doctor said, seemingly unconcerned, though his eyes shifted to Alex briefly.

"So sue me."

"It's not just any old power source. It's the Tardis. _My_ Tardis. The best ship in the universe." He went on.

"It'll make wonderful scrap."

"What's that light?" Rose asked, curious, as Alex's eyes went to the light as well.

"The heart of the Tardis. The ship's alive. You've opened its soul."

Margret looked at the light as well, suddenly very intrigued by it. "It's… so bright."

"Look at it, Margret."

"Beautiful." She muttered.

"Look inside, Blon Fel Fotch. Look at the light."

Margret relaxed then, dropping Alex, who crumpled to the ground only half-conscious as her shoulder also glowed vibrantly. Both looked into the Tardis's heart, before Margret looked over at the Doctor and smiled.

"Thank you."

The body suit then fell to the ground in a pile as the Tardis console sparked and the Doctor began giving out orders.

"Don't look! Stay there! Close your eyes!" He shouted at everyone, Alex especially, but the woman wasn't listening.

He closed the console and then turned to Jack.

"Now, Jack. Come on. Shut it all down. Shut down! Rose, that panel on the left, turn all the switches to the right!"

They all rushed about doing just that until the Tardis calmed down and along with it, Alex.

"Nicely done, Thank you, all." He grinned, before rushing around the console and over to Alex.

"Is she going to be alright?" Jack asked, kneeling down as well as the Doctor lifted her up off the floor a bit.

"Dunno." He said, seriously, pulling out his screwdriver and checking her over. "Says the Artron energy level in her shoulder is still unstable but is slowly returning back to normal levels. Her back will need re-bandaging too, but she should still be conscious." He snapped his fingers in front of her half-lidded, dazed expression. "Oi, you still in there, Alex?"

Her eyes slowly shifted to him and he grinned down at her.

"Hello there!" He said, happily and a bit relieved as well. "You alright?"

She opened her mouth, only to cringe a bit as a wisp of gold dust floated out and dissipated in the air; shocking the Doctor who quickly went to get answers, only for Alex to have passed out. Leaving him and the others with more questions than anything.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"We found him in the box, sir. He was cutting through the cage with some wire cutters."_

_"How did he get in?"_

_I felt my chest clench in fear at the voice that had spoken, suddenly realizing that the men who had grabbed me had taken me to the man himself. The Master._


	20. The Sound of Drums

**Here's the next chapter ^^ and it'll definitely be intense, so a warning to you all, there _are_ hints of torture in this one. Thanks a ton to all my reviewers though! i hope you guys like this.**

* * *

I woke up with my shoulder killing me and my head aching terribly as I groaned and rolled onto my side and I struggled to leave the room and make my way down the hall. Something was wrong. _Terribly_ wrong. The Tardis was running, but the noise she made was heart wrenching. It explained my headache, because she was _screaming, _hating whatever had been done to her. Having to use the wall as support, I grit my teeth as the pain steadily grew worse the closer I came to the console room, doing my best to try and get some answers from the blue box.

"S-Sexy? What's wrong?" I grunted, having to pause and get a grip as a headache formed as well. "Ngh, come on now. I'm connected to you somehow, remember? So w-whatever this is, I'd like it if it was at least _explained_."

She made a pained sounding hum that echoed in my mind and made me bring a hand to my head as worry settled in my stomach like a lead weight._ Something's very, _very_ wrong. What the hell did Nine do while I was out?!_ I pushed myself out the door and into the console room just as the pain increased and I fell to my knees; having to use the railing to pull myself up the stairs. Panting, I looked over at the console, only for my eyes to widen in fear at what I was seeing.

"O-Oh no…"

Another pained hum came from the Tardis as I tried to take in the eerie red glow coming from the usual blue center console; the whole thing trapped behind a metal cage with tubes and wiring coming from it. I quickly understood what was going on and where I ended up. _Okay. I lied about the whole thing with the Angels. _This_ is the worst possible place to end up._ I struggled to my feet with a cringe, holding my head as the Tardis continued to wail painfully in my mind. I was inside the paradox machine, the very same machine that the Master created in _'The Sound of Drums'_ and _'The Last of the Time Lords'_. Which meant that he was outside. I could've stayed where I was, but I couldn't handle the painful screams the Tardis was throwing at me and the fact that I had popped into the absolute last place I ever wanted to be with the man who scared me more than anything, _alone_. No Doctor, no Martha, no Jack, or anyone else. I was on my own and I could only hope that they were already out there when I was found.

_But there has to be something I can do. No one knows I'm here yet. The Master doesn't know about me other than him meeting me at Lazarus's party. He doesn't know that I'm the Seer o-or easily effected by telepathic abilities._ I suddenly paused, feeling that weight in my stomach grow heavier, making me nauseous. _I-If he finds out… I-If he knows and… and gets in my head… I'm screwed. I-I'll have that drumming in my head. I-I'll go mad o-or I could even _like _it._ I bit into my lip hard, using the slight bit of pain to help snap me out of it. _No. I won't let him. As long as he doesn't know, I won't let him. So I have to do something about this while I have the chance. No one knows I'm here. If I stop this now… so much could be prevented._ I grit my teeth tightly and grabbed the railing, using it to help pull me back down the stairs to the lower deck of the Tardis, determined to stop this now. Stop the year of torture that _could_ happen and start fixing this from the inside out.

That being said, I was having trouble staying focused as I grabbed a tool box tucked away for the Doctor's repairs and brought it up to the metal cage surrounding the console. My head ached from the pained hums and cries the Tardis was pressing into my mind, and my shoulder felt as though it was ripping itself apart from the inside out; the pain only growing the closer I got.

"Come on. Come on." I breathed out between pants as I opened the tool box and searched for something that could cut through the metal cage or undo the bolts around the outside. "There has to be _something_."

I threw hammers and wrenches aside, deeming the ones I found to be useless and started using the only thing I could, a pair of wire cutters. It was slow moving and my strength was quickly being sapped as I struggled to cut through the honey-comb shaped chain-linked cage. My vision was fuzzy and my head was pounding in my ears, the only sound I could hear being my own heartbeat and the Tardis's cries. My hands shook as I cut one link, then two, then four; sweat rolling down face and the back of my neck. I didn't even notice when the doors were slammed open and armed men stormed in, until I was yanked away from the cage and pinned to the metal grating of the floor with my arms painfully held behind my back.

The man was shouting something. A question, I think, but I couldn't hear it. _I can't stop now. I cut through some of the links, if I got a few more and maybe flipped a switch or two, I could save her. Please, let me stop it! Can't you hear her?! She's in so much pain!_ I wanted to shout this at the men, but my throat was clogged with tears as I was dragged out of the ship and elsewhere. I tried to walk, but even as they pulled me away, I could still hear the Tardis crying out, and the pain in my shoulder—though it lessened slightly—was still at a point that I would have a hard time dealing with it even if I could cradle the appendage with my other arm. I wasn't paying attention to where they were taking me, either. I suppose I should, but I didn't, and quickly regretted it when I finally _did_ focus on what was going on around me.

"We found him in the box, sir. He was cutting through the cage with some wire cutters."

"How did he get in?"

I felt my chest clench in fear at the voice that had spoken, suddenly realizing that the men who had grabbed me had taken me to the man himself. The Master.

"We don't know, sir. There were guards posted outside and they said no one came in or out. They didn't know he was even in there until one thought he heard something and checked inside."

"Are you telling me… that he was _already_ inside?"

"I… That seems to be the only possibility, sir."

I felt eyes on me, but closed my eyes tightly against all the pain I was trying to deal with, and kept my head down to avoid the temptation of looking at him and to hide my identity from him a bit longer. I stiffened upon hearing footsteps approach though, and opened my eyes when they stopped to see a set of polished black shoes not a few inches in front of me. What was worse, was the figure squatted down to my level and it took every fiber of my being to _not_ move away from him.

"Hm, you look familiar. Do I know you?"

I stayed silent and unmoving, but he must have ordered the guard to do something, because the man behind me grabbed a fist full of my hair and yanked it back so that the Master could see my face.

"Oh! I know you!" He smirked as I bared my teeth at him and winced. "You're the woman from the bar! The sexy cross-dresser~" His smile quickly dropped and grew serious. "How did you get in the police box?"

I stayed silent, trying to think through my options as he sent the guards away. _I-I can't _not_ tell him. If I did that, then he'll just force his way into my head and find out himself. I-I don't even know if I would be able to hide future knowledge from him if he did. If he got a hold of that, then everything would be ruined! _I could hear him waiting in front of me as the door closed and he repeated the question sternly.

"Tell me. How did you get into the police box?"

_I have to tell him. T-There's no other way._ "I-I… I'm a time traveler. I just… showed up in there. I have no control over it."

My eyes stayed locked on the ground, but he grabbed the front of my shirt and threw me back into a chair violently, allowing it to roll back and hit the wall as I cringed.

"How?!" He shouted grabbing my jaw tightly in his hand, as I grit my teeth to keep from lashing out.

"Artron energy… There's a bunch of Artron energy stored in my shoulder that somehow connects me to the box. That's all I know."

His eyes narrowed at me as I glared up at him. "Show me."

"What?"

"Show me your shoulder." He demanded and I quickly panicked.

_The mark. It's Gallifreyian. I-If I show him and it says something that tells him who I am… O-Or he thinks I'm a Time Lord, who knows what he'll do. But if I refuse…_

"There's nothing to see." I said as calmly as I could, eyes locked with his. "It's just my shoulder."

"_Ooh_, feisty. I like that. It's too bad I can see how scared you really are… And if there was nothing to see, then you wouldn't be trying to hide it." He countered and I dropped my gaze.

_Be brave Alex._ I told myself, glaring at the man in front of me. _Be brave, because the Doctor will come and he'll stop him, just like he always does. So just stay strong. Stay strong until he can get here… He's not stupid, but maybe I could…_

"Fine. Look all you want." I said, leaning my _right_ shoulder towards him with a wince.

He eyed me, suspicious, but pulled my collar away to check and, upon seeing nothing, he backed up and just stood there. Mentally, I let out a sigh of relief that he hadn't caught onto my lie, but physically, I was just about spent. My whole body was tense with pain and my head was killing me, the worst part was, he questioned it.

"Your connection with the box, is that what has you like this?"

I had to bite my tongue to not flat out say 'No, shit, Sherlock.' and I nodded.

"Y-You did something to her." I breathed out with a cringe as I tried to get slightly more comfortable with my hands cuffed behind my back.

I saw a flash of something and quickly realized that I had a slip-of-the-tongue.

"_Her_?"

_Come on, think! I can't just tell him I can communicate with her!_ "That's what the Doctor calls her." I said, mentally hoping that mentioning the Doctor wouldn't put me in the Master's bad books. "Never says 'it', always 'her'. Or Tardis."

He came closer again and I tried to lean back as far from him as I could as he put both of his hands on the back of the chair.

"You know the Doctor."

"Kind of have to, seeing how I'm connected to his ship." I grumbled, playing innocent. "So what are _you_ doing with her?

He smirked, bringing a hand up and brushing some bangs from my face as I frowned; stomach twisting in nervousness.

"All sorts of things. She's a vital piece of my plan, you see. You could be too." His eyes scanned mine as I swallowed thickly.

"D-Don't you have a wife?" I asked, mentally scolding myself for letting my voice slip into a stutter.

"In a manner of speaking." He hummed, smiling. "But I'm sure we could… _arrange_ something."

He suddenly forced his lips upon mine and I cringed back, trying to get away from him, but he held the back of my head where it was.

_Duh duh duh dum._

My eyes widened at the noise and I bit down harshly, causing the Master to pull away as I panted and clenched my eyes shut as my headache echoed those four beats for a moment longer before they went away. I could feel my body shaking in fear of that beat; my mind knowing what it could do to a person, such as the man standing before me. I glared up at the man though, _daring_ him to try it again and see what would happen, to which he wiped the blood from his lip and stared at it on his fingers for a moment as though surprised it was there at all. From there, he promptly back-handed me, but I continued to glare up at him. _He_ was the one who forcibly kissed _me_. And the pain I was dealing with was to a point where I hardly _cared_ what happened now, because he didn't know about my shoulder. He didn't know I was the so-called 'Seer' who knew everything that should happen in the next few days and the year that eventually doesn't exist. He didn't know _me_. So I was more than willing to give him a fight. Doctor or not, Master or not, I was tired, cranky, and in pain and there was no _way_ I was just going to let him do whatever he felt like doing. Unfortunately, I didn't have much of a choice when he stepped back over and reached his hands up, forcing them to my temples. And before I really knew what was happening, I felt him force his way into my mind, making me hiss in pain and try to pull away, but he held me still.

It wasn't like with the Doctor back when he helped mute the sound of the Ood song. No, this was far more intrusive. While the Doctor had made it feel like a gentle touch, the Master made it feel like knives forcefully cutting and slashing their way through my mind to try and find whatever it was he was looking for. Somehow, my foreknowledge was hidden and tucked away from him, but everything else was fair game and I was having a hard time trying to keep him from getting to my memories. He kept pushing, stabbing my mind as he forced his way into my memories of my time with the Doctor and my conversations with the Tardis and the Ood and the Face of Boe. It was then, that I heard it again. The drumming.

_Duh duh duh dum._

_Duh duh duh dum._

Over and over again, it drummed through my head, sending a wave of fear through me before I kicked him out of my head. I was panting, out of breath as I felt myself shaking.

"You kicked me out." He muttered, eyeing me as I quivered with a look I could only describe as satisfaction. "But not before I could get some information on you, Alexander Holmes. The Seer. The constant friend of the Doctor who jumps through time and has knowledge of the future and a strong mental presence. So how is it, _Alex_? You can hear it now, can't you? The _drumming_."

"M-Make it stop." I demanded, hating the sound of the four drumbeats echoing in my head, mixing with the screaming of the Tardis and sending ice through my veins.

The Master frowned, getting in my face. "Not until you tell me everything you know."

"Go to hell." I growled at him and he pulled away with a shrug.

"Suit yourself." He started to walk off, but turned to me from over his shoulder. "But I will get my answers sooner or later." He then spoke to the guards outside as he waved a hand nonchalantly. "I changed my mind. Chain her up in isolation. We'll see how she does on her own for a few days."

The guards lifted me to my feet and half-dragged me out of the room, leading me to whatever room they were to put me in as I grit my teeth, determined to push through this. I wasn't going to let some noise bother me. I was _not_ going to be broke so easily.

* * *

"Two minutes everyone." The US President announced. "According to the Treaty, all armed personnel are requested to leave the flight deck immediately. Thank you."

The Master sat back in a chair, watching, though not as happy as he'd liked to be as he munched on a bag of snacks. Alex had proven more than difficult to handle lately and despite his best efforts to _persuade_ her to come to his side, she was persistent and either caused him some sort of pain—she'd head butt him a few times now—or was unresponsive, which proved to be no fun for him at all. _How hard should it be to crack one person?_

He was slightly pleased with his progress though. Once he discovered how perceptible she was to the drumming, things _did_ become easier. She was starting to give in to it now since it seemed to have a pain-relieving factor for her, helping her relax after dealing with the pain she had due to the connection with the Tardis/Paradox machine. Already, she tapped away the drum beat, but she'd found a secret too and he wasn't pleased at all about it. But there _was_ progress being made, so it wasn't all bad.

"Jelly baby?" He offered his wife some of the snacks as the cameraman counted down and the US President gave a few last words off screen.

"Broadcasting at 7:58 with the arrival timed for eight hundred hours exactly. And, uh, good luck to all of us."

The Master felt his lip twitch up in a small smile, starting to feel slightly better since he knew _this_ plan was going to go along smoothly, but he didn't know about the other guests who would be joining the party soon. _They_ were currently inside the Paradox machine; the Doctor tapping on a pressure gauge attached to the outside of the cage surrounding the console.

"As soon as this hits red, it activates. At this speed, it'll trigger at—" He grabbed Jack's arm to look at his watch. "—two minutes past eight."

"First contact is at eight, then two minutes later…"

"What's it for?" Martha asked. "What does the Paradox machine do?"

Jack frowned as the Doctor got up and brushed his fingers along something on the cage. "More important, can you stop it?"

"Not till I know what it's doing. Touch the wrong bit, blow up the solar system. Although… it looks like someone was trying it get in here before us." He said, waving a hand at Jack and Martha. "Come look at this."

He pressed his fingers against a part of the cage and the group stared at it in confusion as it was pushed in a bit; the links having been cut by something.

"Someone was trying to cut through the cage?" Jack questioned and the Doctor nodded.

"Yeah, but who?"

"It would explain all the tools lying around." Jack commented, picking up a set of wire cutters from off the floor. "They must have been using this to try and cut the links one by one before they got caught."

The Doctor recognized the cutters and rushed over, taking them from Jack and looking them over.

"Hold on, I know these."

"You _know_ wire cutters?" Martha questioned, looking more than lost.

"These are mine." He answered, rushing about and picking up a few more tools that had been tossed around before finding the tool box itself knocked over on the other side of the console. "These are the tools I use to fix up the Tardis. I keep them in this box tucked away on the lower decks."

"But how would they know where it's at then?"

"Good question." The Doctor responded, looking at her in worry. "They'd have to already know it's there. Which means—"

"Which means that whoever was trying to get into the cage is someone you know." Jack answered, seeing where this was headed.

"But who could know? I mean, _I_ didn't even know it was down there. And the only people who are in the Tardis is the Doctor, me, and…" Her eyes widened, as the Doctor stood up and turned towards the door, anger radiating off him in waves. "N-No. it can't be."

"What? What is it?" Jack asked, a bit confused as the Doctor stormed towards the door. "Who is it?!"

"Alex." Martha muttered, making the Doctor pause in the doorway. "Doctor, could Alex have done this? Could she already be here?"

He was silent for a second, before responding. "We have to find the Master."

Jack, worried about Alex should she really be here but also trying to stay level-headed spoke up. "Yeah. How are we going to stop him?"

"Oh, I've got a way." He said seriously, before heading out, leaving the other two to exchange a look before rushing out after him.

They soon found the flight deck where the US President was already giving his speech, and snuck in behind security, slipping into the back of the room unnoticed; though the Doctor kept his sights on the Master.

"For as long as man has looked at the stars, he has wondered what mysteries they hold. Now we know we are not alone."

"This plan, you going to tell us?" Jack whispered quietly to the Doctor, sensing the man's anger, but respecting how well he hid it.

The Doctor held up his Tardis key. "If I can get this around the Master's neck, cancel out his perception, they'll see him for real. It's just… hard to go unnoticed with everyone on red alert. If they stop me, you've got a key."

"Yes, sir."

"I'll get him."

That being said, they went back to focus on the US President as the Doctor tried to get closer to the Master.

"And I ask you now, I ask of the human race, to join with me in welcoming our friends. I give you, the Toclafane."

Four spheres appeared hovering above him as he went on.

"My name is Arthur Coleman Winters, President Elect of the United States of America, and designated representative of the United Nations. I welcome you to the planet Earth and its associate moon."

"You're not the Master." A male voiced sphere said.

"We like the Mister Master." A female one replied.

"We don't like _you_." A second male sphere spoke up.

"I can be master, if you so wish. I will accept mastery over you, if that is God's will." The US President said, but the spheres didn't like that.

"Man is stupid."

"Master is our friend."

"Where's my Master, pretty please?"

"Oh, alright then. It's me!" The Master said, getting up and dashing to the front dramatically. "Ta-da! Ahaha! Sorry. Sorry. I have this effect. People just get _obsessed_. Is it the smile? Is it the aftershave? Is it the capacity to laugh at myself? I don't know. It's _crazy_."

"Saxon, what are you talking about?" The US President demanded.

"I'm taking control, Uncle Sam. Staring with you. Kill him."

A Toclafane zoomed over beside the Master and shot the US President, turning him to dust before everyone panicked and the guards drew their weapons; the Master just clapping his hands and laughing at it all.

"Ahaha! Guards!"

"Nobody move! Nobody move!" A guard shouted as the people bunched together on the floor.

The Doctor started brushing his fingers across the chain around his neck, seeing how the danger level increased and wondering if he'd be able to do his plan now that things had gone out of control.

"Now then, peoples of the Earth. Please attend carefully." The Master said loudly, smiling at the cameras from the platform.

This was when the Doctor rushed forwards in a vain attempt to stop him, but the guards grabbed him before he could and the Master turned to him.

"We meet at last, Doctor." The Master laughed. "Oh, ho. I love saying that."

"Stop this! Stop it now!" The Doctor shouted, struggling against the guards.

"As if a perception filter's going to work on me." He mocked, before looking over at Jack and Martha. "And look, it's the girlie and the freak. Although, I'm not sure which one's which."

Jack darted forward, but the Master had already pulled something out of his pocket and shot him dead as Martha hurried to his side.

"Laser screwdriver." The Master showed off. "Who'd have sonic? And the good thing is, he's not dead for long. I get to kill him again!"

"Master, just calm down. Just look at what you're doing. Just stop. If you could see yourself…" The Doctor tried to reason with him, but the Master turned to the cameras with a smile.

"Oh, do excuse me. Little bit of personal business. Be back in a minute." He then nodded to the guards. "Let him go."

They tossed the Doctor to the floor as the Master headed down the stairs, but the Doctor wasn't finished yet.

"It's that sound. That sound in your head. What if I could help?"

"Oh, how to shut him up." The Master complained, using his hand to mock the Doctor. "I know, memory lane!" He sat down and faced the Doctor. "Professor Lazarus, remember him? And his genetic manipulation device. What? Did you think little Tish got that job merely by coincidence? Your sexy cross-dressing friend was interesting to meet though." He smirked when that caught the Doctor's attention.

"Alex…"

"Yeah, that's right. We bumped into each other at the bar. Had a nice chat."

The Doctor grew steadily furious. "What did you do with her? I know she was here. What did you do?!"

"Ooh, temper, temper." The Master mocked. "She's here, alright. We've been having daily interviews. Ooh, she's a tough one though. I'll give you that. Still hasn't broke just yet, though she's getting there."

"You leave her alone!" The Doctor shouted, making the Master raise a brow in slight surprise.

"You act as though you really _care_ for the woman." A slow smirk slid onto his face and he leaned forward a bit. "You _do_ don't you. Oh, the Doctor learning to love again. It's a miracle! It's a bit of a shame though." He said, making the Doctor glare even harder at him. "She probably won't be the same by the time I'm finished with her."

"She's stronger than that." The Doctor said back confidently. "She won't give in to you."

"So you say, but you see." The Master looked around, as though he was preparing to tell the Doctor a secret. "I found a little trick."

The Master started drumming his fingers as a devilish smirk slipped onto his face and the Doctor's eyes widened in realization.

"No…"

"The sound of drums can be _such_ a mesmerizing thing. I'm sure it won't be long now. But!" The Master leaned back and tilted his head a bit. "On to other things. I've been laying traps for you all this time. And if I can concentrate all that Lazarus technology into one little screwdriver? But, ooh, if only I had the Doctor's biological code. Oh, wait a minute, I do." He rushed over to a metal briefcase and opened it. "I've got his hand! And if Lazarus made himself younger, what if I reverse it?" The Master fiddled with his screwdriver. "Another… hundred years?"

He shot it at the Doctor who screamed and writhed in pain. Behind the Master, Jack had revived and took off his Vortex manipulator, passing it to Martha.

"Teleport." He told her.

"I can't."

"We can't stop him. Get out of here. Get out."

The Master finally stopped and the Doctor lifted himself from off the floor, far older than he had been and breathing hard; Martha scrambling to his side.

"Doctor? I've got you." She helped him to a sitting position as the Master awed.

"Ah, she's a would-be Doctor. But tonight, Martha Jones, we've flown them in _all_ the way from prison."

The doors opened and Martha stood up, seeing her sister and her parents marched in, hands zip-tied together.

"Mum…"

"I'm sorry." Her mom cried, shaking her head.

The Doctor breathed hard, staring up at the Master and Martha knelt back down next to him as he spoke.

"The Toclafane. What are they? Who are they?"

"Doctor, if I told you the truth…" The Master put a hand on the Doctor's chest. "…your hearts would break. Oh, but I haven't shown you the best part yet, have I?" He stood up smirking at the guards. "Bring her in."

The doors opened again and another figure was brought in, being moved up to where the Doctor could see from him place on the floor just who it was.

"No…" He breathed out as the woman drummed her fingers along her thigh in beats of four.

_Duh duh duh dum._

_Duh duh duh dum._

"I-Is that… Alex?" Martha questioned and the woman in front of them lifted her head, eyes covered by a white piece of cloth, but obviously able to hear them. "Alex, is that you?"

"Martha?" Alex said, voice barely a whisper and rather hoarse.

"Yeah. Yeah, it's me." Martha eyed the Master warily as she went over and touched one of Alex's chained hands. "The Doctor's here too and Jack. Are you okay?"

She nodded slowly, turning her head as though skimming the room, the Doctor speaking up from on the floor.

"How long has she been here? What did you do to her?"

The Master hummed and Alex stiffened, shifting away from him warily. "Hm, she's been here, what? Two weeks? Three?" He shrugged. "And personally, I didn't do much of anything. _She's_ the one who popped in uninvited. I simply peeked into her head a few times and tossed her in isolation."

"Do you know what you've done?" The Doctor growled out, furious.

The Master rolled his eyes. "Duh. But it's not like I care. I wouldn't of had to do it if she just told me everything."

"Her mind is _fragile_!" The Doctor shouted. "And you just ripped through it like an animal! She could be permanently damaged!"

"I've been checking on her and she's fine." The Master drawled, waving his hand lazily. "Just has a few extra things going on upstairs, is all."

The Doctor went to yell again, but Alex's voice stopped him.

"Doctor? Doctor, the Tardis… She keeps screaming. I want to help, but she keeps screaming."

The tapping on her leg grew more frantic and the Master sighed.

"She keeps going on about that. Hasn't stopped, actually. Kept telling me to let the Tardis go. The only time she didn't was when the drumming became too much for her."

Alex turned her head to face him and a snarl appeared on her face. "Leave him alone. Leave the Doctor and the others alone."

The Master turned to her angrily and stomped up to her, wrapping a hand around her throat as Martha went to protest, only for the Doctor to put a hand on her wrist to stop her.

"You don't tell me what to do."

"Noise. That's all you are." She snapped back, voice tight from his hold on her neck. "You're just a-angry, because I'm not as crazy as you… Frustrating, isn't it, _Koschei_."

The Master growled, letting out a shout as he threw Alex back into one of the guards.

"Put her back! I'll deal with her later."

The guards roughly pulled her out of the room and the Master sighed, bringing a hand to his forehead as he scrunched his brows together.

"_Oh_, where was I?"

There was a metallic noise and the Toclafane popped up above him.

"Is it time? Is it ready?" One asked.

"Is the machine ready?" Another followed.

The Master checked his watch. "Two minutes past." He then headed back up the steps and faced the cameras once more. "So, Earthlings. Basically, um, end of the world." Holding up his laser screwdriver, he shouted out. "Here come the drums!"

Music began playing and he and his wife danced along, before he rushed to the window to watch as a large crack formed in the sky and Toclafane poured in. He continued to dance and made his way back up the stairs to the higher platform to join his wife at the large window, as Jack started to come back to life.

"How many do you think?" The Master asked her with a smirk.

"I-I don't know."

"Six _billion_. Down you go, kids!" He said, flicking off the music and waving a hand for the Toclafane to head down into Earth. "Shall we decimate them?… That sounds good. A nice word, _decimate_. Remove one tenth of the population!"

The Toclafane attacked and the Doctor said something to Martha before she stood up and backed away, teleporting somewhere unknown. The Master had noticed, but hardly cared. What could one human do, after all. So he had the guards bring the Doctor up the stairs and he and his wife held him up to watch as the Toclafane destroyed one tenth of the world's population.

"And it came to pass, that the human race fell. And the earth was no more. And I looked down upon my new dominion as Master of all. And I thought it… good."

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"Leave him alone."_

_The Master frowned over at the woman who stood there in the back of the video, defiant._

_"Or _what_?" He demanded._

_"Or I'll tell them. I'll give them a name to match the face of the _Master_."_


	21. The Last of the Time Lords

**And the next chapter is up! ^^ sorry it took so long, but thanks a ton to those who've reviewed, favorited and followed this story! i hope you enjoy this next chapter and, once again, a warning about torture in this one too. but don't feel too bad! things will pick up in the next chapter.**

* * *

I took a deep breath, shaking slightly as my fingers danced on my thigh in that beat of four.

_Duh duh duh dum._

_Duh duh duh dum._

_Duh duh duh dum._

I couldn't make it stop. It was as though the Master had carved the drum beat into my head when he first went into my mind to find out who I was. I tried everything to shut it out since then. I held my own hands together to try and keep from tapping, but then I'd tap my foot or bounce my leg, or run my tongue along my teeth. I physically couldn't stop. So I tried mentally blocking it out. It would work the first few times I tried it, but then the Master kept coming and forcing the drumming back on me and any barriers I built up against it would shatter like glass. I was trying though. I would never stop trying.

He nearly broke me though. Very nearly and more than once. The drumming wasn't helping and when he started trying to assault me, I quickly snapped and would attack him with a ferocity that even _I_ didn't know I was capable of. _It's the drumming._ I told myself the first time it happened and I had broken the Master's nose with a head butt when he'd slipped his hand up my shirt. The times after that though, the drumming was so loud and my skin seemed to burn where he touched me, until I'd tried to strangle him or kick him in the crotch or bite his ear off.

The drumming made the violence worse, I thought. It just pulled forth that bundle of emotions that made the Master go insane and tried to do the same with me. The anger, frustration, pain, _fear_. It multiplied it ten fold and used it to block any rational thoughts. And with the Tardis being in so much pain all the time, that only seemed to encourage the drumming. Like the drumming was feeding off those emotions and getting worse. So I tried that. I stopped reacting. I shoved my emotions as far back as I could and locked them in a mental box. Not even the Master could rile me up now. He kissed me? Nothing. He hit me. Nothing. Threats, attacks, starving, _electrocution_. Nothing. I wouldn't show anything to him. Not to him or the guards or anyone. Not that anyone visited me in isolation.

I yearned for things though. I yearned for this to be over. For me to pop off with Eleven or Twelve or even a Tenth Doctor who hated me, but it never happened. A whole _year_ and nothing. I wanted to see the Doctor sometimes too, because sometimes, when I could get some sleep, there were times that I heard him talking to me. Different versions, but they were him all the same. Eleven would comfort me and apologize, saying that it wouldn't be long now. And I could hear Ten too. I didn't know if it was him in the other room or if it was a future him, or if I was really going mad and none of these Doctors were even real. But this Ten would apologize over and over again, telling me to wait just a little more. Just a little bit longer.

"_Don't stop fighting."_

I was hanging onto those words, from when I was with Donna-Tenth the last time. They were all I had left, really. I hadn't been allowed to see anyone but the Master or my guard who fed me on occasion. It was that thought that kept me going, kept me strong, kept me from breaking under the pressure. I'd nearly cracked when the Tardis was finally used as the Paradox machine, and almost broke down after that when the Master used electrocution on me upon finding how it bothered me with the Daleks. I probably shouldn't of called out his name in front of the Doctor like that. I didn't even think that'd be something that would rile him up so much, but it did and whenever I wanted to have that bit of satisfaction that I had something to hold over his head, I'd use it. I never told him anything though. He never found out much from my memories either, so it obviously frustrated him when he wanted to know how his plan turned out and I'd say nothing. On occasion though, I'd give him a hint in exchange for something.

I once asked for Jack to be given a meal of whatever he asked for and told the Master that it would be a year before anything changed. And another time I asked for Martha's family to have a day off with their own dinner, in exchange for telling the Master that the Doctor told Martha about a weapon that would kill him; though I didn't give him anything more than that. He would of found out through the rumors of Martha anyway. I never asked for anything for myself though, because I knew that the Doctor was outside living in a tent as an old man watching the world burn; that Martha was out _in_ that world just trying to survive and spread the word; and that Jack was being killed again and again just for entertainment.

I didn't have it that bad. I told myself. I deserved it, for abandoning my family to be here. I deserved it for letting people die when I could save them. I deserved it for hurting the Doctor so much. _Shh. _I mentally shushed myself, trying not to think about it because that would make the drumming worse than it already was.

_Duh duh duh dum._

_Duh duh duh dum._

_Duh duh duh dum._

_A year… A whole year… Three o' clock… It'll happen soon… The year that never was._

* * *

14:58, the clock said. Two minutes to three and Jack started pulling at the chains that held his wrist captive as the Master walked unknowingly onto the flight deck.

"Time for my message. Who shall I have today? Tanya. Come on, sweetheart." He said to the woman sitting at a desk nearby. "Lucy, have you met Tanya? She's gorgeous. Tanya, when we go to the stars, I'm going to take you to the Catrigia Nova. Whirlpools of gold." He said as the woman headed over and started massaging his shoulders; his coat now lying on the table. "You two should get to know each other. That might be fun!"

As he enjoyed himself, Jack finally broke free of the chains and grabbed a pipe, blowing white hot steam in a guard's face the same time Martha's father, Clive, dumped a bucket of water on some electrical wires downstairs.

"Condition red. Repeat. Condition red!" A call came out over the speaker as Martha's mother, Francine, grabbed the Master's coat and tossed it to Tish, who passed it to the Doctor. Using that chance, he pulled out the laser screwdriver and aimed it at the Master on the upper deck, who held his hands up.

"_Oh_, I see."

"I told you. I have one thing to say."

The Master started laughing though, as Jack and Clive downstairs were caught by the guards and the Doctor tried using the screwdriver unsuccessfully.

"Isomorphic controls." The Master said, leaning down to take it from him and punching him. "Which means, they only work for me. Like this." He aimed it over at Francine, purposely missing by mere inches. "Say sorry!"

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!"

"Mom!" Tish ran over to the bowed woman, hugging her as the Master came back down the stairs.

"Didn't you learn anything from the blessed saint Martha?"

Lucy, his wife, rushed over and picked up his coat, replacing it on his shoulders as he went on.

"Siding with the Doctor, is a very dangerous thing to do. Take them away."

A guard took the two out of the room and the Master went over and helped the Doctor back up into a chair.

"Okay. Gotcha. There ya go, gramps." He sat on the table and spun the Doctor around with his foot. "Do you know, I remember the days, when the Doctor—oh, that famous Doctor—was waging Time War. Battling sea devils. And Axons. You sealed the rift at the Medusa Cascade single-handed." The Master shook his head with a breath. "Look at him now. Stealing screwdrivers. How did he ever come to this?… Oh yeah! Me!"

The Master laughed, but the Doctor still spoke up.

"I just… need you to listen."

"No. It's _my_ turn. _Revenge_! Best served _hot_. And this time, it's a message for Miss Jones." He turned to the woman Tanya and nodded. "Get the cameras. And guards? Bring the girl."

Once everything was set up and Alex was brought in, the Master went over and adjusted the camera a bit; having lost most of the camera men during a temper tantrum of his.

"My people. Salutations. On this, the eve of war. Lovely woman." He joked. "But I know that all sorts of whispers down there. Stories of a child, walking the Earth, giving you hope. But I ask you, how much hope has this man and woman got?" He went over and stood behind the chair the Doctor sat in and then grabbed the woman by the chain on her neck and pulled her to lean over behind him. "Say hello, Gandalf, Pest."

He released the woman and a set of guards pulled her back as the Master went on.

"Except he's not _that_ old, but he's an alien with a much greater lifespan than you stunted little apes. But what if it showed? What if I suspend your capacity to regenerate?" He asked, pulling some things on the laser screwdriver in his hands. "All 900 years of your life, Doctor. What if we could see them?"

"Leave him alone."

The Master frowned over at the woman who stood there in the back of the video, defiant.

"Or _what_?" He demanded.

"Or I'll tell them. I'll give them a name to match the face of the _Master_."

The Master frowned seriously. "I'll make you leave."

"Then I'll shout it as I get dragged out." She retorted and he aimed the screwdriver at her.

"Then I'll kill you right here, right now."

"And risk not knowing what happens next?" She questioned, though the expression on her face never changed.

"I can wait." He challenged in return.

"Oh, but then you won't know about the gu—" She suddenly stopped. "Oops, I should stop there. Nearly gave it away. That wouldn't be good."

"What?!" He snapped, stepping closer with the screwdriver still raised. "I won't know about the what?! _Tell me_!"

"Then leave him _be_."

He was right in front of her now and grabbed her throat tightly, ripping the white bandage off from her eyes as she clenched them shut with grit teeth; not used to being back out in the light when her isolation cell was kept dark most of the time.

"Tell me, or I'll find out myself. The _hard_ way."

She stayed completely silent, wheezing as he strangled her, before he threw her back at the guards with a snarl and aimed the screwdriver at the Doctor once more, holding the button down as the man writhed in agony.

"Down you go, Doctor." The Master snarled. "Down, down, down the years. And not even _Alex_ can save you."

The Doctor seemed to disappear under the clothes once he'd sank to the floor and the Master headed over, silently wondering if he'd killed the man, kneeling over towards the bundle of clothes.

"Doctor."

Within it, was a golem-like creature, but he was just out of view of the camera and the Master knew that, approaching the machine and pushing the issue.

"Received and understood, Miss Jones?"

With that, he shut off the camera and turned to Alex, storming over as the guards held her still and she stared blankly at him; her drumming fingers being the only thing to show her frustration.

"And now for you."

He pressed his fingers to her temples and forced his way into her head, searching for what she had been about to tell him, but everything had already started getting closed off and just when he believed to of found it, the vision was cut off and he was forced out of her head; having to dodge her as she viciously threw her head forward to head butt him; panting and wild-eyed as she snarled in an animalistic fashion.

"Put the bird in it's cage." The Master ordered, nodding over towards the Doctor and a guard brought in a bird cage to put him in it, as the Master held out his hand for a baton.

Once it was given to him, he swung it down across Alex's head with a deafening crack, forcing the guards to carry her before the man hit her hard in the stomach and they let her fall to the floor in a heap. The Master then grabbed the chain around her neck and forced her to raised her head and face him as he knelt down in front of her.

"_Don't_ _test me._" He snarled, tossing the baton aside and turning away. "Chain her up by him."

The guards hauled her to her feet and half-dragged, half-carried her over to where the Doctor was, chaining her to the wall behind him as he stared on sadly. She was still so strong, but he could see the damage done to her from being here. He'd missed her and worried for her everyday, hoping for just a chance to see her whether she was the Alex who loved him or not. Because he'd hoped that just one glimpse would help her fight, would help _him_ fight, but not like this.

She was gaunt, frighteningly so, with bruises and cuts and burns littering what skin he could see and he could only question what sort of pain she was hiding. Even as weakened as she was now though, he could see her fingers twitching that familiar four beat pattern, despite the fact that she was near unconsciousness. For now, however, she was allowed to rest because the Master soon left to go enjoy himself and have a meal with his wife as well as prepare for the launch that was going to happen tomorrow.

* * *

"Alex." A croaky voice spoke up and I twitched, coming back to consciousness after passing out sometime the night before.

My head ached terribly from the hit the Master had given me on top of everything else. I tried to concentrate on the drumming, hoping that it would give me the same pain-relieving effects it had before, but it only gave me half the effects without someone there to force it deeper into my head. My finger tapped angrily on my skull (the only thing I could reach with my hands above my head) as I cringed at the pain and wearily opened my eyes to see the Doctor hanging onto the bars of his cage and looking down at me with large, sad eyes. My chest clenched at the sight and I wondered if this may be because I liked him—even in this form—and felt upset because of what he was turned into. But my head quickly rebutted that and I looked away, believing it to be guilt.

"Sorry." I muttered under my breath, unable to face him. _I tried… but that's never good enough, is it…_

"Are you alright?" He asked and I felt sick.

_Why was he worried about me? Look at him! He's been turned into some golem-looking alien and he's worried about _me_?!_ The drumming grew louder and I winced.

"F-Fine. I'm fine. Headache, shoulder pain. Nothing I can't handle. Haven't been handling. Already handling."

I flinched at the look he was giving me, knowing that I hadn't convinced him in the slightest, but keeping my mind blank as best I could. _I can't give in. Not now. Even if it helps with the pain. I can't—_ I let out a slight whimper as the pain in my shoulder flared up just as I had stopped focusing on the drumming; getting the full force of the blow.

"Ale—"

"I'm _fine_." I snipped, turning away from him and curling up the best I could as the drumming flared up along with my frustration. "Fine. Fine. Fine. Fine. Fine." I breathed out, just as the doors opened and the Master came in along with some guards and all of the prisoners, including the long missing Martha Jones.

_Martha. Martha's here. Today. It ends Today. The year that never was, but will always be._ My mind raced as an announcement was made to the world and Martha approached the platform that the Master was on, before she glanced with a sad look at the Doctor and I. _Don't look. Look at him. Don't look at me._

"Your teleport device, in case you'd though I'd forgotten." The Master said, holding out his hand as Martha pulled out the Vortex Manipulator from her pocket and tossed it to him. "And now… kneel."

She did so as the Master spoke to the others.

"Down below, the fleet is ready to launch. Two hundred thousand ships set to burn across the universe." He headed over and pressed a button on a control panel. "Are we ready?"

"The fleet awaits your signal. Rejoice!"

"Three minutes to align the black hole converters. Counting down." The Master called out, turning towards the clock on the wall before moving back to the railing of the platform. "I never could resist a ticking clock. My children, are you ready?"

"We will fly and blaze and slice. We will fly and blaze and slice." The Toclafane replied.

"At zero, to mark this day, the child Martha Jones will die. My first blood." He laughed, tossing a hand at Alex. "Other than Alex, of course. Any last words? No?… Such a disappointment, this one. Days of old, Doctor, you had companions who could absorb the Time Vortex. You had people stronger than Alex. This one's useless."

"She's not useless." Alex said, making the Master roll his eyes and flip his screwdriver around, before aiming it and pointing it at her; shocking her with a bolt of electricity before he adjusted the settings once more and turned it to Martha.

"Bow your head. And so it falls to me, as Master of all, to establish from this day, a new order of Time Lords. From this day forward—"

Martha started laughing, cutting him off and confusing him.

"Wha… What's so funny?" He asked, lowering his screwdriver as Martha lifted her head.

"A gun."

"What about it?"

"The gun hidden in four parts." She said and he nodded, getting annoyed.

"Yes. And I destroyed it."

"A gun in four parts scattered across the world? I mean, come on. Did you really believe that?"

"What do you mean?"

"As if I would ask her to kill." The Doctor croaked out, grabbing a bar of his cage as the Master held out his arms in question.

"Oh well. It doesn't matter. I've got her exactly where I want her."

"But I _knew_ what Professor Docherty would do. The Resistance knew about her son. I told her about the gun, so she'd get me here at the right time."

"Oh, but you're _still_ going to die."

Alex started laughing then, loudly, madly, and drawing the Master's attention to her.

"Oh, what _now_?"

"The gun. The gun!" She laughed, before lifting her head to show the first hint of emotion she'd shown in nearly a year; a smirk. "Don't you remember? I nearly let it slip a year ago. You wanted to know about it, so I told you about the gun. I told you about the four parts."

"Yeah. I know. So what?" He frowned, not liking where this was going.

"I told you the rumors. Exactly what the rumors would say, but a whole year in the future. The gun never existed, not physically."

"Tell me _now!_" He shouted, screwdriver aimed at her once more.

"The most powerful weapon in the world, _words._" She said, just before he shocked her out of fury.

"_Words_?! A word is not a weapon! _This_ is a weapon! This!" He shouted at the woman who writhed in agony.

"Stop it!" Martha shouted, and he turned to her in his fury, turning the screwdriver back her way but not doing anything.

"Is _that_ what you were going to tell me? About _words_?"

"Yes and no." She said, being careful of her response. "While I was traveling the world, I told a story. I did just what the Doctor said. I went across the continents all on my own. And everywhere I went, I found the people and I told them my story. I told them about the Doctor and I told them to pass it on. To spread the word so that everyone would know about the Doctor."

"Faith and hope? Is that all?" He snarled, getting more and more frustrated by the second; something only Alex seemed to be able to do to him anymore.

"No, because I gave them an instruction, just as the Doctor said." Martha stood up then, making him eye her suspiciously. "I told them that if everyone thinks of one word, at one specific time—"

"Nothing will happen!" He cut her off, putting the screwdriver away in disbelief. "Is that your weapon? _Prayer_?"

"Right across the world, _one_ word, just _one_ thought at one moment, but with _15_ satellites."

"What?"

"The Archangel Network." Jack said, catching on.

"A telepathic field binding the whole human race together, with all of them, every single person on Earth, thinking the same thing at the same time. And that word… is Doctor."

The countdown hit zero and the cage the Doctor was in started to glow, him along with it and he grew as the Master realized what was going on.

"Stop it. No, no, no, no, no. No you don't!"

The people in the ship and the people all around the world started shouting and thinking the same thing. _Doctor_.

"Stop this right now. Stop it!" The Master demanded as the Doctor stood up.

"I've had a whole year to tune myself into the psychic network and integrate with its matrices."

"I order you to stop!" The Master continued, but it was useless; the Doctor was turning back.

"But one thing you can't do… Stop them thinking." He levitated off the ground a bit, facing the Master. "Tell me the human race is degenerate now, when they can do this."

"No!" The Master shouted, firing his screwdriver at the Doctor, but it hit the energy swirling around the man harmlessly.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Then I'll kill them." The Master said, turning to aim his screwdriver at Martha, only for the Doctor to knock it out of his hands. "You can't do this! You can't do this! It's not _fair_!"

"And you know what happens now." The Doctor said, making the Master panic as he floated closer.

"No! No! No! No!" The man cried out, backing up to the wall behind him.

"You wouldn't listen."

"No!"

"Because you know what I'm going to say."

"_No._" The Master said, curled up and trying to claw at the wall to get away, but the Doctor just floated down and held him. "I forgive you."

* * *

I watched this scene in awe, still chained up and shaking slightly, but I wondered to myself if I could forgive him too. I remember telling the Doctor after this to forgive people as I was dying, but could I do the same to a man who tortured me? To a man who put this drumming in my head that would continue to torture me? A man who turned the Tardis against itself, making it scream out in agony inside my head, all for the sake of trying to understand something? For trying to live a life despite everything turning having already been destroyed? Could I really blame him? Could I truly hate him for what he's done to me? To all these people here? To the people that will never remember their fate?

I could, I realized. I didn't know why, but I felt as though I could forgive him. I could forgive him, because the Doctor forgave him. Because, although no human on this ship would, I could forgive him. And I almost… I almost didn't want to do it for me. I didn't want to do it to be the better person. And I didn't want to do it to show the future Doctors that I wasn't being a hypocrite. I wanted to do it, because he was like me. Alone, with no one to turn to but the Doctor, and he just chose not to. He chose to turn to the only other thing he knew; himself and the drumming in his head. And he went mad because of it. He wanted to prove he was strong, better than the Doctor, and that would be his downfall in the end. But the next question was, should I change the end?

Pain racked my form suddenly, as the ship started shaking and I slid across the deck, somehow having had my chains unhooked from the wall. I hit my head on the wall, before someone grabbed me and held me with them, as I curled up in a ball and let out a cry of pain, clutching my shoulder in agony. When it all finally stopped, I was hardly conscious and realized that it wasn't the Doctor who'd grabbed me, but the Master, who now clung to me like a life preserver. He released me then, practically tossing me aside as the Doctor started speaking.

"The paradox is broken. We've reverted back, one year and one day. Two minutes past eight in the morning." He rushed over to a panel and turned a knob on a radio.

"_This is UNIT central. What's happened up there? We just saw the President assassinated._"

"See? Just after the President was killed, but just before the spheres arrived. Everything back to normal. Planet Earth restored. None of it happened. The rockets, the terror. It never was." He said, turning it off as Martha stared up at him in confusion and I tried to at least move into a sitting position.

"What about the spheres?"

"Trapped at the end of the universe."

"But I can remember it." Francine muttered, confused.

"We're at the eye of the storm. The only one's who'll ever know." The Doctor said seriously, before spotting Clive and rushing over to shake his hand happily. "Oh, hello! You must be Mr. Jones. We haven't actually met."

The Master rushed for the door, only for Jack to be there and bring him back into the room.

"Woah, big fella! You don't want to miss the party. Cuffs."

A guard passed him handcuffs and Jack handcuffed the Master's arms behind his back before leading him forward a bit.

"So! What do we do with this one?"

"We kill him." Clive snarled.

"We execute him." Tish followed, myself slowly making my way along the wall, trying to get within distance of the Master.

"No, that's not the solution." The Doctor said, but Francine had another idea and lifted the pistol she'd picked up earlier.

"Oh, I think so. Because all those things, they still happened."

The Doctor slowly made his way down the steps towards her, not making any sudden movements should he scare her into taking the shot.

"Because of him, I _saw_ them."

"Go on. Do it." The Master encouraged, as the Doctor reached her.

"Francine… You're better than him."

The woman was crying now, and dropped the gun to the floor, hugging the Doctor as Martha rushed down the steps and took her off of him to comfort her. The Master wasn't pleased, but still wanted to know what would happen.

"You still haven't answered the question. What happens to me?"

"You're my responsibility from now on." The Doctor replied. "The only Time Lord left in existence."

Jack rushed over to him in surprise. "Yeah, but you can't trust him."

"No." The Doctor agreed. "The only safe place for him is the Tardis."

"You mean you're just gonna… keep me." The Master questioned in disbelief.

"Hm. If that's what I have to do." The Doctor nodded, before facing Jack and the others. "It's time to change. Maybe I've been wandering for too long. Now I have someone to care for."

I rushed forwards as fast as my body would take me, just as the gunshot went off. The gunshot meant to kill the Master. A searing pain went through my hip just before my legs gave out and I cringed, waiting for the impact from the floor only to get caught by the Doctor.

"Hold on, Alex. Okay? J-Just hang on for me." He said with a smile, before lying me down and moving behind me as Jack got the gun from Lucy. "There you go. I've got you. I've got you."

_No…_ I grunted, forcing myself up onto my hands and knees shakily as the Doctor tried to stop me.

"Alex, Alex, please. You shouldn't be moving."

"D-Did she hit him?" I asked, cringing as my hip ached in protest and the drums in my head grew louder as my emotions ran high. "Did she?"

The Doctor looked away from me, silently letting me know she _had_ hit the Master, who chose that time to joke.

"Always the women."

"I didn't see her." The Doctor said, sending a glance at me as the Master turned to me with a frown.

"But you did… So why?"

"Because…" I breathed out, moving to sit, only to move back to lie on the floor instead. "Because I forgive you."

He seemed surprised, but quickly frowned up at the Doctor. "Dying in your arms. Happy now?"

"You're not dying. Don't be stupid. It's only a bullet. Just regenerate."

"No."

"One little bullet. Come on."

"I guess you don't know me so well. I refuse." The Master said, making the Doctor sound more desperate.

"Regenerate. Just regenerate. Please. _Please_! Just regenerate. Come on."

"And spend the rest of my life imprisoned with _you_?"

"You've got to. Come on. It can't end like this. You and me, all the things we've done. Axons. Remember the Axons? And the Daleks." The Doctor began to cry and I felt a tear slip down my face as well, feeling guilty for not being able to stop this and angry and frustrated; the drumming in my head echoing my pains.

"We're the only two left… There's no one else… _Regenerate_!" The Doctor begged, but the Master just smiled.

"How about that… I win." He then eyed the Doctor, questioning. "Will it stop, Doctor? The drumming. Will it stop?"

The Master's eyes rolled back and he died in the Doctor's arms before the man could answer and the Doctor just held him close and rocked back and forth, before expressing his own frustration.

"No!"

I stared, a few tears still slipping down my face, but all emotion locked back up. I had to. The drumming was deafening, otherwise. Even now as I tried to lock everything back, I could still hear it; tapping the beat on the floor. The Doctor's eyes turned to me and I quickly looked away, but he asked me something anyway.

"Will it?" He asked. "Will the drumming go away?"

"…until the next time." I muttered, looking over at him and wincing as my shoulder started to ache; making me question if I was finally popping off somewhere or not. "The Master… will save the universe… and… I'm sorry."

He looked at me and then shifted closer, pulling me up as he hugged me and cried into my shoulder.

"It's not your fault. You tried. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Thank you, Alex. Thank you, my Alexander. Thank you for forgiving. Thank you for fighting. Thank you for trying to save him."

I hesitated, but returned the hug, feeling tears well up within me again as they spilled onto his suit.

"Keep fighting. Keep forgiving. You will find another soon." I said, the last bit referring to Martha, who I knew would be leaving him. "And I'm sorry. I will try not to be, but I am."

And with that, I popped off, not knowing what I would do next because the drumming was still there, and I knew that it may slowly drive me to insanity alongside the Master.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_I was scared. More scared than I had ever been, because I could feel it slipping. I could feel everything slipping, and my sanity would be one of the first things to go._


	22. Closing Time

**Here's the next chapter and, as promised, things have lightened up, though not entirely. there will be some PTSD-like symptoms in this and i hope that i did a good job of showing the kinds of struggles Alex is going through. but please let me know what you think! ^^ and sorry the sneak peak isn't much. it's harder than it looks to find a good sneak peak...**

* * *

I fell to the floor below me and proceeded to curl up into a ball as the drumming echoed through my head loudly in a vain attempt to counter the pain in my hip and shoulder. I whimpered, tapping the drum beats on my head as I clutched it in pain, warily looking around to figure out where I was. The worried humming of the Tardis informed me that I was in one of her hallways and I forced myself to get up, leaning heavily against the wall as I worked my way down the hall. _S-Sexy, please. I-I need the Doctor._ I stumbled, hitting my knees on the ground with a cringe, and having a hard time getting back up. My shoulder burned, feeling as though a fire was making it's way from it through the rest of my body as I tried to keep moving; the drumming only increasing in tempo and loudness as my heart thudded against my rib cage.

_Make it stop. Please… The drumming… Please, Doctor… Doctor!_ I mentally begged, panting with my vision fogging up and tears slipping down my face at the guilt. _I did this. I did this to myself. I-I let the drumming infect me and now… He'll hate me for it. Eleven a-and Twelve and the others… W-What have I done?_ I slowly slid down the wall to the floor, clutching my head and sobbing, finally letting out everything that I'd been holding back while with the Master because I was alone to myself for the first time in over a year. Because I knew he had been watching. He never stopped. In that cell, all I could do was question whether his eyes were on me, watching me through cameras or a crack in the wall or something else. And I was so scared. The Master may be gone, but the drumming was still there. It was like the man himself was in my head haunting me, and as much as I tried to tell myself I was safe, I couldn't stop shaking. I couldn't stop crying. I couldn't stop _tapping_. Because I was scared. More scared than I had ever been, because I could feel it slipping. I could feel everything slipping, and my sanity would be one of the first things to go.

"Alex?!"

Something touched me and I flinched back, curling tighter around myself as the drumming fed off my fear.

"D-Don't touch me." I breathed out, feeling sickened with myself.

I didn't want him to touch me. I didn't want this kind, gentle Eleventh Doctor to touch me because I was tainted. I had the drumming in my head because I wanted it. Because it was a drug that I had grown addicted to. I was dirty. I _felt_ dirty. I had given in despite what he'd told me, and I knew I did. I didn't show it while I was there. I hid it, buried it deep within my head. But now it was too much. Everything hurt and the drumming was the only thing that could stop it, even if it only did so for a little while.

"You're hurt…" He breathed out, and I felt his fingers gently brush my hip, despite me trying to move away from him. "Alex, let me help."

"You can't. You can't help. Not with this." I muttered quickly, feeling my breaths shorten as I began to panic.

"Alex, _please_. I want to help, but I can't do anything until you tell me what's wrong."

"N-No. No, I can't. I can't." I panted out, the drumming pounding violently against my skull, and feeling as though I couldn't get enough air in my lungs.

"Alex, look at me."

I couldn't. I was staring straight ahead at my knees in fear, breath hardly coming out at all now and the drumming echoing.

_Duh duh duh dum._

_Duh duh duh dum._

_Duh duh duh dum._

"I'm sorry, Alex." I heard him mutter, before feeling two hands on the side of my head and all restraint went out the window.

"No!" I launched myself up and tackled him to the ground, eyes wild and the drumming melding with that fear into something violent. "Don't you _touch_ me! Don't you _ever_ touch me!" I shouted, shaking hands fisted in his shirt.

"A-Alex. Alex, it's okay." He said softly, reaching a hand up, but I flinched back from it, cautious. "You're safe now, Alex. No one's going to hurt you. It's just me. Just the Doctor. No one else."

My grip slackened slightly as I started to realize what was going on. What _I'd_ just done. I was scared. I was just so scared. I'd had something snap in me when he brought his hands to my temples and suddenly it was the Master trying to force the drums on me again. Trying to rip and tear his way through my head for information. But it wasn't. It was Eleven. It was the Doctor. He was only trying to help and I panicked. I lashed out. I _attacked_ him. _No… No, no, no, no, no._ I let go of him, looking between him and my hands in shock, feeling my breathing quicken once more as he started to sit up and I moved back, hands on my head.

"Alex?"

"I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I-I'm so sorry." I stuttered out quickly. "I-I didn't mean… I-I can't… The drumming, i-it just won't _stop_." I let out a choked sob as I clenched my eyes shut and curled up on myself again, stiffening when the Doctor wrapped his arms around me and pressed his lips to the top of my head.

"Oh, Alex. My poor Alexander. What have they done to you?"

"I'm s-sorry. I-I'm sorry." I sobbed, uncurling myself to cling to him like a child. "I'm so, so s-sorry."

"Shh. It's alright. It wasn't your fault." He comforted me, just holding me and rocking me back and forth slightly, brushing a hand through my hair like my mother used to and gently putting me to sleep.

* * *

The Doctor was worried, as to be expected when he'd run into Alex having a mental breakdown in one of the Tardis hallways. He had to thank the old girl though, seeing as the box had interrupted what he was doing and led him down there. Who knows what would of happened otherwise. Once she'd fallen asleep that first day though, he'd brought her to the medical bay and treated her hip, thanking the fact that the bullet had only clipped the edge of her pelvis and did nothing more than put a tiny crack in the bone before exiting her body. There was far more damage than he thought though, elsewhere on her body, anyway.

He had a clue where she'd possibly come from, but the wounds she had confirmed it for him and he felt red hot fury spread through him at the sight of the bruises, cuts, and burns on her body. It infuriated him to know what had happened to her while with the Master, because he _knew_ it was him who did this. He was the only one the Doctor had ever seen scare her this badly. _Scar_ her this badly. And the constant tapping of her fingers set him on edge. Even as she slept, she tapped them and when he tried to stop her, she appeared to be pained almost, so he left her be.

He'd forgotten that it would be his Eleventh self that would encounter her right after her ordeal; something her future self had mentioned once before. And for him to see her like this, it broke his hearts. He knew she was suffering and blaming herself for falling to the drumming, to the point of attacking him. He'd seen it in her eyes when she looked at him in fear. Fear of what she'd done and of how he would react. Her future self had told him before how bad the attacks could be, and he'd personally witnessed how the withdrawals would turn out later on. He only hoped that she would have some support when she popped off next, because she was very damaged right now, and he questioned how this would change her and how he'd get her back to her old self.

_I have to try. _He told himself, sending the Tardis off, before going back to check up on her. He'd already moved her from the medic bay and into her room, knowing that she'd be more comfortable there and less likely to have a panic attack when she next awoke. Already, she'd had far too many and as hard as he tried, it was difficult for him not to rush over and just comfort her. He'd seen how she reacted the first time. His hearts still hurt to hear her shout at him not to touch her. As though she thought she was dirty. He wanted to show her she wasn't, _tell_ her she wasn't. But the drumming had effected her to the point that she doubted herself. Her own _thoughts_ and _actions_. And she'd only just started allowing him to hug her again.

Oh, how he missed her. He missed her smile, her laughter, her wit. He missed her tentative kisses and light touches. He missed her fierceness and her passion and her quirky little history facts. The way her eyes would light up upon learning something new, or how her cheeks would turn red in embarrassment when he showed his own affection and her mouth would drop open in surprise as she'd freeze up and then make a comment about him being too touchy, or too excited, or being just plain ridiculous. But he could see how much she enjoyed it and it was cute how she always tried to hide it. Hide how much she cared. But this was a future Alex. And the Alex with him now may never become that Alex if he couldn't find a way to help her through this. So he had to do everything he could to help her. Starting with some good old relaxation.

* * *

I didn't want to go out. I think the Doctor noticed this, because he kept pestering me to join him. First, it was 'let's go to Kur-ha to go ice skating' then it was 'let's relax on the beaches of Nacre' and after that 'how about we play in the snows of Bruhl'. But I didn't want to. I was dangerous. The drumming made it hard for me to control myself and any fast movement or physical touch had me flinching away and making the drumming louder. I had already attacked the Doctor once and I was trying to stay away from him. From everyone. Because there was always that chance, that slim chance that I would snap again and attack someone.

I was actually glad Amy and Rory weren't aboard the Tardis to be witnesses of my metal breaks. The number of panic attacks were lessening already, but only because I'd started to shut myself up in my room away from things that would remind me of the Master or would cause my emotions to run high enough for the drumming to mess with me. As much as I was feeling better though, the drumming was still there as clear as day and I knew that as long as it was, there was still the chance that I could hurt someone. Hurt the Doctor.

I had no choice though, when we landed somewhere and he came into my room and sternly demanded that I come with him to 'visit an old friend' of ours. I didn't want to and I had told him as much, but he wouldn't take no for an answer and continued to pester me the whole way there until I finally said I would join him. You'd think he was a four year old child who was just told Christmas was coming early after that. So, bundled up in an over-sized black hoodie and some ratty jeans and sneakers, I reluctantly followed him out of the Tardis and into the night of some Earthly town to knock on the door of a home.

"We're just going to say hello and then we're off to see the Alignment of Exedor. Once in a lifetime opportunity you won't want to miss." He chirped happily while I kept my eyes off to the side and tapped my fingers inside the large pocket on the front of my jacket.

I felt bad when his expression fell, but he put the smile right back on when someone opened the door.

"I'm coping on my own!"

I turned, giving Craig a brief look as the Doctor smiled, unperturbed by the man's outburst.

"Hello, Craig. We're back."

"She didn't. How could she phone _you_?" Craig questioned, confusing us both.

"How could who phone me? Nobody phoned me, Alex and I are just here." He poked his head under the man's arm and peeked into the house. "Oh, you've redecorated. I don't like it."

"New house." I muttered under my breath, drumming my fingers a little faster as I tried to remember why this seemed familiar.

"It's a different house." Craig clarified, neither him nor the Doctor having heard me. "We moved."

"Yes, that's it."

"Doctor, what are you doing here?" Craig questioned, just as lost as I was, it seemed.

"Social call. Thought it was about time I tried one out and Alex needed a friendly face. How are you?"

"I'm fine."

"This is the bit where I say I'm fine too, isn't it? I'm fine, too. Good. Love to Sophie. Bye."

The Doctor turned to go, walking a few feet away as I stayed where I was, ignoring the look from Craig as I counted down.

"Three, two… one."

The lights flickered and the Doctor paused as I winced, rolling my shoulder. It had been acting up lately.

"Something's wrong."

The Doctor turned around and rushed into the house as I sighed and followed after him, Craig questioning me.

"What is he doing?"

"Looking for wrong things." I grumbled, heading further in as the Doctor whipped out his screwdriver and scanned the entryway towards the stairs.

"On your own, you said. But you're not. You're not on your own."

"Just shush." Craig said and I tried to get him to shut up as well, knowing that was sleeping in the other room.

"Doctor, you really need to—"

He cut me off, already up the stairs. "Increased sulfur emissions. And look at the state of this place. What are you not telling me?"

"Doctor, _please_." Craig begged, the two of them facing each other in the narrow space of the stairwell.

"Sh."

"No, you sh." Craig countered.

"Sh!"

"Sh!"

"No, you sh!" They shushed each other, starting to get louder as the Doctor approached the door.

"Doctor!"

I frowned, watching as the Doctor pulled out his screwdriver and prepared to burst in the room.

"Could you just be quiet for once?" I questioned him, the drumming starting to act up with my frustration. "It's not what you think."

He ignored me and stormed in the room screwdriver alight as he spoke loudly. "Whatever you are, get off this planet."

The baby cried out and he stopped, Craig rushing over and complaining.

"You've woken him!"

He sighed and took the baby boy out of his crib, bouncing him up and down to try and sooth the kid, but he kept crying. We all eventually headed downstairs—I myself picking things up along the way, hoping to keep my hands busy—and we gathered in the kitchen; the Doctor quickly raiding the fridge.

"So when you say on your own…"

"Yes, I meant on my own with the baby. Yes. Because no one thinks I can cope on my own. Which is so unfair, because I can't cope on my own with him." Craig said desperately, as the Doctor shushed the crying child. "I can't. He just cries all the time. I mean, do they have off switches?"

"Human beings. No. Believe me, I've checked." The Doctor said, flipping through a book on the table as Craig went to put Alfie in the baby chair

"No, babies."

"Same difference." The Doctor said, before I reached out, surprising Craig.

"Give me the kid."

"What? A-Are you sure? I mean, you don't, um—And no offense, but you don't look like the, um, parenting type."

I frowned at him, making him flinch. "Give me the kid or I won't help."

"Alright, alright." He said, handing Alfie over to me. "Good luck."

I took Alfie and relaxed, staying calm as the baby cried and just rocking back and forth as I stood in the kitchen; the baby soon going quiet as I picked up one of his toys and let him teethe on it. Craig stared in shock at this and pointed at me.

"Can you teach me to do that?"

I sent him a look. "Not that hard. Stay calm, don't panic like you've been doing, and rock back and forth. They're like…" I looked down at Alfie as he happily chewed on his toy. "…I don't know. They can just tell when you're tense or angry. Stay calm and they usually calm down too. As long as they don't need anything."

Craig groaned. "I'm rubbish at this. Alex is doing better than me and she's only been here five minutes!"

"Rubbish at what?" The Doctor questioned, tossing the book down on the table.

"Being a parent! You read all the books and they tell you you'll know what to do if you follow your instincts. I have _no_ instinct. That's what this weekend's about, trying to prove to people I can do this one thing well." Craig ranted on, but the Doctor was too busy reading a children's book, and laughed, making me roll my eyes.

"So what did you call him? Will I blush?" The Doctor asked, setting the book aside.

"No, we didn't call him the Doctor." Craig clarified.

"No, I didn't think you would." The Doctor almost sounded disappointed, and I sat down at the table with baby, my hip aching a bit at the added weight I was putting on it.

"He's called Alfie. What are you doing here anyway?" He quickly turned to me. "Not that I don't appreciate the help, Alex. That's the first time he's stopped crying since Sophie left."

"Yes, he likes that, Alfie." The Doctor said, listening to the baby's coos. "Though personally he prefers to be called Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All."

"Sorry, what?" Craig questioned.

"That's what he calls himself."

"And how do you know that?"

"He speaks baby."/"I speak baby." The Doctor and I both said.

"Of course you do. I don't even know when his nappy needs changing and I'm supposed to be his dad. Oh…" Craig sat down and put his face in his hands as I spoke this time.

"Not hard to figure out. If he's crying, there's only one of four things wrong."

"What's that?" Craig asked, paying attention to my tips.

"He's tired, he needs a changing, he needs to be burped, or he's hungry."

"But how do you _tell_?"

"They tend to do things in order." I sighed, leaning back in my seat as Alfie yawned. "You feed him and burp him, and the next time he cries, change him then put him to sleep. From there, the cycle repeats, with the occasional extra changing here and there. The only other time he would be crying is when he starts teething and his teeth start coming in."

"W-Wha… Are you like a baby expert or something? How do you know all of this?"

I gave him a blank expression. "I had six siblings. At least three of which I had to take care of as babies. After the first one, it gets easier." I paused, looking away. "Sort of."

"Oh." He groaned, rubbing his eyes as the Doctor started massaging his shoulders.

"Where is Sophie?"

"She's gone away with Melina for the weekend. She needs a rest."

Alfie made some noises and the Doctor gave him a look. "No, he's your dad. You can't just call him 'Not Mum'."

"Not mum?" Craig questioned in disbelief as the Doctor pat his back.

"That's you. Also, 'Not Mum', that's me. And everybody else is…" He leaned across the table to listen to Alfie's coos. "…peasants. That's a bit unfortunate. Oh! But Alex is 'Nearly Mum'. That's interesting."

"Lucky me." I muttered, yawning.

I was exhausted and hadn't slept much at all the past few days. The drumming was making it hard to and when I did manage to close my eyes for a bit, I just had nightmares. I think I only slept well maybe twice; once when the Doctor knocked me out with his metal prowess, and the other when I'd accidentally fallen asleep after another mental breakdown and he comforted me. In other words, I could really use some sleep though I was fearful of doing so. _I just… want this noise to go away._

* * *

The Doctor watched as Alex yawned and closed her eyes, her fingers tapping on little Alfie's leg gently, shifting slightly so he wouldn't fall out of her arms if she fell asleep. It wasn't often that he was around children, so the same applied to Alex, but he couldn't say he didn't enjoy seeing this side of her. Despite her appearance, she _was_ very motherly. And he was glad little baby Alfie was helping her relax enough to possibly get some sleep.

"What are you here for?" Craig asked, interrupting his staring. "What's happening?"

"We just popped in to say hello."

The Doctor reached down, picking up a piece of chalk and touching the end of his tongue to it, before making a face and setting it back down.

"You don't do that. I checked upstairs when we moved, it's real. And next door, both sides, they're human. Is it the fridge? Are there aliens in my fridge?" Craig questioned, trying to figure out why the Doctor was here.

"We just wanted to see you, Craig! Cross my hearts. I've been knocking about on my own for a bit before Alex showed up, and she's not in very good shape so we're taking a trip. Bit of a farewell tour. One last thing, popping in to see you, then we're off to the Alignment of Exedor."

"The Alignment of Exedor?"

"Seventeen galaxies in perfect unison. Meant to be spectacular. I can't miss it. _Literally_ can't. it's locked in a time stasis field. I get one crack at flying my Tardis straight into it, if I get my dates right." The Doctor explained, picking up the newspaper on the table and putting it back. "Which I have."

"Sounds nice."

"So this is me, popping in and popping out again. Just being social. Just having a laugh. Never mind that."

"Never mind what?"

"Hm… Nothing." The Doctor said, trying to cover up his unease.

"No, you've noticed something. You've got your noticing face on. I have nightmares about that face."

"Ooh, nope. Given up all that. Done noticing things." The Doctor groaned, holding a hand over his face before the lights flickered. "I didn't even notice that, for example. Well, got to go. Alex is falling asleep. Good seeing you, Craig. Goodbye, Stormagheddon. Come on, Alex."

She frowned, wearily handing the baby back to Craig and passing him some diapers. "He needs changing."

"No, no, wait, wait!" He cried out as Alfie started up again.

"I find this sometimes works." The Doctor said, bringing a finger up to his lips before he shushed the baby, making him stop.

"Can you teach me to do that?"

"Probably not." He replied, before taking Alex by the hand, trying to ignore her stiffening up and rushing towards the door. "It only works once and only on life forms with underdeveloped brains."

"Hang on. You said farewell tour. What do you mean, farewell?"

The Doctor turned to him and shushed him, just as he did to Alfie and Craig made a face, trying to answer only to find he couldn't. Taking that chance, the Doctor headed outside and grumbled to himself.

"Just go. Stop noticing. Just go. Stop noticing. Just go. Stop noticing. Just go. Stop it. Am I noticing? No. No I am not." He said, pausing his walk and taking out his screwdriver as Alex frowned at his side. "And what I am not doing is scanning for electrical fluctuations. Oh, shut up, you. I'm just dropping in on a friend. The last thing I need right now is a patina of teleport energy. I'm going. Do you hear me? Going." He said, leaning his forehead up against the Tardis as Alex sighed. "Not staying. Going. I am through saving them. I am going away now."

"No you're not." Alex grumbled, rubbing her fingers over her forehead. "Just save them. You're not done saving them and you never will be, so just give in and do it."

"I can't, Alex." He grumbled back. "You don't understand."

"Right. No. Course I don't." She snapped, fingers drumming rapidly on her thigh. "You're just trying to protect them, right? Amy and Rory? That's why you left. Gave them their own place and just left them. You didn't even _ask_ if that's what they wanted. You decided for yourself. Like you always do."

"That's not true." He frowned. "It's better this way."

"For who?" She snarled back, before grabbing her head and letting out a shout. "Argh! Why can't you just think?! You're a Time Lord. It's what you're good at, yeah? So think!" She turned to him and glared, though the Doctor could see she was doing her best to keep her temper from getting out of hand with the drumming. "You're obviously not happy, you're going to find out they're not happy, and I'm not happy that you're doing this under the assumption that everything will be just fine should you leave now and _not_ take care of whatever's teleporting people away. Last I checked, turning away from a problem is worse than trying to fix it. Craig could be in danger, Amy and Rory could be in danger. _Alfie_ could be in danger!" She reached forward and grabbed his tweed jacket in a fist, shocking and worrying the Doctor as she growled at him. "Stop acting like everything's your fault and get moving, because I'm not going to have you doing nothing when people are in danger because of me."

With that, she threw him back against the Tardis and stormed inside the blue box, leaving him out there feeling more worried for her and guilty about what he'd nearly done.

* * *

The next day, the Doctor managed to drag Alex out of bed—after a heartfelt apology—and take her down to the mall where he'd gotten a job in the toy department. He didn't try to get her one, knowing that her working wouldn't be the best thing right now, but the management was nice enough to let her stick around him while he was there and help sell toys. He hadn't known yesterday that his actions were upsetting her and making her blame herself even more, but now he was determined to make it up to her and even made her breakfast today; though she was still trying to get used to full meals now and pushed it away after only finishing half. And now, he was glad to see that she was getting along with the children behind him; building a castle out of legos and silently attracting more children somehow. _Natural magnetism._ The Doctor mused with a smile. _She'll be such a good parent._ Already he could see little moppy haired kids running around the Tardis, but shook the thought out of his head as it depressed him slightly, so he went back to flying the toy helicopter for the excited kids in front of him.

"It goes up tiddly up. It does down tiddly down for only 49.99, which I personally think is a bit steep, but then again, it's your parents' cash and they'll only waste it on boring stuff like lamps and vegetables. Yawn!" He was doing pretty well flying it, but he pressed the wrong switch at the wrong moment upon seeing Alex smile at a little boy and lost control. "Ah, nobody panic, but I appear to be losing control. Oopsy daisy."

The helicopter crashed near Craig, of all people, and the Doctor quickly gathered the kids around him.

"Guys, guys, ladies and gentlemen. While I deal with this awkward moment, you go on and find your parents slash guardians. Try in lamps." He high-fived a little girl and as the children dispersed, he held out both hands towards Craig. "Craig!"

"What the hell are you doing here?" The man asked, the Doctor trying to quickly come up with an excuse.

"I'm the Doctor. I work in a shop now. Here to help. Look, they gave me a badge with my name on it in case I forget who I am. Very thoughtful, as that does happen." He said, smiling and tapping his name-tag.

Alex came over then, giving Craig a glance before turning to the Doctor. "The name-tag is so _other_ people know what to call you."

"Really?" He frowned at it. "That's a bit stupid."

She sighed and rubbed her face, Craig noticing the dark bags under her eyes and wondering how she could look as though she'd gotten less sleep than he had.

"You were leaving." He said, bringing his attention back up to the Doctor. "The Alignment of… Exetor. What about that? One chance to see it, you said."

"Well, I was on my way, you know. Saw a shop, got a job. You got to live in the moment, Craig! Mind Yappy." He scolded as they started walking down the aisle.

"What?"

"Yappy!" The Doctor said, having picked up the dog from off the floor and pointing at it. "The robot dog. No so much fun as I remember. _You_ look awful."

"I haven't slept, have I? I still can't stop him crying. I even tried singing to him last night."

Alfie cooed and the Doctor leaned over, listening.

"Yeah, he did mention that. He thought you were crying too. He didn't get a wink. Yappy, say goodbye to Craig and Stormageddon." He said, waving the robot dog in front of them and talking in a deeper voice. "Goodbye, Craig. Goodbye, Stormageddon." He put the dog down, but spotted something zoom by at the other end of the aisle. "What was that?"

He headed closer and Alex followed behind him, along with Craig pushing the stroller in worry.

"You're here for a reason, aren't you? You noticed something and you're investigating it. And because it's _you_, it's going to be dangerous and alien." He said in worry as the Doctor stood back up from investigating under the shelves.

"Might not be."

"Doctor, I live here. I need to know."

"No, you don't."

"My _baby_ lives here. My son."

The Doctor couldn't really counter that and he sent a glance to Alex who nodded, letting him know that it was okay to tell him, though the Doctor was worried because her fingers had started tapping again. She seemed to do it more often when she was trying to figure something out or was nervous. It was just hard for him to figure her out now because she'd shut her emotions off pretty good.

"Sheila Clark went missing Tuesday. Atif Ghosh last seen Friday. Tom Luker last seen Sunday." He finally told Craig, who searched through the stroller and pulled out a newspaper.

"Why's none of this on the front page?"

"Oh, page one has an exclusive on Nina, a local girl who got kicked off Britain's Got Talent." The Doctor said excitedly, before skimming the edges of the newspaper. "These people are on pages 7, 19, 22. Because no one's noticed yet. They're far too excited about Nina's emotional journey, which in fairness, is quite inspiring."

Alex grabbed the stroller and pushed Alfie along as the Doctor joined her and the group headed off through the mall.

"And what else?"

"These funny old power fluctuations which just happen to coincide with the disappearances." The Doctor explained, bring them to a lift.

"That's just the council putting in new cables, isn't it?"

"Oh yes. That's it. Mystery solved." The Doctor chirped sarcastically. "Wasting my time. Now, you can go home and Alex and I can go to Exedor. Goodbye." He sonicked the lift and the doors opened. "And here's the lift."

"It says it's out of order." Craig pointed out, the red and white tape over the door quickly being removed by the Doctor.

"Not any more. See? Here to help."

The Doctor took the stroller from Alex and pushed it into the lift, Craig following in worry.

"It says danger."

"Oh, rubbish. Lifts aren't dangerous."

Craig poked his head out of the lift. "Do I look like I'm stupid?"

Alfie cooed and the Doctor chuckled before lightly scolding him.

"Quiet Stormy." The Doctor then spun around in a circle in frustration, waving his hands at Alex who sighed again.

"Just tell him."

"Oh, alright. There's more." He gave in, shaking his head and pulling Alex in the lift along with him, before sonicking the buttons and pushing one; setting the lift off.

"Just between you, me, Stormy, and Alex—don't want to frighten me punters—someone's been using a teleport relay right here in this shop. Missing people last seen in this area. Before you ask…" The Doctor put a finger on Craig's lips. "…CCTV's been wiped."

"A teleport? A teleport? A teleport like a, like a beam-me-up teleport?" Craig questioned making hand motions. "Like you see in Star Trek?"

"Exactly. Someone's been using a beam-me-up, Star Trek teleport. Could be disguised as anything." The Doctor said, mimicking the motions.

"Like a lift." Alex muttered, making the Doctor glance at her with wide eyes.

"But a teleport in a shop? That's ridiculous." Craig laughed as the lift around them disappeared and the lights flickered. "What was that? Was that the lights again?"

"Yes. That's it. That's all. It's the lights." The Doctor said, voice tight as he looked behind Craig at the ship they were now standing in.

"Why did you say it like that?"

"Like what?" The Doctor quickly went back to his own voice, fixing it. "L-L-Like what?

"Like that. In that high pitched voice."

"Alex just kicked me in the shin, is all." He blurted out, the red-head rolling her eyes.

"Oh yeah. Course. Blame me."

Craig went to look around, but the Doctor stopped him.

"Just keep looking at me, Craig. Right at me. Just keep looking."

"Why?"

"Well, because, because, because I love you." The Doctor blurted out again, grabbing Craig and mentally scolding himself as he took a glance at Alex; who he noticed had begun tapping even faster.

At what he'd just said or out of nervousness of where they were at, he wasn't quite sure.

"You love me?"

"Yes, Craig. It's you. It's always been you."

"Me? But what about Alex? I thought—"

"No. It's you. Just you. Is that so surprising?" He asked, putting his arms around Craig's neck to hide his sonic screwdriver as he scanned the ship.

"Doctor, are you going to kiss me?"

"Yes, Craig. Yes, I am. Would you like that? I'd say I'm out of practice, but I'm not. I'm sure Alex can give some wonderful feedback."

Alex fidgeted, face a nice red hue that made the Doctor smirk a little, only to see the tapping of her fingers quicken.

"O-Oh yes. Great kisser, excellent kisser. Couldn't be better, I think. Why am I talking?" She muttered quickly, eyes shifting around.

_I need to get us out of here. The drumming's acting up with her emotions. She's scared and that's never good. Even worse now._ The Doctor mused as Craig panicked.

"Doctor, no. I can't. I'm taken. _You're_ taken!" He then looked behind him and realized the situation they were in and became even more panicked. "Oh, my God!"

"Or we could just hold hands, if it make you feel more comfortable." The Doctor said, trying to keep him from shouting; unsuccessfully.

"What is happening?!"

"Well, first of all, I don't _really_ love you, except as a friend." The Doctor clarified as Cyberman stomped forward. "Alex, on the other hand—"

"What is that?!" Craig cut him off and the Doctor shouted as he used his screwdriver to get them all out of there.

"Ah!" They were back in the lift and he stopped, relaxing slightly. "Quick reverse."

"What the _hell _just happened?!" Craig shouted as Alex slumped back against the wall breathing hard, and fingers dancing madly on the wall behind her.

The Doctor quickly moved over and brushed his hands over the sides of her head, stiffening when she flinched at the contact, but seeing the progress they've made since she didn't try to get out of his grip.

"It's alright, Alex. Just focus on me, okay? Don't panic, just slow it down. Make it slower. You can do it."

"What's wrong with her?" Craig questioned, scared about what'd just happened, but worried for the woman who had always seemed so strong.

"She's had a rough year." The Doctor explained briefly, relaxing slightly as the tapping of her fingers slowed back down to a regular pace. "There you go, Alex. There you go."

He let out a sigh of relief, pressing his forehead against hers as she sighed too, relaxing in his hold and closing her eyes briefly, before they pulled apart and he smiled at her, brushing her hair off her face and exiting the lift with her hand in his.

"They must have linked the teleport relay to the lift, but I've fused it. They can't use that again. Stuck up there on their spaceship."

"What were those things?" Craig asked and the Doctor stopped as Alex muttered the answer.

"Cybermen."

"Ship. A spaceship. We were in _space_?!" Craig said rather loudly as the Doctor pulled Alex along and Craig rushed after them.

"Are you alright?" The Doctor asked Alex discretely, and she nodded shakily.

"Y-Yeah. The Cybermen just… with Rose and… I-I just…"

"It's alright." He said, pulling her into a side hug and rubbing her arm. "Promise. I forgave you, remember? And I'll keep you safe. I won't let them touch you."

He leaned his head on hers as they stood outside and looked upwards, him scanning the sky with his sonic.

"It's got to be up there somewhere. Can't get a fix. It must be shielded."

"But you fused the teleport. You sorted it. They can't come back." Craig argued, but the Doctor shook his head.

"No, no, no. I've just bought myself a little time. Still got to work out what they're doing before I can stop it."

"But if they've got the teleport and they're that evil, why haven't they invaded already?"

The Doctor could see where this was headed and he already had Alex involved, so it wasn't hard for him to decide to stop this. Stop it now before anyone else could get dragged into his mess.

"Craig, take Alfie and go."

"No."

The Doctor frowned, not used to people just telling him no. "No?"

"No. I remember from last time, people got killed. People that didn't know you. I know where it's safest for me and Alfie, and that's right next to you and Alex."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. You always win. You always survive."

The Doctor smiled at the compliment, but his feelings made it quickly fade.

"Those were the days."

Alex pinched his side and he winced, giving her a small nervous smile as she frowned up at him and Craig straightened himself out.

"I can help you. I'm staying."

"Craig… Craig…" The Doctor wrinkled his nose and grit his teeth not wanted Craig to stay, but seeing the man's determination made him reluctantly agree. "Alright. Alright, maybe those days aren't quite over yet. Let's go and investigate. I mean, there's no immediate danger now, right Alex?"

"Not yet. But there will be." She said ominously, letting the two men know that things were going to get rough real fast.

* * *

The four of us headed into the jewelry department and the Doctor greeted Val at the desk with a smile, to which she did the same back to us.

"Good afternoon, Val."

"Hello you two."

I gave a little wave back, a slight smile on my face, but I could tell it was rather crooked and forced. She didn't mind though and smiled gently in return, making me question what exactly the Doctor had told the other staff here about me. He went to pull me over towards her, but Craig stopped him.

"Where am I investigating?"

"Well, look around. Ask questions. People like it when you're with a baby. Babies are sweet. People talk to you. That's why I usually take a human with me." The Doctor said, smiling as though he was sharing a secret.

"So, Alex is your baby?"

"No, course not!" The Doctor said, shaking his head like that was a horrible idea. "Alex is…"

He glanced at me as I looked back, but he was acting odd. Like he was hiding something; though my stomach was flopping in nervousness as to what he was going to say and I struggled to not tap my fingers as the drumming picked up pace slightly.

"Alex is… my companion!" He settled on an answer and gestured to Craig. "_You're_ my baby."

He gave Craig a hug before hugging me around my shoulders in a side hug as he walked off with Alfie and we turned to Val beside us.

"Hope you don't mind me saying, Doctor, but I think you look ever so sweet; you, your partner, your friend, and the baby." She said, the Doctor trying on some sunglasses at the counter and glancing at me for my opinion only to shake my head and look off at Craig.

"Partner?" He glanced at me and then back at Val as I paid attention to them once more. "Yes. I like it. Is it better than companion?"

"Companion… sounds old fashioned. There's no need to be coy these days."

I felt heat creep up the back of my neck, knowing that Val meant _partner_ as in _lover_ and not whatever the Doctor was thinking, but he didn't seem to notice as he leaned on the counter towards her.

"You've not noticed anything unusual around here lately, Val?"

"Well…"

"Yes, yes?"

"Mary Warnock saw… Don Petheridge snogging Andrea Groom outside the Conservative Club on his so-called day off golfing." She said with a nod, passing along the gossip.

"Yeah. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all." The Doctor sad, making a face before kissing the air beside her face and heading off, only for her to mention something else.

"And then there's that silver rat thing."

He paused and turned around with a grin. "What?"

"It was silver with glowing red eyes." She said with a nod, the Doctor pulling me back to the counter; the constant tugging on my hand starting to annoy me; though I knew that was just the drumming trying to upset me. "Can you show me where you saw it?"

"Sure, dear. Come on. It was just over here." She came out from behind the counter and led us over to the toy section, gesturing to the small kid's table down one of the aisles. "Just under there."

The Doctor let go of my hand and dove under the table, pulling out his sonic screwdriver and scanning around as Val watched and I fidgeted.

"Silver rat… glowing red eyes." He came out from under there, making me notice the net he had too and making me question where he'd grabbed that from.

_His Time Lord tech pocket, maybe?_ I shook my head out of my thoughts, fingers drumming on my stomach inside my hoodie pocket as I wish I'd brought my black book along with me. My memories on this episode were a bit fuzzy and the drums in my head didn't help.

"Yes. Then it zizzed off. I wanted to get one for my nephew, but stockroom say there's no such item."

"I bet they do." He muttered, putting the sonic screwdriver away.

"Well, what was it then? Answer me that." Val challenged and the Doctor fidgeted, not really knowing how to answer her.

"Well, um… It's a bit complicated, you see. And, um…" Luckily, he didn't have to struggle for long before there was some clattering and clanging from the other sections of the store; distracting Val.

"What's all that hullabaloo?"

"Um, that'll be my friend with the uh—" He passed her the net and hurried off, leaving me behind this time as Val gave me a small nod.

"Go on then, dear. I'll watch his net."

I hesitated, but nodded a bit back, rushing after him back to the woman's wear section of the store where Craig was picking up a knocked over stand of bras and Alfie cried in the stroller beside him.

"Hello, everyone! Here to help!" The Doctor called out, rounding the corner as everyone greeted him and I came around shortly after, picking Alfie up out of his stroller and holding him while swaying slightly to calm him down.

"Sh, sh, sh." I hushed, smiling a bit as he stopped and played with my finger that I wagged in front of him as the Doctor spoke with the staff.

"Has anyone seen a silver rat?"

George gave him a shake of his head and the Doctor frowned.

"No. Okay, long shot. I see you've met my friend, Craig. Nice uniform, George." He complimented the man, who grinned at the praise.

"Thank you, Doctor. If he's with you, that's alright then."

"Sorry." The woman retailer apologized, though the Doctor was too busy ignoring her and showing off his name tag to George. "I thought he was hassling me, because that's the last thing I need today."

The Doctor started mocking her, but I frowned at him and caught his attention, nodding my head towards the woman and mouthing the word 'listen'. He pouted and rolled his eyes.

"Because Shona's not turned up, right? So I'm doing twice the work for the same money, if you don't mind."

"Sh." He shushed her, before he seemed to realize what she'd said.

"Please teach me how to do that." Craig asked.

"No, hold on. Un-sh. Shona?"

"My supervisor. She's meant to be in today, but never showed up." The retailer explained and the Doctor caught the hint.

"Well, where did you last see her?"

"She went back to clean up the woman's changing room last night after our shift."

"Right. Thank you." He did that weird air kiss thing to her and George and went off towards the changing room with Craig and I following behind, but I paused, looking over at George.

"Could you, um… do me a favor, George?" I asked, hesitant, but the security guard smiled.

"Anything for you, Alex."

I nodded, bouncing Alfie on my hip. "This is going to sound weird, but if you, um… When you do your rounds tonight, could you skip the basement? Save it for last o-or something?"

He raised a brow, curious, but shrugged. "I suppose. I never really liked it down there anyway. I suppose I could save it for last this time. Anything for you and the Doctor."

I couldn't help the small smile on my face as I nodded at him and headed off, glad that I could save at least one life in all of this. When I got to the changing rooms though, I stiffened upon the Doctor opening a curtain as a lady screamed, only for him to close it and open it again.

"I'd try that in red if I were you."

My stomach twisted nervously and the drumming made me wince as I tried to ignore it, my shoulder aching along with it. _I need to stop this. I know I like the Doctor, but as a _friend_. Even _he_ was calling me just a companion. There's nothing going on between us and there can't be anyway. River's still supposed to marry Eleven a-and Ten loved Rose before…_ My finger tapping quickened as I put Alfie back in the stroller Craig was pushing, too distracted by my own thoughts to pay attention to what him and the Doctor were saying. _No, don't think of that. You already have more Cybermen to deal with a-and getting caught up in this will only make things worse. Just slow it down. Forget the drums and push them to the back of your head._

"Here." The Doctor called out, sonic screwdriver buzzing as he hurried into a changing room and I stood with Craig just outside, deciding that I should focus on what was going on and that might help the drumming. "Right here. Last night. A Cyberman took Shona."

"A Cyberman? I thought it was a little silver rat." Craig questioned, making the Doctor frown as he put the sonic screwdriver away.

"It's not a rat. It's a Cybermat."

"Alright. Don't have a go at me just because I don't know the names."

"Could be worse." I muttered to Craig. "It could be something from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious. Try saying that just once."

Craig frowned, scrunching his brows and trying to mouth the word, but struggled even with that as the Doctor rolled his eyes and pulled us all out of the changing rooms, out and over to where the woman's clothing was.

"Right then. Cybermats are infiltrators. Very small, very deadly. They collect power like bees collect pollen. One of them's been sucking the electrical energy from this area. But why a _shop_? You know, why not a nuclear power station?"

"Okay, why?"

"Let's ask it. We wait for the shop to shut. We stake the place out and grab ourselves a Cybermat." The Doctor answered Craig, smacking him lightly on the cheek to emphasize what he was saying.

"And this is just a coincidence, is it?"

"No such thing as coincidences." I whispered under my breath, quoting something I once read. "There is only the inevitable."

They didn't seem to hear though.

"What is?"

"Aliens in Colchester. Aliens twice in my life, happening to me, just when you turn up." Craig said angrily, Alfie starting to get upset.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. This is not _my_ fault, Craig." The Doctor frowned as I kneeled down and tried to hush Alfie.

"Sh, sh. It's okay.

"Oh, look what you've done now." Craig said, getting upset with the Doctor, like it was his fault.

"It's his nappy. He's mentioned it twice."

"Well sorry. I don't speak _baby_, do I?" Craig snapped and I was quickly starting to get upset with him, as the Doctor pointed out something.

"There's a changing station over by Electrical Goods."

"And of course, _you'd_ know that. Come on, Alfie."

"Craig! It's a coincidence!" The Doctor called out to him, voice getting softer when the man started walking off and he turned back. "It happens. It's what the universe does for—"

He stopped and I followed his gaze to see Amy and Rory out shopping; a little girl asking for an autograph from the woman.

"…fun…"

I stood up from my crouched position and watched him as he stared over at the duo almost _longingly_, making to call out to them, only to get Amy's name caught in his throat. He then backed up, nearly running into me as he hid behind some clothes and watched them go; the little girl pointing our direction and him gesturing to himself before realizing she was pointing at the large poster behind us. Amy's face was on it and there was a phrase under the bottle of perfume.

"_For the girl who's tired of waiting."_

I glanced at him the whole time though, watching his reaction to it as he shook his head slightly and smiled.

"Amelia Pond."

He turned away then, glancing at where the two had gone before looking down and my heart clenched at the pain on his face. I opened my mouth to say something, but my own words got caught in my throat, making me swallow thickly and question what I should do. _You're not alone. I'm right here._ Is what I wanted to say, but I couldn't. I wasn't even myself anymore because of what the Master had done to me. I was trying, but even I knew that I wouldn't be the same. I wasn't who the Doctor wanted, so how could I comfort him?

My hand reached for his, hesitantly, but froze just centimeters from it; shaking in my nervousness. I wanted to hold it, give him that minute bit of comfort and tell him that he'd be alright. That he'd have them back soon and he wouldn't be upset anymore, but I couldn't. My hand wouldn't move and my shoulder ached, sending a fire down my back which made me wince and pull away, just as the Doctor turned around and gave me a forced smile.

"Come on then, Alex. Let's go find something to make up with Craig."

He reached for my hand, but I flinched and pulled my hand back out of his reach. It hurt to see his expression, but I buried the pain and turned away to start heading for the baby section of the mall.

"S-Sorry. It's um, this way." I muttered, tucking my hands in my pockets and heading off with him following behind me as I drummed my fingers on my stomach and bit my bottom lip; not seeing the worried look he sent my way and not knowing just how much my action had hurt him.

* * *

The group of us ended up hiding behind a counter of perfume while waiting for George to pass by and do his rounds. I was exhausted and had closed my eyes to try and get some sleep while we waited, but it wasn't working. My nervousness for what happened next had the drums echoing loudly; _too_ loudly for me to really get any sleep. Not only that, but now we were on the move and the Doctor's sonic screwdriver had upset Alfie.

"Can't you put that on silent?" Craig asked, the Doctor giving his tool a glance before shaking his head.

"No. It's a _sonic _screwdriver. Sonic equals sound. Take this." He handed Craig the papoose we'd gotten. "I got it on my discount, ten percent off. Alex picked it out. It's a papoose."

"Why do I need a papoose?" Craig questioned, taking the object in confusion.

"Alfie wants you attached to him. You are _far_ too slow when he summons you."

"When's he going to stop giving me marks?" Craig asked as the Doctor went back to scanning.

"Never. That's parenthood. Couldn't you have just got a babysitter?" The Doctor leaned over at Alfie's cooing. "No, any babysitter. It doesn't have to be a hot one. And _no_, I can't just give you Alex." He sent me a glance before leaning back over to the baby. "She's _my _babysitter."

_Of course I am…_

"I told everyone I know I didn't need their help this weekend." Craig complained.

"Well."

"They won't even answer my calls. I didn't know there was going to be an invasion of Cybermen. Sh, sh, sh." He hushed Alfie, him and the Doctor taking him out of the stroller and picking him up to put in the papoose.

"Sh, it's okay."

It was then that we heard the beeping of the Cybermat and the Doctor quickly used his net to capture it, excitedly.

"Ah-ha!" He quickly covered his mouth, before returning to whisper. "That's very odd. Must be on low power. Or I'm better at that then I remember."

He took it out of the net and looked at it, Craig looking as well.

"Oh, is that it?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, it's quite cute. Look at that. Look, Alfie, look."

"I wouldn't—" I was cut off as the Cybermat bared it's teeth and Craig let out a startled shout as the Doctor sonicked it into silence.

"Metal rat, real mouth! Metal rat, real mouth!" Craig repeated in a high pitched voice as the Doctor tried to shush him.

"Yes, I know it is! Stop screaming! Stop, stop screaming! Sh!"

Craig went quiet just before a loud shout rang out, making my eyes widen and my stomach sink.

"No…"

"Come on!" The Doctor called out, after having shared a knowing glance at me, and I quickly followed him to the basement.

I was nervous, not really knowing what I was going to do when the Cyberman came to knock out the Doctor. _If I remember right, he said he could've died from that hit if they didn't use spare parts, but what about me? He's a Time lord. A quick healer. I-I'm just a human who got lucky with the Artron Energy. Plus, he's not compatible, but am I? What if they knock me out and take me? W-What do I do?!_ With my panic rising, the tapping of my fingers grew worse and I could already feel my breath shorten as the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver as a light and called out after the security guard.

"George?"

He found the torch first, and then rounded the corner with me following, just as a Cyberman walked out and knocked him out. I stood there shakily as it turned to me and brought it's hand up. I turned to at least cover the Doctor, but it swung it's arm down and hit me square in my left shoulder; sending a sudden spike of pain through my nerves and making me collapse partially over the Doctor; passing out into darkness quickly.

* * *

"Alex? Alex? Come on, Alex, please get up."

I grunted, shifting and immediately feeling my shoulder ache in the process, rolling onto my right side as I cradled it and looked up through pained eyes at the Doctor who was smiling with relief.

"Thank goodness. How are you feeling?"

I cringed as he helped me into a sitting position, keeping my hand on my shoulder and wondering why I felt like I had pinched a nerve in my shoulder; the pain traveling up my spine with every movement.

"Like someone hit me in the shoulder and pinched a nerve." I grumbled, looking at him in confusion. "Did I pinch a nerve?"

He shifted his eyes away for a second, as though debating on whether or not to tell me something and that made me nervous.

"Doctor?"

He must of heard the tenseness in my voice and quickly rounded on me. "No! No, it's nothing bad. Promise. Actually, a pinched nerve sounds about as close to a description as I could get, so yes. Let's go with that. Pinched nerve. Or, um, _nerves_, as it were."

I furrowed my brows in confusion, feeling the drums acting up with the added pain. "So, it's not, but kind of is? Can't you just tell me?"

"Not now, Alex. Not a good time. I'll tell you later. Before you pop off. Promise." He said, touching my arm lightly. "I'll help you with the pain as soon as we're out of here. The basement, anyway. We're heading back to Craig's house and I'll help you there. Alright?"

I nodded, trying not to focus on the drums to help me through the pain, but having difficulty when he helped me up and shifted my arm.

"Sorry, sorry." He apologized, before we headed out and I began asking questions.

"S-Shouldn't I be… dead?" I asked, feeling my fingers start to tap lightly; though the pain quickly made me stop. "Why didn't they take me?"

"Right, you haven't really dealt with the Cybermen yet…" The Doctor muttered, more to himself than me. "We both got lucky that the arm he hit us with was damaged, else we might actually be dead, and you're not _exactly_ compatible with their technology. The Artron Energy is a bit too much for them."

I hesitated, something about what he said not really making sense, but I accepted his response and asked one last question.

"What about George, did the Cyberman…" I couldn't finish asking the question, some part of me knowing what had happened to him, and the Doctor's answer only confirmed it.

"I'm sorry, Alex, but they took him."

* * *

The Doctor was tired, more tired then he's been in over five hundred years. He was thinking too hard; something future Alex had discouraged when she was around because she claimed he became depressed really easily and it upset her. He couldn't help it this time though. Between seeing Amy and Rory earlier, dealing with Cybermen and Cybermats—such as the one in front of him—and trying to dodge questions from the rather cunning and observant _current _Alex, he was having a hard time _not_ thinking.

"I'm going down to the shop. We've run out of milk." Craig announced, poking his head around the corner and tossing the Doctor a mobile phone. "You know what to do if he cries."

The Doctor went back to stir his concoction, but paused, realizing he had no idea what to do if Alfie upstairs cried. "No…"

"Me neither!" Craig called back up to him. "Alex is up there though! Think she's asleep!"

The door closed as Craig left and the Doctor went about mashing the slop in the bowl with his wooden spoon, glad that Alex was finally getting some rest. He had been worried that the pain in her shoulder would prevent that, but he apparently had done a better job than he thought of massaging the kinks out of the new nerve cluster in her left shoulder. _I still am not quite sure how I'll explain that to her…_ His thoughts were cut off though as a cry came from upstairs, alerting him to baby Alfie, and making him let out a slight groan.

It had been far too long since he's dealt with children and _human_ children weren't exactly his thing. He was better with Time Tots who were cunning and resilient, not pudgy human babies who were flabby and rather easily harmed. He headed upstairs though, cautiously and in the hopes that if he moved slow enough the child might just stop, but his hopes were in vain and he peered around the door frame at the baby in the crib.

"Hello, Stormageddon." He said, moving further into the room as the baby rubbed it's eyes and cooed.

He caught sight of Alex in a chair nearby and froze, only to see she was completely asleep and _not_ drumming for once. The action made him smile a bit, but he was sure to keep his voice down so as to not wake her. It'd been far too long since she'd gotten a good rest.

"It's the Doctor, here to help." He said, picking up a small stuffed rabbit and showing it to the baby as it cried. "Sh, sh, sh, sh, sh. Hey. There, there. Be quiet. Go to sleep. You might wake up Alex."

He spun the little mobile above Alfie's crib and smiled down at him.

"Really. Stop crying. You've got a lot to look forward to, you know. A normal human life on Earth. Mortgage repayments, the nine-to-five, a persistent nagging sense of spiritual emptiness. Save the tears for later, boy-o. Oh, no. That was crabby." The Doctor groaned, rubbing his own eyes. "No, that was _old_. But I am old, Stormy. I am so old. So near the end."

He looked down at the baby remembering his own children and grandchildren, even his _great_-grandchildren. Alfie brought back these feelings in him, that sense of being a father and having to look over someone who was still lost in the universe. Someone who was still learning what it was like to live. And here he was, feeling much older than he should be, but after everything he's been through, it was understandable. He _was_ old. 900 years of wars and traveling and death and destruction and loosing people. How could he _not_ be old after that?

Little did he know, but Alex had woken up and was now only pretending to sleep, listening in with a broken heart as the Time Lord picked Alfie up out of the crib and spoke to him.

"But _you_, Alfie Owens… you are so young, aren't you? And you know, right now, everything's ahead of you. You could be anything. Yes, I know. You could walk among the stars. They don't actually look like that, you know." He said, looking up at the childish stars being projected on the ceiling. "They are rather more impressive."

He pulled out his sonic and aimed it at the projector behind him, changing the scene above them to something more realistic as Alfie cooed.

"Yeah. You know, when I was little like you, I dreamt of the stars. I think it's fair to say in the language of your age, that I lived my dream. I owned the stage, gave it a hundred and ten percent. I hope you have as much fun as I did, Alfie."

He pressed his nose to the back of Alfie's head, hearts clenched tightly as his memories saddened him. Alex feeling the same as she sat not far from him with her head down, her own chest aching in sorrow for the Time Lord.

"Your dad's trying his best, you know." The Doctor told Alfie, who cooed. "Yes, I know. It's not his fault he doesn't have mammary glands. No, neither do I." He kissed the baby's head and smiled down at him as he continued to coo. "Yes, well, I suppose Alex _does_ and she would be a good mum, I don't need you to tell me that. But… she's hurt right now, Stormageddon. She's hurt and scared and frightened, and it's not her fault. She always thinks it is, but it isn't. And she means more to me than she'll ever know. And I'll always help her and fight for her, because she is still so young. Far younger than me, but she isn't a child. She's much more than that. A human adult, a cunning anthropologist, a Time Lord in the making. Oh, Alfie, she is so much more than she realizes, but it's so hard for her to believe me when she's struggling to believe in herself."

He sighed, pressing his nose against the baby's head once more and closing his eyes, _wishing_ that Alex—_this_ Alex—could see what he did. How amazing he thought she was. How caring and thoughtful, and kind and smart. She really did mean a lot to him, because she'd saved him so many times. Even when he didn't realize what she was doing, she was protecting him. And he owed her so much for that.

His thoughts halted themselves though when he heard a noise behind him and stiffened.

"Alfie, why is there a sinister beeping coming from behind me?"

He turned to see the Cybermat on the floor gnashing it's teeth at him and he quickly aimed the sonic screwdriver at it.

"Oh, no you don't." He sonicked it and went to wake up Alex, only to see she was already up, and grabbed her hand instead. "Come on, Alex! Alfie! Run! It's only stunned!"

The three of them rushed down the stairs and through the kitchen as he tried to keep the baby calm and open the back door at the same time.

"It's going to be okay. Good Alfie. Yes. Don't worry about anything. We're going to go outside."

* * *

I took Alfie from him as he opened the door and pulled us through, but I stumbled a bit and he quickly caught me, shutting the door behind me before realizing he didn't have his sonic screwdriver.

"Oops." He breathed out in a high-pitched voice, the two of us spotting the sonic screwdriver lying on top of a bundle of clothes.

"I-I'm sorry." I muttered, knowing that he'd probably dropped it when I stumbled.

"No, it's not your fault, Alex." He said, pulling out his phone and trying to call Craig, as I put Alfie in the swing chair and began bouncing him up and down slightly to calm him. "Come on, Craig. Pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up."

I remembered what happened next and turned to the Doctor. "Doctor! The kitchen!"

He turned, hanging up the phone before even leaving a message as Craig cried out while he held the Cybermat away from him.

"Doctor!"

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" The Doctor said quickly as Craig cried out for help and he turned to me. "Alex, stay here. Watch Alfie, okay?"

He kissed me on the forehead and then turned away, rubbing his hands together, before jumping through the glass window.

"Where's Alfie?! Where's Alfie?!" I heard Craig cry out as the Doctor answered.

"He's safe! He's safe! He's with Alex!"

"Get it off me!"

The Doctor said something about frequency and Craig shouted about killing it, before their positions were reversed and the Doctor was the one being attacked. The drumming was getting louder in my head as I tried not to worry unsuccessfully, as the two men shouted at one another. It got quiet then and I relaxed, pulling the bundled up Alfie out of the baby swing and walking back into the house; being careful of the glass on the floor as the two men panted before remembering us.

"Alfie!"

He went to rush out, but I was standing right there and gave him a nervous smile as I handed the baby back to him, still trying to calm myself down from our little scare. Craig gladly took him and thanked me turning around and pacing back and forth with him. The Doctor came over to me though and grabbed my upper arms, rubbing them to warm me up from the chill outside.

"Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah. Think so." I said, though I saw his eyes take a look at my tapping fingers and knew he didn't believe me for an instant. "Really. It just… caught me by surprise."

He smiled, taking my tapping hand in his and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Alex caught by surprise? That's rare."

"It's been a while since I've seen this." I muttered, feeling embarrassment creep up on me. "And the drumming doesn't help me think."

His smile slipped and I felt bad for bringing up the drumming after having a fairly normal conversation, finally. Letting out a sigh, he leaned his forehead against mine and moved me closer, despite my slight pulling away.

"I'll help you fight it, Alex. It _will_ go away."

I couldn't help but be reassured by the conviction in his voice and gave in with a small nod, before he kissed my forehead and went into the living room once he'd picked up the Cybermat from off the floor.

"Come on. I'll work on this and maybe you can get some more rest."

"Okay." I muttered, not exactly wanting to go to sleep, but hoping that by sticking around the Doctor I'd be able to sleep better.

"I'm knackered." Craig yawned, once we'd seated ourselves on the sofa and the Doctor went to work on the Cybermat. "That thing was eating up the electricity?"

"And transmitting it up to the Cybership. But why? Why do they need power? Why are those conversions not complete yet? And what are they doing up there? Any hints, Alex?"

I hummed, furrowing my brows as I tried to think; my finger tapping the drums on my knee as I leaned my back up against the Doctor's arm.

"Um, I think it has something to do with the new cables?"

"Hm, alright. I'll think about that. Add it to my list of thoughts." He said, poking my head playfully. "Now get some sleep."

"Hn." I grunted, closing my eyes, but still listening in.

"You said you were going to look at it's brain."

"No, I had to wipe it's brain. Now I can reprogram it and use it as a weapon against them."

Craig sat down in the armchair across from us. "The Cybermat came after us?"

"No, after me."

"They sent it after us." Craig tried to argue.

"After me. Because of me, you and Alfie nearly died." The Doctor paused before reaching up and removing his lens. "Do you still feel safe with me, Craig?"

I stayed silent, feigning sleep to see what Craig would say and what the Doctor would do.

"You can't help who your mates are." He chuckled, but the Doctor was against it.

"No. I am a stupid, selfish man. Always have been. I should have made you go. I should never have come here."

"What would have happened if you hadn't come? Who else knows about the Cybermen and teleports?" Craig countered with a light laugh.

"I put people in danger."

"Stop beating yourself up. If it weren't for you, this whole planet would be an absolute ruin."

_He's being a hypocrite._ I thoughts, feeling bad for the Doctor but understanding what he was going through, because _I_ was going through the same thing. He most likely thought I was asleep, which was why he was saying this now, but it was the exact same reason why I didn't want to leave the Tardis earlier. And he'd convinced me otherwise. He'd convinced me, even though he wanted to do the very same. Even though he _was_ doing the same. He was hiding from Amy and Rory just as I was trying to hide from him. _He's trying to protect us, by giving up everything he loves. Just as I was trying to protect him by staying away from him._

"Craig, very soon, I won't be here. My time is running out. I don't mean Exedor. Silence will fall when the question is asked. Don't even know what the question is. I always knew I'd die still asking. Thing is, Craig, it's tomorrow. Can't put it off any more. Tomorrow is the day I—"

He stopped and I knew he'd realized Craig was asleep, and he let out a soft sigh as he went back to work, but I wouldn't leave him like this. Despite how I acted before when he saw Amy and Rory, I couldn't do the same this time. I owed him that much, after he's helped me.

"You're such a hypocrite." I grumbled, feeling him stiffen as I peeked an eye open at his surprised face. "You should listen to your own advice, Mr. Grumpy."

"I thought you were asleep." He muttered, getting up as I moved off him, watching as he covered Craig and Alfie with a blanket.

"How am I supposed to sleep when the pillow I'm leaning on is being depressing?" I joked with a blank face, still having trouble expressing myself and watching him for some sign to show I was cheering him up, even a little; but there was none. "You aren't giving yourself enough credit… You're so much more than you realize."

I leaned back, closing my eyes and wondering how he'd react since I'd just quoted him from earlier.

"You were awake then too." He let out a quiet, bitter chuckle. "I should've known. You always were too good at faking sleep."

"Always fooled my mom." I muttered, opening my eyes and looking at him as he sat back down beside me. "But Craig's right, you know. What would've happened if you weren't here? The Cybermen would've taken over the world, yeah?" I sighed, leaning back on him to try and give him some comfort. "If anyone's selfish, it's me, not you."

"Don't say that, Alex." He said sternly. "Where would I be without my Alexander?"

He leaned his head on mine and wrapped his arm around me protectively. I was uncomfortable for a moment and he went to pull away, but I grabbed his hand and pulled it back around me leaning further against him and swallowing back the fear of being trapped.

"You'd probably be floating in that black hole you threw the Tardis manual in."

He chuckled, rubbing my arm. "Maybe… What should I do, Alex?" He asked, holding me a little tighter and pressing his face into the back of my shoulder. "Tomorrow… Tomorrow is when I…"

I sighed softly, reaching my own hand up and brushing it through his moppy brown hair before I knew what I was doing.

"Did I ever tell you what the Ood told me back with Donna?"

He shook his head and I swallowed thickly.

"'The answers will come and Silence will fall'." I quoted, feeling him stiffen. "'And with it, a song will end. A song with two endings. But only _one_ will happen and it will be up to you'." I continued. "Maybe they were talking about me. Maybe you're not the only one who will…"

"No. I can't loose you too, Alex." He muttered, pulling me into his lap as he kept his head on my shoulder, surprising me. "Not again."

Every nerve in my body was yelling at me to pull away from him, afraid after everything that'd happened, but I forced it back as best I could and bopped him lightly on the head in slight annoyance.

"Y-You didn't let me finish… We're both clever, and I already know you'll think of something. And you won't be alone." I hesitated, but turned my head and pressed my nose to his head; letting out a shaky sigh. "You have so many people around you and not once have they blamed you for what's happening. They may say it out of anger, but not once do they believe you are the one at fault."

I grit my teeth, feeling the drumming at the very back of my mind, but it didn't bother me that badly for once.

"You've saved so many people, so many worlds, Doctor. You're ancient and smart and have seen far too much, but you're also kind and caring and the least selfish person I've ever met. And it hurts to hear you talk about how sad you are. How lonely you are and how old you are. I've never seen someone so sad. Sad enough to make me selfish. To make me leave everything I had a second time, by my choice, in order to help you. Because no one should be lonely. No one should live so long and see so much and have no one to share it with. So _be_ smart. _Be _old and clever and witty and silly. Be the Doctor and… and never have to feel lonely. Because… Because if you're lonely, then what am I supposed to do? What could _I __**possibly**_ do?"

I could feel tears welling up and my body shook as everything came tumbling down. I felt horrible with the drums echoing in my head and being unable to eat right or sleep for more than an hour. I felt sick with how scared I was of everything now, how easily angry I got, how afraid I was of hurting those around me. Not only that, but what did it mean if he was lonely, even now? What was there that I could do?

"Oh, Alexander." He breathed out in a whisper, holding me close and allowing me to cry on his shoulder as I wrapped my hands around his neck like a child and clung to him. "I'm so sorry, Alex. You're so scared and so hurt and I just… I'm sorry. Please don't cry, Alex. You don't have to do anything. I'm not lonely. I'm just tired, Alex. So tired."

"I-I'm sorry." I cried, apologizing for everything.

For Rose, Martha, Donna, and Amy and Rory. For what was going to happen for him tomorrow. For all the pain he'd been through and was going to go through. I was just so upset and the flood gates had opened in that one moment. I couldn't stop. I had hid it all and bundled it away, but the burden was still there and it never got lighter, it only got worse until there was nothing left to hold it back. And the Doctor was the same, I knew.

He rarely ever cried or got upset. He was always patient and fought for his friends; to protect them just as I try to protect him. He'd lived for so long and hid everything away for so long so that no one would see how much it hurts. We were both doing the same thing and it felt so stupid of me to be crying about it, but what else could I do? I was crying for him, because he couldn't show it. Not to anyone. Just as _I_ wouldn't show it. I wouldn't show it to anyone. No one, but him.

* * *

"Alex… Alex! Wake up!"

I jolted awake from the couch, the blanket falling off of me as I panicked slightly, only to see a worried Craig standing over me.

"Alex, I'm sorry, but the Doctor, he—"

"He left me?! Oh, I'm going to _so_ kick his a—"

"Ah! Not in front of Alfie!" Craig scolded, holding a hand over Alfie's ear as I winced and apologized.

"Sorry, but we really need to get moving." I said, getting up and hissing in pain as my shoulder ached.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, no. Peachy keen." I reassured him, waving a hand. "Just get Alfie and set him up in that papoose thing so we can go. You can leave him with Val once we get there."

"Right, yeah. On it. Papoose."

Craig rushed out of the room, grabbing a coat and moving into the kitchen as I grit my teeth and rubbed my shoulder, silently scolding the Doctor for not explaining anything about why it was bothering me before I'd fallen asleep last night. Just thinking about that made my face get a little red, but I couldn't think about it now. The Doctor had helped me so much this past week or so that I was with him, and now I needed to go find him before he could do something stupid. I rolled my shoulders, trying to relieve the ache, before dashing into the kitchen and looking at Craig.

"Well, come on then!"

He nodded and we soon rushed off to the mall, but Craig seemed to have noticed my new change in attitude and questioned me.

"W-Why are you so happy all of a sudden?"

"I'm not. I'm actually rather pissed, believe it or not." I grumbled, flexing my fingers to try and keep from giving in to the drumming.

"Yeah, but before, you were just all… moody."

"You would be too, if you had to go through what I did for a whole year, but the Doctor helped and I'm trying to get over it now." I gave him a small smile. "Have to give it my best for him, right?"

He smiled back and nodded just as we rushed over to the woman's clothing section of the mall.

"Doctor? Doctor?" Craig called out and I rolled my eyes as Val spoke up and I glanced around.

"Another row? He went in the changing rooms. Something about silver men."

"Knew it." I hissed under my breath, moving over to Craig and helping him get Alfie out. "Val, could you watch Alfie for a bit? The Doctor sort of needs us."

"I understand." She said with a nod, taking Alfie. "Glad you're feeling better, and give him a good beating."

I smiled, grabbing Craig's hand and mock saluting her. "Will do, Val!"

"Please take care of him!" Craig called out as we rushed off.

Rounding the corner of the changing room, I let Craig's hand go and hurried to the last changing room where there was a rather large hole in the wall.

"Well, they could've been a bit sneakier about that."

I heard some beeping and I turned to Craig, taking the bar code scanner from him with a frown.

"Now what in the world makes you think that will do anything to Cybermen?"

"I-I-I don't _know_!" He whined, obviously in a panic.

I sighed and threw the thing over my shoulder, before rushing out and talking to the retailer we saw yesterday.

"Hello, you wouldn't happen to have a taser, would you?"

"Well, yeah. Carry one for the perverts. Do you need it or something?"

"Or something." I smiled. "Could I, um, borrow it?"

She shrugged. "Sure, just bring it back."

"Will do!" I called out, rushing back into the changing room and hiding the taser in my hoodie pocket, nodding my head towards the gaping hole. "Let's go, Craig. Geronimo!"

We slid down the rocky hole and then I held a finger up, shushing Craig as we snuck over towards the opening and caught sight of the Doctor.

"He must be the new leader."

"No. He is not like us. Brain and binary vascular system incompatible. They will be discarded. Other body parts may be of use."

"Right." I whispered. "Now Craig, we're going to be smart about this. First we're going to—"

I cut myself off upon finding Craig—not behind me—but out in the open with the bar code scanner, pointing it at the Cybermen.

"Oi, Cybermen! Get off my planet, o-or I activate this!" He threatened as I face-palmed; still hidden.

"Craig?! Stop this. Get out!" The Doctor demanded, sounding rather unbelieving.

"It's like you said, Doctor. Got to believe you can do it."

"You located us?" One of the Cybermen asked.

"Yeah. Teleport in the lift, bit rubbish. And that little Cybermat never stood a chance. So you see what you're dealing with?"

"Yeah." I muttered under my breath, squatting on the floor by the entrance. "I'm dealing with an idiot who can't wait before jumping in front of murderous robots!"

"You are compatible. You are intelligent."

The Cyberman shocked the bar code scanner from his hand and another came up from behind him and grabbed him before I could even attempt to attack it with the taser. _I'm sorry, Craig. But it's either wait for an opportunity, or risk shocking you and knocking you out._ I mentally apologizing, knowing that Craig wouldn't be able to resist the conversion if he was unconscious.

"Ah! No, I'm not intelligent! You don't want me!"

"Do not fear. We will take your fear from you. You will be like us. You will be more than us." The Cyberman said, as the one with Craig moved him away and I popped out of my hiding place with my taser hovering over an opening in the control panel.

"Oi, Cybermen! I bet twenty pounds, you wouldn't want me shoving an electrical impulse into this."

"Alex?! What are you doing?!" The Doctor demanded and I frowned at him.

"Interrupting and threatening a group of Cybermen, Mr. Let's-Leave-Alex-Behind."

He groaned. "_Really_?!"

"Yeah. Really." I snapped at him, trying to keep the drumming in my head quiet, but having a hard time with nervousness and anger at the Doctor mixing together. "Come on then, Cybermen. What's it gonna be? Let them go, or I zap the controls."

One Cyberman raised it's arm to zap it out of my hand, but I stopped him.

"Ah, ah, ah. Wouldn't want to do that." I said, holding it up by two fingers from the bottom to show the piece of tape I'd stuck to it to hold down the button. "Even if you shoot it or me, it'll fall and zap the controls. I'm not _stupid_, you know."

"You are intelligent." A Cyberman droned and I grinned.

"Ooh, thank you."

"But you are not compatible"

I frowned, questioning why they were telling me that, before counting the Cybermen. _One holding Craig, one holding the Doctor, one standing in the back, and one head-honcho. But wasn't there six—_

"Alex!"

A metal arm grabbed the wrist holding the taser and yanked it away from the control panel, twisting it swiftly enough that I had no time to prepare for the resounding _crack_ and the fire that erupted up my arm from it breaking my wrist. I let out a cry of pain as my taser tumbled to the ground and was crushed underfoot of said Cyberman; mentally scolding myself for making such a stupid mistake as to not count my opponents.

"Alex!" The Doctor cried out and I cringed as the Cyberman ignored my obvious pain and pulled me off to the side as I struggled to get out of it's grip.

It was no use though and the pain was starting to get to me as did the drums in my head, which were feeding off of it and growing even louder.

"Threat neutralized." The Cyberman holding me said and the main one turned back to Craig.

"Your designation is CyberController." It announced, preparing the place where Craig was going to be converted. "You will lead us. We will conquer this world."

"Doctor! Alex!" Craig shouted. "Do something, please!"

Metal clamps came down and held him in place and I tried to think up something to do that would help, but even the Doctor had run out of ideas once the Cyberman stomped on the reprogrammed Cybermat.

"You have failed, Doctor. Begin conversion. Phase one. Cleanse the brain of emotions."

"No. Craig, fight it! They can't convert you if you fight back! You're strong! Don't give in to it!" The Doctor told him, but he was already struggling.

"Help me!"

"Think of Sophie!" I called out, teeth grit tightly at the pain in my wrist. "Think of Alfie!"

The Doctor nodded and continued after me. "Craig, don't let them take it all away!"

"Make it stop! _Please_, make it stop!" He begged.

"Please, listen to me! I believe in you! Alex believes in you! I believe you can do this! I've always believed in all of you, all my life! I'm going die, Craig! Tomorrow, I'm going to die, but I don't mind if you just prove me right! _Craig_!"

A metal mask covered Craig's face, but I kept going, even as the mask was sealed and the Cybermen announced the beginning of full conversion.

"Craig! Craig, listen! Alfie's crying! You're upsetting him! Please, listen!"

A monitor popped up and the Cybermen hardly paid any mind to it.

"Unknown sound wave detected."

"It is the sound of fear. It is irrelevant. We will remove all fear."

The Doctor seemed to understand the baby's crying and even he was getting upset.

"Alfie, I'm so sorry! Alfie, please stop. I-I can't help him."

"Emotions eradicated. Conversion complete." A Cyberman announced.

"Alfie!" I called out, voice tight in pain. "Alfie, cry! Keep crying! Tell your dad how upset you are! T-Tell him how lonely you'll be without him! Craig, you're his _dad_! You're baby's crying, Craig! Alfie is crying!"

There was a clatter and then an alarm started going off, making me let out a quiet sigh of relief as the Cybermen addressed it.

"Alert. Emotional subsystems rebooting. This is impossible."

"He can hear him." The Doctor muttered, glancing at me as I nodded with a small smile, glad he'd figured it out. "He can hear Alfie. Oh, please, just give me this. Craig, you wanted a chance to prove you're a dad! You are never going to get a better one than this!"

"What is happening?" A Cyberman asked, a crack starting to form in the mask on Craig.

"What's happening, you metal moron… A baby is crying! And you'd better watch out, because guess what? Ha ha! Daddy's coming home!"

The mask broke apart and Craig called out to him. "Alfie! Alfie, I'm here!"

The Doctor continued to laugh as the controls sparked and Craig forced the metal clamps off of him.

"Argh! I'm coming for you!"

"Yes, Craig. Go!" The Doctor shouted, getting out of the hold of the Cyberman, before helping me out; being careful of my broken wrist.

He then grabbed his sonic screwdriver and started helping Craig out of the rest of the clamps as the Cybermen wailed and held their heads.

"Emergency! Emotional influx!"

"You've triggered a feedback loop into their emotional inhibitors. All that stuff they cut out of themselves, now they're feeling it. Which means a very big explosion!" The Doctor explained, freeing Craig and the three of us running towards the doorway out, but it was taking too long to get it open.

"Get it open! We need to get Alfie!"

The Doctor went to go to the other door, but I stopped him.

"They've sealed the whole ship! Doctor, the teleport!"

"Of course!" He smacked himself in the face before rushing over to said teleport with the rest of us and sonicking the controls; him holding onto me and Craig and sending us off just as the ship exploded.

Craig quickly ran out as soon as the lift opened up in search of Alfie, but the Doctor had other ideas and quickly slammed his lips to mine; pressing me up against the lift wall with his hands tangled in my hair, before pulling back and glaring at me.

"Don't you _ever_ do that again."

"W-What?" I breathed out, face heating up rather quickly and the drumming pounding away in my head virtually unnoticed in my shock.

"Oh, sh." He shushed me, making me frown and close my mouth before he gently pulled me out of the lift and over to where Craig and Alfie were; the latter of the two cooing happily.

"That was another review. Ten out of ten." The Doctor translated with a smile.

"The Cybermen. They blew up. I blew them up with love." Craig said, smiling down at Alfie as I wrinkled my nose in distaste at his words.

The Doctor didn't really care for them either.

"No. That's impossible and also grossly sentimental and over simplistic. You destroyed them because of the deeply ingrained hereditary human trait to protect one's own genes, which in turn triggered a-a-a…" He stopped his rant at the sight of Val's expression and turned to Craig. "Yeah. Love. You blew them up with love."

He then sent Craig off to get a new shirt; his rather beat up after our excursion and as he waited, he checked over my wrist with a frown, muttering to the retail woman from before; who I _did_ manage to give back her taser.

"The building should be totally safe structurally and, of course, the bonded disillium contained the explosion."

"Right. Why are you telling me all this?"

"I don't know. Sh." He shushed her, before turning back to me. "Yes, definitely broken. I can't fix it right away, of course. I'm not a miracle worker, but I can reset it rather painlessly in the Tardis and then put a cast on it that will let it absorb the nutrients needed to heal the bones quickly, as well as give you something to take that can also speed up the process."

I nodded, gently taking my hand back from him and cradling it to my stomach to prevent any more movement as he rubbed my upper arm with a small smile.

"Shouldn't take too long. Two weeks, tops. And… I hope this doesn't—"

I cut him off before he could say anything. "No. I… I think I'm okay for now. So long as nothing really ticks me off, anyway. And, um… thanks. For sticking through all of this with me. I-I don't know when I'll pop off, but just in case."

He nodded, leading me over to where Val and Craig were with a hand lightly touching my back. "Ah, I need to explain your shoulder too. Definitely need to do that. I promised, after all."

I was glad he remembered and watched as he turned to Val.

"Thank you for your help, Val. Good noticing. Keep them peeled."

"I will. And I'm glad you two made up." She said, giving me a look that I hesitantly smiled back to. "Are you two married then?"

My eyes widened and I looked up at the Doctor before back at her. "Ah, no. We're not—"

"No. Not quite yet, anyway." He said the same time I did, making me turn to him in shock.

I didn't have a chance to say anything on the topic though, before Val and Craig began talking to one another and the Doctor pulled me away from them, leading me outside to where the Tardis was waiting; and where I could finally question him.

"H-Hold on a second! What did you mean, 'not quite yet'?! I-I thought you liked River!"

"I do." He confirmed, tugging me into the med bay once he sent the Tardis adrift. "And I can't tell you about that. Spoilers."

"Sp-Spoilers?! You're the one who brought it up! How can you expect me to not—Ow!" I snapped, crying out in pain when he'd given my wrist an abrupt yank to reset the bone.

"Sorry!" He apologized, though the smirk on his face made me question whether he truly was or not. "But I better explain the whole new nerve cluster in your left shoulder. I'm sure you'd love to hear about that more than some silly romance."

"Silly ro—New nerve cluster?!"

"Sh." He shushed me, putting a finger to my lips with a small smile, though I _could_ talk if I wanted to. "Can I explain now?"

I frowned, but nodded, watching as he pulled his finger away and went back to putting on a thin, yet sturdy, cast on my wrist.

"I'll try to make it simple." He hummed. "When you were… shot back with Donna, you remember how you explained that?"

"Yeah." I said with a nod. "The bullet hit close enough to the Artron Energy in my shoulder that it drained all of it and sent me back to my time."

"Bit more complicated than that, unfortunately." He said, pulling me along and back to the console room to send the Tardis back to Craig's house to clean up. "It's connected to the Tardis, so when it used itself up, the connection was lost and you went back to your universe. After that, you needed a little push towards _this_ universe so it could reestablish a new connection. But!"

He bopped my nose as we stepped out and began cleaning the house, even adding a few things here and there.

"However you came back here, managed to tear a hole in the…" He waved his hands about, trying to come up with a word. "…bundle of Artron Energy in your shoulder. Not big enough to change anything, but enough that you could store even _more_ energy if needed; say you get shot again or something."

He quickly frowned and turned to me, aiming a dirty wooden spoon at my face.

"And _don't_ do that again. Getting shot _three times _is enough."

I raised a brow. "Three?"

His eyes widened at his mistake and he quickly opened his mouth to retort, only to turn away and continue what he had been talking about before.

"So! Over time, more Artron Energy was collected unknowingly and some leaked out. That being said, due to the Master cannibalizing the Tardis, something changed."

I frowned, not liking where this conversation was headed as I fixed some crooked pictures on the wall. "Cannibalized. It ate itself from the inside out, right? Least, that's what it felt like."

"Something of that sort." He said, sensing my unease and trying to quicken the conversation. "So, I believe that it was because of the making of the Paradox machine that caused that small hole that was in it before, to grow and it's currently leaking Artron Energy throughout your system."

"Is that a… bad thing?" I questioned, seeing how he wasn't smiling, but wasn't exactly getting upset either.

"The exact opposite, actually!" He said, a grin forming on his face as he spun around the room with a vacuum. "It's changing your biological structure completely!"

I paled, not really liking the sound of that. "I-Into what? I'm not going to spout extra heads or anything, right? Because I-I rather like my head and other appendages the way they are." My eyes widened. "And what about when I pop off?! A-Am I just going to stop?! I-It'd be nice and all, but wouldn't I run into myself and cause a paradox? A-And which Doctor would I be with? _Oh_, I hope it's not Big-Ears or Rose-Tenth or—"

"Hey! What's wrong with the other me's?" He pouted, bringing me out of my thoughts as he touched the lobe of his right ear. "The ears weren't that bad."

"But what about—"

He cut me off before I could continue. "You're _not_ going to grow extra limbs or turn into anything strange. And the most that will change when you pop off is it may hurt more than just your shoulder since the Artron Energy isn't bundled up there anymore."

"Then… what _is_ changing?" I asked, less nervous than before, but still a bit wound up.

He seemed to realize that I was freaking out a bit and stopped what he was doing and came over to me, slowly reaching out and putting his hands on my upper arms as he looked down at me seriously.

"Don't be afraid. I know it can be scary, but I promise it's nothing bad."

Upon seeing that I wasn't going to outright panic on him, he explained.

"Your left shoulder where the Artron Energy originally was, will be the first thing to change. Or, well… has _already_ changed. It's nothing big, but there's a cluster of nerves there now. One good hit to that shoulder and you're out like a light."

_Why does that sound familiar?_ "I-Is that it?"

"Mm, no. There's a number of other things that could pop us, but I won't know any specifics until I start seeing the signs. Like your immune system will get better!" He grinned, gesturing to my arm. "Two weeks tops, like I said. Without that Artron Energy, it'd be a month. And—"

He stopped, seeing me wince and grab my shoulder as it started acting up; though this time the pain traveled down my back and through the left side of my chest.

"Ah, you're popping off again." He said, sounding sad. "Well, perhaps I'll see you soon. Another you, but you all the same."

I grimaced at the pain, but rolled my eyes. "Like I'd let you die alone." I then frowned at him. "But what else could happen? Because of my shoulder."

"Ooh, all sorts of things, really." He grinned, ruffling my hair as we walked back to the Tardis and I grabbed a new set of clothes the Tardis left by the door and my coat. "You could probably survive near death experiences, though I don't recommend it and be sure no one is around when you do—_if_ you do."

He went over and handed me a packet of pills.

"Sorry. This is for your arm. Take one, twice a day."

"Alright." I said, putting it in my pocket, but just as I was about to pop off, the Doctor called out one last thing.

"Oh! And if the right side of your chest starts to feel strange or compressed, that's normal! You'll be needing a bit more power to pump all that Artron Energy through your body so the weird feeling just means you've started growing another hea—"

His voice was cut off as I disappeared, but that didn't stop the fact that what he was saying made me pale even further. _Was he about to say _'heart'_?!_

* * *

**_Sneak Peak:_**

_"A-Alex?! What are you— What did you do to your hair?!"_

_I rolled my eyes. "No, of course. No, 'Hi Alex. How are you?'. 'Just fine Doctor. I'm just taking a stroll through a museum, is all. And you?'."_

_"B-But your _hair_?!"_


	23. Vincent and the Doctor

**Guess what, everybody?! it's official! I've got my AA degree and am going to be transferring colleges in January! ^^ I graduated!~  
Ahem, back to the story though, i'm glad everyone likes it so far and i want to point out a few things.  
1) it's been a while since i took french so things _might_ be translated wrong here. sorry.  
2) any planets or alien species i name in this that aren't named per say in the episode, are alien species that i have looked up in the tardis wiki page and are species that are in the Doctor Who universe, thus not owned by me.  
3) this goes for any use of names of things such as 'the zero room' in the tardis and the use of the Doctor and Master's nicknames. i pride myself in not using anything that i do not know for sure is used in the Doctor Who series and will not make up aliens/planets nor use things that fans have created such as 'thank Rassilion' in replacement of 'thank god' (just letting you guys know)  
4) every chapter that i am posting from chapter one and on is something that i've been writing for a while now when i'm bored and between updates for my other fics. that being said, i haven't read these in a while so let me know if something i mentioned before isn't mentioned later and i'll see what i can do about it. that, and this explains why i'm pumping out updates like crazy. i'm _not_ writing one of these a day, i just take a pre-written one, post it, re-read it and fix any errors along the way. SO, when i post chapter 30 (when i get there) i will probably be slowing down updates to maybe once a week. depends how many chapters i have done.**

**but anyway, onto the story! please review and let me know what you think and thanks to those who have done so already :)**

* * *

I landed in a heap on a hard wooden surface, gasping for breath and curled up in a ball as pain spread down my shoulder, through my chest, and down my back. _A little more pain than normal? Try a _lot_ more pain!_ I grimaced, trying to control my breathing and not rely on the drumming to ease my pain. It was hard though and despite my trying, my fingers still tapped lightly on the wooden bench I was lying on. Thankfully, the pain went away soon and I looked around in confusion as to where I was at. It was just a bench located not far away from the main road and across from a large building of some sort. So, gathering up my things and my courage, I approached a nearby stranger.

"Um, excuse me, could you tell me where I am?"

The older man wrinkled his nose in annoyance, walking off with a comment thrown over his shoulder. "Je ne parle pas Anglais, américains touristique." (I don't speak English, American tourist.)

_Oh, French. That helps. _I thought, catching up to him and apologizing.

"Je suis désolé. Mes amis me laissé ici pendant que je étais ivre. Pourriez-vous me aider?" (I'm sorry. My friends left me here while I was drunk. Could you help me?)

He eyed me suspiciously, but nodded, gesturing over to the structure across the street. "Ce est le Musée d'Orsay. Vous êtes dans Paris." (That is the Musée d'Orsay. You are in Paris.)

"Ah! Je vois! Je vous remercie, monsieur." (Ah! I see! Thank you, sir.)

He rolled his eyes and walked off, and I turned back to the museum in slight confusion. _That still doesn't give me much to work with, but maybe I have it written down somewhere._ I dug through my coat and pulled out my black book, flipping through the pages for anything French. I found it soon enough and skimmed through the page, before flipping back to see which Doctor it was and smiling slightly at the number 11 on one of the pages before it. My face fell, however, because I realized who I'd be dealing with and where exactly I was. _Amy… She's forgotten about Rory. And that alien… maybe I can help it somehow._ I nodded, grimacing upon having noticed my tapping fingers and abruptly stopping, before I headed up to the museum in the hopes of catching a ride with the Doctor. I paused though, pushing my bangs out of my face and turned around, hailing a cab.

"Where to?" He asked, accent heavy.

"Le salon le plus proche." (The nearest salon.) I said with a small smile, deciding that it was indeed time for a trim.

Once my hair was cut, I felt rather _liberated_. It was weird, but I felt that it would help me with a new start. I was a different person because of the drumming in my head, but I wasn't so different that I'd lose myself. I'd be strong, for me, and for the Doctor. Sure, the hair cut was a little drastic, but I loved the short trimmed, buzzed sides and the longer, messy spiked up top. It just felt… _me._ I wasn't sure how the Doctor would take it, but it didn't really matter to me, because it made me feel good. Despite the drumming, the lack of sleep, and the new knowledge that I was biologically changing into something different, it made me feel happy. And that's all I wanted right now.

Once I bought a ticket to the museum, I grabbed a coffee to keep myself awake after what little sleep I'd gotten, and settled down in the Vincent Van Gogh exhibit to wait for the Doctor and Amy to show up. It wasn't long before they did, but they didn't notice me yet, so I just stood nearby and listened in.

"Thanks for bringing me." Amy said, looking excited.

"You're welcome."

"You're being so nice to me. Why are you being so nice to me?" She questioned, suspicious, obviously.

"I'm always nice to you." The Doctor countered with a pout.

"_Alex_ is always nice to me and you are too, just not like this." She said, surprising me since I didn't expect to be brought up in their conversation. "These places you're taking me; Arcadia, the Trojan Gardens, now this? I think it's suspicious."

"What? It's not. There's nothing to be suspicious about—"

_Smooth, Doctor._ I thought with a roll of my eyes as Amy cut him off.

"Okay, I was joking. Why aren't you?"

He didn't answer her and instead focused his attention on the man leading a tour group nearby; drawing Amy's attention as well. I flipped through my notebook though, checking for a name. _Mr. Black. Likes bow-ties. Van Gogh enthusiast. Good to know I was thorough when I wrote this._

"Each of these pictures is worth tens of millions of pounds, yet in his lifetime he was a commercial disaster. Sold only one painting, and _that_ to the sister of a friend. We have here possibly the greatest artist of all time, but when he died, you could've sold his entire body of work and got about enough money to buy a sofa… and a couple of chairs."

The group around him chuckled as he led them away, Amy looking through her guidebook on paintings as the Doctor heard a couple of boys talking loudly about one of the paintings.

"Who is it?"

"It's the Doctor!"

Just the mention of his name made him turn around, only to look a bit disappointed when he realized they were talking about the painting.

"_He_ is the Doctor who took care of Van Gogh when he started to go mad."

"I knew that."

I snuck up behind him and chuckled a bit. "You shouldn't let your ego get so big, Doctor. Not everyone is calling your name, you know."

He jumped and whirled around in shock, gaping and pointing at me in surprise. "A-Alex?! What are you— What did you do to your _hair_?!"

I rolled my eyes. "No, of course. No, 'Hi Alex. How are you?'. 'Just fine Doctor. I'm just taking a stroll through a museum, is all. And you?'."

"B-But your _hair_?!" He commented again, reaching up towards my head, only for me to stiffen and move away from him, pushing his hands away as my heart and the drumming picked up their pace.

He looked worried then, his expression changing to that of a hurt one and I turned away, feeling rather guilty. _Idiot. Now look at what you've done. You're not with the Master anymore. _He's_ not the Master, so just… Ugh, stop being so paranoid!_

"Sorry." I smiled a bit, though it was rather forced. "Just got it cut. Don't want to mess it up already… But, um, how are you? How's Amy holding up? I haven't been there yet, just to let you know, but I'm still… worried."

I sipped at my coffee, my stomach twisting as his expression didn't change and he looked me up and down carefully as though trying to figure me out, before he finally realized I'd said something and spoke.

"Oh! Right then. I'm okay. Bit shaken, but future you reassured me it'd turn out aright. So that's good." He smiled, though even I knew it was just as forced as mine. "And Amy is… Amy's good. Amy's Amy. Still spunky and—"

He was cut off as said red-head rushed over and grabbed his arm. "Oh, look! There it is! The actual one!" She said cheerfully, holding up her guidebook in front of a painting of a church; the Church at Auvers.

I smiled a bit and headed over as well, coming up beside them as the Doctor chuckled.

"Oh yes. Amy is still Amy."

"What?" She questioned, confused and I leaned over to wave at her from the Doctor's other side.

"Hello. Just popping in~"

"Alex!" She cheered, rushing around him and hugging me, though I stiffened and quickly tried to pull away.

"A-Amy? Amy, I-I'm not much for hugging."

She pulled away slightly, frowning up at me with furrowed brows. "What? You were fine befo—"

"Amy?" The Doctor smiled slightly, pulling her off me as I tried to keep my breathing calm; my fingers now drumming on my thigh. "This is a different Alex, remember? Sometimes Alex doesn't like hugs."

She gave him a look, opening her mouth to argue, before looking at me and—try as I might—I was having a hard time not showing how tense I was. _Come on. It was just a hug. No one was trapping you, no one was trying to hurt you. Just a hug. So ignore the drumming and focus!_ Slowly but surely, the drumming softened and I calmed down, sipping my coffee in the hopes that the warm liquid would help a bit, before catching what the Doctor was telling Amy about the creature he'd spotted in the painting.

"I know evil when I see it, and I see it in that window." He turned to me then, smiling slightly and reaching for my arm, only to hesitate. "Alex, do you… possibly know anything about this? A hint you can give me?"

"I-I, um…" I looked over at the creature in the window and felt my chest clench a bit in sadness. "He's not evil. He's just… scared."

He looked at me and reached out again, making to take my hand, but the moment he grabbed it, I pulled it back with a wince; it being my broken wrist.

"Ah, sorry. Didn't meant to—" He stopped, eyeing my arm with a puzzled look on his face. "Is that a perception filter?"

I gave him a confused look, having no idea what he was talking about, but reluctantly placing my hand in his when he silently asked to see it. He frowned, turning my hand this way and that, looking at the cast that the future him had placed on it, before smiling.

"Ooh, clever me. Must've known I was handsy and put the perception filter on to keep me from grabbing that hand and possibly hurting you." He then frowned up at me. "So what happened?"

"I, um… sort of broke it with a future you."

"Future me? Usually you say a number unless… Oh. It's still the Eleventh me, but a _future_ Eleventh me. Clever." He smiled, bopping me on the nose with his finger. "In that case, don't tell me. I'll find out soon enough, but _don't_ do it again, please?" He asked, looking worried. "It's hard enough trying to keep you out of trouble, much less when you actively go looking for it."

"I'll, uh, do my best?" I said, though it was more like a question.

"Right! Now then." He turned around, but grabbed my other wrist with a smile. "Back to business."

He tugged me over to Mr. Black, and interrupted his talk to the masses behind him.

"Excuse me. If I can just interrupt for one second." He pulled out his psychic paper and showed it around. "Sorry, everyone. Uh, routine inspection, Ministry of Art and… Artiness. So, um…"

"Doctor Black." The tour guide introduced.

"Yes, that's right." The Doctor gestured to the painting we'd just left. "Do you know when that picture of the church was painted?"

"Ah, well. Ah, what an interesting question." The man said, making to go into his usual dialogue. "Most people imagine—"

"I'm going to have to hurry you." The Doctor interrupted, not one for hearing all the extra blabber. "When was it?"

"Exactly?"

"As exactly as you can. Without a long speech, if poss. I'm in a hurry." He smiled a bit at the man, who didn't seem to mind the Doctor's sudden rush.

"Well, in that case, probably somewhere between the 1st and 3rd of June."

"What year?"

"1890. Less than a year before… before he killed himself." Mr. Black said, the atmosphere getting tense.

"Thank you sir. Very helpful indeed. Nice bow-tie." He smiled, pointing out the man's blue bow-tie and turning to Amy. "Bow-ties are cool."

"Yours' very…"

"Oh, thank you." He smiled and I elbowed him in the ribs.

"We're in such a hurry that you can chit-chat about bow-ties?"

"Right. Um, keep telling them stuff." He said, nodding to the man before grabbing Amy as well and pulling us both towards the doors. "We need to go."

"But the other pictures!" She complained, but he just pulled her in front of him, letting me go, and pushed her out the door.

"Art can wait. This is life and death. We need to talk to Vincent Van Gogh."

With that, he hurried us out of the museum and to the Tardis waiting outside, not far from the bench I had woken up on. _How did I not see that?_ Once inside, he start pulling and twisting levers and knobs, sending us off and having us land rather quickly and I could tell he was worried. It didn't take a genius to see that.

"Right. So here's the plan. We find Vincent and he leads us straight to the church and our nasty friend." He explained as we walked through an alleyway.

"Easy peasy." Amy chirped, excited to see Vincent, no doubt.

"Well, no. I suspect nothing will be easy with Mr. Van Gogh. Now, he'll probably be in the local café. Sort of orangey light, chairs and tables outside."

I snatched Amy's guidebook and flipped through it to the photo of a café painting. "Just like this."

The Doctor nodded, Amy giving me a small frown as she took the booklet back from me. "That's the one."

"Or…" I pointed past the two of them at the café in front of us. "Just like that."

The Doctor grinned, happy to of found it so fast. "Yeah. Exactly like that."

We all headed over to the café where maids cleaned up tables and the Doctor approached a waiter.

"Good evening. Does the name Vincent Van Gogh ring a bell?"

"Don't mention that man to me." He scoffed, heading back inside the café as the Doctor blinked in surprise.

I nudged him with my elbow. "Remember, Vincent isn't exactly well liked here. They thought he was a looney."

"Right…" He turned to the couple of maids instead. "Excuse me. Do you know Vincent Van Gogh?"

"Unfortunately."

"Unfortunately?" Amy questioned, as though never hearing me say the man was disliked.

"He's drunk, he's mad, and he never pays his bills."

"Good painter though, eh?" The Doctor tried, but she laughed along with anyone else within hearing distance.

The Doctor took a seat, as did I, just as we heard a commotion going on inside.

"Come on, come on! One painting for one drink. T-That's not a bad deal."

The waiter from before came out, holding a canvas with another man following him.

"It wouldn't be a bad deal, if the painting were any good."

The Doctor leaned forward, mouthing words to Amy across the way excitedly. I, on the other hand, rolled my eyes. _Sometimes I wonder why I surround myself with children._

"I can't hang that up on my walls. It'd scare the customers half to death. It's bad enough having you here in person, let alone looming over the customers day and night in a stupid hat. You pay money or you get out."

"I'll pay, if you like." The Doctor interrupted as I sighed.

"Bad idea."

"What?" The waiter seemed surprised that someone was offering to pay for Vincent's drink.

"Well, if you like, I'll pay for the drink. Or I'll pay for the painting and you can use money to pay for the drink."

"…Exactly who are you?" Vincent questioned

"Oh, I'm… new in town."

"Well, in that case, you don't know three things. One, I pay for my own drinks, thank you."

The people around us laughed, already knowing he doesn't pay his bill.

"Two, no one ever buys any of my paintings or they would be laughed out of town. So if you want to stay in town, I suggest you keep your cash to yourself. And three, your friend's cute and the other is strange, but you should keep your big nose out of other people's business." He then turned back to the waiter as I pouted about his comment. "Now come on. Just one more drink. I'll pay you tomorrow."

"No." The waiter sternly said, making to go back into the café as I looked over at the Doctor and mouthed to him.

_I'm strange?_

He gave a half-hearted shrug. _Well…_

Of course, I proceeded to kick him in the shin under the table, earning a pained expression as he rubbed his leg and Amy decided enough was enough between Vincent and the waiter.

"Oh look, just shut up, the pair of you." She moved over to them both and turned to the waiter. "I would like a bottle of wine, please, which I will then share with _whomever_ I choose."

She gave Vincent a pointed look and he smiled a bit.

"That could be good."

"That's good by me." The waiter said with a roll of his eyes as I raised my hand and caught his attention.

"And a bottle of whiskey over here!"

"Alright."

The waiter shoved Vincent's painting back at him and Amy stormed inside for her drink, the rest of us going on inside after her. Once seated, I gladly accepted my whiskey and ignored the look the Doctor gave me as I drank heartily; missing the warmth it spread and liking how it dulled the drums in my head.

"That accent of yours…" Vincent spoke up, drawing my attention to him as he spoke to Amy. "You're from Holland like me?"

"Yes."/"No." The Doctor and Amy said at the same time, the Doctor earning a look from her before he corrected her again.

"She means yes." He smiled, before thrusting his hand forward to shake Vincent's. "So, starting again. Hello, I'm the Doctor."

Instead of shaking hands however, Vincent scowled. "I _knew_ it."

"Sorry?" The Doctor questioned, dropping his hand as Vincent grew angry.

"My brother's always sending Doctors, but you won't be able to help."

"Oh, no. Not that kind of Doctor." The Doctor corrected, trying to find a way to ease up the atmosphere again and spotting his painting. "That's incredible. Don't you think, Amy? Alex?"

"Absolutely. One of my favorites." Amy smiled as I sighed, taking another large gulp of my drink.

"Whoops."

"One of my favorite what's?" Vincent demanded to know. "You've never seen my work before."

Catching her mistake, Amy tried to quickly come up with a solution. "Ah, yes. One of my favorite paintings I've ever seen… generally."

He scoffed, messing with the painting. "Then you can't have seen many paintings then. I know it's terrible. It's the best I can do." He set it down and then eyed Amy. "Your hair… is orange."

She leaned closer too. "Yes. So is yours."

He glanced over at me as well, suspicious. "Your's has an orange tint as well."

I nodded, not really paying attention now that I was a bit buzzed. "Yup."

He then looked back at Amy. "Yes. My hair was more orange, but now it is of course… less."

The Doctor groaned before speaking loudly and interrupting the two of them, taking my whiskey away as well as I pouted.

"So, um, Vincent. Painted any churches recently? Any churchy plans? Are churches, chapels, religiousy stuff like that something you'd like to get into? You know, fairly soon?"

"Well, there is one church I'm thinking of painting when the weather is right." Vincent answered, wary of us still, it seemed.

"That is very good news."

There then came shouts as a woman rushed into the café. "Ah! She's been murdered! Help me!"

"That, on the other hand, isn't quite such good news." The Doctor commented, getting up. "Come on, Amy, Alex, Vincent!"

Amy hurried after him, but Vincent finished his drink first and I grabbed the bottle of whiskey, tucking it into my inside coat pocket before I hurried off after him as well.

"She's been ripped to shreds!" A man shouted as we approached the body of a young girl and the Doctor pushed through.

"Please, let me look! I'm a doctor!"

"Who is it?!" Another woman shouted, but my eyes were focused on the body that had indeed, been ripped to shreds.

"Oh, no, no, no." The Doctor muttered, kneeling down to the body along with Vincent as I stood above them, drumming coming back louder than ever.

"_Tell me what you know Alex. Tell me, or I'll rip you to shreds. I promise you that. I'll tear through your mind bit by bit, until you can't even recognize who you are anymore. And then the drumming will come and you'll be just like me. You'll be driven mad just as I have. Do you want that?" A hand gently caressed my face. "Because I can give it to you, Alex. I can drive you insane with just… a… touch."_

"Get that madman out of here!"

Rocks started being thrown and one knocked me out of my thoughts as it hit me right across the temple. I was confused, disoriented, and someone grabbed my arm by the crook of my elbow, pulling me along as I tried to remember how to breathe. All I could hear though, was his laughter and the drums. The drums that were slowly driving me insane.

* * *

"Are you alright?" The Doctor asked Vincent once they'd all stopped in a nearby alleyway to get away from the rock-throwing crowd.

"Yes. I'm used to it." Vincent spotted the red-headed man though, and grew concerned. "Is your friend alright?"

"Is my friend—" The Doctor cut off his confused question and abruptly turned around to see Alex panting and stumbling back against a wall; her knees shaking before she started to collapse. "Alex!"

He rushed over, grabbing her upper arm to help her down to the ground, but she pulled away from him with a shout.

"Don't touch me!"

He stared in shock, hurt at what she'd just demanded, but he tried reaching for her again in the hopes that she was just confused.

"Alex, I just want to help."

She shook her head, curling up with her knees to her chest as a hand went up to her temple and a finger tapped four beats violently on her skull.

"D-Don't touch me. Please. Please, j-just don't come near me."

He wanted to help her though. _Doesn't she understand that?_ He went to get closer again, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him and he was surprised to looked up and see Vincent giving Alex an understanding look.

"Do as she says, Doctor." He gave him a glance. "Give her a chance."

_A chance? For what?_ The Doctor wondered, looking back over at Alex and starting to see what he meant. The tapping she'd been doing had stopped—though he could see her hand twitching as though it wanted to keep going—and he could see her starting to take deep breathes, trying to slow down her erratic breathing pattern. But as she continued to calm herself down, he couldn't help but wonder what exactly had caused this panic attack. _The body perhaps? But it wouldn't be the first time, as upsetting as that thought is… But that tapping. Where have I seen that before?_ He focused on skimming through his memories and upon finding the one he was looking for, his expression saddened. _Oh Alex…_

Said woman had calmed down sufficiently and was forcing herself up shakily, the Doctor quickly rushing to her side and hesitating only slightly before helping her.

"I-I'm sorry." She breathed out, still rather shaken by her panic attack.

"No. I'm sorry." He told her back, squeezing her waist comfortingly. "I should've realized what was going on."

She went quiet and he decided that they should all be getting some rest at this point, but not before he got one more question in.

"Vincent? Has anything like that murder happened here before?"

The man nodded, glancing at Alex as she leaned slightly on the Doctor. "Only a week ago. It's a terrible time."

"As I thought. As I thought." He then nudged Alex's head with his nose. "Come on, we'd better get you home."

"Um, where are you staying tonight, if I might ask?" Vincent questioned and the Doctor smiled, reaching his free arm out to pat the man's shoulder.

"Oh, you're very kind."

The group headed off towards Vincent's home rather subdued, compared to their previous cheer, but the Doctor did his best to keep everyone's spirits up.

"Dark night. Very starry."

"It's not much. I live on my own." Vincent said, lighting a lantern in front of the door. "But you should be okay for one night. _One_ night."

"We're going to stay with him?" Amy asked, glancing at Alex as she pulled away from the Doctor and ducked into the house.

"Until he paints that church."

"And what about Alex? What _was_ that?"

The Doctor sighed, looking at the entrance Alex had disappeared into. "A panic attack, most likely. She… It hasn't been long since she went through a tough ordeal and it left scars on her mind. The tapping she was doing, is one of them. She simply… She can't really control it right now and that was her attempting to move past it." He gave Amy a look. "Just stick close to her, Amy. Help her out."

Amy nodded, seeing the worry the Doctor had and knowing that he'd been hurt when Alex had told him off earlier, which was why he was asking _her_ to keep Alex company. _And hopefully, she'll realize this too and fix things between them. It's weird when he's not his usual perky self._

"Watch out." Vincent called out to them before they could enter. "That one's wet."

"What?" Amy stopped and stared at the painting by the doorway; The Bedroom in Arles hanging right before her eyes.

Of course, once they were inside, things only got better.

"Sorry about all the clutter."

"Some clutter." The Doctor called out, recognizing the works of art that would soon be hanging in a museum.

"I've come to accept the only person who's going to love my paintings is me." Vincent replied, catching Alex standing before The Starry Night with a sadness to her eyes.

"Wow. I mean, really. Wow." Amy said, drawing his attention back to her as he sighed.

"Yeah, I know it's a mess. I'll have a proper clear out. I must. I really must." He finished lighting the oil lamps and moved to the stove. "Coffee anyone?"

"Not for me, actually." The Doctor called out, and Vincent gave Alex a glance.

"And you?"

"…Yeah. I'll have a cup."

He nodded and set the coffee pot down on a painting as the Doctor poked his head through the doorway.

"You know, you should be careful with these. They're… They're…"

Vincent moved the coffee pot and wiped at the ring it left behind on the still life panting of fruit.

"…precious."

"Precious to me. Not precious to anyone else." He said back, Amy poking her head through the door frame too with a grin.

"They're precious to me."

"Well, you're very kind. And kindness is most welcome." He smiled, his chest filling with joy that at least someone out there liked his works.

Alex came through the doorway as well, but said nothing, just looking at a couple of the drawings he had stuck to the door frame in silence. Vincent didn't mind though. Silence was better than anger, and he was used to silence in his house. That, and there was something about the way she looked at the paintings that filled his heart a little more. It was as though he could tell she appreciated them like he did, but instead of giving a compliment, she stayed silent in respect for the work. Almost as though she had no words to describe whether the work was good or bad. _It just is._ He mused his lips twitching up in a smirk. She was different, that was for sure, but she was different like him, so he rather liked her. _Although I very nearly thought she was a man at first. This… Doctor doesn't seem to mind though._

"Right, so this church. Near here, is it?" The Doctor asked, drawing him out of his thoughts as he grabbed some wood for the fire.

"What is it with you and the church?" He questioned, astonished by this mans interest in something so… dull.

"Oh, just casually interested in it, you know."

"Far from casual. It seems to me you never talk about anything else. He's a strange one." He said, Alex smiling a bit with a nod.

"That he is."

The Doctor though tried to fix things, and changed the topic. "Okay. So, let's talk about you then. What are you interested in?"

"Well, look around. Art. It seems to me there's so much more to the world than the average eye is allowed to see. I believe, if you look hard, there are more wonders in this universe than you could ever have dreamed of."

"You don't have to tell me." The Doctor smiled, making Vincent wonder if the Doctor knew far more than he let on.

Three cups of coffee later, and Vincent was talking excitedly to the Doctor as Alex slept in a chair beside him with her head on his shoulder, fingers occasionally twitching in her sleep.

"It's color! Color that holds the key!" He ranted, hands shaking. "I can hear the colors. Listen to them. Every time I step outside, I feel nature shouting at me. Come on! Come and get me! Come on. Come on! Capture my mystery!" He shouted, grabbing the Doctor by the lapels and shaking him, rousing Alex from her sleep as she sat up and blinked wearily.

"Maybe you've had enough coffee now." The Doctor said, Vincent realizing he'd grabbed him and fixing his coat with a more subdued expression. "How about some nice calming tea? Let's get you a cup of chamomile or something, shall we? Amy." He paused, not seeing her. "Where's Amy?"

* * *

I frowned, still half-asleep, but the shrill scream from outside woke me up quickly and myself, the Doctor, and Vincent rushed outside to see what was wrong; though I already had an idea.

"No, no, no! Amy?! Amy?!" The Doctor found her on all fours in the courtyard, helping her up. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I didn't see it. I was having a look at the paintings out here when something hit me from behind." She said quickly, still scared out of her wits, I'm sure.

"It's okay. He's gone now and we're here." The Doctor comforted her, myself and Vincent looking around.

"No! No!" Vincent suddenly shouted, looking behind us and backing up in a panic.

I too looked, and stiffened at the large creature standing behind us. "T-That's not good."

I started to back up too, grabbing Amy's coat and pulling her along with me as the Doctor tried to calm Vincent.

"Take it easy. Take it easy!"

"What's happening?" Amy asked me as I pushed her towards the house. "What're you doing? What is _he_ doing?"

"I don't know." The Doctor questioned, giving me a look upon seeing I'd moved Amy further away. "Alex?"

I pointed a shaky finger behind him and he turned to look, but then I remembered he couldn't see it and I suddenly questioned why it was that I _could_. _Why can _I_ see it? That shouldn't be possible, unless—_My thoughts were cut off as Vincent let out a shout and charged at the Doctor with a pitchfork-like object, the creature behind him taking a step back as Vincent waved his arm at the Doctor.

"Run! Run!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's not a bad idea. Amy, stay back there. Alex, you too. He's having some kind of fit." The Doctor moved closer as Amy hid behind the door frame, but I moved closer as well as the Doctor went for Vincent; who was stabbing at the air towards the creature. "I'll try to calm him down."

I noticed the creature moving around the courtyard and remembered why, my chest clenching slightly in sadness for the creature as the Doctor held up his hands at Vincent.

"Easy, Vincent, easy. Look. Look, look, look. It's me, it's me, it's me. It's the Doctor, look. No-one else is here. So, Vincent—"

I spotted the tail of the creature before Vincent and tackled the Doctor to the ground just as the man shouted out at him.

"Look out!"

We landed flat on the ground as the creature growled and cut up one of Vincent's paintings by Amy, who called out to us in a panic.

"I can't see anything. What is it?!"

"That is a good question." The Doctor said as I got up off him and pushed him back towards the house with a stern look.

"For once, you will listen to me, got it? Stay here and stay quiet."

"Alex?" He questioned. "Do you know what it is?"

"Yeah, so trust me, okay?" I said, loosing my stern gaze and glancing over at the creature sadly. "Please. Just… Just trust me."

I headed over to Vincent and put a hand on his arm, startling him as he gave me a disbelieving look.

"What are you doing?! Get back over there!"

I shook my head. "Vincent, I need you to trust me too, okay? Put the pitchfork down and go over by the Doctor."

"Are you mad?! Can you see it?!"

I nodded, giving him a stern look and grabbing the pitchfork. "Yeah, I can. Now shut up, stay _quiet_ and get over there."

He was hesitant, but did so, just before I threw the pitchfork away and held a hand out to the group behind me to keep them from coming over.

"Trust me! And stay absolutely quiet!"

Keeping my eyes on the creature, I looked up at it sadly and spoke quietly.

"Hey, hey, hey. Sh. You can hear me, right?" I asked, hoping that it could understand me. "Because if you can listen to me, please, just let me help you."

It growled moving closer, but I just held my hands out and took a half-step back.

"You're scared, right? You can't see anything and everyone is shouting at you and making so much noise and it scares you. That's all. You're just scared and lonely. They left you here because you can't see and now you're scared and don't know what to do. You're lost and confused a-and I understand."

It growled lowly again, but it wasn't moving threateningly or anything. It just stood there with it's head low as though trying to figure me out.

"I-I'm the same way. I don't belong here either. I lost my own family a-and I'm scared too. I-I'm really, really scared. I'm scared I'll hurt someone precious to me, a-a-and I'm lashing out, like you. So believe me, I understand."

I hesitantly moved forward, keeping my hands up in the same position and hoping that the creature understood.

"Please. I just want to help you."

The creature lowered it's head towards me, hesitating on stepping closer as I stopped before it and prayed that it wouldn't try to eat me or anything as it let out a hot breath of air on my outstretched hands. _Please, let me help you. I don't want you to die. You're just scared._ I was shaking, I could tell, but I was doing my best in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, I could help this poor creature in some way or another. I always felt bad for what happened to it in the end and now was my chance to right things before they got any worse. The creature let out a soft whine and nudged my hand with it's head, as my mind suddenly filled with what it was feeling.

Tears filled my eyes as I felt this deep pressure building up in my chest, my mind suffocating me with how lonely and frightened this creature was. Even now, I could feel it quivering under my hand and I didn't even question how it was I could feel it's emotions, because all I could think of now was how I could help it.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." I cried, biting my quivering lip as tear ran down my face for the creature, who was so lonely and so scared.

It pulled away from me though, shifting it's gaze to where the others were hiding, before it turned around and ran off, leaving me there as I felt the intense emotions fade and I wiped my eyes; Vincent running over to me in shock along with the others.

"H-How did you do that?! It was almost a-as though you _tamed_ the beast!"

I shook my head, turning away and pushing past the group and back into Vincent's home. I didn't want to talk about it now. My mind was racing and dragging along at the same time; trying to come up with something to save the creature, but trying to get over the pressure it'd put on my mind which was still trying to recover from my ordeal with the Master. I sat down heavily in a chair and put my head between my hands, leaning over to prop my elbows up on my legs, as I took a deep stuttering breath and tried to keep myself from crying. _Come on, head. Just calm down. Please._

"Alex?"

I jumped, turning my gaze towards the Doctor who'd knelt beside me and placed a hand on my back.

"Are you alright?"

I don't know why, but somehow the way he asked me, just broke the flood gates and I shook my head, feeling tears leak out once more and bringing a hand to my face as I cried.

"N-No. I-I-I can feel it. It's scared. I-It's just… so _scared_."

He hugged me in the position I was, burying my head in his chest as his arms covered my back; his head resting on me as he hushed me softly.

"Sh, it's okay, Alex. It's alright. Everything will be okay. So, please stop crying. You know I can't take it when you cry." He muttered into my hair, rubbing my back while I cried, continuing to mutter soft spoken words until I stopped.

* * *

Once Alex had calmed down, the Doctor helped her sit up and smiled lightly, wiping the remnants of tears from off her cheeks with his thumbs and brushing away some of her longer hair from her face.

"Come on, Alex. Let's get you to bed. You've had a long night."

She shook her head though, leaning back in the chair and curling up in it; her legs hanging over the arm as she sat in it sideways. "I'm fine."

He was worried, because she'd only shown him how she _wasn't_ fine and—as glad as he was that she was working through the drumming as well as she was—he could tell that there was more on her mind than she was letting on and she _really_ wasn't looking well. Her eyes were lined with dark bags and were now rimmed with red from her crying and obvious lack of sleep she'd been getting. When he was rubbing her back, he could feel her ribs through her coat and when he'd helped her walk with his hand around her waist, he'd taken obvious notice to the amount of weight she'd lost. All of that on top of her earlier panic attack and whatever had just occurred in the courtyard, he knew she needed as much rest as she could get.

"Please, Alexander." He breathed out, watching as her eyes shifted to his, before she looked down and nodded; uncurling from the chair before he led her up to the guest room to sleep. "Thank you."

She stayed quiet and he would've thought she was already asleep, if it wasn't for her nodding to him just before he went back downstairs. All he had to do now, was figure out what kind of creature this is and how he could help it. Because there was one thing he knew for certain, it wasn't as monstrous as he thought. Alex had proven that and if she was this torn up over the creature, then he had to try his best to help it; just as she would.

* * *

"Alex…"

I let out a long breath, too tired to answer whoever had just laid down behind me.

"Alex, you need to wake up now."

_No… So tired…_ I mentally lamented, curling up further under the blankets as the person brushing their fingers through my hair softly.

"I know you're tired, but I've made breakfast out in the courtyard, and you need to eat."

A hand lightly touched my waist, hesitant, but eventually resting there and rubbing soft circles, reminding me of when I was the Doctor and Craig. Before the drumming. _He always was touchy. I miss it… I miss being able to enjoy it…_ I let out a sigh and wearily opened my eyes, meeting the smiling face of the Doctor.

"There we go. How are you feeling?"

I frowned at him, grabbing the covers and pulling them over my head. "Tired."

"Alex!" He whined childishly, just before a shout rang out from downstairs.

"Stop flirting you two and have some breakfast already!"

I could feel the heat trailing up to my cheeks at Amy's shout and felt the Doctor getting up from off the bed.

"Come on, Alex. Even Vincent is already up."

I groaned, but got up, glaring half-heartedly at the Doctor as he chuckled and moved to fix my hair; which was no doubt a mess. But I hardly minded, it was nice to feel like things were going back to normal, though I knew it wouldn't last long with the Doctor. Yawning, I followed him downstairs as he pointed a finger up at me.

"There's something I need to show you first before you chow down into breakfast. I just need to confirm what Vincent said."

I knew what he was talking about and my eyes grew saddened once more, feeling the lingering emotions that had stayed behind from my encounter with the creature last night. The Doctor noticed this and paused on the stairs, turning to me and grabbing my face gently; though I stiffened at the contact.

"I'm going to help it, Alex. I'll do everything in my power to help it, but I'm going to need you to tell me what you know."

I hesitated, questioning whether telling him would screw things up, but I realized that I already had changed things here. And what would telling him about the creature do other than give it a better chance? So slowly, I nodded and the Doctor smiled at me, kissing my forehead before taking my hand in his and leading me down into the room where the other two were at.

"Morning, sleeping beauty." Amy smirked, handing me a hot cup of coffee which I was grateful for; nodding politely to Vincent as I took a seat and popped one of the pills future Eleven had given me for my wrist.

"Morning." I muttered, spotting the bread sitting on the table before the Doctor passed me some to stop my grumbling stomach. "Thanks."

"Are you feeling better?" Vincent asked and I glanced over at him briefly before lowering my gaze and nodding.

"Yes. I just… had too much on my mind, is all."

"Ah. I know what you mean." He smiled a bit and I smiled back, before he turned to the paper in his hands and passed it to me. "This is the creature we saw last night, according to the Doctor."

I took it from him and nodded, looking over the picture and shifting my gaze up to the Doctor who was standing nearby.

"What's it called?"

"This is a creature called the Krafayis." He explained. "They travel in space. They travel… as a pack, scavenging across the universe. And sometimes, one of them gets left behind. And because they are a brutal race, the others never come back. So, dotted all around the universe are individual, utterly merciless, utterly abandoned Krafayis. And what they do is, well, kill. Until they're killed. Which they usually aren't because other creatures can't see them."

"But I can." Vincent spoke up, gesturing to me. "Alex can."

"Yes, and that's why we are in a unique position today, my friend. To end this reign of terror. But…" The Doctor turned to me. "But Alex here, knows some things that we don't. Some things that could help us."

I nodded, still looking over the pictures in my hands. "He's just scared. That's all."

The Doctor sat down beside me. "Yes, but why?"

I sighed, looking over at him. "Because he's blind."

The Doctor looked surprised, but understanding dawned on him. "Oh. _Oh_. That's why he doesn't eat his victims and why he was abandoned. He can't see anything."

Vincent seemed to understand then as well, sadness appearing on his features. "He's just frightened and he lashes out. Like humans who lash out when they're frightened. Like the villagers who scream at me. Like the children who throw stones at me."

I nodded, recalling what had happened last night. "That's why I told you to stay quiet. Because he can't see, he makes up for it with good hearing. So when he hears people shouting at him, he's just scared. He doesn't know where he is or what he's doing or where his pack is. They left him here to survive, but he doesn't understand that. He's just lonely and hurt and scared." I frowned then, questioning. "But why could I see him? W-Why could I… Why could I feel what he was feeling?"

"Alex."

I looked over at the Doctor who squeezed my shoulder with a small smile. "It's alright. You're connected to the Tardis, remember? She's a sentient being who can link into our subconscious. You're starting to pick up her traits now due to the Artron Energy spreading." He paused then, looking like he'd just let out a very big secret. "Has this… Have I not explained this to you yet?"

"…_there's a cluster of nerves there now."_

"…_your immune system will get better!" _

"_You could probably survive near death experiences…"_

"…_the weird feeling just means you've started growing another hea—"_

"N-No. No, you did, but I-I didn't think…" I paused, trying to think as the drumming grew slightly louder. "I'm picking up _her_ traits?"

"Well, the language bit and the subconscious links, but she's connected to me too, so—"

"Hold on a minute." Amy suddenly spoke up, interrupting him as I continued to try and connect the dots between what was going on with me. "I'm lost. You were talking about this Krafa-whatever and now we're talking about Alex changing? What exactly is it that we're doing?"

"Well, we're going to try and help it, but first we have to find it." He then turned to Vincent with a grin. "So! Feeling like painting the church today?"

"But what about the monster?" He asked, lost once more.

"Take my word for it." The Doctor said. "If you paint it, he will come."

Vincent smiled a bit, getting up from his seat. "Okay. I'll get my things."

"In your own time." The Doctor said to him, his next words making the man stop in the doorway. "And I promise you, we'll be out of your hair by this time tomorrow."

Once Vincent went up to his room, the Doctor frowned slightly.

"This is risky."

"Riskier than normal?" Amy questioned, leaning forwards; myself trying to focus on what was important here and now, not on my changing biology.

"Well, think about it." He got up and began pacing. "This is the middle of Vincent van Gogh's greatest year of painting. If we're not careful, the net result of our pleasant little trip will be the brutal murder of the greatest artist who ever lived. Half the pictures on the wall of the Musée d'Orsay will disappear." He snapped his fingers then sat next to her. "And it will be our fault."

"Nothing will happen to him." I muttered, catching their attention as I stared straight at the Doctor. "If everything goes the way it should, Vincent Van Gogh will be the same as before. As he should be."

"You're sure…" He questioned me and I nodded, though my stomach twisted in worry.

"If everything goes as it should, then I _promise_, he will be fine."

He took a deep breath, but nodded, getting up and helping me up as we all went to wait outside for Vincent. He was taking a while though and the Doctor decided to go and check up on him. Amy wanted to go as well, but I stopped her.

"No. Let him go."

She gave me a look, but the Doctor headed off upstairs and check on him, and we waited in the courtyard below.

"Is something wrong with him?" She asked me and I nodded.

"He is… He is a lonely man. A lonely, sick man who just wants someone who likes him despite all his faults and who will be with him and make him happy. And then we tell him we're leaving, when it seems he is finally happy… Anyone would be upset, but him… even more so."

"Will he… Will he be alright?"

I sighed, knowing what would happen even after we left Vincent. "Who am I to say whether he will be alright or not? Ultimately, it is _his_ choice, not my predictions."

There was some shouting and Amy sent me a look before rushing towards the stairs as I followed quietly behind her.

"W-What's happening?"

The Doctor stood outside, looking rather upset as he leaned on the railing. "We're leaving… Everyone knows he's a delicate man. Just months from now, he'll… he'll take his own life."

The Doctor turned away then, heading towards the stairs, but Amy turned around with tears in here eyes, upset.

"Don't say that… Please."

He watched her for a second, before heading down the stairs; her following him, but I stayed and looked at the doors leading to Vincent's room. I was hesitant, but I walked over and slowly opened the door, moving into the room and closing it shut behind me. He didn't seem to care, too upset to probably even hear me come in. I looked over at the broken man and my heart went out to him. I didn't say anything or do anything, other than sit in the wooden chair beside his bed, because I hadn't the slightest idea what I could do or say that could help him. And silently, I wondered if there was anything that _could_ help.

I myself, am currently trying to get over something maddening. Probably not on the same scale as his own illness, but the drumming was something I could probably equate to a mental illness. Thing is, I had people there for me. The Doctor was here and the other companions were here, and I'd willingly left my own family to be with them. To be with people who cared and made me happy. And here was Vincent. Alone, with no one. Someone who'd just met us and got a taste of that happiness, only to find out we were leaving him alone. I thought back to him stopping the Doctor from coming near me as I had a panic attack, and when he heard that the Krafayis was blind, how he sympathized with the creature. And I felt that he needed to be thanked.

"Thank you." I muttered under my breath, Vincent flinching at the sound of my voice. "For understanding."

Things grew quiet again and I just sat there, leaning my head back and staring at the ceiling. Vincent's sobbing died down and I got up, heading for the door, but he stopped me.

"You… You're not going to say anything?"

I looked over my shoulder at him and shrugged as I turned away. "What could I say?"

"I-I… I don't know." He muttered, quietly.

"Neither do I."

* * *

Once I'd gone downstairs, it wasn't long before Vincent joined us, looking more than prepared to go out and paint a church; much less, face a Krafayis. As we walked down the road though, I hung back with the Doctor as they talked, listening in along with him.

"I'm sorry you're so sad."

"But I'm not. Sometimes these moods torture me for weeks, for months. But I'm good now. If Amy Pond can soldier on, then so can Vincent Van Gogh." Vincent said, taking her hand in his.

"I'm not soldiering on. I'm fine."

"Oh, Amy. I hear the song of your sadness. You've lost someone, I think."

"I'm not sad." She argued.

"Then why are you crying?" He countered, Amy bringing a hand up to find she was, _indeed_, crying. "It's alright. I understand."

"I'm not sure I do."

Vincent turned to look around at me then. "You as well, Alex. You are quite the soldier, from what I can see."

I blinked. "Compliment noted."

He smiled a bit, before the Doctor spoke up, rather loudly. "Okay. Okay! So, now, we must have a plan. When the creature returns—"

"Then we shall face him again." Vincent said, sternly.

"Well, yes. Tick." The Doctor marked a tick mark in the air, but seemed to want to try a slightly different approach. "But last night we were lucky. Amy could have been killed and Alex seems to be able to have at least a slight connection with the creature, which could help with what I want to do. So this time, for a start, we have to make sure I can see him too."

"And how are we meant to do that, suddenly?" Amy questioned, confused.

"The answer's in this box." The Doctor smiled, holding up his briefcase. "I had an excellent, if smelly, godmother."

He walked forward a bit, before we spotted the funeral procession heading our way and Vincent looked upset.

"Oh no… it's that poor girl from the village."

The four of us moved to the side to let them pass, keeping our heads bowed in respect as the coffin with sunflowers atop, passed us by. Once they were gone, we went back on our way and Amy gave the Doctor a look.

"You do have a plan, don't you?"

"No. It's a thing. It's like a plan, but with more greatness."

I rolled my eyes as we approached the church. "Oh right. Because 'thing' has such a great ring to it."

The Doctor pointed a finger at me with a playful frown. "Don't mock the thing."

I held my hands up in surrender with my own slight smile and he went to go help Vincent set up his things along with Amy.

"And you'll be sure to tell me if you see any, you know, monsters." He said, patting Vincent's back as the man sat down.

"Yes. While I may be mad, I'm not stupid."

"No. Quite. And, to be honest, I'm not sure about mad either." The Doctor said, kneeling beside him with a sigh as he rubbed his face. "It seems to me depression is a very complex—"

"Sh." Vincent shushed him. "I'm working."

"Well, yes. Paint! Do painting!" He called out as I chuckled behind my fist, trying to stay quiet and keep him from hearing me as he went on to ramble; Vincent splashing blue paint on his canvas. "I remember watching Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel. Wow! What a whinger. I kept saying to him, 'Look. If you're scared of heights, you shouldn't have taken the job then'."

"Sh." Amy shushed him this time, but he ignored her and kept going; coming up behind Vincent and holding his upper arms.

"And Picasso. What a ghastly old goat. I kept telling him, 'Concentrate, Pablo. It's one eye, either side of the face."

Amy grabbed his arm and scolded him sternly. "Quiet."

He pouted and I got a pointed look from Amy, to which I rolled my eyes and headed over; grabbing his hand and tugging him away from the group.

"Come on, Mr. Grumpy. Leave them be."

"I'm not grumpy." He whined, very much grumpy.

"And I'm not trying to keep you busy while Vincent paints. Trust me, it'll be a while."

"Keep me busy _how_?" He questioned, and I shrugged.

"I have no idea. I'd say I have a plan, but it's more of a _thing_." I said, stealing his line. "A thing of greatness!"

He chuckled, squeezing my hand. "Then show me great things!"

Needless to say, hours later, I'd run out of 'great things' to do with him and—completely exhausted after our game of tag—I was now lying on his lap half-asleep as he ran his hands through my hair and complained.

"Is this how time normally passes? _Really_ slowly. In the right order."

I groaned. "Tell me about it. I spent four years being normal and it sucked."

"If there's one thing I can't stand, it's an unpunctual alien attack."

"Are you two alright? I'm surprised you aren't sticking your tongues down each others throats behind the church or something."

"A-A-Amy!" The Doctor shouted indignantly as a bright red blush overcame my face and I sat up on my elbow in shock.

"W-W-What?!"

Thing was, I continued to grow red as my thoughts drifted towards that, imaging it, and making my chest ache. _O-Oh no. T-T-That can't be. I-I already said I-I wasn't going to—No. I-It's not that, right? I-It's that weird feeling in my chest like the future Doctor said, right? I-It's a-a second… Second heart._ I put my hand on my chest and grabbed the fabric of my shirt as my heart picked up pace. _T-That's what it is… r-right?_

"There!" Vincent called out, drawing everyone away from our conversation, before he aimed his brush at the church. "He's at the window."

"Where?" The Doctor asked, scrambling up as I did the same.

"There, on the right."

"As I thought. Come on." He said to Amy and I. "I'm going in!"

"Well, I'm coming too." Vincent said sternly.

"No! You're Vincent Van Gogh. No." The Doctor said, trying his best not to give away just how big of a person he'd become.

"But you're not armed."

"I am."

"What with?"

"Overconfidence." The Doctor and I both said, though I rolled my eyes and he grinned like it was a good thing.

"This, and a small screwdriver." He continued, patting his briefcase once more. "I'm absolutely sorted. Just have to find the right crosactic setting and stun him with it. Sonic never fails. Anyway, Amy, only one thought. One _simple_ instruction. And this goes for you too, Alex." He gazed at us both seriously and signing for Vincent to keep an eye on us, though I already knew what he was going to say. "Don't follow me, under any circumstances."

"I won't." Amy lied and he turned to me, looking for my answer.

I sighed, slumping my shoulders with a frown. "Fine. Whatever."

He nodded, giving us a thumbs up and then hurried off towards the church. Vincent then moved over towards us both.

"Will you two follow him?"

"Of course." Amy rolled her eyes as I smiled.

"Duh. Can't leave that idiot alone for anything. Who _knows_ what sort of trouble he'd get himself into."

Vincent glanced at me, but then turned to Amy with a disbelieving look. "I love you."

She just smiled back and then moved to forward. "Has he moved?"

"No." I said, as Vincent got more specific.

"Just shifted to the next window… But wait! He's turning now!"

We both waited, but then heard a crash and I rolled my eyes before running off; Amy shouting behind me as she followed.

"Doctor!"

"Amy!" I heard Vincent call out, but I shook my head as we entered the church.

"Amy, you need to be as quiet as you can, alright?"

She nodded, heading my instructions for now as we hurried to where the Doctor was. Just as we rounded the corner, he did the same, shouting out rather loudly.

"Ah! I thought I told you—Never mind. We'll talk about it later. Quick, in here!"

The three of us climbed into the confessional—Amy on one side, the Doctor and I on the other—and went quiet, trying to listen for the Krafayis.

"Absolutely, quiet." The Doctor whispered, lifting the curtain to look outside as I covered his mouth with my hand; mimicking the shushing motion.

I could still hear Amy's loud breathing though and slid open the slot door, mimicking the shushing motion for her as well, but she just rolled her eyes and complained.

"I _am_ shushing." She slowly lifted her curtain as well and then whispered. "He's gone past."

I shook my head, trying to shush her, but after a moment's pause, the Krafayis broke part of her side of the confessional, making her scream.

"Of course." I grumbled as the Doctor spoke up as well.

"I think he heard us."

The Krafayis broke our side of the confessional, only for me to slam my hand over the Doctor's mouth once more before he could say anymore. Amy though, continued screaming and I sighed, lowering my hand just as a familiar voice came from outside.

"Hey! Are you looking for me, sonny?! Come on, over here. Because I'm right here waiting for you."

We peeked out of the confession to see Vincent fending it off with a chair, and he waved an arm behind us.

"Come on. Quickly. Get behind me."

The Doctor tried his sonic screwdriver then, hoping it'd work. "Doing anything?"

"Uh-uh."

From there, we backed out of the room and outside.

"Where is he?"

"Where do you think he is, you idiot? Use your head." Vincent scolded him, making me smile a bit.

The Doctor tried the sonic screwdriver again. "Anything?"

"Nothing. In fact, he seemed to rather enjoy it."

"Ooh."

I sighed, as the creature moved around us, but the Doctor was in the way.

"Duck!" Vincent called out, but I called out the next one.

"Right!"

The Doctor jumped to the right and the Krafayis moved around us again as the Doctor shook his head proudly.

"Right then. This isn't quite working out the way I wanted it to. So let's run like crazy and regroup."

"Oh, come on. In here." Amy said, pushing open another door and we all hurried into the crypt.

We all tried to push the door closed, but his foot was in the way. Vincent caught sight of it though and stamped a foot down on it hard, making it roar and pull the appendage out of the way as we leaned against the door.

"Right. Okay. Here's the plan." The Doctor said. "Amy, Rory—"

"Who?" Amy questioned and the Doctor quickly tried to cover up his mistake.

"Sorry, um, Vincent, Alex."

"What?! What is the plan?!" She asked, not really caring about the slip up.

"I don't know actually. My only definite plan is that in the future, I'm definitely just using this screwdriver for screwing in screws." He said quickly and Vincent spoke up.

"Give me a second. I'll—"

"No!" I said, rather loudly, grabbing his sleeve and stopping him from going back for his easel; the object that will ultimately end up killing the Krafayis. "Sorry, but y-you can't get your easel."

He gave me a look. "How did you know I was going back to get that?"

"Long story." The Doctor interrupted. "Well get back to that later. _Why_ are you stopping him?"

"Because the easel it's… it's what kills the Krafayis." I said, glancing at Vincent who stared in shock. "You don't mean to, but…" I sighed, pulling a hand through my hair. "Sorry. I shouldn't be changing things like this, but… He's only scared. He doesn't deserve to die."

The Doctor let out a soft sigh and gave me a gentle look. "Oh, you're always too caring for your own good." He then turned to the door. "I suppose we could try talking to him."

"Like Alex did?" Amy asked and he nodded.

"Well, yes. Might be interesting to know his side of the story."

The Krafayis cried out and the Doctor gave me a worried look.

"Yes, though maybe he's not really in the mood for conversation right at this precise moment."

The creature pounded on the door angrily and the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Well, no harm trying. Listen." He called out, getting louder when the creature couldn't hear him. "Listen! I know you can understand me, even though I know you won't understand why you can understand me. I also know that Alex spoke to you yesterday. Remember? I'm her friend. So _please_, listen. I also don't belong on this planet. _I_ also am… alone. If you trust me, I'm sure we can come to some kind of, you know, understanding. And then, and _then_… who knows?"

The window crashed open then though, the creature having not heard a word he said, and the Doctor covered Amy and I as it started roaming the room. Vincent went to try and do something, but I pulled out of the Doctor's grip and put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"Let me try." I whispered. "Let me try again and just…" I looked back at them in worry. "Just stay quiet."

"Are you sure, Alex?" The Doctor asked and I nodded.

"I-It worked last time." I said with a nervous smile, shifting my gaze back to the Krafayis. "What's the harm of trying again? And if it all goes wrong, then… Then I hope you have your sonic screwdriver on the right setting."

He nodded, starting to mess with his sonic screwdriver as I swallowed my nervousness and stepped a bit closer to the creature as it knocked over some things; crying out when they clattered on the ground.

"Hey, hey big guy. Remember me?" I asked softly, moving to the center of the room as it turned it's head towards me. "Yesterday, remember? We talked… _I_ talked, but… I could feel it. When you let me touch you, I could feel how scared you were. How frightened. I really do want to help."

I moved forward a bit, but it growled, making me stop and back up; hands out like before. It was slowly heading towards me and I stayed where I was, letting it move closer, but I heard a shifting sound from behind me and it froze; growling lowly.

"I'm sorry." I said to it, putting a hand out to stop whoever moved behind me. "They're my friends. They're just going to stay there and let us talk, okay? I promise."

It was hesitant and scooted back, but it's tail knocked over something, sending it to the ground with a loud clatter and frightening it.

"It's okay! It's okay!" I called out to it, still keeping my voice calm and not very loud, moving towards it as it panicked at the sound. "It's just a pole! That's all! Please, just come back this way! There's nothing over here to bump into!"

It was still freaking out though and I heard someone moving behind me again, making me turn to them with a stern glare.

"Sit _down_ and stop moving."

"But it's going mad." Vincent spoke up and I shook my head.

"It's not. It's just scared. The noise scares it, so you have to trust me when I say you need to be _extremely_ quiet." I scolded, just as the his eyes widened and he called out to me.

"Look out!"

I turned around to see the Krafayis heading my way, but I couldn't move and it slammed it's head into my chest, throwing me back against the wall and knocking the wind out of me. It hadn't meant to though. It was moving blindly in a panic after knocking over the pole. Vincent didn't see that though and started shouting to distract it as the Doctor and Amy rushed over to me. I was struggling to breathe though, let alone talk to try and stop them and Vincent.

"Sto… p… Sto…p…" I gasped out, trying to get up as the Doctor tried to get me back down.

"Alex! Alex, stop moving! You could be seriously hurt!"

The drumming was getting louder, pounding violently in my head as I tried to gather enough strength to push him off me and calm the Krafayis. I didn't want to rely on the drumming. I didn't. I was doing so well without relying on it, but it was hard resisting it now. It was so loud and my entire being just wanted to help the Krafayis. So much so, that it would only take one slip-up before I'd let it control me. But I didn't want to, because I knew that the moment I did, I'd have to start over. I'd have to fight it all over again. It'd be as if I hadn't spent that week with the Eleventh Doctor, who had been trying his hardest to help me. And I couldn't let that go to waste. _But the Krafayis…_

I spotted Vincent grabbing a flag pole and for a split instant, I saw the Krafayis lying dead on the floor with it plunged through it's chest. And I grit my teeth and forced myself up, despite my entire body shouting in protest, throwing myself out of the Doctor's grip and running as quickly as I could towards them. I still couldn't catch a full breath of air and I felt as though I was stumbling more than running, but the moment Vincent thrust the flag pole up at the Krafayis, I hoped I was right where I needed to be.

"Alex!"

Panting, I fell to my knees, eyes wide and tears slipping down my face as the Krafayis wailed and fell back; the flag pole having hit it's mark with me only a few feet away.

"N-No…N…o…" I cried, lungs still not expanding as much as they should as I crawled over to the Krafayis as it too, cried. "So…rry…I'm…s…o…sorry."

Vincent, the poor man, looked at what he'd done and gazed over at me sadly. "I-I didn't mean that to happen. I only meant to wound it. I never meant to…"

I nodded, breath hitching, but finally managing to breath somewhat normally; though my chest and back ached in the process. "I-I know. I know."

I could feel the familiar ache starting up in my shoulder and down my back, and I grimaced in pain, not yet wanting to leave. I had tried so hard to help save the Krafayis, but it seemed that everything I changed here was for naught. _It wasn't a fixed point. It couldn't have been. S-So why? Why did he still get hurt?_ The Doctor came over and reached a hand out, brushing the Krafayis softly as I cradled it's head and pressing my forehead to it's.

"I'm sorry. I-I wanted to help. I was trying to and… I'm so sorry." I wept, tears dripping onto it's head as it too cried.

"He's trying to say something." The Doctor announced, Vincent looking over at us in worry.

"What is it?"

"I'm having trouble making it out, but I think he's saying, 'I-I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid.' and 'thank you'." The Doctor looked over at me as my crying grew worse and he began to comfort the Krafayis. "There, there. Sh, sh. It's okay, it's okay. You'll be fine. Sh."

It nudged my hand with it's head one last time, before it died, and I popped off with a few final words of my own.

"I'm glad. I-I'm glad you weren't afraid."

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"When did you get here?"_

_"Ooh, can't tell you that." I said with a straight face, mimicking the Doctor's earlier flourish. "I'm a mystery."_


	24. The Caretaker

**Here's the next chapter! I nearly forgot to post it today, but got reminded by grapejuice101, who has also created a poster for this! I recomend you all go check it out. it's pretty nice ^^ the link's on my profile below my tumblr one, if you want to see it.**

**and thanks to all those who reviewed and for all the congrats i received! :)**

* * *

I popped up in my bedroom on the Tardis in pain and curled up in a ball, trying to calm myself down and get over the sadness over the death of the Krafayis. The drumming was loud, but I was getting better at fighting it and did my best to ignore it, but another side of me wanted to just stay here in my bedroom and never leave. I knew it wasn't my fault the Krafayis died, but it still hurt to try my best to stop it, only to have it happen anyway. It reminded me of when I tried to save Rose back at Canary Warf, and I suddenly didn't want to do much of anything anymore.

"_Don't stop fighting."_

The Doctor's words came back to me, and I slowly stopped crying, just lying there and staring off at the bookshelf full of knickknacks from adventures I'd yet to go on. _How does he do it? How does the Doctor just stand there and watch people around him die, after doing everything he can to try and save them? How can he still smile and laugh?_ I suddenly felt very guilty for sitting here and thinking about staying. How could I, when the Doctor fights everyday to keep going with a smile? Sighing, I got up and headed for the shower, washing up quickly and changing into some dark torn up skinny jeans, a white muscle shirt, a thin grey sleeveless hoodie, and a black sleeveless jacket with a pair of ratty black converse.

Feeling slightly better now that I was clean and comfortably dressed, I headed out into the Tardis halls only to freeze. _O-Oh dear._ In front of me was a mass of angry cats, making me cautiously take a step back, only for water to drop on them out of nowhere.

"You evil blue box of death!" I shouted, running for my life as the wet cats dashed after me.

Four turns and a scratch across the face later, and I was leaning against the a set of doors panting and out of breath, wincing slightly as the scratch on my left cheek stung. I couldn't help but laugh though, because this was something that I _needed_; believe it or not. I needed this bit of normalcy and the Tardis was just the one to give me the kick in the butt—or cat to the face—that I need.

"Thank you, Sexy. I always knew I could count on you to knock me back into shape." I hummed, smiling and patting the door frame; earning a welcoming hum in response.

Pushing myself up and off the floor, I wandered down the hall until I found the doors to the console room. _Let's see who I'm with this time._ Opening the doors, I stared up at the silver and blue interior and the orange glowing center in slight confusion, before it kicked in where I was at and I rubbed the back of my neck, unsure on how I should react. _Twelfth Doctor. I don't know if I should be nervous because I have no idea what's going to happen, or if I should be excited for the surprise of it all._ The Tardis hummed at me and I rolled my eyes. _Yes, yes. Alright. Option two it is. Might as well enjoy it while I can._ I took a deep breath and went to head downstairs and possibly scare the living daylights out of the older Doctor, but the doors opened up and Clara walked in looking confident.

"So, where we off to?"

"Clara, you… you look lovely today. Have you had a wash?"

I raised a brow at the _grumpy_ Doctor actually being nice and wondered what he was up to. Clara seemed to feel the same and tilted her head in suspicion.

"Why are you being nice?"

"Because it works on you." He drawled out, rolling his eyes, before grabbing a monitor and stepping back to hide it from her. "Listen. I'm sorry, but there's going to be no trip today. I'm sorry. Eh, I've got to do a thing. It might take a while."

"What thing?"

"Just a thing."

"_It's a thing. It's like a plan, but with more greatness."_

"_Don't mock the thing."_

I stifled a chuckle at the line I'd heard recently, and leaned my arms on the railing to watch them, just out of sight.

"You're being mysterious, and do you know what that means?"

"I'm a man of mystery." He joked, waving a hand in front of his face with a flourish, making me have to bite my lip to keep from bursting out laughing right there.

"Hm." She half-heartedly chuckled. "It means that you are a very clever man making the mistake, common to very clever people, of assuming that everyone else is stupid. Where are you going?" She asked, grabbing the monitor, but he flicked a switch on the console and hid the image from her.

"Undercover. Deep cover."

"Can you do deep cover?"

I shook my head up where I was, remembering how he tried to do undercover work with Craig and ultimately failed. _No bow-tie this time though, so maybe he'll be a bit better._

"What do you mean?"

"Have you seen you?"

_Ooh, she has a point._ I mused, still smiling down at them.

"Of course I can do deep cover!"

"Where? The Magic Circle?" Clara chuckled, and he snapped his fingers, opening the Tardis doors.

"I'll see you when I see you."

She snapped her fingers too, closing the door. "When's that?"

He snapped again. "When I see you."

_I wonder…_ I snapped my own fingers, and the doors closed, making my grin widen as the two of them stared at the doors in surprise and looked around; catching sight of me as I waved.

"Hello! Sorry, just wanted to try the snapping thing too."

"Alex!" Clara exclaimed with a grin and I headed down the stairs to meet up with them. "When did you get here?"

"Ooh, can't tell you that." I said with a straight face, mimicking the Doctor's earlier flourish. "I'm a mystery."

Clara chuckled and the Doctor groaned with a roll of his eyes.

"Just what I need. Another nosy person."

"Better than having angry eyebrows." I quipped back with a chuckle, making him frown and snap his fingers once more.

"Go on, you. Go do _normal_ things. I've got something I need to do."

"Hm." Clara hummed, heading for the door, only to pause, glance at the monitor and hum again. "Hm. I'll be sure to have a wash."

"Excellent. I was meaning to bring it up." The Doctor said back, making me smack the back of his head.

"Rude."

He frowned at me, but said nothing more as Clara gave me a smile.

"I'll see you, Alex."

"Looking forward to it." I waved back, as she walked out and gave the Doctor a look, shutting the doors.

He went right back to the monitor, but she opened the doors again and he jumped away from it; Clara making hand motions saying that she was watching him, before closing it once more. He then looked back at his monitor and the screen switched to a map. Curiously, I looked over at it from beside him at the red blur on the screen next to the words 'East London'.

"I take it, we're _in_ East London and that's why you wouldn't tell her what you're up to?"

He frowned at me and pulled the screen away with him as he circled the console; myself following.

"Yes. Which is exactly why you are going to stay here and not tell her _anything_ or I'll find a way to ship you off to one of my less charming selves."

I smiled at him, talking with a baby voice. "Ooh, aren't you cute."

"Very." He answered with a smirk, making me roll my eyes, before he dropped it and nodded at me. "So what'd you do to your wrist? Broken, obviously. So don't tell me that, but my memory's a bit foggy." He waved a hand at his head, eyes still scanning the map in front of him.

"Oh, I nearly forgot about that." I muttered, flexing my fingers in the cast and reaching into my pocket to pull out the pills I was supposed to take; popping in another one dry before answering. "Eleventh you with Craig and Alfie, dealing with Cybermen. After that, I was with Vincent Van Gogh and the… Krafayis."

He stopped what he was doing as I felt my stomach twist in nervousness and kept my eyes on the monitor, not feeling my finger tap on the console along to the drum beat in my head.

"You're doing good. Don't give in now, Alexander."

I stiffened, feeling his hand give mine a reassuring squeeze, before he let go and moved around the console.

"Now then! I have a caretaker to visit. Just going to do a bit of hypnotizing and land us both a short job right where we need to be."

I nodded, trying to figure out why my chest felt weird when he'd put his hand on mine, before my mind finally registered what he'd said and I snapped my head up in surprise.

"Land us _both_ a job?"

He sighed loudly with a roll of his eyes, already over at the door, as he waved a hand nonchalantly. "Yes, yes. I'll need you to help me and I can't just leave you here. Who knows what trouble you'll get in."

I gave him a disbelieving look. "Me? I'm not the one hiding things from Clara and going off on my own to do something stupid."

"It's not _stupid_." He argued. "It's a very important thing that needs to be done."

"Oh right. It's your _thing_ of greatness. Can't mock the thing." I said sarcastically and he frowned at me, pointing a finger.

"Was that sarcasm? It was, wasn't it. You've been hanging around Clara too much."

"Actually, I haven't seen Clara since the last time I was with you and that was ages ago for me." I mused, having just realized that now. "Hm. I think I've been around Martha the most, but technically I've been around _you_ the most, so I wonder where I got it from."

I smiled innocently at him as I tucked my hands into my pockets and leaned against the console.

"Oh, you think you're so clever, don't you." He asked, a smirk of his own creeping onto his face.

"Learned from the best."

He chuckled then, turning away and opening the door. "I can always count on you to make me smile, even in this body." He walked out and then poked his head back in, pointing over at the console. "Your tooth necklace should be hanging on the zigzag plotter. It's been fitted with a perception filter, so go bother Clara or something."

I picked up the dinosaur tooth necklace with a smile, before realizing something. "Wait, how do I lock the Tardis?!"

"Snap!" He called out, leaving me to go and explore.

And explore I would.

* * *

_Bored. God, I'm bored._ I mentally complained, having finished exploring the school we were parked in and solved my rubix cube for the umpteenth time, so I officially had nothing left to do. I even reorganized my knickknacks by planet of origin—thanks to some help from a book titled 'Planets and Their Knickknacks', that was on my bookshelf. I then proceeded to beg the Tardis for a manual to read on her and how to fly her, but she wouldn't give in because the Doctor wasn't around to supervise. She instead plopped a manual on the functions of a sonic screwdriver in my lap, which was huge; seeing as the stupid thing has hundreds upon thousands of functions. And when I got bored with that, I went to the Tardis gym and worked out for a while.

_I didn't even know she had a gym. The Doctor must've set it up for me at some point or something._ And after a second shower I changed into a white dress shirt, a pair of jeans, and a brown open vest over a closed grey one; keeping my ratty converse. The Doctor _did_ say I was getting a job, so I had to look somewhat decent. But that also made me wonder how long it takes for him to hypnotize someone, because it'd been at least two hours since he'd left and I was bored to the point that I was hanging upside-down in the jump seat reading the sonic screwdriver manual again if only to resist the urge to tap my fingers.

_That's the one thing that really bothers me. Tapping my fingers had always been a habit of mine and because of the drumming, I'm being forced to quit and it's _really_ hard. Not to mention I still can't completely shut out the drums. Maybe the Doctor can teach me a mind trick or something. _I mused, turning the page on amplifying sound and moving on to the page about heating water. _Huh, good to know I can use his sonic screwdriver as a karaoke microphone and to make a cup of noodles. I wonder…_ I got up and dashed to the kitchen, digging through the cupboards and grinning upon finding a cup of noodles tucked away in the back of one, before hurrying back to the console room and checking to see if the Doctor left his screwdriver. He hadn't and I pouted, but it was then that he walked in through the door.

"I have finished acquiring a job for the both of us as caretakers of the school. Now we just need to—Oi!" He shouted as I dug through his coat and stole his sonic screwdriver. "What are you doing?!"

Twisting it and pressing a few things, I grinned upon finding the right setting and aimed it at the cup of noodles. I then hurried over and beamed upon finding them ready to eat with their sonically heated water and tossed the screwdriver in the air.

"Whoo! I've gotta get me one of these!"

The Doctor snatched it out of the air before I could catch it and looked at what I'd done before changing it back and waving it at me with a frown on his face; as I snapped some chopstick apart and began eating.

"You just _stole_ my sonic screwdriver so you could make a cup of soup?"

"Mhmm." I hummed through my mouthful of food.

"This is a precision instrument! Not your personal water heater!" He scolded me, ranting and raving as he went about changing his coat and I rolled my eyes. "Of all the stupid and useless things to be using it for—" He suddenly paused, rushing over to me and eyeing me suspiciously. "How did you know how to use my screwdriver?"

I raised a brow, still chewing my food and not being able to answer.

He, in turn, rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know you could use it, but that was an older you. This you is only…" He trailed off, scanning me with the screwdriver and checking it. "31?" He looked at me, as though double checking, before shaking his head. "Not the point. How do you know how to use it already?"

I scoffed, reaching over and waving the manual as I swallowed and spoke. "Sexy gave me the manual because I was bored and you were taking too long. She wouldn't let me read the one on how to fly her because—" I turned my gaze up to the ceiling and mocked her in a whiney voice. "—I have no adult supervision." I went back to my food and shook my head, using my normal voice. "I'm not some stupid kid."

"Says the woman who just used a sonic screwdriver to heat up her cup of soup." The Doctor scoffed.

"Oi!" I said, disgruntled as I lifted my head, only to see him well on his way to the door.

"Yeah, yeah. Come on. We were supposed to meet the headmaster five minutes ago."

Grumbling under my breath, I got up and hurried after him, taking my noodles with me as we entered the room where the teacher's meeting was being held.

"Ah, here they are. Do come in."

"I'm the new caretaker, John Smith." The Doctor introduced and then gestured to me afterwards. "This is my wife, Alex."

I choked on my noodles at that, holding a finger up to the man who held his hand out for us to shake as I tried to breath again.

"Um, welcome to Coal Hill, Mister and Mrs. Smith."

"Thanks. Yes. John Smith's the name but, you know, here's the thing. Most people just call me… the Doctor." He smugly grinned, winking at Clara as she turned to me and gave me a pointed look, but I gave her one back and she rolled her eyes as everyone started leaving. "So, if anybody needs me, just, you know, give me a shout. I'll be in the storeroom with my wife just getting the lie of the land. Yes, no body's taking any notice at all. Absolutely good news, because it means I must be coming across just as an absolutely boring human being like you."

Clara silently asked what she was doing here, mouthing the words, but he mostly ignored her and shut the door.

"Deep cover. Deep cover." He then turned to me waving a hand at the desk. "Alex, there should be a set of plans there, could you give them to me?"

I though, was more focused on what he called me. "W-Wife?! Since when was I your wife?!"

He sighed, taking the plans himself and looking them over, suddenly avoiding my gaze for some reason. "I needed a cover story to get you in. You being my wife was the only way."

"Y-Y-You could of just hypnotized somebody else!" I argued, chest feeling heavy as my heart pounded in my ears in embarrassment and something else.

"Making two people believe they have the flu at the same time is a bit suspicious, don't you think?" He snapped, making me stiffen in confusion as he turned around and face me angrily. "And let's not forget the fact that there's only _one_ caretaker, so you'd have to fake some sort of documentation to get a different job, which would only put you in a bind anyway, _and_ could possibly ruin everything I'm trying to do!"

He was holding my wrist now, I myself having started backing away from him in confusion as to why he was angry, and when I glanced at his hand, I was surprised to see a wedding ring there. That alone, made the drumming in my head grow louder as the ache in my chest grew, and I quietly wondered if he was angry because he was married to River and he didn't actually want me here; much less having to have me masquerading as his wife. The door opened then and he quickly released me, turning away and shoving the plans in his pocket as he completely ignored me and faced Clara.

"So, you recognized me then."

"You're wearing a different coat!"

"You saw straight through that."

As much as I found the situation funny, I couldn't find it in myself to laugh. Not when my stomach was twisting itself into knots of unease and my chest suddenly felt like it was filled with lead. _I-Is this really a second heart growing in? I'm starting to think it isn't, because… why am I feeling so… upset? It's just a wedding ring. I knew he had to marry River, but why does the thought of that hurt so much?_

"Deep cover, in my school? Why?" Clara stepped forward and the Doctor used the brush he'd picked up along the way to ward her off as they circled each other. "Where's Atif? What have you done with him?"

"He's fine. Hypnotized. He thinks he's got the flu. Also a flying car and three wives. It's going to be a rude awakening."

"And you let him go through with this?" She asked, suddenly turning to me as I picked at my food.

"I, um, I knew about the hypnotizing thing, but I don't know much else." I muttered, starting to feel rather useless without my foreknowledge here.

Clara gave me a look, before turning to the Doctor once more. "Is it aliens? Oh my God, i-i-is that why you're here? Are there aliens?"

"It's assembly. You better get going. Go and worship something." The Doctor said, trying to change the topic, but Clara wasn't having it.

"Are there aliens in this school?" She demanded to know.

"Listen, it's lovely talking to you, but I've really got to get now. I'm a caretaker now. Look, I've got a brush."

The line made me think about another show I watched, where a certain curly haired detective claimed to be in shock because he had a blanket, and I smiled a little; trying to pick my mood back up, if only slightly.

"Doctor. Is there an alien in this school?"

"Yes. Me." He said, pointing to himself before waving his hand dramatically. "Now go. The walls need sponging and there's a sinister puddle."

"You can't do this. You cannot pass yourself off as a real person among _actual_ people." She argued with him, tossing a hand over at me. "_Alex_ can barely do that, and she's an actual sort-of-human person!"

I looked up, wondering when she found out about my changing biology and what her and the Doctor possibly knew about it.

"I lived among otters once for a month. Well, I-I sulked. Alex and I, we had this argument and then River got involved—"

"Human beings are not otters!" Clara shouted, obviously not liking this whole secret agenda the Doctor had.

"Exactly. It'll be even easier." The Doctor smiled, Clara trying to calm down and approaching him, making him lift up the brush again.

"Okay, one question." She smacked the brush away with her hand, completely serious. "And you will answer this question... Are the kids safe?"

My stomach clenched at those words, making me feel sick with myself because I had been so absorbed with my own worries that I hadn't even thought about all the people that could be in danger here. All the people that I probably won't be able to save because I didn't know what was going on. And I had just forgot about them. _How could I even do that? How could I not think to… a-ask or something?!_ I looked down at my empty cup and clenched my eyes shut, steeling myself. _No. Stop worrying about what you didn't do, Alex, and worry about what you can do. And you can start, by figuring out what the Doctor's up to. _I took a deep breath and nodded to myself, lifting my gaze back to the two in front of me and forcing myself to keep from tapping out of nervousness.

"No. Nobody is safe. But soon, the answer will be 'yes, everybody is safe', if you let me get on. Now, pretend you don't know us. Stay out of our way. The less you know, the better. I'll explain it all later. Go and sing with the otters. Alex, let's go."

I nodded and got up, tossing my empty cup in the trash and giving Clara a nervous and apologetic smile.

"Sorry."

"I hate you." She hissed, past me and at the Doctor, who hardly seemed to care.

"That's fine. That's a perfectly normal reaction."

We left her there steaming and I really did feel bad for her and would've probably told her what was going on, if I had any clue myself. The majority of the day though, was spent following the Doctor like a dog and doing various tasks around the school; from cleaning the cafeteria, to fixing a broken water fountain, to scrubbing graffiti off of bathroom stalls. I was already starting to get rather annoyed, holding the ladder for him as he fixed a window. Thing was, we must have been bothering Clara's English class, because the Doctor soon climbed down and with a rather pleased expression. Needless to say, I promptly smacked him upside the back of the head.

"Ow!" He whined, rubbing the spot. "What was that for?"

"You were being rude again." I hummed, shortening the ladder and hefting it over my shoulder.

"And how would you know that? You can't even hear from all the way down here."

I sighed, adjusting the load as we started walking back to the storeroom. "You've got that 'I bothered Clara by being a smart arse' face on."

"I have a face for that?" He questioned, before pointing a finger at me and attempting to be stern. "And watch your language. We're at a _school_, for Pete's sake!"

I rolled my eyes, propping the ladder up on the wall before we headed back out. "Oh, right. Course. I'll be sure to do that, but when are you going to tell _me_ what we're doing here?"

He hesitated before answering, making me suspicious. "When I'm ready to."

"And when's that?" I asked, watching him.

"When I need your help."

"I see. So that means I can go wait in the Tardis, yeah?" I asked, stuffing my hands in my pockets and turning around, making him stop behind me. "Since you're not telling me and all, doesn't that mean you don't need my help? You can do all this caretaker stuff without me, right?"

"_Alex_." He groaned, coming back after me and grabbing my hand to stop me. "Don't be like this. You _know_ that's not what I meant."

I frowned, feeling my temper flare. "Do I? Because last I checked, I have no _idea_ what's going on. I've been following you around all day, doing stupid chores while you're hiding some secret plot to stop an alien that I don't even know about, and you expect me to keep helping you while staying kept in the dark? Is there anything else I don't know about? I already have no idea why you were mad earlier. And it seems you have a better clue as to what this whole 'changing biology' thing I'm going through is. Or, I know, let's get back to the alien question!" I grit my teeth, keeping my hands clenched to keep from tapping and aggravating the already loud drumming. "Let me guess, since you won't tell me. A Zygon or a Gizou or something is pretending to be a teacher and is hunting down students? No? Alright, how about a Cyber-Mole digging through the school to eat it's electricity and awaken a Cyber-Army? For all I know, it's an infestation of Xaranti! Either way, there are people in danger and how am I supposed to do anything, save anyone, if I don't even know what we're up against?!"

I winced and put a hand to my head, the drumming loud enough to give me a _huge_ headache as it tried to aggravate my emotions further and I struggled to keep from giving in to the noise. I was upset, obviously. The Doctor wasn't trusting me enough to tell me what was going on and with no foreknowledge about anything involving this Doctor, and the people in possible danger, I was very much at a loss for what to do. I'd gotten so used to helping save people in situations that I already knew about, that being in one without it had me panicking. Coupling that on top of the drumming, my changing biology, my possible feelings for the Doctor and _kids_ being in danger, and it was just staring to be too much.

"…_you have to start trusting me too, Alex. Start telling me when things are wrong. Not with others, but with yourself."_

"I-I don't have any idea what's going on!" I cried out, struggling not to let tears fall. "I don't know how to save people here! I don't know how to stop the drumming! I don't even know what's changing in my own body! And I'm only getting bits and pieces of everything because you don't trust me, and I feel like I'm giving you everything, but getting nothing in return! A-A-And I'm scared! I'm scared someone will get hurt and it'll be my fault! I-It'll be all my fault because I didn't do anything! Just like the Krafayis! Just like Rose! And I'm trying to be like you a-and smile like everything's okay even when it's not, but I can't!" I put my head in my hands as tears fell and my shoulder shook with sobs. "I'm scared! I-I'm just so scared!"

"I'm sorry, Alexander." He said, rubbing my back like Eleven did and pulling me into a hug; kissing the top of my head. "I didn't know. I really… I'm sorry."

He pulled me even closer and continued hugging me, hiding me from view with his head atop mine as he let out a long sigh.

"This body, it's… it's different from the others. It's older and angrier and forgetful, and it doesn't comprehend things like emotions very well. And I know you. I've known you for so long, but it still never occurs to me to ask you if you're alright sometimes. And I forget that you're not always that strong, stubborn, battle-hardy woman on the inside. So I'm sorry. I… I really am. So…" He cleared his throat, sounding embarrassed. "Could you… I mean, if you're done… um… could you stop doing the eye thing?"

I shook my head into his shirt, trying to stop 'doing the eye thing', but I still wanted some answers and he seemed to realize that; sighing.

"It's a Skovox Blitzer." He said, my eyes finally drying, though I didn't release him. "Do you know about them? If you've been digging through the library looking up Xaranti and Cyber-Moles, then you may have come across it."

I shook my head and he sighed.

"Very well. Would you mind waiting until Clara comes back 'round again? I'd rather not have to explain it twice and I doubt she'll let me continue at this rate."

"Okay." I muttered, my chest feeling heavy again, but this time it was out of happiness that—despite the new face and personality—this _was_ still the Doctor.

_My Doctor._ My cheeks grew hot and I didn't move, continuing to hide my face from the Doctor who was now starting to squirm.

"Alex, do you mind? I've already told you this body does not care for hugging."

"Why?" I asked, not moving and simply curious.

"Not now, Alex. Some other time, perhaps, but we really must go." He pat my head as I let him go. "There's a thing that needs doing."

I rolled my eyes with a small smile, having calmed down for now, and I bounded after him; picking up the large brown duffel bag full of tools that he'd need and heading to the courtyard as the kids changed classes. Once there, the Doctor helped me with some of the wiring, before a couple of teachers came over; the one I recognized as the man who shook the Doctor's hand earlier. I only paid attention though, after the introductions were made, and even then, only half listening when the bow-tie wearing one smiled as he spoke about the other.

"Of course, Danny Pink here is your man, Mr. Smith. Five years' military experience, sergeant, here and Afghan. So electrics, boilers, if you need a hand, give him a shout."

"I-I've helped Atif with a couple of things." Mr. Pink said, being modest.

"I'm sure I won't be needing you, sergeant. Fully qualified." The Doctor said, waving a normal screwdriver around and touching something with it; making it spark.

I groaned and snatched it from him. "Give me that." Rolling my eyes, I went and fixed the faulty wiring, grumbling under my breath. "Can't do anything without the sonic, can you?"

"I can too." He grumbled back, as I finished and smiled politely over at Danny, holding my hand out.

"Right. Ignore him. I may not be qualified, but I sure know my way around a few things. We didn't have a chance to shake hands before, sorry about that."

He shook his head with a small smile back, shaking my hand. "No, that's alright. It's uh, nice to meet you."

The Doctor rolled his eyes and groaned. "Yes, yes. You best get back to your PE class."

"Oh, I-I teach math."

"Do you? What, in emergencies?"

I sighed loudly, returning to double check the rest of the wiring

"No, I'm a maths teacher."

"Yeah." The other piped up. "He's a maths teacher, he—"

The man was cut off by the sound of breaking glass and he stormed off to scold a student.

"Mohammed, put that down!"

The Doctor, though, hardly noticed and continued talking to Danny. "How does that work? What if the kids have questions?"

"About what?"

"Maths."

"I answer them. I'm a maths teacher."

"But he said you were a soldier." The Doctor said, obviously lost.

Danny was too. "Yeah. I was a soldier. Now I'm a maths teacher."

"But what about all the PE?"

"I don't teach PE. I'm not a PE teacher."

I sighed this time, having finished and spoke. "A soldier can be a maths teacher if he wants to, Doctor. He doesn't _have_ to be a PE teacher."

"Sorry, that seems very unlikely."

_Oh, what am I going to do with him? I know he hates soldiers, but really? _Luckily, I didn't have to do anything more, because Clara was back and diverted Danny's attention.

"Uh, excuse me, Mr. Pink. I think class 9M4 are waiting."

"Yes, you better run along now, sergeant. That ball isn't going to kick itself, is it?" The Doctor said loudly, standing up as I followed and gave Clara a small smile.

"Hello."

"What is he doing?"

"Hm, I wish I knew." I hummed. "Looks to me like he can't comprehend the fact that Mr. Pink over there is a maths teacher. Something about him being an ex-soldier somehow makes him think Mr. Pink is a PE teacher."

"Ah." She mused, before frowning and giving me a look. "What?"

I just gestured to the two men as they went on.

"I-I'm not a PE teacher. I'm a maths teacher."

"Nope, sorry. No. I can't retain that. I've tried. It's just not going in."

Danny walked off then and I shrugged towards Clara as she rolled her eyes and set her watering can down. _I wonder what she was doing with that anyway. Weird._

"So, Pink. The name remind you of anything?"

"The color?" I questioned and she shook her head.

"No, I… don't think you've been there yet. Um, Colonel Orson Pink? The guy we met at the end of the universe?"

I raised a brow, completely lost. "Uh, nope. You lost me."

"I thought so. You haven't been there yet. Doctor?"

"Oh yeah. Okay. Yeah. Same name, doesn't look anything like him though."

"Looks _very_ like him."

"Does he? I don't know. Who remembers a PE teacher?"

"Maths teacher." I corrected him, eyeing Clara because there was just something about the way she talked about Danny that felt a little off.

_Though whatever that was he just stuck inside with the wires is odd too. Must have to be his plan for the alien or something._

"Oh, never mind." Clara said, before eyeing him suspiciously. "What are you doing? W-What's in there?"

"So, is he here then?" The Doctor ignored her, passing me the bag of tools as we headed back to the storeroom.

"Is who here?"

"The one that you keep going on serious dates with."

My eyes widened and it clicked. _O-Oh dear. This will be… I don't even know what this will be. With the Doctor not really liking Danny and obviously missing the signals between them… oh man._

"If he is, are you going to start talking like a normal human being?"

"I promise I won't. I'm being nice."

"Doctor—" She was cut off as the bow-tie teacher came back.

"Clara. Got this period free, yes?"

"No. Yes."

"Great. Shakespeare."

"Sorry, what, Adrian?"

"Oh, I see." The Doctor smiled and I face palmed, seeing what he thought he saw.

_Oh dear. Now he thinks she likes Adrian. Should I just let it go?_ I glanced at Clara as she gave him a confused look, not seeing what the Doctor was misunderstanding.

"You see what?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

"Excuse me. We have to talk about the Tempest." Adrian said, pulling Clara back into the school with the Doctor and I following. "In light of the changes to the sixth form Shakespeare module, blah-de-blah."

"Yes, sorry. Of course."

They spotted the Doctor still following them and he smiled.

"Yes, yes. No. Of course. Of course, yes. Don't mind this old man. You two kids just pop off together."

"Why are you talking like an idiot?" Clara asked, face pulled into a tight smile.

"I'm a caretaker. Don't mind me." He said, and Adrian chuckled a bit before walking off with Clara. "Oh, Clara."

"Um, Doctor?" I piped up, Clara having gone around the corner with Adrian. "I don't think Adrian is the one she's dating."

"Oh, of course he is." The Doctor said, chuckling as we headed down the hall. "Who else would it be?"

I bit my tongue, wanting to say Danny, but I wondered if Clara would want me to. _Technically, he's _her_ boyfriend and if he's going to find out, wouldn't it be better to find out from her instead of someone else? Best keep my mouth shut then. For now, anyway._

"I'm just saying, maybe you shouldn't jump to conclusions. It might be someone else."

"Nah, I doubt it." He grumbled, helping me set up a ladder so he could put some device on the light in the hall. "What does that mean? Kids. What's the matter with kids today?"

I gave him a look as he wiped some graffiti off the window. "Um, small brains? Computers? Lack of fun things to do? The list goes on."

He chuckled a bit, before we headed back outside during lunch hour and he put another device in a sewage drain. I stayed quiet though and didn't question it, because I said I wouldn't until he could explain it to both, Clara and I, so I wouldn't.

"Hey, I said you could play chess. I did not say you could play football on the chessboard." Clara scolded some students, before picking up the large chess pieces. "Jack, Morgan, come on. Help me out. Clear it up."

The Doctor stood up with me and took the bag himself, this time, whistling 'We Don't Need No Education' by Pink Floyd upon catching Clara's eye. I just gave her a wave and bounded after the Doctor as we returned to the storeroom; the Doctor putting one more device in the potted plant hanging by the door.

"And one for luck." He then gave me a look. "You're not going to ask?"

I shook my head, looking up at the plant for a second before following him in the room. "Nope. I said I wouldn't until Clara is here too. So I won't."

"Ooh, I wish you were always obedient like that. It'd save me a lot of trouble."

"Yeah, but you wouldn't have much fun either, right?" I smiled and he gave me a small one in return.

"No. I suppose I wouldn't." He set his bag down and then pulled out his screwdriver, changing the settings as we headed for the Tardis. "Okay. Now we're in business. Let's see the lie of the land. Time to see what's going on."

We headed into the Tardis and he used the screwdriver to triangulate some sort of signal or something; a green orb showing up and giving a nice 3D layout of the school. _Ooh, that's cool._

"Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who's the most dangerous of them all?" The Doctor smirked, checking something written in Gallifreyian before the orb went away and we heard a voice outside.

"There's been a spillage in Geography. I need some towels."

The Doctor and I poked our heads out of the Tardis to see one of the students standing there, and I silently hoped she hadn't seen anything as the Doctor scolded her.

"Can't you read?!"

"Course I can read. Read what?"

"The door. It says, 'Keep Out'." He gestured to some sign he'd put up in the window.

"No, it says, 'Go Away Humans'."

He flipped the sign over as I walked out of the Tardis and closed the door. "So it does. Never lose your temper in the middle of a door sign."

"What were you two doing in there? What's that box?"

"It's a… caretaker's box. Every caretaker has their own box." I said, smiling and patting the side of the box, hearing her hum in annoyance.

_She really doesn't like me calling her that. Best avoid saying it in the future unless I want to piss her off._ The hum grew more frustrated and I chuckled nervously, taking a step away from it as the Doctor headed over.

"It says police." The girl argued, obviously not believing me.

"Exactly, there's a policeman in there, in case of emergencies and children." The Doctor said, grabbing a bag of towels and passing them to her. "Towels there. G-G-G-Go."

"What's that green glow? There was a green glow coming from in there. What was it?"

"Of course there was." The Doctor said before I could just say we ran out of uncolored light bulbs. "What's a policeman without a death ray?"

The bell went off then, and he began trying to get her to leave once more.

"Oh, listen. There's the bell. Off you go. Haven't you got shoplifting to go to?"

"I'm going to tell the headmaster you two were snogging in there." She threatened, making my face turn red all the way up to my ears as the Doctor continued to push her along.

"Oh, yes, fine. Well, cut along. You're running out of time."

"For what?" She asked.

"Everything. Human beings have incredibly short life spans. Frankly, you should all be in a permanent state of panic. Tick tock, tick tock."

"You're weird." She looked over at me. "And you look like a guy. Are you sure you're his wife?"

I felt annoyance make my eyebrow twitch and I gave her my old, 'don't even start with me' face.

"Yeah. I am his wife and I am a girl and I do look like a dude. I _like_ it that way. Makes it easier to run from the cops after a murder." I smirked, glad when she gave me a slightly worried look.

"You're weird too."

"What about you?" The Doctor asked and she smiled, proud, almost.

"I'm a disruptive influence."

"Good to meet you."

"And you."

The two shook hands, both smiling a little too tightly.

"Now get lost."

"Okay." She headed out, just as Clara came in. "Hello, miss. Love to the Squaddie."

"Sorry, what did you say?" Clara questioned, but she ignored her and walked out; so Clara turned to us. "What was she doing in here?"

"Paper towels." He answered.

"And pissing me off." I followed, wrinkling my nose in distaste. "They should let me deal with her. One trip to the frozen ice caps of Mars and she won't be so _disruptive_."

"Ignore her." The Doctor said, moving towards me and covering my ears. "She mocked her femininity."

I rolled my eyes and pushed his hands off me. "Oh, go play with your towels and stuff it."

"See." He said and I made a face at him from behind his back. "I saw that."

"Good."

He put the paper towels back and spoke to Clara this time. "Now, I imagine you have many questions. Fire away. I won't—"

I chucked a small rubber washer and bounced it off his head, making him frown at me, but change his wording.

"I'll _think_ about answering them."

"What were they like?" Clara suddenly asked, confusing us both.

"What were who like?"

"The others before me. Did they let you get away with this kind of thing?" She moved closer to him with a stern frown. "This school is in danger."

"Well, it's lucky I'm here then."

"From _you_."

"Me?"

"You wouldn't be here if there wasn't an alien threat nearby. Your strategy for dealing with it involves endangering this school."

"You don't know that."

"I don't know anything because you haven't told me anything, which means I wouldn't approve, which means you are endangering this school."

I blinked, having thought this was going to end up like before with Eleven, where the Doctor would get upset about being blamed for the danger around him, but she quickly turned the tables and actually had a very valuable point. The Doctor glanced over at me, as though questioning what I was going to do, but I just shrugged mouthing the words, 'She has a point'. Rolling his eyes, he pulled out his screwdriver and changed the settings, popping up the green orb from before.

"What's that?"

"Scanner." I said, answering for her and the Doctor nodded.

"I'm scanning. Why do I keep you around?" He questioned her, before nodding towards me. "Alex figured it out when she first saw it. That's why I keep her around."

"When I'm not popping off, of course." I smiled a bit back, but Clara rolled her eyes.

"You keep me around because the alternative would be developing a conscious of your own until Alex came back to baby-sit you. Scanning for what?"

"Any alien technology in this vicinity should show up. I used to have a teacher _exactly_ like you once."

"You still do. Pay attention."

"Ooh, need some ice for that burn, Doctor?" I asked, hissing through my teeth.

"And I had a class clown like you in class once too."

"Hey. I was actually a great student in class. Teachers loved me." I smiled proudly. "_I _was the well behaved one."

"Focus!" Clara snapped, silencing us as the green orb showed a figure in it. "What the hell is it?"

"A Skovox Blitzer. One of the deadliest killing machines ever created. Probably homed in here because of the Artron emissions. You've had enough of them in this area over the years. There's enough explosive in its armory to take out the whole planet."

"Then leave it alone." Clara told him and I felt worry stir in my stomach.

"Sooner or later, it will creep from its hidey-hole and some military idiot will try to attack it." He turned off the orb. "The world is full of PE teachers."

_Ooh, he really doesn't like Danny then. Not good. But… there's something else bothering me._ I went to ask—the group of us heading into the Tardis—but the Doctor beat me to it.

"And no, Alex. This has nothing to do with your, now spreading, Artron Energy."

"O-Oh. Okay."

_I suppose that's one load off my shoulders._ I mused, as Clara turned to the bigger problem at hand.

"So, your insanely dangerous plan is…?"

The Doctor held up a watch and I gave it a look, remembering him fidgeting with it earlier but not knowing what exactly he did. Sitting down in the jump-seat, I yawned and watched to see what was so special about this watch.

"A new watch. Tiny bit disappointed." Clara commented.

"This is a very special watch." He put it on, pressed something and then promptly vanished.

"Doctor?… Oi!" Clara called out as my mouth dropped open in surprise.

"No way. You either teleported or are invisible and if it's the second one, that is _so_ cool."

"Ow!" Clara called out, rubbing her face. "Did you just flick my nose?" A grin slowly formed on her face as she turned to me and back again. "You're invisible. Ha ha! Oh my God, that's incredible!"

"Correct! I am invisible and I am incredible." He called out. "Though kudos to Alex for figuring it out first."

I felt a hand ruffle my hair and I beamed in excitement.

"Can I borrow it later, to mess with that girl?"

"I'll think about it." He said, smirk evident in his voice before he got back on topic. "It's simply a matter of reversing light waves. Hang on, I'm coming back."

"Oh, that actually makes sense." I said out-loud. "It's kind of like a mirror then, right? It changes the light rays when they hit you to confuse the brain into thinking you're not there. Like trying to see with glare in your face, right?"

"No, but close enough." He said, upon spotting my pout as he turned visible. "But the point is, I give the Blitzer a whiff of non-threatening alien tech. I lead it back here, but I don't want it to scan me, hence invisible."

"So you're… you're leading the thing here? To a school? M-My school?"

"'My school'? Ooh, that is telling." He said, before continuing. "This is the only suitably empty place in the area. I've set up a circle of time mines around the school. Chronodyne generators. Bit unstable." He tossed one to Clara. "I switch them on, the Blitzer gets sucked into a big old time vortex, billions of years into the future. It's dead easy. Tiny bit boring. I'll need a book, a sandwich, and Alex to entertain me."

"I'm not your monkey." I chided him as Clara gave him back the time mine.

"And me. I'm not letting you two do this alone."

"I don't need you this time. Even Alex is only going to be waiting and setting up the circle I need. I'll see you tomorrow. We'll all go somewhere nice. Ancient Egypt. Crocodilopolis. They worship a big crocodile there, so the name is a useful coincidence."

I nodded, deciding to add my own bit in there. "They actually kept crocodiles in the temples to worship the God Sobek, who gave them protection while crossing the Nile River."

"See? Alex's interested. Now go and canoodle with your boyfriend."

I tensed as did everyone else in the room, watching each others' reactions.

"Come on. I wasn't born yesterday. Far from it." The Doctor said with a smug grin, though I looked between the two in worry.

"You _did_ recognize him."

_No. No he didn't._

"Possibly reminded me of a certain dashing, young time traveler."

_Oh, he's so full of himself. Adrian does look like Eleven, but he's _not_ the one she's been eyeing, Doctor._

"Oh, of course you recognized him. I… Sorry. Stupid. I-I underestimated you."

_No, actually, you were right on the mark._ I bit my bottom lip, sinking further into the jump-seat.

"It's easily done. There's a lot to estimate."

_Like the fact that this body doesn't recognize emotions well and is forgetful._

"And you… you like him?"

"Yes. I like him. Very, very much. Go home and canoodle. Doctor's orders. Come on." He said, waving her out of the Tardis as she breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Just this once. I'm doing what I'm told."

"Oh, sing hosanna."

"Ah. So easy."

She walked out and the Doctor hovered for a bit, before turning to me and giving me a stern frown.

"What are you doing?"

"W-W-What?" I asked, trying to right myself after nearly sliding off the jump-seat.

"Look at you. You're all sunk down and making a face." He said, heading out of the Tardis with me coming along after him.

"What face? I have a face?"

"Yes. Yes. That face." He said, pointing at my nose and nearly taking it off with how fast he turned around. "It's the face that says you know something I don't and you're worried about telling me."

"O-Oh. I, um… I make a face then?" I asked with a wince and he nodded.

"Yeah. I started looking for it a while back and it's pretty obvious, now that I think about it." He said, making me wonder just how far back he started looking for it. "You see, your brows furrow, right here." He poked just between my eyebrows. "And you tapped your fingers when you were younger, but now you bite your bottom lip and fidget like you have ants in your pants."

"I don't have an—"

"Sh." He shushed me, bopping me on the nose as I wrinkled it in distaste. "Now you know how I feel when I make a face."

He smirked and kissed my forehead, before messing up my hair and heading towards the door of the storeroom. Face red, I tried to fix my hair and bounded after him with a pout.

"I'm not a kid, you know!"

"Oh, but you're just a wee little Time Tot to me."

I froze, before rushing over again as he stuck his head out the door and look around. "I-Is that what I'm changing into? A-A-A little Time Lord?"

"Well, Time _Lady_ is the technical term, but—" He suddenly paused, eyes wide as he turned to me and pointed. "You… You haven't figured it out yet, have you?"

"I-I-I'm becoming a Time Lo—Lady?!"

"Obviously not." He said, talking about whether I knew or not, and walking off as I tried to comprehend this and chased after him. "Well, don't over think it. I promise, it's nothing. Just forget what I said."

"H-How do I just forget something like that?!" I said rather loudly, ignoring the stares I got from teacher and students heading home.

"Oh! I know! Here." He passed me the set of keys for the school. "Take this, and take all of those time mines in the duffel bag and put them on chairs in a circle in the gym. About ten should do the trick and leave a gap in the middle like a pathway between them. If everything is working right, they'll be lit up green. That should give you something to do to take your mind off things."

"Wha—but I—"

"I don't have time to explain now, Alex. It's already getting dark." He said, before turning and grabbing me by the shoulders. "Think about it this way, you've always told me you figured it out and maybe I just screwed things up by telling you today what you're going to become, but maybe I didn't. Maybe, I just confirmed what you already knew. So this is your chance. Do what I said, save this school, and for God's sake—" He shifted his hands to my head, making me stiffen slightly. "_Think_!"

He kissed my forehead one last time and ran off, leaving me there stunned and confused and worried. But most of all, he left me _scared_.

* * *

_A-Alright. I'll be fine. I just need to calm down and think, right? _I took in a shaky breath, picking up a chair and starting the beginning of a circle as I tried to think and ignore the pounding in my head caused by the drums and my nervousness. _Okay, he said I was a-a Time Tot, or a kid Time Lord or Time Lady. What are they known for?_ I put down another chair and went back for a third, keeping my hands busy. _Two hearts. And the Eleventh did kind of scare me with that earlier, but I thought I was connected to the Tardis?_

"…_but she's connected to me too…"_

I sighed, moving the fifth chair over to it's position and moving to the other side of the room for the other five chairs. _So, I've got this Artron Energy from going through the exploding Tardis. It was whatever that light thing was that I touched, plus I managed to rip a hole in it which spread it further changing my biology. And because the Tardis is connected to the Doctor, I'm getting some of his traits too? But why?_ The sixth, seventh and eighth chairs were set out now, but I was growing more confused by the second. _It obviously has something to do with the spreading and I think the Eleventh Doctor mentioned something about it before._

"_You'll be needing a bit more power to pump all that Artron Energy through your body…"_

The last chair was up, so I moved to the duffel bag and began grabbing time mines to hook up to them. _Right, so the second heart must be for that, and it was just a coincidence that the Time Lord two-heart system would work best? No. There's no such thing as coincidences._ I shook my head and set up the first time mine, slightly glad when it lit up green like it was supposed to._ Come on, think. I know I looked up Time Lord physiology before in my old world and what did it say about them that has to do with Artron Energy?_ I paled then, hand shaking as I remembered.

"R-Regeneration? But that… No, I can't regenerate. If I could, then it wouldn't of sent me back to my old world before."

_But it makes sense as to why my body chose to change to a two-heart system like the Time Lords though. They use it to help with regeneration and I'll use the two hearts just like them, but… not for regeneration? I'll just have to ask the Doctor about that one…_ Sighing and trying to calm my nerves again, I went back to what I was doing and moved onto the third time mine. _Okay, what else is Time Lordy?_

"…_nerve cluster… One good hit to that shoulder and you're out like a light."_

I rubbed my shoulder a bit just thinking about it and frowned. _But I thought that was just mentioned in the comics or some short story novel or something, with a classic Doctor… _I shook my head, frustrated with myself. _It doesn't matter. He's a real thing now. Everyone is. But the nerve cluster is a Time Lord thing too, and was that just because the Artron Energy is… I don't know… more vulnerable now because it's not all concentrated? _I sighed again, fourth time mine done along with the fifth, and moving on to the sixth; all of them still green. _That's two things I'll need to talk to him about… though I'm not sure I'll get an answer… And Eleven… he said that I had that connection with the Krafayis because of the connection with the Tardis. Some psychic link or something. And the Face of Boe mentioned how I'm more susceptible to things like that. Plus my experiences with the Ood and the Master only further support that. But I've never _felt_ emotions that powerfully. Is it because of the changing biology? The Tardis attributes are mixing with whatever Time Lord attributes I'm getting?_

"Is that even possible?" I wondered, setting the last time mine on the chair and moving to sit on a set of steps leading up to the stage. "All of this seems a bit… surreal."

I looked down at my hands, seeing the scar on the one from the toaster, and the cast on the other. _And Clara called me a 'sort-of-human'. Does that mean that I still have human traits too? I'm not going to end up full Time Lord or Tardis or anything? I'll just be a splash of it all?_ I scoffed, pulling a hand through my messy hair and popping another pill for my arm from my pocket into my mouth; figuring it was about time for another anyway. _I'm a mutt then. Little bit of Tardis psychic, little bit of human mind, little bit of Time Lord biology._

"As if I didn't feel like an outsider enough. Nine and Rose-Ten are going to have a blast with this when they find out." I sighed, feeling exhausted after my long day.

Running around doing caretaker chores, helping the Doctor, having yet another mental breakdown and this whole mess. _And I'm running on what? Three hours of sleep? God, Rory's going to have a cow._ I smiled a bit at that, only to turn my attention to something else that was on my mind. _And River… The Doctor's married to her but I… I mean, do I really like him? I can't change that event. It literally saves the universe. It's a fixed point. It _fixes_ a ruined fixed point or a paradox or something. God, my head's all messed up._

I rubbed my temples, grinding the knuckles of my fingers into them to try and ease the headache forming. _The point is, whether I like him or not, there's no way to stop that. He _has_ to get married to River or the universe ends. So how? How can I like him and have him go through that choice of having to choose? I-If I do like him, that is. I-I'm still a bit lost on that, but…_ I put a hand to my chest, still feeling only one heartbeat, but the ever preset ache was there. The ache that I only feel when I think of him. _Do I really? I mean, I know I like him as a friend. But that's like saying I like him like I like Rory. And I _know_ these are two different 'likes'. It's the same with Jack, even though I've only met him twice, I do like him as a friend. But the Doctor is… different._ My heart picked up it's pace and my chest grew slightly tighter. _Oh God, what am I going to do?_

There was a beeping that went out then, and I quickly lifted my head, looking around and standing as all the time mines turned red and flashed.

"O-Oh no. That's not good. That's not good at all!" I rushed over and checked them for anything wrong, but there was nothing. "No, no, no, no, no. They had been working fine a few seconds ago and I hadn't touched them! So how are they messed up now?!"

The doors burst open and the Doctor showed up, turning his watch off and seeing the red lights as well.

"What? Red? Red. No. No, no, no, no, no. How did this happen?!"

"I-I don't know!" I shouted back, looking between them and him in worry. "They were fine a second ago and I didn't touch them!"

The doors opened again and the Blitzer crawled in, making the Doctor back up and pull me behind him.

"Range 1.49. Scan complete. Problem, problem."

"Listen!" The Doctor tried to negotiate, getting nervous. "I'm unarmed. I'm peaceful. Don't you understand? I-I know that you shouldn't be on this planet, but I can help you with that. I—"

"Problem solution: destroy."

"I-I don't think he's listening!" I called out, just as the doors opened again and Danny Pink, of all people walked in.

"I want a word with you."

"Get back!" The Doctor called out desperately, just as the Blitzer spotted him and raised it's weapon.

"Problem solution: destroy."

It began shooting and blew up a set of chairs, Danny launching himself across the floor just as the time mines lit up green. He then picked up a chair, but there was no point, because the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to activate the time mines and pull the Blitzer into a time vortex.

"Temporal disrupt. Warning, warning. Temporal failure." It stated, sliding backwards into the hole as Clara entered as well and held Danny.

I couldn't hear what she was shouting over all the noise, but the Blitzer was soon gone and I knew things weren't going to go well now. _The Doctor's plan is faulty because Danny messed with things, so he'll be angry. On top of the fact that he hates soldiers. And let's not forget, Clara and him still have a misunderstanding about her dating Danny, so that's going to blow up in their faces. Oh yeah, and we should _probably_ not mention that Danny just saw an alien get sucked into a time vortex._

"Oh God, this is going to get messy…" I muttered under my breath.

"Oh, oh. Well done, PE. Brilliant work." The Doctor complained sarcastically as he picked up the time mine Danny dropped. "What's this? A chronodyne generator? I'll just deactivate that, shall I? I've got a swimming certificate so that qualifies me to meddle with higher technology. Never mind that some people are actually trying to save the planet. Oh, no. There's only room in my head for cross-country and the offside rule."

The Doctor walked off towards me, making me stiffen, but he just offered me a hand and helped me up as Clara spoke with Danny.

"Danny, what are you doing here?"

"I was checking up on them. He's been up to something, fiddling with the electric, but what the… No. What… Did you see that thing? Tell me you saw that thing."

"I saw the thing, yeah. Doctor, are we safe? Is the planet safe? It's gone?" Clara asked as I bit my lip and wondered whether I should stop the argument before it happened.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes. For the moment. But the thing is, you see, the chronodyne generators have to be precisely aligned to generate the vortex. But the sergeant here, he went and moved one."

"But the Chronodyne worked. It's gone."

The Doctor sighed and checked the ground with the sonic screwdriver. "But not far enough. The vortex will open here again, but not in a billion years."

"Then when?"

"Eh, seventy-four hours. Three days? Three days to think of something new because now it knows what to expect. _Now_ it has scanned me and it will kill me on sight, thanks to PE here." The Doctor chided once more and I could see Clara trying not to get angry.

"Clara?" Danny questioned. "Why are you talking to him like that? Why are you using words like 'chronodyne'? Was that thing a space thing? Oh. Oh my God. You're from space. You're a spacewoman. You said you were from Blackpool."

_Oh great. Now he thinks she's from space. She either has to come up with a clever lie or just go out and tell him._

"It's a play!" Clara lied dramatically. "For the summer fete."

"It's a what?" The Doctor questioned, stopping whatever he was writing in a notebook to stare at her in confusion.

"Yes. It's a play. Shut up. It is a play." She said to him, giving him a pointed look before turning back to Danny. "We are rehearsing a play. Sh, sh, sh, sh. A surprise play. And, um, you see, the vortex thing i-is a lighting effect. Very clever. And that thing i-is one of the kids. In fancy dress. Really, really good fancy dress."

"How stupid do you think I am?"

"I'm willing to put a number on it." The Doctor muttered, making me kick the leg of his chair and give him a look telling him to behave.

"I'm not a moron, Clara. And he's not the caretaker. He's… your dad. Your space dad."

I pulled a hand through my hair with a long sigh, knowing what was going to happen next when the Doctor spoke up; moving over by Clara along with me.

"Oh, genius. That is… That is really, really brilliant reasoning. How can you think that I'm her dad when we both look exactly the same age?"

I felt my eyebrow twitch and smack him. "You idiot. You don't look the same age."

"I was being kind." He retorted, before turning to Clara. "Right. I'm going to hypnotize him. I'm going to erase his memory."

"Doctor stop!" Clara argued as he moved forward and she got between him and Danny.

"Tiny little brain, only take a moment."

"He's my boyfriend." She said, finally getting it out there, but he wasn't listening.

"Well, I'll try to erase the whole thing. I'll leave the bits that—"

"He's my boyfriend." She clarified again. "I thought you'd figured this out."

"Him?" The Doctor questioned and I decided that I should _probably_ pop in now.

"Yeah, you see, Clara. The Doctor is a bit of an idiot in this body."

"Am not!"

I smacked his arm. "Shut it and let me finish."

He pouted, but went quiet as I rolled my eyes.

"See, he thought Adrian was the one you liked and I _tried_ to get him to think about other people, but he's thick-headed and wouldn't listen."

"Why didn't you just tell him?" She asked and I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Well, I figured you'd want to tell him yourself, rather than him finding it out from someone else. So I stayed quiet." I gave Danny a brief glance. "I was sort of hoping it wouldn't come out like this though."

"So it's _him_?" The Doctor asked again and Clara nodded.

"Yes, him."

"No, he's not."

"Yes, he is."

"Yes, I am." Danny added in.

"But he's a PE teacher. You wouldn't go out with a PE teacher. It's a mistake. You've made a boyfriend error."

I groaned, dragging a hand down my face and wondering if I really should just let them figure this whole thing out by themselves.

"I am not a PE teacher. I am a maths teacher." Danny argued, obviously getting annoyed.

"You're a soldier. Why would you go out with a soldier? Why not get a dog or a big plant?"

"Because I love him!"

_And here we go…_ I looked over at the Doctor, who seemed to be getting it now, though there was something in his eyes that bothered me. Something akin to him being… hurt.

"Why would you say that? Is this part of the surprise play?"

Clara let out a sigh. "There is no surprise play."

"Oh, it's a roller coaster with you tonight, isn't it? What about the handsome one? The one with the bow-tie?"

"Adrian? No, no, no. He's just a friend and not my type."

"Clara, are you going to explain any of this?" Danny questioned. "Who is this guy? And Alex, who's she?"

"The Doctor is…"

"Go on."

"Yes, explain. Who is he? Why have you never mentioned him?"

"Because… he's an alien."

"And the penny drops…" I muttered quietly.

"Um, are you and Alex aliens?"

"No, no, no. I'm still from Blackpool and Alex is… still human, I think."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm a human from another dimension who pops around at random. Just so happens that my entire biology is changing, is all."

Clara nodded. "The Doctor and I, we travel through time and space. Alex shows up here and there and travels with us sometimes."

"Exhibit A." the Doctor pulled back the curtains of the stage to reveal the Tardis hiding back there and the Clara joined him.

"It's called a Tardis, but it's disguised as an old police phone box. Alex travels to different places in it's time line." She turned to him, looking for something more to say and he muttered back.

"It's bigger on the inside."

"And it's bigger on the inside than the outside."

The Doctor opened the doors as Danny walked closer. "Voila."

"And we travel the universe in it."

He leaned in and looked around, before looking at the outside and back in again. He then turned to the Doctor and I.

"And what about that thing? Did you two bring it here?"

"No. I'm going to protect you from that _thing_." The Doctor said, before I elbowed him in the side. "And Alex."

"You said it was coming back."

"Yes, it is coming back, thanks to you."

"This is a school. We have to evacuate. Call the Army."

"And that is the most dangerous thing right there." The Doctor closed the doors and gave Clara a look. "Are you sure hypnotizing is not on the menu?"

"Yes."

"But we need to get help. This is an emergency." Danny tried to argue as I sighed and leaned against the Tardis, my chest feeling heavy and a bit weighted.

_Different than before. Must be the new heart._ I mused, rubbing the right side.

"Look, take him away. Shut him up, shut him down. Up or down, it doesn't matter to me. I've got a lot of work to do. Again."

"Will you be okay?" She asked, glancing at me. "You and Alex."

"Why wouldn't we be okay? We were _fine_ till you two blundered in."

"Am I just being ignored?" Danny asked and I looked over at him.

"Danny."

"What?" He asked—more like snapped—at me.

"Think about what is most important here. Explaining things to you? Or making sure we can come up with a plan to stop that thing and save the school?" I gave him a stern look. "She's putting the kid's safety first. You should at least recognize that much."

He frowned, but nodded, seeing my point as the Clara helped him down the steps and off the stage.

"Come on, Danny. It's alright. Come on. It's all fine. You'll be okay. Let's, uh, get those legs moving. That's it, down those stairs. Yep, that's it. This can all be explained and everything will be fine." She said, knowing that he was rather shocked and confused by all of this.

"And when this is all over, you can finish the job." The Doctor called out after her, making her pause and look around at us both.

"How do you mean?"

"Well, you've explained me to him. You haven't explained _him_ to me."

She gave me a glance and I nodded, letting her know I'd try to help, and she bowed her head before leaving. Once she was gone, the Doctor headed into the Tardis, obviously not pleased with anything at the moment, and I sighed before following him. I had to hang onto the railing as he popped the ship back into the storeroom, but he then went down to the lower level and began gathering parts; leaving me to lean over the railing and try to talk to him.

"Doctor?"

"What?" He snapped, frustrated. "You going off to canoodle with some soldier boy too?"

"I already am." I said, watching him stiffen as I rested my head on my folded arms. "He's clever and has nice hair. Tall and lanky, and sometimes he wears a bow-tie. He's got ears that are kind of too big and a chin that could be better. And he even has these bushy eyebrows that make him look grumpy all the time."

The Doctor resumed his parts search as I went on.

"He can be mean sometimes. He'll yell at me for not telling him things or just because he's frustrated about something. But he's nice too. He'll hug me when I'm upset and act silly to cheer me up. And don't you think that Danny can do that for Clara? Just because he's a soldier doesn't mean he won't care. If anything, I think being a soldier would make him care more."

The Doctor scoffed. "And what would you know about him? You've only known him for as long as I have."

"Yeah, but I know you. And if I was Clara, I would look for a guy who was like you. Someone who cares for me above all else and would do anything and everything in his power to keep me safe. So, don't you think Clara is smart enough to make that decision? That she would choose Danny, _despite_ him being a soldier, because he cares for her more than anything else?"

He came back upstairs and set his box of things down by the console, keeping his back to me as I went and sat in the jump-seat.

"I don't like soldiers."

"I know." I said, lying back in the seat and flopping my legs over the side as I looked up at the ceiling. "Because they have guns, because they fight, because they hurt people. The list goes on. But you don't like them for another reason. One bigger than the rest… You don't like them because they remind you… of _you_." I closed my eyes and let out a sad sigh. "The you that's never mentioned. The you that you've tried to forget. The you… that had to make an impossible decision. And I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry for bringing it up, but I don't think you should deny someone the right to be happy because you think all soldiers are the same."

"They _are_ the same." He growled. "All they do is kill and destroy. Nothing good comes out of loving a soldier."

"You should tell your wife that then." I said, yawning and relaxing as I started to slip to sleep. "I wonder what she'd say…"

As I drifted off, I heard light footsteps and felt something covering me, a deep Scottish voice sighing quietly.

"She'd call me an idiot."

* * *

The Doctor sat in a chair by the console, multitasking between keeping an eye on the sleeping Alex nearby and trying to fix up a device for the Blitzer, when the door opened and Clara walked in.

"Afternoon. Thanks for keeping out of my way. You haven't brought Dave with you, I hope." He said, taking out his eyepiece as he waved over to Alex. "And keep quiet. She's sleeping."

"His name's Danny. And no, I haven't." Clara gave Alex an odd look. "How long has she been sleeping? School's nearly out for the day."

"She fell asleep about half an hour after you left." He explained as she approached. "She hasn't been getting much sleep lately. She just had to deal with the drums recently plus the fact that her body is using her energy to create a new heart for her changing biology. You know how it goes."

"Right. I, uh, I explained it all to Danny. He gets it. He took it really well."

"Pass me that synestic." The Doctor demanded, nodding towards the object on the console.

She did. "So, when the Blitzer comes back, are you going to catch him with that?"

"It'll be a long, fiddly job. It's going to take me at least 24 hours. Even longer if people keep talking to me, so do keep going." He quietly complained.

"If it comes back Thursday night, are you sure about that? 'Cause you said the chronodyne is unstable."

"If you want to bother someone, go and bother PE."

"He's a maths teacher." She corrected.

"That's a shame. I like maths. Alex too."

"_Not_ a soldier."

The Doctor suddenly felt something off and lifted his head. "Interesting."

"What is?"

He set down his tools and got up. "I'm bored. Let's go somewhere fun. What do you say? Do you want to see the Thames frozen over? Oh, those frost fairs."

He started flipping switches, but Clara put them back.

"You can't! The Skovox thing."

"Sh." He shushed her, nodding over at Alex, before speaking again. "It's a time machine. We can get back straight away, like we always do on your dates. Just make sure you don't get yourself a tan or anything, or lose a limb."

"I don't think we should. Not this time."

"You've never said no before." He flipped another switch. "Not even in the middle of dinner. Remember when you had to eat two meals in a row?"

Clara flipped it back. "I just think, with the school in danger—"

Danny had seen enough and turned his watch off, surprising Clara.

"Danny, why are you—"

"He already knows I'm here. That's why he's talking like that. He's being _clever_."

The Doctor glanced at him and then back at Clara. "Now you mention it, being a Time Lord, I can feel a light shield aura when it's right next to me."

"Oh, ho, ho. Time _Lord_? Might have known."

"Might have known _what_?" The Doctor growled, turning to Danny.

"Well, the accent's good, but you can always spot the aristocracy. It's in the… the attitude."

"Danny." Clara said sternly, seeing where this was going.

Danny ignored her. "Now, Time Lords, do you salute those?"

"Definitely not."

"Ah. Sir!" He called out, saluting.

"And you do not call me sir."

"As you wish, sir! Absolutely, sir!" Danny called out, angering the Doctor as Alex stirred, unnoticed for the moment.

"And you can get out of my Tardis!"

"Immediately, sir."

"Doctor, this is stupid. This is unfair!" Clara called out as the two men stormed over to the door.

"One thing, Clara. I'm a soldier, guilty as charged. You see him? He's an officer."

"I am not an officer!"

"I'm the one who carries you out of the fire. He's the one who lights it."

"Out. Now." The Doctor said, getting his attention and pointing to the door.

"Right away, sir. Straight now?"

"Yes."

"Am I dismissed?"

"Yes, you are!" He shouted back, but neither man had spotted Alex getting up and storming over to them until it was too late.

"Oi! Attention!" She shouted, voice full of command; enough so that even the Doctor stiffened and Danny went completely rigid.

Upon seeing who it was though, they both relaxed, only for Alex to reach over and grab Danny's tie and the Doctor's coat; yanking them both over to a set of chairs that had popped up next to each other and throwing them both in it.

"I don't have to put up with this." Danny said, making to get up, but Alex slammed a foot on the bit of chair showing between his legs, freezing him in place as he realized the seriousness of the situation.

"You will not move until I say so, _got it_?"

"A-Alright…" He muttered, and she moved back, crossing her arms and glaring at them both.

"Now, I don't appreciate being woken up from the first sleep I've gotten in days, much less over a _stupid, __**childish**_ squabble such as this one."

"I—" The Doctor tried to say, but she glared at him and bared her teeth in a snarl.

"You shut up and say _nothing_ until I am damn well finished, because I am sick and tired of your stubbornness and _his_ insisting on pushing everyone's buttons."

"But I'm not—" Danny started, only to be cut off as well.

"Shut it! Goes for you too, Mr. _Pink_. If you want to be treated as a soldier, I will treat you like one. If you want to be treated like a human being, then you will rightly shut your mouth and listen."

They both went quiet, muted into silence by the furious woman in front of them as she snapped her fingers and a third chair materialized off to the side. She pointed at it and gave a swift glare at Clara.

"You. Sit."

Clara jumped, but did so quickly, having not seen Alex get angry like this for a very long time and knowing better than to argue.

"Now." Alex stared down the two men before her, anger radiating off her in waves. "I don't care if you two like each other or not. But I _do_ care about how you treat each other and the people stuck between you. So we're laying down some ground rules, here and now." She shifted her eyes over the pair of them; reminding Danny very much of the supreme commander he had been under and making him fidget. "Danny."

"Yes, sir." He said, straightening and wincing at his natural response. "Sorry."

"I could care less." She offhandedly commented, before getting back on task. "You _don't_ entice the Doctor to get angry and you _better_ give Clara a chance, Doctor or not. Got it?"

"Y-Yes." He muttered, obviously not pleased, but rather not wanting to find out what the punishment for breaking these rules would be.

"Doctor." She snapped, glaring over at the man; who had been smirking in satisfaction until she called on him. "_You_ will give Danny a chance to prove himself—not to you, but to Clara."

"What?" He asked, confused.

Alex sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You won't accept him, because he's a soldier and you don't want Clara getting hurt. I'm not stupid. So have him prove to her what sort of person he is, because if she can't choose something like this for herself and learn something from it, then why the hell is she traveling with you?"

The Doctor mulled over that a bit, before reluctantly nodding. Alex, lowered her hand and glared sternly at the both of them.

"Now for the both of you… Neither of you will bring up anything soldier related to the other one. No army, no soldiers, no commander or officer. _Nothing_. Because the way I see it, you're both fighting over Clara because you both want to protect her and care for her, but think the other is going to hurt her. So the other rule for you two, is to just shut up and let Clara decide for herself what she's going to do. She's not stupid, she's not a child, and neither of you are her parents. She can make her own decisions and you two will respect that. Is that _understood_?"

"Yes."

"Alright."

Alex then turned to Clara. "And _you_ better think this through, because if you make some stupid mistake, you better bet your arse that I'll pop back up here and dye all of your clothes neon pink before beating it into you. Got it?"

"Y-Yeah. Yeah. I think so."

"Good." She turned back to the two angry men and pointed her fingers at them, making a motion for them to get up. "Up, both of you."

The both stood and kept their heads bowed.

"Shake. And none of that 'I'm going to squeeze your hand as tightly as I can to try and prove I'm better' crap." She narrowed her eyes seriously. "Trust me, I'll know if you do."

They begrudgingly turned to each other and shook hands properly while keeping serious expressions on; as though they hadn't just been scolded by a woman half their size.

"Now get over here and apologize."

They both looked at her in confusion and she pointed a finger over at Clara.

"To _her_. Because you're both being stubborn idiots and have her running around in circles trying to get you both to understand, when you're too busy trying to out-man the other. So apologize, and you better fucking mean it."

The Doctor went to scold her about her language, but snapped his mouth shut upon seeing the heated glare she sent him and instead turned to Clara; seeing just how stressed the woman really was for the first time.

"I'm… sorry."

Danny went next, also realizing that Alex was right. "Yeah. I-I'm sorry too."

"A-Apology accepted." Clara stuttered out, smiling a bit and turning to Alex. "Thank you, Alex."

The woman lifted her lip into a disgusted snarl. "Please. I'm just sick and tired of these two being idiots and poking each other with proverbial sticks and sitting around and doing nothing about it."

She winced then, grabbing her shoulder and rolling her eyes. "Of _course_."

Danny, confused as ever when the woman's shoulder started glowing gold, spoke up. "Um, what's going on?"

"Oh, she's… um, popping off, as it were."

The Doctor rolled his eyes at Clara's explanation. "She's got time travel energy running through her body and it sends her to various points in time, connected with the Tardis."

"So, she's like this box, but human?"

"Sort of." Alex said, stopping the Doctor before he could potentially start another argument. "And if I hear _anything_ about you two fighting after this, you better hope and pray I don't find you, because I'll seriously—"

Her threat was cut off as she disappeared, leaving the group fidgeting in worry as they questioned what she would do.

"Um, Doctor?" Danny called out, nervously.

"Yes. What?"

"Is she _really_ your wife? Cause if she is… _damn_, she's got to be a handful."

"You don't know the half of it." He muttered, shivering slightly at the memories and hoping that whatever Doctor she popped off to this time, would allow her to get some sleep, or he just might not make it to this regeneration.

* * *

**_Sneak Peak:_**

_"Did you get the place wrong?"_

_"No, no. Nothing like that. I_ always_ get us in the right place."_

_I looked up at the ceiling when Rose shifted her gaze to me and the Tardis shuddered, before landing once more._

_"I just couldn't get out the door, is all."_


	25. Fear Her

**Here's the next chapter! but, uh... where'd everybody go? O.o i'm not hungry for reviews, but it's nice to know what you guys think, so please review! it encourages me to write more :)**

* * *

I popped up hanging onto the railing in the console room with a hand on my face as I tried to battle the headache and drums pounding away in my head. _God, I'm going to kill him. I was finally getting some sleep and he just _had_ to go and pick a fight with another stubborn jacka—_

"Alex?"

I looked up at the voice and felt myself relax a bit upon seeing Rose heading over cautiously.

"Are you okay? Is it the, uh…" She waved her hands at her head. "…mind thing again?"

I raised a brow, wondering what she was talking about and shook my head. "No. It's just a headache, among other things."

"Oh, okay." She smiled a bit, before giving me a look. "Why are your fingers all twitchy?"

I lifted my hand and frowned as my fingers twitched to the four beat pattern in my head, trying to tap out the beat despite my best efforts to ignore it.

"It's nothing. Sorry." I muttered, clenching my hand into a fist before giving her a tired look. "_Please_ tell me I can go sleep."

"Oh, yeah! Yeah, sure you can." She said, coming over and rubbing my back as we headed off to my room. "We weren't planning on going anywhere for a while longer. I actually just came down to get my jacket that I left." She held up said object with a small smile. "If you want, I can let the Doctor know you're here and he can whip us both up some breakfast when you're ready."

"Mm." I grumbled, pulling a hand through my hair with a yawn. "Sounds good." I paused then, brows furrowing as I gave her a look. "But I thought he hates me."

"You two sort of…" She made a face, trying to think of the words. "…had some understanding happen the trip before last. So he's been trying to be nicer to you." She chuckled then though, confusing me more. "It's kind of funny though, watching you two argue. You'd think you both were like five or something."

I frowned as we approached my room. "You're telling me. I just had to scold the future him because he was picking a childish fight with someone. He never changes, I'll tell you that."

"That's hard to believe." She said heading into my room and looking around as I dug through my closet for something to sleep in. "You two both kind of seem as though you're changing all the time. One minute you're all skittish and he's all angry, then the next, you're telling him off and he's pouting. Not to mention the whole face changing thing he's got going on and you being all… Time Lordy."

"I'm not a Time Lord." I grumbled, changing my pants to a pair of grey sweats. "My body's just trying to cope with the spreading Artron Energy and two hearts just seems to be the best way to do it."

"Have you got two hearts yet?" She asked and I put a hand on the right side of my chest.

"Nope. Not yet, it seems. Just feels weird."

"How you mean?" She asked, plopping down on the edge of my bed with a bounce. "It's gotta be weird suddenly getting a new heart. Does it feel like… like when you eat something weird?"

I gave her a look. "It's not indigestion."

"Well, I don't know! You don't see me growing two hearts or nothing. So what's it feel like?"

"It's weird. It just feels weighted. Like when you have a cold and your chest is congested. Sometimes it aches though. Like when you feel guilty or nervous and your heart clenches." I muttered, changing shirts and catching the slight gasp of air she took it at the sight of my back where the scar from the Vespiform was; making me move a little faster and turn towards her. "Ah, sorry. I didn't mean—"

"No, no! It's alright. I just… I-I never knew that you…"

I saw her tearing up and felt guilt welling up in me as I hurried over and tried to figure out what to do. "A-Ah, don't cry! Don't cry! It doesn't hurt anymore or anything! Really!… Oh, I'm _really_ not good with crying people." I grabbed a box of tissues that was just lying around and passed them to her. "H-Here."

She chuckled a bit through the tears, taking a tissue and wiping her eyes. "Y-You.. You are just so… I don't even know how to describe you."

I decided to mimic the Twelfth Doctor and waved a hand over my face. "I'm a mystery."

"Pft. Ahaha!" She burst out laughing and I chuckled a bit as well, feeling better now that I had someone to take my mind off things with.

Of course, it was then that the Doctor chose to ruin things and burst into my room in a panic.

"What's going on?! I heard laughing and… Alex?"

I smiled a bit with a wave. "Hi, sorry. I seemed to have broke your companion."

"W-Where did you get that?!" Rose asked between laughs.

I pointed over at the Tenth Doctor and her laughter grew louder as she doubled over.

"W-Why can I totally see that?! Ahaha!"

The Doctor frowned and gave me an annoyed look. "You two were making fun of me?"

"Only a bit." I chirped innocently, helping Rose up and pushing her towards the door. "Go on then, Rose. I need to sleep and you need to stop laughing at the Doctor or he's going to kill me for making fun of him."

"O-Okay." She sad, trying to stifle her laughter. "G-Goodnight, Alex."

I gave her a little wave as she took the Doctor's arm and pulled him along.

"No, hold on. What were you two saying about me?" He asked her, but that just made her laugh again and shake her head as they disappeared down the hall.

Closing my door, I let out a sigh and climbed into bed, far more exhausted than before, but with a slight smile on my face. _Ah, Rose Tyler. Defender of Earth…_ My smile slowly slipped off as I felt guilt and sorrow well up in me and I covered my eyes with my arm as tears slid down my face. _I'm so sorry. I couldn't save you._

* * *

The next morning—or whenever it was in Tardis time—I woke up and slowly made my way down to the kitchen, following the smell of food that the ship had allowed to drift up to my room. Once there, I plopped down in the chair beside Rose and rested my chin on the table as I closed my eyes with a yawn.

"You look all tuckered out, Alex. You could've slept for a bit longer." Rose said in slight concern, making me grumble as I pointed at the ceiling.

"She wouldn't let me. She practically filled my room with the smell of whatever the Doctor's cooking. I couldn't sleep through my stomach growling."

Rose chuckled a bit and nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean. The Doctor's cooking is _amazing_. Where'd you learn?"

"All over the place." He replied, cheerily putting down two large plates of various breakfast foods in front of her and I, as I rubbed my chest with a frown. "You alright?"

I nodded, picking up my fork and cutting off a bit of my waffle. "Yeah. New heart still growing."

"Ah, I remember that." He muttered nostalgically, taking off his apron and getting some food for himself, before he nodded at my arm. "What 'bout your wrist?"

Rose looked at him in question. "What's wrong with her wrist?"

"Broke it." I grumbled between bites of food, holding up said appendage. "Cybermen didn't like me threatening them with a taser."

"But why didn't I notice it before?" Rose asked, touching it as though it would disappear any second.

"Has a perception filter on it to fend off touchy Doctors." I explained, earning a chuckle from her and a frown from the Doctor across from me.

I flinched then, hearing something clatter down on the table and glancing to my right to see the package of pills I was supposed to be taking. Waving a hand up at the ceiling I downed one of the pills with my water.

"Thanks, Sexy. I forgot about those."

"What're they for?" Rose asked and I shrugged.

"Supposed to help my body take in more nutrients or something to fix my wrist. Have to take one twice a day for the next…" I counted off my fingers. "…ten days. I'm starting to think the perception filter's working on me with how I keep forgetting it's broken."

I yawned again and looked down at my half-finished food, feeling my stomach churn uncomfortably. As much as the other Doctors had been trying to get me to eat full meals, I still couldn't quite do it yet. So I begrudgingly pushed the plate away and got up, finishing my water and heading for the door.

"I'm gonna shower and change. You guys go ahead and pick someplace to go."

The two at the table watched as I left, one worried and the other suspicious as to the reasons why I would leave my plate half full.

Once I'd showered and changed into some jeans, a white shirt, a black hoodie and a brown jacket, I headed back to the console room where I watched as the Doctor bounded to the door and Rose came in dressed in a denim jacket, a bright yellow shirt, and some dark blue bell-bottoms.

"Well, you certainly don't have any sense of adventure." She said to me, pouting and gesturing to my clothes. "I swear, all I ever see you in is hoodies."

"They're comfy." I said, giving her appearance a raised brow. "And should we end up somewhere ridiculously out of way, I won't have to change into something else."

"Oh, come on. How many times has he actually got something wrong?" She asked and I sighed, starting to tick off my fingers.

"A year late bringing you home the first time, nine months late picking me up from a friend's, twelve years late picking up said friend, aiming for Vegas but ending up in a Cold War submarine, aiming for Rio and getting Southern Wales. The list goes on, Rose."

"Yeah, I can see that. Blimey, I think I might change to hoodies now. I could end up in a snow storm."

The Doctor came back in then and began turning switches again and we both gave him a look.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked, suddenly worried about us landing in the wrong place. "Did you get the place wrong?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. I _always_ get us in the right place."

I looked up at the ceiling when Rose shifted her gaze to me and the Tardis shuddered, before landing once more.

"I just couldn't get out the door, is all." He beamed, not seeing our silent conversation before he headed for the door and we followed.

"Ah!"

We headed out and looked at the town we'd popped up in as Rose spotted some posters and checked them out.

"So, near future, yeah?"

"I had a passing fancy. Only it didn't pass, it stopped." The Doctor explained, the three of us heading down the road and past some guys fixing potholes, looking up at the banner hanging above us.

"30th Olympiad."

"No way! Why didn't I think of this? That's great!" She said in excitement, hanging onto the Doctor's arm.

"Only seems like yesterday a few naked Greek blokes were tossing a discus about, wrestling each other in the sand with crowds stood around baying. No, wait a minute, that was Club Med." He chuckled, bumping playfully into Rose, as I tried to figure out where we were plot wise. "Just in time for the opening doo dah, ceremony, tonight, I thought you'd like that. Last one they had in London was dynamite. Wembley, 1948. I loved it so much, I went back and watched it all over again. Fella carrying the torch. Lovely chap, what was his…"

Rose pulled away from the Doctor, gesturing to the guy putting up posters nearby and I headed over as well; the Doctor muttering names.

"Mark? John? Mark? Legs like pipe cleaners, but strong as a whippet."

"Doctor." Rose called out, but he wasn't listening. "Doctor! You shoulder really look at this!"

The Doctor turned around, but continued on about the edible ball bearings. "Do you two know those things? Nobody else in this entire galaxy's ever even bothered to make edible ball bearings. Genius." He then saw the posters of missing children and lowered his voice. "What's taking them, do you think?"

_A lonely little girl._ I remembered, wondering if I should do anything this time around since technically, nobody dies and everything turns out alright. _But I shouldn't get my hopes up. Who's to say that things won't be different in some way?_

"Why's it so cold?" The Doctor asked, trying to figure it out for himself. "Is someone reducing the temperature?"

"It says they all went missing this week. Why would a person so something like this?" Rose asked, making the Doctor give her a look.

"What makes you think it's a person?"

"It's a person." I muttered, drawing their attention to me as I brushed my fingers over the pictures of the kids.

"So you know what it is then?" The Doctor questioned. "Why not just tell us? Save me a lot of trouble and it'd save the kids."

I shook my head. "Time can be rewritten and changed, and if I tell you now, I don't know what kind of problems that may cause later."

"They're _children_, Alex. Don't you care about them at all?" He demanded to know, his temper leaking through and I rolled my eyes.

"Watch your blood pressure, Mr. Grumpy. I'm not telling you anything, because I know that they're fine, and if everything goes the way it should, they'll continue to be fine. Now, you're smart, so tell me." I turned to him and gave him a serious look. "If you were in my shoes, would you risk telling someone and having everything potentially go wrong, possibly putting those very same kids in danger; or would you keep your mouth shut, knowing that they'd be safe if you did?"

His brows were furrowed and he eyed me for a moment, but before he could give his response, we heard a clicking of a door opening and all turned as a woman took out her trash, eyeing us in worry as she scurried back inside.

"Whatever it is, it's got the whole street scared to death." Rose muttered. "Doctor, what—"

She cut herself off, realizing that he wasn't behind us any more and turned with me to see him running down the road a ways. I gave her a look.

"Do you want me to go get him?"

"Nah, maybe he's found something. We should probably go to him."

I shrugged and tucked my hands into my pockets, walking along with her, just as a car drove a little past us and suddenly stalled. We both stopped as he tried to get it started again, and one of the road workers came over with a shake of his head.

"There you go. Fifth today. That's not natural, is it?"

"Don't know what happened." The man in the car said. "I had it serviced less than a month ago."

"Nah, don't even try and explain it, mate. All the cars are doing it. And you know what? It's bonkers. Bonkers." The road worker said, moving behind the small car and putting his hands on the back window. "Come on then, pal. I'll help you shift it. Quicker you're on the way, happier you'll be."

They both started pushing it, but they looked to be struggling a bit and I nudged Rose, nodding to the car. She nodded back and we moved next to the two guys to help them push.

"Do you want a hand?"

"No. We're alright love."

"You're not." Rose said, pushing anyway. "I'm tougher than I look. Honest."

"And don't think she isn't." I chuckled, making the man smile.

The engine suddenly turned on though, and the road worker fell, quickly getting back up as the driver hopped back into the car and drove off.

"Cheers, mate!"

"Does this happen a lot?" Rose asked the road worker as he brushed off his hands.

"Been doing it all week."

"Since those children started going missing?"

The man thought about it and eventually nodded. "Yeah. I suppose so."

"Would you tell us about it?" I asked and he shrugged.

"Sure. I don't see why not."

We started heading back up the road as he spoke.

"Every car cuts out. The council are going nuts. I mean, they've given this street the works. Renamed it. I've been tarmacking every pot hole. Look at that. Beauty, init?" He said with a grin, showing off his hard work. "Yup. And all that is because that Olympic Torch comes right by the end of this Close. Just down there. Everything's got to be perfect, ain't it? Only it ain't."

"It takes them when they're playing." An elder woman said, having realized what we were talking about.

"What takes 'em?" Rose asked.

"Danny, Jane, Dale. Snatched in the blink of an eye." The woman said, just as the Doctor came over, having caused a fuss with one of the neighbors.

"I-I'm a police officer! That's what I am. I've got a badge and a police car. You don't have to get—I can… I can prove it. Just hold on." The Doctor said in a panic, digging through his pockets.

"We've had plenty of coppers poking around here, and you don't look or sound like any of them." The man he'd angered accused.

"See, look. I've got a couple of colleagues. Lewis." He gestured to Rose and then to me. "And Holmes."

"Well she looks less like a copper than you do. And the other one looks like a punk."

"That's what I was going for when I got my hair cut, thanks." I said with an innocent smile, earning a roll of the eyes from the Doctor as he went on.

"Training. New recruits. It was either that or hairdressing and tattooing, so—Voila!" He pulled out his psychic paper and showed the group that had slightly increased in numbers.

"What are you going to do?" Trish, Chloe's mom asked; I myself having pulled out my black notebook to try and get some of the finer details of this adventure memorized.

"The police have knocked on every door. No clues, no leads, nothing."

"Look, kids run off sometimes, alright? That's what they do."

"Saw it with me own eyes." The older woman said, trying to get Tommy's father to see what was happening. "Dale Hicks in your garden, playing with your Tommy and then, pft. Right in front of me, like he was never there! There's no need to look any further than this street. It's right here amongst us."

"Why don't we—"

"Why don't we start with him?" Another neighbor said, cutting the Doctor off and pointing at Kel. "There's been all sorts like him in this street, day and night."

"Fixing things up for the Olympics." Kel defended himself as Tommy's father teamed up with the other neighbor against him.

"Yeah, and taking an awful long time about it."

The Doctor tried again. "I'm of the opinion that all we've got to do is just—"

He was cut off again, by Kel. "You don't—What you just said, that's slander!"

"I don't care what it is."

"I think we need to just—"

"I want an apology off her." Kel demanded, interrupting him a second time and getting the elder woman on his side.

"Stop picking on him."

"Yeah, stop picking on me."

"And stop pretending to be blind. It's evil!"

"I don't believe in evil."

"Oh no. You just believe in tarmackers with sack loads of kidnapped kiddies in their van."

"Here, here, here. That's not what she's saying."

"Would you stop ganging up on me."

"Feeling guilty, are we?"

"Oi!" I shouted, having gotten sick and tired of all the arguing around me lately. "Shut it and put your fingers on your lips!"

I made a shushing motion and they all followed suit, making me eye the Doctor and Rose, getting them to do the same.

"Good. Now, Doctor?"

He looked at me and I nodded towards the group, giving him headway and he dropped his finger. "Oh, right. Ahem. In the last six days, three of your children have been stolen. Snatched out of thin air, am I right?"

"Um, can I?" The elder woman asked and he nodded, giving her the go ahead to speak. "Look around you. This was a safe street till it came. It's not a person. I'll say it is no one else will. Maybe you're coppers, maybe you're not. I don't care who you are. Can you please help us?"

I noticed Rose eyeing the window where Chloe was and I watched as Trish headed back inside, having caught her staring. I glanced up as well, before turning away as everyone went back home with some reassurance from the Doctor, and the three of us headed over to Tommy's father's house. As we walked around his front yard, I knelt down to the grass where the Doctor had before and let my hand hover, feeling a slight tickling sensation as he wandered around and sniffed.

"Want a hanky?" Rose asked.

"Can you smell it? What does it remind you of?"

She sniffed as well and made a puzzled look. "Sort of metal?"

"Mhmm." The Doctor grinned, praising her and making her grin too.

"_Oh_."

He gave Tommy's father a salute as we headed off to where the other kid disappeared.

"Danny Edwards cycled in one end but never came out the other. Woah, there it goes again." He paused in his walk and held out a hand just as I did, feeling the tickling sensation again. "Look at the hairs on the back of my manly hairy hand."

I couldn't help but chuckle a bit as Rose took a deep sniff.

"And there's that smell. It's like a, um… a burnt fuse plug or something."

We continued to walk as the Doctor tucked his hands back in his pockets and spoke.

"There's a residual energy in the spots where the kids vanished. Whatever it was, it used an awful lot of power to do this."

As we left the little alleyway, Rose and I caught sight of a ginger cat, making Rose smile.

"Aren't you a beautiful boy?~"

"Thanks!" The Doctor grinned. "I'm experimenting with back combing."

"She meant the cat." I said, giving him an amused look as I too, knelt down to pet the cat.

"I used to have one like you." Rose cooed as I nodded.

"I did too, but mine wasn't a ginger tabby like this. He was a sweet little black cat."

Rose caught the Doctor staring and gave him a look. "What?"

"No. I'm not really a cat person… Once you've been threatened by one in a nun's wimple, it kind of takes the joy out of it."

"I've been attacked by a number of those." I said, giving him a glance. "That hasn't stopped me… though cat nuns give me shivers."

The cat moved off and Rose followed after it as it walked into a box.

"Come here, puss. What do you want to go in there for?"

When the cat didn't come out of the box, she knelt down to it and found it empty, calling the Doctor and I over.

"Doctor, Alex. Come look at this."

We headed over and immediately recoiled at the heavy metallic smell coming from the box; Rose doing the same.

"Woah! Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo. Ion residue. Blimey! That takes some doing. Just to snatch a living organism out of space-time. This baby is just like, 'I'm having some of that'. I'm impressed." The Doctor said, having flipped the box around a few times before tossing it back onto the grass.

"So that cat's been transported?" Rose asked and the Doctor explained.

"It can harness _huge_ reserves of ionic power. We need to find the source of that power. Find the source and you will find whatever has taken to stealing children and fluffy animals. See what you can see. Keep them peeled, Lewis. Alex, you go with her."

I stuck my tongue out at his back.

"I saw that!" He called out, and I wrinkled my nose before following after Rose towards a set of garages and other homes.

"Always so grumpy, that one. I don't know how you stand him, Rose." I mused out loud, looking around as I tucked my hands in my pockets.

"Alex."

"Yeah?" I asked, curious about whatever she was going to ask me.

She sent me a glance, eyes shining with worry. "Are you okay? Like, really okay?"

I blinked, confused. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you didn't finish your food this morning and usually you're eating through truck loads of stuff, but this time you left nearly half of it there."

_Oh…_ My eyes softened and I sighed, looking ahead of us. "Have I told you about the drums yet, Rose?"

She shook her head and I pulled a hand through my hair, nervousness swirling in my stomach.

"Alright, I'll keep it simple. I had an… adventure recently. One where… someone like the Doctor got a hold of me and found out about me knowing future things."

"Someone like the Doctor? You mean another Time Lord?"

I winced. "Spoilers."

She nodded in understanding, so I went on.

"Well, he uh… he went insane, you see? Because there was this noise in his head. Drums, beating out intervals of four. And I was really hurting at the time. He'd done something to the Tardis, so I was almost constantly in pain. And he found that the noise in his head could be pushed into mine and acted like a sort of pain reliever. Thing is, it's stuck in there now." I put a finger on my temple lightly. "He'd scarred my mind to the point that I can't get rid of it and it… it's just like getting addicted to a drug. It'll relieve pain for a moment, but it messes with my head. It'll make me get really upset or really violent and… I'm doing everything I can to ignore it, but it's still hard. I can constantly hear it, but I've been doing good to push it to the back of my head lately."

"But what about the food?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "It, um… It takes a while to scar a mind to the point where you can't forget something. And I was, sort of… tortured by him for a year. Food wasn't exactly something given to me often and I'd gotten used to small meals. So when I get handed a plate full of food like that… I try my best, but I can't always get through it."

"Is that… Is that where those scars are from?" She asked, hesitant, but I felt like I was really letting a load off by telling her, so I nodded.

"Some of them, yeah. The big one on my back is from being attack by a giant wasp alien though. He snuck up behind me in the dark disguised as a human and swung a knife at me. Oh! And this one's from cutting myself on a piece of a toaster." I smiled, showing her my hand where it was, in the hopes that I could pick up her spirits now that we'd delved into a rather depressing bit of information.

"H-How did you manage that?" She asked in surprise and amusement.

"Oh, well, I was taking it apart and—"

I stopped upon hearing a banging and we both looked at one another before heading closer to it; stopping in front of a garage door.

"Is that you, puss cat? Are you trapped?"

There was more banging and Rose began muttering under her breath.

"Not going to open it. Not going to open it. Not going to open it." She glanced down and reached for the handle, but I stopped her.

"Rose, go get the Doctor."

"Huh? But what about—"

The banging happened again and she seemed to realize that this wasn't just some regular old cat trapped in a garage, so she nodded and hurried off to find him. The banging grew even worse and I was now biting my bottom lip, wondering if I should just open it or wait for the Doctor. _What happens if someone from upstairs hears it and comes down to check? Sure, nothing might happen, but since I just changed this, something _could_ happen._ Begrudgingly, I reached down and turned the handle, slowly opening the door and hoping that the Doctor and Rose were close by, when the scribble flew out and attacked me.

It was weird, because it didn't actually hurt me to anything at first, just sort of hovered there, but the moment it moved closer and I put a hand up to stop it, I hissed in pain and pulled my hand back to find small, cuts on my palm that were slowly bleeding. Muttering a curse under my breath, I used my cast as a shield instead, just as I heard the Doctor shout.

"Stay still!"

He used his sonic screwdriver and the scribble became a scribble ball—that I caught—before he headed over and helped me up with a frown on his face.

"You're _always_ getting into trouble. I can't leave you alone for a bloody minute without you running off and doing something like this." He growled, grabbing my cut up hand and inspecting it before clicking his tongue in annoyance and digging through his pockets for something.

"Doctor, she was only trying to help." Rose countered, giving him a stern look as she looped her arm through mine. "If she hadn't told me to go get you, that would've been me under that… thing."

I held the object up in my free hand as the Doctor put some sort of salve on my other hand, and he gave it an odd look, glancing at Rose.

"I'll give you a fiver if you can tell me what the hell it is, because I haven't got the foggiest."

"Well, I can tell you, you've just killed it." She said, looking it over too.

"It never was living. It's animated energy. Same energy that's snatching people." The Doctor explained, reaching to take it, but I pulled it back and gave him a look.

"Does that fiver count for me too?"

He frowned. "_No_. Because you already know what it is, and that's cheating."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, but I can tell you, at least. You have a pencil?"

He made a face, before digging through his pockets for one and handing it to me. I took it and flipped it over, using the eraser end and erasing a part of the scribble ball.

"Wha—"

"It's graphite." I said, passing the pencil back to him and tossing the scribble creature to him as well. "Same stuff in HB pencils."

"You were attacked by a pencil scribble?" Rose questioned, looking at it in confusion.

I nodded as the Doctor spoke.

"Scribble creature, brought into being with ionic energy. Whatever we're dealing with, it can create things as well as take them. But why make a scribble creature?"

"Maybe it was a mistake. I mean, you scribble over something when you want to get rid of it. Like a… Like a drawing."

"Like a children's drawing." I said after her, catching the Doctor's surprised look.

"The girl." Rose breathed out, drawing his attention back to her.

"Of course!" He said, as though he knew who she was talking about, but then gave her a quizzical look. "What girl?"

"Something about her gave me the creeps. Even her own mum looked scared."

"Are you deducing?" The Doctor asked her and she smirked back.

"I think I am."

"Copper's hunch?"

"Permission to follow it up, sarge?"

"Permission granted." He grinned, taking her hand and pulling her along. "Let's go then! Come on, Alex! Try not to slow us down!"

"Right." I muttered, hurrying after them as we went up to Trish's porch and rang the bell. She was taking a while, so the Doctor knocked, and she finally answered.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor and this is Rose and Alex. Can we see your daughter?"

"No." The woman said, straight off the bat. "You can't."

"Okay. Bye."

We turned to go and after a few steps, she spoke up.

"Why? Why do you want to see Chloe?"

We stopped at the end of her drive, not moving.

"Well, there's some interesting stuff going on in this street and I just thought… Well, we thought, that she might like to give us a hand."

"Sorry to bother you." Rose apologized with a smile as I nodded.

"Yeah. Didn't mean to."

"Sorry." The Doctor added in. "We'll let you get on with things. On your own. Bye again."

"Wait! Can you help her?"

"Yes, I can." The Doctor said, confidently enough that the woman let us into her living room; his words even filling me with something that I couldn't quite explain just yet.

Heading in though, I rubbed my chest a bit, feeling that weight settling in it that I hadn't quite gotten used to yet. Rose sat down next to me on the couch and I grinned at her, as the Doctor tossed his coat beside me and stayed standing; Trish explaining.

"She stays in her room most of the time. I try talking to her, but it's like trying to speak to a brick wall. She gives me nothing, just asks to be left alone."

"What about Chloe's dad?" Rose asked and the woman stiffened.

"Chloe's dad died a year ago."

"I'm sorry." I said, catching her attention, before she scoffed slightly.

"You wouldn't be if you'd known him."

I nodded. "I know. I'm sorry for you and Chloe."

She frowned, giving me a look. "How did you…"

"Sorry, I shouldn't pry." I muttered, lowering my head and she shook it off, assuming something that I may never be privy to.

"Well, let's go and say hi." The Doctor chirped, but the woman became defensive.

"I should check on her first. She might be asleep."

"Why are you afraid of her, Trish?" The Doctor asked, seeing through her.

"I want you to know before you see her that she's really a great kid."

"I'm sure she is."

"She's never been in trouble at school. You should see her report from last year. A's and B's."

"Can I use your loo?" Rose asked, and Trish nodded, so she headed upstairs as Trish continued.

"She's in the choir. She's singing in an old folks home. Any mum would be proud. You know, I want you to know these things before you see her, Doctor. Because right now, she's not herself."

We heard footsteps coming down the stairs, but instead of Rose, Chloe herself came down. The three of us went quiet and the girl headed into the kitchen. The Doctor pointed, asking permission to talk to her and Trish nodded, letting him as she followed and I walked behind. The Doctor quickly tried to get her attention and sat on the end of the table, crossing his arms and smiling at the girl getting milk from the fridge.

"Alright there? I'm the Doctor."

"I'm Chloe Webber." She introduced, abandoning her task and facing us.

"How're you doing, Chloe Webber?"

"I'm busy. I'm making something. Aren't I, mum?"

"And like I said, she's not been sleeping." Trish tried to explain, but I put my hand on her arm and gave her a reassuring smile, making her slightly smile back with a nod of thanks.

_She's tense. Though I can understand why. Got to be hard, what they've been through._

"But you've been drawing, though. I'm rubbish. Stick men about my limit. Can do this though."

He held his hand up and did the Vulcan salute, making me shake my head and roll my eyes.

"_Idiot._" I whispered quietly under my breath.

"Can you do that?"

"They don't stop moaning." The girl said, changing the topic and Trish tried to stop her.

"Chloe."

"I try to help them, but they don't stop moaning."

"Who don't?" The Doctor asked, lowering his hand, curious.

"We can be together."

"Sweetheart." Trish went over to comfort her, but the girl quickly snapped at the woman.

"Don't touch me, mum."

"Chloe, can you tell me about the project that you're doing?" The Doctor asked, hoping to get some answers.

"I'm busy, Doctor."

"Come on, Chloe. Don't be a spoil sport. What's the big project? I'm dying to know. What're you making up there?" The Doctor got up and stopped, leaning in the door frame.

He didn't get an answer from Chloe though, before Rose shouted from upstairs.

"Doctor!"

We all rushed upstairs, but the Doctor made it first, closing the closet doors as I pulled Rose out of the closet and she gestured to it.

"Look at it."

"No, ta." He said, instead moving to look at the other photos on the wall.

"What the hell was that?" Trish asked, and Rose answered.

"A drawing. The face of a man."

"What face?" Trish tried to get in, but I shut the door before she could and shook my head.

"Best not."

"What have you been drawing?" Trish asked Chloe.

"I drew him yesterday."

"Who?"

"Dad."

"Your dad? But he's long gone. Chloe, with all the lovely things in the world, why him?"

"I dream about him, staring at me."

"I thought we were putting him behind us. What's the matter with you?" Trish questioned, getting upset.

"No. Not you, us. We need to stay together, and then it'll be all right."

Chloe's words caught the Doctor's attention, but Rose was trying to get through to the mother.

"Trish, the drawings. Have you seen what Chloe's drawings can do?"

"Who gave you permission to come into her room? Get out of my house." The woman threw back at her, trying to comfort Chloe, but I could see that the girl was acting strangely even from that.

"Tell us about the drawings, Chloe." The Doctor asked, but Trish was done.

"I don't want to hear any more of this."

"But that drawing of her dad. I heard a voice. He _spoke_." Rose argued.

"He's dead. And these, they're kid's pictures. Now get out!"

"Chloe has a power. And I don't know how, but she used it to take Danny Edwards, Dale Hicks. She's using it to snatch the kids."

"Get out." The woman snapped and I could tell that this wasn't going anywhere fast.

"Trish." I said, taking a step forward and catching her attention. "Can you listen to me, just for a moment? I get that you're bothered by this and I'm not accusing Chloe of doing anything. I'll say that right now, because I know it isn't her that's doing this. Because Chloe wouldn't do something like that, right?"

The woman nodded, hesitant, but I went on, trying to ignore the drumming that had picked up at the sight of confrontation.

"But I know that you've seen something. Something that you can't explain. I know you've seen her drawings move and you can't say anything, because who would believe that, right?"

"She's a child." Trish said, still not liking this.

"I know, but children can be scary when they start doing things you can't explain. Moving things without touching them, making pictures move, talking about things you wish were never said or done. But see, I get it. I had six siblings. I took care of all of them and I really like kids because of that. And you know what? I've seen some really scary things that I don't want to talk about, because that'll make it true. And people will think I'm crazy or whatever. But there's someone here who will believe you. Every word. And that's the Doctor."

"Who are you?" She asked, looking at me and then over at the Doctor

"I'm help." He said and Trish turned to me, as though asking me whether or not she should trust him and I nodded.

"Trish, if there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I never make a promise I can't keep." I said, staring right at her. "And right now, I want to promise you a few things. I promise you and Chloe will be alright. I promise that those kids will be safe and returned home. And I promise that none of this, absolutely _none_ of this is your fault nor Chloe's. Alright? But you have to trust me and you have to trust him. As… idiotic and childish as he can be."

"Oi." He complained and I tossed him a smile from over my shoulder.

"Oh, you know I love ya." I chuckled, not realizing the importance of those words, nor the fact that he was left sputtering at them as I nodded towards the door. "How about some tea then? Calm everyone down?"

Trish nodded and we all headed downstairs, moving into the kitchen where the Doctor grabbed a jar of marmalade and started eating it with his fingers before I went over and dipped a finger in as well; sticking it into my mouth in curiosity. _Sort of orangey. And jam-like? Is marmalade a jam?_ I thought in puzzlement, forgetting that we'd come down here to get tea.

"Ahem." Rose cleared her throat, shaking her head at us as the Doctor glanced at Trish and slid the jar back. "Those pictures, they're alive. She's drawing people and they end up in her pictures."

I nodded as the Doctor explained.

"Ionic energy. Chloe's harnessing it to steal those kids and place them in some kind of holding pen made up of ionic power."

"And what about the dad from hell in her wardrobe?"

"How many times do I have to tell you he's dead." Trish argued.

"Well, he's got a very loud voice for a dead bloke."

I sighed, lightly smacking Rose on the back of the head.

"Ow!"

"Behave." I muttered. "You're almost as bad as he is."

I nodded to the Doctor and they both frowned at me, before he went on explaining.

"If living things can become drawings, then maybe drawings can become living things." The Doctor said, shivering. "Chloe's real dad is dead, but not the one who visits her in her nightmares. That dad seems very real. That's the dad she's drawn and he's a heartbeat away from crashing into this world."

"She always got the worst of it when he was alive." Trish said, dazed.

"Doctor, how can a twelve year old girl be doing any of this?" Rose asked, confused.

"Let's find out." He said, sucking in a deep breath and moving back upstairs to confront Chloe.

When we walked into Chloe's room, she was sitting cross-legged on the end of the bed and she gave the Vulcan salute to the Doctor, who grinned.

"Nice one."

He put his fingers to her temples then and she closed her eyes as he did the same, until she passed out and the Doctor laid her down.

"There we go."

"We can't—"

I stopped Trish with a hand on her arm. "I promised, remember? But you have to trust us. Trust _him_."

She hesitantly nodded and stayed where she was as the Doctor spoke to the thing in Chloe.

"Now we can talk."

"I want Chloe." She said, voice raspy. "Wake her up. I want Chloe."

"Who are you?"

"I want Chloe Webber." She said, thumping her hand down angrily on the bed as Trish got upset.

"What have you done to my little girl?"

"Doctor, what is it?"

I gave Rose's hand a firm squeeze—as best as I could with the cast on—and gave Trish the same comfort, but with her shoulder.

"Just watch."

"I'm speaking to you, the entity that is using this human child. I request parley in compliance with the Shadow Proclamation." The Doctor demanded.

"I don't care about shadows or parleys." It said.

"So what do you care about?"

"I want my friends."

"You're lonely, I know. Identify yourself." The Doctor said, kneeling down to the side of the bed.

"I am one of many. I travel with my brothers and sisters. We take an endless journey. A thousand of your lifetimes. But now I am alone. I hate it. It's not fair, and I hate it."

"Name yourself." He demanded as Chloe opened her eyes.

"Isolus."

"You're Isolus. Of course." He breathed out and Trish moved closer.

"Our journey begins in the Deep Realms when we were a family." It said, drawing now.

"What's that?"

"The Isolus Mother, drifting in deep space. See, she jettisons millions of fledgling spores. Her children. The Isolus are empathic beings of intense emotions, but when they're cast off from their mother, their empathic link, their need for each other, is what sustains them. They _need_ to be together. They cannot be alone." The Doctor explained to Trish, getting up.

"Our journey is long."

He went on. "The Isolus children travel, each inside a pod. They ride the heat and energy of solar tides. It takes thousands and thousands of years for them to grow up."

"Thousands of years floating through space. Poor things. Don't they go mad with boredom?" Rose asked.

"We play." Chloe answered.

"You play?"

Chloe nodded as the Doctor sat above her on the bed.

"While they travel, they play games. They use their ionic power to literally create make believe worlds in which to play."

"In flight entertainment."

"Helps keep them happy. While they're happy, they can feed off each others love. Without it, they're lost… Why did you come to Earth?" He asked it.

"We were too close." She moved on to the next drawing.

"That's a solar flare from your sun. Would have made a tidal wave of solar energy that scattered the Isolus pods."

"Only I fell to Earth. My brothers and sisters are left up there and I cannot reach them. So alone."

"Your pod crashed. Where is it?"

"My pod was drawn to heat, and I was drawn to Chloe Webber. She was like me, alone. She needed me, and I her." It said, not really answering.

"You empathized with her. You wanted to be with her because she was alone like you." He explained, brushing her face with his hand.

_I wonder if she reminds him of his kids…_ I thought, watching the scene in front of me with a soft expression.

"I want my family. It's not fair."

"I understand. You want to make a family. But you can't stay in this child. It's wrong. You can't steal any more friends for yourself."

"I am alone."

There was a crash from inside the closet and we turned to it, seeing the red light from under the door as it shook, just before Chloe herself began shaking.

"_I'm coming to hurt you. I'm coming_." The man behind the doors called out.

"Trish, how do you calm her?" The Doctor asked.

"What?"

"When she has nightmares, what do you do?"

I nudged Trish to her. "Sing, Trish."

She hesitated, but nodded, moving over and sitting beside Chloe to brush her hair with her hand and sang.

"Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree. Merry, merry king of the bush is he."

"_Chloe. Chloe. Chloe. Chloe._"

"Laugh, Kookaburra laugh, Kookaburra, gay your life must be. Laugh, Kookaburra laugh, Kookaburra, gay your life must be." She stopped singing, upset. "He came to her because she was lonely. Chloe, I'm sorry."

We let her cry for a moment, before the Doctor told her to gather every bit of writing utensils they had, in order to keep her from drawing and taking any more people.

"Chloe usually got the brunt of his temper when he'd had a drink." Trish told us. "The day he crashed the car, I thought we were free. I thought it was over."

"You didn't talk to her about it, did you?" I said, more than asked, handing over a bundle of pencils. "Something like that, it still haunts you. I can tell. And kids… they're so much more impressionable. She was probably having a really hard time getting over it and because you didn't want to talk about it, she probably stayed quiet too." I sighed. "It's not your fault though, Trish."

"H-How can you say that?" She asked, confused. "If I had just talked to her about it—"

"But you were scared too." I cut her off, giving her a small, sad smile. "You're a lot like me, actually. Always trying to be tough, be the strong one because you have to be. Who's going to be strong for Chloe if you can't be strong for yourself? Yeah? Which is why it's not your fault. But you _do_ have to talk to her. There's a point when you can't just hold it all back anymore and if there's someone with you who understands, then everything becomes easier. Promise."

Trish gave me a small smile in return, nodding as the Doctor spoke up.

"Her and Isolus. Two lonely kids who need each other."

"And it won't stop, will it, Doctor? It'll just keep pulling kids in." Rose muttered, worried.

"It's desperate to be loved. It's used to a pretty big family."

"How big?"

"Say around, four billion?"

_A good chunk of which are sitting in that Olympic stadium right now._ I thought, wondering if I should tell the Doctor or at least mention the pencils she has hidden away. _But if I do, then what? Then we find the pod, no one else gets taken, the Doctor doesn't get taken, but what about Chloe and Isolus? Would anything change there? And would the Doctor figure out that the pod needs to be dropped into the Olympic torch or will he do something else to get it to work? W-What if he does what he did with the Tardis back when it broke down and he gives some of his life to it. Precious life. I-I need to do something though._ I thought, rubbing my temples as the drumming grew louder and picked up pace.

"Doctor?"

"What?" He frowned and I bit my bottom lip in my nervousness, fisting my hands to keep from tapping.

"If I told you something. Something I knew would happen that may or may not change things, would you do something about it?"

His frown deepened and he moved closer. "Depends what it is."

"A-Alright. For one thing… you said she needs four billion." I pointed to the TV. "There's eighty-thousand right there."

His eyes widened. "The Olympics… You're saying she'll take them?"

I nodded, still chewing my bottom lip as my heart pounded away in worry. "A-And then she'll grab an Atlas…"

"To draw the entire world." He breathed out. "Because eighty-thousand won't cut it. She needs four billion…" He turned to be and grabbed me by my shoulders, making me stiffen and struggle to not react violently as the drums picked up speed. "What else?! Tell me what else!"

"S-She's got a stash of colored pencils in a doll. A-A um…" I scrunched my eyes shut trying to remember. "A doll under her bed! Blue dress!"

"Rose." He called out and she nodded, rushing upstairs to get it before turning back to me. "What else, Alex? Tell me what else."

"I-I can't tell you everything." I said, starting to worry what I could be changing by telling him everything. "B-But she'll draw you. You and the Tardis, and Rose is the one who's supposed to—"

"She was right!" Rose called out, coming back down with the doll in her hands and revealing the pencils hiding within it. "There's pencils in this doll."

The Doctor nodded, smiling. "Good. Perfect! Brilliant even! I wish every adventure could go this well."

He sent me a look and I cringed a bit, feeling as though he was blaming me for the chaos in other adventures of his I'd been in. But he then turned his gaze away and headed for the door.

"Come on then!"

We hurried out after him, but I glanced back at the window to see Chloe looking out at us, making me shiver. _I really hope I didn't screw anything up. The only thing I _haven't_ told him was where the pod is, but he shouldn't get drawn away since we got her pencil stash, so hopefully everything will still turn out alright._ I couldn't get that nervous feeling out of my stomach though, like I'd forgotten something.

"We need that pod." The Doctor said, giving me a look, though not actually asking me where it is.

"It crashed." Rose said, confused. "Won't it be destroyed?"

"Well, it's been sucking in all the heat it can. Hopefully that should keep it in a fit state to launch. It must be close. It should have a weak energy signature that the Tardis can trace. Once we find it, then we can stop the Isolus. We can scan for the same trace from the scribble creature. We'd need to widen the field a bit."

We were nearly at the Tardis and I stopped just outside the door, looking back at the area where Chloe would've been watching us, but not seeing anyone, so I went inside to help.

"You knew the Isolus was lonely before it told you. How?" Rose asked the Doctor as he built some weird looking gadget.

"I know what it's like to travel a long way on your own." He said, holding a hand out. "Give me the styner-magnetic…um…"

I took it from Rose and handed it to him, earning a slightly surprised look, before adding it to his device.

"Sounds like you're on its side."

"I sympathize, that's all. Alex too, it looks like."

I nodded slightly, still worried and rubbing at my chest as it ached. _That's getting annoying. Stupid changing biology._

"The Isolus has caused a lot of pain for these people."

"It's a child. That's why it went to Chloe. Two lonely mixed up kids."

"Feels to me like a temper tantrum because it can't get its own way." She muttered.

"It's scared. Come on, you were a kid once. Binary dot."

She passed him the small ball bearing. "Yes, and I know what kids can be like. Right little… terrors."

_She obviously was not going to say terrors…_

"Gum."

Rose spit out her chewing gum in his hand. "I've got cousins. Kids can't have it all their own way. That's part of being a family. Tell him, Alex!"

"Hm? Oh, well, I mean… They can be brats sometimes, but it's not always their fault. They're still learning and don't know how to cope with those emotions other than acting out, I think."

She rolled her eyes, my explanation obviously not being what she was looking for.

"See? What about trying to understand them, Rose?"

"Easy for you to say. You don't have kids." She grumbled, but my chest ached at those words, watching the Doctor.

"I was a dad once."

"What did you say?" Rose asked in disbelief, turning to me to see if I heard it, but I'd already turned away, knowing that the Doctor wouldn't want to talk about it.

Sure enough, he ignored her and shook the ball excitedly.

"I think we're there!" He got up and moved over to the console where he'd set things up for the scribble creature scan. "Fear, loneliness. They're the big ones, Rose. Some of the most terrible acts ever committed have been inspired by them. We're not dealing with something that wants to… conquer or destroy. There's a lot of things you need to get across this universe. Warp drive, wormhole refractors. You know the thing you need most of all? You need a hand to hold."

Rose held out her hand, pointing at the monitor, but the Doctor grinned and took her hand, making her laugh.

"No! Look, I'm pointing!"

He came around to stand beside her and looked at the monitor with a grin. "It's the pod! It is in the street. Everything's coming up Doctor." He grinned, before we all rushed outside.

"Okay. It's about two inches across. Dull grey, like a gull's egg. Very light. Alex, hold this." He passed me the device and I frowned in confusion as he dug through his pockets and Rose spoke.

"So these pods, they travel from sun to sun using heat, yeah? So it's not all about love and stuff. Doesn't the pod just need—"

I suddenly felt sick, and my shoulder and back burned like fire was racing through it, before I suddenly found myself trapped. Trapped, on a sheet of paper. I had been right. Telling the Doctor what happened _had_ changed things. For him, and for me.

* * *

Rose ran straight to Trish's house, absolutely furious, because not only had Alex been taken, but the Doctor too. She was on her own, and she didn't know what to do other than confront what did it. Pounding on the door, she waited impatiently as Trish answered it in confusion and she rushed up the stairs.

"It's okay. I've taken all the pencils off her." Trish called out, following.

Once up there, she burst into Chloe's room and found her with a drawing of the Doctor, Alex, and the Tardis; snatching it off her as the Isolus spoke.

"Leave me alone. I want to be with Chloe Webber. I love Chloe Webber."

"Bring him back now. Bring them _both_ back." Rose demanded, but the Isolus remained resilient.

"No."

Rose pulled a hand through her hair, taking a deep breath, but she was furious and not even some alien child thing would keep her from getting the Doctor and Alex back. She squatted down and grabbed Chloe's shoulders angrily.

"Don't you realize what you've done? He was the only one who could help you. They both were. Now bring them back!"

"Leave me alone! I love Chloe Webber!" The Isolus said, and suddenly, all her anger vanished as she remembered the Doctor's words.

"_What about trying to understand them, Rose?"_

She calmed down and stood up, rubbing Chloe's shoulder. "I know. I know." She then turned to the drawing of the Tardis, Alex and the Doctor. "Doctor, Alex, if you can hear me, I'm going to get you out of there. I'll find the pod." She then set the drawing down on the bed and gave Trish a look. "Don't leave her alone. No matter what."

She hurried down the stairs and out of the house, worried beyond belief as she tried to figure out for herself where the pod would be.

"Heat. They travel on heat."

She spotted Kel then, running his hand over a bit of tarmac.

"Look at this finish. Smooth as a baby's bottom. Not a bump or a lump."

She ran over and squatted beside him. "Kel, was there anything in this street in the last few days giving off a lot of heat?" She asked, figuring that he, of all people, would know.

"I mean, you can eat your dinner off this. Beautiful. So you tell me why the other one's got a lump in it when I gave it the _same_ love and craftsmanship as I did this one." He said, completely ignoring her question and annoying her.

"Well, when you've worked it out, put it in a big book about tarmacking, but before you do that, think back six days."

"Six days. When I was laying this the first time round." He said, making her pause.

"What?"

"Well, that's when I filled in this pothole for the first time." He said.

"Six days ago." Rose tried to confirm.

"Yeah."

"Hot fresh tar."

"Blended to a secret council recipe." He said, but she'd figured it out and ran to the van, Kel shouting after her. "I don't keep it in the van! Hey, that's a council van. Out."

She ignored him and grabbed a pickaxe.

"Woah, wait, wait, wait. You just removed a council axe from a council van. Put it back. No, don't wait. Put the axe back in the van. That's my van. Give me the axe!" he saw her getting ready to tear up the tarmac he'd just laid down and panicked. "No! Wait! No!"

She, of course, ignored him and started laying it into the road.

"No! You—Stop! You just took a council axe from a council van and now you're digging up a council road! I'm reporting you to the council!"

She found what she was looking for though and picked up the little gold pod with a laugh. "It went for the hottest thing in the street. Your tar."

"What is it?" He asked, curious.

"It's a spaceship. Not a council spaceship, I'm afraid."

She ran back to Trish's house, grinning and with Kel following her.

"I found it! I don't know what to do with it, but maybe the Isolus will just hop on board." She stopped, seeing Trish outside of Chloe's room. "Hang on. I told you not to leave her."

"_My God. What's going on here?_" The TV spokesman questioned, drawing their attention to it as Kel burst in the room.

"I don't care if you've got Snow White and the Seven Dwarves buried under there, you don't go digging it up—" Kel scolded her, but there were more important things to worry about and she pointed to the screen.

"Shut up and look!"

"_The crowd has vanished! U-Um, they're gone. Everyone has gone. Thousands of people have just gone. Uh, um… Right in front of my eyes. Um… It's impossible. Bob, can we join you in the box?_" The camera changed, but there was no Bob. _"Bob? Not you too, Bob?_"

"The stadium won't be enough, she said. Alex was right. The Isolus has four billion brothers and sisters. She'll be drawing the world next."

Rose hurried upstairs with Trish on her heels, only to find the door locked. "Chloe? Chloe, it's Rose! Open the door! We found your ship! We can send you home!"

"Chloe?!" Trish tried calling out.

"Open up!" When she got no response though, Rose lifted up the pickaxe. "Right, stand back."

Rose began breaking through the door with the pickaxe, not knowing that Chloe's father was raging behind the closet doors within the room, but she finally managed to get a hole big enough to put her arm in and open it.

"Chloe!"

They noticed then that Chloe's dad was trying to come out, but the Isolus was still frantically scribbling away.

"I've got to stop her." Rose muttered, but the moment she tried to get close, the closet banged and she backed back up; the Isolus stopping its scribbling.

"If you stop Chloe Webber, I will let him out. We will let him out together. I cannot be alone. It's not fair."

"Look, I've got your pod." Rose tried to offer it, Kel coming into the room as well now.

"The pod is dead."

"It only needs heat."

"It needs more than heat."

"What then?"

"I'm not being funny or nothing, but that picture just moved." Kel said, pointing at a picture on the wall. "And that one!" He pointed to the picture of the Tardis, Alex and the Doctor on the bed, and they found something else drawn on it.

An Olympic torch was drawn between Alex and the Doctor, along with a heart below it. The Doctor pointed to the torch while Alex pointed to the heart and Rose picked it up.

"She didn't draw that. They did. It needs more than heat, but what Alex drew…"

"_It's still on it's way. I suppose it's much more than a torch now, it's a beacon. It's a beacon of hope and fortitude and courage. And it's a beacon of love._" The TV announcer said and it clicked.

"Love."

"_So let's have a look from the helicopter. There we go, the torch bearer running._"

"I know how to charge up the pod." Rose breathed out, rushing out of the house.

"_Past Dame Kelly Holmes Close._"

She ran down the drive and pushed her way through the crowd to try and get over to the torch bearer, but a police officer stopped her.

"Sorry, you'll have to watch from here."

"No, I've got to get closer."

"No way."

"I can stop this from happening!"

"I don't have the slightest idea of what you're talking about, miss, but I can't let you through."

She groaned in frustration, but as the torch bearer passed, the pod chirped and jittered in her hand.

"You felt it, didn't you? Feel the love." She threw the pod and it flew into the torch, the torch bearer stumbling a little, but Rose was cheering. "Yes!"

"You did it!" Kel grinned, hugging her as she hugged him, but he was still confused. "What was it you did?"

She cheered a bit more, before she headed back up the street where the missing children were reappearing.

She sighed though, worried. "Alex, Doctor."

Someone touched her though and she flinched, only to find the elder woman grinning at her.

"I don't know who you are or what you did, but thank you, darling! And thank the other two men for me too."

Rose looked around worried though. "Where are they? They should be here."

"Rose!"

She turned, grinning at the familiar voice of Alex, but upon seeing the worried expression on the woman, she too grew worried.

"Alex? What's wrong?"

"Chloe! All the drawing came to life! _All_ of them!"

"Oh no…" Rose breathed, before they both rushed off towards the house.

Upon reaching the house though, the door was sealed shut.

"Trish, get out!"

"I can't! The door's stuck!"

"Is the Doctor in there?!"

"He's not, Rose! I'm sorry, but he's being an idiot right now!" Alex called out, ramming her shoulder harshly into the door to no avail. "Chloe! You have to be brave! I know it's hard, but he's not real! If you can be brave enough to believe he's not real, then he'll go away forever!"

"I can't!" She cried and Alex pressed her forehead to the door, tapping her fingers on it in beats of four, finally giving in to her stress reliever unconsciously as she tried to think.

"Trish! Trish! Remember what I said?! Show her! Show her that she can talk to you! Show her she's not alone! Sing!"

"Sing! Chloe, sing!" Rose called out to her as well, and soon enough, they both began to sing; the song of the Kookaburra ringing out and the echoes of Chloe's deceased father finally disappearing for good.

Rose and Alex slumped against the doors, sliding down until they were sitting on the porch; Alex giving Rose a side hug of comfort.

"Trust me, Rose. He's fine. The Doctor's just being a moron. Promise."

"Then where is he?"

Kel came over then, giving her a knowing look. "Maybe he's gone somewhere."

"Who's gonna hold his hand now?" She asked and Alex got up, helping her up as well.

"Come on you two downers. Let's go see if the crowd has come back."

Rose got up and the three of them headed into Trish's home, look at the TV in relief at the cheering crowd.

"_They've reappeared. It's quite incredible. Bob, this will certainly—_"

"Eighty-thousand people, so where's the Doctor? I need him." Rose questioned.

"_But hang on, the Torch Bearer seems to be in a bit of trouble. We did see a flash of lightning earlier that seemed to strike him. Maybe he's injured. He's definitely in trouble_." The announcer said, just as the torchbearer collapsed. "_Does this mean that the Olympic dream is dead?_"

Just then, someone picked up the torch and Alex grinned, hugging Rose around the shoulders again and giving her a shake as she realized who it was.

"Doctor…"

"I told you. He's being silly."

"_There's a mystery man. He's picked up the flame. We've no idea who he is. He's carrying the flame. Yes, he's carrying the flame and no one wants to stop him. It's more than a flame now, Bob. It's more than heat and light. It's hope, and it's courage, and it's love._"

"He really did it." Rose breathed out, before laughing. "He really just started the Olympic games!"

"What an idiot, eh?" Alex chuckled, before nodding outside. "Come on. I hear there's a block party and the Doctor will be there."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

* * *

I just sort of hung around at the party, drinking a bit of bubbly to try and dull the drumming in my head that had grown since I tapped it out earlier. I shouldn't have, and I knew that, but because the Isolus pulled me right out of time and space, the spreading Artron Energy had sent a wave of pain through my system and coupling that on top of the panic I was feeling over possibly changing and ruining everything, and I'd lost my grip for that one moment. _Seems I may never get over this…_ I spotted the Doctor heading over though and nudged Rose beside me, nodding over to him and watching how she got all excited before grabbing a cupcake and hurrying to him; myself following at a slower pace.

"Cake?"

They both began laughing as he took the small cupcake to eat it.

"Top banana. Mmm. I can't stress this enough. Ball bearings you can eat, masterpiece!" He said with a grin, mouth full.

Rose quickly gave him a hug. "I thought I'd lost you."

"Nah. Not on a night like this. This is a night for lost things being found. Come on."

"What now?" She asked as we headed off.

"I want to go to the Games. It's what we came for."

"Go on, give us a clue. Which events do we do well in?" She asked him, grinning.

"Well, I will tell you this. Papua New Guinea surprises everyone in the shot put."

"Really? You're joking, aren't you? Doctor…" She laughed. "Are you serious or are you joking?"

"Wait and see." He said as fireworks started up, taking Rose's hand in his; something that made my chest ache and my stomach twist.

_Stop it. Y-You can't like him… You know that._

"You know what? They keep on trying to split us up, but they never ever will."

"Never say never ever." The Doctor scolded her, stopping their walk as I realized what adventure this was right before.

_Doomsday… The day I failed to save Rose Tyler…_

"Nah, we'll always be okay, you and me. Don't you reckon, Doctor?"

"There's something in the air. Something coming."

"What?"

"A storm's approaching." He said ominously, spotting me as I clutched at my shoulder with a hiss of pain. "You alright?"

I nodded. "Ooh, yeah. Peachy keen. Getting pulled out of time just, ngh, wrecked my shoulder and now I'm popping off with twice the usual amount of pain."

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Rose asked, and I felt my heart clench in guilt, knowing what was to come for her.

"Y-Yeah. I'll be fine." I said, forcing a smile onto my face, because this pain is nothing compared to what I went through loosing her.

I figured I had some time before I popped off, so I shuffled awkwardly a bit and faced her.

"Can I, uh… Can I have a hug?"

She gave me a look, but chuckled, holding her arms open. "Of course!"

I smiled a little and hugged her tightly, pressing my face to her shoulder. "Oh, Rose Tyler. Defender of the Earth."

She chuckled. "You're always calling me that."

I sighed, shoulders slouching as I spoke softer. "Because it's true. You're going to defend the Earth and… I'm sorry."

I pulled away then, giving her a small smile despite the worried and puzzled expression on her face, but the Doctor must've heard me and he turned me around with a snarl on his face.

"Alex, don't you say that." The Doctor demanded. "Don't you _ever_ say that to her."

I looked over at him sorrowfully, realizing that he knew. He knew what I was saying meant something bad happened, but there was nothing I could do.

"I'm sorry, Doctor." I said, forcing myself to give him a small smile too. "Are you jealous?" I turned to Rose, nudging her. "Look at him. He's jealous you got a hug and he didn't."

"I'm not jealous." He frowned.

"Yeah you are." I chuckled, trying to keep the mood up and I stepped forward and pulled _him_ into a hug. "Here. A hug for the Doctor."

He stiffened, probably knowing something was up, but I didn't give him a chance to respond before I spoke quietly into his shoulder.

"I know you may never forgive me for what's going to happen, Doctor and I… I just wanted to tell you… that I tried. I really did try." I hugged him a little tighter. "I gave it my best and I hope you realize that when the time comes. Because I love Rose Tyler and I never wanted to see anything happen to her."

"What are you—" He stopped himself when I suddenly popped off, leaving them both more worried than ever; not knowing that their next trip out to Earth would be the last trip for one of them.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_ I saw Martha helping up the Tenth Doctor and felt myself grin, pulling off my helmet and tucking it under my arm as I grinned._

_"Hello! Do you guys know that your room is on fire?" I tossed a thumb over my shoulder. "I think I saw some wires in there melting."_


	26. 42

**Here's the next chapter ^^ and i'll have you know, it's a big turning point for alex and the doctor, so i hope you enjoy it :)**

* * *

I popped up on the Tardis and just laid on the metal grating for a while, trying to overcome the pain in my body and ignore the drumming in my head. It took a while, but I was soon pushing off the console to get up and looking around.

"Doctor? You around here?" I called out, but the Tardis hummed and I pouted up at her. "What do you mean he's not here? He outside then?"

I went to the door, but she held them closed, humming in worry as I put my hands on my hips and scowled up at her.

"Oh, what now?"

Something rolled down the steps towards me and I picked up the large helmet in confusion.

"You want me to wear a spacesuit? Can't you just expand the oxygen shield or something?"

She groaned, the monitor lighting up to show me the outside and my mouth formed an 'o' of understanding.

"Oh, it's bloody hot. Alright then, sweetheart." I shrugged, holding out my hand. "Pass me some cooler clothes and a spacesuit and I'll be on my way."

Instead of dropping them in my outstretched hand though, she dropped the clothes on my head and I lifted them up to peer out with a frown.

"Oh, ha-ha. Very funny."

She hummed out a laugh and I rolled my eyes before stripping and putting on the cut off, black pants, white muscle shirt, and the thin sleeveless black hoodie. _Such a pain. I don't even know where I am, but I know one thing for sure, I am _done_ changing things unless it's to save a life._ I let out a soft sigh, heading to the lower levels and pulling out an orange spacesuit and pulling it on. _I can't even remember the last time I saved someone. Everyone just seems to be slipping through my fingers nowadays… How does the Doctor do it?…_ I remembered what the Tenth Doctor said back on the Tardis my last trip.

"_You know the thing you need most of all? You need a hand to hold."_

I smiled a bit, grabbing the helmet and moving towards the door. _Ah, Doctor. Always finding a reason to keep me going. Maybe… Maybe I am allowed to like him. He can still like Rose and get married to River, but I can like him._ I shook my head, drawing myself out of those thoughts and waving up at the Tardis ceiling.

"I'll see you later, Sexy! Don't cause any trouble!"

She hummed a farewell and I pulled the helmet on, making sure it was secure, before exiting into the superheated room and heading for the door out. _Ooh, it really is hot in here._ I mused, already beginning to sweat inside the suit, but not burning alive like I probably would be otherwise. _You can see the heat waves coming off of everything. It's gotta be hot._ Walking to the door, I grinned when it opened from the other side and stepped through, seeing a group of people standing there in shock as I turned around and shoved the door closed. I saw Martha helping up the Tenth Doctor and felt myself grin, pulling off my helmet and tucking it under my arm as I grinned.

"Hello! Do you guys know that your room is on fire?" I tossed a thumb over my shoulder. "I think I saw some wires in there melting."

"Alex?!" The Doctor and Martha gaped in shock as one of the women behind them came and checked the temperature gauge for the room I'd just exited.

"The temperature's going mad in there. Up three-thousand degrees in ten seconds, and still rising."

"Channeling the air." One of the guys said. "The closer we get to the sun, the hotter that room's going to get."

"But my ship's in there!" The Doctor shouted, worried.

"In the vent chamber?" The man questioned.

"It's our lifeboat."

"It's lava." Another man said sternly, the group of us realizing the uselessness of our situation.

"But can't Alex go back? She's got a spacesuit." Martha asked.

The Doctor shook his head. "It can only handle so much heat." He gestured to me as I wiped the sweat off my forehead. "She's already sweating in the suit. Going back in there is suicide."

"We're stuck here."

"So, we fix the engines, we steer the ship away from the sun. Simple." The Doctor said, turning towards the opening to the next room. "Engineering down here, is it?"

"Yes." Another woman said and he nodded, rushing over to me—now that I'd shed the spacesuit—and hugging me; kissing the top of my head.

"Good to see you, Alex." He smiled as I looked up in slight confusion.

_He's usually not this nice to me while he's with Martha, but I suppose it's better than being with angry Rose-Tenth._ I gave him a smile back.

"Nice to see you too, Doctor."

His grin grew, but there was something off about it that made my chest feel weird; and it wasn't because of my second heart growing in. He took my hand though and pulled me along after him down the stairs to engineering, as the computer announced the impact time.

"_Impact 40:26._"

He paused after we'd ducked under some piping, looking over the disaster that used to be a working engine.

"Blimey, do you always leave things in such a mess?" He questioned, pulling me over to the other side of it before putting on his glasses, giving it a look.

"Oh my God."

"What the hell happened?"

"Oh, it's wrecked." The three crew members said in shock as I pulled out my black book from my pocket and tried to figure out their names and where I was in the plot.

"Pretty efficiently too. Someone knew what they were doing." The Doctor commented as the older woman started asking where other crew members were.

_So where am I then? Tenth Doctor… with Martha… hot spaceship… ruined engines… Ah! There we go._ I suddenly paled, reading over the episode I was in and realizing that this was probably _not_ the best place to be if I wanted to actually save someone. _'42'. This is the episode with the living sun who burns people from the inside out. Ooh, that's not good. And the Doctor, he…_ I glanced over at said man as he looked over a monitor nearby, saying something about where we were to Martha. _He's suppose to take it in and freeze himself. Or at least attempt to. And I… I can't stop that. Even if I wanted to be the one to go out there, I don't… I don't know if my body could handle it. Changing biology or not, I have no idea what it's capable of, much less if it can handle extreme temperatures or not._ I unknowingly had my fingers twitching lightly to the drumming in my head, before I shook myself out of my thoughts and stopped; listening back to what was going on around me.

"Scannell, engine report!" McDonnell called out, said scruffy man moving to the monitor the Doctor had been at and checking.

The Doctor looked at me though. "You alright, Alex? You look a bit pale."

"Hm? Oh, right. Yeah. I'm uh… I'm fine. I'm just a bit… out of it, is all. Sorry."

He raised a brow, giving me a look, before Scannell spoke up.

"No response."

"What?"

He moved over to where some wiring was and held it up only to throw it back in annoyance. "They're burnt out. The controls are wrecked. I can't get them back online."

"Oh, come on. Auxiliary engines. Every craft's got auxiliaries." The Doctor whined, whipping off his glasses.

"We don't have access from here." McDonnell said. "The auxiliary controls are in the front of the ship."

"Yeah, with twenty-nine password sealed doors between us and them. You'll never get there in time."

_Isn't that kind of stupid? Why have a bunch of sealed doors keeping you from auxiliary engines? Is it because of the lock down? Even then, there should be some kind of override code for _all_ of the doors. Not just one for each door._

"Can't you override the doors?" Martha asked, probably thinking something along my own line of thought.

"No. Sealed closure means what it says. They're all dead-lock sealed."

"So a sonic screwdriver's not use."

"You and your screwdriver." I muttered, giving the Doctor a look. "When are you going to realize that doesn't solve every problem?"

He winked. "Never."

I rolled my eyes at him, but smiled a bit. _Oh yeah. He never changes. The Twelfth Doctor and Robin Hood proved that._

"Nothing's any use. We've got no engines, no time, and no chance." Scannell said, bringing the overall mood down to a low.

"Oh, listen to you. Defeated before you've even started. Where's your Dunkirk spirit?"

I nodded, agreeing. "The only thing worse than trying and failing is not trying at all."

The Doctor squeezed me in a side hug, surprising me. "Yeah! Listen to Alex! Now then, who's got the door passwords?"

"They're randomly generated. Reckon I know most of them." One man stepped forward, realizing he hadn't introduced himself yet. "Sorry, Riley Vashti."

"Then what're you waiting for, Riley Vashti? Get on it."

"Well, it's a two person job." He said, moving to grab some equipment from off a shelf. "One, a technish for the questions, and the other to carry this. The oldest and cheapest security system around. Eh, Captain?" He grinned at McDonnell who gave him a half-hearted smile back.

"Reliable and simple, just like you. Eh, Riley?"

Riley sighed, putting on a backpack. "Try to be helpful, get abuse. Nice."

"I'll help you. Make myself useful." Martha said, though she sent me a dejected look and I silently wondered why.

"It's remotely controlled by the computer panel. That's why it needs two."

"Oi. Be careful." The Doctor told her as she and Riley headed towards the first door and she nodded.

"You too."

It was then that the intercom beeped.

"_McDonnell, it's Ashton._"

"Where are you?" She asked. "Is Korwin with you?"

"_Get up to the med-center now!_" The man shouted, having no time to talk, it seemed.

Myself, the Doctor, and McDonnell all hurried out to the med-center, passing Martha and Riley on the way as the computer went off once more.

"_Impact in 34:31._"

The moment we entered, we all spotted a man thrashing on a table leading into a stasis chamber.

"Korwin! What's happened? Is he okay?"

The captain and the Doctor hurried over to his side, but I stayed a little further away, knowing there wasn't much I could do. _They would have to kill him now, in order to prevent more deaths. And I _know_ McDonnell won't let that happen to her husband. So there's nothing I can do for him. He was dead the moment the Sun took him. His whole biology is going to change and nothing will be able to change him back._ I felt guilt welling up in me, knowing there was nothing I could do, but that didn't make it any less painful. _But maybe… maybe I can save Abi._

"Korwin? Korwin, open your eyes for me for a second." The Doctor asked and I spoke up.

"No."

The Doctor and the others turned to me as I shook my head.

"You don't want him to open his eyes. Trust me."

"Don't make me look at you. Please!" Korwin begged and the Doctor turned back to him, taking a sedative from off a tray nearby before injecting him with it.

"What's wrong with him?" McDonnell asked, glancing at the Doctor before turning to me. "You know what this is, right? How do we fix it?"

I stiffened, glancing between her worried gaze and the others' suspicious ones. "I-I, um…"

I wasn't sure how to answer them, seeing that McDonnell was desperate for answers and knowing what sort of temper she had on her, but what could I say? _The last few times I've given away too much information, something went wrong. No one has died because of it, but who's to say this won't be the first?_ Thankfully, the Doctor seemed to realize my struggle and spoke up.

"Rising body temperature, unusual energy readings. Stasis chamber. I do love a good stasis chamber." He rambled on, attracting everyone's attention back to him as he spoke to Abi. "Keep him sedated in there. Regulate the body temperature. And, just for fun, run a bioscan and tissue profile on a metabolic detail."

"Just doing them now." She said and the Doctor smiled.

"Ooh, you're good. Anyone else presenting these symptoms?"

"Not so far."

"Well, that's something."

"Will someone tell me what is the matter with him?" McDonnell demanded, shifting her eyes to me and back to the Doctor briefly.

"Some sort of infection. We'll know more after the test results. Now, allons-y, back downstairs." He said, waving Ashton and McDonnell off. "Hey. See about those engines. Go."

Ashton left, but McDonnell was still standing there until the Doctor got her attention.

"Hey. Go."

She left and he turned to me then.

"Alex, is there anything you can tell me?"

"I-I don't… I don't know." I said nervously; the drums bothering me as well as how my past experiences of telling him had gone.

He stepped over and gave both my shoulders a squeeze. "Please, Alex. Anything. If there's nothing you can tell me, then I understand. But if there is, I need to know."

I glanced over at the unconscious Korwin with a sad look, turning my gaze back to the Doctor.

"You can't save him. He's already gone."

His eyes widened before softening as I went on.

"It's um, burning him from the inside. It'll take him over and then if he looks at you, he… he superheats you to death. Nothing left but a scorch mark. I-I… I don't know what to do."

"Alright. It's alright, Alex." He said, hugging me and resting his chin on the top of my head. "Thank you for telling me. I'll do what I can and even if we can't save him, I'm sure there's someone we can still help."

I nodded and he pushed me lightly towards the entrance as he turned to Abi with a smile.

"Call us if there's any news. Any questions?"

"Yeah, who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor." He grinned, before taking my hand and pulling me out the door. "Alex, what happened to your wrist?"

I stiffened, looking away nervously. "Um, broke it in the future with, um, Cybermen? I-I told Rose-you back at Trish and Chloe's? The 30th Olympiad?"

He smacked himself in the face. "Oh! Right! I remember that! Loads of fun with the, uh… the, uh… edible ball bearings!"

He gave me a grin and I couldn't help but chuckle, something stirring in my stomach and chest, making me feel a bit giddy. _I-I… I think I like him. I like this. He knows just how to cheer me up and he understands that I can't tell him everything and… The Eleventh Doctor is the same. Even the Twelfth treats me like this. And they all have this look in their eyes, but what is it? Because even if I do like him, doesn't he like Rose? Like River? What should I do?_

"_Heat shield failing. At twenty-five percent. Impact 32:50._" The computer broke through my thoughts as we went back down to engineering and the Doctor tried to figure out what he could do with the wrecked engine.

After a while though, he went to the intercom and spoke to Abi in the med-center.

"Abi, how's Korwin doing? Any results from the bioscan?"

"_He's under heavy sedation. I'm just trying to make sense of this data. Give me a couple of minutes and I'll let you know._" She said and I reached over to hold the button and talk to her.

"Abi? Um, this is Alex, friend of the Doctor's. Could you do me a favor?"

"_Uh, I suppose. What is it?_"

I took a deep breath and steeled myself, because this might not work. She might still die and I didn't want to get my hopes up if that's all that will happen.

"Can you keep his temperature as low as you can? It may give us some time. And if you see him moving at all… run."

"_What?_"

"Please." I begged, hoping that I may not only buy some time, but also save her life. "Trust me. If he moves, run."

"…_Alright. I guess I can do that._"

I nodded and let out a sigh of relief, moving away from the intercom and pulling a hand through my hair tiredly. A hand touched my shoulder and I flinched, but it was only the Doctor giving me a worried look.

"You alright?"

I gave him a small smile and a nod, despite the fact that I was anything _but_ alright. He seemed to know too, and he gave my shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"Don't worry. We'll save them."

_Yeah, but not all of them…_

* * *

The Doctor was starting to get worried. Not only about the situation they were in, but about Alex as well. She didn't seem as chipper as before and she looked a little on the sick side as well. He had no idea what she could have possibly been through or how long it had been since she'd been with him and Martha, but he could tell something was off. Not only that, but she seemed far more skittish than usual. Normally she'd be bounding off somewhere and saving a life he hadn't even known was in danger, but here she was second guessing telling him things and possibly helping. When he'd asked her earlier about what she could tell him, she'd quickly dismissed Korwin as already being dead and not even giving the man a chance. Sure, she probably knew more on the subject than he did at the moment, but the Alex he was used to wouldn't give in so quickly. She'd be trying to figure out something to do.

He thought he'd seen a hint of that when she told Abi to lower his body temperature, but he wasn't sure. Especially since right afterwards, she looked defeated. He had to do something, he knew. He couldn't stand seeing Alex like this and he had this feeling in his stomach that he hadn't felt in a long time. Something he hadn't felt since he was with Rose and it scared him. It scared him because it seemed that everyone he ever cared for would be taken from him. And with Alex bouncing around his time-line, he might see this her one minute, the future her the next, and the younger her after that. Would he care for all of them? Would _she_ care for all of his versions? Future and past? Would her future and past versions care for him the same? All of these questions and more had him distracted as he tried to figure out the wiring for the generator to restart the engines, but he wasn't distracted enough to miss the intercom turn on and Abi's voice coming through it.

"_Doctor, these readings are starting to scare me._"

He looked over at Alex in worry as she returned the gaze.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"_Well, Korwin's body's changing. His whole biological make-up. It's impossible._"

_Sounds a lot like another impossible person I know._ He mused, turning his gaze away from Alex, only to hear Abi panicking suddenly.

"_This is med-center. Urgent assistance requested!_"

Alex ran to the intercom and pushed the button. "Run, Abi! Do as I said and run!"

The Doctor quickly ran out of Engineering, pointing at the still working crew members and Alex as he did so.

"Stay here! Keep working!"

McDonnell, Scannell, and Alex didn't listen though, and rushed out after him as Korwin's distorted voice came over the intercom.

"_Burn with me. Burn with me._"

"Captain?" Scannell called out, bringing the group to a halt as the Doctor turned to them with an annoyed look.

"I told you to stay in Engineering."

"I only take orders from one person round here." Scannell replied, moving around him as McDonnell followed and the Doctor wrinkled his nose.

"Oh, is he always this cheery?"

"Yes." Alex said, and he took her hand and pulled her along with him as they rushed to the med-center.

On the way though, they ran into Abi and Alex let out a small relieved chuckle, grabbing her by her shoulders and looking her up and down.

"Y-You're okay!"

"Y-Y-Yeah." She stuttered out, looking back at the med-center in worry. "But Korwin, he's… he's not human."

"Of course, he's human!" McDonnell argued, but Abi shook her head.

"I-I'm sorry, captain, but you didn't see him. His voice, it's changed and the scans…"

The woman was panicking and abruptly clung to Alex who stiffened and took a moment before patting her back in comfort, unsure and uncomfortable. But she was alive and the Doctor could tell that Alex was more than ecstatic about that.

"Abi, where are the scans?"

Abi lifted her head, wiping the tears from her eyes and releasing Alex for now. "T-They're, um, in the med-center."

The Doctor nodded and took Alex's hand, not leaving her behind should Korwin be wandering around, especially if Alex had just saved a life. The others followed him, Abi having headed to Engineering to stay with Ashton, and once in there, McDonnell was shocked.

"Korwin's gone."

The Doctor nodded and looked around, picking up the scans as he spoke to Alex. "Alex, what would've happened?"

"Abi, she… she would've died. He would have done some extreme sort of vaporization or something." Alex pointed at a section of blank wall. "There would've been a scorched outline of her there."

"What is she talking about?!" McDonnell demanded and the Doctor waved his hand.

"Think of Alex as a psychic. She knows how things are supposed to happen and on occasion, she changes them to save people. And before you say _anything_…" The Doctor said, giving the woman a stern look. "…she is a hero. So I don't want you or any of the rest of you to be attacking her because she didn't tell you something or because of what's going on with Korwin. Understood?"

"But she knew! She could've—"

"I couldn't have done anything for Korwin." Alex said, stepping up. "Remember when I got here? I never had a chance to do anything. And by the time we got to him, he'd already been… infected. Once that happens, there's… nothing you can do."

She seemed to deflate a bit, the Doctor noticed and before he knew what he was doing, he took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze, smiling down at her hesitant face and earning a slight smile in response that made his hearts flutter.

"There had to have been something—" McDonnell started up again, but the Doctor ignored her and looked at the scan he'd picked up, thinking out loud.

"Burn with me…"

"That's what we heard Korwin say." Scannell muttered as the Doctor went on to check through his bioscan results.

"Internal temperature, one-hundred _degrees_. Body oxygen replaced by hydrogen. Your husband hasn't been infected, he's been overwhelmed."

"The test results are wrong." She argued, snatching the scans from him, but Alex shook her head.

"No, they're not. I was hoping to postpone it a bit longer by having Abi reduce his body temperature, but… it doesn't seem like it helped."

"But what is it though?" The Doctor wondered out loud, hoping to catch some response out of Alex if he rattled off a few things. "A parasite? A mutagenic virus? Something that needs a host body, but how did it get inside him?"

"Stop talking like he's some kind of experiment!" McDonnell said loudly, getting more and more upset by the minute.

The Doctor hardly minded though, because he needed answers. He needed to know what was going on in order to help save more lives, but he had to do it on his own. He knew Alex couldn't tell him too much, because he'd seen what it was like for her when she tried to change something and things went horribly wrong. And he never wanted her to go through that again, so he would have to do his best to work through everything with as few hints as possible.

"Where's this ship been? Have you made planet-fall recently? Docked with any other vessels? Any kind of external contact at all?"

"What is this, an interrogation?"

"If it saves lives." Alex muttered, the tone of her voice catching the Doctor's attention.

_This has something to do with the captain then. She's lying or not saying something._

"We've got to stop him before he tries to kill again." The Doctor said sternly, trying to get her to realize the seriousness of the situation.

"We're just a cargo ship." She replied, voice breaking as Scannell tried to help.

"Doctor, if you just give her a minute."

The Doctor backed off, going silent as he went back to thinking and McDonnell gathered her strength and shook her head.

"I'm fine. I need to warn the crew." She headed over to the intercom and spoke. "Everybody, listen to me. Something has infected Korwin. We think… he tried to kill Abi Lerner. She's okay, but none of you must go anywhere near him, is that clear?"

Alex went over then and spoke. "Ashton? I'm sorry, but could Erina get that equipment a bit later? She kind of needs to run."

"_What? What are you talking about?_" Ashton called over the intercom as Erina piped up.

"_Run? Run from what?_"

"I-I'm sorry, but you're going to have to trust me. Korwin is… he's heading your way and if you don't run now—"

"_I think you should do as she says, Erina_." Abi's voice came over the intercom. "_If it weren't for her, I'd probably be…_"

"_Alright. Alright. I'll head back to Engineering._"

Alex let out another sigh of relief and the Doctor headed over, rubbing her back with a grin.

"Ooh, we're on a roll, aren't we?"

"_Impact in 24:31._"

Alex gave him a small smile and he was glad that she was cheering up, however slowly, but McDonnell apparently wasn't finished yet.

"Is the infection permanent? Can one of you two cure him?"

"I don't know." The Doctor said, holding up some scans to a light and giving Alex a glance and seeing how her face fell.

"Don't lie to me, Doctor." McDonnell snapped at him. "Eleven years we've been married. We chose this ship together. He keeps me honest, so I don't want false hope."

"I don't know how aggressive the parasite is. It has to be fairly aggressive since it's overwhelmed his body. Alex would have more information."

She shook her head, looking over at McDonnell, but not showing the woman pity like she would've thought.

"It's too aggressive. He's gone and there's no way back… Sorry."

She bowed her head, thankful for the honest answer, but still feeling anger welling up in her over Alex's foreknowledge. The Doctor though, was suspicious. Alex had stiffened and clenched her fist upon McDonnell mentioning her honesty and that had him wondering if she truly was lying.

"Are you certain nothing happened to provoke this? Nobody's working on anything secret? Because it's vital that you tell me. Alex can change things, but only to a point. Each action she changes has unforeseen consequences and it doesn't always mean that everything turns out okay. She may save one life, but two other lives could be lost. Nothing is fixed. So you need to tell me if there's anything you know."

"I know every inch of this ship. I know every detail of my crew's lives. There is nothing."

"Then why is this thing so interested in you?" He questioned her.

"I wish I knew."

"_Doctor, we're through to area seventeen._" Martha's voice came from the intercom.

"Keep going. You've got to get to area one and reboot those engines."

Alex once again grabbed the intercom then. "Ashton, Erina! Get out of Engineering! Korwin's heading that way!"

"_On it!_" Erina called back and the Doctor gave Alex a small hug, seeing how tense the muscles in her shoulders and back were despite how she was trying to relax.

"You're doing good, Alex. You need to relax a bit though." He spotted her hand then, fingers twitching lightly and he frowned, taking the appendage in his hand. "Calm down, Alex. It'll be alright."

"Sorry." She muttered, just as the intercom buzzed back on.

"_I-I'm sorry, Alex._" Erina said, out of breath and making said woman stiffen. "_I was able to make it out, but I… I think he got Ashton. He was doing something under the engine and I don't think he heard me. I'm sorry._"

The Doctor could see the heartbreak on Alex's face as understanding dawned on her and she shook her head, shoving her emotions back for now and talking on the intercom.

"No, that's… that's alright. It's um, not your fault. I should've warned you both earlier. Sorry. I-I'm… I'm really sorry."

Her hand slowly dropped from the intercom and she took a deep breath, pulling her hand though her hair again as the Doctor looked at her in worry.

"Hey, you tried, alright?" He told her, watching her for a reaction. "You did your best. Saved two people. You can't always save everyone."

"Yeah… You're right." She said, pulling out the little black book he always saw her with, and he turned away as she flipped through the pages.

_That's my future and my past. I know better than to look at it, but… it worries me. How many people are supposed to die here? How many people is she going to put on her conscience?_

"_Heat shields failing. At twenty percent._" The computer announced, making his already sinking hearts sink a little further.

* * *

_"Doctor! We're stuck in an escape pod off the area seventeen airlock. One of the crew's trying to jettison us! You've got to help us!"_ Martha's voice rang out over the intercom, the group of us in Engineering trying to get the generator hooked up to the engine.

"Why is this happening?" McDonnell asked and I gave her a glance before letting out a quiet sigh, steeling myself for what I knew was going to happen soon.

"Stay here." The Doctor took off his glasses. "I mean it this time! Jump start those engines! Alex, you're with me!"

I nodded and hurried after him as he headed down to where I knew Martha and Riley would be trapped in an escape pod. _There's nothing I can do. There's nothing I can do._ I repeated in my head, knowing that trying to save Ashton would've been the only way to prevent this from happening. _And now it's too late. The Doctor will go out there to save them, he'll see the sun is alive, a-and we'll have to freeze him. I know he'll be okay, but… why do I feel like this? I-Is it because I like him?_

"That's enough!" I heard the Doctor shout and I came up behind him; the two of us seeing Ashton standing there with a welding mask on as he stopped pressing buttons on a keypad.

"What do you want? Why this ship? Tell me." The Doctor ordered, only for Ashton to shove a fist through the keypad.

Ashton started moving closer, and the Doctor didn't move, making me grab his hand and try to pull him away; but he stayed firm.

"Come on. Let's see you. I want to know what you really are." He said, Ashton nose to nose with him now.

"Doctor, I _really_ advise that you don't do that." I said softly, pulling a little harder as Ashton raised his hand towards the visor.

I got lucky though and Ashton suddenly screamed and doubled over, moving back, before he straightened up and walked right past us; bumping the Doctor's shoulder roughly as though he wasn't even there. Seeing his chance, the Doctor pulled me along with him over to the destroyed keypad as he tried to get into contact with McDonnell.

"McDonnell? Ashton's heading in your direction. He's been infected just like Korwin!"

"_Korwin's dead, Doctor_." Scannell replied.

I was panicking slightly now, one hand clenched to keep myself from giving in to the loud drumming in my head and the other grinding a knuckle into my temple at the headache that the drums were causing. I could see the Doctor over by the airlock door, mouthing things to Martha and I headed over as he rushed to the intercom. Once there, I mouthed words to Martha, hoping they'd at least give her some comfort. If not the same comfort they provided other companions.

"_We'll save you. I promise."_

She nodded slightly, eyes lined with tears as the computer announced how much time we had left.

"_Impact in 17:05._"

"Just get down here!" The Doctor shouted, making me jump before he turned to me and I froze; seeing the Oncoming Storm in his eyes. "Will she be okay?"

He stepped closer and I took a step back, back quickly meeting the wall as the drums fed off my fear and grew louder and faster; myself no longer able to keep from tapping out the four beats on my thigh.

"Alex, tell me." He demanded, reaching for me, only for me to flinch back in fear; flashbacks of the laughing Master making me press myself against the wall in a vain attempt to disappear.

The Doctor paused then, eyes softening suddenly as he eyed my tapping fingers and then looked back up at my fearful eyes.

"I'm sorry." He said, lowering his hand and loosing that look in his eyes. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Alexander. I didn't… I didn't know it was… so recent for you. I didn't mean to scare you."

I was hesitant, knowing how people could say something and then snap the next instant, but the Doctor looked so hurt, so _guilty_. He turned away then, keeping his head bowed, but I spoke; trying to keep the shakiness from my voice.

"S-She, um… she'll be fine. You save her... Promise."

He turned back around, making to say something, when Scannell showed up with the spacesuit and the Doctor quickly went and began putting it on.

"I can't let you do this." Scannell said, giving me a look. "Why aren't you stopping him?"

"I-I can't. It's something only he can do. He has to be the one who saves them. I-I… I can't change this." I muttered, wishing that I could, but I knew there was no other choice.

"If I can boost the magnetic lock on the ship's exterior, it should remagnetize the pod. Now, while I'm out there, you have got to get the rest of those doors open. We _need_ those auxiliary engines."

"Doctor, will you listen?! They're too far away! It's too late!" Scannell shouted, but the Doctor was dead serious.

"I'm not going to lose her."

He put the helmet on and went into the airlock; the computer ominously telling us how much time there was left.

"_Impact in 12:55._"

"Be careful." I breathed out, despite knowing that he couldn't hear me now.

"Alex, right?"

I turned to Scannell and nodded, already knowing what he was going to ask. "I'm not leaving him. Not for a second, because I know how this all turns out and I _hate_ the fact that there's nothing I can do for him." I snapped, my stomach gnawing at itself in worry and fear. "I-I couldn't take his place and I know that he'll be fine, but… that doesn't mean anything. Not until all of this is over and everyone's safe... Could you tell Abi to head to the med-center? We might need her." I said, a little calmer near the end.

"_Impact in 11:15._"

He nodded and went over to the intercom, pressing it and speaking. "Erina, McDonnell? Do you think you two could try getting the rest of the doors open? And Abi, we'll need you in the med-center."

"_We'll do what we can. No promises though._" Erina replied and I went to stand over by the airlock window to watch as the Doctor pulled himself through the opening and struggled to reach the switch outside.

_Come on, Doctor. Please._ I begged, biting my bottom lip and clenching my hands together tightly.

"Doctor, how are you doing?" Scannell asked.

"_I can't!_ _I can't reach! I don't know how much longer I can last!_"

"Come on! Don't give up now!" Scannell said and I moved over to talk as well.

"Doctor, you can't give up. You got _Scannell_ to have hope."

"Hey." The man said half-heartedly as I chuckled bitterly.

"Come on, Doctor. I know you can do it. And I don't mean because of my foreknowledge or whatever. I know you can do it, because I believe in you. You're the _Doctor_. You fight aliens and save universes and whisk people away to amazing places. And I've seen you do so many things that no one would believe. S-So pulling a lever should be easy, right?"

"_Oh, Alexander Holmes… I can always count on you._" He breathed out between pants, before the computer announced that he'd demagnetized the escape pod and I rushed to the airlock window in worry as I saw him standing there staring at the sun.

"No… No, Doctor! Don't look at it!" I shouted, praying that he'd hear me and would just turn away from it, but he wasn't and I knew it was too late.

"Doctor, close the airlock now! That pod's going to smash into him." Scannell said and I turned to him.

"_Impact in 8:57._"

"Scannell, you need to get to where Erina is and keep going with the doors. Send McDonnell over here, now."

He hesitated, but nodded, hurrying off towards the doors as the airlock recompressed and the Doctor stumbled into the hallway without his helmet.

"Oh, Doctor. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." I muttered, helping move him so that he was sitting up against the wall as the escape pod opened up and Martha came out.

"Doctor! Doctor! Are you okay?!"

I held her back as he opened his eyes slightly and spoke in a raspy voice.

"_Stay away from me_."

"Martha, do as he says for now, alright?" I told her as McDonnell showed up.

"What's happened?"

"It's your fault, Captain McDonnell." The Doctor said, hissing in pain and fighting the sun as best he could.

"Riley, get down to Area Ten and help Scannell and Erina with the doors." She ordered, sending Riley off. "Go!"

"You mined that sun." The Doctor went on. "Stripped its surface for cheap fuel. You should have scanned for life!"

"I don't understand." McDonnell said, Martha confused as well.

"Doctor, what are you talking about?"

"Ah!" He squirmed and I bit my bottom lip as I tried to keep him from falling over. "That sun is alive. A living organism. They scooped out its heart, used it for fuel, and now it's screaming!"

"I know." I muttered, holding his hand and wincing at how tightly he held it. "I'm sorry. There was nothing I could do. I-I wanted to help. I wanted to stop this from happening to you, but I couldn't. I'm sorry."

"What do you mean?" McDonnell asked me, making me look up at her. "How can a sun be alive? Why is he saying that?"

"Anything can be a living organism." I said, quietly, cringing as I got a bit of the feelings from the Doctor and the sun. "Even a sun. And I… I knew this was going to happen to him, but he's really the only person who could've done it. No one else would've survived a-and I tried to stop it by saving Ashton, but even that went wrong." I put a hand to my head with a grunt of pain. "It's so angry and he's… so _scared_."

"It's living in me." The Doctor said, McDonnell bringing her hands to her mouth in shock.

"Oh my God."

"Humans! You grab whatever's nearest and bleed it dry! You should have scanned!" He shouted, writhing in pain.

"It takes too long. We'd be caught! Fusion scoops are illegal!" McDonnell explained and I turned to her in anger.

"And instead of calling for help, this mistake killed two people! Why can't you just—" I stopped, shaking my head and trying to calm myself as I struggled to think. "No. That's not important right now. We have to freeze him."

"What?!" Martha asked in shock.

I started pulling the Doctor up and she helped me. "Stasis chamber in the med-center."

"I'll go tell Abi." McDonnell offered, but I stopped her.

"No! I'm sorry, but we have a bigger problem to deal with a-and I know you'll be the one who wants to do it."

"What?"

"I-It's Korwin. He's de-thawing in Engineering. He's not dead. I-I need you to go down there and take care of him. Otherwise, he'll cut the power while we're freezing the Doctor."

"A-Alright. I'm on it." She nodded and hurried off as Martha and I heaved the Doctor to the med-center.

"Come on, Doctor. You can do it. Keep fighting. Just like me and the drumming. Just keep fighting. Keep pushing through." I muttered to him as he screamed in pain as the computer spoke up again.

"_Impact in 7:30_."

The walk to the med-center felt like it took far longer than it did, but we were soon there and Abi helped us by setting up the stasis chamber as we pulled the Doctor onto the bed.

"We need to freeze him!" I called out to Abi.

"How cold?" She asked.

"Minus two-hundred! Ten seconds only! No more no less!"

She gave me a disbelieving look. "Are you serious? That could kill him!"

"He's not human! He can survive! I know he can!" I called back, though Martha eyed me in worry.

Abi nodded and began setting it up as the Doctor gripped my hand tighter, myself cringing slightly as my knuckles ground together.

"I-It's alright, Doctor. I'm here. Martha's here. I promise, you'll be alright." I tried to comfort him, the drums getting louder, but my worry for the Doctor seemed to push them to the back of my mind.

"It's burning me up. I can't control it. If you don't get rind of it, I could kill you both." He said, voice getting raspy once more. "_I could kill you all_." He then screamed again, pushing it back as his voice shook. "I'm scared. I'm so scared."

"I know." I whispered beside him, feeling mentally, just how scared he was and trying to keep my legs from shaking. "I know how scared you are. Please, Doctor. I-I promise you'll be alright."

Martha nodded, coming up on his other side. "Just stay calm. You saved me, Doctor. Now I return the favor. Just believe in us."

"It's burning through me. Then what'll happen?"

"That's enough! I've got you!"

"There's this process. This, this thing that happens if I'm about to die." He said and I grit my teeth tightly.

"You're not going to regenerate, Doctor. You're not. Not today."

"Are you ready?" Abi asked and he spoke up.

"No."

Abi looked at me and I nodded, trying my best to steel myself as she started the stasis chamber and he began to scream. I held his hand tightly in mine as the temperature dropped, putting it to my forehead and trying to stay calm as best I could. I couldn't though. My heart pounded away violently in my chest in worry and my head was only filled with how scared the Doctor was and how angry the sun was; enough so, that not even the drumming could break past it. I could feel my throat clog with tears as I tried not to cry, begging quietly for the Doctor to be alright because—God dammit, I loved him! My heart was breaking at his scream and I felt that if he were to actually die today because I screwed up somehow by saving Erina and Abi, that I would have nothing else to live for. I came back to this world because of _him_! I couldn't leave him alone. I couldn't leave him hurting like this. _Please, Doctor. Please be okay._

The stasis chamber suddenly shut down and the Doctor shifted.

"No! You can't stop it! Not yet!"

"What happened?" Martha asked as I cursed under my breath, nodding towards the intercom.

"Check up on McDonnell! Now, Martha!"

She nodded and went over. "McDonnell, where are you?"

"_I'm just outside of Engineering! The door is locked, I'm trying to override it!_"

I cursed under my breath as the computer went off once more.

"_Impact in 4:47._"

"Martha, Abi!" I called out, turning to them. "I need you both to go down to the front! Vent the engines! If you dump the fuel, the sun particles will go too! It'll stop all of this!"

"I'm not leaving you and him!" She argued, but I was in no mood to argue.

"Martha! If you want him to live through this at all, you need to do as I say! Because if you don't dump that fuel, he will _die_!"

"B-But—"

"Please go!" The Doctor shouted as well, the ice having melted from his body.

She hesitated, but nodded, moving towards the doors with Abi. "I'll be back for you. Both of you."

With that, they ran out, leaving me with the Doctor hoping beyond hope that they'd make it in time.

"_Impact in 4:08_."

"You need to go too, Alex." The Doctor rasped out. "I-I can kill you! So go!"

"I'm not leaving you, you idiot!" I shouted, feeling as though my heart was clenched so tightly that it wasn't even beating anymore. "I can't leave you!"

"_Impact in 3:43._"

"Will you shut up!" I shouted up at the computer, pressing the Doctor's hand to my forehead. "H-How can I leave you here when you're so scared? You've always been there for me, so how can I… how can I just…"

"_Impact in 2:17._"

He pulled himself out of the stasis chamber then and I held him as he cried out in pain, wishing that I could take the pain instead, even if it meant dying.

"I love you, Doctor." I muttered out, holding his head close and pressing mine to it as I cried. "So please. P-Please don't die. Keep fighting for me, because you're all that I have. I-I keep going for _you_. So please. Please hang on just a bit longer. Martha will save you. I promise. I-I promise."

He continued to scream, but did his best to keep it down and clung to me. He was holding me too tightly though. I could feel my ribs aching in protest at his strength and my lungs starting to have trouble getting air, but I held him and did my best to help in any way that I could.

"W-What did you say?" He rasped out and I clung to him a little tighter.

"I love you, you idiot! I-I love you so much, a-and it took me so long to figure it out and I'm sorry. I know you loved Rose a-and that you'll come to love someone else and even marry her, but I-I can't help it! I love you, Doctor. So, so much."

"_Impact in 1:21._"

"A-Alex, you need to get away. I can't fight it anymore."

"I-I don't care."

"Then _burn with me._"

I clenched my eyes shut, feeling heat starting to wash over me as the Doctor began to try and kill me. _But he can live without me. He has Martha, and Donna, and Amy and Rory, and Clara, and River, and Rose. He has so many people, but if he dies, I'm left alone._

"_Collision alert. Collision alert._"

Everything was burning now, my insides felt like they were on fire and my head felt about ready to explode, but I still clung to him. Just as the computer made another announcement.

"_Fuel dump in progress. Fuel dump in progress._"

The heat went away and I felt the Doctor slump up against me, before we were both tossed across the floor as the engines moved us away from the sun.

"_Impact averted. Impact averted. Impact averted._"

I hurt so bad though, I could hardly move. My entire body was still getting over the fact that the sun had been trying to burn me through, and I felt this strange ice, cold moving through me slowly from my left shoulder down. I then felt someone grabbing me, pulling me towards them as they lightly patted my face.

"Alex. Alex, please. Please look at me."

Something touched my lips then and pressed me tightly against them before pulling away as they rested their head on me and rocked back and forth.

"Please, Alex. I-I love you. Please. Y-You can't die now. I-I love you too, so please."

My chest suddenly felt lighter and the ice cold feeling that had been washing through me flowed up to my head, before disappearing; the hands holding me loosening as I slowly opened my eyes to see the remnants of gold dust fluttering away from me._ O-Oh no. Please tell me I didn't just regenerate. C-Can I even do that?_

"Alex?"

My eyes shifted to see a pair of old, brown eyes with so many emotions flashing through them, that no _one_ ever stuck. But something clicked in my head then as I realized what had just happened and who was holding me.

"D-Did you just kiss me?"

Red tinted his cheeks and he became rather fidgety, before he helped me sit up. "Ah, um, w-was I not supposed to? I mean, I thought you were… So I just sort of… I probably could've done with better timing, but I didn't know if you were okay and if you weren't, then what better chance to—"

"Doctor."

"Yes?" He quickly turned to me and it hit me then, that he was alive.

He was truly alive. He hadn't died or been consumed by the sun. He hadn't killed me or regenerated. And… _I told him I loved him. And he just kissed me. Doesn't that mean…_

"Did you say you loved me?" I asked and before he could answer, I stopped him. "And I don't want you to ramble on about this, that, and the other. I-I just want a simple yes or no, and—" I stopped, feeling that burning in my shoulder starting up again and I groaned, putting a hand on it with a scowl. "Oh, not now."

"Yes."

I stiffened and turned to the Doctor in shock. "W-What?"

He shuffled a bit, awkwardly, but locked his eyes with mine as he nodded seriously. "Yes. I did say that I love you and… I do… love you, that is."

"B-But… I-I…"

He rolled his eyes and grabbed the back of my neck, pulling me into another kiss—a deeper one this time—and I couldn't help but respond; because it was mutual now. We liked each other and I knew that would cause problems later with River, and who knew how things were going to work out when I ran across Nine or Rose-Tenth, but for now I could be happy. That is, until it finally sank in. _The Doctor _loves_ me?!_

* * *

**_Sneak Peak:_**

_"Oi, is it just me, or do I look kind of… piratey…" I questioned, climbing up the steps to the center console as the Doctor spun around it with a grin._

_"Yes! Very, piratey, in fact! I know how you love pirates, so we're off to go see some!"_


	27. The Curse of the Black Spot

**Thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites! You guys are amazing and i'm glad you all like this so much! let em know what you think about this chapter. it was definitely a fun one to write. ;)**

* * *

I woke up in the Tardis, in my bedroom, and in a panic. _H-He loves me. He said he loves me! B-But what does that mean?! What about River?!_

"Ahhhhh, this is not good." I said, hands tugging at my messed up hair, face flushed as I remembered what the Tenth Doctor had just done.

What _I'd _just done. I got up and began pacing in the small room, trying to think, but everything just came up Doctor and instead of coming up with an idea about how to act should I be with a Doctor who hates me or doesn't love me yet or is with River, I ended up thinking about how the Tenth Doctor smiles and the Twelfth Doctor having that twinkle in his eye when he's excited and the way Eleven fidgets like a five year old waiting in line, when he's onto something. I just couldn't think. Heck, even my problem with the drumming was forgotten for the moment and I walked over to the door and just rested my forehead against it.

"Come on. Come on, Alexander. You can do it. Just… stop thinking about him for a moment and figure out what you're going to do when you walk out this door. Y-You already told him you loved him and he said it back. N-Nothing is going to change, right?" I nodded sternly, taking a deep breath and opening the door. "Right."

With that, I stepped out and bounded over to the console room, opening the doors to find Amy and Rory stuck in a bit of a lip-lock. I quickly flushed and covered my eyes.

"Ah, it burns!" I called out, walking over with one hand on the railing to figure out where I was going. "Can't you two do that when I'm _not_ around?"

"Says you." Amy scoffed and I peered through my fingers with a wrinkled nose.

"Ew, _I_ do that? With who? Not River, I hope."

She gave me a look. "Um, with the Doctor? You two are—"

Rory cut her off. "Um, Amy? I don't think she knows yet."

I snapped my fingers then, coming up with an idea. "I know! I can ask you two!"

"Ask us what?" Amy said in question.

My face flushed a bit and I suddenly realized what I was going to ask and how much it was going to embarrass me.

"W-Well, I sort of… just… told the Doctor I-I loved him last trip and he kind of… sort of… said it back?"

"Then what are you waiting for?!" Amy asked me. "Go get him!"

I shook my head, hesitant. "T-The thing is, that was a different Doctor and I don't know if this one…"

Amy rolled her eyes as Rory sighed.

"Trust me." Amy said, grabbing my shoulders and steering me towards the door. "He does. Just go out there, kiss him silly, and see for yourself. Alright?"

I wanted to ask them about River, but Amy was here supporting me and I could feel confidence well up. Because this was Amelia Pond. The same woman who ran off with the Doctor the night before her wedding and who fell in love with him, telling me to go to him and reaffirm that I loved him and he loved me back. So I forgot about River for the moment and took a deep stuttering breath to steel myself for what I was about to do. Confessing to the Doctor the first time was hard enough, but having to do it again to make sure was even more nerve wracking than the first. Especially when I didn't know what I would find when I walk outside.

"Oh… shut up."

I froze in the doorway as River kissed the Doctor just inside her prison cell, eyes wide and heart breaking as the Doctor responded back, and I just slowly stepped back inside the Tardis and closed the door.

"Wow, that was fast." Amy said, coming up behind me as I struggled not to show how hurt I was. "So? How was it?"

"It was… it was fine." I said, forcing a smile on my face and turning around, heading back up the steps past her. "Absolutely fine. I should've known though, and I kind of feel silly now." I spun around and smacked my forehead. "Oh, poo. I forgot something. Um, excuse me then! I need to dash off to my room. I'll be back and if not, just send someone after me. The Tardis probably tried to kill me with chickens again."

I waved over my shoulder and left the room, only to lean up against the hallway doors and let out a choked sob as I pressed my hand to my face.

"I-I should've known. I _did_ know." I breathed out, the Tardis humming in worry around me as I went further down the hall and found a nice corner to sit in; the drums pounding away in my head and my heart aching in my chest. "I-I-I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up."

* * *

Amy watched Alex leave for her room, but something was off. She couldn't pin point it exactly, but she knew Alex well enough that the smile on the woman's face _couldn't_ have been genuine.

"Something's wrong."

"Hm?" Rory hummed in question, before seeing where she was looking and nodding himself with a frown. "Yeah. I noticed that too. What do you think happened?"

"She wasn't out there for more than a second. What _could_ have happened?"

Rory's frowned deepened. "Do you think he rejected her?"

"No." Amy shook her head, brows furrowed in confusion. "He wouldn't do that, because he _does_ love her. Even an idiot can see that. He was dropping off River though, and you know how she is about her."

"What? No. I don't, actually." Rory said, even more confused than before. "I thought they were friends."

"They are, but there's more to it than that. It's… complicated."

"What's complicated, Pond?" The Doctor questioned, heading back inside and bounding over to the center console. "Something I can help with?"

"Yeah, actually." She headed over beside him and leaned back up against the console. "What did you say to Alex?"

He looked over at her, confused. "You were there. You heard what I said."

Now it was Amy's turn to give him a puzzled look. "No. I mean just now. She went outside to talk to you."

"Alex is here?" He questioned, a grin lighting up his face as he became more excited. "Where?! I don't see her. Did she head to her room?"

Amy slowly nodded, connecting the dots in her head. "Yeah… She didn't talk to you? At all?"

He shook his head, twisting a few dials. "Nope! I didn't even know she was here."

Rory was catching on now and headed over as well. "Doctor, what were you doing with River?"

He hesitated a second, something Amy and Rory both caught, before he forced a smile on his face.

"We just talked. About lots of things!"

Amy frowned at him, realizing that something did happen and Alex may have just been witness to it. "Talking? If you were only talking, then why did Alex go to her room with that stupid fake smile on her face after she was only outside for a few seconds? You did something, Doctor, and I don't know if it'll be easy to fix this time."

He gave her a look and she rolled her eyes, folding her arms over her chest.

"Apparently the last trip she was on was when she first confessed to you and you said you loved her back." Amy shifted her gaze back to him. "She was going outside to see you and _confirm_ that. So how do you think she'd feel seeing you doing whatever with River?"

His eyes widened then and he quickly turned and rushed out of the room as Amy sighed and Rory came over.

"Do you think he'll fix it? Whatever just happened between him and Alex."

"We already know he does, if the last Alex was anything to go by. But how long do you think it's going to take? Especially if him and River were doing what I think they were. Just finding out you love someone, only to find them kissing with another person… it's not going to be easy."

"I'm guessing our next adventure's on hold then?"

"Looks like it."

* * *

"Alex? Alex, where are you?" The Doctor called out and I stiffened where I was curled up on the floor, tightening my grip around my knees as he continued to call out. "Alex, please! Can I just explain?"

_They figured it out… And look at me. Sitting here sulking. I might as well run away and go live with otters for a few months, or lock myself up in a cloud._ I cringed, a hand shifting to rub my chest where my second heart was growing in, though my other heart was aching too, for a far different reason. _Stop it… You knew this was going to happen. You knew he would love River in the end… He has to… S-So get up and—_

"Alex?"

I flinched, stiffening as I peered up from under my hood at the Doctor huffing and puffing before me. _What do I do? What do I do? What do I—_ I forced a smile on my face and got up, brushing myself off.

"Sorry! I got side tracked and was hiding from the chickens the Tardis sent after me." I lied easily, though the frown the Doctor was giving me told me he didn't believe that for a moment, so I turned and moved to walk past him. "Now that you found me, we can go ahead and head back to Amy and Ror—"

He grabbed my wrist, stopping me. "Alex, look at me."

I went ridged, knowing that the moment I turned to face him and we locked eyes, that he'd be able to see right through me.

"Alex."

But I also knew I didn't have a choice. So begrudgingly, I turned to face him, my blue eyes meeting his green ones and I could feel myself trying not to melt under the intensity of them. _S-Stay strong, Alex. You may like him, but… he has River._

"I love you."

My heart clenched at those words, my eyes suddenly scanning his face for the truth, but all I saw was complete honesty. It scared me. Because I'd just seen him with someone else, _kissing_ someone else. And for him to say those words to me after that? With so much honesty that it physically hurt?

"H-How can I believe that?" I questioned, taking a hesitant step back. "I just saw you with River. Y-You can't expect me to believe—"

"I _do_." He said sternly, taking me by the upper arms and pulling me closer; the hurt in his eyes ripping into my heart as he went on. "I love you, Alex. From your smile to your eyes to the way you freeze up when I kiss you. Everything. And River kissed _me._"

I shook my head, knowing that wasn't true, because I saw it. For that moment I was out there, he responded back and that was what had killed me.

"You kissed her back. I-I saw."

"I know. I know. And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He apologized, pressing his forehead to mine and clenching his eyes shut; his hands on my shoulders shaking slightly. "I shouldn't have done that and I'm not going to lie to you, Alex. I _do_ have feelings for River."

I felt my heart break at those words, wanting to pull away, but he held me still.

"But my feelings towards you are so much more than that." He breathed out, voice soft and a little shaky. "So please don't pull away from me. _Please_, Alexander. I love you and I'll say that however many times it takes to convince you, because it is unbelievably, undoubtedly true."

I didn't know what to do. Everything he was saying was giving me mixed feelings. I was upset because he _did_ love River. I was sad, because that information hurt. I was happy because he said he loved me more and he didn't lie to me. But I was worried and nervous, because I had that doubt still lingering within me.

"T-Then prove it." I said, looking into his eyes as he opened them to stare at me, our noses nearly touching. "Before I pop off again, prove to me that what you just said is true."

"Yes. Yes, of course. Anything." He said, nodding slightly, before pulling me close and hugging me tightly. "Anything for my Alexander."

I let out a quiet sigh and hugged him back, feeling safe in his arms despite everything that had just happened, before he pulled away and gave me a quick peck on the lips; struggling to hide the lopsided grin at my less-than-amused—yet slightly flushed—face.

"To a new adventure then?" He asked, offering me his hand, but I shook my head; almost enjoying the childish pout he had on.

"No. You go ahead and pick someplace. I should probably shower quickly and change. I doubt wherever we're going is going to be as hot as that ship hurtling towards the sun."

I headed off, but he bounced along beside me, excitedly.

"I can help!"

My face quickly turned a dark shade of red as I turned to him in shock. "T-T-That's not what I meant by proving it!"

He seemed to realize how his words could have been misinterpreted, and also turned a healthy red as he waved his hands around. "No! No, no, no! I didn't mean it like that… I mean, unless you want t—"

"Doctor!" I spat out rather indignantly. "I-I just _barely_ figured out that I love you!"

"Right. Yes… Too soon then." He said, looking away awkwardly, though the slight pout on his features made me wonder just _what_ my future self would be getting involved in. "I still want to help though."

"Wha—"

"Picking out clothes!" He corrected before I could go on. "While you get cleaned up, I could think of a place to go and pick some clothing that would work for it."

I let out a soft sigh of relief as we both entered my room and he headed for the closet. "Good luck with that. The Tardis only gives me one outfi—"

I cut myself off upon seeing the Doctor tossing clothes out over his shoulder one by one, making my mouth drop open in shock as I headed over to find my closet actually _full_ of clothes.

"I was thinking someplace sunny. Not too sunny. Or maybe someplace with rain! I know how you love the rain." The Doctor rambled, before seeing my stunned expression. "Something wrong?"

I pointed a shaky hand at the closet. "Clothes…"

He look at the closet and back to me. "What did you think was in here? Lobsters? I know you mentioned a closet full of those once…"

"No!" I called out, rushing forward and digging through the clothes, finding them all real and not holograms like I thought. "S-She usually only gives me one outfit. How did you get the Tardis to give you so many choices?!"

He chuckled, ruffling my hair. "She always has, Alex. She just likes to tease you, is all." He then pushed me towards the shower. "Now you go and clean yourself up. I'll pick something out and leave it on the bed for you, before setting us off, so don't take too long."

I nodded, still stunned about my suddenly full closet, but another quick peck to the lips snapped me out of it as the Doctor grinned and shut the door before I could get a word out. Sighing, I dragged a hand down my face as I turned on the hot water. _I'm really going to need to keep an eye on him. Or at least start scolding him for the sudden kissing. Public displays of affection are _not_ my thing… but… I can't say I hate it._

* * *

"Oi, is it just me, or do I look kind of… piratey…" I questioned, climbing up the steps to the center console as the Doctor spun around it with a grin.

"Yes! Very, piratey, in fact! I know how you love pirates, so we're off to go see some!"

I gave him a look, glancing past him at Amy and Rory who smiled and waved. I waved a little back and raised a brow at the Doctor.

"Yeah, I like the pirates in _movies_. I highly doubt real ones are the same. 1700s then?"

"How did you know that?" He questioned, before pouting. "And pirates can be like the movies. At least… a little bit."

"Around 1700-1725 was the Golden Age of Piracy." I rattled off my quick history fact. "And despite popular belief, they weren't limited to the Caribbean either and women could be pirates too. So for the most part…" I looked up at the Doctor with a blank expression. "…the movies were wrong."

He looked like a kid who'd just gotten told there was no Santa Claus and I kind of enjoyed it. Treating it as a little payback for the surprise kissing he'd done. I couldn't leave him like that though, or we'd never go anywhere so I leaned against the console and tucked my hands into my jean pockets; crossing my brown work boots over the other and tucking the ends of my navy blue frock coat behind me.

"I suppose they got the outfits right though. So you get that one Doctor."

"And your outfit?" He asked, peeking up at me with a pitiful look.

"Yes, yes. I like the outfit."

He quickly beamed and twirled me around in a hug, making me stiffen until he put me down and rushed off to send us off.

"1700s! Geronimo!"

I quickly grabbed onto the railing as the Tardis jerked and rattled, Amy being thrown my way and grabbing on herself.

"Did you make up with him?" She asked over the noise, but quiet enough that the Doctor couldn't hear over his maniac laughter.

"No. I-I think I did something stupid, actually." I admitted.

"What did you do?"

I gave her a nervous smile. "I-I sort of told him to prove that he still loved me, before I popped off again."

"You did _what_?!"

"And here we are! I actually caught on to a ship's distress signal, so we may be a bit off, but it's the late 1600s. 1690, to be exact." The Doctor rambled, before rushing towards me and pulling me away. "Come on then, Alex! Let's go see some pirates!"

I glanced back at Amy as she and Rory headed out after us and caught her mouthing that we were going to have a talk later. And I silently wondered if I would make it through this adventure alive. _Between the Doctor and Amy, I'm pretty sure one of them is going to kill me._ We walked out into the hold of a ship and the Doctor knocked on the hatch above us. It took a moment, but soon the Doctor lifted the hatch and we were greeted with a group of bearded pirates; most of them aiming guns at us.

"Yo ho ho!" The Doctor called out with a smile, before glancing over at me. "Or does nobody actually say that?"

"No one says that." I muttered, wary of the guns, and the Captain of the ship ordered us out and to be brought to his cabin for an explanation.

The Doctor _tried_ to explain the signal we'd gotten, but already it was proving to be a bit of a challenge.

"We made no signal."

"Our sensors picked you up. Ship in distress."

"Sensors?" The Captain said in confusion.

"Yes. Okay. Problem word. Seventeenth century." The Doctor rambled, giving me a look like he knew what he was doing, when I very much doubted that. "My ship automatically, uh, noticed-ish that your ship was having some bother."

"That big blue crate?"

The Doctor snapped his fingers and pointed at the Captain in affirmation, as another of the crew spoke up.

"That is more magic, Captain Avery. They're spirits. How else would they have found their way below decks?"

"Well, uh, I want to say multidimensional engineering, but since you had a problem with sensors, I won't go there. Look. I'm the Doctor. This is Amy, Rory, and Alex. We're sailors!" The Doctor went forward and gave Captain Avery a friendly punch to the shoulder, turning to look at the other crew members as I eyed the captain in worry. "Same as you. Ooh, arr."

Sure enough, the man raised a gun towards the Doctor and I shifted nervously, making to move forward; only for the Doctor to hold me back.

"Except for the gun thing. And the beardiness."

"You're stowaways. Only explanation. Eight days, we've been stranded here, becalmed. You must have stowed away before we sailed."

"Now what do we do with 'em?" A man behind us asked.

"Oh, I think they deserve our hospitality."

The Doctor smiled, but I rolled my eyes with a sigh.

"He doesn't mean the _good_ kind of hospitality, Doctor."

"Right you are, lad." The captain said, giving me a smirk. "Take them to the plank!"

"Ah!" A chorus of yells rang out as we were all grabbed and led back on deck.

A couple of men set up a long board as the plank and while the rest of us were held by various members of the crew; the Doctor was shoved forward and onto the plank as they laughed.

"I suppose that laughing like that is in the job description. Can you do the laugh? Check. Grab yourself a parrot. Welcome aboard." The Doctor rambled in his nervousness, trying to come up with a way out, no doubt as he bounced up and down on the plank.

"Actually, pirates didn't keep parrots. They were only used to sell." I pointed out, using the history facts to distract myself from growing nervousness and the drums. "And are you _sure_ you didn't drag us into a movie or something? Pirates don't usually use planks. They either maroon people or plain old kill them."

"Well, maybe we got _nice_ pirates, Alex." He rolled his eyes. "I mean, really. Is now the time to be dawdling?"

I frowned, scoffing. "Says the man treating the plank as a diving board."

The captain was obviously tired of our bantering and spoke up. "Stocks are low. Only one barrel of water remains. We don't need four more empty bellies to fill." He then turned to the man holding Amy. "Take the doxy below to the galley. Set her to work. She won't need much feeding."

"Rory? Alex? A little help?"

"Sorry, sweetie!" I called out. "We're a bit wrangled at the moment."

"Yeah. Hey, listen, right? She's not a doxy." Rory scolded the pirates, who didn't seem to care.

"I didn't mean just tell him off." Amy complained. "Thanks anyway. Alex, hope you can do better!"

"Depends! Something tells me I might get shot!" I called out to her as she was shoved below deck. "Grab me a sword, if you can!"

The crew gave me an odd look, but I remembered this episode quite well. _This is 'The Curse of the Black Spot', right? Amy's supposed to pop out with a sword, but if I can get her to grab me one too, while they're distracted, I can put those days I spent in the Tardis gym to good use._

"If you're lucky, you'll drown before the sharks can take a bite."

"Actually, sharks aren't native to cold open waters like these. They prefer—"

"Alex!" Rory and the Doctor shouted, making me sigh.

"Alright, aright! Sorry! I'm trying to distract myself, mind. I'm not exactly calm right now either." I complained, clenching and unclenching my hands to fight against tapping them.

I was glad the drums had gotten quieter lately, but when my nervousness or my temper rose, they would rear their ugly heads and I'd have to fight to keep from unconsciously tapping.

"You're doing good, Alex." The Doctor smiled back at me before facing the water once more. "And if this is just because I'm a captain too, you know, you shouldn't feel threatened. Your ship is much bigger than mine and I don't have cool boots. Or a hat even." He told Captain Avery, who raised his pistol.

"Time to go."

"A bit more laughter, guys?" The Doctor asked the crew, who willingly supplied it.

"Ever so dramatic." I muttered, before the Doctor paused and turned back.

"Where are the rest of the crew? This is a big ship. Big for five of you. I suppose the rest of them are hiding some place…" He plugged his nose. "…and they're going to jump out and shout boo."

"Boo!"

I grinned, readying myself as Amy pointed her two cutlass at the captain and the crew.

"Throw the gun down."

The captain obeyed and he dropped it with a clatter; Amy kicking it away.

"The rest of you, on your knees."

"Amy, what are you doing?" The Doctor asked.

"Saving your life. Okay with that, are you?" She sassed back and I caught the Doctor's eyes, giving him a nod that she'd be okay.

"Put down the sword." The captain ordered. "A sword could kill us all, girl."

"Yeah, thanks. That is actually why I'm pointing it at you."

"Ah!" A member of the crew attacked her with a wooden stick and I elbowed the man who had me in the ribs; managing to toss him over my shoulder and onto the deck with a loud 'thud', before I moved around the crew and called out to Amy.

"Sword!"

She tossed one my way and I got between her and the pirates, putting my own fencing skills to good use with a hand behind my back and parrying the blows. They backed off at this and I tilted my head a bit, swinging my sword around expertly.

"You know, I'd rather not hurt you, if I could. But until you let Rory and the Doctor go, I'm _more_ than willing to give you all a little cut."

I shifted the sword around at them all, watching as they backed up, only for one of them to charge again. I sighed with a roll of my eyes and parried the blow, turning him around and kicking the back of his legs before another came forward with a weighted rope.

"Oh, now that's cheating." I whined, before Amy shouted from behind me.

"Alex, duck!"

I did so, just as she flew over my head and kicked one man in the head before slashing at another and landing on top of a barrel. I, instead, headed over towards the Doctor and the captain, tilting my head a bit as I leveled my sword with his throat and smiling innocently.

"Would you mind letting him go? I'd rather you didn't end up like your friend over there."

"You have killed me." The crew man said in resignation.

"No way. It's just a cut." Amy replied. "What kind of rubbish pirates are ya?"

Avery backed away from the Doctor like I asked and explained. "One drop. That's all it takes. One drop of blood and she'll rise out of the ocean."

"Come on. I barely even scratched him. What are you all in such a huff about?"

She swung towards one of the men, but he grabbed her and Rory rushed out to grab the cutlass, but it cut him instead.

"Ow! Argh!" He stopped though as the Doctor and I approached; still cautious of the pirates who were now holding the two of them captive. "Uh, Doctor?" He held up his hand and pointed to the black spot. "W-What's happening to me?"

"She can smell the blood on your skin. She's marked you for death." Avery explained, coming up behind us and making me move towards the side of the ship with the Doctor, sword still raised in defense.

"She?" Rory questioned.

"A demon out there in the ocean."

"Okay. Groovy. So not just pirates today. We've managed to bagsy a ship where there's a demon popping in." The Doctor went over to Rory and looked at his hand as he laughed. "Very efficient. I mean, if something's going to kill you, it's nice that it drops you a note to remind ya. Alex, you can drop the sword now." He said, patting Rory's cheek as I shrugged and tossed the cutlass overboard.

Just then though, singing started up, and one of the pirates spoke in worry.

"Quickly now. Block out the sound."

The other pirate who'd been cut covered his ears, but Rory and the Doctor were confused.

"What?"

"The creature." The captain explained. "She charms all her victims with that song."

"Oh great. So put my fingers in my ears? That's your plan?" Rory questioned in disbelief, myself turning to him with a dead serious look.

"Do as he said, Rory."

"Alex, come on." He scoffed. "Let's go, Doctor. Let's get back to the uh… back to the, uh…"

Him and the other crew member started giggling and I sighed.

"The music. It's working on him. Look." One man said as Rory hung on a rope and leaned towards Amy with a grin.

"You are so beautiful."

"What?" She said, looking around in embarrassment.

"I love your get up. That's great. You should dress as a pirate more often. Hey, hey. Cuddle me, shipmate."

"Rory, stop." She demanded as he wrapped his arms around her neck.

"Everything is totally brilliant, isn't it? Look at these brilliant pirates. Look at their brilliant beards. I'd like a beard." He flopped against the other pirate and nodded. "I'm going to grow a beard."

"You're not." Amy denied.

He then turned to me, making me stiffen as he grinned. "Alex! You're so nice to me!" He came over and hugged me as I awkwardly pat his back. "Amy and the Doctor are so mean. You beat them up for me, okay? 'N tell the Doctor he needs to love you more. Like Amy and me." He said, stepping back and turning to the other giggling pirate and hanging off him with a chuckle. "Heh, beards."

_Well, that was weird._

"The music turns them into fools." Avery said as Amy gasped.

"Oh my God."

We all turned to see the ocean lighting up and a figure shot out of it, landing on the deck to reveal a woman singing. The one crew member pushed past us and we only half-heartedly tried to stop him in our shock as he reached out and touched her finger; letting out a scream before disappearing into dust. Rory was trying to go too, but Amy and I were keeping a good hold on him.

"I have to touch her. Let me touch her." Rory called out as Amy moved forward; leaving me with the struggling idiot.

"Sorry, but he is spoken for." Amy snarled at the apparition, who screeched and turned red; throwing Amy backwards and into me.

I felt my head crack against something and spots quickly filled my vision, which was now shifting in and out of focus as someone called out.

"Alex!… into the hold!… Come on!… Help her!"

I felt someone helping me up and bringing me down somewhere. My boots sloshed through the water as I held my head with a groan, trying to focus my vision as the drumming increased to try and cover up the pounding headache that was forming.

"What is that thing?!" Amy shouted, making my head twinge in pain as I was set down on a crate by her.

"The legend. The siren. Many a merchant ship laden with treasure has fallen prey to her. She's been hunting us ever since we were becalmed, picking off the injured." Avery explained as one of his crew members spoke.

"Like a shark. A shark can smell blood."

"Okay." The Doctor said, his voice nearing me. "Just like a sharks, in a dress. And singing. And green! A green singing shark in an evening gown."

"The ship is cursed!"

"Yeah, right. Cursed is big with humans. It means bad things are happening but you can't be bothered to find an explanation."

"Blood pressure." I breathed out, scolding him, before I felt his hands on the side of my head; my body not functioning enough to do more than put my hands on his arms weakly.

"Alex. Alex, look at me."

I lifted my head, but my vision was kind of fuzzy and everything was moving oddly, making me dizzy, so I closed my eyes.

"Alex, you may have a concussion." He said in worry, one of his hands checking the back of my head, and causing me to hiss in pain as he touched a particularly tender spot. "Sorry. So sorry… Oh dear."

I wearily opened my eyes to find him looking at me in worry and a bit of blood on his fingers. My mind decided to work at that moment and I groaned, putting a hand to my face as I saw the black spot on the other.

"_Great_."

"Alex, I want you to let me know the moment you stat feeling funny, alright?" He told me, holding my head and making me frown as I pushed his hands away.

"Fine. Fine. Just… no hands on my head." I muttered, furrowing my brows as I tried to remember what happened next that was important; not really paying any attention to what I was saying. "The drums cause enough problems without you giving me flashbacks."

"The drums… Alex, how long has it been?"

"I don't…" I struggled to think, feeling something strange starting to well up in me. "A week and a half? I-I don't… I can't think right."

"It's okay. It's fine. Don't push yourself. We'll figure it out. Promise." He said, but that feeling was getting worse and I slowly started to recognize what it was.

"No. No, I-I need to think. Something… There's something I'm missing. Something important. Heh… Heh heh." I began giggling and my mind grew even more muddled, as I fell into the anesthetic of the siren.

* * *

Once Alex had begun giggling, the Doctor's heart sank. He was supposed to protect her. He was supposed to be proving he loved her here, and she'd not only saved him, but had also fallen prey to the siren. He let her get hurt and that was hardly showing how much he cared for her.

"Oh, Alex." He whispered softly, taking her hand and running his thumb over it as she continued to laugh.

"We have to leave, right now." Amy told him, and for once, he agreed.

"That thing of yours really is a ship?" Avery questioned.

"Well, it's not propelled by the wind." The Doctor mumbled, standing up, but not letting go of Alex's hand.

Avery raised his gun. "Show me. Weigh anchor. Make it sail."

"And the gun's back. You're big on the gun thing, aren't you. Freud would say your compensating."

"Pft, ahaha!" Alex laughed. "Compensating! Rory, Rory, did you hear? H-He's compensating!"

As glad as the Doctor was for amusing Alex, he knew that they really needed to go and now was not the time for jokes.

Another crew member spoke up then. "Leave the cursed ones, captain. The creature can have them."

"Yes, please." Rory said, all for it, but the Doctor felt anger welling up in him and faced the captain sternly.

"I am _not_ leaving Alex. Not for a second. So—"

"Doctor, Doctor!" Alex grinned, tugging on his sleeve to get his attention, and he rolled his eyes.

"Not now, Alex."

"Ooh, but it's so funny!" She said as she tapped her temple. "I remembered! The… The um… important thing! The thing that I was forgetting with the giggling and compensation. Heheh, compensation."

The Doctor gave her a look, suddenly curious as to what she remembered. "Alex, what did you remember?"

She waved a hand, telling him to come closer and he leaned over so she could whisper it to him.

"_Leeches_."

He pulled back with a confused frown, mouthing the word as she nodded; before it clicked and his eyes widened. "Everyone out of the water!"

He tugged on Alex's hand and pulled her up onto a barrel as everyone scrambled out of the water; but it was too late.

"It's a leech!" Amy shouted, pointing to the crew member who had been talking about leaving Alex and Rory behind.

He pulled it off, but it left a spot of blood behind, making him pale. "It's bitten me. I'm bleeding."

He held up his hand to show them the black spot and the Doctor frowned.

"She want's blood. Why does she want blood?"

"What were you saying about leaving the cursed ones behind?" Amy challenged as the Doctor spoke.

"It's okay. We're safe down he—"

Alex began laughing again and he turned to her, wondering if perhaps, Alex was still in there thinking away and if she had figured something else out.

"Alex, what is it?"

"Safe, pft." She chuckled, making everyone stiffen. "It's not in the ocean. It's in the water~"

She pointed down at the calm water, kicking her legs back and forth like a child, just as the siren flew up out of it and began singing.

"Oh, ah. Hello again." The Doctor stuttered out, pulling Alex away from her as the siren raised a hand.

"Ooh, she's so pretty." Alex murmured, pulling against the Doctor, who was actually having a somewhat difficult time pulling her away from the creature and couldn't help the other crew member who went forward and reached for her.

"No! No! No!"

He touched her and disappeared, leaving only his hat behind as the Doctor and the others scrambled to the other room where there was no water and only food with hammocks here and there. The Doctor, who'd grabbed a hat and plopped it on his head, locked the door and pushed Alex away from it as Amy held Rory back and questioned.

"Safe?"

"I have my good days and my bad days." The Doctor excused himself.

"How did she get in?" Avery questioned and the Doctor raised Alex's hand as she chuckled.

"It's like Alex said." He poked his head around the other side of her and using his sonic to scan the hat he picked up. "It was the bilge water. She was using the water like a portal, a-a-a door. She can materialize through a single drop. We need to go somewhere with no water."

"Well, thank God we're not in the middle of the ocean." Amy said sarcastically and Alex made a finger gun, pointing it at her.

"Pow."

The Doctor pushed her hand down and she pouted, as Rory drunkenly spoke.

"Did you see her eyes? Like crystal pools."

"You are in enough trouble." Amy scolded him as Alex nodded to Rory, who grinned. "Alex, stop encouraging him."

She made the finger gun again and the Doctor frowned, putting on the hat he had and wondering why she kept doing that, when Avery spoke up.

"The magazine."

"What?" Amy questioned and the Doctor smacked himself in the face.

"Of course! God, Alex has been helping us this whole time!" He said, grabbing her face and kissing her, before smiling down at the beaming woman. "You're brilliant."

"Uh, Doctor? Not to ruin your moment, but mind explaining it to me?" Amy said, giving him a look and he flushed a little in embarrassment.

"Right. Sorry. He means the armory where the powder's stored. That's why Alex kept making the finger gun." He held up his own in emphasis as Avery nodded.

"It's dry as a bone."

"Good. Let's go there." The Doctor stood up, but Avery drew his gun again.

"I give the orders."

He stopped. "Ah. Worried because I'm wearing a hat now?"

Alex then stole the hat off him and put it on, pulling the Doctor after her and shoving Avery's gun aside fearlessly.

"Now _I'm_ the captain! Heave ho, men! Onwards to the armory!"

The Doctor chuckled, helplessly being pulled along after her and called out over his shoulder. "Nobody touch anything sharp!"

A crew member went in front of them, digging through his keys, but he was taking too long.

"Quickly man." Avery hurried him, but he was panicking.

"I can't find the key. Tis gone, Cap'n."

"How can it have gone?" The man questioned as Alex pulled the Doctor to the door and kicked it open.

"Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!" She shouted with a laugh, heading in before everyone else as the Doctor turned to Avery.

"Someone else had the same idea."

Once they were inside, Alex sat on a barrel beside Rory, humming 'A Pirate's Life For Me' with her legs swinging back and forth as Avery gave out the orders and a man grabbed a lantern.

"Barricade the door. Careful of that lantern. Every barrel is full of powder."

"Who's been sleeping in my gun room." The Doctor muttered, looking for whoever could have taken the key.

There was a cough then and Avery put his gun away to open up a barrel, revealing a little sickly boy, who he abruptly pulled out and held up against the wall.

"You _fool_! You fool, boy! What are you doing here?"

"Who is he? What, he's not one of the crew?" The Doctor asked, making Avery pause.

"No. He's my son." The man put the boy down and they both sat next to one another to talk. "What in God's name possessed you, boy? Your mother will be searching for you." The boy made a face and Avery quickly understood what had happened. "When?"

"Last winter… Fever… She told me all about you. How you were a Captain in the Navy. 'An honorable man', she said. How I'd be proud to know you." He coughed. "I've come to join your crew."

"I don't want you here."

"You can't send me back. It's too late. We're a hundred miles from home."

"It's dangerous here. There is a monster aboard… She leaves a mark on men's skin."

"The black spot?" The boy showed his own palm, where the black spot laid; confusing the men as Avery looked it over and the boy coughed.

The group moved away and Avery began pacing as Rory looked at the spot on his hand along with Alex; who poked at it with quiet giggles.

"There's nothing wrong with the boy." Avery said. "He has no scars."

"Yep. Ignore my last theory." The Doctor muttered.

"He has his good days and his bad days." Amy quoted him from earlier.

"It's not just blood." The Doctor explained. "She's coming for all the sick and wounded. Like a hunter chooses the weakest animal."

"Okay, look. He's got fever. The siren knows it." Amy explained, seeing how the Doctor's words could be offensive.

"Humans. Second rate. Damage too easily. It's only a matter of time before everyone gets bruised. My ship. It can sail us all away from here. You and me, we fetch it." The Doctor said, patting the man and standing as he pulled out his gun once more. "Let's go…"

"You're not the Captain here, remember."

"Ah!" Alex suddenly called out. "The water!"

The Doctor turned to her as she pointed at Toby, who popped open the barrel with water in it; only for an arm to pop out and screech. Quickly, the Doctor rushed past and slammed the lid back on it, using his sonic screwdriver to seal it closed.

"The water's dangerous. That's how she gets through." Avery scolded his son. "One touch of her hand and you're a dead man."

"We're all cursed if we stay aboard."

"It's not a curse." The Doctor said sternly. "Curse means game over. Curse means we're helpless. We are _not_ helpless. Captain, what's our next move?" He asked Avery, giving the man the lead since he wanted it so badly.

"We go get your ship." He said, draping a silver necklace over the boy's neck and giving orders to his crew. "Wait with the boy."

"Captain, we're all in danger here."

"I said wait. And barricade the door after we've gone."

"Sure you want to go?" Amy asked the Doctor, gesturing over to Alex.

"We have to get Rory, Alex, and Toby away. She's out there now, licking her lips, boiling a saucepan, grating cheese."

"Silly, silly, Doctor." Alex hummed looking down at her hand as she wiggled the fingers sticking out of her cast. "Lady's not bad. She's trying to help. Nice lady… Sort of."

The Doctor ignored her ramblings to be that of whatever drug was in her system and Amy nodded to him.

"Okay. Well, remember. If you get an itch, don't scratch to hard."

"We've all got to go sometime… There are worse ways than having your face snogged off by a dodgy mermaid." He said, not seeing how their faces changed at his words and he pat Rory's shoulder before turning to Alex and brushing some of her unruly hair back. "You be good, Alex. Give them hints if they need it. Be safe."

She nodded and looked up at him, before smiling and wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him; surprising him a bit as she pulled away. "Love you, Spaceman."

He smiled, giving her another quick peck. "Love you too, Alex."

He then turned and headed out with the Captain who quickly pocketed his gun.

"You want to draw lots for who's in charge then?"

"Darkness? Demon? You can have first go."

Avery saw the logic in that and started walking through the room, only to stumble. He got lucky though, and the Doctor grabbed him before he could slam his hand on a protruding nail.

"Nearly."

"Phew." The Doctor said in relief, patting his shoulder as they headed for the Tardis.

"So what do you and that other mate have going on then? It's odd seeing a couple of blokes doing that sort of thing, though I can't say I haven't seen it before." Avery questioned the Doctor, who took a moment before he realized what mistake the man had made.

"Oh, you mean Alex? She's actually, well… A she." He explained, earning a raised brow from the Captain. "Hard to tell for some, but she's always been like that and I don't mind. Not that I wouldn't mind seeing her all dressed up, but that isn't who she is, so I let her have her own way."

"She's… different. That's for sure." The captain remarked. "Though, I can't say in a bad way. She's got some fire in her. I'd hate to see how she is 'round the house. Must be a handful."

"Oh, you have no idea."

* * *

I was slowly coming back to reality and was currently frowning because I _think_ I did something completely stupid and embarrassing, but I couldn't for the life of me remember what I'd done. Rory wasn't much better though and was currently noticing how upset Amy was.

"What's wrong?"

"'The most beautiful thing you've ever seen'?" She said back, apparently quoting him, and he groaned.

"Oh, tell me I didn't really say that."

She chuckled though, obviously amused, and I raised my hand, leaning over into their view.

"Did _I_ say anything stupid and ridiculous, because I get the feeling that I did, but I can't remember and it's _very_ frustrating."

She gave me a nod. "Oh yeah. You kept giggling over the Doctor's joke on a gun being compensation, you shot me twice with a finger gun, you two kissed at least twice, and you keep making 'Pirates of the Caribbean' references."

I groaned. "We kissed _twice_?"

Amy rolled her eyes. "Really now. _That's_ what you're focusing on? That's normal!"

"For _future_ me, anyway." I countered, waving my hands dramatically. "I-I can't even focus without his big ol' head popping up, much less get used to the whole kissing thing."

"Well, you're going to sooner or later, because you two are _quite_ the touchy couple."

"Great." I groaned, just as a clatter caught our attention and we turned to the men who were moving the barrels blocking the door.

"What's going on?" Amy questioned and one of the men frowned over at us.

"We're not staying here to mollycoddle the boy. The Captain's gone soft. It's time for us to leave."

"I'm sure he'll remember that when you guys next dock." I muttered quietly under my breath as Toby stood up.

"He told you to wait, you dog. He's your Captain, a Naval Officer. You're honor-bound to do as he tells you."

"Honor-bound? Do you know what kind of ship this is? Do you know what your father does?"

"And here we go." I rolled my eyes, knowing what was going to happen next.

"Don't listen to him, Toby." Amy said, pulling him gently away from the pirates.

"We sail under the black flag. The Jolly Roger."

"Liar! He's no wicked pirate!" The boy shouted, Rory and Amy holding the boy back.

"Oh, you think so? I have seen your father gun down a thousand innocent men."

"Ah, pirates." I hummed, leaning back to rest against some barrels as I flipped a gold coin I'd found in the air. "The business actually gets quite popular in the next few years and they start making more money that they could have otherwise. If it weren't for the whole, cutting down people thing, I'd say it's a great job."

"_Alex_." Amy hissed and I frowned over at her.

"What? Don't you think it's kind of silly to lie to the kid? Kids are smart. They catch things other people don't, so he'll figure it out himself sooner or later. Better just get right out with it and be honest, if you ask me." I complained, still sulking over the stupid things I'd done while drugged by the siren.

Just then though, Toby grabbed a cutlass and pointed it at the two men.

"You're going to remain at your post."

"I am not playing games with you, boy. You put that down." The man growled, eyeing the sword warily.

"One more step and I'll use this, you blaggard."

"You don't know how to fight with a cutlass, boy."

"I do!" I waved with a grin, only to be ignored.

"Don't need to, do I." Toby lurched forward and managed to cut the man's hand, making it so that he _had_ to stay now.

I felt my shoulder stiffen a bit and I frowned, rubbing it to get the kink out of it, but it remained and I sighed; speaking quietly to myself.

"Is now _really_ the time to be sulking, Sexy?"

"You little swabber!" The crew member shouted at Toby, obviously angry that he can't make his escape.

"Congratulations. You made it to the menu. Probably shouldn't go out there now." Amy said, sounding a little proud for what the boy had done.

"You scurvy ape!" He pulled out a gun and I went to stop him, but Rory did that first.

"Don't shoot. The powder will blow and kill us all."

The other pirate took the man's keys.

"Mulligan, what're you doing?"

He ignored the man and hurried out the door as Amy spoke.

"No honor among pirates."

The crew member before us put his gun away and quickly began rebuilding the barricade, needing it now that he too had a spot. It was then though, that my shoulder flared up with pain and I grunted, with a frown.

"Really? A tantrum now? God, what are you, _five_?" I whispered as Amy turned to me.

"You alright, Alex?"

I rolled my eyes as the ache slowly subsided. "Yeah, no. Just the Tardis being a pain, is all. We _might_ not be heading back home as soon as you thought."

"What do you mean?"

I nodded towards the door. "The Doctor will explain. Kind of. Give him a minute."

I spotted Toby polishing the medallion his father had given him and I held my hand out.

"Can I see that?"

He frowned, hesitant. "What for?"

I shrugged. "Just curious. It's some kind of ward, right? Keeps the siren away or something?"

He nodded and passed it to me as I breathed on the flat surface on the back, fogging it up. Just in time too, because the Doctor and Avery began pounding on the door.

"Amy! Open the door!"

"Toby, open the door! Toby!"

"Open the door!"

"Toby!"

Amy and Rory hurried over and pulled the barrels away, allowing the two men to come in; the Doctor making a beeline towards Toby, only to stare at him in question.

"What? Where—"

"Doctor." I called out, fogging up the medallion with my breath still. "You really are having a bad day today, aren't you?"

He turned to me and let out a relieved sigh, giving Avery a thumbs up as I fogged it up one last time and passed it to him.

"God, I just can't—"

He grabbed my face and pulled me in for a kiss, deepening it as I responded back, before he pulled away; bopping my nose with a finger.

"_You_, are absolutely brilliant."

"T-Thanks?" I said back, thoroughly embarrassed and red in the face before he rushed out of the room.

Amy chuckled at me and I frowned at her.

"Oh, shut it."

"You can't tell me you didn't enjoy it." She countered, making my face heat up even more.

"S-So? I-I-I love him." I muttered, pouting and crossing my arms over my chest. "I'm allowed to like the things he does."

"But I thought you two were fighting?"

"W-Well, I-I think he's proved it enough, don't you? I-I-I'll just have to keep an eye on him, is all." I gave in. "But don't tell him. I won't hear the end of it if he finds out. And besides, it's fun to watch him run around in circles and wear himself out."

I smiled a bit and Amy shook her head with her own smile, just before the Doctor and Avery returned.

"So? What's the plan then?" Amy asked.

"We wait."

"Just wait?" Rory questioned the Doctor in disbelief as he paced.

"Not my most dynamic plan, I realize."

"Tardis?" Amy questioned. "Alex's shoulder was hurting and she said you'd explain."

He gave me a glance and I stuck out my tongue at him as he tried to come up with an excuse.

"It's been towed."

"What?"

I sighed and got her attention. "She threw a tantrum because she couldn't figure out where she was at, so she ran off."

"You're kidding."

"Sorry." The Doctor apologized. "We might be stuck here for a while."

"So you're saying that we should all just wait here below?" Rory asked, not liking this plan, obviously.

"The sea is calm, like a mirror. If you go out on deck, she'll rise up and attack you." Avery explained.

"It's okay. The calm won't last forever. When the wind picks up, we'll all set sail."

"Until it does, you have to hide down here."

I knew it was going to be a while and sighed, making myself comfortable on my barrels and trying to find something to do to distract myself. The Doctor headed out to look at the stars and eventually, Amy and Rory fell asleep. I couldn't though. I was thinking. I was thinking about what I was going to do now that I recognized my feelings for the Doctor and he in return. Could I change anything with River and him getting married? I figured I couldn't, remembering the silver wedding band the Twelfth Doctor wore. So I changed my thoughts to something else.

What was I going to do about the drumming? It didn't seem like it'd ever go away and, like the Doctor said, it was a scar on my mind. It will always be there, because it was impossible to heal, but I've forced it back before. To the back of my head, where it was quieter, background noise that I'd virtually forgotten about and I wondered if there was a way I could do that more permanently. _But then what would happen when I bump into him again? I haven't yet, but I know it'll happen eventually._ I sighed and turned my mind to something else. _I need a better stress reliever. Or I need to go to the Tardis gym more often. Maybe I can take up a new hobby. Something to distract myself. Painting?… Nah, I'm no good at that. Writing? But what would I write about? And I technically already do that with my black book; writing in the stuff that I've changed and such. Maybe I should start up fencing again. Challenge the Doctor a time or two. Or drown in the Tardis library in an ocean of books. _I closed my eyes with a small smile, opening them slowly to look up at the ceiling. _Loose myself in someone else's world. Become a different person with my own adventures._

"Ah!"

I glanced over at Amy as she gasped and panted, remembering that this was when she saw the eye patch lady, and she turned to me with an apologetic look on her face.

"S-Sorry, did I wake you?"

"Nah. I haven't slept yet. Can't, really. Too much on the mind."

"Oh… You really should try though." She told me, sitting up and being careful not to wake Rory beside her. "You're always telling us how hard it is for you to sleep sometimes. And some days you'll pop up with bags under your eyes or you collapse at the end of an adventure completely exhausted."

"Sorry…" I said, not realizing how my exhaustion might worry others. "I'll try to do better on that. It's hard, but… I'll try."

"The Doctor helps."

"What?" I turned to her in confusion.

"You told me that before." She explained. "You said that when you're with the Doctor, you sleep better."

"Hm…" I hummed thinking back to when it did help. "Yeah, probably." I sat up then and stretched, feeling my back pop as I did before relaxing and tossing a thumb towards the door. "How about we go find him? He should be in the captain's cabin at this point, and there's a nice view from there. Seeing as we probably won't be sleeping anytime soon."

She nodded and got up, grabbing a coat and walking out with me. Sure enough, the Doctor was there fiddling with something before placing it back on the table.

"Doctor?" Amy called out, but he shushed her.

"Sh."

"What can you see?" She asked.

"Feels like something's out there, staring straight at me." He said quietly and I hummed.

"Could be. You never know until you're on the other side of the glass."

Thunder cracked then and the ship groaned as it tilted slightly; making the Doctor shout out loudly.

"Man the sails!"

Rolling my eyes at his overreacting, I nodded to Amy, gesturing to the stairs. "Come on. Best get up there to 'man the sails'."

She nodded and we headed upstairs onto the deck as the Doctor dragged a tired Rory and Toby up as well. Rain pelted down in buckets on top of us and the ship rocked violently in the waves as Avery shouted at us through the noise of the storm.

"To the rigging, you dogs! Let go the sails! Avast ye! Put the bunt into the slack of the clews!"

"I swear he's making half this stuff up!" Amy shouted as I laughed.

"Oh, it makes perfect sense if you know the words!"

"Well, we're going to need some kind of phrase book!" Rory called out, also not understanding a word he said as we all heaved on ropes to let the sails down; the Doctor trying to steer.

"Toby! Find my coat! My compass is inside it, boy!" He called out to the boy, before turning to us. "Heave ho, you bilge rats!"

"Rats was all I could hear!" Rory called out, just as the crown tumbled out of Avery's coat Toby was carrying and all eyes went to him in disbelief.

"You just couldn't do it, could you?!" I shouted, just before the siren came out of the crown and stood before Toby with her hand out.

"Don't let her take you!" Avery called out to him as my mind went sort of foggy and I too, approached her. "No!"

"Alex!"

The boy disappeared with a scream as Avery fell to his knees and just as the Doctor ran forward to stop me, my fingers touched the siren and I too, disappeared.

"_Alex!_"

* * *

The Doctor threw the offending object over the railing and out into the ocean as ferocious anger welled up within him and Avery apologized.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"You couldn't give up the gold, could you?" The Doctor snarled, grabbing the man by the front of his coat and heaving him up off the floor in his fury. "That's why you turned pirate! Your commission, your wife, your son! Just how much is that treasure worth to you?! You just killed my _wife_!"

"Rory!" Amy's call made the Doctor turn around and drop the Captain to the deck as he hurried up to the panicking woman. "I can't see him! Doctor, I'm going in!"

"He's drowning!" The Doctor shouted back, stopping her. "He's drowning! You go in after him, you'll drown too! There's only one thing that can save him now!"

"What are you talking about?!"

"The siren! The siren! She wants him! We have to release her!" He called out, hurrying down the steps with Amy following.

"Doctor, no!"

He opened a barrel of water and the siren came out of it as he shouted at her.

"He's drowning! Go find him!"

The siren dived into the sea and Amy turned to him in shock.

"What did you do?!"

"If he stays in there he'll die!"

"But she'll destroy him!"

"That thing isn't just a ravenous hunter! It's intelligent! We can reason with it and maybe, just maybe, they're still alive somewhere! We have to follow!"

"Are you mad?!" Avery questioned him as they surrounded the barrel.

"If we ever want to see them again, we have to let the siren take us. We'll prick our fingers. All agreed? Yeah?" He asked, holding his hand out.

"Aye." Avery said, putting his hand on the Doctor's.

"Aye." Amy followed.

"Aye." The Doctor finished, and he pricked everyone's fingers; the siren flying out of the barrel and taking them all.

The three of them woke up on the metal floor of some sort of spaceship and Amy was the first to ask.

"Where are we?"

"We haven't moved." The Doctor explained, looking through a window showing the captain's cabin of the ship they had previously been on. "We're in exactly the same place as before."

"We're on a ghost ship."

"No. It's real. Space ship trapped in a temporal rift." He smacked himself then, realizing something. "She did it again!"

"What?"

"Alex." He said, waving a hand at Amy. "Remember when I said I thought something was watching us? Remember what she said? 'You never know until you're on the other side of the glass'. She's been giving us hints this whole time! God, I need to listen to her more." He grumbled, making Amy roll her eyes.

"Okay, spaceman. How can two ships be in the same place?"

"Not the same. Two planes. Two worlds. Two cars parked in the same space. There are lots of different universes nested inside each other. Now and again, they collide, and you can step from one to the other."

"Okay. I think I understand."

"Good, because it's not like that at all. But if that helps."

"Thanks." She grumbled.

"All the reflections have suddenly become gateways." He picked up a piece of metal from off the floor and threw it. It landed with a clatter on the deck outside the window, showing that he was right. "Ever look in a mirror and think you're seeing a whole other world? Well, this time, it's not an illusion."

There was a couple of beeps and they all started walking away from the window as Amy spoke.

"The signal."

"Yes."

"The distress call."

"Uh-huh."

"There was a second ship here all the time."

"And the siren is on board." The Doctor said, as singing echoed through the ship.

He opened a door and they all jolted back at the alien visage that stared out at them.

Avery even drew his gun in his fear, but the Doctor pushed his hand down.

"Dead."

They moved past it and walked into the bridge, finding another corpse.

"You and Alex were right. There was something staring at us the whole time. How long has this ship been marooned here?"

"Long enough for the captain to have run out of grog." Avery commented, but Amy was lost.

"I don't understand. If this is the captain, then what's the siren?"

"Same as us. A stowaway." the Doctor said, scanning the corpse with his sonic screwdriver.

"She killed it?"

He looked at the results, ignoring her question yet answering it. "Human bacteria."

"What?"

"A virus from our planet. Airborne, traveling through the portal. That's what killed it. Didn't get its _jabs_." He had leaned his hand into something and made a disgusted face as he waved his hand around. "Urgh, look!"

"What is it?" Amy questioned.

"Sneeze! Alien boogies!" He tried to fling it off, but that wasn't working too well, so he wiped it on Amy's pirate coat and headed through another door.

Amy, took one look at her shoulder where he wiped it, and quickly decided that it'd probably be best to forget about it for now, before following the Doctor. They entered the room together and the Doctor quickly pulled out his sonic screwdriver to scan the place as Avery held his gun out; the group of them looking around in shock at the bodies hovering on metal beds.

"McGrath. He's one of my men." Avery said, recognizing one man.

"He's still breathing."

"My entire crew is here. Toby!" Avery rushed over to the boy as Amy spotted someone else.

"Rory!"

"The Tardis!" The Doctor shouted, rushing over to a set of clear curtains and pushing them away to see his blue box, hugging it and leaning back against it until he spotted someone else. "Alex!"

He hurried over to the red-head, finding her in much the same condition as the others; hooked up to tubes and unconscious.

"We have to get them out of here." Avery said and the Doctor hesitated leaving Alex's side, but he hurried over to the boy and scanned him.

"Wait. His fever's gone."

He went over to Rory next.

"He looks so well." Amy said, confused.

"She's keeping him alive. His brain is still active, but all its cellular activity is suspended." He went over to Alex and scanned her too, just to be sure, letting out a sigh of relief before looking at her hand and comparing the black spot to a place card he'd picked up. "It's not a curse. It's a tissue sample. Why get samples of people you are about to kill?"

"Help me get him up." Amy said and they both went over and began to unhook Rory from the tubes, only to hear beeping; quickly followed by singing.

"She's coming."

He waved a hand for everyone to hide and Avery and Amy hurrying over with him to hide behind some monitors, where they watch as Rory started to wake up. Thing was, he was gasping for breath and shaking as the siren came over, calming him and putting him back asleep.

"Anesthetic." The Doctor muttered.

"What?" Avery questions.

"The music. The song. So she anesthetizes people and puts their body in stasis." He said, the siren making her way to Toby.

Avery immediately went on the offensive though and stepped out, gun aimed at the siren.

"Avery, no!" The Doctor shouted, but the man shot at the siren; making her turn red and approach them angrily.

The Doctor moved away from the monitors and then sneezed, making the siren turn to him with fire shooting between her hands. He quickly panicked as he brought out a tissue to wipe his nose, rambling.

"Fire. That's new. What does fire do? Burn? Yes. Destroy? What else? Sterilize! I-I-I sneezed. I've brought germs in."

He quickly blew his nose into the tissue and threw it on the floor, the siren blasting it just as Amy ran over to Rory and began struggling with the tubing.

"Amy, stop. Don't interfere. Don't touch him." He called out to her as he tried to explain what he believe he'd just figured out. "Anesthetic, tissue sample, screen, sterile working conditions. Ignore all my previous theories!"

"Yeah? Well, we stopped paying attention a while back." Amy said, the siren approaching her now.

"She's not a killer at all. She's a doctor!"

Amy stopped and the siren turned green as the Doctor went on to explain further.

"Ah, I really need to pay more attention to the little things Alex says. She said it before. 'Lady's not bad. She's trying to help. Nice lady.' remember? This is an automated sickbay. It's teleporting everyone on board. The crew are dead and so the sickbay has had nothing to do. It's been looking after humanity whilst it's been idle. Look at her. A virtual doctor able to sterilize a whole room."

"Able to burn your face off." Amy said, not convinced.

"She's just an interface, seeped through the join between the planes, broadcast in our world. Protean circuitry means she can change her form, and become a human doctor for humans. Oh, sister, you are good." He smiled at the siren as Amy went to unhook Rory from the life-support again, only for the siren to turn red briefly and screech at her.

"She won't let us take them." Avery said, moving towards Toby again.

"She's keeping him alive, but she doesn't know how to heal them." The Doctor explained, but this didn't mean much to Amy.

"I'm his wife, for God's sake. Why can't I touch him?"

"Tell her, Amy. Show her your ring. She may be virtual but she's intelligent. You can't do anything without her consent." The Doctor grabbed her hand and showed it to the siren. "Come on. Sophisticated girl like you. That must be somewhere in your core program."

"Look, he's very ill, okay? I just want to look after him." Amy said, getting desperate. "Why won't you let me near my husband?"

The siren tilted her head before holding out her hand and a ring formed around it.

"Consent form. Sign it. Put your hand in the light. Rory's sick. You have to take full responsibility."

She does so and the siren disappeared, allowing Amy to move over and turn off the life-support. Problem was, Rory began gasping for air again and the Doctor stopped using his sonic.

"He can't breathe. Turn it back on."

Amy did so and he slumped back against the table again.

"What do we do? I can't just leave him here."

"He'll _die_ if you take him out." Avery said.

"Rory? Rory, wake up." Amy told him, brushing a hand across the side of his face and making the man groan.

"Where am I?"

"You're in a hospital. If you leave, you might die." The Doctor explained, giving Alex worried glances.

"But if you don't, you'll have to stay forever." Amy said, making him frown as he tried to think.

"Y-You're saying that if I don't get up now—"

"You can never leave."

"The siren will keep you safe." The Doctor promised.

"And if I come with you?"

"Drowning, on the point of death."

The Doctor moved away, going to check up on Alex and the moment he reached forward to pull a hand through her hair, the siren showed up; screeching and red. The Doctor frowned and reached in his shirt to pull out a simple silver wedding band on a chain, showing it to her.

"She's my wife. _Please_."

The siren hesitated and looked at Alex, seeing the lack of ring and the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Yes, well, I haven't told her yet. It's in her future. Look." He dug around in his coat pocket and pulled out another ring; this one also silver, but with a thin line of gold through the middle. "This is hers. I have it for safe keeping. Please, you have to let me take her."

The siren held out a hand with a ring lit up around it and he tucked the two rings away before setting his hand on hers to sign the consent form; making her disappear as he shut off Alex's life support and gently woke her up.

"Alex? You need to wake up now."

She scrunched her nose in annoyance, making him smile a bit before she rolled over onto the side and curled up slightly.

"Ten more minutes."

He shook his head before putting a hand on her arm, rubbing small circles on it with his thumb. "Alex, come on. We still have to help Amy and Rory."

"Fine." She grumbled, him helping her sit up before he led her to where Amy and Rory were; figuring she could help them better than he could; as he went to go inform Avery of the grave news.

"We have to send this ship back into space." He told the man. "Imagine if the siren got ashore. She would have to process every injured human."

"What about Toby?"

"I'm sorry. Typhoid fever. Once he returns, it's only a matter of time." The Doctor informed him seriously.

"What if I stay with him, here. The siren will look after him." He watched as the Doctor gave a slight nod. "I can't go back to England. And what home does he have now, if not with me?"

"Do you think you can sail this thing?" The Doctor asked with a small smile on his face.

"Just point me to the atom accelerator."

The Doctor gave him a short laugh and a friendly pat on the arm, before heading back over to where Amy, Rory, and Alex were waiting.

"I _know_ you can do this." Rory said. "Of course if you muck it up, I am going to be really cross. And dead."

Amy let out a soft laugh, Alex rubbing her back in comfort as the woman looked at her.

"Will he be okay?"

Alex sighed quietly. "I can't tell you everything, Amy."

"Alex, don't you start this now."

She shook her head though. "I can't tell you. If I tell you, then aren't you just doubting yourself? He _trusts_ you. With his _life_. So prove to him that you don't need me or my silly predictions to get things done."

Amy glared at Alex, but the Doctor could see that she understood what the woman had told her, and her glare softened as she turned back to Rory.

"I'll see you in a minute."

Rory took a deep breath and let it out, prepping himself for what he was about to go through and Alex stepped to the other side, giving the Doctor room to help Amy. With a nod from him, he ripped off the restraints and Amy shut off the life-support; Alex and the Doctor helping to carry the gasping man into the Tardis with Amy right beside them. Once there, they laid the now unconscious and technically dead Rory on the ground and Amy began CPR. The Doctor chewed on his thumb in nervousness and Alex took his hand in hers, surprising him, but he held it tightly and rubbed his thumb across the back as he leaned forward a bit.

"Come _on_. Come on, Rory. Not here. Not this way. Not today." He said, steadily getting louder as he pat the man's arm.

Amy did it again, but stopped. "He trusted me. He trusted me to save him." She turned a glare to Alex; the woman flinching under her gaze. "This is _your_ fault. Every time you don't tell us something, something bad always happens. And now Rory's going to die!"

Alex stayed silent, keeping her gaze locked on the floor, but the Doctor could feel how tightly she was holding his hand and knew that this was just as tough for her as it was for them. So the Doctor reached over to Amy and put an arm across her shoulders, trying to help encourage her and keep her from tearing into Alex any more.

"You still can. You can still do this. He believes in you. Come on, Amy. Come on!"

The woman continued, crying now as she begged Rory to wake up. The Doctor lowered his head as Amy stopped again, just crying now, but he felt Alex give his hand a squeeze; making him wonder if it was for comfort or if she was once again trying to tell him something. The Doctor rubbed Amy's shoulder, feeling Alex get up and walk off, just before Rory began violently coughing the water out of his lungs and taking gasping breaths. The Doctor felt his hearts skip a beat right there, so relieved that Rory was okay, and he got up and watched the two crying and hugging with a small smile one his face. It was then that he remembered Alex and he looked around the console room, only to not find her there. Amy had caught him looking around though and spoke up.

"Doctor? Everything alright?"

He turned to her with a stern frown on his face, angry at what she had said to Alex, even if she didn't mean it. She looked at him in shock and slight fear, before he turned away and took off his tweed jacket, tossing it onto the jump-seat, not having the words to describe how upset and worried he was.

"I'm going to find Alex. And you better apologize to her, Pond. Because what you said was more than uncalled for."

And with one last glare sent over his shoulder, he hurried off into the hallway to go find Alex, hoping that she hadn't popped off yet before he could help.

* * *

I sat on my bed cross-legged, hair still dripping water from the shower I'd just taken to get rid of the sticky feeling the seawater caused, and brushed my fingers over the area where the black spot had been. I heard the door click open and shut behind me, but didn't even flinch when the bed dipped and the Doctor sat beside me.

"Have you… Have you ever wondered if what you are doing is worth it?" I asked, continuing before he could give a response. "Everything changes. Time is always twisting and changing, and I worry that one day I may change something, change some miniscule event, and everything following that will go to hell. I'll save one life of some random person and they'll grow up to destroy the world because I saved them. Or millions of other people will die in their place because I wasn't thinking. Because they had a bigger part to play than I realized."

I wrung my hands together tightly, closing my eyes as I tried to push the drumming that had started up to the back of my head.

"I always try to tell myself that what I'm doing is right. That the people I save are good people and they won't do that. Or that staying quiet is the right thing to do, even if people get hurt because of it. Because ultimately, everything turns out okay." I held my hands out in front of me with a crooked smile on my face. "I-I just feel like I've lost who I am. I'm trying to do good things, but I'm just hurting people. People I care about. I'm allowing them to get hurt and making these choices like I'm some sort of God. A-And then people die. People I can't save and everyone comes after me, because I know these things. Because I knew they were going to die and I did nothing about it and for what? To save some plot line from a TV show?"

I chuckled bitterly and pulled a hand through my hair as I rested my elbows on my knees.

"And I'm stuck sitting there trying to convince myself that what I did was for the best. That letting that person die was the only way things could move on. I don't know that! I-I can't guess every possibility, every consequence that could happen if I saved someone. If I saved Rose back then. If I save Rory from being erased, if I save River in the library. I-I couldn't even save the Krafayis! O-Or Bob and the clerics! What harm would they have done if they lived? F-For all I know, just my being here is screwing everything up. I shouldn't even be in this world. I-I should've just stayed home with my boring job and my family a-a-and maybe then… maybe then I wouldn't of…"

I finally broke down into tears and choked sobs, my hands clutching my head and gripping at my short hair as I cried. The Doctor didn't say anything though. He just pulled me onto his lap and held me, rocking slightly back and forth and pressing gentle kisses into my hair as I clung to him and cried into his shirt.

"I-I'm sorry! I'm s-s-sorry I can't save anyone w-worth saving. T-That all I do i-i-is hurt people! I-I'm just one person! W-What am I supposed to do?! W-What do they expect me to do…"

I buried my face into his shoulder as he pressed his nose to the crook of my neck and held me tighter; finally speaking.

"You are so brave, Alexander, and so strong. I forget what to do with you sometimes. I forget how much you have to shoulder all on your own, because you hide it away so well. And I'm sorry that I won't always be there to help you. That my past versions don't understand what you're trying to do, and don't support you. I'm so sorry, Alexander. I wish there was something more I could say. I wish I could take all of this pain away from you, that we could share it and we do, in some ways. You carry my burden for me, and I hate that you've had to do that for me. I hate that you're willing to sacrifice so much for me again and again. Because I love you so much, Alexander." He muttered, kissing the side of my head as something wet dropped onto my neck.

He was crying too.

"I love you so much, and it hurts to see you having to carry all of this pain. To see you hide it away from everyone and letting them take out all their anger on you. You're trying so hard for us. Everyday. And you are the most human of humans I've ever met. Whether your biology is changing or has changed or hasn't even started changing yet. You push through every obstacle and continue to fight even when you're hurting and everything seems lost. And I love that about you. You remind me so much of myself, that I wonder why you weren't a Time Lord from the beginning. Why you and I couldn't have met before the Time War and just traveled the stars together. Two mad people in a box, just trying to live."

My sobs were dying down and exhaustion was settling in quickly, but I could hear the smile through his voice and I wondered what that would've been like. If neither of us were carrying the heavy burdens we were and had met each other, and gotten to know each other in the right order. Without the Time War, without the foreknowledge, without popping around from one version to the next. A quote suddenly came into my mind, making me smile a little as I turned my head to rest my nose against his neck.

"Just the two of us against the rest of the world." I breathed out, feeling myself drifting off to sleep as the Doctor pulled away the covers and laid me down in bed; kicking off his shoes and lying in front of me to run his fingers softly through my hair.

"We would be quite the team." He hummed with a small smile.

"Mm, thank you." I muttered, words slurring slightly.

"No, Alex." He said, his breath wafting over my face as I slipped off. "Thank _you_."

He kissed my cheek gently as everything started fading out.

"Thank you for loving someone like me."

* * *

Amy wandered down the hall towards Alex's room, feeling guilty after what she'd said and hoping that the Doctor would've helped a bit before she went in there to apologize. She knew Alex only did her best and that her foreknowledge of things could change things not always for the better, but she had always had a hard time imagining how much of a burden that placed on Alex. Especially when the woman always smiled through everything with jokes and odd history facts and such. It was hard to believe that the woman was just like her sometimes. Minus the second heart and changing biology. Amy sighed and as she approached Alex's door, before taking a deep breath and heading in. What she didn't expect to see, was said red-head sleeping with the Doctor lying across from her brushing his fingers through her hair as he stared down at her fondly.

The man looked up and spotted her, holding a finger to his lips to keep her quiet as Amy let out a quiet sigh and leaned in the door frame.

"I'm guessing that I won't be apologizing any time soon?"

"She's just tired. She's been through a lot lately." He said, and Amy looked away in guilt.

"I didn't mean it. What I said." She muttered. "I was just—"

"I know." He said, looking over at her. "And I'm sure Alex does too. We all say things we shouldn't when we're upset or scared or faced with something we don't understand. She probably knows that best." The Doctor smiled over at Amy then, surprising the red-head. "I'm sure she'd of forgiven you even before you said it. That's the kind of person Alex is."

"Uh-huh." Amy said, watching as the man went back to looking at Alex fondly. "Then you'll be happy to know she said you proved you loved her more than enough already."

The Doctor looked up in shock. "Really?"

Amy nodded, turning away, before she paused and looked over her shoulder at the couple. "Yeah. But… tell her I said sorry though. Okay?"

"I will." He said, and she walked out and rolled her eyes once she closed the door behind her.

_Those two seriously need to get rid of all that tension between them, or I swear I'll lock them both in a room together sooner or later._

* * *

**_Sneak Peak:_**

_"Ah! Oh, we've got excitation. I'm picking up something very strange."_

_I poked my head up and grinned upon seeing the familiar brown spiky hair of the Tenth Doctor, making my way up behind him and snatching the chocolate Easter egg that he'd given to the woman beside him._

_"I hope you're not talking about me." I chuckled, earning a surprised look from him, before a grin broke out on his face._

_"Oh, Alex, I could never be talking about you."_


	28. Planet of the Dead

**Here's the next chapter for you :) hope you guys like it! and thanks to all those who reviewed!**

* * *

I popped up lying on the back seat of some sort of double-decker bus, without my arm cast, and feeling better now that I'd had a chance to let everything out. I had stayed an extra day or two with Amy and Rory and the Eleventh Doctor, and had used that time to get in some exercise and food before I'd popped off again. I had been teasing the Eleventh Doctor too, so my clothes were a bit punkish—having found out he gets worried when I dress like a punk—but I personally didn't mind the torn up jeans with chains, the high top sneakers, white shirt and black leather jacket. I felt rather comfortable, actually, and perked up when I heard a familiar voice.

"Ah! Oh, we've got excitation. I'm picking up something very strange."

I poked my head up and grinned upon seeing the familiar brown spiky hair of the Tenth Doctor, making my way up behind him and snatching the chocolate Easter egg that he'd given to the woman beside him.

"I hope you're not talking about me." I chuckled, earning a surprised look from him, before a grin broke out on his face.

"Oh, Alex, I could never be talking about you." He pulled my head down and kissed me right there, before pulling away and holding up the gadget he had. "Have you seen my gizmo?"

I blinked at him, red creeping up my face from the kiss he'd just laid on me—in public, no less—and dropped my forehead onto the back of his seat.

"P-Please don't do that. A-A-At least not without a warning first."

He chuckled, flicking the top of my ear lightly. "Oh, I can't do that. Then I wouldn't get to see your ears turn red!"

"_Doctor_." I groaned, lifting my head and resting my chin on the back of his seat, waving a hand at the object in he was holding. "Stop teasing me and explain what's up with the gizmo."

He continued to grin happily as he shook it and pulled out a long antennae. "Rhondium particles. That's what I'm looking for. This thing detects them." He then began flicking the little dish on it. "The little dish should go round. That little dish there."

The woman beside him spoke before I could and I settled for checking through my black notebook to figure out where and when I was at. _Let's see. Bus… some rhodium gizmo… police…_ I looked up with furrowed brows, just realizing now that my ears were picking up the sound of police sirens. _Police?_ I glanced back and, sure enough, police were following us a ways back. I probably should've been concerned, but it wouldn't be the first time police were involved with the Doctor around, so I shrugged my shoulders and went back to my search. _Police… some new chick… Ah-ha! Here we go. This is right after…_ My face slowly slipped into a frown and I felt my heart ache for what had probably happened to Donna not too long ago. _But hasn't happened for me yet and the Doctor hasn't said anything... Focus, Alex. Focus on the here and now._ So I did, reading over my notebook to refresh my memory as to what was going to happen and if I would do anything.

I was still hesitant on that part. Technically, I could stay silent and do nothing, but the bus driver died in this episode. He might have a family, kids, grandkids even. Who am I to decided whether he lives or dies though? I put my book away, downtrodden by my own thoughts, when I spotted the Doctor standing; a woman in front of him scolding him.

"Excuse me, do you mind?"

"Sorry, that was my little dish." He apologized as Christina—the woman who he sat next to—got angry.

"Can't you turn that thing off?"

He turned to her. "What was your name?"

"Christina."

"Christina, hold on tight." He then sat down and turned to the other passengers as he gripped a pole. "Everyone, hold on!"

I did as he said and braced myself against the bus's side and the seat I was on, just as the bus jolted violently and continued to shake as sparks flew and windows broke.

"What's going on?!" I heard someone ask, just before a bright light filled the bus and I felt sick suddenly as my shoulder burned and I slid to the gap between the two seats until the shaking stopped and the burn in my shoulder went away. Light filled the bus now and I slowly pulled myself up and headed through the isle as the Doctor headed outside, mouth agape. Sand blew lightly across my face as I squinted and walked out with him.

"End of the line." He tucked his hands in his pockets and Christina came out behind me as I kicked at the sand a bit. "Call it a hunch, but I think we've gone a little bit further than Brixton."

Most of the other passengers came out of the bus too, shocked into silence, but I saw two others still sitting inside. I glanced at the Doctor, but he was still looking over the horizon, so I headed back in to see the older couple sitting there.

"I'm not going out there." The woman said. "They're still calling. All around us. The voices are crying."

"What voices, sweetheart?" The man asked her as I came closer.

"The dead. We're surrounded by the dead."

He went over and sat beside her, comforting her, before he caught sight of me and frowned. "And what do you want? Sitting here spying on us?"

I lifted my hands and shook them, a friendly smile on my face. "No, sorry. I didn't mean to spy on you and despite my appearance, I'm actually a good person. I was just curious, you know?" I gestured to the woman. "She's got a gift, yeah?"

The man furrowed his brows and nodded. "Yes. Since she was a little girl, she saw things."

I nodded and pointed to myself. "I'm kind of special too. Carmen, right? Carmen and Lou?"

The man was shocked, but nodded. "Yes, but how did you—"

"Special. Like I said." I smiled, heading over and putting a comforting hand on top of Carmen's. "This may sound odd, but I sort of know the future of certain events. This one in particular, so I kind of get what you're going through."

The woman turned to me and gave me a small smile and a nod as she looked at me; her eyes practically looking _through_ me. "You are such a kind soul." Her smile dropped though, into a sadder one. "But your gift comes with a price. Such a heavy price."

"But I'm strong." I said, managing to hold up my grin. "And I only make promises I can keep. So I just want to promise you that we'll be safe. Alright? Trust me?"

She nodded, though her husband was reluctant, and I bid them farewell as I headed back outside again. I spotted the Doctor off a ways playing in the sand with his glasses on, and Christina standing nearby. I then watched as she put on sunglasses and he sonicked his glasses to tint the lenses. I rolled my eyes. _Show off._ I took off my jacket and tossed it in through one of the broken windows as one of the passengers approached the Doctor angrily.

"And here we go." I muttered, heading over with the others as well.

"I saw you, mate. You had that, that thing. That machine. Did you make this happen?"

"Oh, humans on buses. Always blaming me." He complained, before holding his hands up in surrender before anyone else could make another claim. "Look, look. If you must know, I was tracking a hole in the fabric of reality. Call it a hobby. Alex here can vouch for me." He pulled me over and gave my shoulders a squeeze as I smiled and jabbed a finger in his ribs.

"Yup! He's weird though. I'll warn you all about that."

"Ow!" He complained, pouting. "I'm not weird."

I gave him a look and he sighed, reluctantly nodding.

"Aright, yeah, I can be a bit weird sometimes."

I continued to give him a look and he sighed.

"_Fine_. I'm weird most of the time."

I nodded and he cleared his throat, going back to what he'd been talking about as I crouched on the floor and picked up a hand full of sand, letting it fall through my fingers with a sad look. _Poor people. Didn't know what hit them until it was too late._

"The hole though, was a tiny little thing." The Doctor explained to the group. "No danger to anyone. Suddenly, it gets big, and we drive right through it."

"But then where is it? There's nothing. There's just sand." The driver questioned.

"Alright." The Doctor walked over to the back of the bus, the group and myself following. "You want proof? We drove through this." He took his own handful of sand and threw it into the air, causing a ripple to appear in the air.

"And that's…" Christina questioned.

"A door. A door in space."

"So, what you're saying is, on the other side of that is home? We can get to London through there?"

"The bus came through, but we can't." The Doctor said as I got ready to interfere with what was about to happen.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" The driver went to head towards the door and the Doctor panicked.

"No, no, no. Don't!"

"I'm going home, mates!"

"No, don't!" The Doctor shouted, just as I grabbed the man and flung him harshly to the ground; the man landing with an 'oof' and everyone looking at me in shock.

"W-What—"

I stared down sternly at the man before looking up at everyone else. "Before the rest of you get any stupid ideas, I want you all to look at the bus." I pointed at it and they all looked, timidly. "You see that damage? That bus was protecting us. You run through this thing…" I tossed a hand over my shoulder. "And you get all of that power thrown at you. You wanna know what'll happen? You'll _die_. Plain and simple. You end up as a pile of bones on the other side of that." I gave the man at my feet a look. "I'm sure your family would rather have you alive than dead."

"H-How did you know I had family?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Lucky guess." I walked away from him then and headed towards the bus; the passengers giving me a wide girth after that.

I felt bad about it, not really wanting to get on everyone's bad side, but I had to be a bit blunt or else they wouldn't of listened. _I just hope they get the hint and don't try anything stupid._ I sighed and pulled at my shirt, flapping it to try and cool myself off with the sun beating down on me like no tomorrow. _I'm definitely going to get sun-burnt. Pale complexion always came with a price and that was no tanning._ I sighed and started skimming through my black book once more, trying to figure out what the group did to move the bus so I could at least attempt to start.

"Gotta start digging first." I muttered quietly, heading for the tires and digging with my hands after finding nothing useful in my pockets.

I listened in though, to the group behind me, just keeping an ear out for anything I needed to know.

"So the bus was like a Faraday cage?" Christina questioned the Doctor, but another younger man spoke up.

"Like in a thunderstorm, yeah? Safest place is inside the car, because the metal conducts the lightning right through. We did it in school." He explained.

"But if we can only travel back inside the bus… The Faraday cage needs to be closed. That thing's been ripped wide open." The woman argued, but the Doctor gave it a look.

"Well, slightly different dynamics with a wormhole. There's enough metal to make it work, I think. I hope… Alex?"

I perked up at the sound of my name and looked over my shoulder with a nod. "Yup. It'll hold up."

He smiled at me kindly, nodding back and gesturing at me as I went back to digging. "There, see? Perfect."

Christina frowned. "Then we have to drive five tons of bus, which is currently buried in the sand, and we've got nothing but our bare hands, correct?"

"I'd say nine and a half tons, but the point still stands. Yes." The Doctor said, and she smiled.

"Then we need to apply ourselves to the problem with discipline." She started to dig through her bag. "Which starts with appointing a leader."

"Yes. At last. Thank you. So—"

"Well, thank goodness you've got me. Everyone do exactly as I say. Inside the bus immediately." Christina cut him off, taking charge, but the younger man was still hesitant.

"Is it safe in there?"

"I don't think anything's safe anymore, but if it's a choice between baking in there or roasting out here, I'd say baking is slower." She countered, turning to the others. "Come on. All of you. Right now." She turned to the Doctor then as I shook my head with a chuckle. "And you, the Doctor."

"Yes, ma'am." He said, heading in himself as I brushed off my hands of the sand and chuckled at him as I followed him onto the bus.

"What's wrong then? Get all your thunder stolen by some woman?"

He smirked at me, nudging my side with his elbow. "Happens all the time, I think. What with you around."

"Oh, I should think so."

We both chuckled and I happily sat beside him as Christina came in and began spouting out different 'points' that were to be remembered. I could hardly remember what she was blabbing to us and instead, settled myself down and re-read my black book on the episode until she got around to 'Point Six'.

"Team identification. Names. I'm Christina. This man is apparently the Doctor." She said, gesturing to him as he smiled at everyone and I smacked his feet from off the chair. "And beside him is…"

I perked up, taking off my own set of glasses and putting on a friendly smile, despite the shifty glances aimed my way. "Alexander Holmes. Just call me Alex."

"Alex then. And you?" She turned to the younger man from before, who waved a hand briefly with a hint of nervousness.

"Nathan."

"I'm Barclay." Said the man who'd accused the Doctor earlier.

"Angela. Angela Whittaker." The women who scolded the Doctor about the sparks from his dish said.

"My name's Louis. Everyone calls me Lou. And this is Carmen." The older man from the couple I spoke to earlier said, introducing himself and his wife.

"Ah, and I'm Burton Miller. Burney's fine though." The driver said, waving a hand around, though wincing upon catching my eye and quickly turning away.

"Excellent." Christina smiled. "Memorize those names. There might be a test. Point seven—"

I rolled my eyes and went back to my book, silently questioning how many of these points there were as she went on.

"—Assessment and application of knowledge. Over to you, the Doctor."

He gave her a look. "I thought you were in charge."

"I am. And a good leader utilizes her strength. You seem to be the brain box. You and your partner there. So, start boxing."

I raised a brow at being called his partner, but had to shift when he moved and sat on top of the seat we were on.

"Right. So, the wormhole. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was just an accident."

"No, i-it wasn't." Carmen argued. "That thing? The doorway? Someone made it for a reason."

"How do you know?" He asked, curious, I suppose.

"She's got a gift." Lou explained, nodding to me. "Like your companion. Ever since she was a little girl, she can just tell things. We do the lottery twice a week."

Christina gave him a look. "You don't look like millionaires."

"No, but we win ten pounds. Every week, twice a week, ten pounds. Don't tell me that's not a gift."

The Doctor decided to try and prove this. "Tell me, Carmen, how many fingers am I holding up?" He asked, three fingers behind his back.

"Three."

He then changed it to four.

"Four." She answered exactly and he smiled.

"Very good. Low level psychic ability, exacerbated by an alien sun." He hopped back down on his seat, facing her. "What can you see, Carmen? Tell me, what's out there?"

"Something. Something is coming." She said, looking nervous. "Riding on the wind and shining."

"What is it?" He pushed and she answered.

"Death. Death is coming."

"We're going to die." Angela cried, worry seeping into everyone at Carmen's ominous words.

"I knew it, man. I said so." Barclay grumbled.

"We can't die out here. No one's going to find us." Nathan worried.

"This isn't exactly helping." Christina complained, trying to help, but doing no good.

"You can shut up too. We're not your soldiers."

"That's not doing any good."

"Quiet." Lou asked, seeing his wife getting uncomfortable.

"Will we be bones? Like Alex said?"

I could feel the drumming acting up with all the built up tension in the bus and kneaded my temples with the knuckles of my fingers, before snapping.

"Oi! Shut up, all of you! What's arguing going to do?! Huh?!"

They all went quiet as I sighed and lightened up, turning to Angela as she cried. I got up and headed over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Angela, can you do something for me? It'll be really easy, I promise."

She continued to cry and I just went on speaking.

"Can you tell me where you were going? When you got on this bus, where were you headed?"

"It doesn't matter now, does it?" She cried and I shook my head.

"Just tell me."

"H-Home."

"What's at home, Angela?" I asked, squeezing her shoulder in comfort.

"Me and Mike… And Suzanne. That's my daughter. She's eighteen."

I nodded, giving her a comforting smile and turning to Barclay. "What about you then, huh? Where were you headed?"

"Don't know. Going round Tina's."

"Girlfriend?" I questioned and he smirked.

"Not yet."

I grinned. "Ooh, sounds fun. What about you, Nathan?"

"Bit strapped for cash. I lost my job last week. I was going to stay in and watch TV."

"Love me some TV." I beamed at him, settling back in my seat as everyone grew more comfortable. "Lou, Carmen? What were you two up to?"

"I was going to cook." Lou replied.

"It's his turn tonight. Then I clear up." She smiled.

"What's for tea?" The Doctor asked, seeing where I was going with all of this.

"Chops. Nice couple of chops and gravy. Nothing special."

"More special that what I usually get." I joked, tossing a thumb the Doctor's direction. "Hardly ever get a good meal out of him."

"Hey now! Hard to do with you popping off all the time." He smiled, and I turned to Burney.

"Burney? You have anything going on tonight?"

"I-I was, um, going to finish my shift then head home to my wife, Jeanette. We were going to watch a movie together before bed."

I nodded and turned to the last one. "Christina?"

"I was going… so far away." She replied and I gave her a small smile, turning to the group.

"Far away, chops and gravy, watching TV, Mike and Suzanne, Jeanette and a movie, and poor Tina."

"Hey." Barclay piped in as I sent him a smirk.

"You lot should think of them. Think about all of that stuff you were going to do, because who cares about that stupid desert planet out there with three suns and wormhole and junk? You guys have food and homes and people waiting for you. I'll bet, if you guys hang onto that, we'll be back in no time. Because I don't make promises I can't keep, you see? And I _promise_, we'll all get back just fine. Maybe some sand in our shoes and dirty, but what's a little dirt, huh? Now what do you say we get our butts in gear and start movin' this bus, yeah?"

They nodded and I got up with a stretch tossing a thumb to the seats.

"You think some of you guys couple pull off a couple of seats? Only need two, but they can help with moving the bus."

"I'll do it."

"I-I can help too." Nathan and Barclay offered and I grinned, patting their shoulders as I headed out of the bus, giving the Doctor a glance.

"You coming then, Doctor?"

He grinned and bounded out of his seat, following me out with Christina following.

"That was smart thinking, Alex." He smiled, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me close as I chuckled and shoved him off.

"Oi, down boy. I just figured out I liked you a few jumps ago. And, for the record, I wasn't really thinking. Sort of stole the idea from what you were supposed to do and just put my own little twist on it. You know how I get with crying people."

"Mm, just can't stand a good crying woman, can you?" He said, ignoring my protests and nuzzling his nose into my hair as he kissed my temple.

"Neither can you." I quipped back, managing to get out of his grip and catching Christina's watchful look. "You got a shovel in that bag?"

Her eyes widened before quickly narrowing and she nodded. "Yeah. Hold on a tick."

She dug through it and passed me a spade as I gave her an innocent smile and went about digging the sand from around the back tires of the bus. Barclay and Nathan came back outside then, both with a part of a seat.

"Here we go."

"That's my boys!" The Doctor chirped happily, taking a seat from Barclay and explaining what they were going to do. "See, we lay a flat surface between the bus and the wormhole, like duckboards, and we reverse into it."

"Let some air out of the tires. Just a little bit. It spreads the weight of the bus, gives you more grip against the sand." Christina instructed and the Doctor smiled.

"Oh, that's good."

"Holidays in the Kalahari." She smirked back.

"Got anything else in there?" He then asked her, gesturing to the backpack she had.

She pulled out an axe and handed it to Nathan. "Try that. It might help with the seats."

"Thanks."

"Do you want me to try starting her up?" Burney called out and the Doctor rushed over.

"Yeah. Try it."

He nodded and tried to start the bus up, but there was a weird grinding noise and I lifted my head.

"That doesn't sound good."

"Yeah, you're right about that, Alex." He headed over with Christina and caught sight of the smoking engine at the back of the bus; Burney following after them and wiping his brow with a handkerchief. "Oh, never mind losing half the top deck. You know what's worse? Sand. Tiny little grains of sand. The engine's clogged up."

"Do you know mechanics?" Christina asked Burney and he shook his head.

"No, sorry. Only know the basics."

Barclay was prepared though and hurried up. "I do. I did a two week NVQ at the garage. Never finished it, but—"

"Off you go then." The Doctor said and I called out to Barclay.

"Try stripping the air filter!"

"On it!"

I passed the shovel to Burney then and gave him a small smile as I pat his shoulder. "Do what you can. Don't push yourself though."

"Where're you going?"

I tossed a thumb over at the Doctor with a slightly annoyed look. "Got to keep an eye on him. He tends to get into trouble."

He nodded in understanding and I bounded off after the Doctor and Christina, glad that my little display in the bus gave me a bit of trust back from everyone and more than glad that I ended up with a Doctor who liked me. _And this episode's not too bad. Just the whole flying death rays. And the fly people. Wonder how that's going to go down, much less if there's anything I can do to help them. With how the others reacted to the alien planet, I doubt their reaction to fly-like aliens will be good._

"Easier if you left that backpack behind." The Doctor mentioned to Christina, who glanced at me as I caught up and shaded my eyes with my hand.

"Where I go, it goes."

"A backpack with a spade and an axe. Christina, who's going so far away, and yet scared by the sound of a siren. Who are you?"

"You can talk. Let's just say we're three equal mysteries."

"We make quite the couple." The Doctor said and I rolled my eyes in a vain attempt to ignore the stirring in my stomach.

"We don't make any sort of couple, thank you very much. Don't think your partner would agree to that either way." She gave me another look, but I continued to stare straight ahead as we all stopped at the top of a dune. "Come on, then. Tell me. If Carmen's right, if that wormhole's not an accident, then what is it? Has someone done this on purpose?"

"I don't know, but every single instinct of mine is telling me to get off this planet right now."

"For good reason." I muttered under my breath, catching the Doctor's brief glance my way.

"And do you think we can?" Christina asked, bringing his attention back to her.

"I live in hope." He replied, before smiling and nudging me. "And Alex has promised we can, so we've got luck on our side."

"That must be nice." She said, earning a look from the Doctor before she went on and stuck out her hand. "It's Christina de Souza. To be precise, Lady Christina de Souza."

"Ooh, that's handy, because I'm a Lord."

I kicked his leg and gave him a look, silently telling him to behave and he chuckled back a bit nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Seriously? The Lord of where?"

"It's quite a big estate." He said, avoiding the question.

"No, but there's something more about you." She glanced at me. "The both of you. That device you were carrying and the wormhole and Burney. Like you knew. And the way you stride around this place, like…"

"Like?"

"Like you're not quite…"

"Anyway, come on. Allons-y." He said, walking off and avoiding her question game.

"Oui, mais pas si nous allons ver un cauchemar." (Yes, but not if we go towards a nightmare.)

"Oh-ho! We were made for each other." The Doctor grinned, walking backwards for a moment and I stuck out my foot, tripping him and making him sputter in the sand as I looked down at him with a raised brow.

"You shouldn't walk backwards, Doctor. You might trip."

He winced, seeming to have caught what I was really trying to tell him and nodded, picking himself up and brushing off his clothes. "Right. Sorry."

"Mhmm." I hummed, heading off again with my hands in my pockets as we climbed up a taller dune; stomach burning in jealousy.

Once at the top though, the Doctor became worried.

"Ah, don't like the look of that."

"Storm clouds. Must be hundreds of miles away."

"But it's getting closer and we don't know how fast they're going." I said, shielding my eyes with my hand once again; not knowing that I'd slipped up.

"They?" The Doctor questioned and I winced.

"Spoilers."

He nodded in understanding, though he seemed a little hesitant, and his gaze narrowed at the approaching dust cloud.

"If that's a sand storm, we'll get ripped to shreds."

"It's a storm. Who says it's sand?" The Doctor responded, before we headed back to the bus; running this time.

Once there, the Doctor called out to Barclay and the others outside.

"Does anyone have a mobile phone?!"

"Yeah, I do. What'cha need it for?" Barclay answered, but the Doctor didn't stop as he hurried onto the bus.

"Emergency!" He scanned around as I picked up Burney's forgotten shovel and waited for the Doctor to come back outside, digging the sand from around the wheels.

He was taking a rather long while and I wiped sweat from around my eyes as it dripped down my face. I could already feel my skin getting burned up my arms and the back of my neck and face, but there wasn't much I could do there and I could feel a headache forming from dehydration and my chest was aching as well. Finally, the Doctor came out of the bus with Christina and called out to me.

"Come on, Alex! You're with us!"

I sighed, passing the shovel to Nathan to continue digging and ran after them as we trekked over the dunes once more. I was breathing a bit hard once we reached the crest of a dune for the Doctor to take pictures of the sand storm and plopped myself down on the sand as I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to control my breathing.

"Send this back to Earth. See if Malcolm can analyze the storm."

"There's something in those clouds. Something shining. Look." Christina said.

"Like metal."

"Why would there be metal in a storm?"

"Alex, anything you could… Are you alright?" The Doctor asked me then.

"Just a headache." I lied. "Sorry."

"No. No, no, no, no." He knelt down beside me and passed Christina the phone to keep taking pictures as he tilted my head up and using his thumb to lift my eyelid a bit and check me over. "I know when you're lying, Alex, as good as you think you are. So I know it's not just a headache… You're dehydrated."

"I'm fine." I pressed, pushing his hand away as he scanned me over with his sonic screwdriver.

"No, you're not. You're _really_ dehydrated…" He grabbed my arm and looked at it closer with a frown. "…and sunburned pretty badly. And you're starting to develop heat exhaustion. That's not good. What have you been _doing_?"

"Helping." I frowned at him and he sighed quietly, taking off his brown jacket and draping it over me to shade me from the sun.

"Always worrying about others before yourself, aren't you? Use my coat. Stay out of the sun and don't get up just yet. Okay? Sit for as long as you can before we head back to the bus where you can rest a bit more." He pointed a stern finger at me. "_No_ more working, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah. Alright." I consented, but he gave me a frown.

"I mean it, Alex. You're body's still working overtime to try and grow that second heart and heatstroke is one of the _last_ things you need to deal with. It could interrupt what you're body is trying to do which could cause—"

"_Okay_. Okay." I said, sighing softly as I realized that something minor like this could possibly kill me with the changes my body was going through. "I got it. No work, no sun, resting."

He looked me over, making sure that I was actually going to listen, before he nodded and stood back up; resuming what he was doing. I sat there for a while more, eyes closed as I let my mind drift, before I heard a strange noise.

"Did you hear something?" Christina asked, and I peeked an eye open.

"Hold on. Busy." The Doctor muttered, trying to send the pictures.

"Doctor, you might want to _stop_ being busy." I grumbled, getting up. "We have company."

He turned and spotted the gun wielding fly alien as it approached us, and he pulled Christina and I behind him before responding to it in clicks and guttural noises.

"That's wait. I shout wait, people usually wait."

I sighed. "I don't know _how_ you've lived this long."

He smiled a bit as Christina spoke.

"You speak the language?"

"Every language." He confirmed, before speaking to the alien once more. "That's begging for mercy."

The alien—a Tritovore, I remembered—gestured with it's gun.

"That means move." Christina said nervously, making the Doctor nod back.

"Ooh, you're learning."

We were turned around and led by gunpoint off the dune and through the sand once more; the Doctor keeping an arm on my lower back to help me along.

"These fly things—"

"Tritovores." I cut Christina off.

"What?" She gave me a confused look and I sighed.

"They're called Tritovores and before you asked, no. They're not the cause of this."

"And how would you know all of this?"

"I've got a gift." I drawled out. _Or a curse._ "And if you don't believe me, well there's the proof." I pointed out towards the large ship that had been broken in two. "Their ship's a wreck. They've crashed just like us."

Once we entered, I relaxed greatly at the cooler temperature on the inside of the ship, letting out a sigh and passing the Doctor's jacket back to him.

"Oh, but this place is freezing!" Christina complained.

"Mm, the hull's made of photafine steel. Turns cold when it's hot. Boiling desert outside, freezing ship inside. Since I met you, Christina, we've been through all the extremes."

"That's how I like things. Extreme." She flirted back and I groaned.

"Oh, enough with the flirting. What is it with you and the bantering? Are you sure you're not some hormonal teenager, Doctor?"

"Just having a little fun, Alex."

"Uh-huh. I'll remember that the next time Jack's around. Me and him can go and have a little fun too." I quipped back, making him whine.

"Aw, come on, Alex!" He then quickly tried to change the subject and distract me. "Look at this ship! It's beautiful. Intact, it must have been magnificent. A proper streamlined deep spacer."

"I'll remember that as I'm being slowly tortured." Christina grumbled. "At least I'm bleeding on the floor of a really well designed spaceship."

There were two Tritovores now and they chattered at us as one turned on a purple device on his overalls.

"Alright, good. Yes. Hello." The Doctor nodded, before explaining to Christina. "That's a telepathic translator. He can understand us."

"Not the other way around though." I said, before she could ask.

The Doctor then began translating what the Tritovores were saying.

"'You will suffer for your crimes' etcetera. 'You have committed an act of violence against the Tritovore race. You came here in the two hundred to destroy us'. Sorry, what's the two hundred?" He asked, but Christina responded before I could.

"It's the bus. Number two hundred. They mean the bus."

"Oh. No, look. I think you're making the same mistake Christina did. I'm the Doctor by the way and this is Alex and Christina. The Honorable Lady Christina. At least I hope she's honorable."

I struggled to hold in a snort.

"We got pulled through that wormhole. The two hundred doesn't look like that normally. It's broken, just the same as you."

They lowered their weapons and Christina gave them a look.

"What are they doing?"

"They believe me." The Doctor explained.

"What, as simple as that?"

"I've got a very honest face."

"_Please_." I muttered, looking past him and over at her. "The translator says he's telling the truth, that's all."

"Plus the face." He whined, before getting back on track and moving towards the console of the ship. "Right. So! First thing's first. There's a very strange storm heading our way. Can you send out a probe?"

The Tritovores clicked and his expression dropped.

"Oh. They've lost power. Hm, the crash knocked the mainline crystallography out of sync. But if I can jiggle it back…"

He kicked it and the machine came back to life, the Tritovores really pleased and obviously complimenting him.

"I thank you. Yes I am. Frequently."

I leaned towards the Tritovore that complimented him and gave it a look. "Don't encourage him. His ego's already big enough."

"Are you going to be picking on me this whole trip?" The Doctor asked and I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Are you going to be flirting this whole trip?"

He gave me a look then. "Are you _jealous_, Alex?"

Heat traveled up my neck and face, and I turned away in embarrassment. "S-Shut up! I'm not!"

He chuckled and shrugged. "Okey doke. Anyway, let's launch that probe."

He did so and then came over and grabbed me, pulling me down onto his lap as we sat and watched a hologram of what the probe was seeing; Christina sitting next to us. I was sitting stiff as a board though, until he started massaging my shoulders.

"Come on then, Alex. Relax a bit. You act like I'm going to eat you." He chuckled as I practically melted under his fingers.

"Wouldn't put it past ya." I muttered, before he started speaking about the image in front of us.

"The Scorpion Nebula. We're on the other side of the universe. Just what you wanted. So far away." He said to Christina as the image zoomed in. "The planet of San Helios."

"And that's us? We're on another world."

"We have been for quite a while." He said, wondering why she was acting so surprised now.

"I know, but seeing it like that…"

"It's good, isn't it?"

"Wonderful." She breathed out, before the Tritovores clattered away again.

"The Tritovores were going to trade with San Helios. Population of one hundred billion. Plenty of waste matter for them to absorb."

"By waste matter, you mean…"

"They feed off what others leave behind… from their… behind, if you see what I mean. It's perfectly natural. They _are_ flies."

"Rude." I muttered, eyes having slipped closed as he kneaded at the nerve cluster in my left shoulder.

"Charming." Christina grimaced. "Just remind me never to kiss them."

The image changed then, from the planet to a large city.

"San Helios City."

"That's amazing." Christina said, glancing at the Doctor. "But you've seen this sort of thing before, haven't you?"

"Thousands of times."

"That lordship of yours… The Lord of where, exactly?"

"Of Time. I come from a race of people called Time Lords."

"You're an alien?"

"Yeah, but you don't have to kiss me either." He felt me stiffen, and promptly pressed a bit harder on my shoulder to help relax me. "Alex does that enough."

"Hm." I hummed. "And before you ask, no. I'm not alien. Just a human who's… working on it, I suppose."

"What do you mean?"

"Long story, short." The Doctor said, taking over before I could groan and complain about explaining the whole thing _again_. "Her entire biological system is changing because she was brought to this world in a different way that normal and bounces through my time-line. The energy collected, spread out, and is now trying to help the body compensate by changing a few things. Her second heart's nearly done cooking."

He pointed at my chest and I smacked his hand away, peeking an eye open to give him a look.

"Being rude again. And how come you didn't tell me earlier that it was nearly done? Thing's been aching for ages."

I rubbed that side of my chest with a frown and leaned back, allowing him to wrap his arms around my stomach as he rested his chin on my shoulder.

"Sorry. Bit preoccupied with the wormhole."

"But you _look_ human." Christina piped in, looking at us confused.

"You look Time Lord." The Doctor said back, locking gazes with her for a moment before turning back to the image on screen. "Anyway."

"So, if that's San Helios, all we need to do is find that city. They can help us."

"I don't think it's that simple." He listened as one of the Tritovores clicked. "We're in the city right now."

"But it's sand. That first image, the temples and things… What's that then, ancient history?"

The Tritovore clicked again.

"The image was taken last year."

"It became a desert in one year?"

I shifted and got up, not really liking this bit and the Doctor leaned over and picked up some sand from off the floor.

"I said there was something in the sand... The city, the oceans, the mountains, the wildlife, and a hundred billion people turned to sand. All those voices in Carmen's head. She's hearing them die."

"But I've got sand in my hair. That's dead people. Oh, that's disgusting. _Ooh_."

"Something destroyed the whole of San Helios."

"Yes, but in my hair!"

I wrinkled my nose in distaste. Not because of the idea of sand in my hair or clothes, but because she thought the idea of it in her hair was gross. A whole planet turned to dust, and she was worried about her hair.

"Alex? You alright?"

"No." I shook my head with a bitter chuckle. "No, and things are about to get much, much worse."

His phone went off and he picked it up, keeping his eyes on me as he spoke to Malcolm on the other end.

"Malcolm, tell me the bad news."

I couldn't hear what was going on, on the other end of the phone, but I knew the gist of it and had begun pacing as I tried to think. _Alright, come on, brain. Ignore the drumming, ignore the jealousy, push past the anger and think. What can I tell him? There's a partial swarm of those rays in this ship. They're hibernating up until Christina goes down there. They wake up, a Tritovore goes back for something and gets eaten, which causes the other to try and save him, also gets eaten. I can stop that. No problem._ I grimaced and pulled a hand through my hair. _I hope. But then what? We go back to the bus, hook it up, use the gold, fly it out, we're fine. But what about what happens on the other side? Malcolm he's threatened, right? And three of those ray things get through. If I can take the phone and redial the moment we're out, then maybe—_

"Alex."

I turned to find the Doctor standing before me looking worried.

"Is there anything you can tell me?"

I nodded, face determined now. "Yes. We can fix everything if we can get down to the crystal nucleus in the gravity well. That'll move the bus, but there's a problem." I winced, hoping that giving him all of this information now wouldn't screw things up like it did with the Krafayis.

"What, Alex? I'll need anything you can give me."

_I-I can't tell him they're in the ship now. Christina is listening in and for all I know, that would make her back out._ I shook my head. "I can't explain everything right now, but we need to get down there."

He nodded. "Alright. Let's do that then."

The Tritovores nodded and one started to lead us there, but Christina spoke up in confusion.

"Now, hold on a minute. We don't even know what we're up against."

I groaned and dug through my pockets, pulling out my notebook and flipping to the page of this episode, showing her an illustration I'd lamely done based on my memory of the metal ray's we were up against.

"_That_. Is what we're up against. It's not a sand storm outside, it's a swarm of these things. They eat everything and then loop around the world they're in until they pick up enough speed to rip a hole in space."

"But the wormhole's a killer. We've seen it." She argued and I groaned, trying to think.

"Yeah, but they take everything they've eaten and use it in their exoskeleton. They have shells made of metal that make it capable for them to get through the wormhole unharmed."

"But these Tritovores… they crashed, right? They didn't come through the wormhole."

"Ooh, good question." The Doctor nodded.

"Something about stalling." I muttered, glaring down at my notebook, before tucking it away once more. "I can't tell you how it stalled. Not yet. It's too early."

"You're changing things." The Doctor said, voice suddenly going serious and I hesitantly nodded.

"Technically, I-I'm only changing one thing and I'm giving us more time for the rest. I'm just moving things along a little faster in the hopes that not even _one_ of those things will make it through."

"Are you saying more than one of those things will get through? To Earth?" Christina questioned in disbelief.

I nodded, reluctantly. "Three. Three are supposed to get through before the wormhole gets closed. T-They're… shot down and killed. I-I just figured… Sorry. Never mind. I-It'll sound stupid."

The group stopped at the gravity well and the Doctor handed everyone an internal comm to keep in contact, only to pause with his hand in mine when he handed me one. I didn't understand why, but Christina seemed to bring it up for me.

"You're… You're trying to _save_ those things out there? The things that ate this entire planet and turned it into sand? Those things?"

I pulled away from the Doctor, embarrassed and feeling rather idiotic. "I-I said it was stupid. I just… They're a swarm, right? They're not super intelligent or anything. They're just running on instinct. They don't know what they're doing. They don't know it's wrong. How can you punish something… _kill_ something just for doing what it needs to do in order to survive?"

She went quiet, just sort of staring at me and trying to figure me out, until the Doctor spoke up from beside me.

"Alex, you asked for a warning."

I furrowed my brows and turned to him. "Wha—"

I was cut off as he put a hand on my face and kissed me, leaving me blinking in shock and confusion as he pulled away with a grin.

"There it is."

"W-Wha—"

"Ah!" He cut me off, holding up a finger as he looked down the gravity well. "I _did_ give you a warning."

My face heated up, knowing he was right, but I was still lost.

"B-B-But why?"

He smiled over at me happily. "Because you always do something I never expect and it only makes me love you more."

I didn't know my face could get redder than it already was, but it did and I brought the back of my hand to my mouth as I turned away. "U-Um… A-A-Alright."

"Right then. Gravity well. Goes all the way down to the engine. So, we need to get down there and get the crystal nucleus. As long as it's intact, it's better than diesel."

"What? You can use the crystal to move the bus?"

The Doctor looked at me as I nodded, still in a bit of a daze after what he'd done. "Looks like it. The spaceship's a write-off, but the two hundred's small enough."

"How does a crystal drive a bus?" Christina asked.

"In a super clever outer-spacey way. Just trust us." He then turned to me. "Where's the crystal?"

"It's at the bottom."

The Doctor nodded and turned to the Tritovore that came with us. "Have you got access shafts?"

The alien clicked to him.

"All frozen? Well, maybe I can open them." The Doctor turned to Christina and I. "You two stay here. Keep an eye on the shaft. Tell me if anything happens."

The Doctor ran off with the Tritovore and I took a deep breath before turning to Christina.

"Can you get it?"

She turned to me, confused as she sat on the edge of the gravity well. "What?"

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Look, I can see the future, yeah? But also the past. I know you're a thief and I know you have a harness in your bag, so do me a favor. Show off."

She raised a brow. "Show off?"

I rolled my eyes. "Good God, do I _really_ have to explain it? You're trying to impress him, yeah? The Doctor. He's interesting. Clever. You're clever too. I know what happens when you put two clever people in the same room together. You want to be better than the other. So show off. Show him you can be just as clever and ridiculous as him and get that crystal."

"_Christina? If you see a panel opening in that shaft, let me know_." The Doctor's voice came over the comm and she turned it on briefly.

"Nothing yet."

She then turned it off and approached me, making me stiffen as she looked up at me with a grin.

"Y-You're not going to kiss me, are you?" I questioned hesitantly with a slight wince and she gave me a look.

"But we're both women."

"Wouldn't be the first time." I chuckled nervously, feeling sweat drip down the back of my neck despite the freezing temperature; mentally screaming at myself for practically flirting with her.

"Hm…" She hummed, looking amused. "You're pretty interesting too, you know. Clever, smart, hard working, caring to a fault, _cute_ too."

"T-Thanks?" I stuttered out, hoping that this wouldn't end up being yet another woman who kissed me.

She pat my cheek though, making me flinch. "Maybe next time."

I let out a shaky sigh of relief as she started setting up her harness and turned back on her comm.

"_Anything now?_" The Doctor asked once I too turned mine back on.

"Afraid not." Christina replied, tying up her hair.

"_Any sign of movement?_"

"Nope."

"_How's that?_"

"Nothing."

"_Any result?_"

"Not a dickie bird... So let me get this right. You need that crystal? Then consider it done."

"_Why? What do you mean?… Christina? Christina! Alex, stop her!_"

I winced. "Um, yeah… about that…"

"_Dammit, Alex!_"

"Sorry." I muttered as Christina spoke; standing on the edge of the gravity well.

"The aristocracy survives for a reason. We're ready for anything."

"No!"

She dove off the platform just as the Doctor showed up and I pointed at the pulley as he hurriedly dug out his screwdriver and tried to stop it.

"Come on. Come on, come on, come on."

The pulley ground to a halt and we all let out a sigh of relief.

"That's better." He said, glancing in exasperation at me. "A little warning next time, Alex."

"H-Had to happen. Sorry." I said quietly, head bowed, but he ruffled my hair and I felt glad knowing that he wasn't holding it against me.

"_I decide when I stop, thank you._" Christina's voice rang through the comms and the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"You're about to hit the security grid. Look."

"_Excellent. So what do I do?_"

"Big red button." I told her, hearing the smirk in her voice.

"_Well done._"

"Now come back up. _I_ can do that." The Doctor ordered and before I could tell him no, Christina answered.

"_Oh, don't you wish._"

The Doctor gave me a glance as if asking if this was okay and I nodded with a small smile.

"Slowly." He begrudgingly gave in.

"_Yes, sir._"

The pulley started moving down again, much slower this time, and the Doctor spoke up to pass the time.

"Quite a mystery aren't you, Lady Christina de Souza." The Doctor said, moving to sit beside me on the edge of the gravity well; putting an arm around my waist and making me stiffen for a second before relaxing. "Carrying a winch in her bag."

"_No stranger than you and Alex, Spaceman._"

The Doctor flinched, pulling me closer and I gave him an apologetic look, but instead of getting upset, he smiled a bit and rested his head on mine.

"We had this friend once. She called me 'Spaceman'. Though technically it's Alex's fault. She started it and it just sort of stuck."

"_And was she right? Do you zoom about the place in a rocket?_"

"_Well_, a little blue box. Travels in more than one space. It can journey through time, Christina. Oh, the places I've been. The places _we've_ been." He said, giving me a small smile, before I nudged Christina's bag to him for him to look through. "World War I, creation of the universe, _end_ of the universe, the war between China and Japan, and the Court of King Athelstan in 924 AD." He picked up the golden goblet and looked it over. "But I don't remember you being there. So what are you doing with this?"

"_Excuse me, a gentleman never goes through a lady's possessions._"

The Tritovore clicked at us and the I explained, having looked up things about the cup before back in my world.

"It's the Cup of Athelstan, given to the first King of Britain as a coronation gift from Hywel, King of the Welsh."

The Doctor nodded, removing his hand from me as he looked over the cup and I stood up to pace quietly. "But it's been held in the International Gallery for two hundred years. Which makes _you_, Lady Christina, a thief."

"_I like to think I liberated it._"

"Don't tell me you need the money."

"_Daddy lost everything. Invested his fortune in the Icelandic banks._" She lied.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. If you're short of cash, you rob a bank. Stealing this? That's a lifestyle."

"_I take it you disapprove?_"

"Absolutely… Except… That little blue box. I stole it… from my own people."

"Actually, she stole _you_." I corrected, earning an amused look from him as Christina spoke.

"_Good boy. You were right. We're quite the team._"

A screech rang out and the Doctor quickly set the goblet back into the bag as he looked around and Christina panicked a bit.

"_What the blazes was that?_"

"Um, that would be the other bit I didn't tell you." I muttered, earning a scared look from the Doctor. "The reason the ship stalled."

"_I can see it._" Christina said, but the Doctor wasn't paying attention as I cringed and bit my bottom lip.

"Bird in the engine?"

His eyes widened in understanding and he quickly brought a hand up to his comm. "Christina, you need to hurry."

She spoke then, voice quiet. "_One of the creatures._"

"It got trapped in the vents, caused the crash." The Doctor explained. "Christina, get out."

"_It's not moving. I think it's injured._"

I shook my head and the Doctor nodded. "No. It's dormant because it's so cold down there, but your body heat is raising the temperature."

"_I tend to have that effect._" She joked. "_Almost there._"

I spoke this time. "We need the whole thing, Christina. Not just the crystal."

It took a moment of tense silence, before she finally spoke.

"_I've got it_!"

The Doctor used his sonic on the pulley and quickly pulled her up, but we could hear the ray following her.

"Come on, come on. Come on, come on, come on, come on. It's going to eat it's way up."

"Trust her, Doctor." I said, looking down the well nervously, hoping that things were still going to be alright. "She's clever."

"_You bet I am, sweetheart._" Christina responded, reminding me of what she'd said earlier and making me duck my head out of the Doctor's eyesight to hide my embarrassment.

There was a zapping noise and screeching, and the Doctor grinned.

"Ooh, she's good."

She then reached the top and the Doctor grabbed a hold of her.

"That's it. That's it. I've got you. I've got you." He pulled her over to the side so she could stand and be unhooked from the harness, and she passed the crystal nucleus to the Tritovore as it clicked and he smirked as he responded to it. "Isn't she just."

Once she was unhooked, we all hurried to the console room and the Doctor spoke to the Tritovores.

"Commander? Mission complete. Now, we've got to get back to the two hundred, all of us."

The alien was reluctant.

"Oh, don't be so daft. A captain can leave his ship, if there's a bus standing by." The Doctor said, trying to convince him.

There was a bang and I spoke this time, moving to the front.

"Um, did I mention? There's sort of more than one of those things on board."

"There's more than one on board?" Christina asked in worry.

I nodded and the Doctor began rambling an explanation.

"The ship's built inside a metal sleeve. They can move through the infrastructure all around us." We all flinched back as there was a loud bang from above us and sand fell. "And those things wake up hungry. Commander, you've got to come with us, right now."

"You have to." I agreed, trying to think up a good reason. "We can take you back home. Please."

The Doctor nodded towards me. "And that's the word of a lady. Come on!"

One of the Tritovores hurried along, but as the other went to go back to the panel, I grabbed him and pulled him away with brute strength; just as a ray fell through the ceiling. The Doctor looked at me with wide eyes, but I pushed the Tritovore in front of me with his companion and shouted.

"Go! Run!"

And run we did. The five of us hurried outside and began our mad dash to the bus, trying to ignore the screeching of the rays behind us. As we ran over a dune though, the Doctor's phone went off. He answered it.

"Not now, Malcolm!"

He quickly hung up and as we reached the bus, we ignored the shocked looks from Nathan and Barclay at the Tritovores.

"W-W-What are those things?!"

I groaned, shoving the two of them inside with the Tritovores behind me as the Doctor began putting the clamps on the wheels. "I'll explain later! Get inside!"

"W-With them?!"

"_Yes_! Believe it or not, humans aren't the only species in the universe. Now get _inside_!" I forced both men inside and got the Tritovores on board too, turning to the worried looking people in the back and shouting to get their attention.

"Oi, listen up, because I'm only going to say this once! Yes, they're flies! They're an alien species called Tritovores! You will respect them and treat them as any other human being or I will _personally_ make sure you accidentally get dropped off outside, got it?!"

They all nodded fearfully and I sighed, grinding my knuckles against my temples as the drumming grew too loud to ignore and the Doctor and Christina climbed on board.

"But what are the clamps for? Do they turn the wheels?"

"Yeah, something like that." The Doctor responded, before noticing me. "You alright there, Alex?"

"Just got the drums to deal with."

"Remind me later and I'll give you a trick for that!" He called out, before going back to the problem at hand. "I just need to fix this. Have you got a hammer in that bag?"

"Funnily enough." Christina said, pulling one out, before he handed her the phone.

"Phone. Phone. Phone. Press redial."

She did and held it to his ear as he struggled to get the clamp on the wheel.

"Malcolm, it's me… Ready for what?… I'm going to try to get back, but listen. There might be something following us. You need to close the wormhole."

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down, before the Doctor finished his phone call and I took the phone from Christina with a smile.

"Sorry. I'm going to need that."

She gave me an odd look, but the Doctor spoke up and distracted us.

"_Oh_, it's not compatible. Bus, spaceship, bus. I need to weld the two systems together."

"And how do you do that?"

"I need something non-corrosive. Something malleable. Something ductile."

"Something _gold_?" I said nervously, eyeing Christina as she gave me a disbelieving look and turned back to the Doctor.

"Oh no, you don't."

"Christina, what is it worth now?"

I didn't even look behind me and just held up a hand to Barclay. "No, your watch won't work, Barclay. It's not real gold."

"B-But… How did you even—"

I gave him a look over my shoulder and wrinkled my nose in annoyance. "I'm _clever_." I then turned to Christina. "Christina?"

She reluctantly pulled out the cup and handed it to the Doctor. "It's over a thousand years old, worth eighteen million pounds. Promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise." He said, flipping it over and then taking the hammer to it.

"I hate you." Christina grumbled as I hummed beside her, redialing and holding the phone up to my ear.

"Tell me about it. Rule number one: the Doctor lies."

"_Doctor?_"

"Hello, Malcolm. Yeah, not the Doctor. Sorry. You in there too, Captain… oh, what was it again? Something complicated starting with an 'M'."

"_Magambo._ _And who is this?_"

"Ah, right. Alexander Holmes. You can call me Alex, although my nickname might be better suited for this. Um, the Seer? Does that ring any bells for you?" I asked, scratching my head and giving the Doctor a glance as he worked. "I sort of pop around a lot, so I can't remember whether UNIT's been… _informed_ of me, per say."

"_We have._" The Captain stated, voice serious. "_What is it you need?_"

"Glad you're cooperating. Have to say, that's a first. Last time I was around people like you, I was imprisoned for a week. But back to business then. No guns, Captain. I _really_ don't like guns. Put it away, and I can promise you everything will turn out fine. Surely you know how my promises work."

There was a bit of silence, before I heard a sigh of relief on the other end and I smiled.

"Good! See, now here's the thing—" I was cut off as the Doctor spoke over the intercom of the bus loudly.

"This is your driver speaking. Hold on tight."

I wrapped my arm around a pole nearby and chuckled into the phone. "Sorry about that. I'll have to make it quick. Wait for my signal and when I give it to you, close the wormhole. No rushing it, Captain. You rush it, and things _might_ just go south. You get me?"

"… _Loud and clear, ma'am._" She replied and I scowled.

"Don't call me 'ma'am'. If you have to call me anything, I'd rather 'sir', or Alex, is fine. Formalities not really my thing." I rambled, nervousness eating me up inside as the Doctor got the bus up into the air. "On my signal though, Malcolm, but you have to change something first, or it's not going to work. Loop the signal back through the integrator and keep it ramping up by 500 Bernards. I'll be dramatic with my signal and say 'now' in a really loud voice, okay? You won't miss it."

I held the phone to my chest to muffle the sounds of shock from the people in the bus now that we were up in the air; putting away my black book that I'd gotten out with the info for Malcolm as the Doctor turned us around.

"Doctor! They're coming!" Carmen shouted and I looked back and actually felt a bit of relief that the rays were just a bit further than they would've been in the show.

"Do you think this thing will survive the journey back?" Christina asked and the Doctor grinned as I nodded behind her.

"Only one way to find out. Next stop!"

"Planet Earth!" Christina finished and he drove the bus into the wormhole.

The whole thing shook violently and a bright light eventually lit up the whole bus, before we flew right out of the wormhole and into London air. I pulled the phone from my chest and shouted into it over the noise.

"_Now_, Malcolm! Do it _now!_"

"_Yes, Alex!_" I heard him call back and I grinned as the Doctor flew the bus around a bit.

"Oh, you're such a show off!" I called to him, looking down as pride welled up in my chest at seeing no rays or soldiers shooting. "It worked. Haha! It worked! Not a single one got through!"

When I turned to the Doctor though, my smile dropped at seeing him and Christina kissing. That sick feeling from back with River twisted my stomach and I swallowed thickly, trying to say something, but unable to. She pulled away though and the Doctor caught sight of me, looking worried.

"A-Alex, I-I-I—"

Christina rolled her eyes though, and grabbed my shirt. "Oh, stop it."

She forced her lips to mine then and my eyes widened as she pulled away and she smirked as she pat my cheek.

"We even?"

I blinked, not knowing what else we could possibly be, and nodded before the Doctor cleared his throat and gave her a look.

"Do not stand forward of this point." He nodded towards the line on the ground, before speaking to the others behind us through the rearview mirror. "Ladies, gentlemen, and Tritovores. You have reached your final destination. Welcome home, the mighty two hundred."

He rang the bell and landed the bus before the group of soldiers, who applauded as the Doctor sonicked the doors and the passengers exited. A soldier stood outside talking about debriefing, but the moment the Tritovores, the Doctor, and I stepped out, the Doctor flashed his psychic paper.

"The four of us don't count. I'm dropping these two off back home the moment I can." He said, gesturing to the Tritovores.

From there, I led the two after the Doctor, assuring them that they'd be taken home as soon as the Doctor finished talking with Malcolm and the Captain, who saluted the two of us once she'd sent Malcolm away.

"Doctor, Seer. I salute you whether you like it or not. Now, I take it we're safe from those things?"

The Doctor nodded, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "They'll start again. Generate a new doorway. It's not their fault. It's their natural life cycle." He gave me a squeeze and a smile as I smiled back. "But I'll see if I can nudge the wormholes on to uninhabited planets. Closer to home, Captain…" He nodded towards Barclay and Nathan. "Those two lads. Very good in a crisis. Nathan needs a job. Barclay's good with engines. You could do a lot worse. Privates Nathan and Barclay, UNIT's finest."

"I'll see what I can do." She said, eyeing the Tritovores behind us. "And them?"

The Doctor glanced at them and then back at her with a grin. "I'll take them home, soon as I get back to my ship."

She smiled slightly. "I've got something for you."

A couple of men pulled the cover off a large object to reveal the Tardis and he grinned as did I.

"Ah, better than a bus any day! Hello!" He greeted her, walking over with me and the Tritovores as he brushed her off a bit and I put my hand on her side with a small smile as she hummed quietly to me.

"Hello, Sexy."

"Found in the gardens of Buckingham palace."

"Oh, she doesn't mind." The Doctor said with a smile, before nodding to the Tritovores. "You two can go ahead and wait inside, if you like. The controls are locked, so you won't accidentally send yourself off into space. Bathroom's down the hall, third left, second right, seventh door down on the right."

The Tritovores nodded and went inside the ship and the Captain looked at us both and held out her hand to shake.

"Till we meet again, Doctor. Seer."

"I hope so." The Doctor replied as I gave her a small smile and shook her hand as well.

The Captain headed off and the Doctor turned back to stroking the Tardis as I gave him a look.

"Should I leave you two alone?"

He made a face. "Oi. It's not like we're doing anything naughty. You're the one who kissed a girl."

My face lit up a bright red. "S-Say's you! Last I checked, you flirt with Jack all the time! And every other woman who pops up with a pretty face and a clever head."

"You flirt with him too!" He chided back, though a small smile was on his face. "If you're really that jealous of a blue box, we could always go and do something else. Just us."

I smacked his arm with a face. "Down boy. Only just confessed a few trips ago, remember? Keep it in your pants."

He wrinkled his nose, making a face. "What a mouth! Who taught you those things?"

"Pft, like you'd know." I chuckled, before we both turned to see Christina by us.

"Little blue box. Just like you said. Right then. Off we go. Come on, Doctor. Show me the stars."

His smile fell and I took a step back, leaning up against the Tardis with my hands crossed over my chest as he responded.

"No."

"What?" She questioned, smile falling off her face.

"I said no."

"But I saved your life. And you saved mine."

"So?"

"We're surrounded by police. I'll go to prison."

The Doctor took in a deep breath and let it out. "Yeah."

"But you were right. It's not about the money. I only steal things for the adventure and today with you and Alex… I want more days like this. I want _every_ day to be like this. We're made for each other. You said so yourself. The perfect team."

When his serious gaze didn't change, her frown grew.

"Why not?"

"People have traveled with me and I've lost them. Lost them all. Never again."

"But what about Alex? You take _her_ with you."

I shook my head and walked up beside him, catching his sad look. "No. I just pop up around his time-line. He doesn't have a choice to take me or not and he's lost me once before too." I pulled my shirt away to show the bullet scar left behind from 'The Doctor's Daughter'. "I just got lucky. I came back. And even then, I've met versions of him who wished I hadn't shown up. Things don't always go the way we want them to."

"Lady Christina de Souza." A voice said as a group of police officers walked up. "Oh, I have waited a long time to say this. I am arresting you on suspicion of theft. You do not have to say anything, etcetera, etcetera. Dennison. Take her away."

She was led away in handcuffs and Carmen approached us both.

"Doctor? Alex? You take care now."

"You too. Chops and gravy, lovely." He smiled, though I could tell that he wasn't completely happy.

"No, but you be careful. Because your song is ending, sir."

"What do you mean?" He asked, quickly getting serious.

"It is returning. It is returning through the dark. And then, Doctor? Oh, but then… he will knock four times." She turned to me then, and I stiffened. "And you, Alex. You are so kind and brave, but you too will be tested when it returns. You will have to choose your song. A song with two endings. The Silence will be coming for you soon."

I took a hesitant step back, face pale at the prediction and not really catching the concerned look the Doctor gave me. She walked off then and he placed a hand on the small of my back, making me jump.

"You alright?"

I opened my mouth to say I was fine, but I saw how afraid he was of his own prediction and I felt selfish. He was worrying over me when he should be concerned about himself.

"No." I finally said. "I'm not, but I will be." I gave him a small smile. "Right? Because you'll be around to fix it. And I'll be around to help you too."

He smiled back and kissed my forehead like Eleven and Twelve always did, pulling back and holding my gaze.

"Should I do anything about Christina?"

I gave him a look. "Your choice, Doctor. You can't always rely on me to make your decisions for you, you know."

"Yeah." He hummed, before moving past me, just as my shoulder ached and my breath hitched at the pain.

I heard his sonic and knew he'd let Christina go, before he spotted me and gave me a sad smile.

"Off you pop then?"

I smiled a bit back. "Looks like it."

"Stop that woman! Stop that woman! Stop her! Don't just stand there! Stop her!" A man shouted as Christina rushed past us and to the bus.

"Behave." I chided him with a smile. "No more flirting."

He chuckled and put his hands on my waist, pulling me close. "No more _women_." He teased and I laughed, before deciding, what the hell and kissed him.

We pulled away after a moment and I just grinned up at him as he smiled down at me, and I disappeared; glad that I'd been with him this time around. With a Doctor who cared.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_Whatever it was, ignored my pathetic attempts at a threat and moved a little closer so that part of it was in the moonlight filtering in from the boarded-up window. Except, the red skinned creature wasn't an_ it, _and my heart ached and leapt up into my throat as I slowly lowered the book._

_"D-Doctor?"_


	29. The Crimson Horror

**Alrighty! Here's the next chapter, and it's a doozy! i really need to start being nicer to my characters... but anyway, thatnks to those who've reviewed, favorited, followed, etc. and please let me know what you think about this! :)**

* * *

I groaned slightly as I got up off whatever hard floor I was on, and sneezed rather loudly as the scent of hay tickled my nose.

"Ugh, I hate hay." I grumbled, sniffling and rubbing my nose as I opened my eyes and frowned; squinting into the dark stone room.

_Where the hell am I?_ There was a loud, scary sounding grunt from my left and I scrambled up, pulling the only weapon I had out of my pocket and pointing it at whatever had made the noise.

"Don't mess with me! I'm armed!" I said loudly, only to glance at my black notebook in my hands with a sort of grimace. "With… words, apparently."

There was some shuffling accompanying the groaning now and I stiffened as I saw something move closer towards me in the dark.

"B-But words can be very powerful, if you know the right ones! S-So stay back!"

Whatever it was, ignored my pathetic attempts at a threat and moved a little closer so that part of it was in the moonlight filtering in from the boarded-up window. Except, the red skinned creature wasn't an _it_, and my heart ached and leapt up into my throat as I slowly lowered the book.

"D-Doctor?"

The Eleventh Doctor sat on the floor with his arms outstretched towards me, wearing a loose white overall-type shirt with chains on his hands and his mouth stuck in an open position as he tried to talk, only for groans and grunts to escape him. I quickly tucked my book back into my leather jacket pocket and rushed to him, hesitant about touching him in fear that I might hurt him somehow, eyes racking over his form as I tried to think and figure out what I could do.

"O-Oh man. Right. U-Um… T-T-There's got to be something… something I can do. Um…" My eyes widened when I remembered this adventure and what should be waiting in a corner of the room. "Ah! Sonic! Y-Your sonic screwdriver! I-I can get that and get us out!"

I hurriedly got up and went to go grab it, but the moment I did, I felt a huge shock go through my system and I felt like someone had suddenly punched me in the stomach as all the air left my lungs in a rush. I brought a hand to my chest and gripped my shirt as I fell to my knees and gasped in air; greedily trying to fill my lungs.

"W… What is…"

I could feel my energy leaving me quickly, but I had to get the Doctor's screwdriver. It was our only way out and if Ada—or worse, her _mother_—found me in here, who knows what would happen. I tried to push myself up, but my chest burned with the effort and I could already see my vision flitting in and out. It felt like someone had a hand in my chest and was literally _squeezing_ my heart and lungs. And the worst part was, I was scared. I had no idea what was happening and I was really scared, because not even the Doctor could help me in his state. My body was already in the process of changing and, for all I know, I could be dying because I'd need the Tardis med bay or some crazy alien medicine to save me.

I clenched my eyes shut tightly as I struggled to breathe, let alone keep calm and get my body functioning again, when I felt something touch me and lay across my back. I opened my eyes and looked to see the Doctor trying his hardest to pull me towards him. Between the two of us, I ended up curled up against his side as I battled with whatever was attacking my body, my body tense and sweating with the effort, until it became too much and I blacked out.

When I woke up, it was already well past morning—into mid afternoon, if I had to guess—and I almost had forgotten where I was until I felt the Doctor shift with a grunt and I weakly glanced over at him to see his worried eyes shining over at me. _Still worrying about me when he's practically moving leather after being boiled in venom._

"I-Idiot… you should… be more… w-worried… about yourself." I breathed out, breath still short and chest aching far more than usual, making me wince and try to shift my position.

I clenched my fist in my white shirt once more, eyes tightly shut as my heart seemed to struggle with it's job. An arm came around me and attempted to hug me and I leaned into the Doctor's embrace as best I could with an apology.

"S-Sorry… I should be… trying to get us out…"

He slowly shook his head with a grunt and I sighed, knowing he was trying to tell me not to worry and that we would be fine. I heard some light tapping on the door then and shifted my eyes to it as the door at the bottom of it opened up and a plate was pushed through. The Doctor shifted away from me, leaving me to lie up against the wall as he did his best to make his way over to the plate; Ada speaking from the other side.

"Did you think I'd forgotten you, dear monster? Hm?"

The Doctor stumbled and hit the door with his arm, before reaching down and getting the plate of food and returning to where I was. He tried to pass me the plate though and I frowned at him.

"No… You eat it…"

He continued to try and push the food onto me, and eventually, I sighed and took the plate; only to split the food in half. I ate my half and then pushed the plate back, glaring at him as I pointed a shaky hand at it.

"Yours."

He tried to argue, but I turned away and ignored him until I heard him let out a grunt and begin eating. I closed my eyes and let out a short tired sigh, breath hitching at the end of it as my heart clenched tight. He pulled me close to him again and would occasionally slam his chained wrist against the floor; the sound echoing around the room.

"W-What… are… you doing?" I asked, the room starting to feel hot and my vision shifting as my heart slowed.

My voice must of given me away or something, because a red hand pressed itself to my forehead and the Doctor groaned in worry as he helped me lay down on the stone floor. I couldn't put up any resistance, since my limbs felt like they weighed far more than they should, but I let out a strangled gasp of pain as another huge shock went through my system and my heart suddenly stopped. _No… n-not now… I-I can't…_ I struggled to do something, _anything_ to get my body working again, but my mind grew hazy and the last thing I saw was the Doctor's worried and apologetic expression.

* * *

The Doctor continued to pound on the floor to try and get someone's attention. _Anyone's_ attention. He knew what was happening to Alex and he also knew that he had to get her heart restarted soon or she may very well die here. He heard someone coming up the steps and, though he didn't know who it could be other than Ada, he knew he had to do something. So he got up stiffly and shuffled his way over to the door, waiting for her to open the hatch. The moment it opened, he stuck his hand out and grabbed her; only for her to pull away and gasp. A gasp that most definitely _wasn't_ Ada's. Hope filled him as a familiar voice spoke up.

"Alright, mate. You just stay calm now."

The Doctor slammed his hand on the ground once to assure her he would.

"I could open this door. Would you like that?"

He did it again, hearts pounding rapidly in his chest as he tried to hurry this up.

"Thought you might. But you and me has got to come to an agreement. Savvy?"

He smacked the floor once more, glancing at Alex and knowing he only had a few precious minutes left.

"Now, you stand well back, do you hear me? I don't mean no harm to ya, but you try anything funny and I'll leave you here to rot. Is that understood?"

He hit the floor twice before he heard Jenny start working on the lock. The moment the door opened though, she stared at him in complete shock.

"Doctor!"

He let out a grunt, raising his stiff arms as she approached.

"What happened to you?!"

He grunted and gestured to his clothes on the floor.

"Can't you speak?"

He gave her a pointed look and she touched his cheek only to pull away in shock at the texture.

"Right. Right, we're getting out of here." She quickly undid the chains around his wrist.

He grunted again though and turned to Alex, lying on the ground and Jenny hurried to her side and checked her pulse. She turned to him in shock.

"T-There's no pulse."

He nodded jerkily and pointed to Alex's chest, trying to get Jenny to understand. Thankfully, she did and began doing chest compressions, before the Doctor grunted again to get her attention and he forced himself to hold up two fingers.

"Oh! Two hearts!" She realized and did chest compressions on the other side as well, before Alex suddenly gasped and rolled onto her side as she clutched at her chest and tried to return the air to her lungs.

The Doctor grunted in relief as Jenny rubbed her back for a moment before helping her up. He'd made it and, as much as he wanted to hug her and never let her go, his stiff limbs were preventing that. Along with the fact that they really needed to get out of here and find Clara. Alex winced, rubbing at her chest as Jenny helped the Doctor out, before her eyes widened as they left the room and headed down the stairs.

"T-Two hearts… I-I have two hearts."

She looked over at the Doctor in shock and he attempted a smile, but only succeeded in making his face hurt and grunting.

"T-That whole thing… That was my second heart staring up?"

He nodded as best he could and she gripped at her shirt, making him worried. She did just finish growing a second heart and was technically dead for a few minutes. He wouldn't be able to perform any tests or anything until later too, so he hoped that physically she was alright. Alex though, was more trying to get over this fact mentally. She had a second heart now and everything just sort of hit her at once because she wasn't human anymore. This cinched it for her. She had _two_ hearts in her chest, 'beating out a samba', as Cassandra once said, and this scared her. It was one thing being _told_ your body was changing like that, but for it to actually happen made her suddenly feel rather alone. She shook her head out of her thoughts though, knowing that there was more important things to worry about.

Once they passed the lift—barely missing Ada's return—they headed through a door and paused at a window displaying a group of people being dunked into a vat of boiling red goo.

"Oh my God." Jenny breathed out, but Alex pulled them away from it before the people were dunked.

"Don't… make him watch." She muttered under her breath and Jenny nodded before the Doctor gestured to a row of metal doors.

Progress was slow, but they eventually got there and the Doctor reached for the handle to one of them.

"You wanna go in there?" Jenny questioned in disbelief, but Alex nodded.

"Yes… He needs to… He can reverse what's happened to him." She took a deep breath, trying to get used to the new binary cardiovascular system she had as Jenny pulled open the door.

Alex then took the Doctor's clothes and passed him them, pulling out his sonic screwdriver and putting it into his hand with a small smile.

"G-Good luck, spaceman. See you when you're a little less… like a Slab."

He smiled a bit, and with shaky hands, used his sonic as Jenny closed the door and Alex, slumped against the side of the metal box. A couple of guards walked past, making Jenny join her for a minute, before she spoke.

"You okay?"

Alex nodded. "New heart. Still getting used to it. Give me a second."

She'd been regulating her breathing, taking deep a lungful of air and letting it out, before rubbing at her chest a bit.

"Okay. I should be alright for now. Just need to get my blood pumping a bit."

The door opened then and the Doctor jumped out, fully clothes and no longer red.

"Ah! Missed me?!"

"Doctor!" Jenny smiled as Alex grinned too.

"Jenny, Jenny, Jenny, Jenny, Jenny." He rushed to the end of the hall with a skip and a jump, before rushing back. "Just when you think your favorite lock-picking Victorian chambermaid will never turn up. Jenny."

He dipped her back and kissed her long and hard, making Alex's expression quickly drop, but the moment Jenny was standing back upright, she slapped him.

"You have no idea how good that feels." The Doctor muttered, before turning to Alex with a grin. "And Alexander!"

Alex scowled and quickly punched him, making him stumble back and raise a finger.

"I completely deserved that."

"You _bet_ you did." Alex said, before he clapped his hands together.

"Right! Mrs. Gillyflower. We've got to stop her. And then there's Clara. Poor Clara. Where's Clara?" He looked at Jenny before back at Alex, who sighed.

"In one of the houses, _petrified_, if you would."

"Perfect." He grinned, reaching over and kissing her cheek, before walking backwards.

"Clara?" Jenny questioned. "Doctor, wait—"

"Can't. Clara. Got to find." He rushed away, but Jenny went on.

"What happened to ya?! How long have you been like that?! Why was Alex there with ya?!"

He slid back into eye sight with a sad expression. "Days, weeks. Don't know. Long story. I'll keep it short."

* * *

Jenny and I followed after the Doctor as we navigated our way through the factory with him explaining how he got there and how I showed up, as well as how one of the corpses ended up with his image on the reflection of their eyes.

"Poor Edmund must have come looking for us and then fallen into a vat of the pure venom. Or was pushed." He said ominously, standing by a window. "Didn't stand a chance."

"What is that stuff though?" Jenny asked.

"Deadly poison. And Mrs. Gillyflower's been dipping her pilgrims in a dilute form to protect them." He scanned some nearby pipes with his sonic screwdriver. "Preserve them. Process didn't work on me. Maybe because I'm not human. I ended up on the reject pile."

"Preserve them against what?"

"Well, according to her, the coming apocalypse." The Doctor explained, waving a finger around his temple with whistle; having dubbed the woman crazy.

We started moving again as I read over the couple of pages in my book about this particular adventure and came to a part that caught my eye.

"'When the End of Days is come and judgment rains down upon us all'." I said out loud, making the Doctor turn to me in surprise.

"What?"

Before I could answer, Jenny spoke up. "That's something Mrs. Gillyflower said. One of her sermons." She then shook her head, getting back on task. "Madame will come looking for me. We'd best get on."

"Yes. Clara. Got to find Clara." The Doctor said, making us hurry off again.

"But Doctor? Clara's dead… Isn't she?"

The Doctor paused, making a face. "It's complicated."

I sighed. "Oh, more than you could even imagine."

I winced, rubbing my chest and still trying to get used to the feeling of a second heart beating around in my chest. Unfortunately, I caught the Doctor's attention as we moved outside and he eyed me worriedly.

"Are you alright?"

"What? No. Yeah. I'm fine." I said in reassurance. "Just trying to get used to 'beating out a samba'." I chuckled, making him smile a bit.

"Right. I'll have to check up on it once we're out of this mess and back at the Tardis. You were out of it for a bit, but everything should be fine."

"Out of i—I _died_!" I said in a loud whisper.

"Yes, well, you still have a mostly human body and when the second heart finished, it needed a little push to get going and used up all your energy in the process so your regular heart sort of… _stalled_, but it all worked out!" He explained quickly, waving his hands a bit, though I wasn't completely satisfied by his response. "I'll explain in more detail later, Alex. Right now, we need to find Clara."

I huffed, but knew he was right and reluctantly let it go as Jenny hurried up to his side.

"Are we talking about the same person? About _that_ Clara? Doctor!"

The Doctor rushed off to a house and hurried back, draping an arm over her shoulder. "I couldn't see much from where I was, but I think she survived the process and Alex said she was in one of these houses somewhere."

"But Clara _died_. The Ice Lady—"

He rushed off again and she gave him a pointed look.

"Doctor!"

"Sh!" He shushed her, trying to keep her voice down. "Well, it's… uh… it's complicated."

He rushed off a third time and I pulled Jenny after him, knowing that it was this house that had Clara in it and we entered to find the Doctor patting the glass. Rolling my eyes, I picked up a chair and passed it to him once he'd turned around.

He smiled, kissing my forehead briefly. "Love you."

"Mm, I should hope so." I hummed back, not entirely convinced with him kissing women left and right lately. _Though one kissed me, so I suppose we're a little even._

With a shout, he used the chair to break the glass and picked up Clara, rushing us all back to where the metal boxes were and shoving her into the one he reversed.

"Can she be revived like you were?" Jenny asked.

"I hope so." He said, keeping his eyes on the metal box and I put a hand on his shoulder.

"Not to worry, spaceman. She'll be fine. Promise."

He smiled a bit at that, before catching sight of something behind us and groaning.

"Oh great. _Great_. Attack of the supermodels. Time for a plan."

He whipped out his sonic as the group of them smacked bats into their palms and I suddenly felt energy rush through my system, making me bounce I place with a grin.

"Ooh, adrenaline rush. With _two_ hearts. Forget samba, I feel like running a marathon."

The Doctor gave me a grin. "Now you see where all my energy comes from."

"No kidding."

Jenny threw off her bonnet then, looking eager to get out of her stuffy dress as she stepped forward.

"Nah, Doctor, Alex. This one's on me."

"Oh, let me join in a _bit_." I whined. "I've got all this energy and nothing to do with it."

Jenny gave me a smirk. "Alright then. But just one."

The Doctor glanced at his sonic and then back at us, probably feeling a bit under equipped, and soon four men rushed at the two of us. The first two men, Jenny and I threw over our shoulders and slammed into the ground, leaving us vulnerable for the next two behind us, only for her to elbow one in the stomach with a swift punch to the temple; whereas I kneed the man attacking me in the kidney and slammed his head against the wall.

"That is a plan." The Doctor said from behind us, making Jenny and I smile back at him, only for the rest of the 'supermodels' to approach us. "Okay. Time for a new plan. Run!"

He grabbed Jenny's hand and mine, but before we could even go anywhere, there was a shout and lasers flying over our heads.

"Sontar ha!"

The men and women ran off as Strax rushed their way with his gun blazing, and the Doctor and I leaned back up against the metal boxes in shock as Madame Vastra hurried over with her sword.

"Let's go."

"No, ma'am." Jenny said. "We're not escaping. We've got to help the Doctor with Clara."

Vastra gave the Doctor a look, and he winced.

"Long story."

She noticed me then as I smiled and gave her a wave.

"Hello."

She let out a hiss though and slapped me hard across the face, making my head snap to the side as I blinked; completely lost. I put a hand to my cheek and turned back to her, holding up my other hand in surrender.

"U-Um, h-have I mentioned this is the first time I've met you three?"

She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Then you will do well to remember that and never touch her again."

I glanced at an embarrassed and blushing Jenny—assuming that was who she was talking about—and took a slight step back as I bowed my head a bit.

"R-Right. Yes. Of course."

I turned away and exaggeratedly mouthed the word 'ow' as I rubbed my cheek, silently questioning what I'd done to earn Vastra's wrath, but assuming that—once again—I'd gotten into women trouble. _It's like everyone's out to get me or something!_

"What now, madam?" Strax asked, approaching us now that the people had fled. "We could lay mimetic cluster mines!"

"Strax." Vastra said, trying to stop him.

"Or dig trenches and fill them with acid!" The potato-like alien said, practically bouncing up and down.

"Strax! You're overexcited. Have you been eating Miss Jenny's sherbet fancies again?"

He looked away guiltily. "No."

"Go outside and wait for me until I call for you." Vastra ordered.

"But madam, I—"

"Go!"

His face fell into a pout and my heart went out for the poor fella as he walked off dejectedly.

"I'm going to go play with my grenades."

I heard the Doctor's sonic then and turned to look as he peered into the metal box; my hand still on my aching cheek.

"Okay. I think she's about done."

_He makes it sound like he's baking something._ I mentally thought with a snigger. He pulled open the box then and he spoke to a very confused Vastra.

"I know who you think she is, but she isn't. She can't be."

"I was right then. You and Clara have unfinished business." She replied, as Clara swayed a bit and fell into the Doctor's arms.

"There, there. Hello, stranger." He hummed as she looked up at him dazedly.

"Doctor." She poked his face as he chuckled, before spotting Vastra and Jenny. "Hi. What's going on?"

"Oh, haven't you heard, love?" He asked in a silly accent. "There's trouble at mill."

I then leaned over his shoulder and gestured to Vastra. "And she's a lizard."

Vastra hissed at me and I held my hands up in surrender once more.

"Sorry, sorry. Silurian. Homo-reptilian." I turned to her with a nervous smile. "I was trying to keep things simple."

"Ah." Clara hummed from behind me, leaning towards me a bit now that the Doctor let her go. "I take it she doesn't like you then?"

I grimaced, speaking back to her quietly. "I-I seemed to have done something indecent with her wife. Later for me, earlier for them. And she slapped me just now too, in case you haven't noticed."

Clara glanced at my red cheek with a wince. "_Ooh_, no. I noticed."

"Heh. Nice to see you though, Clara." I said with a light chuckle giving her a side hug.

"You too, but how did you get here? Or, um, _when_?"

"Popped up mid afternoon yesterday in with the Doctor. Couldn't really do much as far as escaping though. I was having a bit of heart trouble." I hummed releasing her. "I have two now."

She gave me a curious frown. "Didn't you have two before?"

"Um, no. Maybe before with you, yes. But that was probably a future me. This is my first day with my new heart." I made a face. "It's… weird."

"Hm, I should think so." She mused before the Doctor clapped his hands together loudly to get our attention.

"Right then! I think we can talk about hearts later. Off we go!"

The group of us headed out, and as we did, Vastra explained a few things.

"My people once ruled this world, as well you know, but we did not rule it alone. Just as humanity fights a daily battle against nature, so did we. And our greatest plague, the most virulent enemy, was the repulsive red leech."

"Ooh, the Repulsive Red Leech." The Doctor grinned, apparently liking the name for a second, before changing his mind. "Nah. On balance, I think I prefer the Crimson Horror. What was it, exactly?"

"A tiny parasite. It infected our drinking water. And once in our systems, it secreted a fatal poison."

I rolled my eyes and nudged Clara. "Is it just me, or has he gotten a bit slower?"

"What do you mean?"

"She said it's a leech, right? What do leeches do? They attach themselves to a host. Find the host, you find the leech. That, and the chimney."

Clara's eyes widened and she pointed at me. "The chimney!"

I winked at her, nodding towards the Doctor as he continued to talk to Vastra. "Go on then. Tell him."

She nodded and moved forward a bit.

"If he's been hanging around, lurking in the shadows, maybe it's evolved. Or maybe it's had help."

"Doctor, Alex and I, we've been thinking. The chimney—"

He cut her off. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Way past that now. Yucky red parasite from the time of the dinosaurs pitches up in Victorian Yorkshire. Didn't see that one coming."

"Yeah, but the chimney—"

He ignored her again. "But what's the connection to Mrs. Gillyflower? Judgment will rain down on us all." He sapped his fingers as Clara gave me an annoyed look and I gestured to him, giving her permission. "An empty mill—"

Clara grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to pay attention. "A chimney that doesn't blow smoke."

It took him a moment, but then he grinned and looked up briefly. "Clever clogs."

"Missed me?" She asked and his smile grew.

"Yeah, lots."

He kissed her forehead and then turned to the lift, pushing open the grating as we all filed in after him, heading for the boiler room. On the way though, I gave him a look as he bounced from foot to foot excitedly.

"You know, Doctor, you really should start taking words in their literal sense."

He gave me a look. "Literal? Is that a hint?"

"Mm, yeah. A big one, I think." I hummed, looking around lazily. "I mean a _leech_ and _judgment raining down_. Those are some pretty big words."

The group all gave me odd looks, but I'd already told Clara the leech bit and she gave me a small smile.

"You _could_ just tell him, you know."

"Oh, but where's the fun in that?" I asked with a smug grin, winking at her before pulling the grating open and bounding out of the lift with them on my heels.

The five of us soon crouched down behind some equipment in the room, watching as the group of 'supermodels' moved around to prepare things as my words clicked in.

"Alex was right. She's going to poison the air."

"How?" Jenny asked and lights came on to reveal the rocket.

"By making it rain down from the sky." I hummed, the group looking at the rocket with gaping mouths.

A pilgrim lifted a cloth to reveal a large jar of red poison in a basket.

"And there's the poison… Alright, gang. I've got a plan." He got up, but accidentally kicked a piece of metal and we all ducked down again to avoid being spotted as he shushed us and whispered. "Okay."

We got up more carefully this time and left the room, Vastra and Jenny splitting off to go take care of the poison, as the Doctor, Clara and I headed after Mrs. Gillyflower. Thing was, once we were headed that way, we came upon Ada as she cried in a corner.

"Doctor." I called out, stopping him before he could pass her by and making him double back.

"Who is that? Who is there?" Ada asked and the Doctor knelt down in front of her, taking her hand and bringing it up to his face to help her 'see' him. "You. It's you. My monster. You've come back. But you're…"

"Warm and alive, thanks to you, Ada. You saved me from your mother's human rubbish tip. Now, hey, what's wrong?"

"She does not want me, monster. I am not to be chosen. Perhaps it was my own sin, the blackness in my heart that my father saw in me."

"Ada, _no_. That's nonsense. Stupid, backward nonsense and you know it. You know it." The Doctor reassured her, holding her face and wiping the tears from her cheeks, brushing his fingers over one of her scars.

"What is it?" Clara asked, seeing his gaze go serious suddenly and Ada turned her way.

"Who is that?"

"A friend." I said, speaking up as well. "Clara and I, we're his friends."

"Then you are fortunate indeed." She said, turning her head my way as I crouched down beside her. "It isn't good to be alone."

I brought my hand up and rubbed her arm in reassurance. "Yes. You're right. It's never good to be alone and I am _so_ sorry that you consider yourself alone, Ada. And I would never wish for anyone to hurt you as deeply as your mother did, but there is something you must know." I swallowed thickly, wishing that Ada wouldn't have to know what her mother had done to her because of how much it hurt her, but knowing that she would need to know in order to find some sense of peace.

I took her hand and brought it to my forehead as I bowed my head apologetically. "And I am so, _so_ sorry because as much as I wish I could've stopped this, there is nothing I can do."

"You speak as though you will prevent something that has yet to happen." She said, pulling her hand from mine and holding my face now. "Something that will happen to me that will hurt me greatly, but I do not know you. How could you be so hurt for someone you've never met?"

"Because you are so kind, Ada." I answered, staring right at her and feeling my hearts clench in pain for what her mother did to her. "You have saved someone very important to me out of the kindness of your heart, and your mother is unable to see this kindness and it hurts me to know that. To know that someone as beautiful as you is treated so poorly."

Ada pulled her hands from my face, turning away. "I am not beautiful."

"Yes, you are." I pushed. "Because, as lame as this sounds, beauty is not always defined as one's outside appearance. It is what is inside that counts and I have never seen someone so beautiful as you, Ada."

"Your words are too kind for someone like me." She said, wringing her hands together in nervousness.

"Can you come with us, Ada?" I asked, cautiously. "I know you do not wish to betray your mother, as cruel to you as she is, but… there is something you must know."

She nodded slowly and I helped her up, taking her arm in mine and leading her to the room where her mother would be waiting; the Doctor and Clara following. Once there though, I asked Ada to stay quiet and wait, just within ear shot as the rest of us went and confronted the woman. Mrs. Gillyflower hardly seemed bothered though.

"Oh, you do seem to keep turning up like a bad penny, young man."

"Force of habit."

_Pft, and Twelve doesn't like bantering._ I mentally thought with a roll of my eyes.

"Can I offer you something? Tea? Seed cake? Oh, a glass of Amontillado?" She said with a gasp, clasping her hands together excitedly.

"No thanks. We've had a skinful day already, as you might say."

"Ha, ha. Very funny." She said, dropping her smile as I leaned up against a wall nearby and Clara wandered the room.

"Yes. I'm the Doctor, you're _nuts_, and I'm going to stop you."

"I'm afraid Mr. Sweets and I cannot allow that."

"Ah, yes. Would it be impolite to ask why you and Mr. Sweet are petrifying your workforce with diluted prehistoric leech venom?"

"So when do we get to meet him, this silent partner of yours? Why's he so shy?" Clara asked, taking the opportunity to ask while the Doctor took a breath.

"We've already met him, Clara." I replied, giving her a look. "Remember what I told you? He's a leech. Find the right host…"

I gestured over to Mrs. Gillyflower and her mouth dropped open in understanding.

"Oh…" She then wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Ew."

I couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Ew, is right."

"Oh, you're clever, aren't you?" Mrs. Gillyflower complimented me, before smiling back at the Doctor. "Mr. Sweets is always with us."

She unbuttoned the top of her dress then, to reveal a red leech clinging to her chest.

"Doctor, what is it?" Clara asked as Mrs. Gillyflower sat down to feed him; myself making a face in disgust at the drool on the old woman's chest.

_Ew! God, give the parasite a napkin or something!_

"A survivor." Mrs. Gillyflower answered her. "He has grown _fat_ on the _filth_ humanity has pumped into the rivers. That's where I found him."

"Very enterprising."

"His needs are simple and in return, he give me his nectar."

"Mrs. Gillyflower." The Doctor approached her and sat on the arm of her chair with a stern expression. "You have no idea what you are dealing with. In the wrong hands, that venom could wipe out all life on this planet."

I sighed loudly, catching the Doctor's questioning glance before I gestured to Mrs. Gillyflower, who was holding out her hands.

"Do you know what these are? Ha, ha! The wrong hands!"

She got up and pulled a lever on the whirring console and the Doctor headed over to the window to catch sight of the large chimney that now had a row of glowing red lights trailing up the side.

"Planning a little fireworks party, are we?"

"You have forced me to advance the Great Work somewhat, Doctor, but my colossal scheme remains as it was. My rocket will explode high in the atmosphere, raining down Mr. Sweet's beneficence onto all humanity."

"And wiping us all out. You can't!" Clara exclaimed, the Doctor having to hold her back.

"My new Adam and Eves will sleep for but a few months before stepping out into a golden dawn. Is that not beautiful, Doctor?" She asked, hands clasped in front of her once more and the Doctor clapped.

"Now, tell us about Ada, Mrs. Gillyflower."

"What?"

"Your daughter. You do remember your daughter? Tell us about your daughter." He said, sitting down once more.

"How can you speak of such trivia when my hour is at hand? The child is of no consequence."

"Is that why you experimented on her?" I asked, my expression barely hiding my rage as my fists shook slightly at my sides.

"Experimented?" Clara questioned and the Doctor explained, eyeing me cautiously.

"The signs are all there. The pattern of scarring."

"You used her a guinea pig." I snarled, taking a step forward, feeling a bit of satisfaction when she took a slight step back.

"God…" Clara breathed out.

"Sometimes sacrifices must be made." Mrs. Gillyflower said, hiding any fear she had for me as the Doctor stood up and I moved closer.

"_Sacrifices_?" I hissed out.

"It was necessary." She said back. "I had to find out how much of the venom would produce an anti-toxin to immunize myself. Don't you see? It was necessary!"

The Doctor grabbed my wrist to keep me from possibly attacking the woman—the drumming so loud I could hardly hear anything now—and Ada stepped out.

"Mama? Is it… Is it true?"

"Ada." Mrs. Gillyflower drawled out.

"It is. It's true. True."

"Ada, listen to me." Mrs. Gillyflower tried, but Ada was furious.

"You hag! You perfidious hag! You virago! You harpy! All these years I have helped you, served you, looked after you. Do they count for nothing? Nothing at all?"

Ada picked up her walking stick and I, begrudgingly, moved between them, getting hit in the shoulder a few times before I managed to grab the walking stick and approach Ada.

"Ada. Ada, stop it, please."

"No! Did you not hear what she did?! Do you not see what she did?!" Ada cried out, tears streaming down her face as I went over and pulled her into a hug; wincing slightly at my aching shoulder.

_She really has a good arm._ "Please, Ada. Hate her as much as you please, but you can be better than her. Be better than your mother, because I promise she will get what she deserves."

Ada choked on a sob and clung to me and I shushed her and did my best to comfort her, a little uncomfortable with the crying woman, but not so much that I would leave her on her own right now. Beside us though, Clara had picked up a chair to deal with the console.

"Hang on, I've got a sonic screwdriver!" The Doctor said, trying to stop her.

"Yeah? I've got a chair." She said back, smashing it into the control panel as sparks flew and Mrs. Gillyflower cried out in shock.

"No!"

"Yeah, that worked." The Doctor reluctantly admitted, before speaking to Mrs. Gillyflower as Ada calmed down enough to release me. "I'm afraid your rocket isn't going anywhere, Mrs. G."

"Please, come to me, Ada." Mrs. Gillyflower called out as Ada cried quietly.

"Ada, please." I muttered back. "I only want to help and if you go to her now—"

"But she is my mother." Ada argued, though her words seemed hollow, even to me.

"But Ada—"

"I'm sorry." She replied, moving over to the woman who hugged her.

"Oh, my child. You have always been so very…" Mrs. Gillyflower pulled out a revolver and held it to Ada's head with a snarl. "…useful."

"No, Mrs. Gillyflower." The Doctor sighed out as Ada begged.

"Please, mama. No more. No more."

Mrs. Gillyflower ignored her. "And now, if you'll please forgive us, we must be going. It is long past Ada's bedtime."

She opened the door behind her and led Ada and herself out of it, shutting it just as Clara rushed for the door, but the Doctor stopped her.

"No, no, Clara. If we follow straight after her, she'll shoot Ada on the spot."

"She wouldn't." Clara said, though she sounded unsure.

"She would."

Clara rounded on me then and I stiffened at the look in her eyes. "You knew about this, didn't you?"

"Clara." The Doctor warned, seeing where this was going, but she ignored him.

"No. You knew. If you knew, why didn't you do something? Stop her or, or something!" She yelled at me and I held my hands out in surrender.

"I tried, Clara."

"Hardly!"

I winced, knowing she was right. "But I can't force her to do anything. You have to understand that, Clara. I can't force her to throw away the trust she has for her mother. And even if I _did_ force her to stay here, don't you think that'd do more harm than good? She sees us as nice people, but doing that could changed everything."

"Well she wouldn't have a gun pointed at her head, that's for sure!"

I brought a hand up to my head, dragging it down my face. "You don't get it. You don't understand. It wouldn't have changed just that. Mrs. Gillyflower could've taken someone else hostage. Or she could've ran off and we'd never find her or Mr. Sweets again. There's so many things that could've happened, that could've made things even worse than they already are. And I can't predict that! I can't guess what consequences there could be because of what I change. One wrong move and I could end up being the cause of the end of the universe!"

She eyed me with a stern frown on her face, the three of us standing in silence for a moment before she spoke.

"Will she be okay?"

I nodded, tired of getting into this situation with the Doctor's companions. "Yes. Yes. She'll be fine. I promise."

Clara held my gaze for a second, before nodding. "She better. Or I'm holding you personally responsible."

"Wouldn't be the first time." I muttered under my breath, before she whirled around and punched me hard in the shoulder; the same place I'd been hit with Ada's walking stick. "Ow! That _really_ hurt!"

"That's for not telling us." She said, ignoring my pain before turning to the Doctor. "So? What now?"

"Ah, well, um…" He looked between us a few times as I held my arm with a painful grimace, before turning around and spotting the chair, clapping his hands before pulling it out. "Chair! Chairs _are_ useful!"

Clara grinned at him, before he went and used it to break through the window. Clara and I followed after him, climbing through the window with minimal injuries before rushing through Sweetville to the boiler room where the rocket was. The Doctor looked around for a moment, before I grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the stairs spiraling around the rocket; Mrs. Gillyflower ahead of us shouting for us to stop once she caught sight of us.

"Just let her go." I pleaded, not wanting to end up with another life on my hands should something have changed. "Let Ada go."

"Secondary firing mechanism, Doctor." She said, ignoring me. "Mr. Sweet and I are too smart for you after all."

"Just let your daughter go, Mrs. Gillyflower." He asked as well, before Ada managed to get free and stumble down towards us a ways; Mrs. Gillyflower aiming her gun at her.

"Shoot if you wish, mama! It is of no matter, for you killed me a long time ago!"

I made to grab her, but Mrs. Gillyflower shot at me, making me back up a bit as the bullet bounced off the railing. Not one to be deterred, I tried again, only for the same result. _Dammit, come on. _

"I'll labor night and day to be a pilgrim." Mrs. Gillyflower sang, opening a panel with the controls, starting up the engines as I reached Ada and shielded her should the rocket flames be bigger than they were in the show.

I got lucky though, since they weren't even big enough to singe us as the rocket took off.

"Now, Mr. Sweet. Now the whole world will taste your lethal kiss!" Mrs. Gillyflower said in triumph, but the Doctor ended that quickly.

"I don't think so, Mrs. Gillyflower."

He snapped his fingers and Vastra and Jenny above us with the venom in hand.

"Very well then. If I can't take the world with me, you will have to do." She said, turning her gun towards Vastra and Jenny. "Die, you freaks! Die! Die!"

Before she could even get off a shot though, Strax spoke up from where he was at the top of the chimney; gun aimed right at her.

"Put down your weapon, human female!"

We all chuckled at that and Mrs. Gillyflower shot up at Strax, who returned fire, making her loose her grip and fall over the side of the railing. I rushed to the side and reached for her, but she flew right past; out of my reach as she fell and hit the ground painfully.

"Ouch." The Doctor winced from beside me as I sighed and brought my hand back and we hurried down the stairs to see the parasite climbing off of her as she begged him to stay.

"No. No. Mr. Sweet. Where are you going? You can't leave me now, Mr. Sweet."

"What's it doing?" Clara asked.

"It knows she's dying. She's no longer of any use to it."

"Mr. Sweet." Mrs. Gillyflower called out, before changing her call. "Ada? Ada, are you there?"

Ada made her way down the stairs. "I'm here, mama."

"Forgive me, my child… Forgive me."

"I will." She said, surprising me. "I will forgive you, because… because even after what you did to me… I am still kind enough to forgive you."

Mrs. Gillyflower died with a confused expression on her face and the rocket in the sky exploded, drawing our attention upwards for only a brief moment before we returned our attention to the parasite called Mr. Sweet.

"What will you do with that thing?" Jenny asked as Ada got up.

"Take it back to the Jurassic era, maybe. Out of harm's way."

Or so he said. Ada got to the parasite first though and promptly beat it with her walking stick as we all sort of cringed away.

"On the other hand…" He tried to think up something to say, but came up with nothing and gave up, before we all headed out and began the daunting task of releasing all of the petrified people still locked up in glass cases.

By the time we finished, it was morning and the group of us all headed back to where the Tardis was; some more excited than others.

"Right. Right, London. We were heading for London, weren't we?"

"Was there any particular reason?"

"No. No. Just thought you… might like it."

"Yeah. Maybe had enough of Victorian values for a bit." She said, opening the door to the Tardis.

"You're the boss." He replied back.

"Am I?" She asked with a smirk, poking her head back out as I chuckled.

"No. _No_." He frowned. "Get in."

She gave him a look, but did as he said before he turned to me.

"And you. Clever you."

I rolled my eyes, moving around him with a hand tossed over my shoulder. "Yeah, yeah. Med bay. I know. Stop trying to flatter me, spaceman."

He grabbed my arm and pulled me around, kissing me before pulling away with a smug look. "_Never_."

I blinked up at him, still shocked by the amount of attention the Doctor gives me, before giving him a look and slowly pulling his arms off me.

"Right. Down boy." I glanced past him at Ada and the others and back at him. "Don't be too long. I don't know when I'll pop off and I'd _hate_ to find out next trip that I'm dying."

"Hm." He hummed a chuckle as I headed for the Tardis door. "I'll be quick."

"You better!" I called out before the door shut, only to lean up against it and bring a hand to my red face. "_G-God_, he needs to stop doing that."

"Stop doing what?" Clara asked, a knowing grin on her face as she peered out from behind the console at me as my face grew even more red and she laughed.

"S-S-Shut up!"

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"Alright, Holmes, deduction time." I muttered quietly to myself, tucking my hands into my Belstaff coat as I looked around and wandered._

Metal walls._ I tapped the tip of my foot against the floor. _Metal floors. A spaceship, most likely. Which means I'm not in the past._ I frowned a bit at that. _Doesn't say much. I do travel with the Doctor, after all. But why is this so familiar?_ I walked down the hallway, looking this way and that, noticing the lack of people milling about, before I finally caught something that told me exactly where I was._

_"God, no…"_

_My hearts sank at the sight of the large printed numbers on the wall at the end of the hall. Numbers 467. _A spaceship with over 400 floors. Rose…


	30. Bad Wolf & The Parting of Ways

**Here's the next chapter! Since we've reached chapter thirty, I will be slowing down updates to twice a week. Probably on Tuesdays and Fridays (Pacific California time for those reading who are out of that area). But not to worry! I've just finished writing the 44th chapter, so there's still plenty more to come :) Thanks to those who have reviewed, favorited, followed, etc. and a special thanks to grapejuice101 who's been helping me with chapters and letting me bounce ideas off them ^^**

**Guest: I just wanted to let you know, and you'll know who you are, that I will get around to addressing the issues with the Doctor and Alex's relation ship in a later chapter. You are right and I am sorry if the problem has effected the way you view this story, but I _will_ bring it up. It will just be a little while, unfortunately. thank you for bringing it to my attention though. i definitely took what you said into account when i wrote the chapter that will discuss their relationship issues.**

**jmc666:**** as far as Lukas and Jenny go, I only just realized that Alex doesn't bring them up and i thank you for pointing that out. Perhaps in a later chapter i will have her ask and visit them. :)**

**Sesame Seed: i've thought about a crossover idea, but if i were to write it up and post it, it would be posted as something completely separate from this story. don't know when/if i'll get around to it though. sorry :/ but thanks for the review and it definitely has me thinking, so maybe~**

**10th Squad 3rd Seat:**** as far as Alex kissing Jenny or vise versa, i can't really say ;) spoilers and all. that, and i haven't gotten around to writing the episode that Alex firsts meets them, yet. that will be the deciding chapter that will explain what exactly happened, but i need to get there first :) you will find out eventually though. **

* * *

I actually landed on my feet when I landed after popping off while at some planet with these rainbow colored dog things that fed on negative emotions or something. _Kharitites I think the Doctor called them…_ I mused, before getting a look around and scratching the back of my head. The metal hallways looked _really_ familiar, but my mind was struggling to give a name to wherever I'd ended up.

"Alright, Holmes, deduction time." I muttered quietly to myself, tucking my hands into my Belstaff coat as I looked around and wandered.

_Metal walls._ I tapped the tip of my foot against the floor. _Metal floors. A spaceship, most likely. Which means I'm not in the past._ I frowned a bit at that. _Doesn't say much. I _do_ travel with the Doctor, after all. But why is this so familiar?_ I walked down the hallway, looking this way and that, noticing the lack of people milling about, before I finally caught something that told me _exactly_ where I was.

"God, no…"

My hearts sank at the sight of the large printed numbers on the wall at the end of the hall. Numbers 467. _A spaceship with over 400 floors. Rose…_ I quickly ran to the door for the lift and pushed the button repeatedly to try and make it reach me faster.

"Come on, come on, come on." I muttered quickly under my breath. "Why can't they have stairs? I'd take the stairs. Lifts are always bad. What if there's a fire? What if it falls? What if it moves too slowly and I don't make it? So many problems with lifts. Too many."

The lift dinged and I grinned.

"Ha!"

I quickly ducked into it and skimmed my notebook quickly before I found the floor I needed and input it into the computer. _407\. Game room 6. Rose is playing 'The Weakest Link' with the Anne Droid and if I make it, I can stop her from being brought to the Daleks. I might take her place, but if I'm lucky, we can _both_ avoid it._ I suddenly dragged my thoughts to a halt._ But what will that change? If the Daleks don't have Rose to threaten the Doctor with, will they attack at all? He might not even realize they're out there._ I shook my head quickly, determination welling up in me. _No. I'll take her place. That way she's safe and everything stays the way it should and she won't have to face that. She won't have to be scared._

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself, because _I_ was a bit scared. The first time I dealt with the Daleks, they tortured me to get the Doctor's attention and the second time I was half starved and ended up loosing Rose. A hand drifted to my stomach where the crescent shaped scar lay, aching slightly at knowing I was going to have to face them again. _I can do it._ I reassured myself. I knew I could, because the Doctor had to face these things in a war. And all I was doing, was trying to keep Rose safe. _Because I couldn't save her in the end._ The lift finally opened up and I rushed down the hall, searching for Game Room 6, only to remember something else once I'd reached it.

"Dammit! I can't open the door!" I shouted, slamming a fist against it in frustration. "Idiot, idiot, idiot. How can I be so stupid?"

Grumbling curses under my breath, I dug through my coat pockets in search for something useful and tossing the rest of the stuff over my shoulder. _Scissors, notepad, pens, rubber duck, banana, Groucho Glasses, beanie, socks, torch, Stiletto heels?_ I held up the bright red shoes in confusion, mouthing the words 'what the heck' before tossing them onto the ever growing pile of things I may never have a use for. I wasn't finding anything and began to get more desperate until I held up a plain black card, about the size of a credit card. I furrowed my brows at it in confusion, wondering what the heck it could be, before I glanced at the door and the panel next to it. _Maybe—_

"Game Room 6, which one is it?!" I heard a shout from nearby, leaning back to poke my head out to see the Ninth Doctor, Jack, and Lynda rushing over.

"Over here! Ah!"

Lynda caught sight of me, bringing everyone else's attention to me as I grinned and waved a bit.

"Hello."

"Alex?" Jack questioned. "What are you doing here?!"

I blinked. "I was digging through my pockets in the hopes I'd have something to open this door."

"Move." The Doctor demanded, glancing once at the pile of junk on the floor before shaking his head and trying to hack into the door lock.

Jack caught sight of the pile and picked up the rubber duck in question. "Really?"

I shrugged, before smiling at Lynda. "Hello, Lynda with a 'y'." I stuck out my hand to shake hers. "Alexander Holmes. You can call me Alex and yes, we've never met. I'm kind of psychic."

"Psh." The Doctor scoffed and I rolled my eyes.

"Shut it. It's better than explaining the whole TV show thing."

"Don't bother me. I'm busy." He complained, making me head over and push him aside.

"Too bad, _Busy._ Because I think I found something that might work." I held the black card up to the lock and with a click, the door opened, making me smirk smugly at the Doctor as he gaped in shock and I hurried in.

"Rose!"

Rose turned and caught sight of me, eyes widening as I rushed towards her and the Doctor and Jack hurried in behind me; though I was well ahead of them.

"A-Alex! Doctor! Look out of the Anne Droid, it's armed!"

"I know!" I shouted back as she ran towards us.

"Stop this game! I order you to stop this game!" The Doctor shouted as well, Jack pointing a gun at the workers.

"Stop this game."

"You are the weakest link." The Anne Droid said and I quickly grabbed Rose and pulled her in front of me as I turned my back to the robot, giving her a small smile as I mouthed 'I'm sorry' and was vaporized.

* * *

Rose's eyes dropped to the ground where a small pile of dust laid; the remnants of Alex. Tears filled her eyes as the Doctor ran over to her and pulled her close to him, his own eyes sorrowful at the loss of the red-headed woman, but not nearly as upset as he would've been should Rose have been the one to be vaporized. Jack though, was furious and stormed over to the people running the game threateningly.

"What the hell did you do to her?!"

The Doctor knelt down and picked up some of the dust between his fingers, feeling his hearts clench at knowing someone else had died when he could've stopped it and the fact that he'd been treating Alex rather poorly lately, and she'd just saved Rose's life. Tears streamed down Rose's face as she brushed her own hand through the sand, sobbing.

"S-She saved me! She pushed me away, Doctor! She saved my life a-and I hardly even know her!"

Guards had apparently been called and stormed over to the Doctor and Rose, grabbing them both in their sorrow and pointing a gun at the Doctor as Jack caught sight of them.

"Don't you touch them! Leave them alone!"

"Sir, put the gun down or I'll have to shoot."

Jack did, begrudgingly, and was grabbed by some other guards, shouting and struggling all the way.

"You killed her! Your stupid freaking game show killed her!"

The guards ignored him and the one holding the quiet Doctor spoke. "Sir, I'm arresting you under Private Legislation Sixteen of the Game Station Syndicate."

He continued to tell them their rights, but the Doctor had tuned him out, going over the moments he'd had with Alex. _She's dead... I just... can't believe she's dead. Rose is right. We hardly knew her. We knew almost nothing about her. She might have family out there somewhere. And she... she risked her life to save Rose. I was suspicious of her, but she... she didn't once not show her trust in me. She told me I was brilliant. Even when I yelled at her and sent her away, she came back and helped. And the gold dust..._ His thoughts turned to a new direction as he turned his head for his mug shot. _She might've been a Time Lord... She... She could've been family._ His hearts broke at that thought as he was seated back down on the bench beside Rose who clung to his arm and cried quietly; the guard waving his sonic in his face, ignored. _My only family may have just been disintegrated... No. I can't keep sitting here sulking._ Fury filled him and he brought a hand over to Rose's, grasping it in comfort. _Everything's wrong and it needs to be fixed._

He turned to Jack then, as the guard went to leave the cage they were in. "Let's do it."

Jack quickly got up and punched the guard, before grabbing the top of the cage and using it to kick the other; powering through another guard outside as the Doctor slammed the last guard into a wall. Jack grabbed a couple of guns as the Doctor grabbed his sonic and pulled Rose after him; the two leading the way as Jack passed him the larger gun and began loading his other guns in the lift.

"Floor 500." The Doctor told Lynda, who sent the floor for the lift as the four of them headed up.

The lift doors opened and everyone came out, guns raised at the group of workers as Jack began crowding them into a corner.

"Okay, move away from the desk! Nobody try anything clever. Everybody clear. Stand to the side and stay there."

"Who's in charge of this place?" The Doctor demanded of the pale woman hanging from a set of wires, muttering numbers under her breath. "This satellite's more than a Game Station."

She continued counting and the Doctor grew even more angry.

"Who killed Alexander Holmes?!" He shouted, Rose coming up beside him and putting an arm on his, relaxing him slightly as the woman mentioned something about solar flares. "I want an answer!"

"She can't reply." A staff member said; the Doctor aiming his weapon his way and making the man hold his hands up in surrender. "Don't shoot!"

"Oh, don't be so thick." The Doctor said, tossing the weapon to the man, who caught it. "Like I was ever gonna shoot."

"Um, Doctor?" Rose called out, looking at a monitor. "What are these red dots?"

He glanced over and began spouting orders to Jack. "Captain, we've got more guards on the way up. Secure the exits."

"Yes, sir." Jack said, heading off to the door as the Doctor turned back to the skittish man holding his gun.

"You. What were you saying?"

"But... I've got your gun." He said, looking down at the weapon and the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Okay. So shoot me. Why can't she answer?"

"She, um..." He looked down at the weapon he was holding again. "Can I put this down?"

"If you want. Just hurry up."

The man put the weapon on the floor. "Thanks. Sorry, um... The Controller is linked to the transmissions. The entire output goes through her brain. You're not a member of staff, so she doesn't recognize your existence."

"What's her name?" The Doctor asked, hoping that maybe by calling her her name, he'd get a response.

"I don't know." The man replied. "She was installed when she was five years old. That's the only life she's ever known."

The Doctor felt his hearts clench at the thought, but before he could say anything, Jack spoke up.

"Door's sealed. We should be safe for about ten minutes."

"Keep an eye on them." The Doctor said, before the skittish man spoke up again.

"But that stuff you were saying about something going on with the game Station. I think you're right. I've kept a log. Unauthorized transmats, encrypted signals. It's been going on for years."

"Show me." The Doctor demanded and the man went over to the desk as Jock went to open a door.

"You're not allowed in there." A stern sounding woman spoke up. "Archive Six is out of bounds."

Jack held up his guns, mockingly. "Do I look like an out of bounds sort of guy?"

The door opened and he headed in, not surprised to see the Tardis there as he headed in and checked for any sign of hope that Alex may still be alive out there somewhere.

"What the hell..."

Meanwhile, the stern woman from before was arguing with Rose and the Doctor.

"If you're not holding us hostage, then open the door and let us out. The staff are terrified."

"Why?" Rose countered, still upset about what happened to Alex. "You guys are the ones killing people every day."

"That's not our fault." The woman countered. "We're just doing our jobs."

And that comment sent the Doctor over the edge. "And with that sentence, you just lost the right to even talk to us. Now back off!"

Lynda flinched as Rose sighed, looking up at the Doctor in question.

"Doctor, why do you think Alex did that? She must've known what was going to happen, but she saved me anyway. Why?"

The Doctor's eyes softened. "I don't know, Rose. Like you said, we hardly even know her."

"Yeah, but she said she knows us." Rose countered, sadness leaking into her voice. "And she... she was smiling when it happened, Doctor. Why would she be smiling, knowing that she was going to..."

Rose trailed off, not wanting to say that Alex was dead, but her heart clenched at the thought, despite the word staying unspoken. The Doctor couldn't respond either. He had absolutely no idea why Alex would be smiling and the only thing he could come up with was that she was happy to have saved Rose. But there was this nagging feeling telling him that that wasn't all there was to it. It just didn't seem like her. Sure, she'd be happy, but he knew how humans worked. He knew that they had a natural survival instinct that would tell them to stay away from death. Alex knowing that she would've been disintegrated and still jumping into it anyway—and with a _smile_, no less—seemed _wrong_ somehow. _If she knew, why didn't she just prevent it? She could've tackled Rose to the ground and saved herself _and_ Rose. But she didn't. She had time to move them both out of the way, but she stopped and turned her back to the Anne Droid, making sure _she_ was the one who was shot instead of Rose. Why?_

Before he could think about it much longer, the screen on the desk in front of him turned to static; along with all the other screens.

"That's just the solar flares." Pavale—the skittish guy from before—explained. "They interfere with the broadcast signal, so this place automatically powers down. Planet Earth gets a few repeats. It's all quite normal."

"Doctor." The Controller breathed out in a harsh whisper, drawing Rose's attention to her.

"Doctor?" Rose spoke up, tugging on his arm and pointing over to the woman. "I think she wants you."

"Doctor?" The woman repeated. "Doctor? Where's the Doctor?"

The Doctor headed over with Rose at his side as he looked over the woman in concern and questioning.

"I'm here."

"Can't see. I'm blind. So blind. All my life, blind." The woman said. "All I can see is numbers, but I saw you."

"What do you want?" He asked, pulling Rose to him as she brought a mouth to her hand in shock and sadness for the woman hanging above them.

"Solar flares hiding me. They can't hear me. My masters. They always listen, but they can't hear me now. The sun. The sun is so bright."

"Who are you masters?"

"They wired my head. The name's forbidden. They control my thoughts. My masters." She explained cryptically. "My masters, I had to be careful. They monitor transmissions, but they don't watch the programs. I could hide you inside the games. Knew that you would find me."

"My friend died inside your games."

"The Seer." She breathed out, making the Doctor furrow his eyebrows. "The Seer is safe. It doesn't matter."

He had no idea who this 'Seer' was that the woman was talking about, but he grew angry upon hearing that she didn't care about Alex dying.

"Don't you _dare_ tell me that." He snapped, but she went on, completely ignoring him.

"They've been hiding. My masters, hiding in the dark space. Watching and shaping Earth so, so, so many years. Always been there, guiding humanity, hundreds and hundreds of years."

"Who are they?"

"They wait and plan and grow in numbers. They're strong now. So strong, my masters."

"Who are they?" Rose asked this time, worry settling heavily in her stomach.

"But they speak of you and the Seer, my masters. They fear the Doctor and the Seer."

"Tell me, who are they?" The Doctor demanded, but the power came back on and the Controller went back to whispering numbers. He quickly turned to Pavale. "When's the next solar flare?"

"Two years time." He responded, taking off his headphones.

"Fat lot of good that is." The Doctor snapped, anger growing inside him at the lack of answers he'd been provided as Jack came out of Archive Six.

"Found the Tardis." He said, looking pleased with himself.

"We're not leaving now." The Doctor said back, not liking how happy Jack was at the moment when they were in a crisis.

"No, but the Tardis worked it out. You'll want to watch this." He said, moving Pavale and sitting at a desk and gesturing to Lynda. "Lynda, could you stand over there for me please?"

"I just want to go home." The woman said, worried, as Jack smiled politely.

"It'll only take a second. Could you stand in that spot, quick as you can."

She did and Jack looked briefly at everyone.

"Everybody watching? Okay, three, two, one."

He pushed a button and a beam came down, making Lynda disappear with a bit of dust on the floor. The Doctor's eyes quickly widened in shock as Rose shouted at him.

"You've killed her!"

"Oh, do you think?" Jack said, pushing another button and making Lynda reappear over by them.

"What the hell was that?" Lynda questioned as Rose and the Doctor turned to Jack for an explanation.

"It's a transmat beam. Not a disintegrator. A secondary transmat system. People don't get killed in the games. They get transported across space. Doctor, Rose, Alex is still alive!"

The three of them hugged each other with relieved laughs, Jack picking up Rose and spinning her around as the Doctor grinned.

"You see?! I knew it! I knew something was wrong! Alex could've save you, Rose, _and_ herself, but she didn't! She took the hit, _knowing_ that it wasn't going to kill her!"

Rose was put back down, but gave him a confused look. "But why? Why not just stay with us?"

He suddenly frowned then. "That's a good question. Why would she allow herself to be taken by the transmat?"

"Maybe it has something to do with where's she's at." Jack offered and the Doctor nodded, rushing over to the desks and getting Pavale and Jack to work on tracking Alex down.

"She's out there somewhere."

"Doctor." The Controller spoke up, surprising him as a box popped up on the monitor in front of him. "Coordinates five point six point one."

"Don't!" He told her, worried. "The solar flare's gone. They'll hear you!"

"Point four three four." She went on, before growing pained. "No, my masters, no! I defy you! Stigma seven seven—"

She was cut off then with a scream as she was transported out of the room by a transmat; making the Doctor's face drop.

"They took her."

* * *

I shifted with a wince, pushing myself up and into a sitting position as I cradled my head, trying to push the drumming to the back of my mind as my stomach flipped around uneasily, thanks to the transmat. _Ugh, not the best way to travel. I feel a little... scrambled. But at least Rose is safe._ I glanced up upon hearing the familiar whirring of a Dalek coming over and begrudgingly stood when it approached.

"Well, hello there, saltshaker." I quipped with a forced smile; struggling to keep my calm as my hands twitched lightly at my side. "Might I ask you to do me a favor?"

"We do not take orders from humans!" It shouted at me and I winced, furrowing my brows as I stuck a finger in my ear and wiggled it around a bit.

"Yeah, yeah. No need to shout." I lowered my hand and stuffed them into my Belstaff coat, building up my confidence as I faced a few of the Daleks. "But last I checked, you needed me for something. Something important, I would think; otherwise you wouldn't of brought me here and would've just disintegrated me. So..." I leaned closer and smirked, tilting my head to the side. "...I suggest you listen to what I want, if you wish for me to do anything for you."

"We will not! We will not listen to a human!"

"Ah, yeah. Figured as much." I hummed, standing back upright with a shrug. "But see, you haven't scanned me yet, have you? I'm no mere human."

"Scanning! Species unidentifiable! Unidentifiable! Explain!"

I rolled my eyes, suddenly wondering why I had been so afraid do these things in the first place. _The Master is scarier than them. Hell, the _Doctor_ can be scarier than them._

"Alright, alright. Don't get your tentacles in a twist." I muttered, before placing a hand on my chest. "I'm still cooking. I have two hearts, like the Doctor, but am brimming to the teeth with Artron energy. In fact..." I moved a little closer. "I might just be able to fry your little heads with _one_ touch."

The Daleks shifted back a bit, though I was bluffing. I hardly knew if I had enough Artron energy in me to overload the Daleks, but a little bluff wouldn't hurt.

"Now then, I'm far too lazy to go through this whole explanation, so let's try this." I gave them a look. "What do you know of the Seer?"

The Daleks shifted uneasily, but stayed silent.

"Come on! You must know something." I pushed. "Heard rumors or stories or something. Must've, or you wouldn't be fidgeting in fear."

A Dalek rolled forward a bit. "We do not fear! Daleks are incapable of fear!"

"Then tell me what you know."

"The Seer is our enemy! The Seer knows all! The Seer travels with the Doctor and brings about destruction! The Seer is death!"

I stiffened, my hearts panging in worry, because what this Dalek had said scared me. I knew I was their enemy and I knew that I could guess what was going to happen, but bringing about destruction? Being death itself? If that's what the Dalek's believed me to be, if that's what they thought I was capable of, then what have I been doing? _I thought I was saving people. Could I... Could I really be causing destruction like they said?_ I swallowed thickly and shoved the thought aside for another time, because I still had someone I needed to save.

"Then you'll be glad to know something, Daleks." I said, voice tight as I stepped forward with a stern expression on my face. "Because guess who you have standing right in front of you?"

"...The Seer?!" It screeched; it and it's companion shifting back a little. "The Seer! Exterminate! Exterminate the Seer!"

It raised it's gun and I stiffened, wondering if telling it that would actually bring about my death, but a deep voice rang out through the ship.

"Do not fire!"

The Dalek shifted nervously, turning it's eyestalk to face the Emperor of Daleks standing a little ways away and making my hearts sink in my chest. _I-I forgot about him. God, and I thought a little saltshaker was bad? This guy's _huge_... not to mention the whole God complex he has, but let's not get to that._

"But the Seer is our enemy!" The little Dalek screeched, but the Emperor spoke up in a commanding voice that sent shivers up my spine.

"The Seer can prove useful. The Seer can predict the Doctor's actions. The Seer _will_ predict his actions!"

I felt it look at me and suddenly felt all that fear I'd been hiding well up withing me, making my hands shake slightly at my sides. _Come on, Alex. You can do it. It's just a slightly larger saltshaker. You'll be fine. He wants something and you want something. Compromise. _I took a deep breath and faced him, stepping forward slightly, past the smaller Dalek that had been threatening me.

"If you want me to predict anything, then I want you to do something for me."

The Emperor laughed. "You are not in the position to make demands, Seer! Do you not know who you are speaking with?"

"The Emperor of Daleks. I'm not stupid. I know all about you. You're ship escaped the end of the Time War and have been sitting out here stranded and hiding like _cowards_ as you gathered up dead to make your half-human Dalek army."

"Do _not _taunt us, Seer. We are _not_ cowards and I have only created the purest of Daleks! I am the _God_ of all Daleks!"

"Worship him! Worship him!" A few Daleks chanted and I turned to them angrily.

"Shut up! I'm talking!"

They went quiet, scooting back as I sighed and pulled a hand through my hair, turning to the Emperor.

"Look, I'm not going to ask for anything big. I just want you to leave the Controller with me. Do that, and I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

There was an alarm going off then and the Emperor seemed angry suddenly.

"The Controller is betraying us! Giving our coordinates to the Doctor! Bring her to here! Exterminate!"

I lifted my head worriedly and took a step forward, not caring when a couple of Daleks moved to block my way.

"You bring her to me, or I'll tell you nothing, Emperor! Bring her here!"

"Bring the Controller before me!" He demanded, and after a moment, she was walked in with a Dalek behind her, pushing her along.

I glanced at her and then back at the Emperor as she was pushed past me and before him.

"Kneel! Kneel!" The Daleks chanted and she did so as I grit my teeth.

"You let her go, Emperor!" I shouted, seeing her perk up and turn towards me slightly. "You release her or I swear I won't tell you anything!"

"The Seer." The Controller breathed out, making my sad gaze turn to her, though she didn't face me.

"Don't say anything." I told her, worried. "I'll get you out of here. I promise. I promise I will."

"Seer. Predict the Doctor's actions."

I frowned over at the Emperor. "Not until you let her go. Let her go and I will tell you anything."

"You will speak, Seer, or she will be exterminated."

I shook my head, a desperate feeling welling up within me. "No. No, you won't. Because I won't talk if you kill her. If you kill her, you have nothing! You won't get anything you want!"

The Controller spoke then, confidently. "My masters. Oh, my masters. You can kill me, for I have brought your destruction." She said, standing as the familiar lines made my hearts sink in my chest. "The Seer is here and the Doctor is coming. They will destroy you!"

"Exterminate!" The Emperor shouted, obviously angry at what she said and I tried desperately to push past the Daleks in front of me, blocking my way.

"No! No, you can't!"

He ignored me and killed her right there, making my hearts break for not being able to save yet another person. For loosing someone who hadn't even had a chance to _live_. Hadn't had a chance to be loved or cared for. To try new things, to try anything. _She didn't even have a name. _Tears welled up in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall as I shouted up at the Emperor.

"She didn't even have a _name_! How could you just kill her?! I told you not to! I'm not going to predict anything! Not for you! Not ever!"

"You will predict, Seer!" He shouted at me, but I stayed strong.

"I won't! I won't tell you anything!"

"Then you will _die_."

Before I too, could be exterminated, a Dalek rolled in, screeching in a panic.

"Alert. Alert. We are detected."

"It is the Doctor. He has located us." Another Dalek said. "Open communication channel."

The Daleks in front of me went to shove me back with their plungers, but I wasn't having it and pushed past them to the Emperor.

"He'll destroy you! All of you! I promise you that! All of you will die!"

A Dalek rolled in front of me and tried to push me back again, only this time, electrocuted me in the stomach; making me cry out in pain and crumple to the ground as it raised it's plunger threateningly.

"The Seer will stand! Stand!"

I did, cringing and panting as I held a hand to my stomach, teeth grit tightly shut as the drumming grew too loud for me to hear much of anything as I was led over to the side and a hologram screen popped up before us.

"I will talk to the Doctor." A Dalek said and said man smiled up at the camera.

"_Oh, will you? That's nice. Hello!_"

"The Dalek stratagem nears completion. The fleet is almost ready. You will not intervene."

"_Oh really? Why's that then?_"

"We have your associate. We have the Seer." It's eyestalk turned to me as I glared at it; slightly doubled over and trying to ignore the bead of sweat sliding down the back of my neck. "You will obey or she will be exterminated."

"_No._" He said, making me smile a bit as the others on his screen turned to him in shock.

"Explain yourself!"

"_I said no._"

"What is the meaning of this negative?" The Dalek asked and I scoffed as the Doctor responded.

"_It means no._"

"But she will be destroyed."

"Fat chance." I muttered, earning a slight smile from the Doctor and Rose on screen.

"_No!_" He said loudly, standing. "_Because this is what _I'm_ going to do. I'm going to rescue her. I'm going to save Alexander Holmes from the middle of the Dalek fleet, and then I'm gonna save the Earth. And then, just to finish off, I'm gonna wipe every last stinkin' Dalek out of the sky!_"

"But you have no weapons, no defenses, no plan." The Dalek countered and he grinned.

"_Yeah, and doesn't that just scare you to death?_" He then turned to me. "_Alex?_"

"Hmm?" I hummed, straightening up with a slight wince. "I didn't know you cared so much, Doctor. I'd of thought you'd be happy to be rid of the know-it-all nuisance."

He rolled his eyes. "_Don't convince me to. But there's one thing I wanted to ask you. Why did you save her?_" He asked seriously. "_Why did you take Rose's place?_"

I stiffened, growing dead serious as I looked up at him and remembered that this man, this Doctor, was still my Doctor. I still loved him, even if he hadn't grown to love me yet, and the way he was looking at me... I took a deep breath and spoke.

"I took her place because I knew this was going to happen. I knew Rose was going to be taken here and I didn't want her to have to face this on her own, afraid." I glanced at Rose briefly, before looking back at the Doctor. "And I didn't save myself because... it's possible you wouldn't of known about the Daleks out here hiding." I smiled a bit then. "Can't save the world if you don't know it's in danger, yeah?"

He smiled a bit, making my hearts skip a beat, before lifting his screwdriver. "_I'm coming to get you._"

I chuckled, relieved. "Don't be late, spaceman!"

And with that, the transmission ended and the Daleks went into a panic.

"The Doctor is initiating hostile action."

"The stratagem must advance. Begin invasion of Earth!"

"The Doctor will be exterminated!"

"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!" They all chanted and I rolled my eyes, moving out of their way and standing nearby.

"It's not going to work.~" I sang, getting one of their attention.

"You know the Doctor. You understand him. You are the Seer. You will predict his actions."

I turned to the Dalek and glared. "No, actually. I won't. I'm not predicting _anything_ for you, because you blew that chance by killing the Controller."

"Predict! Predict! Predict!" It demanded, moving closer and raising it's plunger threateningly, making me swallow thickly and take a step back.

A second Dalek turned around then, just as the Dalek approaching me had it's plunger mere centimeters from my stomach, and spoke.

"Tardis detected in flight."

The Dalek near me turned away, making me let out a slight sigh of relief as I stepped away from the wall.

"Launch missiles. Exterminate."

"It's not going to work." I said, glaring at the Dalek, despite my fear of it. "You won't be able to kill him. You can't kill the Doctor."

It turned back to me. "You have predicted incorrectly."

I scoffed. "You know, you asked me to predict things, but if you aren't going to believe them, then what's the point?"

It moved over again and I stiffened. "Then predict correctly. Your human emotions towards the Doctor interfere with your predictions. You have a biased opinion. Predict! Predict! Predict!"

It pressed it's plunger to my stomach and electrocuted me again, making me fall to my knees just as the sound of the Tardis started up and it stopped, looking around in confusion along with the other Daleks. I turned around, glad to be seeing the Tardis appearing around me as the Doctor shouted.

"Now, Jack!"

"Exterminate!"

The Dalek shot at the Doctor, missing, just as Jack blew it up and it screamed. I let out a sigh and pushed myself up off the floor; a hand still cradling my stomach.

"You did it!" Rose cheered as Jack lifted the gun above him with a grin, Rose rushing towards me and hugging me. "He did it! You're okay!"

I grunted with a pained wince. "I've been better, but yeah. Thanks, Jack." I glanced over at the Doctor as well. "Doctor."

Rose pulled away with her hands on my shoulders. "I feel like I haven't seen you in years!"

"Mm, now you know how I feel." I chuckled, cringing a bit as Rose noticed my arm around my stomach. "A-Are you hurt?!"

I waved my other hand nonchalantly, trying to keep her from panicking as the Doctor rushed over.

"No. No. I'm fine. Really. Just a bit of electrocution. Nothing I can't handle."

"What?!" She shouted as the Doctor reached for my shirt.

"Let me see."

"No—"

I winced as he lifted my shirt, revealing the crescent shaped scar on my stomach and the slightly pink skin just off center of it. Rose sucked in a gasp, bringing a hand to her mouth in shock as Jack headed over and gave me a similar expression.

"What the hell happened?"

I tugged my shirt back down, out of the Doctor's grip as I sighed; realizing that I wasn't going to get the same cheerful welcome Rose would've gotten if she'd been the one taken.

"Like I said. Nothing I can't handle and nothing I haven't handled before. The Daleks don't seem to care for me not telling them what happens." I shrugged as I walked past them, stretching my arms above me with a slight cringe. "Doesn't matter to me. I sort of asked for it by calling them saltshakers."

"Y-You called them saltshakers?" Rose asked, snorting.

I chuckled and looked over my shoulders at her with a grin. "They do kind of look it, don't they?"

"Hey, hold on a minute." Jack said, taking a step towards me. "Rose gets a hug, but I don't?"

I laughed and held out my arms. "Alright, Jack, come on!"

He hugged me, being careful of my stomach, and spun me around before setting me down with a grin.

"Welcome home."

I winked. "Glad to be back." I then turned to the Doctor, who was looking a little depressed as he looked at the dead Dalek, and I went over and hugged him; surprising him. "Thank you."

He hesitated, but hugged me back. "No, thank you." He pulled away and gave me a small smile. "Thank you for saving Rose."

Those words made my hearts clench, reminding me that I hadn't saved Rose in the end. She'd died because of me and even now, I may have saved her from being scared with the Daleks, but I won't be able to save her from Bad Wolf. Rose came over then though and gestured to the Dalek.

"You said they were extinct. How come they're still alive?"

"One minute they're the greatest threat in the universe, the next minute, they vanish out of time and space." Jack said.

"They went off to fight a bigger war." The Doctor explained. "The Time War."

"I thought that was just a legend." Jack said in shock and I bit my bottom lip to keep my mouth shut; not knowing how the Doctor would feel about me knowing about his fight in the Time War.

"I was there." The Doctor muttered. "The war between the Daleks and the Time Lords, with the whole of creation at stake. My people were destroyed, but they took the Daleks with them. I almost thought it was worth it. Now, it turns out they died for nothing."

_That's not true._ I thought, hearts breaking for how much pain I knew the Doctor went through after he believed himself to have killed off his entire race. _Especially as this regeneration. This is right after he had to make that choice._

"There's thousands of them now. We could hardly stop one. What're we going to do?" Rose asked.

"No good stood round here chin wagging." The Doctor said, perking up a bit. "Human race, you'd gossip all day. The Daleks have got the answers." He clapped his hands with a smile. "Let's go and meet the neighbors." He then turned to me as I stiffened. "Alex? You coming?"

I shook off the fear and took a deep calming breath, pushing the drums in my head to the back of my mind. "Y-Yeah. no. I'll come."

He eyed me, almost worried. "You sure? You don't have to. You can wait in the Tardis."

I gave him a serious look, confidence building back up in me as I headed for the door just past him. "No. I'm not going to hide from them." I lowered my voice as I reached it. "And I'm not going to let you face them alone."

I opened the door as Rose shouted behind me not to walk out, but I knew that the forcefield would protect me and the Doctor followed as the Daleks began shooting at us; their beams being stopped feet away.

"Is that it?" The Doctor asked, hands out as Jack and Rose stayed in the doorway. "Useless. Nul points!"

I nodded towards Jack and Rose. "You two can come out."

The Doctor turned to them as well with a nod, moving to lean up against the Tardis. "That forcefield can hold back anything."

"Almost anything." Jack said.

"Yes, but I wasn't going to tell them that. Thanks." The Doctor quipped back sarcastically.

"Sorry."

Jack and Rose stood near the door still though—outside the Tardis, but ready for a quick getaway—as the Doctor stepped towards a couple of the Daleks.

"Do you know what they call me in the ancient legends of the Dalek homeworld? The Oncoming Storm. You might've removed all your emotions, but I reckon right down deep in your DNA, there's one little spark left, and that's fear. Doesn't it just burn when you face me?" He said, the Daleks staying silent. "So tell me. How did you survive the Time War?"

"They survived through me." The Emperor said, making everyone turn towards him as I shivered at the voice.

_God, his voice is going to haunt me. _The Doctor approached the Emperor along with the rest of us, mouth open in shock.

"Rose, Captain, Alex. This is the Emperor of the Daleks."

"I know." I muttered, stuffing my shaking hands in my pockets. "We've met."

I was ignored as the Emperor spoke.

"You destroyed us, Doctor. The Dalek race died in your inferno, but my ship survived, falling through time. Crippled but alive."

"I get it." The Doctor interrupted and I groaned with a roll of my eyes as the Daleks around us disagreed.

"Do not interrupt!"

"Do not interrupt!"

"Do not interrupt!"

"I think you're forgetting something." The Doctor said, not facing the Daleks. "I'm the Doctor, and if there's one thing I can do, it's talk. I've got five billion languages, and you haven't got one way of stopping me. So if anybody's going to shut up... _It's you_!" He shouted, rounding on them and making them back up in fear before he perked up again. "Okey doke. So where were we?"

The Emperor hardly seemed bothered by his display and went on as though he hadn't been interrupted.

"We waited here in the dark space, damaged but rebuilding. Centuries passed, and we quietly infiltrated the systems of Earth, harvesting the waste of humanity. The prisoners, the refugees, the dispossessed. They _all_ came to us. The bodies were filtered, pulped, sifted. The seed of the human race is perverted. Only one cell in a billion was fit to be nurtured."

"So you created an army of Daleks out of the dead."

"That makes them... half-human." Rose muttered as I nodded.

"Yup."

"Those words are blasphemy!" The Emperor roared, much like he had when I mentioned it before.

"Do not blaspheme!"

"Do not blaspheme!"

"Do not blaspheme!"

"Everything human has been purged." The Emperor went on as I rolled my eyes with a tired sigh. "I cultivated pure and blessed Dalek. The Seer is wrong."

"'Course I am." I muttered sarcastically, before taking a step towards him. "But how does that explain how Daleks suddenly have the concept of blasphemy, hm? Oh wait, that's right. You all went mad, trapped up here _hiding_ for centuries and realizing that you're part human. Must be disgusted with yourselves, aren't you?"

"I reached into the dirt and made new life. I am the God of all Daleks!" The Emperor shouted. "Your words mean nothing, Seer!"

"If they meant nothing, then why were you so anal about getting me to predict the Doctor's actions, huh? For being a God, you're awfully full of yourself."

Someone grabbed my arm and I turned to see Jack there, looking at me in slight worry.

"Don't antagonize them. The last thing we need is for them to get even angrier than they already are."

I raised a brow. "You might want to tell that to him then."

I gestured at the Doctor as he looked over the Daleks and spoke.

"They're insane. Like Alex said. Hiding in silence for hundreds of years, that's enough to drive anyone mad. But it's worse than that. Driven mad by your own flesh. The stink of humanity. You hate your own existence... And that makes them more deadly than ever." He said, before turning to the Emperor. "We're going."

"You may not leave my presence!"

"Stay where you are!" The Daleks shouted as I shook my head.

"And who's going to stop us?"

"Exterminate! Exterminate!" The Daleks rang out, shooting, but not even coming close to hitting us as we all piled into the Tardis; the Doctor coming in last and leaning his head up against the door.

I knew that the voices of the Daleks were ringing in his ears and that he was probably having a horrible time reliving his past in the Time War; but I hesitantly approached and put a hand on his shoulder. Because, despite it all, he was still the Doctor I cared for and I hated seeing him like this; whether he was the Ninth Doctor, the Tenth, Eleventh or Twelfth. No one deserved to have to do what he did, much less, deal with it alone. He stiffened under my touch and peered out at me with a slight frown as I gave him a nervous smile.

"Just remember you're not alone, Doctor. Alright? And I'll make sure you're _never_ alone."

His brows furrowed in confusion, but I walked away then and he soon came out of his slump to send the Tardis back to Satellite Five.

* * *

Once the Tardis landed, the Doctor quickly walked out and began barking out orders to the remaining staff; him having told them to evacuate everyone before they left.

"Turn everything up. All transmitters full power, wide open. Now! Do it!"

"What does this do?" Pavale asked as he did what the Doctor said.

"Stops the Daleks from transmatting on board. How did you get on? Did you contact Earth?"

"Well, we tried to warn them, but all they did was suspend our license because we stopped the programs."

"And the planet's just sitting there, defenseless." He then spotted Lynda and gave her a look. "Lynda, what're you still doing on board? I told you to evacuate everyone." He snapped, turning to a nervous Pavale.

"She wouldn't go."

"Didn't want to leave ya." Lynda explained with a small smile as the rude woman from before spoke up.

"There weren't enough shuttles anyway, or I wouldn't be here. We've got about a hundred people stranded on Floor Zero."

"Is there any way to get them off? A shuttle from Earth or something?" Alex asked, and the woman gave her a brief look before shaking her head.

"No. It's impossible. They shut off communications with us after suspending our license."

"Oh my God, the fleet is moving." Pavale spoke up then, making everyone a little more nervous. "They're on their way."

"Right. Plan. Plan. Ah!" The Doctor quickly scrambled over to the panels down the aisle of the room and began pulling covers off and yanking wires out of it.

"Dalek plan. Big mistake, because what have they left me with? Anyone?"

"A big transmitter." Alex said, making him nod with a grin.

"Right! If I can change the signal, fold it back, sequence it—"

"You've got to be kidding." Jack muttered in disbelief.

"Give the man a medal!"

"A Delta Wave?"

"A Delta Wave!" The Doctor confirmed as Jack went on to explain it to the less space-oriented people.

"What's a Delta Wave?" Rose asked.

"A wave of Van Cassadyne energy. It fries your brain. Stand in the way of a Delta Wave, and your head gets barbecued."

"And this place can transmit a massive wave. Wipe out the Daleks!" The Doctor finished, though he knew it wasn't going to be that easy.

"Well, get started and do it then." Lynda said, hopeful; though Rose felt a hint of jealousy towards the woman who had the Doctor's attention.

"Trouble is, wave this size, building this big, brain as clever as mine. Should take about... oh, three days?" He turned to Pavale. "How long till the Fleet arrive?"

Pavale glanced at the monitor. "Twenty two minutes."

The Doctor scrambled a bit faster, grinning at us as Jack went up to hook the extrapolator to the ship and Alex went over to help. _There's something about her._ The Doctor mused silently, watching the auburn-haired woman as she helped strip some wires. _The Daleks knew her. Called her the Seer. Probably because of her jumping around my time-line and such, but it's not just that. They were afraid of her. The Controller said so. But she's only human. What could she do that could make the Daleks fear her?_ He noticed that Jack was talking about fighting now, but he knew he didn't want Rose caught up in that. _And I better keep an eye on Alex too._

"Rose, Alex. You can help me. I need all these wires stripped bare."

Rose headed over quickly, but he noticed Alex hesitating and frowned slightly. _Why? She knows something. She knows the future, I get that, but what does that mean here? What does she know?_ Alex sat on the floor and picked up some of the wires as the Doctor kept an eye on her and Lynda headed over; Pavale and the other woman heading out.

"I just wanted to say, um, thanks. I suppose. And I'll do my best."

The Doctor—now standing—smiled. "Me too."

He went to kiss her on the cheek, but thought better of it and moved back to shake her hand as Alex stood up.

"Goodbye, Lynda with a 'y'." She said, smiling a bit, though there was something about the smile that seemed forced, to the Doctor.

Lynda smiled back. "Bye."

Lynda headed off then and Jack headed over with a sigh.

"It's been fun... but I guess this is goodbye."

"Don't talk like that." Rose countered. "The Doctor's going to do it. You just watch him."

"Rose." Jack moved closer to her and grabbed her face. "You are _worth_ fighting for."

He kissed her then and pulled away, facing the Doctor.

"Wish I'd never met you, Doctor." He grabbed his face too. "I was much better off as a coward."

He kissed the Doctor too before facing Alex, who looked rather stoic about the whole thing.

"And you." Jack smiled and grabbed her face gently, rubbing his thumb over her cheek as she brought a hand up to hold his. "Don't give me that look. You don't have to be strong all the time, you know."

She smiled a bit, though there was a definite sadness to it. "Kind of hard not to when I'm taking care of kids all the time." She joked, making the Doctor scoff as he went back to his wiring.

_Kid? Please, they're all kids to me. 900 years, and being called a kid? I'm insulted._

Jack pressed his forehead to hers. "Just make sure to let it out sometimes, okay? And don't let Big-Ears over there, bully you."

"Oi." The Doctor called out, making the two chuckle.

"I'll miss you, Jack." Alex said and Jack smiled back.

"You too, Alex."

They kissed as well; a bit more passionately than how Jack kissed the others and once they pulled away, Alex hugged him and whispered something into his ear.

"_I'll see you again soon and I'm sorry._"

Jack pulled away with a raised brow, but Alex just smiled hesitantly and he nodded, rushing off towards the lift now that he said his goodbyes.

"See you in hell."

The lift doors closed and Rose turned to the Doctor.

"He's going to be alright, isn't he?"

The Doctor stayed silent for a moment, before looking over at Alex as she sat back down to work the wires, avoiding eye contact with either of them. Rose caught this look and she turned to her.

"Alex, you know what happens, right? Is Jack going to be okay?"

Alex stayed quiet though, not saying anything and not even facing them; thus angering Rose as reality sank in.

"Alex! Y-You're just going to let him die?! You're just going to give up?! Save him!" Rose knelt down and shook her. "You can save him and you're just going to sit here?!"

Alex suddenly shoved her off, standing as she too, was filled with anger. "What else am I supposed to do?! What do you expect me to do?!"

"You can try!" The Doctor snapped, not appreciating the fact that Alex was yelling at Rose. "If you know so much, then you should be saving him!"

Alex rounded on him and he stiffened at the look on her face. She was obviously holding back tears, but there was this haunted look in her eyes. One he'd seen before on his own face, but that wouldn't stop him. Because she knew people were going to die and she was giving up without even trying and that frustrated him to no end. He thought she cared about Jack, but here she was doing nothing despite knowing that the man was most likely going to die.

"You think I haven't? You think I haven't tried coming up with a way to save him? To save all those people trapped on Floor Zero? Lynda? The millions of people down on Earth who could die? You think I haven't spent hours, _days_, _**weeks**_ questioning what I was going to do when I popped up here?! There's nothing I can do, Doctor! People are going to die and I can't save everyone! Nobody can!" She stopped then, slightly out of breath and red in the face as she turned around and flopped back down on the floor to resume her wire stripping; muttering quietly as she did so. "I'm sorry... but there's nothing I can do."

Things grew quiet in the group, no one really knowing what to say and frustration leaking out of everyone, before Rose finally spoke.

"Sorry..." She said, barely a whisper and voice full of sadness. "I-I'm sorry, Alex."

Alex didn't say anything and the Doctor and Rose returned to what they were doing. It took a while more before anyone of them spoke again and, once again, it was Rose.

"Suppose..."

"What?" The Doctor asked, choosing to try and ignore Alex for now.

He had other things to worry about.

"Nothing." Rose said back.

"You said suppose." The Doctor pushed, letting her know he'd heard her.

"Nah, I was just thinking. I mean, obviously you can't, but you've got a time machine. Why can't you just go back to last week and warn 'em?"

"As soon as the Tardis lands in that second, I become part of events. Stuck in the time-line."

"Yeah. Though it'd be something like that." She said as the Doctor thought about something else.

"There's another thing the Tardis could do. It could take us away. We could leave. Let history take it's course. We'd go to Marbella in 1989."

"Yeah, but you'd never do that." Rose countered.

"No, but you could ask." _Ah, Rose Tyler..._ "Never even occurred to you, did it?"

Rose smiled a bit. "Well, I'm just too good."

He smiled at her as a whirring sound rang out from above them and he quickly scrambled up and went over to a monitor.

"The Delta Wave's started building. How long does it need..."

Rose got up as well, following him, but Alex just stayed where she was on the floor; setting the wires down and staring at her hands as she propped them up on her knees. The Doctor typed a few things, before his face fell and he bowed his head.

"Is that bad?" Rose asked. "Okay, it's bad. How bad is it?"

The Doctor slumped over the controls, before perking up suddenly and standing.

"Rose Tyler, you're a genius!" He kissed her forehead. "We can do it! If I use the Tardis to cross my old time-line... Yes!"

He rushed to the box and opened it; Rose following him once she'd pulled Alex up from off the ground.

"Come on, Alex!"

Alex reluctantly allowed her to pull her along, but stood in the doorway of the Tardis once Rose let her hand go and followed the Doctor's instruction as he rushed around the Tardis console.

"Hold that down and keep position."

"What's it do?"

"Cancels the buffers." He replied. "If I'm very clever—and I'm more than clever, I'm brilliant—I might just save the world. Or rip it apart."

"I'd go for the first one." Rose grinned.

"Me too." He smiled back. "Now, I've just got to go and power up the game Station. Hold on!"

He rushed for the door and pushed Alex out of the Tardis as he shut the doors behind them and stopped.

"Will she be okay?" He asked, not facing Alex.

Alex stayed silent and he turned towards her with a stern frown on his face.

"Will she be okay?" He demanded to know, the Oncoming Storm hiding just behind his eyes. "You better tell me that much, Alex, or I swear, I'll toss you downstairs and let the Daleks deal with you."

He took a step towards Alex and the woman looked at him with a blank expression; emotions all but locked away deep inside.

"Rose will live. Just like you want."

"Good." He snapped, before lifting the sonic screwdriver and sending the Tardis off; his hearts breaking as he heard Rose pounding on the doors for him to let her out.

He took a moment for himself, before going back to work; leaving Alex to stand around uselessly until Jack's voice came over the intercom.

"_Rose, I've called up the internal laser codes. There should be a different number on every screen. Can you read them out to me?_"

"She's not here." The Doctor replied.

"_Of all the times to take a leak._" Jack quipped back. "_When she gets back, tell her to read me the codes._"

"She's not coming back."

"_What do you mean? Where'd she go?_"

"Just get on with your work."

"_You took her home, didn't you?_"

"Yeah."

"_Alex too?_"

The Doctor glanced at Alex as she went towards the monitors.

"No, Jack. I'm still here."

"_What? You should be with Rose!_"

Alex shook her head; the Doctor staying silent. "It's fine Jack. Here's the codes you need."

She rattled off some numbers, before going silent as Jack piped in once more.

"_The Delta Wave. Is it ever going to be ready?_"

The Emperor of the Daleks suddenly popped up on the screen above them; his voice echoing through the room and to Jack's intercom.

"_Tell him the truth, Doctor. There is every possibility the Delta Wave could be complete, but no possibility of refining it. The Delta Wave must kill every living thing in its path, with no distinction between human and Dalek. All things will die by your hand. The Seer already knew about this, though, didn't you?_" He taunted, igniting the Doctor's anger once more towards the red-head.

"Of course she did." He snapped, not seeing how Alex had slumped over slightly to hide the tear that slipped past her barriers.

"_Doctor, the range of this transmitter covers the entire Earth._" Jack piped in as the Emperor went on.

"_You would destroy Daleks and humans together. If I am God, the creator of all things, then what does that make you, Doctor?_"

Alex suddenly stood then, not caring as her chair fell to the ground and she faced the Emperor with a snarl; all trace of tears gone.

"He is far better than you, Emperor! He is a greater person than some stupid old mop like you! And he won't be the one to push that lever down! I'll never let him!"

"_Like you can stop him._" The Emperor chortled.

"I don't have to." She said, turning to the Doctor seriously. "If it needs to be done, I'll be the one to do it. If that's the choice that needs to be made, I won't have it fall on his shoulders."

The Doctor stared at her in shock. _Does she _know_ what she's even saying?! She's willing to kill off her own race and for what?! What reason could she possibly have to be willing to take that kind of burden on her shoulders?_ A hint of guilt seeped into him, for how he's treated her, but he quickly shoved it aside as Jack spoke up.

"_Alex, if I was up there right now, I'd kiss you all over again._"

Alex turned back to the monitors, picking up her chair and sitting back in it. "Shame, Jack. I might've actually taken you up on that offer right now."

"_You've sent her home though, Doctor. So she's safe. Keep working._" Jack said, speaking about Rose now.

"_But they will exterminate you!_" The Emperor roared.

"_Never doubted them, never will._" Jack said back, before the Doctor faced the Emperor once more.

"Now, you tell me, God of all Daleks." He turned to Alex with a glare. "_Seer_. Because there's one thing I never worked out. The words 'Bad Wolf', spread across time and space, everywhere, drawing me in. How'd you manage that?"

"_I did nothing._" The Emperor said, before Alex spoke up; cutting the Doctor off before he could argue the point.

"It's not the Daleks, Doctor."

"Then who is it?" He demanded as the Emperor's image disappeared.

"It's not a person." She said, glancing at him from over her shoulder. "And it's not meant for you."

The Doctor frowned, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but he knew she wouldn't give him any more than that and returned to his work. Silently questioning how angry Rose was with what he'd just done to her.

* * *

"It's gone up market, this place." Jackie said, after having been called by Mickey once he'd found Rose and the Tardis without the Doctor. "They're doing little tubs of coleslaw now. It's not very nice. It tastes a bit sort of clinical."

The trio were sitting in a booth in a small shop, eating chips and such as they tried to cheer Rose up a bit.

"Have you tried that new pizza place down Minto Road?" Mickey asked, also trying to distract Rose; who'd yet to touch her food.

"What's it selling?"

"Pizza."

"That's nice. Do they deliver?"

"Yeah."

Jackie finally couldn't take it anymore. "Oh, Rose. Have something to eat."

"Two hundred thousand years in the future, he's dying, and there's nothing I can do." She said instead; gaze aimed out the window.

"Well, like you said, two hundred thousand years. It's way off."

"But it's not." Rose argued, getting upset. "It's now. That fight is happening right now, and he's fighting for us. For the whole planet, and I'm just here eating chips."

"Listen to me." Jackie said, trying to calm her. "God knows I have hated that man, but right now, I love him. And do you know why? Because he did the right thing. He sent you back to me."

Rose wasn't convinced though. "But what do I do every day, mum? What do I do? Get up, catch the bus, go to work, come back home, eat chips and go to bed? Is that it?"

None of the group noticed the figure in a hooded dark green jacket entering to shop and ordering some chips to go.

"It's what the rest of us do." Mickey said, not really thinking about how that would set Rose off.

"But I can't!"

"Why? Because you're better than us?" Mickey said, starting to get a little annoyed himself, because it was always about the Doctor with Rose.

But he was her boyfriend! If she cared so much for this guy, why didn't she just come out and say it, so he could move on!

"No! I didn't mean that!" Rose shouted, nearly cutting him off as she grew even more frantic, before trying to calm herself down. "But it was... It was a better life. And I don't mean all the traveling and seeing aliens and spaceships and things. That don't matter... The Doctor showed me a better way of living your life." She turned her gaze to Mickey. "You know. He showed you too."

He looked up, before lowering his gaze, knowing she was right as she went on.

"That you don't just give up. You don't just let things happen. You make a stand. You say no. You have the guts to do what's right when everyone else just runs away and I just can't—"

She buried her face in her hands, as the hooded figure walked out and stood outside; staring right at her through the window. Feeling as though someone was watching her, Rose looked up and spotted the person, who pulled their hood back to reveal a familiar red-headed woman. Eyes going wide, she got up and rushed out of the shop; giving Mickey and Jackie no time to do much of anything as she hurried out and chased after the figure.

She rounded a corner and a hand shot out, grabbing her and covering her mouth as she was pulled backwards into a shadowed alleyway; whoever grabbing her trying to shush her as she struggled and screamed behind the person's hand.

"Sh! Rose, it's me!"

Rose was let go and turned to face the person, only to go wide-eyed at seeing Alex standing there.

"W-What? But how?! You were... you weren't on the Tardis!"

Alex sighed, giving her a look. "Really, Rose? Come on. You're clever. Figure it out."

Rose furrowed her brows in confusion, looking over Alex in question, before she spotted a few things that made her realize what happened.

"You... You're older."

Alex smiled. "There ya go. Yeah. I'm a future Alex. I didn't mean to pop up on you in there either. Sorry. I'd just showed up here and was hungry and went to grab some chips, only to see you in there shouting and figured I'd best do something."

Alex opened her styrofoam container and pulled out a chip to eat as Rose shook her head in confusion.

"B-But wait, if you're here, that means..." Her eyes widened. "The Doctor doesn't die!"

"Ah, not so fast." Alex said, stopping her. "It's not that I wanna crush your hopes or anything, but what's going on with the Doctor right now can still be changed. It's not a fixed point, so it's not set in stone that he lives."

Rose's expression dropped and Alex panicked a bit as she saw tears forming.

"A-Ah! Wait! Don't cry! You _know_ how I am with crying. Geeze, um. Hold this."

Alex shoved her chips into Rose's hands and began digging through her coat pockets before pulling out a handkerchief and grinning.

"A-ha!" She smiled and passed it to Rose as she took her chips back. "There. Now see? I promise, there's nothing to be crying about just yet."

"But you said—"

Alex sighed and waved her hand a bit. "Yes, yes. I know what I said, but you didn't let me finish." She took another chip and ate it, making a face. "Mm, these are pretty good."

"Alex!" Rose said, loudly, making the red-head wince.

"Right. Sorry. But, uh, like I said. It's not the end of the world. If things go right, he'll be saved, so it's fine."

"Rose?! Rose, where are you?!" They heard a shout coming from not too far away; Mickey looking for the missing blonde.

"Right. First thing's first though, you need to go make up with Mickey." Alex said, beginning to push Rose out of the alleyway.

"But what about the Doctor?"

"That'll come. Give it time. Make up with Mickey. Find someplace secluded to do it. I think I saw a nice play area near here that's empty. Try there. But you need to talk with Mickey for a bit and when you figure out what to do next, I'll be there waiting for you, okay?"

"But how will you know?"

Alex chuckled as Rose turned towards her; tapping her temple. "I already know, Rose."

"Rose?!" Mickey called again, making Rose turn around for a moment before turning back to ask Alex something else; only for her to be gone.

She hesitated for a moment, but headed out of the alleyway and over to Mickey; leading him to the only play area she knew around here to talk, like Alex had suggested. Of course, Alex hadn't just vanished and was actually hanging from a fire escape just out of eye sight; chuckling nervously once Rose had gone.

"Well, that went good." She looked down. "Ah... but it appears I'm stuck now... Bugger."

* * *

Rose had sat down with Mickey on a bench and finally calmed down, though her mind was racing with the Future Alex's appearance.

"You can't spend the rest of your life thinking about the Doctor." Mickey piped up; assuming that that was who she was thinking of.

Rose wanted to snap at him, but let out a breath; knowing that she needed to make up with Mickey, not cause more issues.

"But how do I forget him?"

"You've got to start living your own life." Mickey said. "You know, a proper life. Like the kind he's never had. The sort of life that you could have with me."

He was hoping that, with the Doctor gone, he'd finally have a chance to fix things with Rose, but he suddenly noticed she wasn't paying attention and frowned as she stood up to look at some chalk writing on the ground.

"Rose?"

"Over here." She muttered, eyeing the chalk and then looking up at the graffiti on the walk; running over. "It's over here as well!"

"That's been there for _years_!" Mickey argued, upset about loosing her attention to some scribbles on the wall. "It's just a phrase! It's just words!"

Rose wasn't convinced. "I thought it was a warning. Maybe it's just the opposite. Maybe it's a _message!_ The same words written down now and two hundred years in the future. It's a link between me and the Doctor. Bad Wolf here. Bad Wolf there."

"Yeah, but if it's a message, what's it saying?"

"It's telling me I can get back! The least I can do is help him escape!" She called to him, rushing back towards where the Tardis was parked. "Alex was right! I can save the Doctor!"

Mickey soon chased after her and once they reached the Tardis, Rose tried to get inside, only for the ship to not open the doors.

"What the—But I have the key!" She said, getting annoyed as she tried again and again to turn the key in the lock to no success.

"I guess that's where I come in." A voice said from behind them as the future Alex rushed over with a grin and a wave. "Hello! Sorry I'm late. I was forced to hang around for a bit."

"Wait, what's she doing here?" Mickey asked, not having seen Alex come out of the Tardis with Rose earlier.

"Mickety-Mick-Mickey!" Alex grinned, patting his back. "Man, I haven't seen you in ages! This is future me. Hi. How you been, Mickety-Micks?"

He blinked, confused. "Um, fine, I guess. _Future_ you?"

"Yup." She smiled, heading for the doors. "I was, what? 31 in this adventure? I'm going on 37 now... I think." She frowned. "Time gets all wibbly, what with paradoxes, Tardis time, and popping here and there. I think I've lost track."

Rose scrunched her eyes shut and shook her head. "Hold on. You said you could open the doors? Why won't the Tardis let me in?"

"Oh! Yeah, she's sort of throwing a fit at the moment. She's upset the Doctor told her to gather dust and die just like that." Alex explained, patting the box with a small smile. "She'll let me in though, won't you, old girl?"

The Tardis stayed silent and Alex sighed.

"Oh, don't give me that. If you let us in, I'll be sure to prank the Doctor real good this next time." She smirked devilishly as she leaned a little closer to the box. "I was thinking of dying his hair a flamingo pink by switching out his shampoo when he's not looking."

There was a quiet hum from the box and Alex chuckled, as Rose gave her a disbelieving look.

"_Pink_?"

Alex nodded. "Oh yeah. He deserved it after he said I'd gained weight a few trips ago." She pouted at the thought, before waving her hand. "Never mind that."

She snapped her fingers then, and the Tardis doors opened, making Rose and Mickey stare in shock.

"There ya go. She's all yours. Try not to break her in your endeavors."

Rose pointed though. "H-How'd you do that?!"

"Ah." Alex looked over at the box and back at Rose, tossing her thumb over her shoulders. "You mean the snap thing? She can open that way. Ooh, but don't let the Doctor know. That's spoilers for him." She chuckled, shrugging and moving back and forth on the balls of her feet as she stuffed her hands in her pants pockets. "He figures it out eventually."

"Right." Rose nodded, suddenly confidence growing in her as she hurried to the Tardis console. "All the Tardis needs to do is make a return trip. Just reverse."

"Yeah." Mickey said. "but we still can't do it."

"Alex, can't you—" Rose started to say, but didn't see the red-head anywhere and she sighed; realizing that Alex popped back off again. "Never mind. The, um... The Doctor always said the Tardis was telepathic. The thing is alive. It can listen."

"It's not listening now, is it?" Mickey quipped back, not seeing how this could possibly work.

"We need to get inside it. Last time I saw you, with the Slitheen, this middle bit opened and there was this light. And the Doctor said it was the heart of the Tardis. If we can open it, I can make contact. I can tell it what to do."

"Rose." Mickey moved closer in disbelief at what he was hearing.

"Mm?" She hummed, only half-paying attention.

"If you go back, you're going to die."

"That's a risk I've got to take, because there's nothing left for me here." She said, not knowing how much those words cut into Mickey.

"Nothing?" He asked again, hoping he'd heard wrong and that Rose would realize that he was right there. He always had been.

"No."

Mickey's heart sank. "Okay. If that's what you think..." He turned away from the console and headed for the door. "Let's get this thing open."

The moment he opened the door though, he jumped; screaming like a girl as he saw Alex just standing there next to the door.

"A-Alex?! We thought you were gone!"

"Hm? Nope. Still here."

"Then you can fly the Tardis back!" Rose said, happily, but Alex shook her head.

"Nope. Noooo. Can't do that." She said, waving her hands in front of her as she shook her head.

"Why not?" Rose asked, face dropping.

"That'd ruin everything. 'Sides! You're Rose Tyler! Defender of the Earth!" Alex grinned brightly, patting Rose on the shoulder. "You don't need little ol' me telling you what to do."

She gave Alex a look. "It'll cause some paradox or something, won't it?"

"Well, that too." Alex chuckled, before wincing and grabbing her shoulder. "Oops, looks like my time is up."

Rose's expression dropped once more, her confidence dwindling now that she knew Alex was leaving, but Alex quickly noticed it and gave her a hug; surprising the blonde. Because the Alex _she_ knew wasn't a hugger.

"Don't worry, Rose. You'll do great. Promise."

And with that, Alex popped off, leaving Rose standing there for a second, before she nodded to herself.

"Right. Mickey? Go get your car. I have an idea."

* * *

"_Advance guard have made it to 495._" Lynda's voice rang out from over the intercom and the Doctor perked up.

"Jack. How're we doing?"

"_495 should be good. I like 495._" He said, but the Doctor took one look at Alex and knew that things weren't going to go as well as he thought.

"_Yes!_" Jack cheered, but after a moment, Lynda spoke up again.

"_They're flying up the ventilation shafts. No, wait a minute... Oh my God. Why're they doing that? They're going down._" There was silence for a moment before Lynda spoke again. "_Floor Zero. They killed them all._"

The Doctor suddenly got up and stormed over to Alex, grabbing the front of her shirt and pulling her out of the chair she'd been sitting in.

"How many people?! How many people have to die right now, because _you_ won't tell me anything?!"

Alex didn't say a word, just stared up at him with this blank look; but if one looked closely enough, they could see just how much sorrow she was hiding. Her eyes showed everything, but her body physically showed nothing.

"Ah!" The Doctor shouted, throwing her back and making her fall to the ground and knocked over her chair when she hit it. "Useless! You useless, _selfish_ human being!"

He stormed back over to the wiring and missed seeing the brokenhearted look appear on Alex's face as she mouthed the words 'I'm sorry' and covered it back up again; her fingers twitching to a familiar drum beat that she was having a hard time controlling at the moment.

"Lynda! What's happening on Earth?" The Doctor asked.

"_The Fleet's descending. They're bombing whole continents. Europa, Pacifica, the New American Alliance. Australia's just... gone._" Lynda breathed out.

The Doctor rounded on Alex, but didn't even bother. She wasn't worth his time anymore. Hearing gunshots, the Doctor quickened his pace and plugged in a large wire.

"_I've got a problem._" Lynda said, sounding worried. "_They've found me._"

"You'll be alright, Lynda. That side of the station's reinforced against meteors." The Doctor said, before seeing Alex's expression twitch towards sadness once more. "Tell her, Alex! Tell her she'll be fine!"

Alex remain silent and the Doctor took a step towards her, but Lynda stopped him.

"_No. It's okay. You know what they say about Earth workmanship._"

"I'm sorry, Lynda." Alex finally said, though the Doctor knew that a simple apology wouldn't save her.

"_Thanks, Alex._"

There was a scream and they knew Lynda was gone. Before they could so much as think of mourning her though, Jack spoke up.

"_Last man standing! For God's sake, Doctor, Alex! Finish that thing and kill them!_"

The Emperor showed up on screen again. "_Finish that thing and kill mankind._"

The Doctor only glanced up for a second, before rushing back to finish the job, trying—and failing—to keep the Emperor's words from bothering him.

"_Doctor, you've got twenty seconds maximum!_" Jack shouted, before the Doctor lifted up on a lever and stared at the device in surprise; having not heard Jack get exterminated by the Daleks.

"It's ready."

The doors opened then and Daleks rolled in; making Alex stand and back away from one as it aimed it's plunger at her. The Doctor didn't notice, but she was frightened of them, and struggled to hang on to her composure as the room steadily filled with them and they were surrounded.

"You really want to think about this." The Doctor said, hoping that they might back off. "Because if I activate the signal, every living creature dies."

"_I am immortal._" The Emperor said on screen.

"Do you want to put that to the test?" The Doctor challenged.

"_I want to see you become like me._" The Emperor said, but before he could go any further, Alex stepped up to the device and put her hands on the lever.

"I won't let him. He'll never be like you."

The Emperor chuckled. "_Then you will. All Hail the Seer. The Great Exterminator._"

The Doctor went to move towards the lever, but Alex turned to him with a glare.

"I'll push it, Doctor. But only if I need to."

_That's the second time she's said that and there's something about it. About the phrasing that bothers me. It's like she's waiting for something._ The Doctor thought, but not moving any closer in fear that his approach might actually make her push it. Even _he_ was having doubts as to whether the completed device should be used or not.

"_Then prove yourself, Seer._" The Emperor demanded. "_What are you? Coward or killer?_"

"Me? I'm a coward." She said, looking down at the lever before back at the Emperor. "I'm afraid of you, of the Daleks. You've tortured me twice now and no one really gets over that, but there's other things I fear more than you." She glanced at the Doctor, who stared at her in slight confusion as his hearts gave him a pang of guilt.

_Me? She's... more afraid of me than the Daleks?_

Alex ignored the Emperor and continued to stare at the Doctor as she spoke. "I suppose it's kind of stupid, what I'm doing." She turned away from him and back to the Daleks. "But I know what kind of person he becomes. I know the things he accomplishes and the people he saves and it's far more than anything I could ever do. Far more than anything I've done. Which is why I won't do it." She stepped away from the lever and let out a sigh. "I won't do it, because the Doctor has so much more to live for and I can't take that from him."

"_Mankind will be harvested because of your weakness._" The Emperor said, making the Doctor turn to him.

"And what about me? Am I to become one of your angels?"

"_You are the heathen. You will be exterminated while the Seer will be brought to me to serve us and predict the future._ _Whether willing or not._"

Alex swallowed thickly but stood her ground as she faced the Emperor. "That sucks for you then, Emperor. Because it's not our time that's up." She smiled ever so slightly. "It's yours."

"_Explain._"

"You really shouldn't call me the Seer. I don't know where that name came from, because I can only see _certain_ things." She rambled, making the Doctor eye her suspiciously. "If anything, I suppose you should call me the Staller. Because I just stalled for time, for the one who will bring your end."

Her smile dropped as a familiar whirring and grinding sound echoed in the room and a Dalek spoke up.

"Alert! Tardis materializing!"

"_You will not escape!_" The Emperor shouted as the Doctor whirled around to Alex and faced her; glancing over her shoulder at the appearing Tardis.

"What did you do?!"

Alex faced him and quickly put back up her defenses; but not before the Doctor saw the deep sorrow hidden behind her expression.

"I'm sorry."

Before he could press for further explanation, the Tardis doors opened and Rose stepped out; surrounded by gold dust tendrils and making the Doctor scrambled back on the floor fearfully.

"What've you done?" He asked, once he caught sight of Rose; not seeing some of the gold tendrils reaching out and brushing Alex slightly.

"I looked into the Tardis and the Tardis looked into me." Rose said, voice dead of emotions.

"You looked into the Time Vortex. Rose, no one's meant to see that!"

"_This is the Abomination!_" The Emperor shouted, before a Dalek raised it's weapon.

"Exterminate!"

It shot at Rose, but her eyes flashed gold and she blocked the hit easily. The Doctor turned to Alex then, angrily.

"You knew about this! You knew this would happen and you let her go!"

Alex simply stared back at him. "It had to happen. The words were meant for her, not for me. If I could have taken in the Time Vortex, I would've, but Rose was the one who was chosen."

Before the Doctor could argue further, Rose spoke up.

"There was nothing she could have done. I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself. I chose Rose Tyler. I take the words..." She lifted her hand towards the words 'Bad Wolf' and made them fly off. "...I scatter them in time and space. A message to lead myself here."

"Rose, you've got to stop this! You've got to stop this now! You've got the entire vortex running through your head! You're gonna burn!" The Doctor said, begging her to stop.

"I want you safe." Rose said, more herself now than the Bad Wolf, though it didn't last. "My Doctor. Protected from the false God."

"_You cannot hurt me._" The Emperor said, confidently. "_I am immortal._"

"You are hardly that." Alex said as Rose lifted her gaze toward the Emperor on screen.

"The Seer tells the truth. You are tiny. I can see the whole of time and space. Every single atom of your existence, and I divide them." She raised her hand and the Daleks began disappearing; turning to gold dust. "Everything must come to dust... All things. Everything dies... The Time War ends."

"_I will not die! I cannot die!_" The Emperor shouted, but he too, vanished with the rest of the Daleks.

The Doctor turned to her desperately. "Rose, you've done it. Now stop. Just let go."

"How can I let go of this? I bring life."

Downstairs, Jack sucked in a breath, and Rose turned to Alex.

"I bring peace of mind."

A gold tendril fluttered over to Alex and she took a deep breath; taking in the dust and relaxing almost immediately.

"But this is wrong!" The Doctor argued. "You can't control life and death!"

"But I can." Rose said, facing him once more. "The sun and the moon. The day and night. But why do they hurt?"

"The power's gonna kill you and it's my fault!" He said, before facing Alex. "No... It's _your_ fault!"

Alex faced him sadly. "It is... and I'm sorry."

He went to snap at her, but Rose spoke again; a tear streaming down her face.

"I can see everything. All that is, all that was, all that ever could be."

The Doctor stood then, realizing what he must do. "That's what I see. All the time. And doesn't it drive you mad?"

"My head." Rose cried in pain.

"Come here."

"It's killing me."

The Doctor gave her a sad smile. "I think you need a Doctor."

He then kissed her, taking in the Time Vortex himself before lowering the unconscious Rose to the floor and facing the Tardis to return the vortex to it. Once that was finished, the doors closed and he knelt back down to check on Rose, before picking her up and facing Alex with a glare.

"This is your fault."

"I know." She said, not denying it; knowing that there was no point.

"Then you best stay away from me." He snarled, heading for the Tardis and shutting the door behind him; placing Rose gently on the floor and setting off.

Leaving Alex there.

* * *

I stood there as the Tardis dematerialized; my hearts clenched tightly in agonizing pain because the Doctor left me. The man whom I'd grown to care for so much, and who'd grown to care for me, left me there on Satellite Five alone after kissing Rose Tyler and blaming me for everything. I heard footsteps behind me, but couldn't turn around to face Jack; already feeling the tears streaming down my face as the Tardis completely disappeared.

"Alex?"

I stayed silent for a moment, before taking a deep shuddering breath and masking the sadness in my voice; still not moving.

"Hello, Jack." I turned my head slightly, though not enough to show my tears. "I told you we'd see each other again."

Jack took a step forwards. "He left? He just left us?"

"No, Jack. He didn't know you were alive. Sorry. I-I probably should've mentioned that to him."

I mentally cursed my stutter, listening as Jack approached.

"But that doesn't explain why _you're_ here, Alex." He was right behind me now. "Alex?"

"H-He left _me_, Jack." I said, bringing the back of my hand up to my mouth as I grit my teeth and felt my chin quiver as sobs threatened to escape. "H-He blamed me a-and then left me. I-I-I knew it was going to happen, b-but why does it hurt so much, Jack?"

"Oh, Alex." He breathed out, pulling me to him and allowing me to cry into his chest as I clung to the back of his shirt and he rested his head over mine.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_ "I'm going to set us off and pick up Clara."_

_ "Okay." She said; rather _easily_, he noticed._

_ He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, pointing at her. "Play nice."_

_ She rolled her eyes. "We've already met, Doctor. We get along fine. If anything, you're going to have to keep an eye on _both_ of us."_

_ "Ohhhh, great." He grumbled, raising his eyes to the ceiling. "_Two_ troublesome people I have to take care of."_


	31. The Rings of Akhaten

**Here's the next chapter. it's a bit fluffy to compensate what happened with Alex, but i hope you all enjoy it. ^^ and i have edited it a bit since people have been asking about some things. ;) so please review and let me know what you think!**

* * *

I took a deep, shuddering breath, having popped away while clinging to Jack and feeling my hearts continue to ache terribly after what'd just happened.

"_This is all your fault."_

_I know._

"_You knew about this! You knew this would happen and you let her go!"_

_I know._

"_What are you? Coward or killer?"_

_I'm both._

"_Tell her, Alex! Tell her she'll be fine!"_

_I can't._

"_Useless! You useless, _selfish_ human being!"_

_I know._

"_How many people!? How many people have to die right now, because _you_ won't tell me anything?!"_

_I can't. I can't tell you._

"_Will she be okay? You better tell me that much, Alex, or I swear, I'll toss you downstairs and let the Daleks deal with you."_

_You should've._

"_If you know so much, then you should be saving him!"_

_There was nothing I could do._ I gasped for air, feeling as though I'd held my breath for ages with how much my chest hurt, and I brought a hand to my face as tears slipped through once more. _There was never anything I could do. And I have to keep telling myself that. Every time. Because if I don't—_I winced at the headache pounding away in my skull along to the familiar four drum beats that had since grown louder and louder; feeding off my emotions and overwhelming my senses to the point where I couldn't hear anything but them. _I-I need to calm down. I don't even know which Doctor I'm with now. He might still hate me. I-I can't let him see me like this. Please... Please, somebody help. _I sank to the floor with a half-sob, half-whimper as the Tardis hummed in worry around me, just as the door opened and someone walked in.

"Whoo! It's really coming down out there. I probably should've brought an umbrella, but—"

There was a pause, but I knew I'd been spotted.

"Alex?" Footsteps grew louder as the Eleventh Doctor rushed to my side. "Alex, what's wrong?"

His hand touched my shoulder, but I pulled away, scrambling back across the floor before forcing myself to stand despite the pain radiating through my head.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, but t-there was nothing... Nothing I could do. You have to believe me." I cried, my mind in too much pain to realize that I wasn't talking to the same man who hated me back on Satellite Five. "I-I'm sorry!"

I rushed for the door, barely hearing him call out behind me, but I couldn't stay here. I couldn't stay with the Doctor, because he was right. I was selfish, thinking that I knew what was best for everyone. I didn't even try to stop Bad Wolf from using Rose. I didn't try to save Lynda or Jack or anyone else. I was so useless and it hurt me so much, because I loved him. I loved him and he just left me behind. I knew it wasn't him, but it was. The Ninth Doctor was in all of the Doctor's after that. He was still the same man who left me and who was to say that he wouldn't do it again when I screwed up next time? That he wouldn't leave me when Donna had to get her mind wiped? Or when Amy and Rory get trapped back in Manhattan? Who's to say that he wouldn't leave me when the Master showed up a second time? Or when some little piece of information slips and a hundred people die because of it?

_How can he love me, when I kill people everywhere I go?_ I mentally lamented as I ran through the rain outside until I couldn't hear or see anything other than the rain and the drums. _If... If I give in to them, will it stop hurting?_ I wondered as I slowed my pace to a halt and brought my hands to my face with a sob. _Can anything stop it from hurting? Can anything stop two hearts from breaking?_ I sank to the ground, getting mud on my pants as I cried and threw a fist into the ground over and over again, in a vain attempt to feel some sort of pain other than what I was feeling now.

I stopped eventually and just sat there as my tears slowed to a slightly more tolerable pace, before wiping my eyes and grimacing as I felt myself spread mud across my cheek. I then pushed myself up and moved under a tree for some shelter from the pouring rain. I curled up in a ball with my knees to my chest, and wrapped my arms around them as I buried my face in my legs and closed my eyes to listen to the rain. After a while longer, the drumming in my head subsided and my tears had long since dried up; leaving me shivering alone under a tree as the rain continued to pour down. I didn't even look up when the squelching of shoes came over, nor when the rain stopped falling on me overhead—instead hitting the fabric of an umbrella.

"I'm sorry." I muttered, gripping my legs a little tighter, knowing that it was the Doctor standing there.

_The _Eleventh_ Doctor_. I reminded myself. _Not the Ninth. This is a future him. I ran out and he probably doesn't even know what's going on. _I buried my head further down as I bit my bottom lip. _How stupid am I?_ There was some shuffling, before I felt warm fingers thread their way through my hair and slick it back, comfortingly, making me look out from behind my legs hesitantly at the—equally soaked—Doctor as he stood and held out his hand to me.

"Come on, Alex. Let's go back to the Tardis."

_But he doesn't want you. He left you!_ My mind shouted.

"Please." He said, voice barely a whisper as he looked down at me with worried green eyes.

Slowly, I took his hand and allowed him to pull me up; him quickly pulling me to his side despite my muddy appearance and walking me back to the Tardis.

* * *

The Doctor sighed quietly, lying beside Alex and brushing his fingers through her short hair as she slept for the first time in a while, it seemed. After she'd run out earlier, the Tardis had locked him up to let her calm down, before finally letting him go after her, only to find her curled up under a tree in the rain. He hadn't know what to think earlier when he walked in to find her clutching her head, only to apologize desperately when he reached for her. He had the feeling that she hadn't been in the right state of mind since this was a younger her, who probably still had to battle of the drumming when her emotions ran high, but he hadn't expected to find out that _he_ was the one who caused it.

She'd told him once they returned to the Tardis, apologizing the whole time because she ran out when it wasn't even _this_ regeneration's fault. But he knew that she was only trying to keep him from getting upset with himself. Especially since it technically _was_ his fault. He was the same person though, and Alex knew that, but she was unique. She knew all about him and knew that even though he was the same as any of his other regenerations, he was different too. Of course, he told her that was no excuse for his Ninth regeneration to leave her behind like he did, nor was it alright for him to blame her for everything that had happened that day with Bad Wolf and the Daleks.

His eyes shifted down to her stomach and he lifted the edge of her shirt with a sad look as he spotted the scar from her first encounter with the Daleks, and the slightly pink skin near it from the latest adventure. He brushed a hand across her skin lightly, wishing that he could go back and stop this from happening to her, but he knew it was too late and a future Alex always told him that they gave her character. _She never wanted me to blame myself for anything. Always taking the burden for me._ He mused, smiling softly as he lowered her shirt and pulled the blankets up on her bed to cover her as she slept peacefully. It was then that he regrettably left her side and headed back down to the Tardis console. He needed to finish looking into his newest companion, Clara, and then he'd take her and Alex both someplace they'd both enjoy. _Though it'll be Clara's choice on whether to go backwards, forwards, or into space. Not that that changes anything. I know the perfect places to take Alex._

"Right then!" He flipped a lever dramatically on the console. "Off we go!"

One soccer ball to the head and a sad funeral visit later, and the Doctor returned to the Tardis completely frustrated.

"She's just a girl. How can she be?"

The monitor showed Clara's Victorian photo, before changing to her ID from the Spaceship Alaska.

"She can't be."

It changed again, to a graduation photo.

"She is."

Then to another photo.

"She can't be!" He said loudly, pushing the monitor aside as he turned to face the doors. "She's not _possible_."

"Clara, I'm guessing?" Came a tired voice from a ways behind him, making him turn around and hurry over to Alex as she covered her mouth and yawned.

He quickly got in her face, looking her over carefully for any signs up her previous upset mood, and spoke slowly.

"Yes... Anything you can tell me?"

_There._ He caught it. A minuscule twitch letting him know that she was uncomfortable.

"Sorry. Nothing. And..." She moved back half a step. "It'll be a while before you find out anything about it."

"Right." He nodded, bounding over to the Tardis as he began setting the coordinates to pick up said person. "Then I guess that means I'll have to keep trying! I'm sure I'll find something sooner or later."

He flipped a switch, but instead of sending them off right away, he went over to Alex once more and put his hands on her waist, rubbing little circles on her hips with his thumbs.

"You alright enough for some breakfast?" He asked carefully, not wanting to set her off after her rough night. "We can go out somewhere or—"

"No." She said, a bit too quickly, before turning away in embarrassment; knowing that she'd just done something suspicious. "I-I just... want to stay in the Tardis for a bit."

The Doctor's expression dropped slightly. _She's afraid I might leave her again..._ "I won't leave you, Alex. I won't ever do that again."

She winced. "I know... but can't you just... make up an omelet or something?"

He knew she wouldn't get over what happened with his Ninth self so easily, so he gave in this time; hoping that she'd perk up after they went somewhere with Clara. _And hopefully they get along. I'd rather not have a domestic in the Tardis again._

"Alright. Omelet it is!" He grinned, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the kitchen excitedly.

Once there, he began making up the omelet as Alex simply sat at the table and rested her head on her arms to watch him. He glanced back at her though, not wanting to bring it up, but knowing that he should.

"Are you alright, though?"

"I'm fine." She said. "I'm... always fine."

"_I'm always fine."_

"_No you're not. You only say that, when you most definitely aren't alright. I'm not stupid, Doctor. You aren't going to fool me with that trick. Especially since... you're not the only one who uses it."_

The Doctor finished the omelet and put it on a plate, sliding it across the table towards her, but the moment she reached for it, he pulled it back.

"Tell me the truth, Alex." He said sternly. "Because you and I both know that that isn't it."

She frowned. "What do you want me to tell you? That I had nightmares last night about you? That I'm afraid you'll leave me behind again? That I can't predict anything anymore, because people will get hurt no matter _what_ I do? Because I can't, Doctor." She snapped, taking the plate from him as he gazed at her softly; stabbing into her omelet angrily, but with a sadness to her eyes. "Because if I said those things, you'd blame yourself. It's in your past. There's nothing you can do. It can't be changed, so why should we continue bringing it up? I'll move past it, so you should too."

She began eating, having ended the conversation, and the Doctor went over to her and pulled her into a half-hug as he kissed her head.

"I love you, Alexander."

"I know." She muttered back, eating another bite, though he saw her ears turn a little red at his words.

_She's still so cute._ He mused with a small smile. _No matter what age. No matter what regeneration I'm on, I still manage to find things about her that get my hearts racing._ He kissed her head again, before pulling away.

"I'm going to set us off and pick up Clara."

"Okay." She said; rather _easily_, he noticed.

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, pointing at her. "Play nice."

She rolled her eyes. "We've already met, Doctor. We get along fine. If anything, you're going to have to keep an eye on _both_ of us."

"Ohhhh, great." He grumbled, raising his eyes to the ceiling. "_Two_ troublesome people I have to take care of."

"Hm." She hummed back, giving him a small smile that made him glad that she was cheering up. "But you love us anyway.~"

_That I do Holmes._ He thought with his own smile, bounding away to the console room to pick up his newest companion. _That I do._

* * *

Once I finished my omelet, I headed back into the console room to wait for the Doctor and Clara, slightly glad that I was starting to get over what happened on Satellite Five, but still slightly worried as well. _He's going to leave you again. Don't get your hopes up, because you know he will._ Some part of my brain murmured to me, making me actually a bit glad when the Tardis dropped the heavy manual of the sonic screwdriver onto my stomach; though I couldn't say it was painless.

"A little warning would be nice next time." I grunted, rubbing my stomach with a wince at the bruise that would probably form there as she hummed in amusement.

Partially through the page on cabinet assembly functions, I heard the door click open and lifted my head out of the book as Clara bounded in alongside the Doctor; a big grin on her face and a book in her arms. The Doctor was the first one to spot me though, and hurried over towards me before pulling me out of the jump seat and over towards the—now confused—woman.

"Um... Who's this?" She asked and the Doctor grinned, pulling me closer to him by the waist as he introduced us.

"This is Alexander Holmes! She—"

I quickly cut him off, pushing the sonic screwdriver manual into his chest as I held out my hand to Clara with a small smile.

"Just call me Alex."

"What was that for?!" The Doctor whined, throwing the book to the lower decks; where it disappeared before it hit the floor.

I gave him a look. "I know how to speak, Doctor. I'm sure I could introduce myself."

"Hm, you can talk alright." He said as I frowned.

"Says the one who can ramble on about different kinds of _alien cheese_ for three hours." I quipped, remembering the time we went to an alien cheese factory with Amy and Rory, because he wanted to have me try cheese that wasn't made from a cow.

"It's not _my_ fault you wanted to know how many kinds of cheese there were!"

"I wanted a _number_! Not the whole freaking history of alien cheese on Alzarius and five hundred other planets!"

"_Fourty seven_ other planets! Not five hundred!"

I opened my mouth to argue further, but Clara cut us off, pointing between us with an amused look.

"Are you two together? Like married or something? Cause you sure are acting like it."

The Doctor and I looked at each other with red faces, realizing that we'd just embarrassed ourselves thoroughly in front of Clara, and that she thought we were married.

"Well, um..." I glance at the Doctor.

"W-We're not, _not_ together." He lamely supplied.

"Not married. No."

"Right." The Doctor said after me, though something looked off about his expression. "It's... complicated."

"Okay." She said, not sounding convinced, before she turned to me, making me stiffen. "Then who are you? Not like your name and stuff, but to the Doctor. Do you travel with him? Live with him?" Her eyes suddenly narrowed as she paused, suspiciously. "Are you an alien?"

"Yes, no, and um... sort of?" I gave the Doctor a glance, but he had already turned back to the console, letting us talk alone. _Poo._ "I have time energy bundled up in my shoulder, but it spread and is changing my biology."

"How? I mean, I don't see you growing a second head or anything."

"I have two hearts now." I said, holding up two fingers. "Just finished growing my second one a couple of trips ago.

I winced, remembering the experience and rubbing the right side of my chest.

"Wasn't the _best_ experience. Believe me. Don't grow a second heart."

Clara chuckled. "I'll try not to."

I smiled a bit back. "Other than that though, it depends. I tend to feel emotions of other things if I touch them sometimes and I have a strong mental presence or something, making it easy to deal with telepathic beings. Though that has proven to be a... bit of a pain. And I think I have some healing bits too. I was shot once and came back to life."

"What?!" She said in shock as I pulled down the collar of my shirt and shower her the scar.

"Yeaaaaahhh. I was sort of shot saving the Doctor and his clone daughter, but that's a story for another time. Ah, I come from another universe, by the way."

"You're kidding."

"Nope. Actually _chose_ to come back here to keep peppy over there out of trouble." I said, tossing a thumb over my shoulder at the Doctor.

"Oi!" The Doctor called out, not really offended since he _was _rather excitable.

"Oh yeah. I can see that." Clara chuckled.

"I pop around though. The time energy in my shoulder sends me off to different versions of the Doctor. Past, present and future. Sometimes I'll be here, other times I'll be elsewhere and it'll be an older or younger version of me here instead."

"But you have two hearts." She said, furrowing her brows. "So you're a Time Lord? Like the Doctor?"

I scratched the back of my head. "Well, not exactly. I'm still partially human as far as I know, it only chose the two hearts thing because it would work with what it needed to do. If two heads would've worked, I might have two heads."

We both made disgusted faces.

"Yeah, no. Forget I said that." I said, before humming thoughtfully. "Though, I suppose since the Doctor's connected to the Tardis, that could be why it chose Time Lord attributes."

"Alright then!" The Doctor called out, heading over towards us. "I think that's enough gossiping for now."

"Wait." Clara said, looking at the two of us curiously. "So we're moving through actual time? So what's it made of? Time. I mean, if you can just rotor through it, it's got to be made of stuff. Like jam's made of strawberries. So what's it made of?"

"Well, not strawberries. No. No, no, no." The Doctor said, a bit disgusted at the thought of time being made out of smashed up strawberries. "That would be unacceptable."

I wrinkled my nose as well. "No kidding. I'd rather not have strawberry jam running through my body, thanks. And it's Artron energy, if you really want to know." I said, gesturing to my shoulder. "Same stuff that's in me."

Clara nodded before looking back at the Doctor. "And we can go anywhere?"

"Within reason. _Well_, I say reason..."

"Anywhere, anywhen." I piped up. "There's not many places the Doctor _can't_ go. Like 19th century England. He got banished. Or 18th century Italy. He owes Casanova a chicken. Or—"

"Alright, Alex! I think she gets it." The Doctor said, suddenly realizing that he had done quite a number of things to get him kicked out of places.

"So, we could go backwards in time." Clara said, moving on.

"And space, yes." The Doctor chirped, silently questioning why it was that everyone seemed to care more about time than space.

"And forwards in time."

"And space." He repeated. "Totally. So, where do you want to go, eh? What do you want to see?"

They both raced around the console then and Clara went to answer, but suddenly frowned.

"I don't know. You know when someone asks you what's your favorite book and straight away you forget every single book that you've ever read?"

"No. Totally not."

"Yes." I piped in again, flipping through a magazine that appeared out of nowhere. "Though for me, it's too many things to choose. Can't pick one."

"Right." Clara nodded, glad someone understood.

"And? Back to the question?" The Doctor said, curious to see what she'd say.

"Okay. So... So... _So_..." She hurried away from him and towards the doors as the Doctor rubbed his hands together eagerly. "So, I'd like to see... I would like to see... What I would like to see is..." It finally clicked and she spun around to face him with a grin. "...something awesome."

The Doctor threw his hands up and snapped his fingers, before turning around and yanking down some levers; sending the Tardis off as Clara braced herself and I hung onto the back of the jump-seat with one hand; the other still holding my magazine. When we finally landed, I hopped up and tossed the magazine over my shoulder where it disappeared in the lower decks, and the Doctor turned to Clara.

"Close your eyes!"

"What?" She asked, confused.

"Oh, just do it." He said with a roll of his eyes, grabbing her and turning her towards the doors as I followed behind them. "You wanted awesome, well, let's make it a surprise, shall we?"

"Okay."

She closed her eyes and the Doctor leaned over her shoulder.

"Are they closed?"

"Yup." She said, popping the 'p' as he opened the door and led her out.

"Can you feel the light on your eyelids?" He asked her as I shut the Tardis doors behind her and moved up next to him.

"Mhmm."

"That is the light of an alien sun. Forward a couple of steps." He moved her a little more and then stopped her; releasing her arms to pull me to him instead. "Okay. Are you ready?"

"Yes. No." Clara said, unsure and not yet opening her eyes as the Doctor gave me a grin of excitement. "Yes."

She finally opened her eyes and the Doctor turned back to her.

"Welcome to the Rings of Akhaten."

The three of us were standing on the edge of an asteroid, floating around a sun as another—larger—asteroid floated not far ahead of us.

"Its..." Clara probably couldn't figure out the words to describe it.

"It is. It's so, completely is." The Doctor said with a slight waver in his voice from just how excited he was.

_I can feel him practically vibrating in place. _I mused with a roll of my eyes.

"But wait, there's more."

"More what?" Clara asked and I gave her a look.

"Just watch."

The Doctor glanced at his watch. "Five, four, three, two..."

The asteroids moved then, just enough to show a golden building on a smaller asteroid glittering in the light from the sun.

"What is it?" Clara asked.

"The Pyramid of the Rings of Akhaten. It's a holy sight for the Sun Singers of Akhat." The Doctor explained.

"The who of the what?" Clara questioned and he went on.

"Seven worlds orbiting the same star. All of them sharing a belief that life in the universe originated here, on that planet."

"All life?"

"In the universe."

"Did it?"

"Well... it's what they believe. It's a nice story."

"Can we see it? Up close?"

The Doctor glanced at her and held out his hand, Clara quickly taking it, before the Doctor whirled me around and tugged us both back into the Tardis; setting off with _far_ too much excitement. _Especially with what he's going to encounter there._ I sighed quietly as I clung to the railing and the Tardis moved to the bazaar. _I'm just glad nobody dies this time. Well, other than the mummy thing. _Once there, he pulled us both out the doors and we stopped smack dab in the middle of the road; Clara clinging to his arm and sending a bit of jealousy through my veins as he pat her hand comfortingly. Thankfully, she let him go and chuckled as she moved a bit ahead and looked around. The Doctor though, stayed beside me and pulled me close as I looked around with a small smile on my face.

"Do you like it?" He asked as I nodded.

"Yeah! Course I do. It's great. Bit loud, but still... great."

"I'm glad." He said, kissing my temple and sending a nice red shade up my face, before an alien tried to get him to buy some sort of pillow.

I rolled my eyes as he played with it a bit, before returning it to the alien saying how he couldn't pay for it; just as Clara returned.

"Where are they from?"

"Oh, you know. The local system, mostly."

"What do I call them?"

I groaned, playfully. "Oh you shouldn't of done that. You'd be better off asking him about cheese. Now he'll talk for _days_."

"Will not!" He argued and I chuckled.

"Alright then, spaceman. Go ahead. Show off for the pretty lady."

"If you insist." He smirked, pointing just past me at a duo of long faced aliens. "There's some Panbabylonians, Alex."

I flushed, and pointedly smacked him on the chest. "I-I meant show Clara! Not me!"

He chuckled, glad that he'd got his bit of teasing in too. "Course, course. Well then, that over there is a Lugal-Irra-Kush." He said, gesturing to an alien that reminded me of a Tapir. "Uh, some Lucanians. A Hooloovoo. Ah!"

He approached a hooded alien with me beside him and Clara a little behind me.

"Qom VoTivig." He said as he did some sort of greeting with it and it walked off. "That chap's a Terraberserker of the Kodion Belt. You don't see many of them around anymore. Oh-ho! That's an Ultramancer!" He shouted as he walked off towards it and then hurried back. "Do you know, I forget how much I like it here. We should come more often."

"You've been here before?" Clara questioned and he grinned.

"Yes! Yes, yes. I came here a long time ago. With my granddaughter." He rushed off then, probably realizing what he'd said and I hurried after him before Clara even knew what was going on.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, knowing that family was a bad topic with him.

He smiled a gentle smile, but his eyes were sad. "No, but I will be."

I went to push a bit, but Clara had found us and the Doctor grabbed some blue fruit from a basket nearby and scanned it as though he'd been looking at them the whole time.

"Exotic fruit of some description. Right. Non-toxic, non-hallucinogenic."

Clara and I took one and tried it.

"High in free radicals and low in other stuff, I shouldn't wonder."

Clara shook her head, but I kind of liked it. It didn't taste like anything _blue_ like I'd expected. Not blueberries or anything, but it actually tasted kind of like a fizzy mango drink or something. It was hard to explain and the Doctor put the basket back anyhow, so I continued to munch on the one I had as Clara spoke up.

"So, why is everyone here?"

The Doctor put his arms over our shoulders and moved us further through the bazaar.

"For the Festival of Offerings. Takes place every thousand years or so, when the rings align. It's quite a big thing, locally. Like u-uh, Pancake Tuesday."

I raised a brow. "We never had Pancake Tuesday. Now _Taco_ Tuesday is a completely different animal." I hummed, pointing at Clara's fruit. "You going to finish that?"

She shook her head and handed it to me to finish, before she wandered off a ways behind us and we rounded a corner. When the Doctor saw she wasn't behind us, he gave me a look and I tossed a thumb over my shoulder; mouth slightly full of fruit.

"Behind us, lost in translation with a barking alien."

"Oh, better hurry then." He said, grabbing my hand and pulling me along before barking at the alien in a rather _high pitched_ dog noise.

"What's that mean? Why is it angry?" Clara asked and I sighed.

"Not an 'it', it's a she. And she's not angry."

The Doctor nodded. "Right. Dor'een, meet Clara and Alex. Clara, Alex, meet Dor'een."

"Doreen?" Clara questioned and I nodded as she smiled and I grinned back at the alien.

"Loose translation." The Doctor waved off. "She sounds a bit grumpy, but she's a total love, actually. Aren't you? Yes, you are." He cooed as he scratched her under her chin; much like a cat. "No, actually, she's just asking if we fancy renting a moped."

Clara spotted the vehicles and barked back at the alien, before turning to the Doctor. "So, how much does it cost?"

"Ah, not money." He explained. "Something valuable. Sentimental value. A photograph, love letter, something like that. That's what's used for currency here. Psychometry. Objects psychically imprinted with their history. The more treasured they are, the more value they hold."

"That's horrible." She said with a frown; arms crossed over her chest.

"Better than using bits of paper." The Doctor argued.

"Then you pay." Clara said, nodding towards the moped.

"With what?" He asked.

"You're a thousand years old. You must have something you care about." She chuckled as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and put it back in his pocket with a shake of his head, before turning to me. "What about you, Alex? Do you have anything? Popping around with him, there must be something."

I swallowed thickly though, mouth going dry as I realized that I _didn't_ have anything. Nothing _that_ important. Clara, oblivious to my plight, walked past the Doctor with a chuckle as she looked at a group of green aliens nearby. Taking his chance, the Doctor grabbed me and pulled me away; his fingers running along the back of my hand as we rushed off, leaving Clara behind.

"Doctor, we really shouldn't—"

"Here."

A blue fruit was suddenly pushed under my nose and I glanced up at the Doctor giving me a worried look. Hesitantly, I took it watching him warily as he smiled a bit and brushed a hand over the side of my face.

"You were upset."

"So were you." I reminded him, letting him know that I hadn't forgotten about how he'd run off after mentioning his granddaughter.

He smiled sadly. "I was."

I watched him carefully as I spoke. "You miss her, don't you."

"I miss her very much." He smiled a bit. "You would've liked her."

I smiled a little. "I like most kids..." I frowned then. "Unless they're my siblings. They were a pain."

He chuckled and I continued to frown.

"Don't laugh! They were rude little monsters! Made messes all the time that _I_ got blamed for because I looked away for two seconds. Got into the cat's food and dumped water on the floor. I was lucky when I had a day I _didn't_ have to clean more than five things."

"But I'm sure you still loved them." He said, leaning his head on mine as we walked through the bazaar.

"Course I did." I grumbled, trying to ignore the twisting in my hearts at remembering my family. "Sometimes they were really... cute. My youngest sister would come up to me babbling nonsense, but it was like she was properly trying to tell me something exciting. And my brother would go out of his way to give me things for no reason. And sometimes, my other sister would say something really smart that would stump me, and she was only six!"

My voice faltered then as a memory floated through my mind, causing the Doctor to give me a small worried glance.

"She asked me once, what my favorite thing in the world was. Out of the blue. No reason for it or anything, and I had to really think about it. Like, _really_ think about it. Her answer was easy." I chuckled slightly. "Unicorns. Don't even exist and she said that was her favorite thing. An _idea_, a myth."

"What was your answer?" He asked, genuinely curious.

I grinned up at him. "Knowledge. Never grows old, never breaks, and you can take it anywhere. And when I told her that, she grinned and said that she was going to have to change her answer, because she liked mine better. Six years old, and she said that. Oh, but she was a trouble maker." I poked him in the side. "You would've liked her. She was a proper ginger."

"Ooh, trouble-maker, smart, _and_ ginger? No doubt about that." He hummed, making me chuckle.

"Sounds just like you, right? Well, minus the ginger part."

"Oi." He pouted, pulling at his moppy brown hair. "I've always wanted to be ginger."

"Maybe one day, but I like you this way, Doctor." I smiled, wrapping an arm around his back and leaning against him. "Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve. Ginger or not. I don't think I'd ever _not _like you. Though Nine and Ten push it sometimes."

"Sorry, Alex." He said, seriously, making me frown and look up at him.

"Oi."

He turned to me with a sad look, but before he could say anything more, I pressed my lips to his; feeling him respond, before I pulled away.

"I love you. _All_ of you. Every single one, whether you leave me behind and threaten to feed me to a werewolf, or protect me and fight for me. I love all of your regenerations, no matter what. Even if they hate me." I smiled kindly at him. "That just means I have to pester them more before they can't help but like me."

He shook his head with a small smile, bringing his hand up to cup my face. "I knew I loved you for a good reason. Pestering and all. Because _you_ Alexander Holmes... You devilish, cunning, brilliant person... You have saved me in more ways than I could count and I've _always_ wished to pay you back for that. For knocking my head into gear and showing me that I'm not alone. Not now, and not ever."

"God, do you ramble." I grinned, before he kissed me again; the two of us lost in our own little world for a moment, before we pulled apart and I gave him a look. "Can we get some more of those blue fruits now?"

He chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. "You and your food."

"Oi!" I said, smacking him playfully on the arm. "They're _delicious_! Like fizzy mangoes!"

"Fizzy mangoes?" He questioned and I groaned, grabbing his hand and pulling him back towards where we found the exotic fruits.

"Just come on and try one then, you cheeky moron! And let's see _you _try to describe it."

"Challenge accepted!" He grinned with a laugh, but I suddenly paused as we found the fruit vendor.

"Hey, are um… Are Jenny and Lukas doing alright?" I questioned hesitantly, feeling rather guilty that I hadn't really thought about them until now.

He nodded, a big grin on his face. "Oh, yes! Rather brilliant, actually. They've helped terraform that planet very nicely and Lukas was put in charge of international and inter-universal exchanges. They're got two kids, a little moppy, brown haired boy named Jake and a little red-head named _Alex_ of all things." He smiled, pulling me against his side. "I take you to see their wedding. Though Jenny gave you quite the scolding for the stunt you pulled."

I nodded with a small smile, glad everything was going well with the two as we got some of the fruit and eventually went to searching for Clara as we ate.

"I'm thinking sour apricots." He said, trying to describe the taste of the fruit he was eating and I frowned.

"No way! Fizzy mangoes! I'm telling you!"

We went over to Clara, who was just standing there looking smug, and I glanced at Merry as she walked off ahead of us, as the Doctor asked her what she's been up to.

"What've you been doing?"

"Exploring." She said with a shrug.

The Doctor shrugged back before tugging me along past her; my arm in the crook of his elbow.

"Where are we going now?!" She complained as I looked back and grinned at her.

"To see the show, of course!" I then pointed at the Doctor, still eating his fruit. "And tell him the fruit tastes like fizzy mangoes! He _insists_ they taste like sour apricots."

She shrugged again, but this time with a smirk. "Okay. They taste like fizzy mangoes."

"Ha!" I said smugly. "I win!"

"Since when was this a competition?" He whined as we moved past the left over aliens wandering about and over to the amphitheater.

"Since now. And I won." I teased, before I gestured to the large structure. "And I think we're late."

He looked around and then dropped the fruit before rushing us into a run. We skidded to a halt between two red-robed figures and the Doctor shushed us as he found us some seats.

"Sh, sh. Sorry, sorry. Sorry. Excuse me. Sorry. Excuse me."

"Sorry." Clara and I both apologized to the aliens we moved past, until we were seated and Clara leaned over towards me; speaking to the Doctor on my other side.

"Are we even supposed to be here?"

"Sh." I shushed.

"Are we?" She whispered, but the Doctor shushed her this time.

"_Sh_." He then glanced at the alien beside her. "Sorry."

It grunted and the Doctor gave Clara a smile, before we all turned to watch Merry; the little girl at the front of this whole thing. She glanced back at us, I noticed, before facing the asteroid ahead of us and began singing. It was _far_ better in person than on the show, and I closed my eyes with a quiet sigh as I relaxed and enjoyed the harmonizing between the little girl and the man on the asteroid. The Doctor though, had put on his glasses and pulled out a program he'd gotten before we entered, explaining to Clara what was going on.

"They're singing to the Mummy in the Temple. They call it the Old God. Sometimes Grandfather."

"Fact check." I muttered, earning a confused look from the Doctor, before Clara spoke.

"What are they singing?"

"The Long Song." I hummed as the Doctor nodded and explained further.

"A lullaby without end to feed the Old God. Keep him asleep. It's been going on for millions of years, chorister handing over to chorister, generation after generation after generation."

The audience around us held out their hands as I dug through my pockets and pulled out a knickknack I'd snatched from my room and held it out as well.

"What are you doing?"

"Offering." I said, watching as the small snow-globe disappeared into gold dust in my palm.

"Gifts of value." The Doctor continued. "Mementos to feed the Old God."

The audience began singing as well and I joined in, following the Doctor as he swayed side to side and tried to get Clara to join the singing.

"Lay down..." He seemed a little lost as to the lyrics and I grinned a bit as I leaned on his shoulder.

It was then that I remembered what happened and I stiffened, when the male singer cut off.

"Doctor."

"Hm?"

"We're about to encounter a problem."

He went to ask what, but I'd already stood and moved past the aliens as there came a rumbling and the male singer started up again; changing his song. Finally past the aliens, I ran for Merry and reached out to grab her hand just as she was caught by the glowing light from the Temple. The Doctor rushed out after me, pulling me back as Merry's hand slipped through my fingers and I nearly fell off the edge of the asteroid.

"Ah, nothing ever goes the way I want it to." I grumbled, turning to the Doctor. "Moped."

He nodded, grabbing my hand as we rushed off; Clara following behind us, upset.

"Why are we walking away? We can't just _walk_ away. This is my fault! I talked her into doing this."

I turned to her, letting go of the Doctor's hand and storming up to her, not so much angry, but a bit annoyed.

"Look, Clara. It's not your fault. If anything, it's mine. I knew this was going to happen and I didn't stop it, but if there's one thing you need to know about traveling with the Doctor and I, it's that we _never_ walk away. Especially not when someone's in danger."

I turned around then and went for Dor'een along with the Doctor, before he spoke to her and then pat his pockets and turned back to us.

"I need something precious."

"Well, you two must have something." Clara said and I grimaced.

"I only brought a small knickknack with me. I-I... don't have anything like that."

She looked at me in surprise, before turning to the Doctor. "All the places you've seen, there must be something."

He pulled out his sonic and a familiar silver ring on a chain. "These, and I don't want to give either away, because the sonic comes in handy and the ring..." He trailed off as my hearts ached; though I swear he gave me a brief glance. "...it's too precious to me. Far, _far_ too precious."

_River's ring..._ I thought, eyeing it as he tucked it and the sonic screwdriver away, trying to ignore the pain in my chest. _I... should've known. Should've...seen it. Expected it..._ I must've zoned out for a moment, because the Doctor grabbed my hand and snapped me out of it as he pulled me to the moped.

"Come on, Alex. Now's not the time to be spacing out."

He pushed me onto it and climbed on behind me, reaching a hand out for Clara as she climbed on behind him and he zoomed off after Merry. Clara and I both tried to reach for the girl, but we couldn't do it. She was just too far away and going too fast for the little moped to keep up. Of course, that meant we were going rather fast and Clara quickly began shouting in a panic.

"Brakes! Brakes!"

The Doctor turned the moped as he slammed on the breaks; Clara screaming and grabbing him around the neck as we pulled to a halt, panting and out of breath.

"Okay." The Doctor breathed out. "Time to let go."

"I can't." Clara said, still in panic mode.

"Clara, you're hurting him." I said, ducking out from under his arms and snatching his sonic screwdriver from him as I did so.

"Sorry." I heard her apologize as I scanned the door and looked at the results; the Doctor giving me a disbelieving look as I reported the results back to him.

"Frequency modulated acoustic lock." I said, tossing the sonic to him. "Your turn."

"Where'd you learn to do that?" He asked as he tried the door.

"What? You think I just read old magazines when I'm bored? The manual is all Sexy gives me anymore." I pouted then, muttering under my breath. "Stupid box nearly threw me into the pool this morning. I still can't believe you say she likes me sometimes."

"She must like you if she's showing you how to work the sonic." He said, waving the device briefly before getting back to work. "She might even give you one, someday."

I wrinkled my nose. "Ew, no. Knowing me, I'd probably loose in the middle of an alien invasion or something."

"Ahem." The two of us glanced at Clara, who had that stern motherly look to her; arms crossed over her chest and the whole bit. "There's a scared little girl in there. So are you two going to keep talking or get that door open?"

We both kind of turned away sheepishly before she spoke up again.

"Wait. You _can_ open the door, can't you?"

"Technically, no. In reality, also no. But still, let's give it a stab."

Clara then turned to the people back on the other asteroid. "How can they just stand there and watch?"

"This is sacred ground." I replied, eyeing the Doctor as he knocked on the door like that would open it. "Stepping on sacred ground without the proper authority is a big taboo in most religious societies. Angers the Gods, curses the person who did it, upsets the ancestors, you name it. Different cultures, different reasons. It correlates to their belief system some way or another." I said with a shrug, making her turn to me with a strange look.

"And _how_ do you know all that?"

"Forensic anthropologist. Hello." I smiled, wiggling my fingers in a wave. "I used to work in a museum and worked at an Incan dig sight for a while too. You'll find I'm chock full of silly history facts and looking at people and their cultures is part of my job. Give me a bag of bones and you'll find I can tell you quite a bit about what they were like living."

"That's... kind of interesting. But also very weird."

"Just how I like it." I grinned, before the Doctor grinned.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes. Oh, hello."

"Hello what?" Clara asked, heading over to where we were as the Doctor checked his screwdriver.

"The sonic's locked on to the acoustic tumblers."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning I get to do this." He said with an excited look on his face, pointing the sonic screwdriver at the door and getting it to lift.

He seemed to be struggling a bit, but I could see why. It looked like a really heavy door. Needless to say, that didn't stop his enthusiasm as he stood under it and shouted to Merry.

"Hey! Hello there! I'm the Doctor. This is Alex."

I waved a little as he nodded my way.

"And you've met Clara. She was supposed to be having a nice day out. Still, it's early yet." He stopped the sonic for a second and the door slipped before he started it back up again. "Are you coming then? Did I mention that the door is immensely heavy?"

"Leave! You'll wake him." Merry said, looking far more scared than I think a child should be.

"Really quite extraordinarily heavy." The Doctor repeated, sinking a little lower with a grunt as he struggled with the door that moved down a bit. "Clara? Alex?"

Clara and I stepped forward.

"Merry, we nee to leave." Clara insisted.

"No. Go away."

"Not without you." She said.

"You said I wouldn't get it wrong and then I got it wrong!" The girl accused. "And now this has happened. Look what's happened!"

"Merry? Hi, haven't met. I'm Alex." I said, trying to hurry. "Look, I promise you, it wasn't your fault."

"How do you know?! You don't know anything!"

"Ah, well. That's a bit wrong. See, I forgot to mention this bit, but I'm kind of psychic." I turned to Clara; whose mouth was gaping open in shock. "Not entirely Clara, I'll explain later. It's a bit more complicated than that." I then turned back to the girl. "So you see, I know that this isn't your fault. I also know that Grandfather over there, doesn't want us. He wants you."

She went to say something, but I cut her off before she could.

"Yes, yes. I know. _Psychic_. But listen. If we don't get you out of here, something bad could... _possibly_ happen and I'd rather it didn't happen—because my presence alone seems to change quite a few things—so let's not take the risk of something bad happening and leave, yeah?"

I held my hand out, but she reached for her temples and I was suddenly flung towards the glass covering around the mummy, slamming into it with a gasp as the air left my lungs and I was pinned to the glass.

"W-Well... that wasn't supposed to happen." I muttered, looking down at the girl.

"If you don't leave, he'll eat you all up too." She said and I raised a brow.

"How am I supposed to leave when you've got me like this?"

She went to respond, but furrowed her brows as she realized she didn't really have an argument for that; making me mentally chuckle. _Oh, kids. Don't always think things through, do they?_

"Right. Yes. Ignore Alex." The Doctor said as Clara rushed up to me and tried to pull me off the glass unsuccessfully.

"Hey!" I frowned, but he went on.

"Because you don't want this, do you? You want us to walk out of this really quite _astonishingly_ heavy door and never come back."

"Yes." She said and the Doctor made a face.

"I see! Right. Clara and Alex are right. Absolutely never going to happen."

He made some odd noises and then rolled out from under the door as it came down, grabbing his sonic screwdriver just before it was crushed.

"Did you just lock us in?" Clara asked in disbelief as the Doctor smoothed his hair out.

"Yup."

"With a soul-eating monster." I said next as he fixed his bow-tie.

"Yup."

"And is there actually a way to get out?"

"Yup." I piped in, making the Doctor raise a brow at me as he headed over and smiled; pointing at me.

"There you go! Alex knows a way out."

I rolled my eyes. "If I could move, you should know I'd bite your finger off right now. So quit pointing at me."

He quickly pulled his hand away, petting his own hand as though he missed it already, but Clara caught his attention once more.

"Doctor? Why is he still singing?"

"Vain attempt to keep Grandfather asleep." I replied. "Shame he's just the alarm clock."

The Doctor nodded, not catching the hint I threw at him as he knelt down in front of the red-cloaked man.

"Alex is right. He's waking up, mate. He's coming, ready or not. You want to run."

The man stopped singing and there was a pause before the Doctor spoke again.

"That's it then. Song's over."

"The song is over." The man repeated, standing along with the Doctor. "My name is Chorister Rezh Baphinx, and the Long Song ended with me."

He pressed something on a bracelet up his sleeve, and vanished.

"_That's_ it then." The Doctor shrugged with his hands up. "Song's over."

He then dug out his sonic and aimed it at the mummy behind me; who roared in response. Excitedly, the Doctor rushed up beside me as I gave him a blank look; not at all amused.

"Ah-ha! Look at that!"

"You've woken him." Merry said in worry as Clara frowned at him.

"What were you thinking?!"

"Oh, it's fine, Clara." I drawled out, wincing as the monster behind me pounded on the glass. "Doctor's just being an idiot, is all."

"Am not!" He argued, having made his round about the glass box, before pointing at Merry. "Now, we didn't wake him and you didn't wake him either. He's waking because it's time to wake and feed. On you, apparently. On your stories."

"She didn't say stories. She said souls." Clara said, confused and I sighed, with another wince as the mummy hit the glass again.

"Same thing really. Souls are made of stories."

The Doctor continued on for me. "Everything that ever happened to us. People we love—" He gave me a brief glance. "People we lost... People we found again against all the odds." He turned to Clara then. "He threatens to wake, they offer him a pure soul. The soul of the Queen of Years."

"Stop it. You're scaring her." Clara said, moving to Merry's side as she glared at the Doctor.

"Oh, yeah. Never mind me. I'm only stuck against a glass box holding back Mr. Grandfather over here." I droned, earning a glare from her too.

"Good." The Doctor said, having ignored my comment for now. "She should be scared. She's sacrificing herself. She should know what that means. Do you know what that means, Merry?"

"A God chose me."

"It's not a God."

"Point one for the Doctor." I hummed, trying to hint to him again, but was ignored once more.

"It'll feed on your soul, but that doesn't make it a God. It is a vampire and you don't need to give yourself to it."

"And he lost it." I sighed, earning a frown from him before he turned back to Merry; having moved closer to her.

"Hey, do you mind if I tell you a story? One you might not of heard?"

"Doctor, is now really the time to—"

"Shush, Clara." I said, cutting her off and giving her a serious look. "Trust him."

She frowned a bit, but nodded and stayed quiet as the Doctor leaned down to Merry's level.

"All the elements in your body were forged many, many millions of years ago, in the heart of a far away star that exploded and died... That explosion scattered those elements across the desolations of deep space. After so, _so_ many millions of years, these elements came together to form new stars and new planets. And on and on it went. The elements came together and burst apart, forming shoes and ships and sealing wax, and cabbages and kings." He moved behind her and held her shoulders gently. "Until eventually, they came together to make you. You are unique in the universe. There is only _one_ Merry Gejelh. And there will never be another. Getting rid of that existence isn't a sacrifice. It is a waste." He pointed at the mummy as it roared angrily behind me, making me grimace a bit as the drums started up in my head; feeding off it's anger and the slight fear that had settled into my gut.

"So, if I don't... then everyone else—"

"Will be fine." The Doctor reassured.

"How?"

"There's always a way."

"You promise?"

"Well, Alex is the one who usually makes the promises." He hummed, looking over at me. "She only makes the best of promises. The kind that are never broken. So perhaps you should ask her."

Merry looked over at me as I smiled a bit. "They'll be safe? Everyone?"

I nodded. "Oh, yes. I promise, you and everyone here _and_ out there will be perfectly fine. Cross my... um... _hearts_." I said, nearly forgetting my second heart for a second.

The Doctor took Merry's hand and gave it a comforting pat as he smiled down at her, before I was released and grabbed Clara, pulling her down with me as she gasped; seeing the crack the mummy had just put in the glass where my head had been.

"Having a nice stretch?" She asked it, jokingly, before the ground rumbled. "Something's coming. What's coming?"

"The Vigil." Merry said fearfully.

"Yeah, may have forgotten about them. Sorry." I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck.

"And what's the Vigil?" The Doctor asked and Merry answered for me.

"If the Queen of Years is unwilling to be feasted upon..."

"...it's their job to feed her to Grandfather." I finished for her as there was a puff of smoke and three dark figures appeared.

The Doctor whipped out his sonic screwdriver as they approached and Merry apologized; Clara pushing her back.

"Don't you dare."

"Yeah. Stay back! I'm armed... With a screwdriver." The Doctor threatened as I reached around him from behind and pushed the button; not giving them a chance to throw him back as the Doctor and I struggled with keeping them back.

"Why did you do that?!" The Doctor asked, wincing at the amount of resistance they were putting up.

"Because they would've throw you and Clara into a wall otherwise. They won't listen to reason, Doctor." I grimaced, as Clara spoke to Merry behind us.

"You know all the stories. You must know if there's another way out."

"There's a tale. A secret song. The Thief of the Temple and the Nimmer's Door."

"Sing it, Merry!" I called out and she nodded, before singing a few notes and a door opened to our left.

The Doctor and I pushed the Vigil back a bit, giving them room to run past us.

"Go!"

They did and the Doctor spoke to me next.

"You too, Alex."

"I'm not leaving you."

"Alex, now is not the time to argue."

"Yeah? Then stop arguing. I'm not leaving."

He grunted, pushing the Vigil back further as we moved slowly towards the door. "Alexander Holmes! You get out of here now!"

"No!" I shouted back, feeling my hearts ache at what I was about to say. "I'm not going back because you're all I have left! And I'm not leaving you alone!"

He gave me a look, just as the shield went out and Clara called out from behind us.

"Doctor! Alex!"

My mouth suddenly felt dry with how the Doctor was looking at me, but he soon grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room and to where Clara and Merry were waiting; only for the Vigil to try and come after us once more. He used the sonic again, holding them back, but the sound of shattering glass came to our ears and the Vigil lowered their arms before disappearing.

"Where did they go?" Clara asked, confused.

"Grandfather's awake. They're of no function anymore." He breathed out.

"Well, you could sound happier about it." She said, before the ground rumbled beneath us and the Doctor and I both turned to her.

"Actually, I may have made a bit tactical boo-boo. More of a semantics mix-up, really. Alex had been leaving hints the whole time, but I'm a bit thick."

"More than a bit sometimes." I muttered quietly.

Clara looked between us both. "What boo-boo?"

"The mummy in there is Grandfather, but he's just the alarm clock for the Old God."

She frowned. "Sorry, a bit lost. Who's the Old God? Is there an Old God?"

"Unfortunately, yes." The Doctor said, turning to look at the sun behind us as it rumbled and groaned.

"Oh, my stars." Clara breathed out, before turning to us. "What do we do?"

"Against that? I don't know. Do you know?" He turned to Clara. "I don't know. Any ideas?"

"You promised." Merry said, making me turn to her as she got slightly angry along with her worry. "But you promised!"

"I did." I said softly. "I did promise."

"He'll eat us all. He'll spread across the system, consuming the Seven Worlds. And when there's no more to eat, he'll embark on a new odyssey among the stars." She went on before Clara tilted her head a bit.

"I say leg it."

"Leg it where, exactly?" The Doctor questioned her as I sighed.

"Don't know. Lake District?" She offered.

"Oh, the Lake District's lovely. Let's definitely go there. We can eat scones. They do great scones in 1927." His voice sort of trailed off at the end as we returned our gazes back at the sun.

"Well, as an old pain in the butt once said, 'No point standing around chin wagging'." I said, stepping away from the group as Clara gave me an incredulous look.

"You're going to fight it?!"

I glanced over my shoulder with a raised brow. "Well, I _did_ make a promise. And I _never_ break my promises." I winked over at Merry and started walking off again. "You coming?"

"It's really big." Clara said, sounding as though she was trying to discourage me.

"Well, I've seen bigger, actually. I saw a sun that burned people from the inside out." I mused with a shrug.

"That wasn't _bigger_!" The Doctor said, heading over towards me as well.

"No? Well, burning people alive seems much more threatening than talking to a God about eating stories." I scoffed, smirking a bit when the Doctor threw his hands up in exasperation.

"I'm coming with you." Clara said, also stepping forward.

"No, you're not." The Doctor responded quickly.

"Yes, I am. I can assist. Alex gets to go."

"Don't go throwing _me_ under the bus, Clara." I said, still eyeing the sun.

"That's because she won't leave even if I wanted her to."

"And I'd kick his butt if he tried." I hummed, earning a glare from the Time Lord.

"What about that stuff Alex said. We don't walk away." Clara countered.

"No. We don't walk away. But when we're holding on to something precious, we run. We run and run as fast as we can and we don't stop running until we are out from under the shadow. Now, off you pop. Take the moped. Alex and I will walk."

He turned towards me and I offered my hand, making him smile slightly as he took it and we headed inside to speak with the Old God.

"I really should listen to you more." He told me, making me smile a little.

"You should. You've said that more than once, I believe, but you're not one to learn a good lesson, are you."

"Well, this is one I should do well to remember." He mused, before we faced the sun; now sporting a nasty looking face. "Any ideas? Hints?"

"Just give it what it wants." I said, swallowing thickly as I squeezed the Doctor's hand; him doing the same in return.

I may have acted like I wasn't scared before, but that was with something I knew wouldn't do anything. That was just the minion to the evil villain. Tiny, miniscule, unimportant. _This_ though, was a lot different. Acting confident is one thing, but when faced with a _God_. A living sun who's more than willing to eat your soul if you make the wrong move? Things get a bit scary. _And the Doctor's just as scared as I am._ I took a deep breath and listened, waiting for Merry to start singing, and thankfully, she did.

"_Rest now. My warrior. Rest now..."_

"Tell him a story." I said quietly, looking over at the Doctor as he looked down at me. "Tell him about the lonely Time Lord. The Time Lord, who isn't so lonely anymore."

I smiled a little and he nodded, smiling slightly back as he faced the sun and began speaking as I sang quietly beside him. A song I had loved ever since I'd heard it back at home. In my universe. The Long Song.

"Can you hear them? All these people who've lived in terror of you and your judgment? All these people whose ancestors devoted themselves, sacrificed themselves, to you. Can you hear them singing? Oh, you like to think you're a god. But you're not a god. You're just a parasite eaten out with jealousy and envy and longing for the lives of others. You feed on them. On the memory of love and loss and birth and death and joy and sorrow. So... So, come on, then. Take mine. Take my memories. But I hope you've got a big appetite, because I have lived a long life and I have seen a few things." He said, wincing back as golden tendrils went through his memories.

"Take mine too." I said, stepping forward, despite his hand trying to pull me back.

"Alex."

I shook my head at him, giving him a sad smile. "No, Doctor. I already said it. I'm not leaving you alone. So if you're going to have to do this, then I will do it with you." I turned to the sun then. "Come on then, you fat sun. I'm from another universe. I pop all over the place in this one. I've seen far more than my fair share of things... So... take mine too."

Some golden tendrils hit me in the chest as well, making me hiss out in pain as it pulled my memories from me. My old family, laughing and teasing and playing. My old friends, leaving me and arguing and joking. Watching _Doctor Who_ on TV, working in South America, working in the museum. Seeing psychiatrists and fighting and crying and the hours I spent staring at a wall wishing I'd come back. Come back for him. For the Doctor. And I stayed strong, still holding his hand as he went on to tell his story to the sun.

"I walked away from the last Great Time War. I marked the passing of the Time Lords. I saw the birth of the universe and I watched as time ran out, moment by moment, until nothing remained. No time. No space. Just me!" He half shouted, half cried. "I walked in universes where the laws of physics were devised by the mind of a mad man. I've watched universes freeze and creations burn. I've seen things you wouldn't believe. I have lost things you will never understand! And I know things. Secrets that must never be told. Knowledge that must never be spoken. Knowledge that will make parasite gods blaze. So come on, then!" He shouted, opening his arm out to the side as his other pulled me close. "Take it! Take it all, baby! Have it! You have it all!"

The sun shrank in on itself after letting the Doctor and I go, but I knew that wasn't the end of it. I helped lower the Doctor to the ground, half-bent over, with tears slipping down my face because I knew—_knew—_how hard it was for him to say what he did. To experience those memories again. Seeing his companions leave or die or forget him. Seeing his family gone, his _entire race _gone. I knew it was hard for him and I only saw a few tears slip down his face before he locked everything back up again. Before he became stoney faced and the sun expanded once more. And I knew he wouldn't show that sort of emotion for a long, _long_ time, so I cried for him. I let my tears fall freely for once in my life, without disgust or anger at myself, because I was crying for _him_. For the man who couldn't cry himself. For the man who couldn't show anyone his tears.

I moved myself in front of him and held him in a hug, my forehead resting on his shoulder blade as I spoke quietly to him, apologizing for the pain he'd just gone through.

"I'm sorry. I am so, _so_ sorry."

I heard Clara then, her having returned, and I lifted my head along with the Doctor to watch as she approached the sun.

"Still hungry? Well I brought something for you." She opened her book then, pulling out the leaf that had caused her parents to come together. "This. The most important leaf in human history. _The_ most important leaf in human history. It's full of stories, full of history. And full of a future that never got lived. Days that should have been that never were. Passed on to me." She took a few deep breaths, before holding it out to the gold tendrils coming from the sun. "This leaf isn't just the past, it's a whole future that never happened. There are billions and millions of unlived days for every day we live. An infinity. All the days that never came. And these are all my mum's."

Her voice cracked a little at the end, and I helped the Doctor to stand as we came up beside her; his energy somewhat renewed.

"Well? Come on then! Eat up!"

The sun made a face and the Doctor looked at it oddly.

"Are you _full_? I expect so, because there's quite a difference isn't there? Between what was and what should've been. There's an awful lot of one, but there's an infinity of the other... And infinity's too much, even for your appetite." He said, before the leaf turned to dust and the sun went away.

Something happened then. I don't know what it was, but I suddenly felt light-headed and then I was falling. My legs were numb and my vision was slowly going black, just as the Doctor caught me; calling my name before my body shut down entirely.

* * *

The Tardis materialized outside of a house and the Doctor cheered excitedly as he flicked a few switches on the console in front of him.

"Home again! Home again! Jiggity jig."

Clara opened the door and stared at the home. "It looks different."

"Nope. Same house, same city, same planet." The Doctor told her, before checking the monitor on the other side of the console and pointing at it with a grin. "Hey, hey! Same day, actually. Huh? Yeah. Not bad." He swung his arm around like he was taking a swing at a golf ball. "Hole in one!"

"You were there." Clara suddenly said, not looking as excited as he was. "My mom's grave. You were watching."

The Doctor pushed aside the monitor, stiff as he realized he'd been caught, and slowly turned around.

"What were you doing there?" Clara asked, suspicious.

"I don't know. I was just... making sure." He averted his eyes at the console for a second.

"Of what?"

He grimaced a bit, making an awkward expression, as he approached her. "You remind me of someone."

"Who?"

"Someone who died."

Clara made a face of realization, before giving him a small smile. "Well, whoever she was, I'm not her. Okay?"

He made a face, unsure, but she wasn't going to let him do this. Not to her.

"If you want me to travel with you and Alex, that's fine. But as me. I'm not a bargain basement stand-in for somebody else. I'm not going to compete with a ghost."

The Doctor shook his head. "No." He then remembered something and reached into his pocket, holding out Clara's mother's ring; that she'd given to Dor'een for the moped. "They wanted you to have it."

"Who did?" Clara asked as the Doctor smiled.

"Everyone. All the people you saved."

She took it and put it back on after kissing it; glad to have it back as the Doctor went on.

"_You_. No one else. Clara."

She smiled at him, before her smile fell into a worried expression. "What about Alex? Does she see me as this person too?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No, no. Course not. If there's one thing you need to remember about Alex, it's that she never—and I mean, _never—_treats any of my companions differently due to any unforeseen circumstances."

Clara gave him a look. "What do you mean? Unforeseen circumstances like what?"

"Well, she has it rough." He said, smile slipping into a gentler, sadder one. "She knows everything that's supposed to happen. All the mistakes that my companions or myself may make. All the lives that may be lost. All the enemies we will face and the dangers we're going to be put in. And not once has she treated anyone any different."

"You're saying... she knows all of that? Everything about what we're going to do and what we've already done?"

He nodded. "It's the burden she's chosen to carry."

Clara raised her brows, coming around to the Doctor's side as he turned around to the console once more.

"Chosen? She _chose_ to have all of that crammed up in her head? Why?"

"To save _me_." He said, surprising her as he turned to the monitor and the screen changed to the infirmary where Alex was resting; hooked up to an IV and her breath fogging up the oxygen mask around her mouth. "She was forced to, at first. Dragged into this universe and forced to jump around without knowing what was going on. She thought it was a dream, but then reality sank in and... then she died. She was sent back to her world, lived out four years before she found something—a chance to bring her back. She didn't have to. She could've stayed at home with her family and lived out her life without the aliens or the danger or anything. But she came back because... she didn't want me to be alone."

Clara went over to him and put a hand on his arm. "She'll be okay, right?"

He nodded. "Yes. It's just exhaustion. If she doesn't pop off, then she should wake up in a few hours."

Clara leaned against his arm as he turned the screen off. "That ring. The one you showed me? You said it was too precious for you to give away... Is it from you and Alex…?"

The Doctor nodded. "It's our wedding ring. It hasn't happened for her yet though."

"Why do you keep it hidden? You know, instead of wearing it?" She asked, looking up at him as he pulled out the ring on a chain and stared at it fondly.

"_Because_ it hasn't happened yet and..." He frowned slightly. "There's something that happens. Something that I have to do and she knows about it. So when she sees the ring and she doesn't know..."

"She thinks it's someone else's." Clara finished for him, getting the idea without him having to say it.

He nodded silently, tucking it back into his pocket, before turning to her with a small smile. "You should get going."

"Yeah. Probably should." She replied, moving towards the door once more, but pausing and looking back at him. "You'll be okay?"

He gave her another nod. "Yes."

She bobbed her head back, before heading out; the door closing behind her, leaving the Doctor in his Tardis as he flicked a few switches on the console and looked back up at the monitor with the sleeping Alex on it's screen.

"Oh, Alex." He said quietly, pushing the monitor away and heading to the infirmary himself. "You're always far too strong for your own good."

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"Sir!" A soldier from beside me called, making a commanding officer turn to us in confusion, along with three very familiar people. "We caught this one just outside the truck. Seemed to just appear out of no where, really. Don't know how they got past the parameter."_

_"Could just ask, really." I quipped, earning a small smirk from the Tenth Doctor; who was standing between Martha Jones and Donna Noble._


	32. The Sontaran Stratagem

**Here's the next chapter for you all ^^ thanks a ton for all the reviews and welcome to any new readers! i hope you all enjoy this chapter, it will get a bit fluffy ;) but i'm sure you won't mind. and the next chapter will be posted Friday!**

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I spent most of my time with Eleven, after I collapsed from exhaustion at Akhaten, getting back on my feet. He was sure to pester me about eating and sleeping right, and then came the exercising. I was glad the Doctor was the one getting me to do it though. I usually just tuned into some music and ran on a treadmill in the Tardis gym before doing some rounds on a punching bag and some other basic exercises. With the Doctor though, everything was _fun_. Sure, we went on a few trips here and there where I got my fair share of running in. But we did some really weird things in the Tardis too. Swimming became much more fun when we played Marco Polo and some sort of underwater table tennis game that I _swear_ the Doctor made up, but he insisted that some fish aliens called Shoal invented the game. We also had a great time rock climbing with anti-gravity gloves and playing other strange games. In fact, we were right about to start one, when I popped off abruptly, appearing just outside a large black semi-truck surrounded by a group of soldiers rushing about into a white building.

"You there! Stay where you are!"

I held my hands up as I was grabbed by some soldiers, a gas mask dangling from my hand and another on my face.

"Oh great! Yeah! Just what I wanted, popping off mid game to find myself surrounded by guns." I complained as they took the mask from my hands and cuffed me. "Hasn't anybody ever told you? Violence doesn't solve anything."

I was ignored and led into the truck, taking in my surroundings from behind my gas mask—that they'd yet to take off for some reason—and recognizing it as a UNIT headquarters.

"Sir!" A soldier from beside me called, making a commanding officer turn to us in confusion, along with three very familiar people. "We caught this one just outside the truck. Seemed to just appear out of no where, really. Don't know how they got past the parameter."

"Could just ask, really." I quipped, earning a small smirk from the Tenth Doctor; who was standing between Martha Jones and Donna Noble.

"Take off their mask." The commanding officer ordered, and my gas mask was pulled up off my head, allowing me a nice breath of fresh air.

"Whoo! That's better. Don't know why you didn't do that sooner."

"Alex?!"

"My God, it's Alex!" Donna said in disbelief as Martha's mouth dropped open.

"No way! Did you just pop up now? And what's with the gas mask?"

The commanding officer stepped forward before I could answer. "Do you know this person, Doctor?"

"Oi, Captain Clueless?" I called out to the man, earning a glare in response, before I gave him a look. "Ever heard of the Seer? Cause you're lookin' at her."

It was _his_ turn to stare in shock as I went on.

"Alexander Holmes. At your service and, uh, I'd shake your hand, but I'm a bit tied up at the moment." I said with a forced smile, before he shook himself out of his shock and turned to the two soldiers who'd cuffed me.

"Release her! Quickly! That's an order!"

They did and I turned around to them with a raised brow and my hand held out. "I'd like my masks back if you would."

They returned both gas masks and I had just managed to tuck one into the pocket of my coat, before the Doctor grabbed me in a hug and spun me around with a laugh.

"Ah-ha! Alexander Holmes!" He put me down and grinned. "Popping up at the best of times, as always." He then spotted the gas mask I still had, frowning a bit. "And Martha's right. What's with the gas mask?"

"Oh, well, had a bout of total exhaustion last trip, so Eleven's been keeping me busy. We were just about to play a game of stink bomb tag in the Tardis after she put an octopus in the pool and ruined our table tennis rematch." I hummed, putting the second mask into my pocket as well with a smug grin his way. "_You_ wouldn't admit I'd beaten you in the last round, so we had to do it again. Well, before the octopus decided to team up against both of us. Really put us through the ringer. I think the score was three-you, four-me, twenty-seven-octopus."

"Ooh, must be loosing my touch if I can't beat an octopus."

"Um, I thought you said you were playing table tennis." Martha spoke up and I tilted my head.

"I was."

"Then why an octopus?" Donna questioned next.

"Underwater table tennis." I clarified, earning dubious looks from the two of them.

Before we could continue our conversation though, the commanding officer cleared his throat and brought our attention back to him.

"Ahem. Seer, I'm Colonel Mace." He saluted me and I sighed, whispering under my breath to the Doctor beside me.

"_Saluting? Why is it always saluting?_"

He shrugged, taking my hand in his hesitantly, before I gave it a squeeze; letting him know that I was an Alex who _did_ care for him like he did. Of course, his face lit up with a grin as we tuned back in to what Mace was saying.

"It's an honor. I've read all the files on you and the Doctor."

I nudged the Doctor in the side with a grin. "Ooh, I've got _files_."

He chuckled back as Mace turned to him.

"Technically speaking, _you_, Doctor, are still on staff. You never resigned."

"What?" Donna asked. "You used to work for them?"

"Yeah, long time ago. Back in the 70s. Or was it the 80s? But it was all a bit more homespun back then." The Doctor replied, not really caring much about the details.

"Times have changed, sir."

"Yeah, that's enough of the sir." He grumbled as I leaned forward and wiggled the fingers on my free hand in a sort of wave.

"You can call _me_ sir, if you want since Mr. Grumpy here won't let you."

"Oi! I'm not grumpy!" The Doctor complained as I looked over at him with a hum.

"Hm, yeah, no. That face says you are." I said, pointing at him rather rudely and earning chuckles from Martha and Donna. "You're gonna get wrinkles, you keep frowning like that."

He pushed my finger away, giving me a smirk as his eyes sparked with amusement. "Yeah, well, I wonder who's fault _that_ is."

"Stop flirting you two and let's get to work." Martha said good-naturedly, nodding towards the lower level as we followed after her. "You've both been on board the Valiant. We've got _massive_ funding from the United Nations, all in the name of Home World Security."

"A modern UNIT for the modern world." Mace followed.

"What, and that means arresting ordinary factory workers, in the streets, in broad daylight?" Donna challenged, angrily as the Doctor took off his jacket and tossed it behind us. "It's more like Guantanamo Bay out there. Donna, by the way. Donna Noble, since you didn't ask. I'll have a salute."

Mace glanced over at the Doctor and I as we both gave him a look that said he'd better do it. And he did, turning around and saluting Donna, making her smirk as I mouthed 'good job' to her; earning a wink and a mouthed 'I know'.

The Doctor went and sat down then, tugging me along with him before I knew what was going on, and making me land in his lap as he leaned back the chair and propped his feet up on the console in front of us; his arm around my waist and my head against his shoulder.

"Tell me. What's going on in that factory?"

"Yesterday, fifty-two people died in identical circumstances, right across the world, in eleven different timezones. 5am in the UK, 6am in France, 8am in Moscow, 1pm in China."

"You mean they died simultaneously."

"Exactly. Fifty-two deaths at the exact same moment, worldwide." Mace affirmed as my hearts sank.

"Sounds like they were testing something." I muttered quietly, earning a nod from the Doctor, who agreed.

"How did they die?"

"They were all inside their cars."

"They were poisoned." Martha supplied. "I checked the biopsies. No toxins. Whatever it is, left the system immediately."

"What have the cars got in common?" The Doctor asked next.

"Completely different makes. They're all fitted with ATMOS, and that is the ATMOS factory."

"What's ATMOS?" The Doctor and I asked simultaneously.

"Oh, come on." Donna said in disbelief. "Even I know that. Everyone's got ATMOS."

I wrinkled my nose. "Well, let's just pretend I'm from a different universe and he's a traveling alien and we've got no clue, shall we?"

Donna shrugged in understanding, and Martha explained as she led us to the ATMOS factory.

"Stands for Atmospheric Omission System. Fit ATMOS in your car, it reduces CO2 emissions to zero."

"Zero?" The Doctor questioned in disbelief. "No carbon? None at all?"

"And you get sat-nav and twenty quid in shopping vouchers if you introduce a friend." Donna added in. "Bargain."

"And _this_ is where they make it, Doctor." Mace continued, stopping us on a balcony platform above the factory. "Shipping worldwide. Seventeen factories across the globe, but _this_ is the central depot, sending ATMOS to every country on Earth."

"And you think ATMOS is alien." The Doctor concluded.

"It's our job to investigate that possibility. Doctor?"

Mace led us into another room, past a group of soldiers leading workers around, and through some plastic curtains to an ATMOS structure on a table.

"And here it is. Laid bare. ATMOS can be threaded through any and every make of car."

"You must've checked it, before it went on sale."

"We did. We found nothing. That's why I thought we needed an expert." Martha said.

"Really? Who'd you get?" The Doctor asked as he put on his glasses to look at something.

The room went quiet, everyone giving him a pointed look before I smacked him upside the head.

"_You_, moron."

"Oh, right. Me, yes. Good."

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head as Martha and Donna gave us both fond smiles. Martha and Mace left though, to go do some snooping—I suspected—while I stuck with Donna and the Doctor as he looked over the device.

"Okay. So why would aliens be so keen on cleaning up our atmosphere?" Donna asked as the Doctor picked up the ATMOS device to look at it.

"A very good question."

"Maybe they want to help. Get rid of pollution and stuff."

"Doubt it." I muttered, pulling out my black notebook and flipping through it as the Doctor nodded.

"Do you know how many cars there are on planet Earth? Eight hundred _million_. Imagine that. If you could control them, you'd have eight hundred million weapons."

_Ooh, that's not good. That's..._ My face fell slightly as I skimmed through the pages on this adventure. _That's a lot of people... God, how am I... how am I supposed to save that many people?_

"Alex?"

I snapped my head up, trying to school my face into a neutral expression before the Doctor noticed, but he furrowed his brows; making me think that I didn't do it quick enough.

"Yeah?" I questioned, mentally scolding myself as my voice wavered slightly.

"You alright?" He asked first, making me swallow thickly and shift my gaze back to my notebook.

"Fine. Totally."

He paused, but thankfully moved on. "Is there anything you can tell me? Hints?"

"U-Um..." I flipped between pages, feeling nervousness creep in as my hands began to shake slightly.

_Come on, Alex. Think. Find something you can give him. Anything. Because if you don't, who _knows_ how he'll react. Give him something, so he won't leave you again. Don't disappoint him._ A hand touched mine and I sucked in a breath through my teeth, closing my eyes as the Doctor gave me a look.

"Alex, it's fine if there's nothing you can tell me. I'm not going to push you."

_No, but you might leave me._ My mind argued, but he squeezed my hand comfortingly and brought a hand to my face, making me turn to him.

"Hey... I promise. No matter what happens, I won't be upset with you Alex."

I desperately searched his eyes for some sort of lie, but I didn't find anything and I slowly lowered my gaze and nodded.

"R-Right. Um..." I looked back at the book as he let me go and waited for something I could tell him. "I'm sorry, but you're _really_ not going to like it."

"Well, that's never good." Donna commented, making the Doctor give her a glare, but I shook my head at him.

"No. She's right. There's not much we can do. I'll do what I can, but..."

"It's fine, Alex." The Doctor replied, making me look at him once more as he gave me a reassuring smile. "Really. Just do your best and point me in the right direction. No matter what happens, I won't blame you."

_You didn't say that with Rose._ That voice in my head said, but I pushed past the thought, trying to focus on what I could tell the Doctor. _Right, think. People die. I get it. There's nothing I can do about most of that, but I might be able to save a few people. Ross and maybe even Luke... though I'm unsure about that one. Someone's got to blow up the ship and... it can't be the Doctor. Ah, shut up! Think, brain!_ I closed my eyes and took a deep breath through my nose, trying to calm down and think things through as best I could._ Okay, he'll find out they're Sontarans soon enough, so no point in telling him that. Telling him about the clones wouldn't be good. He finds out Martha's a clone right off the bat anyway and telling him about the gas would be too much too soon. God! Is there _nothing_ I can tell him!? _I let out a shaky sigh, opening my eyes and pulling a hand through my hair as the Doctor spoke worriedly.

"Alex? Anything?"

I turned to him, worried about what he was going to say when I told him. "I-I'm sorry, but I-I can't think of anything. I mean, e-everything is part of a bigger picture so telling you about one thing could possibly—"

"It's alright, Alex." He said, seeing my panic seeping through. "Really."

I nodded, though a part of me still wasn't convinced. "Okay. I-I'll um... I'll try to keep track of things. Maybe when it's closer to events I'll be able to tell you something." I looked around then and noticed Donna was gone. "Where's Donna?"

The Doctor looked around as well, but shrugged. "Dunno. She was here a minute ago. But a better question is..." He gave me a serious, but concerned look. "Where were you before this? What happened to make you so scared?"

"I'm not—"

The Doctor cut me off, shaking his head as he closed my notebook and put it back into my coat; taking my hands in his. "Don't give me that, Alex, because I know you now. I'm not like my younger selves and I can tell when you're scared. And right now, you're not just nervous, you're _terrified_. And you're terrified of me."

I went to argued that point, but he put a finger to my mouth as his other hand snaked around my waist.

"Shush. Deny it all you want later, but right now, I know I'm right. I just want to know what I did, so that I never make a mistake like that again." His hand brushed through the hair on side of my head as I stared back at him worriedly. "I don't ever want to hurt you again."

I glanced down briefly, but looked back up again as I spoke. "I-I was with Nine. We were... on Satellite Five. With the Daleks and..." I looked down again, not wanting to see his hurt expression, nor for him to see mine. "...there was nothing I could do. Nothing I could tell you—Ninth you—and... you left me."

"Alex, look at me."

I lifted my gaze as he brought both his hands on either side of my face and stared right at me, eyes serious.

"I will _never_ do that again. Not ever. I was stupid and idiotic for not seeing what you were trying to do back then, and I promise you." He smiled a bit, thumb brushing the side of my face. "An Alexander Holmes promise. That I will never leave you behind or get upset for what you do or do not tell me. Not now and not ever." His hands fell from my face then, a sad expression taking over. "I can't say the same for my younger selves though. I wish I could, but—"

I shook my head. "No. I understand. You're not responsible for what they do, as much as you would like to believe you are. And this... this is enough. As long as I know there's a Doctor who understands, what should I care for what the others say?" I smiled up at him. "I'll just have to pound it into them later."

He smiled back. "And you do a good job of it, if this is anything to go by."

We grew quiet and he seemed to be hesitating on doing something, but once I figured it out, I rolled my eyes and brought my hand up to the back of his neck.

"Oh my God, just—"

I cut myself off as I pressed our lips together, the two of us melding into each other as his arm looped around my lower back my hand tangled itself into his hair at the back of his neck, before we eventually broke apart a little out of breath.

"You're not usually this forward." The Doctor commented, his breath brushing across my face as we stared back at one another.

"You're not usually this hesitant." I quipped back as he shook his head in a kind of shrug.

"Well, hard to keep track of which you is which."

"Least I don't go around changing faces and personalities."

"Ahem."

The two of us turned to the entrance of the room, where Martha and Colonel Mace stood; one looking rather awkward about the position we were in and the other looking rather smug.

"If you two are done?"

The Doctor and I pulled apart from one another quickly, both of us red in the face as the Doctor cleared his throat and attempted to fix his—now messier—hair as we went over to the ATMOS device that had been forgotten during our... escapade.

"Right then. ATMOS device..." He picked it up and fiddled with it a bit, before glancing at Martha with a wince. "Don't tell Donna we were doing that."

"I'll think about it." Martha said with an amused grin as I turned my reddened face away and cleared my throat awkwardly.

"T-The, um, ATMOS device, Doctor?" I said, trying to get the conversation moving before I died of embarrassment.

_Is that even a thing?_

"Ionizing nano-membrane carbon dioxide converter." He replied, moving to a different model. "Which means ATMOS works. Filters the CO2 at a molecular level."

"We know all that, but what's its origin? Is it alien?"

"No. Decades ahead of it's time. Look, do you mind? Could you stand back a bit?" The Doctor said to Mace, not liking him, obviously.

"Sorry, have I done something wrong?" The man asked, confused by the harsh treatment.

"You're carrying a gun."

I stiffened, moving to the other side of the table. _Still don't like guns. God, and the Doctor's going to hate them even more after this. Next is the '_Doctor's Daughter_'. When I..._ I swallowed, wincing as my chest ached a little. A phantom ache that reminded me that I'd _died_ then.

"I don't like people with guns hanging around me, alright?" The Doctor continued, giving me a glance. "And neither does Alex. You're making her nervous."

Mace frowned. "If you insist."

Once he left though, Martha came up and scolded the Doctor.

"Tetchy."

"Well, it's true." The Doctor said back, lifting his head to look at me. "You alright, Alex?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Just... some unpleasant memories, is all."

"Anything I should know about?" He asked and I grimaced.

"Sorry." I said, looking at him to find him surprised and worried. "I'm fine, but... things will get hard next adventure."

He hesitated but nodded, before Martha spoke up again.

"He's a good man."

"People with guns are usually enemies in my books. You seem quite at home." The Doctor said, scanning the ATMOS device.

"If anyone got me used to fighting, it's you."

"Oh right. So it's my fault."

"Martha." I frowned, glaring at her and making her stiffen. "Don't go blaming him for what you chose."

She frowned in return, but looked back at the Doctor. "Am I carrying a gun?"

"Suppose not."

"It's alright for you and Alex. You two just come and go, but some of us have got to stay behind. So I've got work from the inside and by staying inside, maybe I stand a chance of making them better."

The Doctor smiled a bit, taking my hand and squeezing it in comfort as I relaxed a bit. "Yeah? That's more like Martha Jones."

She smiled too. "I learned from the best."

"Well..." The Doctor said bashfully, only for her to turn to me.

"Right, Alex?"

I couldn't help but laugh at that as the Doctor's face fell. "Oh yes! Most definitely!"

"Oi, you lot!"

We all turned to see Donna standing there holding a blue folder and looking smug.

"All your stormtroopers and your sonics. You're rubbish. Should've come with me."

"Why? Where have you been?" The Doctor asked.

"Personnel. That's where the weird stuff's happening, in the paperwork. Because I spent years working as a temp. I can find my way round an office blindfold, and the first thing I noticed is an empty file."

"Why? What's inside it? Or what's not inside it?"

She showed us the spine where the label was. "Sick days." She then held up the blue folder and flipped it open. "There aren't any. Hundreds of people here and no one's sick. Not one hangover, man flu, sneaky little shopping trip. Nothing. Not ever. They don't get ill."

"That can't be right." Mace said, having returned when Donna did and taking the folder from her.

"You've been checking out the building. Should've been checking out the workforce."

"I can see why they like you." Martha smirked as Donna smiled back.

"Mhmm."

"You are good."

"Super temp."

"Doctor Jones." Mace said, getting her attention and passing her the folder. "Set up a medical post. Start examining the workers. I'll get them sent through."

"Come on, Donna. Give me a hand."

"Behave, Martha." I said to her, pointing a finger to my head and then at her. "And, just in case, I promise everything will turn out fine."

She tilted her head, confused, but nodded and headed out with Donna as I went with the Doctor and Mace. A part of me felt bad that I was leaving Martha to get used for a clone, but I knew that it needed to happen or else the nuclear missiles wouldn't be stopped and the Sontarans would catch on that someone was mucking things up. Things had to go as planned for now. _I just hope she doesn't blame me for what happens._

"So, this ATMOS thing. Where'd it come from?" The Doctor asked once we'd caught up to Mace.

"Luke Rattigan himself."

"And himself would be?"

"Some genius college kid." I said with a wave of my hand. "You know, the kind who think they're better than everyone and have never been told 'no'?"

"Ooh, do I sense some hidden resentment?" The Doctor teased, though I could see him eyeing me carefully.

"I'm actually rather _open_ with my resentment, thank you. And I just don't like the way he acts. From what I've seen, he's rather stuck up." I nudged him with my elbow. "More snobbish than you, Time _Lord_."

"I'm not snobbish!" He pouted as I chuckled.

"Oh! Course not!"

"Is that sarcasm? I'll bet that's sarcasm."

"Ten points to Mr. Grumpy!" I laughed as he wrapped an arm around my neck and gave me a noogie.

"Ooh, you've gotten cocky since the last time I saw you!"

"Ah! Stop it! T-That hurts!" I said between laughs, before Mace cleared his throat and we both looked up as he gestured to the large black truck we were outside of.

"If you two are quite done."

The Doctor let me go as I fixed my hair. "Right. Yeah. Course."

Mace headed in and I wrinkled my nose.

"We seem to be getting distracted a lot."

"Yeahhhh, might want to tone it down a bit. World in danger and all that."

"Hm. Will do."

We headed in and followed Mace done a level to the computer where information on Luke was flicking across the screen.

"Child genius. Invented the Fountain Six search engine when he was twelve years old. Millionaire overnight. Now runs the Rattigan Academy. A private school, educating students handpicked from all over the world."

"A hothouse for geniuses. Wouldn't mind going there."

Mace and I gave him a look.

"I get lonely without Alex around." He claimed, taking my hand as we went back to the factory garage where some military jeeps were waiting.

"I'll take you straight there from here." Mace said and the Doctor frowned.

"You are _not_ coming with me. I want to talk to this Luke Rattigan, not point a gun at him."

"It's ten miles outside London. How are you going to get there?" Mace argued.

"Well then, get me a jeep."

"According to the records, you travel by Tardis."

"Yeah, but if there is a danger of hostile aliens—"

"Which there is!" I piped up, earning a nod from the Doctor as he continued.

"—I think it's best to keep a super-duper time machine away from the front lines."

"I see. Then you do have weapons, but you choose to keep them hidden."

"Oi!" I called out, frowning at the man. "It's a _time machine_. Not a weapon."

"But still dangerous." Mace countered and I raised a brow as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Anything can become a weapon if put into the wrong hands, but until that happens, a pencil is still a pencil."

He frowned in confusion. "What has a pencil got to do with anything?"

"It just proves my point. A pencil is a pencil, until you put it in the wrong hands and they stab someone in the jugular with it. Hence, the Tardis is still a time machine, _not_ a weapon."

"She has a point." The Doctor agreed, hugging me around the shoulders as I stared down Mace who—instead of giving in—called out a soldier.

"Jenkins?"

"Sir." The man said.

"You will accompany the Doctor and the Seer and take orders from them both."

"Yeah, I don't do orders." The Doctor said with a wrinkle of his nose as I rolled my eyes.

"Then consider it giving friendly advice."

"Hm." He hummed, giving in to that as Mace went on.

"Any sign of trouble, get Jenkins to declare a Code Red. And good luck, sir." Mace saluted us both and the Doctor whined in complaint.

"I said no salutes."

"Now you're giving orders." Mace quipped back as he walked off and the Doctor called out to him.

"It was a friendly suggestion!" He shook his head. "Oh, getting cheeky, he is."

"You think he's cheeky now?" I scoffed, not bothering to continue as Donna headed over.

"Doctor."

"Oh, just in time. Come on, come on. We're going to the country. Fresh air and geniuses. What more could you ask?" He said excitedly, pulling her along towards the jeep as I shook my head in exasperation.

"I'm not coming with you." She said, making him stop. "I've been thinking... I'm sorry. I'm going home."

"Really?" The Doctor questioned, looking disappointed as I groaned.

"Oh, I _told_ Martha to be nice."

"She was." Donna defended and I hummed.

"Yeah well... penny in the air."

Donna shook her head and turned back to the Doctor. "I've got to."

"Oh, if that's what you want. I mean, it's a bit soon. I had so many places I had wanted to take you. The Fifteenth Broken Moon of the Medusa Cascade, the Lightning Skies of Cotter Palluni's World, Diamond Coral Reefs of Kataa Flo Ko... Thank you. Thank you, Donna Noble. It's been brilliant. You've... You've saved my life in so many ways. You're—"

"And the penny drops." I hummed out as the Doctor realized what Donna was _really_ saying.

"You're just popping home for a visit. That's what you mean."

"You dumbo." Donna mocked

"And then you're coming back."

"Know what you are? A great big outer space _dunce_." She sang out as the Doctor scratched his side-burn awkwardly.

"Yeah." He agreed, though not entirely pleased about it as I snickered.

"Ready when you are, sir." Jenkins—also known as Ross—called out.

"What's more, you can give me a lift. Come on." She said, as the three of us went for the jeep. "Broken Moon of what?"

"I know, I know." He grumbled as we got in the jeep.

It was a bit squished, but the Doctor pulled me onto his lap to make more room and I felt my face heat up a bit as we drove off.

"So, Alex? Anything you can tell us yet?" The Doctor asked as Donna looked at me curiously.

I winced. "Well, for one thing, Martha _really_ isn't going to be happy with me when we see her next."

"Why's that?" Donna asked.

"Spoilers." I muttered, before getting back on topic. "Other than that though, my like of potatoes may change just a bit and—Oh!" I turned to Donna with a smile. "I have something for your mom and Wilfred."

She raised a brow. "You've met my grandfather?"

"Not yet." I said, shrugging. "But he may have met me."

We pulled up to an intersection near Donna's home and I hopped out along with the Doctor to give Donna room to get out as well, and to dig through my pockets for what I was looking for.

"I'll walk the rest of the way. I'll see you two back at the Factory, yeah?"

The Doctor nodded as I found what I was looking for and pulled out the two gas masks from my pocket that I'd put in there earlier.

"Ah-ha! Here you go, Donna." I smiled, passing them to her as she looked at them in confusion. "Just tell them to hang on to them. They'll need it for later."

She gave me a look. "You're strange too, I'll have you know that."

I climbed back into the jeep with a grin. "You'll thank me for it later!~"

"I better!" She called back as the Doctor climbed in next to me.

"Bye!" He called to her with a wave.

"And you be careful!" She chided us as I leaned over to wave from inside, before we drove off.

As we neared the facility, Ross talked a bit about what he knew.

"UNIT's been watching Rattigan Academy for ages. It's all a bit Hitler Youth. Exercise at dawn and classes and special diets."

"_Turn left._" The ATMOS device in the car called out and Ross turned.

"Ross, one question. If UNIT think that ATMOS is dodgy..."

"_Go straight on._"

"How come we've got it in the jeeps?" He finished for the Doctor, giving us both a look. "Yeah, tell me about it. They're fitted as standard on all government vehicles. We can't get rid of them till we can prove there's something wrong."

"Politics." I grumbled. "They have to show the government's doing it too, or people will start questioning it."

"_Turn right._"

"Drive me around the bend." Ross joked, making the Doctor chuckle as I smiled a bit.

"Oh, nice one."

"Timed that perfectly." Ross smiled.

"Yeah. Yeah, you did."

"_This is your final destination._"

I frowned at the device on the dash. "Bit ominous, that. Why even put the word 'final' in that? We might be going shopping later or something."

"Hm, didn't think about it like that." The Doctor said, climbing out of the jeep as I jumped down after him.

We headed over to Luke then, watching as a group of orange jump-suit wearing kids ran past us.

"Is it PE? I wouldn't mind a kick around. I've got me daps on."

"I suppose you're the Doctor? And the, uh, Seer?"

"Hello." The Doctor grinned as I gave him a little wave.

"Your commanding officer phoned ahead."

"Ah, but we haven't got a commanding officer. Have you?" The Doctor asked and I quickly caught the way Luke's expression stiffened slightly.

_Even the way he stands just screams army._ I mused as I pointed to Ross with a grin.

"And this is Ross! Say, hello, Ross." I teased, making the man beside me smile.

"Good afternoon, sir."

"Let's have a look then. I can smell genius!" The Doctor said, taking my hand and abounding off towards the doors. "In a good way."

We walked inside and to the left, where an entrance was covered with yellow plastic curtains, leading into the lab where beakers and experiments were being observed and recorded by various students. The Doctor let go of my hand as he wandered around the tables, grinning away as he pointed things out.

"Oh, _now..._ that's clever. Look. Single molecule fabric, how thin is that?! You could pack a tent in a thimble. Ooh! Gravity simulators. Terraforming, biospheres, nano-tech steel construction. Ah-ha! This is brilliant!"

I nudged Ross with my elbow. "Look at him. Like a kid in a candy store. I have to live with that."

Ross smiled. "I can imagine."

The Doctor headed back over to where we were with Luke. "Do you know? With equipment like this you could—oh, I don't know—move to another planet or something?"

"If only that was possible." Luke said, hesitating just a bit as I gave him a look.

"Ooh, you said 'was'."

Luke sent me a look as the Doctor wrapped a hand around my waist and nodded.

"Good catch, Alex." He said, taking off his glasses and tucking them back into his pocket. "If only that _were_ possible. Conditional clause."

"I think you better come with me."

The Doctor and I gave Ross a glance, but followed after Luke as we were led into the recreational room.

"You're smarter than the usual UNIT grunts. I'll give you that."

"He called you a grunt!" The Doctor said to Ross in slight outrage.

I frowned at Luke. "Don't call Ross a grunt! He's nice!"

The Doctor nodded. "Yeah! We like Ross." He then looked around the room, letting me go for now. "Look at this place."

"What exactly do you want?" Luke asked, looking annoyed.

"I was just thinking. What a responsible eighteen year old. Inventing zero carbon cars? Saving the world."

"Takes a man with vision."

I shrugged. "Or a man with a plan."

I caught Luke's glare as I poked my head into the teleport, looking at it curiously.

"Mm, blinkered vision." The Doctor mused as well, heading back. "Because ATMOS means more people driving. More cars, more petrol. End result, the oil's going to run out faster than ever. The ATMOS system could make things worse."

"Yeah. Well, you see, that's a tautology." Luke said, approaching the Doctor, even more annoyed now. "You can't say ATMOS system, because it stands for Atmospheric Emissions System. So you're just saying Atmospheric Emissions System system. Do you see, Mr. Conditional Clause?"

"Ooh, tetchy." I frowned at him, leaning up against the outside of the teleport. "Why didn't you just call it ATMO if you were going to get all butt-hurt every time someone said system afterwards?"

"_Because_. Okay?" He snapped, glaring at me as the Doctor gave him a look.

"It's been a long time since anyone said no to you, isn't it?"

"I'm still right though."

"Not easy is it, being clever." The Doctor went on. "You look at the world and you connect things, random things, and think, 'why can't anyone else see it'? The rest of the world is so slow."

"Yeah."

"And you're all on your own."

"I know."

"But not with this!" The Doctor said, pulling out the ATMOS device from his pocket. "Because there's no way you invented this thing single-handed. I mean, it might be Earth technology, but that's like finding a mobile phone in the Middle Ages." He rambled, tossing the device to Ross, who caught it. "No, no. I'll tell you what it's like. It's _like_ finding _this_ in the middle of someone's front room. Albeit it's a very big front room." He said, heading towards the teleport behind me.

"Why? What is it?" Ross asked.

"Yeah, just look like a thing, doesn't it? People don't question things. They just say, 'oh, it's a thing'."

"Leave it alone." Luke said, giving up his hand.

The Doctor though, stepped into it as I followed, looping my arm through his. "Me? I make these connections. Alex too. She's pretty clever."

"Mm, you mean pretty _and_ clever?" I teased, earning a smirk from him as he pushed some buttons.

"But this to me, looks like a teleport pod."

The two of us disappeared and popped back up on a ship chock full of Sontarans.

"Oh..."

"Mm, told you. I like potatoes, but not so much after this." I hummed as the Sontarans turned to us.

"We have an intruder!" One shouted, pointing a stick at us.

"How did he get in?" The Doctor said, somehow finding this to be a time to joke. "In-tru-da window?"

"Ha-ha." I said dryly. "Clever."

"Well, I thought it was." He pouted, before whispering. "Run."

I turned and did so, just as he bid farewell to the Sontarans and teleported us back to Earth.

"Ross, get out!" He shouted once we were back. "Luke, you've got to come with me."

He pulled out his screwdriver, zapping the teleport, but just after a Sontaran popped through.

"Sontaran!" He said loudly, the masked potato-alien raising his stick. "That's your name, isn't it? You're a Sontaran. How did I know that, ey? Fascinating, isn't it? Isn't that worth keeping me alive?"

I raised a hand and pushed Ross's gun down, smiling at him a bit. "Trust me. That won't work."

He nodded, reluctantly, but put his gun away as the Doctor gave me a nod and spoke to the Sontaran.

"Cordolaine signal, am I right? Copper excitation stopping the bullets."

"How do you know so much?" The Sontaran demanded.

"Well..."

"Who is he?" The Sontaran demanded to know from Luke.

"He didn't give his name."

"And the other?"

I raised a brow, pointing to myself. "Me? I'm Alex. Hello, potato!" I chuckled with a wave.

"Alex." The Doctor warned and I pouted.

"Really? You can say 'In-tru-da window' but I can't call him a potato?"

He sighed and instead turned his attention back to the Sontaran as I pulled out my notebook and skimmed through it.

"But this isn't typical Sontaran behavior, is it? Hiding? Using teenagers, stopping bullets? A Sontaran should face bullets with dignity. Shame on you."

"You dishonor me, sir!" The Sontaran said as I pointed at my notebook.

"Yeah? Then show yourself."

"Ah-ha! That's who he is." I pouted then, tucking the book away. "Should've known really."

Ross gave me a look. "Known what? What was that book?"

"Mm, I'd say journal, but that's not quite right. I don't do journals." I said with a wrinkle of my nose. "More of a... a record. Things to come, things that came and went. People, aliens, encounters, dangers. You'll find I know a lot of things, Ross."

"I will look into my enemy's eyes!" The Sontaran shouted, removing his helmet and making Ross gasp.

"Oh my God."

"And your name?" The Doctor asked and the Sontaran and I spoke at the same time.

"General Staal, of the Tenth Sontaran Fleet. Staal The Undefeated."

The Sontaran turned to me. "How did you know that?" He raised the stick, pointing it at me. "Explain yourself, boy!"

I rolled my eyes as I grumbled. "Ah, clone species. More than one choice in gender and they can't figure it out."

The Doctor though, distracted Staal. "That's not a very good nickname. What if you get defeated? Stall the Not-Quite-So-Undefeated-Anymore-But-Never-Mind?"

"He's like a potato." Ross said with a scoff, still shocked. "A baked potato. A talking baked potato."

"Now Ross, only Alex is allowed to be rude. And you look like a pink weasel to him." The Doctor quipped, picking up a tennis racket and ball nearby as I pat Ross's shoulder.

"Eating potatoes is never going to be the same again, is it?"

Ross shook his head, knowing now what I had meant in the jeep when I mentioned my change of view about potatoes.

"The Sontarans _are_ the finest soldiers in the galaxy. Dedicated to a life of warfare. A clone race, as Alex said, grown in batches of millions with only one weakness." The Doctor said, leaning on Ross's shoulder.

"Sontarans have no weakness!" Staal argued.

"Oh please." I drawled out. "It's a good one, if that makes you feel better."

"Aren't you two meant to be clever?" Luke questioned. "Only an idiot would provoke him."

"Then I suppose we're both stupid, ey?" I chuckled.

The Doctor smiled a bit, but went on. "No, but the Sontarans are fed by a probic vent in the back of their neck. That's their weak spot. Which means, they always have to face their enemies in battle. Isn't that brilliant? They can never turn their backs."

"We stare into the face of death." Staal tried to defend.

"Yeah? Well, stare at this."

The Doctor smacked the ball he had with the racket; bouncing it off the teleport and hitting the probic vent on the back of Staal; stunning him as he rushed Ross and I out of the building.

"Run!"

We hurried out and climbed into the jeep, driving off in a rush.

"Alex, is there anything yet?" The Doctor asked and I grimaced.

"Well, we're going to loose control of this car in a bit."

The Doctor's eyes widened and he reached to turn off the ATMOS before I stopped him.

"No use. It's deadlocked and unable to be deactivated. The Sontarans should already be tracking it and it should try to drive us into a lake. Plus side is, pretend it's opposite day and we'll be fine."

"What?" Ross questioned in confusion, but the Doctor shushed him.

"She can't tell us exactly or things could be changed too dramatically. She only knows one time-line. Change things too much, and anything that could happen may not." He explained quickly in a rush. "What else, Alex? You sounded like there was something more."

"Martha's safe, by the way. May question that later, but she's fine."

"Good, and Donna?"

"She'll be alright. May be a bit freaked out later, but alright."

"Anything else? What about the Sontarans?"

I pulled a hand through my hair. "I can't tell you much of what they're planning. If they find out we know everything too soon, they may change plans."

The Doctor nodded and picked up the radio, trying to get into contact with anyone from the factory as I turned to Ross.

"Ross, something bad is going to happen later. Something that could cost a lot of lives and I want to change it, but I need something from you."

"Whatever you need." He responded.

I bit my bottom lip nervously. "When the time comes, I'm going to give you an order. I'm going to tell you to retreat from the factory along with all the other soldiers. I need to know that you'll do that even if Mace says not to."

"You... You want me to disobey a commanding officer? Ma'am, that's a very high offense."

"I know,, but—" I was cut off as the Doctor spoke a little louder.

"Greyhound Forty to Trap One. Repeat, can you hear me? Over."

Ross frowned over at him briefly. "Why's it not working?"

"ATMOS has been taken over." I said as the device chimed in a direction.

"_Turn left._"

"Turn right." I said, giving him a look. "Trust me, and try turning right."

He tried, but the car didn't change directions and Ross held his hands above the wheel in shock.

"I've got no control. It's driving itself. It won't stop." He said, before there was a click. "The doors are locked."

"Alex, what did you say about the ATMOS?" The Doctor demanded to know again.

"Opposites!" I called out and he snapped his fingers.

"Perfect! ATMOS, are you programmed to contradict my orders?" He asked it.

"_Confirmed._"

"Anything I say, you'll ignore it?"

"_Confirmed._"

"Then drive into the river! I order you to drive into the river! Do it! Drive into the river!" The Doctor ordered, and just before we would've been submerged in water, the jeep pulled to a halt. "Now lock the doors!"

The doors unlocked and we all scrambled out, running away from the car as the Doctor yanked Ross and I to the ground.

"Get down!"

He clambered over me as I grunted, not pleased with the mouthful of grass I'd earned and I spat out grass as I grumbled to him.

"Doctor! Get off! It won't blow up!"

"What?" He questioned, pushing up onto his arms and looking over at the jeep as the ATMOS device just sparked a little and died out. "Oh... Is that it?" He asked sounding a little disappointed.

"Yeah, spaceman. No big explosion, just a spark. Now get off me." I grumbled, only to see him smirk.

"Mm, I don't know. I rather like it like this."

My face lit up a nice cherry red and I quickly elbowed him in the chest, making him grunt and get up; rubbing his chest as I stood and brushed myself off. Of course, once he was up, I kicked him in the shin, making him hop up and down on one foot as he clutched his leg.

"Ow! That really hurt!"

"Then next time get up _without_ the innuendos!" I said, heading over to Ross and offering him a hand up. "I mean really. Can you believe him?"

Ross chuckled as the Doctor pouted and kicked at the dirt on the road before I rolled my eyes and went over to him.

"Come on." I grumbled, grabbing his hand and tugging him along. "I'm sure Donna can help us get a lift."

And with that, we hurried off to Donna's home, hoping that we wouldn't be too late to get word to UNIT back at the factory.

* * *

The door to Donna's home opened and she stood there giving the Doctor and Alex a look.

"You would not believe the day we're having." The Doctor said with a shake of his head.

Alex sighed, giving Donna a smile. "Hello, Donna. Could we look at your car?"

Donna gave her a smile back. "Sure. Has this got to do with the ATMOS thing being alien?"

"Oh, most definitely alien." Alex hummed as the Doctor snatched a toolbox from Donna's garage and bounded over to the car.

"And could you call Martha?" The Doctor asked Donna, passing her the cellphone he had before Ross joined us and the Doctor popped the hood of the car.

"Oh, and this is Ross." Alex chirped, gesturing to the soldier who gave Donna a small smile. "Nice guy. Ross, this is Donna."

"Nice to meet you." Donna smiled, shaking his hand when he offered it.

"You too, ma'am."

Once he turned his back though, Donna nudged Alex in the ribs, making a swooning motion that made Alex chuckle; not seeing the slight glare from the Doctor.

"I'll requisition us a vehicle." Ross offered and the Doctor looked at the ATMOS through the car window.

"Anything without ATMOS. And _don't_ point your gun at people." He demanded, Ross giving him a nod as he rushed off and Donna's grandfather rushed out of the house.

"Is it him? Is it him? Is it the Doctor?" Wilfred took one look at the Doctor and Alex and pointed at them both. "Ah, it's you two!"

"Who?" The Doctor questioned, coming out from under the hood and recognizing Wilfred as Alex tilted her head. "Oh... it's you!"

"What? Have you three met before?" Donna questioned, wondering how they could've met without her hearing anything about it.

"Yeah. Christmas Eve. These two disappeared right in front of me." Wilfred explained.

"And you never said?" Donna accused.

"Well, you never said." He quipped back, before holding out his hand to the Doctor. "Wilf, sir. Wilfred Mott. You must be one of them aliens."

"Yeah, but don't shout it out." The Doctor said with a smile, shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you properly, Wilf."

"Oh, an alien hand." He breathed out excitedly, after shaking and turning to Alex. "And you? Are you an alien too, miss?"

"Only partially." Alex smiled, shaking his hand as well. "Alexander Holmes. You can call me Alex. Good to know I meet you later."

"What do you meant later?" He asked, confused.

"Ah, well. I sort of pop around at different times. Can't do anything in the right order, it seems. I haven't met you at Christmas. I suppose I'll end up doing it later."

Wilfred frowned, understanding a bit, but looking Alex up and down before pointing. "Ah! I remember now! You had different hair then! It was sort of—"

"Ah, spoilers." I said, cutting him off. "Hasn't happened for me yet, so don't tell me anything."

"Oh, alright."

"Donna, anything?" The Doctor asked and Donna shook her head.

"She's not answering. What is it? Sontarans?"

The Doctor corrected her butchering of the aliens' name. "Sontarans. But there's got to be more to it. They can't just be remote controlling cars. That's not enough. Is anyone answering?"

"Hold on." She said, before nodding. "Martha. Hold on, he's here."

She passed the Doctor the phone and he answered it. "Martha, tell Colonel Mace it's the Sontarans. They're in the file. Code Red, Sontarans. But if they're inside the factory tell them not to start shooting. UNIT will get massacred. I'll get back as soon as I can. You got that?"

He passed Donna the phone and pulled out his sonic, trying to get a reading on the car.

"But you tried sonicking it before. You didn't find anything." Donna said, confused.

"Yeah, but now I know it's Sontaran, I know what I'm looking for."

"The thing is, Doctor, that Donna is my only grandchild." Wilfred said, trying to get a good read on the man who was taking Donna traveling. "You got to promise me you're going to take care of her."

"_She_ takes care of _me_."

"Oh yeah. That's my Donna. Yeah, she was always bossing us round when when she was tiny. The Little General, we used to call her."

"Yeah, don't start." Donna whined, trying to stop her grandfather before he revealed something embarrassing.

"And some of the boys she used to turn up with. Different one every week. Here, who was that one with the nail varnish?" He asked as Alex snickered beside Donna, who gave her a good smack on the arm.

"Matthew Richards. He lives in Kilburn now. With a man."

"All the good ones are gay, taken, or fictional." Alex hummed as the Doctor piped in.

"Or Time Lords!"

"Yeah, you're under 'taken'." Alex said with a smirk, before spikes came out of the ATMOS device the Doctor was scanning.

"Woah! That's a temporal pocket. I knew there was something else in there. It's just a second out of sync with real time."

"But what's it hiding?" Donna asked as her mother came over.

"I don't know, men and their cars. Sometimes I think, if I was a car..." She suddenly stopped and looked at the Doctor. "Oh, it's _you_. Doctor... what was it?"

"Yeah, that's me." He said with a wave, quickly turning back to sonic the device.

"What? Have you met him as well?" Wilfred asked and Sylvia gave him a look.

"Dad, it's the man from the wedding! When you were laid up with Spanish flu. I'm warning you. Last time that man turned up, it was a disaster."

Smoke suddenly came pouring out of the device and the Doctor grabbed Alex and pulled her back as he told the others to do the same.

"Get back!" He let Alex go and aimed his sonic at it once more, marking it spark. "That'll stop it!"

The smoke lessened and Sylvia gestured to the car in shock and anger.

"I _told _you! He's blown up the car! Who is he, anyway? What sort of doctor blows up cars?"

"Oh, not now, mum." Donna whined, obviously not on good terms with her mother lately.

"Oh, should I make an appointment?" Sylvia snapped, before heading back towards the house.

The Doctor though, wasn't even slightly distracted. "That wasn't just exhaust fumes. Some sort of gas. Artificial gas."

"And it's aliens, is it?" Wilfred piped in. "Aliens?"

"But if it's poisonous, then they've got poisonous gas in every car on Earth."

"It's not poisonous." Alex said, not paying attention as Wilfred went to move the car.

"What do you mean, it's not poisonous?" Donna asked in disbelief. "What is it then?"

Alex grimaced. "Spoilers? But, uh, it won't even kill anyone until it reaches 80% density."

There was a clicking of a lock and the car started up then, Donna rushing over to try and get her father out of the car.

"Hold on! Turn it off. Granddad, get out of there!"

"I can't!" He said loudly, showing her the keys as Alex rushed to the window as well. "It's not locked! It's them aliens again!"

"What's he doing?! What's he done?!" Sylvia demanded to know, but no one was going to answer her, as they were too busy trying to get Wilfred out of the car.

"They've activated it!"

It wasn't the only car to turn on and all around them, cars turned on and began blowing out white smoke. Alex turned to Sylvia then and shouted to her.

"Sylvia! Donna gave you two gas masks, yeah?! Go get them!"

She hesitated, but hurried to do so, as Donna began shouting.

"There's gas inside the car! He's going to choke! Doctor!"

He tried to sonic it, but it was useless. "It won't open! It's the whole world."

"Help me." Wilfred breathed out as the Doctor stared out at the cars for a second before moving back to the engine to try and figure something out.

Because this was bad. This was very, _very_ bad. And he had no clue how to stop it.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"What?! I told you not to launch!"_

_"The gas is at sixty percent density. Eighty percent and people start dying, Doctor. We've got no choice."_

_"We _always_ have a choice." I snapped at the man, who turned to me with a glare._

_"Then choose to tell us what this is and how to counter it, Seer."_

_I stiffened, but remained silent as Price counted down and the Doctor put a comforting hand on my lower back. _I wish I could. You have no idea how much I wish I could...


	33. The Poison Sky

**Here's the next chapter. hope you guys enjoy it and please let em know what you think. it's a bit short, but the next chapter will definitely be a crazy one. ;) Oh, and I don't actually know if that trick with the tennis ball works or not. Just a heads up.**

* * *

I looked at the door and Wilfred in a panic, hating myself for forgetting that Wilfred gets trapped in his car and not doing anything about it. Putting my fingers to my temples, I squeezed my eyes shut as I tried to remember the one time I looked up how to get out of a sinking car. _Not nearly the same, but it could still work, if I could just remember! _I started digging through my pockets for anything I could use, before my eyes closed around something and I pulled out a tennis ball.

"Alex! Now is not the time to be playing tennis!" Donna shouted, but I turned the ball over and found a small hole in it, making my eyes widen and a grin appear on my face.

"Move!" I shouted, pushing her to the side and closing my eyes as I put the hole of the tennis ball to the key lock. "Please, _please_ work."

I pushed the tennis ball in and my eyes widened upon hearing a 'click' and I yanked the door open with a cheer.

"Yes! It worked!" I shouted, helping Donna pull a coughing Wilfred out just as Sylvia returned with the two gas masks.

"Oh, thank God." She breathed out, heading over to take Wilfred from me.

"Put the gas mask on. You and Wilfred. Then get inside and seal up everything." I told her, letting out a cough of my own.

She nodded, pulling Wilfred towards the house with Donna as a car pulled up behind us and Ross called out from within.

"Doctor, Alex. This is all I could find that hasn't got ATMOS."

"Donna, you coming?!" The Doctor called out to her and she nodded.

"Yeah."

I missed out on what Donna was arguing with her mother about as I climbed in beside the Doctor, who took the tennis ball from me with a grin.

"Now where did you learn that?"

"Internet." I chuckled, leaning back in my seat so he could reach over and push the door open for Donna. "I just can't believe that worked! The only other option was trying to break it with my elbow or something."

"Ooh, glad you picked the tennis ball." The Doctor commented as Donna sat beside me and we drove back to the ATMOS factory.

Once there, the car pulled over and we all clambered out; the Doctor pausing to give Ross instructions.

"Ross, look after yourself. Get inside the building."

"Will do." He said with a nod, before I looked at him and spoke.

"You need to be listening for me, Ross. I know what happens and if you don't listen when the time comes, a lot of lives will be lost... including yours. I know I will be asking you to disobey orders, but I think living is more important than ignoring a possible mistake."

Ross, looked down briefly, before looking back up at me, determined. "How will I know it's you?"

"I'll tell you to trust me." I smirked, before giving him a wave. "I'll see you later, Ross."

He smiled back with a nod. "I'll see you, Alex."

With that, he drove off and I rushed after the Doctor and Donna; only to find Donna had already gone.

"Sent Donna back to the Tardis then?" I questioned, earning a nod from the Doctor as we ran to the UNIT headquarters.

"You alright?" He asked, probably asking about the smoke and I nodded with a grin.

"Oh, yeah! Adrenaline rush, two hearts. I'll be good."

He grinned back. "Ah! You've got two hearts already then? I _thought_ you were being a bit spunky."

I rolled my eyes as he burst through the doors and looked around at the panicking UNIT people.

"Right then! Here we are! Good. Whatever you do, Colonel Mace, do _not_ engage the Sontarans in battle. There is nothing they like better than war. Just leave this to me."

"And what are you going to do?" He asked.

"I've got the Tardis. I'm going to get on board their ship."

"Uh, actually... funny thing that." I piped in, waving my hand and getting his attention. "I do believe it's in the process of being teleported onto their ship now."

"What?!" The Doctor questioned. "You mean I'm stuck here on Earth like... like and ordinary person? Like a human? How rubbish is that?" He grimaced as Martha came over. "Sorry, no offense, but come on!"

Martha, or Clone Martha, gave him a confused look. "So what do we do?"

"Well, I mean, it's shielded. They could never detect it." The Doctor rambled on, ignoring her, before leaning over to look at her suspiciously.

"What?" She questioned.

"I was just wondering, have you phoned your family and Tom?"

"No. What for?"

"The gas. Tell them to stay inside." He clarified, having caught on already.

"Course I-I will. Yeah, but what about Donna? I mean, where's she?"

"Oh, she's gone home. She's not like you. She's not a soldier." He said, giving me a look and I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Told you she'll be pissed."

"Ooh, yeah." He said with a wince. "Most definitely." He then turned to Mace. "Change of plan."

"Good to have you fighting alongside us, Doctor." Mace commented, but I spoke up.

"Not fighting. We don't fight."

The Doctor bobbed his head in agreement. "We're not fighting. We're not-fighting. As in not hyphen fighting. Got it? Now, does anyone know what this gas is yet?"

I grinned and waved my hand. "I do!"

The Doctor rolled his eyes with a smile. "Anyone know, and can _tell_ me?"

I pouted and lowered my hand, knowing that it was still too soon as Martha spoke up.

"We're working on it."

"It's harmful, but not lethal until it reaches eighty percent density." Another woman, a blonde, spoke up from the lower level as the Doctor and I headed over. "We're having the first reports of deaths from the center of Tokyo City."

"And who're you?" The Doctor asked, curious.

"Captain Marion Price, sir." She stood, saluting, and he grimaced as we turned away.

"Oh, put your hand down. Don't salute."

"Jodrell Bank's traced the signal." Mace said as we moved behind him. "Coming from five thousand miles above the Earth. We're guessing that's what triggered the cars."

"The Sontaran ship."

"NATO has gone to Defcon One. We're preparing a strike."

"You can't do that!" I shouted, hoping to at least attempt to stop them; though it'd be stopped anyway. "Nuclear missiles won't do anything!"

"Let me talk to the Sontarans." The Doctor demanded and Mace continued to argue.

"You're not authorized to speak on behalf of the Earth."

"I've got that authority. I earned that a long time ago." The Doctor piped in, sonicking the control panel. "Calling the Sontaran Command Ship under Jurisdiction Two of the Intergalactic Rules of Engagement. This is the Doctor."

I cleared my throat and he rolled his eyes.

"And Alex."

"_Doctor! Breathing your last?_" Staal said, the image of the Sontarans appearing on the screen before UNIT.

"My God. They're like trolls."

"Or potatoes. Take your pick." I hummed.

"Yeah, loving the diplomacy, thanks." The Doctor muttered, before turning his attention back to the Sontarans; pulling me into his lap once he'd grabbed a seat on the lower level. "So, tell me, General Staal. Since when did you lot become cowards?"

"_How dare you!_" Staal said in outrage as Mace gave us both a disbelieving look.

"Oh, _that's_ diplomacy..."

"_Doctor, you impugn my honor!_" Staal went on.

"Yeah, I'm really glad you didn't say belittle, because then we'd have a field day, eh Alex?"

I chuckled as he went on.

"But poison gas? That's the weapon of a coward and you know it. Staal, you could blast this planet out of the sky and yet you're sitting up above watching it die. Where's the fight in that? Where's the honor? _Or_, are you lot planning something else, because this isn't normal Sontaran warfare. What are you lot up to?"

"_A general would be unwise to reveal his strategy to the opposing forces._"

I shrugged, supposing a hint wouldn't be hard to give out right now. "Maybe they're not attacking because they need the planet for something. Something to help with the war."

The Doctor caught the hint and we both noticed Staal giving me a look when I hinted close to his plan.

"Ah, the war's not going so well then? Losing, are we?"

"_Such a suggestion is impossible!_" Staal argued as Mace spoke up.

"What war?"

"The war between the Sontarans and the Rutans. It's been raging, far out in the starts for fifty thousand years. Fifty thousand years of bloodshed and for what?"

"_For victory! Sontar-ha!_" Staal said, starting up a chant.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and pulled out his sonic. "Give me a break."

He changed the feed to some cartoons as Mace seemed to panic.

"Doctor. I would seriously recommend that this dialogue is handled by official Earth representation."

The Doctor and I ignored him as he changed it back. "Finished?"

"_You will not be so quick to ridicule when you'll see our prize. Behold. We are the first Sontarans in history to capture a Tardis._" Stall said, showing the blue box on his ship as I nudged the Doctor and mouthed Donna's name.

He bobbed his head slightly. "Well, as far as prizes go, that's _noble_. As they say in Latin, _Donna_ nobis pacem."

I sighed at how obvious he was being as he continued.

"Did you ever wonder about it's design? It's a phone box. It contains a phone. A telephonic device for communication. Sort of symbolic. Like if only we could communicate, you and I."

"_All you have communicated is your distress, Doctor._" Staal replied as I piped in.

"Yeah, but _we'll_ be the one's communicating. You just have to wait a little bit. Sorry. Everything will turn out alright though. Promise."

_Hope that was enough of a hint, Donna. You're going to have to wait for _us_ to call _you_. And you'll be safe a well as Wilfred and your mother._

"Big mistake though, showing it to me." The Doctor said, holding up his sonic as a threat. "Because I've got remote control."

"_Cease transmission!_" Staal ordered and the screen disappeared.

"Ah, well, that achieved nothing." Mace complained as the Doctor and I got up.

"We actually did quite a bit." I said, shrugging. "More than you think, anyway."

"So what now?" He demanded to know.

"We need to figure out what this gas is." The Doctor said, heading over towards Clone Martha as she skimmed through her clipboard and taking it from her.

She made a face like she was going to snap at him—which the actual Martha probably would have—but instead folded her arms and listed off the compounds.

"There's carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, but ten percent unidentified. Some sort of artificial heavy element we can't trace. You ever seen anything like it?"

"It must be something the Sontarans invented. This isn't just poison. They need this gas for something. What could it be?"

"Launch grid online and active." Price said, just loud enough for us to hear and catch the Doctor's attention.

"Positions, ladies and gentlemen. Defcon one initiatives in progress."

"What?! I told you not to launch!"

"The gas is at sixty percent density. Eighty percent and people start dying, Doctor. We've got no choice."

"We _always_ have a choice." I snapped at the man, who turned to me with a glare.

"Then choose to tell us what this is and how to counter it, _Seer_."

I stiffened, but remained silent as Price counted down and the Doctor put a comforting hand on my lower back. _I wish I could. You have no idea how much I wish I could..._ The Doctor pulled a hand through his hair in a panic, his other hand moving around my waist and pulling me against him as he panicked. I took a deep breath, ignoring the sting of Mace's words and leaning into him, speaking just quietly enough that he could hear me, but Mace and the others couldn't.

"Don't worry. It'll be stopped. Promise."

He glanced down at me and nodded as Price began lacing the countries online. As the countdown neared the end, Mace muttered to himself quietly.

"God save us."

When it reached zero though, the screens went black and nothing happened; making the Doctor hug me in relief as Mace questioned what happened.

"What is it? What happened? Did we launch?"

"No." I said, making the man glare at me.

"She's right, sir." Price said. "The launch codes have been wiped, sir. It must be the Sontarans."

The Doctor left my side and snuck over to Clone Martha as Mace continued to try and get the launch back up.

"Can we override them?"

"Trying it now, sir."

"Missiles wouldn't even dent that ship, so why are the Sontarans so keen to stop you." The Doctor questioned, leaning over to Clone Martha. "Any ideas?"

"How should I know?" She replied, before I stiffened and decided to do something very daring.

"Oh, I'm going to get in big trouble for this." I muttered, before coming up behind Mace and yanking his earpiece out of his ear and breaking it.

"What are you doing?!" He shouted, glaring at me.

"Something very stupid that may just save the lives of everyone in that factory." I said, reaching into the Doctor's coat and pulling out his sonic; aiming it at the console in front of me and speaking loud and clear. "Ross! It's Alex! Remember what I told you? Well, now's the time. I need you to get you and all of the troops out of the building and lock it down! Now!"

"_Now? And how can I be sure?_"

I smirked. "Do you trust me?"

I could hear his smile over the intercom. "_With my life, ma'am. All soldier's retreat!_"

I grinned, tossing the sonic screwdriver back to the Doctor as Mace grabbed my arm in anger.

"What do you think you're doing?! You are _not _allowed to give my men orders!"

I glared at him. "Oh? Last I checked, you told Ross to listen to the Doctor and I. He's just doing what he was ordered."

Mace snarled and went to call up Ross again, but I grabbed his wrist tightly; stopping him as I glared.

"Listen to me, Colonel. I am the Seer, and do you know what that means?" I asked, not bothering to give him a chance to answer. "That means that I know everything that's going on here. Everything that's going to happen and already has happened. And if you tell those soldiers to stay there and fight the Sontarans, I will tell you now, every last one of them will get _slaughtered_. Not a single Sontaran will fall, but every last one of those men and women _will_. Now, do you want to be the commander than let them die because he was too stubborn to tell them to retreat? Because it won't be _me_ apologizing to their families. It'll be you."

He hesitated, but yanked his hand back out of my grip as Ross spoke up from the intercom again.

"_Alex? Ma'am? There are two soldiers who aren't leaving. They're the only ones left in the factory._"

"They're hypnotized. Knock them out and carry them. It's the only thing you can do. And get those doors closed."

"_Yes, ma'am._"

There was a few moments of pause, before he spoke back up.

"_They've taken the factory, but all men are accounted for._"

I let out a relieved sigh and smiled. "Good work, Ross."

Mace frowned, but didn't say a word before the Doctor rushed down to the lower level.

"Why have they taken the factory? They don't need it. Why attack now? What are they up to? Times like this, I could do with the Brigadier. No offense." He quipped back to Mace.

"None taken. Sir Alistair's a fine man, if not the best. Unfortunately, he's stranded in Peru."

"Launch grid back online." Price said, just before the screen went out again. "They're inside the system, sir. It's coming from within UNIT itself."

"Trace it." Mace ordered, but I simply sighed and leaned up against the wall by Clone Martha.

"Really now, you'd think they'd of realized it's not going to work." I muttered, earning a shrug from the woman.

"Gas levels?"

"Sixty-six percent in major population areas and rising."

_Ii just wish there was something I could do for them._ I mused sadly, knowing that—despite my best efforts—I couldn't save everyone. Mace headed into his office and the Doctor went to follow, but stopped by me, giving me a worried look.

"You alright?"

I raised a brow, trying to hide my unease. "Yeah. I'm fine. I just saved Ross's life along with a dozen other soldiers. Why wouldn't I be?"

He took my hand in his, eyeing me. "Because I _know_ you, Alex. You worry far more than you should and take everything on you, and even when something good happens, you tend to focus on what you missed."

_How..._ I wondered silently, looking down briefly at our hands as his thumb rubbed the back of mine. _How could he know me this well? How could he bother trying to get to know me this well after everything I've messed up on? All the lives I didn't save that he should be blaming me for, yet he still stands here and asks me what's wrong when he should be demanding answers. When he should be hating me for what happened to Rose and Martha. How can he care for someone who causes nothing but destruction? Someone that even the Daleks fear?_

"None of those deaths are your fault, Alex."

_How can he say that?_

"Not now, not before, not ever."

_But they are. I could've saved them._

"You can't save everyone." He breathed out quietly. "Nobody can. So don't take this all on yourself."

"But what can I do?" I asked, voice shaky. "If I can't save them, t-then what can I do?"

His hand brushed my cheek, making me look back up at him. "You can help. Give me hints, save the people you can, save me from doing something stupid." He smiled, before leaning down and kissing me briefly. "Just be you. Alexander Holmes. Just be... _amazing_."

I nodded, bowing my head to try and hide the redness creeping up in my cheeks—_knowing_ that he'd just kissed me in public—and he chuckled lightly.

"Now come on. Something tells me Colonel Idiot is in there doing something silly."

I nodded, letting go of his hand and making his face fall. "He is, but I can't stop it. I want to, but..." I shook my head. "I'll just see if I can get you a phone. Donna's probably freaking out."

He bobbed his head, before rushing off into Mace's office as I managed to borrow a phone off one of the people on the computer. It wasn't long though, before Mace walked out and the Doctor shouted from his office door.

"For the billionth time, you can't fight Sontarans!"

Mace ignored him and walked on, making him roll his eyes, before turning to me as I passed him the phone. He took it and pulled me along with him into the office, keeping an eye on the Clone Martha as he dialed up Donna. I couldn't hear her clearly enough to know what she was saying, so I just listened to the Doctor's end of things.

"Still on Earth, but don't worry. I've got my secret weapon...You." He paused, before walking around the desk. "Yeah, I haven't got a remote, though I really should. I need you on that ship. That's why I made them move the Tardis. I'm sorry, but you've got to go outside."

Donna must have pronounced 'Sontarans' wrong again, because the Doctor corrected her.

"Son_tar_ans. But they'll all be on battle stations right now. They don't exactly walk about having coffee. I can talk you through it." He looked really worried and was even starting to make _me_ nervous. "I know, and I wouldn't ask, but there's nothing else I can do. The whole planet is choking, Donna."

There was a pause, before he spoke again.

"The Sontarans are inside the factory, which means they've got a teleport link with the ship, but they'll have deadlocked it. I need you to reopen the link..." He frowned then. "Donna, stop talking about yourself like that. You can do this. I promise."

He glanced at me for a bit, before rolling his eyes at something Donna said and passing me the phone. I raised a brow in question and he sighed.

"She said it doesn't mean as much coming from me." He grumbled, pouting at the fact that Donna would rather be encouraged by me and not him.

"Hello, Donna." I chirped. "Glad to know I've one-upped the Doctor in encouraging people. How are you feeling?"

"_How do you _think_ I'm feeling?! I have to go out there with those Sontarans and fix a fuse! I can't fix a fuse!_"

"Ah, Donna. Donna, Donna, Donna." I hummed. "Would it make you feel better if I told you it's not a fuse?"

"_No! Alex, just... what should I do? I don't know what to do!_"

"Well, I would suggest a deep breath of air first." I paused, hearing her do just that. "Better?"

"_Loads. Now what do I have to do? And _please_ tell me you can make a better promise than the Doctor._"

"Oh, my promises are _always_ better than the Doctors." I smiled.

"Hey!" The Doctor pouted, not really offended.

"Oh, you know it's true. Hush." I chided him, going back to my conversation with Donna. "Donna, I _promise_ you, that everything will go fine. Okay? Your mom and Wilfred will be safe, _you'll_ be safe. And, if you want, _I'll_ walk you through what to do since I know a bit more than the Doctor about what you're going to be running into. Sound good to you?"

"_Oh yes. Much better than that moron._"

The Doctor came over and frowned, leaning towards me a bit. "Did she insult me? I get the feeling she insulted me."

I chuckled, the Doctor's intuition coming in at the strangest of times. "Yes, she did. Now shush." I spoke to Donna again. "Donna, grab the rubber mallet the Doctor abuses the Tardis with."

"_What for?_"

"There's a Sontaran outside the Tardis doors." I said nonchalantly, having to pull the phone away from my ear as she shouted.

"_What?! And you expect me to clonk it with a mallet?!_"

"No. He's facing the other way. There should be a probic vent on the back of his neck. Like a plug or a hole. Hit _that_ with the mallet and he'll get knocked out."

"_But he's going to kill me._"

"Donna, I promise he won't." I sighed. "You've got to try."

There was silence on the other phone and I assumed she was doing what I said, before I heard her speak again; much more confidently this time.

"_Back of the neck~_" She sang out as I grinned.

"Good job, Donna! Now, you've gotta find a circular panel on the wall with a big symbol on the front. Like the letter 'T' with a horizontal line through it. Two 'F's back to back. There's a door in the way though, should be a switch on the side." I explained.

"_Yeah, there is. But it's Sontaran shaped. You need three fingers._"

"You _have_ three fingers." I reminded her, giving the Doctor a playful roll of my eyes.

"_Oh yeah._" There was another pause before she responded. "_I'm through._"

"Alex."

I turned to the Doctor as Mace entered the truck once more and nodded.

"Donna? I've got to go, but listen. A group of troops will pass by you later. Just sink down to the floor behind a column and they'll miss you completely, okay? I'm sorry I can't help you more right now, but I've really got to go."

"_Oh, go on. I'll be fine... I hope._"

I smiled. "You will Donna."

"I said, you don't stand a chance!" The Doctor shouted as I rolled my eyes and hung up, following him out as he confronted Mace.

"Positions." The man called out, before turning to stare us down. "That means everyone."

He tossed two gas masks at us and we caught them, begrudgingly preparing to follow him as Clone Martha hurried over.

"You're not going without me."

"Wouldn't dream of it." The Doctor replied as he put on his coat and we hurried out.

Once out there—masks on—Mace showed us a gun. "Latest firing stock. What do you think, Doctor? Seer?"

"Are you my mummy?" The Doctor said childishly, making me chuckle at the reference, though Mace wasn't amused.

"If you could concentrate. Bullets with a rad-steel coating. No copper surface. Should overcome the cordolaine signal."

"But the Sontarans have got lasers. You can't even see in this fog. The night vision doesn't work."

"Thank you, Doctor. Thank you for your lack of faith. But this time, I'm not listening." He took off his gas mask and began giving the troops a speech that I tuned out as I fidgeted nervously, feeling a light pressure in the back of my mind where I had tucked the drumming away.

_I've managed to suppress it enough that it doesn't bother me much, but it'll never be completely gone. And it does like a good fight, unfortunately. _I hesitantly reached out and took the Doctor's hand, hoping that by having something to hold onto, I'd calm down a bit. Thankfully, I was right and, as he squeezed my hand back, I felt my stiff shoulders relax a little as the Valiant descended a bit and blew away the fog; us removing our gas masks.

"It's the Valiant!"

"UNIT Carrier Ship Valiant reporting for duty, Doctor. With engines strong enough to clear away the fog." Mace said, smiling a bit with his renewed confidence.

"Woah, that's brilliant." The Doctor complimented.

"Getting a taste for it, Doctor?"

"No. Not at all. Not me." The Doctor quickly said, loosing his smile as Mace spoke into his new earpiece.

"Valiant, fire at will."

A laser blast from the valiant hit the ATMOS factory and soldiers charged in, massacring the Sontarans still inside, as we were lead into the building with Martha, Mace, Ross, and a number of other soldiers.

"East and North secure. Doctor?"

"Donna, hold on. We're coming." He quickly babbled into his phone to Donna as he turned and began walking away from the Colonel; Ross and Martha following us as well.

"Shouldn't we follow the Colonel?" Martha questioned.

"I agree, sir." Ross agreed as the Doctor shook his head, pulling out his sonic.

"Nah, you, Alex and I. Martha Jones. Just like old times. Well, plus Ross, of course."

Ross smiled, glad to be included as we hurried down a hall towards the basement.

"Alien technology, this-a-way." The Doctor chimed in, before we headed down a set of stairs into a darkened hall that lit up upon us walking in.

The sonic beeped out a steady rhythm, before the Doctor spoke up.

"No Sontarans down here. They can't resist a battle, so you can put your gun away now, Ross."

Ross hesitated, but did so as the Doctor found the right door.

"Here we go." He sonicked it open and we headed, rushing over to Martha's side. "Oh, Martha. I'm so sorry."

"_You're_ sorry?" I whined. "She's gonna _kill_ me when she wakes up. Ross, please grab the Clone Martha before she attempts to shoot us."

"On it." He quickly replied, grabbing the clone and taking away her weapon before she could do anything.

"Ugh! Let me go!" She shouted. "I've been stopping the nuclear launch all this time."

The Doctor and I turned around.

"Yup." I said, popping the 'p'. "We know."

"You've been doing exactly what we wanted." The Doctor followed. "I needed to stop the missiles, just as much as the Sontarans. I'm not having Earth start an interstellar war. You're a triple agent."

"When did you know?" She asked, still in a headlock—courtesy of Ross.

"About you? Oh, right from the start." The Doctor said calmly as I waved my hand.

"Before the start for me. I'm the Seer. Knowing things is my business. Comes with the title."

The clone's eyes widened, before she turned back to the Doctor.

"But how?"

"Reduced iris contraction, slight thinning of the hair follicles on the left temple. And... frankly, you smell. You might as well have worn a T shirt saying clone. Although, maybe not in front of Captain Jack." The Doctor leaned on the contraption holding Martha. "You remember him, don't you? Because you've got all her memories. That's why the Sontarans had to protect her, to keep you inside UNIT. Martha Jones is keeping you alive."

The Doctor yanked off the device on Martha's head, making the Clone gasp and collapse on the ground as Ross lowered her; the Doctor comforting Martha.

"It's alright, it's alright, it's alright. I'm here, I'm here. I've got you, I've got you." He said, hugging her as she spoke up with a panicked voice.

"There was this thing, Doctor. This alien, with this head."

A phone went off then and he groaned, answering it. "Oh. Blimey, I'm busy... Got it?" He asked to Donna. "Take off the covering. All the blue switches inside, flick them up like a fuse box and that should get the teleport working."

Martha caught sight of the clone then. "Oh my God, that's me."

"Yeah, she's a clone." I said, supplying her with an answer as I helped her out of the contraption. "The Sontarans used your memories and access codes and such to keep her alive. Thus keeping you alive too."

Martha frowned a bit, standing on her own as the Doctor shrugged off his jacket and I put it around her shoulders. Of course, this was the perfect time for Martha to swing a hand around and slap me hard across the face.

"_Ooh._ I-I deserved that." I muttered with a grimace, rubbing my face as I turned back to her; seeing a smiling Ross and Doctor in the background. "Probably should've told you that you were going to be used for a clone. Had to happen though. Don't know what else I could do, really."

"How about an apology?" She said, making me wince.

"Right... Sorry."

She nodded, apparently forgiving me, before she headed over to her clone and I went over to the Doctor as he crawled into the teleport and began fiddling with the wiring.

"Oh-ho, you got a nice hit from her, didn't ya?" He chuckled and I frowned, wincing as my cheek ached.

"Shut it." I grumbled, before groaning. "_God_, she's definitely got her mother's hand. They both sure can hit."

"Let me see." He said, reaching over and turning my face gently towards him with his own little cringe. "Ooh, you're right about that. It's already bruising."

He brushed his thumb over it and I pulled away.

"_Ouch_."

"Sorry." He apologized. "I can't do anything now, but if you want, I have some stuff in the Tardis that should heal it right up. It'll have to wait until we're done here though."

"Yeah, no. That's fine." I said with a shrug, before pointing at the wires. "Anything I can help with?"

"Yeah, actually. Can you strip those two wires there?"

I nodded and got to work helping him wire up the teleport and listening in as the clone died and gave up the information about the gas.

"Clonefeed. It's clonefeed!" The Doctor shouted loudly, smacking himself in the forehead. "They _do_ need this planet for something!" He turned to me and abruptly kissed me, pulling back with a grin as I blinked in confusion. "_You_ are brilliant."

"Thanks?" I muttered, before Martha spoke up.

"What's clonefeed?"

"Like amniotic fluid for Sontarans. _That's_ why they're not invading. They're converting the atmosphere, changing the planet into a clone world. Earth becomes a great big hatchery. Because the Sontarans are clones, that's how they reproduce. Give them a planet this big, they'll create _billions_ of new soldiers. The gas isn't poison, it's food!"

He was nearly done with the transport and his phone rang. He tossed it to me as he finished up his work.

"Hello, Donna." I chirped. "Nearly done?"

"_Blue switches done, but they've found me._"

"Doctor! Donna now!" I shouted and he climbed to of the teleport and sonicked it; bringing Donna back just in time as I hung up the phone and she panted in relief.

"Have I ever told you how much I hate you two?!" She said, hugging the Doctor, who quickly hugged her back and then pushed her off.

"Hold on! Hold on! Get off me! Hug Alex! I've got to bring the Tardis down."

She turned to me and I rolled my eyes before holding out my arms, allowing her to hug me, before she pulled back and got a good look at my face.

"What'd you do to your face? Get in a domestic with Mr. Dunce over there?"

"Oi!" He called out, not pleased by the accusation as I grimaced.

"Actually, Martha hit me."

Donna quickly turned to Martha, only to spot the clone beside her.

"Yeah..." I drawled out. "I completely deserved it. I didn't tell her about being used to make a clone. She wasn't too happy about that."

"_No_, I wasn't." She said, though a small smile graced her lips as the Doctor spoke from the teleport.

"Right. Now. Martha, you coming?"

"What about this nuclear launch thing?" Martha asked, holding her phone.

"Keep pressing 'N'. We want to keep those missiles on the ground."

Donna though, was a bit more focused on the clone. "There's... two of them."

I pat her on the back, leading her into the teleport. "Yes, Donna. Like I said, clones." I then turned to look at Ross over my shoulder. "Ross? Would you mind staying here and keeping anyone from popping in?"

"Yes, ma'am."

I rolled my eyes. "I'd rather you call me 'sir'."

Ross chuckled a bit. "Yes, sir."

"That's a good lad." I winked, before the Doctor frowned and pulled me over to his side.

"Here we go. The old team back together." He chirped, pushing buttons on the teleport and trying to ignore Ross. "Well, the new team."

"We're not going back on that ship!" Donna shouted, worried.

"No, no, no. No. I need to get the teleport working so that we could get to..." He pressed a button and we moved to a second teleport in the Rattigan Academy. "...here. The Rattigan Academy. Owned by..."

The Doctor trailed off as Luke stood there holding a gun aimed our way.

"Don't tell anyone what I did. It wasn't my fault. The Sontarans lied to me. They—" The Doctor moved past me and I stiffened as he snatched the gun right from Luke angrily.

"If I see one more gun." He snipped, throwing it into a metal trash bin nearby as the rest of us walked past Luke.

Donna made a comment about Martha wearing the Doctor's coat, but I stopped by Luke and tilted my head.

"You alright?" I quickly shook my head, waving my hand as I changed my question. "No, sorry. Course you aren't. Let's change that. Start over. Luke, right?" I smiled a bit and held out my hand. "Alexander Holmes. Also known as the Seer."

He blinked, confused and didn't take my hand, so I lowered it with a roll of my eyes.

"Oh, screw it. Look. You're clever. I get that and you're probably feeling betrayed by the Sontarans. Get that too, but all a genius ever wants to do is be noticed, right?" I said, nodding towards the Doctor. "Even Mr. Grumpy over there. Does everything crazy and out of proportion. But do you know the best way to get noticed? It's not about the danger and the crazy ideas. It's about _helping people_. Making them feel good through your actions. You've noticed it too, yeah? When you made this school, it was before the Sontarans, right? Back when all you wanted to do was give other geniuses a place where they could be themselves and not have to hide anything, and that was good! You felt it too, or else you wouldn't of done it."

I grinned at him as he looked at me in worry and slight curiosity.

"So? What's wrong with helping some more people, eh? Who needs those clone-headed potatoes, when you have people here who _see_ you. Ten pounds bets that those geniuses you had here come back at the end of it all too. So, come on. Let's go help the Doctor."

I smiled and pat his back, getting him moving as he nodded and hurried to the laboratory where the Doctor was grabbing bits and pieces of things scattered about the room; making something.

"That's why the Sontarans had to stop the missiles. They were holding back." He went over to Donna and took the rubber mallet she was holding and using it on the device he was creating. "Because caesofine gas is volatile, that's why they had to use you to stop the nuclear attack. Ground to air engagement could spark off the whole thing."

"What? Like set fire to the atmosphere?" Martha questioned and I nodded.

"Yup. Exactly like that, actually."

"They need all the gas intact to breed their clone army. And all the time we had Luke here in his dream factory. Planning a little trip, were we?" The Doctor questioned and Luke bowed his head, ashamed.

"They promised me a new world."

"You were building equipment, ready to terraform El Mondo Luko so that humans could live there and breath air with this." He held up his—now completed—device. "An atmospheric converter."

He picked it up and rushed out of the building, the rest of us following behind him as we went to stand out on the lawn.

"That's London. You can't even see it. My family's in there." Donna breath out and I gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"They're fine. You gave them the gas masks I had, remember?"

She nodded, feeling relieved, I would hope, as the Doctor muttered to himself.

"If I can get this on the right setting..."

"Doctor, hold on. You said the atmosphere would ignite."

"Yeah, I did. Didn't I?" He said, pulling a controller over to us before pressing the button; launching something up into the atmosphere.

We all watched as the cloud converged on that spot and there was a spark and the clouds caught fire; spreading across the world as the Doctor crossed his fingers and begged.

"Please, please, please, please, please."

The fire soon dispersed and the air cleaned up as the gas evaporated and Luke and the others stared in shock.

"He's a genius!"

"Just brilliant."

The Doctor and I though, weren't too pleased as he picked up the converter and gave them a serious look.

"Now we're in trouble."

They followed after us as we ran back into the building and, ultimately, to the teleport.

"Right. So..." The Doctor turned to the four of us, determined, but I could see the sorrow lacing his eyes as he went on. "Donna, thank you for everything... Martha, you too. Oh, so many times... Luke, do something clever with your life. And Alex..." His voice trailed off as he stared at me, the sorrow leaking through onto his features.

"You're saying goodbye." Donna muttered, realizing what was going on.

"Sontarans are never defeated. They'll be getting ready for war. And, well, you know. I've recalibrated this for Sontaran air, so..."

"You're going to ignite them." Martha concluded.

"You'll kill yourself." Donna said in shock.

Martha couldn't believe this. "Just send that thing up, on it's own. I don't know. Put it on a delay."

"I can't."

"Why not?" Donna asked.

"I've got to give them a choice."

"Doctor." I said, stepping forward and into the teleport before he could send himself away.

"Alex, you can't." He said, knowing what I was planning on doing. "I need you to stay here. Take care of Donna and Martha."

I frowned, glaring at him and feeling a bit of satisfaction when he winced. "No."

He grimaced. "Oh, you _know_ I hate it when you say that. Why can't you just listen? I'm trying to _help_."

"By what?" I demanded to know. "Taking away the only thing I have? I can't take care of them! I pop of at stupid times to who knows where! _You're_ all I have left, Doctor! And I'm not about to let you do this on your own."

I grabbed the back of his neck and pulling him in for a deep kiss, feeling him respond back, before I reached over behind him and teleported us away. When I pulled back and he realized where we were, I couldn't help but smirk as he frowned down at me.

"You little minx."

"I promised." I reminded him. "I will _never_ leave you alone."

He smiled a bit and gave me another brief kiss, before he stood upright and turned to face the Sontarans; who'd just noticed our presence.

"Oh, excellent." Staal grinned as the Doctor set his weapon down.

"General Staal. You know what this is, but there's one more option. You can go. Just leave. Sontaran High Command need never know what happened here."

"Your stratagem would be wise, if Sontarans feared death, but we do not. At arms." He ordered his troops.

"You don't want to do that, Staal." I said, standing beside the Doctor and facing the alien. "You _will_ perish, whether the Doctor does it or not."

Staal turned to me with a frown. "And who are you to declare such things?"

I sighed, pulling a hand through my hair. "I really didn't want to flaunt this about, but I'm sort of... the Seer."

"The Seer?!" Staal roared.

I grinned nervously, wiggling my fingers in a wave. "Hello.~"

"Then you will tell us of our victory, Seer!" He demanded and I raised a brow, glancing at the Doctor.

"I swear I just did that." I turned back to Staal. "Where you seriously not listening? I said you were going to _die_ if you didn't just leave."

"Then you are lying!" Staal said sternly and I sighed as I muttered under my breath.

"And this is why I don't predict the future for evil alien potatoes. Or people in general, really."

"I'll do it, Staal!" The Doctor shouted, eyeing the guns wearily and pulling me back a bit behind him. "If it saves the Earth, I'll do it."

"A warrior doesn't talk, he acts!" Staal said, challenging the Doctor.

"I am giving you a chance to leave."

"And miss the glory of this moment?"

"_All weapons targeting Earth, sir. Firing in twenty._" A voice rang out.

"I'm warning you!"

"And I salute you! Take aim!"

The Doctor's hands were shaking slightly and I gave his arm a comforting squeeze. _Don't worry. I'm sorry, but Luke should do what is right._ I closed my eyes with a quiet sigh, guilt welling up in me for having to let Luke do this.

"Shoot me, I'm still going to press this. You'll die, Staal." The Doctor went on, but Staal could care less.

"Knowing that you die too." He said with a grin.

"_Firing in fifteen._"

"For the glory of Sontar. Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha!" He began chanting before the Doctor cut him off.

"I'll do it!"

"Then do it!"

The Doctor didn't even get a chance to press it, before he and I were teleported away back to the Rattigan Academy where Donna and Martha were waiting. The Doctor and I collapsed on the ground, out of breath and holding one another, before I spotted the two and the missing person.

"Luke... did he..."

Martha nodded and hurried over as the Doctor and I sat beside one another at the entrance of the teleport.

"I'm sorry." The Doctor apologized, seeing how torn up I was about it and kissing the top of my head.

"No. _I'm_ sorry. I should've thought of another way. Luke... shouldn't of had to do that."

The Doctor stayed silent, though I knew he disagreed with my thoughts, and just held me close to him as Donna came over and smacked us both hard across the head. We knew why she did it and just accepted the silent scolding, before I felt my shoulder start to ache; though the achy feeling traveled through my whole body now.

"You're leaving." The Doctor commented as I grimaced and nodded.

"Yeah. Looks like it."

He frowned slightly, brushing a hand over my bruised cheek from where Martha had hit me. "Make sure the other me does something about that. No matter which one you end up with."

"Course." I said, before turning to Donna. "Bye, Donna. I'll see you around."

She smiled a little back, hugging me. "Goodbye, Alex."

I then leaned over to Martha cautiously. "Martha."

She rolled her eyes and yanked me over into a hug as well. "Oh, shut it. I'm sure we'll bump into each other sooner or later. And... sorry about the slap."

"Deserved it. Like I said." I chuckled a bit as she let me go and I turned to the Doctor with a grin. "Goodbye, Doctor and..."

I paused, remembering what would happen to him next and what would happen to _me_.

"Sorry."

"For what?" He asked, curious, but also cautious.

"For what happens next. Just know that... I'm fine. Always will be, and take good care of them." _Of Martha and Donna, and Jenny and my Luke._

His face slowly slipped into a frown as his hand reached around the back of my neck. "I will. Just... be careful. Stay out of trouble."

I chuckled at the hypocrisy of that statement. "Only if you do."

He couldn't help but smile as he leaned in. "Oh, that'll never work."

We kissed passionately, loosing ourselves in the small moment we had, before I popped off and landed down in a hole, covered in dirt.

"Great. How's this for staying out of trouble, eh Doctor?"

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_She smiled with a wave. "Hello, Alex."_

_"How's Rory?" I asked, hoping that I was early enough in their time-line that he was still around._

_"Annoying as ever." She drawled out as I chuckled a bit. "He had to go put my engagement ring back in the Tardis. Afraid I was going to _lose it_."_

_ I frowned suddenly, starting to dig through my pockets frantically as I spoke in a ramble. "Oh, that sounds familiar. Why does that sound familiar? Why does it not sound like anything good?"_

_"What? What do you mean, not good?" Amy questioned as we approached a fence and a large drill device; myself pulling out my black book and skimming through it quickly until I found what adventure we were on._

_ As I read, my face grew paler and paler, realization dawning on me._


	34. The Hungry Earth

**And the next chapter is up! thanks to all those who have reviewed, favorites, etc. and i hope you all enjoy this chapter too :) please let me know what you think! And if you see any typos, just refresh the page. i probably just fixed it.**

* * *

"Hello?! Is anyone up there?!" I called out, hands cupped over my mouth before I frowned and scratched the back of my head. "Alright, suppose not. I'm in a hole, after all."

I looked around the three by eight hole and winced.

"A grave, if I had to guess." I cleared my throat and cracked my knuckles. "Well, no point in staying down here. Best start climbing up."

I reached up and gripped at the dirt, hoping to find a rock or something to use as a foothold, but to no use. I just slipped back down into the hole. _Alright. Now a running start with a jump._ I did that, managing to get my arms over the top of the grave and pulling myself up enough to poke my head over the side, spotting two familiar people nearby.

"Doctor!" I shouted, making him stop and look around, before I lifted a hand and waved; only to loose my grip and yelp as I fell back into the hole.

I grumbled curses under my breath as dirt and mud splashed up onto my face and tried to wipe it off as the moppy brown hair of the Eleventh Doctor appeared over the top of the grave.

"Alex! What're you doing down there?"

I frowned up at him. "Not having any fun, that's for sure."

He chuckled and reached down, allowing me to grab his hand as he and Amy helped pull me back up to the ground above. I brushed my pants off in a vain attempt to get rid of the dirt and mud, before frowning and pulling a hand through my hair as I looked around the cemetery.

"Really. Of all the places to pop up, a _grave_ was not something I expected."

"Always expect the unexpected." The Doctor chirped, bopping me on the nose with his finger and making me wrinkle it in response.

"Right. What rule is that?"

"Twelve." He grinned as we started walking to who knows where. "Right after the rule about having a spare coat."

I grimaced as I lifted the end of my ruined Belstaff coat. "Yeah, I can see why."

He frowned though, touching my cheek briefly. "What happened here?"

"Martha." I grumbled with a pout. "She didn't appreciate that I didn't tell her the Sontarans were going to use her to make a clone. I deserved it, really."

He chuckled a bit before resuming our walk. "I'll give you something when we're back in the Tardis."

"Alright." I let out a long sigh then, before turning to Amy with a smile.

"Hello, Amy."

She smiled with a wave. "Hello, Alex."

"How's Rory?" I asked, hoping that I was early enough in their time-line that he was still around.

"Annoying as ever." She drawled out as I chuckled a bit. "He had to go put my engagement ring back in the Tardis. Afraid I was going to _lose it_."

I frowned suddenly, starting to dig through my pockets frantically as I spoke in a ramble. "Oh, that sounds familiar. Why does that sound familiar? Why does it not sound like anything good?"

"What? What do you mean, not good?" Amy questioned as we approached a fence and a large drill device; myself pulling out my black book and skimming through it quickly until I found what adventure we were on.

As I read, my face grew paler and paler, realization dawning on me.

"Alex?" Amy grabbed me, turning me to face her as she stared me down seriously. "What do you mean, not good?"

I forced a smile on my face, though I could tell it was crooked by how she and the Doctor looked at me in worry.

"Nothing. Forget what I said. All of it. Everything's fine."

I snapped my notebook closed and tucked it away when I saw Amy's eyes wandering to it, but thankfully, the Doctor caught on to me wanting to drop the subject and he gestured to a door in the fence.

"Restricted access. No unauthorized personnel, hm." He pulled out his sonic and made the lock click open.

"That's breaking and entering." Amy accused.

"What did I break? Sonicking and entering. Totally different." He clarified as I rolled my eyes.

"Doesn't keep you out of trouble though." I muttered quietly under my breath, and he turned and pointed a finger at me with a playful smirk.

"I heard that."

He pushed the fence open and Amy too, rolled her eyes, before the three of us walked in.

"Come on then." She called out, moving on ahead.

"You're sure Rory will catch us up?" The Doctor said behind me and I grabbed his hand and pulled him along.

"Promise, he will."

"If you say so." He muttered, before we entered a building and went down a hall. "What about now? Can you feel it now?" He asked Amy, who sighed.

"Honestly, I've got no idea what you're on about."

"Alex?" He asked, giving my hand a squeeze. "Can _you_ feel it? The ground?"

"Of course, I can feel the ground." I joked, earning an eye roll from him. "But I can't feel whatever you're feeling. Sorry."

He shook his head, brushing the apology off, suddenly stopping. "It's just... the ground doesn't feel like it should."

We began moving again as he dug through his pockets and pulled out some blue grass.

"It's ten years in the future. Maybe how this ground feels is how it always feels." Amy offered.

"Good thought, but no, it doesn't." The Doctor responded, as an alarm went off and he pulled out his sonic. "Hear that? Drill in start-up mode. Afterwaves of a recent seismological shift and blue grass."

He put some of the grass in his mouth and I smacked him in the arm.

"Spit it out!"

He did so, making a look of disgust as he pulled it off his tongue.

"Oh, please." Amy whined. "Have you always been this disgusting?"

"No, that's recent." He claimed as I shook my head.

"Not true. He licked a door once."

"Because it was varnished with mistletoe!" He argued and I gave Amy a look.

"He licked it _after_ I told him it was varnished with mistletoe. So, it's not like he didn't have to."

"Oh, so he _wanted_ to." She said with a mischievous grin, knowing we were messing with the Doctor at this point.

"I did not!" He argued back, pouting as he pointed at us. "Now stop teaming up against me! It's not fair!"

"All's fair in love and war." I smiled, making him more frustrated.

"Ooh, how I _wish_ you weren't so... you." He grumbled, before turning to the door behind him and opening it. "What's in... here? Hello!" He called out to the woman in the room, who stared at us greatly confused.

"Eh, who are you?" She asked as she removed her glasses. "What are you doing here? And what're you wearing?"

"I dressed for Rio." Amy grumbled and I snickered, leaning over towards her, but making sure the Doctor could hear me.

"I think she was talking about the Doctor, actually."

Said man smacked me lightly on the arm as I chuckled, before pulling out his psychic paper and flashing it to the woman—Nasreen—briefly.

"Ministry of Drills, Earth and Science. New Ministry, quite big, just merged. It's lot of responsibility on our shoulders. Don't like to talk about it. What are you doing?"

"None of your business." She huffed, though the Doctor looked at the screens before us with a frown.

"Where are you getting these readings from?" He asked as she moved a device out of a hole nearby, that I stared at warily.

"Under the soil."

_Oh dear. This is where Amy gets taken. Should I stop it? No. I can't. If I did, then Mack will get taken and he needs to be around for later. But... I don't want Amy to go through this alone. Just as I didn't want Rose to have to deal with the Daleks, so... do I take her place? _I frowned slightly, not liking the idea. I'd only met _one_ Silurian on my adventures with the Doctor, and Vastra didn't care for me very much. And I already knew what sort of temper the ones here would have. _I can try to take her place, but who's to say she won't get taken? I'll just have to stick by her then and hope she doesn't get taken and if she does... I'll make sure she won't go alone._ A shiver went up my spine at the thought of possibly getting dissected and I knew that I really, _really_ didn't want to have to go through that. And, I knew I was scared, but I shoved the feeling deep down inside me, hiding it under my neutral expression to keep it unnoticed by the Doctor, as Mack hurried in the room.

"The drill's up and running again... What's going on? Who are these people?"

The Doctor rushed past me to the dirt hole in the ground, picking up some of it between his fingers as I joined Amy leaning up against a forklift.

"Amy, the Doctor, and Alex." She said, introducing us to the man. "We're not staying, are we, Doctor?"

I leaned over a bit and spoke quietly. "We are."

"Drat." She grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest as the Doctor grabbed Nasreen's attention. "Why's there a big patch of earth in the middle of your floor?"

"We don't know." She explained. "It just appear overnight."

"Good. Right. You all need to get out of here very fast."

I raised my hand. "And might I suggest turning off the drill? _Now_."

"Why?" Nasreen asked as the Doctor typed something not the computer.

"What's your name?"

"Nasreen Chaudhry."

I moved over to where Amy was and pulled her away from the hole slightly.

"Look at the screens, Nasreen." The Doctor continued, not seeing my worried expression. "Look at your readings. It's moving."

"Hey, that's specialized equipment. Get away from it." Mack ordered, though the Doctor ignored him.

"What is?" Nasreen asked, also ignoring the man as white smoke began billowing up from the hole.

"Yeah, um, Doctor?" I called out, moving Amy even further away. "The hole is smoking and I _really_ think someone should turn that drill off."

The Doctor glanced at the hole, moving away from the computer. "It's shifting when it shouldn't _be_ shifting."

"_What_ shouldn't?" Nasreen demanded to know, just as the ground shook.

"The ground, the soil, the earth. Moving. But how? Why?" He rambled, moving back to the computer.

"Earthquake?" Amy suggested as I shook my head and pushed her behind me, swallowing thickly as my eyes remained on the hole.

"What's going on?" Mack asked.

"Doubt it." The Doctor said, answering Amy's question. "Because it's only happening under this room."

More holes begun appearing and we all took steps back away from them, as I grimaced and shouted at Mack.

"Turn the damn drill off! Go! _Now_!"

He frowned, making to argue with me, but another hole appeared near him, making him snap his mouth closed as the Doctor spoke.

"It knows we're here. It's attacking. The ground's attacking us."

"No, no. That's not possible." Nasreen said and I groaned.

"Run!"

The group did so, all of us running towards the other end of the room. The Doctor grabbed Nasreen's hand and pulled her along as Amy hurried after them and I shoved mack forward just in time to miss getting his foot caught in another hole.

"Turn off the drill!" I shouted to him as he reached the other side of the room.

"Do as she said!" The Doctor ordered, making the man rush out to do that just as I took a step forward and a hole appeared right where I stepped.

I sank down to mid calf with a shout, hearing the Doctor call out as Amy started for me.

"Alex!"

"Stay back!" I shouted at him and then turned to Amy and glared at her. "You too, Amy! Stay away from the earth!"

She gave me a look and I immediately knew she wasn't about to listen.

"There is _no way_ I'm leaving you." She snapped, jumping over a hole and grabbing my arm to try and pull me out.

"Amy, go! You'll get taken too!" I shouted, but she ignored me and just as she started pulling, another hole opened up beneath her.

"It's pulling me down!" She said in a panic, as the Doctor shouted her name as well and rushed over; lying on his stomach.

"Amy!"

"God, I _told_ you not to come near me!" I argued with her. "Why can't people just listen when I tell them things?! You'd think that being able to predict the future would mean people would listen to my advice, but _nooooo_."

She ignored me, panicking as she sank down to her knees and I sank down to my waist. "Doctor, help me. Something's got me."

He grabbed my arm with one hand and grabbed Amy's with the other. "I've got you. Don't worry, I've got you."

"Doctor, the ground's got my leg."

I rolled my eyes. "It's not the stupid ground, you moron! If those _idiots_ would just shut off the drill—"

"Alexander Holmes, behave!" The Doctor scolded and I scowled at him.

"I'll behave when whatever stupid alien is down here let's me go!" I sank down to my shoulders with a grimace.

"Don't let go." Amy begged.

"Never." The Doctor quickly said and I pushed his hand towards Amy. "Alex, what are you doing?" He demanded to know and I gave him a serious look.

"Help her."

"I'm not leaving you, Alex." He said sternly and I let his hand go, to reach up and grab his bow-tie, pulling him closer.

"Now you listen here, you bumbling little pain in the backside. Because you're going to listen to me, _just this once._ I will be absolutely fine, because I know what's going to happen. Amy, doesn't. _Amy_ is scared out of her mind right now and she _needs_ you. So you get over there and help her, let me go, and be sure to get your little Time Lord butt after me once she's safe. Got it?"

I had sank up to my chin now and I could feel his bow-tie slipping from around his neck as I gave him one last piece of advice.

"And for Pete's sake, keep that boy's mother _away_ from the alien and keep an eye on him!"

"I-I will." He said, eyes searching mine as I smiled a grin full of confidence; though I was anything but confident.

"Love you. And no matter what happens... I promise Amy will be okay."

His reply was drowned out by the earth swallowing me up and something jabbing me in the neck the moment I was pulled into a pod, and my vision going black; the Doctor's bow-tie clenched tightly in my hand.

"_But what about you?"_

* * *

The Doctor was devastated and absolutely furious. Amy had been taken into the earth alongside Alex and he didn't know why or how or anything. He hated not knowing, but he hated losing Alex to something even more. Not only that, but she told him to keep Amy safe and Amy had been taken too. What was he going to do when Rory showed back up? What was he going to tell him? 'Oh, your fiancee just so happened to get eaten by the ground along with Alex. Sorry'? He needed to get his thoughts in order and he needed to do it now. _Right. First thing's first, remember what Alex said. I don't listen to her enough and she must of given me hints already without my knowing. Think, think!_ He smacked his forehead a couple of times before he began pacing; the drill already having been stopped and Mack and Nasreen having returned.

"Is that what happened to Mo?" Mack asked. "Are they dead?"

"They are _not_ dead." He snapped harshly, his temper getting the better of him before he calmed himself down. "It's not quicksand. They didn't just sink. Something pulled them in. It wanted them."

"The ground wanted them?" Nasreen questioned in disbelief.

The Doctor shook his head, remembering what Alex had said.

"_It's not the stupid ground, you moron!"_

"_I'll behave when whatever stupid alien is down here let's me go!"_

"No. It's not the ground. It's alien. She said so." He muttered quietly, unheard by the others, before speaking up. "You said the ground was dormant. Just a patch of earth, when you first saw it this morning. And the drill had been stopped."

"That's right." Mack said with a bob of his head.

"_Turn the damn drill off! Go! _Now_!"_

"_If those idiots would just shut off the drill—"_

"But when you restarted the drill, the ground fought back."

"So, what? The ground wants us to stop drilling? Doctor, that is ridiculous." Nasreen said as the Doctor knelt down to the hole and scanned it with his sonic, making it rumble in response.

"I'm not saying that, and it's not ridiculous. I just don't think it's right." He smacked himself in the forehead as he read over his readings. "Oh-ho. Of course. Ha. It's bio-programming."

"What?"

"Bio-programming." The Doctor repeated, putting his sonic away, standing up and clapping his hands once. "Oh, it's clever! You use bio-signals to resonate the internal molecular structure of natural objects. It's mainly used in engineering and construction, mostly jungle planets, but that's way in the future and not here. What's it doing here?"

"Sorry, did you just say jungle planets?" Nasreen questioned, very confused now.

"You're not making any _sense_, man." Mack agreed.

"Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up." He snipped, wincing when he knew Alex would've smacked him upside the head for being rude. "The earth, the ground beneath our feet, was bio-programmed to attack."

"Yeah, even if that were possible—which, by the way, it's not—why?"

"Stop you drilling." He easily responded. "Okay, so we find whatever's doing the bio-programming, we can find Alex and Amy. We can get them back." His ears suddenly picked up something and he shushed them. "Sh, sh, sh. Have I gone mad? I've gone mad."

"Doctor—"

"Sh, sh. Silence. Absolute silence." He stepped over the hole and approached Nasreen. "You've stopped the drill, right?"

"Yes."

"And you've only got the one drill."

"Yes." Nasreen repeated.

"You're _sure_ about that?"

"Yes." Mack answered this time and the Doctor moved back over the hole before lying on the ground; pressing his ear to the floor.

"So, if you shut the drill down, why can I still hear drilling?... It's under the ground."

"That's not possible."

The Doctor pushed up off the ground and rushed to the computer nearby, scanning it with his sonic before Nasreen hurried over.

"Oh no. What... What are you doing?"

"Hacking into your records. Probe reports, samples, sensors. Good. Just unite the data, make it all one big conversation. Let's have a look. So, we are here and this is your drill hole. 21.009 kilometers." He couldn't' help but be impressed. "Well done."

"Thank you. It's taken us a long time."

"Why here though? Why'd you drill on this site?"

"We found patches of grass in this area, containing trace minerals unseen in this country for twenty million years."

"The blue grass? Oh, Nasreen." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Those trace minerals weren't X marking the spot, saying dig here. They were a warning. Stay away... Because while you've been drilling down, somebody else has been drilling up." He looked back at the computer which now showed a number of other tunnels around the main drill hole. "Oh, beautiful. Network of tunnels all the way down."

"No, no. We've surveyed that area." Mack argued.

"You only saw what you went looking for."

"What are they?" Nasreen asked, pointing out three blinking green points on the screen.

"Heat signals. Wait, dual readings. Hot and cold. Doesn't make sense. And now they're moving. Fast. How many people live nearby?"

"My daughter and her family. The rest of the staff travel in." Mack said, sounding worried now.

"Grab this equipment and follow me." The Doctor said, starting to walk off.

"Why? What're we doing?"

He stopped and doubled back. "That _noise_ isn't a drill, it's transport. Three of them, thirty kilometers down. Rate of speed looks about a hundred and fifty kilometers an hour. Should be here in... ooh, quite soon." He closed the computer and picked it up as he did the mental calculations. "Twelve minutes. Whatever bio-programmed the Earth is on it's way up. _Now_."

He took the heavy computer case with him, hurrying out of the building and towards the area where the rest of the people were. _Don't worry, Alex. We're coming._

Once he and the other two were outside, the questions started up again.

"How can something be coming up when there's only the Earth's crust down there?" Mack asked.

"You saw the readings." The Doctor grumbled, not really wanting to answer these questions when every second they wasted was another second that something bad could be happening to Amy and Alex.

"Who are you anyway? How can you know all this?" Nasreen asked next, just before a red light went across the sky. "Woah, did you see that?"

"No, no, no." The Doctor complained in annoyance, putting down his computer and pulling a slingshot out of his pocket; shooting a rock a the sky.

It hit the red energy shield and disintegrated, before the Doctor pulled out his sonic and scanned it.

"Energy signal originated from under the Earth. We're trapped."

"Doctor, something weird is going on here." Rory said, coming out of the building behind him along with two others. "The graves are eating people."

"Not now, Rory. Energy barricade, invisible to the naked eye. We can't get out and no one from the outside world can get in." The Doctor explained.

"What?" Rory shook his head. "Okay, what about the Tardis?"

"The what?" Nasreen questioned, only to be ignored.

"Eh, no. Those energy patterns would play havoc with the circuits. With a bit of time, maybe, but we've only got nine and a half minutes." The Doctor said, checking his watch.

"Nine and a half minutes to what?"

Nasreen explained this time. "We're trapped and something's burrowing towards the surface."

Rory looked around then, worried. "Where's Amy?"

The Doctor looked at him, before going back to grab the computer as he barked out an order.

"Get everyone inside the church." As he walked past Rory, he spoke up, determined. "Rory, I'll get her back. Her and Alex both."

"What? Alex was here too?" He shook his head of the thought and followed after the Doctor. "And what do you mean get them back? Where've they gone?"

"They were taken." He stopped and faced Rory. "Into the Earth."

"How?.. Why didn't you stop it?"

The Doctor could feel his temper flaring again as he set down his computer and approached Rory. "I tried. I promise, I tried."

"Well you should've tried harder!" Rory shouted angrily and that set the Doctor off.

"You think I didn't?! Alex was taken too! You think I just _allowed_ that to happen?!"

Rory took a slight step back, not used to seeing the Doctor this angry.

"I _will _find them. I'll keep you all safe, I promise. _Alex_ promised that Amy would be safe. So I need you alongside me."

The Doctor had calmed down a bit, and turned away, picking up the computer and walking into the church building where everyone was at. Rory hesitated, but let out a breath before following him in; hoping that Alex was right and that Amy would be okay. Once inside, everyone began setting up the equipment as Ambrose—the boy, Elliot's mother—tried to get caught up with the situation.

"So, we can't get out. We can't contact anyone and something—the something that took my husband—is coming up through the Earth."

"Yes. If we move quickly enough, we can be ready." The Doctor said.

"No, stop. _This_ has gone far enough. What is this?"

He mentally groaned, realizing now why Alex had warned him about this woman.

"_And for Pete's sake, keep that boy's mother _away_ from the alien!"_

He shook his head from the thought of Alex disappearing into the dirt with a smile on her face and just caught the last bit of Nasreen's comment about him.

"—and the only person who's made any sense of it for me, is the Doctor."

"_Him_?" Ambrose questioned and he popped up from under the table with a grin.

"Me!"

"Can you get my dad back?" Elliot questioned and the Doctor stopped what he was doing to see the desperate look on the boy's face.

_Oh, Alex is so much better with kids than I am._ He mentally lamented, but he was confident that he could do it. He would rip apart the whole Earth to get Alex back and he knew she would never let him upset a kid like Elliot.

"Yes." He started walking towards Ambrose, already identifying her as the problematic one of the group. "But I need you to trust me and do exactly as I say from this second onwards, because we are running out of time."

Ambrose hesitated, but spoke. "So tell us what to do."

"Thank you." He said, knowing that her agreement to help was at least one step in the right direction. "We have eight minutes to set up a line of defense. Bring me every phone, every camera, every piece of recording or transmitting equipment you can find."

The group did their best, rushing around the graveyard setting up cameras and such as the Doctor did what Alex said and kept his eye on Elliot; even getting him involved too. Of course, he'd soon discovered that Ambrose was even more disagreeable when she put weapons into her van. _Oh, I get the feeling Alex was going to be a little more than cross with this woman if she hadn't been taken._ He frowned slightly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small photo of Alex he'd managed to get while on one of their trips, where she was laughing next to a sand castle she'd made with him. Elliot bounded up then with his map, and the Doctor set his photo down by the screen of his computer as he took it from the boy with a grin.

"Look at that. Perfect. Dyslexia never stopped Da Vinci or Einstein. It's not stopping you." He told Elliot, before typing some things into the computer.

"I don't understand what you're going to do." Elliot said, drawing his attention to the boy once more.

"Two phase plan. First, the sensors and cameras will tell us know when something arrives. Second, if something _does_ arrive, I use this to send a sonic pulse through that network of devices. A pulse which would temporarily incapacitate most things in the universe." He explained, showing Elliot his sonic before he moved to the table behind the computer.

"Knock 'em out. Cool."

Elliot spotted the photo of Alex then and picked it up, looking it over as the Doctor spoke once more.

"Lovely place to grow up round here."

"Suppose. I want to live in a city one day. Soon as I'm old enough, I'll be off." Elliot commented, making the Doctor smile.

"I was the same where I grew up."

"Did you get away?"

"Yeah."

"Do you ever miss it?"

The Doctor's hearts sank, his smile faltering as he thought of his home world. "So much."

"What about her?" Elliot showed the Doctor his photo and said man smiled a bit. "Who's she?"

"That's Alex." The Doctor said, taking the photo from him with a fond smile, though it slipped slightly as he said his next words. "She was pulled underground with my friend."

"Is she your girlfriend?" Elliot asked and the Doctor felt his smile return.

"She is and I love her very much."

"Was she like me too? Did she want to run away?"

The Doctor nodded. "She did. She ran away from everything she had to be with me, and it took me far too long to realize that she was helping me more than I could imagine." The Doctor chuckled then, giving Elliot a fond look. "She would like you very much, Elliot. She's great with kids."

Elliot saw his chance and decided to ask a more personal question. "Are you two going to have kids?"

The Doctor's face lit up like a Christmas tree, red tinting the very tips of his ears and all down his neck as he sputtered and tried to get words to form.

"I-I... W-We, um... We haven't d-discussed it. Don't want to, ahem, rush things."

Elliot couldn't help the small smile that appeared on his face at witnessing the flushed and nervous Doctor, but his smile quickly fell when he caught sight of the timer counting down.

"Is it monsters coming?" Elliot asked as the Doctor went around to his side. "Have you and Alex met monsters before?"

"Yeah." The Doctor said, sobering up quickly at the serious question.

"You scared of them?"

"No, they're scared of me. Alex too."

"Will you really get my dad back?"

"No question." The Doctor reassured, with a small smile, before going to the computer.

Elliot though, tossed a thumb over his shoulder. "I left my headphones at home."

The Doctor waved him off and the boy left, with only one minute to spare.

* * *

The sky had gone dark and the remaining people outside had rushed to the church doors, only to have some difficulty.

"I can't open it. It keeps sticking. The wood's warped." Ambrose said, the Doctor trying as well to no avail.

"Any time you wanna help!" The Doctor said loudly to Rory over the noise of the ground rumbling.

"Can't you sonic it?" Rory asked.

"It doesn't do wood."

"That is rubbish."

"Oi!" The Doctor shouted, angrily. "Don't dis the sonic."

Rory made a face, before helping the Doctor and Ambrose push the door open, the three of them joining Mack and Nasreen as the door shut behind them and a few things fell from shelves.

"See if we can get a fix." The Doctor ordered, typing some things into the computer just before the lights exploded.

"No power." Mack said as he checked a light switch.

"It's deliberate." The Doctor murmured.

"What do we do now?"

"Nothing! We've got nothing!" The Doctor complained, throwing up his hands in frustration as he paced. "They sent an energy surge to wreck our systems."

Rory though, went into nurse mode and looked at everyone. "Is everyone okay? Is anyone hurt?"

"I'm fine." Nasreen drawled.

"I'm good. I'm good."

"Me too."

There was an even larger rumble and Rory turned to the Doctor.

"Doctor, what was that?"

"It's like the holes at the drill station."

"Is this how they happened?"

"It's coming through the final layer of Earth." The Doctor explained, ear pressed to the floor.

"What is?"

Everything grew eerily quiet then.

"The banging stopped." Mack commented.

"Where's Elliot? Has anyone seen Elliot? Did he come in? Was he in when the door shut? Who counted him back in? Who saw him last?" Ambrose panicked and the Doctor's expression fell.

"I did." He muttered, realizing what had happened.

"Where is he?"

"He said he was going to get headphones." The Doctor breathed out, guilt sinking in on him as Ambrose grew angry with the Doctor.

"And you let him go? He was out there on his own."

_What have I done? _The Doctor lamented. _I was supposed to keep an eye on him. Alex _told_ me to watch him and I may have just let him get attacked by whatever's out there. Elliot's in danger and... it's all my fault._ Just then, there was shouting and a banging on the door; a familiar voice echoing through the church.

"Mum! Grandpa Tony! Let me in!"

"Elliot!" Ambrose rushed to the door, struggling to try and get it opened. "He's out there. Help me!"

The group began doing their best to get the door open, but it had warped again and was stuck firmly in place. They were doing everything they could, and when the door finally opened, they couldn't find him anywhere.

"Where is he?"

Mack switched on a torch as they looked around.

"He was here!" Ambrose panicked. "He was here... Elliot!"

She ran off to search as the Doctor called after her.

"Ambrose, don't go running off!"

He knew that there may still be something out there, and thankfully Mack chased after her. There was a blood-curdling scream though, and the others rushed after them as well, finding Ambrose helping Mack who seemed to be in pain.

"What happened?" The Doctor demanded.

"My dad's hurt."

"Get him into the church now." He ordered as Ambrose continued to panic at the situation.

"Elliot's gone. They've killed him, haven't they?"

"I don't think so. They've taken four people when they could've just killed them up here. There's still hope, Ambrose. Alex is down there and she'll make sure nothing will happen to him or Amy. Trust me. There is always hope." He said, trying to reassure her and himself.

"Then why have they taken him?"

"I don't know. I'll find Elliot, I promise. But first I've got to stop this attack. Please, get inside the church."

She helped her dad up and tugged him along. "Come on, dad."

"So what now?" Rory asked, worried.

The Doctor looked around for a second, before heading back up towards where the church was and donning a pair of sunglasses, that were actually _infra-red_ sunglasses. As he looked around though, he spotted a figure moving through the bushes and realization dawned on him.

"Cold blood. I know who they are." He sang quietly, before heading over to the van nearby and grabbing the fire extinguisher from inside as he whistled.

He caught sight of the figure in the reflection of the window heading towards him, and quickly ducked out of the way as they hit the van, before spraying them with the fire extinguisher. Rory, who he had stay in the back of the van until ready, jumped out and help the Doctor grab the flailing figure, shoving them into the van before the Doctor closed the doors and gave him a grin.

"We got it." Rory said, sounding a little shocked.

"Defending the planet with meals-on-wheels." The Doctor chuckled, before they went to high-five, only for the ground to rumble.

"W-What is that?"

"Sounds like they're leaving."

Rory looked over at him in confusion. "Without this one?"

The sky lightened up and Rory put a hand on the van as whatever was inside it tried to get out.

"Looks like we scared them off."

"I don't think so." The Doctor said, looking up at the sky. "Now, both sides have hostages."

* * *

I woke up with a grimace, opening my eyes a crack to see that I was in a glass container and I could hear someone nearby panicking.

"Let me out. Can anyone here me? I'm alive in here!"

"Amy..." I breathed out, clearing my throat a bit, before speaking louder. "Amy?! Is that you?!"

"Alex?! Alex, you're okay!"

"Course I'm okay." I drawled, though my hearts beat away in worry. "But I'm gonna kill the Doctor when I see him again. He was supposed to keep you safe."

"You can kill him after I do. Where are we?"

I winced, knowing that she wasn't going to like what I said next. "Well, underground and with a species of homo-reptilian aliens called the Silurians."

"Homo-what now?!"

"Lizard people!" I shouted, hearing her begin to panic once more.

"I know you're out there! My name is Amy Pond and you'd better get me the hell out of here or so help me, I am going to kick your backside!" She shouted, before adding a feeble plea. "Please?"

There was a 'shush' and I stiffened, realizing what was about to happen to Amy.

"Did you just shush me?" She asked and I quickly spoke up loudly.

"Amy! Amy, listen! I know you're going to get really scared right now, but the gas is harmless!"

"Gas? What ga—Ah! That gas!" She panicked and I groaned, pounding on the glass of my own coffin as it too filled up with the gas.

"Amy, I promise! I promise everything will be fine! It just gets rid of human bacteria!" I coughed out, feeling a burning start up in my lungs that made me wheeze.

I suddenly panicked then, remembering what had happened when the Doctor had gone through the decontamination process and worrying that the burning in my lungs was something bad.

"Stop!" I shouted, feeling the burning increase as I clutched at my shirt. "Please! I'm not human! I-I'm not entirely human! T-This could kill me!"

"You will be fine, ape." A voice said and I shook my head.

"N-No. My lungs. My lungs are burning. Please... Please, look at the scans... Two hearts. I-I'm not entirely human. Stop the g-gas..."

My vision started going dark at the edges, just as there was a beeping and the gas was emptied from the glass coffin I was in, but I had already begun to pass out, and everything went black once more.

* * *

The Doctor rushed out to where Rory was excitedly, after they had shut the alien in the crypt of the church.

"So, I think I've met these creatures before. Different branch of species, mind, but all the same. Let's see if our friend's thawed out."

"Are you sure?" Rory questioned as the Doctor headed in. "By yourself?"

"Very sure."

"But the sting?"

"Venom gland takes at least twenty four hours to recharge. Am I right?" He asked the figure hiding in the shadows, before turning back to Rory. "I know what I'd doing. I'll be fine."

He gave Rory a reassuring pat on the shoulder and the man left, before the Doctor headed down the steps and clapped the dirt off his hands as the figure moved slightly out of the shadows.

"I'm the Doctor. I've come to talk." He held his hands up in surrender as he spoke, meaning the creature no harm. "I'm going to remove your mask."

He knelt down face-to-face with the creature and hesitantly reached out, taking the mask off to reveal the Silurian hiding underneath.

"You are beautiful." He smiled, setting the mask down. "Though don't let my girlfriend hear me saying that. She'd probably hit me."

The Silurian eyed him cautiously as he went on.

"Remnant of a bygone age on planet Earth. And by the way, lovely mode of travel. Geothermal currents projecting you up through a network of tunnels." He kissed his fingers before standing. "Gorgeous. Mind if I sit? Now. Your people have some friends of mine and my girlfriend." The Doctor sat in a chair he pulled up and crossed his legs. "I want them back... Why did you come to the surface? What do you want?"

The Silurian said nothing and he groaned.

"Oh, I do hate a monologue. Give us a bit back. How many are you?"

"I am the last of my species." She lied, the Doctor easily catching on.

"Really? No. Last of the species. The Klempari Defense. Ha. As an interrogation defense, it's a bit old hat, I'm afraid."

"I'm the last of my species." She repeated, making the Doctor angry now.

"No. You're really not. Because I am the last of my species and I know how it sits in a heart. So don't insult me."

The Silurian shifted.

"Let's start again. Tell me your name."

"Alaya." She said.

"How long has your tribe been sleeping under the Earth, Alaya?.. It's not difficult to work out. You're three hundred million years out of your comfort zone. Question is, what woke you now?"

"We were attacked."

"The drill." The Doctor said, realizing what had happened.

"Our sensors detected a threat to our life support systems. The warrior class was activated to prevent the assault. We will wipe the vermin from the surface and reclaim our planet."

"Do we have to say vermin? They're really very nice."

"Primitive apes."

"Extraordinary species. You attack them, they'll fight back. But!" He pointed and slapped his hand down on his leg. "There's a peace to be brokered here... I can help you with that."

"This land is ours. We lived here _long_ before the apes."

"Doesn't give you automatic rights to it now, I'm afraid. Humans won't give up the planet."

"So we destroy them."

"You underestimate them."

"You underestimate us."

"One tribe of homo-reptilia against six billion humans? You've got your work cut out." The Doctor argued and Alaya stood up.

"We did not initiate combat, but we can still win."

"Tell me where my friends are... Give us back the people who were taken."

"No." She said defiantly.

The Doctor eyed her momentarily, before letting out a sigh and standing up as well. "I'm not going to let you provoke a war, Alaya. There'll be no battle here today." He said, putting his chair away.

"The fire of war is already lit. A massacre is due."

"Not while I'm here."

"I'll gladly _die_ for my cause. What will you sacrifice for yours?"

The Doctor gave her a bitter smile, before leaving and heading back up the stairs and into the church, already having prepared a plan, which he soon relayed to everyone else.

"You're gonna what?" Rory questioned.

"I'm going to go down below the surface to find the rest of the tribe, to talk to them."

"You're going to _negotiate_ with these aliens?" Ambrose questioned in disbelief.

"They're not aliens! They're Earth-liens. Once know as the Silurian race, or—some would argue—Eocenes, or Homo-Reptilia. Not monsters, not evil. Well, only as evil as you are." The Doctor got up from his beanbag chair and went on with his speech. "The previous owners of the planet, that's all. Look, from _their_ point of view, _you're_ the invaders. Your drill was threatening their settlement. Now, the creature in the crypt... Her name's Alaya. She's one of their warriors and she's my best bargaining chip. I need her alive. If she lives, so do Elliot and Mo, and Amy and Alex, because I _will_ find them." He looked at them all seriously. "While I'm gone, you four people, in this church, in this corner of planter Earth, you have to be the best of humanity."

"And what if they come back?" Mack asked. "Shouldn't we be examining this creature? Dissecting it? Finding it's weak points?"

"No dissecting, no examining. We return their hostage, they return ours, nobody gets harmed. We can land this together, if you are the best you can be." He pushed, trying to get them to understand. "You are decent... brilliant people. Nobody dies today. Understand?"

The group nodded and Nasreen actually clapped for a bit, before hesitantly stopping. As the Doctor headed towards the door though, he paused by Rory, eyeing Ambrose as he leaned close to speak with him.

"I want you to keep Ambrose away from Alaya."

"What? What for?" He asked and the Doctor kept him quiet.

"Because, Alex... Before she was taken, she was trying to give me hints. Hints to what could happen and things I could do to stop it. She told me to keep an eye on Elliot, because she knew he would be taken and I screwed that up, but she also told me to keep his mother away from the alien and I'm not about to let her warning go to waste, understand? Now, I can't be here to do that, so I'm going to need you to do that for me. Keep her _away_ from Alaya."

Rory glanced at Ambrose, before slowly nodding. "Alright. I'll keep her away from Alaya."

"Good man." The Doctor said, smiling a bit and patting him on the back, before heading out to where the Tardis was parked.

As he walked though, he heard the hurried footsteps of someone following him and he turned to find Nasreen behind him.

"No, sorry, no. What are you doing?" He questioned her, stopping her from entering the Tardis.

"Coming with you, of course. What is it? Some kind of transport pod?" She asked, gesturing to the Tardis.

"Sort of, but you're not coming with me." The Doctor argued.

"He's right. You're not." Mack said sternly, having followed after her.

"I have spent all my life excavating the layers of this planet, and now you want me to stand back while you head down into it? I don't think so."

The Doctor checked his watch. "I don't have time to argue."

"I thought we were in a rush." Nasreen quipped.

"It'll be dangerous." He said, giving in slightly.

"Oh, so's crossing the road."

"Oh, for goodness sake. Alright, then. Come on." The Doctor chirped, allowing her in as Mack and her had a few last words before she joined him.

Once she was inside with him, he spoke quickly, having no time for pleasantries.

"Welcome aboard the Tardis. Now, don't touch anything. Very precious."

"No way. But... But that's... This is fantastic. What does it do?"

"Everything. I'm hoping, if we're doing down, that barricade won't interfere!" He shouted the last bit as they were thrown off their feet. "Goodness, did you touch something?!"

"No! Isn't this what it does?!"

"I'm not doing anything! We've been hijacked! I can't stop it!" He fell back into the jump-seat. "They must've sensed the electromagnetic field." He checked his monitor then with a worried look. "They're pulling the Tardis down into the Earth."

The Tardis came to an abrupt halt and Nasreen and the Doctor fell to the floor. Slightly annoyed, Nasreen pulled the Doctor's suspender up and let it go, snapping it against his chest.

"Where are we?"

He smiled a bit, flopping back, before scrambling up with Nasreen and sticking a hand out the doors. Once he deemed it safe, he went out and looked around, letting out a long whistle as he looked up above the Tardis where a large hole lay.

"Looks like we fell through the bottom of their tunnel system. Don't suppose it was designed for handling something like this."

"How far down are we?"

"Oh, a lot farther than twenty one kilometers." He said, touching some of the roots sticking out of the ceiling.

"So, why aren't we burning alive?" Nasreen asked and the Doctor frowned.

"Don't know. Interesting, isn't it?"

Nasreen shook her head with a smile. "It's like this is everyday to you."

"Not every day. Every other day." He said, moving further down the tunnel system as Nasreen followed.

"We're looking for a small tribal settlement." He rambled. "Probably housing around a dozen Homo-Reptilia? Maybe less."

Nasreen had stopped though, sidetracking down another tunnel that led out into a more open area.

"One small tribe..." She muttered.

"Yeah."

"Maybe a dozen?" She said next, voice a little worried.

Sensing something was wrong, the Doctor joined her and his mouth dropped open in understanding.

"Ah..."

Down below them was a vast chamber with buildings and other networks and structures.

"Maybe more like an entire civilization, living beneath the Earth."

_Oh dear. Alex, we seemed to have gotten in way over our heads with this one. Hopefully your situation is a little less dire than ours is going to be._

* * *

**_Sneak Peak:_**

_"Alex. Alex, what are you doing?"_

_I ignored her and went on, my voice cracking slightly as Malohkeh moved towards me more. "I mean, I'm something completely new. My whole biology is changing right at this moment. I have_ two_ hearts even! What more could you wish for? I'm the only one of my kind anywhere in the universe too, I'll bet. You could be the first person to dissect a Human-Gallifreyan hybrid!"_

_ Malohkeh spoke once more to his recording device. "First human female dissection will be postponed. Commencing dissection of second human female."_

Doctor, where the heck are you?!


	35. Cold Blood

**here's the next chapter! it might not be the ending you were all hoping for, but it is definitely and intense chapter, so please let me know what you think! :)**

* * *

I woke up feeling more than a little tired, though one look at where I was had me bolting up only to not move very far thanks to the restraints on my wrists and ankles. I let out a groan and leaned my head back against the headrest of the examining table-like object I was strapped to, before looking to my left and seeing Amy strapped up as well. She hadn't yet woke, but I could see her fingers twitching at her side and knew that it wouldn't be long before she did wake.

"Amy. Amy, wake up." I said quietly, looking around for any sign of Malohkeh as she stirred. "Come on, Amy. I need to know you're alright or Rory's going to kill me."

She grunted a bit before opening her eyes, not seeing me yet as she yanked against the restraints in a panic.

"Don't struggle." A voice said, coming from just a bit past her and I leaned forward a bit to catch sight of Mo. "Close your eyes. Don't struggle."

"Amy. Amy, look at me."

Amy turned to face me and went to speak, but I silenced her.

"Do as he says, Amy."

She ignored me. "What? Where are we? Why can't I move my body?"

"I already told you where we are, Amy." I grumbled and she frowned at me before turning to Mo as he spoke.

"Decontamination, they call it." He explained. "They did it to me while I was conscious."

"Okay, you're freaking me out now. The both of you. Did what? Who did?"

"Amy, please." I begged, hearing footsteps heading our way. "You need to listen to me and close your eyes."

"Not until I get some answers."

"And I'll be happy to give them to you _after_ we get out of this." I argued, but she turned back to Mo.

"Did what?"

"Dissected me." He answered, looking down at his stomach where a red scar lay bare.

I sighed as I could already see Amy freaking out.

"No." She breathed out.

Mo turned to face the front. "He's coming. I'm sorry. I wish I could help you."

I grit my teeth, hating what I was about to do. "Amy, listen to me. I'll keep you safe, alright? I promise, I will keep you safe. An Alexander Holmes promise."

"B-But how?" She questioned, giving me a fearful and teary-eyed look.

I smiled softly back as Malohkeh headed our way, though my hearts beat away in my chest erratically and sweat began to roll down the back of my neck. "Trust me. I won't let anything happen to you."

Malohkeh moved towards Amy with a scalpel as she struggled and got angry.

"Don't you come near me with that."

Malohkeh pulled down his mask and turned on a recording device nearby. "From the clothing, the human female appears to be more resistant to the cold than the male."

"I dressed for Rio!" Amy complained, though I could hear the fear creeping into her voice as she struggled more.

Malohkeh used a circular device to tighten her restraints and I spoke up then.

"Oi! Malohkeh! That's your name, right?"

Malohkeh turned to me with a frown. "And how would you know that? I never told you."

I smirked, glad I had his attention off Amy and hoping that I could postpone anything from happening long enough for Malohkeh to get called away.

"I know all sorts of things. See, I'm what humans call a psychic. I can see the future."

He moved away from Amy and closer towards me. "Interesting. The second female is claiming to have strong mental abilities."

"I told you with the gas too, remember? I'm only _part_ human. Much more interesting than her." I said, nodding towards Amy, whose eyes widened as she started to see what I was doing.

"Alex. Alex, what are you doing?"

I ignored her and went on, my voice cracking slightly as Malohkeh moved towards me more. "I mean, I'm something completely new. My whole biology is changing right at this moment. I have _two_ hearts even! What more could you wish for? I'm the only one of my kind anywhere in the universe too, I'll bet. You could be the first person to dissect a Human-Gallifreyan hybrid!"

Malohkeh spoke once more to his recording device. "First human female dissection will be postponed. Commencing dissection of second human female."

_Doctor, where the heck are you?!_ I mentally questioned as Malohkeh approached me with the scalpel and Amy and Mo shouted behind him.

"Leave her alone! You've got me!"

"No! Don't you touch her! T-The Doctor! He'll stop you! He'll kill you if you hurt her!"

"A-Amy." I breathed out, feeling the scalpel cut through my shirt and into skin. "Amy, look away. Please."

I grit my teeth against the pain that Malohkeh was causing me as the scalpel sank deeper, my hands clenched into fists as a whimper escaped my throat and I felt my muscles go tight to fight against the restraints. But the whole process, I stayed as quiet as I could, knowing that I had stopped this from happening to Amy. That she was safe and that the Doctor was coming. That _I_ would be safe once this was all over. Then, I remembered Rory and what happened to him and my hearts sank as sadness mixed with the pain and a tear finally fell down my face as I apologized in quiet whispers as I clutched to the thin piece of fabric tucked away in my hand.

"I-I'm sorry, A-A-Amy. I'm s-so sorry."

"I-It's okay, Alex." I heard her say back, making me wearily open my eyes and turn my head to look at her beside me; glad to see her eyes closed though tears slipped down her face in a never-ending stream. "T-The Doctor will find us. He will. He has to."

I nodded slowly, grimacing as Malohkeh did something to my second heart. After that though, everything passed in sort of a blur. My mind was too fogged with pain and exhaustion to make sense of anything and my head lolled to my chest before an announcement cut through the fog.

"_Area seventeen incursion. Species diagnostic requested. Area seventeen incursion. Species diagnostic requested._"

My hearts skipped a beat and adrenaline pumped through my system as I quickly picked Malohkeh's pocket before he rushed out.

"Yeah. And stay out." Amy called out after him, before turning to me in worry. "Alex?"

I gave her a forced smile, knowing that it came out more as a grimace of pain than the comforting smile I wanted. "I-I'm okay. Hold on."

I fiddled with the circular key I'd snatched from Malohkeh, somehow unlocking my restraints, but collapsing to my knees the moment they were gone.

"Alex!"

I brought a hand over my abdomen, glad that Malohkeh had closed me up before he left, and forced myself to stand and move towards her and unlocking her restraints as well. Once she was out though, I had to lean against the bed she'd been strapped on as I panted and shoved the device into her hands.

"Take it. Get Mo out."

"But Alex—"

"Amy. There's no time."

She hesitated, but nodded, getting Mo out, who was pleasantly surprised.

"How'd you get that?"

"You never picked a lizard man's pocket?" She asked, making him let out a relieved chuckle, before she headed back towards where I was. "Come on. Before he gets back."

Between the two of them, they helped me walk down the hall as I battled with the pain left over from the dissection and Mo began to ask questions.

"That creature. Do you think it was an alien? Any more of them, you think? Do you think the Earth's been invaded?"

"Don't know." Amy said, giving me a worried look. "Alex? Can you tell us anything?"

"They're... Silurians." I breathed out. "Technically they were here before humans. Lived with the dinosaurs... There's a whole civilization here... The drilling... they thought it was an attack."

"Alright, alright. That's good, Alex." She said, worriedly. "We need to get back to the surface then."

I shook my head, hand tightening once more on the Doctor's bow-tie in my grip. "He's here. The Doctor..."

"Of course he is." She grumbled, before we came up to a door. "I wonder where this leads."

"Maybe it's a way out of here." Mo said encouragingly.

Amy put her hand on the screen and the door lit up as Mo approached the small viewing window; leaving me leaning against a wall.

"Oh my God, no." He breathed out, trying to open the door.

"What is it?"

"It's my son. It's Elliot. What've they done to him? He's in there. We have to get him out. Elliot? Elliot, it's dad!"

"Mo." I said as loudly as I could, but I had to repeat myself even louder. "Mo! Argh!"

I doubled over in the pain my shouting had caused, but had got his attention.

"It's fine. They haven't d-done anything to him."

"And how would you know?!" He argued, not thinking rationally with his son in danger.

Thankfully, Amy spoke for me as she helped me up. "Like she told that lizard man. She's sort of psychic. Trust me. She knows what she's talking about."

"The monitor." I breathed out between wheezes.

She nodded and hurried over to said object, pointing out to Mo what I wanted her to see.

"These screens, they're monitoring something. I think they're vital signs. Heartbeats, pulses. Why else would he be wired up? He's still alive."

"Alright. We find weapons. Get that creature from the lab and force it to release Elliot, yeah?"

I sighed, already knowing it wasn't going to work, but having run out of energy to argue with them.

"Yeah. Trust me. We'll get him out."

* * *

The Doctor shouted in pain as he was being scanned, Malohkeh eyeing him in slight worry as he remembered the other female human who had screamed in a similar manner upon being decontaminated, claiming to be non-human. And, from what he saw during her dissection, she _wasn't_ human, as she said. This made him wonder if this man was also similar to her and if he should skip the decontamination process as he'd done for the hybrid species.

"How can they have escaped?" Restac demanded to know from him, since he had to inform her of the three escapees. "This proves all prisoners should remain under military guard."

"I'm sure you'd prefer to be in charge of everything and everyone, Restac, but we rank the same... Is there any word from Alaya?"

"No."

"It's fine to show concern, you know. She's part of your gene-chain." He said, moving over towards the machine console. "I'm decontaminating now."

"Decontaminating? No, no, no." The Doctor begged, and Malohkeh stopped, giving the man a curious look.

"You... Could you be like the other human who was here? The hybrid?"

"Hybrid?" The Doctor questioned and Malohkeh nodded, though Restac was getting impatient.

"Stop talking to him and start the process."

Malohkeh held a hand up, silencing her. "No, if he is like the last one, then the decontamination process could possibly kill him."

"What?" The Doctor breathed out, Malohkeh's words sending a wave of worry through him. "Last one? Who was the last one? Um... describe them!"

"A female hybrid. The examination showed she had two hearts and she claimed that the decontamination gas could possibly kill her, so I stopped." Malohkeh looked at the scans he had of the Doctor. "You as well. You have two hearts."

"Alex..." The Doctor breathed out, unconcerned about himself for now as he strained against the restraints binding him. "What did you do to her?! What happened to Alex?!"

Malohkeh frowned in curiosity, moving away from the controls and going to scan Nasreen as she awoke.

"Oh, a green man." She breathed out in surprise, as Malohkeh explained.

"Escaped, with the other two specimens."

"_Malohkeh_." Restac hissed out, scolding him for giving away information and the Doctor let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank goodness. I'm the Doctor, by the way. That's Nasreen. Hello. Who are you?"

"Restac." The Silurian before him responded. "Military commander."

"Oh dear. Really? There's always a military, isn't there?"

"Your weapon was attacking the oxygen pockets above our city." Malohkeh said.

"Oxygen pockets, lovely. Ooh, but not so good with an impending drill. Now it makes sense."

"Where is the rest of your invasion force?" Restac demanded to know.

"Invasion force. Me and lovely Nasreen? No. We came for the humans you took. And... to offer the safe return of Alaya. Oh wait. You and she. What was it? Same genetic source? Of course you're worried, but don't be. She's safe."

"You claim to come in peace, but you hold one of us hostage."

"Wait, wait. We all want the same thing here." The Doctor said as Restac gave a signal for her soldiers to move in.

"I don't negotiate with apes." Restac turned to Malohkeh. "I'm going to send a clear message to those on the surface."

"What's that?"

"Your execution." She told him, making him sigh as the soldiers hoisted him and Nasreen down.

"Yes."

Once down, they were led by the military group through the tunnels as the Doctor spoke quietly to Nasreen beside him.

"These must be the only ones awake. The others must still be in hibernation."

"So, why did they go into hibernation in the first place?"

"Their astronomers predicted the planet heading to Earth on a crash course. They a built life underground and put themselves to sleep for millennia in order to avert what they thought was the apocalypse, when in reality it was the moon coming into alignment with the Earth."

Restac stopped and turned towards him in surprise as Malohkeh spoke.

"How can you know that? Are you like the hybrid? Do you have mental powers as well?"

"Oh no. She's special... But a long time ago, I met another tribe of Homo-Reptilia. Similar, but not identical." The Doctor explained.

"Others of our species have survived?" Restac questioned, shocked and hopeful.

The Doctor hesitated though, expression falling. "The humans attacked them. They died. I'm sorry."

"A _vermin_ race." Restac hissed, before they were moving again.

"You're not authorized to do this." Malohkeh argued with Restac as they entered a large meeting hall of some kind.

"I'm authorized to protect the safety of our species while they sleep." She hissed back.

"Ooh, lovely place." The Doctor complimented. "Very gleaming."

"This is our court and our place of execution." Restac said threateningly, before there were footsteps and someone came out from another entryway.

"Let them go." Amy said, wielding one of the Silurian weapons and making Restac hiss at her.

"Amy Pond." The Doctor said with a slight smile. "There's a girl to rely on."

A second person entered, helping a third along to the wall, before moving away and aiming _his_ stolen weapon as Amy smirked.

"You're covered both ways, so don't try anything clever, buster."

"Mo." Nasreen said with a smile, glad to see the man, though the Doctor's eyes shifted to the third figure as his grin grew even wider.

"And Alex! Oh, the gang's all here! Well, nearly, anyway."

Amy spoke up again, ignoring him. "Now let them go, or I shoot."

Restac moved a little closer, but the Doctor's eyes were still on Alex, his smile shifting to a frown as he saw the way she was holding herself and how her breathing was off. _Something's wrong._

"I'm warning you." Amy said, bringing his attention back to her as Restac quickly and easily disarmed her and threw her to the ground.

"Don't you touch her!" The Doctor shouted as Restac aimed her gun towards Mo.

"And you."

Seeing no other choice, Mo allowed his weapon to be taken away as Malohkeh held up his hands.

"Alright, Restac. You've made your point." He said sternly as the soldiers moved Alex and Mo towards the Doctor and Nasreen.

Restac lowered the weapon and approached him, getting in his face. "This is now a military tribunal. Go back to your laboratory, Malohkeh."

A soldier prodded him in the back and he turned to Restac and hissed at her as she did the same back.

"This isn't the way." He said, allowing the soldiers to lead him towards the door, but not before the Doctor grabbed his arm and snarled at him.

"What did you do to Alex?"

"Doctor... it's fine." Alex protested as the soldiers aimed their weapons at him, but he went on, grabbing the man by his shirt violently as he snapped viciously at him.

"You tell me what you did right now!"

The Silurians in the room stiffened when they got a look at his expression, some of the soldiers even lowering their weapons, because this man was more than just furious and the room seemed to drop twenty degrees as Malohkeh spoke shakily.

"I-In order to find what had changed with humans, it was mandatory that I perform a dissection to—"

The Doctor cut him off before he could get any further in trying to justify his actions. "You dissected her?"

"Yes." Malohkeh muttered, voice soft as he bowed his head slightly in guilt.

"You _dissected_ someone I love because of scientific reasons?!" He shouted, making Malohkeh flinch back as he raged on. "You _tortured _her! Nearly _killed_ her!"

"Doctor." Alex breathed out from behind him, but he couldn't hear her over the fury pounding through his head.

The Doctor's hands were white with how tightly they gripped Malohkeh's collar, choking off his air supply as the Doctor continued to shout at the man.

"You have no _idea_ what kind of torture she's been through and you went and put her through more?! You went and cut her open because you had some stupid theory you needed tested?! What has she ever done to you?! She's willing to risk everything she has to make sure people like you are still allowed to live despite everything you do, but not today. Oh no." He snarled. "Today _I'm_ going to make sure you get taken care of personally."

Before he could so much as attempt to attack Malohkeh, he was yanked away from the man and punched solidly in the jaw; knocking him back onto the ground in surprise as Alex huffed above him with a glare just as intimating as his own.

"A-Alex?"

"Y-You... You giant, idiotic, childish moron!" She shouted, making him wince as the Silurians stared on in shock that someone as hurt and scrawny as Alex would attack someone who was ready to kill on her behalf. "What do you think you're trying to do, huh?! You're the Doctor! Did you forget what that means?! You were about to _attack_ someone! For what?! Because I got a little hurt?! I—" Her voice cracked suddenly and the Doctor felt his entire body flood with guilt. "What am I supposed to think, knowing that you'd give up everything you stand for... that you'd _kill_ someone because of me?"

"Alex, I-I would never—" He cut himself off this time, knowing that he nearly _had_ done just that right now.

He had nearly ripped Malohkeh limb from limb without even thinking of how that would effect Alex. How she would blame herself, how she would look at him afterwards. He wasn't _even_ thinking. Upon seeing Alex hurt like that, he'd lost all sense of everything. He could only feel hatred and rage towards the person who'd caused her pain. And now... he'd hurt her himself.

"I-I'm sorry, Alex. I'm so, _so_ sorry." He apologize, bowing his head and Alex sighed quietly.

"I'm not the one you nearly strangled."

The Doctor turned to Malohkeh guiltily. "Sorry."

"No, it's... it's alright. I, um, I would've done the same, I think." The Silurian muttered, eyeing the two in fascination at their relationship.

"Doctor."

The Doctor turned back toward Alex, worried about facing her and seeing her expression, but a familiar piece of fabric dangled in front of him instead, making his eyes snap up to Alex as she smiled a bit.

"Get up and put your ridiculous bow-tie on."

He smiled a little as well and took the fabric from her, noticing how wrinkled it was and feeling his hearts beat wildly in his chest as anger tried to rear it's ugly head back up at the thought of her clinging to the bow-tie through her torture. Alex, seeing this, groaned quietly.

"Doctor, I swear, if you don't get up right now I _will_ collapse."

His eyes quickly snapped up to hers, seeing now just how much pain she was in after scolding him, and he pushed himself up off the ground and wrapped an arm around her waist in support as she sank into his side tiredly.

"I'm sorry." He murmured, feeling as though it was his fault she was in this much pain.

She frowned though, giving him an annoyed look. "Shut up. We're about to be executed, you know."

"Right..." He grumbled, remembering only now, the situation they were all in.

Snapping herself back to the present, Restac nodded to the soldiers to finish taking Malohkeh out and gave the remaining ones their orders.

"Prepare them for execution."

Amy was chained to one pole as the Doctor and Alex were chained to another; the Silurians allowing Alex to sit on the floor now that she could hardly hold herself up anymore.

"Okay. Sorry. As far as rescues go, didn't live up to its potential." Amy commented and Alex snorted with a wince.

"I'm glad you're both okay." The Doctor commented, glancing down at Alex with a grimace. "Mostly, anyway."

"Me too." Amy said as Mo was pushed past and chained to Amy's pole. "Lizard men, though?"

"Homo-Reptilia." The Doctor corrected. "They occupied the planet before humans. Now they want it back."

"After they've wiped out the human race." Nasreen commented, being chained to the Doctor's pole.

"Told you." Alex grumbled.

"Right. Preferred it when I didn't know, to be honest." Amy said, giving Alex a worried look as the woman panted quietly. "Are you sure you're doing alright, Alex?"

"F-Fine. I'll be better when this is over, thanks."

The Doctor though, became even more worried because even in his standing position, he could see the thin sheet of sweat on Alex's forehead and how her hair stuck to her face. Not only that, but her breathing pattern was a bit off and he could see a bit of fresh blood staining the remnants of her shirt; making him think she tore some of her wound open when she argued with him earlier.

"Why are they waiting?" Nasreen asked. "What do you think they're going to do with us?"

"You _really_ don't want to know." Alex muttered, worrying the group before she forced a smile on her face. "If we're lucky though, we've got someone on our side. Might stop this before it gets going."

Her expression fell then and she winced as—the Doctor assumed—she remembered something.

"Please tell me you told Rory about Ambrose." She muttered to him and he nodded.

"I did."

Alex relaxed a little, though the Doctor could tell that she wasn't entirely relieved. "Then let's hope nothing happened."

"Who is the ape leader?" Restac asked, speaking to a holographic image of Rory, Mack, and Ambrose. "Who speaks for the apes?"

Rory stepped forward "_I speak for the... humans. Some of us, anyway._"

"Do you understand who we are?" Restac asked.

"_Sort of. A bit. Not really._"

Restac hardly seemed to care. "We have ape hostages."

Rory caught sight of the group chained to the poles. "_Doctor! Alex! Amy!_"

Mack and Ambrose moved closer as well.

"_Mo! Mo, are you okay?_"

"I'm fine, love." Mo replied. "I found Elliot. I'm bringing him home."

Ambrose let out a soft cry as Rory spoke. "_Amy, I thought I'd lost you._"

"What? Because I was sucked into the ground? You're so clingy." Amy said, making Alex scoff.

"Says the one who cried out for him as she was sinking."

"Oi! Shut it." Amy scolded her, face turning a light pink before Nasreen called out as well.

"Tony Mack!"

"_Having fun down there?_"

"Ah, not to interrupt..." The Doctor said, cutting the others off. "...but just a quick reminder to stay calm."

"Show me Alaya." Restac demanded and the Doctor looked down at his feet as Alex forced herself to sit up a bit.

Rory and the others hesitated and when Alex's expression slipped into a more somber one, the Doctor knew something had gone wrong.

"Show me, and release her immediately unharmed, or we will kill your friends one by one." Restac said, getting angry at this point.

"_No_." Ambrose said sternly and Rory frowned.

"_Ambrose._"

"Steady now, everyone." The Doctor said, hoping to keep the tension from rising any more.

"_Ambrose, stop it._" Mack said, pulling her away, but she struggled and pulled herself from his grip.

"_Get off me, dad._" She turned back to the screen. "_We didn't start this._"

"Let Rory deal with this, Ambrose. Eh?" The Doctor said, unease worming it's way into his stomach.

"_We are not doing what you say anymore. Now, give me back my family._" Ambrose demanded and Alex glared up at the screen.

"No." Restac said after a pause. "Execute the girl."

Rory panicked as Amy was taken off the post. "_No! No, wait! She's not speaking for us!_"

"Rory!"

"There's no need for this!" The Doctor argued.

"_Listen, listen! Whatever you want, we'll do it._" Rory begged, but Restac wasn't listening.

"Aim."

"_Amy!_"

"Rory!"

"Don't do this!" The Doctor shouted.

"_No!_"

The screen cut off then just as Restac shouted 'fire' only for someone to walk through the entrance and stop them.

"Stop!"

All eyes went to the Silurian standing there, a more regal man in robes walking over towards Restac with Malohkeh as he scolded Restac.

"You want to start a war while the rest of us sleep, Restac?"

"The apes are attacking us." She snipped.

"You're our protector, not our commander, Restac. Unchain them." The Silurian ordered, but Restac was resilient.

"I do not recognize your authority at this time, Eldane."

"Well then, you must shoot me." He said, shrugging, and Restac hissed in annoyance before stomping to Malohkeh angrily.

"You woke him to undermine me."

"We're not monsters." Malohkeh said calmly. "And neither are they."

"What is it about apes you love so much, hm?"

"While you slept, they've evolved. I've seen it for myself."

"We used to hunt apes for _sport_." She argued. "When we came underground, they bred and polluted the planet."

"Shush now, Restac. Go and play soldiers. I'll let you know if I need you." Eldane said as Malohkeh walked past her.

"You'll need me. Then we'll see." She snipped at the man before leaving; Malohkeh heading for the Doctor and Alex as the group were unchained from the posts.

"Are you alright?" He asked the two of them, sheepishly. "And... I am sorry for what I have done."

Alex half-heartedly waved her hand, forcing a pained smile on her face. "It's fine. I-I saw it coming, so I suppose I should've talked you out of it a bit better. Ngh."

She grimaced, bringing a hand across her abdomen as the Doctor was finally released and hurried to kneel in front of her in worry. Once there, he cautiously pulled aside the edge of her shirt; being careful not to reveal more than he should as he took in the fresh pink wound trailing down from her sternum to her navel that was bleeding slightly. He gently brushed his fingers over her skin beside the wound, but even then, Alex let out a hiss of pain and smacked him on the shoulder weakly.

"D-Don't _touch_ it, you moron! It _hurts_!"

"Sorry." He muttered, beginning to shrug off his coat to cover her a bit better. "I'm so sorry, Alexander."

Alex rolled her eyes, giving Malohkeh a look. "Can you believe him? Thinks everything's his fault all the time."

Malohkeh couldn't help but smile a little. Not only was he glad that Alex held no hard feelings towards him like the Doctor did, but through watching this interaction between her and the Doctor, he was getting a better understanding of how these people weren't much different from the Silurians in the room. Their relationship with one another was very interesting to watch, especially how they both seemed to interact with the other using playful arguments and subtle movements of kindness. As curious as he was to see them interact more, however, the Doctor was quick to end it by helping Alex up off the ground and onto the bench nearby to rest before he got into contact with the surface.

"Rory! Hello!" The Doctor said with a grin as the connection finally went through.

"_Where's Amy?_" He demanded and the Doctor pointed.

"She's fine. Look. There she is."

"_Oh, thank God._" He breathed out in relief.

"Keeping you on your toes." Amy chimed, though she had been rather scared herself.

"_And Alex?_" Rory asked, before he spotted her in the background, not looking too good. "_Is she okay?_"

"J-Just a bit of dissection." Alex breathed out, forcing another grin on her face, before she grimaced. "N-N-Nothing to worry about."

"_A bit of what?!_"

Rory, despite all the trouble he'd gone through with the Doctor and her, actually rather cared for Alex. She always seemed to back him up even when Amy was being rude or the Doctor was causing trouble. Sure, she often teased him and called him a Roman—for some odd reason—but the two of them got along pretty well and had become close friends in the time they'd gotten to know each other. So seeing her in the shape she was in now had him really worried; _especially_ after what she'd said. The Doctor though, quickly diverted the subject, hoping to get Alex back to the Tardis to get checked out as soon as he could.

"No time to chat. Listen, you need to get down here. Go to the drill storeroom. There's a large patch of earth in the middle of the floor. The Silurians are going to send up transport discs to bring you back down using geothermal energy and gravity bubble technology. It's how they travel and frankly, it's pretty cool. Bring Alaya. We hand her over, we can land this after all. All going to work, promise. Got to dash. Hurry up."

He cut off the connection and turned to Alex in worry, heading back to her side and brushing some of the hair stuck to her forehead in sweat.

"How are you holding up, Alex?"

"B-Been better. An aspirin would be nice, but—Ngh." She cringed, curling up on herself a bit. "A-Are dissections supposed to h-hurt this much?"

"It's possible that he may have disrupted your biological cycle." The Doctor said quietly, kissing her forehead. "So it will hurt until your body figures out what it needs to do and _should_ go about trying to fix it. Think of it as an infant catching a cold."

"O-Oh, so I'm a baby now?" She snipped, making the Doctor smile a bit; because as long as she was joking and arguing, he knew that she was alright.

"You know that's not what I meant. But because your biology was in the middle of changing things, having someone poking around in there may have introduced some new bacteria that you're body is going to have to go through to figure out which is good and which should be gotten rid of. That being said, it's going to hurt."

She let out a soft sigh, wincing again slightly before she looked at him with a sorrowful look. One that the Doctor didn't like. _It's never good when she looks at me like that._

"What is it?" He asked, cautiously.

She glanced down briefly. "Things aren't going to go well. Not at all and... I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do."

He could see how broken up Alex was about whatever she knew would happen and the way she wasn't meeting his gaze let him know that she hadn't had the best of trips with him lately.

"Alex?"

She looked towards him hesitantly and he smiled comfortingly.

"It's fine. Because it all turns out alright in the end, right?" He saw her hesitate and worry settled in his stomach as he realized that the end of this adventure wouldn't exactly be a pleasant one. "Even if the end of this one isn't good... it will all work out later, won't it?"

She nodded slightly and he felt his small smile return before he leaned in and kissed her briefly.

"Then let's focus on that. Focus on that and what's happening now. And _rest_, Alexander."

His fingers brushed her temples and she let out a soft sigh as she fell asleep and he laid her down on the bench carefully. He knew that she was probably going to be a bit upset that he did that later, but for now he needed her to relax and she wasn't going to be doing that so long as she was awake worrying about upcoming events. _Back to business._

* * *

I woke up with a start, sitting up and gasping for air, only for someone to attempt to push me back.

"Alex. Alex, calm down. It's alright. You're fine." The Doctor said, myself grabbing my stomach as pain raced up my spine. "Did you have a nightmare or something?" He asked, confused as to why I shot up upon awaking.

"M-Malohkeh. Where' s Malohkeh?" I asked and the Doctor gave me a strange look.

"He said he'd catch up." He smiled then, hoping to lift her spirits. "But guess what? Plans are going good and the transport system just arrived."

"No." I breathed out, trying to pull myself up into a standing position; though the Doctor tried to stop me. "N-No, you don't understand." I quickly rounded on him, angry. "Why did you knock me out?!"

He stood up as well, looking confused as I pulled a hand through my hair. "_Because_, you needed your rest. You were dissected, Alex!"

The pain in my stomach was making my head spin, and I knew that I wasn't thinking rationally, but that didn't stop me from snapping.

"I could have saved him!" I shouted, rounding on the Doctor who took a slight step back in shock, before rushing to catch me as I doubled over in pain.

"Alex? Alex, save who?" He asked as I tried to calm down and get my head in order. "Everyone's here. Everyone's safe."

"M-Malohkeh." I breathed out. "Restac, she—"

"Mum!"

I was cut off as Elliot shouted and ran to his mother as Amy called out to Rory as well. The Doctor turned to them as he helped me stand, and quickly caught sight of the bundle that Mack was carrying.

"Oh no..." He breathed out as I clung to his side.

"I'm sorry." I whispered as Amy stepped forward.

"Doctor, what's he carrying?"

"No. Don't do this. _Tell_ me you didn't do this." He said as Mack laid the body on the floor and the two of us approached; the Doctor revealing the body to be Alaya's. "What did you do?"

"It was me." Ambrose said and I lifted my head to glare at the woman who seemed to be almost _proud_ of what she'd done. "I did it."

"Mum..." Elliot murmured and she grabbed his shoulders.

"I just wanted you back."

Elliot pushed away from her and joined his father over with the rest of us; the whole room seeming to be against what Ambrose had done. The Doctor—upon making sure I could stand by myself—went over to Eldane.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. You have to believe me, they're better than this."

"This is our planet!" Ambrose said loudly and I quickly snapped at her.

"Shut up!"

She flinched, but went silent as I clutched my abdomen a little tighter at the strain.

The Doctor turned to her as well. "We had a chance here." He stormed up to her and got in her face; her body practically stiff in fear at his gaze. "In the future, when you talk about his, you tell people there was a chance but you were _so_ _much_ _less_ than the best of humanity." He snarled, before Restac and her soldiers entered the room; surrounding us.

"My sister." Restac demanded, before taking notice of the bundle on the ground.

She knelt down to it and lifted the blanket to reveal her sister's body and let out a wail that made my hearts ache.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, _so_ sorry." I apologized, hearts breaking at the sight of her mourning and seeing the hurt and anger in her eyes as she turned her gaze to me.

The Doctor knew what I really meant though, and frowned as he stepped over, grabbing my wrist firmly.

"Alex, this isn't your fault."

I shook my head, pulling away from him slightly as I pressed a hand to my forehead; the drums beginning to sound up again with the pain and torrent of emotions battling in my head.

"It is. I wasn't there. I didn't _physically_ do this to her, but it must be. It _has _to be my fault. I knew it would happen. I _knew_. I-I didn't try hard enough. I couldn't save her. I couldn't save her _or_ Malohkeh." I cried, feeling tears slip down my face as I covered my mouth with my hand. "I'm so sorry. Y-You lost your sister. I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean... I didn't want this to happen. Not to anyone else."

The Doctor came over and hugged me against his chest, brushing a hand through my hair as he attempted to comfort me in the tense situation. I felt pain welling up then and grew even more upset that I was about to pop off, because now the Doctor would have to bear this burden alone. He would have to watch Rory get pulled into the crack and watch Amy forget about him, and the Doctor would be the only one having to hold onto that. I let out a gasp of pain—the ache combining with my stomach—and felt my legs give out; the Doctor calling out to me worriedly as he helped lower me to the floor.

"Alex? Hold on, Alex. It's going to hurt. Probably more than usual, given the situation."

I shook my head, unable to hold back the whimper that escaped my throat before I spoke. "Rory..."

"What?" He questioned, sounding surprised.

"He'll be fine. I-I promise... Not right away, but... he'll be okay."

The Doctor shook his head, entirely confused. "That's great. I'm glad Rory will be fine, but it's _you_ I'm worried about."

"What?" Rory said, having heard us. "How did I get dragged into this conversation?"

"Oh, shut it." Amy said, hitting him as I managed a slight chuckle, turning to the Doctor once more with a small smile.

"See you later... or earlier."

He chuckled as well. "Still able to manage a joke, I see." He kissed my forehead gently. "I'll see you."

I gave one last look at Restac then, catching her surprised look as I mouthed an apology once more and disappeared in a flash of gold light.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_ Once Alex had been safely treated for any diseases she may have picked up and her wound was cleaned, the Twelfth Doctor moved her into the Zero Room where she could sleep and have the rest of her wound heal without him having to worry about her moving around too early. _The Tardis will allow her to wake as soon as her wound is healed._ The Doctor mused as he sighed, his eyes focused on the silver wedding band on his finger. _She'll be fine. So stop worrying._ He scolded himself, before going back to what he had been thinking about before the Tardis had brought Alex to his attention._

_ "Question. Why do we talk out loud when we know..." He blew out the candle he'd picked up. "...we're alone?"_


	36. Listen

**Here's the next chapter! Sorry that I updated so late, I got dragged into grocery shopping for two hours thanks to my siblings. But here it is :) Hope you all like it and a big thanks to my reviewers! I'm glad you all like Alex's character so much.**

* * *

I landed in my bedroom in the Tardis and immediately fell to the ground in agonizing pain. I couldn't catch my breath and I could feel something warm slipping through my fingers that were wrapped around my abdomen. Shakily pulling my hand away, I grimaced at the blood on it and tried to slow my breathing down so I wouldn't reopen my wound any more than it already was. The Tardis hummed worriedly over me and I struggled to try and move myself towards the door. My legs wouldn't cooperate though and every movement either sent a wave of pain up my body, or made the room spin. I could already see black spots in the corner of my vision and panic settled in as I realized that I had no idea which Doctor I was with or if he was even on board. I could bleed to death here if I passed out and no one found me.

Tears pricked the corner of my eyes as I realized I might just die alone, and I called out quietly; unable to get enough air in my lungs to call louder.

"D-Doctor... Please... Doctor."

The Tardis made another worried hum and I mentally smacked myself as I shifted my gaze to the ceiling.

"G-Get the Doctor... Sexy... P-Please... I-I need... the Doctor..."

There was a bell that chimed and I felt myself starting to slow down. My head felt light due to the pain and I had no idea how much time had passed, before I caught the sound of footsteps heading this way and an angry Scottish accent echoing through my door from the hall.

"Alright, alright! I'm going! Where are you leading me any...way..."

The voice trailed off, before the footsteps became more rushed and my door opened, to reveal the Twelfth Doctor standing there in shock.

"D-Doc—" I couldn't even finish what I was saying as I whimpered in pain and clenched my eyes shut.

Next thing I know, I was picked up and being carried somewhere; the Doctor having grabbed me too quickly for my body to register any pain.

"Always getting into trouble." He snapped. "_Always_. Why can't you just do something safe for once? Go do... human things. Do dishes, eat cereal, _shopping _if you must."

He was angry with me. I could tell that much, even in my pain induced haze, but I couldn't even gather up enough energy to argue or joke back.

"Oh, Alexander." He grumbled quietly, voice full of worry before we finally reached the med bay and he laid me down as gently as he could onto a table.

It wasn't entirely pain free and I couldn't help the grunt that escaped my throat as I tried to curl up into a ball and the Doctor began preparing something.

"Alex, I'm going to have to put you to sleep for a while, okay?" He said and I nodded slightly as he brushed back some hair from my neck. "It will hurt, but bare with me."

Something practically stabbed into my neck and I grit my teeth against the pain as something was injected into me, before the feeling was gone and I felt every muscle in my body beginning to relax. My eyes slowly shifted to the Doctor's, but his figure was already going blurry and I missed what he said to me as my eyelids slipped closed and I was gone.

* * *

Once Alex had been safely treated for any diseases she may have picked up and her wound was cleaned, the Twelfth Doctor moved her into the Zero Room where she could sleep and have the rest of her wound heal without him having to worry about her moving around too early. _The Tardis will allow her to wake as soon as her wound is healed._ The Doctor mused as he sighed, his eyes focused on the silver wedding band on his finger. _She'll be fine. So stop worrying._ He scolded himself, before going back to what he had been thinking about before the Tardis had brought Alex to his attention.

"Question. Why do we talk out loud when we know..." He blew out the candle he'd picked up. "...we're alone?" He asked to no one. "Conjecture. Because we know we're not."

He put the candle away and, mind buzzing, went over to a dark green chalkboard and picked up the piece of chalk as he thought.

"Evolution perfects survival skills." He said, writing on the board, remembering the trips he'd gone on earlier; not long after he'd put Alex in the Zero Room. "There are perfect hunters."

His first had been in the wild plains of Africa, where he had watched a lioness take down a wildebeest. He wrote down the word 'hunting' beside a number one and went to the next one.

"There is perfect defense."

His second trip had been to the bottom of the ocean, where he'd seen a puffer fish display it's skills; causing him to write 'defense' beside a number two.

"Question. Why is there no such thing as perfect hiding?" He wrote 'hiding' next to a number three and put a question mark beside it. "Answer. How would you know?"

He moved the chalk board upstairs to the second level, where he had a book lying open, continuing to speak out loud.

"Logically, if evolution were to perfect a creature whose primary skill were to hide from view, how could you know it existed?" He tossed the piece of chalk into the crook of the open book. "I could be with us every second and we would never know. How would you detect it? Even _sense_ it? Except in those moments when, for no clear reason, you choose to speak out loud."

He went quiet for a moment, turning away from the chalk board to pace and wringing his hands.

"What would such a creature want? What would it do?" He leaned on the railing. "Well?! What would you do?!"

His last word echoed through the Tardis and he chuckled, before moving to grab his chalk, only to find it not where he'd left it. Instead, it rolled along the floor at his feet and he picked it up in confusion, before catching sight of the single word on the chalk board.

_'Listen'_

A jolt of something bolted through him, and he refused to believe that it was fear as he bounded downstairs and began setting coordinates into the Tardis console. He paused though, turning to the monitor nearby that was displaying Alex's vital signs and her progress. _Good. She's healing up quickly, probably thanks to the Artron energy. She was still in the middle of changing, so it's more than ready to combat something like a dissection. _He winced. _Though I don't recommend she does something like that again._ At that thought, however, he couldn't help but sigh and push the monitor away.

"Not that I could stop her from putting herself into danger. That woman is more stubborn than an Capranom." He grumbled, before setting the Tardis off to Clara's home; being sure to land in her bedroom since she was out on a date.

Once there, he walked out and sat down at Clara's vanity, contemplating Alex and the mystery he was considering earlier as he waited for her to return from her date. Oddly enough, he was only waiting for an hour before he heard the front door open and close. He didn't move though, even as Clara tried to enter her bedroom, only for her door to hit the side of the Tardis with a 'thunk'.

"You just have to squeeze through." He commented, idly.

"Doctor?" She said in confusion, maneuvering herself between her door and the wall to get into her bedroom.

"Why do you have three mirrors?" He questioned with a frown. "Why don't you just turn your head?"

"What are you doing in here?" Clara said, in no mood to deal with him after the date she'd just had; much less why he was in her bedroom instead of the front room like usual.

"You said you had a date. I thought I'd better hide in the bedroom in case you brought him home. Alex would get upset if I didn't at least _attempt_ to care." He rambled with a roll of his eyes. "Bit early, aren't you? Did it all go wrong? Or is this good, by your standards?"

"It was a disaster and I am extremely upset about it, since you didn't ask." Clara said, flopping down on her bed dejectedly. "And where _is_ Alex, anyway? You made it sound like she was here, but I don't see her."

The Doctor grimaced a bit, mentally berating himself for his slip up. "She's a bit preoccupied at the moment. Had a bit of an incident last jump and is... recuperating."

Clara immediately sat up, worried. "Is she okay?"

"Yes, yes. Course she's okay." The Doctor waved off, getting up and heading towards the Tardis. "More importantly, I need you. For a thing."

Clara flopped back down. "I can't."

"Oh, of course you can. Come on, you're free. More than usually free, in fact."

She sat up once more, but kept her eyes on her phone. "No, it's just possible that I might get a phone call."

"From the date guy? It's too late. You've taken your make-up off."

"No, I haven't. I'm still wearing my make-up." Clara said in disbelief at how rude the Doctor could be when it was obvious she was still upset.

"Oh, right. Well, you probably just missed a bit. Come on, come on, come on, come on." He said quickly as he walked into the Tardis, and right into Alex. "Ah! You're up!"

Alex frowned at him as Clara walked in, taking a good look at Alex and wincing slightly at how ragged the woman appeared.

"What? Did you think I wouldn't get up because you left me floating in the Zero Room? Please." Alex leaned over and spotted Clara then, but immediately sensed that the woman was upset and glared at the Doctor as she pointed at her. "What did you do to upset Clara this time? Were you being rude again?"

"I didn't do anything!" He said with a pout and Clara couldn't help but smile a little.

"Oh right, like I'd believe that." Alex said, eyes softening as she looked at Clara. "You alright?"

Clara nodded, though she felt anything but alright. "Yeah. I'm fine and it's not his fault. Things just... didn't go well on my date."

"Oh, you mean with—" Alex quickly cut herself off, giving the Doctor a glance as the man went to the Tardis console, and moving closer to Clara as she spoke softer. "You haven't introduced them yet, have you."

Clara frowned. "Um, _no_. It's only the first date." Her face quickly fell. "Things didn't turn out well though, so it might not even work out."

Alex's eyes quickly widened and she grimaced. "Sorry. Sorry. Didn't mean to bring it up. I didn't know it was your first date." She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "This is my first time going backwards with this Doctor. Usually, everyone already knows me and things seemed to have been going in the right order. God, am I rambling?"

Clara smiled a little. "A bit, yeah."

"Been around Eleven too long. He does that to me, apparently."

Clara got back on track then. "The Doctor said you were in an incident? Are you alright?"

Alex winced and Clara was about to take back what she'd said, but Alex waved it off with a small smile. "Yeah, no. I'd say nothing big happened, but I was sort of... dissected?"

"What?!" Clara exclaimed and the Doctor got upset.

"Hey, you two! Nothing too exciting! Alex, you're still recovering!"

Alex rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Don't get your knickers in a twist." She drawled, crossing her arms as she gave Clara a look that said 'can you believe him?' and turned back. "So? What're you up to, if we're not doing anything exciting and you're dragging poor Clara along when she'd rather sit and gorge herself on ice cream and sappy movies?"

Clara nodded. "She's right. I haven't actually said yes."

"Yes." The Doctor said, not really caring, and rushing over to the two women and giving them a look. "You know sometimes when you talk to yourself? What if you're not?"

"Not what?"

Alex frowned. "You mean thinking your alone, but you're not?"

The Doctor smirked, snapping his fingers and point at Alex. "Exactly. What if it's not you, you're talking to?" He took some steps back and held out his hands. "Proposition. What if no one is ever really alone? What if every single living being has a companion, a silent passenger, a shadow? What if the prickle on the back of your neck, is the breath of something close behind you?"

Before Alex could say anything, Clara spoke up.

"How long have you been traveling alone?"

"Perhaps I never have." He countered, catching Alex's sad expression and grabbing her hand as he tugged her towards the second level of the Tardis. "I was doing some research and set my piece of chalk down, but when I turned back, the chalk was on the floor and on the chalkboard was this."

He showed the two the chalkboard with the word 'listen' on it and Clara eyed it with a frown.

"It looks like your handwriting."

"Well, I couldn't have written it and forgotten, could I?" He quipped back.

"Have you met you?" Clara countered with a scoff as she moved towards a desk riddled with books.

Alex though, stopped the Doctor from following, giving him a look. "Where have I been?"

"Not now, Alex." He grumbled, but she wouldn't give in so easily.

"No." She said, pulling him back towards her. "Like Clara said... how long have you been alone?"

He frowned. "A few months? I don't know. You popped off a ways back after our trip to Hyspero."

"Oh..." She said, looking away, but the Doctor knew that look.

"Oh, don't give me that." He groaned, grabbing Alex's face and making her look at him as he spoke sternly. "Stop blaming yourself for something you have no control over. You're here now, that's all that matters."

Alex was surprised by the—surprisingly tender—comment that the Doctor said, but Clara spoke up then, distracting the two of them and their moment.

"What's all this?"

The Doctor pulled away and Alex frowned a little, before following after him as he explained the books littered about on his desk.

"Dreams. Accounts of dreams, by different people, all throughout history. You see, I have a theory."

"I'll bet you have. What theory?" She asked, flipping through one of the books.

"I think everybody, at some point in their lives, has the exact same nightmare. You wake up, or you think you do, and there's someone in the dark, someone close, or you think there might be. So you sit up, and turn on the light. And the room looks different at night. It ticks and creaks and breathes. And you tell yourself there's nobody there, nobody watching, nobody listening, nobody there at all. And you very nearly believe it. You really, really try and then... once you're standing by the edge of your bed, something reaches out and grabs your ankle."

Alex felt a shiver run up her spine, making her wince a bit at her—still tender—abdomen. The Doctor tugged her back downstairs though, continuing.

"There are accounts of that dream throughout human history. Time and time again, the same dream. Now, there is a very obvious question I'm about to ask you two. Do you know what it is?"

"Have you had that dream?" Clara asked and he nodded.

"Exactly."

"No, that was me asking you. Have you had that dream?" She clarified.

"I asked first."

"No, I did."

Alex nodded, agreeing. "She _did_ ask first."

The Doctor frowned at her. "No, she really didn't."

"Okay, yeah. Probably." Clara answered his question. "Yes. But everyone dreams about something under the bed."

"I didn't." Alex said, raising her hand, making the Doctor look at her as she explain. "I had the top bunk of a bunk bed. Only thing under me was my younger sister."

He rolled his eyes. "You're no help."

"Well _sorry_, Mr. Grumpy Pants." Alex complained, before the Doctor turned back to Clara.

"Why?"

"I'm sorry, what?" She said in confusion.

"Why does everyone dream of something under their bed?"

Alex spoke up. "I'd say either because there _is_ something under the bed, or because everyone somehow is under the impression that there is."

"Good thinking, Alex." The Doctor chirped. "I'm under the impression it's the former and as such, Clara, come with me."

He let Alex go and grabbed Clara instead, pulling her towards the console as Alex followed behind at a more leisurely pace. One there, he took Clara's hands and dipped them into a portion of the Tardis panel.

"Just hold on tight. If anything bites, let it."

Alex smacked him on the arm in disapproval, but he just rolled his eyes once more and began moving around the console.

"What is it?"

"Tardis telepathic interface. You are now in mental contact with the Tardis, so don't think anything rude."

"Why not?"

"It might end up on all of the screens." The Doctor explained and Alex gave him a look.

"And why haven't I known about this?"

"Because, I can't use it on you. You're from a different universe. If you stuck your fingers in there and got distracted, you could rip time and space apart."

Alex held her hands up in surrender. "Good to know."

"Now then, the Tardis is extrapolating your entire time-line, from the moment of your birth to the moment of your death."

"Which I do not need a preview of." Clara muttered to the Tardis, making Alex chuckle.

"Don't worry. She'll behave as long as you don't upset her."

Clara bobbed her head in thanks as the Doctor went on, ignoring the small exchange.

"I'm turning off the safeguards and navigation, slaving the Tardis to you. Focus on the dream. Focus on the details. Picture them, feel them. The Tardis will track on your subconscious and extract the relevant information. It should be able to home in on the moment of your time-line when you first had that dream. And then, we'll see."

"What will we see?"

"What's under your bed."

"If anything." Alex muttered under her breath, before she braced herself and the Doctor sent the ship off. "God, you're so over dramatic!"

The Doctor ignored her as he spoke to Clara. "Okay. Now don't get distracted. Remember, you are flying a time machine."

"Drive it better than him." Alex grumbled, just as Clara's phone rang.

"No, no. Don't you dare. No, don't. Don't, don't. Just ignore it." The Doctor said, grabbing her phone and throwing it over his shoulder.

Alex, thankfully, caught it with a sigh of relief and answered for her; keeping her voice down.

"Hey, this is Danny, right?"

"_Who's this?_"

"A friend of Clara's. She's a bit busy right now. Just... trust me. I'll get her to meet you back at... wherever you are. You two can talk it out then. Okay? Just... give me a minute."

"_What? I don't—_"

"Bye~" She sang, hanging up before he could get anything else out.

There was a loud dong; signally their landing and Alex came back over to the console, whispering to Clara.

"I got Danny to wait for you. You two can talk it out when we get back, if you want. Give him a chance, yeah?"

Clara sighed. "Thanks, Alex."

"No prob. It's the least I can do since you drove the Tardis without all the Doctor's usual crazy."

The two chuckled and the Doctor came around the side of the console, a frown on his face.

"Are you two making fun of me again?"

"Only your driving." Alex chirped and he pouted.

"I drive perfectly fine, thank you."

"You failed the test. More than once, I've heard." Alex challenged, but the Doctor didn't take the bait and checked the monitors.

"We're here."

Clara though, wasn't convinced. "Sorry, I think I got distracted."

"No, no, no, no. The date's fine." He said, moving towards the door. "Come on."

"Come on where?" She asked.

"Your childhood."

He hurried out the door and Clara stood there for a moment as Alex rolled her eyes.

"Good lord, is he dramatic. You'd think the others would be too, but Twelve is just... over-the-top dramatic. You okay?" She asked, turning to Clara with a worried look.

Clara nodded quickly. "Yeah. Oh yeah. Fine."

She tugged on her hands and finally got out of the finger goo on her third try, before walking out of the Tardis with Alex and onto the lawn of a darkened orphanage; the mist thick in front of them.

"The West Country Children's Home. Gloucester. By the ozone level and the drain, mid-nineties. You must have been here when you had the dream." The Doctor called out from in front of them, though Alex was more than confused as they caught up to him.

"Uh, Doctor? I really don't think this is the right place."

"Nonsense."

Clara shook her head as well. "Never been to Gloucester in my life, and I've never lived in a children's home."

"You've probably just forgotten. Have you seen the size of human brains? They're hilarious. Little you must be in here somewhere, with your little brain."

"Rude." Alex grumbled, but she still eyed the place wearily. "Doctor, don't you remember? We've been in Clara's past before. This place never popped up."

"Have we?" He questioned, waving it off easily. "I don't recall."

"Isn't bad if I meet myself?" Clara asked, changing the subject.

"It is potentially catastrophic."

"So why did you bring me out here."

"I was still talking. I needed someone to nod. Probably best for you to wait in the Tardis." He sputtered out.

"My _God_ you're rude." Alex complained, being ignored as the Doctor pushed them both towards the Tardis.

"See you in a minute. Alex, keep her company. Tardis!"

He then turned and ran off, but Clara wasn't giving up.

"Doctor... if I hadn't been distracted, what would have happened?"

"We probably would have ended up in the wrong place. But I don't think we have, because the time zone's right. I won't be long."

He continued to walk towards the building and Alex sighed.

"I can't believe him. Is he always such a clueless idiot? Or is that just because he's Twelve and somehow lost his marbles between this regeneration and the last?"

"Couldn't tell you." Clara muttered, the two of them wondering what it is they should do next, since the Doctor seemed content on leaving without them.

* * *

I sighed, wincing slightly as my abdomen twinged in slight pain. I was glad I was healed and all, but the Doctor had said to take it easy and knew that I wasn't _completely_ a-okay. The occasional bit of pain, reminding me of that fact as Clara and I headed up the stairs of the orphanage to try and find the Doctor, as well as meet whoever was upstairs. Problem was, I had a feeling that the person we may be meeting was Danny, since Clara got distracted mid-travel. Clara would probably be able to catch onto that soon enough, but I was a tad bit worried that the Doctor wouldn't be as clever. _He's already forgetting things and from what I saw the last time I was with him, he has no idea how to read emotions at all; making this even harder._ Said Doctor hadn't noticed when we'd snuck up the stairs, though I doubt it'd be long before he found us.

"_Boo_." I said in Clara's ear, making her jump half a foot in the air.

"God! Alex, don't do that!" She snapped, smacking me on the arm as I snickered.

"Oh, come on. Just having a bit of fun. You remember, don't you? I love creepy places like this."

"How could I forget." She grumbled with a roll of her eyes as we crept down a hallway and found the room we were looking for.

A boy was sitting on the floor with his knees up to his chest.

"Hello." Clara said, pushing the door open to let me in behind her.

"Hello." The boy responded.

"Nice room." I hummed out, looking around and picking up some book as I sat on the edge of his bed and bounced a little. "Nice bed."

Clara sat down beside him on a chair though. "Ignore her. She's strange."

"Oi." I chided, but we earned a small smile from the boy.

"You know, you should have more than one chair. What do you do when people come round?" Clara asked.

"Sit on the bed." He said, gesturing to me.

"Why aren't you sitting on it then? Do you think there's something underneath it?" Clara asked and the boy nodded, eyeing it warily as I picked up my feet from off the floor; sitting cross-legged. "Hey, everyone thinks that, sometimes. That's just how people think at night."

"Why?"

"Did you have a dream? A hand grabbing your foot? You have, haven't you? You've had that exact dream." Clara said, watching his reaction.

"How did you know?"

"Everyone's had it, apparently." I hummed, shrugging as I flipped through the book.

Clara ignored me, something that's been happening a lot lately. "Do you know why dreams are called dreams?"

"Why?"

"Because they're not real. If they were, they wouldn't need a name." She got up and headed towards me and towards the bed.

"What're you doing?" The boy asked and I jumped up from off the bed as well.

"Looking under your bed, of course." I chirped as Clara and I laid prone on the floor to look.

"Do you know what's under there?" Clara asked him.

"What?"

"Me!" She said, rolling under the bed as I chuckled and followed after her.

"Come on then! Best way to defeat a nightmare is show it you're not afraid."

The boy came under as well and Clara gave him a small smile.

"See? Nobody here, except us."

"Sometimes I hear noises." The boy countered, myself trying to remember what he said his name was when Clara had spoken to him from his window.

"It's a house full of people. Of course you hear noises."

I nodded. "Yeah. People snoring, people turning around under the covers, the house shifting. All sorts of noises. I would know." I turned my head to—Rupert, I remembered from when Clara had called to him outside—with a grin. "I had six siblings once. They were always making noise."

"Six?" He asked and I nodded, but he still didn't look certain. "But they're all asleep."

"No, they're all dreaming." Clara countered.

"Can you hear dreams?"

"If you're clever enough." Clara said, making me nod, liking that answer. "But they can harm you. You know, sometimes we think there's something behind us. And the space under your bed is what's behind you at night. Simple as that. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Or so she said, but the bed sank down then, centimeters from my face and the three of us went quiet.

"Ooh, I hope that's the Doctor." I whispered quietly.

"Who else is in this room?" Clara asked, also whispering, and Rupert shook his head, breathing loudly.

"Nobody."

"Someone must have come in."

"Nobody came in."

"Not the Doctor then." I muttered, before coming out from under the bed, alongside Clara and Rupert; the three of us finding a figure hiding under the blanket. "Too small to be the Doctor. One of your friends playing tricks?" I asked Rupert, but he shook his head.

I felt unnerved by the creature, whatever it was, and felt a slight shiver go up my spine as it turned it's head to look at us.

"I don't like this, Clara." I said, but she decided that it wasn't worth being afraid of.

"Playing a trick are you? Hey. A little trick on Rupert here?"

The creature moved, sitting up straighter.

"Okay. It's not funny, this. You know."

The light behind us flicked on then and we whirled around to find the Doctor sitting in the vacated chair reading the book I had been reading earlier.

"Where is he?"

"Doctor?" Clara questioned as I shifted to look at the creature still sitting on the bed out of the corner of my eye.

"I can't find him. Can you find him?"

"Find who?"

"Wally."

"Wally?"

"He's nowhere in this book."

"It's not a 'Where's Wally' one." Rupert told him and the Doctor looked at him.

"Well, how would you know? Maybe you just haven't found him yet."

"He's not in every book." Rupert countered.

"Really? Well, that's a few years of my life I'll be needing back."

I turned around and gave him a look. "You've spent _years_ looking for Waldo in every book?"

He gave me a look. "Who's Waldo?"

I grimaced. "Wally. Sorry. He's Waldo, where I'm from."

Original question forgotten, the Doctor got up and leaned over to Rupert. "Are you scared? The thing on the bed, whatever it is, look at it. Does it scare you?"

"Yes." Rupert said, keeping eye contact with the Doctor as he moved around to turn his back on the creature.

I didn't think that a good idea and kept an eye on it should it try anything, listening in as the Doctor went on.

"Well, that's good. Want to know why that's good?"

"Why?"

"Let me tell you about scared. Your heart is beating so hard, I can feel it through your hands." The Doctor said, taking Rupert's hands in his own. "There's so much blood and oxygen pumping through your brain, it's like _rocket_ fuel. Right now, you could run faster and you could fight harder, you could jump higher than ever in your life. And you are so alert, it's like you can slow down time. What's wrong with scared? Scared is a superpower. It's your superpower. There is danger in this room and guess what? It's you. Do you feel it? Do you think he feels it? Do you think _he's_ scared? Nah. Loser. Turn your back on him."

"What?"

"Yeah." The Doctor said. "Turn your back on him. Come on. You too, Clara, Alex."

I hesitated, as did Clara, but the Doctor took my hand in his and I saw the confidence in his gaze and nodded, turning away from the creature.

"Clara, your back, now." He insisted and Clara followed, him continuing as he tried to convince Rupert. "Do it. Just do it now. Turn your back. Do it now, turn your back. Lovely view out the window."

"Yeah. Come and see all the dark." Clara said and I scoffed, earning a painful elbow to the ribs as Rupert joined us, standing between myself and Clara; thankfully—I didn't want another hit.

"The deep and lovely dark. We'd never see the stars without it." The Doctor hummed and I relaxed slightly at the thought, until he spoke up once more. "Now, there are two possibilities. Possibility one, it's just one of your friends standing there, and he's playing a joke on you. Possibility two, it isn't."

"Comforting notion." I grumbled.

"So, plan? Plans are good." Clara said, but instead of filling us in, the Doctor started up something on his own; giving my hand a squeeze as my hearts raced in worry.

"You on the bed, I'm talking to you now. Go in peace. We won't look. Just go. If all you want to do is stay hidden, it's okay. Just leave."

There was creaking of the bed as it got up and I knew I wasn't the only one who sensed the creature directly behind us.

"Is it gone?" Clara asked and I shook my head.

"There's no way. I've got a bad feeling and the shivers up my spine say it's not. So let's just keep looking out the window, shall we?"

"Alex is right. Don't look round. Not yet."

"I can't hear anything." Rupert said, but the Doctor was quick to repeat his order.

"Don't look round."

Rupert started to turn, but the Doctor quickly stopped him.

"Look away! Look away, now! Don't look at it! Don't look round! Don't look round! Don't look at the reflection!"

I could tell he was panicking a bit himself and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, not used to seeing him freak out like this, but it did the trick and he calmed down, though Rupert hadn't.

"What is it?!"

"Imagine a thing that must never be seen. What would it do if you saw it?"

"I don't know."

"Neither do I. Close your eyes." He ordered and I was quick to do so, the images my mind was conjuring up to his previous question making my spine tingle.

"What?"

"Do it." I said. "Trust him."

"Close your eyes." The Doctor repeated. "You too, Clara. Give it what it wants. Prove to it that you're not going to look at it. Make a promise. A promise you're never going to look at it."

"Ooh, I can do that. Definitely. Never break my promises and I sure as hell won't look at it."

"Alex." The Doctor chided me for my language.

"Sorry."

"Promise it, Rupert."

"I promise never to look." He said and the hairs went up on my neck and arms as the silence went on.

"The breath on the back of your neck, like your hair's standing on end. That means, don't look round."

The door slammed shut then, making me jump and Clara and Rupert turn around; but the Doctor remained still, taking his time to turn around with me; though I could feel his hearts pounding away through his wrist. _He's scared. Like _really_ scared. The last time I saw him this scared, was with the story eating sun. When he had no options left. That wasn't exactly a good situation, making this one _definitely_ not good._

"Gone." Clara said and the Doctor repeated it with a nod.

"Gone."

"He took my bedspread." Rupert murmured and I couldn't help but smile a bit.

"Oh, the human race." The Doctor drawled with a roll of his eyes. "You're never happy, are you?"

The Doctor wandered over to where Rupert kept his toys, seeming to have forgotten he was still holding my hand as he tugged me along too.

"Am I safe now?" Rupert asked, sitting on his bed once more.

"Nobody's safe." The Doctor said, fiddling with an orange robot as Clara looked through some other things and I yawned. "Especially not at night. In the dark. Anything can get you."

I was beginning to get annoyed, squeezing his hand a bit tightly, but he went on.

"And all the way up here, you're up here all alone—"

Clara smacked him upside the head before I got the chance to.

"What was that for?"

"Shut up." I grumbled. "He's just a kid. No need to freak him out about the dangers of the world just yet."

Clara sighed, apparently not liking the way I phrased things either. "Yeah, you can both shut up. Leave this to me." She got up with a box full of toy soldiers and placed them on his bed. "Are these yours?"

"They're the home's." He replied as Clara began taking them out one by one.

"They're yours now."

"People don't need to be lied to." The Doctor said and I nudged him in the ribs.

"Shush. Rule number one."

He groaned quietly, but said no more, pouting in a way only the Twelfth Doctor could; letting go of my hand, arms crossed, and brows furrowed angrily. I just rolled my eyes as Clara said her bit to him as well.

"People don't need to be scared by a big gray-haired stick insect, but here you are."

He went to argue that, but she didn't let him.

"Stay still. Shut up." She scolded him as I snickered, earning an elbow to the ribs myself.

I didn't take it lightly though and smacked him in the arm, earning a smack in return until the two of us were smacking each other in a smacking war.

Clara cleared her throat, giving us that mother look. "Do I need to separate you two?"

The Doctor and I exchanged looks, but turned away from one another with pouts, me sticking out my tongue at him and getting one back, until Clara cleared her throat again and gave us scolding looks. Reluctantly, we gave in and she went back to what she was doing; placing toy soldiers on the floor around his bed.

"See what I'm doing? This is your army."

"Plastic army." The Doctor piped up, moving to get up, but she stopped him.

"Sit."

He did and she turned back to Rupert.

"And they're gonna guard under your bed. You see this one?" She held up one with a missing gun. "This one's the boss one. The Colonel. He's gonna keep a special eye out."

"It's broken that one. It doesn't have a gun."

"That's why he's the boss." Clara explained. "A soldier so brave, he doesn't need a gun. He can keep the whole world safe... What should we call him?"

"Dan." Rupert said and I quickly caught on to the name, recognizing it, just as Clara did.

"Sorry?"

"Dan, the soldier man. That's what I call him."

"Good. Good name."

"Yeah. Would you read me a story? It'll help me get to sleep."

"Sure." Clara said, but the Doctor had gotten up and I had a bad feeling he was about to do something stupid.

"Once upon a time..." He said, before putting a finger to Rupert's head; the boy falling back in his bed asleep. "The end."

I sighed. "Really, Doctor? Was that necessary?"

He turned to me and back to Clara, face pulled into a stern look. "Dad skills."

He walked out and I got the feeling he was upset about something and stopped Clara from scolding him just yet.

"Let me talk to him." I said, giving her a small smile.

"Yeah, alright." She grumbled, not happy about it, but giving me the chance to as she went to find something to cover Rupert up with.

Once outside, I caught sight of the Doctor and hurried up after him.

"Doctor! Oi! Big-ears!"

He stopped and rounded on me angrily. "I don't _have_ big ears!"

I raised a brow, knowing it was just misplaced anger. "Oh? Would you rather I called you Angry-Brows?"

He frowned, turning away again and stomping off towards the Tardis as I sighed.

"Oh, come on! I'm _kidding_! Is that it? This you can't take a joke?"

I rushed into the Tardis after him, but ran right into his chest, backing up a step only to see him glaring down at me.

"Take a joke? _Really_? This me can't take a joke? Oh, hahaha!" He said sarcastically. "At least _I_ can manage not to get nearly killed every adventure!"

"Is that what this is about?" I questioned, confused by the Doctor's sudden mood swing. "Because last I check, you get yourself into just as much trouble as I do."

"_I_ don't get dissected!"

"No, you're too busy torturing yourself!" I snapped. "Now you want to tell me what this is really about? Because you were perfectly fine up until a moment ago!"

"Fine? How can I be fine when you pop up here_ half dead_ and then I'm stuck dealing with some kid while being treated like _I'm_ the child?!"

"Sorry for being childish!" I yelled back, but I knew there was something more to this.

The Doctor wasn't this angry for no reason. And while I knew a part of it had to do with the way I showed up here, I knew another part had to do with something else. So I waited as he let out some steam and went to the other side of the console, smashing his fingers angrily on some buttons.

"This is because of this adventure, isn't it?" I said, voice quiet, but still loud enough that he could hear me.

"And what makes you say that?" He snapped at me, and I moved towards him slowly.

"Because. I've only seen you talk to people like that a few times. And I know that you've gotten to know me really well, but I've gotten to know you pretty well too, Doctor."

He scoffed. "Sure you have."

"I have." I repeated, leaning up against the console beside him, eyes looking up at the ceiling as I crossed my arms. "Maybe not so much this you, but you in general. And like I said, I've only seen you like this a few times... You're scared, aren't you?"

"I'm _not_ scared." He scoffed again, though there was a tight edge to his voice, as though he was trying to get me to drop the subject, but that was the last thing I was going to do. "Where's Clara? We're leaving."

"I told her to wait a bit so I can figure out what's got you so upset. And I have... You're scared."

"I am _not_ scared!" He shouted at me, harshly enough to make me stiffen and look up at him with wide, worried eyes.

_I_ was the one who was scared now. Those voices starting up in my head from a few adventures ago with Nine. _See? He hates you. Piss him off enough, and you'll be stuck here. He'll leave without you. You _know_ he will._ I swallowed thickly, shrinking back away from him, but he seemed to realize what he'd done and his eyes softened slightly.

"Alex, I..." He reached out towards me. "I didn't mean..."

I pulled myself out of his reach though, still hesitant. _He'll grab you and throw you out. He will._

"H-How am I supposed to know that?" I asked, looking him over cautiously for any sign of movement to possibly toss me out of the Tardis; though a part of me said he never would. "You don't tell me when you're upset or anything. How am I supposed to help you, if you don't tell me?"

He sighed quietly. "I could say the same to you."

I shook my head. "I've gotten better. You know I have. Just... Just admit it. You were scared, right?"

"I was." He gave in, eyeing me. "But you don't understand—"

"What? You think I've never had nightmares before? You've _seen_ me freak out and panic! When you and I were looking into Clara's past, I—" I cut myself off, remembering what he'd said about him not remembering what'd happened, and my hearts sank, me lowering my head. "Never mind."

"No." He said, stepping towards me; though I didn't back away this time. "No, I remember. With Rose and the Daleks and... me."

"How—" I cut myself off again, shaking my head. "No, that's not the point. I came back here for _you_, Doctor." I explained, looking at him as he came closer still. "You know that. I came back because I wanted to help you. So let me. Okay?"

His hand had grasped mine at this point and he nodded. "Yes. Alright. I should've known I... wouldn't be able to hide it from you and... I... I apologize for the yelling."

I chuckled a bit, feeling him ease up as I did so. "Yeah, me too."

There was a bit of a pause, before one of his hands brushed over the side of my face and I looked at him curiously, wondering what was up.

"Can I... try something?" He asked and I raised a brow, understanding then what he meant.

"Don't know what's stopping you."

He frowned slightly, looking... worried and anxious, almost. "I just... I'm not sure if..."

I gave him a look. "Is this because you're old?"

"I'm not _old_." He grumbled, looking sheepish with a slight pink to his cheeks. "I just wasn't sure if you cared much for this—"

I cut him off when I pressed my lips to his, unable to help myself really when he'd started rambling and getting insecure. He responded back, pulling me closer with a slight groan, as if he'd been holding himself back this whole time, and I pulled away to smile; patting his cheek.

"Old or not, you're still the Doctor. _My_ Doctor."

He smiled a little too, letting out a quiet sigh of relief. "Thank you, Alexander."

I felt a burning in my shoulder then and let out my own sigh, though it was one of annoyance more than anything.

"Oh, fun. I won't get to see the end of this one." I complained and the Doctor let out a chuckle.

"I will tell you all about it next time."

I pointed at him, face twisting into a smirk. "I'll hold you to that."

"I know you will."

The door opened then and Clara walked in with a hand over her eyes.

"Are you two decent?"

I laughed. "Oh, God, Clara! Don't tell me you've walked in on us doing something indecent!"

She pulled her hand off her eyes with a smile. "Hm, I wouldn't put it past you. You and Eleven were practically tied to the hip." Her expression saddened then as she noticed the slight glow around me. "You're leaving?"

"Seems so." I shrugged. "Don't let the Doctor be too rude though. And he promised me he'd tell me what happens later, so I'm making sure you remember too. You know how he forgets."

"Oi!" The Doctor chided me, though a small smile was on his face. "My memory is perfectly fine. I only throw out unimportant details."

"Sure you do." I chuckled, before remembering something. "Oh! And Clara, don't forget your date will be waiting for you when this is over. Be sure to make it up with him. Seems like a good guy."

The Doctor stared at me in shock then. "What? You've met him?!"

I nodded. "Sure! Time travel and all that. You know how it is." I stopped smiling then, pointing sternly at him. "And you better be nice to him. I had a right hard time dealing with you two. I'd rather not have to do it again."

He went to respond, but whatever he said was cut off as I popped off, landing in yet another area that I really didn't wish I was.

"Good _God_ does this thing have some navigation issues." I grumbled, looking over the desert landscape with a scowl.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"Alex! Now is not the time to be worried about your stomach!"_

_ I gave her a look in return, eyeing the other two in slight concern. "Uh, yeah, it sort of is. Because I have no idea what just happened to you three, but I've been walking in a desert all day after being dissected and fighting with the cranky old version of the Doctor. I think food and water is my first priority."_

_She looked about ready to smack me again and I took a step away from her, slightly frightened of the angry woman. _She definitely got Amy's temper.

_"B-But, uh, feel free to tell me where I am and what happened, and I'll definitely find something else to prioritize!" I said in a panic._

_"Utah."_


	37. The Impossible Astronaut

**Oh my goodness, I forgot to update Friday! i'm so sorry, but here's the next chapter! it'll be a tough one for Alex, but i hope you all enjoy. ^^ and the next chapter will be posted tuesday. i will _not_ forget this time! *fist pumps***

* * *

I kicked at the dirt at my feet angrily, sweat sliding down the back of my neck despite me using my Belstaff coat as a shield against the sun.

"Stupid Artron energy." I grumbled under my breath as I walked aimlessly. "You can't just drop me off somewhere familiar. _Noooo_. It's gotta be the middle of nowhere in a stupid desert!"

I'd been walking for a while now and the sun had dipped down low in the sky, though it wasn't quite close to nightfall just yet. I still had hours to go before the temperature dropped. I was dead tired though and I swear I saw some buzzards flying overhead at some point. I moved towards a rock formation of some kind and sat down in the shade, letting out a sigh of relief at the slightly cooler temperature as I pulled my coat off and fanned myself with my hand. I then began digging through my coat pockets in the hopes of finding something useful, but all I found was a granola bar; which I quickly ate, having not eaten anything decent in a while. Once I'd gotten up and started walking again, I spotted a dark blur over the horizon not far from me. I squinted against the light of the setting sun and brought a hand up to shield my eyes as I tried to get a better look, and my hearts soared upon seeing what appeared to be a town.

"Oh, thank God!" I said with a grin, taking my coat off and putting it over my arm as I started running towards the town.

It was further than I'd thought, and I had to stop running at a point to catch my breath, but I soon started up again, desperate to reach some sort of civilization now that the sun had set. _Come on, come on! Nearly there! _I mentally pushed myself, legs burning, sides aching, throat dry, and sweat practically pouring off me in buckets as I ran. The supposed town was actually smaller than I thought, but the sight of a diner brought my hopes up and I hurried in, breathing hard and gasping for air as I made my way over to the counter.

"Water. Water, please." I panted out and a tall glass of ice water was placed before me.

I chugged down about half of it right there, before I caught sight of some familiar people just staring at me with their mouths hanging open.

"Amy! Rory! River!" I smiled. "Glad to see you. You wouldn't _believe_ the day I've just had."

Or so I said, but River looked absolutely furious and I set my drink down as she approached.

"U-Um, I'm guessing your day was worse then?" I stuttered out, not sure what was going on.

"Oh, _much_ worse." She snarled, before slapping me hard across the face. "This is low, Alex. Even for you."

I blinked, very much confused and I looked over at the other two, who seemed rather unnerved as well.

"I'm guessing this is for something I've yet to do?" I rubbed my stinging cheek. "And something I deserve to get hit for, I hope..."

"Oh, sweetie, you deserve much more than a hit to the face for what you've just pulled." River hummed, making me swallow nervously.

"R-R-Right. Um, sorry in advance?" I apologized, before looking around at the familiar diner—though _why_ it was familiar I didn't have a clue. "Could you, um, possibly tell me where I am?"

"You mean you don't know?" Rory asked, stepping towards me whereas Amy stayed a little further away.

"Not a clue." I shrugged. "I just popped up in the middle of a desert and walked all day to find this place, thank God. I was really hoping I would find water sooner or later. And food!" I quickly turned to the man behind the counter. "Hey, can I get a cheeseburger, hold the onions, with seasoned fries on the side to go?"

He went to make my order as my stomach grumbled and River promptly smacked my shoulder in slight anger.

"Alex! Now is not the time to be worried about your stomach!"

I gave her a look in return, eyeing the other two in slight concern. "Uh, yeah, it sort of is. Because I have no idea what just happened to you three, but I've been walking in a desert all day after being dissected and fighting with the cranky old version of the Doctor. I think food and water is my first priority."

She looked about ready to smack me again and I took a step away from her, slightly frightened of the angry woman. _She definitely got Amy's temper._

"B-But, uh, feel free to tell me where I am and what happened, and I'll definitely find something else to prioritize!" I said in a panic.

"Utah." She responded and my eyes widened, before I began digging through my pockets in search of my notebook.

Once I'd gotten it out, I hastily searched through it, past the 9th Doctor and his trip to the underground alien warehouse in said state, and to the Eleventh Doctor and the 'Impossible Astronaut'. I skimmed through the episode quickly, but efficiently and paled with every word as the Ood's warning from one of my first trips here echoed in my head along with Carmen's.

"_The answers will come. And Silence will fall. And with it, a song will end. A song with two endings. But only one will happen and it will be up to you."_

"_You will have to choose your song. A song with two endings. The Silence will be coming for you soon."_

"Alex?"

I jumped at River's suddenly concerned voice and forced a smile on my face as I tucked my book away.

"Heh, s-sorry. Got a little side tracked."

She was suspicious, obviously not convinced as I struggled to keep my hands from shaking, and I distracted myself by moving past her and over to Amy.

"Amy?" I called out, seeing that she wasn't all quite there after watching the Doctor die. "Amy, can I tell you something?"

"It doesn't matter." She muttered, still in shock. "He's dead."

I nodded. "Yes, yes he is."

"Alex!" River scolded me and I gave her a small glare.

"I'm not going to lie to her, River."

River looked surprised, but I turned back to Amy, gaze softening.

"But Amy, you know what? Everything will be fine. I promise."

"How can you promise that?" She asked, starting to look angry. "He's _dead_."

"But that was only one version of the Doctor. That was the eleven thousand and three year old Doctor. And those letters you got, there's one missing, isn't there?"

"But what does that—"

"Amy." I cut her off, smiling a little. "He travels through time. He invited you three here, because he knew what was going to happen. So what's the first thing he's going to try and do?"

"I-I don't..."

"_Prevent_ it." I answered for her, as the man behind the counter spoke up.

"Hey, your order's ready."

"Ooh!" I cheered, hurrying over and leaving Amy there as I grabbed the styrofoam container and opened it; pulling out a fry and chewing away with a moan. "My God, that's good."

"Alex!" Rory and River chided me and I pouted, mouth full.

"What? Oh, come on." I groaned, swallowing and giving them all an annoyed look. "The Doctor's clever. Who would he of given the 1st envelope to? Who does he trust the most?"

"You." River responded and I shook my head.

"Uh-uh. Even if that's true, I pop all over the place and have no control of where I end up. Sending me an envelope wouldn't mean anything. I'd pop up here or I wouldn't. No need for the envelope."

"What about Space 1969?" Rory asked me. "He was up to something and that's what he told us. What does it mean?"

"1969 is a big year." I hummed, thinking about what I could and couldn't give away. "And the only spacey thing that happened was the moon landing. Probably has something to do with that, but I can't tell you much more. Spoilers and all."

"Look." Amy's weak voice said, drawing everyone's attention to the table she was pointing at.

A table with a soda and a blue envelope.

"Excuse me, who was sitting over there?" Rory asked the man behind the counter.

"Some guy."

The group headed over and I followed, still munching on fries as River held up the envelope.

"Number one. Who did the Doctor trust the most, other than Alex?"

Before I could respond though, the door behind her opened and the Doctor himself walked out with a straw between his lips. He smiled and pointed at the group, spotting me in the back as I waved; but before he could head over, River spoke.

"This is cold. Even by your and Alex's standards, this is cold."

"Or hello. As people used to say." The Doctor replied as I tried to warn him about River; gesturing to my cheek and mouthing the word 'run'.

"Doctor..." Amy muttered, looking angry.

"Just popped out to get my special straw. It adds more fizz."

Amy headed over then, distracting the Doctor from my miming as she circled around him.

"You're okay. How can you be okay? You and Alex... How?"

Seeing that she was distraught, he frowned and hugged her. "Hey, of course I'm okay. I'm always okay. I'm the King of Okay. Oh, that's a rubbish title. Forget that title." He suddenly opened his arms and headed towards Rory. "Rory the Roman! That's a good title. Hello, Rory."

He hugged him too, before turning to me with a grin, but I shook my head and gestured warily towards River, who he turned to in slight confusion as to why I'd be pointing her out and looking scared.

"And Doctor River Song. Oh, you bad, bad girl What trouble have you got for me this time?"

She slapped him hard and I winced.

"Tried to warn you. She already got me once." I muttered, only for her to round on me again and slap me. "Ow, okay. Twice then. _Why_?"

"I'm assuming that's for something we haven't done yet." The Doctor said, rubbing his cheek as I did the same.

"Yes, it is." River said, before turning to me. "Though for you, it's for not telling us."

"I hinted at it!" I complained. "Can't tell you everything."

The Doctor nodded, then smiled slightly. "Looking forward to whatever it is we've done." He then spun around to me. "And Alexander! Oh, how I've missed you!"

He grabbed me in a hug, as I held my food up so it wouldn't be crushed, and spun me around with a chuckle.

"Y-Yeah. Nice to see you too. Though maybe next time you can pick me up. I don't like being left out in the middle of nowhere."

He set me down and looked me over, poking my forehead with a chuckle. "I _thought_ you were looking a little red."

I pouted, stuffing a fry in his mouth as I grumbled sarcastically. "Thanks."

There was still something bothering me though. The way River was angry with me as well as the Doctor had me a little confused. The Doctor was the one who died, but she was looking at me with just as much disbelief. And if that meant that I had gotten involved as well and possibly died—though the thought of it made my stomach twist with worry of the warnings I'd been getting—then I had every right to be concerned. _I'll ask one of them later. Rory is probably my best bet, but I'm worried that I may have actually _died_. And that can't be good._

"I don't understand. How can you two be here?" Rory questioned, only furthering the sinking feeling in my stomach as he poked the Doctor lightly in the chest.

"I was invited." The Doctor answered, taking the envelope from River. "Date, map reference. Same as you lot, I assume—sans Alex, of course. Otherwise, it's a hell of a coincidence."

"No such thing as coincidences." I muttered under my breath, unheard as Amy spoke up.

"River, what's going on?"

"Amy, ask him what age he is."

"That's a bit personal." The Doctor grumbled, but I elbowed him in the ribs, giving him a pointed look

"Tell her, you bonehead."

"Nine hundred and nine." He responded, pouting at me and rubbing his side.

"Yeah, but you said you were..."

I held a finger up to my lips, shushing Amy before she could finish her sentence and River turned to me.

"What about you, Alex?"

"Me?" I pointed to myself, trying to think as I hummed. "Hm, it's been a while since I thought about it. I think I'm around 31? Might be 32 by now though. Time jumping makes it hard to remember exactly." I paused then, wrinkling my nose. "Ew, I'm _old_."

River rolled her eyes and continued to speak quickly, trying to get some answers out of the Doctor. "So where does that leave us, huh? Jim the fish? Have we done Jim the fish yet?"

"Who's Jim the fish?"

"I don't understand." Amy said, shaking her head, but Rory got it.

"Yeah you do."

"_I_ don't. What're we all doing here?" The Doctor questioned and everyone sort of looked at one another in worry about what they should tell the Doctor and I.

I sighed, leaning on the Doctor's shoulder as I looked at the group. "If it makes you all feel better, I've pretty much guessed what happened with me and I know what happened with him, so why don't we just move on to the bit about 1969?"

River hesitated, but nodded, turning to the confused Doctor. "We've been recruited. Something to do with space 1969 and a man called Canton Everett Delaware the third."

"Recruited by who?" The Doctor questioned, having started walking away from the group.

"Someone who trusts you more than anybody else in the universe."

He turned to me and I shook my head with a small smile.

"Sorry. Wish it was me. Well, it suppose it could be but I doubt it."

He furrowed his brows and looked back at River. "And who was it?"

"Spoilers." She replied and he took the straw from his mouth.

"Well then, what're we waiting for?"

"You, I suspect." I joked, munching on another fry as he smiled my way and bounded through the group and into the back room where his Tardis lay hidden.

"Come on then! Off we go!"

The rest of us followed after him into the Tardis and I sat on the jump-seat as I ate my cheeseburger, getting a funny look from the Doctor.

"A _cheeseburger_? Why do you have one of those?"

"Uh, cause I'm hungry? I _was_ out in the desert all day and recently dissected. Kind of takes a lot out of you and a cheeseburger sounded absolutely amazing."

"Dissected?!" He said rather loudly, rushing over and pulling up my shirt; making heat rush to my face as I kicked him with my foot.

"O-Oi! Privacy would be nice before you start pulling off my clothes, thank you!"

He too flushed a nice red shade at my words and quickly dropped my shirt. "R-Right. Sorry. 32, you said? Have we, um..."

He gestured between the two of us and I could only feel myself getting more red.

"N-No! We're together, if that's what you mean, but we haven't... um..."

Rory cleared his throat awkwardly behind him and I praised the heavens that he'd gotten me out of this awkward moment. The Doctor, taking that as his chance to move on, hurried over to the console; pressing buttons and flipping switches with exuberance.

"1969, that's an easy one! Funny, how some years are easy. Now, 1482, full of glitches." He said, telling Amy who was leaning on the railing. "Now then, Canton Everett Delaware the third. That was his name, yeah? How many of those can there be? Well, three, I suppose." He said to River, who shook her head and went to the lower levels after Amy had headed that way. "Rory, is everyone cross with me for some reason?"

"I'll find out." He replied, heading after them and the Doctor gave me a look.

"Anything you can tell me?"

I gave him a small, sad smile. "Sorry. Not this time. Do you mind if I..." I gestured down to where they went and he immediately grew sad, turning away from me and looking down at the console.

"No, go ahead."

I sighed and headed his way, stopping beside him as he continued to try and ignore me.

"Hey, look at me."

He begrudgingly lifted his head and I took the initiative, and kiss him briefly. Once I pulled away, he seemed pleasantly surprised and I gave him a small smile.

"I promise. Everything will turn out fine. For you and for them. Okay?"

"Mm, alright." He replied, a small smile on his face too. "Seal the deal?"

I rolled my eyes and kissed him once more, his hand wrapping around my waist as he pushed me up against the console and got a little more heated. I pulled away though, giving him a slightly scolding look.

"Doctor, come on."

He groaned, pouting, but let me go and I headed down to the lower levels after River, Amy, and Rory; who'd already started discussing things.

"We have to tell him." Amy said, stubbornly, getting up from off the floor.

"We've told him all we can." River argued. "We can't even tell him we've seen his future self. He's interacted with his own past. It could rip a hole in the universe."

"Yes, but he's done it before."

"And in fairness, the universe _did_ blow up." Rory countered and I hummed, drawing their attention to me.

"Yes, but that wasn't a fixed point."

River gave me a look. "This is a fixed point? His death?"

"Spoilers." I replied, knowing I'd said too much already.

"But he'd want to know." Amy said, bringing the conversation back around.

"Would he?" I questioned, giving her a sad look. "Would anyone really want to know that they're going to die? Because I can tell you right now, I didn't. I didn't want to know, but I do. I know about him dying and I know that I probably died with him earlier today."

"But we didn't—" Rory started, but I shook my head cutting him off and giving him a sad smile.

"Not hard to figure out. I know what happened to the Doctor. I knew that the moment I was told I was in Utah and looked over my notebook. And the way you all reacted to me being here, only proved that I was involved. That _I_ died too."

River looked absolutely heartbroken, understanding that between the three of them, I'd just been told my death date.

"Oh my God... I-I'm so sorry."

I shook my head. "Not your fault. I've already gotten two hints that something was going to happen when I reached this point. It's my own fault for not listening to the warnings." I looked back over at Amy though, dead serious. "But you can't tell him."

"But you... you already know about yours."

"Yes, but... it doesn't mean that I'm not effected. Everyone's afraid of death and if you tell him that he's going to die, he'll do everything he can to make it worthwhile. Do you know what that means?"

Amy shook her head as Rory gave me a confused look.

"Isn't it a good thing? Making it worthwhile?"

I glanced down briefly. "It means that he'll keep thinking about it. He'll force himself to be happy about it because he won't want others to worry. That burden will weigh down on him no matter what he's doing and it won't be about having fun, anymore. He'll just keep thinking about it. He'll count down the days, the hours, the minutes, the seconds and milliseconds. He will lose what it means to live, because he'll be thinking so much about his death. And that will tear him apart. And I won't let that happen. Not to him."

Suddenly, the Doctor's head poked down from up above.

"I'm being extremely clever up here and there's no one to stand around looking impressed! What's the point in having you all?"

He pulled himself back up and I smiled a bit as River hissed through her teeth at me.

"Couldn't you just slap him sometimes?"

"All the time." I hummed. "But you can't blame him. Everyone's got a secret and he doesn't know it. We're lucky he waited that long before he bugged us."

Amy gave me a glare. "We can't just let him die. We have to stop it. How can you and River be okay with this?"

River spoke first. "The Doctor's death doesn't frighten me. Nor does my own. There's a far worse day coming for me."

I sighed and looked at Amy. "I've already died once and the only thing that hurt me, was the thought of the Doctor being alone." I smiled sadly. "Trust me, Amy, he's doing everything he can. Not only for himself, but for the universe as well. And I won't allow him to carry that burden alone. And I promise you, he will be alright in the end."

She gave me a worried look this time. "And what about you?"

I paused on the stairs leading up to the main level, looking down at my shoes before back at her; expression sad and broken.

"I honestly don't know."

* * *

The Doctor was suspicious. _More_ than suspicious. He knew that they were all keeping something from him. It was obvious, really. Rory was a horrible secret keeper. But even Amy and River were acting strangely and that bothered him, but not nearly as much as Alex's sudden silence. The moment he'd seen her come back upstairs, he was worried. She was pale, like something had scared her, but she forced a smile on her face and hid whatever it was from him. _That_ was what was really bothering him. She was scared about something and he, apparently, wasn't privy to knowing because it had to do with something that everyone else was hiding. So, he decided he needed a talk with her.

"Time isn't a straight line. It's all bumpy wumpy." He rambled, flying the Tardis and glancing at Alex as she sat in the jump seat and idly munched on her cheeseburger with half as much eagerness as before. "There's loads of boring stuff like Sundays and Tuesdays and _Thursday_ _afternoons_. But now and then there are Saturdays. Big temporal tipping points when anything's possible. The Tardis can't resist them, like a moth to a flame." He moved over towards her, trying to cheer her up a bit and poking her on the nose. "She loves a party, so I give her 1969 and NASA, because that's space in the sixties, and Canton Everett Delaware the third, and this is where she's pointing."

He typed some things into the monitor and the group gathered around to look over what it read.

"Washington D.C., April the eighth, 1969. So why haven't we landed?" Amy questioned and the Doctor turned around to face them; knowing that this was the moment of truth.

"Because that's not where we're going."

"Oh. Where are we going?" Rory asked.

"Home. Well, you two are. Off you pop and make babies. And you, Doctor Song, back to prison. And me? I'm late for a biplane lesson in 1911. Or it could be knitting. Knitting or biplanes. One or the other. _And_ a good long talk with Alex."

"W-What?" Alex blinked in confusion, looking at the others a little lost, though they were just as confused.

The Doctor though, sat back in a chair and rubbed at his forehead as the group wandered around the Tardis to look at him in disbelief; though Alex was sticking to the back of the group, looking nervous.

"What? A mysterious summons. You think I'm just going to go? Who sent those messages?" He asked them, but they remained silent. "I know you know. I can see it in your faces. Don't play games with me. Don't ever, ever think you're capable of that."

He hated those words, the moment they were out of his mouth—since he'd seen Alex flinch and shift uneasily—but he needed answers and wasn't going to just let things go this time.

"You're going to have to trust us this time." River said.

"Trust you? Sure." The Doctor got up and got in her face. "But, first of all, Doctor Song, just one thing. Who are you? You're someone from my future. Getting that. But who?"

River remained silent and the Doctor shifted his gaze to the others before looking back at her.

"Okay. Why are you in prison? Who did you kill, hm? Now, I love a bad girl, me. Just look at Alex. But trust you? Seriously?"

"Trust me." Amy said, stepping forward.

The Doctor headed over towards her staying silent for a second as he looked her over, before passing her and looking right at Alex, eyes dead serious.

"Well, Alex?"

"Well, what?" She asked, trying to act tough like she usually did, but the Doctor knew better.

"You know what's going on. You always do." He replied, standing in front of her as she struggled to look him in the eye. "Which means, you know what they're keeping from me. You know what's going to happen. Should _I_ know?"

Alex opened her mouth, but then looked down. "No. I'm sorry, but you can't."

"Okay." He said, tilting her chin back up so she was looking back at him. "Does it have something to do with what's frightened you?"

Alex stiffened slightly, the Doctor taking her hand and feeling her pulse quicken in her wrist.

"No."

"You're lying." He said, making Alex's gaze waver ever so slightly.

"I'm not lying... I'm just not saying everything." She responded. "You have to do this, Doctor. And I'm sorry, but I can't tell you anything about it. Not this time. And neither can they. So please don't get upset with them. It's not their fault."

"And it's not your fault either." He said back, sensing the blame that Alex was placing on herself. "Now, I don't know what happened, but I know it has to do with me. But not even that could make you this frightened. So what's going on, Alexander? Why are you scared?"

"Doc—"

"No." The Doctor snapped at Amy, giving the trio behind him a stern look. "I don't want to hear anything from you three. I'm speaking to Alex." He let Alex's hand go and turned towards them, stepping closer as they hesitantly stepped back at the look his gaze. "Because I don't know what's going on, but something has her scared. And it may have to do with what you're all hiding and it may not, but I am not about to let her continue to _be_ scared. So I want answers from her."

He spun around and approached Alex once more, taking notice of how she winced slightly at meeting his hardened gaze.

"Please, Alexander." He begged, eyes softening as he took her hands in his once more. "Tell me what's got you so scared."

He could tell she was struggling with herself. Torn between wanting to tell him and keeping to the secret the group was hiding from him, before she finally took a deep breath to calm herself and spoke.

"I'll tell you, but can I do it later, please? After we fix this."

He eyed her, looking for any sign that she was lying and wouldn't tell him, but he got the feeling that she _would_ tell him.

"Promise me." He demanded, knowing that her promising him would make _sure_ that she told him, no matter what.

She nodded. "Promise."

The Doctor smiled a little and brought his hand up to her cheek, kissing her briefly before pulling away and letting out a soft sigh.

"Thank you."

She bobbed her head silently and he turned back to the Tardis console, trying to get back to his usual self and ease up the atmosphere a bit.

"So! Canton Everett Delaware the third. Who's he?"

The Doctor typed some things into the monitor, but kept his eyes on Alex as she moved back to the jump-seat and stayed quiet. River came up beside him once he had the information up.

"Ex FBI. Got kicked out."

"Why?"

"Six weeks after he left the Bureau, the President contacted him for a private meeting."

"Yeah, 1969. Who's President?"

"Nixon." Alex piped in, before going quiet again.

River nodded. "Richard Milhous Nixon. Vietnam, Watergate. There's some good stuff too."

"Not enough."

"Hippie!"

"Archaeologist." The two of them bantered, before the Doctor went and flipped a few switches. "Okay, since I don't know what I'm getting into this time, for once, I'm being discrete. I'm putting the engines on silent."

The Doctor went to flip a switch, but Alex stopped him.

"I wouldn't pull that one."

He frowned. "Why not?"

"It's the wrong one." Alex answered simply, but the Doctor scoffed smugly.

"Course not. I know what I'm doing."

He flipped the switch anyway and the Tardis let out a wail, before Alex quickly flipped the switch back down; River going to throw the correct one as the Doctor came around the other side of the console.

"Did you do something?"

"No, just... watching." River replied.

"Alex?" He questioned, turning towards her and she was quick to give him an annoyed look.

"Why would _I_ do anything? _I_ apparently don't know what I'm doing."

"Oh, Alex. Come on. I didn't mean it like that." The Doctor whined, seeing that he'd upset her with his previous comment.

"Mm, if you really didn't mean it, then I expect flying lessons."

He gave her a disbelieving look. _First she's all nervous and jittery, and now she's picking fights? Something's definitely going on. She's trying to distract herself._ "What? I can't do that. The Tardis is a very complicated and delicate instrument. Pull the wrong lever and who knows what'll happen."

Alex shrugged. "Alright then. I won't tell you what I did. It's fine with me. Just don't be expecting anything more out of me the rest of the day."

"Oh, alright! Fine! Have it your way." He grumbled. "I'll only let you help me fly her though. No lessons on how to fly alone."

Alex grinned. "Sounds good to me. I flipped back your lever."

She pointed to the one she flipped and the Doctor flipped it back, only to wince at the sounds the ship produced and return it to the off position.

"Right..." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, putting the outer shield on invisible. I haven't done this in a while. Big drain on the power."

"You can turn the Tardis invisible?" Rory asked and the Doctor let out a brief laugh.

"Ha."

"Very nearly." River corrected, flipping another lever to fix the Doctor's mistake.

Said man looked at her again suspiciously. "Uh, did you touch something?"

"Just admiring your skills, sweetie."

"Good. You might learn something." He quipped, before going back to work as River and Alex exchanged eye rolls at his actions. "Okay. Now I can't check the scanner. It doesn't work when we're cloaked. Just give us a mo."

He dashed towards the doors and the rest followed, but he stopped them.

"Woah, woah, woah, woah. You lot. Wait a moment. We're in the middle of the most powerful city in the most powerful country on Earth. Let's take it slow."

The Doctor stepped out and Alex rolled her eyes heading for the door.

"Um, Alex? Where are you going?" Amy asked and Alex paused, looking back over her shoulder.

"Like he said, most powerful city in the most powerful country in the world. Someone's got to make sure he stays out of trouble. He'll get himself shot otherwise." She smirked then. "And this is my home turf."

* * *

I poked my head out of the Tardis and spotted the Doctor standing there taking notes in a small notepad as the recorded phone call Nixon was playing ended.

"Surly this is something the Bureau could handle, sir." Canton suggested, not having noticed the Doctor as I came the rest of the way out.

"These calls happen wherever I am. How do I know the Bureau isn't involved? I can't trust anyone—"

Nixon stopped upon spotting the Doctor and Canton abruptly stood up as I rolled my eyes and stayed in the darkened part of the room for a moment longer.

"Oh, hello. Bad moment." The Doctor said, looking nervous and bumping into a lamp. "Oh look, this is the Oval Office. I was looking for the, uh, oblong room."

Nixon buzzed security on his phone and I walked out with a sigh, drawing their attention to me as the Doctor hissed at me.

"Alex. What are you doing here?! I told you to wait in the Tardis!"

I grabbed him by the ear, making him open his mouth in pain as I scolded him, none too quietly either.

"Wait? You expect me to _wait_ as you sit here and make a fool of yourself? Tell me, who's that over there?" I gestured to Nixon.

"P-President Nixon." He muttered, wincing as I tugged harder and the two men watched silently.

"Right. And where are we?"

"America?"

I rolled my eyes. "Where are we _exactly_?"

"The Oval Office. I-In the White House."

"And do you know what that means?"

He looked away nervously. "Um, that we're standing on really fancy carpeting?"

I let his ear go and smacked him on the back of the head. "No, you moron! It means Canton over there is more than willing to draw his gun and shoot us because we just _popped up_ in one of the most secure places in America!" I sighed and looked over at Nixon and Canton as they stared in shock. "Sorry, he's not exactly the _smartest_ guy in the universe."

"Hey!" The Doctor whined, rubbing his ear, but one glare from me shut him up. "We'll just be off then, shall we?"

The Doctor turned around and ran right into the Tardis, before bounding back up and holding his face now.

"Don't worry! It always does that when it's cloaked."

I sighed once more, before holding my hands up and placing them on the back of my head, lowering myself to my knees as Canton went and wrestled the Doctor to the floor.

"Ah, no! Stop that!"

"Oh shut up." I complained tossing a look in their direction, despite the fact that they couldn't see me. "You got us in this mess. Couldn't just wait, could you?"

The Secret Service burst into the room then and Canton immediately began barking orders.

"Lockdown! Lockdown!"

"Stop that! Agh! Oh! River, have you got my scanner working yet?!"

I was grabbed and cuffed by the Secret Service as the Doctor was pulled up off the floor, wincing as the cuffs rubbed painfully against my wrists.

"No, you don't!" The Doctor called out, somehow knowing that River said she hated him.

"Get the President out of here!" Canton called out. "Sir, you have to go with them now!"

I sighed. "If you would, River, make her blue again!"

The Tardis shimmered back into vision and Nixon quickly stopped along with the others; though I still remained in their grasp.

"What the hell is that?"

Everyone then noticed that the Doctor wasn't where he had been and they found him lounging in Nixon's chair, making me groan.

"Mr. President." He said in a bad American accent, earning four guns aimed his way as he dropped a ledger onto the desk.

"I told you he's an idiot." I complained, earning a glance from Canton as I scolded the Doctor from my place in the arms of one of the Secret Service. "Get your feet off the desk!"

He pouted, but did so, going back to what he was saying. "That child just told you everything you need to know, but you weren't listening. Never mind though, because the answer's yes. I'll take the case. Fellas, the guns? Really? I just walked into the highest security office in the United States and parked a big blue box on the rug. Do you think you can just shoot me?"

"They're Americans!" River and I said at the same time as she came out of the box and the guns were aimed her way.

"Don't shoot." The Doctor pleaded, holding his arms up as I rolled my eyes. "Definitely no shooting."

Rory too, came out of the box with Amy. "Nobody shoot us either. Very much not in need of getting shot. Look. We've got our hands up."

"Who the hell are you?" Nixon asked.

"Sir, you need to stay back." Canton told him, but he still wanted his questions answered.

"But who are they and what is that box?"

"It's a police box. Can't you read?" The Doctor said and I groaned, earning all the attention of the room.

"Can I speak, Mr. President? Because it seems he's only going to get us in more trouble at this rate."

The man nodded, and I sighed.

"Good, because the first thing I want to say is, Doctor, you're an idiot."

"What? How so?"

I frowned at him. "Oh, I don't know. Let's pop up in the White House and just act like we got lost in the Oval Office while the President's trying to have a private meeting and prop our feet up on the desk as well as insult him. God, a _monkey_ could have come up with a better plan than that."

He went to speak, but I gave him a pointed look and he shut his mouth with a childish pout.

"Good. Now then, next is introductions." I said, snapping at the Doctor before he could get a word out. "And _no_, we're not secret agents or anything. Ignore him. I'm Alexander Holmes, the red head is Amelia Pond—goes by Amy."

"Hi." Amy waved nervously.

"Guy beside her is Rory Pond, her husband."

"Um, hello." He replied, also nervous.

"The _lovely_ woman with the bushy hair is Doctor River Song, archaeologist."

River smiled at me and I smiled a little back before dropping the grin and giving the Doctor a nod of my head.

"And the bonehead at your desk is the Doctor."

"Who are you?" Nixon repeated, not really asking for our names and before _I_ could get a word out, the Doctor spoke.

"Nah, boring question. Sorry Alex, I'm taking over. The question is, who's phoning you? That's interesting. Because Canton Three is right. That was definitely a girl's voice, which means there's only one place in America she can be phoning from."

"Where?" Canton asked and I smirked a bit, glad he was interested, because if he wasn't we'd definitely have a problem.

"Do not engage with the intruder, Mr. Delaware." The man holding me ordered.

"You heard everything I heard. It's simple enough, give me five minute, I'll explain. On the other hand, lay a finger on me and my friends, and you'll never ever know. Lay a hand on _Alex_, however, and you'll wish you weren't even born." The Doctor threatened.

"God, you're so over protective." I grumbled, earning a smile from him as Canton spoke up, gesturing to the Tardis.

"How did you get it in here? I mean, you didn't carry it in."

"Clever, eh?"

"Love it." Canton said in appreciation.

"Do not compliment the intruder." The other Secret Service agent ordered; the one holding me.

_What was his name again? Carl?_

"Five minutes?" Canton continued.

"Five." The Doctor affirmed

The man holding me wasn't as eager though. "Mr. President, that man is a clear and present danger to—"

I, having grown tired of his rambling, stomped harshly on his foot and elbowed him in the nose when he doubled over. He fell back onto the floor and I jumped, pulling my legs trough my cuffed arms and grabbing the man's gun; disarming it before tossing it to the side. Now that he was taken care of, I turned towards the shocked Canton and Nixon.

"Yeah, this guy here is the very man guarding this office, right? We got past him with a big blue box, and four others, as well as me kicking his butt just now in a few seconds. If we wanted to do anything dangerous, it would've been done already. None of us are armed and you all are the one's pointing the guns. So what's wrong with a five minute talk? If we don't deliver, Canton can shoot us himself. But can we _please_ just be civilized for a moment? It's bad enough the English think we Americans are all gun-ho savages. Let's not prove them right."

Nixon considered me for a moment as I blew a strand of hair off my forehead, before answering.

"Alright."

"Five minutes." Canton repeated, and the guns were slightly lowered.

"But sir—" Carl at my feet, was cut off by my glare and immediately went silent as the Doctor grinned.

"I'm going to need a SWAT team, ready to mobilize. Street level maps covering all of Florida. A pot of coffee, twelve Jammie Dodgers, a fez, and a caffeinated soda for Alex before she blows a fuze."

I scoffed, plopping down on one of the chairs nearby as Canton cleared his throat.

"Get him his maps... and a soda."

"Thank God." I muttered.

* * *

Not much later, I was uncuffed and skimming over the maps scattered about the room with the others, searching for the streets I knew we were interested in, but finding them no where.

"Why Florida?" Canton asked as the Doctor moved over to the President's desk.

"That's where NASA is. She mentioned a spaceman. NASA's where the spacemen live. Also, there's another lead I'm following."

I felt a chill go up my spine then and stiffened, swallowing thickly as I knew what was standing in the doorway not a few feet behind me. _Don't look, Alex. You can do it. For once in your life, just don't let curiosity get the better of you._ I couldn't help it though and turned towards the door, freezing in place at the sight of the Silence standing there. I was terrified. Absolutely and dreadfully terrified staring at it. I heard Amy mention something, but I didn't shift my eyes from the alien before me; chest suddenly burning. It only took a moment, but the Silence left the doorway and I continued to stare at the same spot, as a question came to mind. _I remember... But... how can I remember it? It's not there anymore, but I still know it was. Something's wrong. Something's very, _very_ wrong. _The burning in my chest was growing worse and I began to feel dizzy, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what was going on. Not with the Silence, not with my memory, and not with the fact that I was suddenly falling to the ground.

"Alex!"

I was caught just before I face planted into the carpet and I was turned over as my body shook slightly, struggling with something. The Doctor looked over me worriedly, myself trying to ask what was going on, but the words unable to come out even as he patted my face.

"Alex. Alex. Calm down. You need to breathe. Please. You're not breathing."

_I'm not breathing? When did I stop breathing?_ I suddenly gasped for air, rolling onto my side as I sucked in lungs full of the oxygen I'd unconsciously deprived myself of, and the Doctor rubbed my back as he tried to keep me calm.

"There you go. In, out. One, two. One, two. God, Alex, you had me worried."

"I-I don't..." I stared at him in confusion as he helped me back up; legs still a bit shaky. "I don't know why, but I just..."

"It's alright. Just sit down here. Rest for a bit." He said, though his eyes told me that he really wanted answers.

_How am I supposed to tell him that it was just me freaking out about the Silence though? That I just panicked to the point where I forgot to breathe over an alien that no one remembers seeing? I don't even know how _I_ remember! Is it because I've seen the show? But that's just... it's not possible, right?_ A headache formed quickly in my head, temples pounding as I ground my knuckles into them and tried to battle the pain; questions still bouncing around in my skull. The Doctor glanced at me and gave me a worried look.

"You sure you're alright? You look a bit pale."

"Yeah, no. I'm fine. Headache, that's all."

He hesitated, but turned back to his map; Canton speaking up not a moment later.

"Your five minutes are up."

"Yeah? And where's my fez?" The Doctor questioned, shutting him up for now.

A second later, the phone rang.

"The kid?" Canton questioned.

"Should I answer it?" Nixon questioned, just as the Doctor found what he needed to.

"Here! The only place in the United States that call could be coming from. See? Obvious when you think about it."

The group looked at the map as Amy returned and Canton smiled a bit.

"You, sir, are a genius."

"It's a hobby." He replied and I scoffed, a hand still on my head.

"Yeah, only when there's people around to be impressed by it."

He frowned at me, but Canton ignored our bickering, speaking to Nixon.

"Mr. President, answer the phone."

Nixon hesitated, but answered it as he turned on the recorder. "Hello, this is President Nixon."

"_It's here! The spaceman is here! It's gonna get me! It's gonna eat me!_"

The Doctor turned to Canton, putting on his coat as myself and the others scrambled on board the Tardis. "There's no time for a SWAT team. Let's go. Mr. President, tell her help's on the way. Canton, on no account follow me into this box and close the door behind you."

"What the hell are you doing?"

Ignoring what the Doctor told him, Canton followed after him onto the Tardis and the Doctor pushed me down onto the jump-seat with a stern look.

"I don't know what happened earlier, but it obviously wasn't very good. So sit here and rest." He dug into his pocket and pulled out a small tablet, putting it into my hands before I could protest. "Take this, it'll help with the headache."

He then hurried to the console and began flipping switches and such as he sent the Tardis off into flight.

"Jefferson isn't a girl's name. It's not her name either. Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton. Alex?"

I blinked, quickly taking the pill he'd given me and responding. "Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, and Alexander Hamilton. Founding Fathers."

"Lovely fellows." He smiled. "Two of them fancied me." His smile fell then, turning into a frown. "And the other fancied Alex."

I smiled a bit at that. "Ooh, really? Which one? Hamilton, right? I've always like him."

The Doctor turned to me and pointed, obviously not pleased. "I'm keeping you away from him. So don't get any ideas."

"Oh, it _was_ him! Can't wait for that day." I chuckled, feeling better already. "Did Franklin like me too?"

"Agh! Anyway!" The Doctor complained, turning back around, having answered my question for me with his groan. "You see, the President asked the child two questions. Where are you and who are you? She was answering where. Now, where would you find three big, historical names like that in a row?" He asked the group of us ignoring Canton right now since Rory was dealing with him rather well.

"Where?" Amy asked.

"Here." The Doctor announced, landing the Tardis and bounding away towards the door with me in tow. "Come on."

He stopped though, nearly running the two of us into the disbelieving Canton.

"It's, uh..."

The Doctor pointed at Rory. "Are you taking care of this?"

The Doctor didn't wait for an answer as he tugged me out of the ship; Rory complaining behind us.

"Why is it always my turn?"

The moment we were out the doors though, the Doctor plopped down in a chair and pulled me on top of his lap, kissing me briefly with a grin.

"Better?"

I nodded. "For now, yeah. But behave. Not in public." I lightly scolded him.

"Oh, what fun are you?" He complained as Amy cleared her throat and spoke up.

"Where are we?"

"About five miles from Cape Kennedy Space Center. It's 1969, the year of the moon. Interesting, don't you think?"

"But why would a little girl be here?" She asked, turning on a torch and looking around.

"I don't know. Lost me a bit. The President asked the girl where she was and she did what any lost little girl would do. She looked out of the window." The Doctor explained, getting up and pulling me towards a window nearby.

"Streets. Of course, street names."

"Only one place in Florida, probably all of America, with those three street names on the same junction. And Alex, you've got that face on again." He said, poking my nose.

"Face?" I questioned and he grinned.

"That 'he's hot when he's clever' face."

I furrowed my brows. "Uh, no. This is just my face."

"Yes, it is." He hummed kissing me again as I smacked him on the arm.

"_People_, Doctor."

Canton had come out of the Tardis then, looking around in surprise. "We've moved. How... How can we... have moved?"

The Doctor leaned past me after messing with a phone and gave Rory a look. "You haven't even got to space travel yet?" He questioned in disbelief.

Rory sighed. "I was going to cover it with time travel."

"Time travel..." Canton questioned, pointing at Rory as the Doctor spun me around and pulled me along.

"Brave heart, Canton. Come on."

As the walked along, I tried to ignore the Doctor's hands on my waist, remembering now that he was supposed to be flirting with River during this adventure, not me. _How else is he supposed to fix the paradox that happens at the end of all this? He can't do that without marrying River. And to marry River, they have to at least be a _little_ flirty, right? As much as it pains me to say it, but am I really screwing things up here? Love or not, I could put the whole universe in danger._

"It's a warehouse of some kind. Disused." River said, looking around.

"You realize this is almost certainly a trap, of course?"

"I noticed the phone, yes."

"What about it?" Amy questioned and I spoke up.

"Line was cut. Makes it impossible for someone to of phoned from here."

"Okay, but why would anyone want to trap us?" She asked instead.

"Let's see if anyone tries to kill us and work backwards." The Doctor said and I frowned at him.

"How about we don't, and say we did."

"Wow, Alex not wanting to run headfirst into danger? That's odd." Rory quipped and I turned my annoyed gaze to him.

"I've been shot, electrocuted, tortured, and nearly dissected, and you don't think that _maybe_ I want to stay in one piece for a bit longer?"

Rory held his hands up in surrender, but Canton looked at me in shock.

"You've been through all that?"

I winced. "Yeah... Long story."

I briefly searched for the astronaut that would've been lurking about watching us, but saw nothing and turned my attention back to River as she spoke up; leading the group.

"Now, why would a little girl be here?"

"I don't know." The Doctor responded. "Let's find her and ask her."

So he said, but I knew it'd be a while before we found young River Song, and we came upon some moss covered technology in the mean time.

"It's non-terrestrial. Definitely alien. Probably not even from this time zone." River explained.

"Which is odd, because look at this!" The Doctor said excitedly, bounding over to some boxes with space equipment inside.

"It's Earth tech." River sounded surprised. "It's contemporary."

"It's _very_ contemporary. Cutting edge. This is from the space program."

"Stolen?" River offered.

"Maybe they've just got connections." I shrugged, trying to keep my mind off the Silence that I knew were hiding away underground.

"What, aliens with connections to the space program?" Amy questioned, dubiously.

"It could happen."

"Alex is right." The Doctor hummed. "Wouldn't be the first time an alien's gotten involved in something without you guys knowing it."

"But why? I mean, if you can make it all the way to Earth, why steal technology that can barely make it to the moon?"

"Maybe because it's cooler?" The Doctor chirped from inside the space helmet he'd put on, lifting the shield. "Look how cool this stuff is."

"Cool aliens?"

"Well, what would you call me?"

"An alien." Amy said as I responded too.

"With bad fashion sense."

"Oi!"

The Doctor took off the helmet as Rory spoke up, gesturing to Canton with his flashlight.

"I, uh, I think he's okay now."

"Ah, back with us, Canton."

"I like your wheels." He commented, making the Doctor grin even brighter as he pat Canton on the shoulder.

"That's my boy. So, come on. Little girl. Let's find her."

The group of us began looking around, but I kept a wary eye out for the Silence, also glancing at River and Amy once in a while knowing that they'd be the ones to find the manhole leading down to said Silence. Sure enough, not a moment later, River called out to the Doctor.

"Doctor, look at this."

"So, where does that go?" He asked, myself and him heading over, though I was still a bit hesitant.

"There's a network of tunnels running under here."

"Life signs?"

"No. Nothing that's showing up."

"Those are the worse kind." He grumbled as River made to head down. "Be careful."

"Careful? Tried that once. Ever so dull."

"River." I said, stopping her momentarily. "Please be careful."

She eyed me for a moment, probably knowing that I knew something I wasn't telling her, but smiled.

"For you sweetie, I will."

She headed down and I felt a shiver rack my spine, making the Doctor eye me suspiciously.

"You sure you're okay, Alex?"

I nodded. "As fine as I can be in this situation."

He continued to watch me, before saying something I wish he didn't. "Scale of one to ten?"

I flinched. "Um... do I really have to answer that?"

He immediately looked worried. "Off the charts?"

"Depends on the perspective." I muttered quietly and the Doctor pulled me close to his side, rubbing his hand up and down my arm.

"Tell me what's going on here?" Canton asked and the Doctor glanced briefly at me before back at him.

"She's my girlfriend."

I rolled my eyes, giving him a look. "He's talking about the alien situation, moron."

The Doctor pouted. "I knew that. Why are you being so mean?"

"Stress." I said quietly. "Sorry."

"It's alright. You can't tell me everything. I understand."

He went to pull me away from the manhole cover, but I stopped him.

"Can I, possibly..."

"No." He answered immediately and I frowned.

"Doctor, I just have a bad feeling about this and I think she'll need help."

He turned to me seriously. "All the more reason why you shouldn't go down there. And if she needed help, she'd scream or something."

I pinched the bridge of my nose for a second taking a breath to keep myself calm, and then gave him a stern look.

"Doctor, trust me on this. Please. I know what's going on here better than anyone else. I know what is or isn't down there, so let me go after her."

He looked about ready to argue and I raised a brow.

"I don't _have_ to ask, you know, but I am. So give me a chance."

He made a face like he was on the edge of something, before finally giving in. "Ah, alright. But two minutes, then I want you back up here."

I nodded, kissing him briefly as thanks before hurrying down the ladder; him calling after me.

"Be careful!"

"Promise!" I called back, heading into the underground tunnel and being sure to keep my flashlight on the wall to my left, away from where any Silence would be as I called out to River. "River, do me a favor, can you come back this way."

"In a minute, sweetie. I just need to check something."

I saw her flashlight sweep up the wall, following a cable and I tried to warn her a second time.

"River, please. I don't like this."

"It's fine." She said, just before her breath hitched upon her flashlight shining on three Silence sitting on the ground in a corner.

My own breath caught in my throat and I tried not to panic like I did last time, but it was hard. River's light then moved to the right a bit and another Silence—closer to us—whirled around with a growl, making River step back with a gasp of fear as I grabbed her arm and pulled her behind me.

"U-Up the ladder... River... up the ladder!"

She hastily did so as I slowly backed away from the Silence, a pounding starting up in my head the longer I stared at it. I reached out a hand behind me and grabbed onto a rung of the ladder, before risking turning my back on the creature and scrambling up; pushing River up and out of the hole as I followed after her. She was slightly out of breath, but I was on the verge of a panic attack when she called out to the Doctor.

"All clear. Just tunnels. Nothing down there I can see."

The Doctor though, was eyeing me as I kept my gaze focused on the manhole cover in fear.

"Uh, give me five minute. I want to take another look around." River said as the Doctor spoke a little louder.

"Stupidly dangerous!"

"Yup, I like it too." River said, lowering herself down a bit before looking at me in confusion. "You alright Alex?"

I shifted my glance to her and nodded, forcing a smile on my face, though the headache I'd once had returned with three times as much pain.

"Y-Yeah. I think I'll just stay up here this time though."

River nodded with a smile. "Look after him."

She headed down and the Doctor managed to convince Rory to go too, said man eyeing me in worry as he headed down the tunnel as well.

"Alex?"

Something touched my shoulder and I jumped, scrambling away from it, only to see the Doctor giving me a worried look.

"Alex, what was down there?"

I shook my head, bringing a hand to it with a hiss of pain as my headache flared up even more at the movement. "I-I can't... I can't tell you... Ngh."

His hands brushed through my hair and a thumb rubbed my cheek as I grit my teeth against the furious pounding in my head.

"Alex? Alex, what's wrong?"

"I-It hurts." I muttered, eyes clenched shut as my own hands gripped the side of my head tightly.

"But you were fine! Could... Could this have to do with what was in the tunnel? Alex?"

_That's it..._ My eyes suddenly snapped open and I looked up at the worried Doctor fearfully.

"I-I remember... I'm not supposed to remember, but..."

I grimaced, my head getting foggier with each second as the headache grew even worse.

"Can't remember... Impossible... Fighting me remembering..."

"Remember what? Alex! Remember what?! What aren't you supposed to remember?!" The Doctor said, practically shouting at this point as I could feel myself blacking out.

I had to tell him though. He needed to know their name.

"T-The Silence." I breathed out, before everything went dark.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_ "What did you tell him?"_

_ "Hm? Oh, to bring in our last guest. You've been asking for her, after all."_

_ The Doctor perked up at that, only to head the dragging sound of chains nearing the door. The man entered the box, half carrying, half dragging Alex into the room, before dropping her unceremoniously onto the floor; her hands bound together with cuffs behind her back, her ankles also chained together, and a blindfold over her eyes. Her skin was clear of tally-marks though, but she remained motionless on the ground before the Doctor._

_ "What have you done to her?"_


	38. Day of the Moon & The Stolen Earth

**Here's the next chapter. On time, as promised ;) Lots of page breaks and a bit of a rough time for Alex, but things cheer up a bit, you get to see a different side to Alex and a mystery character pops in here. Please let me know what you think! i love feedback. ^^**

* * *

_Three months later: July 1969_

_Valley of the Gods, Utah_

Amy ran through the Utah desert in a panic, a car speeding down after her not too far away.

"Suspect directly ahead. Coming to you now. Over." Canton said to his other men in a second vehicle heading for Amy.

Amy herself though, had run out of room to run and skid to a stop in front of a cliff edge as the two cars pulled up behind her and Canton got out.

"Canton." She muttered, eyeing him.

"Miss Pond."

A man came up behind him and threw a black bag onto the ground.

"Is that a body bag?" Amy asked, voice shaking slightly.

"Yes, it is."

"It's empty."

"How about that?" Canton quipped, raising a gun towards her.

"Do you even know why you're doing this, eh? Can you even remember the warehouse?"

Canton didn't say a word though, before shooting her.

* * *

_Area 51, Nevada_

Canton approached the Doctor who was bound in a straight jacket and chained to a chair as scientists built a box around him. The Doctor had since grown a dark beard and his hair had grown out as well, but he hardly seemed bothered as Canton spoke.

"We found Amy Pond. She had... strange markings on her arm." Canton held up a photo of Amy's arm with tally marks on it from a file he had. "Do you know what they are?"

He tossed the file with the photos onto the ground in front of the Doctor. The Doctor shook his head briefly.

"Why don't you ask her?"

Canton just smiled and tilted his head a bit, before the Doctor turned back to him.

"And Alex?"

Canton's smile dropped and he shook his head before leaving.

* * *

_New York_

River held her arm out, baring the same markings as Amy's had, and she moved her scanner around the room she was in. It was under construction so there were plastic sheets up, but that only made things more difficult for her. She knew the Silence were there. She hurried into another area of the building, panting slightly, only to freeze as a metal piping was heard bouncing on the floor. She spotted the two Silence around her and touched the necklace dangling over her stomach.

"I see you. I. See. You." She said as she marked down tow more tallies on her arm.

"Doctor Song!" Canton called out, he and his men having arrived and making her turn away from the Silence behind her. "Doctor Song!"

She saw that the Silence were gone and took a chance, running for it as Canton called out his orders.

"Go! Go! Go! Don't move!"

They caught up with her when she ran out of places to go, her back facing a large opening in the side of the building.

"It's over." Canton said, gun raised.

"They're here, Canton." She said. "They're everywhere."

"I know. America's being invaded." He said with a shake of his head and a disbelieving look.

"You were invaded a long time ago. America is occupied."

"You're coming with us, Doctor Song. There's no way out this time."

"There's always a way out." She smiled, before stepping back and falling off the building.

* * *

Canton was back in Area 51, standing behind the Doctor as said man watched the scientists build the walls around him.

"We found Doctor Song."

"These bricks, what're they made of?" The Doctor questioned, ignoring what he'd said for a second. "Where is she?"

"She ran. Off the fiftieth floor."

The Doctor was quiet, licking his lips for a second, before speaking again, though not about River.

"I'd say zero balance dwarf star alloy. The densest material in the universe. Nothing gets through that. You're building me the perfect prison." The Doctor looked over his shoulder at Canton. "And it still won't be enough. Now where's Alex?"

Canton ignored him and walked off, leaving the Doctor glaring at his back.

* * *

_Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona_

Rory ran out onto the top of the dam, only to see men heading his way. He tried to turn around and run the other direction, but there were men there too. His only other option would be a dive off the side of the dam, so he held his hands up in surrender and faced Canton; his body covered in tallies.

"What're you waiting for?" He asked, dropping his hands down to his sides.

"I'm waiting for you to run. It'd look better if I shot you while you're running. Then again..." Canton lifted his gun. "...look's not everything."

Rory closed his eyes, sniffling and bracing himself, before Canton shot him.

* * *

Canton returned to Area 51 with men carrying two body bags. He entered the box that had been built around the Doctor and watched as the body bags were brought in and laid at the Doctor's feet.

"Is there a reason you're doing this?"

"I want you to know where you stand." Canton replied.

"In a cell." The Doctor quipped back as Canton stopped one of the men and whispered in his ear.

The Doctor frowned, eyeing Canton suspiciously.

"What did you tell him?"

"Hm? Oh, to bring in our last guest. You've been asking for her, after all."

The Doctor perked up at that, only to head the dragging sound of chains nearing the door. The man entered the box, half carrying, half dragging Alex into the room, before dropping her unceremoniously onto the floor; her hands bound together with cuffs behind her back, her ankles also chained together, and a blindfold over her eyes. Her skin was clear of tally-marks though, but she remained motionless on the ground before the Doctor.

"What have you done to her?" The Doctor growled out, but Canton ignored him.

"The perfect cell. Nothing can penetrate these walls." He said, putting his fingers into the locking mechanism to shut the door. "Not a sound, not a radio wave, not the tiniest particle of anything. In here, you are literally cut off from the rest of the universe." Canton smirked then. "So I guess they can't hear us, right?"

"Good work, Canton." The Doctor said, glancing at the door. "Door sealed?"

"You bet."

The Doctor quickly shook off the chains and straight jacket around him as the two body bags sat up with gasps; the Doctor helping Rory open his as he double checked he was alright.

"You okay?"

Amy poked her head out of the second body bag with a gasp. "Finally."

"These things could _really_ do with air holes." Rory complained as the Doctor went over to Alex in worry.

"Never had a complaint before." Canton remarked as the Doctor pat Alex's cheeks to try and get a response from her.

"What's wrong with her?" The Doctor asked, turning to him. "Why isn't she waking up?"

Canton gave him a worried look. "I'm not sure. She's been like that for months. I've tried everything, but she doesn't even register a pin prick to the bottom of her foot. We've had to hook her up to an IV and everything just to keep her going."

"Oh, come on, Alexander."

Amy looked over as well, concern also growing. "Doctor, maybe it's because of those aliens. Could they have done something?"

The Doctor's eyes widened as a thought came to him. "That's it!"

Rory was confused now. "What? The aliens did something?"

"No, no, no." The Doctor shook his head, moving Alex over to the wall and sitting her up against it as the Doctor removed her chains. "Remember before? When she blacked out at the warehouse? Remember what she said?"

"Um... Oh!" It clicked for Amy. "She said she could remember!"

The Doctor snapped his fingers. "Exactly! Because of her foreknowledge of these events, she knows all about the Silence. That's why she had those headaches. It was her mind trying to keep her foreknowledge intact and the aliens trying to wipe their existence from her mind."

"But why has she been unconscious for months?" Canton questioned as the Doctor rubbed gently on the red rings around Alex's wrists from the cuffs.

"It's her mind trying to protect her from them. It shut her senses down so that there would be no possibility of her being effected by them again. It's a defense mechanism."

"Uh, how do we get wake her up then?" Rory questioned and the Doctor moved his hands up to Alex's temples.

"Very carefully."

* * *

_It was dark. I couldn't see anything or hear anything or feel anything. I don't know how long I've been like this. It was weird. Like I was just sort of _existing_. But not really. I don't know how to explain it. I wasn't bored though. I don't know why. You would think just sitting around in the dark would be boring or maddening or something, but it wasn't. It was just... empty. Peaceful, almost. Up until the knocking started. It wasn't the usual, 'knock, knock, who's there' sort of knocking either. It was like the pounding you get when someone's at your door asking for money. The kind that shakes the walls and makes you want to curl up in a ball in the closet somewhere until they leave. That's what I was doing. I was hiding like a kid, curled up in a ball, hands over my ears in some corner of wherever I was. I don't even know how I was doing that, seeing as I don't even think I have a physical form in here._

_The knocking was strange though. It would come, bringing pain along with it, but then it'd leave. Like something shoved it out. It had come and gone a few times, bringing fear and leaving a thick, tense quiet in it's wake. So when the knocking came back, but softer—like a gentle rapping—one could understand my suspicion. _Go away. Go away. Please, go away._ I mentally begged, afraid it was the knocking from before just trying something different to get in._

"_...Alex!"_

_I slowly brought my face out of my arms and looked around the dark expanse, recognizing the voice._

"_D-Doctor?"_

"_Alex, please. Let me help you."_

_I hesitated though. _What if this is a trick? What if it's them using his voice?

"_Alexander, please. You need to wake up. Wake up."_

_I shook my head out of those thoughts and stood, looking around before taking off in a run through the dark towards the voice._

"_Wake up, Alex. Wake up!"_

I winced, feeling as though I'd run a marathon with how achy my body was at the moment, feeling something running along my face gently.

"Alex, please wake up." A soft voice said and I slowly forced my tired eyes open, seeing a rather _furry_ looking Doctor. "Good morning, sleeping beauty." He hummed as I furrowed my brows.

"Morning? Why do you look like a lumberjack?" I said, cringing at my hoarse voice and my dry throat. _Not to mention my aching head._

I brought a hand up to my head and grimaced, sitting up with the Doctor's help.

"Ugh, my head."

The Doctor gave me a worried look, quickly grabbing my head between his hands and looking me over; the fleeting touch of his mind brushing up against mine letting me know he was checking for something in my head.

"I'm fine, Doctor. Honest." I murmured, lightly tugging his fingers away from my temples. "Just give my head a rest for a minute, would ya?"

"Alex, I need to make sure there's no damage and I need to put up barriers so that—"

I covered his mouth with my hand, dragging my other through my hair with a frown at it's length. _Need a trim. How long have I been out of it? I can't remember._

"Sh." I shushed the Doctor, earning another look from him that made me frown. "I'm fine, so stop worrying. Don't we have someplace we need to be or something?"

He pointed to my hand still over his mouth and I reluctantly lowered it as he spoke. "I just want to make sure you're alright, then we can leave."

I sighed, getting up and rubbing my head, frowning down at my legs as they quivered. "Alright, fine. Can we get in the Tardis first though? I don't like this box and... why are my legs all wobbly?"

I stuck a leg out and kicked the wall beside me, but the quivering didn't go away.

"You've been unconscious for three months." Canton said, giving me a look as I stopped kicking the wall and turned to him.

"Oh. Makes sense then." I shrugged, before turning to Amy and Rory. "Ew, you two look like crap."

Amy pouted, crossing her arms over her chest as Rory rolled his eyes. "Yeah? Well you don't look too great either."

I wrinkled my nose, pulling at the loose shirt I'd been put in. "Yeah, I know. I stink. Least I'm not a lumberjack though."

The Doctor—having gotten up off the floor, watching me—frowned. "Oi, three months strapped to a chair. I didn't exactly have a razor around."

"Mm." I hummed, walking behind said yellow chair and snapping my fingers as the Tardis opened it's doors. "Well I'm not kissing any lumberjack, so you better do something about it, eh spaceman?"

"Alex!" He whined as I chuckled and headed into the Tardis.

I heard the others come in after me, but I went straight for my room to shower and change. The moment I was out of sight though, I collapsed against the door, shaking and trying to keep calm as my breathing shortened in a panic. Because I was scared. I remembered what had happened and apparently I'd shut myself off from the world to protect myself from the Silence. But that wasn't what scared me the most. What did, was the fact that I could do it again. I could shut down again and leave the Doctor on his own. He could die protecting me if it happened while we were being attacked. _I_ could die, and I was scared. I might've acted tough earlier when Amy brought it up, but I was honestly very afraid of dying and of leaving the Doctor. _I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. Please. Doctor, I'm scared. I-I'm scared._

* * *

The Doctor hummed as he and the others returned to the Tardis after having, not only picked up River, but also having landed for a bit outside of the launch site of Apollo 11. He needed to shave though and Amy and Rory needed to change, so they were taking a moment for themselves to do so. The second he had finished shaving, however, he hurriedly bounded to Alex's room with a grin.

"Alex! I'm clean shaven! Kissing is allowed now!" He said excitedly, expecting a silly response and a roll of her eyes when she opened the door, only for nothing to happen.

Something twisted in his stomach and he gently knocked on the door.

"Alex? Is everything alright?"

Worry overcame his previous excitement, hoping that she hadn't slipped back into the mental state he'd just pulled her out of, and he pulled out his screwdriver to sonic the door open.

"Alex! I'm coming in!"

Upon entering, he looked around the darkened room as the Tardis hum echoed in it worriedly. He heard something though, like a quiet shuffling and followed it to the other side of the bed where he found Alex. She was curled up in a ball, sitting on the floor with her arms around her knees and her hands on her head, shaking slightly. It was then that the Doctor realized the shuffling sound he thought he heard was actually her breathing through her teeth; something she did in an attempt to keep herself from crying. He wasn't sure what was wrong. It was obvious that something had happened, but there was nothing odd about her room that would give him an idea of what it was. So he slowly approached Alex and knelt down in front of her, reaching a hand out and gently touching her arm.

"Alex, what's wrong? What's going on? I want to help you, but I can't unless you tell me what happened."

"I-I-I'm scared." She said, curling up tighter and making the Doctor become even more concerned.

It had been a very long time since she's said that to him, _admitted_ it to him. It was never good when Alex said she was scared, because so very little scared her enough to say it out loud. She was only human—well, mostly human—and she _did_ get scared. All the time. But she always hid it and put on a confident front. So when he finds her like this, _expressing_ her fear, he knew that whatever had made her this way was a _very_ big deal.

"What are you afraid of, Alex? The Silence? Because we'll take care of them. I'll help you put up barriers in your mind to keep them from trying to erase your memory of them. I won't let them do anything to you."

She shook her head slightly, but remained silent and the Doctor suddenly felt a sinking in his stomach.

"Is this about what you were afraid of before?"

Alex shakily nodded and the Doctor let out a quiet breath, reaching over and pulling her towards him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and cried softly.

"Oh, Alexander. It's alright. It'll be okay." He comforted her, rubbing her back as he leaned up against the side of her bed.

"I-I don't want to..." She sobbed. "I d-d-don't want to..."

"Sh, sh, sh. That's okay. You don't have to. No one's making you do anything you don't want to." He hummed softly, wondering what she didn't want to do, but his worry for her overcame his curiosity.

She shook her head though, clinging tighter to him. "I-It will happen... T-They warned me... They told me it would h-happen."

"Who did?" He asked, anger seeping into him towards whoever had frightened Alex. "Who told you?"

"T-The Ood. And Carmen. T-They told me it would happen." She explained, making the Doctor stiffen as he remembered how accurate the Ood's predictions had been for him back when he was the Tenth Doctor; his worry for Alex suddenly growing ten-fold. "Doctor, I-I'm scared. I-I don't want to die."

He froze at those words. His hearts seeming to have stopped in time as Alex sobbed on his shoulder, her nose pressed to the crook of his neck as his mind raced. _She's going to die. Alex is going to die. She can't die. I won't allow it. She can't. She just can't! Not Alex! Not my Alexander!_ The Doctor went to argue this fact with her, but the words caught in his throat as he looked at her shaking form; tears streaming down her face and onto his tweed jacket as she clung to him. She was so very scared and the Doctor knew that telling her she wasn't going to die wouldn't comfort her right now. And her next words, broke his hearts.

"I-I don't want to leave you alone. I-I don't want to d-die and leave you. Please." She begged and the Doctor's own eyes filled with tears as he quickly wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him.

"You won't. You won't. I promise. Alexander, I won't ever leave you. Never."

And he wouldn't. He would find a way to keep her from dying. He wasn't sure when it was going to happen, but it would happen in the near future; that much he was sure of. And when it did, he'd be prepared, because Alex wasn't just crying out of fear of dying. She was crying out of fear of leaving him. Even when it was _her_ life that was on the line, she still shed tears over him, without a second thought. And how could he possibly leave her when she was like this? When she was feeling more alone than she'd felt in years. So the Doctor sat there and comforted her until she began to glow, and she was forced to leave his side in a flash of light. He continued to sit there for a moment, hearts aching, but a slow bubbling anger began to fill him. The Oncoming Storm reared it's head and the Doctor got up in an instant, storming through the Tardis and towards the console room. Because Ood prediction or not, he _would_ find a way to save Alex. And the first step to doing that, was taking care of the Silence.

* * *

I popped up in an alleyway with a wince as my head slammed into a trash can upon my landing. Tears still steadily streamed down my face, but upon finding myself where I was, I tried to reel them back. Now just wasn't the time to be sobbing my eyes out over my upcoming death. I already felt ridiculous crying over it. Crying wouldn't stop it. Hell, _River_ knew when her time was coming and _she_ didn't cry. She never cried, even when she knew the Doctor would one day look at her and have no idea who she was. The Doctor didn't cry when he faced dangerous, _deadly_ situations. So many other people elsewhere had problems much bigger than what I was facing now and they were strong. They pushed through it. The Doctor had the weight of his entire race on his back, and he was pushing through it. God knows he's probably scared as hell when he meets up with the Daleks or the Master. But he stays strong, so I should too, right?

My confidence wavered as I pulled myself up off the dirty ground into a sitting position, rubbing the bump forming on my head as I did so. I was scared. I got that. I didn't want to leave the Doctor on his own, I didn't want to die, and _I_ didn't want to be alone. But I'd had a good cry about it, ruining the Doctor's tweed jacket in the process, and what good did that do me? None. So I forced myself to stand, feeling like a newborn fawn with how weak my legs were after three months of static, but I kept a stiff upper lip and shoved any thoughts of my upcoming death into a little box at the back of my mind; where it belonged. No doubt there was going to be people in danger, wherever I was, and they would need my help and the Doctor's. So I couldn't just cry forever.

I took a deep breath and set off, walking out of the alleyway and looking around the area with a slight frown on my face; completely confused as to where I was or could be. _But it seems like a normal, modern Earth. Somewhere in England, obviously, but where exactly I don't have the slightest idea._ I swallowed and went to reach into my coat pocket, only to realize that I was still in the dirty, stinky, baggy grey shirt and sweats that I'd been put in back in Area 51. Which meant no coat, no black book, no helpful—or useless, depending on the Tardis's mood—items tucked away in my pockets, and no money. Basically, I was a lost and penny-less homeless woman in England with no clue what to do next. I immediately pouted as my stomach growled.

"I can't even get some damn chips."

With a sigh, I headed out onto the sidewalk, ignoring the odd glances and whispers from people who passed me by as I looked around for any sign of trouble. _Because where you find trouble, the Doctor is usually not far behind._ Needless to say, I was walking for a long while, because apparently there wasn't much trouble going on here. My stomach though, could care less about trouble and growled again. _I don't even know when I last ate, thanks to the little coma I put myself in._ Someone suddenly bumped into me and I swear I felt a jolt of electricity when they did, though that was hard to tell when I was knocked to the ground.

"Oi! Watch it, buddy!" I shouted and the man turned with a grin that looked a bit pained.

He looked _really_ familiar though, but I couldn't place where I may have seen him. Or if I'd seen him at all. He was about my height, maybe an inch taller, with hair that was dark and buzzed on the sides, and spiky and blonde on top. His entire face screamed familiar to me, with the lightest of freckles splashed across it and bright blue-green eyes; a couple of earrings catching my attention at the top of his right ear. He appeared relatively fit, but more like the Doctor's kind of fit; with just enough muscle to not be skinny. The odd thing was, there was a hint of feminism to him. Don't know why, but I just felt he was a bit girlish. _Weird, but he knocked me over, so I don't know why I'm so focused on him._ I shook my head out of my thoughts as he rubbed the back of his neck in a familiar way.

"_Really_ sorry about that. I should be watching where I'm running."

I raised a brow. "Yeah, could you help me up now?"

His face twitched, almost in annoyance—probably at my rude tone. "I would, honestly, but I can't. You're fine, right?"

My mouth dropped open in shock, before I snapped my jaw shut and just shook my head, getting up on my own.

"Yeah, no, totally fine. Just got barreled down in the middle of the sidewalk by someone who _obviously_ wasn't looking where he was going and just refused to help me up. I'm just _peachy_." I snap sarcastically and he chuckled nervously.

"_God, am I rude..."_

I lift my head at that, but the man before me apparently had said nothing, seeing as he suddenly remembered something.

"Oh! I know! Here!" He reached behind him and handed me a black backpack. "Compensation!"

I took the pack from him and stared at it for a second, before looking up at him to try and get some answers, but he just grinned and waved; turning on his heels and bolting down the sidewalk.

"Bye!"

"W-What?! Hey, wait!" I called out in confusion, but he was already gone, leaving me with the backpack. "What the heck just happened?"

My stomach growled again and I turned my attention back to the hunger pains raging in my gut with a sigh._ Well, as much as I don't want to dig through a backpack that some weirdo gave me, I _really_ need to eat something._ So, I dug through the pack until I came upon a sleek black credit card and headed for the nearest ATM and pulled out some money; just enough to get a decent meal and some warmer, _clean_ clothes from a shop nearby. When I got my receipt though, my brows furrowed at the amount it said was remaining in the account.

_Account balance: 000000000000_

_That doesn't make sense._ I wondered. _How can the account not even be dollars or pounds, but just a line of zeros? Better yet, how could I get money if the account balance was zero?_ I decided that glaring at the piece of paper wouldn't help me figure it out, so I threw it away. From there, I changed into some jeans, a dark grey v-neck shirt, and a dark violet hoodie that I'd gotten; changing in the bathroom of the little cafe I was in. I then got some chips and settled down with a cup of hot tea to help me battle through the chilly English weather, which was nice after nearly dying of heat in the deserts of Utah. From there, I began my search through this backpack with furrowed brows, wondering just what could possibly be in here that would warrant some stranger just handing it over to me after knocking me down. What I found, _wasn't_ what I expected at all. There was a cell phone, a small laptop, a potato—of all things—a pair of sunglasses, a baseball cap, a small notepad, and something else that made my mouth drop open in shock as I lifted it out of the backpack.

"N-No way. But how...?"

My question trailed off into nothingness as I looked over the leather wristband of a worn out, beat up vortex manipulator. I flipped the strap open to make sure it wasn't just a trick, and taped to the inside of it was a small note.

_Hope u have coordinates._

_It's a bumpy ride._

_-Jack_

This note only further confused me and I quickly tried to shove everything back into the backpack, but the notepad slipped off the table and landed on the floor, revealing to me a set of numbers and instructions written in it. I hesitantly picked it up and my mouth dropped open again as I looked over the writing. _That's... That's _my_ handwriting... But how did I—_My mind screeched to a halt as I remembered the man who'd ran into me. The way he rubbed the back of his neck, the coat he was wearing, the words I thought he said, the electric shock I thought I felt when he bumped into me. Realization hit me like a train and I dropped the notepad onto the table in astonishment. _T-T-That... That was..._

"...me..." I blinked, slumping back against the booth and dropping my shoulders. "I-I just... met... _me_. But that can't… she didn't even _look_ like... a paradox should've..."

I threw my hands up to my head and messed up my hair with a—rather loud—complaint.

"_Whaaaaattttt?!_"

I then dropped my head onto the table, hitting it repeatedly a few times and making my cup rattle uneasily on the saucer. _I just met myself. My _future_ self who I may have confused for a guy, and got handed a backpack full of stuff, including Jack's old vortex manipulator and a _potato_. What the hell am I supposed to do with a potato?!_

"Um, sir?"

I jolted, lifting my head up to see a worried and slightly freaked out waitress. "Ah... yes?"

"Do you, um, need anything?"

I quickly scrambled into an upright position and began shoving the rest of the things on the table into my backpack. "N-No! No, I'm alright, thanks. Um, great tea, by the way." I quickly chugged the drink, ignoring the way it scalded my throat. "And I'll just head out now. Great service. Lovely. Um, bye!"

And with that I bolted from the cafe, leaving a number of confused people in my wake as I dashed out into the street and searched around for a moment before stopping and smacking myself in the forehead.

"Ah, no. don't be stupid. I wouldn't stick around. Paradoxes. So, I must have planned this. Which means something big is going to—Woah!"

The ground suddenly shook and I stumbled about until I managed to grab onto a pole, trying to keep myself upright as the earthquake made people stumbled and search for cover. Screams echoed around the street and I grit my teeth and closed my eyes; never having liked earthquakes much. Once the shaking died down though, I released my death grip on the pole and opened my eyes only to see that it was suddenly night time. _T-That... That can't be right. It was just—_I cut my thoughts off abruptly as I looked up and paled, seeing large planets up in the sky and no sun in sight.

"Oh no..." I breathed out, standing up and understanding now, why my future self had given me some things to work with. "Not now... Not today... Oh, why does it have to be today?" I complained. "I just found out my death day and the universe pulls _this_? Oh, somebody hates me, big time."

_'The Stolen Earth' and 'A Journey's End'. Oh, Donna..._ My hearts seemed to tighten as guilt built up in me over the way I had been acting earlier. There I was crying because I knew I was going to die, but Donna—poor Donna—she wasn't even going to have that. She was going to have every memory of the Doctor ripped from her. She had a fate worse than death and I had been selfish, panicking over my own when I should've been thinking about ways to help her. Help her, help River with her death, help the Doctor with his death, help save people who were going to die or get hurt, save the Doctor from himself. But instead I'd stopped. I'd stopped thinking about saving people and became absorbed in the fact that I was going to die. I didn't even know if it was going to be soon! It might take twenty years before I died, but I went and sobbed about it anyway.

"'Everybody knows that everybody dies'." I quoted, letting out a sigh and pulling my hand through my hair as I turned away from the sky full of stolen planets, before I lifted my head; determined. "But I'm not dying. Not today. Not when there's people to save."

* * *

The Daleks had descended and were tearing into Earth as they began to round up people from their homes and take them away. Everyone had given up. There was no hope, not without the Doctor, and no one could get into contact with him. There were a few though, who were still trying. Rose Tyler, who'd managed to make it into this universe was searching hard for the Doctor and had managed to get in touch with Wilfred and Sylvia—Donna's parents—in order to try and get a connection there. Alex was doing _her_ best to get someplace safe and had snuck into the sewers for now to hide from the Daleks as she worked on the laptop her future self had left her, trying to keep track of when she'd need to use the vortex manipulator; the coordinates already punched in and waiting. And then there was Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister, and there was no _way_ she was going to just sit back while the Earth sat there vulnerably.

"This message is of the utmost importance. We haven't much time. Can anyone hear me?" She called out, trying to get in touch with the few people who would be able to help.

Her connection was a bit bad, but she hadn't missed the conversation going on in Torchwood as she tried to strengthen it.

"Someone's trying to get in touch." Gwen said, followed by a downtrodden Jack Harkness.

"The whole world's crying out. Just leave it."

Harriet frowned at his giving up. "Captain Jack Harkness, shame on you. Now stand to attention, sir."

Jack quickly stood up and rushed to the computer screen in shock. "What? Who is that?"

Harriet flipped out her ID to the computer screen to show him _who_ exactly she was. "Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister."

"Yeah, I know who you are." Jack said with a small smile.

Rose, who'd also gotten the connection in the Noble's home grinned. "Harriet! It's me! It's me!"

Harriet though, couldn't see nor hear her and Rose turned to the Noble's.

"Oh, she can't hear me. Have you got a web cam?"

Wilfred shook his head, pointing to Sylvia. "No. She wouldn't let me. She said they're naughty."

Rose felt a bit upset about that and turned back to the laptop. "I can't speak to her then, can I?"

Harriet then called out to another friend of the Doctor's. "Sara Jane Smith, 13 Bannerman Road. Are you there?"

Sarah Jane, who'd been huddled with her son the moment she recognized the Dalek's voices, bolted up and rushed to Mr. Smith; her computer.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm here. That's... That's me."

"Good. Now let's see if we can talk to each other." Harriet replied, typing in a few things on her own computer.

Four sections popped up on everyone's screen, linking the call to Torchwood, Sarah Jane, and Harriet; though one remained in static.

"The fourth contact seems to be having some trouble getting through."

Rose got excited. "That's me, Harriet. That's me."

"I'll just boost the signal."

The fourth screen cleared, but it wasn't Rose who popped in, it was Martha Jones.

"Hello?"

"Haha! Martha Jones!" Jack cheered, recognizing her; though Rose furrowed her brows.

"Who's she? I want to get through."

She wasn't the only one though, for Alex was smiling slightly at the laptop in her possession, showing the same four boxes as the others; also having been left out of the conversation.

"Martha, where are you?" Jack asked then, having thought she'd have turned into atoms.

"I guess Project Indigo was more clever than we thought." Martha answered. "One second I was in Manhattan, next second... Maybe Indigo tapped into my mind, because I ended up the _one_ place I wanted to be."

Her mother poked into the screen then. "You came home. At the end of the world, you came back to me."

Martha smiled a bit, turning back to the computer. "But then all of a sudden, it's like the laptop turned itself on."

"It did." Harriet explained. "That was me." She flashed her credentials once more. "Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister."

"Yes, I... know who you are." Martha replied.

"I thought it was about time we all met, given the current crisis. Torchwood, this is Sarah Jane Smith." Harriet introduced.

Jack gave an appreciated nod. "I've been following your work. Nice job with the Slitheen."

"Yeah, well, I've been staying away from you lot." Sarah replied, nodding in her son's direction. "Too many guns."

"All the same, might I say looking good, ma'am?" Jack flirted, surprising Sarah Jane.

"Really? Ooh."

In the sewer, Alex laughed and shook her head. "Oh, Jack. Flirting with everything that moves, I swear."

Harriet though, wasn't as pleased. "Not now, Captain. And Martha Jones, former companion to the Doctor."

Rose's frown grew, jealousy swimming in her stomach. "Oi, so was I."

"But how did you find me?" Martha asked.

"This, ladies and gentlemen, this is the Subwave Network." Harriet said proudly. "A sentient piece of software programmed to seek out anyone and everyone who can help to contact the Doctor."

"What if the Daleks can hear us?" Martha asked, cautiously.

"No, that's the beauty of the Subwave. It's undetectable."

"A-And you invented it?" Sarah Jane question next.

"I developed it. It was created by the Mister Copper Foundation."

"Yeah." Jack cut in. "But what we need right now is a weapon. Martha, back there at UNIT, what... What did they give you? What was that key thing?"

"The Osterhagen key." Martha replied, and Alex wasn't the only one who frowned.

"That key is not to be used, Doctor Jones." Harriet snapped. "Not under any circumstances."

"But what _is_ an Osterhagen key?" Jack asked, but Harriet was adamant.

"Forget about the key, and that's an order. All we need is the Doctor."

Sarah Jane spoke up again. "Only, excuse me, Harriet, but... Well, the thing is, if you're looking for the Doctor, didn't he depose you?"

"He did." Harriet agreed. "And I've wondered about that for a long time, whether I was wrong, but I stand by my actions to this day, because I knew... I knew that one day, the Earth would be in danger, and the Doctor would fail to appear. I told him myself and he didn't listen."

Martha spoke up. "But I've been trying to find him. The Doctor's got my phone on the Tardis, but I can't get through."

"Nor me, and I was here first." Rose complained at the Noble's home, going unheard as Harriet went on.

"That's why we need the Subwave. To bring us all together. Combine forces. The Doctor's secret army."

"Wait a minute. We boost the signal. That's it. We transmit that telephone number through Torchwood itself, using all the power of the Rift."

"And we've got Mr. Smith." Luke said from beside Sarah Jane. "He can link up with every telephone exchange on the Earth. He can get the whole world to call the same number, all at the same time. Billions of phones, calling out all at once."

"Haha. Brilliant." Jack smiled, before pointing at the screen. "Who's the kid?"

"That's my son." Sarah Jane said defensively.

Ianto then shifted his way onto the screen. "Sorry, sorry. Hello. Ianto Jones, Um, if we start transmitting, then this Subwave Network is going to become visible. I mean, to the Daleks."

"Yes." Harriet nodded. "And they'll trace it back to me. But my life doesn't matter. Not if it saves the Earth."

"Ooh, not if I can help it." Alex muttered, pulling out her phone and sending a text to one of the contacts in it.

Jack saluted Harriet on screen. "Ma'am."

"Thank you, Captain. But there are people out there dying on the streets."

Wilfred gestured to the screen as Rose's phone beeped. "Marvelous woman. I voted for her."

"You did not." Sylvia argued, but Rose was focused on the text she'd just gotten.

_Hello! I know you're listening in. Me too!_

_Can't wait to meet up with you._

_Don't give up yet, Rose Tyler._

_After all, you're the Defender of Earth._

_-Alex_

Rose's face split into a grin. "Alex! Alex is here! Oh, that's brilliant!"

"Alex?" Wilfred questioned, but Rose didn't answer as her attention was drawn back to Harriet.

"Now, enough of words. Let's begin."

Everyone went to work, quickly doing what they could to try and get a signal up to the Doctor.

"Rift power activated." Jack called out as Ianto moved to his computer.

"All terminals coordinated." Gwen said, pulling out a long cable.

Ianto quickly went to plug it in. "National grid online. Giving you everything we've got."

Sarah Jane wasn't far behind either, typing away. "Connecting you to Mr. Smith."

"All telephone networks combined." Luke said, flipping some switches.

"Sending you the number now." Martha called out, sending the number to them all.

"Opening Subwave Network to maximum." Harriet replied.

"Mr. Smith... make that call." Sarah Jane said and the computer happily responded.

"Calling the Doctor."

"So am I." Rose muttered, grabbing her phone and getting Wilfred and Sylvia to do the same.

"And... sending!" Jack flipped a switch and the transmission shot up out of their system to try and get a hold of the Doctor.

They succeeded, thought the Daleks were quick to catch on and went to go get Harriet as Jack grinned.

"I think we've got a fix."

"Mr. Smith now at two hundred percent." Sarah Jane said as the computer sparked. "Oh, come on, Doctor."

Rose and the Noble's were doing their best as well, her holding her phone up as she muttered quietly under her breath.

"Find me, Doctor. Find me."

It was then that Gwen spoke, having caught sight of movement on the map focused on the Daleks.

"Harriet, a saucer's locked on to your location. They've found you."

"I know." She replied, continuing to type away, despite the window of her front room being blown out by a Dalek. "I'm using the Network to mask your transmission. Keep going."

Alex grinned and stuffed her things into her backpack, standing up and flipping over the vortex manipulator. "Well, here goes nothing."

She disappeared in a flash out of the sewer and ended up in a bathroom, feeling more than a little sick.

"Ugh, I see now what he meant about a bumpy ride." She grumbled, holding her stomach as the chips from earlier threatened to make a reappearance.

Harriet however, was resigned to her fate and called up Jack once more.

"Captain, I'm transferring the Subwave Network to Torchwood. You're in charge now. And tell the Doctor, from me... he chose his companions well. It's been an honor."

She rose from her seat as three Daleks burst through her living room and faced her. She then flashed her credentials one last time.

"Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister."

"Yes, we know who you are." A Dalek said, but she shook her head.

"Oh, you know nothing of any human, and that will be your downfall."

"Exterminate!" The Dalek called out, but before it could fire off it's shot, someone thudded down the stairs behind Harriet and groaned.

"Oh, come on now, ya big salt shakers! At least give me a chance to catch my breath. That was a hell of a trip I just took!"

Harriet turned around in shock, as Alex let out a puff of air and the Dalek's turned their eyestalks to her.

"Wha... But who..."

Alex waved a hand nonchalantly, moving towards Harriet and draping an arm over her shoulders; ignoring how she stiffened at the contact. "Oh, no time for that."

Alex began punching in the next set of coordinates into the vortex manipulator as a Dalek rolled forward slightly.

"You are... the Seer! Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Alex just grinned though, giving the Dalek a little wave. "Toodles!"

She then pressed a button and both her and Harriet disappeared just as the Dalek let off a shot; blasting the computer behind them and cutting off the signal to the others.

* * *

I landed with an 'omph' on the floor with Harriet Jones beside me huffing and puffing and both our stomachs tried to rearrange themselves and get used to gravity again.

"Ugh, vortex manipulators, _definitely _not the way to travel. How does Jack do it?"

"Alex?" A blonde head peeked out from around the corner along with Wilfred holding a bat. "Alex! It's really you!"

Rose rushed over to me and tackled me in a hug as I chuckled.

"Course it is, you silly! Didn't you get my text? Who'd you think it was?"

Wilfred lowered his bat though and pointed at me. "It's you again! How'd you do that? Just popping up in my house like that?"

I grinned at him as Rose helped me up and I, in turn, helped Harriet up. "Vortex manipulator. Think of it as a... time and space jumper bracelet... thingy... God, I'm not good at this." I turned my attention to Harriet though, seeing as she hadn't said a word other than gaping at me in confusion. "You alright?"

She shakily pointed at me. "You... You just saved my life."

"Sure did." I said with a small smile. "You'll find I do that sometimes and just in the nick of time too. Thought I was going to be late, actually. I was a bit busy puking in your toilet... heh, sorry in advanced. The first jump was rougher than I expected."

Rose pulled me away from her then, gripping my arm tightly. "Alex, did you come with the Doctor? Is he here?"

I rubbed the back of my neck nervously, not knowing how to tell her this. "Well, not yet. I actually popped up downtown on my own about an hour ago. Haven't seen him yet, but I promise he'll show up."

Harriet hadn't finished with me though, apparently, and grabbed my attention once more. "But, who _are_ you? How do you know the Doctor?"

I beamed at her. "I'm Alexander Holmes! Ah, but you might know me by my other name. Does the Seer ring any bells for you?"

Her eyes widened. "Yes. Yes it does and you're... You're her?"

"One and only. And let me tell you, Harriet Jones..." I gave her a firm look suddenly, making her take a hesitant step back. "You've said some pretty rude things to the Doctor, and I don't appreciate what you did back during the Christmas invasion. I know that you believe you did what you believed you should have done to help the human race, and I know you've thought long and hard about whether it was the right thing to do or not, but violence only leads to more violence. Death only leads to more death. And how _long_ did you manage to post pone alien contact with Earth, hm? A year? Five? Ten, maybe? So I advise you to think again about your decision and about whether it was truly worth killing off a chunk of someone's species and if you would do the same actions if it was human people on that ship. Because believe me, Harriet Jones..." My eyes saddened then. "There is never going to be a good reason for killing someone. Alien, human, hybrid, robot or otherwise. Every life is worth something and everyone is important."

I turned away then and gave the worried looking Rose and Wilfred a smile that I forced onto my face to try and hide my emotions.

"Well then! Wilfred, I trust you'll make Harriet feel at home until the Daleks head off."

He nodded. "Yeah, course."

"Rose." I turned to her with a nod as I began punching in more coordinates. "I've got someplace I need to be. I'll bump into you in a bit, but I wanted to tell you one thing." I went up to her and put my hands on her shoulders, getting serious. "No matter what happens with the Doctor, I _promise_, he'll be alright. Understand?"

She nodded, but furrowed her brows. "What about you? Where are you going?"

"Me? Eh, I'll be fine." I shrugged, pulling away and returning to my usual nonchalant attitude. "Just need to drop by Torchwood for a bit and I'll meet up with you once you lock onto the Tardis. So have fun! And don't worry, he thinks about you all the time." I winked and pressed the buttons I needed to; shooting off and missing Rose's concerned expression as I showed up in Torchwood; leaning heavily against a wall as eyes quickly turned to me. "Whoa, what a trip. God, Jack, how do you handle this thing?"

"Alex!" He grinned, rushing over to grab me in a hug, but I held a hand out and stopped him as the vortex manipulator began to spark.

"Ah! Ow, ow, ow! Hold on!" I grimaced, undoing the leather straps and flicking it to the floor away from the two of us. "Oh, that's just great." I frowned, examining the light pink skin around my wrist from where it'd burned me. "Stupid sparky paradox crap." I grumbled, before turning back to Jack as he gave me a crooked grin and I returned it. "Anyway, where were we?"

He grabbed me in a hug and scooped me up, spinning me around with laughter. "Alexander Holmes! God, I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too, Jack." I chuckled back as he sat me down, before leaning to peek around him at the confused Gwen and Ianto. "Hello! We haven't met yet, have we?"

They exchanged looks with each other, before the Doctor's voice came over the computer.

"Oi! What have I said about flirting with Jack, Alex?!"

I grinned and bounded over to the computer behind the two, acting innocent. "Flirting with Jack? Whatever do you mean, Doctor?"

He rolled his eyes, trying to be stern, but not doing a very good job. "You know _exactly _what I mean."

Suddenly though, the screen turned to static and I frowned as a voice came over the computer.

"Your voice is different and yet... its _arrogance_ is unchanged." Davros said and I sighed, rolling my eyes towards the ceiling.

"Men and their dramatics." I turned to Ianto and Gwen then though, shaking their hands as they continued to stare at me in a stupor. "Hello. I'm Alex. Alexander Holmes. You probably know me as the Seer. Would love to get more acquainted, but the world's ending so... you know how it is."

I turned back to the computer then, loosing my smile as Davros went on.

"Welcome to my new empire, Doctor. It is only fitting that you should bear witness to the resurrection and the triumph of Davros, lord and creator of the Dalek race."

The Doctor was silent and I grit my teeth to keep from snapping at Davros then and there, knowing that it'd be better if he wasn't catching on to me yet.

"Have you nothing to say?" Davros asked.

Donna was there for the Doctor though, and I couldn't help the slight smile as she got him talking again.

"But you were destroyed. In the very first year of the Time War, at the Gates of Elysium. I saw your command ship fly into the jaws of the Nightmare Child. I tried to save you."

"But it took one stronger than you." Davros said, not sounding pleased. "Dalek Caan himself."

"I flew into the wild and fire. I danced and died a thousand times." Dalek Caan said and I felt a part of me feel bad for the insane Dalek.

He was, after all, the one who was getting all of us together in order to stop the Daleks.

"Emergency temporal shift took him back into the Time War itself." Davros explained.

"But that's impossible. The entire War is timelocked." The Doctor said in disbelief.

"And yet he succeeded. Oh, it cost him his mind, but imagine. A _single simple_ Dalek succeeded where emperors and Time Lords have failed. A testament, don't you think, to my remarkable creations?"

"And you made a new race of Daleks."

Davros seemed proud. "I gave myself to them, quite literally. Each one grown from a cell of my own body. New Daleks. _True_ Daleks."

I grimaced as he opened a part of his shirt to reveal his ribs and other organs hidden behind strings of what used to be his flesh. _Ugh._

"I have my children, Doctor. What do you have... now?"

"After all this time, everything we saw, everything we lost, I have only one thing to say to you." He said, pausing dramatically. "Bye!"

The transmission cut itself off and I scratched the back of my head.

"Well then, seems like he'll need some help."

"Already on it." Jack said as he smirked, kissing my temple and rushing off to grab some gear and call up Martha.

As he did though, I caught sight of Ianto and Gwen muttering to each other and headed over to them both; stopping Ianto from hurrying off with a hand on his arm.

"Both of you listen to me. You'll be fine. Safe from the Daleks. I promise."

Ianto frowned, suspicious, but I just gave him a reassuring pat on the arm and went over to the forgotten vortex manipulator on the ground where I tossed it. I picked it up and frowned down at it, pointing a finger sternly towards the device.

"Now you listen here. I've got one more trip and I don't want any sparking this time because I'll be near your past self, got it?"

The device, of course, remained silent, but I strapped it onto my uninjured wrist and set in the last set of coordinates I'd left for myself as Jack said his goodbyes to Ianto and Gwen.

"I've got to go. I've got to find the Doctor. I'll come back." He caught their worried looks and reassured them. "I'm coming back."

"Don't worry about us. Just go." Gwen said, Ianto following her lead.

"We'll be fine."

"You'd better be." Jack smiled, before looking at me. "Alex? You coming?"

I lifted my own wrist with a smile. "Ready when you are."

He nodded and we both disappeared, but we were both too late to save him. Something I knew I would never let myself forget.

"Doctor!"

I ran over, not even caring that Jack took another second or two to pop up and destroy the Dalek that had just shot the Doctor, and I skidded across the pavement as I reached his side along with Rose.

"I've got you." Rose said, cradling his head as I felt my hearts ache. "It missed you. Look. It's me, Doctor."

"Rose." He breathed out and I took a hold of his hands as his gaze shifted to me. "Alex."

"Hi." She said, though I remained silent as he turned back to her.

"Long time no see." He croaked out.

"Yeah. Been busy, you know."

He let out a wheezy gasp of pain and Rose began panicking a bit.

"Don't die. Oh, my God. Don't die. Oh my God, don't die."

"Rose, we need to get him to the Tardis."

"But he's—"

I cut her off, swiftly grabbing her upper arm and giving her a serious look. "Rose, remember what I said, he'll be fine. Please, trust me. It's not time yet. Not for him."

She hesitated, but nodded and the two of us lifted him up as Jack grabbed her discarded gun and watched for any more Daleks. I held onto the Doctor as best I could, mentally cursing myself for putting myself in a coma the last three months and loosing what muscle mass I had, but we soon got him in and lied him down on the floor.

"What... What do we do? There must be some medicine or something." Donna said, but Jack pulled her back.

"Just step back. Rose, do as I say and get back. You too Alex. He's dying and you both know what happens next."

"What do you mean? He can't." Donna said in confusion and I grabbed Rose and got her up and lightly pushed her towards Jack; but the Doctor grabbed my hand and prevented me from leaving.

"A-Alex."

I turned back and gave him a shaky smile, because even though I knew he wouldn't die, I knew he was going through a lot of pain right now. Pain that I wish I could prevent or take from him.

"Sh, sh. I'm here, Doctor." I said, trying to comfort him as best I could as he struggled to keep from crying out and worrying us more.

"Oh no. I came all this way." Rose cried, Donna also getting more upset.

"What do you mean? What happens next?"

The Doctor lifted his hand and it started to glow gold as I turned to Rose and spoke; my voice croaking as I tried to hold back the tears I wanted to shed, my mind beginning to feel a hint of his anguish much like it had with the Krafayis with Vincent and the Eleventh.

"Rose, explain it to her, please."

"W-When he's dying, his uh... his body, i-it repairs itself. It changes." She explained like I asked, but then turned back to him. "But you can't!"

I though, kept my focus all on him as he fought against the change. "Doctor, hey, look at me."

I squeezed his hand as his eyes drifted towards mine, me giving him a small smile.

"Listen, yeah? I-It's not your time yet. Promise. You know that, don't you? Hm?" I felt a tear slip through and I quickly wiped it away. "I-I'm sorry. It hurts, I know. I-I wish I could take that for you, but... I'm sorry."

"A-A-Alex." He struggled to say, but I quickly shushed him, helping him as he tried to stand.

"Sh, don't talk, please." I begged him, allowing him to lean on the console. "You'll still be you. I know it. S-Still the silly Tenth Doctor. You just need a hand, yeah?" I hinted, glancing at his hand in the corner and thankfully, he caught the movement and smiled a little.

"You're... brilliant." He said and I let out a bitter chuckle, taking a step back to give him room, but he grabbed my wrist and suddenly pulled me into him; kissing me deeply; almost desperately as though he _was_ going to die.

I brought my hand up to his face, deepening it briefly and just as desperately—though the regeneration energy burned my lips slightly—before I pulled away and gave him a teary-eyed smile.

"I love you." He said softly.

"Me too." I replied back, moving to go stand with Jack, Rose, and Donna; closing my eyes just as he burst into gold.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_I smiled a little back, though my hearts cried out for what was going to happen to her, and I moved away from her and the others. I soon sat down on the jump-seat and wrung my hands together, flinching slightly when my burnt wrist brushed up against my pants. _What am I going to do? There's no way to save Donna. Rose came here to get back with the Doctor. I-I... There's no place for me here, is there?_ A hand settled on my shoulder and I felt a spark hit my wrist from the vortex manipulator, letting out a hiss before I tossed it over into the lower deck of the Tardis; turning to see Jack giving me a worried look._

_"You alright there?"_

_ I felt my lip twitch up in a slight smile, but knew that Jack could see right through any attempt I made at trying to hide what I was feeling._

_"No, not really. Have to be though. Got things to do and all, but..." I let out a soft sigh as I glanced up towards the Doctor briefly. "Oh, Jack, what am I going to do?"_


	39. The Journey's End

**Ah! i'm late! sorry! i was supposed to update this yesterday, but i woke up late then had to go to the bookstore then had to go to my volunteer job and totally forgot by the time i got home, but here it is! i hope you all enjoy it. it's a bit rough on alex, but things will pick up again next chapter ;) Please review though, and let me know what you think! as much as i don't want to say it, i thrive on reviews and it makes me feel as though i didn't do a good job when i don't get any :/**

* * *

The Doctor burst into gold, but soon aimed his arms towards his cut-off hand resting not far from him. It bubbled as it sucked in the regeneration energy, but soon the Doctor stopped and took in a gasp of air as everyone looked at him in shock except me. I was just trying to wipe my eyes as I grinned, glad that everything had gone the way it should.

"Now then." The Doctor sniffed a little. "Where were we?"

He quickly bounded over to his hand and smiled, blowing on it lightly to get rid of the glowing golden dust still clinging to it.

"There now." He stood up then and eyed the group of us, still huddled together. "What do you think?"

Rose was the first to step forward, myself moving to lean against the railing to watch, silently wondering if Rose was going to be upset about the Doctor and I kissing a moment ago. _She loves him, right? So how... how is this going to work? Since he and I are together at this point, is she going to be angry? Jealous? Oh, I hope she doesn't hit me._

"You're still you."

"I'm still me." The Doctor said with a small smile.

Rose couldn't help it then, and tackled him in a hug as he hugged back and Donna turned to the grinning Jack.

"You can hug me, if you want."

When he just chuckled a bit, she pushed it.

"No, really. You can hug me."

I nudged Jack in the arm, gesturing towards her. "Go on."

He shrugged. "Well, alright."

The two of them hugged and I was glad to see everyone smiling and happy, before Rose let the Doctor go and gave me a look.

"So... you and Alex?" She questioned the Doctor and the two of us glanced at each other with red faces.

"Ah... Um... Well, you see..."

"I mean, it just sort of... um..."

Rose shook her head, seeing that things had grown a little tense, and she held her hands out.

"Oh, no! It's fine. Honest."

I winced, knowing that it wasn't fine. In her universe, they had begun to make a dimension jumper just so she could get back to the Doctor. But because of my presence here, we'd fallen in love with one another, so there wasn't really anyone for her to come back to. Guilt swam in my stomach, because I knew that Rose wasn't fine with this. She'd come back for him, only to find he'd moved on. I mean, I knew she'd end up with the meta-crisis Doctor, but that didn't mean it wouldn't hurt for her to see us like this. I couldn't think about it any more though, because suddenly, the Tardis's power went out, making the Doctor scramble to try and fix things.

"They've got us. Power's gone. Some kind of chronon loop."

The entire ship tilted and I quickly grabbed a hold of the railing as we were thrown about, but the Tardis soon stabilized and the Doctor turned to me for an explanation.

"Right, um, there's a big Dalek ship at the center of all of this. They called it the Crucible. That's where we're headed."

Donna looked around Rose and I in worry. "You said these planets were like an engine. But what for?"

I hesitated and, seeing my concern, the Doctor gestured to Rose.

"Rose, you've been in a parallel world, that world's running ahead of this universe. You've seen the future. What was it?"

"Nothing you'll be happy about." I muttered, avoiding eye contact from him and the others as I moved around to the other side of the console to think.

"It's the darkness." Rose replied.

"The stars were going out." Donna also said, remembering what her and the Doctor had discovered before.

Rose continued. "One by one. We looked up at the sky and they were just dying. Basically, we've been building this, um... travel machine. This... This Dimension Canon so I could..." She paused and looked up at the Doctor as I bit my bottom lip and tried to reel back my conflicted emotions on this whole thing. "Well, so I could..."

"What?"

"So I could come back.." She said with a small smile, making the Doctor chuckle. "Shut up... Anyway, suddenly it started to work and the dimensions started to collapse. Not just in our world, not just in yours, but the whole of reality. Even the Void was dead. Something is destroying everything."

Donna cut in then. "In that parallel world, you said something about me."

Rose turned to her with a grimace. "The Dimension Cannon could measure time lines and it's... it's weird, Donna, but they all seem to converge on you."

"But why me? I mean, what have I ever done? I'm a temp from Chiswick!" She argued and I quickly spoke up to her.

"Donna, you are one of the _most important_ people I have ever meant."

She scoffed. "Hardly."

I shook my head with a frown, grabbing her by the shoulders as I looked at her sternly. "I'm serious, Donna. You are one of the most important people in this universe. And I can promise you, that there will always be people out there who will remember you as such. Okay? I have never seen anyone who isn't important. And that might not mean much coming from me, but the Doctor knows it too. Over 900 years, and I know he feels the same way, so don't put yourself down. Not now, not ever."

She gave me a slight smile, bowing her head. "Thank you, Alex."

I smiled a little back, though my hearts cried out for what was going to happen to her, and I moved away from her and the others. I soon sat down on the jump-seat and wrung my hands together, flinching slightly when my burnt wrist brushed up against my pants. _What am I going to do? There's no way to save Donna. Rose came here to get back with the Doctor. I-I... There's no place for me here, is there?_ A hand settled on my shoulder and I felt a spark hit my wrist from the vortex manipulator, letting out a hiss before I tossed it over into the lower deck of the Tardis; turning to see Jack giving me a worried look.

"You alright there?"

I felt my lip twitch up in a slight smile, but knew that Jack could see right through any attempt I made at trying to hide what I was feeling.

"No, not really. Have to be though. Got things to do and all, but..." I let out a soft sigh as I glanced up towards the Doctor briefly. "Oh, Jack, what am I going to do?"

"With him and Rose? Ooh, that's a tough one." He hummed. "Not really sure. I mean, from all indications, he really cares for you."

"But Rose came back for _him_. She used her life in that other world doing her best to get back to this one. She... She should have _something_, right?"

"And you're just going to give him up?" He questioned. "That doesn't sound like my Alex."

I sighed. "What else am I supposed to do? Take away her happiness? I could never do that to someone, especially not Rose."

"And what about _your_ happiness?" Jack asked me, but the knot in my stomach made me grimace.

"It's never been about _my_ happiness." I muttered, hearts tightening as a part of me argued with what I was saying.

I felt horrible. Everything was beginning to grow too much for me in this moment. My upcoming death—which still lingered in the back of my mind—Donna's memory being taken, Rose's life being wasted on a Doctor who may or may not love her, my feelings towards said man, and how I could possibly work things out to make sure he was happy. Because if anyone in the universe deserved to be happy, it was him. Not me. Not someone who doesn't belong here in the first place. And that thought rang through my mind like a virus. It had been so long since I believed myself to not belong here, in the Doctor Who universe. And yet, it still managed to be one of the biggest issues I had apparently not dealt with enough.

"Hey." Jack suddenly punched the top of my head rather harshly and I quickly reached up to cradle my poor head with a frown his way.

"Ow!"

The look he gave me though, made me shrink back a bit; having never seen that look on his face before.

"_You_ are important too. Not just Donna, or Rose, or the Doctor. But _you_. So stop this, Alex. Because you deserve to be happy just as much as anybody else. And if you truly love the Doctor the way I think you do, then you will fight for him. Because I have no doubt in my mind, that this Doctor—the one right here, right now—He loves you. Rose coming back or not, he wanted _you_ by his side when he regenerated. He kissed _you_. So don't you think you should hang onto that? Hang on to the one bit of happiness you have?"

Jack's words cut into my like knives and a part of me wanted to argue with him. Say that it was a mistake. The Doctor couldn't love me more than Rose. It was never supposed to be me. But a larger part soaked in his words and pushed for me to do what he said and hang onto the Doctor for all it was worth. Because he's promised me time and time again that he would never leave me alone. That he loved me and cared for me more than anyone. And I had never brought it up to him. I'd never asked if he loved me more than Rose or River or even Queen Elizabeth. I never asked because I was afraid of his answer. He once asked me back during '_The Time of Angels_', if I trusted him and I answered right away. And he had said he trusted me with his life without hesitation. So why was I questioning it now? Why was I second guessing that trust that we'd exchanged back when I'd first come to this universe? Had I really grown up? Or was I going backwards?

I clenched my fists tightly and ground my teeth together in my own frustration. Because I was being stupid. I wasn't thinking. I was wallowing in self-loathing. Wallowing in that childish insecurity in myself that I had believed to of thrown aside ages ago. That was the part of me that the Doctor had looked at and fixed. He made me more confident in myself. He'd shown me that I could be loved by someone. That I could be smart and strong and important. He showed me that I didn't have to be who I had been. That worried, scared, self-conscious human being. That I could be better and I _had_ been better. I'd grown into someone completely different and he loved every bit of me. So why was I letting him go? The one man who'd made me better, and I was willing to drop it so someone else could take my place. And I realized, if it made him happy, I'd do it. But I wasn't the Doctor. I didn't know if he loved Rose more than me. And if he didn't, and I just dropped him like a rock, then we would both be hurt. And I didn't want that. So I would fight. I would fight for the man who made me better, just as he would fight for me.

Jack, having probably seen my sudden determination, ruffled my hair with a grin. "Now _that_ looks like the Alex I know."

* * *

The Doctor frowned as he caught sight of Jack comforting Alex, something _he_ should be doing, and his hearts pounded away in jealousy. He wanted to rush over there and pull her away from the man, but he resisted the temptation because—as much as he hated to admit it—Jack was helping. The Doctor knew something was up with Alex when she'd shied away from him after his near regeneration. And with Rose back, he knew that there would be some conflicts arising. He had loved Rose at one point. Cared for her deeply. But she had been gone, trapped in another dimension, and he'd grown to love Alex. From his perspective, Alex had been drawn a bad hand. He might have actually fallen for her much sooner, if it hadn't been for Bad Wolf showing up. Believe it or not, but his Ninth version of himself rather liked her up until that point at the Game Station. But he'd changed since Rose left. He wasn't sure if this Alex knew that though. Not only that, but something else was obviously bothering her.

She kept avoiding eye contact with the group and the Doctor attempted to brush his mind against hers, only to feel worry and fear. Of what, he didn't know. He wished that this Alex could share her mind with him like the future Alex had learned, but he figured that she hadn't entered that stage of biological change yet. What worried him, however, was why she wasn't sharing it with him. Sure, he knew that she didn't share her feelings often and it was usually up to him to get anything out of her, but she would normally come to him if there was something big bothering her. And _this—_whatever it was—was obviously very big.

"You really love her, don't you..." A voice said, drawing him out of his thoughts and making him turn to Rose in slight surprise.

"I, uh... Yeah." He finally admitted, looking back at Alex as she spoke more with Jack, only the slightest of smiles on her face; though it looked rather forced. "Yeah, I do."

"And me?" Rose asked, making him flinch slightly and open his mouth to give her some kind of explanation, but then the monitor beeped and he quickly rushed over; missing the small frown on Rose's face.

"The Dalek Crucible." He announced to the others in the room as he looked over the map on the screen. "All aboard."

The Tardis wavered slightly and the group all made sure they were within reach of a rail should it get worse, but the Tardis landed with a little shudder. From outside though, a deep Dalek voice spoke up.

"Doctor, you will step forth or die."

The Doctor moved towards the doors, pausing and speaking over his shoulder to everyone. "We'll have to go out. Cause if we don't, they'll get in."

Rose frowned. "You told me nothing could get through those doors."

"You've got extrapolator shielding." Jack also brought up.

Alex spoke up though, before the Doctor could. "That was with partial Daleks. Insane Daleks and not very many of them. This is a whole army of Daleks at the height of their power. They're experts at fighting Tardises and Time Lords. They can do anything."

The Doctor nodded, solemnly. "Right now, that wooden door... is just wood."

Alex had turned to Donna then as Jack mentioned Rose's dimension jump, but the Doctor had caught sight of the action and turned to Donna as well. Said woman seemed to be staring off into space.

"What about your teleport?" The Doctor asked Jack absent-mindedly after hearing Rose's dimension jump needed twenty minutes to recharge.

"Went down with the power loss."

"Right then." The Doctor sighed, turning away from Donna briefly. "All of us together?"

The group nodded and he turned back to Donna.

"Donna?"

When she didn't respond, he headed over and came up to her, watching her reaction.

"Donna."

She jumped, gasping as though she'd been startled by his approach despite him calling out to her before and the Doctor frowned slightly, glancing at the worried looking Alex nearby before turning back to the woman in front of him.

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry, there's nothing else we can do." He told her, figuring it might just be her panicking about the situation.

Donna nodded though, giving him a look like he was telling her something she already knew. "I know."

He bobbed his head, still suspicious of what had just occurred, but he brushed it aside for now as the Dalek outside spoke once more.

"Surrender, Doctor, and face your Dalek masters."

Rose chuckled. "Daleks."

"Oh, God." Jack said in a mocking voice with a nervous chuckle as well, but Alex was still looking at Donna and that worried the Doctor almost as much as the Daleks waiting outside the Tardis doors.

"It's been good though, hasn't it?" He said, trying to boost their spirits in what he believed to possibly be their last moments. "All of us. All of it. Everything we did." He looked at Donna. "You were brilliant." He then turned to Jack, giving him a once over. "And you were brilliant."

Jack chuckled a little, before the Doctor turned to Rose.

"And you were brilliant." He then turned to Alex as she turned back with sad eyes, and he approached her, giving her a tight hug as he spoke. "And you were most exceptionally brilliant, Alexander. And I want you to know, you can tell me anything, and I will never blame you for it."

He felt her stiffen in his arms and slowly hug him back, though he could feel her shaking slightly as she half-sobbed, half-whispered to him against his shoulder.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I... T-There's nothing I can do."

The Doctor's hearts clenched at those words and he tightened his grip on her before pulling away and hold her by the shoulders to see watery eyes, but no tears. _This is what she's been holding back._ He realized. _Something bad is going to happen and... there's nothing she can do._ He gave her a nod, accepting what she'd said, before turning to the others; keeping his hand in hers reassuringly.

"Blimey."

He went for the door, but Alex let his hand go and gave him a pained smile, so he reluctantly went out first. Rose and Jack followed, but Alex and Donna were taking their time. Unbeknownst to him, Alex had stopped Donna and pulled her into a hug inside the Tardis.

"Whoa." Donna said, confused but patting Alex on the back. "Now what brought this on?"

"I'm sorry." Alex said and Donna grew worried as she pulled back and continued. "I-I just want you to know, that no matter what happens in the next few moments, that everything will go back to the way it should."

Alex's voice cracked slightly on the last word, as though wishing to use another word or phrasing, but Donna hardly noticed.

"Alex, what do you mean?"

Alex shook her head. "I can't, Donna. I'm sorry, but... please, _please_ believe what I just told you and what I said before, because you _are_ important. And you will always be important to me." Alex lifted her bowed head and gave Donna a serious look, one that made her worry even more about what was going on. "The Ood will always sing of the Doctor Donna, and I will always remember her."

Donna opened her mouth to question that, Alex having said Doctor and Donna a bit too closely together, but then the heart beat that had been ringing in her mind came out once more. Alex's face dropped into a sad one and a tear slipped down her cheek, just as the Doctor called out from outside.

"Donna. Alex. You're no safer in there."

Alex took a step back and quickly wiped the tear from off her face, pausing in the doorway to give Donna one last glance.

"Goodbye, Donna."

* * *

Alex had come out of the Tardis, but almost immediately after she did, the doors slammed shut behind her and the Doctor scrambled to it. Inside, Donna was pounding on the door trying to get out to no avail.

"Doctor? What have you done?"

"It wasn't me. I didn't do anything!" He argued, and Donna began panicking.

"Oi! Oi, I'm not staying behind!"

The Doctor turned to the Supreme Dalek. "What did you do?"

"This is not of Dalek origin." It replied.

"Doctor!" Donna cried out from inside and the Doctor turned towards the Dalek angrily.

"Stop it. She's my friend. Now, open the door and let her out."

Alex grabbed a hold of his arm though, giving him a look that he immediately didn't like.

"Doctor, it's not them."

"This is Time Lord treachery." The Supreme Dalek said.

"Hey, the door just closed on it's own!" The Doctor argued and Alex tugged his arm back, away from the Dalek.

"Nevertheless, the Tardis is a weapon." It responded. "And it will be destroyed!"

The Tardis suddenly fell down a trap door and the Doctor scrambled over to it in shock, Alex being forced to let go.

"What are you doing?! Bring it back!" He snapped at the Dalek. "What have you done? Where's it going?"

"The Crucible has a heart of Z-Neutrino energy." The Dalek replied. "The Tardis will be deposited into the core."

"But you can't. You've taken the defenses down. It'll be torn apart!" The Doctor shouted, just as Alex grabbed her shoulder and fell to her knees, letting out a quiet cry of pain as Jack grabbed a hold of her.

"Doctor! We've got a problem!"

The Doctor turned and spotted Alex, his eyes going wide as he scrambled over to her and she cringed in pain.

"I-I forgot." She panted out, gritting her teeth as he held onto her.

"Forgot? Forgot what? What did you forget?" The Doctor asked, his eyes searching hers to find out what was wrong.

"I-I'm connected... to the Tardis." She hissed through the pain radiating down her shoulder and throughout her body. "I-I'm sorry."

The Doctor's eyes widened as he realized what that could mean for Alex, and Rose stomped forward towards the Supreme Dalek.

"But Donna's still in there!"

Jack stomped towards the Dalek as well. "Let her go!"

"The female and the Tardis will perish together. Observe!"

A screen turned on to show the Tardis sitting in the core of the Crucible, and the Doctor could feel his hearts tearing apart at the pain both the Tardis, Donna, and Alex must be going through.

"The last child of Gallifrey is powerless." The Supreme Dalek mocked, and the Doctor turned to it desperately.

"Please, I'm begging you, I'll do anything! Alex could die because of this! Please!" The Doctor hugged Alex tighter to him, said woman struggling to even breathe at this point. "Put me in her place! You can do anything to me, I don't care, just get her out of there!"

"D-Doc... tor..." Alex breathed out and his attention turned to her as he brushed some hair from her face.

"S-Sh, sh, sh. It's alright. It'll be okay, Alex." He said, knowing that it might not be, but wanting to hang onto that little bit of hope.

Alex nodded though, something that surprised him when she forced a pained smile onto her face.

"I-I-It will... Promise... She's okay... T-The Tardis a-and Donna are... Ngh!"

Alex clenched her eyes shut, her knuckles turning white with how tightly she was clutching at her shoulder, and her body began to shake with seizures as the Doctor's eyes widened in panic.

"H-Hang on, Alex! Please! You've got to hang on!"

The Supreme Dalek though, could care less about the display and spoke.

"You both are connected to the Tardis. Now feel it die!"

Another Dalek spoke up. "Total Tardis destruction in 10 rels."

The Doctor couldn't help but feel his chest clench in pain as he felt the Tardis being ripped apart; him clinging to Alex desperately as she dealt with five times as much pain. The Dalek continued to count down until the ship disappeared off the screen and Alex suddenly stopped moving.

"The Tardis has been destroyed." The Supreme Dalek announced. "Now, tell me, Doctor. What do you feel? Anger? Sorrow? Despair?"

The Doctor felt tears well up in his eyes as he looked over Alex's prone form, searching for something to tell him that she was right. That Donna and the Tardis are okay and thus, she would be too. Shakily, he brought his fingers towards her neck, pressing them to her to check for a pulse as he answered the Supreme Dalek.

"Yeah..."

"Then if emotions are so important, surely we have enhanced you?"

"Yeah? Feel this!" Jack said, pulling out a pistol in anger as he shot uselessly at the Supreme Dalek.

"Exterminate!" The Dalek announced, before shooting Jack, making Rose rush towards him in a panic.

"Jack! Oh my God. Oh, no..."

The Doctor then slouched a bit, his hand dropping from Alex's neck as he turned and spoke to her.

"Rose, come here. Leave him."

"They killed him." She breathed out. "Alex too..."

"I know." He replied. "I'm sorry."

He got up and lifted Alex into his arms, not willing to part with her as Rose went back over to him and the Supreme Dalek gave out his orders.

"Escort them to the Vault."

"There's nothing we can do." The Doctor told Rose, who looked at him with sorrowful eyes as the Supreme Dalek went on.

"They are the playthings of Davros now."

A Dalek rolled towards them and gestured to Alex in his arms. "Leave the deceased female."

The Doctor immediately went on the defensive. "I will _never_ leave Alex. Especially not here with the likes of you."

"Allow him his female." The Supreme Dalek said, not seeming to care and the other Dalek led them away to the Vault; Jack giving the Doctor a wink as he continued to play dead.

It took a while to get down to the Vault, and on the way, Rose glanced sadly at Alex in the Doctor's arms.

"Doctor, is she really..."

He gave Rose a small smile, surprising her as he gestured toward Alex. "See for yourself. Check her pulse."

Rose hesitated, but took a hold of Alex's wrist and waited, before she felt the slightest four-beats pulsing under her fingers. Her mouth dropped open in shock as she let go and turned to the Doctor.

"She's alive? But how?! A-And she's got two hearts! When did that happen?! Does this mean that she's—"

"You will cease communication!" The Dalek behind them ordered and the Doctor leaned towards Rose a bit, whispering.

"I'll tell you later."

The two were led into the Vault then and separated, before Davros rolled in and spoke.

"Activate the holding cells."

Two beams captured the Doctor and Alex in one area, and Rose in the other, making the man smirk.

"Excellent. Even when powerless, a Time Lord is best contained.

"Still scared of me then?" The Doctor asked, putting a hand against the cell and pulling it back.

"It is time we talked, Doctor, after so very long." Davros said, Rose doing the same as the Doctor and touching the cell briefly.

"No, no, no, no. We're not doing the nostalgia tour." The Doctor said, shaking his head, in no mood for Davros's games. "I wanna know what's happening right here, right now. 'Cause the Supreme Dalek said Vault, yeah? As in dungeon. Cellar. Prison." The Doctor gently laid Alex down at his feet, before smirking at Davros. "You're not in charge of the Daleks, are you? They've got you locked away down here in the basement like... what? A servant? Slave? Court jester?"

"We have... an arrangement." Davros replied, though looking a little unnerved by what the Doctor said.

"No, no, no, no, no. I've got the word. You're the Dalek's _pet._" The Doctor mocked with a laugh and Davros had had enough, rolling around to Rose's cell.

"So very full of fire, is he not? And to think you crossed entire universes, striding parallel to parallel to find him again. Only to find he'd found someone else."

"Leave her alone." The Doctor snapped, but Davros was hardly bothered with him contained.

"She is mine to do as I please."

"Then why am I still alive?" Rose asked.

"You must be here. It was foretold." Davros said. "Even the Supreme Dalek would not dare to contradict the prophecies of Dalek Caan."

A light lit up where said Dalek was, his octopus-like body out in the open for all to see as he hummed to himself.

"So cold and dark, fire is coming, the endless flames."

"What is that thing?" Rose asked the Doctor, who turned to her.

"You've met before. Alex and I too. The last of the Cult of Skaro. But it flew into the Time War unprotected."

"Caan did more than that. He saw Time." Davros countered; Alex letting out a soft grunt and making the Doctor kneel own to her. "Its infinite complexity and majesty raging through his mind. And he saw you. All three of you."

Caan spoke up again. "This I have foreseen in the wild, in the wind. The Doctor will be here as witness at the end of everything. The Doctor and his precious children of time. And the Seer, who will take it all down with her. And one of them will die!"

He let out a maniac laugh as the Doctor frowned, turning back to Alex as she groaned again and wearily opened her eyes.

"Morning." He said jokingly as she closed her eyes with a sigh; though it hitched partway through and turned to a groan.

"Ngh. Always great to wake up in pain with a crazy octopus spouting prophecies and a half-dead guy in a Dalek wheelchair."

The Doctor couldn't help but smile as he helped her sit up; despite the bad situation they were in. "Yeah, well... I missed you."

"Clingy." She muttered, a hand on her shoulder, but a small smile on her face as well.

It was then though that the Doctor turned to Dalek Caan and let out a bit of his anger.

"Was it you, Caan? Did you try to kill Donna? Why did the Tardis door close? Tell me!"

"Oh, that's it! The anger! The fire!" Davros said happily as Alex tugged on the Doctor's pant leg and frowned up at him. "The rage of a Time Lord who butchered millions. There he is."

Alex couldn't take much more of this either and launched a leg out to kick the cell from her place on the ground.

"Oi! Says you, ya leather mummy! When was the last time you saved some good lives?"

Davros lifted his lip up in a disgusted snarl, scoffing. "And then there's you. The mutant Seer of Time who could save so many, but instead watches them burn away with the rest of the universe."

Alex didn't react other than staying silent, but the Doctor could tell that she was upset by those words; her knuckles once again turning white against her shoulder.

"Why so shy, Time Lord?" Davros asked, turning back to the man in question. "Show your companion. Show her your true self. You as well, Seer. Show her _your_ anger. Dalek Caan has promised me that too."

"I have seen at the time of ending the Doctor's soul will be revealed and the Seer's will break." Dalek Caan said, waving his tentacles around.

"What does that mean?" The Doctor snapped.

"We will discover it together." Davros replied. "Our final journey. Because the ending approaches, the testing begins."

"Testing of what?" The Doctor demanded to know, helping Alex up off the floor and allowing her to lean on him as she grimaced at the pain still running through her system.

"Doctor, you _really_ don't want to know." She muttered quietly and the Doctor caught sight of her sorrowful eyes, only making him wonder more about what Davros was about to test.

"The Reality Bomb."

* * *

I tried not to lean all of my weight on the Doctor, but my entire body felt like lead after dealing with the Tardis's pain, and I honestly just wanted to lie down for a bit, but I knew I couldn't.

"Behold, the apotheosis of my genius."

Davros turned on a screen as the Supreme Dalek ended his countdown.

"_Activate planetary alignment field!"_

I felt panic rising up in me, desperately trying to think of a way to stop this. To stop the testing and save the lives of those people. But there wasn't. There was no way I could do it. I could attempt to convince Davros that it works based on my foreknowledge of events, but the Supreme Dalek was the one in charge and it's not like he'd care what I said. That, and if I did somehow manage to convince him, then they would immediately start up the main bomb sequence and that would destroy any time that would've been available for Donna and the meta-crisis Doctor to get here. There wasn't a single thing I could do, and Davros's words echoed in my head.

"_The mutant Seer of Time who could save so many, but instead watches them burn away with the rest of the universe."_

"But that's Z-Neutrino energy." The Doctor muttered in shock. "Flattened by the alignment of the planets into a single string. No. Davros. Davros, you can't!" He said, rounding on the man who looked pleased. "You can't! No!"

I grit my teeth and clung to the Doctor, not for myself, but for him. He was furious and I knew that right now, he needed the comfort more than I did.

"Test completed." A Dalek called out and Rose turned to us.

"Doctor, Alex. What happened?"

"Electrical energy, Miss Tyler." Davros explained. "Every atom in existence is bound by an electrical field. The Reality bomb cancels it out. Structure falls apart. That test was focused on the prisoners alone, full transmission will dissolve every form of matter."

"The stars are going out." Rose muttered, understanding dawning on her.

"The twenty-seven planets..." The Doctor breathed out. "They become one vast transmitter. Blasting that wavelength—"

"Across the entire universe." Davros finished for him. "Never stopping, never faltering, never fading. People and planets and stars will become dust, and the dust will become atoms, and the atoms will become nothing. And the wavelengths will continue breaking through the rift at the heart of the Medusa Cascade into every dimension, every parallel, every single corner of creation! _This_ is my ultimate victory, Doctor! The destruction of reality itself!"

I raised my hand then. "Yeah, um, question? What do you do after that?"

Davros deflated a little. "What?"

"After you '_destroy reality_'..." I made a little movement with my hands, mockingly. "...then what? Whoo, the universe is yours. But now you've got no more people to conquer, no more planets to destroy, no more shops to shop in. Don't you think you'd get a bit... I don't know... bored?"

Davros seemed to just stare at me with his mouth open in confusion, trying to come up with an answer, but the Supreme Dalek's voice echoed through the Crucible before he could think of something.

"Prepare for universal detonation! The fleet will gather at the Crucible. All Daleks will return to shelter from the cataclysm! We will become the only life forms in existence!"

I let out a soft sigh, knowing what was going to come next and I turned my back to Davros as I face the Doctor.

"Doctor, look at me right now."

He did, looking a little confused as to why I was suddenly taking control of the situation, but he needed to know that none of this was his fault.

"Listen to me. Don't listen to Davros. Nothing he says is true and neither is anything he's going to say, do you understand? Because I want you to know that. I want you to know that I don't care _what_ he says, but you'll always be my Doctor." I winced then. "And I hope I'll always be your friend."

He opened his mouth but before he could respond, the Daleks opened up a transmission; Martha popping up on screen.

"This message is for the Dalek Crucible. Repeat, can you hear me?"

"Put me through." The Doctor demanded and Davros grinned.

"It begins, as Dalek Caan foretold."

"The children of time will gather." Caan chuckled. "And one of them will die!"

"Stop saying that." The Doctor complained, though his grip on my hand tightened. "Put me through!"

They must have done that, for Martha began speaking with us.

"Doctor, Alex... I'm sorry, I had to."

"Oh, but the Doctor is powerless. My prisoner." Davros explained to her. "State your intent."

She held up a square black hard drive. "I've got the Osterhagen key. Leave this planet and its people alone or I'll use it."

"Osterhagen what?" The Doctor questioned. "What's an Osterhagen key?"

Martha looked a little guilty for what she was about to say and I had to admit, I would be too.

"There's a chain of twenty-five nuclear warheads placed in strategic points beneath the Earth's crust. If I use the key, they detonate and the Earth gets ripped apart."

"What?! Who invented that?!" He said in disbelief, shaking his head. "Well, someone called Osterhagen, I suppose." But he quickly switched back to seriousness. "Martha, are you insane?!"

"The Osterhagen key is to be used if the suffering of the human race is so great, so without hope, that this becomes the final option."

"That's never an option." The Doctor hissed, and I winced at how tightly he was holding my hand.

"Don't argue with me, Doctor!" Martha snapped back. "'Cause it's more than that. Now I reckon the Daleks need these twenty-seven planets for something, but what if it becomes twenty-six? What happens then? Daleks? Would you risk it?"

Rose smirked. "Oh, she's good."

The Doctor looked at her in shock as Martha glanced at her as well.

"Who's that?"

"My name's Rose. Rose Tyler."

Martha's face dropped into one of shock. "Oh my God. He found you."

Another display popped up then, revealing Jack, Mickey, Sarah Jane, and Jackie as Jack held up a necklace and a numbed of wires.

"Captain Jack Harkness calling all Dalek boys and girls. Are you receiving me? Don't send in your goons or I'll set this thing off!"

"He's still alive." Rose said in surprise, before spotting Jackie in the background. "Oh my God. T-That's my mum!"

"And Mickey. Captain, what are you doing?" The Doctor questioned.

"I've got a warp star wired into the mainframe. I break this shell, the entire Crucible goes up."

"You can't! Where did you get a warp star?!"

Sarah Jane stepped forward. "From me. We had no choice. We saw what happened to the prisoners."

"Impossible." Davros said, rolling in front of the Doctor and I. "That face. After all these years."

Sarah Jane recognized him. "Davros... It's been quite a while. Sarah Jane Smith, remember?"

"Oh, this is meant to be. The circle of time is closing. You were there on Skaro at the very beginning of my creation." Davros smiled.

"And I've learned how to fight since then." Sarah Jane snapped back at him. "You let the Doctor go or this warp star, it gets opened."

Jack stared at the screen determined. "I'll do it. Don't imagine I wouldn't."

"Now that's what I call a ransom." Rose chuckled, but the Doctor had turned away from the screen and I looked towards it sadly. "Doctor?"

"And the prophecy unfolds." Davros hummed.

"The Doctor's soul is revealed!" Caan said excitedly, laughing. "See him! See the heart of him!"

"The man who abhors violence. Never carrying a gun. But this is the truth, Doctor! You take ordinary people and you fashion them into weapons. Behold your children of time transformed into murderers. I made the Daleks, Doctor. You made this."

"They're trying to help." The Doctor tried as I steadily felt my anger towards Davros growing.

"Already I have seen them sacrificed today for their beloved Doctor." Davros said, grinning all the while. "The Earth woman who fell opening the Subwave Network."

"Who was that?"

"No one." I snapped, stepping forward as much as I could without walking into the cell wall. "Because I got her out of there. I saved Harriet Jones."

"Oh? But how many more would be sacrificed now? Just think. How many have died in your name, Doctor?"

I grit my teeth, knowing that Davros was doing this only to rile him up, but he was riling me up more.

"None!" I shouted. "No people have died in his name! Not a single one! Not Suki! Not Lynda! Not Cassandra or Chip! Not Sir Robert or Reynolds! Not the Ood or the Face of Boe! Not Jenny or Lukas! Or Rajesh or Solomon or Luke or River or anyone else! Not a single soul has died in the Doctor's name! Not one!"

Tears threatened to spill down my face as my hands shook at my sides and my chest ached with how hard I was breathing, but I couldn't stop. I couldn't let Davros hurt the Doctor like this.

"And why don't you tell everyone why that is?" Davros smirked.

And I knew I had to. Because that was what I always did and what I would always do.

"Because they died in my name." I said, earning shocked looks from everyone as I stared them all down, making eye contact with every single person on the screen before finally facing the Doctor himself. "None of them are your fault. Not now, not then, not ever. And I am not going to let you carry the burden of their deaths on your shoulders. Not when I could've done something to save them. Their deaths are on my head, Doctor. All of this?" I gestured towards the screens. "It's all my fault, because I didn't find a way to stop it. I didn't find another way to fix things. I didn't tell anyone or ask for help with what was going to happen and because of that people died. People are _going _to die. And not once ounce of this is your fault. My Doctor is a brilliant man who saved the universe at the cost of his own race. You may have hurt millions because you had no other option, but you _saved_ so many more. And you continued to save people. Day in and day out. And I don't care if you're running, because you're running _towards_ people. Running headfirst into danger so others don't have to risk their lives to do so. You are the _Doctor_. A man who helps and heals and saves. And I'm not going to let some half-dead leather mummy or some maniac octopus or anyone else tell you otherwise. Because the man I love isn't a killer or a soldier or whatever else he thinks he is. He is a man who forgives and I only hope that you can forgive me for all of this. For what has happened, what's going to happen, and what is happening right now. Because I won't let any more deaths be on your head."

He just stared at me, in shock or in fear or in astonishment, I didn't know, but when Caan laughed and Davros grinned, I suddenly realized that I wouldn't be able to take much more of this.

"The Seer's soul is broken! It falls into pieces at the end of everything!" Caan said as Davros spoke smugly.

"The Seer. The person who knows all, but lets people who could be saved slip right through her fingers without a second glance. This is my final victory, Doctor. I have shown you yourself. And I have shown you the true Seer."

"Enough." The Supreme Dalek ordered. "Engage defense zero five."

"It's the Crucible or the Earth." Martha spoke up and I quickly turned around and faced her with a glare.

"Martha Jones, _drop it_."

Startled, Martha stared back in shock, but before she could so much as get a word out, a Dalek spoke up.

"Transmat engaged."

With a flash, her and the others all disappeared from off the screens and popped up in the Vault with us; Daleks immediately surrounding the group.

"Don't move! All of you! Stay still!" The Doctor ordered as Davros shouted out orders as well.

"Guard them! On your knees, all of you! Surrender!"

They reluctantly did so and Davros went back to grinning.

"The final prophecy is in place. The Doctor and his children all gathered as witnesses as the Seer takes it all down. Supreme Dalek, the time has come. Now. Detonate the Reality Bomb!" He shouted, gesturing to the ceiling.

"Activate planetary alignment field." The Supreme Dalek ordered and the Doctor suddenly grabbed my hand, startling me a I looked at him in worry.

"Alex, what's going to happen? Please."

I stiffened myself, building up courage as I spoke as confidently as I could. "Everything will be fine. I promise. We still have one more thing on our side."

"Universal Reality Detonation in 200 rels."

Davros began to laugh then. "Nothing can stop the detonation! Nothing and no one!"

"Except for one person." I said loudly, making everyone turn to me as I smirked. "The Doctor."

Davros continued to laugh though, gesturing to me. "And he is there trapped with you!"

I smirked though, hearing the familiar whirring as the Tardis began to materialize. "I never said anything about the Doctor in here with me."

All eyes filled with hope as the Tardis materialized and the Doctor himself was staring in shock.

"But that's..."

"Impossible." Davros said, though I heard Caan chuckle a bit.

The doorway opened and the meta-crisis Doctor stood there as Jack breathed out.

"Brilliant."

Davros rolled back and the meta-crisis Doctor rushed forward, weapon in hand as I called out to him.

"Ah! Wait! Watch out for the—"

I was too late though, as Davros lifted his hand and shot out electricity, hitting the meta-crisis Doctor in the chest and knocking the weapon out of his hand.

I sighed. "Electric hand thing."

"Activate holding cell." Davros said calmly, and a holding cell trapped the Doctor just as Donna rushed out and picked up the weapon.

"Doctor! I've got it! But I don't know what to do!"

She too, was hit by an electric bolt from Davros, and fell against the console unconscious as the Doctor called out to her.

"Donna! Donna! Are you alright, Donna?!"

Davros though, turned to the weapon lying on the floor. "Destroy the weapon."

A Dalek shot it and it went up in smoke as I pulled on the Doctor's hand.

"Don't worry, Doctor. Trust me. I promised, remember?"

He glanced at me and back at Donna, almost unsure, but Davros drew his attention back to him.

"I was wrong about your warriors, Doctor. They are pathetic. And your plan, Seer, seems to have gone up in smoke."

"Never been wrong before." I hummed, trying to stay nonchalant about everything and not give any hints to Davros about the Doctor Donna, who would be waking up. "Suppose there's a first time for everything."

"How come there's two of you?" Rose asked the Doctor, who replied shortly.

"Human biological meta-crisis. Never mind that. Now we've got no way of stopping the Reality Bomb."

"Detonation in twenty rels." The Supreme Dalek counted down from there as Davros stared us down.

"Stand witness, Time Lord. Stand witness, humans. Stand witness, Seer. Your strategies have failed. Your weapons are useless. And... oh, the end of the universe has come."

"Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

Suddenly, the screen went out and an alarm went off as I grinned.

"Ooh, looks like a no-go for you, Davros. Did I mention? I'm _never_ wrong when I make a promise."

"And closing all Z-Neutrino relay loops using an internalized synchronous back-feed reversal loop." Donna spouted, flipping a lever. "That button there."

The Daleks, of course, began to panic.

"System in shutdown!"

"Detonation negative! Explain! Explain! Explain!"

The Doctor stared at Donna in shock. "Donna, you can't even change a plug!"

"Do you wanna bet, Time Boy?" She smirked as I grinned back.

"Alright, Donna!"

Davros, of course, wasn't so pleased by all of this. "You'll suffer for this!"

He went to electrocute her, but she flipped another switch and shocked him back, making his hand useless.

"Oh, bio-electric damping field with a retrogressive arc inversion."

"Exterminate her!" Davros ordered and Dalek's rolled forward, but Donna was on a roll and began pressing away until the Daleks looked down at their useless weapons in confusion.

"Weapons non-functional!"

"Whoa. Macrotransmission of a K-liter wavelength blocking Dalek weaponry in a self-replicating energy blindfold matrix." Donna spat out faster than I could follow.

"Say what?"

"How did you work that out? You're..." The Doctor asked, still completely lost.

"Time Lord." The meta-crisis Doctor smirked. "Part Time Lord."

"Part human." Donna grinned. "Oh, yes! That was a two-way biological meta-crisis. Half Doctor, half Donna."

"Doctor Donna. Just like the Ood said, remember? They saw it coming. The Doctor Donna." The Doctor muttered, understanding now as I nodded.

"That's right. Like I said, Davros. I'm never wrong when I make a promise. I said the Doctor would save us. Never said which one. Not my Doctor, not the meta-crisis Doctor, but Doctor Donna."

"You were right, Alex. As always." Donna smirked, though a part of me felt guilty at being so happy about all of this. Especially knowing what would happen to her in the end. "Holding cells deactivated. Unseal the Vault. Well, don't just stand there, you skinny boys in suits! Get to work!"

The Doctor and meta-crisis Doctor rushed to the console, but Davros was done sitting around.

"Stop them! Get her away from the controls!"

Donna though, was ready for this and flipped some more switches. "_And_ spin."

"Help me. Help me." The Daleks called out as they spun around in circles.

"_And_ the other way."

"What did you do?" The Doctor asked.

"A trip switch circuit breaker in the psycho-kinetic threshold manipulator." Donna spat out faster than I thought.

"But that's brilliant!" The meta-crisis Doctor said with a grin.

"Why did we never think of that?"

Donna pointed at them both. "Because you two were just Time Lords, you dumbos. Lacking that little bit of human, that gut instinct, that comes hand in hand with planet Earth. I could think of ideas you two wouldn't dream of in a million years. Oh, the universe has been waiting for me." She chuckled a bit. "Now, let's send that trip stitch all over the ship. Did I ever tell you? Best temp in Chiswick. 100 words per minute."

She wiggled her fingers, before quickly getting to work with the other Doctors.

"Come on then, boys, we've got twenty-seven planets to send home. Activate magnatron."

"Stop this at once!" Davros ordered as Jack came out of the Tardis carrying his weapon and tossing the other to Mickey. "You will desist!"

Mickey aimed the gun at him though, shutting him up real quick.

"Just stay where you are, mister."

Everyone then rushed around, pushing all of the Daleks out of the Vault as the Doctors and Donna worked at sending the planets back home. Rose and them went to ask what was going on and got her answer as I stayed silent in the background, sticking to the shadows as I wished I could just pop off before the happy endings turned sad once more. Dalek Caan though, was hardly bothered by the turn of events and a piece of me went out to the little fella; Dalek or not. The Supreme Dalek came down then and everything seemed to go in a bit of a blur from my perspective as it shot at the controls and Jack shot back at him; destroying the Supreme Dalek. The Doctor—my Doctor—then rushed into the Tardis to prepare it to fly Earth home and my feet carried me over to where the meta-crisis Doctor was as Caan spout out his last prophecy.

"The prophecy must complete."

"Don't listen to him." Davros demanded, but Caan went on.

"I have seen the end of everything Dalek and you must make it happen."

The meta-crisis Doctor agreed. "He's right. Cause with or without a Reality Bomb, this Dalek empire's big enough to slaughter the cosmos. They've got to be stopped!"

"Just wait for the Doctor." Donna argued, but the meta-crisis Doctor turned to her sternly.

"I _am_ the Doctor." He pressed a few buttons then. "Maximising dalekenium power feeds. Blast—"

I placed a hand over the meta-crisis Doctor's that rested on the last switch to blow up the Daleks and looked up at him as he shook his head.

"Oh, no, Alex. I'm not going to let you stop me. Not this time."

I looked up at him and for a moment, I didn't see my Doctor at all. I saw Rose-Tenth. The Doctor who hated me for what I'd done to Rose. For standing by and letting her get taken into some other universe. But in that moment, I also knew what had to be done.

"Then let me do it."

He looked at me with furrowed brows. "What? No, no, no. I need to—"

I quickly cut him off, face stern. "I already said it once today, spaceman. I'm not letting any more deaths fall on your shoulders. Whether you're my Doctor, the meta-crisis Doctor, or Doctor Donna or any other damn Doctor that wants to show up! I'm not going to let you do this to yourself any more!"

And I flipped the switch, feeling every ounce of my body crying out with apologies to the Daleks I was murdering. And when my Doctor ran out of the Tardis and turned to the meta-crisis Doctor and I, I suddenly realized that he would hate me for this. That I just committed genocide for his sake. For the sake of some prophecy that I could've probably just prevented. And he would hate me for it, because death was never right.

"_Death only leads to more death."_

"_So I advise you to think again about your decision and about whether it was truly worth killing off a chunk of someone's species..."_

"_There is never going to be a good reason for killing someone. Alien, human, hybrid, robot or otherwise. Every life is worth something and everyone is important."  
_  
My own words to Harriet Jones came to me then and my hearts plummeted. I was a hypocrite. More than a hypocrite, I was a murderer. I committed genocide and killed off hundreds, if not millions, of a species. It didn't matter that they were Daleks. That they were evil and had just tried to destroy the entire universe. I had just committed the ultimate sin that the Doctor would never _ever_ do. And I did it without hesitation because I believed my reason of doing so was the right one. And I was wrong. The Doctor would never want someone to commit genocide for him. But I had done it and now he was going to hate me.

"What have you done?" He demanded to know and as my eyes drifted downwards and I opened my mouth in some attempt to get words out, I realized I couldn't and the meta-crisis Doctor did something I would have never expected.

"Fulfilling the prophecy." He said, taking all the blame and hatred that the Doctor would've thrown at me and aiming it at himself.

The entire ship shook and rattled, everyone huddling together and staying silent; no one saying a word about the meta-crisis Doctor lying for me and I wasn't sure why. I _wanted_ someone to get upset with me. I had just done something horrible, and someone else was taking the blame for it.

"Do you know what you've done?!" The Doctor shouted at him. "Now get in the Tardis!"

The meta-crisis Doctor hurried in and pulled me along as well, but once everyone was in, I move towards the doors and heard Davros shouting over the noise.

"Never forget, Seer! You did this! I name you forever! You are the Destroyer of Worlds!"

He screamed as the ship tumbled around him and I was frozen in shock. I couldn't hear anything, I couldn't move my body, nothing was working. Just Davros's words echoing over and over again.

"_You are the Destroyer of Worlds!"_

"_Never forget, Seer!"_

"_Destroyer of Worlds!"_

I was pulled back into the Tardis, the Doctor hurrying past me to the console as the doors were shut and I simply stared into nothingness. The ship rattled and shook, and I deftly hooked my arm around the railing beside me as the Doctor got into contact with people on Earth and then hurried around and showed everyone how to help him fly the Tardis. I couldn't move though. Not an inch. Cheers went up around me, but I remained where I was; still and silent. I felt someone take my hand then and I briefly remember seeing the Doctor's sad expression, but it was the meta-crisis Doctor. And all he did was move me to the jump-seat and sit me down, squeezing my hand and muttering five words into my ear.

"I will _always_ forgive you."

And it took everything in me to not burst into tears right there as the Doctor took him, Jackie, and Rose home. I was left alone as Donna followed him out, left to my own thoughts that only seemed to revolve around what I'd done and how much of a monster I'd become. Even before, the Daleks had wanted to exterminate me once they found out I was the Seer and I had no clue why. I thought it was just because I hung out with the Doctor and was automatically labeled dangerous due to that. I never thought more about it until now, and I suddenly wished that I hadn't. Tears began to slip down my cheeks and I turned my head down to hide them as the Doctor and Donna returned and set the Tardis into the vortex. _I don't want to watch this. I can't watch another person die because of me. Please don't make me watch this. Just let me pop off. Please._ My thoughts went unanswered though, as the Doctor kept his gaze on Donna and I grit my teeth as the tears slipped down to my chin and dripped off the end onto my clenched hands in my lap.

"I thought we could try the planet Felspoon. Just 'cause. What a good name, Felspoon. Apparently, it's got mountains that sway in the breeze. Mountains that move. Can you imagine?" Donna said, twisting something on the console.

"And how do you know that?" The Doctor asked calmly.

"Because it's in your head. And if it's in your head, it's in mine."

"And how does that feel?"

"Brilliant! Fantastic! Molto bene! Great big universe packed into my brain. You know you could fix that chameleon circuit if you just tried hot-binding the fragment links and superseding the binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary—" Donna sucked in a breath as the Doctor headed her way, turning her worried expression away. "I'm fine." She then changed the topic. "Nah, never mind Felspoon. You know who I'd like to meet? Charlie Chaplin. I bet he's great, Charlie Chaplin. Shall we do that? Shall we go see Charlie Chaplin? Shall we? Charlie Chaplin? Charlie Chester. Charlie Brown. No, he's fiction. Friction, fiction, fixing, mixing, Rickston, Brixton."

Donna gasped, dropping the phone she'd picked up as she bent over the console and realization dawned on her.

"Oh my God."

The Doctor moved over beside her as I struggled to rein in my sobs, my breath hissing through my teeth as I covered my face to hide myself.

"Do you know what's happening?" The Doctor asked her.

"Yeah."

"There's never been a human Time Lord meta-crisis before now. And you know why."

"Because there can't be." Donna sniffed a bit and tried to find something more to do with the console. "I want to stay."

"Look at me. Donna, look at me." The Doctor demanded with a gentle tone.

"I was going to be with you... f-forever." Donna said and he nodded.

"I know."

"The rest of my life... traveling in the Tardis. The Doctor Donna... No. Oh my God. I can't go back." She said, begging now as the Doctor took her by the shoulders and held her in front of him. "Don't make me go back. Doctor, please, please don't make me go back. Alex, tell him. Tell him he can't take me back."

"I-I can't. I can't. I'm sorry. I-I'm so sorry, Donna." I cried, burying my face in my hands. "I-I'm so, _so_, s-sorry."

I didn't even have to look to know that she felt betrayed. I could feel it in the room. She didn't want to go and we were making her, and I blamed myself.

"Donna. Oh, Donna Noble. I am so sorry. But we had the best of times." The Doctor said in finality.

"No."

"The best... Goodbye." He lifted his fingers to her temples and I curled into myself, unable to block out Donna's begging and screams.

"No, no, no. Please. Please, no. No. No!"

Things grew quiet then and the Doctor picked her up and sent the Tardis to her home. He went for the doors of the Tardis, but paused, looking back at me as I stayed where I was.

"Are you coming, Alex?"

I shook my head, knowing that if I went, I would be torn apart. "I-I can't. I can't. I-I just can't."

He went quiet and I heard the doors click shut behind him as he left, leaving me to apologize over and over again to some non-existent force that I hoped would forgive me for what I'd done.

* * *

The Doctor finished talking to Wilfred and Sylvia, and got one last look at Donna as she spoke with someone on the phone, before he went to head back to the Tardis. Someone was still waiting for him, after all, and he needed to make sure she was okay. The moment he opened the door though, he stared out at the rain falling and sighed; Wilfred coming to stand right behind him.

"Ah, you'll have quite a bit of this. Atmospheric disturbance. Still, it'll pass... Everything does... Bye then, Wilfred." He shook hands with him and walked out into the rain.

"Oh, Doctor. What about you now? Who've you got? I mean, all those friends of yours..."

"They've all got someone else." The Doctor replied, not caring about the water that soaked is hair and suit. "Still, that's fine. I'm fine."

"What about that one girl? The short haired one." Wilfred asked, gesturing to his head.

The Doctor felt his lip twitch up in a slight smile. "Sure. I've still got her. She blames herself for all of this though. She won't be the same, but she's still my Alexander. Even if she pops off, she'll always come back."

Wilfred gave him a determined look though. "I'll watch out for you, sir."

"You can't ever tell her." The Doctor said, worried.

"No, no, no. But every night, Doctor, when it gets dark and the stars come out. I'll look up on her behalf. I'll look up at the sky and think of you and Alex."

"Thank you." The Doctor said, before turning and heading back into the Tardis, sending her back up into the Vortex once more; already missing the sound of Donna's voice.

He looked around, but didn't see Alex, assuming she'd popped off but knowing that he'd check the monitors like he always did in the hopes that she was still on board. And slowly, he took off his coat and tossed it onto the controls as he looked up and tried to rein in his own emotions as he made sure the Tardis was settled and flicked on the monitor to check for life signs. There was one other than his and he felt his spirits lift a little, only to fall as he remembered what Davros and Caan had said about Alex.

"_The mutant Seer of Time who could save so many, but instead watches them burn away with the rest of the universe."_

"_Not a single soul has died in the Doctor's name! Not one!"..."And why don't you tell everyone why that is?"..."Because they died in my name..."_

"_The Seer. The person who knows all, but lets people who could be saved slip right through her fingers without a second glance."_

"_...the Doctor's soul will be revealed and the Seer's will break."_

"_The Seer's soul is broken! It falls into pieces at the end of everything!"_

Then he remembered what she'd told him. And how broken she looked when she told him how great he was, and how there was nothing she could do to stop what was going to happen.

"_...you'll always be my Doctor... And I hope I'll always be your friend."_

That line is what worried him the most, as he walked towards where the Tardis map had said she'd be. _What did she mean? Why was she looking at me as though she was about to do something horrible? As though she'd question how I felt about her right now... Because of Rose? Or was it something else?_ He stopped and stood outside Alex's bedroom door, staring down at the doorknob with a hesitant look. He honestly wanted to just stay with Alex and let everything out. Cry for his loss of another companion, curse the Daleks and for what they made happen. But there was something wrong. Something wrong with Alex and he knew he would need to help her. Because he would always have her, but how long would it be before she didn't have him? She could pop off to a time when he was still angry about Rose and Bad Wolf, and she would be on her own. And he couldn't let that happen. Having her hurt, would break him more than any Dalek could. So he quietly pushed open the door to her room and looked upon Alex's heartbroken figure as she sat hunched over on the edge of her bed; crying over a photo of her, Donna, and the Doctor celebrating the New Year in New York in the year 2000, the new millennium.

"Alex..." He softly called out, voice croaky as he moved towards her and sat beside her on the bed. "What happened to Donna wasn't your fault." He reassured her, gently brushing his mind up against hers in some hope of comforting her; with or without any mental capabilities. "It had been set up ages ago. It was an important part of the time-lines. There was nothing you could've done."

Alex shook her head though, always having been stubborn about taking the blame for things not in her control. "Y-You don't understand. I-I could've figured something out. I could've stopped this."

The Doctor sighed quietly, knowing that it wouldn't be easy to convince her otherwise. She was the one who had always tried to take on his burden to help him, but it was never so easy. There was always going to be something for him to blame himself for, just as there would always be something for Alex to blame herself for. She was always trying to save him and she needed to understand that there was someone here trying to save her too. That their burden was to be shared, not that one of them should take the whole burden over the other.

"Alexander, there was _nothing_ you could have done to stop this. It was as close to a fixed point in time as it could get. It _needed _to happen and..." He paused, looking over at her in worry and understanding. "...I think you know that. As much as you're trying to convince yourself otherwise, I think you know that there was nothing you could do. So please, _please_ don't put this all on you."

He reached over to hold her and give her some comfort, but she pulled away from him and immediately, he knew that there was something else going on. He could feel how her mind quickly went from acceptance to fear, making him only question further.

"Alex, what else is wrong?"

That fear and worry spiked as she got up and put the photo of the trio back onto a shelf; avoiding his gaze.

"Please, Alex." He begged, getting up as his own concern skyrocketed. "What's going on?"

He took hold of her arm and she immediately tried to yank her hand away.

"I-It's nothing. Donna just—"

The Doctor wouldn't have it though, and spun her around. "That's not what's bothering you, Alex. I _know_ it's not. Why can't you tell me?"

He noticed a glow starting to come over her and mentally cursed the timing of her popping off as she finally locked eyes with him; tears in them flowing down her face as her voice cracked.

"B-Because you'll hate me."

The Doctor's eyes widened in shock that she would even _think_ he would hate her for _anything_, and he quickly shook his head, speaking as fast as he could as she prepared to pop off.

"N-No, Alex. I would never hate you. I couldn't possibly—"

She shook her head though, lowering her gaze as she brought her free hand to her face. "N-No. You will. You'll hate me for what I did. H-He said you wouldn't, but I know you will. You'll never forgive me. T-The Daleks, they weren't... He didn't kill them, I—"

She was cut off as she disappeared and the Doctor stared at the place where she disappeared in worry and shock._ The Daleks? But what does that have to do with... No... She said he didn't kill them. The meta-crisis Doctor didn't kill them... But if he didn't, then—_The Doctor tried to remember back to who was there when he'd rushed out the Tardis doors and came to the realization of the only two people who would've been able to kill the Daleks. The only two people close enough to flip that final switch. _It was... her?_

* * *

**_Sneak Peak:_**

_"This, uh… This isn't _your_ barn I'm napping in, is it?" I questioned the figure, who jumped only to point a pistol at me; making me hold my hands up in surrender. "A-A-Alright! I picked a bad place to pass out! N-No need to get crazy! I'll leave! Promise!"_

_ "Ooh, you're a bit skittish, aren't you?" The person said, stepping into the light with a cocky smirk. "Not bad on the eyes though. You'd probably look even better, if you didn't look like you'd just had a rough night, though I must say, the bedhead-full-of-hay look suits you"_

_ "T-Thanks? And I'm not usually this panicky, except I'm a little more than hung over and you kind of have a gun pointed at me." I muttered, pointing at her weapon as I tried to remember where I'd seen the dark skinned woman before. "And I, um take it this_ isn't_ your barn?"_

_ "No, not quite." She smiled, before the sirens outside grew louder—making me wince with my hangover—and she clicked her tongue in frustration. "Darn. Looks like they caught up. Not that it matters." She hummed, stepping over towards me and poking me in the chest with her gun. "_You're_ going to help me."_

_ "W-What?!"_


	40. Let's Kill Hitler

**Here's the next chapter and you all had some good guesses as to what this chapter was ^^ i think this is my favorite chapter. writing it was a blast :) And things _will_ start getting a little more mature later on, but nothing needing a M rating. Promise. but i** **hope you all enjoy it and let me know what you think.**

_** Warning: Sensual activity implied near the end.**_

* * *

I had appeared, yet again, in an alleyway and I begrudgingly got up and went for a walk. The town seemed familiar, but I couldn't place where I was and continued to just try and get a hold of myself as I trudged forward. _He knows. God, how could I just _tell_ him?! He'll... He'll hate me now. He _has_ to hate me now. I committed genocide! I committed the ultimate crime and lied about it, letting the meta-crisis Doctor take the blame, then I let someone else die, and it's all my fault._ The tears slipped down my face, but I stubbornly wiped them off; suddenly glad that I'd put on my coat the moment I got into the Tardis, when I found some tissues in the pockets. I heard some noise then and looked up and across the street where a bar was and headed that way. It'd been a while since I had a drink and something told me I could use one right about now.

A number of drinks later, and one could find me slumped over the bar on a stool gazing sorrowfully at another glass of whiskey on the rocks in my hand as I sniffled.

"I deserve it." I muttered under my breath. "I deserve to be stuck here. I'll see him again and he'll be all happy-go-lucky like nothing happened a-and it'll kill me." I groaned, dropping my forehead onto the bar harshly. "_God_, it'll kill me. I screwed up and I have to watch him being all..."

I waved my hand around nonchalantly, not caring about the people sitting around who were looking at me strangely.

"..._him_. Bouncing around like an idiot, trying to get himself killed. And I have to stand there like noooooothing happened." I hit my head against the bar once more. "Just kill me now. The universe already hates me."

I lifted my head then, frowning up at the ceiling as I pointed a finger at it.

"Somebody _hates_ me up there and when I find out who it is, we're going to have a very loooong..." I paused, trying to think of what I was going to say with my alcohol-filled mind. "...talk."

I frowned, looking down and lowering my hand, feeling as though that wasn't _quite_ what I was going for and I sighed, lifting my drink to my lips.

"That wasn't as threatening as I hoped."

Some _more_ drinks later, and I became _way_ worse.

"No, he hates me, I'm sure of it! I'll never see him again 'cause he'll be all roar! Angry Doc! Get out of me ship! Bad Alex! Bad!" I ranted on—dramatic arm movements and all—sniffling as I tried not to cry. "He tried to feed me to the weredog when I messed up a little bit, but this is... waaaaah." I threw my arms out dramatically. "Way big! He'll throw me to the salt-shakers or have space suck me out, but..." I lowered my voice as my bottom lip quivered and I sniffed loudly. "But I love him lots a-and I don't want him at be mad at me. Oh, he'll be so mad."

I finished off my drink and frowned at it when I saw I was out, before lifting my gaze to the bartender who shook his head.

"Sorry, buddy. I'm cutting you off, so you best call up your ride or start walking."

I sighed and left the money for my drinks on the table, drunk enough that I didn't even notice exactly how _much_ I'd given him, before I was out the door and walking. Walking to who-knows-where as I continued to lament over what I'd done and how the Doctor would react when we bumped into each other next.

* * *

_Ugh, my head is killing me. What happened last night? _I silently complained, having woken up on a pile of hay in a barn somewhere. I let out a long sigh and draped my arm over my eyes tiredly, my whole body feeling rather achy after I remembered I'd been drinking. Thing was, I had no idea when I'd found a barn and when I'd managed to crack my eyes open a bit, I grimaced at the sight of some vomit in a nearby stall. _God, what I wouldn't give for some advil and some water. Wait..._ I reached into my pocket and let out a relieved sigh upon finding at least the water in my pocket, taking out the water bottle and forcing myself to sip it and not chug it down out of fear of throwing it up. Any other thoughts I had about my predicament though, were cut off when my headache increased by the sounds of sirens and the door opening and closing; a figure slipping inside. _Great. Now I have to deal with the owner._

"This, uh… This isn't _your_ barn I'm napping in, is it?" I questioned the figure, who jumped only to point a pistol at me; making me hold my hands up in surrender. "A-A-Alright! I picked a bad place to pass out! N-No need to get crazy! I'll leave! Promise!"

"Ooh, you're a bit skittish, aren't you?" The person said, stepping into the light with a cocky smirk. "Not bad on the eyes though. You'd probably look even better, if you didn't look like you'd just had a rough night, though I must say, the bedhead-full-of-hay look suits you."

"T-Thanks? And I'm not usually this panicky, except I'm a little _more_ than hung over and you kind of have a gun pointed at me." I muttered, pointing at her weapon as I tried to remember where I'd seen the dark skinned woman before. "And I, um, take it this _isn't_ your barn?"

"No, not quite." She smiled, before the sirens outside grew louder—making me wince with my hangover—and she clicked her tongue in frustration. "Darn. Looks like they caught up. Not that it matters." She hummed, stepping over towards me and poking me in the chest with her gun. "_You're_ going to help me."

"W-What?!" I yelped, voice cracking in slight fear and confusion.

I didn't even _know_ who this chick was! And here she was, trying to use me to get away from cops?! And what she wanted me to do—I couldn't believe I was actually going to go through with it. N-Not that I had a choice! She had a gun!… And a good grip. So when the cops burst into the barn, guns at the ready, only to find _someone_ apparently making-out with someone else in a bale of hay, they were quick to turn away and look elsewhere. That being said, when the woman finally gave me a chance to pull away, I was _quite_ red in the face from embarrassment despite the pistol still pressed against my stomach.

"Not bad." She hummed, looking me up and down from her position underneath me. "For a woman, anyway."

I let out a noise that was part groan, part choking-sob, but she ignored my turmoil and moved out from under me slightly as she looked around.

"You think they're gone?"

I didn't hear her, too busy crouched on the floor by a column, holding my head in a depression that I had _once again_ been forcefully kissed by a girl. _Why?! Why does this always happen to me?! Oh, the Doctor's going to have a field day with this and..._ My thoughts drifted into worse ones at the thought of the Doctor and I felt my sudden panic slip into a depression up until the woman spoke up again.

"Hey! Stop it with the moping!" She said rather loudly, a shoe on the back of my head as she pushed me lightly. "You got a car or something? 'Cause right now, you're my ticket out of here."

"No." I muttered, and she sighed, grabbing my arm and hefting me up off the floor.

"Guess we're walking then. Come on. I know a place we can hide out."

I had no idea why she'd suddenly decided to take me with her, wherever we were going, but the moment we stepped out of the barn and rounded the corner, we were surrounded by cops.

"Mels, just put your hands up and let's get this over with. You're surrounded." An officer drawled out through a megaphone, sounding as though this was a common occurrence. "Your little friend too."

"What?!" I called out. "I-I'm not—"

"Yeah, yeah. Alright. You got us." She said with a roll of her eyes, cutting me off before I could correct the officers about not actually being a part of this whole thing.

She set her gun on the floor before we both held our hands up and the officers closed in, yanking my arms roughly behind my back as I winced, and cuffing my wrists together. 'Mels' was given similar treatment and the two of us were shoved into the back of a police car, where I confronted her.

"W-Why did you drag me into this?!"

She raised a brow with a smirk. "Well, I couldn't go down alone. It gets boring in the cell with no one to mess with."

"What?!" I shouted, earning a glare from the officer driving, and I leaned forward to talk to him. "Hey, look. Come on! I'm not with her! I-I didn't even know her name until just now!"

"Not my problem." He responded as I flopped back in my seat with a groan, frowning over at Mels.

"I'm _so_ blaming you." I grumbled and she chuckled.

"Ooh, you _do_ have some fight in ya. And here I thought that tough outer appearance just hid all the goo inside."

"I'm _not_ made of goo!" I snapped back, starting to get a little annoyed. "And you were pointing a _gun_ at me! I've had a _really_ bad day and have a _crazy_ hangover and then you go and do _that_?! I'm allowed to be a little… gooey."

"Pft, ahaha!" She burst out laughing at that as I turned red in embarrassment.

"S-Shut up!"

"Oh, but I like you." She grinned, leaning a bit closer as I leaned back into the door of the cruiser. "What's your name then? You already heard mine."

"Alex." I muttered, not really sure if I wanted her liking me. "Alexander Holmes."

"Holmes, huh?" She sat back and I slumped into the seat as my headache pounded right behind my eyes. "What do you say after this we go and grab something to eat?"

I gave her a strange look. "You're kidding, right? You just got arrested, _forced_ me to kiss you, and you want to take me out for dinner?"

She gave me a look back. "Yeah. Why not?"

I sighed, leaning my head against the cool window of the cruiser and shrugged. "I'm probably going to regret this later, but whatever."

She grinned, propping her shoes up on the back of the seat in front of her. "Awesome…"

There was a pause, before she turned to me.

"And yeah. You'll probably regret it."

"_Great_." I groaned as she laughed and kicked my leg.

"Oh, come on! It'll be fun!"

I really didn't believe her, seeing how she probably thought whatever she did to get arrested was fun too, but I doubted that I had much of a choice. Especially since it would be her 'friends' who would be bailing me out since I had no one to really turn to for this kind of situation. _I really need to get some phone numbers to call companions or the Doctor or something._ I mused, keeping my thoughts on the Doctor to a bare minimum, while Mels and I sat around in a cell to await her guardians.

"So!" Mels flopped down on the bench beside me, making it shift as I gave her a dull look. "We'll head to my friend's place after this and they'll feed us and we'll probably sleep over or something before we go on our next adventure."

"Adventure?" I questioned, not liking where this was headed. "I hope you don't mean anything _else_ illegal."

"Nah. Not today." She said, plopping her legs over my thighs as she laid down on the bench, making me frown and push them off; to which she just put them back on. "I typically go for one of those every week or so. _Too_ often and my '_friends_' will nag me about being reckless or something. 'Sides, you look a bit old to be doing this sort of thing."

"Oi, I'm not that old." I said, frowning over at her as she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, no. Course not. You're only what? 40?"

"_32_." I grumbled, eyebrow twitching in annoyance at the familiar words. "And I'll have you know, I have been on _much_ bigger adventures than stealing a car or whatever you did to land us both in here."

She smirked, leaning up on her elbows. "Oh, is that right? Do tell, Holmes."

I was about to tell her a bit about one of the adventures that I went on with the Doctor, figuring there'd be no harm, but before I could, there was the clattering of keys and the officer at the door called out to us.

"Come on, you two. You're bail's here."

Mels's smile fell a bit, but she got up and I followed, exiting with her only to find two people I didn't expect standing outside scolding her.

"And you dragged someone in with you?! How?! Why?!"

"She's right, Mels. You can't keep doing this and making someone else get tossed in there with you is a bit—"

"You've _got_ to be joking." I said, loud enough to get their attention as they turned to me and pointed in shock.

"A-A-Alex?!"

I groaned, dropping my head into my hand as my headache spiked and the trio approached. "Just what I need. Now she's going to scold _me_ too."

"Wait, you know her?" Mels questioned and I winced when I was abruptly smacked on the back of the head by Amy.

"What do you think you were _doing_, going along with her?!"

"_Ow_!" I whined, holding my head and facing her with a frown. "Okay, first off, I was _dragged into_ this! As in, unwillingly?! And second, she threatened me! With a _gun_! And that smack was _not_ appreciated! You wouldn't _believe_ the hangover I have right now!"

"Hangover?! This is way past a hangover, Alex! And you could've just, I don't know! Kicked the gun out of her hand with some… karate thing of yours or something!" Amy countered, waving her hands about as we ignored Mels and Rory; who sighed.

"Oh right! Get myself injured! Great idea, Amy!"

"What?! You—"

"OI!"

We both went quiet as Mels waved the fingers on her hand, the other crossed over her chest.

"Yeah, hello. As much as I _love_ you scolding someone other than me, mind telling me how you all know each other again?"

Amy and I shared a glance before turning to her with tired expressions.

"I'm/She's friends with the Doctor."

* * *

A small car swerved through a corn field quickly, one of the two people inside hanging on for dear life as she shouted directions at the other.

"Okay, left. Sharp turn!"

Rory, the driver, turned the wheel as Amy hung on and checked her paper for the next direction.

"Okay, right! No, no, no! I mean left!" She shouted, flipping the paper one way and then back again. "No, sorry! Right, right! I definitely meant right!"

Rory gave her a look, but turned, Amy giving out a shout as they went over a bump before calling out the last direction.

"Now loop-the-loop."

He did and once they pulled out of the turn, she shouted.

"Stop! Stop!"

He pressed hard on the breaks and the small, dirty, corn covered car pulled to a halt in front of a blue police box and a man in a bow tie standing out in front of it. Amy and Rory got out of the car and the Eleventh Doctor held up a newspaper; the headline being about a 'mysterious crop circle'.

"Seriously?"

"Well you never answer your phone." Rory said, holding his hands up in a shrug; them having just finished making the crop circle.

"Okay, you've had all summer." Amy said, approaching him. "Have you found her? Have you found Melody?"

The Doctor came over as well, handing Rory the newspaper. "Permission?"

"Granted." He replied, and the Doctor hugged Amy as Rory wandered away a little.

"You know who she grows up to be." The Doctor told Amy, rubbing her back reassuringly. "So you know, I _will_ find her."

Amy pulled away, worried. "But you haven't yet."

The Doctor paused, not knowing what else to tell her really, when Rory spoke up from behind them.

"Hold on. What's this bit?"

Rory unfolded the newspaper as they both headed over, and pointed to a line cutting right through their spelling out of the word 'Doctor' in the corn field.

"That wasn't us." Amy said and the Doctor snatched up the paper, holding it above his head as he tried to figure out where the line would have started or ended.

"Uuuum. I don't…" He held the paper up in front of his face, just as the group heard the rumbling of a car motor heading their way and he quickly lowered it as they all screamed and ran for cover.

"Ahhhh!"

Amy and Rory dove out of the way as the red Chevrolet Corvette skid to a halt, the Doctor very nearly getting clipped by the back end as it stopped _just_ before hitting the corner of the Tardis and revved it's engine. The car shut off and two people got out, one confident and the other clinging to the car in a panic.

"Oh m-my God. Never again… You are _not_ driving! Ever!" The panicked one shouted, pointing a shaky hand over at the other as the woman rolled her eyes and went to stand over by the Doctor.

"Yeah, whatever." She then looked down at the man at her feet and smirked. "You said he was funny. You never said he was hot."

"Mels!" Rory shouted, followed by Amy.

"What are you doing here?!"

She shrugged. "Following you. What'd you think?"

The Doctor, still trying to get over what just happened, put his hands on the car to help him get up as Rory continued to question things.

"Um, where did you get the car? And Alex! Where have you been?!"

"It's mine." Mels said, putting her own hand on the car as police sirens went off in the background. "Ish. And she was with me."

"Sorry." Alex muttered, pulling a hand through her hair. "Would you believe I tried to stop her?"

"Uh, no. Not really." Rory said, sternly before turning back to Mels. "You can't keep doing this. You're going to _both_ end up in prison."

"Sorry. Hello. Doctor not following this. Doctor very lost. You never said I was hot? And is that _seriously_ _**Alex**_?"

Alex shifted uncomfortably and moved away from him, acting—and _looking—_rather different from how the Doctor remembered. Her hair was buzzed very short on the sides but longer on top and styled into a messy, spiked faux-hawk. There were two gold earrings pierced at the top of her left ear and another on the lobe of her right. And her clothes were made up of black skinny jeans with dark red suspenders hanging at the sides, combat boots, a white t-shirt, some sort of large animal tooth necklace, and a black leather jacket. All in all, _not_ the Alex he expected to see. _Is that a tattoo?! _He mentally started upon seeing the hint of black peek out from under the side of her shirt. He was quickly distracted though when Mels rushed over to the Tardis and stroked it.

"Is that the phone box? The bigger on the inside phone box? Oh, time travel. That's just brilliant." She said as he came over to lean up against it in question. "Yeah, I've heard a lot about you. I'm their best mate."

"They why don't I know you? I danced with everyone at the wedding. The women were all brilliant. The men were a bit shy."

"I don't do weddings." She said, tossing her arms out as the sirens got louder. "And that's me. Out of time."

She reached into her jacket and pulled out a pistol, aiming it at the Doctor as Amy shouted in disbelief and Alex reached up to touch her arm, trying to stop her.

"Mels! What are you doing?!" Amy shouted as Rory did the same.

"For God's sake!"

Alex though, was a bit calmer. "Mels, as much as I told you before about him, you know I don't want him hurt, so watch your blood pressure."

The woman rolled her eyes. "You and my temper." Mels waved the gun at the Doctor. "I need out of here. Now."

"Anywhere in particular?" He questioned, also nervous and trying to figure out what was going on with Alex and why she was avoiding even eye contact with him.

"Well, let's see. You've got a time machine. I've got a gun. What the hell. Let's kill Hitler."

"Oh, you've _got _to be kidding." Alex groaned and Mels chuckled, cocking the gun.

"I never kid, sweetheart."

"Right." The Doctor muttered, opening the door to the Tardis and waving a hand towards in. "I-In we go then."

* * *

Once inside, she continued to point the gun at the Doctor as he put in the coordinates and the Amy and Rory gathered inside as well. I couldn't quite make out what was going on as the Doctor and Mels argued about something, but I quickly came back down to Earth when Mels fired off a gun shot and my shoulder flared up in pain.

"You've shot it! You shot my Tardis! You shot the console!" The Doctor shouted and Mels shouted back.

"It's your fault!"

"Ah! How is it my fault?!"

"You said guns didn't work in this place. You said we're in a state of temporal grace!"

"That was a clever lie, you idiot! Anyone could tell that was a clever lie!"

"Where are we?!" Amy shouted when the Doctor rushed over to the monitor she was hanging on to.

"Doctor!" Rory yelled as well, having saw me crumple to the floor clutching my shoulder. "Something's wrong with Alex!"

"Of course something's wrong!" He shouted, rushing over as I shifted uncomfortably as he brushed the side of my head with a grimace. "God, your _hair_."

I frowned up at him, teeth clenched tightly in pain. "_Sorry_. It needed a _trim_."

"Let me see."

I immediately didn't want the Doctor looking at it, not only because of the mark on my shoulder—which I hadn't thought about in a while—but also because I couldn't have him being nice to me. Not after what I'd done.

"Ah! Wait! Let, uh, let Rory do it. He's a nurse, after all." I winced as my shoulder ached and the Tardis shifted turbulently, pressing me further into the railing I was hanging onto.

The Doctor was reluctant but slowly nodded, getting back up to try and stabilize the Tardis as Rory pulled back the collar of my shirt to look at the back of my shoulder.

"There's no bruising." He muttered, looking back at it and back at me as he lifted a finger. "Could I—"

I nodded, letting him press his fingers to it as I cringed, and Rory pulled back with a confused shake of his head.

"Yeah. There's nothing. Not a scratch."

"Lucky me." I grimaced as the Tardis started filling up with smoke and landed roughly; the Doctor rushing us all out.

Rory helped me out as I coughed and once we were out of the Tardis and into an open room, I continued to cough.

"A-Are you alright, Alex?" The Doctor asked and I waved a hand in front of me, coughing too much to really answer.

I was helped to the ground and I realized something odd. It seemed I was coughing up smoke. It stopped after a moment and I sighed out some grey mist with one last cough, glaring over at Mels.

"_Don't_ do that again." I then let out a sigh, rubbing my shoulder now that it had stopped aching slightly. "_God_, I hate being connected to her sometimes. And I must admit, the coughing up smoke is new." I wheezed, voice croaky from the smoke.

"Where are we?" Amy asked, looking around the office as I sighed.

"You _really_ don't want to know."

"It's a room." The Doctor replied, looking around as well as I was ignored.

"What room?" Rory asked.

"I don't know what room. I haven't memorized every room in the universe yet. I had yesterday off." He then noticed Mels heading back towards the Tardis's doors. "Mels, don't go in there."

He took her gun away then as Mels shouted indignantly.

"Oi!"

The Doctor ignored her and shut the door. "Bad smoke. Don't breathe the bad, bad smoke. Bad deadly smoke, because somebody shot my Tardis!"

"Doctor." Rory called out, kneeling next to the Teselecta. "This guy, I think he's hurt."

"He's fine, Rory." I grumbled, clearing my sore throat as best I could.

Rory opened his mouth to argue, but then frowned. "No, I guess you're right. He's fine now."

There was a groan and someone began to stand up from behind the desk at the front of the room; the Doctor quickly apologizing.

"Ooh, hello. Sorry, is this your office? Had a sort of collision with my vehicle." Amy, Rory and I soon joined him. "Faults on both sides, let's say no more about..."

The man fully stood and straightened his military shirt, a small square mustache sitting on his upper lip as he looked at us seriously.

"...it." The Doctor finished, finally understanding why I said they'd rather _not_ know who the office belonged to.

Especially since the owner was none other than Adolf Hitler.

"Who?"

"Is that? No, it can't be... Doctor?" Amy and Rory looked at him in confusion as Hitler bobbed his head.

"Thank you, whoever you are. I think you have just saved my life."

"Believe me, it was an accident." The Doctor muttered, trying to shift a little closer to me, but I caught the action and moved away slightly in response.

"What is this thing?" Hitler asked suddenly, heading over to the Tardis with a shocked expression.

Amy though, was too busy trying to figure out what was going on. "What did he mean, we saved his life? We could _not_ have just saved Hitler."

"Seems we did." I muttered under my breath as the Doctor rounded on Mels.

"You see? You see? Time travel, it never goes to plan."

"This box, what is it?" Hitler questioned us and the Doctor frowned, turning his anger onto the man.

"It's a police telephone box from London, England. That's right, Adolf. The British are coming."

The Teselecta stood up abruptly then and I spotted Hitler taking out his gun in a panic as I bit my bottom lip in my concern for Mels. _No, I have to let this happen. She has to get shot and turned into River. Otherwise, who _knows_ what could happen. _So, I begrudgingly searched for someplace to hide behind as Hitler began shooting.

"No! Stop him!"

He shot a number of times, myself wincing when a bullet just missed my head before I managed to duck behind some of the concrete from when the Tardis dropped into the room, and thankfully, Rory was quick to punch the man and take his gun. He cocked back the hammer and pointed it at Hitler as the man sat up, staring at him firmly.

"Sit still, shut up."

"Good job, Rory." I hummed out, sticking to my place behind the concrete as I poked my head out from behind it. Amy went over to the Teselecta though, worried.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes. Yes, I'm fine. I think he missed."

"He was going to kill me!" Hitler argued, and Rory snapped at the man.

"Shut up, Hitler!"

"Rory, take Hitler and put him in that cupboard over there. Now do it." The Doctor ordered.

Rory nodded, still looking a bit confused about this whole situation. "Right. Putting Hitler in the cupboard. Cupboard, Hitler. Hitler, cupboard. Come on."

"But I am the Fuhrer!" Hitler complained as Rory helped him up and took him to said cupboard.

"_Fuhrer_." I murmured, trying out the accented word with a small smile. "Ooh, that sounds different than how I normally say it. I like it."

Once Hitler was safely stowed away, the Doctor went to the Teselecta and I hurried to Mels's side.

"Mels? Mels, are you okay?"

She was holding her side and grimaced, immediately letting me know that she wasn't and I hurriedly called out for Rory.

"Rory!"

"What?" He questioned in confusion, probably not having expecting me to call out to him.

"We've got a problem!" I answered, ignoring my Doctor problem right now as I grabbed onto Mels and started helping her down onto the concrete.

"Hitler." She grunted out, making everyone look at her in shock as they hurried over. "Lousy shot."

"Mels! Mels!" Amy called out and Rory scrambled over and pressed his hands to her side and she held onto my hand tightly.

"No, no, no, no! I've got to stop the bleeding..."

"How bad is it, Rory? What can we do?" Amy asked, but Rory wasn't even sure.

"Just keep her conscious. Stay with us, Mels."

The Doctor too, tried to help. "Hey, look at me. Just hold on."

"I used to dream about you. All those stories Amy used to tell me." Mels muttered, her grip tightening on my hand.

"What stories? Tell me what stories. Vampires in Venice. That's a belter." The Doctor joked.

"When I was little, I was going to marry you."

The Doctor grimaced slightly. "O-Oh, well, I would, honest. You stay alive and I'll think about it... maybe."

Mels frowned at him then. "But then Alexander came and told me about you."

The Doctor immediately looked at me and I struggled to keep my gaze off him.

"Now I just want to slap you." Mels went on, clenching her eyes shut in pain. "I promised her I'd be there when you weren't. Should marry her, really. She's a great kisser."

I quickly flushed a bright red, remembering our '_moment_' in the barn the first night we met and tried to get some sort of explanation out only for her to chuckle.

"Should ask my parents first though, since they're both right here."

The Doctor's eyes widened and Mels and I spoke at the same time.

"Penny in the air."

She started to glow and I pulled Amy back as we spoke in unison once more.

"Penny drops."

"What the hell is going on?" Rory asked.

The Doctor pulled him away then. "Back, back, back! Get back!"

"Last time I did this, I ended up a toddler... in the middle of New York." Mels said, getting up with a small smile.

"Okay, Doctor, Alex. Explain what is happening, please."

"Mels." I said, the Doctor following.

"Short for—"

"Melody." Mels said, nodding.

"Yeah. I named my daughter after her." Amy said, confused.

And I rolled my eyes with a sigh, pressing a hand to my head in slight annoyance towards Amy. "You named your daughter after your daughter."

"It took me years to find you two." Melody said, looking at Amy and Rory. "I'm so glad I did. And you see? It all worked out in the end, didn't it? You got to raise me after all."

"You're Melody?" Amy questioned and Rory frowned in confusion.

"But if she's Melody, that means that she's also—"

Melody rolled her eyes. "Shut up, dad. I'm focusing on a dress size."

She threw her arms out with a scream as she regenerated into the long awaited River Song, and I silently wondered what I was going to do now. River gasped then, patting herself down after regenerating and giving herself a once over as everyone turned back to her in shock and surprise; except me, too busy biting my bottom lip in nervousness.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Right, let's see then. Ooh, it's all going on down there, isn't it?" River then brought her hands up to her head and rushed over to a mirror hanging above the fireplace. "The hair! Oh, the hair. It just doesn't stop, does it? Look at that. Everything changes. Oh, but I love it. I _love_ it! I'm all sort of mature." She put her boot-clad leg up onto the toppled over couch. "Hello, Benjamin."

"Who's Benjamin?" The Doctor questioned.

River then snapped her teeth together. "The teeth. The teeth! Oh, look at them!"

She rushed over and suddenly pinned _me_ to the desk behind me, making me slightly panic as I remembered to reach behind me and turn the bowl holding the gun and the banana before she could grab it.

"Watch out, that slender neck."

I swallowed nervously, a blush traveling up my neck and to the tips of my ears as she spun around—still _very_ close to me—and spoke to the Doctor and the others.

"Excuse me you lot. I need to weight myself."

She hurried off to another room and I sank a little, knees wobbling as I clung to the desk behind me letting out a shaky breath I didn't know I was holding. Amy and Rory headed over slowly and leaned up against the desk with me; Rory patting my shoulder as the Doctor just stood in front of us equally dumbfounded.

"_That's_ Melody."

"That's River Song."

"Who's River Song?" _River_ asked, poking her head out from the room and the Doctor turned to her with a grimace; myself unable to get a hold of my voice just yet.

"Spoilers."

"Spoilers? What's spoilers?" She asked, before changing the subject. "Hang on, just something I have to check."

She hurried back into that room as Rory rubbed his temples.

"Is anybody else finding today just a bit difficult? I'm getting a sort of banging in my head."

"Yeah, I think that's Hitler in the cupboard." Amy muttered before I finally found my voice.

"S-S-She flirted with me... _again_..."

"That's not helping." Rory grumbled as the Doctor spoke up.

"This isn't the River Song we know yet. This is her right at the start. Doesn't even know her own name." He turned to me then and I quickly turned my gaze down to the floor. "And the other thing I want to know is why you're avoiding me, Alex."

I winced, trying my best to ignore Amy and Rory's gazes on me as I remembered to disarm the gun behind me, and walked away from the desk. "I-It's nothing. Honest."

He went to argue, following after me with the other two, but a loud shout came from the other room.

"Oh, that's magnificent!" River then came out and grinned at us all. "I'm going to wear lots of jodhpurs."

I cleared my throat awkwardly, knowing that jodhpurs were rather _form-fitting_ riding pants, and getting a bad mental image of River with a riding crop before I shook myself out of it.

"Well now, enough of that. Down to business." She continued, before aiming Hitler's gun at the Doctor.

"Oh, hello. I thought you were going to marry Alex."

I turned to him in shock. "You're selling me off?!"

He winced and River spoke up before he and I could argue about what he'd said.

"I told you, I'm not a wedding person."

"Doctor, what's she doing?" Rory asked as River approached.

"What she's programmed to."

"Where'd she get the gun?"

"Hello, Benjamin." The Doctor mimicked and River smirked.

"You noticed." She tried to shoot him, but the barrel was empty.

"Of course I noticed." He said, him having removed the bullets earlier. "As soon as I knew you were coming, I tidied up a bit."

"I know you did." River chirped and the Doctor grinned.

"Alex knows you knew."

She went to pull out the gun, but drew a banana instead. "Goodness, is killing you two going to take all day?"

"Two?" I questioned, before it dawned on me and I felt that little tug at the back of my mind reminding me that I _too_ had died back in Utah.

I felt the Doctor glance at me, but I turned away and went silent.

"Why, are you busy?" He asked, tossing the banana, as River smiled.

"Oh, I'm not complaining."

She grabbed a letter opener, but the Doctor sonicked it out of her hand as he stepped away from her.

"If you were in a hurry, you could've killed me in the cornfield. And Alex whenever you two were... _hanging out_." He grimaced at that, tucking his sonic away.

"We'd only just met. I'm a psychopath. I'm not rude. And Alexander was having some relationship trouble. I didn't want to kick her while she was down."

River grabbed the gun from off the desk and fired, but still nothing as I waved the magazine clip.

"Sorry." I muttered as Amy spoke up then.

"You are _not_ a psychopath. Why would she be a psychopath?"

"Oh, mummy, mummy. Pay attention. I was trained and conditioned for one purpose. I was born to kill the Doctor and Alexander."

"Demon's run, remember?" The Doctor clarified for her, getting close to River. "This is what they were building. Mine and Alex's bespoke psychopath."

"I'm all yours, sweetie." She said and I somehow got my voice to work.

"Mels, don't."

She, of course, ignored me and kissed him briefly anyway, making my hearts ache.

"Only River Song and Alex get to call me that. And I'd rather you didn't kiss me."

"And who's River Song?"

"And old friend of mine."

"Stupid name." River hummed, sauntering over to me as I took a hesitant step back. "And you're going to be much _much_ harder to kill. Especially since you already know what happens."

I winced, stepping back only to feel my back pressed up against the window sill. "S-Sorry?"

She smiled a bit, running her finger along my jawline and I eyed it warily. "That's alright. I don't feel up to killing you today anyway. I'll do it when it's more unexpected. More fun that way and perhaps you'll be a little less..." She eyed me up and down, and I felt like a lamb being eyes by a hungry wolf. "..._gooey_."

All fear disappeared in that instance as that embarrassed red tint traveled up my face.

"I-I-I'm not gooey! How many times do I have to tell—"

She pressed her finger to my lips and I quickly shut my mouth, before she peered out the open window behind me.

"Oh, look at that. Berlin on the eve of war. A whole _world_ about to tear itself apart. Now that's _my_ kind of town." She glanced behind her at Amy and Rory. "Mum, dad, don't follow me. And yes, that is a warning."

"No warning for me and Alex then?" The Doctor asked and he and I shared the briefest of glances; mine completely torn about what I had allowed to happen to him.

"No need, my love. The deed is done, and so are you. Alexander is coming with me though."

"I'm what?!" I questioned, turning to her in shock as she easily pulled me partially out the window with her. _Damn regeneration energy._

The Doctor went to take a step towards me then and I watched, pained as he staggered and Amy and Rory had to catch him

"Doctor, what's wrong?"

"What have you done? River!" The Doctor shouted and she made a face.

"Oh, River, River, River. More than a friend, I think. Poor Alexander doesn't stand a chance, does she?"

I winced back at the jab, looking away from the Doctor though my hearts begged me to do something to help him.

"What have you done?!" The Doctor repeated.

"It was never going to be a gun for you, Doctor. The man of peace who understands every kind of warfare, except, perhaps, the cruelest." She smiled then as I mouthed a small apology to the Doctor. "Kiss, kiss."

She hopped out the window and dragged me with her, not caring that I was rather numb to everything right about now. After all, if the Doctor dies, it'll be my fault. _Just like everything else, it seems._

* * *

Once the Doctor had gotten Amy and Rory to go after River and Alex, he hurriedly entered the Tardis and began coughing in the smoke.

"Extractor fans on!" He called out weakly and some fans sucked the smoke out, surprising him. "Oh, that works."

He pulled himself along the railing and collapsed a ways away from the Tardis console, having to lean up against the railing behind him as he spoke.

"I'm shutting down. I need an interface. Voice interface. Come on, emergency."

An image of himself appeared before him. "Voice interface enabled."

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Give me someone I _like_." He complained, not wanting to talk to himself while he was in the process of dying.

The voice interface changed into that of Rose Tyler and he groaned.

"Oh, _thanks_. Give me guilt."

Then Martha Jones.

"Also guilt."

Then Donna Noble.

"More guilt. Agh!" He clutched at his chest before managing to catch his breath. "Come on, there must be someone left in the universe I haven't _screwed_ _up_ yet."

A little Amelia Pond appeared. "Voice interface enabled."

"Oh. Oh, Amelia Pond, before I got it all wrong. My sweet little Amelia."

"I am not Amelia Pond. I am a voice interface." She replied, voice in a monotone.

"Hey, let's run away and have adventures. Come along, Pond." The Doctor smiled, remembering his time with her. "Oh, Alex would've loved you."

"I am not Amelia Pond. I am a voice interface." She repeated and the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"You're so Scottish. How am I doing?"

"Your system has been contaminated by the poison of the Judas tree. You will be dead in thirty-two minutes." She answered him.

"Okay. So basically better regenerate, that's what you're saying."

"Regeneration disabled. You will be dead in thirty-two minutes."

"Unless I'm cured, yeah?" He asked, hoping there was a way to fix this.

"There is no cure. You will be dead in thirty-two minutes."

"Why do you keep saying that?" He groaned and she easily replied.

"Because you will be dead in thirty-two minutes."

"You see? There you go again. Basically skipping thirty-one whole minutes when I'm absolutely fine. Scottish, that's all I'm saying." He mocked.

"You will be fine for thirty-one minutes. You will be dead in thirty-two minutes." The interface mocked in return.

"Scotland's never conquered anywhere, you know. Not even a Shetland." He rambled. "River needs me. She's only just beginning. I can't die now."

"You will not die now. You will die in thirty-two minutes."

"I'm going out in the first round. Ringing any bells? Argh!" He cringed again, sliding down to the floor. "Okay, need something for the pain now. Come on, Amelia. It's me. Please."

"I am not Amelia Pond. I am a voice interface." It replied and the Doctor grimaced against the pain raging in his body.

"I haven't even figured out what's wrong with Alex." He muttered, worry adding to his pain. "Amelia, listen to me. I can be brave for you, but you have got to tell me how."

"I am not Amelia Pond. I am a voice interface." She replied and the Doctor felt himself slowly fading.

"Amelia. Amelia, please."

He shut his eyes, too exhausted to fight back anymore and not seeing how the image changed from Amelia to Alex.

"Doctor... I don't want to be alone."

His eyes snapped open at those words and he looked upon the sad expression on the voice interface's version of Alex and he felt determination welling up in him at those words.

"Alone?" He pushed himself up with a grunt. "Oh Alex. _Oh, my Alexander_." He used the console to pull himself up, flipping a switch. "I will _never_ leave you alone. Never!"

He flipped the switch again and set the Tardis off, not knowing just how close he would be to breaking that promise.

* * *

I sat in a deserted chair as River went about trying on different clothes before finding the ones she liked. My mind was elsewhere, though, cursing myself for not having looked up some kind of cure for Judas tree poisoning to help the Doctor. In fact, all I could think about was him, despite me having tried forgetting about him the whole time I'd been with River.

"Now, look at that. Now that's fun from every angle." River sang, turning to me. "What do you think, Alexander?"

I didn't even bother glancing up from my hands in my lap, staying silent as she frowned.

"Oh, come on now. I already said I wasn't going to kill you today. You should be _happy_. He'll never have to know about what you did this way."

"He's dying." I murmured, tightening my grip on my hands as I grit my teeth. "He's dying, and it's my fault."

River stomped over then and promptly slapped me hard across the face as my eyes widened in shock; head still turned away from the force of the hit.

"Now you stop blaming yourself for everything, Alexander." She scolded. "Honestly, I would think that _you're_ the child here, with how I'm having to scold you for your mistakes. When he dies, it's _my_ fault. _I'm_ the one who poisoned him. It has nothing to do with you trying to prevent it or not."

"B-But I could've done... _something_." I argued, turning to look up at her as she stared down at me with a stern frown.

"You can't blame yourself for everything that goes wrong, Alexander. Some things just can't be stopped and that doesn't make it your fault."

I tried to argue again, but she cut me off before I could.

"And don't even _think_ about bringing up the genocide. You did that to _protect_ him. He was the moron who was going to do it and you _saved_ him from that." She came closer to me and rested her knee on the space between my legs on the chair. "If anything, the only fault you have is you love him a little _too_ much."

She brushed a hand over the side of my head and leaned in before my mind could comprehend what she was about to do, but thankfully Amy entered and she stopped with a roll of her eyes.

"Now dear, I told you not to follow me."

River got distracted then and pulled me up suddenly, rushing over to another table nearby and snatching a couple of Luftwaffe uniforms and pulling one over my shoulders before she put on the other.

"I might take my age down a little, just gradually, to freak people out. And you look _very_ handsome in that jacket, Alexander."

I frowned, picking at the item that I'd seen a man forced out of not long ago, and glancing back at my own coat hanging over the back of the chair I'd been sitting in.

"I think I'll stick to my coat." I muttered, still trying to let her earlier words sink in; cheek stinging in a reminder.

"You killed the Doctor."

"Oh yes. I know, dear." River replied as I put my coat back on and frowned at the Teselecta pretending to be Amy. "I hope you're not going to keep on about it. Oh, regeneration. It's a whole new coloring to work with." She chuckled, playing with the hat of the uniform for a moment as the Teselecta moved in front of her.

"You killed the Doctor on the orders of a movement known as the Silence and Academy of the Question. You accept and know this to be true?"

"Mels." I warned, but she ignored me.

"Quite honestly, I don't really remember. It was all a bit of a jumble."

The Teselecta pushed the mirror to the ground and I quickly grabbed onto River and yanked her away as the Teselecta attempted to hurt her.

"Now hold on you little miniature punks in there." I snapped, not wanting River to get hurt, in spite of her wanting to kill me and actually doing a rather good job of that with the Doctor—something I was still upset about. "She was _conditioned_ this way. Let me take your kid and raise them to be a killer and see if _you_ appreciate someone coming in to try and kill her for it. It's not her fault, got it?"

The Teselecta tilted it's head slightly. "You are Alexander Holmes, the Seer."

I furrowed my brows, not sure where it was going with that. "Yeah, so what?"

"You committed the genocide of the Dalek species and have been the indirect cause of death for a multitude of others. You accept and know this to be true?"

I stiffened, eyes going wide with shock and fear as I stuttered. "I-I-I... I... I didn't mean... I wasn't trying to..."

The Teselecta didn't give me a chance to defend myself, before it was attacking me instead, causing me to cry out in pain until a voice interrupted it.

"Sorry, did you say she killed the Doctor? And that my Alex committed genocide? The Doctor? Doctor who?"

I fell back to the floor, panting and staring at the dressed up man in shock and absolute terror. _He knows... He's going to hate me. He knows, he knows, he knows!_

"You're dying..." River said in shock "...and you stopped to change?"

"Oh, you should always waste time when you don't have any. Time is not the boss of you. Rule four hundred and eight." He said, swinging his cane around as he approached us, myself backing away slightly before he turned to the Teselecta. "Amelia Pond. Judgment death machine. Why am I not surprised?" He tapped his cane on the floor and pushed a button, opening the top of it with a smirk. "Sonic cane."

"Are you serious?" River questioned him in disbelief.

"Never knowingly." He smiled. "Never knowingly be serious. Rule twenty-seven. You might want to write these down." He checked his cane again. "_Oh_, it's a robot. With four hundred and twenty-three life signs inside. A robot worked by tiny people. Love it. But how do you all get in there, though. Bigger on the inside? _No_, basic miniaturization sustained by a compression field. Ooh, watch what you eat, it'll get you every time. Amy, if you and Rory are okay, signal me."

Things went quiet for a second, before the Doctor looked at his cane and grinned.

"Thanking you. Argh!" He cried out, sinking down to the floor and startling me out of the fear induced panic I'd started to put myself in. "I'm so sorry. Leg went to sleep. Just had a quick left leg power nap. I forgot I had one scheduled." He said, making up the excuse as he tried to get back up but sat down instead. "Actually, better sit down. I think I heard the right one yawning."

He stretched out his leg and the Teselecta turned towards River and I, making my eyes widen before River tried to make a run for it. Seeing as she was getting away and I was still on the floor, the Teselecta grabbed her in it's beam and left me be.

"Don't you touch her! Do not harm her in any way!" The Doctor shouted as I tried to get my shaking legs under me as well.

"Let her go! Leave her alone! Please! Take me!"

"Don't you _dare_ touch Alexander." The Doctor hissed suddenly, his voice sending a chill down my spine even though he was threatening the Teselecta.

"Why would you care?" It asked. "She's the woman who kills you and the Seer has caused many wrongful deaths herself, including genocide."

I flinched again, wishing that the stupid man in there would stop reminding me of what I'd done.

"I'm not dead." The Doctor replied, taking off his top hat before turning to me as I swallowed thickly, waiting for him to yell at me; but he didn't. "And Alex always has a reason to do what she does. She killed those Daleks to save me, and none of the other deaths were _ever_ her fault."

"You're dying." The Teselecta responded. "And the Seer could have prevented those deaths. Killing an entire army of a species to save you is no excuse."

"Well, at least I'm not a time-traveling shape shifting robot operated by miniaturized cross people, which—I have got to admit—I didn't see coming. What do you want with them?" He asked, pointing his cane at River and I.

"She's Melody Pond and she's the Seer. According to the records, the women who kills the Doctor and the time jumper who carries death."

"And I'm the Doctor. So what's it to you?" The man countered as I steady grew more and more upset with myself.

"Throughout history, many criminals have gone unpunished in their lifetimes. Time travel has... responsibilities."

"Ahahaha. _What_? You got yourselves time travel, so you decided to punish dead people?" The Doctor scoffed.

"We don't kill them. We extract them near the end of their established time-lines."

"And then what?"

"Give them hell."

"Who made you God?" I muttered, and the Teselecta suddenly grabbed me in a painful beam of light too, making me cry out as the Doctor very nearly stood back up in his fury.

"You let her go! You let her go right now, or I swear, you will _wish_ you'd just left me to die." He snarled and I was suddenly dropped, landing rather harshly onto the tiled floor, breathing hard as I turned to the Doctor in shock.

He just let out a soft sigh and relaxed slightly.

"So, who do you think I am, huh? The woman who killed the Doctor." He smiled then, though it looked forced to me. "It sounds like you've got my biography in there. I'd love a peek."

"Our records office is sealed to the public. Foreknowledge is dangerous."

"Yeah, well, I'll be dead in three minutes."

_No... No, he won't. I need to do something._ I grimaced and forced myself up into a sitting position, hoping I could get into a crouch and make it to the Doctor in one go when I had the chance.

"There isn't much foreknowledge left." He finished.

"Sorry, can't do that."

Things went quite for a second, before the Teselecta gave in.

"Records available."

"Question. I'm dying. Who wants me dead?" The Doctor asked, standing.

"The Silence." Both the Teselecta and I answered, making him glance my way as I reluctantly shifted my gaze down at the floor.

"What is the Silence? Why is it _called_ that? What does it mean?"

"The Silence is not a species. It is a religious order or movement. Their core belief is that silence will fall when the question is asked."

"What question?"

"The first question." The Teselecta responded. "The oldest question in the universe, hidden in plain sight."

"Yes, but what is the question?" The Doctor rephrased and it took everything in me not to say it.

"...Unknown."

"Oh, well fat lot of use that is, you big ginge." The Doctor mocked. "Call yourself a records—Agh!" He screamed, cringing and clutching his side as he fell to the ground. "Agh! Kidneys are always the first to quit. I've had better, you know."

I took my chance then and dashed to the Doctor's side just as River was attacked by the Teselecta and I looked between her and the Doctor in a panic. _What do I do? What do I do? Attack the Teselecta? Will that stop it? Doubt it, but I have to help. And the Doctor is dying too. I-I need to do something!_

"Amy. Rory." The Doctor breathed out as I clutched him to me and my mind kicked back into action as I remembered what was supposed to happen.

"Yes! Stop them! Save her! She's your daughter! Point and think, Amy! Hurry!"

The Teselecta suddenly put me up in a beam as well, the light around me turning red as I felt fire raging though me and I screamed alongside River, hoping that my hint had gotten across to Amy as the Teselecta tried to burn me from the inside out. Suddenly, River and I were dropped to the ground and I clutched at my chest as my hearts ached terribly at the abuse they'd just gone through; the Doctor's voice barely registering to my addled mind.

"Please. Now we have to save your parents. Don't run. Now, I know you're scared, but never run when you're scared. Rule seven. Please."

She didn't run, but she sat down in a chair and I grit my teeth as I pushed myself up and began crawling towards the Doctor; speaking to River the whole time.

"Mels, you have to help them. They took care of you. Remember when you were getting in trouble? They bailed you out. A-And when you needed a place to stay, they always took you in. Please. Please help them."

She frowned at me, but remained seated as the Teselecta began calling out.

"Doctor, help us! Doctor, please! Alex! Alex, help!"

The Doctor began stumbling towards the Tardis, desperate and I forced myself shakily onto my feet; cringing and letting out a gasp of pain when my right ankle made contact with the floor; having twisted it pretty badly when I was dropped by the Teselecta apparently.

"Doctor, Alex, help!" The Teselecta cried out and I clenched my teeth through the pain and hobbled to the Doctor as he reached the stairs.

"Look at you two. You still care." She said.

"Doctor, help! Alex, help us! Please help us!"

"It's impressive, I'll give you that."

I ignored her and tried to help the Doctor up, wrapping his arm across my shoulder and trying to lift him, only to cry out in pain and crumble at the added weight on my ankle.

"River, please." The Doctor begged and she stood up, annoyed.

"Again! Who is this River? She's got to be a woman. Am I right? Alexander, you know. Just tell me."

"Help them." I begged instead, knowing that she would be the only one capable now. "Please, just save Amy and Rory. Help the Doctor."

"Tell me about her. Go on."

The Doctor just begged one last time. "Ah! Just... help me. Y-You're the child of the Tardis. She'll listen to you. Please." He collapsed and I hurriedly rolled him onto his back as I snapped and turned to River.

"You wanted me to not blame myself! How can I not blame myself for this?! Do something, Mels!" I felt my anger quickly turn to tears though and I bowed my head as I softly cried. "P-Please save them. The Doctor, h-he's all I have left. I love him, Mels. P-Please. Please help him."

She hesitated, but rushed into the Tardis and set it off to save Amy and Rory, and I felt something gently brush a tear off my cheek.

"O-Oh, my Alexander. I'm sorry."

I shook my head, choking back sobs. "N-No. I-I'm sorry. I killed them. T-The Daleks, I-I killed them. You hate me. You have to hate me for what I did."

"I could never hate you, Alexander." He breathed out and I whimpered quietly. "You did it because you didn't want me blaming myself. I-I understand. You were saving me, Alex. I could never hate you for that."

I felt him shake under my hand and I let out a cry of agony as I clung to his suit and cried on his chest, hearing his hearts doing what they could to try and help.

"D-Don't die! Please don't die! I-I don't want to be alone, Doctor! Please don't leave me... Please..."

"Sh, sh, sh." He hushed me, slowly wrapping his arms around my back and kissing my forehead. "It'll be okay. I promise. E-Everything will be just fine."

* * *

The Tardis slowly reappeared and Amy rushed out and to where the Doctor and Alex were lying on the stairs.

"You can't die now." Amy said, eyeing Alex; who kept her face buried in the Doctor's chest as he shakily rubbed her back. "I know you don't die now."

"Oh, Pond. You've got a schedule for everything." He joked half-heartedly.

"But it doesn't make any sense." She muttered as Rory tried to keep her from giving anything away.

"Doctor, what do we do? Come on. How do we help you?"

"No. Sorry, Rory, you can't. Nobody can." He breathed out, looking at Alex as he moved his hand up to her short hair. "Not even Alex. So Ponds, listen to me. I need to talk to your daughter."

Amy and Rory moved away and let River approach; Alex staying where she was with the Doctor, trying to muffle her crying.

"Find her." He told River. "Find River Song and tell her something from me."

"Tell her what?" River asked, and the Doctor pulled her closer before whispering something in her ear.

River pulled away with a small smile. "Well, I'm sure she knows..."

It was then though that she noticed the Doctor had closed his eyes and that Alex had gone quiet, though her hand was white with how tightly she was gripping the lapels of his suit. River backed up to where Amy and Rory were then, almost sad for what she'd done.

"Who's River Song?"

Amy gave her a sorrowful look in return and then moved towards the Teselecta. "Are you still working? Because I'm still a relative. Access files on River Song."

"Records available." The Teselecta replied

"Show me her. Show me River Song."

The Teselecta changed it's image into that of River Song and said woman stared at it in shock as Alex finally spoke up; voice croaky.

"A body of water and music."

"What?" River questioned and Alex shook her head.

"It's s-so unoriginal. Melody Pond. River Song. Music and a body of water. And vise versa." She explained, not once turning towards the trio and keeping her eyes locked on the Doctor. "I just wish there was something I could do..."

Amy shifted slightly, looking at River. "What did he say? The Doctor gave you a message for River Song. What was it?"

River ignored Amy and started walking towards the Doctor, hands glowing and making Amy panic.

"What's happening? River, what are you doing?"

"Just tell me. The Doctor, is he worth it?"

"Yes! Yes, he is!" Amy said, still looking a little unsure about what was going on and River knelt down beside the Doctor and Alex, turning to her.

"Alexander... Is he still worth it to you? After what you did, do you still think—no matter what he says—that he's worth it?"

Alex nodded, wiping at the tears on her face. "E-Even if he hates me the rest of his life, the Doctor will _always_ be worth it."

River smiled slightly. "Then I'll tell you what he said."

She leaned over and whispered something into Alex's ear and the woman immediately let out a choked sob as River placed her glowing hands on the Doctor. Gold regeneration energy swirled around them as she gave the rest of her regenerations to him and he came to, looking up at her in shock.

"River. No. What are you doing?"

"Hello, sweetie." She murmured, glancing briefly at Alex who nodded, before she kissed him to pass the regeneration energy along.

The moment she finished though, she passed out and Alex grabbed onto her with a wince of pain when she put pressure on her ankle, and the Doctor sat up in surprise. He hadn't expected River to actually save him like that, but he also knew that she needed to get to a hospital; and rather quickly at that.

"A-Amy, Rory. Grab her. Quickly!"

They nodded and hurried over, helping River up as the Doctor got up himself and helped Alex, a hand around her waist as her arm was draped over his shoulders.

"Into the Tardis! Hurry up!" He called out, the group of them heading in before he set Alex down on the jump seat and rushed around to send them off to a hospital.

Once there, both River and Alex were checked in and looked over, and the Doctor was giving a chance to relax and explain things to Amy and Rory before River awoke. It wasn't until River fell back unconscious that Alex hobbled in on crutches, waving a nurse off with a frown, making the Doctor unable to hide the small smile at the scene.

"It's _just_ a sprain! Honestly! You'd think I was going to keel over and have a heart attack or something with how fussy they are." She complained as the Doctor chuckled and led the group to the Tardis.

"They're just trying to do their jobs, Alex." He chimed in and she frowned up at him.

"Says you. You haven't been on the other side of their _claws_." She shivered and the Doctor just grinned as he bounded alongside her and the group went into the Tardis.

Alex, though, paused and turned to him as he held the door open and kissed him briefly.

"Thank you. I'm going to just head to my room, alright?" She murmured, red in the face as she turned away and hobbled up the stairs, leaving the Doctor outside in surprise.

"Yowza." He breathed out, before joining the trio inside and sending them off into the vortex.

* * *

I laid back on my bed with a sigh, glad to be able to take some weight off my ankle that was covered in a—stiff, but thin—Tardis blue ankle wrap that the nurses at the hospital said would heal me up in a day or so. _Alien technology is amazing..._ I mused, before draping an arm over my eyes, thinking over the crazy day I'd just had. _River hitting on me, hiding from the Doctor, having him... die..._ I groaned, cursing myself for throwing such a fit when I knew he was going to live anyway, but honestly, I couldn't help it. For all I knew, my presence and meeting up with Mels could have changed everything. She might not have saved him because of what I told her, and then he would've died because of me. Already, I believed the genocide of the Daleks to be my fault and why the Doctor told River what he did when he knew that I'd killed them off.

"_He said, 'Tell her I love her, but I will never love anyone more than I do my Alexander."_

I sighed loudly once more and turned onto my side, facing the wall with a sad expression. _How could he say that? After what I did, how could he still love me?_ I heard the door open behind me and stiffened, mentally cursing myself when I did, because I knew it was him. I knew that it was the Doctor who'd come after me, but I wasn't sure how to face him. The bed dipped down behind me and I felt him flop back onto it with his own sigh.

"Rough day." I muttered, not facing him and he hummed.

"Hm, I think we left Hitler in the cupboard..."

I snorted indignantly and chuckled as he did the same, and I rolled onto my back beside him and faced the ceiling.

"I should tell you, River kissed me when we first met, then got me thrown in jail with her."

He scrambled up onto his elbow and looked at me with wide eyes. "W-What?!"

I flushed a bright red and coughed, nervous. "Y-Yeah. Sorry. She was trying to get away from some cops a-and I was hungover in a barn a-and she had a gun! I couldn't exactly say no when she made out with me to get away from them... And then she went and got me arrested as an accomplice! I've never been to jail in my life!"

The Doctor though was more worried about other things though.

"She kissed you... She kissed my Alexander..." He muttered over and over again and I stopped and gave him a look.

"Really? You're more upset about that than I am, and _I'm _the one it happened to." I grumbled, frowning as I closed my eyes. "And it's not the first time I've been kissed by a girl..."

There was a moment of silence before I felt the bed shift once more and lips suddenly pressed themselves to mine. The Doctor pulled away as I opened my eyes and gave him a dazed look.

"Um...hello..."

He smiled a bit, having shifted so that he was hovering over me. "Hello."

"I-I take it that was revenge for letting River kiss me?"

"Something like that." He hummed and my previous thoughts came back to mind, making my expression falter. "What's wrong?"

"Did you mean it?" I asked, looking up at his green eyes in worry. "What you said before... Did you honestly mean it?"

His eyes softened. "Oh, Alex. Of course I meant it. Every word."

His hand brushed the side of my head, but I was still confused.

"B-But how? I-I committed genocide. I _killed_ the Daleks. Davros, h-he said—"

The Doctor cut me off, voice stern. "It doesn't matter what he said, Alex. And I already told you, you did that to protect me. I could _never_ hate you for trying to help."

"But I-I made things worse." I countered, my mind not willing to accept that he meant what he was saying. "I killed them _for_ you. S-So you must blame yourself for that. I-I didn't do anything to help. I killed them but you blame yourself anyway. Why? W-Why can't you just blame me?"

I felt tears welling up again, but I refused to let them fall as the Doctor let out a soft sigh.

"Because, Alexander, it's not your fault. And it's not mine either. I know you want to take on all that burden for me, but it's not something that can be carried by one person." He said, pressing his forehead to mine and allowing his hair to brush across my face. "I know where you're at, right now. I was in the same place after the Time War. You're at the point where you can't understand how anyone can see you as a good person after what you've done. They tell you you're a good person and you laugh it off, or change the subject, because the very thought of you being someone like that is impossible. But sooner or later, Alex, you come across someone who won't _stop_ saying that. Who will continue to say you're their hero, you're a great person, that they love you. And it hurts to hear someone say that over and over again, and when they find out what you've done, you expect them to run away. To say that you're a horrible, disgusting person after what you've done. But they stay. They stay and they tell you they don't care. And you realize just how important that person is to you. And _you_ are that person, Alex. And I want to be that person for you." He pulled away and I looked up at him with tearful eyes as he smiled a little. "You've always been there for me and I want to do the same for you. Neither of us can take on all of the others' burdens, but we can share them and grow stronger because of them. And we can do it together."

I couldn't help it anymore. His words had cut me to the core and I realized that he was right. Between the two of us, there was almost a thousand years of burdens that not one person could carry, but together, we'd be able to pull through. And I reached up and tangled my hands in his hair as I kissed him deeply, him returning the kiss with more fervor and passion than I could imagine.

"I love you." I murmured as our bodies grew closer.

"I love you more." He hummed back, a hand trailing itself up the back of my shirt as the two of us lost ourselves in each other; for the first time and for the millionth time.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_I poked my head out too and gave Rose and the Doctor a look as I pulled my sunglasses down a bit._

_"I hope you didn't forget about me."_

_"Course not!" Rose chirped as I walked out and adjusted the jacket a bit. "Oh boy. But you went all out, didn't you, Alex." She said with a wink._

_"Tardis's idea, but I've always been a little punk rock." I said with a smile, determined to make the best of this adventure whether this Doctor was nice or not, because Rose was here_.


	41. The Idiot's Lantern

**Here's the next chapter, hope you all enjoy it and let me know what you think. it's a nice change up to the usual Rose-Tenth, so i hope he's not out of character or anything.**

* * *

I popped off the morning after my night with Eleven the moment I'd hobbled into the Tardis kitchen to see him grinning with a Tardis blue apron on as he made me breakfast. Thing was, I popped off in his shirt and bow tie, and while that may not sound so bad now, where I popped up _in_ said articles wasn't exactly the best place to do so.

"Ooh dear. Um, hello Rose, Doctor." I said nervously with a little wave, ducking behind the Tardis console. "You, uh, wouldn't of happened to see my trousers anywhere, would you?"

Rose pointed, mouth hanging open comically, along with the Doctor's. "I-Is that a bow tie? Wait, didn't you say the Eleventh Doctor wears a silly tie or something?"

"Did I?" I questioned, looking for an escape. "Oh, no, no. He doesn't do that. He wears, uh, funny glasses! That's it. Um, excuse me for a second."

I hurried upstairs to the hallway and hurried out of the room—as fast as I could with my injured ankle—but grimaced and doubled back to poke my head out the doorway.

"Where are we, uh, headed to, exactly?"

Rose continued to just stare, obviously confused. "We were going to, um, go see Elvis."

"Right. Thanks." I grinned, before heading back to my room in a panic.

_Great. Just great. Let's drop poor Alex off after spending the night with the Doctor, with a companion who loves said man, and a version of said man who hates her. Better yet, let's make sure she thoroughly embarrasses herself in the process by making sure she's not wearing pants! If that doesn't shout that the universe hates me, I don't know what does._ I heard a clatter behind me and immediately froze, slowly turning round to look at what was behind me.

"Oh no. No, no, no, no, no. You have _got_ to be kidding! Seriously!?" I shouted, making a mad dash down the hall despite the pain traveling up my ankle in protest, as a very angry looking ostrich hurried after me.

_It's bigger than a chicken! Bigger than a chicken! _Much_ bigger than a chicken!_ I mentally panicked, before I spotted the door to my room and hurried in. I shut the door behind me and leaned up against it, feeling it shake as the ostrich rammed into it, only for it to suddenly stop. And I slowly—being the smart person that I was—cracked open the door to see if it was still there, only to get a pie shoved into my face. Whipped cream and banana pudding slid down my face as I groaned and wiped it off with my hand.

"SERIOUSLY!?" My voice boomed, echoing through the Tardis halls; unknowingly startling Rose and the Doctor as they silently questioned what was happening.

Once I cleaned myself up and had styled my hair into a more slicked back, 1950s fashion, I sighed and headed to the closet to see what the Tardis would give me to wear.

"Oh God, come on. Really?"

Sitting inside the very same black leather biker jacket I'd worn with Mels when the Eleventh Doctor showed up. I frowned up at the ceiling and closed the closet door as I pointed a stern finger up at her.

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you? Alex had sex with the Doctor, so let's just _rub _it in her face. What did I ever do to you, huh? _I'm_ not the one who hits you with a mallet."

The Tardis hummed, as though considering that and—unbeknownst to me—a tin pan fell on the Tenth Doctor in the console room.

"Now, I would like it if you could give me something a bit less rockabilly and a little more proper. We're going to be dealing with a rather _sexist_ guy and it would work out easier if I at least looked _somewhat_ presentable... And no dresses!"

I waited, hearing a resigned hum, and opened up the closet once more to find a nice white button-up shirt, some dark jeans, black combat boots that would reach mid-calf, and some familiar dark red suspenders. Best part was, the jacket was _still_ there.

I sighed. "Fine, Sexy. I give up. Have it your way. I'll wear the jacket."

The ship gave off a pleased hum and I begrudgingly put on the clothes, brushing a hand over the jacket fondly before heading over to my discarded Belstaff coat and pulling out my notebook, eyeing the ceiling.

"I hope these pockets are bigger on the inside too."

She let out a scoff-like hum and I tucked the notebook easily into one of the pockets, before my hand brushed against something and I pulled out a pair of aviator sunglasses.

"Really?" I questioned the ship, who hummed in annoyance and I held my hands up. "Alright, alright. I'll put them on. Calm your rotors. Sheesh."

I put on the sunglasses and headed towards the console room.

"But I'm telling you now, when we go to meet this guy, I'm taking them off. The last thing I need is to be causing more problems."

She hummed out a shrug and I bounded into the console room, only to find it empty and I figured they'd headed outside already. So I poked my head out too and gave Rose and the Doctor a look as I pulled my sunglasses down a bit.

"I hope you didn't forget about me."

"Course not!" Rose chirped as I walked out and adjusted the jacket a bit. "Oh boy. But you went all out, didn't you, Alex." She said with a wink.

"Tardis's idea, but I've always been a little punk rock." I said with a smile, determined to make the best of this adventure whether this Doctor was nice or not, because Rose was here.

I then noticed that the two of them were sitting on a little blue scooter and Rose seemed to realize it too, because she suddenly looked a little sheepish.

"Um, I'm sure there's another helmet in the Tardis somewhere." The Doctor said, though he looked a tad bit annoyed.

I simply waved a hand. "Nah, no problem. I'll walk. You two won't be going too far anyway. Ah, sorry. Spoilers."

He raised a brow, just barely visible between the shade of his helmet and the sunglasses he was wearing, but shrugged before Rose gave me an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Alex."

I just waved as they headed off and began my walk, looking around at the festivities before I'd just about caught up to Rose and the Doctor.

"Well, this could be New York. I mean, this looks very New York to me. Sort of Londony New York, mind."

"That's cause we're in England, Doctor. 1953. You got the place wrong this time. Could be worse. Could've been off by fifteen years." I hummed with a shrug and Rose turned to give me a look.

"But what're all the flags for?"

"Ooh, I'd tell you, but why don't we all go and ask those guys over there?" I asked, gesturing to a van where a couple of guys were pulling out a TV.

The Doctor and Rose exchanged a glance, before shrugging and parking the scooter as I tucked my aviator glasses away and took off my jacket. Rose caught sight of this and gave me a look.

"You're not going to keep wearing it?"

I wrinkled my nose. "Believe me, I would, but rockers didn't exactly get the best reputation in England during the 1950s and we're going to be dealing with a _rather_ strict person in a bit. Though don't let me stop you. I give you full permission to pop him a new one." I grinned and she chuckled.

"Alright. I'll keep that in mind."

"There you go, sir. All wired up for the great occasion." Magpie said cheerfully as a couple of guys pulled the TV out of the back of his van.

"The great occasion? What do you mean?" The Doctor asked him and he gave us a dubious look.

"Where've you been living? Out in the Colonies? Coronation, of course."

I mouthed the word 'colonies' with a wrinkle of my nose, making Rose chuckle a bit as she spoke up.

"The Queen's. Queen Elizabeth."

"Oh! Right! It's 1953, isn't it?" The Doctor said in realization as I rolled my eyes and Magpie nodded.

"Last time I looked. Time for a lovely bit of pomp and circumstance. What we do best."

Rose looked around though, puzzled. "Look at all the TV aerials. Looks like everyone's got one. That's weird. My nan said tellies were _so_ rare they all had to pile into one house."

I nodded. "That's because TV's were pretty expensive when they first came out. Just like when _anything_ new comes out, only the richer folks can get it until they lower the price for the masses."

"Not around here." Magpie said happily. "Magpie's Marvelous Tellies, only five quid a pop."

"Oh, but this is a _brilliant_ year. Classic!" The Doctor grinned in excitement as he wandered around. "Technicolor, Everest climbed, everything off the ration. The nation throwing off the shadows of war and looking forward to a happier, brighter future."

Or so he said, but I knew better and felt guilt well up within me as we were forced to watch a man get taken away from his wife by a couple of guys in black suits.

"Someone help me, please! Ted! Leave him alone! He's my husband! Please!" The woman called out as the man was being taken into a black car, a blanket over his head to hide his face.

"What's going on?" The Doctor asked as we hurried over, giving me a frown and I shook my head.

"Nothing good, that's for sure."

One of the men turned to us, voice stern. "Police business, now get out of the way, sir."

Rose turned to Tommy though, who'd run out of his house in shock. "Who did they take? Do you know him?"

"Must be Mr. Gallagher." He said as the car drove off. "It's happening all over the place. They're turning into monsters."

"Tommy!" His father shouted. "Not one word! Get inside, now!"

Tommy begrudgingly turned to us. "Sorry. I'd better do as he says."

He then hurried off towards his house as the Doctor and Rose rushed towards the moped and put on their helmets.

"All aboard!" The Doctor called and gave me a look, but I just gave him a slightly forced smile.

"You two go on ahead. I'll stick around here. My ankle's giving me trouble."

Rose looked down at my ankle and went to question it, but the Doctor turned her attention back onto the task at had as I turned to Tommy and his family behind me.

"Could I, uh, possibly borrow your porch? My doctor told me I shouldn't be walking around on this leg much and I really need to sit down."

The father looked upset at that and scowled. "Then go sit on your own porch. This is _my_ property and the last thing I need is some, some _stranger_ loitering on my property."

I shrugged, though anger boiled in my veins. "Alright, I'm sure I can ask your neighbor and let them know that you wouldn't even let an injured person rest in your home. The shame of it all. You'd think a gentleman like yourself, who dutifully serves his Queen and country would be kind enough to allow a crippled into his home for a few moments until his companions returned. Guess not."

I started hobbling away, hoping that my gimmick would work out, and sure enough, Eddie called after me.

"Now, now hold on! I was just, uh, joking! That's right. Joking." He said, putting a hand on my shoulder and stopping me as I gave him a look. "I'm sure we could put up a chair for you. Right, Rita?"

His wife, having caught onto my act nodded with a soft smile. "Of course."

"See?" Eddie smiled, turning me around and nodding to Tommy. "Tommy, come help this young man into the house."

"Yes, sir." Tommy said, ducking under my arm and helping me along, before speaking quietly. "How'd you do that? I've never seen someone change his mind like that before."

I winked at him, whispering quietly too, so as not to alert Eddie. "Not that hard, actually. You just have to know what he cares about and threaten that just the tiniest bit, and he'll give in without even knowing it. Your old man likes his reputation."

Tommy's mouth opened in understanding and I was helped into a chair before Rita brought me a cup of tea which I thanked her for. I wasn't sitting around long though, before there came a banging upstairs and I frowned slightly up at the ceiling.

"Ah, don't mind that. It's just the, uh, cat." Eddie said, and I spotted Tommy heading up the stairs before Eddie followed after him. I couldn't hear their conversation, but one look at Rita had my hearts breaking for them.

"Rita?"

She looked over at me and forced a smile on her face, but I immediately ignored it.

"We'll help you. Promise." I told her, seeing her shock as I went on. "We'll help your mother."

"But how—" She was cut off when Eddie called to her from upstairs and she skittishly headed up where I could hear Eddie getting upset with Tommy.

I forced myself to stay out of it, Eddie's voice ringing through the home until the doorbell rang and I struggled to relax my fists that had tightened around my jacket in my lap as Eddie come back downstairs with the other two and answered the door. The Doctor and Rose soon tricked their way into the home and wandered around the living room, catching sight of me.

"Ah, not bad. Very nice. Very well kept. And you let my companion rest here too. I'd like to congratulate you, Mrs...?"

Rita smiled a little and bowed her head politely. "Connolly."

"Now then, Rita. I can handle this." Eddie interrupted. "This gentleman's a proper representative." He turned to the Doctor then. "Don't mind the wife, she rattles on a bit."

"Maybe she should rattle on a bit more." I snapped at Eddie, making him stare at us in shock as the Doctor nodded as Rose sat down beside me on the couch.

"I agree. I'm not convinced you're doing your patriotic duty." He gestured to the bundle of flags nearby. "Nice flags. Why are they not flying?"

"There we are, Rita. I told you. Get them up. Queen and country." Eddie demanded and I gave him a look.

"Why's she got to do it? You've got two arms."

The Doctor agreed once more, giving him a look. "Two _big_ arms. So why is it your wife's job?"

"Well, it's housework, innit?" He questioned, confused.

"And that's a woman's job?" The Doctor went on.

"Of course it is."

"Mr. Connolly, what gender is the Queen?"

"She's a female." He answered.

"And are you suggesting the Queen does the housework?"

"...No. Not at all."

"Then get busy." The Doctor said, handing him the flags.

"Right. Yes, sir. You'll be proud of us, sir. We'll have Union Jacks left, right and center." He said, not seeing how the Doctor had twisted him around into doing what we said.

Rose though, couldn't help but get her bit in too. "Excuse me, Mr. Connolly. Hang on a minute. Union Jacks?"

Eddie gave her a once over, immediately trying to disqualify her as a woman. "Yes, that's right, isn't it?"

Rose gave him a smug look. "That's the Union Flag. It's the Union Jack only when it's flown at sea."

"Oh. Oh, I'm sorry. I do apologize."

"Well, don't get it wrong again." She said. "There's a good man. Now get to it!"

She grinned at the Doctor and I, myself grinning back and beginning to relax slightly as I moved myself to the couch to sit with Rose and the Doctor.

"Right then. Nice and comfy. At her Majesty's leisure." The Doctor rambled, turning to Rose and speaking quietly. "Union Flag?"

Rose just grinned and fixed her skirt. "Mum went out with a sailor."

He chuckled. "Oh, ho, ho. I'll bet she did." He then turned to Rita and Tommy. "Anyway, I'm the Doctor, this is Rose and Alex, and you are?"

"Tommy."

"Well, sit yourself down, Tommy." The Doctor patted the chair beside him I'd abandoned, leaning forward to watch the TV. "Have a look at this. I love telly, don't you?"

"Yeah. I think it's brilliant."

"Good man! Keep working, Mr. C!" He called out over his shoulder, before turning to Rita. "Now, why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

Rita hesitated, but soon spoke. "Did you say you were a doctor?"

"Yes, I am." The Doctor said, not an ounce of doubt in his voice as Rita turned to me.

"A-And you said you could help her."

I nodded. "We can, and we will."

"Oh please. Can you help her, Doctor, Alex?"

"Now then, Rita." Eddie called out. "I don't think the gentlemen need to know."

"No, the gentlemen do." The Doctor countered as Rose leaned forward too.

"Tell us what's wrong, and we can help."

Rita burst into tears and Rose immediately comforted her as Eddie realized he'd been played.

"Hold on a minute. Queen and country's one thing, but this is my house!" He said, tossing the flags back. "What the... What the hell am I doing?"

The Doctor let out a soft sigh and leaned his cheek up against his fist as Eddie confronted the two of us.

"Now you listen here, Doctor and, and _you_."

_Aw, he doesn't even remember my name._ I mentally pouted, rolling my eyes as the man went on.

"You may have fancy qualifications and an injury, but what goes on under my roof is my business!"

"A lot of people are being bundled into—" The Doctor was cut off by him shouting though.

"I am _talking_!"

Immediately, the Doctor stood up and got in his face, yelling back. "And _I'm not listening_!" He calmed his voice slightly, but growled at Eddie. "Now _you_, Mr. Connolly, you are staring into a deep dark _pit_ of trouble if you don't let me help. So I'm ordering you, _sir_, tell me what's going on!"

Eddie seemed about ready to do so, only for there to be a thumping on the floor and all eyes went to the ceiling. Finally, Eddie gave in.

"She won't stop. She never stops."

Tommy went into more detail though. "We started hearing stories all round the place. People who've changed. Families keeping it secret because they were scared. Then the police started finding out. We don't know how, no one does. They just turn up, come to the door and take them, any time of the day or night."

I gave Eddie a dark stare, knowing he was the one calling the police and watched as he fidgeted and struggled to look me in the eye.

"Show me." The Doctor said and Tommy nodded, getting up and leading the way.

"I'll stay down here." I said, making the Doctor turn to me with a frown, but nodding as he and the rest followed.

Unbeknownst to them, I knew the police were arriving and the moment I heard the car door being shut, I got up and placed myself in the hallway to possibly deter the men. Unfortunately, once they'd broken down the door, I had only managed to take down one of the men before the larger one punched me good in the face and threw me up against the wall. I blacked out for a moment, but I soon woke up with a start, my head feeling a little off and a bit dizzy, but rather fine; which confused me. _Shouldn't I have been out longer?_ Shaking the thought from my mind, I pushed myself up just as Rose and the Doctor came down the stairs. The Doctor rushed right on past me, but Rose stopped and gave me a worried look as I rubbed at my jaw with a wince.

"Are you okay?"

I gave her a small smile, cringing as it made my jaw ache. "Hell of a right hook."

She chuckled. "Doctor said the same."

"Rose, come on!" The Doctor called out and we both started to head towards the door, only to see the TV sparking red.

"Rose! We're gonna lose them again!" The Doctor continued, but she headed into the living room and gave me a look.

"What _was_ that?"

"I'd tell you, but it won't help much." I muttered as we approached. "I'll tell you what though, it's a good point to start.

She nodded. "Help me with this?"

I knelt down beside her and helped her push the TV aside to look at the back where the label was, just as Eddie and his family came back inside.

"Anyway, how did they find her? Who told them?" Tommy questioned, but Eddie had enough and shouted at Rose and I.

"You! Get the hell out of my house!"

I stood up and glared at the man, stomping over and grabbing him by the front of his shirt, finally allowing some of my anger to show.

"You don't talk to her like that, got it?" I shoved him back, making him stumble into the wall, as Rose placed a hand gently on my arm and nodded towards the door.

"Come on, Alex. We're done." She then turned to the other two. "Nice to meet you, Tommy, Mrs. Connolly." She then turned back to Eddie with a frown. "And as for_ you_, Mr. Connolly, only an idiot hangs the Union Flag upside down. Shame on you!"

She suddenly grinned then and tugged me out the door, looking up and down the street for a sign of the Doctor, before turning to me.

"Right then. Doctor's gone off. Where to now?"

"Magpie's?" I questioned and she grinned, linking arms with me as we headed off.

"Magpie's it is."

As we walked, she gave me a worried glance. "How's your ankle?"

I shrugged. "It's alright. Doesn't appreciate the walking, but I'll live."

"How'd it happen, anyhow? And why didn't I notice it before?"

"Perception filter." I replied. "You won't notice it unless you're looking for it. And I..." I cleared my throat, wondering how I should tell her. "...sort of got in trouble with some... feds and they sort of picked me up and dropped me."

She frowned, curious. "Feds? What'd you do? Rob a shop or something?"

I winced. "Or something..."

We'd arrived at the shop then, thankfully and I suddenly stopped Rose from opening the door.

"Rose, before we go in there, I need you to promise me something."

She raised a brow. "Alright, what?"

"If anything goes wrong, and I mean _anything_, I want you to run to the place where you and the Doctor saw that car disappear and just scream and shout until they let you see him, okay?"

She frowned. "Why? What's going to happen?"

I sighed. "Please, Rose. Promise me you'll just run when it happens."

"Alright, alright. Promise." She chuckled then, rolling her eyes. "An _Alexander Holmes_ promise, even."

I couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped my own lips at that. "Geeze. Is that a thing now? Did I make that a thing?"

She laughed. "You did."

I wrinkled my nose. "Ew, remind me not to do that."

"Never." She said, punching me playfully, before we entered Magpie's shop as he was working on a small TV.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry miss, sir. I'm afraid you're too late. I was just about to lock the door."

"Yeah? Well, I want to buy a telly." Rose said as I closed the door behind us.

"Come back tomorrow, please." He said, looking nervous.

"Won't you be closed?" I questioned. "It's the coronation, after all. Big day."

"Yes, yes. Of course. The big day... I'm sure you'll find somewhere to watch it. Please go."

"Seems to me half of London's got a television, since you're practically giving them away." Rose said, pushing the issue as she leaned on his desk.

"I have my reasons."

"And what are they?"

A TV turned on then and everyone's eyes went to it as a woman appeared, complaining.

"Hungry! Hungry!"

"What's that?" Rose asked Magpie, who panicked.

"It's just a television. One of these modern programs. Now, I really do think you should leave." He said, moving towards the door. "Right now."

"Do as he says, Rose." I muttered, eyeing the woman on the TV and making Rose pause.

"What? But we don't even know what's going on!" She turned to Magpie then. "I'm not leaving till he's answered my questions. How come you televisions are so cheap?"

"It's my patriotic duty. Seems only right that as many folk as possible get to watch the coronation. We may be losing the Empire but we can still be proud. Twenty million people they reckon'll be watching. Imagine that. And twenty million people can't be wrong, eh, so why don't you get yourself back home and get up, bright and early, for the big day." Magpie said and I turned to him with a frown.

"And I reckon this crazy lady over here has you tied around her finger and before you go and lock that door, Mr. Magpie, I want you to let Rose go. Ordinary people are loosing their faces because of you and your stupid televisions and you know as well as I do that it needs to be stopped and I'd rather not have to break your doorknob to make sure my friend gets out of here safely."

"I knew this would happen. I knew I'd be found out." He said worriedly and before he could lock the door, I grabbed Rose and kicked the door solidly right above the lock; startling the man.

"Let her _out_."

He was too frightened to do much and I quickly pushed Rose out the door, just as the Wire reached out and attacked me.

"Go! Find the Doctor! Go, Rose!"

She ran just as the Wire laughed and the door was shut, fire burning through my mind as I was turned around and fed to the woman.

"So much to eat! So much running through your head! Delicious!" She shouted as I slowly began to loose consciousness, one last thought running through my head.

_Doctor... I did it... I saved Rose..._

* * *

Rose had done just as Alex said and had made a bolt for where she told her to, making as big a ruckas as she could and eventually being grabbed by a man and dragged inside as she shouted.

"Doctor! Let me see the Doctor! Let me go! I need to see him!"

She was pulled into a room, where said Doctor turned to her in shock.

"Rose? Where've you been?"

Rose was released and immediately clung to his arm. "Doctor! We need to help her! Alex! She's trapped!"

The Doctor frowned, giving her a look and trying to calm her down as she clung to him and grew more upset.

"Whoa, calm down Rose. What happened? Explain from the beginning."

"W-We saw this red light coming from the TV at the Connolly's. It was from Magpie's, so we went to the shop to find out what was wrong and—" Her eyes suddenly widened as she looked up at the Doctor in shock. "She stopped me! She told me to run and find you if anything should happen! Doctor, I-I think—"

Rose was cut off as two men entered the room with a person hidden by a blanket.

"Found another one, sir."

"Oh, uh, good man, Crabtree." The detective inspector said, nodding towards the person. "Here we are, Doctor. Take a good look. See what you can deduce."

The man took the blanket off and Rose gasped, bringing a hand to her mouth in shock as they realized who had just been brought in without a face.

"O-Oh no... Alex. Doctor, that's Alex!"

"You know him?" The detective inspector asked and the Doctor approached Alex in shock, having never expected her to get caught by this sort of thing.

There was a stirring in his chest and he immediately frowned at the feeling, quickly shaking it off as Crabtree spoke up once more.

"They found him in the street, apparently."

That was all the Doctor heard as he looked over the, now faceless, Alex. Rose though, heard what the man said and turned to him in shock.

"They did what?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Where did they leave her?" Rose demanded to know and the man furrowed his brows at the pronoun used to describe Alex, before shaking his head.

"Just... in the street."

"In the street." The Doctor muttered, coming out of his daze. "They left her in the street. They took her face and just chucked her out and left her in the street. I may not like her that much, but even that's just..."

Rose then turned to him in shock. "Doctor, she told me to leave. _Pushed_ me out the door. I think... I-I think that was supposed to be me... Doctor, she _saved_ me."

Rose never understood what the Doctor had against Alex. She knew he was angry about something, but he never told her what it was and it was always hard for her whenever she came around. Rose had managed to get the Doctor to be a little nicer to her after the werewolf incident, but then came the issues with the parallel universe and it was almost as though the Doctor went back to hating her, if it wasn't for her saving the people that she did. And right now, Rose almost felt that the Doctor wouldn't even bother to try and save Alex. If it was _her_ though, she was almost certain that the Doctor would've stopped at nothing until she was safe And Rose got to thinking then, that since Alex knew this was going to happen to her and still pushed her out of the way, did she know how the Doctor would react too? Did she know that the Doctor possibly wouldn't try nearly as hard to save her as he would've otherwise? And if so, then Alex may have just given up her life to save Rose from being hurt. And that tore through Rose's heart like the blade of a knife.

"Doctor, we have to help her. She may have just _died_ for me." Rose begged him and surprisingly, he nodded.

"We will. And there's no power on this Earth that will stop us. Come on!"

* * *

The trio quickly returned to the Connolly's home and Tommy answered the door to see a stern faced Doctor.

"Tommy, talk to me. We need to know what happened on inside your house."

Tommy didn't have a chance before Eddie stormed out angrily.

"What the blazes do you think you're doing?"

"I want to help, dad." Tommy argued and the Doctor went to snap back.

"Mr. Connolly—"

He wasn't having it though and snarled at the Doctor and Rose.

"Shut your face, you, whoever you are. We can handle this ourselves." Eddie then returned to scolding Tommy. "Listen, you little twerp. You're hardly out of the blooming cradle, so I don't expect you to understand. But I've got a position to maintain. People round here respect me. It matters what people think."

Tommy's eyes narrowed. "Is that why you did it, dad?"

"What do you mean? Did what?" Eddie questioned, looking rather guilty.

"_You_ ratted on Gran. How else would the police know where to look, unless some coward told them."

"How dare you! Do you think I fought a war just so a mouthy little scum like you could call me a coward?!" Eddie shouted at him, but Tommy had had enough.

"You don't get it, do you? You fought _against_ fascism, remember? People telling you how to live, who you could be friends with, who you could fall in love with, who could live and who had to die. Don't you get it? You were fighting so that little twerps like me could do what we want, say what we want. Now you've become just like them. You've been informing on everyone, haven't you? Even Gran. All to protect your precious reputation!" He turned away then. "Alex was right. He told me that that was what you cared about most and I didn't believe him at first, but now you've just gone and proved it, didn't you?"

"Eddie, is that true?" Rita asked, having heard the commotion and heard what Tommy said.

"I did it for us, Rita." Eddie said, realizing he was caught. "She was filthy! A filthy, disgusting thing!"

"She's my mother." Rita said back, disappointment lacing her voice. "All the others our informed on, all the people in our street, our friends."

"I had to. I-I did the right thing." He said, trying to get them to understand.

"The right thing for us or for you, Eddie?" Rita countered, shutting him up before she turned to Tommy. "You go, Tommy. Go with the Doctor and do some good. Get away from this house, it's poison. We had a ruddy monster under this roof, all right, but it weren't my mother!"

She slammed the door in Eddie's face and Rose held out a hand.

"Tommy..."

Tommy went with them, looking between the group of people with slight worry on his face. "Where's Alex? Wasn't he with you?"

"Alex, she..." The Doctor cleared his throat. "She was changed too, Tommy."

"No..." He breathed out, but Rose gave him a small smile.

"It's alright, Tommy. We'll fix it. Promise. The Doctor and I, we'll turn everything back to normal, won't we?"

The Doctor nodded, determined as the group headed to their next destination.

"So this has something to do with the televisions." He muttered to himself.

Rose nodded quickly as they headed for Magpie's shop. "It's got to. Magpie was panicking earlier and said he knew he'd get caught."

Once they arrived, the Doctor broke the window of the shop and turned the knob, despite detective inspector Bishop scolding him for it. The Doctor could care less though and stormed into the shop, furiously ringing the bell on the counter.

"Shop! If you're here, come out and talk to me Magpie!"

"Maybe he's out." Tommy said, cautiously.

"Looks like it." Rose muttered, looking around as the Doctor began digging through things, pulling out a portable TV.

"Oh, hello. This isn't right. This is very much not right." He licked the box and wrinkled his nose as Rose gave him a roll of her eyes. "Tastes like iron. Bakelite. Put together with human hands, yes, but the design itself. Oh, beautiful work. That is so simple."

"Doctor, Alex?" Rose reminded him and he pouted.

"Right. Sorry."

Bishop though was eyeing the box in shock. "That's incredible. It's like a television, but portable. A portable television."

The Doctor pulled out his sonic and then scanned it. "It's not the only power source in this room."

All of the televisions in the room lit up then, peoples' faces coming into view as they mouthed 'help me'.

"Gran?" Tommy questioned, moving over to one of the TVs as the Doctor and Rose caught sight of Alex, though she wasn't mouthing help me.

She was mouthing 'Doctor... I saved Rose...', making said person tear up as her hand brushed the TV screen.

"Don't worry Alex. We're going to get you out of there."

"What do you think you're doing?" A voice suddenly called out and all eyes went to Magpie as he came out from the back room.

"I want my friend restored." The Doctor demanded. "And I think that's beyond a little backstreet electrician, so tell me, who's really in charge here?"

"Yoo hoo! I think that must be me."

A TV turned on and the Wire showed up, grinning away.

"Ooh, this one's smart as paint. Just as smart as the annoying cross-dresser, I'd say."

"Is she talking to us?" Bishop asked, confused as Magpie gave them all a sad look.

"I'm sorry, gentlemen. I'm afraid you've brought this on yourselves. May I introduce you to my new friend."

"Jolly nice to meet you." The Wire greeted as Bishop continued to gap in shock.

"Oh my God, it's her. That woman off the telly."

"No, it's just using her image."

Rose glared at her angrily. "Who are you? What have you done to Alex?"

"I'm the Wire and I will gobble you up, pretty lady. Every last morsel. And when I have feasted, I shall regain the corporeal body, which my fellow kind denied me."

The TV went colored for a moment, shocking Bishop even more, though the Doctor kept things on point.

"So your own people tried to stop you?"

"They executed me. But I escaped in this form and fled across the stars."

"And now you're trapped in the television."

"Not for much longer."

"Doctor?" Tommy spoke up nervously. "Is this what got my Gran and Alex?"

"Yes, Tommy. It feeds off the electrical activity of the brain, but it _gorges_ itself like a great overfed _pig_, taking people's faces, their essences. It _stuffs_ itself."

"And you let her do it, Magpie." Bishop scolded the man.

"I had to. She allowed me my face. She's promised to release me at the time of manifestation."

"What does that mean?" Rose asked.

"The appointed time. My crowning glory." The Wire grinned as Bishop figure it out.

"Doctor, the coronation!"

"For the first time in history, _millions_ gathered around a television set. But you're not strong enough yet, are you? You can't do it all from here. That's why you need this." The Doctor grinned, holding up the portable TV. "You need something more powerful. This will turn a big transmitter into a big receiver." The Doctor snapped, but the Wire continued to grin.

"What a clever thing you are! But why fret about it? Why not just relax? Kick off your shoes and enjoy the Coronation. Believe me, you'll be _glued_ to the screen."

The Wire shot out it's electrical charge at the group of them, complaining about it's hunger.

"Hungry! Hungry! The Wire is hungry! Ah, this one is tasty. Oh, I'll have lashings of him! Delicious!"

The Doctor struggled to reach his sonic screwdriver, but the Wire had too great of a control over him. He couldn't move. And he started to think all was lost until the Wire cried out and released the lot of them.

"Ah! No! How are you—Stop! Stop doing that! Agh!" The Wire screamed, appearing to be in pain before she suddenly shouted. "Withdraw! Withdraw! The box, Magpie! The box!"

Magpie grabbed the portable TV as the group struggled to return to consciousness.

"Hold tight." The Wire grimaced, before jumping into the box. "Conduct me to victory, Magpie."

Magpie bolted out the door and into his van, driving away just as the Doctor sat up quickly and turned, patting Rose lightly on the face to make her come to.

"Rose. Rose, wake up."

She groaned, but managed to sit up, bringing a hand to her head in confusion. "Doctor, what happened?"

"Dunno. She looked in pain, almost. Dinner didn't agree with her, perhaps?"

Rose glanced over at the TV where Alex was, as the Doctor roused Tommy; frowning slightly at the face-less Bishop.

"Tommy, wake up. Tommy! Come on!"

The boy came to and got up as well, just as Rose called out to the Doctor.

"Doctor! Look! Alex isn't saying what she was before! I think she's trying to help us."

The Doctor hurried over and furrowed his brows as he tried to read Alex's lips. "M... Mus... Muswell. Oh!" He smacked himself in the forehead. "Muswell Hill! Which means Alexandra Palace, biggest TV transmitter in North London. Oh, that's why it chose this place. God, Alex, when we get you out of there you're _so_ getting a hug!"

He hurried to the back and Tommy called out to him, confused. "What are you going to do?"

"We're going shopping." The Doctor grinned.

Him, Tommy, and Rose began digging through Magpie's things for parts the Doctor could use and he was doing his best to work quickly.

"Is this what you want?" Tommy asked, holding up a valve, making the Doctor drop the drawer he was looking through and grab it.

"Perfect!" He tossed it onto his pile of things, picking the whole lot up and passing it to Tommy. "Right, I need one more thing."

They bolted outside to the Tardis and he soon came back out.

"Got it. Let's go."

The trio ran to the building as the Doctor put the device together in Tommy's arms, before it was just about completed and Tommy passed it back. Rose was the one who spotted Magpie climbing the transmitter though.

"There!"

"Come on!" The Doctor called out, but they were stopped by a guard.

"Wait, wait, wait. Where do we—"

The Doctor held out his psychic paper and stopped the man.

"Ta. I'm very sorry, sir. Shouldn't you be at the coronation?"

"They're saving me a seat." The Doctor called out as they hurried along, Rose raising a brow.

"Who did they think you were?"

"King of Belgium, apparently." The Doctor said with a shrug once he'd looked at the psychic paper, making Tommy grin.

The rushed into the control room and the Doctor gestured to a couple of switches on his machine.

"Keep those switched on. Don't let anyone stop you, Tommy, Rose. Everything depends on it. Do you understand?"

They both nodded, and the Doctor grabbed a spool of copper wiring before dashing out of the building and up to where the transmitter was. The guard was worried shouting up at him, but the Doctor paid him no mind as he rushed up after Magpie. The Wire began cackling like mad once she was hooked up and Magpie turned to face the Doctor.

"It's too late. It's too late for all of us!"

"I shall consume you, Doctor! And not even your pesky friend can stop me this time!" The Wire mocked as she shocked him.

Thankfully, he managed to keep hold, shouting up at the man still hanging on above him.

"I won't let you do this, Magpie!"

Magpie though, was just the victim in all of this. "Help me, Doctor. It burns. It took my face, my soul."

"You cannot stop the Wire. Soon I shall become manifest." The Wire chuckled foreboding as she shocked the Doctor again.

"No more of this. You promised me peace!" Magpie argued, but the Wire had no use for him anymore.

"And peace you shall have."

She shocked him too, turning him into atoms and absorbing him completely as she cackled. The Doctor reached for the portable TV, getting a good shock in the process.

"Agh, been burning the candle at both ends? You've overextended yourself, Misses. You shouldn't have had a crack at poor old Magpie there."

He managed then to grab the TV, not being shocked too badly this time now that he was grounded and the electricity passed through him.

"Rubber soles, swear by them!" He joked, plugging in his cable, only for a valve to blow down in the other room, making Tommy and Rose panic.

"Oh dear, has our little plan gone horribly wrong, Doctor?" The Wire mocked as the Doctor tried to figure something out.

Tommy was smart though and managed to find a replacement valve, getting Rose to plug the contraption back in and causing the Wire to scream as she was pulled back through the TV and into said device.

"It's closed down, I'm afraid. And no epilogue." The Doctor grinned as the TV went blank and he descended and returned to the control room.

"What have I missed?" He called out, making Rose and Tommy spin around to him in excitement.

"Doctor!"

Rose tackled him in a hug and Tommy gave him a look.

"What happened?"

"Sorted. Electrical creature, TV technology, clever alien life form. That's me, by the way." He winked at Rose. "I turned the receiver back into a transmitter and I trapped the Wire in here."

He pushed a button on the device and a VCR tape popped out, making him grin as Rose laughed in disbelief.

"I just invented the home video thirty years early. Betamax." He tossed the video and then turned to the coronation playing on the TVs behind him with a grin. "Oh, look. God save the Queen, eh?"

"What about Alex?" Rose asked and Tommy nodded.

"And my Gran?"

"Well, let's go find out, shall we?" He smiled, taking Rose's hand and pulling her along as Tommy followed after them.

They returned to the alleyway where the police had been keeping the faceless, to find everyone there meeting back with their families and talking with one another. Tommy ran to his grandmother and Rose searched through the crowd until she spotted Alex laughing at something someone said. Alex then spotted her and grinned as she waved, only for Rose to hurry over and tackle her in a hug.

"Whoa! Hello to you too." She said with a chuckle. "I'm guessing your day was as fun as mine?"

Rose pulled away with a frown and punched Alex hard in the shoulder.

"Ow!" She complained, rubbing her aching shoulder. "What was that—"

She stopped though, upon seeing the tears in Rose's eyes, panicking.

"O-Oh, not the eye thing again. You _know_ I can't handle it when people cry!" She started digging through her pockets then. "Come on, come on. It's gotta be in here—Ah ha!"

She pulled out a box of tissues and passed them to Rose, who chuckled slightly, taking one and wiping at the tears.

"Y-You idiot. Do you know how scared I was? Please don't do that ever again."

"But Rose, you're the Defender of the Earth. Kind of hard to do that without a face." Alex quipped, only to earn another punch to the shoulder.

"I'm serious!"

"I know, I know." Alex sighed. "But Rose, you _know_ I can't make that promise."

"At least give me a warning or something!" Rose argued. "I didn't even know if you'd be okay or not!"

Alex blinked, surprised. "Didn't I say I would? No?... Oops..."

"Alex!"

Alex chuckled, dodging another punch from Rose, before accidentally stumbling into the Doctor, looking up at him with a smile.

"Whoops! My bad, Spaceman."

Surprisingly enough, the Doctor grabbed her in a tight hug, leaning down to whisper in her ear.

"Thank you for saving her." He said, before quickly pulling away and looking anywhere but at her as he rubbed the back of his neck. "And don't expect me to do that again. I can't be expected to save you _every _time you get your face pulled into a TV."

Alex looked at him in shock for a moment, before that grin returned, three times it's previous size.

"Well then, I'll be sure not to go near any TVs. Though I can't say I won't get attacked by another alien sooner or later, so I guess you'll just have to make sure you swing by and save my butt every now and then, eh?"

The Doctor couldn't help the small smirk that tugged at his lips. "Ooh, I don't know. Might be a bit tough. I'll have to check my schedule."

"Hey!"

They headed back down the street towards where the block party was, only for Alex to groan.

"Oh, I didn't even get to dance or drink or nothing!" She complained, gripping her shoulder with a wince.

Rose frowned. "Are you popping off already?"

Alex sighed. "Looks like it. I really wanted to hang out for a bit though." She pouted, voice getting a little whiny. "It's not every day Big-Ears likes me."

"Oi! They weren't that big!" The Doctor complained, tugging at his ears as the two women chuckled.

"Ah well. Tell Tommy I said goodbye. And don't let him be too harsh on his dad then, eh?" Alex said, looking over at Rose. "Don't know what you have 'til it's gone, after all."

"I'll let him know." She said with a bob of her head, before Alex turned to the Doctor with a worried look.

"And you're not going to like the next one. Sorry, but it gets a bit intense."

The Doctor immediately stiffened, getting serious. "How bad?"

"Scale of one to ten?" Alex winced once more. "Eleven... maybe twelve. Don't blame the Ood though. It's not their fault."

The Doctor went to ask more, but Alex disappeared then in a flash of gold and he let out a sigh as he scratched one of his sideburns.

"Sooner or later I'm gonna get a straight answer out of her."

Rose shook her head and linked arms with him. "Oh, just let it go. Least she's helping. I told you she was, after all."

"Yeah, just wish it was a bit more, is all."

"Can't blame her for trying."

He hummed quietly, taking that into account as they headed off and went to enjoy the rest of their day.

* * *

**_Sneak Peak:_**

_"Right! Sorry. Didn't meant to interrupt whatever this is. I'll just, uh, be going then."_

_ I backed up right into someone and stiffened, before quickly turning around to apologize, only to see the figure wobble back and forth slightly. Tilting my head curiously, I prodded the figure with a finger and watched as it repeated the motion, taking notice that it's feet stayed together as it did so. Furrowing my eyebrows, I leaned forward and did something only the Doctor would do. I licked it._

_"Ew." I scowled, quickly wiping my tongue off in disgust at what I'd just done. "Ugh, what is that? It's all dusty and wax—"_

_ I cut myself off and face palmed. _

_"Duh. Wax figure." _


	42. The Nightmare in Silver

**Here's the next chapter and it's definitely one of my favorites! i had a blast writing it and i hope you all enjoy it ^^ please let me know what you think!**

* * *

I landed with a grunt, rubbing my head where I bumped into a small table and looking around at the strange room I was in. _Alright, let's see here. Where could I be..._ There were two red couches with their backs facing each other facing opposite directions and various figures standing about the room. Immediately, I jumped up onto my feet and held my hands out in surrender—a reflex I'd taken from the Doctor, no doubt—facing the figures with a nervous chuckle.

"Right! Sorry. Didn't meant to interrupt whatever this is. I'll just, uh, be going then."

I backed up right into someone and stiffened, before quickly turning around to apologize, only to see the figure wobble back and forth slightly. Tilting my head curiously, I prodded the figure with a finger and watched as it repeated the motion, taking notice that it's feet stayed together as it did so. Furrowing my eyebrows, I leaned forward and did something only the Doctor would do. I licked it.

"Ew." I scowled, quickly wiping my tongue off in disgust at what I'd just done. "Ugh, what _is_ that? It's all dusty and wax—"

I cut myself off and face palmed.

"Duh. Wax figure." I spun around and faced the other figures, seeing now that a few of them were covered with cloths. "All of you, I'll bet. But that does little to tell me where I am."

I sighed and shrugged, wandering the room and checking the wax figures out to see if I recognized any of the alien replicas.

"Lugal-Irra-Kush, Shansheeth, the head of a Uvodni, Blowfish, a Gastropod, Pan-Babylonian... Ooh!" I stopped before one of the wax figures with a grin. "An Ultramancer. Saw one of those in Akhaten."

I heard voices approaching then and quickly looked for a place to hide. Needless to say, my planning wasn't exactly the best when I was in a rush and I dove behind the cover over one of the wax figures in the hopes that no one noticed the extra pair of shoes peeking out.

"...Webley's World of Wonders." An excited voice rang out as I tried to remember why that name rang a bell. "Miracles, marvels, and more await you. _I_ am Impresario Webley." The man coughed, before continuing; his voice getting closer to my hiding place. "You see before you waxwork representations, haha, of the famous, haha, and the _infamous_."

The cloth over me was suddenly ripped off and the group let out a combined scream as I held up a hand with a wave.

"Hello!"

Clara, two kids, and the Doctor—screwdriver out and aimed at me threateningly—all gaped in shock once they realized who they were facing.

"What... What... What?" said the Doctor, still gaping at me like a fish.

"Alex! What the heck are you doing here?!" Clara demanded to know as Webley gave them a look and I wandered over to the Doctor.

"Do you know him?"

Clara rolled her eyes. "Yeah, unfortunately. She's a friend of ours."

I gave Clara a fake look of shock, a hand on my chest. "Clara, I'm hurt! I thought we had something special!"

"And here we go." She drawled out as I continued on my rant.

"I mean, we're both traveling with the Doctor and it's our job to keep him in line. I would assume that would make us comrades in arms!" I snatched the screwdriver from the still shocked Doctor and waved it around. "I mean, _honestly_, we're two peas in a pod! A matching set! Bobbsey twins! Fric and Frac! Two haves of the same whole! Thing 1 and Thing 2! We're—"

"Alright!" Clara said loudly, waving her hands about as I grinned smugly at her. "Alright, fine. Sorry, okay? God, if I knew you were going to go on a rant like that, I wouldn't of said it."

I bounded over and pat her shoulder with a chuckle. "That's good! I was running out of things to say."

"Doubt it." She muttered, though there was a small smile on her face as I went over to stand in front of the Doctor and wave his screwdriver in front of him.

"Now what have I told you about pointing this at people?" I asked him sternly, earning chuckles from the two kids and Clara behind me as the Doctor pouted.

"Not to..."

"And why is that?" I questioned him, raising a brow.

"Because it's rude." He mumbled.

"_And_?"

He sighed. "And it's not a weapon."

I grinned, putting it back in his hand. "Good. Glad I taught you something." I spun around then with a clap. "Now then! Weren't we off to go do something?"

Webley grinned. "Anybody here play chess?"

The Doctor and I both raised our hands, but Webley faced the young boy of the group.

"Perhaps you, young man?"

"Actually, I'm in my school chess club." He said confidently, as the Doctor and I slowly lowered our hands with identical pouts.

"Ah, follow me." Webley said, leading him into another room as the rest of us trailed behind.

"How have you been?" The Doctor asked, leaning down and snaking a hand around my waist affectionately.

"Surprisingly good." I chirped. "Just came back from 1953 with the Wire and Rose, got my face taken, but got a hug! My ankle's not acting up for now and we won't have any trouble in this adventure until a bit later, so I don't know how things could get better."

"Mm, perhaps I know." He hummed, before kissing me passionately and I started to respond before I remembered who we were with and pulled away, smacking him lightly on the shoulder.

"Oi, there's _kids_ here."

"I'm sure Clara won't mind." He said with a grin, wrapping another arm around me and pulling me up against him.

"I wasn't talking about Clara." I grumbled, wanting nothing more than to spend some time with him, but knowing that things would start getting a little crazy in a bit.

_That, and I'd rather not scar those kids for life. The Doctor _always_ gets a little carried away. _I mused in slight amusement as the Doctor begrudgingly stopped his attack as a thought came to mind and I frowned as I looked at the Doctor in confusion.

"Hold on, if you and I have done..." I flushed a little. "..._that, _then doesn't that mean you've seen the mark on my shoulder?"

I felt him stiffen and he cleared his throat, looking away from me and making me suspicious.

"Ah, w-well, I was a bit busy and—"

"Don't give me that, spaceman. What does it say?" I demanded, not liking his reaction to the mark.

"...It's a… countdown." He said, before shaking his head and pushing me along, though I wasn't going to give up on it just yet. "Let's go. I'm sure they're waiting for us."

"Countdown to what?" I asked, feeling his grip tighten slightly on my shoulders.

"Not now, Alex."

I spun around and frowned at him angrily. "Nu-uh. I'm not taking no for an answer. So you better tell me what it is or—"

His lips crashed into mine fiercely; silencing me and making me frown at the emotions that brushed across my mind. Frustration, anger, sadness, and _fear_. And when he pulled away, I looked at him in worry as he brushed a thumb over the side of my face with sorrowful eyes.

"Please, Alexander. Not now."

I begrudgingly nodded and allowed him to steer me back over to where Webley was as he wandered over to a chess table; though curiosity ate away at me along with worry as to what the mark on my shoulder would be counting down _to_, exactly. Thankfully, Webley was a good distraction and we both listened to what he was saying as he smiled at our little group.

"Now, let demonstrate to you all the wonder of the age, the miracle of modernity. We defeated them all a thousand years ago, but now he's back, to destroy you. Behold, the enemy!"

He whipped off the cover to reveal a Cyberman, that lifted it's head and immediately made the Doctor yank Clara and I to the floor.

"Cyberman! Get down!"

Webley wasn't bothered though and poked his head up from around the robot, though my own hearts skipped a beat at the sight of the thing. Whether or _not_ I knew it wouldn't attack just yet.

"No need to panic, my young friends. We all know there are no more living Cybermen. What you are seeing is a miracle. The six hundred and ninety ninth wonder of the universe, um, as displayed before the Imperial court, and ah, only here to destroy you at chess." He explained as the Doctor released us and immediately went about scanning the Cyberman.

"Careful now. An empty shell, and yet it moves. How?" Webley went on, making Angie—as my little black book said—scoff.

"Magic." She said sarcastically, though Webley didn't notice.

"That might well be, young lady, but a, a single penny wins you _five_ Imperial shillings if you can beat this empty shell at chess." He said, holding up a coin as the Doctor continued to eye the robot, whereas I eyed the Cybermites on the Blowfish wax figure cautiously.

"I haven't got a penny, but... I've got a sandwich." Artie said, holding up said item, which Webley took.

"Alright. Take a seat. It is free of _all_ devices..." He said, opening a side panel and waving his cane around inside it to prove his point. "...and yet it has never been beaten. Would you like to make the first move, young man?"

Artie moved a pawn forward and the Cyberman did the same, before Artie moved yet another pawn, making the Doctor grimace and myself hiss.

"Ooh, bad move."

The Doctor nodded, reaching out to try and put the pawn back. "Oh, no, Artie. No, don't do that, it..."

It was too late though, and the Cyberman moved the bishop across the board, knocking over Artie's king as the Doctor finished.

"...that's a false mate."

Artie frowned, bowing his head in shame at not catching the move and loosing the game, but Webley was more than pleased to take a bite of the sandwich and gesture to Angie.

"If you can tell me how it works, I'll give you a silver penny."

"I think you do it with mirrors?" She said, sounding unsure as the Doctor moved around to the underside of the table.

"Hm, Mirrors. Clever girl. Well, let's see, hey? Low tech. It's a puppet. Monofilament strings, which means the brains are in..." He unhooked a small door, revealing someone hiding inside with a handheld console.

"Hello." The man nodded.

"Hello."

"I'm the brains." He said, moving to get out as the Doctor smiled.

"Hello, give us a hand."

The Doctor helped him out and the man grunted until he faced us with his own smile.

"They call me Porridge." He cracked his neck with another groan. "Oh, it's good to be out of that box."

Webley, keeping up his end of the deal, pulled a coin out of Angie's ear. "For you, miss, an Imperial penny."

She chuckled, taking the coin and looking it over as I caught sight of the Cybermites crawling over a portion of the wall, a shiver going down my spine and jumping slightly when the Doctor took my hand with a worried look.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, no. I'm fine." I said with a small smile, tugging him along after Webley, though the smile quickly dropped as I lowered my voice. "Just thought I saw something."

We focused then on Webley as he showed us around some more, pointing out a few things.

"I have not one, but _three_ Cybermen in my collection."

The Doctor released my hand to scan the Cyberman that Webley uncovered as I wandered around with Clara.

"Is that the King?" Angie asked, gesturing to a tall wax figure.

"Emperor Ludens Nimrod Kendrick etc. etc. the forty first. Defender of Humanity. Imperator of known space."

"He looks a bit full of himself." Clara muttered as I put a hand to my chin in thought.

"Hm, I thought he'd be shorter." I mused out loud, catching the look Porridge gave me as he cleared his throat.

"Don't say things like that about the Imperial family. You can end up on the run for the rest of your life."

"They don't sound very nice." Artie said, earning a sad look from Porridge, before he herded the group away, saying something about being able to start up the Spacey Zoomer ride.

I hung back a moment though, giving Angie a look as she eyed her Imperial penny and the wax figure.

"Did you figure it out?" I asked, making her jump a bit and then roll her eyes once she saw who it was.

"Yeah, I mean, it's bit obvious. Porridge. He's the emperor, right?"

I held a finger up to my lips with a wink. "Let's keep it secret now then, eh? They're a bit slow if they can't figure it out themselves."

She smiled at that. "_Oh_, yeah."

I nodded towards where the group walked out and she followed along, before giving me a look.

"So who are you then? The Doctor's girlfriend?"

I nodded, smiling a bit. "Yup."

"But why weren't you with us? How'd you get here?"

"Oh, I pop around his ship's time-line. Don't always end up on time, but what can I do?" I shrugged, before Artie called out.

"Angie!"

She sighed, running off ahead as I caught up with them and stood beside the Doctor, who gave me an odd look.

"What took you?"

"Talking." I hummed, watching Angie and Artie bounce around in the anti-gravity, before I nodded to them. "They're clever."

"Are they?" He smiled, a hand once again sneaking around my waist.

"Look at us, Doctor! We're flying!" Artie called out excitedly, making the Doctor smile at him.

"Having a good time?"

Porridge slowly turned off the anti-gravity and the two turned to him.

"I think that was the most fun I've had my whole life!" Artie said excitedly.

"It was..." Angie paused, trying to look nonchalant about the whole thing. "...okay."

The Doctor pouted, but I leaned up a whispered quietly.

"Don't worry 'bout her. She's trying to act mature. She had a blast, trust me."

He smiled a bit, though this time it looked a little forced and he let me go and walked off a bit, scanning around as Clara called out to him.

"Wonderful day out, Doctor, but time to get the kids home."

She went over to the Tardis, but the Doctor looked over his scans with a frown.

"Yeah, um, no. Not actually ready to leave."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. Reasons."

Clara turned to me with a look, before looking back at the wandering Doctor. "What reasons?"

"Insects." He replied, scanning again. "Funny insects. I should add them to my funny insect collection."

"You collect funny insects?" Clara questioned with a wrinkle of her nose.

"Yeah, I'm starting to." The Doctor muttered as I leaned over towards Clara.

"He's got a funny hat collection, and a funny Christmas sweater collection, _and—_"

"Alex!" The Doctor lightly scolded, pouting at me from over his shoulder as I chuckled, holding my hands up in surrender.

"Alright, alright! I won't tell them about your funny alien underwear collection that I stumbled into the other day."

"_Alex_!"

He turned a bright cherry red as Clara gave me a shocked look.

"He _has_ one of those?"

I made a face. "Apparently. I'll be sure to _actually_ stumble into it then."

The Doctor got up and stomped over to me, waving a stern finger in my face, though I just grinned innocently.

"You stay _out_ of my collections."

"And why should I do that?"

"Because if you don't, I'll... I'll..." He seemed to have lost some of his steam then, and I raised a brow.

"_Yes?_"

He readopted his stern expression, though his threat was... _hardly_ threatening. "I'll do something really, really mean."

The group shared smiles and snickers behind me, but I simply smiled, taking the Doctor's hand as I tugged him back towards Webley's room.

"Alright, Doctor. I'll stay out of your weird alien underwear collection... Maybe."

"_Alex_!" He continued to whine as I chuckled and we got Artie and Angie ready for bed on the couches.

"How long do we have to stay here?" Angie complained with a sigh.

"Not long. Have a nap. I'll wake you when we're ready to leave." The Doctor replied, the group of us saying goodnight and turning out the lights as we followed after him.

He doubled back at one point though and I rolled my eyes, waving for Clara and Porridge to go on ahead. When I caught back up with the Doctor, he was back in Webley's room, holding his sonic under his face to make him look creepy as he spoke to the two kids.

"Otherwise, you'll wander off and the next thing you know, somebody's going to have to start rescuing somebody."

"From what?" Angie asked and I stepped in then, arms crossed and waiting of the Doctor to notice me.

"Nothing. Nobody needs rescuing from anything."

"Except maybe the Doctor from me." I said, making him jump, startled as he rounded on me, looking sheepish.

"I-I was just..."

"Scaring them. Yeah, I can see that." I scolded, earning chuckles from the two kids as I grabbed the Doctor's ear and started tugging him along. "Night, you guys."

"Night." They chorused as I finally released the Doctor and gave him a look as we went to go find Clara and Porridge.

"Was that _really_ necessary? They're already on some alien planet and sleeping in a room full of alien wax figures. You didn't need to go in there and freak them out."

"You're right. Sorry." He apologized with a pout, before we passed Clara and Porridge and the Doctor went about looking for the Cybermites. "Do you know anything about these weird bugs, Alex? Anything you can tell us?"

I winced. "Ah, no. Not really. Nothing that wouldn't be spoilers, anyway."

"Hm... Any hints?" He asked and I hummed, thinking for a moment.

"The key to winning the game, is to make sure you're playing the right one." I said, hoping that was good enough for him.

Must've been too, since he smiled.

"Ooh, a riddle. I love riddles."

He went back to searching through some box and I eyed him as I caught a bit of Clara's conversation with Porridge.

"I feel like a monster sometimes."

"Why?"

"Because instead of mourning a billion trillion dead people, I just feel sorry for the poor blighter who had to press the button and blow it all up."

I shifted my gaze to the Doctor sadly, knowing that he was, in a way, that 'poor blighter' and I wondered if he had been listening in to their conversation or not, and what he was thinking about the subject. But apparently, he hadn't since he just popped back up and spoke to Clara.

"Clara, did you tell Angie she could go to the barracks?"

"You know I didn't. She hasn't."

"She's just gone in there." The Doctor clarified for her and she frowned, rushing off.

"Come on."

The rest of us hurried after her to the barracks, though I spared the door to Webley's room a glance, worried for Artie; knowing there was nothing I could do that wouldn't screw things up in the long run.

"Angie!" Clara shouted upon entering the barracks as Angie went on in a rant.

"She always has to turn up and spoil everything! I wasn't doing anything! Why can't you just leave me alone?!"

There was a sudden crash then and we all spun around to see a Cyberman standing in the doorway.

"Cyberman!" The captain shouted as the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pulled me back behind him.

"Attack formation!" The captain called out and the men and women around her began drawing their guns and flipping over tables as the Cyberman moved forward in a blur.

A man ran at the robot, only to get swatted aside and the Doctor pulled Clara and I behind cover. The Cyberman said something about an upgrade in progress and I paled, trying to think about what was going to happen and if there was anything I could do. _It's going to grab Angie. I can't stop that. Well, I could, but Angie and Artie are actually safest with the Cybermen than out dealing with the battle that's about to happen. Interfering could possibly—_My thoughts were cut off as the Cyberman rushed passed everyone and grabbed Angie; who let out a scream right as she practically disappeared from beside us.

"Angie!"

The Doctor grabbed Clara and stopped her before she could give chase. "Clara, Clara!"

"That was a Cyberman." The captain said in shock. "But they're extinct!"

The Doctor ignored her though, speaking to Clara. "Listen to me. I will get her back. Ask Alex, she'll tell you." He said, pushing her towards me as he went to go speak with the captain. "Captain! A word."

Clara rounded on me though with a glare and I cringed. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Right, um, would you believe me if I said they're actually safer with the Cybermen than they would be otherwise?"

"_Alex_." She snarled and I held my hands up in surrender.

_Oh, Doctor, you're _so_ getting hit for sicking her on me._ "It's true! I promise they'll be perfectly fine. The Doctor will save them and the Cybermen will be... ah, best not say anything about that. Don't know who's listening." I said, glancing around in search of any of those Cybermites.

"They'll be safe?" She questioned—or demanded, depending on the perspective.

"Yes, yes! I promise! Perfectly fine! Not even a scratch."

She stepped forward, getting in my face with a threatening look. "They better be. Or you and Spaceman over there are _so_ going to get it."

"R-Right. I'll keep that in mind." I stuttered out, the two of us heading over to where the Doctor was.

"...I take it your platoon doesn't do much fighting." He questioned the captain.

"What do you expect?"

"What?" Clara gaped in shock and the captain grimaced.

"We're a punishment platoon. It's why they sent us out here, so we can't get into trouble."

"It's the, uh, army's version of a time-out." I said, quickly wincing at the glare the captain sent me for the comparison; the Doctor grimacing and trying to think up a plan.

"Right, right, well, okay." The Doctor stepped back and took off the captain's insignia. "As Imperial counsel, I'm putting Alex in charge."

He pinned it onto my coat and I immediately shook my head, taking it off.

"Oh, no, no. Bad idea. I'm not a good plan maker-upper in stressful situations. Clara's in charge."

I stuck it on Clara, who gave me a look.

The Doctor just groaned though, begrudgingly accepting it and holding Clara by the shoulders.

"Clara, stay alive until I get back and don't let anyone blow up this planet."

He snapped his fingers and turned to me, kissing me full on the lips before backing up and giving me a stern look.

"Goes for you too, sweetheart."

I wrinkled my nose. "Don't call me that and I'll be fine."

"Is that something they're likely to do? Blow up the planet?" Clara asked, interrupting us and I nodded.

"Scared humans? Wouldn't be the first time." I muttered, remembering the Osterhagen key Martha almost used.

"Get to somewhere defensible." The Doctor called out then, having already made his way towards the door and I leaned over to Clara.

"Might I suggest the castle?"

She gave me a look and shook her head as she called out to the Doctor. "Where are you going?"

"I'm getting Angie, finding Artie, and looking for funny insects. Stay alive. And you lot!" The Doctor pointed a stern finger at the people around us. "No blowing up this planet!"

He walked out and I turned to Clara the moment he was out of sight, taking her by the shoulders.

"Clara, listen to me. Do what you think is right. Trust your instincts, get to the castle, and whatever you do, _try_ not to let anyone die."

I pulled away and headed towards the door after the Doctor and she called out, stopping me.

"Where are _you_ going?"

I spun around and grinned, hands tucked in my pockets. "Me? I'm going after the Doctor. 'Cause if there's anything I know for sure, he's going to get himself into a _load_ of trouble other wise. Toodles!"

I started leaving again, but called out to her over my shoulder.

"And there's a Cyberman in the power station! Just a heads up!"

I hurried off out of the room and suddenly stopped with a frown.

"Wait a minute. How do I get to the Cyberlab anyway?"

I pulled out my notebook and frowned at the note saying the Doctor locked onto some signal and was teleported there. _Well, that isn't going to work. I don't have a sonic screwdriver or anything to get me there... Well, there's always option number two._ I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck and looked for the nearest Cybermite. Upon spotting it, I waved.

"Hello, Cyberplanner person! I know you're looking for someone clever for your little take-over scheme and I _doubt_ those two kids you have will work. And I wouldn't mind a lift to your la—Wow, that was fast..."

I blinked at the new space I was in, having not even felt the Cyberman grab me until I was being put down in front of Angie, Artie, and Webley.

"I'm starting to think this wasn't such a great idea..." I muttered, Webley walking over.

"How much do you know?"

"Ooh, bad question, that. Not going to say why, that might just get me killed and I'd rather not have that."

"The Cybermites have been scanning your brain, Alex." Webley said, tilting his head curiously. "It's quite remarkable for a partial human."

"Thanks?" I said, sounding worried now as I realized that things might not turn out as well as I had thought they would. "I'd say I wasn't compatible with two hearts and all, but you're not the old Cybermen I'm used to. You've upgraded, yeah?"

Webley nodded. "Current Cyberunits use almost any living components. The next model will be undefeatable."

"And why's that?" I questioned, taking a step back as Webley smirked.

"Because we'll have _you_."

He threw Cybermites at me and I scrambled to try and get them off, but it was too late. I had been converted.

* * *

"Incorporated, yes." Alex said, patting herself down once the Cyberplanner had taken control. "Oh, unfamiliar pulmonary set-up. Nervous system hyperconductive and spreading, odd. Remarkable brain processing speed, though it could be better. Ho, ho, amazing." She laughed, coming up behind Webley and placing her hands on his shoulders with a grin, only to jolt again.

"Get out of my head!" Alex shouted, her and the Cyberplanner fighting for control. "God, man! Don't you know I have private things in here?!"

"Try and stop me." The Cyberplanner grinned. "Ooh, you and the Doctor have a thing going on, I see."

Alex flushed a bright red, waving a hand through the cloud showing her and the Doctor making out against the Tardis console.

"S-Stop it! Private stuff! Private stuff!"

"Fascinating. A complete mental block. Highly effective. Did the Doctor teach you that?"

"If I say yes, will you _stop _going through my head?"

Alex's body jolted again, before spinning around the room. "Relax, _relax_! If you just relax, you will find this a perfectly pleasant experience. You are being upgraded and incorporated into the Cyberiad as a Cyberplanner."

Alex staggered. "Get out of my head, you Peeping Tom of a robot!"

Alex laughed then, switching control once more as she spun around the room. "Oh, this is brilliant.~ I'm so clever already, and now I'm a hundred times more clever. And what a brain. Human, but with a touch of something else. I mean, I'm going to have to completely rework the neural interface, but this is going to be the most efficient Cyberplanner yet!" She said, climbing up onto a table-like structure. "Not a great name that, is it? I could call myself... _Mr. Clever_."

Alex stumbled, nearly falling. "Miss! I _am_ a woman, you know!"

She tumbled off this time and picked herself up from off the ground, poking her head over the table. "Yes, well, you hardly look it."

"Oi!"

"Ooh, sounds like your Doctor friend just showed up. How about we let him in on the joke, eh?"

Alex remained silent, moving into the shadows.

"Doctor, help us." A monotone Artie called out and said Doctor rushed in, scanning the two immovable kids, before spotting someone in the shadows; their face blocked from view.

"Hello?"

"We needed children, but the children had stopped coming. You brought us children. Hail to you, the Doctor; Savior of the Cybermen." They said smugly.

"I'm _not_ your savior." The Doctor snapped, and they smirked, stepping out of the shadows.

"You're right, Doctor. Your companion was."

The Doctor paled upon seeing Alex standing there with silver Cyber-components on the left side of her face.

"Alex..."

The Cyberplanner suddenly beamed. "So much raw data. Time lords... there's information on the _Time Lords_ in here! Oh, this is just dreamy!"

"Alex, what's going on?" The Doctor demanded to know.

Alex took control then, rolling her eyes. "Bit busy, Doctor. Now look here, Cyber-Tom, I'm letting you see this stuff for a reason, alright? First off, now you know that I know more than I appear to know. That being said, this Artron energy in me? Yeah, makes me part Time Lord." She bluffed, her and the Doctor knowing that wasn't _technically_ true, but the Cyberplanner didn't know that. "So, I could regenerate if I wanted to, wipe you out. I'd rather not. I like this me, but I can and will, if you give me a reason to."

"Stalemate then." She grumbled, Cyberplanner back again. "One of us needs to control this head. We're rather well-balanced."

She jolted. "What did you say? I'm actually _on par_ with you. Well, I say that's a bit of a shock."

Cyberplanner was back. "We each control 49.98 percent of this brain. 0.02 percent is still in the balance. Whoever gets this gets the whole thing."

The Doctor stepped forward then. "Do you play chess?"

Alex turned to him. "The rules of chess are in my memory banks. You're proposing we play chess to end the stalemate?"

The Doctor nodded. "Yes, but you'll play me, not Alex."

"How the hell is that supposed to work?" Alex said, back in control for a second before the Cyberplanner was back. "Yes, it's not _your_ brain we're fighting over."

"You'll play me and if _you_ win you can have _my_ brain. Works far better than hers, lots more information. But nobody can access that portion of the brain without winning the game."

"Are you calling me stupid?!" Alex snapped at him, making him wince, before Cyberplanner took over again. "Ignore her. It's a deal."

They shook hands, the Alex grinning.

"You can't win."

"Try me." The Doctor smirked smugly back.

"You understand, when I do win, the Cyberiad gets your brains and memories. All of it."

"Yeah. When _I_ win, you get out of Alex's head, you let the children go, and nobody dies. You got that?! Nobody dies!"

"And you get to take me out to the best damn ice cream place in the universe and watch me eat as you starve, because you called me stupid!" Alex snapped and the Doctor cringed again.

"Dully noted."

"Good. Let the games begin." She suddenly smirked, and they grabbed the chess board from Webley's room, before starting the game.

"There, that was easy." Alex said, though the Doctor was still rather tense about the whole situation.

"The game, has just started." He said, moving his knight.

"Doctor, why is there no record of you anywhere in the databanks of the Cyberiad?" Alex suddenly asked, before she answered her own question.

"He's been wiping himself from history. The moron. You _do_ know you can get caught by the hole you left, right?"

The Doctor made a face. "Good point. I'll do something about that."

Alex rolled her eyes. "And you called _me_ stupid."

She twitched then, the jolts becoming less noticeable. "The rules of chess only allow a finite number of moves and I can use other Cyberunits as remote processors. You cannot _possibly_ win."

"I can. I know things you don't. Alex does too, don't you?"

Alex shifted. "Oh yeah. Did you know, early Cyberunits could get scrambled by gold and cleaning fluids? I'll bet you're still running on some of that."

She twitched again, laughing. "Really? That's your secret weapon? Cleaning fluid?"

Alex grinned. "Nope. Gold! Doctor!"

The Doctor whipped out his golden ticket and stuck it onto the Cyber components on Alex's face, making her wince and rub her head.

"Ooh, right. Headache. Not nice. Glad that worked though."

"Like a charm." The Doctor grinned, before getting serious and grabbing Alex's face. "And how the heck did you get involved in this? I _told_ you to stay with Clara."

"Actually, you said stay alive and don't let them blow up the planet." Alex pointed out cheekily. "Hence, me still living and the planet still here. Didn't expect to get all Cyber-fied, but oh well. I gave Clara some hints to help her out until we get there. Oh, and one more thing."

She stepped back and slapped the Doctor hard across the face.

"Ow!" He complained, holding his cheek. "W-Wha—"

"That's for calling me stupid." Alex snapped, before turning to Webley. "Cyber-Webley, kids, let's go. We've got someplace to be. The _Doctor_ can carry the chess board."

"I was _just_ trying to help!" The Doctor whined, still dutifully picking up the chess board and following after her and the others.

We hurried along to the castle, but Alex reached over her shoulder.

"Doctor, you have a phone with Clara's number in it?"

"Yeah, probably in my pocket. Why?"

"I forgot to tell her something." She said, digging through the Doctor's coat before pulling out the mobile. "Hello? Clara? Yes, hi. It's Alex. I sort of forgot something..."

* * *

"What?" Clara frowned, waving off the odd looks she was getting from Porridge and the captain as she turned and hissed into her phone. "There's no _way_ I can do that, Alex. She's a _soldier_."

There was a paused and Clara groaned. "Fine. _Fine_. I'll do it. But you owe me for this!"

"Everything alright?" The captain asked, cautiously.

Clara hung up the phone and turned to the captain with a smile. "Yeah, oh yeah. Perfectly okay. Do you have any handcuffs or something? And possibly some duct tape?"

The captain blinked. "I'm sure we have some in those boxes. Why?"

"Right. You're not going to like this..." Clara turned to one of the bigger guys and called him over. "I need you to do something for me."

"Sure, what is it?"

Clara pinched the bridge of her nose and pointed to the captain. "Tie her up and duct tape her mouth shut somewhere please."

"Excuse me?!" The captain exclaimed and the man looked at Clara in worry.

"Is that a, uh, order, ma'am?"

Clara nodded begrudgingly. "Yes. Yes, it's an order."

The man nodded and Clara tried to drown out the captain's shouts as she was taken away to be tied up somewhere, before she groaned.

"Oh, I'm _so_ going to kill you, Alex."

Porridge wandered over to Clara then. "Are you sure about that? What you just did to her?"

Clara winced, but then grew more confident and nodded. "Yes. Alex... Our friend, Alex, she's got this... _power_. She can sort of predict the future, right? And said the captain would die _and_ try to blow up the planet so that was the best course of action."

"Really?" Porridge stated in surprise. "Well then, if you think it's for the best, then—"

Clara's phone went off then and she rolled her eyes before answering it. "Alex, this had better be—"

"_Duck!_"

Clara immediately ducked down as a shot went off from outside the castle. Troops hurried up to where they were and Clara blinked in surprise as Alex chuckled on the other line.

"_Sorry. Forgot about him. I'll see you in a bit though! Don't worry about us. Just come up with a plan, you clever girl!_"

Clara glared and lifted the phone back to her ear. "Alex, you—"

Clara was only able to gap at the phone in shock though as Porridge helped her up.

"She hung up on me!" She glared then, brushing herself off. "Oh, she is _so_ dead."

* * *

Alex winced once she'd hung up, making the Doctor look at her in concern as he thought that perhaps the Cyberplanner had figured out how to counter-act the gold.

"Clara is _so_ going to kill me." She muttered though, relaxing the Doctor somewhat as they approached the castle.

Clara stood there behind some sandbags with a rather _large_ weapon as they ran up and immediately put their hands in the air.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot! We're nice!" The Doctor called out. "Please, don't shoot. Hey, Clara, you haven't let them blow up the planet yet. Good job."

Clara frowned, glaring at Alex. "_You_ have some explaining to do."

Alex poked her head out from where she'd ducked behind the Doctor. "Sorry."

Clara then stared at the Doctor. "Did you get the kids? Are they alright? And... what's going on with Alex?"

"Uh, bit of a good news, bad news thing going on." The Doctor said, explaining. "So, good news, Alex has kidnapped the Cyberplanner and right now she's sort of in control of this Cyberman." He said, gesturing to Alex and the beeping metal on the side of her face.

"Bad news?" Clara asked.

"Bad news, the Cyberplanner's in her head. And, _different_ bad news, the kids are... well, it's complicated." The Doctor said, stepping back along with Alex in sight of Clara's anger.

"Complicated how?"

"Complicated as in... walking coma." The Doctor ducked behind the kids as Clara went over to them in shock, before rounding on Alex with her gun.

"Tell me you can wake them up."

Alex smiled tightly. "Like I said, not a scratch and they'll be fine at the end of this. Promise."

"Good. Any more news I should know about?" She asked, looking between Alex and the Doctor.

"Well, there are _more_ than a few repaired and reactivated Cybermen on the way, and the Cyberplanner is coming up with an upgrade to counteract the gold stuck to my face." Alex chirped. "And for the good news, the Doctor has a good chance of winning his chess game."

"What?" Clara questioned as the Doctor groaned.

"I'll explain later." He replied, grabbing Alex's arm and walking her up the drawbridge. "In a bit of a hurry. Have to get Alex to a table and tie her up. Hands need to be free for chess, but she needs to be immobilized." He turned to the group of people seriously. "_Quickly_."

One large bundle of rope and a fancy chair later, and Alex was tied to a throne around her middle, giving Clara an odd look.

"Where'd you learn to knot rope, Clara?"

"Girl scout manual." She replied. "I, uh, _borrowed_ the book from a friend..."

Alex raised a brow, but said nothing about her suspicion as the Doctor tested the ropes.

"Right, that's good. She won't be able to move, but hands are free. Good."

Clara decided then was the best time to be asking questions, giving the two a look. "You're playing chess with Alex?"

"And winning." The Doctor smirked and Alex rolled her eyes.

"He promised me ice cream after because he called me stupid."

Clara gave the Doctor a disappointed look. "You called her _stupid_?"

He groaned. "I only said that my mind was more valuable than hers! We had to stop the Cyberplanner from taking her mind _somehow_. And I'm winning so there's nothing to worry about."

Alex suddenly ripped the gold ticket off her face and paused. "Actually, he has no better than a twenty-five percent chance of winning at this stage in the game. Some very dodgy moves at the beginning. Hello, flesh girl. Fantastic. I'm the Cyberplanner." She said, accent changing for a moment.

Clara eyed her cautiously. "Alex?"

"'Fraid not." The Doctor muttered as Alex eyed Clara.

"I'm working the mouth now. _Allons-y_. Oh, you should see the state of these neurons. She's had some rough cowboys in here to be able to scar her mind like that."

"You aren't Alex." Clara said, stating the obvious.

"No, but I know who you are. You're the _impossible_ girl. Oh, the Doctor's very interested in you, though Alex is hiding why exactly that is. Curious." Alex said, speaking lowly and leaning over the table a bit.

"Why am I impossible?" Clara demanded to know and Alex shifted her gaze to the Doctor.

"Hasn't he told you? The sly devil." She smirked. "Oh, dear me. Listen, soon we'll wake. We'll strip you both down for spare parts, then build a spaceship and move on."

"More Cybermen." The Doctor said, not looking too pleased.

"They're waking from their tomb right now. You can either die or live as one of us." Alex said, though she seemed to have procured a notepad from her coat and was writing something down with her right hand, unnoticed by the Doctor, who was too busy glaring at her.

Clara though, noticed. "The Doctor will stop you."

"He can't even lift a finger against his precious Alexander." She smirked at the Doctor, just as Clara reached out and slapped her hard across the face; the notepad having displayed the words 'hit me'.

"_Ow_!" She yelled, cradling her face. "My G_od_ can you hit! Harder than necessary too." She frowned then. "Did you hit me that hard because of what I did over the phone?"

"Yup." Clara said, popping the 'p' and looking rather pleased with herself as Alex grimaced, before shaking her head out of her thoughts. "Why am I the impossible girl?" She then asked, looking serious.

"Ah, never mind that. And I totally deserved the slap. Sorry. I need to focus. Doctor."

Said man looked at her almost painfully and she rolled her eyes.

"Oh, stop it with the puppy dog look, okay? Just focus on the hint I gave you earlier and I'll be fine, okay? Stop blaming yourself."

"Chess game." Clara interrupted, bringing their attention back to her. "Stakes?"

"If he wins, I give up my mind and he gets access to all my memories, along with my knowledge of time travel." The Doctor said quickly. "_But_ if I win, he'll break his promises to get out of Alex's head and then kill us all anyway. Or he'll take my mind anyway and kill us."

"That's not reassuring."

"No." The Doctor muttered, looking down once more before Alex kicked him in the shin under the table. "Ow!"

"You're getting all mopey again! How do you expect me to be all happy and positive when you're being all mopey?!"

He shook his head, smacking his own cheeks. "You're right. Sorry."

"Please tell me one of you can fix whatever happened to the children." Clara begged and Alex waved her hand.

"Children. Yeah, they're fine. I mean, right now they're brains are just in standby mode."

"That is not fine!" Clara snapped at her and Alex leaned over the table aggressively, a scowl on her face.

"Listen. Right now, they have a much better chance of getting out of this situation alive than you do."

Clara pulled away, slightly worried. "Which one of you said that?"

Alex grinned, leaning away. "Me. Cyberplanner. Mr—" She rolled her eyes then, with a grimace. "_Miss_ Clever. Now, if you don't mind. I have a _chess game_ to finish." She said, poking Clara in the forehead. "And _you_ have to die, _pointlessly_ and very far from home. Toodle-oo."

Alex waved her fingers and Clara frowned, eyeing her for a moment before looking at the Doctor, who was—once again—glaring at Alex. She then left, knowing that she needed to focus on what was going on with the approaching Cybermen right now, and _not_ what the Doctor and Alex were dealing with.

"Apparently, there are more Cybermen on the way." Clara told one of the men.

"There's at least a dozen more shots left in the gun before it needs to recharge." He said, holding the large weapon as she passed Porridge and a couple more soldiers.

"We might have more than a dozen Cybermen to worry about. What's that cable?" She asked, suddenly turning around and eyeing the large grey cable on the ground.

"Power-line for the park." Porridge said.

"What would happen if we unhooked the end, dropped it into the moat and turned it on?" Clara asked with a smirk.

"Fry anything alive that entered the water."

"Can Cybermen fly?"

"No, ma'am." The one soldier grinned.

"First good news of the day. Do it."

They did as she said, turning the moat into a river of electricity as the drawbridge was pulled up; Alex gasping in the other room.

"Doctor, we've got a problem."

"What?"

She smirked then. "It's time to get up. Wakey, wakey, boys and girls." She whispered. "Wakey, wakey."

The Doctor grit his teeth together and focused back on the game, hoping that Clara had a plan for the—now incoming—Cybermen. It wasn't long, however, before the Doctor called out loudly.

"Oi, Clara!"

She soon came rushing in and blinked. "What's up?"

The Doctor spoke, eyes furrowed and staring at the chess board. "Clara, there you are. Now, quick rundown. What's our weapons strength?"

"One big gun, five of those hand-pulser units, and a shiny black bomb that implodes the planet."

The Doctor grimaced. "Yeah, yeah, that one. Now tell me, does it happen possibly to have a remote triggery thing?"

Clara took it out of her pocket and he nodded.

"Brilliant. Hand it over."

She didn't though, eyeing Alex. "Is that Alex? I mean, _our_ Alex. Not the Cyber-whatever."

Alex smiled. "Oh, don't worry. The Cyberplanner's hibernating between moves right now. Sh." She shushed Clara who raised a brow and leaned onto the table a bit.

"Prove you're you. Tell us something only Alex knows."

Alex leaned forward a bit, watching Clara with a serious, but sad look. "Clara, I suppose I'm the only one who knows how the Doctor feels about you right now. How funny you are. So funny. And pretty. And the truth is, I'm starting to think he likes you in a way that is more than how he cares for me. And I believe—"

Clara slapped Alex hard across the face, the Doctor having been too stunned be her words to do much of anything.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, _ow_! Yes, it's me! Don't hit me again, that _really_ hurt! How did you know that wasn't me?" Alex asked Clara, rubbing at her reddening cheek.

"Because even if that was true, which it is _obviously_ not, I know you well enough to know that you would rather die than say that to me. Finish your stupid game!" She shouted, going to hand the Doctor the trigger, but Alex suddenly grabbed Clara's wrist, stopping her.

"Alex, let go."

"I can't." She grimaced, and the Doctor quickly tried to pry her hands off Clara.

"Yes, you can, Alex. Let her go."

Alex shook her head though. "No, I really can't. The Cyberplanner has control of that arm."

She grunted as she tried to fight against it, but the Cyberplanner managed to take the trigger and smash it to pieces on the table with a shout. Alex stared at the shattered pieces in worry, before looking up at them.

"I'm sorry. I'm really, _really_ sorry."

"No, no. It's alright. You had no control." The Doctor said, looking between the pieces and the chess board.

"Doctor..." Clara muttered and he stared at the board in worry.

"He got what he wanted. He destroyed the trigger. My move."

"What do you mean, he got what he wanted?" Clara questioned, but Alex lifted her head with a devilish smirk.

"He _means_, good news, boys and girls. They're here!" She shouted, sitting upright and looking proud as Clara hurried out to see how bad this situation had gotten.

The Doctor though, frowned at Alex. "She was never in control, was she?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not." She grinned. "I've learned so much from you, Doctor. It's been an education. But now, it's time for the endgame."

"Let me speak to her. Let me speak to Alex!" He shouted the last part and Alex leaned forward towards him with a smirk.

"I _am_ Alex."

"You're not. You're not her and you won't ever be Alex!" The Doctor shouted and Alex pulled back, looking shocked.

"What? But, Doctor, I am. I _am_ Alex!"

"Then prove it!" He snarled, making her pull back with a flinch. "Tell me something she would never admit to anyone. Not even to herself. If _you're_ Alex, then tell me what it is that scares her the most."

"You." She said, making _him_ pull back this time. "I-I'm afraid you'll hate me, that you'll leave me behind again, but never come back. I'm afraid of you being alone a-and _I'm_ afraid of being alone."

The Doctor's eyes widened as he realized that at some point he'd been yelling at Alex at some point—and _not_ the Cyberplanner—without even realizing it. His hearts ached at her words and he felt horribly guilty for what he'd just done. Because he couldn't even see when she was there. He couldn't separate the real Alex from the fake. He _loved_ her, and yet he was unable to tell the difference between her and a Cyberplanner?

"A-Alex, I'm... I'm sorry. I thought... I didn't..."

She shook her head, lowering her eyes with a slightly forced smile. "It's okay. It's fine. Just... just remember my hint, okay? Remember what game you're trying to win."

The Doctor went to respond, but Alex was gone and the Cyberplanner was back in control.

"They're nearly here." She smirked. "Now, you can take my bishop and keep limping on for a little longer, or you can sacrifice your queen and get the children back. But it's mate in five moves and I get your mind."

The Doctor frowned at the board, before reaching out and moving his queen. "Take my queen, and give me back the children."

"_Emotions_." Alex snapped angrily. "Can't you see what a _foolish_ move that was?! You've lost the game!"

"Kids back _now_." The Doctor demanded.

The kids dropped to the floor, released from the Cyberplanner's hold, and Alex moved her piece, taking the Doctor's queen and kissing it before setting it aside.

"Emotions, _Doctor_, all for two human children you barely know. And it was a _pointless_ sacrifice anyway. So, Doctor, do you think the children's death will affect your relationship with Alex?"

She grabbed the Doctor's wrist, holding him there as Webley turned to the children with a grin.

"Welcome to Webley's World of Wonders, children. Now presenting delights, delicacies, and death."

He lifted a hand to kill the children, but Porridge had run in and hurriedly used his hand-pulser to shock Webley's leg. Porridge was kicked over to where the Doctor and Alex were, and Webley sparked as Alex jolted and turned to the kids immediately, releasing the Doctor.

"A-Angie, are you okay? Look after A-Artie, okay? You're the big sister." She smiled painfully. "Look after your brother."

The Doctor turned to her as she jolted again with a scowl. "_Your_ move. But before you make it, just so you know, sacrificing my queen was the best possible move I could have made. The Time Lords invented chess. It's our game. And if you don't avoid my trap, it gives _me_ mate in three moves."

"How?" She snarled. "How?!"

The Doctor grinned then. "Come on. You call yourself a chess playing robot?"

"How?!" She shouted again, but the Doctor laughed.

"Hey, you figure it out. Or don't you have the processing power? Hm?" He asked, adjusting his bow tie, knowing exactly what Alex's plan was at this point, and knowing exactly how to do it.

Things grew quiet outside then, the sounds of guns and the Cybermen marching having all but ceased, and the Doctor looked around.

"What are you doing?"

"Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor!" Alex repeated, grinning smugly. "I'm pulling in extra processing power. Three million Cyberbrains working on one tiny chess problem. How long do you think it's going to take us to solve it?"

"That's cheating." The Doctor argued.

"No, no, no, no, no. Just pulling in the local resources." Alex quipped back, before pausing. "There's no way you can get to mate in three moves."

"Three moves!" The Doctor repeated, regaining his smile. "Want to know what they are?"

"You're lying."

"No." The Doctor said, watching as Alex leaned over and put the hand-pulser on the table. "Move one, turn on sonic screwdriver."

He pulled out said device and started sonicking the hand-pulser.

"Move two, activate pulser. Move three, amplify pulser."

Alex grabbed it and went to hit the Cyber-components with it, but her left hand stopped her. The Doctor, though, knew that wouldn't stop her and laughed.

"Hahaha, see ya."

Alex hit the Cyber-components with the hand-pulser with a jolt, calling out one last time as the Cyberplanner.

"That's cheating!"

She collapsed on the table and the Doctor rushed to her side, removing the Cyber-components and patting her on the cheek.

"Come on, Alex. Get those neurons going. Won't be as fast as if you were a Time Lord, but you're close enough."

She sat back upright with a gasp, quickly bringing a hand to her face and then running the other through her hair before she looked at the Doctor in slight confusion.

"I'm all me again?"

He grinned. "You are most _definitely_ all you again."

He leaned down and kissed her desperately, mentally apologizing for getting her into this and for what he had said to her earlier, but also thanking the universe that she was alright and letting her know just how much he missed her. She kissed back, equally passionate, and reached up to tangle one of her hands into his hair, just as Clara and the others rushed in the room.

"Gah, Doctor!" Clara called out, holding a hand up to shield her eyes. "We're in the middle of a Cyber invasion and you're doing _that_?"

The Doctor pulled away, smiling down at Alex with a wink. "Just taking advantage of the local resources."

"Hm, funny." Clara said sarcastically, before gesturing to Alex. "I'm guessing that's Alex? Because I _doubt_ you'd be kissing the Cyberplanner." She grimaced then. "Ooh, bad image."

Alex rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm me ago. Hello."

Clara still eyed her though. "Do you think I'm pretty?"

Alex made a face, wrinkling her nose. "You're short, bossy, and have a weird nose."

Clara frowned and took a step forward, making Alex pale slightly and hold her hands up in surrender.

"B-But if you think you're pretty, then who cares about my opinion! Eh?" she winced then, shrinking back in her seat. "Please don't hit me."

Clara rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to hit you."

"Whew." Alex breathed out a sigh of relief; the Doctor undoing the ropes around her.

"Yet." Clara finished

"W-What?" Alex stuttered out, but Clara ignored her and turned to the Doctor as he helped Alex up out of the chair.

"So what happened to the Cyberplanner?"

"Out of Alex's head and redistributed across three million Cybermen right now, and about to wake them all up, kill us, and start constructing a spaceship. We need to destroy this planet before they can get off it." He said, going over to the bomb that Porridge had dropped on his way in and tugging Alex along with him; not wanting to let her hand go just yet. "Okay, it has a fallback voice activation."

"The captain." One of the soldiers spoke up, before wincing. "She's sort of back at the other end of the castle."

"Ah! She's still alive! That's good." Alex grinned, pointing to the red-headed, glasses wearing soldier. "Could you go get her? Best not accidentally forget her or anything. I'm sure she'll want to join the line to hit me. Clara's first. She can be second, unless somebody else wants to have a go?"

Everyone gave her an odd look and she sighed, holing her free hand up in surrender.

"Yeah, alright, alright. I'll shut up. I had a _robot_ suffocating me in the back of my head, alright? Give me a break."

"Well, we can't wait for the captain to start the bomb." The Doctor said. "The Cybermen might already be waking up and by the time she get's here it'll be too late."

"Hm, especially with eighty seconds before the actual 'boom' part." Alex hummed, being ignored as Angie spoke up.

"I think you should ask Porridge."

"Why?" Clara asked and Angie gave her a look.

"Well, he _is_ the Emperor. I bet he knows the activation codes." She said, earning dumbfounded looks from a majority of the group. "Oh, come on. It's obvious. He looks exactly like he does on the coin, on the waxwork, except they made him a bit taller. But look, are Alex and I the only ones paying attention to anything around here?"

"You are full of surprises." Clara told her, before turning to Porridge. "Porridge?"

"She's right." He admitted.

"So you can save us?" She asked and Alex rolled her eyes.

"Course he can. And try not to get all dramatic, Porridge, whether we die or not, it's us versus the universe. We're going to pick the universe. And whether you want to be the Emperor or not, we all know you won't allow innocent people to die. Moms, dads, kids. You don't want that. I know you don't."

"Right to the point then." He said with a smirk at her, before looking back at the group and standing a little straighter. "The bomb, the throne, it's all connected. I just have to say, 'This is Emperor Ludens Nimrod Kendrick, called Longstaff the forty first, the Defender of Humanity, Imperator of known space. Activate the Desolator.' and it's done."

The bomb started counting down and the Doctor gave it a quick scan before Porridge spoke up again; the captain being hauled into the room behind everyone.

"It'll blow in about eighty seconds, like she said. Easily long enough for the Imperial Flagship to locate me from my identification, warp jump into orbit, and transmat us to the State Room."

He closed his eyes and once he opened them again, the group was standing in said State Room, having a nice look a round.

"Oh yeah. Nice ship. Bit big. Not blue enough." The Doctor complained and Alex rolled her eyes as he tugged her up to where the Emperor was. "Listen, there is a large blue box at coordinates six ultra nineteen P. I need it transmatted up here right away."

Por—The Emperor nodded. "Right. Did you get that?" He asked someone standing by a control panel, who nodded, transmatting the Tardis up onto the ship.

Everyone then looked out the window at the planet they'd just landed on and watched as the Emperor counted down.

"And that's that. Seventy six, seventy seven, seventy eight, seventy nine..."

The planet exploded, rooking the ship and causing Alex to stumble into the grinning Doctor's arms, before she smacked him lightly and made him let go as the Emperor continued.

"Farewell, Cyberiad... You know, it was good to get away. Good to be a _person_ and not to be lonely, or Emperor of a thousand galaxies with everyone waiting for me to tell them what to do."

"Can't you run away again?" Artie asked and the Emperor frowned.

"They'll be keeping a close eye on me this time. That's what happens when you're Emperor. Loneliest job in the universe."

"You don't have to be lonely." Clara said and Alex nodded, wrapping an arm around a pouting Doctor—who instantly perked up.

"Yeah. Take a vacation. Go traveling or something. Meet new people, have new experiences. Works for me." Alex grinned, making the Emperor bob his head.

"You're right. I don't have to be lonely." He smiled, turning to kneel before Clara. "Clara, will you marry me?"

"What?" Clara questioned, completely blindsided.

"He said—" Artie started, but Angie cut him off.

"She heard what he said."

The Emperor went on. "You're smart and you're beautiful, and I've never met anyone like you before. And being Emperor won't be as hard if you're by my side. And you'd rule a thousand galaxies."

The Doctor tugged Alex over to where they were abruptly. "This sounds like an actual marriage proposal. Now, if you want my advice—"

Clara cut him off. "You, not one word. This is between me and the..." She nodded at the man kneeling before her. "...Emperor."

Alex tugged him away, giving Clara and the Emperor an apology. "Sorry, still trying to teach him boundaries."

Clara smiled a bit, before facing the Emperor once more. "Porridge, I don't _want_ to rule a thousand galaxies."

"Yeah, silly of me." He said, looking very disappointed.

"I'm really sorry." Clara apologized.

"But that's stupid. You could be queen of the universe." Angie countered. "How can you say no to that? When someone asks you if you want to be queen of the universe, you say yes. You watch. One day, _I'll_ be queen of the universe."

The Emperor smiled a bit with a chuckle, before he rounded on the Doctor. "Of course, I could have you all executed, which is what a proper emperor would do."

"But you're not exactly proper then, now are you, _Porridge_." Alex chuckled, earning a chuckle back from the man in response.

"No. no, I wouldn't. And Alex, I just wanted to say... I get the feeling I might have proposed to you, had I had the chance to get to know you better. Though I doubt the Doctor would have appreciated that."

"Oh, I wouldn't." Said Doctor grumbled, quickly wrapping his arms around Alex as she rolled her eyes and tried to tug him off.

"Oh, down boy." She scolded him, before turning to the Emperor. "Would've been nice to get to know you too, Porridge, but I'll tell you what. Go traveling like I said. Take a break every once in a while, go somewhere people have no clue who Emperor Nimrod is, and find a girl who will take you and everything that comes with. Because I'm sure whoever you pick, they'll be amazing." She said, before joking again. "I mean, look who I got stuck with."

"Hey!" The Doctor whined, and everyone laughed as the Emperor waved them off.

"Okay, I'll do that. Now go on. Get out of here, all of you, before I change my mind."

The group got up and went to head for the Tardis, Clara giving the Emperor a salute which he returned, before Alex suddenly paused.

"Oh! One more thing!" She let the Doctor go and slunk over to the captain—who'd now been released from her bonds.

Said woman scowled. "_You're_ the one who ordered me to be tied up and gagged?"

"Well, in fairness, it _was_ to save your life and—"

Alex flinched when the captain lifted a hand, only for the captain to salute her.

"Then you have my gratitude."

Alex slowly opened her eyes and then straightened up, blinking in surprise. "O-Oh, well, you're wel—"

She was then cut off by a slap that turned her face to the side.

"And _that's_ for the duct tape." The captain snapped, stomping off as Alex held her cheek and groaned.

"_Ow_! God, do _all_ women slap this hard?"

"Come on, Alex." The Doctor called out and she headed his way, ducking into the Tardis with muttered complaints before the doors closed and the Tardis disappeared from the room.

Off on another adventure.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_Just then, the ground quaked and I stumbled over to a wall with wide eyes, because this didn't feel like an earthquake._

_"What?"_

_ The trembles actually came in sets, almost like footsteps._

_"What?"_

_Then came the loud roar that I'd only heard in Jurassic Park movies. A roar, that could _only_ belong to a very upset, very _big_ lizard. My eyes shifted towards the Big Ben and widened as my mouth dropped open in shock._

"What?!"


	43. Deep Breath

**Glad you all liked my last chapter and here is the next one! ^^ Things won't be easy for Alex, I'll leave that for you all to see. ;) Please let me know what you think too! i hope the Twelfth Doctor wasn't out of character.**

* * *

I sighed, walking through the streets of Victorian London lacking my usual excitement for being in said era. I'd been here for over a week after popping off from my time with the Eleventh Doctor and Clara. _Well, mostly the Doctor. He promised to pick Clara up on a Wednesday once we dropped her and the kids off. Then we... Ah, no. Stop it brain._ I shook my head, trying to rid the red tint that suddenly overtook my cheeks at the thought, before searching for the nearest baker. Didn't take me long and one shilling later, I was munching happily on a loaf of bread. I'd gotten lucky and the Tardis had tucked some money into my coat after the Doctor and I visited Arthur Conan Doyle and may have giving him the idea of Sherlock Holmes—by complete accident, of course.

"But that's what I get for sticking my nose into a murder that _happened_ to be caused by an alien." I muttered under my breath, ripping off another piece of bread as I adjusted the dark red cloak that hooded my face.

Now, I may know around where and when I currently was, but that didn't mean I wanted to get noticed just yet. For all I knew, Vastra, Jenny, and Strax weren't even here by this point. _Then again, they might be... though with what happened the last time I bumped into them, I think I'll take my chances out here._ I winced, feeling the harsh sting of Vastra's slap on my cheek; which had taken quite a bit of abuse, as of late. _And I'd rather not have a repeat of that._ Just then, the ground quaked and I stumbled over to a wall with wide eyes, because this didn't feel like an earthquake.

"What?"

The trembles actually came in sets, almost like footsteps.

"What?"

Then came the loud roar that I'd only heard in Jurassic Park movies. A roar, that could _only_ belong to a very upset, very _big_ lizard. My eyes shifted towards the Big Ben and widened as my mouth dropped open in shock.

"_What?!_"

People screamed and ran about, rushing into their homes or some even to get closer to the gigantic T-Rex, but I'd yet to move; completely astounded and very much confused.

"T-There's a T-Rex... There's a _T-Rex_ in the Thames... A _T-_freakin-_Rex_ smack dab in the middle of Victorian London?!" I shouted in disbelief, pulling a hand through my hair and lowering my hood to make sure that I wasn't just seeing things.

But nope. There was _definitely_ a T-Rex stomping around in the middle of London, and despite my mind screaming for me to run the opposite direction, I rushed right towards it. Because when there's a dinosaur in the Thames, the Doctor can't be too far behind. So, I hurriedly went to the stables nearby where I kept a horse waiting—something I bought upon realizing just how _much_ money the Tardis had given me—and I tipped the stable boy for keeping him saddled up for me and quickly dashed off towards where the large dinosaur was at. When I started to get close, I slowed the horse down and dropped him off at another stable before rushing over to where the police were keeping people out.

"I'm sorry, sir, but this place is strictly off limits." An officer stopped me and I whipped out the psychic paper I'd nabbed off the Doctor on our last trip.

"And _I'm_ on orders from the Queen herself to investigate this matter, so let me pass, officer."

The man immediately saluted. "Sir!"

I gave him a brief salute back and bounded down the stairs behind him, two at a time, and very nearly falling on my face in the process. I could hear voices though and once I'd reached the bottom and rounded the corner, I couldn't help the large grin on my face at seeing the Twelfth Doctor and Clara standing nearby with the Tardis, Jenny, Strax, and Vastra.

"I think something's gone wrong." Clara said, looking a little more than rattled as she moved closer to Vastra and the others.

The Doctor turned to her suddenly though. "Wrong? What's gone wrong? Have you regenerated?" He asked, moving closer to Clara as I furrowed my brows in confusion. "I remember you. You're Handles. You used to be a little... a little robot head and now you... You've really let yourself go."

_Handles? I've heard that name before...somewhere, but what's going on with the Doctor?_ I went to step over and reveal myself, but the Doctor suddenly rounded back again towards the dinosaur as it roared.

"Reduce the frequency."

"I'm sorry?" Clara questioned, but he walked past her and to Vastra.

"Your sonic lanterns, turn them _down_. You're giving her a headache."

"Giving who a headache?" Jenny asked.

"My lady friend!" He called out with a grin and I stepped out as he waved his hands at the dinosaur. "Just an expression. Don't get any ideas."

"Who's your lady friend now?" I questioned, making all eyes turn to me as I pulled down my hood. "I thought that was my job."

"Alex! Alex, oh thank God. I think something's wrong with the Doctor." Clara said, rushing over to me as I blinked at the man who furrowed his brows at me.

"I'll say." I muttered. "Seems extra grumpy today."

"What?" Clara questioned, but Strax spoke up then.

"How do you know the beast has a headache?"

"Come on, Clara! You know I speak dinosaur!" The Doctor said, giving Strax a look and Clara went over, gesturing to herself.

"He's not Clara. _I'm_ Clara."

"Well, you're very similar heights. Maybe you should wear labels?" The Doctor complained, before looking a bit confused. "Why? Why are you all doing that? Why are you... You're going all dark and wobbly. Stop that."

"I don't think we are." Clara said and I took a step towards him.

"Doctor, are you alright?"

He suddenly turned to me, frowning. "Who are you? I don't know you. Are you the police or something?"

My hearts ached at those words and I grew even more concerned. "Doctor, I'm Alex. Remember? Alexander Holmes? I pop around the Tardis's time-line? We're together?"

He made a strange face. "Together? You mean like I'm your boyfriend? And what's this about time-lines? I don't know you."

Clara stepped closer this time. "Yeah, you do. Alex, remember?"

"No, no, no, no, no. I don't _have_ a girlfriend, especially not one like... like _that_." He said, making me flinch back in hurt as he threw an arm out towards me. "I mean, look at her! She's all... _manly_ and short-haired! I wouldn't touch that if I had a Dalek at my back!"

I didn't know what to do. The Doctor, _my_ Doctor was saying all of these things about me—about _us—_and I had no clue what was happening. _Was_ he my Doctor? Maybe he was an enemy in disguise or a hologram someone made. But deep down, I knew it was him. There was this tingling in the back of my mind that shouted at me that it was him. That he was _my_ Doctor and he was actually saying these things. That he didn't know who I was. That he would _never_ get with me because of my _looks_, of all things. And it hurt. It felt like someone had taken my hearts right out of my chest and impaled them with a million needles before stomping them to the ground until they were nothing more than pulp under someone's feet. I wanted to cry and scream and yell at the Doctor, begging to understand what was going on and why, after all this time, he suddenly was saying something different. Or if this is what he felt all along, and he just hadn't said anything until now. But I couldn't, because I knew something was wrong.

He was swaying on his feet and his eyes looked out of focus, and some part of me somewhere said that what he was saying was just because he wasn't in his right frame of mind. And that little piece of hope was what had me shoving all those feelings of betrayal away as I turned my focus to the bigger issue at hand. And that was, making sure the Doctor was alright.

"Never mind!" He shouted, waving his arms about. "Everyone, take five."

He then stopped moving entirely and went to fall to the ground, as the Tardis let out a worried pang, but I hurried over and grabbed him before he could; taking the brunt of his weight with a grunt. Clara hurried over to help me then, giving the Victorian trio a look.

"What do we do?"

"I don't understand." Jenny spoke up. "Who is he? Where's the Doctor?"

"He _is_ the Doctor." I grunted, adjusting the man's weight as I pulled his arm over my shoulder.

"Well then, here we go again." Vastra said, turning to Strax. "Strax, bring the carriage around. It's best we get him some rest."

"Of course." He said, hurrying off to do that as Clara and I carried the man up the stairs.

Once we'd gotten him into the carriage and were off, Clara turned to me in worry.

"Alex, what's going on? What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong." I grumbled, having pulled out my black book and skimming through it until I found the last entry for the Eleventh. "Handles... I _knew_ I knew that name from somewhere."

"Alex!" Clara said louder and I waved a hand at her.

"Hold on! Just give me a minute, okay?"

I skimmed through the book again, looking at when the Doctor regenerated into his Tenth and Eleventh regenerations and what had happened in those first few episodes after. Because I wasn't in any way an expert on this. Time Lord regeneration wasn't really described very well back in my old universe, so all I had to work with was evidence of what happened with the previous regenerations. _Okay, so when Nine regenerated, he fell into a coma. He was _very_ sick with only one heart working at a point and kept spitting out regeneration energy, but this isn't anything like that._ I moved on to the next one. _And when the Tenth regenerated, the Tardis crashed and rebuilt itself—much like this—and he needed to work on his physical body and his tastes. But that's still not really anything like this._ I groaned and skimmed through what I wrote about my previous times with the Twelfth Doctor, looking for any little tidbit that could help. The most I found was 'grumpy and forgetful', which was rather obvious even with nothing to go on. The only difference was, the two characteristics seemed to have been amplified a hundred times over. To the point that he had no idea who Clara and I were and that he was grumpy with just about everything.

I was beginning to get a nasty headache from all of this and I knew it would last a few hours—if the other headaches I'd been getting lately had anything to do with it—and I just hoped that the Cyberplanner hadn't done any damage when it was in my head. I pinched the bridge of my nose with a frustrated sigh as I stuffed my book back in my coat; Clara immediately trying to get answers.

"So? Do you know what's wrong?"

"No." I grumbled, before facing her. "It's got something to do with him regenerating, but I don't know what it is. He always gets weird after he regenerates, but this isn't like the two previous times in any way. And even if it was, I haven't been around him when he regenerates, so I couldn't tell you anything other than what I already know. Which is nothing." I turned away from her and cursed under my breath as my headache grew worse.

"But Alex, maybe if you just—"

"If I just had some foreknowledge with this Doctor, things would be fine. I'd know what's going on. But I don't, so I'm _just_ as lost as you are, okay? I can't answer everything." I snapped at her, before calming down. "Sorry. I'm just... I'm worried, alright? I'm used to having _some _kind of plan, but I'm seriously stuck right now. I'll... I'll try to come up with something, okay? I don't know what, but... maybe there's something I can do to help him remember things."

Clara nodded silently and once we'd arrived at Vastra's home, things only grew more difficult.

* * *

The Doctor was currently in one of the spare bedrooms arguing with Vastra as Clara, Jenny, and Alex went back upstairs to try and calm him down. Ever since they returned home, he'd been complaining about every little thing and the only time he stopped was when he'd pass out. It'd happened a few times already and Alex was beginning to become even more worried since she knew that he needed to rest until his regeneration energy was stabilized. She'd figured out that much from what she knew with the other regenerations, but actually getting the Doctor to do so was proving more difficult than one would think. Alex had just barely left the room in hopes that making the Doctor some tea would help, and now that she was back, she was beginning to wonder if _anything_ would help.

"It's simply misunderstandable to me. I don't know what it is. Who invented this room?" the Doctor complained behind the closed door of the guest bedroom; which Clara and Jenny were leaning against to listen.

He opened it then and the two nearly fell inside, though Alex just sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose with her free hand, her headache having only gotten worse since arriving.

"Doctor, please, you have to lie down." Clara told him as he gestured wildly to the bed.

"It doesn't make any sense. Look, it's only got a bed in it. Why is there only a bed in it?"

"Because it's a bedroom." Alex said, setting the tea down on a nightstand upon seeing that the Doctor probably wouldn't be able to hold it without throwing tea all over the room. "You sleep in it."

"Okay, but what do you do when you're awake."

"You leave the room." Jenny said and the Doctor's frown deepened.

"So you've got a whole room for not being awake in. But what's the point? You're just missing the room. And don't look in that mirror. It's absolutely furious." He said, gesturing to a full length mirror off to the side.

"Doctor, please! You have to lie down. You keep passing out." Clara said, voice rising in her frustration.

"Well, of course I keep passing out. There's all these beds. Why do you keep talking like that? What's gone wrong with your accent? Yours especially!" He said, gesturing over at Alex suddenly.

She gave him a dull look. "I'm American. This _is_ my accent."

He frowned and turned to the others. "Why—"

"Nothing's wrong with her accent." Jenny said and he grew even more crazed.

"You sound the same. It's spreading. You all sound English, except for Miss America over there. But now you've all developed a fault."

Alex thought of something then and cleared her throat before adopting a decent Scottish accent. "Doctor, I think I have a problem you can help me with."

"Finally, someone who can talk properly." He said, sounding slightly more relieved as Alex went on.

"I'm having trouble sleeping."

"Oh? Oh, well I wouldn't bother with that. I never bother with sleeping I just do standing-up cat naps." He said as she slowly led him over to the bed.

"That's interesting. When do you do those?"

"Well, generally whenever anyone else starts talking. I like to skip ahead to my bit to save time."

_That explains a lot._ Alex mentally complained, but kept a forced smile on her face as she sat the Doctor down with his back towards the pillows.

"Perhaps you could save me time, Doctor. Could you put me to sleep with your psychic link?" She asked, lifting his fingers up to her temples.

"What? You want a psychic link with me?"

She nodded and he was still hesitant.

"The size of my brain would be like dropping a piano on you."

"Be gentle?" Alex said, though sounding more like a question.

"I'll try." He replied, lifting his hands to her temples. "Brace yourself... Piano..."

The moment he did though, Alex's eyes closed and _she_ mentally knocked him out. _Sleep._ The Doctor fell back onto the sheets and Alex let out a sharp breath, bringing a hand to her head with a wince as Vastra smirked.

"I love monkeys, they're so funny."

"Oh, I see. So people are monkeys now, are they?" Jenny said, sounding affronted.

"No, dear. People are apes. _Men_ are monkeys."

"So what now?" Clara asked, before giving Alex a worried look. "You okay?"

"Fine, fine. Headache." She grumbled, grinding her knuckles into her temples. "Didn't actually know that'd work, but it did and now my head hurts worse than before. Give me a minute. I'll be fine."

"But what about the Doctor?"

"He needs rest." Vastra said and Alex nodded.

"He's still trying to stabilize his regeneration energy."

"So what do we do? How do we fix him?" Clara questioned and the group gave her odd looks.

"Fix him?" Jenny muttered.

Clara turned to her and snapped. "How do we change him back?!"

Things grew tense and quiet, before Vastra spoke. "Jenny, I will be in my chambers. Would you be kind enough to fetch my veil?"

"Why? Are we expecting strangers?"

"It would seem... there's already one here." She said, before turning to Alex. "Would you join me for some tea, Alex?"

"Hm? Ah, yeah. Sure." She said, giving the sleeping Doctor a glance before following after Vastra.

Clara was confused, but allowed them to leave, not knowing about the conversation they were having in her absence.

"Are you alright?" Vastra asked Alex once they reached her chambers.

Alex seemed to come out from a daze, turning her gaze away from a window where the dinosaur's cries could be heard.

"Hm?"

Vastra eyed her warily. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, you mean about what the Doctor said..." She answered, face saddening before she looked out the window once more. "...Not really. I know he's a bit lost right now, but I can't help but have that little bit of doubt, you know?"

"How long have you two been courting?"

Alex's brows furrowed. "For me? About... two and a half months, I think."

"And you doubt his intentions?" Vastra questioned and Alex shook her head, bringing a hand to it as she winced.

"No. No, it's not like that. Things are... complicated. He's supposed to love other people, but he's come to love me and... and I'm just not sure if... if that's right."

"You are worried about your foreknowledge." Vastra nodded in understanding. "But perhaps you should worry about your heart instead."

"_My_ heart?" Alex questioned, suddenly appearing worn out. "_Mine_? What about _his_?! What if what he said is really what he thinks about me? He could be forcing himself to care for me because I came back for him! I left everything to be with him and he knows that. H-He could just be treating this as... as an apology! I've become his burden because I dropped everything to come back to someone who could care less! I—"

Alex was cut off by a slap across the cheek, Vastra having done the action with a stern expression.

"Is that _really_ what you think?" She hissed at Alex, who slowly sat back down after having stood at some point in her rant. "Have you _seen _the way he looks at you? If that is him forcing himself, then I don't know what the universe is anymore."

"Sorry..." Alex muttered, accepting the tea from Jenny, who'd just come in; though she just stared into the amber liquid, not drinking.

Vastra sighed, returning to her seat as well. "It is understandable. You are stressed, though I recommend you think things through before you go accusing your mate of betraying you."

Alex nodded silently, though she still appeared quite upset about the whole matter and Vastra sighed.

"Um, if I may?" Jenny spoke up and Alex glanced at her as Vastra waved her to continue. "The way I see it, he's just a little mixed up, yeah? I don't think he said those things because he doesn't love you, Alex, but perhaps because he _loves_ you."

Alex furrowed her brows, confused, so Jenny continued.

"What I'm saying is... perhaps he still has his feelings for you. And they're confusing him because he can't remember who you are. So he's lashing out. You've mentioned before when a future you has come by to visit, that he can be quite rude. But you've always got this look in your eyes, like you understand him, you know? And... I don't think he could forget his love for you, regeneration or not." Jenny smiled and Alex contemplated her words, before taking a sip of her tea and feeling a slow smile come over her face.

"Perhaps you're right. It does sound like something he'd do. And even if you're wrong, I shouldn't be sitting here wallowing about it." Alex said, getting up and picking up the saucer to take her tea with her. "Thank you, Jenny, Madam Vastra. I'm... sorry for making you give me this talk."

Vastra smiled a bit. "Of course. It wouldn't be the first time we've proven your mistakes with the Doctor and I'm certain it won't be our last."

Jenny smiled. "What she means is, don't be afraid to come around to talk, Alex."

Alex smiled back. "Course not. It's nice talking to you."

Vastra let out a low growl, making Alex stiffen and give out a nervous chuckle.

"Um... both of you, is what I meant, of course." She then nodded upstairs. "I'm going to head back up and keep an eye on the Doctor, if that's alright. Could you possibly..." She winced. "...send up some clothes and an aspirin or whatever they use as aspirin in this time...?"

"Of course." Jenny said with a slight bow.

"No dresses!" Alex called out, hurrying up the stairs as Vastra snorted behind Jenny.

"Honestly, if I had a shilling for every time she's come here for a talk over something like this, we'd both be vacationing in the Amazon."

Jenny smiled though, glancing up at Vastra as she poured her some tea. "Yeah, but isn't it sweet? What her and the Doctor have?"

Vastra smiled slightly. "Quite." Then her smile faltered. "Though her inadvertent flirting is unappreciated."

Jenny chuckled, but soon stopped as Strax escorted Clara into the room.

"Sit." Vastra said and Clara did just that. "Now tell me what happened, in _detail_."

Clara did just that, recounting her experience with the Doctor on Trenzalore and how she ended up where she was now.

"And then?" Vastra asked.

"Why are you wearing your veil?" Clara asked instead, but Vastra repeated herself.

"And _then_?"

"And then we got swallowed by a big dinosaur. You probably noticed." Clara said, fidgeting slightly.

"How did it happen?" Jenny asked.

"I don't know. I don't know. We were... crashing about everywhere. The Doctor was gone. The Tardis went haywire. Alex—well, the older Alex—was doing her best, but said something about temporal flux or something. I don't know."

"He's not gone." Jenny said, talking about the Doctor. "He's upstairs."

Clara paused. "Okay, he changed."

"He regenerated. Renewed himself." Vastra corrected, Clara cutting her off abruptly.

"Renewed. Fine."

Vastra tilted her head slightly. "Such a cynical smile."

"I'm not smiling."

"Not outwardly." Vastra said, making Clara made a face. "But I'm accustomed to seeing through a veil. How have I amused you?"

"You said renewed. He doesn't... He doesn't look renewed. He looks older."

"You thought he was young?"

"He _looked_ young."

"He looked like your dashing gentlemen friend. Alex's lover, even. _Your_ lover, perhaps."

"Shut up." Clara laughed bitterly.

"But he is the Doctor. He has walked this universe for centuries untold. He has seen stars fall to dust! You might as well flirt with a mountain range."

"I did _not_ flirt with him."

"Perhaps not, but he flirted with Alex, did he not? Possibly even flirted at you?"

Clara stared at her in shock. "How?"

"He looked young. Who do you think that was for?"

"Alex?"

"Everyone." Vastra explained. "I wear a veil as he wore a face and Alex wore a smile, for the same reason."

"What reason?"

Vastra chuckled. "The oldest reason there is for anything... To be accepted."

* * *

Meanwhile, upstairs, Alex had fallen asleep in a chair beside the Doctor's bedside. Her head rested on her arms on the blankets beside him, her hand wrapped around his as he begun to sniff. He woke up suddenly, sitting up and giving her and odd look as he pulled his hand away, something stirring in his stomach at the loss of contact. But he threw the thought aside and hurried out of bed and onto the floor, continuing to sniff until he approached the radiator and discovered a piece of chalk. He sniffed it with a smile, testing it on the pipes, before moving onto the hardwood floor and beginning to write. Back downstairs though, the talking trio were none the wiser.

* * *

"Jenny and I are married. Yet, for appearances sake, we maintain a pretense in public that she is my maid."

Jenny paused in her pouring tea. "Doesn't exactly explain why I'm pouring _tea_ in private."

"Hush now." Vastra shushed her, but she went on.

"Good pretense, isn't it?" She said to Clara, giving Vastra a look that said she was less than amused.

Vastra quickly got back onto the topic once more. "_I_ wear a veil to keep from view what many are pleased to call my disfigurement. I do no wear it as a courtesy to such people, but as a _judgment_ on the quality of their hearts."

"Are you judging me?" Clara suddenly asked and Vastra tilted her head.

"The Doctor regenerated in your presence. The young man disappeared. The veil lifted. He _trusted_ you. Are you judging him?" Vastra countered, making Clara stand, affronted.

"How dare you. How _dare_ you."

* * *

Upstairs, the Doctor scribbled away, unknowing of the growing tension below as he wrote out whatever formulas came to mind. After a moment though, he paused; the dinosaur outside crying out. He stood, frowning as he looked out the window and almost jumped when Alex began muttering quietly with frown.

"Lonely... So lonely... I miss the trees and the sky... I am alone now... I want to go to _my_ home..."

The Doctor opened his mouth, but soon closed it, rushing towards the door and opening it only to pause.

"Door. Boring. Not me." He turned away and opened the window with a grin. "Me."

He started to climb out, but stopped once more as Alex shifted.

"Sorry... I'm sorry... Don't be lonely... Please..." She muttered in her sleep, a tear slipping down her face.

The Doctor climbed back into the room and went over to her, brushing the tear lightly from off her face as the frown slipped off his. That feeling in his hearts returned and he carefully took off one of the blankets from the bed and draped it over her shoulders, before heading right back out the window. Clara though, was too busy arguing with Vastra to notice the sound of the Doctor climbing up onto the roof.

* * *

"Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor, last of the five good 'uns, stoic philospher—"

"Superlative bass guitarist." Vastra interrupted, veil gone. "The Doctor really knows how to put a band together."

Clara ignored her. "And the only pin-up I ever had on my wall when I was fifteen. The only one I ever had. I am not sure who you _think_ you're talking to right now, Madam Vastra, but I have _never_ had the slightest interest in pretty young men. And for the record, if there ever was anybody who could flirt with a mountain range, it's probably Alex and the person standing in front of you right now." She took a deep breath, shaking her head in frustration. "Just because my pretty face as turned your head, do not assume that I am so easily distracted."

"Whoo!" Jenny suddenly applauded. "Whoo!"

Clara and Vastra gave her a look and she slowly stopped, bowing her head.

"Sorry."

Vastra turned back to Clara though, with a chuckle. "Well, heheh, goodness me. The lake is ruffled at last. I often wondered what you'd be like when you lost your temper."

"Oi!" Jenny lightly smacked Vastra, who hissed. "Married." She scolded and Vastra raised a brow.

"And you got all flustered with Alex before. Not to mention her temper is a million times worse." Vastra chided her in return, Jenny looking away in embarrassment. "She practically turned you into a puddle on the floor the last time she lost it here."

"Good point."

Vastra rolled her eyes with a sigh, turning back to Clara. "Personal matters aside, the Doctor needs us. You and Alex more than anyone. He is lost in the ruin of himself and we must bring him home."

"When did you stop wearing your veil?" Clara questioned, only now noticing it missing.

"When you stopped seeing it." Vastra replied.

* * *

I woke up with a start, a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach and a pounding in my head. I noticed the blanket over my shoulders and stared at the fabric in confusion until I realized that the Doctor wasn't in the room. Cursing, I bolted up out of my chair only for a loud, painful cry to ring through the night and draw my attention out the window. It was the dinosaur. The dinosaur, which was now on fire and tumbling to the ground.

"No..." I breathed out, rushing to the open window and sticking my head out into the chilly night air which only seemed colder as the beast cried out in pain. "No, no, no, no, no!"

I rushed out of the room, very nearly running down Clara, Vastra, and Jenny in the process.

"Where are you going?!" Clara shouted after me as I bolted from the house and down the street.

"He's gone! The Doctor's gone and the dinosaur..." I shook my head, swallowing the tears as I rushed to the stable where my horse was waiting.

Once there, I didn't even bother with the saddle and just hurried onto the back of the animal, grabbing it's mane and kicking it off.

"Hyah!"

The horse dashed through the streets easily without the added weight of it's riding gear and the lack of people, and within moments, I had arrived at the bridge closest to the dinosaur. My hearts tore themselves apart at the sight of the deceased animal covered in flames, my horse shifting uneasily as it felt my anger at whoever did such a thing. It wasn't until a moment later that the Doctor showed up on his own horse, dismounting and staring out alongside me, his quiet apologies reaching my ears. He climbed up onto the side of the bridge, overlooking the destruction as a few tears managed to break through my barriers before I wiped them away and Vastra, Jenny, and Clara arrived in their carriage.

"Doctor? What's he doing here?" Clara questioned as Vastra locked her carriage and turned to her.

"There is trouble. Where else would he be?"

"She was scared." The Doctor breathed out, voice tight with emotion. "She was scared and alone. I brought her here. Look what they did."

"Who or what could have done this thing?" Vastra asked and the Doctor shook his head as he turned.

"No."

"I'm sorry?"

"_No._ That is not the question." He said, turning back. "_That_ is not where we start."

"The question, is how?" Strax spoke up from his place on the carriage. "The flesh itself has been combusted."

"No, no. Shut up!" The Doctor shushed him. "What do you have for brains? Pudding? Look at you. Why can't I meet a decent species? Planet of pudding brains."

"Doctor, I know you're upset, but you need to calm down and talk to us. What is the question?" Clara said, hoping to get some answers, whereas I stayed silent.

"A dinosaur is burning in the heart of London. Nothing left but smoke and flame! The question is, have there been any similar murders?" He asked, suddenly rounding on the group as Vastra's eyes widened.

"Yes. Yes, by the Goddess, there have."

"Look at them all, gawking." The Doctor said in disbelief, before spotting something in the distance. "Question two, if all the pudding brains are gawking, then what is he?"

He lifted a finger to point out a man across the way, walking right past the burning corpse without a care in the world.

"He seems remarkably unmoved by the available spectacle." Vastra said uneasily and Clara turned to them.

"Do you think that's whoever—"

She was cut off though by a splash; the Doctor having jumped off the bridge and into the Thames.

"What is he doing?! He'll drown!"

"I very much doubt it." Vastra smirked, confusing Clara.

"Why?"

"There has been a murder. The Doctor has taken up the case. If we are to see him again, we must do the same."

Clara looked back down into the water where the Doctor had disappeared, not seeing him appear, before I finally spoke.

"That's not the right question." I finally muttered, making her turn to me and making Vastra pause in getting into the carriage.

"What do you mean, Alex?" Clara asked softly, probably seeing that the dinosaur's death bothered me as well.

"He is asking the wrong question." I snapped, anger welling up within me and making my head pound even more. "Why?"

"What?" Clara questioned and I turned to her with a snarl.

"He should be asking _why_. Why would anybody do this?! She wasn't hurting anyone! She was just lost and scared!" I shouted, only to stop when I saw Clara take a step back out of fear.

I took in a deep breath and calmed myself, turning away from her and looking over the corpse with a sorrowful look.

"I would've found a way to get her home if I knew this was going to happen..."

I took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly before forcing a smile onto my face as I turned back towards the group.

"But it's a bit late for that now... We should head back and figure out who did this, right? I go on ahead."

I turned my horse around and started walking it back to the stable, hearing Clara make to stop me only for Vastra to stop her.

"Leave her. She needs some time alone."

I mentally thanked her as I wandered off, giving myself a chance to cool my head until I finally wandered back to Vastra's home. Jenny had let me in and offered to draw me a bath since I was shivering slightly after having left my coat in the Doctor's room. When she brought me some clothes and a glass of whiskey to help warm me up, I turned to her.

"Has the Doctor returned?"

She shook her head, leading me to the bathroom. "No, sorry."

I nodded, starting to undo the buttons to my shirt. "Okay. How's the investigating going? Anything?"

"Not yet. Madam Vastra was going to look into it tonight."

"Okay. I'll join her once I'm finished and if the Doctor isn't back by morning, then I'll head out to the Tardis and see if I can get a lock on his location." I smiled a bit. "I'm sure she'll do it if I ask nicely."

"The Paternoster Irregulars are out looking for him. If anyone can find him, they can." Jenny commented, but I let out a soft sigh.

"And he's out there, in his _pajamas_, soaking wet and more lost than he's ever been. I _need_ to find him."

I cringed then, grabbing my head in pain as my headache flared up again, and Jenny gave me a stern, but concerned look in return. "I need to help him figure out who he is again. He's helped me so much, Jenny, what will I do if I can't help him?"

"I think you help him more than you know, Alex." She smiled. "And if he loves you as much as I think he does, I'm sure he appreciates what you do for him."

"...Thank you, Jenny."

Jenny smiled, bowing her head as she exited. "You're welcome, Alex. I'll go ahead and send Strax to bring the Tardis back here before tomorrow."

"Oh, and Jenny?"

"Yes?"

I winced. "Don't tell Vastra that you were in here while I was changing. I've been hit _far_ too many times in the past couple of days. I'm starting to think my headaches are actually brain damage."

She chuckled. "Of course. It'll be our secret."

And yet somehow, those words didn't comfort me as much as they probably should have. _Oh, I _really_ need to stop doing whatever it is I'm doing to make women angry with me._ I sighed, before sinking into the hot bath with my drink. _The sooner the Doctor is back to his usual grumpy self, the sooner I can figure out what these headaches _really_ are._

* * *

"Hm, spontaneous combustion." Vastra drawled out, working at a large easel as Jenny posed in front of her.

"Is that like love at first sight?" Jenny joked.

"Hm, a little. It is theory that human beings can, with little or no inducement, simply explode."

"You don't need to flirt with me. We're already married." Jenny smiled, though Vastra rolled her eyes.

"With Alex in the house? Flirting is a must." She mused, before frowning slightly. "It's scientific nonsense, of course."

"Marriage?" Jenny questioned, but Vastra shushed her.

"Hush. There have been nine reported incidents of people apparently exploding in the last month."

"And you think they weren't spontaneous."

"I think whoever killed the dinosaur had at least nine previous victims. All of these perished in the same spectacular fashion." She explained, turning the easel to reveal a map with pins in it, making Jenny frown and stop posing.

"I thought you were painting me."

"I was working." Vastra said, confused as to why she would say that.

"Well, why am I posing then?"

"Well, you brighten the room tremendously." Vastra complimented, lifting Jenny's chin slightly. "Chin up a little."

"Oh, I don't understand why I'm doing this." She complained, but doing as Vastra asked.

"Art?" She teased, before turning back to the problem at hand. "Now, why destroy the victims so completely? It's difficult, it draws attention. What advantage is to be gained?"

"It hides what's missing." A new voice hummed, Alex entering the room as she adjusted the black cravat with a frustrated frown. "My _God_, how do you get this thing to work?"

Jenny rolled her eyes and went over to help Alex tuck it into the deep red waistcoat she was wearing over her white dress shirt. "You _really_ need to learn to do this on your own, Alex."

Alex smiled, only to hear a low hiss and nervously glanced up at the glaring Vastra. "Right, yes. Of course. Don't want to upset the Misses. I'll, uh, look it up... later."

Vastra scoffed through her nose sharply as Alex cleared her throat and Jenny stepped away.

"Now, you said missing?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah, makes sense, if you ask me. Burn the whole thing until there's nothing left, because it hides something. It's not the victims, since they're all known, so it must be to hide something that's missing, right?"

"Missing from the body?" Jenny said in surprise and Alex nodded, going to say more, only for Clara to burst into the room.

"Madam Vastra! Alex!" She grinned.

"Clara, excellent. Pop your clothes on that chair there." Vastra said, earning a disapproving frown from Jenny.

Clara completely ignored the request though and help up a newspaper. "Look."

"Advertisements, yes. So many. It's a distressing modern trend."

"No, look!" She pointed at it, before moving over to a table and pointing to one particular advertisement. "Look."

The advertisement read 'Impossible Girl: Lunch on the other side', making Jenny turn to Vastra in confusion as she went over to a large rope by the door.

"Ma'am?

"The game is afoot! And we're going to need a lot of tea." Vastra smirked, tugging on the rope to call Strax in.

"What is it you need, ma'am?"

"Get us some tea, please, Strax."

"Of course."

"Ooh!" Alex poked her head around Vastra with a grin. "And me some whiskey! Not a lot, just enough."

"Alex!" Vastra scolded. "It's not even noon yet and you're already drinking?"

"Well, I'm off out to try and find the Doctor." She pouted. "I'm going to need _something_ to keep from strangling the man."

"But isn't that what _we're_ doing?" Jenny questioned and Alex just grinned.

"Course! But knowing him, he's already in trouble elsewhere and I _doubt_ he'll pop up without having stolen a coat from someone in this weather. So—"

Strax came back with the drinks and Alex quickly grabbed hers and downed it with a loud exhale.

"Wah, that's strong." She cleared her throat, continuing where she left off. "_So, _I'm off to go track him down."

She bounded out the door, but quickly returned, making the group jump.

"And if I don't find him within the next hour, Clara, I'll meet you at the restaurant on the other side."

"Wha... Wait! What—" She stopped herself, hearing Alex already having bolted from the house. "—restaurant?" She frowned, then turned to Jenny and Vastra. "Does she know something we don't?"

"That often seems the case now, doesn't it?" Vastra smiled, and it wasn't long before they too, figured out what Alex had meant and headed to Mancini's Family Restaurant to await the Doctor.

* * *

I huffed tiredly as I ran to the restaurant, having gotten directions from the stable boy I dropped my horse off at, having found no Doctor on my search. I _did_ however find a homeless man without a coat and a familiar gold pocket watch. After talking to him for a bit, I found out he traded his coats for the watch to some angry Scottish guy. Upon describing the Doctor, I realized I'd probably found the last person to see him, and proceeded to trade the coat I'd grabbed from Vastra's supply and ten shillings for the watch. I knew it was the Doctor's favorite and I would hate to find out later how much he regretted trading it when he was still partially out of it, due to his regeneration. At that point though, it'd been an hour and I left to find the restaurant from the advertisement for Clara. Something gave me this bad feeling though, because I doubted the Doctor had money to post the advert—seeing as he had to trade one of his most prized possessions for a coat—and I knew for a fact that Clara hadn't been the one to put it in the paper, so something was definitely up.

Approaching the restaurant, I bent over and held my knees as I caught my breath, before straightening out my clothes and clearing my throat; walking into the building like I was meant to be there and totally hadn't just run ten blocks to get there. I spotted Clara and the Doctor in a back booth and headed over, a chill sweeping up my spine as the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. _Something in this room is wrong. I don't know what it is, but... it seems a little _too_ quiet._ I didn't want to alarm anyone that I knew this though, so I kept a smile on my face as I waved over at Clara and approached their table.

"Hello, you two! Look what I found on a homeless guy!"

I held up the pocket watch by the chain and Clara's eyes widened as I placed it on the table in front of the Doctor.

"You got it back? How?!" Clara questioned in shock as I smiled.

"Wasn't easy. Had to trade one of Vastra's coats that I was bringing for the Doctor, should I find him, and ten shillings. I'm about broke at this point, so _one_ of you two, is buying lunch." I wrinkled my nose then, catching a whiff of something foul. "And I'm guessing it's _you_ who smells then, Doctor?"

He frowned at me as I took a seat between him and Clara in the booth. "Nobody asked you. And what are you doing here anyway? _I_ certainly didn't ask you to come. You'll just mess something up!"

My hearts ached at his words and my smile slipped, but Clara suddenly scowled at the man, standing up for me.

"Now what's that for? Alex didn't do anything wrong! She even went out of her way to get your watch back and took care of you and went out searching for you for hours! She's just worried about you and whether you forgot who she is or not, that's no reason to be rude to someone who's doing their best to help you!_ Especially_ Alex!"

The Doctor looked surprised, but rightly kept his mouth shut as I smiled a little and gave Clara a grateful look. It wasn't a moment later that the Doctor spoke.

"Are you cross with me?"

"I am not cross. But if I was cross, it would be your fault and... yes, I am cross."

"I guessed that."

"I am extremely cross."

"And if I hadn't changed my face, would you be cross?"

"I would be cross if I wasn't cross." She snapped, frowning at him. "Though you being rude to Alex isn't helping matters."

"Um, yeah, hello." I smiled nervously with a small wave. "Could we _not_ talk about me like I wasn't here?"

The Doctor ignored me. "Why?"

"Why?" Clara set down her menu aggressively, before calming down. "An ordinary person wants to meet someone that they know very well for lunch. What do they do?"

"Well, they probably get in touch and suggest lunch."

"Mhmm. Okay, so what sort of person would put a cryptic note in... in a newspaper advert?"

"Well, I wouldn't like to say."

"Oh, go on. Do say." Clara pressed and I spoke up, sensing the tension between the two and myself being stuck in the middle.

"Um, just a thought, but don't you think you've both jumped to the wrong conclusion?"

They ignored me once again though.

"Well, I would say that that person would be an egomaniac, needy, game-player sort of person." The Doctor rambled on and I groaned.

"Oh no."

"Oh, thank you. Well, at least that hasn't changed." Clara said and I rested my chin on the table, covering the top of my head with my hands.

"Take cover." I muttered quietly.

"And I don't suppose it ever will." The Doctor went on, making Clara chuckle.

"No, I don't suppose it will either."

"Clara, honestly, I don't want you to change. It was no bother, really. I saw your advert. I figured it out. I'm happy to play your game." The Doctor said, placing his hand on hers and making my stomach churn as I shrunk further into the booth.

"Shots fired, shots fired." I muttered, eyes shifting between the clueless Doctor and Clara, who was steadily growing angrier as realization dawned on her.

"No. No, no. I didn't place the ad. _You_ placed the ad."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you placed the ad. I figured it out. 'Impossible Girl', see? Lunch." She said, showing him the paper and he took it, pointing it back at her.

"No, look. The impossible... That is a message _from_ the Impossible Girl."

"_For_ the Impossible... Girl." Clara argued, before they both figured it out.

"Ooh."

"Oh."

"Well, if neither of us place that ad, who placed that ad?"

They both turned to me and I immediately bolted upright and waved my hands about.

"O-Oh no. Wasn't me. Honest."

Clara gave me a look though. "Alex, did you know about this?"

I winced. "Well, I sort of figured it out on the way here."

"Why didn't you say anything?!" She snapped and I cringed at the ache that sent through my head.

"I-I was trying! But then you two started arguing and then the name calling came in and I—"

"Hang on." She cut me off, holding up a finger before turning to the Doctor. "Egomaniac, needy, game-player?"

"This could be a trap." The Doctor said, ignoring her as she continued.

"That was _me_?"

"Never mind that." He frowned, but she wasn't quite finished.

"Yes, I am minding that."

"Clara."

"You were talking about me?" She questioned again and he rolled his eyes.

"Clara, what is happening right now in this restaurant to you and me is more important than your egomania."

"I don't know whether to be offended that I'm being ignored again, or glad that I'm being left out of this argument." I said, looking around and deciding to try and figure out what exactly was wrong with the restaurant since Clara and the Doctor were too busy arguing.

"Nothing is more important than my egomania."

"Right, you actually said that."

_What is it? It's quiet. Usually there's people chatting. Why aren't they chatting?_

"You never mention that again."

"It's... It's a vanity trap. You're so busy congratulating yourself on solving the puzzle, you don't notice that you're sticking your head in a noose."

_They're eating. All of them, but something's off. Their movements?_

"What are you doing?"

I blinked and looked at the Doctor tugging out one of his hairs.

"And that isn't the only grey one, if you are, um, having a cull." Clara said, looking down and making the Doctor even more upset.

"What? Do you have a problem with the grey ones?"

I rolled my eyes and went back to looking at the people, brows furrowed as I struggled to figure out what was wrong. _They're robotic, almost. Moving stiffly, using the same actions and..._

"If I got new hair and it was grey, I would have a problem."

"Yeah, I bet you would."

"Meaning?"

The Doctor dropped the hair and frowned. "It's too short."

He pulled a hair from Clara's head then as realization dawned on me. _They're not eating._

"Ow!"

"Sorry, it was the only one out of place. I'm sure that you would want it killed."

"Ooh, are you trying to tell me something?"

"I'm trying to measure the air disturbance in the room."

"Right. Moments when you know you are boring."

He dropped the hair and I watched as it slowly fell to the ground, there being virtually _no_ disturbance at all. _They're not eating... and they're not breathing._ I swallowed thickly, speaking up and trying not to allow the quiver in my voice.

"Doctor? I _think_ we should leave."

He ignored me and looked at Clara, making my frustration grow. "There is something extremely wrong with everybody else in this room."

"Mm. Basically, don't you always think that?" Clara mused and I had finally had enough of being ignored and being stuck between the two bickering idiots.

"Alright, that's it. You two want to know what's going on? Well, pay attention, because whether _you _want to pretend I don't exist—" I snapped at Clara, before turning to the Doctor. "—or _you _want to forget who I even am, I've already figured out what's wrong with them. So, since you'll both probably _continue_ to blow me off, I'll make it so you can't."

I slammed my hands onto the table and squeezed past Clara to leave, watching as every single person in the room stood up and faced our table. I eyed the group of people, taking a step forward and watching as they all took a step towards me, before I did it once more and came face-to-face with one of them.

"A-Alex, I really don't think—"

I turned to her with a frown, stomping over and not even caring that the people all returned to their seats as I leaned over the table, furious with the two of them.

"Oh, so I suddenly exist now? Are you two done bickering like school children?"

The Doctor lifted a finger and went to say something, but I turned to him with a snarl.

"No. Shut your mouth, because you are _so_ in for it when you finally remember who I am and the headache I have right now is _not_ putting me in the mood for dealing with your usual rudeness, much less the you right now. So, unless the two of you want to get destroyed by whatever those people are, I suggest we come up with a plan. _Quickly._"

"Anything we can do?" Clara asked and I rolled my eyes, grinding my knuckles against my temples as I tried to think.

"I don't know. They're not breathing. They're robots or androids of some sort, utilizing corpses. Robot zombies. How would you fight that?"

"How long can you two hold your breath?" The Doctor suddenly questioned and I winced.

"Not long. Twenty-five seconds?"

"Seriously?" The Doctor said in disbelief, giving me a look and I felt embarrassment swirl in my stomach.

"I-I never liked swimming. Never had to really hold my breath for longer than that."

"But that's below average!" He went on, but Clara interrupted us as she snapped quietly.

"Focus!"

I groaned, sitting between them once more and absentmindedly skimming the menu as Clara pretended to do the same; keeping an eye on the people around us.

"What are they?"

"I don't know." The Doctor replied as I grimaced as well, unsure. "But don't worry, because that's not the question. The question is, what is this restaurant?"

"Okay, what is this restaurant?"

"Not many possibilities." I muttered quietly. "Harvesting ground? Lure people here, turn them into those? Spaceship in disguise? Um, a trap?"

"Obviously." The Doctor said with a roll of his eyes, making me punch him hard in the shoulder, earning a wince and a silent complaint as he rubbed the appendage.

"Don't be rude, or there's more where that came from, Spaceman." I grumbled, making him frown up until a waiter showed up at our table; making us all stiffen in concern.

The Doctor though, quickly did what he does best, and played stupid.

"Uh, no sausages? Do you? And there's no pictures either. Do you have a children's menu?"

The waiter lifted his pen and a green light came out as he scanned the Doctor, who eyed it uneasily.

"Any specials?"

"Liver." The waiter said, making the Doctor wrinkle his nose in disgust.

"I don't like liver."

"Spleen. Brain stem. Eyes." The waiter went on before turning the pen to me.

"Mm, is there a lot of demand for those?" Clara asked, the waiter speaking out once more.

"Eyes, lungs, kidneys."

"I don't think that's what's on the menu." The Doctor said. "I think _we_ are the menu."

"I hope not. I rather like my kidneys." I muttered as the waiter turned to Clara.

"Lungs, skin."

"Excuse me." The Doctor interrupted the man, before reaching up and peeling off his face to reveal the metal robot underneath.

"Okay, robot in a mask."

The Doctor tossed me the bit he pulled off and I immediately felt sick as I tossed it to Clara quickly.

"N-Not a mask."

"It's a face." The Doctor replied and Clara immediately threw it to the floor with a yelp just as the waiter spoke.

"Yes."

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, we have a children's menu." The waiter replied before metal arms came out of the seat and locked us in place in the booth as it started to descend.

"You've got to admire their efficiency."

I glared at him. "Yeah, how about when we're _not_ possibly about to be killed."

"I have to agree on that." Clara said, before we all started shouting in the hopes that someone up there was alive and would hear us.

It was no use though and once we reached the bottom the Doctor called out to some of the people in the room. Or, robots in the room, as it were.

"Hello? Hello, are you the manager? I demand to speak to the manager!" He said loudly, his voice echoing, but receiving no response from anyone or anything. "This is not a real restaurant, is it?"

"You're just getting that _now_?" I hissed under my breath, keeping an eye out for any movement.

"Well now, it's more of a sort of automated organ collection stationary for the unwary diner. Sweeny Todd without the pies."

I let out a bitter chuckle. "So I was right! Harvesting ground for... parts."

I remembered something. This was ringing a bell that was very familiar. I couldn't remember what it was, but it was sort of like a deja vu feeling.

"So where are we now?" Clara asked.

"Factually? An ancient spaceship, probably buried for centuries. Functionally?... A larder." The Doctor grimaced.

"So why hasn't somebody come for us?"

"We're alive."

"We're _alive_ in a larder." Clara hissed back at him, not seeing any upside to this.

"Exactly. It's cheaper than freezing us."

"Okay." She said, not comforted by the notion.

The Doctor though was slowly nudging his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket. "Are you ready?"

"Go for it." Clara said with a nod and he gave her a look.

"Don't let it roll away."

"No."

"We've got one shot at this."

"Next time, make one that doesn't roll."

I scoffed. "I'll be sure to tell him that when I bump into a different version."

"Go." The Doctor swiftly nudged it, causing it to fall to the floor just barely out of my reach and only the slightest smidge away from rolling out of Clara's.

"Have you got it?"

"I can only just reach it."

"Oh, it's times like this I miss Amy." He sighed, making me frown as Clara raised a brow.

"Who?"

"Nothing."

"You remembered _Amy_ but not _me_?" I accused and he rolled hie eyes.

"Oh, not now, Steve."

"It's Alex!"

Clara was doing good and managed to get the sonic screwdriver and hold it between her feet, before she looked over at the Doctor.

"Ready?"

"Don't miss."

"I hope she hits you right in the—"

I was cut off as the sonic screwdriver landed right in his lap, making him groan, but making me grin wider than the Cheshire cat.

"Sorry. Did I hit... something?" Clara asked and I nodded, laughing.

"Oh, you hit something, alright!"

"Oh, the symbolism." He grumbled, managing the get the sonic to his hands and releasing himself, Clara, and I.

"You should make that thing voice-activated." Clara complained, and the Doctor went quite. "Oh, for God's sake, it is, isn't it?"

"I don't want to talk about it." He responded quickly before we approached a Chinese man standing in a small alcove.

"Doctor?" Clara called out in worry as he looked them over.

"Dormant."

"How do you know?"

"Because it hasn't killed him yet." I grumbled, looking around as we moved on.

"So, is it these guys that killed the dinosaur?"

"Well, if they're harvesting organs, a dinosaur would have some great stuff."

"Why would robots need organs? Burke and Hare from space?"

"What?" I questioned, not getting the reference but they ignored me.

"No, but that's a good theory. Droids harvesting spare parts. That rings a bell." The Doctor muttered and I quickly turned to him.

"You too? I have the same feeling. Ah, I know! Hold on." I began digging through my coat for my black book and pulled it out with a grin as I started skimming through it.

The Doctor though, rolled his eyes. "Now is not the time to be reading yourself a bedtime story."

"Oh, shut it." I snapped at him, skimming through the book episode by episode, only skipping the adventures I'd already been on or had a good idea what they were about.

The two of them approached the only partial robot sitting out as I passed through the Ninth Doctor's adventures and onto the Tenth's. I stopped suddenly though, eyes widening as I stared at the detailed drawing I'd done ages ago of a robot before I scrambled over to where the other two were. They were looking at his hands, but I went around to his other side and paled at the sight of the open portion of his head.

"O-Oh dear."

Clara heard me and raised a brow. "What is it? Did you figure it out?"

I nodded, slowly backing away from the man and looking around at the other robots in the room nervously.

"Y-Yeah. And we _really_ need to get out of here."

There was a noise then and my eyes went to the robot nearest us, him moving his hands back to their original position and making my blood run cold.

"_Now_ would be best. He's waking up."

I grabbed Clara's hand and tugged her towards the door, the three of us moving slowly and carefully so as not to draw attention to ourselves, but once we reached a lit up hallway, the Doctor started to double back.

"I've seen this before. I'm missing something." He ranted, Clara pulling me back towards him as the two of us tried to get him to keep moving.

"Doctor!"

"Now is not the time!"

"It's the band new head, rebooting." He grumbled, looking around as he tried to figure it out.

"Come on!" Clara begged, but he wasn't moving, so we hurried over to him and began pushing him back out the door.

"I've seen this before!"

"You idiot! I'll tell you in a second! We need to get out of here!" I snapped at him, struggling to keep my voice down.

"Hurry up! Get out!" Clara said and the two of us pushed him towards the door just as the robot fully woke up and pressed something on his palm, closing the door; with us on one side and the Doctor on the other.

"Doctor, sonic!" I hissed out, turning to keep an eye on the robot as it began moving about.

"Quickly!" Clara also hissed, but the door only lifted partway before the Doctor stopped it.

"What are you doing?" I snapped.

"Sorry, too slow. There's no point in them catching all of us."

"Well, give me the screwdriver." Clara argued, but he gave her a look and I snarled at him, knowing what he was about to do.

"Don't you _dare_, Doctor."

He hardly spared me a glance before sonicking the door closed. "I might need it."

"Dammit, you idiot!" I growled at him, seeing Clara's crestfallen expression as I slammed a heavy fist against the door. "Clockworks! They're bloody Clockworks! I told you, now let us out!"

He just stared at Clara for a second before glancing briefly at me. "Thanks for letting me know, Steve."

He then bolted down the hallway, not once turning back as Clara tried to call him back to no avail. She became even more panicked and I struggled to think of something I could do, digging through my pockets for something useful, but finding absolutely nothing. Cursing under my breath, I checked the progress of the Clockwork and watched as it reached the booth where we'd once been, and stopped. Clara started to cry, sinking down as I grabbed onto her and pressed her up against the alcove beside the door, out of direct sight of the Clockwork.

"Clara, Clara, listen to me. He's an idiot. A big stupid idiot for leaving us behind and I know you're upset, but you need to listen to me right now, or neither of us will make it out of here in one piece. Stay right here and don't move. The moment they start coming for you, hold your breath for as long as you can. Move like they do, pretend you're one of them. They might just fall for it, okay?"

"W-What about you?" She breathed out and I smiled a little.

"I'll do the same, but if you can't hold your breath any longer, I want you to flash your hand like this."

I opened my hand and clenched it into a fist again.

"Do that three times and I'll find a way to stall them for you to get a breath, okay? But you need to get out of here, got it?"

She nodded and I caught sight of the Clockwork turning around as another moved towards the door and opened it. Nodding back to her, I took as deep of a breath as I could muster as she did the same, and I walked away from her to go stand on the opposite side of the open door as the other Clockwork. The main one approached Clara and I swallowed thickly as I spied the light reflecting off a tear sliding down her cheek. She'd yet to give me the signal though, so I waited and watched as the Clockwork tilted it's head a few times and then walked away. Already, I could feel my own lungs protesting the lack of oxygen and silently promised myself that I'd take up some breathing exercises or something if I should make it out of here. I stayed strong though and watched as Clara stiffly moved towards the door beside me and shared a struggling look with me before she moved a little faster down the hall. I followed after her at a slower pace, my vision going foggy around the edges and my headache increasing ten fold. What I found though, only made me feel hopeless.

Room, upon room, upon room were filled with Clockworks and I knew that Clara would be running out of breath soon. I was already reaching my limit and I mentally apologized as I let out a call to her.

"Breathe!"

Immediately, I was surrounded by Clockworks as I fell to my knees and struggled to take in enough oxygen to help my starved brain, only just hearing the main Clockwork tell one of the others to bring me to him before I completely blacked out. Hoping, that I'd at least managed to save Clara.

* * *

Clara woke up on the floor, having been captured despite Alex's sacrifice, and she looked around to see said woman unconscious and chained in one of the alcoves with a Clockwork standing guard beside her. The main Clockwork faced Clara though, sitting still in his chair, expressionless.

"Where is the other one?... There was another. Where is he? Where is the other?... You will tell us... or you will be destroyed."

"What did you say?" Clara questioned.

"You will tell us."

"Yeah, I know. Or what?"

"You will die." It threatened.

Clara frowned, remembering her first day teaching at school and Courtney challenging her.

"_Go on then. Do it."_

Clara stood up, scared, but firm as she faced the robot. "Go on, then. Do it. I'm not going to answer any of your questions, so you have to do it. You have to kill me. Threats don't work unless you deliver."

"You will tell us where the other one is." The robot repeated, but she shook her head.

"Nope."

"You will be destroyed."

"Destroy me then. And if you don't then I'm not going to believe a single threat you make from now on. Of course, i-if I'm dead, then I can't tell you where the other one went then. You need to keep this place down here a secret, don't you? Never start with your final sanction. You've got nowhere to go but backwards."

"Humans feel pain." It threatened.

"Ah. Bigger threat to smaller threat. See what I mean? Backwards."

"The information can be extracted by means of your suffering."

"A-Are you trying to scare me? Well, 'cause I'm already bloody terrified of dying. And I'll endure a lot of pain for a very long time before I give up the information that's keeping me alive. How long have you got?"

The robot tilted it's head, staying silent, but standing, making Clara stiffen in fear.

"All you can offer me is my life. What you can't do is threaten it. You can negotiate." She said, voice cracking slightly.

The Clockwork removed it's hand and allowed it to grab onto his coat lapel, making Clara step back as tears formed in her eyes.

"Okay, okay, okay, okay! Yes. Yes, I am crying and it's just because I am..._very_ frightened of you. And if you know anything about human beings, that means you—" She pointed a finger at it sternly, though her voice quivered in fear. "—You're in a lot of trouble."

Where the Clockwork's hand had been was now a flame thrower like weapon. "We will not negotiate."

"You don't have a choice." Clara said, voice slightly firmer. "I tell you what... I'll answer your questions if you answer mine."

"We will not answer questions."

"We'll take turns! I'll go first. Why'd you kill the dinosaur?"

"We will not answer—"

"Why'd you kill the dinosaur?!" Clara shouted, interrupting it.

"We will not answer questions!" It shouted in return and Clara looked away nervously.

"Then you might as well kill me, because I'm not talking again till you do."

It stared at her for a moment, before turning. "Then we will ask the other one."

Clara turned towards where Alex had been in shock and worry, having not expected the Clockwork to go after her. What was even more unexpected, was the fact that Alex already had one hand free and was apparently working on the chain on her other wrist by the time they noticed her.

"Oh... Well, poo. I was hoping you'd forget I was here for a while longer. The Doctor and Clara seem to have had a great time forgetting about me earlier." She complained, dropping her free hand with a sigh. "I was nearly done breaking free and possibly thinking up a way to heroically save Clara over there and escape with our heads too. Ruined that plan before it even got anywhere."

"Where is the other one?" The Clockwork asked, approaching Alex with it's flame thrower.

"Ooh, nice welder. Good improvement." Alex appreciated, making Clara hiss at her from across the room.

"Alex! What are you doing!?"

"Buying time?" She shrugged, before looking at the Clockwork. "Oh, but I don't have any questions to ask you like Clara did. I've already figured it out."

The Clockwork tilted it's head as she went on.

"You didn't have the parts, did you?" She hummed. "You've been down here so long that you knew the dinosaur had some part that you could use, yeah?"

"Within the optic nerve of the dinosaur is material of use to our computer systems." The Clockwork replied.

"And you killed a whole dinosaur for _one_ part. One _measly_ little part that probably wasn't even vital to whatever plan you're coming up with. And do you know what that means, Clockwork?"

It tilted it's head, seeming surprised almost that Alex knew what it was.

"Oh yeah, that's right. I know _exactly_ what you are. See, the Doctor met a bunch of you and you were all trying to harvest parts from Madame de Pompadour. But you see? I can let that slide. The Doctor stopped you. But this time, I'm _pissed_." She growled, moving as close to the Clockwork as she could with what the chain allowed her; her expression sending a shiver up Clara's spine. "Because _you _killed a dinosaur for a _part_. A dinosaur that had been dragged through time, not knowing what was going on or where it ended up. A _lonely_ dinosaur who was scared of the world around it and you went and set it on _fire. _You _murdered_ an innocent creature who was _scared. _And _that_, Clockwork, is why you won't get away with this. _That_ is what has me more angry than the Doctor leaving Clara and I behind. More angry than the fact that I've had a headache pounding away in my skull for the past two days. And more angry than that angry-browed, grumpy old man of a Doctor forgetting who I am, calling me _Steve, _and ignoring me since he showed up. Which is _why—_" She pushed aside the flame thrower and grabbed the robot's cravat, pulling it's face mere centimeters from hers. "—I'm _done_ listening to you threaten my friend. _Done_ being afraid of you. And _**done**_ acting like some stupid, scaredy-cat, teary-eyed little girl who can't stand up for the man she loves, whether he remembers who she is or not! So suck on this, Clockwork!"

Her other hand—which she'd somehow managed to unhook from the chain while she was spouting her speech—knocked the Clockwork's hat off and poured something from a jar into it's gears. The Clockwork seized up, shaking and taking a step back before slumping over and Alex ran over to Clara.

"You alright?"

"W-What did you do?" Clara asked, startled and shocked at what Alex did.

"Multigrain anti-oil. If it moves, it doesn't." She quoted from the Tenth Doctor in '_The Girl and the Fireplace_'. "Found it in my pocket. Thank you, future me... Oh, and I lost my temper. Shame."

She clicked her tongue nonchalantly, hardly seeming bothered as she started tugging Clara towards the door.

"But how did you escape?!"

"You'd be surprised what you can learn in a library." She hummed, waving her wrist that showed a dark purple ring around it. "Slipping out of those wasn't easy, though the oil helped. Now come on. It won't stay like that forever."

She pulled Clara towards the door, but the moment they reached it, it slammed shut and two Clockworks blocked their paths.

"Well damn. I hoped that taking out the main one would stop the others, but I suppose not; in this case, anyway."

"Where is the other one?" The main Clockwork said, having regained mobility, though it's movements were slightly more stiff than before. "Tell me, or your companion will die."

"Aw, you're my companion now." Alex joked, grinning at Clara. "He promoted you."

"Really not the time, Alex." Clara hissed at her, before looking at the Clockworks. "How long have you been rebuilding yourselves? Look at the state of you. Is there any real you left? What's the point?"

The Clockwork seemed to consider this before speaking. "We will reach the promised land."

"The what?"

Even Alex furrowed her brows in confusion. "Promise land?"

"Where is the other one?" It repeated, stalking forward and with the one remaining Clockwork behind them they had nowhere to go.

"I don't know. But I know where he will be. Where he will always be. If the Doctor is still the Doctor, he will have our backs." Clara said, reaching a hand behind her as Alex went and did the same, fresh out of ideas. "I'm right, aren't I?"

"God, I hope so." Alex muttered, Clara closing her eyes as she begged.

"Go on. Please. Please go on. Say I'm right."

Two hands grabbed theirs and pulled them away, the remaining Clockwork behind them having grabbed them both before reaching up and pulling off it's face. To reveal the Doctor.

"Hello, hello, rubbish robots from the dawn of time. Thank you for all the gratuitous information. Five foot one and crying. Five foot nine and fiercely protective. You never stood a chance." He said, rushing around the room before pushing the Clockwork's flame thrower down. "Stop it."

He then stuck his sonic into the main robot's chair as Alex pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh and Clara struggled to calm herself after nearly breaking down. The lights went out then and the Doctor turned to the robot.

"This is your power source and feeble though it is, I can use it to blow this whole room if I see one thing that I don't like. And that includes karaoke and mimes, so take no chances. See, Clara?" He threw the face over at her and she jumped up and caught it with and angry look on her face. "That's how you disguise yourself as a droid."

"Clockwork, you numbskull!" Alex shouted back. "And how were we supposed to do that when you just up and left us here?!"

The Doctor rubbed his face tiredly. "Yeah, sorry. Well, no—actually—I'm not. You're brilliant on adrenaline. And scary when you're angry, Steve."

"It's _Alex_!" Alex yelled, throwing her hands up.

The Doctor ignored her. "And you, were out of your depth, sir. Never try to control a control freak or threaten the friend of an over-protective mother."

"I am not a control freak!" Clara shouted, before then realizing that she was holding a face and dropping it on the ground once more.

"Yes, ma'am." The Doctor drawled out and Alex gave him a look as well, face red in embarrassment.

"I'm not a mother! And I'm not—" She paused, before swallowing thickly. "—_that_ overprotective."

The Doctor made a face, going to say something, but was cut off by the Clockwork.

"Why are you here?"

"Why did you invite us?" The Doctor asked, turning back to the robot, who tilted it's head in confusion. "The message, in the paper. That was you, wasn't it?... Oh." He pulled out his sonic from the chair with a frown. "I hate being wrong in public. Everybody forget that happened. Clara, say the word."

"What word?" Clara asked and he gave her a look.

"They never sent you in here without a word."

"I don't want to say it." She frowned.

"I've guessed already." He sighed

She rolled her eyes and touched her top button, which glowed a bright blue as they both spoke.

"Geronimo."

Jenny and Vastra fell from the ceiling, using cloths to slow their descent, before pulling out swords as Alex turned to Clara in shock.

"Why didn't you do that before?!"

"Slipped my mind?" She said with a small smile and Alex frowned at her as Vastra shouted out orders.

"Remain still and throw down your weapons in the name of the British Empire!"

There was a shout as Strax fell from the ceiling and Vastra rolled her eyes as he got up with his large gun at the ready.

"_Strax_."

"Sorry."

"I've told you before!" Jenny complained. "Take the stairs!"

"Oh, look. The cavalry." The Doctor drawled out, not sounding amused as the Clockwork spoke.

"I burned an ancient, beautiful creature for one inch of optic nerve. What do you think you can accomplish, little man?"

"Sword." Alex called out, Jenny tossing her one as she caught it without even looking and moved to stand a mere foot from the Clockwork; swinging her sword expertly before pointing it at the robot's throat with a tilt of her head. "I think you're asking the wrong person, mate. Because _I_ for one, think I can accomplish quite a bit when I'm angry."

She let out a shout and attacked the Clockwork, forcing it to block with its flame thrower as it took a step back away from the Doctor and Clara.

Vastra blinked, turning to Jenny briefly—who shrugged—before turning back to the Doctor.

"The establishment upstairs has been disabled with maximum prejudice, and the authorities summoned."

"Hang on. She called the police?" Clara questioned. "We never do that. We should start."

"Oh right. Tell the cops there's half-human robots with an organ harvesting restaurant and expect them to do something about it?" Alex bit out through her teeth as she continued to push the Clockwork back. "Ha!"

"You see? Destroy us if you will, they're still going to close your restaurant." The Doctor mocked, but then grimaced. "That was going to sound better."

"Then we will destroy you." The Clockwork said, summoning the other Clockworks who suddenly had sword appendages.

Alex heaved and pushed the Clockwork back a good foot before he began approaching again and she slowly backed up with the Doctor and Clara; Vastra and Jenny getting into fighting stances and facing the approaching Clockworks as well.

"No, you won't. You're logical. You have restraint. You killed to survive. You're not a murderer." The Doctor tried to reason and Clara turned to him in shock.

"He's not a what? This is a slaughterhouse."

"And how does that make it any different from any other restaurant? You weren't vegetarian, the last time I checked. This is over. Killing us won't change that. What would be the point?"

"To find the promised land." It growled out as Alex moved forward and tried to push it back once more, but with less success than the last time.

"You're millions of years old. It's time you knew, there isn't one."

"I am in search of paradise."

"Yeah, well me too. I'm not going to make it either."

The Clockwork managed to swing Alex to the side and she called out just as it backhanded the Doctor.

"Doctor!"

Clara rushed to his side as Alex pushed herself off the wall and searched for the Clockwork, but he was standing in the booth now and two other robots blocked her way.

"I will leave in the escape capsule. Destroy where necessary." The Clockwork ordered and Alex was pushed back to the center of the room with the others as Vastra spoke, confused.

"Escape capsule? This ship is millions of years old. It'll never fly."

"It has been repaired." He responded, sitting.

"What with?"

"_You_."

"Well, isn't that just _great_." Alex groaned as Strax backed up as well.

"Defensive positions, everyone."

"Doctor, he's getting away." Clara called out and Alex looked around, not seeing said man.

"Where is he?"

The Clockwork hardly cared though as the booth he was in started heading up. "Your friend is intelligent. He'll know better than to follow me."

Alex scoffed. "Yeah, right. You obviously don't know him. He's so smart..." She paused, watching as the Doctor clung to a metal railing on the underside of the booth, making her frown. "...he's stupid."

* * *

"It's our intent to leave. If it is your intent to stop us, perhaps we should get down to business." Vastra said and I rolled my eyes.

"Seriously? They're half-human robots, _under orders_ to destroy us. Let's just go!"

I swung my sword and started attacking alongside the others, but we soon began to grow tired. We _were_ fighting robots after all. There wasn't much we could do.

"How many do you estimate, my dear?" Vastra asked Jenny.

"More than upstairs. About twenty? Thirty?"

"My money's on thirty." I grumbled, swinging my sword low and slicing through one of the Clockworks' knees. "Aim for the joints!"

"The ones upstairs were mere decoys." Vastra said. "These are battle ready. I anticipate a challenge."

"Love a challenge." I grinned, earning a smile from Vastra as Strax turned to Clara.

"Don't worry, my boy, we shall die in glory."

"Okay." Clara breathed out. "Good-o."

"Ignore him." I chuckled. "He's excited! We'll be fine."

"Why can't you stay dead, coward?" Strax demanded from one of the Clockworks and I spun around and sliced through it's knee, making it crumple to the ground.

"Like I said, aim for the joints."

"A strategy most wise, Holmes!" He smiled and I grinned back, up until the four of us were grabbed and held back; outnumbered and soon unarmed.

"Jenny!" Vastra called out in worry as I struggled to come up with a way out of this.

Clara beat me to it though. "Hold your breath! They're stupid! Everybody hold your breath!"

We all took in a deep breath and held it, the robots soon stopping their attack and looking around in confusion as we began to slip out from their hold. Clara sunk down and grabbed the Doctor's forgotten sonic screwdriver, hurrying to the door as my lungs begged for air. Vastra shared some of her oxygen with Jenny as Clara tried to get the sonic screwdriver to work to no avail. I started to make my own way over, hoping to help, but already my vision was shifting around the edges and Strax could hold it in no longer. He begun to aim his gun at himself and Vastra called out just before he pulled the trigger.

"Stop!"

Everyone sucked in a breath as I snatched the sonic screwdriver from Clara and hands from the Clockworks wrapped around my throat; starting to tighten as I set it off and the door began to open. It was then that they all slumped over and released us, causing us all to let out a sigh of relief as we tried to catch our breaths again. I myself, rubbing my sore throat at how close I'd come to dying... _again_. By the time we were able to get out of the ship, we found the majority of the restaurant missing and no Doctor in sight. Things grew dreary as Strax gave everyone a ride back to Vastra's home and once we'd left the carriage, Jenny spoke.

"You're sure he'd come back here?"

"There's no trace of him in the wreckage. They searched all Parliament Hill. Where else would he go?"

I stared at the empty square space of floor where the Tardis had once sat, with a sorrowful expression as the others noticed it too.

"I fear we have missed him." Vastra muttered and Clara looked up at the sky, almost hoping she'd spot the ship flying off somewhere.

I knew better though and spoke, not turning to face them as I moved over towards the porch and took off my coat.

"Jenny, could you bring me a drink? My headache's acting up again."

"Um, yeah. Course, Alex." She said with a bob of her head, heading inside as I took a seat on the porch and pulled out my black notebook to write down what we'd just gone through under 'My Adventures With the Twelfth Doctor'.

Clara hesitantly stepped forward and gave me a cautious look. "You're just going to... wait?"

I lifted my gaze from my book and gave her a look. "Clara, I've been here for over a week. I waited for him that week. Just as I waited for him for nine months, and two weeks, and three months, and a million other times before that. And he always comes." I smiled softly at her. "Whether he remembers who I am or not, he always shows up." I looked back down at my book and pulled out a pen to begin writing. "So I will wait. Just as I always have."

She blinked, looking almost surprised, but soon nodded and went back inside until Jenny came back out with my glass of whiskey. I thanked her politely and promptly went through three glasses before the familiar wheezing of the Tardis rang through the air and Clara rushed outside behind me. I gave her a smirk, winking.

"Told ya."

"Oh, shut it." She lightly scolded me, smacking me on the arm before we both hurried to where the Tardis had materialized.

"Hm, looks bluer." I mused, tilting my head slightly as I brought a hand to my chin, but Clara wasn't waiting around for me to gawk and quickly grabbed my hand and tugged me inside.

The Tardis had changed, of course—no longer belonging to the Eleventh Doctor—and had adopted a more modern feel to it with moving Gallifreyan symbols on the ceiling and blue rings on the panels; it's center glowing a light orange, whereas the rest glowed a deep blue.

"You've redecorated." Clara said, turning to the Doctor who was lounging in a large chair on the second floor.

"Yes."

"I don't like it."

I rolled my eyes, moving towards the console and brushing a hand over it. "Don't listen to her, Sexy. She's just angry with Mr. Grumpy over there."

"I'm not grumpy." Said man complained. "I'm just not completely entirely convinced myself. I think there should be more round things on the walls. I used to have a lot of round things. I wonder where I put them?"

"Probably threw them in the supernova with the Tardis manual." I joked, earning a pleasant hum from the Tardis, which eased up my headache slightly.

He soon got up though and headed down to where we were, taking his time.

"I'm the Doctor. I've lived for over two thousand years. And not all of them were good." He said, rather dramatically—if I do say so myself—and he wandered around the console as Clara did the same. "I've made many mistakes and it's about time that I did something about that."

Clara took another step towards him and he gave her a serious look.

"Clara, I'm not your boyfriend."

"I never thought you were." She said with a shake of her head and a slightly amused smile ghosting over her lips as I cleared my throat awkwardly.

"Right..." He said, blinking as though trying to remember where he was going with that, before he shook his head and flipped a lever; sending the Tardis off.

He then unbuttoned a part of his coat and swung it back out of the way to tuck his hands into his pockets, revealing the deep red lining inside.

"What do you think?" He asked us.

Clara and him exchanged a look as I glanced up and chuckled slightly, shaking my head.

"I'm just saying, cliché evil villain."

Clara snickered at that, nodding. "Oh, yes. Definitely."

The Doctor pouted at that response, rolling his eyes. "I didn't ask _you_, Steve."

A pang went through my chest as he called me Steve once more, and I swallowed thickly, turning away from Clara's sad stare and wandering the room. The Tardis gave me a worried hum as well, but I just smiled—slightly forced—up at her ceiling as I went up to the second floor and skimmed his bookshelf.

"It's okay. He'll remember eventually. I'm fine."

She didn't sound convinced, but I was pretty sure I didn't sound all that convincing, and I quietly plopped down in the Doctor's vacated chair and started to read a book on Clockworks—of all things—though I never flipped the page. The Doctor and Clara's conversation drifting up from below.

"Who put that advert in the paper?"

"Who gave you my number? A long time ago, remember? You were given the number of a computer helpline and you ended up phoning the Tardis. Who gave you that number?"

"The woman. The woman in the shop." Clara answered and I furrowed my brows in confusion, pushing aside my personal feelings for now as I ran that through my head.

_Woman in the shop? No name, just a gender and a place? Why has she never gone back there? Why has she never mentioned this before unless someone else brought it up? And how would this woman put an advert in a paper in the Victorian Era when she lives in modern times?_ I wondered, setting the book down on my lap as I contemplated this. _And better yet, _why_ did she lead the Doctor and Clara back together and to that restaurant? She knew about the Clockworks? But that—_ My thoughts were cut off as the Tardis landed and I got up, placing a hand on the railing of the stairs down and watching the Doctor and Clara talk.

"Am I home?"

"If you want to be." The Doctor smiled with a chuckle, though Clara looked at him sorrowfully.

"I'm sorry. I'm... I'm so, so sorry. But I don't think I know who you are anymore."

His expression fell and I felt my hearts break as her phone went off and my own mind pounded as my headache returned; with it, the Doctor's sorrow and disappointment overwhelming my senses.

"You better get that." He said quietly. "It might be your boyfriend."

"Shut up. I don't have a boyfriend." She said, turning away and heading outside to answer the call.

I slowly descended the stairs and came up behind him, reaching a hand out to comfort him, but hesitating before pulling it back and speaking.

"She... Clara, she... she's just confused." I said, looking up at him despite the fact that he wouldn't look at me. "She doesn't understand that you're still you. That the Doctor is you, whether you're the Eleventh or the Twelfth. He's always in there. He's always here, with us. Just because you look a little different and act a bit different doesn't mean that you've changed. That you've stopped being the Doctor. She's just..." I looked off towards the doors sadly. "...She's just human."

"Oh, and that fixes everything, does it?" He snapped at me, glaring my way as I turned to him. "She's just human, so her seeing me as someone else even though I'm still the Doctor is fine because she's _just human_?"

"And what are humans, Doctor?" I asked sternly, seeing and feeling him grow angrier.

"Stupid _apes_, that's what."

He stomped over towards the doors, but I quickly moved in front of him and stopped him, placing a hand on his chest and feeling his two hearts beat away rapidly under my fingers; wincing at the pile of emotions that slammed into my mind. Heartbreak, anger, frustration, sadness, hurt. Each one putting an added pressure on my head until I wondered how I was still standing.

"'There is no such thing as an ordinary human'." I quoted the Tenth Doctor, pushing him back as I moved on to quote the Eleventh. "'In nine hundred years of time and space, I've never met anyone who wasn't important'. And Clara is important. She is important to you. Important enough, that you remembered her before you remembered who I am. Important enough, that you regenerated in front of her, trusting her enough to show her something she'd never seen before, _knowing_ that she would look out for you whether you were the Eleventh Doctor or not. So _what_ if she doesn't understand that you're the same person?! Who cares?! If you want her to see you so badly though, Doctor, then you go out there and you show her you're the same man. Show her that even though you've changed your face and your clothes and your personality, show her that you're still the Doctor by being the best _man _you can be."

I felt tears clog my throat, but moved aside and turned away from him, allowing him the chance to go out there after Clara, but he paused in the doorway.

"Why don't I remember you?"

"I-I... I honestly don't know." I breathed out, watching him go and hearing the door click shut behind him.

I struggled with myself for a moment, trying to sort through the emotions in my head and push out the ones that remained from the Doctor, feeling my headache ease up a bit as I ground my knuckles against my temples and the Tardis let out another worried hum. Taking a deep breath though, I stopped it all and straightened up; clearing my throat and heading out to see Clara looking upset and the Doctor standing by the door with a frown on his face. I opened my mouth to confront him and ask him what he'd done, but Clara held out her phone to me.

"I-It's, um... He wants to talk to you."

I slowly walked around the Doctor and took the phone, putting it up to my ear and wondering who it was.

"Um, hello?"

"_Alexander... My strong, brave Alexander..._"

I stiffened, feeling my chest tighten as the Eleventh Doctor's voice came over the phone, sounding tired and pained.

"D-Doctor? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

He chuckled lightly over the phone. "_Oh, Alex, always worrying about others... I'm calling from Trenzalore and I don't have much time._"

"O-Oh..." I muttered, getting upset that it sounded like he was going to die alone, but quickly shaking my head out of the thought, knowing that he died with Clara beside him. "You won't be alone, Doctor."

"_Of course not._" He said, sounding happy. "_I have you and Clara, after all._"

I felt hope at that, knowing that I was going to be there with him, but my hope was quickly dashed at what he spoke of next.

"_I hope I'm not being mean to you, Alex. The new me. Clara said I'm old and you know how cranky old men can get._"

I went to joke, but my voice got caught in my throat for a second. Because he _was_ being mean. Calling me like this and giving me a taste of who he used to be when he's right here behind me, with no idea who I am.

"Doctor..." I said quietly, feeling my hands shake as I clutched at the phone and my voice cracked slightly. "Don't forget me, please."

"_I would _never_ forget you, Alexander._" He replied and I could feel myself beginning to break down, a tear sliding down my cheek.

"I-I'll hold you to that, spaceman." I said with a broken chuckle.

"_What's wrong, Alex?_"

I shook my head. "Nothing. It's nothing."

"_Don't be afraid, Alex. Don't be afraid of the new me, and... be strong for him. Don't let my old grey hair come between us._"

I laughed a little. "I won't. Not ever... I love you, Doctor."

"_And I love you, Alexander... Goodbye._"

I shook my head. "No. Never goodbye for us, Doctor... I'll see you later."

"_And I'll see you._" He said.

The line went dead and I stared at the device for a moment longer, before handing it back to Clara as I wiped the remnants of tears from my face.

"Look at me, getting all teary-eyed when the man's right here." I said, trying to be happy as I gestured to the Doctor.

Clara smiled a bit too before tossing a thumb over her shoulder. "I'm going to go grab a coat, then we can go get some coffee."

I nodded with a small wave. "I'll be here. Well, unless I'm not. You know, if I—"

"Pop off. Yes, I know." She chuckled, waving a hand as she went back into the Tardis. "You two behave!"

There was silence between the Doctor and I for a moment, before I spoke to him.

"That was a nice thing you said."

"Hm?"

I looked up at him briefly. "On the phone."

"Oh..." He said, though I could tell he had no clue what I was talking about, so I sighed.

"This is why I tell you not to make promises."

He frowned. "Why not?"

"Because unlike mine, you don't always keep them." I said, wincing when I sounded harsher than I wanted to. "Sorry, that's the..." I waved a hand at my head. "...headache and whiskey talking."

"I _told_ you, I don't like you drinking, Alex. It's bad for your mind when it's still developing."

"Yeah, well, it's kind of hard to do that when my enforcer doesn't even know who I... am..." I stopped suddenly, furrowing my brows in confusion as I went over what he said in my head, before spinning around on the spot and pointing at him. "You called me Alex."

He raised a brow, a small smirk trying to appear on his face. "Well, that _is_ your name, last I checked."

"No, no, no, no, no. You called me Steve." I said, moving closer and still eyeing him suspiciously. "You were calling me _Steve_."

"Oh, now that's just silly. You don't look like a Steve." He said, looking me over briefly. "More like a... _Justin_, if I had to choose."

A grin began to grow on my face and I pointedly smack him across the shoulder. "You remember who I am!"

"Yes, yes." He drawled out. "I remember who you are, Alexander. Took me longer than I expected, though it technically shouldn't have happened at all."

"When did you know? How did you remember?" I asked, genuinely curious and prepared to smack him should he have remembered a while ago and just played stupid this whole time.

"Hm? Oh, I only remembered a moment ago. You mentioned promises and I had this inkling to reach into my pocket and found this."

He held out his hand to show me a silver wedding band and my hearts plummeted as he began slipping it back onto his left ring finger.

"It's your ring..."

"No." He said, surprising me as I looked up at him; his eyes still focused on the wedding band. "It's _ours_."

My eyes widened like dinner plates as those words echoed around in my head and I felt my legs shaking underneath me.

"_What?_" I questioned, voice cracking and he looked up with his mouth open to explain before his own eyes widened in realization.

"Oh... too early. F-Forget I said that." He said abruptly turning around and walking into the Tardis.

I stood there, completely stumped for a second before I hurried in after him.

"Now, hold on a minute!" I called out after him as he headed for the hallway. "_Ours_?! That's _our_ wedding ring?!"

"No! Nope! Forget I said anything! That conversation never happened!" He said, before stopping and suddenly grabbing my bruised wrist and tugging me towards the room nearest us; the med bay.

"Ow! That hurts! And you can't _seriously_ expect me to just _forget_ you called that our wedding ring!"

"Yes, I can." He said sternly, easily picking me up by the waist and setting me on one of the tables and laying me down as he brought something overhead.

I tried to sit up, but he firmly pushed me back down.

"Stay still. I need to x-ray your wrist and do a brain scan. You said you had headaches for two _days_?"

"Yes, but that doesn't answer my question about the ri—"

"Spoilers." He said suddenly, before wrinkling his nose in disgust. "Never thought I'd say that again. _Hate_ that word."

I groaned, but did as he asked and laid still. "You're impossible."

"No, _Clara's_ impossible." He joked and I gave him a small smile, smacking him with my uninjured hand.

"Stop it. No joke making. I'm mad at you."

He chuckled a bit, before checking the results of the scan with a small smile. "Ah, so _that's_ what it was."

He pushed away the scanner and pulled me up into a sitting position as I gave him a look.

"What? The Cyberplanner didn't do anything, did he?"

He shook his head. "No, no. No damage at all, other than a bruised wrist; which I will give you something for to help the swelling go down." He said, rummaging through a drawer and looking for something.

"Then what is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong. And that's the beauty of it." He grinned, only confusing me more as he placed a small jar of gel in my hands. "Rub that on your wrist in the morning and once more before bed and you'll be right as rain in a few days."

"Doctor!" I scolded him lightly. "Just tell me what's going on with my head! The suspense is _seriously_ killing me."

He smirked, obviously enjoying this and I silently wondered if I should just hit him now, when he made a face.

"Oh, don't do that. I just got this face." He said, putting a hand on his cheek only to frown. "Then again, it's not the best face..."

I furrowed my brows. "How did... Are you reading my mind?"

His smirk returned. "_Now_ you're asking the right questions. And no, you're projecting your thoughts."

"What?" I blinked, thoroughly confused. "I can do that?"

"When your emotions are high enough." He nodded, before promptly poking me in the forehead. "Your biology's changing, remember? Your second heart's done cooking and your nervous system has expanded, so now it's working on your tiny little human brain."

I frowned. "It's not tiny. It's perfectly average, thank you very much. _You're_ the one with a big head."

He made a face, but brushed off the jab at his ego as he reached his fingers up towards my temples.

"May I?"

"Sure." I shrugged, closing my eyes as he gently placed his hands on my temples and entered my mind.

I winced, my head obviously not liking the intrusion when it was already aching and the Doctor quietly apologized.

"Sorry, this may hurt a bit." He hummed, myself feeling him looking through my head for something as I made sure to keep any memories that he shouldn't be in tucked away behind closed doors. "Hm, you've been practicing. Good, good."

"Have to." I muttered, peeking an eye open; though his eyes were closed. "Sometimes I don't _want_ nosy Doctor sneaking into my head."

"So I see." He said before I could feel him frown. "Now where is it?"

I frowned back. "Where's what? What are you looking for?"

"Your biology is changing, like I said, but this part of the process needs a little push. You see it as a headache, but that's actually your mind fighting back the invading Artron energy. Your human mind sees it as something that's out of place and shouldn't be there and is trying to push it out."

"And your _Time Lord_ mind wouldn't do that?"

I sensed him mentally shake his head.

"No. Because our bodies have Artron energy already in them since birth, our bodies adjust around that. You're working backwards, starting with the body and working up to the head. And your human bits are fighting with the alien bits, hence the headaches, like I said." He frowned then. "Don't make me repeat myself. I don't like repeating."

I mentally rolled my eyes. "You definitely _are_ Mr. Grumpy today. Forgetting about me, yelling at me, ignoring me—"

"Yes, yes, alright. I'm sorry, okay? Wasn't my fault, as you know. The regeneration energy just scrambled my mind and I'm expected to remember things. Doesn't always agree." He said, before smiling. "Ah, there it is."

I felt him poking at something and suddenly brought a hand up, grabbing his wrist. "Hold on a bit, spaceman. Whatever you're poking at hurts and I'd rather know what prodding it with a mental finger is going to do. Preferably _before_ the pain gets worse."

"Think of it as a dam. _Poking_ it, will help burst the dam and giving the Artron energy someplace to go. Your mind went and packaged it up, putting up a dam to keep it coming in and the headaches are the Artron energy's way of trying to come through."

"Alright, got that, but what does it mean for my head? I'm not going to start getting telekinesis or anything, right?"

"No, no, no. Nothing silly like that. You—"

"And I'm not going to suddenly know everything in the universe, right?" I cut him off, feeling myself beginning to really worry about this. "I'm not going to end up like..."

_Like Donna..._ I mentally lamented, feeling horrible for bringing up the lost companion who had her memory erased because of the Time Lord consciousness trapped in her head. A warmth spread through my head then, like a warm hug and I relaxed slightly as the Doctor spoke once more.

"You won't end up like that. It's different. You're not getting the universe packed away in your head, the Artron energy is just going to spread out and change a few things."

"What things..." I asked, leaning in to the warm embrace in my head and taking comfort in it.

"Well, for one thing, you'll be able to communicate telepathically with others of an equal or higher mind set."

"So... you."

He chuckled lightly in my mind. "Yes, me. Probably the Ood as well and the Face of Boe, should we bump into them again."

"Not humans."

"No, unfortunately not. Their minds are not complex enough to receive any physical messages, but you will be able to pass along other feelings if you wish. Such as I am doing with you now, and what you did back with the Clockworks. Though that was purely accidental. You'll have to work on not projecting your thoughts and emotions on other beings. Won't be too hard, unless emotions are running high."

"And I'll be able to feel them too, right? From other people?"

He mentally nodded. "If they wish you to, or emotions are running high, once again. Physical contact plays an important role as well. The closer you are to a person, the easier it will be to feel and pass along emotions."

I too, mentally nodded, beginning to understand what this was going to do, but I still had one more question; that I really wish I didn't have to ask.

"What about the drums?"

I felt him stiffen, but swallowed past the lump in my throat and went on.

"I mean, I know I've suppressed them almost completely, but... I haven't seen him the second time, with Wilfred and... and the Time Lords. I haven't been there yet, and if he does it again, will this... will this Artron energy in my head make it worse?"

"Alexander." He said, his deep voice immediately sending another wave of comfort through me. "If anything, the Artron energy will make it better. Harder for him to get in and easier for you to kick him out. You'll be _fine_. I promise."

"There you go, making promises again." I muttered quietly, still unsure and he sensed that, letting out a soft sigh.

"An Alexander Holmes promise, then. You will be, absolutely, fine."

I nodded and felt him prodding at the bundle of Artron energy in my head again, before he spoke.

"This will hurt, Alex. There is no way of preventing that, but if it gets to be too much, let me know and I can put you to sleep."

"Okay." I muttered, before sucking in a gasp of pain and feeling the Doctor pull back from my mind.

Pain immediately flooded my senses and I clutched at my head in agony, vaguely feeling the Doctor grab my upper arms and saying something, but I couldn't hear him over the screaming. _My_ screaming.

"It hurts! It hurts so much! D-Doctor, it hurts!"

I started to catch snippets then, of whatever he was trying to say.

"Alex!... me... You need... tell me... What... want me... to do?... What do... me to do...?"

"M-Make it stop." I said, crying now at how intense the pain was. "Please. It hurts. I-It hurts."

I felt something nudge my hands away from my head and press against my temples, a warm breeze brushing across my face as I cracked my teary eyes open to see the Doctor pressing his forehead to mine; his blue-grey eyes locking onto mine with a comforting gaze.

"_Sleep_." He commanded and that warmth in my head returned to comfort me as my eyes slipped closed and I fell into his arms; back with my Doctor once again.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_Once I'd ordered a whiskey, I leaned back against the bar counter and furrowed my brows at the familiar looking bar and the red shirts nearly everyone was wearing. _I think I've been here before... with Mels... Though we went to a lot of bars back then, so it's all sort of blurry. _I shook my idling thoughts out of my head and instead took a closer look at one of the shirts the guys in the bar were wearing. One the front it had the picture of some couple in two hearts being shot by an arrow, but it was what was said on the back that had my eyes widening in realization._

_"Oh..."_


	44. Vampires in Venice

**Here's the next chapter! I posted it a bit early because I finally have a job! :D And I work tomorrow and would have to wait until later to post this, but grapejuice101 convinced me to post it now, so ta-da! And a special shout out to canadduh and Elementess for their super long, uplifting reviews. You guys are the best ^^ Please let me know what you all think about this! You'll definitely get to see another side of Alex ;) And not much of a sneak peak this time. Sorry. It was hard finding a quote without giving it all away.**

* * *

Popping up on my feet in a bar was quite possibly the _best_ thing that could've happen to me after the crazy week I'd just had with the Twelfth Doctor. _Those Judoon were _not_ happy that we were having a picnic on Jahoo._ I mused as I stared at the man gawking at me, who was holding a large beer mug and some red printed shirt.

"Y-You… Did you just pop up in a flash of light?" He asked and I rolled my eyes.

"That is the _lamest_ pick up line ever, mate. You're drunk." I said, making him blink before nodding in understanding just before he was dragged off by another couple of guys in red printed shirts.

Once I'd ordered a whiskey, I leaned back against the bar counter and furrowed my brows at the familiar looking bar and the red shirts nearly everyone was wearing. _I think I've been here before... with Mels..._ _Though we went to a lot of bars back then, so it's all sort of blurry._ I shook my idling thoughts out of my head and instead took a closer look at one of the shirts the guys in the bar were wearing. On the front it had the picture of some couple in two hearts being shot by an arrow, but it was what was said on the back that had my eyes widening in realization.

"Oh..."

_Rory's Stag. I'm at Rory's stag party, which means..._ I watched as a cake was wheeled in and everyone turned to it with grins. I, however, turned to it with a frown and chugged down the last of my drink before slamming it on the table; knowing who was inside it and what he'd just done.

"Out! Out! Out!" The people around me chanted as Rory was pushed towards the cake.

Who came out of it though, wasn't what anyone in the room expected—sans myself, of course—and the Eleventh Doctor looked around as silence fell over the bar.

"Rory!" He said loudly with a grin upon spotting the not-so-pleased Rory. "That's a relief. I thought I'd burst out of the wrong cake again."

_Just how many stag nights has he ruined?_ I mentally questioned as he rambled on about the actual stripper outside, feeling anger and jealousy and hurt welling up inside me as he went on to talk about what had happened.

"Now then, Rory. We need to talk about your fiancée... She tried to kiss me."

Murmurs went up around the bar as Rory's grin fell.

"Tell you what though, you're a lucky man." The Doctor grinned. "She's a great kisser."

Someone dropped their glass at those words and a few of the men beside me caught my expression and slowly backed away; sensing the anger rolling off me in waves.

"Funny how you can say something in your head and it sounds fine." The Doctor said, finally catching on to some of the looks he was getting as I slowly made my way towards him; the men parting like the Red Sea around me.

"I-I don't... I don't understand." Rory said, and I placed a hand on his shoulder, making him turn to me with wide eyes as I grinned sickeningly sweet.

"It's okay, Rory. I'm sure the Doctor will explain why he went off gallivanting with your fiancée the night before your wedding, and then kissed her when he already has a girlfriend." I turned my smile into a scowl as I glared at the Doctor; who was now shrinking back in fear. "Isn't that right, _Doctor_?"

"R-Right! Yes! No! O-Of course I can explain why that happened and why she—_she_ kissed _me_." He said, emphasizing who exactly kissed who.

I hardly cared though, and stalked forward. "Oh, and one more thing."

"Yes?" He questioned, voice pitched a little high as he eyed me cautiously.

"I don't appreciate it." I snapped, before swiftly punching him in the face and knocking him back into the cake before I let out a huff and grabbed Rory. "Come on. Your fiancée has a lot of explaining to do."

"B-But the Doctor—"

"Will join us, as soon as he remembers _where his loyalties lie_!" I said, shouting the last bit at the man who was picking himself up out of the cake.

"W-Wait! Alex!"

I ignored his calls and stomped to the Tardis parked around the corner with Rory in tow, starting to get rather tired of the Doctor and his fondness for women.

* * *

The Doctor hung underneath the underbelly of the Tardis, wearing some dark goggles as he welded something together, speaking to a disgruntled Amy and Rory.

"Oh, the life out there, it dazzles. I mean, it blinds you to the things that are important. I've seen it devour relationships and plans."

The Tardis sparked violently, making Rory jostle as the Doctor looked up at him from underneath the glass floor.

"It's meant to do that." He said, before continuing. "Because for one person to have seen all that, to taste the glory and then go back, it will tear you apart. So!" He pushed up his goggles and swung back and forth a bit as he looked between them both. "I'm sending you somewhere... together."

"Whoa, what? Like a date?"

The Doctor got up and started coming back upstairs. "Anywhere you want. Any _time _you want. One condition. It has to be amazing. The Moulin Rouge in 1890. The first Olympic Games. Think of it as a wedding present, because it's either this or tokens. And, technically, it'll be a double date, Pond. Your little stunt has Alex and I in a pickle too."

Amy nodded, actually looking a little sheepish. Especially since once Alex had come into the Tardis with Rory, she hadn't done anything that one would expect from an angry woman who just found out that her friend kissed her boyfriend. But she did one better. She said only two words and Amy had been feeling horribly guilty ever since.

"_I'm disappointed."_

She had then disappeared somewhere in the Tardis before the Doctor had even entered the room; nose bloody and a bruise on his face; which had since healed up thanks to his Time Lord abilities. That being said, he'd rushed around the Tardis for a while, but mentioned that it was angry with him as well and had hidden Alex from him. Which it was. He was hoping that doing a trip to fix both relationships might help, especially since Alex could be _rather_ frightening when jealous and he'd rather not have her and Amy fighting the next time they meet.

_Angry Alex is a bad Alex._ He mused, bounding up the stairs to try again, only to see Rory's baffled expression and remembering that this was his first time in the Tardis and the Doctor might get his favorite line said, if he was lucky. _Which I usually am._

"It's a lot to take in, isn't it? Tiny box, huge room inside. What's that about? Let me explain."

"It's another dimension." Rory said with a blank look just as the Doctor continued.

"It's basically another dimension... What?"

"After what happened with Prisoner Zero, I've been reading up on all the latest scientific theories. FTL travel, parallel universes."

The Doctor started back up the stairs, feeling as though today just wasn't his day. "I like the bit when someone says it's bigger on the inside. I always look forward to that."

"So! This, _date_." Amy called out, trying to move things along upon seeing the annoyed look the Doctor was giving Rory. "I'm kind of done with running down corridors." She said, wandering around the console as the Doctor did the same. "What do you think, Rory?"

"How about somewhere..." The Doctor flipped a switch to set the Tardis off. "Romantic."

The two grabbed onto the console as it took off and landed, before the Doctor bounded up to the stairs once more and pointed at them seriously.

"No peeking until I get Alex! It's a secret."

Amy rolled her eyes and he hurried off down the corridor, finally finding Alex's room and fidgeting outside it as he tried to think of what he was going to say. He lifted his hand to knock, but then lowered it and shook his head, speaking quietly.

"No, no. That won't work."

He went to do it again, but hesitated, biting his bottom lip.

"Why is this always so hard?" He grumbled. "Dealing with women was never this hard in my last body. Maybe it's the chin..."

He rubbed at his chin, a frown on his face before shaking his head and smacking his cheeks.

"No, no, no. Focus. Came to apologize. Can't get distracted now."

He went to knock, but before his knuckles could come into contact with the hard wood surface, the door swung open and he floundered in surprise.

"A-Alex! I-I was just about—"

"To knock. I know. I could hear your rambling from inside." She grumbled, looking at him in such a way that he couldn't help but feel a little scared.

_A woman scorned..._ He cleared his throat, immediately trying to find something to do with his hands as he rocked back and forth on his ankles.

"Right. I've come to... apologize for what happened with Amy."

Alex crossed her arms over her chest and leaned up against the door frame. "I'm listening."

"Okay." He nodded, trying to think of what to say next. "I've, um... I've landed the Tardis! Some place nice. A little date for us and the Ponds to make up for things."

Alex remained emotionless, just staring at him and he grew more and more uncomfortable by the second. _I forgot how she gets when she's upset with me. The younger her was easier to deal with. A little kissing here, an apology there and all's spic and span. _The Doctor cleared his throat again and shifted his gaze down towards the floor.

"I really am sorry, Alex." He murmured and Alex frowned.

"I don't think a simple apology is going to work this time, Doctor. How can we say we're together if you keep going around and acting like we're not? I just... I just can't sit back and let this keep happening. It may not be hurting you, but imagine how I feel watching you go off and doing this with others when I have never done that with you."

"Alex, I-I never thought—"

"No. No, of course you didn't. Smartest man in the universe and he never thought to consider how his girlfriend would feel about him kissing other women." Alex shook her head, waving a hand as the other was dragged down the side of her face. "You know what? Never mind. Forget it. You go off and do whatever you want with whomever you want. Just..." She looked up and gave him a heartbroken look before she pushed past him and tugged her coat back on. "Just don't expect me to keep trailing after a man who doesn't seem to care."

The Doctor was stunned, speechless, and he couldn't move as Alex walked off down the hall with her coat billowing behind her. He had never expected her to say what she did and the guilt welled up inside him, filling him with that horrible gut wrenching feeling that made him feel nauseous as the reality of what just happened caught up with him. Alex had left him. She had left him because he was too _thick_ to see how much he was hurting her with his actions. And something told him that no amount of apologizing would fix it. Not this time. He let out a shaky breath, pulling a hand through his hair before frowning and nodding to himself, rushing after her. He ended up back in the console room though and silently wondered if the Tardis was hiding her again, only to spot Amy and Rory staring at the doors with concerned looks.

"Did Alex come through here?" The Doctor asked, sounding rather breathless despite the run he'd just done not being more than a few minutes long.

"Yeah, she, uh..." Rory glanced over at the door and then back at the Doctor. "She just... walked out."

The Doctor hurried to the door and opened it, searching for Alex, but she was nowhere in sight and he felt his hearts sink in his chest with worry and frustration with himself.

"Is... Is everything alright, Doctor?" Amy asked and the Doctor wanted to snap at her.

Blame her for what had just happened. It _was_, after all, her fault. If she hadn't kissed him, then none of this would've happened, but the Doctor knew it was also equally his fault. He couldn't get mad at her when he was just as much to blame. So he took a deep breath, focusing on why he'd brought the Ponds along for this trip in the first place, and plastered a smile on his face.

"Of course! Everything's fine! Welcome..." He pushed the doors open and stepped out into the crowded market square he'd landed the Tardis in. "...to Venice!"

* * *

"Venezia! La Serenissima! Impossible city. _Preposterous_ city. Founded by refugees running from Attila the Hun. It was just a collection of little wooden huts in the middle of the marsh, _but_ became one of the most powerful cities in the world." The Doctor rambled, trying to distract himself from thoughts of Alex. "Constantly being invaded, constantly flooding, constantly just beautiful! Ah, you got to love Venice."

A beautiful woman smiled slightly at him as she moved past, but the Doctor quickly cleared his throat, remembering what exactly he was fighting with Alex about.

"So many people did. Bryon, Napoleon, Casanova. Ooh, that reminds me." He lifted up his watch, checking the time of _year_ apparently. "1580. That's all right. Casanova doesn't get born for another hundred and forty five years. Don't want to run into him. I owe him a chicken."

"You owe Casanova a chicken?" Rory questioned and the Doctor nodded.

"Long story. We had a bet." He paused suddenly, a frown on his face. "Alex did mention chickens in the Tardis though..."

Amy wandered over to him, still looking a bit worried. "Doctor, about Alex—"

She didn't get to finish her inquiry before they were suddenly stopped by an official.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Papers, if you please. Proof of residency, current bill of medical inspection." He said and the Doctor quickly whipped out his psychic paper.

"There you go, fellow. All to your satisfaction, I think you'll find."

The man took the paper and proceeded to stare wide-eyed at the trio, before bowing. "I'm so sorry, your holiness. I-I didn't realize."

"No worries. You were just doing your job." The Doctor replied, smirking at Amy and Rory as he showed off, before turning back to the man. "Sorry, what exactly i-is your job?"

"Well, checking for aliens." He said and Amy made a face as he continued. "Visitors from foreign lands what might bring the plague with them."

"Oh, that's nice. See where you bring me? The _plague_." Amy snapped at the Doctor, smacking his arm as the official turned to her with a smile and another bow.

"Don't worry, Viscountess. W-We're under quarantine here and no one comes in, no one goes out, and all because of the grace and wisdom of our patron, Signora Rosanna Calvierri." He said, tracing the 'C' on his booklet.

"How interesting. I heard the plague died out years ago." The Doctor mused.

"Not out there. No, Signora Calvierri has seen it with her own eyes. Streets are piled high with bodies, she said."

"Did she now." The Doctor hummed, growing suspicious of this Signora Calvierri.

Rory took the psychic paper from the official as he bowed and the Doctor moved past, but frowned.

"Um, according to this, I'm your eunuch."

Amy turned around. "Oh yeah. I'll uh, explain later."

She went to go after the Doctor, but he had suddenly doubled back and caught the official once more.

"Have you seen a man in a dark coat about this high with auburn hair?"

The official blinked, before realization dawned on him. "Oh! You mean Prince Francis! Yes, he walked in here perhaps not a moment before your arrival, your holiness."

"Right, yes. Prince Francis, of course. That's who I'm looking for. If you... If you see him leaving, stall him for me, okay? I need to have a talk with him."

"Of course, your holiness." The man bowed after the Doctor handed him some money, and the Doctor hurried off once more; Amy coming up beside him and giving him a look.

"What was that about? I didn't know you knew Prince Francis."

"I don't." The Doctor hummed, eyes skimming the area as the group leaned on a railing by the water. "I was looking for Alex."

"Why'd she run off, anyway?" Amy asked and the Doctor opened his mouth to answer, only to be cut off by the shouting of a man across the way.

"Isabella? Isabella! Isabella!" He shouted, after being knocked down and a few guards came to get him.

"What was that about?" Amy asked, but the Doctor was gone and she sighed. "I hate it when he does that."

Rory just nodded silently, looking rather despondent, neither knowing that the Doctor had wandered off to go find the man who was pushed away earlier. He soon found the man and came up behind him, poking his head around the corner.

"Who are those girls?"

The man paused. "I thought everyone knew about the Calvierri school."

"My first day here. It's okay. Parents do all sorts of things to get their children into good schools. They move house, they change religion." The Doctor said, hopping down from the stairs and facing the man, going quiet as one man passed before speaking again. "So why are you trying to get her out?"

"Something happens in there. Something magical, something evil. My own daughter didn't recognize me. And the girl who pushed me away, her face, like an animal."

"I think it's time I met this Signora Calvierri." The Doctor hummed, placing an arm over the man's shoulders and heading off. "Alright, here's the plan. You distract the guards. Just shout or whatever and I'll sneak in the side gate and see about helping your daughter and figuring out what is going on. Okay?"

The man, Guido, nodded. And once he approached the guards of the school and began shouting about his daughter, the Doctor slipped by unnoticed, sonicked open the gate and snuck inside. He bounded down some stairs and into a room with a number of other doors in it, but something shiny on the wall caught his eye and he looked at the ornate mirror with a grin.

"Hello, handsome." He smiled, adjusting his bow-tie and checking his teeth as he thought about Alex.

_She's definitely angry with me. That much is obvious, but this is the first time she's gone off on her own like that. Usually it's just an apology from me that does the trick, but seems it's more serious this time._ He sighed, dropping his hands to his side. _She's right though. I usually don't think about the consequences of my actions and I never thought... I never even _considered_ how hurt she might be seeing me do that sort of thing..._

"Who are you?" A number of voices rang out from behind him and he turned around in surprise to see a group of girls standing there.

He turned back to the mirror, seeing that they had no reflections, before turning back around again and giving them a smirk.

"How are you doing that? I am _loving_ it! You're like Houdini, only five slightly scary girls, and he was shorter. Will be shorter. I'm rambling."

"I'll ask you again, signor. Who are you?" The girls all said in unison and he whipped out the psychic paper.

"Why don't you check _this_ out?"

Thing was, Rory had the psychic paper, so he was just showing them his old library card. When he saw their lack of reaction, he flipped it around and realized this with a grimace.

"Library card. Of course, it's with... He's... I need a spare." He mumbled, touching his nose slightly before turning back to the girls. "Pale creepy girls who don't like sunlight and can't be seen. Ha." He chuckled lightly. "Am I thinking what I think I'm thinking? But the city. Why shut down the city? Unless—"

"Leave now, signor, or we shall call for the Steward." The girls said, before grinning. "If you are lucky."

"Ooh." He said, starting to smile only to smack himself in the face. "No, no, no. Gah, what would Alex say?!"

"She'd say that you're a _complete_ and utter cock!" A new voice said and the Doctor looked to his left to see an angry looking Alex standing there with a large portable UV light.

He noticed then the other girls' mutated teeth, making him gulp as he hurried towards the exit; Alex behind him and using the UV light to keep them at bay. He stopped though, pointing back at them.

"Tell me the whole plan!"

They said nothing and he made a face as Alex groaned.

"One day that will work." He muttered.

"That will _never_ work, you idiot! Now move!" Alex shouted at him, and he turned around and started up the stairs backwards.

"Listen, I would love to stay here. This whole thing. I'm thrilled. Oh, this is Christmas."

He hurried up the stairs and out of the school, not even realizing how much time he'd spent down there, before he bumped right into Amy.

"Doctor! Alex!"

"I just met some vampires!" The Doctor said, holding her upper arms excitedly.

"We just saw a vampire!" Amy said back, the two of them talking over one another as Rory hurried over and Alex pocketed the light; frowning at the display.

"We think we just saw a vampire." Rory pointed out and the Doctor pointed at Amy.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. Amy was just telling me."

"Yeah, yeah. The Doctor and Alex actually went to their house." Amy said, putting an arm around the Doctor's shoulders.

"Oh. Right. Well..." Rory trailed off, and the Doctor used that opportunity to speak.

"Okay, so!" The Doctor smacked Rory's cheeks. "First we need to get back in there somehow."

"What?"

"How do we do that?" Amy asked, ignoring Rory's disbelief.

"Back in where?"

"Come and meet my new friend." The Doctor grinned, reaching to grab Alex's hand, only for her to pull hers out of his grip. "Alex?"

"Just walk." She snapped at him and he slowly lowered his hand before walking back towards Guido's with not even a fraction of his previous enthusiasm.

* * *

"As you saw, there's no clear way in." Guido told the group, a map of the city laid on his table. "The House of Calvierri is like a fortress. But there's a tunnel underneath it, with a ladder and shaft that leads up into the house. I tried to get in once myself, but I hit a trapdoor."

"You need someone on the inside." Amy piped in and the Doctor immediately shut her down.

"No."

"You don't even know what I was going to say."

"Uh, that we pretend you're an applicant for the school to get you inside, and tonight you come down and open the trapdoor to let us in."

"Oh. So you do know what I was going to say."

"Are you insane?" Rory asked and Amy rolled her eyes.

"We don't have another option."

"He said no, Amy. Listen to him."

"There is another option." Guido said, gesturing to the barrels of gunpowder Rory and Alex were sitting on. "I work at the Arsenale. We build warships for the navy."

The Doctor went over and sniffed one, purposely doing so near Alex to try and get her to look at him, but she didn't even spare him a glance as she scribbled something down into her black notebook.

"Gunpowder. Most people just nick stationary from where they work." He said, wrinkling his nose in disgust as he turned to face Guido and Rory moved elsewhere. "Look. I have a thing about guns and huge quantities of explosive."

Guido smacked his hands on the table and turned to the fire. "What do you suggest then? We wait until they turn her into an animal?"

"I'll be there three, four hours tops." Amy hummed.

"No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. It can't keep happening like this. This is how they go." The Doctor said, sitting down and rubbing his face, missing the slight glance Alex gave him. "But I have to know. We go together, say you're my daughter."

"_What_? Don't listen to him." Rory argued, by Amy wasn't concerned about that.

"Your daughter? You look about nine."

"Brother then." The Doctor said, staying on Alex's good side, but Amy had to go and ruin it.

"Too weird. Fiancé."

"No!" The Doctor shouted, making the group turn to him with raised brows as he shrunk back. "Bad idea..." He muttered then and Rory gave Amy a look.

"Uh, I'm not having him run around telling people he's your fiancé." Rory argued as the Doctor shivered, feeling the temperature drop a few degrees in Alex's direction.

"No, no. You're right."

"Thank you."

"I mean, they've already seen the Doctor. Alex can do it."

"Um, I really don't think..." The Doctor started, eyeing Alex and Amy went and did the same, only to swallow thickly at the glare Alex gave her.

"R-Right then. You can do it, Rory."

"Me?"

"Yeah! You can be my brother." She grinned, ruffling his hair and crushing his expectations.

"Why is him being your brother weird, but with me, it's okay?"

"Actually, I thought you _were_ her fiancé." Guido said, glancing at the Doctor who grimaced.

"Yeah, that's _really_ not helping. Alex is my girlfriend, not Amy." He said, gesturing to Alex and making Guido furrow his brows in confusion as Rory grew frustrated once more.

"This whole thing is mental! They're _vampires,_ for God's sake!"

"We hope."

"So, if they're not vampires?" Amy drawled out.

"Makes you wonder what could be so bad it doesn't actually mind us thinking it's a vampire." The Doctor said, showing off his teeth.

"They're not vampires." Alex spoke up then, eyeing the barrels and turning to Guido. "Do you have a long fuse for this? About the length between here and your door?"

Guido furrowed his brows in confusion, but nodded, gesturing to another room off the main one. "Check in there. Might be one long enough."

"Thanks." Alex said, heading off that way, but the Doctor stopped her.

"Alex? What are you doing?"

She didn't even turn his way. "Nothing you should care about, Doctor."

* * *

I continued to frown as Guido steered the gondola through the dark waterways to where the underground tunnel would be. Rory had already helped Amy infiltrate the Calvierri school and now it was just a matter of us getting in there to get her and Isabella out; someone who I was determined to save. The Doctor was struggling already, I could tell, with trying to get me to forgive him, but I wasn't going to give in so easily. Especially since he always seemed to _enjoy_ getting kissed by other women. I mean, I was kissed by women too, but never willingly. I never _liked_ it and I never really cared for the few men who flirted with me—namely Jack and Roger, from when we met Agatha Christie. The so-called _flirting_ I did back with Jack was all jokingly anyway. We understood that and only used it to tease the Doctor, but not once did I betray that trust the Doctor had in me and go off gallivanting with other men _or_ women—or aliens, for that matter. I mean, I understood Rose. He had her first and it went along with the plot, like it should. I didn't interfere with that and she got her happy ending. And I sort of understand River, though I can't say I'm happy about it. And I got the feeling River was only doing things like that with the Doctor because she liked messing with me. _In fact, now that I think about it, she's _awfully_ friendly with me... God, I hope she's not trying to make _me_ jealous. I honestly don't swing that way, despite..._ I looked down at myself and winced. _All of this..._

I suddenly felt rather depressed as I looked over myself and wondered what the Doctor saw in me. I wasn't like any of the other women he liked. I wasn't blonde, or funny, or pretty, or super smart or anything. I looked and acted like a guy—and was often mistaken for one—so what was it that he even liked me for? _Am I just a tag-along? I-I gave up everything for him and now he feels obligated to treat me the way he does? Is that why he kisses other women? B-Because he likes them more? They're prettier, smarter... They're... not me?_ My hearts sank in my chest as the doubt began to crush me and I was only dragged out of my thoughts by Rory; who grabbed my knee with a serious look.

"Tell me she'll be okay."

I blinked, my mind taking a moment to figure out what he was talking about, before I remembered what was going on and where we were headed.

"Amy will be fine. I promise." I said, turning to Guido. "And I'll do what I can to help Isabella."

He nodded, grateful, but I felt guilty. I couldn't _promise_ him that I'd save her, because I wasn't sure what would happen. I can't predict how things may change, but I could do my best to work around them and possibly change them for the better. Isabella was one of those things. I _should_ be able to save her, but if something changes in the plot between then and now, I couldn't _promise_ that I'd succeed.

"We're here." Guido said, pulling the gondola up to the underground entrance.

The Doctor grabbed a torch and lit it from Guido's, before getting off with the rest of us and pushing past the creaking metal gate. He started up the stairs a bit, looking for any signs of life other than the few rats that scuttled off, before stopping.

"Right. Okay. I'll go first. If anything happens to me, go back."

"What happened?" Rory cut him off, following him up the stairs along with me. "Between you and Amy? You said she kissed you."

"_Now_?" The Doctor hissed under his breath, though I caught him briefly sending me a worried look. "You want to do this _now_?"

"I have a right to know." Rory countered, us going up to a wooden door at the top of some stairs. "I'm getting married in four hundred and thirty years. Not to mention you already have Alex and I'll bet she wants an explanation too."

The Doctor paused in the doorway, looking back at me as I gave him a blank expression; already knowing what happened and what he was going to say now to try and fix things with Rory. He knew that too, obviously _wanting _to fix things between us, but not really knowing how since I technically already knew what he was going to say. Wouldn't stop him from trying though.

"She was frightened. I was frightened. But we _survived_, you know, and the relief of it… and so she kissed me."

"And you kissed her back." Rory grumbled.

"No. I kissed her mouth." The Doctor blurted out, making my hearts ache as he winced, smacking his face as I turned away from him. "_Stupid, stupid, stupid._"

"Funny." Rory mocked him and the Doctor rounded on the man.

"Rory. Rory, she kissed me because I was there. It would have been you. It should have been _you_." He then turned to me, eyes guilty. "And it should have been you."

"Yeah, probably should've." I snapped as Rory nodded.

"Right… Which is why I brought you here, Rory."

A strong wind blew out the Doctors torch and he whispered once more.

"Can we go and see the vampires now, please?"

"_Fine_." Rory snapped, and the Doctor managed to find the hatch without the torch; using Rory and I as stepping stones to push it open and get through.

"Push, come on!"

"We're pushing!" Rory called back to him, before he made it through and reached down to help us along.

I helped Rory go first, before they both helped pull me up as well and we all looked around.

"Where's Amy? Amy?" The Doctor called out quietly, and Rory frowned.

"I can't see a thing. Just as well I brought this then." He said, pulling out a tiny flashlight.

The Doctor reached into my coat then, making me frown as he pulled out my portable UV light.

"Ultraviolet. Portable sunlight." The Doctor grinned and Rory immediately whined.

"Yours is bigger than mine."

"Let's not go there." The Doctor winced as I snatched the light back.

"Especially since it's _mine_ and it's bigger than both of yours. Seeing as the Doctor doesn't _have_ one."

Said man cringed at my jab, but I eventually gave him the light, knowing he'd have more use with it than I would. Meanwhile, Rory complained beside me.

"If we cancel now, we lose the deposit on the village hall. The salsa band. Oh."

The Doctor opened a chest then, revealing a corpse, and making me stifle the urge to get a closer look.

"What happened to them?" Rory asked and the Doctor touched the corpse's wrist, putting it back into the chest.

"They've had all the moisture taken out of them."

"Mm." I hummed. "Which reminds me. Amy's not going to be too pleased."

Rory gave me a look, furrowing his brows in question, but he shook his head and turned back to the Doctor. "That's what vampires do, right? They... drink your blood and replace it with their own."

"Yeah, except these people haven't just had their blood taken, but all the water in their entire bodies."

"Why did they die?... Why aren't they like the girls in the school?"

"Maybe not everyone survives the process." The Doctor said, not seeing how this upset Rory, until the man swung his arms in defeat and walked away before turning back.

"You know what's dangerous about you? It's not that you make people take risks, it's that you make them want to impress you. You make it so they don't want to let you down. You have no idea how dangerous you make people to themselves when you're around."

I watched as the Doctor's face fell into a hurt one and I wanted to argue with Rory, tell him he was wrong and that it wasn't the Doctor's fault, but I couldn't. My words were stuck in my throat as I questioned whether _I_ was doing that as well. I knew when I was younger that I _had_ wanted to impress him. I tried so hard to show the younger versions of him that I could be smart and brave too. But was I still doing that, even now? Was I still trying to impress the Doctor and earn some sort of respect from him? One that would make him notice me more than, say, River? My hearts twisted painfully in my chest as I thought this over, but I still jumped when voices rang out in the room.

"Who are you?"

Girls dressed in white all came out from the openings and the Doctor hurried over to where Rory and I were with the UV light, using it to keep the girls away from us.

"We should run! Run!" He called out and we didn't waste a moment before doing just that.

I was beginning to get lost in the twists and turns of the passageways, cringing as Rory bumped into something and the Doctor shushed him.

"Oh, Rory, come on."

He skidded to a halt though, when we were faced with Signora Calvierri herself, her son, and her steward.

"Cab for Amy Pond?" The Doctor chimed and I groaned as the girls came up from behind us and Calvierri turned to the steward with a smirk.

"This rescue plan. Not exactly watertight, is it?"

"Oh, well aren't you funny, fish-face." I muttered under my breath as the Doctor used the UV light to push the girls back a step.

It was then that Isabella pulled Amy around the corner, who immediately went to Rory. Isabella though, quickly gestured down the hall.

"Quickly! Through here!"

We all rushed after her, myself digging through my coat pockets as we ran, hoping I'd planned this right. As we went down some stairs, Amy turned to us; the Doctor sonicking the door behind us.

"They're not vampires."

"What?" Rory said in shock and Amy chuckled a little.

"I saw them. I saw her. They're not vampires. They're aliens."

"Classic." The Doctor smirked as Amy laughed and Rory gave me a look for disbelief.

"That's good news?"

I shrugged as he made a face.

"What is wrong with you people?!"

It wasn't long before we were moving quickly through the tunnels again, Calvierri's son and the girls not far behind, and the Doctor stuck towards the back with the UV light to keep them a bay as we finally reached a door. Isabella went out first and began herding us through, but I made sure I was the last one out as she flinched back from the sunlight. Immediately, I swung a cloak over her and pulled the hood up to shield her from the light before I pushed her forwards. Problem was, the girls had caught up by then and _I_ was grabbed, being pulled back into the tunnel as the Doctor's eyes widened in shock and he pushed past Isabella to try and get to me as the door closed. I knew he wasn't going to make it though and I shouted out at him.

"When they find you, light the fuse by the door! They're going to try and sink it!"

The door slammed shut and I cringed as I heard the Doctor slam into it and get electrocuted, hoping that—though my words may not have made much sense to him now—he would understand what I had been trying to tell him. I was pulled back into the tunnel, to outnumbered to really fight back, though I was tempted. I was soon brought into a room lit with a green light and shoved down forcefully into a chair as a couple of the girls strapped me in. And honestly, I was downright frightened. Scared to death, really. I knew what would've happened to Isabella should she have been caught, but I had no _clue_ what they would do to _me_. _I'd rather be eaten by the crazy fish guys in the water than be turned into one of them_. I silently panicked, tugging at the straps to test just how strong they were and if I even had a chance. I didn't. They were rather well made for something from the 1500s. Hisses rang out as Signora Calvierri waltzed into the room with her son, both showing off their teeth as they moved around me.

"So, we loose the traitor, but gain this one instead."

"What should we do with him, mother?" He stopped then, sniffing and moving closer as he brought his nose right up to my neck and took a deep inhale; making shivers trail up my spine.

"_Oh_, it's a female." He said, frowning as he gripped my short hair tightly in a fist and pulled my head back. "Though hardly worth being one. She's not very pretty."

"Neither are you, you fish-faced momma's boy." I snapped at him, earning a snarl from the man as he yanked back harder on my head.

"Hm, well, there's no harm in turning her." Signora Calvierri mused. "While her appearance may not be much to look at, she may still be compatible."

Her son grimaced. "Then who shall do it?"

"Honestly? I'd rather be fish food than have momma's boy sink his teeth into me." I growled, though inside I was in a panic.

I knew the Doctor wouldn't get down here at all. He'd be too busy trying to stop Signora Calvierri and he plan to sink Venice. And I had no chance of escaping on my own with myself strapped to the chair like this and no Isabella to help me out like she did for Amy. In other words, if I lived long enough to get through this whole plot thing that was going on, then I was still stuck down here waiting for someone to get me. The 'if' was a big part though, because I doubted that I'd be compatible with the fish; what with my two hearts and Artron energy. _God, but what would they do with me if they found _that_ out? Feed me to the fishes? Torture? _I couldn't process my panic for very long though, before sharp teeth sank into the nape of my neck, making me cry out in surprise and struggle against the restraints. It lasted only a split second though, before momma's boy pulled back; his teeth slicing through my skin as he did.

"Disgusting! Her blood tastes like oil!" He shouted, spitting blood off to the side as I tried to calm down my panicked breathing.

Signora Calvierri brought a hand over and wiped some of the blood dripping down my neck from the two lacerations her son had made, and licked it off her finger with a hiss of disgust.

"Vile! That is absolutely _vile_. What are you?"

I scoffed. "Like I'd tell you. You'd just kill me anyway."

"Oh, but won't your companions come back to get you?" She smirked, seeing some sort of merit in possibly keeping me hostage.

_Well, let's see. Bored to death, alone in some green glowing room… or dead. Not a hard choice._

"Course they'll come and get me." I said, frowning as my vision grew a little foggy before I blinked it away. "They'll stop you, too."

"I doubt it. They don't even have the slightest notion of what I'm planning. How can they stop it?" She asked, confident as she turned and made for the door. "Leave her here. If she doesn't bleed out before the end of the day, we'll feed her to your brothers."

I stiffened at her words, trying to turn around enough to see her. "What do you mean, 'bleed out'?"

"Oh, you don't know, do you? Our saliva acts as an anticoagulant. And it seems my son may have nicked your artery when he pulled away so violently."

Her son grinned. "_Oops_."

They all went to walk out as I grew more panicked, very much against dying in some creepy alien mind-wash room.

"Hey. Hey! Don't leave! I-I..." I felt tears clog my throat as I begged. "I don't want to die!"

* * *

Signora Calvierri walked into her throne room with a small smile, having greatly enjoyed watching the women they'd captured beg for her life. She stopped though, when someone let out a whistle, the Doctor sitting on her throne.

"Long way from Saturnyne, aren't you? Sister of the Water." The Doctor said, tapping the small ball on the end of the arm for the throne.

"No, let me guess. The owner of the psychic paper."

The Doctor shrugged, looking a little smug, though his mind was actually running rampant on how he could get Alex back.

"Then I take it you're a refugee like me?"

"I'll make you a deal. And answer for an answer. You're using a perception filter. It doesn't change your features, but manipulates the brainwaves of the person looking at you. But seeing one of you for the first time in... say... a mirror. The brain doesn't know what to fill the gap with, so it leaves it blank. Hence, no reflection."

"Your question?"

"Why can we see your big teeth?"

She laughed. "Self preservation overrides the mirage. The subconscious perceives the threat and tries to alert the conscious brain."

"Where's Alex?"

"My turn." She cut him off and he tilted his head knowing it was, though he was eager to check Alex's safety. "Where are you from?"

"Gallifrey."

"You should be in a museum." She smiled, wandering the room; the Doctor letting out a small chuckle. "Or in a mausoleum."

"Why are you here?"

Her smile slipped slightly. "We ran from the Silence. Why are you here?"

"Wedding present." He said quickly. "The Silence?"

"There were cracks. Some were tiny. Some were as big as the sky. Through some we saw worlds and people, and through others we saw Silence and the end of all things." She said, coming to a stop in front of the Doctor. "We fled to an ocean like ours and the crack snapped shut behind us. Saturnyne was lost."

"So Earth is to become Saturnyne Mark Two?"

"And you can help me. We can build a new society here, as others have." She smiled. "What do you say?"

The Doctor let out a hum, before getting up and standing before her threateningly. "Where's Alex?"

"Alex?" Signora Calvierri questioned, turning to follow the Doctor as he moved behind her.

"The girl who saved Isabella, who saved my friend."

"Oh, she wasn't compatible, so she's awaiting the final judgment. Should she not bleed out first." Signora Calvierri said, unconcerned. "I need an answer, Doctor. A partnership. Any which way you choose."

"I don't think that's such a good idea, do you? I'm a Time Lord. You're a big fish. And Alex is already upset with me for flirting with women. I won't disappoint her again." He said, growling the last bit out. "Why is she bleeding out?"

"Carlo?" Signora Calvierri called out to the steward, who approached to lead the Doctor out. "You're right. We're nothing alike. I will bend the heavens to save my race, while you philosophize. And _Alex_ was supposed to be converted, as I said. My son just got a bit violent when pulling away from her _putrid_ blood and may have nicked an artery. Our saliva is an anticoagulant, so she'll have another few hours perhaps."

"This ends today. I will tear down the House of Calvierri, stone by stone." The Doctor snarled, eyes blazing with the Oncoming storm.

Carlo came over and shoved him back, but the Doctor immediately shoved him off.

"Take your hands off me, Carlo." He snapped at the steward, who did so with a shocked look as the Doctor turned to leave himself, only to look back to the woman. "And do you know why?… You didn't know Alex's name. And you hurt the woman who means the most to me… and I will _never_ let that slide."

Signora Calvierri couldn't help the involuntary shiver that went down her spine at the seriousness of the Doctor's look, and immediately, she hurried off to alert the others that the plan was being moved ahead early. The Doctor was dangerous, and she couldn't let him foil her plans before she even began.

* * *

The Doctor sonicked Amy's neck wound with a sad look on his face. He wished he could have stayed at the Calvierri school and just found Alex and saved her, but he knew he needed to return to Guido's home to come up with a plan. Because one man armed with a sonic and a UV light wasn't going to be able to face the number of people there. He checked the results on his sonic with a flick of the wrist, before sighing.

"You're fine. Open wide."

Amy did, before the Doctor placed a small candy in her mouth and turned away with a shout of frustration.

"Agh! I need to think. Come on brain, think, think, think." He rambled on, pacing for a moment before sitting down and rubbing his face. "_Think_!"

"If they're fish people, it explains why they hate the sun." Amy said around her candy, but the Doctor covered her mouth with his hand.

"Stop talking. Brain thinking. Hush."

"It's the school thing I don't understand." Rory piped in, but the Doctor covered his mouth too.

"Stop talking. Brain thinking. Hush."

"I say we take the fight to them." Guido said in determination.

Because despite having Isabella back with him, she wouldn't be the same and would have to stay indoors or under a cover for the rest of her life. And Guido wanted to avenge her.

"Ah, ah, ah." The Doctor said, not having another arm to shush Guido with.

"What?"

"Ah."

The Doctor looked at Rory, who rolled his eyes and covered Guido's mouth as Isabella smiled a little at the display.

"Her planet dies, so they flee through a crack in space and time and end up here. Then she closes off the city and, one by one, starts changing the people into creatures like her to start a new gene pool. Got it. But then what? They come from the sea. They can't survive for ever on land, so what's she going to do?" The Doctor asked, though he was only asking himself, what with everyone else having their mouths covered.

"_They're going to sink it!"_ Alex's words came back to mind then and his face fell as realization dawned on him.

"Unless she's going to do something to the environment to make the city habitable. She said, 'I shall bend the heavens to save my race'. Bend the heavens. She's going to sink Venice. Alex said it right before she was taken. I thought she was just talking nonsense, but then again I should know that's never the case with Alex." He scolded himself, removing his hands from Amy and Rory's mouths.

"She's going to sink Venice?" Guido questioned.

"And repopulate it with the girls she's transformed."

Rory made a face, holding up a spoon. "You can't repopulate somewhere with just women. You need… blokes."

"She's got blokes." Amy said in exasperation, making them turn to her.

"Where?" The Doctor asked.

"In the canal. She said to me, 'There are ten thousand husbands waiting in the water'."

"Only the male offspring survived the journey here. She's got ten thousand children swimming around the canals, waiting for mum to make them some compatible girlfriends. Ugh. I mean, I've been around, but really that's… that's, ugh."

"Doctor, what about Alex? Won't she… Won't she be converted too? Into one of those fish alien things?"

The Doctor shook his head, brows furrowed in anger towards the aliens who took Alex from him. "No. According to _Signora Calvierri_, she was incompatible. Something about her blood, but that doesn't matter. We need to hurry. She said Alex was hurt and won't last more than a few hours."

"What?!" Amy and Rory shouted, shocked.

"But she's like you, right? Can't she just… I don't know, heal herself?"

The Doctor shook his head, growing frustrated once more. "I-I don't know. Her whole biology is changing or… has changed. And it's the first time I've seen anything like it. No, that's not true. I saw something similar, but it nearly killed the host. She had to lose her memories in order to even live." He shook his head suddenly, tossing all thoughts of Donna into the back of his mind. "Agh, no, no, no. I need to focus."

He turned to Amy a serious look on his face.

"I don't know if she can do what I can. It's called regenerating and I'll explain it to you later, but I haven't the slightest clue. It's possible she could, but I'm nearly positive that the process itself might kill her if I'm not around to monitor it. She's not full Time Lord, so things could get dicey. And just because we saw the older version of her before means nothing. Time is always in fluctuation… Wait! How old do you think she is?"

Amy made a face. "I don't know. Thirty-two? Thirty-three? But what does that—"

"Maybe..." He hummed, closing his eyes. "I might be able to contact her."

"You're kidding." Rory muttered and the Doctor furrowed his brows in annoyance.

"Time Lords are telepathic, as is the Tardis. Alex, having so much Artron energy inside her, has picked up that trait. If she's been with the version of me who helped open her mind to it and taught her a few things, I might just… There!"

_Alex? Alex, can you hear me?_ He tried, able to feel her mental presence, but only just. And whether that was because of her being close to unconsciousness or because she was still very new to this, he wasn't sure.

"_Doc… Doc… tor… I can't… I'm still… Hurry…"_

He groaned, getting frustrated and quickly spouted something at her. _I'll come get you, Alex! I will! Just hang on! Stay strong!_ He opened his eyes with a shout, getting up and pacing in frustration as he pulled a hand through his hair.

"Did you get through?" Amy asked and he sighed, trying to calm his temper before he went and did something stupid.

"I did, but it's like a bad radio connection. Everything was fuzzy and I was only getting bits and pieces." He winced. "And a slight headache. It was a bit of a stretch to connect to her. I'm hoping it's just because she's still new to it, because otherwise, we'll need to move a _lot_ faster."

There was some clattering upstairs and the Doctor looked up and gave it a look.

"The people upstairs are very noisy."

"There aren't any people upstairs." Isabella answered, making the Doctor grimace.

"Do you know, I knew you were going to say that. Did anyone else know she was going to say that?" He rambled, wishing Alex was here to say she did.

"Is it the vampires?" Rory asked in a whisper.

"Like I said, they're not vampires." The Doctor pulled out Alex's UV light. "Fish from space."

Doors crashed open and windows shattered as the girls from the school came in from them, some hovering outside as the group looked at them in worry.

"Aren't we on the second floor?" Rory asked, the Doctor waving the light to keep them back as they crashed through the window, before sonicking them and revealing them for the fish aliens they really were.

"What's happened to them?" Guido asked, sheltering Isabella from the UV light as she put on a cloak.

"There's nothing left of them. They've been fully converted. Blimey, fish from space have never been so buxom." The Doctor said. "Okay, move!"

The group ran downstairs for the door, Guido in the back who quickly asked for the UV light to hold the girls back a bit as they all pushed through the door.

"Go, go, go, guys! Keep moving! Go!" The Doctor called out, before he spotted Guido stopping in the doorway, beginning to say goodbye to Isabella.

"No! No, wait, Guido! Alex! The fuse! Alex said, 'When they find you, light the fuse by the door'!"

Guido looked around, then noticed a fuse poking through the crack below the door.

He had nothing to light it though and began to look worried until the Doctor rushed over and sonicked it; the two of them locking the door as the fuse disappeared inside. Exchanging knowing looks, Guido grabbed Isabella and the Doctor too, hurried away from the home just moments before it exploded. As the group gathered together again, Isabella turned to the Doctor.

"Your friend Alex… she is very kind to do this for my father and I."

The Doctor smiled down at the girl, worry for Alex still swimming in his stomach. "Yeah. Yeah, she is. But she's also very sad. Very, _very_ sad." He said, smiling slipping off, because he knew Alex wouldn't have killed those girls if there was another way, and he looked up at the darkening sky, knowing she'd blame herself for yet another group of deaths. "Rosanna's initiating the final phase."

"We need to stop her." Amy piped in. "Come on."

The Doctor immediately stopped her though. "No, no, no. Get back to the Tardis."

"You can't stop her on your own."

"We don't _discuss_ this!" The Doctor suddenly shouted, rounding on the red-head. "_I_ tell you to do something, Amy, and _you_ do it!"

Amy tried to say something back, but couldn't and quickly rushed off, pushing past Rory; who turned back to the Doctor and nodded his head.

"Thank you."

He then took off after Amy as the Doctor nodded and turned to Guido and Isabella. "You two better go too. I'll make sure to take care of this."

Guido nodded, not wanting to put Isabella through anymore danger and herded her away. The Doctor though, felt more alone than he had felt in a long time. And guilt swirled in his stomach at how he yelled at Amy, but he didn't want to lose another. He'd already lost so many people in his life and now Alex was in danger _again_, and this was how it happened. She went to save someone and now she's trapped somewhere possibly dying. It was just as Rory said. He made people a danger to themselves. He made them go off and do dangerous things, and all that did was get them hurt. So he wasn't going to let it happen again. That's why he sent Amy off. And that's why he was going after Rosanna, or Signora Calvierri, or whatever her real name was. He was going to save Venice from sinking, save Alex, and take Amy and Rory home before he could lose anyone else.

He was back in the throne room for the school within minutes, searching the throne itself for the device being used to create the storm and finding it hidden behind the back cushion. He sonicked it, searching for some way to shut it off, when the woman herself spoke up from behind him.

"You're too late. Such determination." She smirked as he turned to face her. "Just to save one city. Hard to believe this is the same man who let an entire race burn to cinders and ash. Now you can watch as my people take their new kingdom."

They were facing each other now, the Doctor standing over her as he spoke quiet but seriously.

"The girls are gone, Rosanna."

The woman took a few steps back, devastated. "You're lying."

"Shouldn't I be dead?" He questioned. "Hm? I wasn't even the one who planned it. Alex knew what you were going to be up to, and made sure to prevent it, giving me hints so I'd know what to do when the time came. And I want her _back._"

Rosanna sucked in a fearful breath at that dangerous glint in his eyes and she quickly turned tail and headed back out; getting in one last snappy retort as she went to go mourn with her sons.

"So _save_ her."

The Doctor frowned, but turned back to the chair in the hopes for figuring something out quickly enough to get to Alex before the unthinkable happened. After finding little to nothing, he hurried up onto the roof to check for any hint of what he could do there, and the chiming of the bell tower gave him just the idea he needed as he rushed back inside. He slid across the floor as Amy and Rory rushed in as well, immediately bothering him.

"Get out! I need to stabilize the storm." He said, moving past them and to the throne.

"We're not leaving you!" Rory said loudly, making the Doctor round on him in an instant.

"Right. So one minute, it's all 'You make people a danger to themselves' and the next, it's 'We're not leaving you', but if one of you gets squashed or blown up or eaten, who get's the—"

He was cut off from his rant as the ground quaked and dust fell from the ceiling; the lot of them tumbling to the floor until the shaking stopped.

"What was that?" Rory asked and the Doctor grimaced as he got back up.

"Nothing. Bit of an earthquake."

"An earthquake?" Amy questioned.

"Manipulate the elements, it can trigger earthquakes. But don't worry about them."

"No?" Rory asked, getting up himself.

"No. Worry about the tidal waves caused by the earthquake." The Doctor muttered, before turning back to the throne. "Right. Rosanna's throne is the control hub, but she's locked the program. So, tear out every single wire and circuit in the throne. Go crazy. Hit it with a stick, anything. We need to shut it down and reroute control to the secondary hub, which I'm guessing will also be the generator."

He didn't mention that said generator would be up on the roof, but they'd figure that out soon enough.

"What about Alex? Shouldn't one of us go find her?" Amy asked and the Doctor winced, begrudgingly shaking his head.

"You can't. There's no time. The sooner we get this done, the faster we can get to her and let her punch me for being late. But she'd want us to do this. And with two for you working on that throne, things will get done a lot quicker. So hop to it!" He ordered, rushing out of the room, before rushing back in again. "But if you two finish early, you're more than welcome to find her… _please_."

He smiled a little before heading off once more, finding the wires and cords leading up to the bell tower, and quickly making his way up the stairs. The bells themselves were ringing loudly and the Doctor made sure he shut them up before realizing that the cords went up even further and that he'd have to climb up the side of the tower to the very top. Building up his courage with thoughts of Alex, he began his climb, slipping a few times, before finally reaching the large orb sitting atop the tower. Popping off the top, he was met with a variety of gears and he struggled to figure out what to do to stop the thing. Down below, Amy and Rory cheered for him, having searched the building for Alex but not finding a sign of her, so only hoping that he'd manage to discover her whereabouts. _If only I could figure out how to shut this thing off!_ The Doctor finally noticed a small switch then and begged the universe that it would do the trick.

Luckily, it did and the storm came to a halt as the sun poked through the clouds and cheers rang up from below. He let out a relieved sigh before closing the top and spotting Amy and Rory below. The moment he saw no Alex though, his hearts sank and he hurried off to find Rosanna, just _knowing _she had something to do with it.

"Rosanna!" He called out, skidding around the corner to the small paved area beside the canal.

Immediately though, his eyes locked onto Alex's pale form beside the woman. She had her free hand pressed against her neck, while her other arm was being held by Rosanna. What concerned him though, was what he couldn't see hidden by Alex's coat collar. He could only guess how much blood she'd lost.

"Rosanna, you let her go!" He shouted, his worry escalating as Rosanna pulled Alex closer to the canal.

"One city to save an entire species. Was that so much to ask?"

"I told you, you can't go back and change time. You mourn, but you _live_." The Doctor said, steadily moving closer. "I know, Rosanna. I did it."

"Tell me, Doctor." She turned to him. "Can your conscious carry the weight of another dead race? Remember us. Dream of us… And say goodbye to your precious friend."

"No!" He screamed, diving forward as Rosanna walked off the plank into the water, pulling Alex along with her. "No!"

Scrambling, he reached down into the water and grabbed Alex, yanking her back up onto the concrete and out of the churning water. He'd gotten lucky. So very lucky. The fish in the canal had been more focused on Rosanna than Alex, but one look at Alex and his hearts ached in worry. She hadn't gotten away completely unscathed. She'd lost more blood than he thought, judging by the amount of her shirt crusted with dried blood. And a few of the aliens had managed to get a hold of one of her legs when she'd fallen into the water, and six long lacerations went across her calf and shin; only causing her to lose more blood. Alex though, reached a hand up and lightly punched him across the cheek; more of a tap than an actual punch.

"You're late."

He smiled a bit, picking her up and starting to rush through the school building. "I knew you were going to say that." His smile fell. "And I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. If I had known—"

"Shut up." She snapped, cringing in pain despite the Doctor trying to keep her as still as possible. "Just shut up and run, you moron."

He nodded, hurrying past Amy and Rory, who swiftly followed after him as he brushed past the official they met earlier and hurried into the Tardis.

"Is she going to be alright?" Rory asked, once they reached the med bay and the Doctor set Alex down on one of the beds.

"Probably. Possibly. Not really sure. Depends how quickly her blood can replenish itself. Need to stop the bleeding first though, patch up her leg, and then check for any compatible blood types on board." He winced. "Though I'm not sure there is one for her unique situation."

"Lucky me." Alex muttered, eyes shutting slowly as she let out a soft sigh and the Doctor snapped his fingers to make her open them again.

"No, no. No sleeping, Alex. You go to sleep now, you might not wake back up again."

She frowned at him, opening her eyes. "Can't even take a nap without you thinking I'm going to die. Honestly, I thought you didn't care."

His eyes snapped to hers as she looked away, and he briefly glanced at a worried Amy and Rory before turning back to the bottle he was searching through.

"Not now, Alex." He muttered softly. "Please, we can talk later."

She ignored him and spoke to Amy and Rory. "What about you two? Thought you were getting married."

The Doctor nodded, taking some bright blue gel and a wet cloth to clean up the wound on Alex's neck. "Next stop Leadworth Registry Office. Maybe I can give you away." He smiled, jokingly.

"It's fine." Rory said, wondering if Amy would even want him when she apparently had feelings for the Doctor. "Drop me back where you found me. I'll just say you've—"

"Stay." Amy suddenly said. "With us. Please. Just for a bit. I want you to stay."

Rory looked at the Doctor and Alex.

"Fine with me." The Doctor smiled, swearing the blue gel onto Alex's neck before bandaging it as she winced.

"Don't mind me. He's the driver, I'm just the freeloader."

Rory turned to Amy. "Yes. I would like that." He grinned, the two sharing a kiss as the Doctor made a face about Alex calling herself a freeloader.

"Nice one. _I_ will pop the kettle on." Amy said, bounding off towards the door. "Hey, look at this. Got my spaceship, got my boys, got Alex. My work here is done."

She headed off and Rory turned to the Doctor with a scoff and a wrinkle of his nose.

"Uh, we are _not_ her boys."

"Yeah, we are." The Doctor said as Alex scoffed as well.

"Totally are."

"Yeah, we are." Rory gave in, knowing it was true, but having hoped he was wrong.

He left the room though and things suddenly grew quiet. _Too_ quiet for the Doctor's sake as he turned to Alex.

"Alex, listen to that."

She blinked wearily up at him as he shifted towards her mangled leg, ears still perked up at the sound of nothing.

"It's silence, Doctor." She muttered and his face grew stone cold as he frowned slightly, before shaking his head and returning to his task of stitching up her leg.

"Right. Sorry. Dumb question."

"Nothing is a dumb question." Alex said softly, wincing as she adjusted her head a bit and her leg tensed at the pain caused by the stitches the Doctor was putting in.

Things grew quiet once more between them, with the Doctor not knowing what to say since Alex was still upset with him. So she spoke instead, keeping her gaze locked on the ceiling as the Doctor worked.

"What do you see in me, Doctor?"

Said man raised a brow, before catching her annoyed look and quickly clearing his throat. "Sorry, just didn't see where that question came from."

Alex rolled her eyes and returned to looking at the ceiling, expression changing to a more saddened one.

"I'm not like the others." She finally muttered, confusing the Doctor even more.

"Others?"

Alex nodded slowly, making sure to keep from looking at the Doctor as she went on. "Like Rose and River and other women. I'm not pretty or super smart or an amazing Time Lord or anything. I'm brash and broad shouldered, and I look like a guy. Even the _fish_ people didn't want me. So I… I don't see why you would."

"Is… Is that what you really think, Alex?" The Doctor questioned, unsure, because Alex never really spoke with him about this sort of thing.

It was rare that the two of them even had downtime to talk like this. They were usually rushing off somewhere, saving people, fighting bad guys, that sort of thing. Their relationship was a little rushed—thinking you're going to die tends to do that—but they were both near that point already and just got a little shove to make that first step. It was just the steps afterward that seemed to be skipped. With Alex popping in and out all the time and all the running that they did, there was never really a chance to just sit down and talk. And the few talks they did have, were over things like near death experiences, or Alex's foreknowledge. He honestly didn't remember the last time they had a conversation like this, and he was beginning to wonder if speaking out these things more often would prevent further issues in the future.

He winced, bandaging Alex's leg. _Probably would. But putting two people together who already have a hard time talking about things like feelings doesn't exactly sound like the perfect fixer-upper._ He finished with her leg and looked up, only to see her look away quickly, a pained look in her eyes.

"Do you really think that, Alex?" He asked again. "That I wouldn't want you because of how you look?"

Alex abruptly sat up, only a slight cringe giving away the pain it caused as she snapped at the Doctor.

"What am I supposed to think when you go off doing whatever the hell you feel like doing with other people?! People like Rose and River and Amy, who are better than me in every possible way! Are you seriously so thick that you didn't think that'd hurt?! That the person you supposedly cared about the most, wasn't worth her grain of salt, so you go off kissing other women because she just isn't worth it to you!"

The Doctor recoiled in shock. "Alex, I never thought—"

"Of course you didn't! Why would you?!" She shouted, tears welling up in her eyes as she let out her pent up rage. "You had _them_! You had plenty of people who would give up everything just to be with you, so why should I be treated any different?!"

She got up, stumbling slightly as she put weight on her injured leg, and the Doctor caught her in worry, but she shoved herself away from him.

"Leave me alone!"

The Doctor didn't though, continuing to follow after her as she limped to her room in the Tardis; which hummed in worry.

"Alex! Alex, wait! Please, I don't understand! Help me understand so I can fix things!"

"There's nothing _to_ fix!" She shouted back, tears finally streaming down her face as she made it to her room and slammed the door in his face.

He pounded on it though, determined to not let this go. "Alex! Please! I know that I hurt you and I'm sorry! I shouldn't have allowed them to kiss me! I shouldn't have kissed them back! I shouldn't have hurt you! I should've told you how much you mean to me! I should've told you everything! I _will_ tell you everything! So please!" He pressed his forehead against the door, begging now. "Please don't shut me out, Alex. I love you. My actions may not have shown it, but I do. I really, honestly do. And I'm so sorry I haven't been showing you that. I'm so sorry you think this way about yourself, because you _are_ special. You're beautiful and smart and so, _so_ strong and I'm an idiot for not even considering how you'd feel about my actions. And I don't want you thinking that it's your fault. I don't want you blaming yourself for me being an idiot. I don't want you to think it's because of you. So please let me in. Please, Alexander."

There was a pause before the softest click was heard, and the Doctor slowly opened the door; Alex lying on her bed with her back facing him. Hesitantly, he approached the bed, but didn't touch it.

"Alex, I—"

"Be quiet." She grumbled and he snapped his mouth shut with an audible 'click', bowing his head in silence. "… You never answered my question."

The Doctor went to ask which one, but she beat him to it.

"What do you see in me?"

The Doctor thought about it for a second, before speaking, choosing his words carefully. "I see someone who is unique and beautiful in her own way. I see someone who is smart and modest, someone who stands up for others before thinking about herself. Someone strong and far too kind for her own good. I see a very sad, lonely person who is full of so much torment that she can't open herself up to many people, but when she does..." The Doctor smiled a little, taking a seat on the edge of the bed, but keeping his back towards her to keep the distance she set up. "...When she does, it's like she is suddenly the most beautiful thing in the universe. More radiant than the brightest sun, more spectacular than a comet passing by, and more worrisome than trying to drive through an asteroid belt. You're _you_, Alexander. And you are the most amazing, fantastic, brilliant woman I have ever had the chance to met. And if it weren't for that Artron energy you're carrying around, I wouldn't let you go for anything in the universe."

"W-Why?" Alex questioned and the Doctor turned to her, a sad look on his face as he saw her shoulders shaking slightly; her body curled up in a ball and her face hidden from view as her voice cracked. "I-I'm not like them. I'm not pretty or girly o-or anything. I-I don't see… I don't understand how you… I-I'm _nothing_."

"You are _not_ nothing, Alexander." The Doctor said sternly, finally moving over towards her and tugging her back. "Look at me, Alex."

She shook her head, still hiding her face, but the Doctor was adamant.

"_Alexander_." He said, pulling her hands from her face as he leaned over her. "Look at me."

She finally did, already trying to stop the tears that trailed down her face in embarrassment at being caught crying. Because that was just like her. She always had to be the strong one and no matter what the Doctor said, she had and always will see crying as a sign of weakness. But she looked at him like he'd said, and tried to put on that angry frown from before. 'Tried' being the key word.

"Alexander, you are _not_ nothing." The Doctor repeated, his green eyes boring into her blue ones. "And I don't care if you're not girly or you never wear dresses or skirts. I don't mind that you trim your hair really short or that your shoulders are a little on the broad side. I don't _care_ that other people mistaken you for a man when you're so obviously not." He paused suddenly. "Though I _do_ mind that you seem to attract your own fair share of women."

Alex's face turned a bright red in embarrassment. "I-It's not like I enjoy it! You're the one who—"

She was cut off as the Doctor leaned in and kissed her deeply, her pushing him off.

"I was talking!"

"So was I." He smirked mischievously, going in for another kiss, only for Alex to turn the tables and flip him onto his back as she pinned him down.

"Stop it!" She shouted, looking more than conflicted about how the situation was turning out. "Y-You just don't get it!"

The Doctor frowned, leaning up on his elbows as he eyed her. "Then explain. Explain to me why it is that you just can't seem to realize that you _are_ special to me and I care about you more than any of those other women!"

"I-I..." Alex hesitated; whether she was trying to come up with the right words to explain things, or simply lost for words, the Doctor wasn't sure, so he pushed for an answer.

"How am I supposed to understand you when I haven't the slightest idea what's going through your head?! Help me understand! Let me _fix_ this, Alexander!"

She looked conflicted, before she seemed to collect herself and move closer to the Doctor; surprising him.

"Alex?" He said softly, confused as she grabbed his shirt tightly in her fist.

What he _didn't_ expect, was the hard headbutt he received, making him let out a cry of pain. He went to ask what that was for, but images and feeling invaded his mind and he suddenly understood.

_The Doctor watched from Alex's point of view as Cassandra—who'd taken over Rose back in the hospital on New New York—kissed him and a stiffness over came him, his stomach churning in discomfort as Alex's thoughts drifted into his head. _This scene always made me uncomfortable, though I don't know why it's bugging me this badly. Maybe because it's actually real to me now?_ The Doctor knew better though. This was when Alex began to think about her feelings towards him. That much was obvious as the Alex before him rubbed at her forehead._

_Then came another scene. This time from when Rose was trapped in the other universe after saving Alex. Alex herself was panicking as the Tenth Doctor mourned over his loss of Rose, pressing his forehead against the wall where the Void had been. The Doctor could feel now though, what she'd felt then. The guilt overwhelming as thoughts drifted through Alex's head about not being good enough, _smart_ enough to save Rose. Rose: the person Alex believed to be the one the Doctor cared about more than anyone else. Compared to Alex, who was willing to get trapped in that universe just to make the Doctor happy._

_Next, was when Alex had popped up with the Tenth Doctor and Martha, before they were going to go see Lazarus's experiment that would change humankind. She was arguing with the Tardis about wearing a tuxedo instead of a dress._

"_There is no way you're getting me to wear that!"_

_That's what she said, but the Doctor could feel how just looking at the dress made her stomach churn uncomfortably; a memory from her past life fluttering through her head at the sight._

"_You in a dress? Ha! I'd pay to see that!" A supposed friend of hers joked, making the Doctor frown in anger._

_He couldn't dwell on it for long though, before the scene changed once more, to when he had taken in the living sun back on that cargo ship with Martha; Alex begging for him to live._

"_I know you love Rose a-and that you'll come to love someone else and even marry her, but I can't help it!"_

_Then, when he started to burn her from the inside out—the sun having taken control of the Doctor—her thoughts continued to drift into his head. _But he can live without me. He had Martha, and Donna, and Amy and Rory, and *****, and River, and Rose. He has so many people, but if he dies, I'm left alone._ And the Doctor's hearts broke once more at how little Alex believed she was worth, not even caring that one of the names had been blocked out from the memory. _

_Then came the aftermath of her death, after he'd mourned for a month and she reappeared in his life again. That moment when he, as the Tenth Doctor, had confessed again to her. But her thoughts towards the action was not what he was expecting to have felt. He expected joy and happiness, but instead, all he felt was confusion, worry, fear even. _W-W-What?! N-No! He can't! H-He's supposed to love Rose a-and *****! H-How could he love me?! I-I'm human! I probably won't live past 80 a-and I'm not smart or anything! _Yet again, she was doubting herself. And then came the kissing._

_Him being kissed by Christina as the Tenth, stomach twisting into knots as Alex was forced to watch, unable to speak up. This version of him being kissed by a woman who's face was blocked from view, her hearts screaming in agony after just finding out the love between them was mutual. Finding out about Amy kissing him, and the rage that came with it. Then came scenes that he _knew_ were a part of future events. Alex reaching out towards him in a shopping center of some sort, his eyes locked on Amy. _Just say it. You're not alone. I'm right here._ She thought, but she couldn't and just lowered her hand and pulled away from him when he later reached out for her. Then the disbelief as Alex laid in her bed and stared at the ceiling as words from someone went through her mind._

"He said, 'Tell her I love her, but I will never love anyone more than I do my Alexander'."

_But instead of feeling pleased at those words, she sighed and sadness grew within her. _How could he say that? After what I did, how could he still love me?_ He saw his future self coming in then and hoped things got better, but it only seemed to get worse. The next scene was Alex speaking with Amy and Rory on a bed he didn't recognize surrounded by parts to something._

"_I can't even put a stupid toaster back together. And the Doctor, he… He can make DNA scanners and robot dogs and can do genetic engineering and can fly the Tardis and knows more about anything in this universe than anyone else… How am I supposed to compare to that?"_

_The feeling of uselessness that over came him from her memories of that drowned him as she went on._

"_You don't get it. He's always had all these other companions… Ones who save the universe over and over again, and all I have is this foreknowledge—I _know_ what's going to happen to them, to you, to River, to everyone and I can't do a single thing about it."_

"_You think it's easy? You and the Doctor and everyone always thinks it so freakin' easy!"_

"_I can't even fix a bloody toaster. How am I supposed to fix time? How am I supposed to prove that I'm not useless when it's so obvious I am?"_

_The Doctor wanted to tell her she wasn't useless, scream it at her if he must, but he could tell from everything he was feeling from her, that she wouldn't believe it. Then the scene changed again, Alex alone in a dark, dirty kitchen as she prepared tea._

"_Thinking can be the worst pastime, sometimes." She muttered, her thoughts drifting to the Doctor._

Look at me. Still worrying about other people. Good quality, sure, but… I wish there was someone who'd look out for me. God, now I'm being selfish... There was just never anyone at home I could talk to about anything. Not even my parents understood. And now… now I'm even more alone than I was before and… I wish I could go back. _The Doctor never knew that Alex thought about going back home. And he watched as his future Eleventh self came in and hardly bothered seeing if anything was wrong. This future him didn't even consider how Alex may have been feeling, and he could feel Alex stuffing those dark feelings away; a coping mechanism that he had yet to notice. Even now._

_Then came the final straw. The most recent memory Alex had that she was willing to show him. There was someone there—their face blocked out—but the Doctor knew it was him. A future him, but him, no less._

"_Who are you? I don't know you. Are you the police or something?" He asked Alex and the Doctor's hearts immediately sank._

_He didn't recognize her. He had somehow forgotten Alex. _His_ Alexander. And he'd forgotten her._

"_Doctor, I'm Alex. Remember? Alexander Holmes? I pop around the Tardis's time-line? We're together?" Alex said, the hopelessness she felt sinking into her voice._

"_Together? You mean like I'm your boyfriend? And what's this about time-lines? I don't know you."_

_Someone else spoke up then, trying to get him to remember, but it wasn't working and what the Doctor's future self said next, had the Doctor realizing just _what_—exactly—Alex had been feeling up until now._

"_No, no, no, no, no. I don't have a girlfriend, especially not one like... like that. I mean, look at her! She's all... manly and short-haired! I wouldn't touch that if I had a Dalek at my back!"_

_Then the scene switched to later in the day, Alex speaking with someone._

"_How long have you two been courting?"_

"_For me? About... two and a half months, I think."_

"_And you doubt his intentions?"_

"_No. No, it's not like that. Things are... complicated. He's supposed to love other people, but he's come to love me and... and I'm just not sure if... if that's right."_

"_You are worried about your foreknowledge. But perhaps you should worry about your heart instead."_

"My_ heart?" Alex questioned, suddenly appearing worn out. "_Mine_? What about _his_?! What if what he said is really what he thinks about me? He could be forcing himself to care for me because I came back for him! I left everything to be with him and he knows that. H-He could just be treating this as... as an apology! I've become his burden because I dropped everything to come back to someone who could care less! I—"_

_Alex was cut off by a slap across the cheek and the scene went away into one of Alex in an area he didn't know. A far _younger_ Alex at that, sitting at home—_her_ home—on the computer applying for small time jobs as her family around her poked jabs at her._

"_When are you going to get a job? You hardly ever get off that computer, you lazy bum. Can't you find something to do with your life? You're not in school after all."_

"_Find a job? She can't even find a guy. Not that anyone would fall for her like that."_

_Alex frowned. "I shouldn't have to change myself for some guy to like me."_

"_Good luck with that. By the time you find someone, you'll be an old cat lady and then they'll _really_ never want you."_

"_Why don't you try a dating site? I'm positive you'll find someone that way."_

"_I don't _want_ to find someone, okay? I just want to finish my schooling. I'm not desperate to find a guy like some people."_

"_Well you should be. I want to see my grandkids before I die. At the rate you're going though, I'll just have to wait for your sister. If you just tried dressing up once in a while—"_

"_I don't _like_ dressing up. I told you that a hundred times already." _That's why you don't take me shopping for clothes anymore._ Alex argued; frustration, anger, and knowing acceptance swimming in her stomach._

"_You should at least help around the house more."_

Right, because babysitting my siblings nearly everyday doesn't count._ Alex mentally complained before the scene changed to her crying in a bathroom at some sort of school after being invited to a dance by someone she had a crush on; a group of girls shouting at her._

"_What the hell's your problem?! Why can't you just dance with the guy?! You've got him coming to ask _us_ to dance because you won't! What, you think you're too good for him or something?!"_

"_You've got _him_ crying in the bathroom! You don't even _deserve_ to dance with a nice guy like him! I don't even know why he bothered with someone like you!"_

_The girls shoved Alex and left, leaving her to cry as she quietly explained herself._

"_H-He doesn't. He doesn't deserve me. I-I don't know how to dance. I-I just didn't want him to be embarrassed b-by me. I-I don't look good with him a-anyway. I-I don't look good with anyone."_

_The Doctor then watched as she grew older, helping the very same boy get together with one of her friends and being unable to look herself in the mirror anymore. Then watching as all of her friends grew to care for someone while she remained alone. Watched as her own family questioned her sexuality because she liked to cut her hair short and wear men's clothing, when in reality, she only wore that because it made her feel comfortable with herself. Then her friends began to question her and when she did things that were obviously part of her true self, they questioned it. She cooed at puppies in a shop window and it was as though her friends had met a completely different person, and they made _fun_ of her for it._

_Then college came around and she lost everyone. All of her friends moved on elsewhere or broke off friendships because she showed them a piece of her and expected acceptance, only to get disgust in return. And she closed herself off from everyone and everything, only showing a masked version of herself to those around her until she met him. Until she met someone she could take off that mask for, only for him to hurt her deeply, after she'd given him more than she'd ever given anyone in her life._

"S-Sorry." Alex cried, tears slipping down her face as she held her head. "I-I think I gave you too much. I-I'm still not good with this… this m-mind thing. I-I wasn't supposed to s-show you my old life o-or the future. I-I just wanted you t-to understand."

And he did. He understood now, why Alex was the way she was. Why she always acted so strong, even when she was hurting. Why she always brushed off the compliments he gave her and why her face turned a bright red in embarrassment when he showed her affection. He knew now why she was so angry with him about what he'd done and why a simple apology wouldn't be able to fix it. The Doctor understood that this wasn't just about him either. This was what Alex had been through her _entire life_. The jokes, the bullying, her family and friends. This was her burden, just as the Time War was his. This was what Alex had to carry around every day, and he understood now how she would react to different things.

When he kisses her, he would know that she was embarrassed and confused as to why someone like him would do that to her. How could he say such nice things about her when everyone else always said the opposite? He knew now that she didn't understand much about affection or compliments, so when they were given to her, she brushed them off, not knowing what else to do with them. Not only that, but now the Doctor knew why Alex would get upset when people mentioned her femininity. People made fun of her for acting girly, so she stopped. She stopped to the point of being uncomfortable with even _looking_ at girly things. And her body was a different story entirely. He always questioned why the mirror in her bathroom on the Tardis would disappear and reappear randomly, but now he understood. The hoodies and coats and jackets she always wore were to hide her body from herself and others. She was uncomfortable looking at her own body because all it did was remind her that she was a girl, when she couldn't even _be_ a girl.

And then the Doctor looked at what he'd done. He'd given her what she'd always wanted. He'd given her unconditional love, and she didn't know what to do with it. She'd lost hope of ever finding someone to accept her the way she was, but he'd shown her that he would. And then he betrayed her. She'd shown him parts of who she really was—the random history facts, the nervousness, the fear, the way she'd ramble on like he would, the little affections she gave him in return—and he went and shoved that all away to give affection to someone else. He'd shown her she was special to him, only to show that those words, those actions, meant nothing because he did that with everyone. He'd taken the one thing that meant anything to her and smeared it until she couldn't even recognize what love was anymore. Whether he was actually in love with her, or just playing around with her.

And it broke the Doctor's hearts to know these things. To know just how deeply he'd hurt her, how deeply _others_ had hurt her, and to know that he just added on top of that pain. He knew that she hadn't wanted to show him some of those things, but he was glad she did. Because he understood her now, better than he ever could have before. He could understand now, all those little things he'd missed before, and he wanted desperately to show her that he could fix things between them. That he could make her love herself as much as he did. He wanted to prove to her that she _was_ special to him. More than anyone else. The problem was, trying to prove it to someone who'd always been told they were nothing.

"Alex."

He leaned up, shifting her on his lap so that he could hold her in a hug as she tried to keep her sobs down to a minimum.

"L-Let me go." She muttered, but the Doctor shook his head and held her closer.

"No. I won't ever let you go, Alex. Those people who said those things about you were wrong. Every last one of them. And if I could, I would take you home and show them just how amazing you are. I would show them that you found someone who thinks you're beautiful the way you are, and rub it in their faces that they missed out on someone more amazing than they could ever imagine."

Alex slowly stopped crying, not moving from his arms as he rested his head on top of hers.

"And I want to show _you_ that too, Alex. So let me take you somewhere. Just the two of us. No Ponds, no running or crazy adventures, just out to some planet somewhere where we can talk about all of this. Get to know each other _without_ the headbutting, preferably." He joked, though Alex remained silent. "Please, Alexander. I want to fix this, but I can't unless you're willing to as well. I don't want to lose you. Especially not because I was too stupid to think about how you feel. So give me a chance. _Please_."

She was quiet, but eventually nodded, relief filling the Doctor as he pressed his nose to the crook of her neck, hugging her tightly.

"I won't disappoint you again. I promise. An Alexander Holmes promise."

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_I popped up in a small area on top of some hay, to which I immediately grimaced._

_ "Ooh, hay. Don't like hay. Nothing good ever happens when I am around hay. Growing a second heart, that whole thing with Mels…"_

_ I wrinkled my nose in disgust and stood up, brushing myself off only to freeze when I heard a snort._


	45. Human Nature

**here is the next chapter for you all, and it will definitely be a treat ^^ thanks to all those who've reviewed and followed, and i just want to let you all know i _might_ have to slow down updates again later on. not only am i running out of chapters, but i've also recently gotten a job and i still need to figure out my schedule and such. hopefully i won't have to slow down (i myself rather like updating twice a week), but i just though i should give you all a heads up on what may happen.**

**please review though and let me know what you think about this! especially the first half ;) and a warning: there is the implication of mature activities involved.**

* * *

The Doctor soon had the Tardis land somewhere that he knew would be just _perfect_ for his time with Alex. And if he was lucky, she wouldn't pop off anywhere before he could fix things between them. He had already dropped the Ponds off at another planet, informing them that they could stay at the resort planet until he make up with Alex and picked them up. They agreed, though a little unsure at first, but he managed to convince them and now he just needed to convince Alex that she meant more to him than she thought. He really was honestly sorry for what had happened and for how she felt about the whole thing. And it killed him to know that even after they made up here, that his future self still managed to hurt her by making the same mistakes. But he vowed to himself that he would avoid flirting and other activities with other women, whether Alex was around or not. He owed her that much.

He glanced worriedly over at Alex as she sat in the jump seat, picking at her fingernails. _Now if only I can convince _her_ of that._ He took in a deep breath and put his usual goofy smile on his face, hoping that a bit of normal Doctor behavior might help get Alex back into her comfort zone again after the little heart-to-heart (or head-to-head) they had just had.

"It's going to be a very easy-going trip. We'll pop in, look around, spend the night, enjoy ourselves a bit more, then go get Amy and Rory and head out on another adventure when you're ready. Sound good?"

Alex looked up briefly and nodded, before turning back to her nails. The Doctor's smile faltered slightly, but he knew what was going on. Alex was still down after what happened and he knew that she probably didn't feel up to doing much of anything, but he was hoping this planet would do the trick. Alex had shown him much more than she wanted to, so now she felt—not only embarrassed, but also very vulnerable. And the Doctor didn't want to trap her. He didn't want her to force herself to talk to him about what she'd shown him. He wanted her to tell him in her own time. And if the time was right, then perhaps he'd tell her some things as well. She'd given him a large piece of her past that made her who she was to him, so he should offer the same. Though, he knew she wouldn't want him to tell her under that reasoning, so he'd wait until they were both comfortable enough to speak with each other about things like that. That's what had been wrong with their relationship before. She gave him everything and he gave nothing in return. So now was his chance to fix things, _mutually_.

He parked the Tardis where he wanted it and moved over to Alex, holding out his hand in the hopes that she'd take it as a sign of good faith, and trust in him despite her vulnerability. She hesitantly did and his big grin returned as he lightly tugged her to the door and showed her the view.

"Welcome, to Apalapucia."

Her eyes widened as she looked around the busy planet and the Doctor couldn't help the feeling of pride overcome him at picking the planet. Soaring spires skimmed the clouds from atop of buildings nearby and elaborate silver colonnades decorated homes, the Glasmir Mountains off in the distance showing up beautifully against the pinkish-purple sky that would begin to darken soon.

"Wow..." Alex breathed out, and that was good enough for the Doctor, who gave her hand a squeeze and smiled at her.

"So? Want to explore a bit?"

She nodded quickly, tugging him along through the bazaar they were in as she searched through the items the aliens around them were selling. This continued on for a while until the Doctor found someplace to eat and they sat down and talked; checking on Alex's leg as she pointed out different aliens and tried to figure out if she knew what species they were or not. They then continued to look around the bazaar when the Doctor spotted something. Alex had her back turned to him and was chatting up a friendly vendor about some sort of blue fruits they were selling, so the Doctor quickly went over to the small shop and haggled his way into getting a couple of rings. He'd only just managed to buy the pair, before Alex started heading back towards him and he quickly shoved the two boxes into his pocket as she passed him a bright neon green fruit with a grin as she rambled on about said fruit; having missed the Doctor's purchase. Things quickly relaxed between them though, compared to their previous moods, and the Doctor managed to tug her over to a secluded cliff area overlooking a small beach to watch the sunset. It _was_ a bit cheesy, as Alex had stated with a chuckle, but the Doctor didn't care as long as she enjoyed it. And once the sun set, the two laid back on the grass and stared up at the stars.

"Doctor?" Alex said softly, making the Doctor roll onto his side to face her, though she continued to stare up at the stars.

"Hm?"

"Do you think about me when I'm not around?"

"Course I do." He said, taking her hand in his and rubbing his thumb over the back of it. "I think about you and wonder if you would've kept me out of trouble or just got me into more." He chuckled, earning a roll of her eyes.

"Haha, very funny." She muttered, before she sighed quietly. "Do you think about Rose?"

The Doctor saw where this conversation was headed, but he knew he needed to be honest, so he nodded. "Sometimes. I'll occasionally wonder how she's doing back in Pete's world or whether she'd like some of the places we've been. I think the same with Donna and my other companions too."

"And your family?" Alex asked, her gaze shifting to his hesitantly. "Your kids, grandkids... wife?"

His own expression slipped into a more melancholy one, his green eyes locking with her blue ones. "I will _always_ miss my family, Alex. Just as you will always miss yours. Families are… unforgettable."

She slowly nodded, looking back up at the night sky. "Sorry, for bringing it up, I just…" She shook her head, pushing up off the grass to a sitting position. "I don't know."

The Doctor nodded in understanding, pushing himself up onto his elbows as Alex rested her chin on her arms and hugged her knees to her chest. Sometimes emotions were just too complicated to explain.

"Alex?" The Doctor spoke up, watching her reaction carefully as he spoke his next words. "Why did you never tell anyone about their words hurting you?"

Alex curled up a little further, but the Doctor waited patiently for an answer.

"I was..." She sighed softly. "I was always the good kid. The oldest of seven with good grades, an even temperament, decent friends. Never stepped out of line. My brother would come home late, borrow the car without asking, things like that. And my sister would go places without telling people and get with the bad boy types. But I never did any of that. I told my parents where I was going, who with, when I'd be back. I'd text them if I was going to be late. Never touched alcohol or drugs or thought of things like tattoos or piercings. I was the one all my siblings looked up to. So crying wasn't much of an option. I had to be strong for them, so I could handle some hurtful comments. It was fine..."

She trailed off, but the Doctor didn't say a word, knowing that there was more.

"I just figured..." She went on, her hands clenched around the fabric of her pants. "...a few hurtful comments here and there was better than loosing friends. Better than being alone. That, by being myself and getting a tattoo or drinking or doing something rebellious like that… that I'd disappoint those who trusted me the most. I didn't want to be seen a-as weak because I let a few bad words get to me. And when I did..." She frowned a bit, tucking her head further down into her arms. "When I told them, my parents and stuff, they always thought I was joking. I guess it's my own fault though. I sort of… smile and laugh when I say it because if I'm serious, then they get serious and we somehow end up arguing and I end up crying and… Saying it the way I do… I'm serious, but it looks like I'm joking so they misunderstand and… nothing really changes. I figure, if they did take me seriously, they'd lighten up for a month or so, and then forget we ever talked about it and they would start up again. I… didn't want to get my hopes up that they'd change for me, only for them to go right back to doing it again."

The Doctor's hearts ached sadly for Alex. That was the one question he'd had for her. The only thing he couldn't figure out from her memories and now that he knew the answer, he almost felt bad for asking. Not only that, but Alex reminded him a lot of himself. When he was the Tenth Doctor, Martha would bring up hurtful memories without even knowing it, and he'd joke around about it only for her to push on, because she didn't catch onto the serious undertone. And as he was now, he was almost always joking with a big grin on his face, despite the fact that he was hurting far more than anyone realized. Alex was the only one who could tell. He still didn't know how she did it, but she could always figure out when he was upset about something, and now he wished to do the same for her. He wanted to be able to see those tiny little calling cards of hers that would let him know when she was truly happy, or upset, or angry. And he would look for them now. He would ingrain them into his head; from the way her eyes sparkle when she's excited, to the way she gets quiet or distracts his attention to something else when she's upset or worried. He wanted to show her how much he loved and cared for her, and learning all about her would be the first step.

"Is there..." Alex trailed off, surprising the Doctor when she'd spoken again. "Is there any way you could… teach me?" She asked, turning slightly towards him. "Like Gallifreyan or about you family and planet and stuff?"

The Doctor blinked, honestly shocked. "You… You want to learn about that? All that… that boring stuff?" He wrinkled his nose then, suddenly thinking about his days learning at the Academy.

"I mean, it can't be _that_ boring." She muttered, looking a little embarrassed. "You just… never really talk about yourself or anything. Y-You don't have to, if you don't want to." She said quickly, her face growing redder by the second. "I-I mean, it's personal information and all. I don't want you to get uncomfortable or anything. I-I just… The TV show version of this whole thing, it… doesn't really get into a whole lot of detail on a lot of things and… I never really watched the Classic version with your other regenerations, so I missed out on a lot… So I just though… maybe..." She shook her head then, red to the tips of her ears as she buried her head in her arms. "N-Never mind. Stupid question. J-Just forget I said anything."

The Doctor couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips at Alex's flustered state. He hadn't seen her like this since she was younger and it was definitely a change from the usual no-nonsense, more mature, older Alex.

"No such thing as a stupid question." He mocked, quoting her from earlier in the evening as he leaned in and kissed her softly. "And I would be glad to teach you. _If—_"

Alex groaned, making the Doctor smile once more.

"_If_ you tell me more about your own life. We'll exchange stories and I'll teach you what I can about Gallifreyan. I don't know how easy it will be. It's a very complicated language. But I can at least show you a bit about the writing system." He made a face then, adjusting himself so that Alex was sitting in front of him as he hugged her from behind and leaned his head on her shoulder. "I'm almost _certain_ that you would butcher the actual speaking of it."

"Hey!" Alex said, pouting indignantly and the Doctor laughed.

"I'm not insulting you, Alex! The language is just a bit _too_ difficult for human tongue. I could tell you something in Gallifreyan and you wouldn't even be able to begin to be able to pronounce it."

Alex frowned. "Try me. Say something and let me try to copy it."

"Alright." The Doctor paused, humming to himself as he tried to think of something to say, before he immediately knew.

He hugged Alex closer to him and spoke softly in her ear, his arms wrapped around her stomach with her back pressed up against his chest; silently hoping she couldn't feel how fast his hearts were beating through his shirt.

"ωιλλ ψου μαρρψ με?"

Alex furrowed her brows, mouthing what she believed to be the right pronunciation and trying it. "ωιλ… ωιλ ψο..."

Realizing with a pout that the Doctor was right and there'd be no _way_ she'd be able to pronounce those words, she huffed.

"Alright then, smarty pants. There's no way I'd be able to actually speak it. What did you say, anyway?"

The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the silver engagement rings he'd just bought and brought it around so that it was in front of Alex.

"I said, will you marry me?"

He felt Alex stiffen in his arms and hoped that he hadn't just screwed everything up by asking her to marry him.

"Y-Y-You… You want me to… marry you?" She questioned, voice high pitched and tight.

The Doctor slowly nodded. "If… you'll have me... I mean, you don't have to! I-I just thought the timing was right and you wanted me to show you that you were special and I figured if I married you. No, ignore that bit. That was stupid. What I _meant_ to say was—"

The Doctor's rambling was cut off as Alex suddenly turned around and tackled him to the ground, her lips on his in a passionate kiss. Whatever the Doctor had been about to say was lost, as he brought a hand up to Alex's cheek and his other hand wandered down to her waist, holding her close to him until she pulled away from the kiss; leaving the Doctor a bit flustered.

"Yowza." He breathed out as Alex turned a nice shade of red in embarrassment, muttering quietly.

"Um… s-sorry… I-I'm supposed to answer first, aren't I?"

"If you want." The Doctor smirked then. "Though I rather like this idea too."

The blush on Alex's cheeks grew even redder, making the Doctor laugh as she grumbled softly.

"Who are you? _Jack_?" She fidgeted then, giving him a nervous look. "Are… um… A-Are you sure?"

The Doctor tilted his head, confused at the sudden change in Alex's actions. "Sure?"

_There_. He caught sight of her swallowing and beginning to try and back off of him, immediately making him tug her closer once more, despite her looking rather uncomfortable.

"P-Picking me, I mean." She stuttered out, quickly going back to her previous nervous and depressed mood.

And the Doctor knew right away what was happening. She was doubting herself again. And he knew that if she continued, then she might very well back out of his proposal because of her insecurities. And he just couldn't let that happen. So in one quick move, he reversed their positions, rolling her onto the grass and kissing her passionately. As he brought his heads up to her head, he made sure to show her just how much she meant to him, pressing some of his emotions into her mind as he deepened the kiss. Even going as far as to show her a few of the moments when he found her most beautiful. When she was laughing about something he'd said or done, when she discovered something new and wanted to show it to him, when _he_ showed her something new. He wanted her to understand now, just how much he really cared for her, what he _really_ saw her as. As that smart, charming, danger-magnet of a woman he'd fallen in love with all those years ago. And as he pulled away, he made sure to look her right in the eyes as he told her such.

"I love you, Alexander Holmes. I love your smiles and laughter and silly history facts that you say when you're nervous. I love your short red hair and your usual pants and hoodie combo. I don't care what everyone else has said, says, and will say about you, because you are unique. You are indescribable. And you make me want to see the universe all over again because you have, and will _always_ make it something beautiful to me just by being around. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to show you just how much you mean to me, and I want to teach you my language, and tell you about my family. I..." He swallowed thickly, voice a little tight. "I want to _have_ a family. And I want you to be a part of that."

Alex looked about ready to cry, tears welling up in her eyes and a small grimace formed on her face; making the Doctor's hearts sink as she spoke.

"I-I… Not to ruin t-the mood or anything. B-But I think I'm laying on my ring? A-And it kind of hurts." She finally said and the Doctor quickly bolted off of her and she sat up, picking the ring from off the ground behind her and holding it in her palm, brushing her fingers over it before she looked up at him. "You… really mean all of that?"

The Doctor nodded, very nearly getting whiplash from how quickly he was doing it, and he grabbed her shoulders seriously. "Every word! And—" He paused, furrowing his brows as he glanced at the ring in her hand and back at her. "And did you just call it _your_ ring?"

A small smile started to form on Alex's face as she looked at the ring. "Suppose I did."

Adrenaline rushed through the Doctor's system as he sat up a little straighter; his hearts beating frantically in his chest. "So… does that mean..."

Alex rolled her eyes and slipped the silver ring on her finger. "Looks like you're stuck with me."

The Doctor grinned, beaming in happiness as he tackled Alex back to the ground, returning to their previous lip-lock. But the moment his hand started creeping up her shirt, she pulled away from him and gave him a look.

"Tardis?"

It took him a second to realize the situation they were in; getting a little heated out in the open on a cliff side and he wrinkled his nose with a nod.

"Right."

And, not willing to take his time waiting for Alex to hobble along with her leg, he quickly scooped her into his arms; enticing a yelp from her as she clung to his neck.

"Little warning would be nice, Casanova!" She scolded, making him laugh as he hurried back to the Tardis and pushed the door open with his foot.

"Warning? Now where's the fun in that?"

* * *

"Alex..."

I shifted slightly, not pleased about the soft voice by my ear interrupting my sleep.

"Alex, you need to get up."

I turned away from the tickling sensation on my ear and burrowed my head further under the blanket with a frown.

"Alex, I promised the Ponds I would pick them up today." The voice complained lightly with a soft sigh.

I turned over to glare at the shirtless Doctor, who smiled away like nothing was wrong with waking me up.

"Good morning." He chirped and I continued to glare silently at him until his smile faltered a bit.

"What's good about it?" I grumbled, turning back over as he whined louder and tugged at the blankets around my shoulders.

"Alex! It's a _very_ good morning! I made breakfast, I let you sleep in, we're engaged—"

"We're _engaged_. That wasn't a dream." I groaned out, making him pout.

"Why are you saying it like it's a bad thing?!"

I turned back around, giving him a look. "Do you _know_ how much work something like a wedding is?" I suddenly sat up then with furrowed brows. "How would this work, anyway?"

"How would what work?" He asked, sitting up as well and immediately getting handsy as he tugged me into a hug.

"This wedding thing!" I said, flailing my arms a bit. "I mean, I pop off randomly and I show up randomly, and half the time it's a younger or older me! How are you going to know which me is the one you're supposed to marry?" I paled. "How am _I_ going to know which _you_ I'm supposed to marry? Much less how picking the date will work and then you've got invitations and choosing bridesmaids and a best man and..." I groaned, leaning back into his embrace, though I'd much rather flop back onto the bed. "Ugh, this is never going to work."

"Hey now. Don't say that. You're over-thinking it." He hummed, kissing me softly, though I continued to frown.

"No, I'm thinking _logically_." I squirmed a bit. "Now let me go so I can get some clothes on."

"But Alex!~" He whined with a smirk, kissing down my neck as I tried to get out of his grip.

"Ah-ah. Nope. You said we needed to go pick up the Ponds, and _you_ need to find some way for this wedding thing to work, because I am _not_ figuring this all out on my own. Got it?"

I finally managed to slip out from under his arms as he pouted childishly, and began pulling on some clothes. By the time I had on some jeans and one of the Doctor's dress shirts—something the Tardis gave me after I refused the leather jacket again—he was actually beginning to think about how this would work.

"What if… What if we had a sign!" He said excitedly, getting out of the bed to pull on some of his own clothes.

"What?" I questioned, very much confused.

"Well, you know that it will be this version of me and that it will have to happen after our last adventure in Venice. So when you pop back up again, just make sure you're wearing the ring on your finger. The other, future yous, always had it on a chain around their necks."

I gave him a look as he nearly toppled over putting on his pants. "For good reason. What do you think will happen if I pop back with a younger you and he see's the ring? That will definitely bring up questions. Especially if it's the older Tenth version. Knowing you, you'd get all jealous because I can't tell you about it and then you'd go and throw a fit about it."

"I would not!" He complained, before thinking it over. "Okay, alright. I might. No ring then. What about..." He looked over at me then, the look in his eyes giving me chills. "...my name."

I furrowed my brows. "Huh? You mean, Doctor? How would that be a sign?"

He shook his head. "No, my _name_. You almost never say it, so it would be perfect."

"Alex still lost." I said, raising a brow. "Your name?"

He nodded, having finished putting on his bow tie and adjusting it. "Yup. My academy nickname."

My eyes widened as realization dawned on me. "Oh! You mean Thet—"

My mouth was suddenly covered and I gave the Doctor an odd look as he turned a little red and cleared his throat.

"D-Don't..." He pulled his hand away slowly. "You don't know _how_ hard it is to hang onto my self control when you say that name."

I couldn't help the smirk that overcame my face as an idea popped into my head and I walked around him to grab my coat.

"Well then, I suppose it sucks that we have to go and pick up the Ponds then, huh..." I paused by the open door, turning my head around to face his confused expression. "..._Theta_."

He physically shook as a chill went down his spine and I couldn't help the maniacal laughter that escaped my throat as I yanked on my coat and made a mad dash down the hall with him pounding after me.

"Alex! Come back here!"

"Never! I finally got all my clothes on!" I laughed, though with my leg, he soon caught up and had me pinned to the wall with a heated kiss as my shoulder started to ache.

"_No_." He whined against my throat as he tried to kiss as much of it as he could before I popped off, leaving him rather frustrated.

* * *

I popped up in a small area on top of some hay, to which I immediately grimaced.

"Ooh, hay. Don't like hay. Nothing good ever happens when I am around hay. Growing a second heart, that whole thing with Mels…"

I wrinkled my nose in disgust and stood up, brushing myself off only to freeze when I heard a snort. Swallowing thickly, I turned to see the backside of a horse; it's tail swishing back and forth in slight agitation and I hoped that I could get out from behind it without it noticing. After all, I'd rather _not_ get kicked by a horse the moment I popped up somewhere. So, I slowly began inching my way around said horse, stopping only when the animal shifted. Of course, it was in that moment that a piece of hay tickled my nose and I mentally cursed the universe for putting me in this position. The moment I let out a sneeze, the horse freaked and I dove out of the stall as said animal kicked at me in fear. I felt a hoof clip my side and cringed at the pain—knowing that I would definitely have a bruise later—and I rolled to a stop on the ground outside with a sigh of relief. I cringed at the action, bringing a hand to touch my side with a wince, as a couple of young boys hurried in the stable and spotted me. I gave them a pain smile.

"Y-You boys wouldn't happen to have a doctor nearby, would you?"

They immediately helped me up and offered to take me to see the nurse of their school, which was a great help and gave me an idea of where exactly I was at in the Doctor's time-line, but mentally I complained. _Stupid hay. Nothing but trouble. Every time._ Sure enough though, the school nurse was a familiar face and as I lifted up the side of my shirt for Nurse Redfern to check my ribs for possible fractures, a _different_ kind of Doctor walked into the room.

"I heard some boys saw someone in the stables get kicked by a horse. Is he alright?" The Doctor—No, John Smith asked, spotting me with my shirt half up; the two of us turning a little pink as he quickly tried to back out of the room.

"Sorry! Didn't know I was intruding!"

Nurse Redfern, however, chuckled. "Mr. Smith! Surely you've seen a man's torso before, seeing as you are one. There is no need to be so embarrassed."

"R-Right. Course." He nodded, staying in the room, but keeping his back facing me. "Though everyone deserves some privacy. Don't want to be rude."

"You are an odd one, Mr. Smith." The nurse said, shaking her head slightly, putting pressure on part of my ribs as I cringed. "And what did you say your name was, sir?"

"A-Ah, Alex. Alexander Holmes." I said, trying to keep the pain out of my voice as she continued to prod me in the side. "And I'm terribly sorry about all this. I don't even remember how I ended up in that stable and if the hay hadn't tickled my nose and caused me to sneeze, I'm positive I would gotten out from behind that horse without injury. Heh."

"Holmes?!" Smith said loudly, making me jump only to cringe once more as he turned around; quickly turning back upon seeing my shirt was still up. "I sent for you ages ago! I was wondering where you went off to."

I blinked, completely baffled as to the fact that the Doctor would remember me even when he was human, but his next words kind of hurt.

"You know him, Mr. Smith?" The nurse asked and he bobbed his head in a nod.

"He is my family's footman. Passed down to me in a similar manner as my maid. I'd nearly forgotten I'd called him, if he hadn't just shown up now."

_Great. In his head, I'm a guy. His _footman_ at that. This'll be fun._ I mentally groaned as the nurse eyed me in worry.

"Were you hit anywhere else, Mr. Holmes? I find it strange that you have no recollection of Mr. Smith, seeing as you're his footman. And you _did_ mention having no previous knowledge of how you got in the stables. Perhaps you struck your head when you were kicked?"

"Ah, no. Sorry. I believe I may have possibly gotten a tad bit drunk last night when I'd gotten into town." I said, chuckling nervously as I came up with an excuse on the spot. "And i-it only took me a moment to recognize him. It's been a little while since I've last laid eyes on Mr. Smith, so my memory was a little foggy."

She nodded, seeming to accept that answer, only to brush her fingers lightly across the crescent-shaped scar on my stomach; making me stiffen and her to quickly look up at me in embarrassment.

"Ah! I'm very sorry, Mr. Holmes. I did not mean to overstep my boundaries, I was simply overcome by curiousness about your scar. It won't happen again."

I lowered my shirt and waved a hand. "O-Oh, no. That's quite alright. I find curiosity quite an endearing trait and it was nothing but an accident. The scar, that is. It's not that important. I'm actually a bit more concerned about my ribs?"

"Oh! Yes, of course." She said, myself mentally hoping my polite words hadn't come off as anything more than polite. "You should heal up alright within a week. You simply bruised the area around them and there's nothing broken. But it you start having more pain than usual, please come notify me so I can arrange a proper hospital visit."

I let out a sigh of relief, slouching slightly with a hand lightly draped on my side as John turned around with a grin.

"That's brilliant! I'm glad you're alright, Alex. We can go see the headmaster now that you've arrived and get you a room to stay in. I'm sure Martha would appreciate the help."

I nodded and hopped off the bed I was sitting on, wincing only slightly at my ribs before following the Doctor out. Once I'd been given a room to stay in—rather easily, I might add—I headed out to find Martha in the hopes that she'd show me what shed the Tardis was in so that I could grab some clothes for my new _job_. _Honestly, waiting on the Doctor hand and foot was _not _what I wanted to do when I got engaged to him. Speaking of engaged, I better tuck my ring away before 'Smith' spots it. Martha too. I doubt she'll be happy, especially if she has feelings for the Doctor._ I sighed quietly and found a chain in my pocket that I slipped my engagement ring on, before putting it around my neck and tucking it into my shirt. As I rounded the corner though, I spotted Martha scrubbing the floor with the other maid; Jenny. I smiled a bit, glad to have someone I can talk to without having to worry about keeping a whole lot of secrets, and I went to call out to her, only to spot Baines and another boy speaking down to her.

"Uh, now then, you two. You're not paid to have fun, are you? Put a little backbone into it."

"Yes, sir. Sorry sir." Jenny replied as the other boy spoke to Martha.

"You there. What's your name again?"

"Martha, sir. Martha Jones."

"Tell me then, Jones. With hands like those, how can you tell when something's clean?" He laughed, just as I stomped over and spoke up loudly and sternly.

"Oi, you two prats!"

The boy blinked in surprise. "Sir?"

"You two are expected to possibly be running this country one day, am I right?" I demanded to know, eyes stern.

"Why, yes sir." He nodded, starting to act a bit sheepish as compared to his previous behavior.

"Then tell me, how can any country possibly be run by two little _kids_ like you who get fun out of bullying others. Hm? Do you know what would happen if every hot shot country decided to pick on the others?"

"N-No, sir."

"Kill a bee, and a thousand more will come after you." I stated, voice deadly serious. "Pick on Martha again, and you'll be sure to end up visiting Nurse Redfern by the end of the day. Is that understood?"

They exchanged worried glances.

"Y-You can't do that!"

I smiled, sickly sweet. "Oh, you'd be _surprised_ what I can do, boys." The smile fell in an instant. "Now go to class."

They scampered off and I scoffed through my nose.

"Honestly, who gives some skimpy little brats the power to rule over someone?" I then turned around and smiled at Martha. "Hello, Martha Jones."

"A-Alex! What are you doing here?" She asked in shock.

I hummed, reaching a hand up to rub the back of my neck. "_Other_ than telling some brats to piss off? You know, this and that. Woke up in a stable, got kicked by a horse, met Mr. Smith, and got hired as his footman. The usual."

"Footman?" Jenny questioned as Martha's eyes widened and she swiftly stood up.

"Kicked by a _horse_?!"

I immediately cringed, only now remembering that Martha herself was a doctor and saying that would bring up some concern.

"Did I say that?"

"Are you alright?! No broken bones?! Fractures?! Concussion?!"

"Calm down!" I said, trying to relax the frantic Martha. "I'm fine. It only clipped me and all I've got is some bruising and soreness. Nurse Redfern assures me there's nothing broken. If you want to have a look, might I suggest elsewhere and possibly after you show me where the _shed_ is?"

She looked confused for a second, before it clicked and she nodded. "Oh! The shed! Yeah, I can do that." She turned to Jenny then. "Is it alright if I..."

Jenny nodded with a smile. "Of course. I'll cover for you here."

"Oh, thanks Jenny." Martha smiled, hugging the woman before leaving with me towards the Tardis. Once we were out of earshot for the school though, she smacked me harshly on the arm.

"Ow!"

"You moron! Where have you been?!"

"Um, I swear I already went over that." I said with a frown and she shook her head.

"No! After you disappeared on that spaceship hurtling into the sun! That was the last time we saw you! It's been ages for us! And you should've seen him! You'd think someone took the Doctor's favorite toy on Christmas or something!"

"Oh, so I'm a _toy_ now?" I questioned with a raised brow and she rolled her eyes.

"You know what I mean! He won't even tell me what happened after I left you two!"

I thought back to that adventure and immediately winced, pretty positive that Martha did _not_ want to know what happened. And I wasn't talking about the nearly dying part. _Martha's supposed to have fallen for the Doctor. Rather hard too, from what I remember. Geeze, I'm just messing up everything, aren't I? And let's not even _begin_ to consider how I'll screw up _this_ adventure._

"Hello? Are you even listening?" Martha asked angrily and I blinked out of my reverie and gave her an innocent smile.

"No?"

That was the wrong answer, as I was soon hit again in the arm before we reached the Tardis and I made my way towards the wardrobe.

"Was that _really_ necessary?" I complained, pulling out some outfits that the Tardis gave me—seeing as it hid every other possible one.

"It is when you're not listening." Martha grumbled. "What do you know about this whole thing? This situation?"

"Everything, really. You and the Doctor had a run in with the Family of Blood, some sort of hunter alien things who last a few months before dying off unless they have the Doctor. I'm paraphrasing, of course. Still need to read over the details." I hummed.

"And?" Martha pressed. "Do we get away? Does everything turn out alright?"

_God, I wish people would stop asking that._ I mentally drawled, rolling my eyes as I changed in a changing room into the three layers of a black and white butler-ish uniform.

"Honestly? If I were to put our situation on a scale of one through ten, it starts off as a one and becomes a ten in a matter of seconds."

"You're kidding, right?" She asked as I came out and tugged at my collar in annoyance. "A ten? This is a _ten_ on a scale of one-to-ten?"

"Eh… compared to the other adventures I've been on that were tens, this is probably more of an eight." I turned to her then. "Mind you, the last 'level ten' I was on, we were being chased by vampire fish aliens in Venice and I was left to bleed out in a jail cell. And the ten before that, there was a t-rex in the Thames in Victorian England that was brutally murdered because some android Clockworks needed a new part and the Doctor had completely forgotten who I was due to regeneration issues. And the time before _that_ my head was taken over by Cybermen and—"

"Alright! Alright. Got it. This is a 'level ten' for me, a 'level eight' for you. I didn't need the rant, you know. A simple explanation would've worked."

I chuckled as we left the wardrobe. "Sorry. I've been with the Eleventh Doctor. He rambles. Oh! And can you check out my leg too? Those fish aliens I mentioned before sort of grabbed a hold of it."

She sighed as we headed off to the med bay. "I see why the Doctor likes you so much. You're both just giant magnets for trouble, aren't you?"

I saw my chance, and I took it.

"Do you like him? The Doctor, I mean." I asked, none too subtly either.

"W-Where did this come from?" She asked as I hopped up onto a bed and allowed her to take off the bandages around my calf to look at my wounds.

"Just, uh… Just curious." I said, technically telling the truth, though there was more to it than that. "You just didn't sound too happy earlier when you asked me where I was and I figured that maybe you were a little bit… _jealous_?"

I immediately winced at my words, scolding myself for being stupid enough to say them out loud, much less to Martha.

"S-Sorry. I didn't mean to make that sound—"

"Yeah." Martha suddenly said, replacing the bandages on my calf as she kept her gaze off mine. "So what if I am jealous? You two are always going around and laughing and talking about things I don't even understand half the time, and I've seen the way he looks at you. And sometimes I wish he'd look at _me_ that way. I wish he'd look at me and see someone brilliant and smart and pretty, but when you're around, all he looks at is you. And when you're not, it's like my existence doesn't even matter because all he _thinks_ about is you. Why'd he have to go and fall in love with a human who wasn't me?"

I felt _really_ guilty then. I'd never thought that Martha would feel this way about the Doctor and I, and I felt even worse knowing that I was keeping our engagement a secret from her. I feared that if I told her about it now though, it'd be kicking her while she's down, and I didn't want that. I _did_, however, vow to tell her when we were on slightly better terms with one another. That, and I honestly wanted to be good friends with Martha. Sure, she wasn't my favorite companion in the series back home (that spot was taken by Donna), but I liked her. She was strong and stubborn and kept the Doctor on his toes, and to find out that this is how she felt about me kind of hurt. And I really wanted to change that.

"Martha?"

She ignored me, pulling my pant leg back down over the bandages on my calf and gesturing to my shirt.

"Can you take that off so I can get a good look at your ribs?"

I begrudgingly did so—not really wanting to take off the three layers of clothing after just putting it on, but doing it anyway—and once it was off, I tried once more.

"Martha? Have I ever talked to you about the Doctor and Rose?"

I let out a yelp when Martha pressed a little too hard on my bruised side, and she apologized.

"Sorry… And no. You haven't."

"Heh, I guess you're in for a surprise then, because the Doctor never really liked me when he was with her. Hated me, actually. Threatened to feed me to a werewolf _and_ toss me to a bunch of Daleks."

She scoffed. "Yeah right. He'd never do that to you."

I shook my head, my small smile slipping into a sad expression as I remembered everything that happened to me when I had been around the Ninth and Rose-Tenth.

"No. He did. You remember Manhattan."

Martha frowned. "Yeah, but he went right on after you."

I shook my head, wincing as she checked my ribs. "Only because I stood up for myself. Usually when I was with him and Rose, I was younger and still new to this whole popping around thing. New to the whole running from danger and aliens and stuff. And you've seen how the Doctor is when someone knows more about something than he does. Now imagine him meeting me for the first time, finding out about my foreknowledge, and realizing there was things I could've done to save people. To change things where no one had to get hurt. He would've been angry, and he was. More than angry, actually."

Martha still didn't believe me. "Sure, but he'd never threaten to give you up to the _Daleks_."

"You don't understand, Martha." I said solemnly as I began putting my clothes back on. "This was one of those days where nothing was going right. Where it was a whole _army_ of Daleks versus four of us and a hundred or so civilians. And the only way for any of us to walk out of there alive, was if something happened to Rose. Something that I _allowed_ to happen to her because I had no other choice, and that made the Doctor hate me for a long while. Because as much as I cared for the Doctor, he loved her, and I put her in danger. So he threatened to throw me to the Daleks, he yelled at me and cursed me and tossed me aside, and then he left me there. He took Rose, got in the Tardis and left. And I don't know when the next time he saw me was. But when I met him after that, he tried to throw me out to be ripped apart by a werewolf because I was too young to even think about ways to save people without ruining the chances of everything working out alright. And not once could I get him to understand what I was trying to do for him. Even if the other, future Doctor's told me they cared about me, I still had to go back there and deal with the same man not even looking my way unless he was angry about something I'd done. So… I guess what I'm saying is, I get what you're going through and I'm sorry. But I want you to know, that he cares for you a lot and there will come a time in the future, where he shows that. Where he'll trust you enough to put everything in your hands and it won't be the last time."

Martha was quiet for a moment, before speaking again. "That ring. It's from him, isn't it..."

I went to ask 'what ring', but then I remembered I had taken off my shirt for her to check my bruise and had forgotten about the ring hanging around my neck. Sheepishly, I lowered my head and lifted it up off my chest, letting it rest in my hand as I nodded.

"Yeah. The... Eleventh gave it to me. We had a fight and… things got complicated. I stopped thinking he cared so he took me out to some planet and… he proposed. I was going to tell you, the conversation just wasn't really… you know."

She nodded and I hesitantly tried to think of something else to say to make this situation a little less awkward, but she spoke up first.

"You know what? I'm actually fine with it."

I turned to her in confusion, silently questioning whether I was hearing things or not.

"Seriously." She reaffirmed. "I can't say I'm not jealous, but… I think at some point I started to realize I didn't have a chance with him and you two were just… I don't know, _made_ for each other. With all the crazy situations you two end up in, I'm surprised he hadn't tried anything earlier with you. That kiss you two had on the spaceship this last time probably should've clued me in."

I flushed a bright cherry red. "Y-Y-You _saw_ that?!"

"Believe me, I wish I hadn't." She said, the two of us looking at one another, before we both began laughing.

"L-Look at us! We're ridiculous!"

"You're telling me! How do you put up with him? It's always, 'let's go here!', 'ooh, I know, let's go there!', 'or maybe we should go here'! I swear, you'd think he'd never slow down."

"He never _does_!" I laughed back and once the two for us calmed down a bit, Martha stuck out her hand.

"Friends then?"

"Do you have to ask?" I smirked, shaking her hand, glad that we'd made up without too much of an issue.

That being said, when we returned to the school only to hear about John falling down the stairs, Martha and I made a mad dash up to his room and burst in as Nurse Redfern was checking on him.

"Is he alright?!" We both asked, making the nurse turn to us with disapproving looks.

"Excuse me, Martha, Mr. Holmes. It's hardly good form to enter a master's study without knocking.

"Sorry. Right. Yeah." Martha moved back to the door and knocked on it, before repeating her question; myself holding back a snicker at the nurses face. "But is he alright? They said you fell down the stairs, sir." She said to John as I gave him a worried look as well.

"We're just concerned. I mean, honestly, I only stepped out for a second and you're already causing people trouble?"

He smiled a little at that as the nurse shook her head slightly.

"He's hardly trouble, Mr. Holmes."

"Oh, Alex is fine, Nurse Redfern. Mr. Holmes makes me sound all dignified and I'm hardly that."

"On the contrary." She argued. "I think you're _very_ dignified. Least you're not falling down stairs."

John pouted childishly. "It was just a tumble. That's all."

"Have you checked for concussion?" Martha asked Nurse Redfern, who looked a little affronted.

"I have. And I daresay, I know a lot more about it than you."

"You shouldn't be so quick to judge, Nurse Redfern." I said, standing up for Martha. "Age, skin color, sex, race, sexuality. None of that should be used to take privileges from people. All people should be allowed to learn and have knowledge of things. Martha included."

The Nurse eyed me as I wandered over to John's bookshelf and Martha muttered something about tidying things up, before John cleared his throat awkwardly and began speaking.

"I was just telling Nurse Redfern—" He corrected himself. "Matron, about my dreams, Alex. I've yet to tell you since you just arrived, but they are quite remarkable tales. I keep imagining that I'm someone else and that I'm hiding."

"Hiding?" The nurse asked. "In what way?"

"Um, they're almost every night." John said, not answering her question as he chuckled. "This is going to sound silly..."

"Tell us." I encouraged, wandering over and helping Martha sort things out on his desk. "They can't be much sillier than some of my own dreams."

"I dream, quite often, that… that I have two hearts." He stated and I stiffened, very nearly dropping the papers in my hands as I realized I had had a _very_ close call earlier with the nurse.

_That God she didn't check my heart rate or my breathing, or we might very well of had a problem._ I mused, doing my best to avoid watching the two of them and ignoring the stirring of jealousy in my stomach.

"Well then, I can be the judge of that. Let's find out." Nurse Redfern said, taking out a stethoscope and pressing it up against both sides of the doctor's chest. "I can confirm the diagnosis. Just one heart, singular."

She smiled at him and then turned to me. "Ah, I best check your breathing, Mr. Ho—" She paused, correcting herself. "Alex. I believe I may have forgotten to earlier."

"A-Ah, t-that's alright, Nurse Redfern." I stuttered out, picking up some papers I ended up dropping as my fears came true. "I feel perfectly fine. I'm sure we could skip that bit."

"Nonsense." She said sternly, gesturing to come over towards her. "It's always important to check for possible obstructions in your breathing pattern after having something like that happen. I don't know _how_ it slipped my mind earlier."

I gave Martha a slightly desperate look, but even _she_ had no idea how to get out of this one and I reluctantly approached the Matron as she pressed the stethoscope to the left side of my chest.

"Breathe in, deep as you can."

I did, cringing slightly as my side ached.

"And out."

I let it out and she brought the stethoscope to the opposite side of my chest just as a loud bang rang out and we all jumped, quickly turning to where Martha was as she started picking up a pile of books from off the floor.

"I'm so sorry!" She apologized, giving me a pointed look. "They just _slipped_."

I caught her hint and hurried over, away from Nurse Redfern. "Here! I'll help." I then spoke in a whisper to her. "Thanks."

"You owe me." She muttered back and I gave her a small smile, missing Nurse Redfern's slight frown at my back as John spoke up again.

"I have, um, I have written down some of my dreams in the form of fiction. Um, not that it would be of any interest."

"I'd be very interested." The nurse smiled at him, though John had glanced at me briefly with what I believed to be disappointment, though I wasn't sure.

"Well, I've never actually shown it to anyone before." John admitted sheepishly, getting up and passing her a small book, before turning to me. "You're welcome to look at it too, Alex."

I nodded, wincing slightly as I got up and placed some books down on his desk; my side not appreciating the labor. "Perhaps after Nurse Redfern, I will read it."

"'Journal of Impossible Things'." The woman read, flipping through the pages as Martha and I grew more curious and tried to sneak a peak. "Just look at these creatures. Such imagination."

"It's become quite a hobby." John smiled softly as the nurse turned to another page.

"It's wonderful. And quite an eye for the pretty girls."

"Oh no, no. She's just an invention. This character, Rose. I call her, Rose. Seems to disappear later on." He said, steadily growing a little upset as I cleared my throat and went over to his desk to tidy up a bit more.

Martha stared at my back, but said nothing as John went on pointing things out to the nurse.

"Ah, that's the box. The blue box. It's always there. Like a, like a magical carpet. This funny little box that transports me to far away places."

"Like a doorway?"

"Mm."

"More like a ship, I would think." I blurted out, mentally scolding myself for speaking up in defense of the Tardis.

_Like she would know he called her a magic carpet._ John though, snapped his fingers and nodded at me with a grin.

"Exactly! Like a ship!"

The nurse then pointed out another picture. "Who's this then? It almost looks like Alex."

"Huh?" I questioned, heading over with Martha to see a drawing for someone in a long coat and short hair, their head turned slightly to look over their shoulder with their back facing us; the only portion of their face drawn being a small sad frown.

"Yeah, it kind of does, doesn't it." John mused, before pointing at a small bit of writing around the image. "I call her 'The Seer'. Silly, right? A woman with such short hair? She seems to pop in and out of my dreams though. Always constant, always there. Though I didn't seem to like her at first, but we became good friends later on in the dreams. I think she might have saved my life a few times, even. She has this, this foreknowledge of things to come. Like a, like a psychic of sorts. But she's also very sad. And I've always seen her alone. Never any family or friends or that sort of thing." He gazed down at the picture softly and I swallowed thickly to try and stuff my emotions back down into that box inside me; knowing that now wouldn't be the best time to go, 'Yeah, that's me!'.

"She sounds… amazing." I said instead, making John turn to me with a nod.

"Oh, she is. She most definitely is." He smiled. "I sometimes think how magical life would be if stories like this were true."

"If only." The nurse said as John nodded.

"It's just a dream." He chuckled as a bell rang and I frowned, looking down out at the yard.

"But along with dreams there always comes nightmares."

"You're always such a downer, Alex. Cheer up!" He said, coming over and patting me roughly on the shoulder as the nurse set the book back down on his desk with a small smile.

"I best be going. Have to go check up on Jenkins again."

"Ah, but take the book!" He said passing it back to her.

"Oh, but I couldn't."

"No, please." He smiled. "I want you to read it. You know, um, tell me what you think."

She slowly smiled back and nodded, taking the book with her. "Alright. Thank you… John." She then turned to me with a smile. "Alex."

"Nurse Redfern." I hummed with a bob of my head, but she paused in the doorway.

"Joan. Joan is fine."

I nodded politely once more. "Joan, then."

"Take care of yourself." She said, before giving me a stern look. "And no heavy lifting with that injury."

"Yes, ma'am." I chirped with a mock salute and a small smile, earning a chuckle from the woman as she left and Martha excused herself to chase after her.

What I didn't expect, was John's comment to me after they were both gone.

"She seems to fancy you. Nurse Redfern, that is."

I rounded on him with a shocked look. "What? No. She doesn't… right?" I grimaced and he raised a brow as he prepared to go teach his next class.

"You make it sound as though her pleasantries towards you are a bad thing. Are you not interested? She is a stunning woman, so I don't see why you wouldn't be."

_Oh dear. My __fiancé__ trying to hook me up with a _woman_ of all things. There are so many things wrong with this picture, I don't know where to start. Oh, I know! How about with the fact that I'm engaged to _him_ and I'm a freaking woman myself?! And let's not even _think_ about how this will screw up the plot. As much as it kills me to say it, _he's_ supposed to love Nurse Redfern. Oh, this is definitely going to complicate things._ I mentally panicked as I tried to come up with an excuse for the ever curious John.

"I-It's not that. She's a lovely woman, it's just… I'm not really interested in… well… women."

Once again I mentally smacked myself, especially since I hadn't the slightest idea of how people in this time would look at homosexuality—though that's not exactly what it was, seeing as I was a woman, but that's not what they would think.

"W-What I mean is, I-I don't really think I'm ready for a relationship right now."

John quickly waved his hands about. "No, no! I understand! Alex, we've been footman and master for _years_! If you only care for men, then that's fine! I won't be offended or persecute you in any way! We're friends, are we not?"

I nodded, though hesitant about this whole thing, and feeling rather stupid and embarrassed as well, but John just smiled and pat my shoulder before heading out to his class. I spent the rest of the day doing my footman duties up until evening came and John invited me out to get a drink with him. I accepted, albeit reluctantly, and tried to drown some of my worries with alcohol, but John cut me off after a time and walked me outside to see Martha, Jenny, and Joan standing around looking scared.

"Anything wrong, ladies? Far too cold to be standing around in the dark, don't you—"

Joan cut him off. "Look! There! Look in the sky."

She gestured up at the sky where something streaked across it and I stared up at it dazedly as Jenny spoke.

"Oh, that's beautiful."

"All gone." John said. "Commonly known as a meteorite. It's just rocks falling to the ground, that's all."

"It came down in the woods." Joan insisted as John shook his head.

"No, no, no, no. They always look close, when actually they're miles off. Nothing left but a cinder. Now, I need to escort Alex back to the school. He's had a bit much to drink and I should escort you as well." He said to Joan, before turning to Martha and Jenny. "Ladies?"

Martha shook her head, eyes still on the sky. "No, we're fine, thanks."

"Then we shall bid you goodnight." He said with a bob of his head, but I stayed where I was a moment longer, speaking seriously—or as seriously as I could while drunk.

"It's there. You can't see it, but it's there. Don't find it, or they'll find us, Martha Jones."

She furrowed her brows in confusion, going to ask me about it, but John wrapped an arm around my shoulders and tugged me along.

"Come on, Alex. Don't embarrass yourself. You remember last time." He scolded me lightly as I frowned in confusion.

"Last time? What? What happened last time?" I gasped then. "_No_! I didn't kiss somebody again, did I?!"

"And we're off!" John said, hurrying me away as Martha chuckled behind us at my drunken actions and I continued to pester the Doctor.

"Was it a man? Oh, I bet it was."

He simply sighed and pushed me along as Joan even let out a chuckle.

"He's quite something when he's a bit drunk, isn't he?"

"You're telling me." John groaned as the three of us headed back to the school, not knowing of what was lurking just inside the woods.

* * *

I woke up the next morning with a _hell_ of a hangover, not remembering much of the night before other than the fact I'd told John I was gay and had apparently drank my troubles away over that fact. I sat up in bed and immediately rushed to the bathroom where I vomited and groaned in complaint; staying there until I was able to get up without feeling the need to empty my stomach again. _This 1913 whiskey is strong stuff. I don't remember the last time I was that drunk… though I suppose that's expected. I think it was when I was with Mels and tried some weird cocktail mix she'd come up with and called 'blackout'._ I groaned again as I got dressed and brought a hand to my head, opening my bedroom door only to very nearly run into Joan.

"Oh, my apologies. I was just about to knock. I, um..." She held up a glass of water and another glass of something that smelled rather foul. "...thought you might be a bit hungover from last night and brought one of my mother's remedies. It doesn't taste the best, but it works wonders, I've been told."

I nodded, lowering my hand from my head and taking the glass; chugging it down before quickly grabbing the water and chugging that down as well in order to get the taste out of my mouth.

I coughed, clearing my throat with a wrinkle of my nose. "Oh, that is… That is _foul_."

"I _did_ warn you." She smiled as I mentally smacked myself and bowed my head in thanks.

"Sorry. Thank you, Joan. Um, I wouldn't of happened to have… done anything strange last night, would I?"

She chuckled, making me groan quietly.

"Oh, I _did_, didn't I?"

"It was nothing, Alex. Honestly. Though you _may_ have admitted to have kissed a man while you were drunk once before and..." Her smile faltered slightly. "...a number of women as well."

I immediately waved my hands. "No, no, no! It's not what you think! _They_ kissed _me!_ I-I didn't want to! They just seem to like me a lot, is all! Women, I mean..."

_God dammit! There I go again! Bad Alex! Bad! Stop flirting! You _just_ scolded your __fiancé__ for doing the same bloody thing! You can't be doing it now too!_ I turned a nice red shade and brought my hand up to hide my face as I groaned.

"I'm just going to shut up now."

Joan chuckled though, not seeming too bothered and that just made my face get redder as I realized nothing I was doing was helping my cause. And by cause, I meant trying to _not_ inadvertently flirt with women. I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck nervously as I followed Joan out of the school to the shooting range, where I winced at the noise and silently questioned why John let me sleep in until mid afternoon. _Not that I'm not grateful or anything, but it does seem a little strange._ As Joan and I approached the grounds though, I frowned out at the boys using machine guns on sandbag targets with metal buckets for heads. I could just barely make out Latimer's comment of how the targets they were shooting at only had spears and felt my hearts sink at knowing what they were going to go through this upcoming year.

"Teaching boys like that how to fight and kill people… it's just not right." I muttered, not knowing that Joan had heard me.

"Well, yes, but they need to be able to protect themselves should war come upon us."

I shook my head. "That doesn't make it right. Nothing does. Even the enemies have families and people who care about them."

"You're right. I suppose I'm only trying to convince myself with such words…" Joan grew solemn at my words, but then glanced up. "And what about you?"

"Hm?" I hummed in question.

"Do you have someone who cares about you? Family or, or friends? A lover, even?"

I shook my head, a bitter smile on my face. "No family. They're all gone now. Not really many friends either. I don't get to see them a lot." _Not with me popping off everywhere._ "But… I have John. And… that's all I need, really."

She nodded with her own slightly bitter smile. "You two are really close, aren't you?"

I chuckled a bit, trying to lighten things up. "Oh yes. Closer than most people would think."

I absentmindedly brought my hand up to my chest where my engagement ring rested, but caught sight of Joan's saddened expression as she looked out onto the field. I went to say something, remembering only now about her deceased husband, but John bounded over, happily as ever.

"Ah, Nurse Redfern! Alex! Good to see you up and about. I figured some extra rest might do you good after how much you drank last night."

"Right. Sorry about that. Was just feeling a bit off, I suppose."

He gave me a knowing look before Joan spoke up.

"Um, I'll give you back your journal, when next I see you."

"No, no, no. You don't have to." John replied, looking at her in worry as I did the same.

"Ah, if you'll excuse me, Mister Smith, Alex. I-I was just thinking about the day my husband was shot."

She started to head off and I gave John a concerned look, but he nodded his head over at her.

"Go on. Go after her." He pushed and I grimaced.

"Go after her? John, I thought I explained this. I'm not interested in her like that and she's already getting the wrong idea."

"Well, you can't just let her go off like that." He argued and I groaned.

"Fine, but you're coming with me."

"Oh, now Alex, I can't—"

"You're coming with me, and that's final." I hissed at him, grabbing his arm and tugging him after Joan. "I'm _not_ dealing with a crying woman on my own, thank you."

"You're making me wonder who the master is in this relationship of ours, _footman_." He joked, though a dark red blush trailed up my neck and to the tips of my ears.

_Bad mind! Bad! Why do you have to—Ugh! Just stop it!_ I demanded from my dirty mind, before we caught up with Joan and offered to take her out into the town to try and cheer her up a bit. _Though, knowing me, I'll somehow get roped into something. Well… let's see how much the universe hates me today…_

* * *

**(Alex will be referred to as 'he' in this POV)**

* * *

John walked alongside Alex and Joan through the small town, hands behind his back and listening silently as Joan spoke of her deceased husband fondly. He wasn't focused on her though, for some reason, he kept glancing at Alex as he listened attentively to what she was saying despite what he'd said about not being interested in the woman.

"His name was Oliver. He died in the battle of Spion Cop. We were childhood sweethearts." Joan said, taking a deep breath and letting it out with a sigh. "But you see, I was angry with the army for such a long time."

"You still are, aren't you?" Alex muttered softly, being careful about what he was saying, so as not to upset Joan.

"I find myself a part of that school, watching boys learn how to kill."

John spoke up then. "Don't you think discipline is good for them?"

"Does it have to be such military discipline? I mean, if there's another war, those boys won't find it so amusing." She snapped at him and Alex sighed softly.

"Killing is never right, John, and while discipline might be good for unruly boys such as them, they're too young to understand that what they are learning is something very serious. Taking a _life_ is very serious and it changes you in ways that boys like that shouldn't have to experience for many years. If at all."

John's gaze softened as he took in Alex's words, understanding that he was very passionate about such topics as death. So John decided to try and end said conversation.

"Well, Great Britain is a peace, long may it reign."

"In your journal, in one of your stories, you wrote about next year. 1914." Joan brought up and he winced.

"That was just a dream."

"All those images of mud and wire. You told of a shadow. A shadow falling across the entire world." Joan continued and John struggled to find the right words to say as he caught sight of Alex's expression falling.

"Well then, we can be thankful it's not true. A-And I'll admit mankind doesn't need warfare and bloodshed to prove itself. Everyday life can provide honor and valor. And let's hope that from now on this, this country can find its heroes in smaller places." He said, before spotting a couple of men struggling with a piano and a woman with a stroller headed their way. "In the most..." He saw a boy beside them with a cricket ball in his hand and barely noticed Alex taking in the scene as the piano slipped a bit. "...ordinary of… of deeds..."

He grabbed the cricket ball from the boy as Alex bolted across the road towards the woman, and he threw the ball so that it bounced off some piping. The piping fell and hit a board, which sent a brick flying through the air, which knocked over a milk jug and startled the woman pushing the stroller, just as Alex reached her and pulled her and the stroller away from the piano as it fell. Alex quickly asked the woman if she was alright as her baby started crying and a workman came over to double check on her as well. What John didn't expect though, was for Alex to ask permission to hold the crying child and take the little boy out of the stroller to cheer him up. There was just something about watching Alex holding up the little boy with a big grin on his face as the child let out little gurgles that pulled at John's heart; making him smile as well when Alex made the baby wave with its pudgy arm.

"Lucky." John breathed out as Joan turned to him in disbelief.

"That was luck?" She chuckled, before looking back at Alex as he handed the child back to his mother. "And Alex… he's rather good with children, I see. Does he… have any of his own?"

John shook his head. "Oh no. No, no. Just adores kids, is all. Came from a big family. Oldest of seven, if I remember right. Child rearing is just his calling, I suppose."

"He'd make a great father." Joan said softly, making John nod.

"That he would. He would make an excellent… parent..." John paused then, feeling something stir in his stomach, though he was extremely hesitant about the emotion, before he shook his head and turned to Joan. "Will you be at the dance this evening?"

"Well, I'm not really sure."

"Hm, how about this? You come, and I'll see about getting Alex in too. He doesn't dance much, but I'm sure you'd both like the company."

Joan smiled slightly, nodding. "Then I will be there. Thank you, John."

He nodded, though his smile was a bit forced. "Welcome."

There was just something about getting Alex and Joan closer that bothered him, though he couldn't figure out why and he hoped that whatever it was went away, and _soon_. That being said, Alex soon returned and joined them and the three of them made their way back towards the school, talking idly about things such as John's throwing arm or Alex's knack for running headfirst into possibly dangerous situations. It wasn't until they were back at the school though, that Joan had to head off and take care of a boy who'd apparently took a nasty fall, and John and Alex were left on their own.

"Alex?"

"Hm?" He hummed, though John could tell he was distracted by something.

"Could I possible sketch you?"

Alex's head whipped around quickly and John wondered how he didn't get a kink in his neck. "M-Me? Don't you mean Joan?"

John frowned, brows furrowed in confusion. "No. I want to sketch you."

"Um… a-alright. If that's what you want."

John grinned, grabbing Alex's hand in his excitement as he pulled him towards his study. "Perfect! Come on then!"

* * *

I sat stiffly, trying to relax, but finding myself unable to as John sketched me. After what seemed like ages, he lowered the book and I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye.

"Can I move now?"

He chuckled, moving over to sit on the couch beside me. "Course. I'm done. Want to have a look?"

I nodded and took the journal from him to see the sketch he'd done. It was absolutely stunning. He'd drawn me almost perfectly, but it seemed to me to be almost _too_ perfect.

"Is that… really me?"

"Do you like it?" He asked, voice soft and I nodded.

"Y-Yeah. It's just… seems a little… different."

"Different?" He questioned. "Different how?"

I shook my head. "I-I don't know. It's just sort of… amazing, I guess. I mean, I hardly look that stunning. Beautiful, even. I-I'm nothing special."

_There's that doubt again. God, it's suffocating. Like I'm standing at the bottom of a pool and watching everyone else swim around me easily as I'm stuck in one place with nowhere to go, the pressure weighing down on me with every odd glance or hurtful comment aimed my way._ I took in a stuttering breath as I shook my head, bringing a hand to it as I tried to control my depressing thoughts.

"Sorry. I-I should, um, tidy your things or some—"

"You _are_ special, Alex." He said, cutting me off as he grabbed my wrist and stopped me from getting up. "I don't know what it is, but… there's this feeling I keep getting. Like you're so much more to me than anyone else. And I don't understand it, but I do see it. Feel it. When you rushed after that woman and picked up that child, I just… everything slipped into place like a puzzle piece and… and..."

His eyes looked over my shifting back and forth as though searching for something, before he leaned in.

"Joh—"

My voice was cut off as he pressed his lips to mine, lingering there for a moment before he pulled away slightly and spoke in a breathy whisper.

"I-I've never, um..."

_I_ cut him off this time as I brought my hand up to the side of his face and kissed him in return. His free hand trailed up to hold my side as I deepened the kiss, just as the door opened and _two_ people stormed in.

"Mister Smith, I—"

John and I pulled away from each other as we stared with wide eyes at Joan and Martha, to which John immediately waved his hands about in a panic.

"N-Nurse Redfern! This isn't what it looks like!"

I suppose I should've felt hurt at those words, but my mind was suddenly running a hundred miles an hour as I came to the realization of what just happened. _Oh my god. I ruined it. Everything. The plot is just a-a mess! Joan isn't in love with John, because John apparently loves me a-and I don't know what to do! John's not the Doctor! Right?! O-Or is he?! I-I don't know what to do! Who's going to get threatened if it's not Joan?! Me?! _Joan had run out then and I stood up, hardly hearing John as he spoke and I put a hand to my head.

"I-I need a minute. S-Sorry."

I took off out of the room and out of the school, running breathlessly to the Tardis and vaguely hearing Martha calling out to me from behind. I burst into the Tardis, the ship opening the doors for me before I even got close, and I scrambled to the video tape of the Doctor, hoping, _praying_ that he'd of left something in here for me should everything start going wrong.

"_Four: You. Don't let me abandon you or Alex, should she pop in."_ He said in the video. _"And five. Very important five. Don't let me eat pears. I _hate_ pears. John Smith is a character I made up, but I won't know that. I'll think I _am_ him and he might do something stupid like eat a pear. In three months, I don't want to wake up from being human and taste that."_

I couldn't help the bitter chuckle at that rule, but quickly shook my head. "That won't work, Doctor. What do I do about this? Y-You weren't supposed to fall in love with me here. I-I don't even know if that still _is_ you. O-Or a part of you or whatever. He may be some character you made up, but… a-all authors put a piece of themselves into their stories. I-Is he you? Is this really okay?"

I fast forwarded the tape to the end as the Doctor smiled at the screen.

"_Thank you. And Alex, if you're there listening to this too… I love you."_

My breath hitched at his sincerity and I jumped slightly when Martha came up and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"You alright?"

I nodded, pressing my palm to my eye as I tried to rein in my emotions. "I-I'll be fine. I-I just need time to think. The plot's all messed up so I… I don't know how things are supposed to go now. I might've screwed everything up by making John love me."

Martha frown slightly. "But I thought that was a good thing? I mean, I'm not happy about it, believe me… but I'd rather you than someone else."

I shook my head. "You don't understand. Because he loves me, there's a whole bunch of things that can go wrong now that I have no control over. I need to somehow get everything back on track, but I haven't the slightest clue how."

I went to pace, but pain raced up my leg and I let out a hiss as I tugged up my pant leg to see my bloodied bandage.

"_Great_. Isn't that just _great_?" I grumbled as Martha sighed and helped me hobble to the jump-seat.

"I think you probably tore the stitches. I'll get the medical supplies. You just stay here and… I don't know. Think of a way to fix this."

I sighed and nodded, bringing a hand to my head as I tried to figure out what I could possibly do now. _Okay, think. Stop panicking and just _think_ brain!_ I took a deep breath and let it out, calming my raging hearts and doing a trick that the Twelfth Doctor taught me to help me focus. _There we go. Now focus on the plot… _I knew that I had definitely changed things big time. Because John was supposed to fall in love with Joan, there were things I was now uncertain about that might or might not happen. _Like when the Family comes and takes Joan hostage. They were supposed to take her because they find out who the Doctor is via Martha, and Joan was his weak spot. But now _I'm_ the weak spot. So they might take me hostage, but… we'll need Joan to get everyone to the little girl's house. I haven't the slightest idea where that is, so it's vital Joan is involved. So what can I do?_ I frowned, trailing back through my thoughts to find the point where it started. The first point where things would change and once I found it, I snapped my eyes open.

"That's it!"

"What's it?" Martha asked from her place in front of me as she bandaged my leg, making me jump and wonder how long she'd been there; seeing as my leg was completely fixed and bandaged with clean bandages.

"How long have you been there?" I asked bluntly and she rolled her eyes.

"Long enough to know you figured something out. So spill. What's the plan?"

I held up my hands as I stood and tested out my leg. "Ah, ah, ah. Nope! The first bit needs to be a surprise or else it won't work at all. _You_, Martha Jones, are the Queen on the chess board right now and I need you completely clueless. But..." I turned to her with a grin, stowing away my previous worry about John being the Doctor or not, to the back of my mind. "...I _promise_ you everything will turn out just peachy as long as you trust me. Even with a gun pointed at your head, alright?"

She gave me a look, but nodded. "Alright. Trusting you hasn't gotten me killed yet."

"Heh, right." I chuckled nervously, knowing that she'd probably only understand the hint I just gave her when she _actually_ had a gun pointed at her head.

"But what about Joan? She looked pretty upset. Do you know why?" Martha asked as we headed out and I cringed.

"Well, she might have… possibly… unknowingly… thought I was a guy and fell in love with me?" I rattled off the last part so quickly, it was a wonder Martha caught any of it.

"You got another woman to _fall in love with you?_! Again?!"

I held my hands up in surrender. "It's not _my_ fault women are attracted to me!"

"Tell that to my sister!" Martha shouted back as I groaned.

"That wasn't my fault! I tried to clear it up and she hit me! _Twice_! _And_ your mother!" I suddenly paused then and held my head in my hands. "Oh, I'm getting hit again tonight, aren't I?"

Martha scoffed. "Yeah, probably."

"Well, how was _I_ supposed to know the Doctor would turn gay?!"

Martha frowned. "Did he? I mean, you _are_ a girl, after all."

"But he thinks I'm a _guy_, remember? I'm his bloody _footman_, for Pete's sake! Everyone here thinks I'm a guy!"

"How are you making up with Joan then? According to your muttering earlier, we need her for something."

I groaned again. "I don't know. I have to make up with her somehow, and preferably _after_ the dance, but I _really _don't want to be hit again. Do you think she'd kill me if I went to pick her up before the dance?"

Martha nodded. "Most definitely. I know I would."

"Fine. _Fine_! I'll try to apologize and explain things _at_ the dance—I doubt she'll hit me in public—and then once the plan gets started and things go crazy, she'll probably follow us anyway because we'll be the safest group on the planet… I hope."

"You _hope_? Any hints for me in all of this?"

"Um, enjoy the tea from Mister Poole and the cook, and I hope you can run in that dress."

"Oh, thanks. I'll be sure and do that." She said with a roll of her eyes as we went our separate ways inside the school.

"Just giving you a heads up!" I chirped, knowing that she was most definitely going to kill me later when she realizes just how much I _didn't_ tell her.

* * *

"You look wonderful." John said to me, honestly meaning it, as said I frowned at him while he tied my bow-tie.

"Oh right. Course. But last time I checked, looking nice doesn't usually fix things like Joan walking in on us kissing on the couch, John." I paused suddenly as John finished tying my tie. "Did you tell her I couldn't dance?"

John looked away sheepishly. "I might have… possibly mentioned it."

"Oh! Why'd you have to go and do that?! Now she'll think even worse of me!"

He smiled, taking one of my hands and moving closer. "Then you'll have no choice but to come back to me."

He kissed me again, bringing his hand up to my face and I melted into the kiss, my mind calling out to his. Problem was, there was no answer. The Doctor wasn't in there. This was John Smith. This was a character that might have been a piece of the Doctor, but it wasn't _him_. It wasn't my Doctor. He couldn't give me that comfort or love through our mental connection like the Doctor could and suddenly, I pulled away; feeling as though I was cheating on him. On my Doctor.

"John, I..." I struggled to say anything, throat tightening. "I don't think I can do this."

"Do what?" He asked innocently, but I just shook my head and took a step back.

"I'm sorry, John, but you're not him." I muttered, before rushing from the room; ignoring the calls he shouted after me as I tried to get my head back on track once more.

_I needed to do that. I know I did, otherwise I wouldn't have gone back there to him to get him to tie my tie. And now it's done. Now I know he's not the Doctor, and now I can focus on the bigger problem without distraction._ I took a deep breath and nodded to myself as I headed to the pub nearby and managed to get a bit of liquid courage into me before I headed off to the dance. Once inside, I spotted Joan sitting alone at a table and felt guilt well up in me. The announcer spoke up loudly to prepare everyone for a dance and I took a deep breath and went over towards Joan; more nervous than I'd been since my days in middle school with that boy I crushed on.

"Um, J-Joan?" I stuttered out, mentally cursing how nervous I was with someone I didn't even care for in that way, wringing my hands together in front of me. "T-This is going to sound a bit silly, after what happened earlier, but, um… you have to understand how hard it is for me to say this… but… could you… _would_ you possibly… have a dance with me?"

She gave me a look, making me wince. "You expect me to share a dance with you, after seeing you and John together?"

"I-I know. It's a silly idea. I-I just thought I could explain o-or make it up to you or… or something… If you don't want to, I-I understand. I'll just, um… go then." I rambled, before making to leave, but a gentle hand grabbed my wrist and stopped me.

"I will." Joan said, eyeing me. "But only because you're insisting and attempting to make up. Nothing more."

I nodded quickly as I led her out to the dance floor with the other couples, only to feel that nervousness grow as I realized I was going to attempt to dance. I wasn't sure where to put my hands and began to panic, but Joan gently moved one to her waist and the other to hold her hand as she did the same in return. The music started up and I bit my lip as I struggled to remember how to dance a waltz from the one time I took a dance class back in college. _And I was only in it for a week before I dropped out. God, I hate dancing…_ I cringed as I stepped lightly on Joan's foot, quickly apologizing.

"S-Sorry."

"You honestly aren't good at dancing, are you?" Joan asked with this small twinkle of amusement in her eyes.

I turned a nice shade of red in embarrassment. "N-N-No. I'm rubbish at it. Never danced before in my life, really."

I turned and apologized to a couple we bumped into as Joan gave me a look.

"Then why ask me to dance?"

"I-I, um… really wanted to apologize, mostly. I never meant for anyone to get hurt by my actions, much less _you_, Joan. I just seem to… make advances without realizing it. I'm sorry. I don't even seem to notice I've done anything until the other party either kisses me or hits me..." I winced. "Or both."

She raised a brow. "You get hit by women a lot then?"

I nodded sheepishly. "And by their mothers… And I really am sorry, Joan." I stepped on her foot again and grimaced. "For that too."

She smiled a little, but it soon fell as she sighed. "I don't know what to think about you, Alex. One minute you're that serious, cunning man and the next you're this shy, sad, lonely person. And then you're that kind and caring man that I fell in love with who saves women from falling pianos and sticks around to cheer up their crying infant after becoming quite the sight at a pub the night before. Which one of these personas that you put up is the real you?"

"To be honest? All of them, and none of them." I answered truthfully as the waltz came to an end. "Nothing is ever what it seems, Joan, and I want you to remember that, because things are going to get a little problematic in a few moments and… and I hope that you will understand what I'm saying when I tell you that I am not who you think I am."

I brought her hand to the right side of my chest where my second heart was beating and she glanced at it briefly before realization came over her and she opened her mouth in shock, only for me to spot Martha rush in and head towards John near a table in the back. I pulled away from Joan then and gave her a small smile.

"I'm going to have to explain all of this later, Joan, and I'm sorry for that. But there's something I need to do."

I went to hurry off, but she grabbed my wrist and stopped me.

"Then let me help."

I nodded and pulled her along with me as we caught the last bit of what Martha was saying as she waved the Doctor's sonic screwdriver at him.

"You're not John Smith. You're called the—"

_Now._ I poked my head in with a smile, snatching the sonic from John and tucking it into my pocket.

"Now, Martha let's not confuse him just yet."

She frowned at me, angry for interrupting. "What do you mean? We have to!" She turned to John, ignoring me. "The man in your journal, he's real! He's y—"

"Me." I spouted, covering her mouth with my hand. "Yes, right. Keep that a secret now, John, Joan. Martha, thanks for playing along. Anyway, I've got some things coming after me and—"

I was cut off as there was a loud thud behind us and a portly man walked in shouting at everyone.

"There will be silence! All of you!"

Scarecrows started walking in too and I dropped my hand from Martha's mouth as my gaze hardened, getting serious. _Let the games begin._

"I said, silence!"

"Mister Clarke, what's going on?!" One man questioned as Mr. Clarke reached in his pocket and I pushed the man out of the way at the last second as Mr. Clarke tried to vaporize him with his gun.

"Watch it! You could poke someone's eye out with that thing!" I called out, helping the man up as I moved towards the front of the group of panicked people, and thus towards Martha, John, and Joan.

"We asked for _silence_!" Baines shouted.

"Actually, you demanded it, but who am I to say that loudly." I muttered under my breath, earning an elbow in the ribs, courtesy of Martha Jones.

"Now then, we have a few questions for Mr. Smith."

The little girl stepped forward with her red balloon and I felt guilty for not being able to save any of these people from getting possessed by the Family, let alone a kid.

"No, better than that. The footman. He's the Doctor. I heard them talking."

"You took human form." Baines said, making me raise a brow in pretend confusion.

"Who, me?" I gestured to myself. "Yeah, sorry. I've always been human." I lied. As John stepped forward.

"Of course he's human. He was _born_ human. As were you, Baines. And Jenny! A-And you, Mr. Clarke. W-What's going on? This is madness!"

"Ooh, and human brains too. Simple, thick and dull."

I winked at him. "Oh, not quite." I tapped my temple. "I'm the last thing from thick, mind you. Human or not."

Jenny spoke up then. "But he's no good like this."

"We need a Time Lord." Mr. Clarke said after.

"Easily done." Baines stepped forward and pulled out a gun, pointing it at me as the crowd gasped. "Change back."

"Yeah." I drawled out, rolling my eyes and being extremely calm for someone with a gun pointed at them, though internally my hearts were beating away in a panic. "About that. I don't really know what you're talking about."

"Change back!" He ordered and I shifted my gaze to his, eyes hard.

"I'm the _last_ person you should be ordering and pointing a gun at, mate."

"Get off me!" Martha yelled, drawing our attention to her as Jenny put a gun to her head as well.

"She's your friend, isn't she? Doesn't this scare you enough to change back?"

I shrugged, putting my hands in my pockets. "Not really."

_Oh, she's going to hate me for this._ I mentally cringed.

"Alex!" John shouted, but I ignored him.

"Alex, I'll get you for this!" Martha complained as I gave her a small smile and a little wiggle of my fingers in a wave.

"Sorry~ Promise you'll be fine."

She frowned, but went quiet.

"Wait a minute." Jenny looked over a Martha before back at John. "The maid told me about Alex and the Matron. That woman there."

"Then let's have you!" Mr. Clarke called out, grabbing Joan as I pinched the bridge of my nose with a sigh.

Blaine smirked. "Have you enjoyed it, Doctor? Being human? Has it taught you wonderful things? Are you better, richer, wiser? Then let's see you answer this. Which one of them do you want us to kill? Maid or Matron? Your friend or your lover? _Your_ choice."

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"Maybe one man can't fight them, but this school teaches us to stand together. Take arms! Take arms!" He shouted as the students came down._

_ I groaned. "No! We should be evacuating everyone! God, why does he never listen to me?"_

_ "Probably because you tell people they'll be fine and then they find themselves with a _gun_ to their head?!" Martha yelled at me._

_ "I gave you a heads up! And I promised you'd be fine! I wouldn't promise that if I was going to be wrong!"_

_ Of course, I got slapped and Martha glared at me._

_ "_That's_ for getting me taken hostage!"_

_ "Ow!" I whined, rubbing my cheek as Joan smiled a little._

_ "Ah, I see why you get hit so much now."_


	46. The Family of Blood

**Sorry about the wait, but here's the next chapter! it's a bit short, but i hope you all enjoy it and please let me know what you think! ^^**

* * *

"Really now? Haven't you figured it out yet?" I snapped my gaze to them, eyes ice cold. "I don't take _lightly_ to my friends being threatened. And _really_, Martha? Damsel in distress? I thought you were better than that."

Martha glared at me. "I'll show _you_ damsel in distress." She snapped, just as Baines and the rest of the Family snapped their heads up; Latimer having opening the watch.

"It's him!"

Taking her chance, Martha managed to take the gun from Jenny and use her as a shield as she pointed the gun at Baines.

"One more move, and I shoot."

"Oh, the maid is _full_ of fire." Baines mocked.

"And you can shut up!" She pointed the gun up at the ceiling and fired, pointing it back at him as Mr. Clarke cautioned Baines.

"Careful, son of mine. This is all for you so that you can live forever."

"Shoot you down?" Baines questioned, raising his own gun.

"Try it. We'll die together."

"Would you really pull the trigger?… Looks too scared."

"Scared and holding a gun's a good combination. Do you want to risk it?"

Baines looked over at me as I held my hands up in surrender. "I wouldn't risk it. Martha's rather unpredictable when she's upset."

"Oh, button it." Martha snapped at me as I gave her a smile and the Family reluctantly lowered their guns; Joan returning to my side as Martha spoke.

"Doc—Mr. Smith, get everyone out. There's a door at the side." She nodded towards it. "It's over there. Go on! Do it, Mr. Smith. I mean _you_."

I nudged Joan and she nodded, taking control then. "Do what she said. Everybody out, now! Don't argue, Mr. Jackson. They're mad. That's all we need to know. Susan, Miss Cooper, outside! All of you!"

She managed to get everyone out with John's help and as he was getting the last person out, Martha caught him as he hesitated.

"And you. Go on. Just shift."

"And what about you two?"

"We'll be alright, John." I smiled, still mentally panicking. "Could you escort Joan to safety please?"

He nodded and did so, just as Martha shoved Jenny towards the Family as Mr. Clarke raised his gun.

"Don't try anything! I'm warning you, or funny boy gets it."

"She's almost brave, this one." Baines said, the group stepping forward.

"I should've taken _her_ form. Much more fun. So much spirit." Jenny quipped as Martha ran into me, I myself covering her hands on the gun as I spoke quietly.

"Give me the gun and go."

"I can't do that!" She harshly whispered back. "They think you're the Doctor! They're going to kill you! He wouldn't want this."

"I know, and I'm not going to do anything but buy us some more time. And I'm sorry, but I couldn't save Jenny."

Martha's jaw tightened as she blinked away tears, reluctantly letting the gun go and moving behind me; the two of us backing up as the Family moved towards us. Before either of us could do anything though, we were both grabbed by a scarecrow.

"Get the gun!" Baines shouted, giving Martha and I a chance to escape and rush out of the building.

"See? No problem!" I chuckled nervously as we ran outside where John and Joan were.

"You're bonkers! You hear me?! Completely bonkers!"

"I'm engaged to a madman in a blue box, of _course_ I'm bonkers!"

"You're _engaged_?!" Joan and John exclaimed and I grabbed both of their wrists.

"Don't just stand there, run! I'll explain later!"

Once we managed to get to the school, John pulled the gate closed and rushed inside, ringing the bell loudly.

"What are you doing?!" Martha called out as I shouted over the noise.

"Martha, leave it! Believe it or not, we need to get the boys together!"

John nodded. "Maybe one man can't fight them, but this school teaches us to stand together. Take arms! Take arms!" He shouted as the students came down.

I groaned. "No! We should be evacuating everyone! God, why does he never listen to me?"

"Probably because you tell people they'll be fine and then they find themselves with a _gun_ to their head?!" Martha yelled at me.

"I _gave_ you a heads up! And I promised you'd be fine! I wouldn't promise that if I was going to be wrong!"

Of course, I got slapped and Martha glared at me.

"_That's_ for getting me taken hostage!"

"Ow!" I whined, rubbing my cheek as Joan smiled a little.

"Ah, I see why you get hit so much now."

I pouted at her as she chuckled, but then the headmaster came down, immediately demanding answers which John and Joan supplied, but when the headmaster took Mr. Philips with him to investigate, I knew I had a choice to make. I either needed to go with Martha and Joan, or I had to go out with the headmaster and save Mr. Philips. Making my choice, I cursed under my breath and headed off to go save a life.

* * *

Joan followed after Martha as she rushed up to John's study, but questions were still running through her head about everything and she finally couldn't hold them back any longer.

"Martha, who is Alex, really? Him and John."

"Oh, you're not going to be happy." Martha grumbled. "Look, Alex, sh—_he's_ not really the Doctor. He just said that because he's got some big ol' plan up in his head. _John's_ the Doctor. I know it sounds mad, but when the Doctor became human, he took the alien part of himself and he stored it inside the watch. It's not really a watch, it just looks like a watch." Martha explained once they'd reached John's study and began searching through his things.

"And alien means… not from abroad, I take it." She then frowned. "And what about Alex? He said he was engaged to the Doctor."

Martha sighed. "I honestly think Alex should tell you this, but Alex is really… a girl."

Joan made a face. "You are joking, surly..."

Martha shook her head. "No. No, I'm not. Alex really is a woman, and she really is engaged to the Doctor. She's got the ring on a chain around her neck. And she's… actually someone called 'The Seer'. Like from John's dreams."

Joan grew even more confused. "Alex is not only a woman, but also this psychic who pops in and out of the Doctor's life?"

"Yup." Martha said, popping the 'p'. "And the man you call 'John Smith', he was born on another world."

"A different species… Alex as well?"

Martha shook her head. "No, Alex is human. _Was_ human. It's complicated."

"How so?" Joan pushed, mind swirling with this new information and struggling to get her head wrapped around it.

"She has two hearts for one thing, but she has this energy in her that causes her to hop from one point in the Doctor's life to another."

Joan furrowed her brows as she stared at the floor. "It… makes some sense. It would explain much of what Alex has shown me."

Martha nodded. "Yeah, and she has this foreknowledge of events, which is how she knows how to change things like saving that guy who spoke up earlier."

"Then tell me. In this fairy tale, who are you?" Joan asked.

"Just a friend. Just the Doctor and Alex's friend."

"And human, I take it?"

"Human. Don't worry. And more than that, I just don't follow him around. I'm training to be a doctor. Not an alien doctor, a proper doctor. A doctor of medicine."

"Well that certainly is nonsense. Women might train to be doctors, but hardly a skivvy and hardly one of _your_ color." Joan said, though with a bit of doubt.

"Oh, do you think?" Martha held up her hand, pointing as she spoke. "Bones of the hand. Carpal bones, proximal row. Scaphoid, lunate, triquetal, pisiform. Distal row. Trapezium, trapezoid, capitate, hamate. Then the metacarpal bones extending in three distinct phalanges. Proximal, middle, distal."

Joan began to look a little flustered now. "You read that in a book."

"Yes!" Martha laughed. "To pass my exams! Can't you see? This is true."

Joan scoffed out her nose, grabbing her book. "I must go."

"No! If we find that watch, we can stop them." Martha said, trying to compromise, but Joan was a stubborn woman.

"Those boys are going to fight. I might not be a doctor, but I'm still their nurse. They need me." She rushed out then and Martha sighed, returning to her search.

Joan frowned though, having talked to John about his home town, but receiving no real answers from him and when Alex came in, Joan only grew more conflicted and went to confront her as well.

"You're a woman."

Alex cringed, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. "Martha sold me out, did she? And honestly, I'm _really_ sorry about not saying anything, but I needed to stick by the Doctor in case something happened… which it did..."

"The Seer too..."

Alex groaned. "Alright, she told you _everything_. Sorry, again."

"But this Seer and the Doctor sound like some… some romantic lost princes." John piped in, getting confused as he looked at Alex. "Would you rather that? Am I not enough?"

Alex looked between him and Joan, conflicted. "It's not that John. Things are just complicated."

"I've got to go." John said, turning away, but Joan stopped him.

"Martha was right about one thing, though. Those boys, they're children. John Smith and Alex wouldn't want them to fight, never mind the Doctor or the Seer."

Alex nodded, shifting closer to him. "The man I was getting to know here, John Smith, he knows it's wrong for those boys to be fighting, just as I do. Doesn't he?"

The headmaster called out to John, who gave them both a pained look.

"What choice do I have?"

He kissed Alex briefly, pulling away before hurrying off as Alex sighed.

"We always have a choice. It's just a matter of figuring out what the choices are and which one is the right one to take."

"And what choice are you taking, Alex?" Joan asked her and she smiled a little.

"The right one. Because those boys won't be killing anyone, just scarecrows and if I'm lucky—like I was with Mr. Philips—then maybe the headmaster will make it through this too."

"What's supposed to happen to the headmaster?" Joan questioned and Alex winced.

"Spoilers."

Guns started going off then and Alex's head snapped up, before she rushed outside to where the boys were slaughtering a number of scarecrows that came through the door. She noticed John standing there as well with his gun raised, but she smiled slightly at seeing that not once did he let off a shot. The cease fire went out and the headmaster moved ahead of the firing line to look at the scarecrows and give the boys the news.

"Just straw. Like he said. Straw!"

"Then no one's dead, sir. We killed no one." One of the boys spoke up and Alex nodded.

"No one's dead."

"Stand to." The headmaster ordered, moving back behind the firing line once more as the little girl with the balloon came out. "You girl, come out of the way. Come into the school. You don't know who's out there. It's the Cartwright girl, isn't it? Come here. Come to me."

He started to move into the firing line again, but Alex gripped his arm to stop him; gaze dead serious.

"Not a good idea, sir."

"What?"

Martha hurried out then, shouting. "Mr. Rocastle! Please don't go near her!"

"You were told to be quiet." He told Martha, trying to get his arm out of Alex's grip, but to no avail.

"Just listen to me. She's _part_ of it. Matron, tell him." Martha said.

"I think that. I don't know. I think you should stay back, Headmaster."

"Mr. Smith." Martha called out, pulling him out of his train of thoughts to try and convince the Headmaster.

"She was, she was with, with Baines in the village."

"Mr. Smith, I've seen many strange sights this night, but there is no cause on God's Earth that would allow me to see this child in the field of battle, sir. Now let me go, Mr. Holmes."

"You're funny." The little girl said as Alex nodded.

"I agree. No child on the field of battle. _Please_. This whole courtyard is filled with children."

"Mr. Holmes! Release me!"

"Not a chance." Alex huffed, easily yanking him back behind her as the girl pulled out a gun and shot.

The beam hit Alex in the chest and she crumpled to the ground as shouts rang out from John, Joan, and Martha; but the girl just scoffed.

"_Now_, who's gonna shoot me? Any of you? _Really_?!"

John spoke then, voice tight.

"Put down your guns."

"But, sir, Mr. Holmes..." A student muttered, not knowing what to do and confused by John's actions as he put down his own, unfired, weapon.

"I'll not see this happen. Not anymore. You will retreat in an orderly fashion back through the school. Hutchinson, lead the way."

"But sir..."

The student and John looked over as Baines entered the courtyard.

"I said, lead the way." John ordered as Baines smirked.

"Well, go on then. _Run_!" He shot up in the air, making them scatter, but no one expected what happened next as Alex shot right back up.

"My _god_ that hurt!" She said with a cringe, pulling out a silver platter from under her shirt and wincing at the scorch mark on it. "Gotta say though, love these things."

"Alex?!"

"You're alive!"

"Yup!" Alex chirped, before the scarecrows started to get up again. "And there's our cue! Run!"

* * *

Or so I said, but that hit from the gun hurt worse than I thought and after a while, I was slumped over and wheezing as John and the others shooed the boys out of the school. I was doing my best to hide it, but I honestly thought I might have broken a rib with that last stunt. _Seriously, is there ever going to be a moment when I _don't_ get hurt? First the vampires in Venice clawing my leg up, then getting kicked by a horse, and now being shot at by the Family of Blood. _Joan caught sight of me then and placed a gentle hand on my back as she looked at me in concern.

"Are you alright?"

"F-Fine." I breathed out, forcing a smile on my face as I straighten up as best I could with a wince. "M-Might have possibly… cracked something? Happens when I get shot at, apparently."

"Alex, that could be very serious!"

"More important things to worry about, unfortunately." I smiled. "End of the world and all that. Might I propose a retreat?"

John opened the door, but scarecrows were right there and he immediately shut it and nodded. "Retreat it is!"

We hurried out into the forested area outside the school, only to hear Mr. Clarke calling out loudly.

"Doctor!"

We crouched behind some shrubs as we stared hopelessly at the Tardis behind the man.

"Come back, Doctor! Come home! Come and claim your prize!"

Baines soon joined him. "Out you come, Doctor! There's a good boy. Come to the Family."

"Time to end it now!" Jenny called out as well as Martha turned to the stunned John.

"You recognize it, don't you?"

"Come out, Doctor! Come to us!" Jenny continued as John spoke.

"I've never seen it in my life."

"Not even her name?" I questioned, hoping that by calling the Tardis a 'her' it might clue him in to something.

Even Joan looked at him and tried to help. "I'm sorry, John, but you wrote about it. The blue box. You dreamt of a blue box."

He looked torn and I felt my hearts breaking for what I knew he was going through.

"I'm not… I'm John Smith. That's all I want to be. John Smith. With his life, and his job..." He looked at me, voice cracking and tears in his eyes. "...and his love. Why can't I be John Smith? Isn't he a good man?"

"Yes. John Smith is a great man." I breathed out, but he went on.

"Why can't I stay?"

He covered his mouth to stifle the escaping sobs and Martha turned to him.

"But we _need_ the Doctor."

"What am I then? Nothing? I'm just a story."

He got up and rushed off, the rest of us following after him somberly before Joan got our attention.

"This way. I think I know somewhere we can hide."

"We've got to keep going." John insisted and I grabbed his hand tightly.

"John, trust her."

He didn't look happy about it, but allowed me to pull him along as Joan led us to the home of the little girl and her family; guilt once more swirling in my gut over how I couldn't save them.

"Oh, here we are." Joan panted out as I gripped my shirt just above my chest in pain at the running we'd just done. "It should be empty. Oh, it's a long time since I've run that far."

"But who lives here?" Martha asked.

"No one." I breathed out, wincing as I straightened up. "It's that little girl's home. Her parents probably got caught in the crossfire… I couldn't save them."

I hurried off towards the home with the others following behind me and I stared at the set table solemnly, knowing that this family's deaths were on my head.

"Stone cold." Joan muttered, touching the tea kettle. "How easily I accept these ideas."

Everyone grew quiet as John moved to sit down and I took in a deep breath, to prepare myself for what John was going to say; hoping that I could keep my temper.

"I must go to them, before anyone else dies."

"You can't." Joan said, sitting down as well before she turned to Martha and I. "Alex, Martha, there must be something we can do."

"Not without the watch." Martha muttered and John immediately went on the offensive.

"You're this Doctor's companion, can't you help?!" He shouted. "What exactly do you do for him?! Why does he need you?!"

"Don't you talk to her like that." I snapped at him, making him turn to me in surprise. "The Doctor needs his companions. Every one of them. Doesn't matter if they're smart or, or pretty, or strong. He needs them because they keep him happy. Because each and every one of them are important to him whether they do anything or not. Because he's just..."

"He's lonely." Martha spoke up and John looked at her in disbelief.

"And that's what you want me to become?"

There came a knock at the door then and all eyes went to it in fear, but I just waved my hand.

"Open it, Martha."

"What if it's them?" Joan questioned.

"Scarecrows don't knock." I replied back, taking a seat myself. "It's Latimer. He's got the watch."

Martha's eyes widened and she hurried to the door and let the boy in, taking the watch from him and holding it out to John as he stood.

"Hold it."

"I won't." He refused.

"_Please_, just hold it."

Even Latimer was trying to get him to. "It told me to find you. It wants to be held."

"You've had this watch all this time?" Joan questioned then, buying time for John to come to terms with what he was going to do. "Why didn't you return it?"

"Because it was waiting. And because I was so scared of the Doctor and the Seer."

"Why?" Joan questioned, looking between John and I as Latimer stared us both down.

"Because I've seen them. The Doctor, he's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun."

"Stop it." John said, voice cracking, but Latimer went on.

"He's ancient and forever. He burns at the center of time and he can see the turn of the universe."

"Stop it! I said stop it."

"And he's wonderful." Latimer finished, before turning to me. "And the Seer is so different. The Seer is something new and mysterious. She is brave and strong and challenges even the most frightening of creatures. She is like the universe in it's infinite vastness and yet has such a lonely life. She has lost everything, given it up for the Doctor and she continues to give it up for him. She is so lonely and sad, but finds hope from the Doctor and they share their burdens together."

I gave him a slight smile, bobbing my head in appreciation as Joan pulled something from her pocket.

"I've still got this." She said, holding John's journal. "The journal."

"Those are just stories." John snapped.

"Now, we know that's not true. Perhaps there's something in here—"

There was a loud noise and the windows lit up as everyone went to the window to look outside. Everyone except me.

"What the hell?!"

"They're destroying the village." Joan muttered as John turned around and took the watch from Martha.

"The watch."

He moved towards the door, but I stepped in his path, stopping him. "Don't."

He paused, looking ready to say something, but then his eyes went to the watch and Latimer stepped forward.

"Can you hear it?"

"I think he's asleep. Waiting to awaken." John said softly.

"Why did he speak to me?" Latimer suddenly asked and John immediately rattled off his answer.

"Oh, low level telepathic field. You were born with it. Just an extra synaptic engram causing—" John sucked in a breath, stopping his quick Doctor-like rambling. "Is that how he talks?"

"That's him. All you have to do is open it and he's back." Martha said, only upsetting him more.

"You knew this all along and yet you watched while Alex and I—"

"I didn't know how to stop you. He gave me a list of things to watch out for, but that wasn't included."

He looked at her in shock. "Falling in love? That didn't even occur to him?"

Martha hesitated. "N-No."

"Then what's sort of man is that?" John cried. "And now you expect me to die?!"

Martha tried to explain. "It was always going to end, though! The Doctor said the Family's got a limited lifespan, and that's why they need to consume a Time Lord. Otherwise, three months and they die… Like mayflies, he said."

"So your job was to execute me."

"People are dying out there. _They_ need him and _I_ need him. Because you've got _no_ idea of what he's like. I've only just met him! It wasn't even that long ago, but… he is _everything_. He's just everything to me and he doesn't even look at me, but I don't care… because I love him to bits… And I hope to _God_, he won't remember me saying this."

_Never mind _me_ hearing it._ I mentally scoffed as the house shook again.

"It's getting closer." Latimer mumbled as John moved over to the fireplace with a gasp.

"I should have thought of it before. I can give them this. Just the watch. Then they can leave and I can stay as I am."

"You can't _do_ that!"

"If they want the Doctor, then they can have him."

"He'll never let you do it. _Alex_ will never let you do it."

"If they get what they want, then… then..." He looked over at me as I gave him a sad glance and shifted my gaze down to the floor as Joan spoke up; having gotten to the end of the journal.

"Then it all ends in destruction. I never read to the end, but those creatures would live forever to breed and conquer, for war across the stars for every child."

The Doctor's expression broke and I finally couldn't stay silent any longer.

"Martha, Latimer, Joan… could you all go outside for a moment? Please..." I breathed out and they nodded, leaving to go sit on the porch as John tried not to cry.

The moment they were out the door though, he broke into tears and I went over and clung to him; lowering him into a chair as he sobbed on my shoulder. Once he calmed though, I pulled away from him and let him stare at the watch as I spoke softly.

"John, I… I want to explain what I said before the dance. When I said that I just couldn't do it..." I took a deep breath and let it out softly, wincing as my chest ached. "I wanted to, honestly. I wanted to love you like I loved the Doctor. I thought… I thought that you were the same person. That John Smith was just a part of the Doctor that… doesn't get seen often. But there's this… connection that the Doctor and I have. I'm only part human, but I'm part Time Lord too. And that means that I can do this thing with my mind, where I can share my emotions with someone or feel what someone else is feeling. But it also means that I can… I can speak to people, aliens, whatever that have this same capability. I can… speak to the Doctor through this connection we have. But I tried, when you kissed me, and I couldn't feel anything. And that just… it just made me feel so _alone_."

My voice cracked on that last word and I looked over at John with sad eyes as he spoke.

"But you'll have me..."

Tears clogged my throat as I spoke. "But you're not _him_, John. And it kills me to say that, but… I'm _not_ human. Not completely. I'm bits and pieces of things. Part Time Lord, part Tardis, part human. I'm just a big jumble of things a-and I'm not even from this universe! I can never go back to my home with my family and friends, to my job or my old life or anything, because I gave all for that up to be with the Doctor. And I understand that you love me and I care a lot for you too, but…" I took his hand and placed it on my chest, moving it from one side to the other for him to feel my two hearts beating away. "But you and I are more different than you think. I-I don't even know if I age properly anymore or if I'll catch some alien disease and die far before you. And I already _left_ this sort of life once. I left that job and home life, because I felt I wasn't actually _living_. And I know I sound selfish a-and I'm not thinking of how you'd feel about this, but I'm trying. And all I see in the future is one of us being unhappy, if not both of us. So many people have already died because of me, John, and I don't want anymore of that. And if you try to give that watch to the Family, then that's all there will be."

I took a deep breath and steeled myself for what I was about to say next.

"But if you really want this life… if you _honestly_ and _truthfully_ want to live as John Smith, then I will not stop you, but I will not join you either." I looked up at him seriously, determined. "I will give you that chance to live here peacefully as John Smith."

"H-How?" He questioned and I gave him a small sad smile.

"_I_ will go. Because I will do anything if it means the Doctor will be happy, so I will do anything for you John."

I got up then and headed for the door, giving him a chance to think on his own. Thing was, I didn't get very far before I was grabbed by the wrist and spun around. Lips pressed themselves to mine and I went to pull away, but something was different this time. A consciousness brushed up against my own and I immediately let it in, deepening the kiss in the process as the Doctor pulled me closer and draped a curtain of warm love and desperation over my mind. When we finally pulled away, I spoke breathlessly.

"You're late."

"Sorry." He apologized, pressing his forehead to mine with his eyes clenched shut. "I'm _so_ sorry."

"Stop." I murmured softly, ignoring the way he tightened his grip on me and made my chest ache. "I gave John a choice and he chose this."

"Were you… Were you really going to do that for me, Alex?"

I smiled a bit. "I would do _anything_ to make you happy, Doctor."

"Then don't _ever_ do that again. Not ever. I wouldn't be able to survive without you, Alex." He muttered, gripping me even tighter before I finally let out a hiss of pain and he loosened up. "Sorry."

"Enough with the apologies, spaceman." I said, pulling away from him. "You've got a village to save, remember? Kissing and other such activities can come later."

He flushed a bright red, as though only then realizing that he'd just made out with me and I couldn't help the small smile that came over my lips as he began stuttering.

"I-I just… I wasn't… I mean, I was, but..."

"Oh, shut up." I said with a roll of my eyes, kissing him again briefly, before turning him around and pushing him towards the door. "Go on. Go save the world."

He nodded, taking a deep breath and straightening himself out, before opening the door and facing Martha, Latimer and Joan.

"Are you back? Are you the Doctor?" Martha questioned and he smiled.

"The one and only."

Martha grinned and hugged him as he chuckled and spun her around before smiling down at her.

"Thank you, Martha Jones." He then turned to Latimer and ruffled his hair. "And thanks to you too, Timothy."

"My pleasure, sir."

Then he turned to Joan. "And thank you, Matron..." He threw a thumb my way. "...for keeping an eye on my troublesome Alexander."

"Hey!" I pipped up, though a smile remained on my face as Joan nodded.

"Of course. It was my pleasure… Doctor."

"Right then!" He said, expression getting serious as he stared out into the woods. "Let's get started."

* * *

He never raised his voice. That was the worst thing. The fury of the Time Lord and his companion the Seer. And then we discovered why. Why this Doctor, who had fought with gods and demons, why he'd run away from us and hidden. Why the Seer, who knew everything that was going to happen, stayed behind and stayed close to him. They were being kind.

He wrapped my father in unbreakable chains, forged in the heart of a dwarf star. He tricked my mother into the event horizon of a collapsing galaxy to be imprisoned there forever. The two of them still visit my little sister once a year, every year. I wonder if one day they might forgive her, but there she is. Can you see? He trapped her inside a mirror, every mirror. If you ever look at your reflection and see something move behind you, just for a second, that's her. That's always her. As for me, I was suspended in time. And the Doctor put me to work standing over the fields of England, as their protector. We wanted to live forever, so the Doctor and the Seer made sure we did.

And the worst part was, the whole time the Seer made sure to apologize to us. Never forgiving us for what we tried to do, but apologizing all the same for what we'd gone through to become who we did, and for what we _will_ go through for the rest of eternity. Why she did that, we will never know. But that is what the Seer is. She is the one who stands beside the Doctor and looks at the cruelest of creatures, the most dangerous of villains, and she apologizes. She cries for them, because they can't and never will. And she understands them, treating them as humanly as possible, and it kills them. The Seer is the most feared being in all of time and space. And the reason, is because she cares and she makes them _feel_.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"Not Vegas, then." Clara called out over the noise and I shook my head._

_"Oh, definitely not. Vegas isn't this wet or this cold."_

_ The Doctor though, was hardly bothered. "No. No, this is much better! And not just because Alex is here." He smirked and I rolled my eyes._

_"Keep it in your pants, spaceman. Where are we?"_

_"A sinking submarine?" Clara offered and the Doctor corrected her._

_"A sinking _Soviet _submarine!"_


	47. Cold War

**Here's the next chapter! sorry for the wait, work has me sleeping until 4pm in order to be up and working from 9pm-5am. it tough switching my sleeping schedule so abruptly, but i'm doing good ^^ anyway, i hope you all enjoy this and let me know what you think!**

* * *

I'd spent some time with Ten after the whole mess with the Family of Blood, and the two of us got a bit more reacquainted. My horse kick injury and the bruised sternum I'd acquired from getting shot had healed the few weeks I was with him and Martha. And thankfully, the Doctor had missed hearing me mention my engagement, so there was no problem there, but I was still a bit conflicted about how I felt towards John and how I felt towards the Doctor. Said Doctor reassured me that it was alright and that, as jealous of John as he was, he understood how I felt about it. Saying something along the lines of...

"_How could you say 'no' to that face?"_

Since then, he'd been sure to attach himself to my hip though, making me apologize profusely to Martha and the few male aliens we came across on our trips; with how the Doctor glared at the moment they even _looked_ our direction. It was more than amusing to watch the Doctor get jealous though, and I vowed to get Eleven to look into Jacks whereabouts, if only to mess with him a bit. That, and I hadn't seen Jack since my not-so great trip with the stolen planets and such, and even then, we were only around for a bit. _Ooh, and I wonder how him and River would get along…_ Of course, this was my last thought before I popped off; the Tenth Doctor just having set the Tardis down on a planet called Angvia for a picnic under one of it's famously gigantic trees. And popping up only to get drenched immediately with icy cold water was _not_ how I wanted my little vacation to end.

I sputtered and slipped on the wet floor, managing to grab onto a metal pipe to keep from bashing my head in as I tried to get my bearings. As I looked around the narrow corridor, I pushed myself up and waded my way through the ankle-deep water towards where most of the commotion was coming from. And by commotion, I mean the loud shout that just echoed through wherever I was.

"Viva Las Vegas!"

I turned the corner and rushed into the room of screaming and shouting people.

"Did somebody say Vegas?! And I think your boat has a bit of a leak! Whoa!"

I tumbled into the Eleventh Doctor as the sinking whatever I was in jolted and the Captain shouted loudly at us and Clara; who I gave a little wave to.

"Who the hell are you?!"

"Not Vegas, then." Clara called out over the noise and I shook my head.

"Oh, definitely not. Vegas isn't this wet or this cold."

The Doctor though, was hardly bothered. "No. No, this is much better! And not just because Alex is here." He smirked and I rolled my eyes.

"Keep it in your pants, spaceman. Where are we?"

"A sinking submarine?" Clara offered and the Doctor corrected her.

"A sinking _Soviet_ submarine!"

"Oh, right. Cause that's better?!" I scolded him, the man having enough decency to look a little sheepish about his excitement.

One of the men shouted out orders then. "Break out the side arms! Restrain them!"

Another began shouting out the depth. "Four ten! Four twenty! Turbines still not responding!"

"They've got to!" The Captain argued as the Doctor slipped an arm around my waist and his other hand pulled out the sonic screwdriver to get a scan of what was happening.

"Ah! Sideways momentum! You've still got sideways momentum!"

"What?!"

"Your propellers work independently of the main turbines! You can't stop her going down, but you can maneuver the sub laterally! Do it!"

"Get these people off the bridge now!" A man shouted as a couple of guys grabbed the Doctor and I.

"Just listen to him, for God's sake!" Clara argued and I started to as well.

"She's right! What's the harm in listening?!"

"Geographical anomaly to starboard! Probably an underwater ridge!" The Doctor spouted, trying to get them to see reason.

"How do you know this?" The Captain asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Seriously?! I think he can tell you _after_ we stop the sub from sinking!"

"We have a chance to stop the descent if we settle on it! Do it!" The Doctor shouted as the guy from before rattled off the depth again.

"Six hundred meters! Sir, six ten!"

"Or this thing is going to implode!" The Doctor snapped, eyes blazing in seriousness.

Finally, the Captain gave in. "Lateral thrust to starboard, all propellers."

"Sir?!"

"Now!" He ordered, and one man argued with him.

"You're going to let this madman give the orders?!"

"If it saves our lives, that doesn't make him very mad, does it, you nitwit!" I snapped at the man as the Captain shouted once more.

"Lateral thrust!"

"Aye, sir! Six sixty, six eighty!"

The submarine shook violently as I clung to the post nearby with the Doctor before finally settling and the guy let out a soft sigh of relief; said Doctor planning on looking at least a little cool by putting on some sunglasses. _The dork._

"Descent arrested at seven hundred meters."

"It seems we owe you our lives, whoever you are." The Captain breathed out as the Doctor pulled me up and gave the man a smug grin.

"I'll hold you to that. Might come in handy."

"Search them." The other man ordered—the nitwit—and the group of men hesitated. "Yes, I know it's a woman. Now search them."

"Two women!" I scolded as I was moved over to the post with the Doctor and Clara. "But don't get your hopes up, boys! I'm engaged!"

"Ooh, are you?" The Doctor smirked, wiggling his eyebrows as he put his glasses in his pocket and they began searching us.

"Still in danger, spaceman."

"Right. Ooh!" He jumped a bit as one of the men snatched his glasses from his pocket and I scoffed as another began going through the pockets of my coat.

"Are we going to be okay?" Clara asked.

"Oh, yes." The Doctor spouted out quickly.

"Is that a lie?"

"Possibly. Very dangerous time, Clara. East and West standing on the brink of nuclear oblivion." He said, a Barbie doll and a ball of string being pulled out of his pocket as a Ken doll and a bow-tie were pulled out of mine. "Lots of itchy fingers on the button. Oh! You kept Ken!"

"Apparently." I drawled out, having no _clue_ why there was a Ken doll in my pocket as Clara went on.

"Isn't it always like that?"

"Sort of, but there are flash points like this one. Hair..." He touched his head before moving onto his shoulders. "...shoulder pads, nukes. It's the eighties. Everything's bigger."

His sonic screwdriver and a large sucker were pulled out then and he made a grab for it.

"I would like a receipt, please." He snapped, but the man passed it to the Captain.

"What is this?"

"And there's my cue." I muttered, grabbing Clara. "Hang o—"

I couldn't even finish my sentence before the sub shook violently and Clara called out for the Doctor as we both loss our footing.

"Clara!"

"Doctor!"

"Clara! Alex!"

I cursed at not having grabbed a hold of something as I fell, trying to keep a hold of Clara in my arms so she wouldn't get hurt, but my head cracked harshly into the wall behind me and everything went black in an instant; the last thing I felt was my body slipping into the water that was filling up the sub.

* * *

Water dripped lightly on my skin, slowly trying to rouse me as my head lolled to the side. Blearily, I opened my eyes, sounds of the Doctor arguing with the Captain barely drifting into earshot as my eyes slipped closed again. His voice grew louder after a moment though and I forced my eyes open again as I tried to clear my foggy vision and focus on the face hovering before mine.

"Alex? Alex, can you hear me?"

I grunted and brought a hand to the back of my head with a wince as I tried to get up. "Where..."

"You should probably stay sitting." Clara said, placing a hand lightly on my shoulder as she turned to call out to the Doctor. "Doctor, she's awake!"

"Bit busy!" I vaguely heard as I shook my head to try and snap out of the daze I was in.

I immediately regretted it though as everything shifted and I felt a little nauseous, closing my eyes as my equilibrium tried to right itself once more. I hear grunting and a slam though, and with Clara's help, I managed to stand and blink some of the fog from my vision as I caught sight of the Captain and the Doctor arguing.

"Alright, Captain, alright. You know what? Just this once, no dissembling, no psychic paper, no pretending to be an Earth Ambassador. Doctor, me and Clara and Alex, time travelers. Alex, you okay?" He called out and I winced.

"Been better. Have a _hell_ of a headache and—whoa." My sense of balance shifted again and Clara had to grab a hold of me to keep me upright as she called out to the Doctor.

"Doctor, I think she might have a concussion!"

"Have her sit down. I'll be there in a minute!" He called out as the Captain spoke loudly in disbelief.

"Time travelers?"

"We arrived here out of thin air. You just saw it happen." The Doctor argued as an older guy spoke up.

"_I_ didn't."

"Your problem, mate, not mine."

"We were sinking?" Clara piped in then as I grumbled under my breath and searched through my pockets for my black book.

_And hopefully the Tardis wasn't joking when she said it's completely water-proof._ _Ooh, my head. _I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a deep breath, hoping that would help as I peeked and eye open and searched for this adventure in the book.

"What happened?" Clara went on.

"We sank."

"No, what happened to the Tardis, I mean." She clarified and I groaned as I finished skimming for the important bits in this episode; my head hurting too much to focus on the words for long.

"He did something stupid."

"What? What'd he do?"

"Never mind that." The Doctor interrupted, before turning to the Captain who still had him by the shirt.

_Where's his jacket? _I silently mused, mind still muddled until I realized my shoulders were a bit heavy and the Doctor iconic tweed jacket had been put on me. _Oh… that was nice…_

"What does it matter how we arrived?!" Clara shouted, making me groan and hold my head as her voice rang in my ears. "The important thing is to get…"

There was a loud hissing noise that interrupted her and my gaze slowly shifted to the large imposing figure behind the Doctor as she finished her sentence.

"...out…"

The Doctor, as clueless as ever, continued to shout at the Captain; who was also clueless for a moment.

"Exactly! Number one priority, not suffocating..."

The Captain let him go and moved back and the Doctor gave him a curious look as I pushed myself up from off the ground.

"Eh? Ah, oh thank you. Finally seeing sense. Now, what sort of state is the sub in?"

"Doctor..." Clara called out, but he went on.

"What about the radio, can we send a—"

"Doctor!" She shouted, and he shouted back with an annoyed look at being interrupted.

"What?!"

The creature behind him let out another hiss and the Doctor furrowed his brows as I slowly moved towards him; my sense of balance staying intact for now.

"What is that? Gas? Could be gas!" He caught all for us staring and I slowly reached out to grab his hand.

"Could be." I muttered. "Could also… not be."

I grabbed his hand and pulled him back a bit as he turned to see what was standing behind him, a grin forming on his face though he wasn't exactly pleased.

"Ah. It never rains, but it pours."

"You're telling me." I muttered as it took a few steps forward and I let the Doctor go to move off to the side of the advancing creature a bit.

"We were drilling for oil in the ice." The older man, Grinseko, said. "I thought I'd found a mammoth."

"It's not a mammoth."

"No."

"What is it then?" Clara asked and I responded.

"Martian. A rather displeased, confused, and soon to be upset Martian."

The Doctor nodded, though he eyed me suspiciously as I pressed my back up against the paneling behind me.

"It's an Ice Warrior. A native of the planet Mars. And we go way back. _Way_ back."

"A Martian?" The Captain exclaimed in disbelief. "You can't be serious."

"I'm always serious." The Doctor said and I scoffed as he pouted. "With days off."

"More like _years_ off." I muttered as Clara lightly scolded us.

"Doctor, Alex."

"Just keeping it light, Clara. They're scared."

"They're scare? _I'm_ scared." She snapped at him, just as a man came up behind the Doctor and cocked his pistol.

"Oh great. It's the nitwit again." I snipped under my breath as the Martian lifted it's own weapon and the Doctor tried to fix things.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" He shouted, pulling his hands through his wet hair and holding out his arms. "Please, please, wait. Just… There is no need for this. Just hear me out. Y-You're confused, disorientated, of course you are. You've been lying dormant in the ice for, for… How long? How long, professor?"

He snapped his fingers behind him looking for a number and Grisenko spoke.

"B-By my reckoning, five thousand years."

"Five thousand years? That's a hell of a nap. Can't blame you if you've got out of the wrong side of the bed. Look, nobody here wants to hurt you." The Doctor shoved the nitwit's gun down. "Please, just... Why don't you tell us your name?"

"What are you talking about, a name? It has a name?" The Captain questioned in disbelief as I groaned.

"Of _course_ he has a name! Just like you have a name and I have a name and everything on or off this planet has a name! Is that _really_ so hard to believe?" I snapped, though my hearts were pounding away in my chest frantically and my vision was beginning to shift again.

"It has a name and a rank." The Doctor agreed. "This is a soldier and it deserves our respect."

"This is madness. That is a monster!"

"And imagine what you look like to him. A fuzzy headed pink weasel!" I scoffed, earning a glare from the Captain, though I was more afraid of the Martian in front of me than him. "And last I checked, he's not the monsters hiding away on an armed Soviet submarine ready to kill innocent people in the name of power."

"Alex, not helping." The Doctor muttered and I frowned as I winced and leaned further up against the paneling.

"Sorry. Headache."

"Skaldak." The Martian said, making the Doctor nod with a smile, until he realized what the alien had said.

"What did you say?"

"I am Grand Marshal Skaldak."

The Doctor closed his eyes in understanding, no doubt feeling more anxious now than ever for the Martian to leave peacefully.

"Oh no..." He breathed out, just as I caught sight of someone coming up behind Skaldak, armed with a cattle prod.

"No! Don't!" I shouted, scrambling forward to stop the man, but the cattle prod made contact with Skaldak's wet armor before I managed to grab a hold of it and shove it away; getting quite the jolt myself with my soaked through clothes and the water on the floor.

"You idiot!" I heard the Doctor shout as Skaldak fell to the ground and I fell to my knees, breathing shakily as I struggled to shake off the shivers racking my frame.

"You idiot!" The Doctor shouted again, rushing over to me and trying his best to help. "Breathe, Alex. Deep breaths."

"E-Easy for you t-to say." I said through grit teeth. "You haven't had t-this done to you m-more than once as a t-t-torture method."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He breathed out, pulling me to him as he turned to the others when Clara spoke.

"You... know him."

He nodded. "Grand Marshal Skaldak. Sovereign of the Tharsisian caste. Vanquisher of the Phobos Heresy. The greatest hero the proud Martian race has ever produced."

"So what do we do now?"

"Lock. Him. Up." The Doctor said seriously as he easily lifted me off the ground. "And get me a first aid kit and something dry to cover her with."

I went to ask why, but noticed the electrical burn on the palm of my left hand and silently questioning why I wasn't feeling it when I realized my entire body felt rather numb other than where the Doctor was touching me.

"W-Why am I numb..." I muttered quietly and the Doctor furrowed his brows.

"Multiple factors. You're soaked in cold water, your changing biology probably hasn't figured out how to partially regulate it's internal body temperature yet, and you were just _electrocuted_. What were you _thinking, _Alex?"

I shivered, feeling him hold me closer to him as I tried to remember what I was thinking in that moment.

"H-He's just lonely." I stuttered out, closing my eyes as I rested my nose against the crook of the Doctor's neck. "Lonely and scared a-and confused."

The Doctor sighed, setting me down in a chair as a man brought him a thick blanket and the first aid kit.

"He's just like you, is what you're saying. When you first popped up with me."

"Sorry." I muttered, feeling bad that I'd upset him. "I should've thought of something else, but my head was still all messed up and—"

"Alex."

I stopped and looked up at him, only for him to kiss me gently, his mind brushing up against mine comfortingly before he pulled away.

"It's fine. Just… try not to be so reckless next time, okay?"

"I'll… try." I said, hesitating a bit because I knew I might just get into danger again when Grisenko gets grabbed by Skaldak.

The Doctor seemed to sense this too and eyed me suspiciously. "Promise me, Alex."

My head snapped up and my eyes met his green ones as I panicked slightly. "I-I..."

"_Alex_."

_Think, brain!_ "I promise that I'll _try_ not to get into trouble."

He still gave me that look. "Alex, you _know_ that's not what I—"

"Doctor? You ever going to explain the alien that just showed up?" Clara interrupted, making him sigh before bopping me on the nose as he pulled out some bandages and ointment from the first aid kit.

"We will discuss this later."

He then turned to Clara and I stuck out my tongue at the back of his head as he spoke to her and smeared some of the goop onto his fingers to put on my hand.

"The Ice Warriors have a different creed, Clara. A different code. By his own standards, Skaldak is a hero. It was said his enemies honored him so much, they'd carve his name into their own flesh before they died."

"Oh, yeah. Very nice. He sounds lovely." She said sarcastically as the Doctor finished with my hand and brought his fingers up to my temples.

"I'm going to check for a concussion now, alright? See what damage has been done."

I nodded, closing my eyes as he pressed his forehead to mine and feeling his mind brush through my head gently as he searched for anything wrong. He prodded a particularly tender spot and I winced, him humming.

"Hm, seems you got hit pretty good. Your sense of balance is all out of whack. Though being electrocuted didn't help."

"No kidding." I muttered back, trying to ignore the Captain and Clara talking in the background.

"What is he doing?"

"Alien mind thing. Like a brain scan, sort of. Him and Alex have this sort of connection—"

"This may hurt a bit, Alex." The Doctor said, drawing my attention back to him before I cringed at the stab of pain that went through my head and he pulled away with a smile. "All better! I had to forcibly rearrange the neuron signals, but no more balance issues!"

I glared at him. "No, but I still have a headache the size of _Mount Everest_." I hissed and his smile faltered for a bit as he dug through his pockets in a scramble.

"Ah-ha!" He handed me a couple of pills and a water bottle. "Take these. Should help for the next couple of hours."

"It better." I grumbled, taking the items. "Or you're going to have more than _one_ irritable alien on this sub."

He chuckled nervously as the Captain spoke up.

"An Ice Warrior? Explain."

"There isn't time." The Doctor responded, all joking gone.

"Try me."

"Martian reptile know as the Ice Warrior. When Mars turned cold they had to adapt. They're bio-mechaniod. Cyborgs. Built themselves survival armor so they could exist in the freezing cold of their home world, but a sudden increase in temperature and the armor goes haywire."

"Like with the cattle prod thing." Clara piped in and he nodded.

"Like that cattle prod thing. Bit of a design flaw. To be honest, I've always wondered why they never sorted it. Oh, look. You've got me telling you about them and I said there wasn't _time_."

I smacked him upside the back of the head. "Rude."

He frowned at me, making to argue, but one look from me and he shut his mouth.

"Is he that dangerous?"

"This one is." The Doctor said ominously as I sighed.

"Take a soldier, throw him in a tiny room with a number of other soldiers—who may or may not be enemies—and electrocute him after telling him he's been out of it for five thousand years. On a scale of one to ten? This has become a twenty."

"Ah." Clara said, understanding dawning on her as the nitwit man came over angrily and a signal started coming over Grisenko's headphones.

"Why are we listening to this nonsense, Captain? These people are clearly enemy agents."

"Huh?"

"Spies, Captain."

"Pretty bad spies, mate. I don't even speak Russian." Clara said and I sighed as the nitwit turned around.

"What?"

"I don't..." She paused, turning to the Doctor and whispering. "Am I speaking Russian? How come I'm speaking Russian?"

"Now? We have to do this _now_?" The Doctor whispered back as I rolled my eyes and answered.

"Tardis translation matrix, Clara. They're Russian, speaking Russian, and the Tardis is translating what we're saying into Russian."

"Oh."

I stuck out my tongue at the grumbling Doctor and we turned our attention back to the arguing nitwit and Captain.

"In my opinion, Comrade Captain, this creature is a Western weapon."

"A weapon?"

"Survival suit. What is the alternative? The little green man from Mars?"

"Correction." Grisenko pipped up. "It's a _big_ green man from Mars."

I grinned, tossing a thumb his way as the Captain chuckled. "Ooh, I like him."

The nitwit didn't agree. "I don't appreciate you levity, professor."

"Why does that not surprise me? Maybe they're telling the truth."

"The truth?"

"Yes, a revolutionary concept, I know." Grisenko said as I smirked, liking him even more every second.

"It's essential that we inform Moscow of what we have found." The nitwit insisted to the Captain, who gave him a look.

"The radio's out of action, in case you hadn't noticed, Stepashin."

_Oh, so that's his name. I was planning on just calling him nitwit this whole time… probably still will._ I mused as the nitwit went on.

"They have our last position. They will find us. When they do..."

"Yes?"

"Well, the Cold War won't stay cold forever, Captain." He said, walking over towards the Doctor and eyeing him.

"For God's sake, Stepashin, you're like a stuck record. We have other priorities right now. I want you back on repairs immediately. We need to keep this ship alive. Dismissed."

The nitwit seemed shocked. "Sir?"

"Dismissed, Stepashin."

He frowned and went to go, but I spoke up.

"Oh, and if you hear any hissing noises and don't see anyone there, I suggest running. Might keep you alive."

He scoffed and walked out the door, bumping into my shoulder as I sighed and pulled a hand through my wet hair, slicking it back. _Well, can't help the stubborn, I suppose. It's all up to him now. _The Doctor though, stepped forward and brushed something from off the Captain's uniform before bowing his head and speaking.

"All we needed to do… was let Skaldak go and he'd of forgotten us. But you attacked him. You declared war. 'Harm one of us and you harm us all'. It's the ancient Martian code." He gestured to Grisenko's headphones. "You hear that? Skaldak has sent out a distress call. He will bring down the fires of hell just for laying a glove on him."

"Unless you talk to it?"

"I'm the only one who can."

"No." The Captain said definitively. "Out of the question. We're not loosing you. I'll do it."

"What?"

"You can talk to it through me."

I nudged Clara, whispering quietly. "Looks like a who's got the bigger balls competition."

She smacked me, hissing. "_Language_."

I wrinkled my nose at her as the Doctor shook his head.

"Skaldak won't talk to you. Y-You're an enemy soldier."

"And how will he know that?"

"A soldier knows another soldier. He'll smell it on you. Smell it on you a mile off."

"And he wouldn't smell it on you, Doctor?"

"Shots fired. Shots fired. Retreat, retreat." I whispered to Clara, earning another smack as I chuckled quietly.

"Just let me in there before it's too late. It can't be you or any of your men."

"Well, it can't be you."

Clara cleared her throat then, making the Doctor turn around and face the two of us along with the Captain.

"Well, there really is only one choice, isn't there? I don't smell of anything, to my knowledge."

I got curious and leaned over, taking a whiff. "Hm, just peaches."

"Alex!" She snapped, hitting me once more, though I just smiled cheekily as the Doctor immediately got on the defensive.

"_You_? No! No! No way. You're not going in there alone, Clara. Absolutely not. No, no, never."

I turned to him and raised a brow, crossing my arms over my chest. "Then let me go with her."

"What?! No! That's an even worse idea!"

I gave him a look. "Are you saying that my being there will mess things up?"

"N-No! I didn't say that."

"That's what it sounded like to me." Clara piped in and the Doctor groaned as I gave him a pointed look.

"Alex, that's not what I'm saying! It's just… I don't want you to get hurt!"

"Then I _promise_ I won't get hurt." I said, eyeing him seriously and he hesitated.

"Y-You can't promise me that."

"Sure I can. Foreknowledge, remember?"

He stepped over and grabbed me by my upper arms, eyes swimming in worry. "But you can't see your own future, Alex."

"No, but I _do_ know that Skaldak doesn't hurt anyone while Clara is in there speaking with him."

"And how do you know that won't change?"

"Because I'm not stupid enough to go taunting my enemies."

He gave me a look and I rolled my eyes.

"Not this one, anyway. Trust me. I know what he's capable of and… I just want to be there to support Clara." I lowered my voice as I gave said woman a brief glance. "Believe it or not, spaceman, but she is a lot like me and right now, she's terrified. She might not show it and she'll say she's fine, but I know better and I know that _you_ know better. So let me be there to help her."

He grimaced, making a face that said he didn't really want to let me, but he gave in. "Fine. I'll let you go with her."

I smiled and leaned up to kiss him briefly. "Thanks… _Theta_."

A shiver went down his spine and I smirked as he grumbled deep in his throat.

"Stop it. I'm _really_ starting to think I should have never told you about what that nickname does to me. I forgot how cheeky you could be."

I grinned. "Just getting some payback for all those women you kissed."

"Oh, don't remind me."

Clara cleared her throat then, making us both turn to her. "If you two are, ahem, done?"

We looked back at one another, only then realizing how close we'd gotten during our argument—the Doctor's arms wrapped around my waist and mine on his arms—and we quickly separated with red faces; the Doctor adjusting his bow-tie as he cleared his throat and myself looking anywhere _but_ at Clara.

"R-Right then. Let's, uh… Let's get them hooked up, shall we? Clara, Alex will come with you for moral support. As long as you just do as I tell you over the headset, everything will go fine. If not, Alex will get you out of there quick as she can."

I gave Clara a mock salute as she smiled a bit and she was given a headset before being led to the door of the torpedo room; the Doctor giving me one last kiss as her back was turned.

"I love you, Alexander. Be careful."

"I'll do my best." I hummed back, giving him a wave before following after Clara into the room and closing the door behind me as she pulled the headset over her ears and picked up a light; passing it to me as she smiled at the security camera the Doctor was watching from.

I was lucky and could hear the Doctor over Clara's headset; silently wondering if it was the volume, if my hearing was always this good, or if it had something to do with the Artron energy that had moved up into my head. _Doesn't matter now, Alex. Focus._ I took a deep breath and let it out, calming my racing hearts as the Doctor spoke.

"_Ready, Clara?"_

"Yeah."

"_Okay. Address him."_

Clara did as he said. "Grand Marshal Skaldak."

"_The salute. Do the salute like I showed you."_

Clara did—bringing a fist to her shoulder—and I followed, having to hold the lamp between my knees for a second.

"Okay?" Clara muttered, voice shaky and I playfully bumped my hip into hers, making her scowl at me, though I just smiled.

"_Good, good. Now, like we rehearsed. Sovereign of the Tharsisian caste."_

"Sovereign of the Tharsisian caste. By the moons, I honor thee." Clara replied, remembering what the Doctor had drilled into our heads before we'd reached the door.

"_Good. It's okay, Clara. Go closer."_

We both took a few steps towards Skaldak, though I hesitantly eyed the grating above us for signs of movement; Clara continuing to repeat what the Doctor said.

"Grand Marshal, I'm—we're sorry about this." Clara said, correcting the Doctor's mistake.

"_It's not what you deserve."_

"It isn't what you deserve."

The power went out then with a groan and Clara stiffened as I moved over to her side and set the lamp down.

"Oh. Oh great." She breathed out and I gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"Don't worry. We're fine." I whispered as the Doctor spoke up on the headset.

"_She's right, Clara. It's okay. Keep going."_

She nodded, gathering her courage as she went on to speak for the Doctor and lighting up a torch she pulled from her pocket. "You're a long way from home."

"_Five thousand years."_

"And five thousand years adrift in time. Please let us help you. You are not our enemy."

"And yet I am in chains." Skaldak grumbled.

"Doctor, what do I say?" Clara asked and Skaldak almost seemed to scoff.

"Yes, Doctor, what should she say?"

"_I think he wants to speak to the organ grinder, not the monkey."_ Grisenko said and Clara frowned.

"I heard that."

So, the Doctor began speaking directly to Skaldak.

"_You are restrained until we can trust each other, Skaldak. You would do exactly the same in my position, and don't even _think_ about using that sonic weapon. Not in the torpedo room."_

"I was Fleet Commander of the Nix Tharsis. My daughter stood by me. It was her first taste of action. We sang the songs of the Old Times. The Songs of the Red Snow."

I furrowed my brows, the image of a book drifting through my mind as I mouthed what Skaldak had said. _The Songs of the Red Snow… Didn't I read a book about those? Something about… Mars Hymns or something… How did it go though?_

"Five thousand years. Now my daughter will be dust. Only dust."

I spoke up then, taking a step forward. "And you don't think she had kids or grandkids or anything? Even if she's gone now, don't you think it'd be worth it to go back and see your descendants?"

The Doctor readily agreed. _"Your people live on, Skaldak. Scattered all across the universe. And Mars will rise again, I promise you. Just let me help you."_

"I require no help. There will be no help."

I caught the hidden meaning in Skaldak's words and shook my head. "Don't give up hope, Skaldak. They're out there. It just takes a while to get here, is all."

Clara started moving closer to the suit then, but I eyed the grating once more.

"_Careful, Clara."_

"I'm okay."

"_No. Listen, Clara. Don't get too close. Alex, keep her away from it."_

I didn't shift my eyes away from the grating above us. "No, Doctor. She's fine."

Clara nodded, getting even closer to the suit; that _I_ knew was empty. "I'm okay... Doctor, something's wrong."

"_What?"_

"Something's..." She touched the helmet of the suit and it flopped backward as the chest of it opened up to reveal nothing. "It's not there! It's gone!"

"_Gone? Gone? Gone? What do you mean, gone?"_

"It's _got_ _out_."

I hurried over to Clara's side, keeping a look out for Skaldak as his voice echoed in the room.

"It's time I learned the measure of my enemies. And what this vessel is capable of."

"_No, no, no. Skaldak!"_ The Doctor wailed as I slowly moved Clara back towards the door.

"Harm one of us and you harm us all. By the moons, this I swear." Skaldak hissed as we reached the door and the Doctor demanded our escape.

"_Clara, Alex, get out of there! Get out!"_

"Working on it!" I called out, trying to keep my voice steady as I watched the shadows for movement.

Hisses and growls rang out around as I racked my mind trying to remember what I'd read about the Songs of the Red Snow.

"Oh, how did it go? How did it go?" I muttered under my breath. "The stupid book _sang_ it to me! It was a _singing_ book! How could I not remember what it sang?!"

Clara finally pushed the door open and I grabbed her and pulled her out of the way as we sank to the floor with our backs against the wall by the door and Skaldak rushed past us. I didn't see much, just some scales and a flash of dark olive green and red, before the Doctor's voice could be heard calling out to us.

"Clara?! Alex?!"

I tried to calm my breathing, as did Clara and I spoke to her in a breathless voice.

"Y-You alright?"

"Ooh, yeah. Fine. Totally. Just..."

"Peachy?" I asked, earning a chuckle from her as the Doctor pulled her out through the door, with his hands under her arms.

I rolled my eyes and climbed through the door myself, feeling a bit of jealousy swim through my stomach as I watched the Doctor cling to Clara.

"I'm okay." Clara said, breathless, before laughing. "Haha! I'm okay! I'm okay! Where did he go?" She walked off before coming back to the Doctor. "How did I do? Was I okay?"

"This wasn't a test, Clara."

"I know, but—"

"You were great, yeah." He said, smiling a bit.

"Really?"

He put a hand on her cheek, making my stomach clench and my hearts ache. "Really."

Grisenko spoke up then. "Doctor? The signal. It's stopped."

The Doctor checked the man's headphones as well, and turned away solemnly.

"Skaldak got no answer from his Martian brothers. Now he's given up hope."

"Hope of what?" The Captain asked.

"Being rescued. He thinks he's been abandoned... He's got nothing left to lose."

The group walked off and I cleared my throat, catching the Doctor's attention as I sauntered past him.

"I'm fine too, by the way. You know, facing off with an angry Martian, comforting Clara, keeping her safe. No problems here."

The Doctor bounded after me, giving me a look. "Are you _jealous_?"

"Oh, I don't know. I mean, my fiancé going ahead and clinging to another woman like that, it just seems to be an everyday thing, doesn't it?"

"And now you're mad." He groaned. "Alex, we really don't have time for—"

"What?" I snapped, a sudden anger welling up in me. "We don't have time for _what_? Our relationship?"

He looked at the others ahead of us, before grabbing my wrist and pulling me around a corner. I couldn't get a single syllable out of my mouth before his lips were on mine and my back was pressed up against some panels. The kiss deepened, his tongue slipping into my mouth as I brought my hands up to his neck and pulled him closer. One of his hands gripped my waist as the other started to travel up my shirt, before he finally let me breathe.

"W-Wow..." I panted, completely stunned and he smiled a bit, resting his forehead against mine and letting his breath brush across my face.

"This." He said, confusing me until his eyes locked onto mine. "I don't have time for _this_, but I'm doing it anyway, because I don't want you to misunderstand, Alexander. I have _no_ romantic feelings for Clara, and I don't know what my idiotic younger self did, but I want you to know that I only have eyes for you. No one else. Which is why I'm wasting time doing this with you in a sunken submarine with an angry Martian coming after us."

I couldn't help the small smile that came over my face. "Just how I like it."

He chuckled, smirking at me and kissing me softly once more as we pulled away and he took my hand.

"Come on then, you danger magnet, we've got a sub to save."

"You're not off the hook for later." I chuckled back as he pulled me through the corridor.

"Oh, I can't wait."

* * *

One very Captain-y speech later, and the group of us stood around in the control room of the submarine talking about worst case scenarios.

"Even if a missile did get launched, that wouldn't be it, would it?" Clara asked and the Doctor raised a brow.

"It?"

"End of the world. Game over. I mean, what if they fired one by accident. What would happen then?"

"I told you, Clara. Earth is like a storm waiting to break, right now. Both sides baring their teeth, talking up war. It would only take one tiny spark."

I leaned over and spoke quietly to him. "I think she's talking about _time wise_, Doctor."

Clara nodded. "Yeah. The world didn't end in 1983, did it, or I wouldn't be here."

"New." He smiled, pointing at her before rubbing his hands together. "History's in flux. It can be changed. Rewritten." He then headed over to the Captain then; the crew arming themselves with rifles. "How many of us are left?"

"Twelve." The Captain replied. "And we can't find Stepashin."

I winced. "I tried to warn him. The hissing _really_ gives Skaldak away."

The Doctor took my hand and gave it a squeeze, sending a mental wave of comfort over to me before he went on speaking to the Captain.

"We split up and comb the sub. One team stays here to guard the bridge."

"That's it? That's the plan?"

"Well, it's either that or we stay here and wait for him to kill us."

"Okay." The Captain reluctantly agreed, walking off as Clara spoke up next.

"Is it true you've never seen one outside of it's shell suit?"

"Shell suit?" He questioned as she shrugged and he lightly scolded her. "Clara! For an Ice Warrior to leave it's armor is the greatest dishonor. Skaldak is desperate. He is deadly and we have got to find him."

"Will this help?" Grisenko held up the Doctor's sonic screwdriver and the man grinned and rushed over excitedly.

"Ah! You saved it!"

"No, no. It was on the floor with these." He held up the Barbie doll and the Ken doll and the Doctor took them both, passing me the Ken doll and kissing the Barbie doll as I raised a brow. "Ah, professor, I could kiss you."

"If you insist." Grisenko gave in as the Doctor flinched and sent me a nervous glance.

"Ah… better not. Alex wouldn't be pleased."

I wasn't planning on letting up though.

"Should I be jealous of the doll now instead?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Honestly, Alex, you tease me about Ken's abs all the time."

I looked at the doll in my hand and shrugged. "Well, they _do_ look like an ice cube tray and that _is_ a bit hot."

He groaned as Clara chuckled at our teasing of one another, before the Doctor tested out his sonic with a grin, before we all split up; the professor opting to head with us with his cattle prod, which I stayed a good distance away from.

"So, why have you got a cattle prod on a submarine?" Clara asked him and I nodded, eyeing it warily.

"Yes, why?"

"Polar bears."

"Ah, right." Clara hummed.

"We run across them when we're drilling. Can be quite nasty, you know."

"I'd swap one for an Ice Warrior any day. Cuddlier." She joked, but Grisenko saw right through her.

"Courage, my dear... I always sing a song."

"What?"

"To keep my spirits up."

"Yeah, that would work, if this was Pinocchio." She scoffed as I watched the Doctor flip a switch and set off some alarms; panicking as he tried to shut them off.

"Do you know 'Hungry Like The Wolf'?" Grisenko asked and I whipped around and nodded.

"Love that song. Used to sing it in the car with my family on road trips when it came on over the radio."

"Duran Duran. One of my favorites." He smiled. "Come on."

"I'm not singing a song." Clara argued, but I nudged her.

"Come on, spoiled sport. What's the harm? Least you're not sticking your head into empty cupboards." I smirked, nodding towards the Doctor who pulled his head out of the door he'd opened with a frown.

"I heard that."

"You were meant to." I chirped with a smile, though it soon dropped as the submarine let out a low groan.

"What was that?" Clara asked, startled.

"Pressure. Just pressure." The Doctor reassured, slicking his hair back and not looking so reassured by his own answer. "We're seven hundred meters down, remember?"

"Don't worry about it." Grisenko said. "Think of something else."

He began singing the first couple notes of the song. "I am hungry like the wolf.~"

"I'm not singing." Clara continued to insist.

"Don't you know it?"

"Course I know it. We do it at karaoke. The odd hen night."

"Karaoke? Hen night?" Grisenko made a face. "You speak excellent Russian, my dear, but sometimes I don't understand a word you're talking about."

I smiled over at him. "She means that she sings it when she's out with other women. Like a… woman's only get-together."

"Ah. Now _she_ makes more sense. Perfect Russian to. Impeccable."

I placed my hand over my stomach and gave him a mock bow. "My pleasure, good sir."

They both chuckled, but then there was a couple of loud screams and my body snapped ramrod straight as I realized I'd forgotten someone.

"No, no, no, no, no!" I shouted, pushing past the Doctor and rushing out of the area towards the screams until they came to a stop and I found the corridor the two men were in; but I was too late.

The Doctor and the others came up behind me—the Doctor taking my hand in his as I pulled my free hand through my hair with a muttered curse.

"God, how could I forget? How could I forget two people?"

"It's alright Alex. It's okay. Everyone forgets something. You can't keep it all on yourself." He comforted and I nodded, knowing he was right but a part of me still wanted to blame myself.

"Good God." Grisenko gasped. "Torn apart… He's a monster. A _savage_."

I shook my head though, my anthropology instinct kicking in as I stared at the corpses. "No, these wounds are meticulous. Forensic. He did this a certain way."

The Doctor nodded. "Skaldak's learning. Learning all about you. Your strengths, your weaknesses… Come on."

We headed down another corridor until the Doctor found some stairs and started to go up them, letting my hand go as he faced us.

"Stay here."

"Okay." Clara said and I shrugged, the two of us confusing him as he repeated himself.

"Stay here. Don't argue."

"I'm not." Clara replied, furrowing her brows.

"Right… Good." He paused on the stair and turned to me. "And you stay out of trouble."

"That's like asking _you_ to stay out of trouble."

He frowned. "Point taken. Still, at least _try_ to stay out of trouble."

"Will do, gov'na." I mock saluted and he rolled his eyes before disappearing up above.

"Oh, it's a young man's game, all this dashing about." Grisenko huffed, taking a seat on the opening into another room as Clara paced uneasily. "Clara, what is it?"

Clara looked at him with this tired look. "I was doing okay. I mean, I went in there and I did the scary stuff, and I went in there with the Ice Warrior and it went okay. Actually, it went just about as badly as it could've gone, but that wasn't my fault."

"Not at all." Grisenko said as I leaned up against the wall beside him with my arms crossed over my chest, watching Clara as thoughts drifted idly through my head.

_Young Clara. This is Clara after only a few adventures and none of them with actual _deaths_ in them. So this must be her first real taste of what goes on with the Doctor. Like… it's not all just fun trips and aliens and… not everyone gets out okay._ I felt my lips twitch down into a small sad frown as Clara went on.

"Seeing those bodies back there. It's all got very... real. Are we going to make it?"

"Yes, of course."

"Alex?" She turned to me, eyes serious. "You know things. Much more than me or anyone else could ever know about this. So tell me… Are we going to make it?"

I nodded, giving her a small smile. "I _promise_ we will make it. For many more adventures to come, Clara, we will make it."

She smiled back and shook her head. "I don't have a _clue_ how you handle all of this."

"I have the Doctor." I replied, shrugging. "And for me, he makes everything worth it."

The sub creaked then and I pushed myself off the wall, knowing that it may not be just the pressure this time.

"What was that?" Clara asked, startled as she turned around and eyed the corridor.

"The Doctor told you. It's just the boat settling." Grisenko replied, trying to calm her down as he and I both saw how panicked she was getting. "Tell me about yourself. What do you like doing? Clara? Clara?"

"Stuff." She finally responded. "You know, stuff."

He chuckled. "Stuff. Very enlightening. And the Doctor, what he said. Is it true you're from another time? From our future? Clara?"

"Yes." She said as I raised my hand.

"Not me. I'm from another universe. I just know things."

"Tell me what happens." Grisenko suddenly asked, getting up and taking a step forward as Clara took a step back; myself eyeing the grating above for signs of Skaldak.

"I can't."

"Well, I need to know."

"I'm not allowed."

"No, please." He begged as Clara shouted.

"I can't!"

He was insistent on getting his question answered, however it wasn't the kind of question Clara was expecting.

"Ultravox! Do they split up?!"

Clara laughed then as Grisenko smiled a little. "Funny. You're funny." She chuckled, shining the torch in his eyes briefly, before I caught sight of a shadow move up above.

"Clara! Look out!"

She looked at me in confusion just before Skaldak reached down and grabbed her head. Immediately though, Grisenko pulled out a revolver.

"Let her go!"

He fired off a few shots and Skaldak pulled away from Clara, but I moved a little closer to him; cursing myself for not remembering Clara could've nearly died. That being said, I wasn't going to let the same happen to Grisenko. _Though hopefully pushing him out of the way won't change much._

"They disband." I blurted out, drawing Grisenko's attention to me.

"What?"

"Ultravox. They disband twice, but manage to get new groups together afterward. In my universe, anyway. They were still playing when I left and that was the 21st century."

"You're kidding." He gasped, just as I saw Skaldak again and shoved him forward; taking his gun in the process.

The unfortunate bit was, Skaldak grabbed a hold of my head instead and I felt his hands tighten as Clara begged him.

"No! Please don't hurt her! Please!"

The Doctor ran up then, eyes wide as he saw I was in a situation and I grimaced.

"S-Sorry, spaceman. I got into trouble, it seems."

"Alex, you… God, you always..." He pulled a hand through his hair as he turned to Skaldak above me.

"_You_ attacked _me_. Martian law decrees that the people of this planet are forfeit. I now have all the information I require. It will take only one missile to begin the process. To end this Cold War."

"M-Might I mention..." I said, holding up the revolver delicately and with an open hand. "That I'm innocent in this whole mess? And I don't care for guns much. So can someone take it or something?"

The Doctor hesitantly reached out and I passed it to him, flinching slightly when Skaldak tightened his grip once more in case the Doctor did anything, but he just tossed the gun aside and held out his hands.

"Grand Marshal, there is no need for this. Listen to me."

"My distress call has not been answered." Skaldak said, ignoring him. "It will never be answered. My people are dead. They are dust. There is nothing left for me except my revenge."

He then let out a loud growl as I piped in.

"Um, curious. Have you ever heard of the Seer?"

He hissed, but did not reply.

"Cause that's me. Hello. I sort of know future events. Some of them, anyway. And I can promise you that they're coming. Your people."

The Doctor nodded, desperate. "She's right, Skaldak. She never makes a promise she can't keep. And there is something else left for you. Mercy."

"Mercy?" Skaldak hissed, just as the Captain and his crew hurried in with their guns.

"You must wear that armor for a reason, my friend. Let's see, shall we?"

"No, Captain, wait!" The Doctor shouted, pushing his gun down.

"I will do whatever it takes to defend my world, Doctor!" The Captain shouted as I sighed in annoyance, wishing guys could just stop thinking violence was always the right answer.

"Yes, great. Fine. Good. But we are getting somewhere here. We are negotiating. 'Jaw-jaw not war-war'."

"Churchill?" Grisenko asked and the Doctor nodded.

"Churchill."

"Very well." The Captain agreed. "We'll negotiate, but from a position of strength!"

He raised the gun again and Skaldak complimented him.

"Excellent tactical thinking. My congratulations, Captain."

"Thank you." The Captain muttered, looking slightly surprised at the compliment.

"Unfortunately, your position is not, perhaps, as strong as you might hope."

"What do you mean?" The Doctor asked as I groaned.

"Oh, the suit! I forgot about the suit! Doctor, he's calling the suit back. Why can't _you_ do that with the Tardis? Might come in handy, you know. Like _now_."

He winced at the jab, realizing now that I _knew_ what he'd done to get the Tardis to leave us stranded here, but none of us had long to think about it before the armor showed up and I was released; Skaldak swiftly climbing into the suit.

"How did it do that?" Clara questioned as the Doctor grabbed me and pulled me up against his side.

"Sonic tech, Clara. The song of the Ice Warrior."

"In other words, that really loud growl he did earlier."

"Ah."

A crew member pushed past us and unloaded his gun into the armor as it turned, but it was no use and I pulled the man back as Skaldak stormed off angrily.

"My world is dead. But now there will be a second red planet. Red with the blood of humanity."

"Skaldak! Skaldak, wait!" The Doctor called out as I hurried along with him; hearing gunshots and quietly apologizing to the two men that I had no chance of getting to in time.

We soon reached the control room though and the Doctor desperately tried to talk Skaldak out of what he was doing.

"Skaldak, wait! Wait, wait!"

"He's arming the warheads!" The Captain said loudly, lifting his weapon once more, though I shoved it down with a glare.

"And you've already proven guns don't work on him, so put it _down_."

The man frowned, but did so as the Doctor tried again.

"Where is the honor in condemning billions of innocents to death? Five thousand years ago, Mars was the center of a vast empire. The jewel of this solar system. The people of Earth have only just begun to leave their caves. Five thousand years isn't such a long time. They're still just frightened children. Still primitive. Who are you to judge them?"

Skaldak turned to the Doctor. "I am Skaldak. This planet is forfeit under Martian law."

"But they don't even _know_ the law." I argued, trying to help the Doctor. "You're going to punish billions of people because they didn't know?"

"Ignorance is no excuse." Skaldak retaliated and the Doctor tossed a hand at the men behind us.

"Then teach them! Teach them, Grand Marshal. Show them another way. Show them there is honor in mercy." The Doctor changed tactics as Clara ran in. "Is this how you want history to remember you? Grand Marshal Skaldak, Destroyer of Earth. Because that's what you'll be if you send those missiles. Not a soldier, a murderer."

Skaldak huffed and turned to press the button as my mind ran rampant. _That song! How did that song go!?_

The Doctor went on, voice getting faster in his panic. "Five billion lives extinguished. No chance for goodbyes. A world snuffed out like a candle flame! Alright, alright, Skaldak. You leave me no choice!" The Doctor pulled out his sonic. "I'm a _Time Lord_, Skaldak. I know a thing or two about sonic technology, myself."

Skaldak turned around. "A threat. _You_ threaten _me_, Doctor?"

"No. No, not you. All of us. I will blow this sub up before you can even reach that button, grand Marshal. Blow us all to oblivion."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to focus on that tiny sliver of memory of me in the Tardis library listening to that book of songs from Mars, muttering softly under my breath parts of phrases.

"You would sacrifice yourself?" Skaldak questioned in disbelief.

"In a heart beat." The Doctor snarled back, arming his sonic and Skaldak scoffed.

"Mutually assured destruction."

He turned away, but the Doctor challenged him once more.

"Look into my eyes, Skaldak. Look into my eyes and tell me you're capable of doing this. Huh? Can you do that? _Dare_ you do that? Look into my eyes, Skaldak! Come on! Face-to-face!"

"Well, Doctor." Skaldak's helmet came off, revealing a dark green scaled face similar to a reptile or a fish. "Which of us shall blink first?"

Clara stepped forward then. "Why did you hesitate? Back there, in the dark. You were going to kill Alex, remember? I begged you not to and you listened. Why show compassion then, Skaldak, and not now?.. The Doctor's right. _Billions_ will die. Mothers, sons, fathers, daughters. Remember that last battle, Skaldak? Your daughter. You sang the songs."

"Of the Red Snows." He said, just as everything clicked and I finally pieced all of the song together in my head and began to softly sing it.

I couldn't understand what it was I was actually saying. The words were just a jumble of information that I was trying to just spit out in the hopes of bringing some sort of end to this mess, and Skaldak's voice cut through my thought process.

"How do you know that?"

I looked up, ignoring the shocked eyes of those around me as Skaldak took a step towards me.

"That was the Songs of the Red Snows. How?"

"I… Read it, or… um… Listened to it from a book. And it was just… amazing. I can't remember what the words mean, and it took me this whole time to remember how it went, but… I think it's a beautiful song. And… perhaps you could sing it again, Skaldak. With your descendants. Teach _them_ the Songs of the Red Snows."

Skaldak watched me for a moment, before the sub shook violently and I slipped on the watery floor. I didn't expected to slip towards Skaldak, nor did I expect him to catch me before I hit the ground.

"What's happening?!" Clara called out as Skaldak helped me to stand; myself bowing my head in thanks and earning one in return from him as he looked towards the ceiling.

"My people live. They have come for me."

Grisenko spotted the depth meter changing then and counted down the meters. "Six hundred meters. Five fifty."

The sub soon crashed through the ice above and the Doctor turned back to Skaldak as he eyed me in worry.

"We've surfaced. Your people have saved us."

"Saved _me._ Not you."

"Just go, Skaldak. Please. Please… Go in peace." The Doctor begged and Skaldak gave him a look before turning to me.

"I will tell my descendants of you, Seer. Of the one who reminded me of my purpose and brought me my people."

I gave him a disbelieving look as I waved my hands back and forth. "I-I didn't bring them here. I just knew they were coming, is all. I honestly didn't do much today."

He shook his head. "No, you have done much for me and for your people as well."

He gestured to the control panel as the keys turned back to the all-clear position and the lights turned green once more; disarming the missiles. I stared in disbelief at the controls before back at Skaldak, but he simply gave me a fishy smile and vanished as I turned to the others and pointed at the controls.

"Did I seriously just do that?"

Everyone let out a sigh of relief, before Clara rushed over to me and hugged me tightly, making me very nearly slip on the floor once more.

"Whoa there!"

She pulled away, clearing her throat and acting like none of that happened. "Saved the world, then?"

"Y-Yeah, I guess so." I stuttered out, still confused by the sudden change of events as Clara turned to the Doctor and I slicked my hair back mouthing the word '_what?_'.

"That's what we do." She grinned and the Doctor nodded with his own grin.

"Yeah."

From there, we headed up to check outside and I shivered at the icy breeze that cut through the Doctor's tweed jacket that was still over my shoulders. He noticed though, and wrapped an arm around me, rubbing my arm to warm me up a bit as we all looked on to the large spaceship up above us.

"The Tardis!" Clara suddenly exclaimed. "Where's the Tardis? You never explained."

"That's cause he's embarrassed." I snickered, making him pout.

"Don't worry about it, Clara."

"Stop saying that." She said sternly. "Where is it?"

"Yeah. Well, I wasn't to know, was I?"

"Know what?"

"I've been tinkering, breaking her in." He turned to me, making a face. "I'm _allowed_."

I raised a brow. "Yeah, only when you're not trying to fix things that don't need fixing, spaceman."

"What did you do?" Clara demanded to know and he turned away and whispered too quietly for us to hear.

"Huh?"

"I reset the..." He mumbled the last bit and I leaned into him with a smug smile.

"She can't hear you, Doctor!"

"The HADS!" He exclaimed finally. "The Hostile Action Displacement System. If the Tardis comes under attack—gunfire, time winds, the... _sea—_it... relocates."

"Oh, Doctor." She sighed.

I gave her a look. "This is why I said using the sonic as a homing beacon for the Tardis would be handy."

"Yeah, I can see that."

"Haven't used it in donkey's years." The Doctor rambled. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. Well, never mind. It's bound to turn up somewhere."

His sonic screwdriver made went and he pulled away from me to check it with a grin.

"Ooh. Ha! See? Right on cue. Brilliant."

"Brilliant." Clara smiled back, pleased to know her ride would be there soon.

"The Tardis is at the pole." The Doctor said, though he didn't look very pleased.

"Not far, then."

"The _south_ pole." He corrected her and she let out a sigh.

"Ah."

He turned to the Captain then. "Can we have a lift?"

Said man laughed at the absurdity of the statement and the rest of us did as well as they headed inside. The Doctor made fun of their laugh and I chuckled as we stayed out to watch the ship fly off; giving it a Martian salute before it did. The Doctor then turned to me.

"So then. When did you have the time to go searching up Martian songs?"

"Mm, you'd be amazed to find out what I can do with a bit of spare time." I hummed, tilting my head back to rest against his chest as the snow hit my face.

The Doctor though smirked down at me as he wrapped his hands around my waist. "Spare time, hm? Care to show me? You _did_ say I wasn't off the hook."

I scoffed. "_Real_ snow that's _not_ trying to kill you, and you want to play around in a submarine?"

He pouted. "But _Alex_."

I laughed, unable to stay serious any longer. "My God, what are you, five? Come on then, spaceman. Let's go."

I rolled my eyes and headed back down into the sub, missing the gigantic grin on the Doctor's face as he followed after me. After all, it wouldn't exactly be a _short_ trip to the south pole.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_I sat up with a jolt, breathing hard as sweat slid down the back of my neck and the blankets tumbled from my bare shoulders and that laughter in my head subsided. I pulled a hand through my hair as the Eleventh Doctor sat up on his elbows and brushed a hand over my arm, making me flinch._

_"Everything alright, Alex?"_

_I nodded, shakily. "Y-Yeah. Just a… a nightmare, I think. I-I don't really remember..."_


	48. The End of Time: Part 1

**Here is the next chapter, and it's definitely an exciting one, so i hope you all enjoy it and please let me know what you think! ^^ and a special happy birthday to grapejuice101! **

**Warning: Hints of torture, sensual activities (which will be a reoccurring thing in later chapters as well, just a heads up), and a sassy Alex~**

* * *

I sat up with a jolt, breathing hard as sweat slid down the back of my neck and the blankets tumbled from my bare shoulders; a laughter in my head subsiding. I pulled a hand through my hair as the Eleventh Doctor sat up on his elbows and brushed a hand over my arm, making me flinch.

"Everything alright, Alex?"

I nodded, shakily. "Y-Yeah. Just a… a nightmare, I think. I-I don't really remember..."

He sat up as well, eyeing me in worry. "Do you want me to check?"

I shook my head, taking a deep breath and closing my eyes as I tried to calm down. "No… No, I'm fine. If it rattled me this much while I was asleep, I'd rather _not_ know what it was."

"If you're sure." He hummed, placing a kiss on the back of my shoulder, but I pulled the covers off and climbed out of bed, making him pout. "Where are you going?"

"To shower and get dressed." I grumbled, grabbing something to wear from the closet. "Because I pop off randomly and I'd rather not show up with one of your other selves and a companion in the nude."

"Why not? I think it'd make for an interesting day." He smiled, lying sprawled across the bed with the blankets draped around his waist, his chin resting on his arms. "I never understood why you humans were so stuck on wearing clothes."

"And I never understood why _Time Lords_ were so stuck on what color their hair is." I joked, making him whine.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to be ginger!"

"And there's nothing wrong with wanting to wear clothes." I smiled back, stepping into the bathroom and doing my best to ignore the pouting face the Doctor was making, before I sighed and poked my head back out. "You coming?"

He immediately perked up and grinned, tumbling out of the bed and pulling the tangle of sheets off him as I rolled my eyes.

"Honestly, you're like a starved puppy."

He smirked and kissed me lightly as we walked into the bathroom. "_Your_ starved puppy."

Of course, it wasn't long after I'd changed into some jeans and pulled on my coat over my favorite dark violet dress shirt, that I felt the familiar ache in my shoulder and sighed; tugging on my black combat boots as the Doctor turned with yet another pout.

"You're leaving?"

"Seems like it. It's fine though. You have fun with Clara. It won't be long before you see me again."

Something hit me in the head then and I frowned up at the ceiling as I picked up the rubber chicken the Tardis dropped on me and waved it at her.

"And you behave! I'm still upset about the chickens, you know."

She hummed innocently as the Doctor chuckled and kissed me gently.

"Always the chickens."

"She chased me with ostriches once." I hummed back and he gave me a look.

"Now where in the world did she pick those up?"

"You ask me like I _know_." I smiled, standing up before my smile faltered a bit. "And Doctor?"

"Hm?"

"Look after me, alright? I'll be young. _Very_ young. So just… keep an eye out for me, okay?"

He nodded, pressing his forehead against mine. "Of course. I will _always_ look after my Alexander."

I smiled a little back, kissing him briefly before I popped off and ended up someplace I really didn't expect.

"Ooh, it's _cold_." I hissed through my teeth, rubbing my arms to warm myself up a bit as I looked around the snowy landscape only to spot a very familiar Ood standing in the snow not far from me. "Oh, that can't be good."

Ood Sigma stepped over and held up his translator orb as I swallowed thickly; knowing that this wasn't going to be a normal visit—if the missing Doctor was anything to go by.

"You have come, Seer, as predicted by the Elder of the Ood. Please follow me."

I hesitantly did, not liking the sound of the 'Elder of the Ood' that he mentioned, though not wanting to look it up in my notebook just yet. _It does sound familiar though and it gives me a bad feeling. _I followed him into a cave and recognized the group of Ood sitting around an incense holder, though I couldn't place where I'd seen them before.

"Sit with the Elder of the Ood and share the dreaming." Ood Sigma told me and I reluctantly sat down in the circle as the Ood chanted and started taking each others' hands.

"You will join. You will join. You will join." They repeated and I took the hands of the two Ood at my side.

The moment I did, I immediately yanked my hands back at the image that went through my head.

"No. No, no, no. T-That can't be."

"He comes to us." The Elder of the Ood said. "Every night. I think all the people of the universe dream of him now. Even you, Seer."

I nodded shakily, the image of the Master still in my head. "Y-Yeah. I-I woke up this morning after a nightmare. I-I couldn't remember what it was but… that was it. That was what I dreamt of. _Him_."

"There is yet more." The Elder of the Ood told me, but I shook my head.

"I-I know. I know. Wilfred and the, um… the two looking for immortality and Lucy."

The Elder of the Ood nodded, but insisted. "Yes, you see much, Seer and you feel much. Even for the unworthy, the evil, the hated, you feel much. But there is yet more. More for you and you alone."

I bit my bottom lip, but hesitantly took the Oods' hands once more. Images flickered through my head again, not invasive or violent, but just showing. I saw the Master and Lucy and the Tenth Doctor. I heard a song coming to an end and I heard apologies. _My_ apologies. I saw the woman—the one who is haunting Wilfred—and I saw Rassilon and I felt a deep, gut wrenching sadness over whelm me. And then I was released and I pulled away, ignoring the tears that slipped down my face as the Elder of the Ood spoke once more.

"You play a bigger part in this than you know, Seer. Your kindness towards even those who are undeserving of such things will be your biggest weapon. It will tear at your hearts as the song nears it's end, but it will bring hope to those who may need it. Even the most hardened of souls, will begin to feel and when the end of time is come, it will be _you_ who will bring about it's end."

"M-Me?" I stuttered out, hearing footsteps approaching the cave.

The Elder of the Ood nodded. "The Seer and Changer of Time will send it back into the darkness and the fire and the blood. He will come and the Seer will challenge the very authority of time itself, saving the mad, and healing the hurt and the lost. The Seer… will save us all."

"Alex?"

I jumped, startled and turned to see the Tenth Doctor standing there. I went to say something, but my words got stuck in my throat and with a sudden flash of light, I popped off; not understanding what just happened nor what this meant for me in the end of this whole mess.

* * *

The Doctor was stunned. Not just stunned, but a mixture of a multitude of other emotions as well. He was worried for Alex and for every other human on Earth after what he'd heard from the Elder of the Ood. He was angry that he hadn't made it in time to save Lucy and stop the Master's resurrection. But more than that, he was scared. He'd been told more than once that his song was ending. That he was going to die. Not only that, but he'd heard the last part of whatever the Ood were telling Alex and if he knew anything about her, it was that things wouldn't turn out very well for her either.

"_The Seer… will save us all."_

He didn't like the sound of that. He knew how reckless Alex was and if she was meant to save everyone, then he could only imagine what would happen to her in the process. And this was his mindset as he took a ride with Wilfred and his bundle of elderly companions to a café, apparently.

"What's so special about this place? We passed fifteen cafés on the way."

"Yeah." Wilfred said, not answering his question as he greeted a couple of people leaving the shop.

The two of them sat down at a table in view of the window and Wilfred smiled at the Doctor, more than happy that he'd somehow found the man who may be able to tell him what's going on with the nightmares he and everyone else has been having.

"Oh, we had some good times, didn't we though? I mean, all those ATMOS things, and planets in the sky, and me with that paint gun." He made a popping noise, pretending to shoot the Doctor, but said man kept a frown on his face as he listened, so Wilfred got to the point. "I keep seeing things, Doctor. This face at night."

"Who are you?" The Doctor asked suddenly, confusing Wilfred.

"I'm Wilfred Mott."

"No. People have waited hundreds of years to find me and then you manage it in a couple of hours. The only other person capable of that is Alex, but even she's been forced to wait sometimes."

"Well, I'm just lucky, I suppose." Wilfred said, but the Doctor frowned, not convinced.

"No, we keep on meeting, Wilf. Over and over again like something's still connecting us."

"What's so important about me?"

"Exactly. Why you?" The Doctor said, wincing upon knowing that Alex would've probably smacked him if she'd heard him being rude to the man, so instead, he changed the topic to a more serious one. "I'm going to die."

"Well, so am I, one day." Wilfred chuckled and the Doctor looked away with a shake of his head, trying to keep his voice steady.

"Don't you dare."

"Alright. I'll try not to." Wilfred joked, though the Doctor wasn't joking.

"But I was told. 'He will knock four times'. That was the prophecy. Knock four times and then..."

"Y-Yeah, but I thought… W-When I saw you before, you said that your people could… _change_, like your whole body."

"I can still die. If I'm killed before regeneration, then I'm dead." The Doctor leaned forward. "Even then… Even if I change, it feels like dying... Everything I am dies. Some new man goes sauntering away... and I'm dead."

Wilfred sat upright and looked out the window, so the Doctor turned as well, spotting Donna Noble standing outside.

"I'm sorry, but I had to. Look, can't you make her better?" Wilfred said, making the Doctor turn back to him with a frown.

"Stop it."

"No, but you're so clever. Can't you bring her memory back? Just go to her now. Go on. Just run across the street. Go up and say hello."

"If she ever remembers me, her mind will _burn_ and she will _die_." He reiterated to Wilfred, wanting desperately to do as he said, but knowing he couldn't because of the consequences.

They turned back to see Donna shouting at a parking enforcer.

"Don't you _touch_ this _car_."

The Doctor couldn't help but chuckle. "She's not changed."

Wilfred shook his head. "Nah. Oh, there he is."

Another man hurried up to Donna and Wilfred explained.

"Shaun Temple. They're engaged. Getting married in the spring."

"Another wedding." The Doctor hummed, remembering Donna's last wedding.

"Yeah."

The Doctor had a thought then. "Hold on. She's not going to be called Noble-Temple? That sounds like a tourist spot."

"No, it's Temple-Noble." Wilfred corrected and the Doctor nodded.

"Right." He looked out at Donna again, speaking quietly. "Is she happy? Is he nice?"

"Yeah, he's sweet enough. He's a bit of a dreamer. Mind you, he's on minimum wage, she's earning tuppence, so all they can afford is a tiny little flat... And then sometimes I see this look on her face, like she's so sad, but she can't remember why."

Guilt welled up in the Doctor once more as he spoke. "She's got him."

"She's making do."

"Aren't we all?"

"Yeah." Wilfred nodded and he turned back to the Doctor. "How about you? Who have you got now?"

"No one. Traveling alone... I thought it was better... but I did some things. It went wrong. I need..." He sucked in a breath as tears finally broke through his facade and he covered his face as he tried to compose himself.

"Oh, my word. I'm..."

"Merry Christmas." The Doctor breathed out as Wilfred let out a broken chuckle.

"Y-Yeah. And you."

The two chuckled and the Doctor let out a scoff.

"Look at us."

Wilfred understood then, just how lonely the Doctor was. How desperately he needed someone to be with him, because otherwise, he made mistakes; just like any other person. He made mistakes and there was no one there to help him through those mistakes.

"But don't you see? I know you need her, Doctor. I mean, look. Wouldn't she make you laugh again? Good old Donna?" Wilfred asked, his own voice shaky with tears as Donna and Shaun drove off. "Eh?"

The Doctor didn't say a word, but an image popped into Wilfred's head then and he looked worriedly at the Doctor.

"What about Alex? That other girl. What happened to her?"

"She's not always there." The Doctor said, voice gruff. "She pops off, sees another Doctor and sometimes it's not always a nice one."

"But she comes back, doesn't she?"

The Doctor nodded, gaze drifting out the window solemnly. "She does. She always comes back, but sometimes it's not for days or weeks or months or years. Sometimes it's a younger her who doesn't have what we have when she's older. She helps though, but only when I listen." He lowered his gaze to the table in front of him sadly. "She was there when I made that mistake. She tried to tell me, to get me to leave and to not do it, but I didn't listen. I got angry with her, even. I yelled at her, Wilfred, and she still stayed and forgave me for what I'd done. For what I tried to do. And I don't understand why she'd do that for me."

Wilfred thought about that for a bit before answering. "Maybe… she forgave you because you'd do the same for her. I mean, you two are in_ love_. Isn't that what love means? Forgiving one another even when you can hardly forgive yourself?"

The Doctor nodded, seeing the insight in Wilfred's words, before he pulled on his coat and got up. "I'm sorry, Wilfred, but I've got something I need to do."

Wilfred followed him out, but stopped and watched him go from the café doors, hoping that Alex would pop up again soon, because he was worried for the Doctor. More than worried, if the uncomfortable stirring in his stomach had anything to do with what was about to happen.

* * *

I landed in a deserted area that appeared to be a junkyard of some sort and I took in a shaky breath as I dragged my hands down my face and tried to think. _Okay, okay. So I'm in 'The End of Time' episodes. That's great. Lovely. Just… Ugh, who am I kidding?! This sucks! I have to deal with the Master and Rassilon and the Doctor dying all in one bloody day and _apparently_ I need to save the world while I'm at it too. Like I know how the hell I'm supposed to do that._ I groaned and looked up at the night sky, stars shining in the distance as I let out a huff. _And I'm wearing my favorite purple shirt too. _I pouted childishly at the thought of what my poor shirt will look like at the end of this whole thing, before I shook the thought out of my head and got up. _Nope. Now is _not_ the time to be upset about my shirt; as awesome and amazing as it is._ I heard a loud bang then and jumped, turning around in search of the source. There was another and I saw some light off in the distance, flickering like a flame and I headed that way, the whole time wondering about what I was going to do about the Master.

_It's not his fault, after all. That was a big part of the reason I forgave him back with the Toclafane. The only reason that noise is in his head to begin with was because of Rassilon and his need for power. The Master was just being used. _Is_ being used. I can't blame him for all of this when it's not even his fault._ I rounded the corner to see the Doctor lying on the ground as the Master spoke to him; my mind clicking in to where in the plot I was.

"I am _so_ hungry." The Master said, something in me aching at his words as I winced at the slight pressure in the back of my head from the drums; which had gotten more noticeable since I'd popped up here.

"Your resurrection went wrong. That energy... Your body's ripped open. Now you're killing yourself." The Doctor said, but the Master hardly cared.

"And that's human Christmas, out there." The Master said, in disbelief almost. "They eat so much! All that roasting meat, cakes and red wine. Hot, fat, blood, food. Pots, plates of meat, and flesh, and grease, and juice, and baking, burnt, sticky hot skin. Hot. It's so hot."

"Stop it." The Doctor demanded as that ache within me grew more at seeing the Master like this.

"Sliced. Sliced. Sliced." He chanted.

"Stop it."

"It's mine. It's mine. It's mine to eat and eat and eat." He continued on, but I couldn't take it anymore.

It hurt so much to watch the Master being driven mad by this hunger and before I even knew what I was doing, I was right there in front of him. He was still going and I could feel the Doctor's eyes on my back as I knelt down and held the Master. Not caring that he was about to do horrible things. Not caring that he'd already done horrible things. All I cared about was making it stop. Helping him stop the drumming, because I understood what it felt like. He _showed_ me what it felt like to have that noise raging through my head, ripping it apart piece by piece as it fed off my emotions and amplified them ten fold. And I felt _bad_ for the Master. He should not of had to have this happen to him because some idiotic Time Lord in Gallifrey thought he knew what was best for the universe. Just as the Doctor shouldn't of had to lock his planet—his people—away in a Time Lock for the very same reason.

"I'm sorry." I breathed out as the Master slowly stopped shaking and I just clung to him, my head lying on top of his. "I'm sorry."

The Doctor spoke then, not to me, but to him.

"What if I asked you for help?"

I slowly released the Master, now that he'd calmed down and eyed me suspiciously, ignoring the Doctor as said man continued to make his offer.

"There's more at work tonight than you and me."

"Oh yeah?" The Master finally responded as I moved aside and sat on the ground not far from him.

"I've been told something is returning."

"And here I am." The Master smirked, but I shook my head.

"It's not you. 'It is slowly returning through the dark and the fire and the blood'." I chanted, the words coming to my mind as though the Elder of the Ood was still speaking with me.

"But it hurts." The Master said, holding his head as I took a deep breath and tried to give him some comfort.

His shoulders relaxed slightly as I breathed out and the Doctor eyed me.

"I was told it was the end of time."

"It hurts." The Master said, and even I winced as the drums pounded against the barrier in my head I'd shoved them behind. "Doctor, the noise. The noise in my head, Doctor. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. Stronger than ever before. Can't you hear it?"

"I'm sorry." The Doctor said, shaking his head.

"Listen, listen, listen, listen." The Master insisted and I reached for my own head as I tried to keep from focusing on the noise myself. "Every minute, every second, every beat of my hearts, there it is. Calling to me. Please listen."

"I can't hear it."

The Master frowned, before grabbing me as I suddenly realized what he was going to do.

"Then _she'll_ listen."

"No!" The Doctor shouted, but it was too late.

The Master's mind ripped through my head as I struggled to put up barriers or kick him out or something, but my panic was getting in the way and it wasn't more than a second before the drumming broke through and echoed in my head; the Doctor shouting at him as he pulled away.

"Stop it! You leave her alone!"

"Then _listen_." The Master growled, pulling out of my mind more gently than before and moving towards the Doctor before pressing their heads together.

The Doctor gasped and pulled away in shock and the Master looked at him in confusion, not expecting the man to have a reaction.

"What?"

"That's..." The Doctor breathed out in disbelief.

"What?!"

"I heard it. But there's no noise. There never has been. It's just your insanity. What is it? What's inside your head?" He said, growing even more confused as the Master stood and grinned, laughing.

I shook my head though, brows furrowed and eyes closed tightly as I tried to rebuild the barrier in my head to block out the drums.

"There was _always_ a noise, Doctor. He didn't force his insanity on me. He forced the _noise_ in. He scared my mind with the drums, with the noise that was always there. Always pounding in his head and that _noise_ is what drove him to insanity. He didn't _become_ insane. He was _made to become_ insane."

The hint in my words was obvious, but when I opened my eyes, all I saw was the Doctor's confusion towards what I had said.

* * *

The Master though, was overjoyed. He just couldn't believe that the Doctor had actually heard the noise. He knew Alex could, because of what he'd done to her their last meeting, but that was because he _made_ her hear it. To the point where she couldn't get rid of it. The Doctor though, shouldn't of been able to hear it. If it was just his insanity like he'd always been told, then the Doctor shouldn't of been able to hear it, but he _did_. And that was what made the Master so happy. Because now he knew that he _wasn't_ insane. He was _never_ insane because that noise had always been there. It was a physical thing that had always been in his head slowly driving him to madness. And that was what he needed to know. He needed to know that he wasn't mad. He needed to prove to himself, that there was a reason _for_ him to be mad. It wasn't all made up. It was real!

"It's real!" He cackled in delight. "It's real!" He turned to Alex as she got up and he grabbed her by her arm with a crazed grin. "It's real!"

He pulled her close and shot them both up from off the ground, hearing the Doctor call after him in a panic, but he just laughed as they landed and he faced the Doctor; Alex trapped in a choke hold in front of him.

"All these years! You thought I was mad!" He shouted at the Doctor angry, but grinning. "King of the Wasteland. But something is calling me, Doctor." He smirked at Alex as she frowned slightly at him and struggled in his strong grip. "What is it?" He turned back to the Doctor, shouting. "What is it? What is it?"

"Let her go!" The Doctor shouted at him though, not caring about what he was asking when Alex was in danger right in front of him. "Let Alex go!"

"What is it?!" The Master shouted back.

A light came from above him then, and the Master thought for a moment that that was it. That was what was calling him, but another light shone on the Doctor and the Master let out a grunt of frustration as the familiar beating of helicopter rotors echoed through the junkyard. Ropes came down beside him then and he cackled as two masked men in armed gear grabbed him and Alex, injecting them with something as the Doctor cried out.

"Don't!"

He started trying to get up to where they were, someone shooting at him and making that difficult, but he still desperately tried to reach them as the two men grabbed the unconscious Master and Alex and began lifting them into the helicopter.

"Let them go!" He shouted, just before something hit him in the back and he fell, his vision quickly heading into darkness as he struggled to stay awake.

He couldn't let them take them. Not the Master. Not Alex. The Master was all he had left of his people. Alex was the woman he cared most about. He was loosing two of his closest friends and family, so he had to do something. But he couldn't move and soon enough, his vision faded to black as the helicopter flew off and left him unconscious in the junkyard.

* * *

"If you would, Mr. Danes." Joshua Naismith ordered one of his men, gesturing over to the Master, who was strapped to a dolly.

Mr. Danes removed the gag from the Master's mouth, allowing said man to speak, though he simply rang his tongue along his lips hungrily.

"I'm starving." He growled out, though Naismith ignored him and smiled.

"You have my daughter to thank for this. It's all her idea. She heard rumors of Harold Saxon, his disciples, his return, the Seer. It's the sort of thing she finds rather… _thrilling_."

"And I was right." His daughter smiled. "He's back. The very man we need, and he's here. Oh, this is going to be wonderful." She clapped as the Master smiled a bit, though his eyes scanned the room for the missing Alex.

* * *

At the Noble's home, Shaun had just shown up with his presents and Wilfred had gone to sit down and watch the Queen's speech, but something was wrong. The image flickered a few times, before this woman appeared; the very same woman he had sworn to of seen when he visited a church the previous day.

"Eh?"

"Events are moving, Wilfred." The woman said, Wilfred growing more confused by the second.

"Eh?"

"Faster than we thought."

He turned around and gestured to the TV as he spoke to the others behind him.

"Oi, can you see that?"

Donna looked over and made a face.

"Frankly, I'd tell her Majesty it's time for trouser suits."

"No, no, no, no. That's not the..." He turned away, realizing they couldn't see the woman he was seeing.

"Only you can see." The woman clarified for him. "Only you stand at the heart of coincidence. You and one other."

"Why? What have I done? And who's the other person?" Wilfred asked, trying not to be too loud in case the others were to overhear.

"You're an old soldier, sir. Only you were too late. The war was won and passed you by. The other has long since seen into events past, present, and future."

"I did my duty." Wilfred frowned, upset at how she was talking and having no clue who this other person was.

"You never killed a man." The woman said and he frowned.

"No, I didn't. No, I did not. But don't say that like it's shameful."

The woman went on. "The time will come when you must take arms."

"Who are you?" Wilfred asked, but she ignored his question once more.

"Tell the Doctor nothing of this. His life could still be saved, so long as you tell him nothing."

The screen flickered back to the Queen's speech and Wilfred turned back to the others, about to ask them if they saw that, but he second guessed himself and instead hurried upstairs to his bedroom and pulled an old suitcase out from under his bed. Upon opening it, he pulled out his old service weapon and checked to see if it was loaded. He then heard something clatter against his window and peeks past the curtain to see the Doctor was outside. Taking a deep breath, he hurried downstairs and pulled on his coat before rushing out to the man who hurried to meet with him in the middle of the road.

"I lost them." The Doctor said quickly, looking more frantic than Wilfred had ever seen him. "I was unconscious. They're still on Earth. I can smell him and sense Alex, but they're too far away."

Wilfred's eyes widened. "Alex? They got her too?" He then saw the Tardis behind the Doctor and panicked a bit. "Listen, you can't park there. What if Donna sees it?"

"You're the only one Wilf." The Doctor went on, Wilfred's question being ignored much like how the woman from before did. "The only connection I can think of. You're involved, if I could work out how. Tell me, have you seen anything? I don't know. Anything strange? Anything odd?"

"Well, there was a..." Wilfred was about to tell him about the woman, but her words came back to him.

"_His life could still be saved, so long as you tell him nothing."_

"What? What is it? Tell me?"

"Well it was… Nah, it's nothing." Wilfred said, shaking his head.

"Think, think think. Maybe something out of the blue. Something connected to your life. _Something_."

Wilfred thought of something then. "Well, Donna was a bit strange. She had a funny little moment this morning, all because of that book."

"What book?" The Doctor demanded and Wilfred looked back at his home before waving the Doctro to follow him. He went around the back and headed inside to grab the book Donna got for him and showed it to the Doctor.

"His name's Joshua Naismith."

"That's the man. I was shown him by the Ood." The Doctor breathed out.

"By the what?" Wilfred asked, never before hearing of the word 'Ood'.

"By the Ood."

"What's the Ood?"

"They're just… the Ood." The Doctor said, not knowing how to describe the alien creatures, much less in the little amount of time they had. "But it's all part of the convergence. Maybe... It may be touching Donna's subconscious. Oh, she's still fighting for us, even now." He smiled. "The Doctor Donna."

"Dad, what are you up to?" Sylvia asked, coming outside only to see the Doctor and immediately getting angry. "_You_. But… Get out of here." She demanded.

"Merry Christmas." The Doctor greeted, hoping that the holiday season might keep her from getting _too_ angry with him.

"Merry Christmas." She replied back, before quickly trying to shoo him away once more in a hushed voice. "But she can't see you! What if she remembers?!"

Donna called out from inside and everyone exchanged looks as Sylvia tried to shove them all out of the yard.

"Go!"

"I'm going." The Doctor hummed, turning around as Wilfred nodded.

"Yeah, me too."

It took Sylvia a second to realize what he'd said, and she soon chased after Wilfred. "Oh no, you don't."

Donna came around to the back of the house, but spotted no one, and the others hurried towards the Tardis with Sylvia chasing after them angrily.

"Stay right where you are!" She demanded as the Doctor turned to Wilfred.

"You can't come with me."

Wilfred gave him a disbelieving look and gestured to Sylvia. "You're not leaving me with _her_."

"Dad!" Sylvia called out and the Doctor grimace, opening the door.

"Fair enough."

Sylvia continued to shout as Wilfred joined the Doctor in the Tardis and they disappeared; Donna questioning her mother's sanity as she yelled at seemingly nothing. In the Tardis though, the Doctor was rushing about the console.

"Naismith. If I can track him down." He passed Wilfred the book before pausing, seeing him standing there in shock. "Ah, right. Yes. Bigger on the inside. Do you like it?"

"I-I thought it'd be cleaner." Wilfred muttered, making the Doctor roll his eyes.

"Well, Alex hasn't been here in a while and..." He stopped, making a face at Wilfred suddenly. "_Cleaner_? I could take you back home right now."

Wilfred ignored the empty threat. "Listen, Doctor. If this is a time machine, that man you're chasing, why can't you just pop back to yesterday and catch him? Save Alex too?"

"Believe me, Wilfred, I would. If only to save Alex, but I can't go back inside my own time-line. I have to stay relative to the Master within the causal nexus. Understand?"

"Not a word."

The Doctor grinned, shaking his hand. "Welcome aboard."

"Thank you."

* * *

Naismith, his daughter, and the Master—now in a straight jacket and a leash and collar—entered the main room where a large metal structure was standing and scientists typed away on computers nearby.

"Demonstrate." Naismith demanded and the gate-like structure started to hum and electricity zapped within it as the Master let out a hum.

"Oh, that's not from Earth."

"And neither are you. A perfect combination, don't you think?" Naismith grinned as one of the scientists came up to him.

"Uh, excuse me, sir. If I could check the basement? We're getting fluctuation on the power cords."

Naismith hardly seemed to care and waved him off. "Of course."

"Miss Addams, if you could bring the calibration statistics."

The two left downstairs, panicking about getting caught when they were supposed to be fixing the gate and taking it back with them—seeing as they were _not_ the human scientists everyone believed them to be—but upstairs, the Master had been let out of his straight jacket and sat at a table across from Naismith and his daughter.

"The Gate was found inside a spaceship buried at the foot of Mount Snowdon. It was moved to an institute known as Torchwood, but when Torchwood fell... let's just say I acquired it."

The Master grinned, leaning forward. "I like you."

"Thank you." Naismith smiled back.

"You'd taste _great_."

Naismith's smile fell at the hungry look the Master gave him, and he snapped his fingers.

"Mister Danes..."

"The visitor will be given food." Mr. Danes said and a platter of chicken was brought in; the Master greedily ripping it to pieces and consuming the whole thing in a matter of seconds.

As the Master finished picking the last bits of meat from off the bones, Naismith tried to move on.

"Anyway—"

"Where's Alex?" The Master cut him off and he paused, brows furrowed in question.

"Who?"

The Master rolled his eyes and dropped another cleaned bone onto the platter. "The _Seer_. Where is she?"

"Ah." Naismith hummed with a smile, nodding his head towards the door and it wasn't a moment longer that two fully armored men came in and shoved Alex in as well; forcing her to her knees before Naismith and the Master.

She spit some blood off to the side, an annoyed look on her face as she frowned at the men in front of her, but didn't look too worse for wear. There was a nice sized bruise on her jaw and a split in her lip, and she was in a straight jacket like the Master was; with a similar _black_ collar around her neck. The Master smiled down at her and she rolled her eyes, reminding the man of the time _he_ tried to break her with little success, and he turned to Naismith in question.

"Why did you take her too?"

Naismith simply smiled, circling Alex like a vulture. "She is the Seer. She knows everything from the past to the present to the future. How could we _not_ take her?"

He knelt down and grabbed Alex's face harshly, making her wince as he turned her to face him.

"She is definitely quite the prize." Naismith went on. "She can tell us everything we need to know."

"She won't tell you." The Master said confidently, smile gone from his face.

"Oh, I'm sure we can come up with an arrangement." Naismith smiled sweetly, but Alex spat in his face.

"Arrangement my ass." She snapped. "You immortality seeking fool. I can't believe there are people still _stupid_ enough to want that sort of sh—"

She was cut off as Naismith stepped back and kicked her harshly in the stomach, making her double over and cough as he started to adjust his tie. Thing was, no one expected the Master to stand up and pull away from Mr. Danes; grabbing Naismith and pinning him to the table, with his head in the leftover platter of chicken bones.

"Don't you _touch_ her." He snarled, having to have four men pull him off Naismith, who honestly looked scared to death.

The Master was forced back into his chair, looking furious as Alex coughed and eyed him suspiciously from her position on the ground, but Naismith cleared his throat like nothing happened and waved at a couple of men who pulled Alex up from off the floor; prepared to take her back to wherever they were keeping her. Thing was, the Master was still defiant.

"Leave her."

"Excuse me?" Naismith questioned and the Master stared at him, gaze deadly.

"Leave her here, in this room, within my sight. Or I won't do a single _thing_ for you."

Naismith eyed him warily, before reluctantly agreeing and Alex was shoved back down onto the floor in the middle of the room.

"As I was saying." He hummed, making sure he had the Master's attention. "The device came equipped with its own power supply. A nuclear bolt. One technician remains in charge of the feedback twenty four hours a day, and the power feeds through to the Gate, where it encourages some sort of cellular regeneration. Miss Collins was our test subject."

One of the scientists came over as Naismith explained.

"She carried some burns as a result of an accident when she was a child, down her left side. If you could?"

The women lifted up her sleeve to reveal nothing.

"The Gate mended her." Naismith smiled, sending her off. "Thank you."

"But what do you want it for?" The Master questioned, eyeing Alex briefly as she sighed.

"We calculate that if this device can be fully repaired by your good self, it can restore the body _forever_. Hence it's given title. The Immortality Gate. Because that's what I want. Not for me, but for my daughter. I want her never to die. My gift to her." He brought his hand up to stroke his daughter's chin. "She will be... immortal."

"Abigail. It means bringing of joy." His daughter smiled.

Alex piped in then, her nervousness getting to her, though she didn't show it physically. "No. Abigail means 'father's joy' or 'father's rejoice' or 'my father is joy'. It's Hebrew."

Naismith frowned and went to order one of his men to possibly hit Alex, but the Master spoke up, snarling.

"Leave her _be_."

Begrudgingly, Naismith shut his mouth, just before the Master seemed to perk up, inhaling deeply and sliding his chair over to a computer.

"Better get to work."

He stretched his hands and fingers out in front of him, before typing away, knowing that the Doctor was close. _Very_ close. Said Doctor was with Wilfred and they were both working their way into infiltrating the building, being very careful to not attract attention of Naismith's personal army. On their way, they discovered the basement.

"Nice gate." The Doctor hummed as Wilfred looked a little more apologetic at sneaking into a secret base.

"Hello. Sorry."

Miss Addams couldn't even get a word out before the Doctor spoke.

"Don't try calling security, or I'll tell them you're wearing a Shimmer. Because I reckon anyone wearing a Shimmer doesn't want the Shimmer to be noticed, or they wouldn't need a Shimmer in the first place." He rambled quickly, smiling at her as Miss Addams tried to play innocent.

"I-I'm sorry. What's a Shimmer?"

The Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at her as he hummed.

"Shimmer."

Her disguise went away and she rolled her eyes at getting caught, her green skin and spikes making Wilfred point.

"Oh my Lord. She's a cactus."

Addams didn't look very pleased at that, but didn't call security now that her Shimmer had been disabled by the Doctor. Her cactus counterpart still in disguise upstairs grew worried when he didn't get a response from her and turned to Naismith.

"If you'll just excuse me."

Naismith sighed, not really caring, and turned his attention back to the Master as he clapped.

"Now, please don't imagine I'm a slave driver. We can resume work on Boxing Day, Mister Saxon."

"My name, is the Master." The Master said, pressing a button and making the lights dim as the gate started up and actually worked.

He had fixed the machine.

"Oh, excellent." Naismith grinned as the Master placed his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. "Excellent!" He turned briefly behind him. "Mister Danes."

Mr. Danes spoke up. "The visitor will be restrained."

The Master looked at Naismith in disbelief.

"What? But I repaired it."

"I'm not an idiot!" Naismith said loudly, making Alex scoff. "Don't let him anywhere near that thing."

Naismith laughed, hugging Abigail as a guard strapped the Master back into his straight jacket and another two stood over by Alex should they be given any orders about her. Down below though, the Doctor was growing more and more frustrated as he put on his glasses and looked over the equipment.

"He's got it working, but what is it? What's working?"

"What are you doing here?" The fake scientist from earlier demanded, but the Doctor didn't even look away from the screens as he pointed his sonic at the man.

"Shimmer." He hummed and the man was revealed as a cactus alien as well, Miss Addams leaning past Wilfred to give him an annoyed look as the Doctor turned to him and Miss Addams.

"Now tell me, quickly. What's going on? The Master, Harold Saxon, Skeltor, whatever you're calling him, what's he doing up there? And where is Alex?"

The Master wasn't doing much, despite the Doctor's worry. In fact, he was still being strapped into his straight jacket as Naismith spoke from behind him.

"Your reputation precedes you, sir. I have no doubt you've laid traps. Perhaps explosives. A means of escape or murder. But everything you've done to the gate will be checked and double checked before anyone stands inside. In fact, the _Seer_ might just be able to give us those answers. Mister Danes?"

Mr. Danes nodded to the two soldiers behind Alex and they nodded as the Master shouted at Naismith.

"Stop it! Don't you touch her!"

"Or what?" Naismith smirked as the two soldiers kicked and punched at Alex, one even pulling out a taser and jabbing her in the side with it.

She squirmed and grit her teeth, doing her best to stay as quiet as possible as the Master grew more and more angry with Naismith.

"Stop it! She doesn't know! I didn't do anything!"

"And we're supposed to believe that?" Naismith scoffed, before snapping his fingers and the men stopped.

Alex laid on the ground with her forehead pressed to the floor as she panted and shook from the aftershocks and memories of other torture jolting through her head, and Naismith spoke up.

"Well, Seer? Does it work?"

She peered an eye open and glared at the man, actually managing to make him stiffen as she spat out some more blood onto the floor.

"It'll never work. Not for you." She growled. "Immortality isn't a gift, it's a curse. Curse to watch those precious to you die over and over and over again. Cursed to have those deaths placed on your shoulders and make you long for companionship only to never wish for it again because it hurts so damn much. You will _curse_ Abigail to a life of suffering for what? _Power?_" She scoffed, pulling herself up to a sitting position and staring at the man with a blank, but almost _sad_ expression. "I pity you, Naismith. You have no idea the mess you've gotten yourself and the rest of human kind into."

"Pity me? You _pity_ me?" Naismith laughed, though he wasn't _close_ to being pleased about what she had said. "The one _bleeding_ on her knees _pities_ me! Can you believe that?"

The Master though, eyed Alex cautiously, silently questioning what she was thinking by riling Naismith up. Not only that, but the way she worded things just now, seemed to hint to him that what he'd done to the machine would work. If Alex knew everything that would happen, then why would she hint to him, the _Master_, that it would work the way he wanted it to? After everything he'd done to her, how could she help him? How could she _still_ be sympathetic towards him? He'd scared her for life! She'd live with the drums, just as he lived with them! Sure, she'd managed to push them back and smother them, but they were still there. They would always be there, and yet she forgave him. She forgave him and is even _helping_ him. And suddenly the Master understood now, why the Seer was seen as such a threat. Why the Daleks and the Sontarans and even the Time Lords of Old spoke of the Seer and quivered in fear. She _forgave._

* * *

The Doctor went over to a screen downstairs, looking over the readings as Rossiter—the other cactus alien—spoke in confusion.

"But I _checked_ the readings. He's done good work. It's operational."

"Who are you though?" The Doctor asked. "I met someone like you. He was brilliant, but he was little and red."

The two cacti frowned.

"No, that's a Zocci." Addams drawled.

"We're not Zocci, we're _Vinvocci_. Completely different."

"And the Gate is Vinvocci. We're a salvage team."Addams explained. "We picked up the signal when the humans reactivated it. And as soon as it's working, we can transport it to the ship.

"But what does it _do_?"

"Well, it mends. It's a simple as that. It's a medical device to repair the body. It makes people better." Rossiter explained, but the Doctor shook his head.

"No, there's got to be more. Every single warning says the Master's going to do something colossal."

"So that thing's like a sickbed, yes?" Wilfred spoke up then, pointing at another area.

"More or less." Addams replied.

"Well, pardon me for asking, but why is it so big?"

The Doctor turned around. "Oh, good question. Why's it so big?"

"It doesn't just mend _one_ person at a time." Addams scoffed.

"That would be ridiculous." Rossiter said, also scoffing.

"It mends _whole planets_."

"It does what?" The Doctor gaped, understanding coming over him as Addams repeated herself.

"It transmits the medical template across the entire population."

The Doctor whipped off his glasses and bolted out of the basemen, dashing up the stairs in the hopes that he'd somehow make it in time to stop the disaster that was about to happen. Not only that, but he needed Alex at his side. She knew what was supposed to happen and she could hint to the Doctor on how to prevent it. That's what he would tell anyone who asked, anyway. In reality though, he knew having Alex nearby would help him think. She kept him calm, kept him thinking logically and not panicking. He _needed_ her and if he discovered that she was hurt or could be in possible danger of dying—which is always an option for her apparently—he wouldn't waste a second before getting her out of there.

Upstairs though, Naismith was clueless to the plan the Master had put in motion and had turned on the television in order to watch the President give his speech on his plan to end the recession. It was just then though, that the Doctor burst in shouting.

"Turn that gate off right now!"

"At arms!" Mr. Danes ordered and guns were pointed at the Doctor as he held his hands out.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. Whatever you do, just don't let him near that device."

The Master scoffed. "Oh, like that was ever gonna happen."

He easily tore out of the straight jacket and launched himself into the gate with a shout, turning around and smirking at everyone.

"Homeless, was I? Destitute and dying? Well look at me now!" He held his arms out with a smug grin as the Doctor turned around and rushed towards the controls.

"Deactivate it! All of you, turn the whole thing off!"

The Master just laughed as no one moved, everyone making pained expressions and holding their heads.

"He's… inside my head." Naismith said, shaking his head and the Doctor rushed towards the gate.

"Get out of there!"

The Master shot a blast at his feet though, throwing up flames and knocking him back beside Alex, who was on the ground with her head between her knees.

"Alex! Alex, what's wrong?!" The Doctor demanded, grabbing her, getting her out of the straight jacket, and trying to speak to her; fury raging inside as he saw what kind of state she was in. "Who did this?! Who hurt her?! Was it you?!"

He rounded on the Master who frowned.

"I haven't touched her."

The Doctor went to confront him, the Oncoming Storm raging in his eyes, but Alex grabbed his sleeve; speaking through grit teeth.

"H-Help Wilfred."

The Doctor turned around, shaking his head. "No, no, no. I need to help _you_."

Alex immediately snarled at him, with a rage he hadn't seen since the first time she had to deal with the drumming in her head. "You save him. You save him right now or I'll—"

She was cut off as she whimpered and pulled her head between her knees; hands gripping at her hair tightly. The Doctor wanted to help her, but it was then that Wilfred stumbled in and the Doctor knew that if he didn't help the man, Alex would never forgive him.

"Doctor, there's… there's this face." Wilfred stuttered out and the Doctor kissed Alex on the head before getting up and rushing towards the older man.

"What is it? What can you see?"

"Well, it's him. I can see him. I keep seeing his face."

The TV announcer mentioned there being something wrong with the President and the Doctor understood now that this was already going world wide. He hurried to the controls, trying to stop it, but nothing was working.

"I can't turn it off!"

"That's because I locked it, idiot." The Master mocked and the Doctor glanced at Alex, curled up in the fetal position on the ground, before groaning and turning to Wilfred.

"Wilfred!" He pulled him over to one of the glass cubicles and went in one himself and pressed a button. "Get inside, and get him out!"

Wilfred went into the other cubicle and showed the scientist inside a way out before the Doctor started messing with the controls inside.

"I just need to filter the levels."

Wilfred called out then, happily. "Oh! I can see again! He's gone!"

"Radiation shielding. Now press the button! Let me out." The Doctor ordered.

"Do what?"

"I can't get out until you press the button. That button there." He said, gesturing to the large red button and Wilfred pressed it; allowing the Doctor to hurry out and to Alex's side. "Alex. Alex, hang in there. You've got to hang in there."

She nodded slightly, giving the Doctor a bit of hope, before he turned his attention to the Master.

"Fifty seconds and counting." The Master grinned.

"To what?!" The Doctor shouted.

"Oh, you're going to love this." He chuckled.

The Doctor scrambled about, trying to figure out what was happening and what he could do about it; not even paying attention as Wilfred answered his phone.

"What is it, hypnotism? Mind control? You're grafting your thoughts inside them, is that it?"

"No, no, no, no." Alex muttered, making the Doctor hurry towards her, thinking that something was going wrong, but the Master caught on.

"Alex is right. That's way too easy. No, no, no. They're not going to think like me, they're going to _become_ me. And... zero!"

A blast shout out of the gate, spreading across the entire globe as everyone's faces shook back and forth so fast that they became blurred. After a second though, you could see images flickering over them.

"You can't have!" The Doctor said loudly, clinging to Alex as she shook in his arms and cried out in pain.

"What is it?!" Wilfred shouted from the glass cubicle, but the changes were done and everyone around them now had the face, body, and mind of the Master.

For him though, there was another problem. Donna.

"Doctor!"

The Doctor turned to him in worry; having left Alex's side to see if there was anything he could do to the machine to stop it.

"She's starting to remember! What is it?! What have you done, you monster?!"

The Master chuckled. "Oh, I'm sorry. Are you talking to me?"

Another Master stood up with a grin. "Or to me?"

"Or to me?" Another one said, before the guards lifted their helmets.

"Or to us?"

"_Breaking news."_ The Master on the TV said. _"I'm everyone. And everyone in the world… is me!"_

"_I'm President. President of the United States! Look at me!"_ The Master President brought his hands up to his head. _"Ooh, financial solution… deleted."_

The original Master wandered over as the Doctor looked around in shock.

"The human race was always your favorite, Doctor. But now, there _is_ no human race. There is only the _Master_ race." He laughed manically with his other selves all across the world and dread slowly filled the Doctor as he turned towards where Alex was on the ground, slowly coming uncurled from her fetal position and only one thought flickered through the Doctor's head.

_No… Not Alex… Not my Alexander!_

* * *

**_Sneak Peak:_**

_"You're… part Time Lord."_

_ Alex smirked in a way that sent shivers down the Doctor's spine._

_"Part Time Lord, part human, part Tardis." She hummed, eyes calculating as she watched the Master's reaction. "I have two hearts. I'm chock full of Artron energy and can feel emotions and can pass them along to others if need be. I can communicate telepathically with beings of equal or higher mental presence. I have a human body, a mostly human mind with a bit of Time Lord thrown in and that splash of sentient Tardis mixed in as well. In other words..." She pushed up onto her knees, leaning in close to the Master's face as her grin grew. "...I'm one of a kind, and I can_ totally_ mess up your world."_


	49. The End of Time: Part 2

**Here's the next chapter and i'm super sorry i posted it so late. my sleeping schedule's been off because i work from 9pm-5am on selected days and i ended up waking at 3pm today. but i hope this crazy chapter makes up for it! please let me know what you think ^^**

**Marissa:**** I'm glad you liked it so much. Apologies for making you cry, but thank you so much for the compliment. I hope you enjoy this one as well.**

**Idris:**** Thank you so much for your compliment and for liking this story so much. Alex as well. :) And i usually post a chapter with the 12th doctor every 5-6 chapters. He'll show up again in chapter 54 this time though, so it'll be a bit of a wait. sorry. And as for an order for the chapters in the Doctor's POV, I use this site for transcripts, but it has a list of all the chapters (just remove the spaces). ****www. chakoteya doctorwho/episodes9. html**

**Oh! And as a general shout out to you all who read this! This is important to you all.  But please watch "The Death of the Doctor" from The Sarah Jane Adventures when you get a chance! I _will_ be doing that episode later on and though i generally don't do spin-offs i did this one just for fun since the eleventh doctor is in it. I will post a link on my profile so you can watch it. ^^**

* * *

_**(This has been edited at the end when the Doctor starts to regenerate as of 1/26/2016!)**_

* * *

Alex stood up with a hand on her head, before turning around with a cringe as the Doctor let out a sigh of relief; her face still being hers and _not_ the Master's.

"I'll have you know." She grumbled, glaring tiredly at the Master. "I did _not_ appreciate the headache."

She started to fall then and the Doctor hurried over and grabbed her, as she let out a soft sigh.

"Sorry. Still trying to remember how my legs work."

The Doctor shook his head with a chuckle. "I don't even care, Alexander. I'm just glad you're still you."

She smiled a bit. "I know. I'm amazing."

The Master rolled his eyes. "Somebody gag them."

A couple of the guard-Masters pulled the two apart and restrained them; Alex back in her straight jacket, the Doctor strapped to the metal dolly that the Master had been stuck in originally, and Wilfred tied to a chair. The Master smirked, leaning in close to the Doctor.

"Now then, I've got a planet to run." He turned to the large screen in the room. "Is everybody ready?"

Numerous versions of the Master responded, revealing just how _much_ control the Master had over Earth now, and he turned back to the trio with a smirk.

"Enough soldiers and weapons to turn this planet into a warship. Nothing to say, Doctor?" He leaned in again, but the Doctor was gagged and couldn't say anything. "What's that? Pardon? Sorry?"

"You let him go, you swine." Wilfred snapped at the Master, who groaned.

"Oh, your dad's still kicking up a fuss."

"Yeah? Well, I'd be proud if I was."

"Hush, now." The Master shushed him. "Listen to your Master."

Alex scoffed, making the Master turn his attention to her.

"And then there's you. The infamous Seer. What am I going to do with you?"

"Nothing you _can_ do." She snarled, as the Master moved over to her and knelt down face-to-face.

"Ooh, you've got more bite than the last time we tangoed." The Master hummed, eyeing her suspiciously. "What's changed? Not you, obviously, seeing as you're not _me_. Though I'm curious as to why not."

"You leave her be!" Wilfred shouted once more, but the Master ignored him, bringing his hands up alongside Alex's temples.

The Doctor shouted through his gag, but Alex just stared the Master down, before pressing her own head to his, _willingly_.

"_...changing biology..."_

"_...two hearts..."_

"_...nerve cluster..."_

"_...strong mental presence..."_

"_...Time Lord..."_

The Master pulled away from her in shock, trying to get the thoughts and ideas that were forced onto him in order to a point where he could understand. And once he did, his disbelief only grew.

"You're… part Time Lord."

Alex smirked in a way that sent shivers down the Doctor's spine.

"Part Time Lord, part human, part Tardis." She hummed, eyes calculating as she watched the Master's reaction. "I have two hearts. I'm chock full of Artron energy and can feel emotions and can pass them along to others if need be. I can communicate telepathically with beings of equal or higher mental presence. I have a human body, a mostly human mind with a bit of Time Lord thrown in and that splash of sentient Tardis mixed in as well. In other words..." She pushed up onto her knees, leaning in close to the Master's face as her grin grew. "...I'm one of a kind, and I can _totally_ mess up your world."

The Master smirked, liking this spark of challenge in Alex's eyes, before a ring interrupted their discussion.

The Master frowned, getting up and giving Alex one last curious glance before eyeing Wilfred. "But that's a mobile."

"Yeah, it's mine. Let me turn it off." Wilfred said, but the Master shook his head.

"No, no, no, no, no. I don't think you understand. Everybody on this planet is me. And I'm not phoning you, so who the hell is that?"

"It's nobody. I tell you, it's nothing. It's probably one of them ring-back calls."

The Master didn't believe him for an instant and started searching through Wilfred's pockets for the phone; finding the revolver instead and tossing it aside.

"Ooh, and look at this. Good man." He mocked, before finding the phone and looking at the caller ID. "Donna. Who's Donna?"

"She's no one. Just leave it."

The Master answered the call though, listening to the other end to hear a panicking Donna before he put it on speaker.

"_Everybody was changing."_

"Who is she? Why didn't she change?" The Master demanded to know and Wilfred nodded over to the Doctor.

"Well, it was this thing the Doctor did. He did it to her. The Metacrisis."

"Oh, he _loves_ playing with Earth girls. Ugh." The Master said in disgust before demanding that his other selves track the call.

He then held the phone up for Wilfred to hear.

"Say goodbye to the freak, Grandad."

"Donna, get out of there! Just get out of there! I'm telling you, run!"

The other Masters got a lock on Donna and Wilfred just kept shouting.

"Run, sweetheart! That's all! Run for your life!"

He continued telling Donna to run, but then there was silence and he grew worried.

"Donna? What was that? Donna? Donna, are you there? Donna! Donna! Donna!"

Alex and the Doctor started to smile then. Seeing this, the Master stomped over to Alex and grabbed the leash attached to her collar, pulling her up to face him as she snickered.

"What's so funny?" He snarled at her.

"Oh, the Master doesn't know." She laughed. "The genius Master with everyone in the world at his disposal doesn't know."

The Master growled at her, lifting the leash up higher so that the collar was choking her, but the moment she was close to passing out, he threw her aside and turned to the Doctor instead; ripping off his gag as he tried to act nonchalant.

"That's better. Hello. But really, did you think I'd leave my best friend without a defense mechanism?"

"Doctor, what happened?" Wilfred asked, worry for his daughter overriding everything else.

"She's alright. She's fine, I promise. She'll just sleep." His act slipped away in a millisecond as he looked back at the Master. "What _I _want to know, is what's wrong with Alex?"

"Oh, come on. You don't even have a guess? I mean, honestly. It's rather quite simple." The Master drawled. "She _is_ part human, after all."

That made it click in the Doctor's head as he realized what was going on. Alex hadn't become the Master like everyone else, because she wasn't entirely human. That being said, because a part of her still _was_ human, something _did_ change. Her personality. Alex wasn't the Master in body, but she _was_ the Master in spirit. And the Doctor knew that if he didn't do something soon, he might very well lose Alex entirely. The Master hardly seemed bothered though. In fact, he rather liked Alex this way. With the madness being brought to her surface, she made things _much_ more fun. And he couldn't wait to see just how far he could go this time. But first, he had other things to worry about.

"Tell me." He said, turning the Doctor's attention to him. "Where's your Tardis?"

The Doctor though, took a deep breath and drew his attention away from Alex in the hopes of somehow compromising with the one in charge.

"You could be so wonderful."

"Where is it?" The Master pressed, not in the mood for one of the Doctor's mind games.

"You're a genius." The Doctor continued. "You're stone cold brilliant, you are. I swear, you really are. But you could be so much more. You could be _beautiful_. With a mind like that, we could travel the stars. It would be my honor. Because you don't need to _own_ the universe, just see it. To have the privilege of seeing the whole of time and space. That's ownership enough."

The Master swallowed thickly, something in the Doctor's words resonating with him, but the Master still saw one problem.

"Would it stop then? The noise in my head?"

"I can help. Like with Alex. I helped her. I can help you."

"I don't know what I'd be without that noise." The Master said softly and Alex spoke up from her place on the ground, sitting up slightly and more herself than that crazed bit of the Master within her.

"Silence. For the first time in years, there will be silence." She muttered, not looking at them and instead keeping her eyes fixed on the gate. "You'll withdraw. You'll start to want them. You'll think you will _need_ them. Because it's a drug. You got hooked on it. You'll try to get them back. Listen to them again, even if only for a second, but that second will drown you. You will get stuck on it, that rhythm. But if you push through, you'll be calm. You'll be the person you should've been without the drums egging you on. Without the violent outbursts, the crazed thoughts running through your head like a train racing the very fabric of time, forcing you to think and think and think even when there's nothing to think about. But you'll be… you. You'll be safe, you'll be able to enjoy things again. Not the things that make the drums happy, but… everything. You will be able to see the beauty of the universe without a care in the world."

She went quiet, letting those thoughts drift through the air before the Doctor gazed solidly at the Master.

"I wonder what I'd be, without you."

"Yeah." The Master said, before Wilfred spoke up.

"What does he mean? What noise?"

The Master turned towards him, before taking a seat and explaining with a scowl at the memory.

"It began on Gallifrey, as children. Not that you'd call it childhood. More a life of duty. Eight years old. I was taken for initiation, to stare into the Untempered Schism."

"What does that mean?"

"It's a gap in the fabric of reality." The Doctor explained to Wilfred. "You can see into the Time Vortex itself. And it hurts."

The Master went on. "They took me there in the dark. I looked into time, old man, and I heard it calling to me. Drums. The never ending drums." He closed his eyes. "Listen to it. Listen."

"Then let's find it. You, Alex and I."

The Master paused though, a realization coming to him. "Except. Oh. Oh, wait a minute. Oh, yes. Oh, that's good."

"What? What is?"

"The noise exists within my head and now withing six _billion_ heads. Everyone on Earth can hear it. Imagine. Oh. Oh, yes."

He cackled manically as his skeleton flashed and he knelt to the ground as the Doctor frowned.

"It wasn't enough. The gate wasn't enough. You're still dying."

"This body was born out of death. All it can do is die." The Master snarled, before standing. "But what did you say to me, back in the wasteland? You said the end of time.

"I said something was returning. I was shown a prophecy. That's why I need your help." The Doctor said, giving Alex the briefest of glances as she stared out blankly at the gate.

"What if I'm part of it?" The Master said. "Don't you _see_? The drumbeat is calling from _so_ far away. From the end of _time_ itself. And now it's been amplified six _billion_ times. Triangulate all those signals. I could find the source! Oh, Doctor. That's what your prophecy was. _Me_!"

He suddenly slapped the Doctor, who took it like a champ.

"Where's the Tardis?"

"No. Just stop. Just think." The Doctor said, realizing that he was loosing the Master's attention as the man turned to Alex.

"If you won't tell me, I'll get answers from her."

"Leave her _alone_!" The Doctor demanded, but the Master ignored him and grabbed Alex by the collar and slammed her against the wall with a hand around her throat; ignoring the gasp of pain she let out from her previous injuries.

"Where is the Tardis?" He snarled, only to smirk on seeing that spark of madness back in her eyes.

"Why _should_ I?" She said, voice husky as she got in his face; their noses just brushing each other.

"I might very well just break you, if you don't."

"I'd like to see you _try_."

He slapped her hard across the face, but she hardly reacted at all, just turning back to him like he hadn't even touched her.

"Better yet." She hummed, running her tongue over the split in her upper lip as she smirked. "I might tell you… if you _begged_ me."

"Oh, you are just—"

The Master couldn't help it anymore. He forcefully pressed his lips to hers, pressing her firmly up against the wall as he growled low in his throat and brought a hand up to her neck and squeezed. Alex hardly cared, not even noticing the fact that she was loosing air as she went along with the kiss, deepening it as their tongues fought for dominance. It wasn't until something pressed hard into her side and sent a jolt of electricity through her system that she crumpled and the Master licked his lips hungrily as he looked down at her; his hand on her throat being the only thing holding her up as she wheezed with glazed eyes.

"_Delicious._" He growled low in his throat, before bashing the butt of the taser against her head and leaving her on the ground as he called out to a guard. "Kill the old man."

A guard moved over towards Wilfred and aimed his gun at the man as the Master wandered over to where the Doctor was glaring daggers at him, smirking the whole while.

"I need that technology, Doctor. Tell me where it is, or the old man is dead. And then I'll move on to Alex, maybe get a little further with her before I finally end it."

"Don't you _touch_ her." The Doctor snarled, the Oncoming Storm evident in his eyes, hardly phasing the Master.

"Oops. Too late. I already did and she _enjoyed_ it." The Doctor ground his teeth, clenching his jaw so tight, it was a wonder it didn't lock in place as the Master spoke a little louder.

"I'll kill him right now, Doctor!"

He wandered over to where the guard was and the Doctor forced himself to calm down slightly as he caught on to something the Master had yet to notice.

"Actually, the most impressive thing about you is that after all this time, you're still bone dead stupid."

"Take aim." The Master rolled his neck and frowned as the guard cocked the weapon.

"You've got six billion pairs of eyes, but you can't see the obvious, can you?" The Doctor continued to mock and the Master scoffed.

"Like what?"

"That guard is one inch too tall."

The Master turned to the guard, just as said guard hit him with the butt of his gun, knocking the Master out and removing his helmet to reveal Rossiter.

"Oh my God, I hit him. I've never hit anyone in my life."

Addams hurried in then. "Well, come on. We need to get out of here fast."

She went about getting Wilfred out of the ropes as Rossiter struggled with the Doctor's restraints; Wilfred letting out a cheer.

"God bless the cactuses!"

"That's cacti." The Doctor corrected as Rossiter grew annoyed.

"That's racist!"

Having stepped away from the screen for a bit, one of the other Masters hadn't noticed anything wrong until he spotted an empty room. Rossiter was still struggling though and Addams was beginning to get worried they'd get caught.

"Come on! We've got to get out."

"There's too many buckles and straps."

"Just... wheel him."

"No, no, no. Get me out. No, no, no, don't. Don't! No, no, no! Alex! You can't leave her!" The Doctor shouted as Rossiter started wheeling him to the door quickly, passing the TV screen and letting the other Master know something was wrong as he sent security after them.

"I'm sorry, but we can't take all of you!" Addams said apologetically as they hurried along. "We can't carry her!"

"No! You go back for her! You go back right now!" The Doctor demanded, but he was ignored even as far as which way they should be going.

The Master had since woken up, holding his aching head as the guards hurried in and he shouted angrily.

"Find him! Find him!"

He spotted Alex still lying unconscious on the ground though and let out a scoffing laugh, before stopping one guard and gesturing to her.

"Put her back in her cell."

"Yes, sir." The guard said, taking Alex away as the Master joined the other guards in their pursuit of the Doctor.

One painful ride down the stairs later, and the Doctor, Addams, Wilfred, and Rossiter were trapped between two groups of guards.

"Just stop and listen to me!" The Doctor shouted, but the guards cocked their weapons and the Master grinned.

"Gotcha."

Addams disagreed. "You think so?"

She pressed a button on her wrist watch and the group were teleported up into a ship as the Doctor shouted at them.

"Now get me out of this thing!"

"Don't say thanks, will you?" Addams frowned, but the Doctor was worried about other things.

"He's not going to let us go. Just hurry up and get me out!"

Wilfred was in more shock that they were actually in space more than anything else, but once the Doctor was freed, he sonicked the ship's controls, causing them to explode, before he turned to the Vinvocci.

"Where's your flight deck?"

"But we're _safe_!" Addams argued. "We're a hundred _thousand_ miles above the earth."

"And he's got every single missile on the planet ready to _fire_." He said in return and Addams finally gave in.

"Good point."

She rushed off and the Doctor followed after her before doubling back to nab Wilfred who was _still_ shocked they were actually in space. Once at the flight deck, the Doctor shouted to the Vinvocci as they started flipping levers.

"We've got to close it down!"

"No chance, mate. We're going home." Rossiter said as Addams agreed.

"We're just a salvage team. Local politics have got nothing to do with us. Not unless it's a carnival. Sooner we get back to Vinvocci space, the better."

"We're not leaving." The Doctor snapped, destroying the console with another press of a button on his sonic screwdriver; shutting down power in the entire ship.

He turned to them then and shushed them, the metal creaking with every wave of the radar searching for them. After a while of waiting and nothing headed their way danger-wise, Addams finally spoke in annoyance.

"No sign of any missiles. No sign of anything. You've _wrecked_ the place!" She shouted.

Rossiter continued. "The engines are burnt out. All we've got is auxillary lights." He flicked a switch for said lights. "Everything else is kaput. We can't move,. We're stuck in orbit."

"Thanks to you, you _idiot_!" Addams shouted, stomping off.

Wilfred still had hope though and turned to the Doctor, who hadn't said a word.

"I know you though. I bet you've got a plan, haven't you? Eh? Come on. You've always got a trick up your sleeve. Nice little bit of the old Doctor flim-flam sort of thing? Eh?"

At the Doctor's heart broken look though, Wilfred's smile fell.

"Oh, blimey."

* * *

I woke up with a pounding in my head, the Master's laugh echoing through my mind alongside the drums, which were growing ever louder. I curled up and covered my ears with a whimper, my entire body a mass of bruises and aches, and my head feeling like someone was slowly crushing it from the inside out. I couldn't remember what had happened after the Master went into the gate. I remember pain and that laugh. I remember his face and then I don't know what happened. It was all sort of foggy and I'd get flashes of it.

"_Part Time Lord, part human, part Tardis."_

"_I'm one of a kind, and I can_ totally_ mess up your world."_

"_Oh, the Master doesn't know."_

"_I'd like to see you try."_

"_I might tell you… if you begged me."_

And then I remembered. Everything flooded my mind at once and I began to cry. It hurt so much. Not just the pounding headache, but the fact that I'd kissed the Master and _enjoyed _it. The fact that there was this banging in my head trying to come out and take control. That madness edging the drums further into my subconscious, trying to change me, to turn me back into that person. That crazed, hungry, _insane_ person. Maniacal laughter bubbled up from my throat, but I sucked in a breath and curled up further, forcing it to stop. I needed to focus. I needed to put up barriers, to stop the drumming and the madness. I needed to stifle it until it was nothing more than a sliver in my head, because something told me that if I didn't, I might very well loose myself to it and never come back out again.

So I took a deep breath and pushed myself up into a sitting position, shifting until I was tucked away in a darkened corner of the room. From there, I continued to breathe deeply—holding it in and letting it out—as I closed my eyes and focused on my thoughts. I winced at the laughter and the madness as it immediately tried to take over, but shoved it back. Further and further and further until it was almost a whisper and then, I began building the walls to hold it back. Brick by brick, piece by piece and before I knew it, night had fallen outside and I finally relaxed; feeling more exhausted than I'd felt in ages. _Between the beatings and trying to lock this thing up, I'm running low on energy. _I let out a short chuckle. _Oh, if the Doctor could see me now…_ My laughter died in my throat though as I pulled out the ring still around my neck. Guilt over what happened between myself and the Master swirled in my stomach, causing the madness I'd just tucked away to pound on the barriers in my mind before I took a deep breath and put the ring back under my shirt.

_Focus. You weren't in the right state of mind, he'll understand._ I tried to convince myself, but a part of me wondered if he'd believe that. If the Doctor would believe that I honestly didn't have romantic feelings towards the Master when I felt that need to help him. None of this was the Master's fault and because I understood what it was like with the drums, and where they actually came from, I sympathized and wanted to help him. _But how would the Doctor see it? After what happened before, would he think that I had feelings for the Master because of that and me trying to help him?_ I shook my head with a sigh, pulling my hand through my hair with a wince when I touched a tender spot. _Stop it. There's bigger problems at hand and sitting around _guessing_ how the Doctor feels about this whole mess isn't going to get you anywhere._ I took a deep breath and calmed myself down, sitting in a meditative stance that the Twelfth showed me would help me focus. As I did though, something I didn't expect happened.

"Seer."

I opened my eyes and stared in shock at the woman standing before me. "But… you're..."

The older woman nodded, eyeing me with a sad look. "Events are closing. The day is almost upon us."

I frowned, knowing that this woman was only repeating what she'd probably already told Wilfred. "I know. Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you are also at the heart of coincidence. This is the Doctor's final battle. At the end of his life, he must stand at arms or lose himself and all this world, to the end of time."

My frown grew. I'd always had conflicted feelings about this woman back when I first watched the show. I knew her and the Doctor were close at one point in time, but I didn't know exactly _who_ she was. With the whole 'Time Lords can look older or younger than they are' thing, I couldn't be certain. She could be his mother—like many in my world believed—or his wife or his daughter or sister, or who knows what. And in the end, she did help the Doctor. She had gotten Wilfred to bring the weapon he would use to destroy the gate and send the Time Lords back into the time lock. But at the same time, she made me angry. Angry that she would be ashamed of Wilfred never killing anyone in the war. Angry that she would pressure the Doctor into carrying a weapon he vowed never to touch. And angry that she managed to hurt him so much in all of this, even if it would save everyone and even if I knew the Doctor wouldn't actually kill anyone. All of this ran through my head a mile a minute as I stared at the woman, who stared evenly back.

"It's not his final battle." I said, somehow keeping the bite out of my voice. "His song may end, but it is_ not_ the last day of his life. And I don't know who you are to him, but if you know him at _all_ then you should know better than to ask him to pick up a weapon."

She was silent for a moment, before the smallest of smiles flickered onto her face for the briefest of moments; making me think I may have imagined it, it was so fleeting.

"I am glad he has found you, Seer." She said, surprising me before she turned back to the subject at hand. "However, if the Doctor does not take up arms, then another will have to take his place or everything will be lost in the end of time."

I scoffed, a small smile on my face. "You really need to get into contact with the Elder of the Ood then. According to them, 'the Seer will save us all'." My smile fell as I glared at her. "And I will _never_ let him have to make a choice like that if I can prevent it."

She bowed her head in acceptance. "Then I wish you luck, Seer, for you will have the most difficult time of us all."

I frowned at her dark omen. "What do you mean?"

"The Silence will come for you soon." She said sadly as I stiffened in fear and ice went through my veins. "And it won't only be the Doctor's song that will end."

I took in a shaky breath, closing my eyes as I tried to remain calm, but the moment I looked up, the woman was gone and I was left alone once more; wishing I was with the Doctor, who was most likely dealing with a lot himself. _T-Theta… I'm scared…_

* * *

Wilfred found the Doctor sitting in the darkened control room, messing with some wires. "Aye, aye. Got this old tub mended?"

"Just trying to fix the heating." He replied solemnly.

Wilfred sat down beside him with a grunt before gesturing to the window where Earth could be seen below. "I've always dreamt of a view like that." He chuckled. "Hehe, I'm an astronaut."

The Doctor chuckled as well as Wilfred went on.

"It's dawn over England, look. Brand new day. My wife's buried down there. I might never visit her again now. Do you think he changed them, in their graves?"

The Doctor turned to him sadly. "I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's not your fault." Wilfred said, the words hurting the Doctor more than helping as he imagined Alex scolding him for thinking such thoughts.

"Isn't it?" He snapped, getting angry with himself. "I left her down there, Wilfred. I left Alex with _him_. She's hurt, Wilf. She's hurt and what he did to everyone else is effecting her too. I could loose her because of this."

Wilfred frowned, understanding the Doctor's guilt, but knowing that something wasn't right. "Now you listen here, Doctor. I may not know you two a whole lot, but if there's one thing I know, it's that Alex is a lot tougher than you think. Do you really think she'd let someone go about messing with her head without a fight?"

The Doctor's anger subsided and he sighed softly, setting the wiring down and staring at his hands. "No. No, she wouldn't."

"Then give her a chance, Doctor. She wouldn't want you beating yourself up about this, I think."

The Doctor nodded and things grew quiet between them before Wilfred pointed out a spot on the Earth.

"Oh, 1948, I was over there. End of the Mandate in Palestine. Private Mott. Skinny little idiot, I was. Stood on this rooftop, in the middle of a skirmish. It was like a blizzard, all them bullets in the air. The world gone mad." Wilfred chuckled bitterly as the Doctor took off his glasses. "Yeah, you don't want to listen to an old man's tales, do you?"

"I'm older than you." The Doctor hummed.

"Get away." Wilfred scoffed, but the Doctor insisted.

"I'm nine hundred and six."

"What? Really, though?"

"Yeah."

"Nine hundred years." Wilfred breathed out. "We must look like insects to you."

"I think you look like giants."

Wilfred started to shake his head, but the Doctor was serious and, after a moment of thought, Wilfred reached into his coat and pulled out his revolver, holding it out to him.

"Listen, I... I want you to have this. I've kept it all this time, and I thought..."

"No." The Doctor said without hesitation.

"No, but if you take it, you could..."

"No." The Doctor shook his head as Wilfred lowered it. "You had that gun in the mansion. You could have shot the Master there and then."

"Too scared, I suppose." Wilfred replied with a small smile.

"I'd be proud." The Doctor said, voice serious and prideful, confusing Wilfred.

"Of what?"

"If you were my dad."

"Oh, come on, don't start." Wilfred said, smiling a bit as the Doctor smiled back, but then remembered something that made his smile falter. "But you said, you were told 'he will knock four times and then you die'. Well, that's him, isn't it? The Master. That noise in his head? The Master is going to kill you."

"Yeah."

Wilfred held out the gun again. "Then kill him first."

"And that's how the Master started." The Doctor said, making Wilfred lower the gun slowly as guilt stirred within him. "It's not like I'm an innocent. I've taken lives... I got worse. I got _clever_. Manipulated people into taking their own... Sometimes I think a Time Lord lives too long." The Doctor glanced down at the gun again. "I can't. I just can't."

A whisper drifted into the Doctor's head then, so quiet, he almost missed it.

"_Theta… Oh, Theta..."_

_Alex?_ The Doctor looked over at Earth for a second, but the feeling was gone and he questioned if he may have just imagined it. After all, Alex didn't know his academy nickname… did she?

"If the Master dies, what happens to all the people?" Wilfred asked, drawing him from his thoughts.

"I don't know."

"Doctor, what happens?" He pushed, knowing the Doctor was lying.

"The template snaps." The Doctor admitted.

"What, they go back to being human? They're alive, and human." Wilfred breathed, before scolding the Doctor. "Then don't you dare, sir. Don't you dare put him before them. Now you take this. That's an order, Doctor. Take the gun. You take the gun and save your life! And p-please don't die. You're the most wonderful man and I don't want you to die." Wilfred cried, taking the Doctor's hand and placing it on the weapon in the hopes that he'd take it, but he didn't.

He pushed it away. "Never."

"_A star fell from the sky."_ The Master's voice rang out suddenly, making the two stare up at the ceiling in surprise. _"Don't you want to know where from? Because now it makes sense, Doctor. The whole of my life. My _destiny_… The star was a diamond. And the diamond… is a White-Point star. And I have worked all night to sanctify that gift. Now the star is mine. I can increase the signal and use it as a lifeline. Do you get it now? Do you see? Keep watching, Doctor. This should be… _spectacular_. Over and out."_

"What's he on about? W-What's he doing? D-Doctor, what does that mean?" Wilfred asked, but the Doctor was still gaping in shock.

"A White-Point star is only found on one planet. _Gallifrey_." The Doctor said, voice shaky as panic settled in. "Which means… it's the Time Lords. The Time Lords are returning."

"Well, I mean, that's good, isn't it? I mean, that's your people."

The Doctor disagreed, knowing that this could mean the end of everything, and he grabbed Wilfred's revolver before hurrying to the flight deck; Wilfred only now understanding that things weren't going to be good if the Time Lords returned.

"What's that?" Addams asked once the Doctor had rushed out, flicking a switch to let a beeping of four beats echo through the ship, and Rossiter replied.

"Coming from Earth. It's on every single wavelength."

The Doctor ignored them, rushing about and working on the ship as Wilfred came in, trying to keep calm.

"But you said your people were dead. Past tense."

"Inside the Time War. And the whole War was Time Locked. Like, sealed inside a bubble. It's not a bubble but just think of a bubble." The Doctor rambled quickly as he put things together. "Nothing can get in or get out of the Time Lock. Don't you see? Nothing can get in or get out, except something that was already there."

"The signal! Since he was a kid!" Wilfred realized.

"If they can follow the signal, they can escape before they die."

"Well, then, big reunion. We'll have a party!" Wilfred offered, not understanding why it was such a bad thing that the Doctor's people were returning.

"There will be no party."

"But I've heard you talk about your people like they're wonderful."

"That's how I choose to remember them, the Time Lords of Old. But then they went to war. An endless war, and it changed them right to the core. You've seen my  
enemies, Wilf. The Time Lords are more dangerous than any of them."

"Time Lords? _What_ lords?" Addams questioned. "Anyone want to explain?"

"Right, yes, you." The Doctor rambled, looking at her. "This is a salvage ship, yes? You go trawling the asteroid fields for junk?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"So, you've got asteroid lasers!" He grinned.

"Yeah, but they're all frazzled." Rossiter said.

"Consider them unfrazzled." The Doctor flicked a switch. "You there!" He snapped his fingers at Addams. "What's your name? I'm going to need you on navigation." He then turned to Rossiter. "And you, get in the laser-pod. Wilfred."

"Yeah?"

"Laser number two. The old soldier's got one more battle." The Doctor said seriously, though Addams had yet to move.

"This ship can't move. It's dead!" She snapped and the Doctor gave her a look.

"Fix the heating?" He pushed two levers and power in the ship was restored.

"But now they can see us!" Addams said, annoyance plain on her face.

"Oh, yes!"

She rolled her shoulders, calming down a bit, though not much. "This is my ship and you're _not_ moving it. Step away from the wheel."

"There's an old Earth saying, Captain. A phrase of great power and wisdom, and consolation to the soul in times of need." The Doctor hummed.

"What's that, then?"

He grabbed the wheel and pulled. "Allons-y!"

The ship quickly flew towards Earth and Addams scolded him angrily.

"You are blinking, flipping mad!"

The Doctor hardly minded as she went to work on the navigation like he'd asked and he turned to the other two.

"You two! What did I say? Lasers!"

"What for?" Rossiter questioned.

"Because of the _missiles_. We've got to fight off an _entire_ planet!"

* * *

"_All NATO defenses coordinated, sir. Awaiting you command."_ A Master clone said on screen and the Master made a face.

"I don't need him. Any second now, I'll have Time Lords to spare. Take him out. Launch missiles!"

"It won't work." I said, having been brought in only a moment ago.

Thankfully I wasn't back in that straight jacket, but I didn't appreciate being brought in like a dog on a leash and forced to kneel on the ground before the Master with my hands cuffed behind me.

Said man scoffed. "You already told me it worked. Back when you spoke to that idiot Naismith."

"I wasn't talking about that." I said blankly. "I was talking about your plan. It won't work. You'll regret bringing them back."

The Master stepped over to me angrily, kneeling in front of me. "What do _you_ know about _me?_"

I shrugged. "Not much, but I know what's going to happen. And I know that Rassilon won't be so easy to make bow down before you."

The Master's hand snapped out and grabbed my jaw tightly, making me wince at the pain his grip sent up my—already bruised and aching—face.

"The _Seer_. Always knowing so much, but never sharing. I can fix that, you know. I can make you tell me _everything_."

I glared defiantly at his smug expression. "You couldn't do it before, so what makes you think you can do it now?"

"Because _now_..." He leaned in close, his breath brushing over my face as that madness in the back of my head pressed heavily on the barrier I set up in my mind. "...I know you _want it_."

He forced his lips onto mine and I struggled against him as he slammed me to the ground and a sharp pain traveled up my spine at my hands trapped under my lower back. I wanted to fight against him as his free hand began working at the buttons of my shirt, but I needed to choose. I couldn't focus on holding up the barriers in my head _and_ fight back. To work on the barriers, I needed to focus. I wasn't at the level where I could multitask and do both. So my options were to keep my sanity or lose it. Either way, I had no possible way to stop the Master's roaming hands and I hoped—_begged _the universe that only seemed to hate me at every turn—that the Doctor would show up and stop this.

"_He's heading straight for you."_ The Master clone on the screen announced and the Master growled before pulling himself off me and facing the screen.

"But too late. They are coming." He smirked down at me as I held my shirt closed and closed my eyes.

_F-Focus. Come on. Lock it up. Shut the madness back in your head a-and stop thinking about it._ I shivered, struggling with my own task as I felt the Master's hands touching me, though he wasn't anywhere near me. I swallowed thickly, trying to stave off the nauseous feeling as I calmed myself down and tried to focus on something else. _He touched you, that's it. Nothing more, s-so ignore it. You can't focus on that now. Y-You just can't._ I stuffed all those feelings to the back of my head, forcing myself to look up as the Master chanted.

"Closer! And closer! And closer!"

"I think I should warn you." Another Master clone in the room said, his eyes out the window and my hearts skipped a beat as I remembered what the Doctor did to get in.

"Not now!" The Master brushed it off as the Time Lords began to appear in front of us.

_What can I do? What can I do? What can I do?!_ My mind repeated as I tried to find something, _anything_ to soften the Doctor's fall. I personally would've risked myself by getting between him and the ground, but there was a Master clone behind me who still had a good grip on the stupid leash attached to the collar around my neck, so I knew it'd be impossible. _I have to try though. I-I can't just sit back and not try!_ So I forced myself up onto my feet and pushed off from the ground, struggling to try and get to where the Doctor would land as the Master clone held me back.

"Let me go! Let me go! I-I need to help him! I-I need to—"

I was cut off as glass shattered above us and the Doctor fell through the skylight, hitting the ground with a sickening thud.

"Doctor!"

I don't know how I did it, but something in me snapped and I jumped through my cuffed hands, grabbed the chain of the leash, and ripped it off my collar before skidding to the Doctor's side and helping him sit up a bit as I brushed the glass off him and he tried to lift the gun. I took his hand, stopping him as he looked up at me and sadly shook my head.

"Please, don't."

"A-Alex… you're okay..." He panted out and I forced a small smile on my face, trying to button up my shirt once he'd caught sight of it with a heated glare.

"L-Lucky me, eh? The Twelfth gave me some... mind lessons. A-And nothing happened. Really."

He sighed in relief, allowing the gun to fall to the ground beside us as I held him up and glared at Rassilon as he approached.

"My Lord Doctor. My Lord Master. We are gathered for the end."

The Doctor faced him as well, still trying to get over the pain of his fall. "Listen to me… You can't."

"It is a fitting paradox that our salvation comes at the hands of our most infamous child." Rassilon said, but the Doctor shook his head slightly.

"Oh, he's not saving you. Don't you realize what he's doing?"

"Hey! No, hey!" The Master snapped. "That's mine! Hush."

I shook my head, speaking up now. "He won't bow, Master. None of this has ever been about you."

The Master snarled, taking a step towards me, but the Doctor's glare him and made him stop; though the Master still had to get his say. "_Shut up_."

He turned to Rassilon then, ignoring my words as I sighed sadly.

"Look around you. I've transplanted myself into every single human being. But who wants a mongrel little species like them, because now I can transplant myself into every single _Time Lord_. Oh, _yes_, Mister President, sir. Standing there all noble and resplendent and decrepit. Think how much better you're going to look as me."

Rassilon held up a metal gauntlet on his hand then and flicked it outward as I braced myself for the pain that wracked my head.

"No, no, don't!" The Master shouted as everyone who'd changed into him began to change back. "No, no, stop it! No, no, no, don't!"

The pain finally stopped and I slumped against the Doctor, who held me and rubbed his hand up my arm in comfort as I panted and everyone was restored; Rassilon shouting out an order to them.

"On your knees, mankind."

They all did and, even though I was already on my knees, I felt this part of me want to do as he said—that bit of human that understood that he was the Alpha in this situation—but another part wanted me to defy him and stand. To not be talked down to by this Time Lord, who was _less_ than the worst beings alive. The Master though, was trying to fix his blunder in the hopes of appeasing the man.

"No, that's fine. That's good, because you said salvation. I still saved you. Don't forget that."

"The approach begins." Rassilon said as the planet began to quake, ignoring the Master who stared in confusion.

"Approach of what?"

"'It is slowly returning through the dark and the fire and the blood'." I said evenly, forcing myself to sit up through the pain in my body as I stared down the Master. "Some_thing_. Not some_one_."

The Master frowned. "What is it?!"

"They're not just bringing back the species." The Doctor snapped at him. "It's Gallifrey! Right here, right now."

The people in the building scrambled out in fear as the Master continued to try and save himself.

"But... I did this! _I_ get the credit! I'm on your side!"

I heard Wilfred come in the room and muttered a soft apology under my breath as he helped a scientist get out of the glass cubicle across from the Doctor and I; wishing there was something I could do, but knowing that this had to happen or everything afterward would never come to be. The Master stood then, having fallen to his knees sometime during the quaking.

"But this is fantastic, isn't it? The Time Lords restored."

I shook my head. "War changes people."

The Doctor continued for me, trying to get the Master to understand the severity of what he'd done.

"You weren't there in the final days of the war. You never saw what was born. But if the Time Lock is broken, then everything's coming through. Not just the Daleks, but the Skaro Degradations, the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child, the Could-Have-Been King with his army of Meanwhiles and Never-Weres. The war turned into hell. And that's what you've opened, right above the Earth. _Hell_ is descending."

"My kind of world." The Master smirked, still not getting it.

"Just _listen_! Because even the Time Lords can't survive that!"

Rassilon smirked. "We will initiate the Final Sanction. The end of time will come at _my_ hand. The rapture will continue until it rips the Time Vortex _apart_."

"That's suicide." The Master said in disbelief as Rassilon went on.

"We will ascend to become creatures of consciousness alone. Free of these bodies, free of time, and cause and effect, while creation itself ceases to be."

"Do you see now?" The Doctor asked the Master. "That's what they were planning in the final days of the war. I had to stop them."

"Then... take me with you, Lord President. Let me ascend into glory." The Master asked and I grit my teeth in anger.

Not towards the Master for his choices, but towards Rassilon and his.

"You are _diseased_, albeit a disease of our own making. No more." Rassilon started to hold out his gauntlet, ready to get rid of the Master, but I stood up and stared the man in the face with a heated glare.

"And who are you to decide this, huh?!" I snapped. "He wasn't diseased! He never was! You _made_ that noise in his head! You forced that upon him and it drove him to insanity! _Anyone_ would be driven to insanity with that noise in their head, and _you_ put it there! So who are you to decide if he's unworthy?! If anyone is, it's the monster who's standing right in front of us! The stupid Time Lord who thinks he's _God_ when in reality, he's less than the worst of humanity!" I tossed up my hands, not even caring about the disbelieving looks I was receiving from everyone in the room. "Hell, forget humanity! I've met _Daleks_ who were better than you!"

"You _dare_ mock me, human child?!" Rassilon's voice boomed as he glared right back at me. "You dare mock the greatest Time Lord in existence?!"

"Greatest Time Lord in existence?!" I scoffed, throwing my hands at the Master and Doctor. "If anything, these two are the greatest Time Lords in existence! Without the Master, you idiots wouldn't even be here! And without the Doctor, the very fabric of time would've been ripped to shreds because of your stupidity! And who are you to call me a child, when it looks to me like the only child here is the big _moron_ who thought that becoming a thing of consciousness would be a _splendid_ idea! How can you be a conscious thought if you destroy anything capable of having _conscious_ thoughts?!"

I could see Rassilon getting angrier and angrier, but I couldn't stop. I couldn't stop, because so many people were being hurt because of this man and his idiotic ideas and it was tearing me apart. My hearts were aching for every man, woman, and child on Earth who were crying and running in fear of all of this. But most of all, my hearts cried out for the Master, who was used like a _tool_ to bring these people back. Driven to _insanity_ because these people were so desperate to come back and be on top, that they had to destroy the life of a _child_ before it even began. And then there was the Doctor. The man who cared so much, he was forced to make a decision that killed him. He was forced to choose, his people or the universe, and he chose the universe. He was hurt so badly because of all this, and I couldn't let the man get away with it. Not without knowing just how much pain he'd caused.

"How could you do this? What… What gain do you get out of doing this?" I asked, feeling tears well up in my eyes as I stared the very authority of time itself in the face. "All you're doing is hurting people!"

"_Alex_. _Stop_." The Doctor said sternly, but I turned to him as a tear slipped down my face and I shouted back at him.

"No! I'm not going to stop! Why should you have to deal with this?! Why should _anyone_ have to deal with this?! He's hurting you! Hurting the Master! Hurting everyone, _everywhere_! And he needs to know what he's doing! I don't care if he's some President or all powerful Time Lord! There's no excuse for hurting people! There's _never_ an excuse for hurting people!" I rounded back on Rassilon. "Are you honestly that heartless?! There are _children_ screaming out there! Sons and daughters and wives! Precious people, precious _lives_ and you're willing to just watch them burn because you're tired of it all?! Is that it?! You've lost everyone precious to you and you just grew sick of it all and decided that if you can't have something nice, then nobody can?! Or are you just desperate for perfection?! Is that it?! You can't see any good in people anymore because you've lived for too damn long, so they _must_ be imperfect?! Don't you see?! Your reasoning itself is flawed! _You're_ imperfect! This stupid war has gone to your head and you can't see that imperfections make people who they are!"

"_Enough!_" He shouted, but I didn't care and stepped towards him.

"No!" I shouted back, seeming to startle the man who may have never been defied so bluntly before. "I'm not going to stop! Not until you see what you're doing! And I'm _sorry_! I'm sorry you've lived so long! I'm sorry you've seen so much death and destruction and hatred! I'm sorry you've lost people! People precious to you! And I'm sorry you're hurting and have no way of helping yourself! But that doesn't mean you have to hurt others! That doesn't..."

I sucked in a shaky breath, feeling this deep darkness from the man before me, but it wasn't that darkness you'd expect from someone completely evil. Someone who wanted to end the world without reason or cause. It was the darkness of someone hurting. Someone sad and angry and upset and furious with everything and everyone. It was the same darkness I'd felt before. The same darkness in everyone. The Doctor, the Master, River, Clara, Amy and Rory, Rose, Martha, the Daleks, the Sontarans, the Silurians, and even myself. It was the darkness of just _existing_. All that stuff that upsets everyone, _anyone_. All of that just piled up over time. And with the Time Lords, the darkness was bigger. They'd lived so long and seen so much that their darkness had grown to unimaginable sizes. And Rassilon's darkness was that times a _million_.

"T-That doesn't mean you have to be alone." I cried, staring back that the man as his eyes looked me over in confusion and something else. "That doesn't mean y-you can't be helped o-or forgiven. Please. Just… Just stop this."

Everything was quiet for a second before he spoke. "Who _are_ you?"

I couldn't answer, so the Master did.

"The Seer."

Rassilon sucked in a breath, though I couldn't understand why.

"The Seer..." He breathed out as the Doctor frowned at him.

"Leave her alone, Rassilon. She has nothing to do with this."

"On the contrary." He said, voice sharp. "She has _everything_ to do with this."

He lifted his gauntlet again, but the Doctor abruptly stood and leveled Wilfred's revolver at him with a deadly serious look.

"Choose your enemy well." Rassilon warned him. "We are _many_. The Master is but one."

"But he's the _President_." The Master argued. "Kill him, and _Gallifrey_ could be yours!"

The Doctor turned the gun to the Master then as I tried to get myself under control enough to focus on my connection with the Doctor.

"He's to blame, not me!" The Master said, before realization came over him. "Oh, the link is inside my head. Kill me... the link gets broken, they go back." He glared then. "You never would, you _coward_... Go on then. Do it."

The Doctor turned back to Rassilon as the Master grinned.

"Exactly! It's not just me, it's him! He's the link! Kill him! He even threatened Alex! Do it!"

"The final act of your life, is murder. But which one of us?"

The Doctor cocked the weapon, but I placed my hand on the gun, stopping him as he turned to me and I stared back at him; hearts breaking. _Theta… What is your name?_

He frowned, brows furrowed. _Alex, how did you…_ He shook his head then, getting serious once more._ Let me do this._

I tightened my grip on the weapon, hand shaking. _Remember who you are, Theta. Remember why you chose that name. You are the _Doctor_. You are _my_ Doctor. And my Doctor wouldn't do this._

The Doctor slowly let the gun go as I took it from him and Rassilon spoke with a big grin on his face.

"You couldn't do it. You let that _thing_ convince you otherwise?" He scoffed, moving to lift his gauntlet. "You _are_ a coward."

The woman behind him then got up from her kneeled position and pulled her hands away from her face, staring at the Doctor, before looking at me with a soft smile; her voice drifting into my head.

"_Thank you."_

I turned to Rassilon then, scowl on my face. "He is _not_ a coward. He is more than you ever will be, and I will _never_ let him make a decision like that ever again."

I cocked the gun and aimed it towards the Master, who stared in shock, before I growled.

"_Move_."

He slowly smirked, before diving to the side as I shot the gun at the device with the White-Point star, causing it to spark and go up in flames. The Doctor turned to me in shock as I emptied out the gun and threw it aside, turning to Rassilon with a disappointed look.

"Goodbye, Rassilon. I'm sorry."

He snarled, lifting his gauntlet and pointing it at me. "You'll die with me, Seer!"

The Doctor moved in front of me though, a snarl on his face. "No, she _won't_."

The woman behind Rassilon covered her face and I turned towards the Master with a sad look, mouthing an apology to him as well, but he rolled his eyes and grabbed me; making the Doctor turn around as the Master forced his lips onto mine briefly and more gently than ever, before turning to the seething man and rubbing his hands together.

"Get out of the way."

The Doctor moved back as the Master threw lightning at Rassilon, furious.

"You did this to me! All of my life!" He shouted, throwing his other arm out as well. "You made me! And she _still_ forgave you!" He threw his other arm towards him again as Rassilon fell to his knees. "She forgave you and she saved me! She told me who I could've been! She understood me! She gave me a reason to live! And if that means getting rid of you, then so be it! One! Two!" He hit Rassilon with lightning with each count, sweat pouring down his face and his skeleton flashing each time. "Three! Four!"

The Time Lords disappeared. The Master disappeared. And Gallifrey fell, vanishing from the sky and knocking the Doctor and I back onto the ground. I could feel my shoulder beginning to ache though, and I felt tears come to my eyes as I realized what was going to happen. I was going to leave. I was going to pop off and leave the Doctor alone. Alone, when he needed me the most. And I crawled over to him, ignoring the glass cutting through my shirt before I let out a choked sob and placed my forehead on his.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, sorry." I cried, allowing my anguish and apologies to brush across his unconscious mind before I kissed him and collapsed; popping off just as the Doctor opened his eyes and watched me go.

* * *

The Doctor didn't understand. Why him? Why _now_? He was supposed to go on. He was supposed to run and have adventures with Alex and maybe even find a new companion. He was supposed to be great, amazing, _brilliant_ even. But then this happened. Wilfred _had_ to go and get that scientist out of the nuclear bolt room and he had ended up locked in. It wasn't fair. He understood now, why Alex had used the last of her energy to get to him, to _apologize_ to him. He should've known right from that moment what was going to happen. But he allowed hope to swell in his chest for a moment, before those four knocks rang out and snuffed it out like a candle.

And he knew he couldn't leave him. Even if it wasn't Wilfred, he knew that he wouldn't leave anyone in there. It being Wilfred actually, made it easier. Wilfred was that dad that the Doctor never had. Sure, he had parents, but to have a father like Wilfred would've made him proud. And saving him, was an honor. Even afterward, the Doctor had thought he'd made it, but almost immediately, he knew that he hadn't. Any cuts or scrapes from his crash through the ceiling were wiped away, but that was just the reset. He would be changing soon. He knew it. So he bid Wilfred goodbye and went back to the Tardis to see them. His companions.

He saved Micky Smith and Martha Jones from a Sontaran, staring down sadly at them from a catwalk before they hugged one another; knowing that he was saying a final goodbye. He then went and saved Luke Smith from being hit by a speeding car, not saying a word as he walked back to his Tardis and Sarah Jane Smith came out and smiling sadly; also knowing that this was his last moments. He even visited Jack Harkness, sending a young man his way as his final goodbye to the immortal. And then he visited a bookshop and got his book signed by the great granddaughter of Joan Redfern; not answering her question on whether him or Alex were happy in the end. He then visited the Nobles at Donna's wedding with Shaun; sharing a lottery ticket with them, and a nice word from Sylvia's husband. And finally, he stopped at the Powell Estate, early enough that he'd catch sight of someone he hadn't seen in ages. But the mere sight of Rose walking towards her flat made his hearts ache, because she didn't even know him. And once she was gone, the Doctor stumbled back towards the Tardis, only to collapse in the snow mere feet from the blue box.

The pain was intensifying and he questioned whether he'd make it to the Tardis before his regeneration began. He'd held it off for too long. Any longer, and he might very well die for real. A song drifted to him then, barely a whisper, and he looked up to see Ood sigma standing there before him.

"We will sing to you, Doctor." The Ood said. "The universe will sing you to your sleep."

As the Ood song began, the Doctor forced himself up onto his feet once more, defiantly, almost. And he walked back to his ship with teeth grit in pain, doing his best to stay upright despite it all as the Ood spoke his final words.

"This song is ending, but the story never ends."

The Ood vanished as the Doctor unlocked the doors and went inside the ship, still hearing the song echo in the air as he took off his coat and threw it over a railing. It was then that he saw someone leaning up against the console before him; facing away from him.

"What are you doing here? Who are you?" He demanded, cringing as he knew he couldn't holdout much longer.

"I'm sorry, Doctor, but I promised you."

The figure turned to him with the saddest, familiar blue-grey eyes; the Doctor looking them over and his hearts ache at the sight of a regenerated Alex.

"Promised me what?" He asked,curious as to what she'd say.

"I promised never to leave you alone." She said and the Doctor grew more upset.

He didn't know this version of her very well. The spiky dyed blonde hair with the buzzed short, dark sides was still a bit unfamiliar compared to her previous ginger hair. Her figure didn't change much; broad shoulders, slim, slightly muscular, slightly wide hips, light freckles across the bridge of their nose. But her eyes, the way they held herself, the androgynous look, all of it screamed to him just how much she'd changed. And it was then that a voice drifted through his head.

"_Theta."_

His eyes softened then as he moved closer to the figure. "Alexander."

She smiled a little. "Took you long enough."

The Doctor let out a cry of pain then, doubling over slightly before looking at his hands that started to glow gold; this other Alex hurrying over and helping him stand in worry.

"Oh..." The Doctor sighed softly, ignoring his regeneration right now as he held her face and looked her over again in sorrow. "You're not…"

"Ginger?" She chuckled, not minding. "I know, right? Believe me, I wasn't aiming for dark roots and blonde hair."

Her smile quickly fell though as the Doctor continued to try and figure out how this could've happened to her; like he had dozens of times before. How his Alexander could have become this other woman. Because it was impossible. She wasn't a full Time Lord. Regeneration should be impossible for her. None of this should have ever changed. Not only that, but it meant she had died. At some point, she was going to die again, only this time, for real. She wouldn't be his Alex anymore.

"Oi, don't give me that look, spaceman." She said softly, eyes sad. "This isn't your fault. And I kept the best parts of me, just for you. I kept my eyes and I kept my personality. I can't explain everything to you, not now, but just be happy for me, Doctor. I'm _alive_ and so are you."

Another jolt of pain went through him then and Alex moved him over to the console as she too began to glow and stepped away from him.

"No." He panted out, tears in his eyes. "I don't want to go. I don't want _you_ to go."

Alex's expression broke his hearts before she muttered quietly under her breath and moved back over towards him.

"I said I wasn't going to do this… but I'm sorry, Theta."

She grabbed his face and pressed her lips to his, the two of them melding together in that one moment as desperation kicked in and they struggled between the need to pull away and the need to get even closer, before one finally won out. Alex pulled away and pressed her forehead to his as a tear slipped down her face and she held him there.

"I'm sorry, but you have to go… and so must I." She moved back a few steps then, flipping the switch and sending the Tardis up into space. "But I will _never_ leave you alone."

And she popped off, just as the Doctor was forced to throw out his arms and regeneration energy flew out from him and set the Tardis ablaze. And the moment the bright light had disappeared, the Eleventh Doctor stood in his place, completely clueless as to what had occurred only moments before.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"Did you kidnap her?"_

_"What?!" The Doctor uncovered his eyes and waved his hands at her. "No! No, Alex is my… um..."_

_I rolled my eyes. _God, early Eleven is so innocent._ "I'm his gir—"_

_ Before I could finish what I was about to say though, the Doctor covered my mouth with his hand and smiled over at Amy._

_"Friend! Just a friend!"_


	50. The Beast Below

**Here's the next one. Sorry it's late, i woke up at 5pm today. My job is a bit tougher than i expected, but i'm working through it *fist pumps*. Ahem... anyway, please enjoy this chapter! hope the Doctor's in character, but i thought it'd be interesting to do what i did with him, since i hadn't really seen anyone else do it. ^^ but please let me know what you think with a review!**

* * *

I popped up in my room on the Tardis, struggling to rein in my sobs as I shivered at what had happened. After a moment or two by myself, I managed to calm myself down a bit and stared silently at the handcuffs still on my wrists. They had chaffed a bit and my entire body felt sore and achy, but most of all, I felt dirty. I sucked in a sharp breath through my teeth at remembering the Master's hands on me, and I quickly got up and tore off my favorite purple shirt; having to actually _cut_ it off because of the handcuffs. I felt sick knowing that I wouldn't ever be able to wear the shirt again, or even one similar to it without feeling disgusted, and I hurriedly grabbed some clean clothes from the closet before rushing to the shower. Once in, I very nearly rubbed myself raw before the Tardis turned the water cold and I hurriedly got out and dried off with a wince at the dark bruises that littered my form. I looked and felt like a mess, and I didn't know what I'd do if I had ended up with the Eleventh Doctor.

_Would he hate me? I-I didn't have a choice. I wasn't thinking right and the drums…_ I grimaced, moving to sit back on the bed as I pulled on my dark jeans, unable to struggle with them while standing; though the handcuffs weren't helping.

It was then that I realized I wouldn't be able to put on a shirt or anything with my hands cuffed in front of me. Swallowing thickly as my embarrassment of having to go ask the Doctor to help me in this state rose, I grabbed my spare coat from off my desk chair as the Tardis chuckled.

"S-Shut it." I grumbled, pulling the coat over my shoulders as best I could and holding it shut as I left the room to find the Doctor.

_And if I'm lucky, he'll be alone. Otherwise, we're both probably going to have a problem._ I winced at the thought of one of his companions seeing me in this state and what they'd think. _And depending on _which_ companion it is, the context could be taken differently. If I'm lucky, I won't of ended up with Rose… or Amy. She'd have a _blast_ rubbing it in my face. _I sighed, head bowed in a depression as I found the entrance to the console room and poked my head out. Immediately, I paled. _Oh, _great_. This really won't be good then. That's it... The universe officially hates me._ I groaned quietly, debating how I could possibly interrupt the Eleventh Doctor and a younger Amy standing in the doorway looking over space. _Well, there's not going to be any other way to do this. I-I just need to suck it up, walk out there and pretend like I wasn't just dealing with his recent regeneration and the Master. And hopefully, this Amy—who didn't really care for me the last time we bumped into each other—won't think the Doctor kidnapped me or… other things…_ I bit my bottom lip. _Oh, who am I kidding? Either way this isn't going to go well, so I better just get it over with._

"Um, Doctor?" I called out, though he didn't hear me as he and Amy suddenly ducked down to look below the Tardis; though at _what_, I wasn't sure.

I frowned a bit and begrudgingly wandered down the stairs just as the Doctor got up and hurried towards the console.

"Now that's interestin—Ah! Alex!" The Doctor jolted, turning to Amy and then back to me. "W-When did you get here?"

I raised a brow at his suddenly jumpy mood. "Uh, a while ago. Popped up in my room and showered, but I…" I glanced down at myself and back over at him and Amy with red cheeks. "...s-seem to have a bit of a problem."

Amy stepped forward then, giving me a once over before turning to the Doctor with a look. "Doctor, who's this?"

"Ah! Amy, this is Alex. Alexander Holmes. It's a long story. I'll explain in a bit." He turned back to me smiling nervously as he placed his hand on the console. "Problem?"

"Yeah." I drawled out, lifting one of my hands to show him the handcuffs. "Just a bit."

His eyes drifted down before his face turned a nice red shade and his hand slipped off the console, nearly making him smash his face into it, before he abruptly turned around and covered his eyes.

"I-I can see that!"

"Not with your eyes covered, you can't." I grumbled under my breath as Amy eyed me and him.

"Did you kidnap her?"

"What?!" the Doctor uncovered his eyes and waved his hands at her. "No! No, Alex is my… um..."

I rolled my eyes. _God, early Eleven is so innocent._ "I'm his gir—"

Before I could finish what I was about to say though, the Doctor covered my mouth with his hand and smiled over at Amy.

"Friend! Just a friend!"

A pang went through my hearts at his words and I silently wondered if, after what happened with the Master, that he really _had_ decided to end our relationship. _We… haven't even gotten married yet._ The ring sitting gently on my chest seemed colder at the thought and I turned my head away sharply to get the Doctor's hand off my mouth, before heading up towards the stairs.

"Excuse me while this _friend_ heads upstairs to find a shirt to wear and a hair pin to pick these handcuffs. The two of you can go do whatever. Just drop me off with Ri—" I shook my head, cutting myself off because this being so early in the Eleventh's time line, meant he didn't know River yet. "Just… drop me off with Jack or something."

I stormed off then, angry with the Doctor for treating me like that in front of Amy, but also angry with myself for what happened back with the Master. _If I just _did_ something, none of this would've happened. The Doctor and I would be fine a-and I wouldn't have these stupid conflicted feelings about everything. _My throat grew tight with the threat of oncoming tears, but I swallowed past the lump in my throat and focused on getting back to my room to find a way out of the stupid handcuffs. Of course, it wasn't a moment later that the Doctor awkwardly shuffled into my room as I threw things out of my drawers in search of a hairpin while simultaneously trying to keep my coat over my shoulders.

"Can I _help_ you, _friend_?" I asked, voice tight with anger as I '_accidentally_' threw a book at his head.

It missed, unfortunately.

"I just wanted to talk, Alex!" He said, dodging a snowglobe this time.

"Amy's downstairs! Go talk with her!" I snapped, before that guilt and self-loathing started to come back to me and I just dropped the next item I was going to throw, back into my drawer. "I don't blame you, after what happened with the Master and me."

I winced at the memory and gripped my coat tighter as a shiver went down my spine and I grew angry once more; only this time, with myself.

"I got it, alright? I-I should've done something, but there was nothing I could've done. I haven't had a chance to work on the mind thing long enough to multitask, s-so it was either fight back o-or let the drums..."

I didn't want to cry. I honestly didn't, but the tears were already threatening to fall and I struggled to keep them at bay as I sucked in a breath through my teeth, suddenly wanting another shower if it'd make me feel cleaner. I didn't notice that I'd started rubbing at my hands until arms wrapped around me and stopped me; the sonic screwdriver buzzing until my handcuffs unlocked and clattered to the floor.

"Alex, I never meant to hurt you." The Doctor said quietly, his nose nuzzling the side of my head as his hands gently ran over my shaking fingers. "Really, I didn't. And this has _nothing_ to do with the Master. I don't know what he did, but I'll make _sure_ that I take care of any ill feelings towards yourself you may have. The only reason I didn't want to tell Amy about us is because this is her first trip. And you know how things are dicey the first time around. I just didn't want her uncomfortable and thinking she was becoming a third wheel. I love you, Alexander, and I'm sorry what I said hurt you. I didn't mean for it to sound that way."

"Then why were you acting all… strange?" I asked, still unsure about all this.

"A-Ah… that was… well, you see..." He shuffled awkwardly a bit, his hands slowly drifting away from mine, which only confused me more.

"You _are_ upset then..." I murmured, and he immediately turned me to face him and held my shoulders.

"No! No, I am most definitely _not_ upset with you, Alex! It's just…" He looked at me then glanced off to the side, his grip on my shoulders loosening. "It's… _me_."

I furrowed my brows, confused. "I don't..."

"It's me! _This_ me! This body and this face!" He dragged his hands down his face and faced the mirror above my desk, rubbing at his chin. "It's just so… I don't know! Silly! Childish! Goofy looking! I mean, look at my chin! And my hair!" He pulled at his hair, bringing it down in front of his face with a frown. "I'm practically a girl! My last body was tall and slim and rather handsome, if I do say so myself, but this one's just… bleh!" He turned to me then, tugging at his clothes lightly before looking up at me in worry. "I just thought you wouldn't like it."

I continued to stare at him in confusion as he went on.

"I mean, _I_ hardly like it myself. For one thing, it's not ginger, but it's not nearly as good as my last body and if I could change back I would, but I can't, so I'm stuck with this one. And I thought, what would happen when Alex sees me and I'm not _her_ Doctor? I'm not the one you feel for anymore. I'm different. I've got a new face, new body, new personality, new _everything_. So I'd understand if you didn't want to keep what we had going. I just think—"

And he kept going. Just rambling on and on about faults with himself and what's changed and whether I'd like him or not, and after a moment, it finally clicked. I wasn't the only one self-conscious, it seemed, because the Doctor was worried I wouldn't like him now that he'd regenerated. And I don't know if it was just the absurdity of what had happened within the past half an hour or what, but I couldn't help the laughter bubbling up in my throat.

"Pft." I couldn't stop it, so I just laughed, making the Doctor turn around and face me with a frown.

"What? What is it? Did I say something funny? Alex! _Alex_! Stop laughing!"

I managed to stifle my laughter a bit and waved him over. "C-Come here."

He continued to frown, but came over and stopped in front of me, just as I reached my arms up around his neck and hugged him; not caring that my coat had fallen off or that the Doctor had turned a brilliant shade of red in the process.

"I love you, Theta." I said softly, feeling him stiffen as I went on. "This you, the past yous, the future yous. I love all of you, because you're _all_ my Doctor. Whether you're old or wearing a silly bow-tie, or have big ears, or a big chin, or spiky hair, it doesn't matter. Because you're still him. And you always will be." I pulled away a bit and smiled up at him, rosy cheeks and all. "So why don't we both do ourselves a favor and stop doubting each other, alright?... And would you mind passing me that shirt on the bed?"

He didn't move for a second, before finally snapping out of it and passing me the dark red printed shirt; turning away and covering his eyes as I chuckled and pulled it on over my head. I couldn't help but sneak up to him then and gently kiss him, pulling away as he peeked through his fingers and I gave him a smug look.

"Come on then, spaceman. Let's go take Amy on her first adventure." I said, scooping up my coat from off the floor with a slight wince as my body protested to the abrupt movement.

The Doctor took it from me and helped me into it carefully as I sighed.

"Thanks. Still a bit sore."

I felt the Doctor's hands move up to my shoulders and barely stifled a groan as his thumbs worked at some knots in my shoulders.

"You _are_ rather tense."

He brushed up against a bruise though and I cringed.

"Ow, not there."

"Sorry." He hummed, before finding that knot of nerves in my shoulder and very nearly making me crumble to the ground before I hastily turned and grabbed his hands to stop him.

"Alright. Enough. We _really_ need to go before I march you right back in that room and do something I'd rather not do while Amy is on board."

"Something?" He smirked and I smacked him on the shoulder before tugging him along down the corridor with pink cheeks.

"God, are you _sure_ you regenerated? Because that was _definitely_ Ten talking." I grumbled as he laughed and we headed off to Amy's first adventure. 'The Beast Below'.

* * *

Or so I said, but first we had to pull Amy back inside. She had apparently leaned out a bit too far and managed to get herself to floating just outside the Tardis doors as she clung on for her life. The Doctor hardly seemed to mind, though Amy was a bit panicky at nearly flying out into space.

"Well, come on. I've found us a spaceship."

I smacked him on the back of his head, making him pout as I held out a hand and pulled Amy in.

"Honestly, your companion is hanging out in space and you're more worried about a spaceship?" I rolled my eyes and shook my head as I turned to Amy. "Ignore him. He's a bit of a dolt."

"Hey!" He whined as I gave him a look that made him grumbled under his breath and move back up the stairs towards the console.

Sighing, I headed up after him with Amy in tow and tugged him back towards her. "Stop your whining, spaceman, and just tell us what we're looking at."

He gave me this look. "You want to know?"

"_No_. I already know." I said bluntly, but pulled Amy over with a smirk. "But I'm sure Amy would _love_ to find out."

He grinned excitedly and began his ramble about the ship and I sort of wandered away to lie down on the jump seat as I listened in.

"This is the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland. All of it, bolted together and floating in the sky. Starship UK. It's Britain, but metal. That's not just a ship, that's an idea. That's a whole _country_, living and laughing and shopping. Searching the stars for a new home."

"Can we go out and see?" Amy asked, excitedly.

"Course we can. But first, there's a thing."

"A thing?"

"An important thing." The Doctor said, moving towards the console as I snorted at the mention of the 'important thing' again.

"_Don't mock the thing."_

The Doctor turned to her though, ignoring my snort and holding a magnifying glass up to his face. "In fact, Thing One. We are observers only. That's the one rule I've always stuck to in all my travels. I never get involved in the affairs of other peoples or planets. Ooh, that's interesting." He said, before I could make a comment on his blatant lie.

"So we're like a wildlife documentary, yeah? Because if they see a wounded little cub or something, they can't just save it, they've got to keep filming and let it die." Amy said, eyeing the screen he'd brought up of the little girl; Mandy.

Of course, she was too distracted to see the Doctor hurry over to me and pull me up out of the jump seat, dragging me out the doors to see said girl. It wasn't long before he waved for Amy to come out as well and we watched as she looked around in shock, muttering to herself.

"I'm in the future. Like hundreds of years in the future. I've been dead for centuries."

I rolled my eyes. "Is it just me, or is that one of the first things _all_ of your companions think of? That, and 'it's bigger on the inside'!" I said, waving my hands about dramatically as the Doctor smiled at my antics before turning back to Amy.

"You're a cheery one. Never mind dead, look at this place. Isn't it _wrong_?"

He started to push her along; taking my hand and pulling me along as well.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked.

"Come on, use your eyes. Notice everything. What's wrong with this picture?"

"Is it… the bicycles?" She asked, gesturing towards the bicycle someone was riding. "Bit unusual on a spaceship, bicycles."

"Says the girl in the nightie." The Doctor hummed as I snickered.

"Besides, people need exercise, even on spaceships."

Amy though wasn't worried about that as she turned back towards us in shock. "Oh my God. I'm in my nightie."

The Doctor got us both back on point though. "Now, come on. Look around you. Actually look."

"Plenty of things wrong." I muttered, frowning as I remembered what this episode was all about. "I can list three, but they're… spoilers."

Amy turned to me in confusion. "Spoilers? What's that?"

"Ooh, I haven't given this talk in a while." I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck. "Right, I'm Alex. I travel with the Doctor, but I bounce around the Tardis's time-line, meeting him in all the wrong order. I came from a different universe where all of this is a television show. So I know what's going to happen next. Think of me as a psychic. Spoilers is what I say when I know something but I can't tell you about it." I smiled at her, before remembering that I missed something. "Oh! And my biology is changing, so I have two hearts, strong mental capabilities, and time energy stuff in my body that helps me not die. Is that everything?" I asked the Doctor, but he was distracted.

"Life on a giant starship. Back to basics. Bicycles, washing lines, wind-up street lamps. But look closer. Secrets and shadows, lives led in fear. Society bent out of shape, on the _brink_ of collapse. A police state. Excuse me." He rushed over to the side and borrowed a man's glass of water, before setting it on the floor cautiously.

_Mistake number one._ I mused, turning to eye the Winder watching us. _No engine. No vibrations. We're flying without power._ _And mistake number two, no crime. This is a huge country stuck in a tiny space, but there's absolutely no crime. No police, no nothing._ I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, closing my eyes as I listened, opening my mind. It wasn't long before I heard the deep sorrowful cries of the Star-whale and I felt my breath hitch at the intense wave of feelings it threw my way. _Sorry, I'm so sorry. We'll help you. I promise we will._

"Alex?"

I jumped, snapping my eyes open as the Doctor and Amy eyed me in concern; his hand on my shoulder.

"You alright?"

I nodded, putting a small smile on my face. "Y-Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay."

Amy pointed at me. "Why are you crying?"

I lifted a hand to my face in surprise, finding that I had been crying, and I went to say something, only for something else entirely to come out of my mouth.

"It hurts."

"What?" The Doctor said, turning me towards him as I shook my head and frowned; placing a hand on my forehead. "What hurts? Your head?"

"Ah, no. Sorry. Don't know why I said that." I said, mentally apologizing to the Star-whale as I took a moment to shut it's feelings further back in my head.

It might sound mean, but this way I wasn't shutting the creature out completely. It could still feel that it had a mental connection with someone and this way, I could give it reassurance that help was coming. I hadn't expected to even be able to connect with it, since I was still new to this whole mind thing, but it was desperate to be heard. So I had a feeling that it made _sure_ that the first contact it had, the person would be able to hear it. And I did. I heard it and felt it's pain; the Tardis part of me feeling a bit overwhelmed at the assault on my senses, hence why I spouted out what I did. It was just the Star-whale trying to get help and my mind trying to cope.

"I'm fine, really. Just spaced out for a second there, is all." I said to Amy and the Doctor, though I could tell one of them wasn't convinced as we moved on.

"Right then. Police state. Do you see it yet?" He asked Amy.

"Where?" Amy frowned in question, looking around until the Doctor pointed at Mandy.

"There."

He hurried off as I gave that Winder a look again, before I followed after him with Amy and we all took a seat on a bench.

"One little girl crying. So?"

"Crying silently." The Doctor explained, his chin on his fist and his other hand over mine. "I mean, children cry because they want attention, because they're hurt or afraid. But when they cry silently, it's because they just can't stop. Any parent knows that."

I hummed in agreement; not being a parent, but being the eldest of seven gave me the same sort of responsibilities.

"Are either of you parents?"

I shook my head, answering first. "Nah, but I was the eldest of seven. Parenting skills came with."

"'Was'?" She asked and my hearts panged as I remembered my family back home; who'd I'd yet to think about for a long while.

The Doctor squeezed my hand comfortingly as he went off to change the subject.

"Hundreds of parents walking past who spot her and not one of them's asking her what's wrong, which means they already know, and it's something they don't talk about."

"Or they're afraid of it, or what happens if they _do_ talk about it." I mused as he nodded.

"Secrets. They're not helping her, so they're afraid of it. Shadows, whatever they're afraid of, it's nowhere to be seen, which _means_ it's everywhere. Police state."

"Where'd she go?" Amy asked then, seeing that Mandy had wandered off; though my eyes were locked on the Smiler that turned in it's booth.

"Deck 207. Apple Sesame block, dwelling 54A." The Doctor rambled off. "You're looking for Mandy Tanner."

Amy turned to him in shock, but he just pulled out a wallet.

"Oh, uh, this fell out of her pocket when I accidentally bumped into her. Took me four goes."

I rolled my eyes, remembering how he'd done it once, then had me try it twice, before he finally got the girl's wallet.

"Ask her about those things. The smiling fellows in the booths. They're everywhere."

"But they're just things." Amy muttered, not seeing why the Doctor was interested, though I knew.

"They're clean. Everything else here is all battered and filthy. Look at this place. But no one's laid a finger on those booths. Not a footprint within two feet of them."

I nodded. "Yeah, you'd think some rebellious kid would've graffitied them or something by now. They always seem to go for that sort of thing.

The Doctor nodded, pointing at me. "See? Now, ask Mandy, why are people scared of the things in the booths."

"No, hang on. What do I do? I don't know what I'm doing here and I'm not even _dressed_." Amy complained.

"It's this or Leadworth. What do you think? Let's see. What will Amy Pond choose?" He eyed her for a moment, but she broke and he laughed. "Haha, gotcha. Meet me back here in half an hour. Take Alex with you."

I made a face. "What am I, a dog?"

They ignored me.

"What are you gonna do?" Amy mocked him and he mocked her back

"What I always do. Stay out of trouble." He got up and pointed at the two of us. "Badly."

He hopped over the bench, turning back around to kiss me on the head, before heading away; but Amy got up and called out to him.

"So is this how it works, Doctor? You never interfere in the affairs of other peoples or planets, unless there's children crying?"

"Yes." He smiled and she sighed, before turning back around and looking at me as I stretched with a wince.

"He's lying, isn't he?"

"_Oh_, yeah." I said with a chuckle. "It's more like he never interferes, unless something interesting is happening. Which is always."

She scoffed. "Knew it."

I smiled a bit and pulled her along. "Come on. Let's go find Mandy."

Once we got in the lift though, the questions began.

"So, you and the Doctor. What's up with you two? Look a little more than friends."

"A-Ah." I said, wondering what I should say. "Yeah, we're, uh… I suppose so. W-We're just friends though. That's it."

It hurt just to say that, but I was willing to put up pretenses as I remembered why the Doctor was so worried about it getting out that we were a couple, and I didn't want to risk the plot being ruined should she find out and suddenly not want to come. _Though, she seemed to know about it with the Weeping Angels, if I remember right. And that's not to far from this one. Still, don't want to risk it. _The lift pulled to a stop and we walked out into a ratty looking area and looked around as Amy slapped the wallet against her palm. We moved off towards another area, but when we passed some barrels, a voice spoke up from behind us.

"You're following me." Mandy stood there and headed over. "Saw you watching me at the marketplace."

"You dropped this." Amy said, handing her the wallet and trying to justify our actions.

"Yeah, when your friend kept bumping into me." She eyed me with annoyance and I held up my hands in apology.

"Yeah, sorry. He put me up to it. He's a bit more curious than he looks and tends to get a bit carried away."

She huffed and started walking off, but we followed her to a blocked off road; Amy looking at it in curiosity.

"What's that?"

"T-There's a hole. We have to go back."

"What? A hole?"

"Are you stupid? There's a hole in the road. We can't go that way. There's a travel pod down by the airlocks, if you've got stamps."

Amy pushed the small barrier aside, making Mandy worry.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, don't mind me." Amy smiled, leaning over. "Never could resist a 'Keep Out' sign."

I eyed Mandy in worry, leaning down and whispering quietly to her as Amy checked out the construction site.

"Why are you scared, Mandy?"

"I'm not." She grumbled, so I knelt down and hummed.

"Alright. I'll rephrase the question. Why is everyone _else_ scared?"

Amy spoke up then. "Yeah. What's so scary about a hole? Something under the road?"

"Nobody knows." Mandy said. "We're not supposed to talk about it."

Amy turned around. "About what?"

"Below." Mandy said worriedly.

Amy gave her a look. "And because you're not supposed to, you don't?" She pulled out a hairpin from her hair. "Watch and learn."

She picked at the lock as I wandered over towards her, glancing at the Smiler behind us out of the corner of my eye.

"You sound Scottish. And your friend sounds… odd."

"Oi." I frowned. "American. Not 'odd'. I'd say you all sound odd too, but honestly, I _love_ your accents. I could listen to you read a phone book."

I sighed wistfully, ignoring the odd looks they both gave me as Amy rolled her eyes and answered Mandy.

"And I am Scottish. What's wrong with that? Scotland's got to be here somewhere."

"No." Mandy replied. "They wanted their own ship."

"Hm, good for them. Nothing changes."

"So... how _did_ you get here?" Mandy questioned as I caught a hint of movement and spotted the Smiler that had begun to frown.

"Oh, just passing through, you know. With a guy. And this one." She tossed a thumb my way and I frowned.

"Seriously? Am I a dog now? I'm starting to think you and the Doctor are teaming up on me here."

"You're not a guy?" Mandy asked and I wrinkled my nose.

"Nah. 'Cause of the way I dress and stuff people think I am, but I'm not. This is just me, you know?"

She didn't look like she understood a word I said, so she turned to Amy. "The guy. Is he your boyfriend?"

Amy turned then, looking surprised at herself. "Oh."

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just… I'm getting married." She chuckled. "Funny how things slip your mind."

"You're telling me." I murmured under my breath as Mandy made a face.

"Married?"

"Yeah, shut up. Married. Really, actually married. Almost definitely." Amy said, looking a bit worried, and I raised a brow at her.

"Almost? Are you having second thoughts, Amy Pond? Because I'll tell you now, you will _never_ regret marrying Rory."

She turned to me suddenly. "How did you know who I was marrying?"

"I told you. I… ah..." I paused, remembering back on what I said. "Right, guess I didn't. I know more than the future. I know past and present. Well, only for certain people involved with the Doctor. Couldn't tell you diddly poo about Mandy over there. So yeah, I know that you ran off with the Doctor the day before your wedding because you were having second thoughts, and that you haven't told him yet."

She stared at me, mouth agape, before smacking me hard on the arm repeatedly. "That's private stuff! Stop looking into me!"

"Ow! I'm not! I told you, I already know! It's not a _tap_. You can't just shut it off!"

She stopped hitting me finally as I cringed and rubbed at my arm where another bruise probably lay, and Mandy spoke up once more.

"When are you getting married?"

"Well, it's kind of weird." Amy said, glaring at me as I realized this may be why Amy disliked me when I popped with her and the Weeping Angels. "A long time ago tomorrow morning. I wonder what I did?"

The lock Amy had been working on clicked open and she grinned.

"Hey, hey. Result!" She turned to Mandy. "Coming?"

"No!" She said adamantly.

"Suit yourself."

I spotted the Smiler turning it's head around to scowl and begrudgingly followed Amy into the construction tent as Mandy called out to us.

"Stop! You mustn't do that!"

We ignored her, though I mentally apologized, and once we were inside, Amy picked up a light and turned it on. Thing was, I knew what was in here already and I lowered the mental walls I had put up to tune down the Star-whale's cries.

"My God..." Amy breathed out as she shone her light on the large tentacle in the room. "That's weird. That's..."

The tentacle lowered and started to rear back, and I shoved Amy backward out the door.

"Look out!"

The tentacle went to strike at me, but I closed my eyes and focused on my link with the Star-whale. _Hey, hey, please don't kill me. I'm going to help you. Remember? I promised. And I never break a promise. Never ever._ The blow I expected from the tentacle didn't come though, and instead it rubbed up against my cheek, causing me to open my eyes to find myself crying again at the pain it was going through. _I'm sorry. I'm sorry they're doing this to you. I'll help. I promise I will. I will save you._ I took in a deep breath and composed myself, wiping at my eyes as I pushed the Star-whale's thoughts further back once more and I exited the tent to see Amy passed out in the arms of the Winders just before one aimed his ring at me.

"Oh _great_." I grumbled, before the gas from the ring made me pass out.

I woke up on the floor in some room, groaning as my aching body protested the movement of getting up. I looked around for Amy, but she wasn't there and I let out a sigh as I pulled my hand through my hair tiredly.

"Man, whatever is in that gas stuff, it's pretty strong."

An announcement then came from overhead.

"Welcome to voting cubicle three thirty C. Please leave this installation as you would wish to find it. The United Kingdom recognizes the right to know of all its citizens. A presentation concerning the history of Starship UK will begin shortly. Your identity is being verified on our electoral roll. Name, Alexander Holmes. Age, unknown. Martial status, unknown."

"I'm thirty two and a happy fiancée, for your information, though I _doubt_ you care." I grumbled, sitting in the chair in front of the four screens and silently wondering why the Winders couldn't of put me in the chair when they left me here.

An older man appeared on the screen. "You are here because you want to know the truth about this starship, and I am talking to you because you're entitled to know. When this presentation has finished, you will have a choice. You may either protest. or forget. If you choose to protest, understand this. If just one percent of the population of this ship do likewise, the program will be discontinued with consequences for you all. If you choose to accept the situation, and we hope that you will, then press the 'forget' button. All the information I'm about to give you will be erased from your memory. You will continue to enjoy the safety and amenities of Starship UK, unburdened by the knowledge of what has been done to save you. Here then, is the truth about Starship UK, and the price that has been paid for the safety of the British people. May God have mercy on our souls."

The images on the screen went by quickly and each one tore at my hearts. The moment the presentation had finished though, my body moved on it's own and pressed the button I chose. And I muttered apologies softly to both, the Star-whale and the Doctor.

* * *

"Amy?" The Doctor called out, bouncing to the entrance of the voting booth as Amy shut off the video of herself. "What have you done?"

"I… don't know." She eventually replied and the Doctor opened his mouth to say something when the voting booth beside Amy's opened; revealing an empty interior.

"But..." Mandy looked shocked. "Your other friend. She was in there."

The Doctor hurried over and searched high and low for, who he knew to be, Alex. There was no sign of her though and immediately he grew worried and angry; standing on top of the chair as Amy walked in as well, and scanning the device above it. He muttered a curse and returned to Amy's voting booth before doing the same.

"Yeah, your basic memory wipe job. Must have erased about twenty minutes."

"But why would I choose forget? And where's Alex?"

"Because everybody chooses the 'forget' button." Mandy said, drawing their attenuation to her ad the Doctor walked over and eyed her.

"Did you?"

"I'm not eligible to vote yet. I'm twelve. Any time after you're sixteen, you're allowed to the see the film and make your choice. And then once every five years."

"And once every five years, everyone chooses to forget what they've learned. Democracy in action."

"How do you not know about this? Are you Scottish too?" Mandy asked the Doctor as he fiddled with the televisions.

"Oh, I'm way worse than Scottish. I can't even see the movie. Won't play for me."

"It played for me. Alex too, I'll bet." Amy said.

"The difference being the computer doesn't accept me as human. Alex is mostly human, so it must have recognized that and played it for her." The Doctor explained.

"Why not you? You look human."

"No, you look Time Lord. We came first." The Doctor said, proudly, though he quickly frowned and returned to messing with the screens; worried for whatever happened to Alex.

"So there are other Time lords, yeah?"

"No. There were, but there aren't. Just me now. And Alex. She's only part though." He chewed his bottom lip, trying to figure out how he should explain this, but the thought of getting distracted and possibly losing Alex stopped him. "Long story. There was a bad day. Bad stuff happened. And you know what? I'd _love_ to forget it all, every last bit of it, but I don't. Not ever. Because this is what I do, every time, every day, every second. This. And Alex is the same. She carries every single one of her burdens with her chin held up high and then takes on other peoples' burdens and does the same. That's why she's not in the booth next door. She didn't want to forget, so she must have pushed 'protest'. Hold tight. We're bringing down the government."

He bashed his fist onto the 'protest' button; the doors locking him and Amy in before the Smiler turned it's face around to scowl and the two of them were forced to back into a corner as the floor opened up.

"Say weeeeee!" The Doctor chuckled, though Amy just screamed as they fell down the hole.

"Ahhhh!"

The two of them went down a slide before landing in a smelly, wet area; covered in slime and garbage. The Doctor was still chuckling, though this time in disgust as he sonicked the area.

"High speed air cannon. _Lousy_ way to travel."

"Where are we?"

"Six hundred feet down, twenty miles laterally, puts us at the heart of the ship. I'd say..." He inhaled deeply. "Lancashire. What's this then, a cave? Can't be a cave. Looks like a cave."

"It's a rubbish dump, and it's minging!" Amy said in disgust, tossing a piece of something at the Doctor.

"Yes, but..." He knelt down in the slime and picked some of it up and smelled it. "Only food refuse. Organic, coming through feeder tubes from all over the ship."

Amy slipped in the muck. "The floor's all squidgy, like a water bed."

"But feeding what, though?" The Doctor grumbled.

"It's sort of rubbery, feel it. Wet and slimy."

There was an odd noise then and the Doctor stood up as realization dawned on him.

"Ah, it's not a floor, it's… ah… So!"

Amy stood up, angry at him for trying to avoid the question. "It's a what?"

"The next word is kind of a scary word." He said, taking Amy's hands. "You might want to take a moment. Get yourself in a calm place. Go, omm."

Amy did so, giving him a strange look before he let her go and answered.

"It's a… tongue."

"A tongue?" Amy said, disbelief evident in her eyes along with a bit of worry.

"A tongue. A great big tongue!" He said excitedly.

"This is a mouth. This while place is a mouth? We're in a mouth?!"

"Yes, yes, yes. But on the plus side, roomy."

"What about Alex? Wouldn't she be here?" Amy asked and the Doctor grew quiet, worry filling his hearts as he hoped that Alex had somehow popped off and avoided being eaten by whatever they were in.

"D-Don't worry about her. She'll be alright. She probably just popped off. She's fine."

"Alright." Amy drawled out. "Not worried at all, mind. More worried about _how we get out_!"

The Doctor turned. "How big is this beastie? It's gorgeous. Blimey, if this is just the mouth, I'd love to see the stomach."

The animal groaned and the Doctor stiffened.

"Though not right now."

"Doctor, how do we get out?" Amy asked, worry starting to settle in.

"Okay, it's being fed through surgically implanted feeder tubes, so the normal entrance is..." He shined his sonic towards where the mouth would be only to see a wall of huge teeth. "...closed for business."

"We could try though." Amy said, starting to move only for the animal to groan again and shake.

"No, stop, don't move! Too late. It's started." The Doctor said, wincing as he tried to think up something to do.

"What has?"

"Swallow reflex!" The Doctor said as they both fell back into the mess once more.

The Doctor started using his sonic though, and Amy gaped at him in shock.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm vibrating the chemo-receptors."

"Chemo-what?"

"The eject button!" The Doctor said, but Amy was still confused and struggling to get her footing.

"How does a mouth have an eject button?"

"Think about it!"

They both got onto their feet as a wave of vomit headed towards them and the Doctor adjusted his bow-tie.

"Right then. This isn't going to be big on dignity." He looked at Amy who returned the look, before facing the oncoming wave of bile. "Geronimo!"

"Ah!"

The two ended up in an overspill pipe where another 'forget' button lay along with two Smilers. The Doctor tried asking them questions, but they simply turned their heads around and frowned, before soon scowling. Of course, when the Doctor taunted them, they revealed that they could come out of the booths and made a move to attack, only for Liz Ten—who the Doctor had met earlier—to rush in and shoot the Smilers.

"Look who it is." The Doctor smiled. "You look a lot better without your mask." He winced then. "Though don't let my girlfriend know I said that. Doubt she'd appreciate it."

"_Girlfriend_?!" Amy shouted, making the Doctor realize that he'd screwed up and he hit himself in the face repeatedly; muttering 'stupid' over and over as Liz held out her hand to Amy.

"You must be Amy. Liz. Liz Ten."

"Hi." Amy said breathlessly, shaking her hand only for the woman to pull away with a grimace of disgust.

"Yuck. Lovely hair, Amy. Shame about the sick. You know Mandy, yeah? She's very brave." Liz said, pulling Mandy over as the Doctor frowned.

"How did you find us?"

"Stuck my gizmo on you." She replied, tossing him the scanner she had. "Been listening in. Nice moves on the hurl escape. So, what's the big fella doing here?"

"You're over sixteen, you've voted. Whatever it is, you've chosen to forget about it."

"No. Never forgot, never voted, not technically a British subject." She said, the Doctor countering with another question.

"Then who and what are you, and how do you know me?"

"You're a bit hard to miss, love. Mysterious stranger, MO consistent with high alien intelligence, hair of an idiot, and a rather strange, oddball, masculine girlfriend. I've been brought up on the stories. My whole family was."

"Your family?"

She went to answer, but a noise behind the Doctor caught her attention and one of the Smilers moved.

"They're repairing. Doesn't take them long. Let's move."

The group hurried out and down a passageway.

"The Doctor. Old drinking buddy of Henry Twelve. Tea and scones with Liz Two. Vicky was a bit on the fence about you, weren't she? Knighted and exiled you on the same day, but liked your girlfriend a bit. And so much for the Virgin Queen, you bad, bad boy. Lucky your girlfriend showed up, though not very lucky for you. Heard you got quite the scolding."

"Liz Ten." the Doctor said as realization dawned on him.

"Liz Ten, yeah. Elizabeth the Tenth. And down!" She shouted, shooting the Smilers behind them as they ducked. "I'm the bloody Queen, mate. Basically… I rule."

They hurried to another area and the Doctor leaned past some bars to where these large tentacles were; him gaping in shock as Liz explained.

"There's a high-speed Vator through there. Oh, yeah. There's these things. Any idea?"

"Doctor, I saw one of these up top. There was a hole in the road, like it had burst through like a root."

"Exactly like a root. It's all one creature, the same one we were inside, reaching out. It must be growing through the mechanisms of the entire ship."

"What, like an infestation? Someone's helping it. Feeding it. Feeding my subjects to it!" Liz said, getting angry. "Come on. We've got to keep moving."

Liz and Mandy moved on, but the Doctor stayed and gazed at the tentacles with a sad look.

"What is it, Doctor?"

"Oh, Amy. We should never have come here." He breathed out, his own mind having connected with the Star-whale and worry filling him as he worried about it and Alex as well; who had always been able to feel emotions strongly.

_Probably why she was crying before. It was the Star-whale reaching out through her. It's in pain._ He took a deep breath and focused, now that they were in Liz's chambers and he stepped carefully between the glasses of water on the floor.

"Why all the glasses?" He asked and Liz responded with a harsh bite in her tone.

"To remind me every single day that my government is up to something, and it's my duty to find out what."

"A queen going undercover to investigate her own kingdom?" He questioned.

"Secrets are being kept from me. I don't have a choice. Ten years I've been at this. My entire reign. And you've achieved more in one afternoon."

"How old were you when you came to the throne?" He asked, holding up her porcelain mask.

"Forty. Why?"

Amy came in, finished cleaning up and fixing her hair. "What, you're fifty now? No way."

"Yeah, they slowed my body clock. Keeps me looking like the stamps."

"And you always wear this in public?" The Doctor asked, sitting on the bed beside her with the mask.

"Undercover's not easy when you're me. The autographs, the bunting."

"Air-balanced porcelain." The Doctor muttered. "Stays on by itself, because it's perfectly sculpted to your face."

"Yeah? So what?" She said, not seeing where he was going with this.

"Oh, Liz. So everything."

A door opened and a group of Winders entered the room, immediately getting Liz angry.

"What are you doing? How _dare_ you come in here?"

"Ma'am, you have expressed interest in the interior workings of Starship UK. You will come with us now." One said as they all stood.

"Why would I do that?"

The man's face turned around to reveal a scowling Smiler.

"How can they be Smilers?" Amy asked, though the Doctor just smiled away.

"Half Smiler, half human."

"Whatever you creatures are, I am still your queen. On whose authority is this done?" Liz demanded.

"The highest authority, ma'am."

"I _am_ the highest authority." She snapped.

"Yes, ma'am. You must go now, ma'am."

"Where?"

"The Tower, ma'am."

They were all led to a room and Amy looked down into a grating where tentacles were at.

"Doctor, where are we?"

"The lowest point of Starship UK. The dungeon." The Doctor replied stiffly, though he spun around as a man called out to Liz.

"Ma'am."

"Hawthorne. So this is where you hid yourself away. I think you've got some explaining to do."

The Doctor though frowned as some kids moved by, him patting one on the head. "There's children down here. What's all that about?"

"Protesters and citizens of limited value are fed to the beast. For some reason, it won't eat the children. You're the second adults it's spared. You're very lucky."

"Hold on now. Second? Who was first?"

The man gestured to some of the Winders who brought in Alex, of all people, handcuffed and gagged with tears streaming down her face. Immediately the Doctor was at her side and released her, allowing her to cry into his shoulder as he held her, angrily turning to Hawthorne to get angry for them making her cry, but Alex spoke through her tears.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, Doctor."

"Alex, Alex, it's fine. It's okay. I'll stop it. I'll make sure it stops."

"I'm sorry." She repeated and he just held her, knowing that she was apologizing for the decision he knew he was going to have to make.

Thing was, Alex was also apologizing because she couldn't stop it herself. It had to be the Doctor who struggled with this decision because this was a big moment for both him, and Amy. Alex couldn't be the one to do it or just tell him to do it, because all of this needed to happen. And it was killing her inside to know that she had to watch and _feel_ the Star-whale go through this pain, without being able to do anything about it. She _could_ technically do it, but the consequences were huge. There was a possibility Amy wouldn't understand the Doctor the way she did, and she would leave or die on an adventure in the future. Then there was also the possibility that the Doctor would act differently than he should later on and possibly cause something horrible to happen. So many things could be ruined if Alex was the one who set the Star-whale free right now, so she forced herself not to and she lowered all the walls keeping the Star-whale out of her head; punishing herself to listen and feel it's pain as a consequence for her own actions.

"Yeah. Look at us. Torture chamber of the Tower of London. Lucky, lucky, lucky." He said, voice tight with anger. "Except it's not a torture chamber is it? Well, except it is. Except it isn't. Depends on your angle."

Him and the others walked around to where a large device was shooting electricity into a hole. Said hole, revealed a brain.

"What's that?"

"Well, like I say, it depends on the angle. It's either the exposed pain center of big fella's brain, being tortured relentlessly."

"Or?"

"Or it's the gas pedal, the accelerator. Starship UK's 'go-faster' button."

"I don't understand." She said as the Doctor grew even angrier.

"Don't you? Try to. Go on. The spaceship that could never fly. No vibration on deck. This creature, this poor, trapped, _terrified_ creature. It's not _infesting_ you, it's not _invading_, it's what you have instead of an engine. And this place down here is where you hurt it, where you _torture_ it, day after day, just to keep it moving." He snapped, before rushing over to a grating and opening it, taking Alex with him as he pulled out his sonic. "Tell you what. Normally, it's above the range of human hearing."

A tentacle came out and he aimed his sonic at it, holding Alex close to his chest as he did so; knowing it wouldn't be a pleasant sound for her to hear.

"This is the sound none of you wanted to hear."

Cries from the Star-whale echoed in the dungeon before Liz demanded he stopped it, a pained look on her face as Alex clung tighter to the Doctor's chest and he stopped. Liz confronted Hawthorne then, angry at the treatment of the creature.

"Who did this?"

"We act on instructions from the highest authority."

"_I_ am the highest authority. The creature will be released, _now_. I said now!" She demanded when no one moved. "Is anyone listening to me?"

"Liz." The Doctor said, settling Alex down by the grating he'd opened earlier and heading over; tossing Liz the mask. "Your mask."

"What about my mask?"

"Look at it. It's old. At least two hundred years old, I'd say."

"Yeah? It's an antique. So?"

"Yeah, an antique made by craftsmen over two hundred years ago and perfectly sculpted to your face. They've slowed down your body clock, alright, but you're not fifty. Nearer three hundred. And it's been a long old reign." The Doctor explained, feeling his hearts breaking at Alex's soft words behind them.

"So long. S-She's been hurting for so long. S-So very, _very_ long. I'm sorry. I'm s-so sorry."

Liz though, grew panicked at those words. "Nah, it's ten years. I've been on this throne ten years."

"Ten years. And the same ten years, over and over again, always leading you here."

He pulled her over to a monitor with two buttons. Forget and abdicate. Liz stared at them in shock and turned to Hawthorne.

"What have you done?"

"Only what you have ordered. We work for you, ma'am. The Winders, the Smilers, all of us."

He turned on the monitor and Liz appeared on the screen and explained the heart breaking tale of the Star-whale that came out of the blue and how it was trapped and forced to take the UK out into space. And it explained the difficult choice that needed to be made. Save the Star-whale, or sacrifice the entire population on board to set it free.

"I voted for this." Amy breathed out, shocked. "Why would I do that?"

"Because you knew if we stayed here, I'd be faced with an impossible choice." The Doctor said quietly. "Humanity or the alien. You took it upon yourself to save me from that. And that was wrong. You don't ever decide what I need to know." He said, starting to get angry.

"I don't even remember doing it." Amy argued.

"You did it. That's what counts."

"I'm… I'm sorry." She said, unsure what else to say, but the Doctor wasn't having it.

"Oh, I don't _care_. When I'm done here, you're going home."

"Why? Because I made a mistake? _One_ mistake? I don't even remember doing it. Doctor!"

"Yeah, I know. You're only human." He said, though those words cut deep, and not only into Amy.

Alex was also hurt by those words and the tentacle behind her nudged her cheek in comfort as she calmed herself and stroked it. There was something she needed to do. Something to get the Doctor to understand, but it wasn't time. Not yet.

"What are you doing?" Liz asked the Doctor, who was messing with controls.

"The worst thing I'll ever do. I'm going to pass a massive electrical charge through the Star-whale's brain. Should knock out all its higher functions, leave it a vegetable. The ship will still fly, but the whale won't feel it."

"That'll be like killing it." Amy said, but the Doctor felt he had no choice.

"Look, three options. One, I let the Star Whale continue in unendurable agony for hundreds more years. Two, I _kill_ everyone on this ship. Three, I murder a beautiful, innocent creature as painlessly as I can. And then I find a new name, because I won't be the Doctor any more."

"There must be something we can do. Some other way." Liz said, but the Doctor had had enough and he snapped at them all.

"Nobody talk to me." He muttered, before shouting loudly. "Nobody _human_ has anything to say to me today!"

And everyone went silent. Everyone, except one.

* * *

"Does that mean you won't listen to me either?" I asked, approaching the Doctor who looked up briefly before turning his eyes back to what he was doing and shaking his head.

"No, you're different."

I felt anger well up in me at those words, but most of all, guilt.

"How am I different?" I snapped, trying to keep my voice from wavering. "How am I any different from them?!"

The Doctor looked up in surprise, not expecting this, I'm sure.

"I may not have chosen to forget what I saw on those screens, Doctor, but if anyone in this room should be punished for their actions, it's not Amy or Liz. It's _me!_" I shouted, fists shaking at my sides. "I could hear her screaming and crying out for help ever since we showed up! She reached out to _me_ for help and I promised her that, but did nothing! And you're getting upset at _Amy_ for trying to do something nice for you and taking on that burden herself? What about me?! I decide what you get to know every time I pop up somewhere with you! And you know _why_ I do it, but you punish Amy for attempting to do it once? For trying to _help_? When are you going to get it through your thick skull that you're _not_ alone anymore! You don't _have_ to be the hero all the time! You don't have to save everyone by yourself! And it's _my_ fault! All of this is my fault! She's still screaming in agony because of _me_! I could've stopped this! When she let me go and they brought me up here, I could have fixed everything, but I didn't! I am worse than them! Worse than humanity, because I'm allowing this to continue to make sure you and Amy get something out of it and it's killing me!"

Tears finally trailed down my face again as I looked at the Doctor, feeling more useless than I had in a long time and wishing, _wishing_ he would just get angry with me too. That he would yell at me and threaten to leave me somewhere like he had done back with Bad Wolf, because that's what I deserved. But he just stared silently before returning to what he was doing, slower than before. I grit my teeth and turned away to sit back where I had been, feeling as though knives were cutting through me with every step I took before I curled up on the floor by the grating where the children had gathered. Not a second later though, Amy had hurried up and grabbed Liz; dragging her to the voting buttons as she shouted at the Doctor.

"Doctor, stop. Whatever you're doing, stop it now! Sorry, Your Majesty, going to need a hand."

"Amy, no! No!" The Doctor shouted, but Amy ignored him and slammed Liz's hand on the abdicate button.

The Star-whale roared as the ship shook, but I could feel the overwhelming gratitude in my mind as the Doctor panicked.

"Amy, what have you done?"

"Nothing at all. Am I right?" She asked.

Hawthorne gaped in shock as he checked the readings. "We've increased speed."

"Yeah, well, you've stopped torturing the pilot. Got to help."

"It's still here. I don't understand." Liz said breathlessly, and Amy explained to them.

"The Star Whale didn't come like a miracle all those years ago. It _volunteered_. You didn't have to trap it or torture it. That was all just you. It came because it couldn't stand to watch your children cry. What if you were really old, and really kind and alone? Your whole race dead. No future. What couldn't you do then? If you were that old, and that kind…" She turned around to the Doctor. "...and the very last of your kind, you couldn't just stand there and watch children cry."

The group looked down on the Star-whale sadly, but I hadn't moved from my place. I just couldn't. I had allowed the Star-whale to be tortured for that much longer. _I_ was the bad person in this situation and just like the destruction of the Daleks, I had willingly allowed something to get hurt. A living _thing_. Something nudged me and I lifted my head to see the tentacle nudging at me as I stared at it sadly. _Why? Why are you still being kind to me after what I allowed to happen? I _let_ them do this to you for that much longer. So… why?_ It nudged me again, a gentle hum going through my mind, one that I instantly recognize as forgiveness. I was the first person to hear her, give her hope, _save_ her, and I did. In the end, I had helped save the Star-whale and to her, that's all that mattered. I had kept my promise and she was thankful for that. Because nothing else mattered to her more than those kids being safe. Not even a few more moments of being tortured. She was just thankful for my kindness, and nothing would change that.

The tentacle continued to nuzzle up against me in comfort as I cried into my knees, feeling the kindness from the Star-whale and how it compared to the Doctor's own kindness. All the times he's forgiven me. All the times he's saved me, even after I hurt him.

"_You're different."_

I felt the tentacle pull away from me then, and the sound of someone moving in front of me caught my attention.

"Alexander, come with me."

The Doctor took my hand and pulled me up, leading me out of the room and up onto the observation deck, the whole of the Starship UK spread out before us. We both just stood there, not close like we usually would have been as I sniffled and calmed down. After a bit of quiet, the Doctor spoke.

"Alexander, you are… brilliant and wonderful and you have saved me so many times, that I never know what to do when you're having a hard time with things. And it's hard for me to tell sometimes when you are conflicted or scared or worried. I've seen some things. Some of your little ticks, like how you avoid my gaze when you know something bad is going to happen. Or when you grit your teeth and tighten you hands into fists when you're angry or upset. And when you try so hard to be strong, to put on some goofy smile when all you want to do is fall to the ground and cry, I never know what I should do."

He turned to me as I shifted my gaze away from his and to the ground, still feeling guilty about everything and a part of me not wanting to hear these kind words he was saying to me.

"And I can't _bare_ to see you like this. To see you putting all the blame on yourself. _Especially_ when it isn't your fault. It tears me apart. Because you are… so much _better_ than even the best of humanity. You have faced Daleks and Sontarans and Cybermen without batting an eye. You faced, the most powerful man in the universe, right in front of me, as he threatened to end time _itself_." He grabbed my shoulders and made me look at him. "And do you know what you did, that no one else in the entire universe could ever do?"

His green eyes bore into mine as I waited, not knowing what to say.

"You _forgave_ them. The most villainous, evil, destructive beings, in all of time and space, and you looked at them and said 'I'm sorry'. You cried tears for them and you saved them, even after they tried to destroy everything. Even after they _did_ destroy things. Things and people that you cared about. And you still stood up to them and forgave them. And there has always been one thing. One _tiny_ thing that I never understood about you that has always haunted me… Why can't you forgive yourself?"

That question hit me in the chest like a ton of bricks and I searched my mind for an answer. Desperately trying to come up with something, but nothing came up.

"I-I… I don't… I don't know." I muttered, panicking a bit. "I never thought… I didn't think about…"

I tried to get my thoughts in order, but they just kept tumbling over one another with that question repeating itself in my head.

"_Why can't you forgive yourself?"_

"I-I can't." I said, words tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop them. "I can't forgive myself. Not when I-I could've done something. Not when others are doing more than I ever could. Not when I make a-a mistake or someone gets hurt because of me. How can I forgive myself w-when I know what's going to happen a-and I watch it happen? I-I watch people close to me get hurt b-because that's how it must happen. And I-I hesitate b-because I'm scared. I'm scared I-I'll mess things up. I'm scared you'll get angry and leave me behind. I'm scared o-of changing things so badly that everything goes wrong and more bad things happen. And then they do, a-and how can I forgive myself w-when I'm the cause of it all? It's always my fault. I-It just has to be. I-It j-j-just..."

Tears flowed freely once more and the Doctor pulled me to him tightly, his own voice shaky.

"I-I'm sorry, Alexander. I'm so, _so_ sorry. You've been trying so hard, haven't you? Trying so hard to be strong for such a long time and I didn't notice, and I'm sorry."

My shoulder began to ache and I clung to the Doctor's coat tighter, not wanting to leave. Not like this. The Doctor realized this as well, and quickly reached down and pulled me into a heated kiss; desperately hanging onto me.

"I love you, Alexander." He murmured, kissing me deeply. "And I will always forgive you. No matter how many time it takes." And again he kissed me, his one hand tangled in my hair as the other pulled me up against him tightly. "Because you are _more_ than worth it. And I want you to know that, _believe_ that for all it's worth. You are brilliant and amazing and fantastic and splendid and if anyone deserves to be forgiven for anything, it's you. So please. _Please_, understand." He finally pulled away as a tear slipped down his face and his hand reached up and brushed a thumb across my cheek. "I love you, more than anything, and I want you to love yourself the same way. Promise me that. Promise me that you will love yourself as much as I love you. An Alexander Holmes promise."

I nodded, reaching up as I sucked a sharp breath through my teeth in a vain attempt to stop crying, wrapping my arms around his neck and just barely getting my final words out before I popped off.

"P-Promise. I-I promise."

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_I went through a few doors, before I entered a larger room where a large group of Ood surrounded the familiar duo and I grinned, pushing through the Ood with apologies._

_"Excuse me, excuse me. Pardon me." I said, before popping up in front of the Doctor and Rose; who was holding up a chair in a threatening manner. "Hello, you two! Rose, put the chair down. Don't be rude."_

_"Alex? But what..."_

_"We must feed." The Ood repeat and I looked over at one and nudge him, gesturing to the translator orb._

_"Hey, I think your orb is on the fritz."_

_ He shook it and tapped it, before it glowed once more. "You, if you are hungry."_


	51. The Impossible Planet

**Hey, you lucky people, i'm updating early! ^^ Mostly because i won't have time to update tomorrow since i'll be sleeping in late and going to work right after that. But ignore me, please enjoy! this is definitely going to be a tough chapter for Alex, but i hope everyone's in character and please review! i love hearing form you people :)**

* * *

I don't remember when I popped up. I must have fallen asleep the moment I did, getting some well-deserved rest after the hectic time I'd had. And when I woke up, I felt a lot better. It was strange. I don't think I'd ever woken up in the Tardis actually feeling… _good._ It was as though I was lighter, almost. Like some heavy weight I'd been carrying along for ages had suddenly lifted. Though one probably couldn't tell I felt this way. My expression was rather grumpy since I'd just woken up, but one quick hop into the shower, a change of clothes, and a walk to the kitchen later, and one could find me humming to myself with a big grin on my face as I munched on a piece of toast. Not even the closet full of lobsters that the Tardis presented to me was enough to turn down my mood as I sang to the music I'd started up in the kitchen; not caring if the Doctor was around or not.

"When I lost it, yeah you held my hand, but I tossed it. Didn't understand, you were waiting, as I dove into the waterfall. So say, 'Geronimo'. Say 'Geronimo'. Say—"

The Tardis groaned and turned the music off and I pouted up at the ceiling.

"Fun killer. You're just mad that your little prank didn't bother me. Well, guess what!" I stood up with a grin. "I'm in a good mood and _nothing's_ going to stop me. Not you, not this adventure, not even if the Doctor is Rose-Tenth."

I bounded off towards the console room and, upon seeing no Doctor and that the interior _was_ the Tenth's design, I flipped a few switches to check my surroundings on the monitor; something Twelve had showed me the last time I'd been with him. _I haven't seen him in a while either. Hope he's not being rude to Clara while I'm gone._ The monitor came on and I tilted my head in confusion as I took another bite of my toast.

"Hm, a storage room maybe?"

I pulled out my notebook, holding my toast in my mouth as I scrolled through Tenth's section and tapped the page that seemed to be the episode I was on. _Ooh, not the best episode, but I won't let that get me down._ I read through the episode, leaning back against the console with a slight frown on my face, searching for what I could do to save even _one_ of the lives that would be lost, but there was nothing to be done and I knew the Doctor wouldn't be pleased. _Hell, _I'm_ not even remotely happy about this. If there was anything I could do, _anything_, I would._ I let out a soft sigh, finishing my toast and pulling a hand through my hair as I snapped my book shut and turned my eyes to the ceiling.

"Should've known my good mood wouldn't last." I muttered, tucking the book back into my coat as I headed for the door, patting the frame with a small smile. "Take care of yourself, Sexy."

She hummed out a scoff, sort of a sarcastic 'like I'd actually get hurt' scoff, and I chuckled before heading out into the small storage closet in search of the Doctor and Rose. I went through a few doors, before I entered a larger room where a large group of Ood surrounded the familiar duo and I grinned, pushing through the Ood with apologies.

"Excuse me, excuse me. Pardon me." I said, before popping up in front of the Doctor and Rose; who was holding up a chair in a threatening manner. "Hello, you two! Rose, put the chair down. Don't be rude."

"Alex? But what..."

"We must feed." The Ood repeat and I looked over at one and nudge him, gesturing to the translator orb.

"Hey, I think your orb is on the fritz."

He shook it and tapped it, before it glowed once more. "You, if you are hungry."

"Sorry?" The Doctor questioned and I grinned, throwing a shoulder over the Ood's shoulder.

"No worries, Doctor! They're friendly!"

He eyed me, unsure as Rose slowly lowered the chair and the Ood explained.

"We apologize. Electromagnetics have interfered with speech systems. Would you like some refreshment?"

"...Um..."

"_Open door eighteen._" The computer announced and I turned to spot an older man make his way in; myself moving over towards Rose and the Doctor's side.

"What the hell? How did..."

The Ood moved aside as he headed over in shock and lifted the communicator on his wrist.

"Captain, you're not gonna believe this. We've got people. Out of nowhere. I mean, real people." He said as the Doctor scratched the back of his head. "I mean, three… living… people. Just standing here right in front of me."

"_Don't be stupid._" A voice over the communicator said. "_That's impossible._"

"I suggest telling them that." Jefferson, I remembered, said.

"But you're a sort of space base." Rose spoke up as I stretched my arms above my head with a slight wince; still sore from a few adventures ago. "You must have visitors now and then. It can't be that impossible."

"Mm, you'd think, but you don't know where we are." I hummed as Jefferson eyed us.

"You're telling me, you don't know where you are?" He turned to me and pointed. "You seem to have a clue."

I nodded, but the Doctor grinned.

"We've no idea. More fun that way."

"_Stand by, everyone. Buckle down. We have incoming. And it's a big one. Quake point five on it's way._" Someone said over the intercom and Jefferson hurried to a door and opened it as alarms went off.

"Through here. Now. Quickly! Come on! Hurry! Move!"

The group of us hurried after him, me giving the Ood one last worried look before following and we ran down some corridors. At one point, we were thrown against some railing as steam blew out from a burst pipe and the base shook violently, but we hurried along; myself rubbing my side where I'd hit it. We soon entered a larger control room where a number of others were at and they all looked up at us in shock.

"Oh my God. You meant it." One said, Captain Zach, if I remembered correctly.

"People! Look at that, real people!" Scooti gasped.

"That's us. Hooray!" The Doctor grinned, eyeing me at one point for an explanation.

"Yeah, definitely real." Rose said. "My name's Rose. Rose Tyler. And… And this is the Doctor and Alex."

"Hello!" I chirped, wiggling my fingers at the group in a wave.

"Come on, the oxygen must be offline. We're hallucinating." Danny said, heading towards us in disbelief. "They can't be… No, they're real."

"Come _on_, we're in the middle of an alert!" Zach scolded. "Danny, strap up! The quake's coming in! Impact in thirty seconds!" He turned to us. "Sorry, you three, whoever you are. Just hold on, tight."

"Hold on to what?"

"Anything, I don't care. Just hold on. Ood, are we fixed?"

"Your kindness in this emergency is much appreciated." An Ood replied, making me smile a little.

"Always so polite you lot are. Love it!"

The Doctor, Rose, and I latched ourselves onto a railing as the Doctor looked around.

"What's this planet called anyway?"

"Now, don't be stupid." Ida said, not realizing that we were clueless. "It hasn't got a name. How could it have a name?"

The Doctor gave her a pointed look and I sighed as she stared at us in shock.

"You really don't know, do you?"

The Doctor didn't get a chance to respond before Zach called out.

"And, impact!"

The whole base shook wildly for a few seconds before stopping and the Doctor stood up and released his hold on the railing with a smile.

"Oh, well that wasn't so bad!"

I had forced him to grab a hold of the railing again just as the base shook even more violently; doing my best to keep Rose somewhat upright as well. Sparks and fire came up from parts of the console around us, before the shaking finally subsided and I groaned as I pushed the Doctor up off me.

"O-Ow, you have a _really_ boney elbow, Doctor and I'd appreciate it if it wasn't in my gut."

"Right, sorry." He apologized as Zach began the role call; Jefferson putting out the fires.

"Everyone alright? Speak to me, Ida."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Danny?"

"Fine."

"Toby?"

"Yeah, fine."

"Scooti?"

"No damage."

"Jefferson?"

"Check!"

The Doctor rubbed the back of his head as Rose turned to me with a worried look.

"You alright?"

I winced, feeling my body ache at the abuse. "Yeah, no, I'm fine. Just, ngh, sore is all."

"You sure?"

I nodded, waving her off as the Doctor complained.

"We're fine, thanks. Fine. Yeah, don't worry about us."

And they didn't.

"The surface caved in." Zach said, checking a map. "I deflected it onto storage five through eight. We've lost them completely. Toby, go and check the rocket link."

"That's not my department." Toby argued, but Zach wasn't having it.

"Just do as I say, yeah?"

He frowned, but left and I sighed softly as I rubbed my shoulder and rolled my neck; Ida speaking up next.

"Oxygen holding. Internal gravity fifty six point six. We should be okay."

"Never mind the earthquake. That's… That's one hell of a storm. What is that, a hurricane?" Rose asked, eyeing the ceiling warily as it rumbled.

"You'd need an atmosphere for a hurricane." Scooti said as I hummed in agreement. "There's no air out there. It's a complete vacuum."

"Then what's shaking the roof?"

"You're not joking." Ida said in disbelief once more. "You really don't know. Well, introductions. F.Y.I., as they said in the olden days. I'm Ida Scott, science officer. Zachary Cross Flane, acting Captain, sir. You've met Mister Jefferson, he's Head of Security. Danny Bartock, ethics committee."

"Not as boring as it sounds." Danny said as I smirked.

"I should think not. Lots of fun, them." I said, nodding towards the Ood, to which Danny smiled as Ida went on.

"And that man who just left, that was Toby Zed, Archaeology, and this is Scooti Manista, Trainee maintenance. And this? This is home."

She turned a lever and as the roof started to open up to show the sky, Zach spoke.

"Brace yourselves. The sight of it send some people mad."

I turned my gaze upward and felt a chill go through me at the sight of the large black hole. It was strange, looking at it. It made you feel nervous, because you knew it shouldn't be possible. The black in the center just seemed to suck you in, sort of. But then again, it was also rather beautiful.

"That's a black hole." Rose said, turning to the Doctor and I, as I stood up and tucked my hands into my pockets.

"Yup." I said, popping the 'p' as the Doctor breathed out in shock.

"That's impossible."

"I did warn you." Zach muttered.

"We're standing over a black hole." The Doctor went on as Ida said her bit.

"In orbit."

"But we can't be."

"You can see for yourself, we're in orbit." Ida said, making the Doctor turn to her with a bit of bite in his tone.

"But we _can't_ be."

Ida explained. "This lump of rock is suspended in perpetual geostationary orbit around that black hole without falling in. Discuss."

"And that's bad, yeah?" Rose asked.

"Bad doesn't begin to cover it." I frowned, though the Doctor took over from there.

"A black hole's a dead star. It collapses in on itself, in and in and in until the matter's so dense and tight, it starts to pull everything else in too. Nothing in the universe can escape it. Light, gravity, _time_. Everything just gets pulled inside and crushed."

"So, they can't be in orbit. We should be pulled right in."

"We should be dead."

"Well, aren't you cheery." I snorted, earning a frown from the man as Ida smiled a little.

"And yet, here we are. Beyond the laws of physics. Welcome aboard."

"But if there's no atmosphere out there, what's that?" Rose asked.

"Stars, galaxies, all sorts of stuff, breaking up and getting sucked in." I hummed, Ida nodding.

"We have whole solar systems being ripped apart above our heads, before falling into that thing."

"So, a bit worse than a storm, then."

"Just a bit." Ida said as I chuckled a little.

"Just a bit, yeah." Rose repeated with a nod, understanding.

There was another shake and Rose grabbed onto the railing as I did the same, grabbing the Doctor's arm so he wouldn't topple over as well, though he raised a brow at my actions and I just beamed a smile at him and let him go; trying to ignore the way my stomach churned and begged me to take his hand. _Stop it. This isn't the time, nor the Doctor to do that with, you know that._ I mentally scolded myself, before I stiffened. There was this light pressure at the back of my head, whispering something and I immediately paled and closed my eyes; focusing on blocking it out and layering barrier upon barrier up in my head to hold it back. Because I knew what it was. And if there was one thing I was certain about, it was that I didn't want _him_ in my head.

"You alright?" Rose asked me suddenly, placing a hand on my shoulder and making me jump. "Sorry. Just thought it was the whole..." She gestured up to the black hole as Ida closed it. "..._mad_ thing."

I smiled a little at that. "Nah, I was just working on something. Don't mind me."

She raised a brow, but didn't push it as the lights were dimmed and the group of us moved towards the center console as Zach explained what we were on and the story behind the black hole and the planet; a hologram in the center.

"That's the black hole, officially designated K three seven Gen five."

"In the scriptures of the Falltino, this planet is called Kroptor, the bitter pill. And the black hole is supposed to be a mighty demon. It was tricked into devouring the planet, only to spit it out, because it was poison." Ida explained.

"The bitter pill. I like that." Rose said, smiling a little at the Doctor and I.

"We are so far out. Lost in the drifts of the universe. How did you even get here?" The Doctor asked, his thinking glasses on.

"We flew in. You see, this planet's generating a gravity field." Zach went on, changing the image a bit to show the planet we were on and a tunnel coming out of it. "We don't know how. We have no idea. But it's kept in constant balance against the black hole. And the field extends out there as a funnel. A distinct gravity funnel, reaching out into clear space. That was our way in."

"You flew down that thing? Like a rollercoaster?" Rose said with a grin, not seeming to understand the seriousness of the situation, though I appreciated her silly comments.

That pressure in the back of my mind was growing.

"By rights, this ship should have been torn apart. We lost the Captain, which is what put me in charge." Zach said, looking a little hopeless.

"You're doing a good job." Ida reassured him as I nodded.

"Oh yeah. Brilliant, so far, I think. Well, we only just met, but I think you're a great Captain. Don't get all down in the dumps just yet."

"Yeah, well, needs must." He said, looking slightly better.

"But if that gravity funnel closes, there's no way out." Danny said as Scooti smiled sarcastically.

"We had fun speculating about that."

"Oh, yeah. That's the word. _Fun_." Danny drawled, bopping her on the head with a rolled up tube of paper.

The Doctor still didn't quite get it though, and it was obvious he was frustrated about it. Well, obvious to me, anyway.

"But that field would take _phenomenal_ amounts of power. I mean not just big, but off the _scale_. Can I?" He gestured to some device Ida had and she passed it over.

"Sure, help yourself."

An Ood came over then and handed Rose and I some cups of water.

"Your refreshments."

"Oh, yeah. Thanks." She smiled as I did the same and pat the alien's shoulder, speaking with him telepathically.

_How you holding up then? It won't be much longer now for you. The Doctor and I will take care of the circle soon._ The Ood glanced at me and bowed his head in appreciation before Rose got his attention once more.

"I'm sorry, what was your name?"

"We have no titles. We are as one." The Ood replied.

She raised a brow and tried to speak with him again, but he wandered off and she turned to Danny instead.

"Um, what are they called?"

"Oh, come on. Where have you been living? Everyone's got one." He replied and I frowned a bit as I watched the Ood turn back to me and bob his head once more; myself reciprocating the action.

"Well, not me. So what are they?"

"They're the Ood." I replied and she looked at me in confusion.

"The _Ood_?"

Danny nodded. "The Ood."

"Well, that's Ood." Rose joked and he smiled.

"Very Ood, but handy. They work the mine shafts. All the drilling and stuff. Supervision and maintenance. They're born for it. Basic slave race."

"They're not born for it." I said, a bit snappier than I intended and Danny and Scooti gave me an odd look.

"Sorry?"

I turned to him and pulled a hand through my hair. "Nothing. Sorry."

I had to step away then, feeling anger well up in me at the mention of the Ood being _born_ like this and I sat on a chair and dropped my head in my hands, trying to focus on something else. Namely, keeping up my mental barriers against that pressure in my head. _It's getting worse. It just keeps breaking down the walls I put up. Not quickly, thank goodness, but it's doing it so easily it worries me._ I let out a soft sigh and flinched when the Doctor spoke up loudly.

"There we go. Do you see? To generate that gravity field and the funnel, you'd need a power source with an inverted self extrapolating reflex of six to the power of six every six seconds."

"That's a lot of sixes." Rose commented and I bit my bottom lip in nervousness.

_Three sixes in a row. The coincidences are impeccable. I'd rather not believe that the thing down there _is_ the devil, but this doesn't look good._

"And it's impossible." The Doctor replied as Zach looked at him in surprise.

"It took us two years to work that out."

"I'm very good." The Doctor smirked and I snorted, earning a look from him as I looked away in fake innocence, sipping my water.

"But that's why we're here." Ida said. "This power source is ten miles below through solid rock. Point Zero. We're drilling down to try and find it."

"It's giving off readings of over ninety stats on the Blazon scale." Zach said.

"It could revolutionize modern science."

"We could use it to fuel the Empire." Jefferson commented.

"Or start a war." The Doctor and I said, voices tense.

"It's buried beneath us." Toby spoke up, as I winced at the headache that had begun to form from the pressure in my head. "In the darkness, waiting."

"What's your job, chief dramatist?" Rose joked and he frowned as the Doctor smiled at her a little.

"Well, whatever it is down there is not a natural phenomena. And this, uh, planet once supported life eons ago, before the human race had even learned to walk."

"Hm? What'd you find? Must be pretty significant for you to think a civilization's been here." I hummed and he turned to me with furrowed brows, trying to figure me out as the Doctor questioned him.

"I saw lettering written on the wall. Did you do that?"

"I copied it from fragments we found unearthed by the drilling, but I can't translate it."

"No, neither can I. And that's saying something."

"Fragments?" I questioned. "Like pottery fragments? Storage pots?" I tapped my chin idly in thought, my inner anthropologist coming out. "Pottery _and_ writing, I suppose that's enough evidence to prove there was a civilization. I'm guessing you have nothing to date them with too. Huh."

He nodded slowly. "Y-Yeah. There was some form of civilization. They buried something. Now it's reaching out, calling us in."

"And you came." The Doctor grinned.

"Well, how could we not?" Ida asked as the Doctor continued to smile as Zach turned off the hologram.

"So, when it comes right down to it, why did you come here? Why did you do that? Why? I'll tell you why. Because it was there. Brilliant! Excuse me, uh, Zach, was it?"

"That's me." Zach said, standing a little straighter.

"Just stand there, because I'm going to hug you. Is that alright?"

"I suppose so." He said, a little uneasily as I spoke up.

"Sorry about him. He's a hugger."

Zach smiled a little at that before the Doctor headed over and hugged him.

"Oh, human beings. You are _amazing_! Ha! Thank you."

"Not at all." Zach replied as they separated, before the Doctor's smile slipped.

"But apart from that, you're completely mad. You should pack your bags, get back in that ship and fly for your lives."

"You can talk." Ida said. "And how the hell did _you_ get here?"

"Oh, I've got this, um… this ship. It's hard to explain. It just sort of appears." The Doctor said, rubbing the back of his neck, though _I _was the one who started to feel nervous.

"We can show you." Rose said. "We parked down the corridor from, um… Oh, what's it called? Habitations area..."

"Three." The Doctor said with a nod as Rose followed.

"Three. Three."

"Do you mean storage six?" Zach asked and I started chewing on my bottom lip again.

"It was a bit of a cupboard, yeah. Storage six." Realization dawned on him then. "But you said. You said… You said storage five to eight."

He immediately bolted out of the room and down the hall as Rose and I hurried after him.

"What is it?! What's wrong?!" Rose called out after him as I grit my teeth in preparation for the lashing I knew I was going to receive from him.

"_Open door nineteen. Close door nineteen._" The computer called as the Doctor tried to open the next door.

"Open the door! Come on!"

"_Open door seventeen._"

"_Open door fifteen._"

He burst through and tried to open the door to the cupboard as I panted behind him and caught my breath; the next door refusing to open.

"_Door sixteen out of commission._"

"It can't be. It can't be!"

"What's wrong?" Rose repeated. "What is it? Doctor, the Tardis is in there. What's happened?"

"The Tardis is gone." He breathed out, looking through the window at the top of the door.

"_Door sixteen out of commission._"

"The earthquake. This section collapsed." He told Rose, but she shook her head and took a peak as well.

"But it's got to be out there somewhere."

"Look down."

She looked devastated and it was then that the Doctor turned to me; the Oncoming Storm raging in his eyes.

"_You_. Why didn't you say anything?! Why didn't you tell me?!" He shouted, grabbing the front of my shirt and slamming me into the wall behind me; making me wince as my body ached and the railing pressed harshly into my lower back.

"When?! Huh?!" I shouted back, staring back at him angrily as I grabbed his wrist, surprising him slightly. "When _exactly_ was I supposed to tell you?! Mid-earthquake?!"

He didn't care though and shook me. "You should have told me! You never tell me anything and people _die_ because of you! You should just disappear!"

"Doctor!" Rose shouted, looking at me as my hearts panged in hurt at his words, but I wouldn't give in.

Not this time.

"Why?! So those people can die and it will be on _your_ head?! God, you are so… just… Agh!" I shouted, twisting his wrist and forcing him to let me go before I twisted his arm behind his back and pinned _him_ to the wall.

"A-Alex!"

"Let me go!" The Doctor snapped, but I pulled his arm up a bit higher, earning a grunt of pain from the man as I ignored him and Rose.

"You want me to let you go, then you better damn well listen, because I'm not the same skittish person who was afraid of the Oncoming Storm anymore, Doctor. I've gone through more than you think and I'm not going to just let you push me around anymore, _got it_?"

He remained silent, though the anger in his eyes was evident as I went on.

"Now then, your Tardis is _fine_." I said, calming myself as I tried to multitask a bit and shove up more walls in my mind to block out the headache that had caused my temper to flare. "She's fine, and you and Rose are going to be fine as well. I promise. _But_, what we're dealing with is not something you should take lightly and people _will_ die today."

He stiffened, but I wasn't finished.

"And I've thought of everything, and I mean _everything_ that I could do to possibly change that and prevent it from happening, but I do not know if it will work. And I would _appreciate _it, if you would cooperate with me for once and stop treating me like a piece of dirt on the bottom of your shoe. I will tell you what I can, but I can't tell you everything and it's about time you realized that and understood that I am not here to piss you off. I'm not here to make you angry or to make you watch people die if there's something that could prevent it. I am _here_ because I wanted to be. I am here, because I chose to come back to help _you_. And if you don't want that, then I won't say a damn word and everything that happens today will be on your head. But I don't want to do that, and do you know why?"

He didn't say anything and I leaned in closer to him.

"Because I don't want to see you or Rose hurt."

"Alex..." Rose breathed out and I let the Doctor go and stepped back, watching him as he rubbed at his shoulder with a wince.

"So unless you want that to happen, I suggest you take my words as gospel." I snapped. "Because I'd rather not have yet another death on my head if I can prevent it."

And with that, I stormed down the hall away from the two time travelers, passing through the next door and pinching the bridge of my nose as I let out a long sigh and cringed at the pain in my head.

* * *

Needless to say, both Rose and the Doctor had been stunned by what Alex had just done. On one hand, the Doctor was furious with her for arguing with him and doing what she did, but on the other hand, there was a bit of understanding as well. He was a Time Lord, after all. He knew what it was like to go back in time and not be allowed to mess with events, even if it meant that he had to watch someone die. And to him, that was a heavy responsibility. He hadn't compared that feeling to what Alex was doing though. Not until now, anyway. Because he didn't see her as someone who was carrying that burden. He saw her as just some tag-along who thought she knew everything but didn't bother letting others in on the big secret. And that had frustrated him. He saw her almost as a little Time Tot. Someone who carried all of that, but only saw it as a game or a story. Not seeing the people, but just the characters. And this was only reinforced when she explained to him before that the knowledge she knew was from a TV show. So he thought she didn't care about the people who died. He thought that she would treat them the same way she treated the Bad Wolf incident; indifferently.

Just now when she snapped at him though, there was something that changed. He couldn't explain it, but maybe it was that haunted look in her eyes. That look that he'd only seen before when he caught sight of himself in a mirror or the reflection of the Tardis console. It was that look that couldn't be explained, but let you know that said person had seen far more than their share of deaths. That _Alex_ had seen so many people die and blamed herself for those deaths, and he'd seen that same look in his own eyes. He'd killed off his entire species and before, he didn't think she understood what that felt like. What it felt like to be alone in the universe and know that their deaths were on his head. But the way she looked at him just now… It was with that same look. And she was just a _baby_ to him. She was just a kid, a Time Tot. So young, but with the eyes of someone so much older. And the stirring in his gut bothered him. That guilt in knowing that she'd become this way while traveling with him, _bothered_ him.

What if Rose ended up like that? What if, while traveling with him, Rose makes a mistake like he did, like Alex did, and she ended up with that haunted look as well? Those thoughts bothered him, but he made a vow to never let that happen and as he went back to the console room with Rose, he let his thoughts drift to some of the other things Alex had said.

"_...your Tardis is _fine_..."_

"_...you and Rose are going to be fine as well. I promise."_

"_...what we're dealing with is not something to be taken lightly..."_

"_I am here because I chose to come back to help _you_..."_

That last one made him frown, wondering what she meant and also why she would want to come back and help him with the way he treated her. Because she was right. He did treat her like dirt and he planned on at least attempting to get along with her for now, since they both had the same goal in mind for the moment. They both wanted Rose safe. And if that meant helping her, then so be it. But he found it strange that she would _want_ to come back for him. _Him_. Not Rose, but _him_. Shaking the thought from his head, he confronted Zach to see if there was any way he could get to his ship; since Alex confirmed that it was alright.

"The ground gave way. My Tardis must've fallen down right into the heart of the planet. But you've got robot drills heading the same way."

"We can't divert the drilling." Zach argued, making the Doctor angry.

"But I need my ship. It's all I've got. _Literally_, the only thing."

Zach wouldn't budge though. "Doctor, we've only got the resources to drill one central shaft down to the power source, and that's it. No diversions, no distractions, no exceptions. Your machine is lost. All I can do is offer you a lift if we ever get to leave this place, and _that_ is the end of it."

Things grew tensely silent and Ida was the one to break it.

"I'll, uh, put you on the duty roster. We need someone in the laundry."

"_Open door one. Close door one._" The computer chimed in as they left, leaving the Doctor, Rose, Alex, and one of the Ood left.

The Doctor moved over to Rose and leaned back against the console, feeling guilty for getting her stuck here with him.

"I've trapped you here."

"No, don't worry about me." Rose said as the base rumbled a bit. "Okay, we're on a planet that shouldn't exist, under a black hole and no way out... Yeah, I've changed my mind. Start worrying about me." She said with a bitter chuckle, the Doctor pulling her in for a hug before Alex spoke up.

"We're not trapped."

The Doctor frowned, about to make a snarky comment, but bit his tongue as he let Rose go and said something else instead.

"And how's that?"

"The Tardis is fine." She said, knuckles grinding her temples. "Point Zero is actually a cavern. The Tardis is waiting down there." She looked up and gave Rose a small smile. "We're not trapped."

Rose smiled back and hurried over to her, tackling her in a hug. "That's great!"

"Just thought you should know." Alex said as she pulled away. "Didn't want you too down in the dumps about this."

The Doctor snorted. "Doesn't mean much, coming from you. People are still going to die."

The cheery mood dissipated and Alex sighed softly as she looked down at her hands; Rose getting up and smacking the Doctor harshly on the arm.

"Ow!" He whined, looking confused. "What was that for?"

"She's trying her best." Rose said, snapping at him angrily. "I don't know what you've got against her, but at least she's trying, Doctor."

The Doctor frowned, not appreciating the fact that Rose was on Alex's side of things, but knowing better to argue with her. _Especially if her temper's anything like her mother's._ Rose sat next to Alex on the stairs though and draped an arm over her shoulders.

"Is there anything we can do?"

Alex shook her head, bringing a hand to her forehead with a wince. "Not that I know of. I might be able to do something about one of them, but..." She sighed, dropping her hand. "The other one does it to give us a chance to escape and the Ood… It's not even their fault."

Rose raised a brow; neither of them seeing that Alex had caught the Doctor's attention with those words. "The Ood? What do you mean?"

"It's not their fault." The Doctor said suddenly, hurrying over and kneeling down in front of the two as Alex furrowed her brows at him. "You said that before. With the Wire, you told me this adventure would be a twelve on a one-to-ten scale and that it's not the Ood's fault. What did you mean? Just how bad is this thing?"

She shook her head once more. "Bad."

He noticed her wince again as she brought a hand to her head and he frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Headache." She said, but he wasn't convinced.

"I'm only going to ask this once, Alex. What's wrong?"

She frowned up at him, but soon turned away as her eyes softened; confusing the Doctor who didn't understand why she would look at him the way she just did.

"It's trying to get in my head, is all. I'm fine for now." She said, making him look at her in surprise. "I've got enough barriers up that it will have a hard time for a while."

"Barriers?" Rose questioned and the Doctor held out his hands towards Alex's head, curious as well.

"Can I?"

Alex eyed him warily, but soon nodded and let him place his hands on her temples and go through her head. To say he was surprised was an understatement. She easily and effectively blocked out what she didn't want him to see and was able to direct him to the mental barriers she'd put up against whatever was trying to invade her mind. He frowned though, sensing the darkness trying to get past the barriers and wincing himself when it pounded harshly against them and another barrier was brought up before he exited her mind and pulled away from her.

"Where did you learn to put up barriers like that?"

She scoffed, leaning back on her hands. "Where do you think, spaceman?"

He smiled a little, her words having boosted his ego a bit, before it slipped and he frowned as he got up. "Well, it seems alright for now. You're doing good to push it back, but I don't like the way it's getting through."

Alex sighed with a nod, pulling her hand through her hair. "Yeah, I thought so too. It's getting through too easily."

Rose cleared her throat then. "Mind explaining what's going on?"

"There's something trying to get into Alex's head." The Doctor explained. "She's putting up mental barriers to keep it out. Like uh... walls. Yeah, walls to hold it back. Thing is, it's slicing through them like a hot knife cuts through butter."

Alex nodded. "But it's doing it slow, so I'm able to keep up with it. If it really tries though, I'm worried I won't be quick enough to put up enough barriers to keep it out."

Rose furrowed her brows. "Can't you just put up enough barriers to keep it out _now_?"

Alex shook her head. "Doesn't work like that. The barriers need constant up-keep. So I need to keep a part of my mind focused on them and having too many barriers up for too long makes it hard to do that."

Rose looked confused and Alex sighed.

"It's complicated."

The Doctor spoke up then, trying to help. "Think of it as a garden. You've got a little plot of land with some flowers, bushes and trees. Easy to take care of. But now make it an entire _farm. _You try to keep up with the maintenance, but there's always one part of it that is overrun with weeds because you can't get around fast enough. Make sense?"

Rose nodded. "Yeah, alright. But what happens if it _does_ try?"

"I try to put up barriers as fast as I can while it tries to break them down." Alex shrugged. "Hopefully, I can keep up with it or get ahead of it, even. Otherwise, we might just have more than one problem on our hands."

Things grew tense then, but the Doctor clapped his hands and stood up.

"Right then! Best get started. We'll do some snooping and then perhaps grab a bite to eat. Can't think on an empty stomach after all."

Alex sighed, but got up and trailed after him and Rose as they headed into the cafeteria area. The Doctor stuck by the odd writing on the wall and Alex eyed it as well, writing it down in a notebook and trying her best to figure it out alongside the Doctor, while Rose just sat back and watched. She got up after a minute and Alex bounded up to follow after her, her head aching to much to focus on trying to decipher the language for more than a few moments. Scooti was there and gestured to the trays.

"Help yourself. Just don't have the green. Or the blue." She chuckled as Rose and Alex grabbed a couple of trays and went to where the Ood were serving food.

"Um, bit of that, thanks." Rose said, gesturing to something that looked edible.

Alex poked her head over to and nodded. "And some for me."

"Would you like sauce with that?" The Ood asked and Rose nodded.

"I'll have a go, yeah."

"I'm willing to try just about everything." Alex smiled as the Ood poured some sauce into a section of the tray.

"I did that job once. I was a… a dinner lady." Rose said, making conversation. "Not that I'm calling you a lady. Although, I don't know, you might be."

"Smooth." Alex chuckled, Rose smacking her on the arm.

"Do you actually get paid though?" Rose went on. "Do they give you money?"

Alex shook her head, about to say something, before she hissed in pain and grabbed at her hair; the same moment the Ood spoke.

"The Beast and his armies shall rise from the pit to make war against God."

"I'm sorry?" Rose asked, eyeing Alex in worry before turning back to the Ood as he tapped his orb.

"Apologies. I said, I hope you enjoy your meal."

"Yeah..." Rose turned to Alex then, who looked a little pale. "You alright? Is it the head thing?"

Alex nodded, not bothering to take her dinner tray as she shakily went back to where the Doctor was, Rose hurrying after her.

"Alex? Doctor, something's wrong with Alex." She called out and he frowned and hurried over, taking Alex to the side away from the wandering eyes of the crew.

"Alex? What is it?"

"She said it was the thing in her head." Rose answered for her as Alex shakily spoke.

"H-He is awake."

The Doctor frowned. "Who? Who is awake?"

She shook her head and her knees gave out, forcing the Doctor to grab her and lower her to the ground. He reached his hands up to her temples, but she grabbed his wrists and frowned at him, cringing as she hissed through her teeth.

"D-Don't."

"I just want to check." He pushed and she shook her head.

"No. Y-You can't. If he gets a hold of you..." Alex winced and brought a hand to her forehead. "I-I just need a minute. J-Just give me… a minute."

She closed her eyes and the Doctor almost thought there was something physically wrong with her, but he checked the pulse in her neck and let out a sigh of relief as Rose spoke up worriedly.

"Is she okay?"

He nodded. "She's alright. She just went into a trace. Meditating, almost."

Rose looked at him, confused. "What for?"

"To focus on putting up more barriers, most likely." He mused, growing more curious about Alex before he shoved those strange feelings back and shook his head to get back on track. "Anyway, she should snap out of it in a few minutes. Quick power nap is all it is."

He picked Alex up and brought her back into the room they'd been in, sitting her down in a chair as Rose joined him at the table.

"Is he okay?" Scooti asked and the Doctor waved it off.

"Oh, she's fine. Perfectly fine. Just a bit tired, is all. She'll come around."

The crew glanced at the supposedly sleeping Alex with confused looks at the Doctor using 'she' to describe her, but they soon shrugged it off as the lights flickered overhead and Ida called to Zach on her communicator.

"Zach? Have we got a problem?"

"_No more than usual. Got the Scarlet System burning up. Might be worth a look._"

Ida smiled and went over to the lever for the skylight as she spoke to Rose and the Doctor. "You might want to see this. Moment in history."

She opened the skylight and gestured to a long stream of pinkish red gas being sucked into the black hole.

"There. On the edge. That red cloud. _That_ used to be the Scarlet System. Home to the Peluchi, a mighty civilization spanning a billion years, disappearing forever. Their planets and suns consumed. Ladies and gentlemen, we have witnessed its passing."

She went to close it, but the Doctor stopped her.

"Uh, no. Could you leave it open? Just for a bit. I won't go mad, I promise."

"How would you know?" Ida joked, earning a small chuckle from the Doctor, before she turned to Scooti. "Scooti, check the lock down."

"No!" Alex shouted, suddenly standing up and very nearly toppling over if the Doctor hadn't caught her.

"What?" Ida questioned as Alex spoke up, still wincing in pain.

"Don't let Scooti go."

Ida frowned. "And why not? I honestly don't think this is your decision to make."

"Now, hold on a second." The Doctor said, trying to keep the two calm, if only to prevent Alex from possibly get taken over by whatever was trying to get in her head. "Let's hear what she has to say. No harm in that, yeah?"

Ida begrudgingly allowed Alex to speak.

"I'm sort of… psychic." She said, the Doctor helping her into her chair once more as she rubbed at her temples. "If Scooti goes down there, she'll die."

Ida laughed. "Seriously? And you expect us to believe that?"

Alex looked up and Ida stiffened at her look.

"You don't believe in a God or devil. You were brought up Neoclassical Congregational because of your mom, and you always refer to her as 'your old mum'. Scooti is twenty years old and if she goes to give Toby his expenditure, she will get sucked out by a breach in the base and die. I'm being blunt, but if you let her go, then that's what will happen."

"H-How..." Ida shook herself out of her thoughts and brought a hand to her head. "A-Alright. I don't want to believe it, but… I suppose it won't hurt to listen to that."

"Anything else we should know about?" Jefferson scoffed, obviously not convinced in the slightest.

"I'm sure she forgives you." Alex breathed out, starting to close her eyes again as Jefferson looked at her in confusion.

"What?"

"You're… wife."

His eyes widened in shock and he stood up, but Alex had slipped back into a trance. "Where did she hear about that?"

The Doctor shook his head with a sigh as Rose gave the man a look.

"She's psychic. Weren't you listening?"

"But that's… that's impossible."

"So is orbiting a black hole, but here we are." Rose countered and Ida turned to him.

"Jefferson, sign off the airlock seals for me."

"Ah… right." He muttered, turning and heading out as Ida left with Scooti as well.

Rose turned to the Doctor then, looking up at the black hole. "I've seen films and things, yeah. They say black holes are like gateways to another universe."

"Not that one. It just eats." He responded.

"Long way from home."

The Doctor lifted a hand and pointed upward, distracting her from her homesickness. "Go that way, turn right. Keep going for, um, about, um, five hundred years and you'll reach Earth."

Rose pulled out her phone and checked it. "No signal. That's the first time we've gone out of range. Mind you, even if I could... what would I tell her? Do you think Alex was right? That everything will be okay and we'll get back to the Tardis?"

The Doctor shrugged, eyeing the red-head suspiciously. "You're supposed to tell _me_ that."

"She's trying." Rose argued, seeing that distrust towards Alex popping up in the Doctor again. "She helped me out with the Wire, remember? She didn't have to, but she did. And..." Rose looked over at Alex with a small smile. "And if she says everything will be alright, then I think it will."

The Doctor pouted. "I'm starting to think you like her more than me."

Rose smirked. "Maybe I do. I mean, you start acting all clever and spout off everything like I know what you're saying. Alex at least makes it simple. Not to mention you running off all the time and getting angry and—"

"Alright, alright. I'll _try_ to be nicer to you and Alex. And I'll do what I can to explain things better."

Rose grinned. "About time."

He playfully pushed her a bit and they chuckled before Rose's phone went off. The two looked at it in shock, confused as to how it could be ringing when there's no signal and Rose answered it just as Alex whimpered slightly.

"_He is awake._"

Rose threw the phone and the Doctor eyed her warily.

"Rose?"

"I-It said something." She stuttered out, rather scared. "It said what Alex did back in the corridor. It said—"

"He is awake."

The two jumped and turned to Alex who had her head in her hands.

"Alex?" The Doctor spoke softly, trying to check and see if she was still in control of herself.

She waved a hand. "Don't worry. I'm all here, for now." She lifted her head with a soft sigh and turned to Rose. "That's what it said, yeah?"

She slowly nodded as the Doctor went and picked up the phone.

"But _how_? You said it had no signal… Unless..."

He immediately bolted and just as he reached the door, Rose cleared her throat and he flinched, turning to her and Alex as they got up and gave him looks.

"Right. No running off." He said with a small smile and Alex rolled her eyes as they both followed him down to Ood Habitation.

* * *

"Evening." The Doctor chirped, jumping over the last couple of steps to the Ood Habitation and I rolled my eyes at his childishness as Rose smiled and greeted Danny.

"Only us."

"The mysterious trio." He smiled pleasantly. "How are you, then? Settling in?"

"Yeah, sorry, straight to business." The Doctor said quickly, looking down over the railing at the Ood as I leaned on the railing beside him with a sad frown. "The Ood. How do they communicate? I mean, with each other."

"Oh, just empaths." Danny explained. "There's a low level telepathic field connecting them. Not that that does them much good. They're basically a herd race. Like cattle."

I scoffed, glaring at Danny. "They're _nothing_ like cattle." I turned back to the Ood. "No one ever asks about the Ood..."

There was a beat of silence before the Doctor went on.

"This telepathic field. Can it pick up messages?"

"Because I was having dinner." Rose explained. "And one of the Ood said something, well, odd."

"Hm, an odd Ood." Danny joked.

Rose was all seriousness. "And then I got something else on my, uh communicator thing."

I snorted and she sent me a dirty look as Danny tried to clarify as he checked his clipboard.

"Oh, be fair. We've got whole star systems burning up around us. There's all sorts of stray transmissions. Probably nothing. Look, if there was something wrong, it would show. We monitor the telepathic field. It's the only way to look after them. They're so stu—"

"If you call them stupid, I _swear_ I will snap your neck like a twig." I snapped, eyes blazing with anger and Danny gulped, nodding.

"Monitor the field. That's this thing?" The Doctor asked, trying to ease some of the tension as he gestured to the screen showing the number five.

"Yeah, but like I said, it's low level telepathy. They only register basic five."

I winced as a sharp pain went through my head and the numbers started to climb.

"Well, that's not basic five. Ten, twenty. They've gone up to basic thirty." The Doctor said as Rose rushed to my side while I gripped my head with a hiss of pain.

"Doctor!"

* * *

He turned and frowned as Alex scrunched her face in pain and all the Ood below turned their heads towards them; Danny freaking out.

"But they can't..."

"Doctor, the Ood." Rose pointed out, before asking the fated question as she rubbed circles on Alex's back in a vain attempt to help. "What does basic thirty mean?"

"Well, it means that they're shouting. _Screaming_ inside their heads." Danny answered as the Doctor narrowed his eyes.

"Or something's shouting at them."

"But where is it coming from? What is it saying?" Danny turned to Rose and Alex. "What did it say to you two?"

"Something about the beast in the pit." Rose muttered.

"What about your communicator? What did that say?"

"'He is awake'." Rose quoted and the Ood and Alex all spoke at once.

"And you will worship him."

"What the hell..." Danny breathed out as Alex grit her teeth tightly and clenched her eyes shut.

"He is awake." The Doctor repeated, and the Ood and Alex spoke again.

"And you will worship him."

"Worship who?" The Doctor asked, eyeing the Ood and glancing briefly at Alex as a bit of blood dribbled down her chin as she bit her lip. "Who's talking to you? Who is it?"

He turned to Alex then, hoping to get better answers from her.

"Alex, tell me who it is. Who's shouting at you?"

She sucked in a shaky breath, trying desperately to get words out as she fought with whatever was in her head.

"I-It's… H-H-He's… S-So dark."

"Alex, come on. Don't make me have to get in your head to find out." He said, holding onto her face in case he would have to do just that.

"T-The beast." She hissed through clenched teeth. "The b-beast is… t-the d-devil. I-It's the devil."

"You're kidding..." Rose breathed out in shock, just before the base shook violently and the computer announced an emergency hull breach.

"Which section?!" Danny demanded from his communicator and Alex's eyes widened in a panic.

"S-Scooti."

The Doctor realized that this was what Alex had been talking about before and he hoped that the crew had listened to her advice and kept Scooti out of it.

* * *

"_Everyone, evacuate eleven to thirteen. We've got a breach. The base is open. Repeat, the base is open!_" Zach shouted in return and the Doctor pulled me up and helped me run with the group back to the control room.

We met up with Jefferson along the way and stopped to pick up a stunned Toby as well as the other crew members before they managed to seal the breach; my eyes scanning in search of Scooti as the Doctor demanded to know what happened.

"Everyone all right? What happened? What was it?"

"Hull breach." Jefferson panted out. "We were open to the elements. Another couple of minutes and we'd have been inspecting that black hole at close quarters."

"That wasn't a quake. What caused it?" The Doctor asked as I shifted away from Toby warily and turned to Ida.

"W-Where's Scooti?"

Ida opened her mouth, before a voice called out behind us.

"Right here!"

Upon seeing Scooti winded, but alright, I hurried over and grabbed her in a tight hug; surprising her and the rest of the group as I shook.

"Thank God… T-Thank God, you're alright."

She lightly patted my back, sounding a bit confused. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Really."

Everything started to spin then and I felt myself falling before I was grabbed by the Doctor to keep from face-planting to the ground.

"Whoops! Shouldn't be doing that then, Alex." He lightly scolded, setting me down on the floor as I panted breathlessly and tried to focus on him; though his image kept shifting and doubling up. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

I furrowed my brows and tried to recall the number as his hand went from two fingers to four to six and back again.

"F-Four?" I muttered and he frowned a bit as Zach's voice came over the intercom.

"_We've lost sections eleven to thirteen. Everyone alright?_"

"We've got everyone here." Jefferson said, though I got the feeling he was eyeing me along with the rest of the crew.

"_How about that, eh?_" Zach said. "_We survived._"

"Come on." Jefferson said, moving past us. "I don't often say this, but I think we could all use a drink."

"Rose, keep an eye on Alex for a second." The Doctor said, turning to Toby. "Don't let her fall asleep."

Rose sat beside me and allowed me to lean on her as I tried to take deep breaths, and the Doctor asked Toby what happened.

"I don't... I-I don't know. I was working and then I can't remember. All that noise… The room was falling apart. There was no air."

"Come on, up you get." Rose said, moving over to help him up as the Doctor returned to my side and lifted me into his arms. "Come and have some protein one."

"Oh, you've gone native." He joked to Rose.

"Oi, don't knock it. It's nice protein one with just a..." She clicked her tongue. "...dash of three."

The Doctor glanced down at me then. "And don't get used to this. I'd honestly rather just tap into your head and seal that thing up for you."

"You c-can't." I said, allowing my head to rest against his chest so that familiar four beat rhythm of his hearts could calm me down; Rose-Tenth or not.

He sighed. "So you keep saying."

He didn't push the issue though and I was grateful for that, though I didn't expect what he said next.

"Thank you."

I furrowed my brows, closing my eyes as I grumbled. "What for?"

"Saving her."

I smiled a little, opening my eyes again since he didn't want me sleeping. "Had to try."

As we walked towards Habitation three for drinks, the base suddenly grew quiet and Ida stopped.

"It's stopped."

"What was that?" Rose asked. "What was it?"

"The drill." The Doctor said.

"We've stopped drilling." Ida explained. "We've made it. Point Zero."

We changed direction to head towards the drilling area and once there, Zach sent the Ood to be confined as Ida pulled on a spacesuit and worked with the drilling transport.

"Capsule established. All systems functioning. The mineshaft is go. Bring systems online now." She said over the noise.

The Doctor, of course, couldn't pass up an opportunity like this and once I'd been able to stay on my feet, he hurried off to don his own spacesuit and confronted Zach.

"Reporting as a volunteer for the expeditionary force."

"Doctor, this is breaking _every_ single protocol." Zach argued. "We don't even know who you are."

"Yeah, but you trust me, don't you? And you can't let Ida go down there on her own. Go on. Look me in the eye. Yes, you do, I can see it. Trust."

"I should be going down." Zach frowned and I spoke up.

"Captain's are in charge. Can't leave everyone here on their own."

Zach eyed me and turned back to the Doctor. "Fine. Positions!" He called out. "We're going down in two. Everyone, positions!"

The Doctor though moved past him and smiled over at Rose and I. "Oxygen, nitro balance, gravity. It's been ages since I wore one of these."

I snickered. "Brings out your eyes."

"Why thank you." He beamed as I struggled not to laugh and Rose tugged on his spacesuit.

"I want this spacesuit back in one piece, you got that?"

"Yes, sir." The Doctor said as he put on his helmet.

"It's funny, because people back home think that space travel's going to be all whizzing around and teleports and anti gravity, but it's not, is it? It's tough."

"I'll see you later."

"Not if I see you first." She chuckled, before kissing the visor on his helmet and making my stomach churn in jealousy as the Doctor smiled at her before entering the capsule.

"Oi." I stopped him in the door and bopped him on the head, making him frown in annoyance until I spoke. "Be careful."

"Always am." He replied, but I held onto his sleeve.

"Take the jump, there's an oxygen pocket at the bottom and Sexy will be waiting for you." I smiled a bit. "And believe in Rose."

He raised a brow, but didn't get a chance to say anything before Ida pushed him into the capsule and Jefferson closed it behind them; saluting. Rose gave the Doctor a wave and he waved back before his eyes landed on me and I gave him a nervous smile, mouthing the words 'Stay safe', to which he nodded and the capsule headed down. Rose kept hold of the radio to the Doctor, eyeing their descent to make sure nothing went wrong and I placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine. Promise."

She nodded, though still looked worried and spoke into the radio as the Doctor and ida went beyond the oxygen field. "Don't forget to breathe. Breathing's good."

"_Rose, stay off the comm._" Zach complained, but she shook her head.

"No chance."

I winced then, just before the base shook and Rose called out to the Doctor in worry, along with Zach.

"Doctor? Doctor, are you alright?"

"_Ida, report to me. Doctor!_"

Finally, they responded.

"_It's alright. We made it. Heading out of the capsule now._" The Doctor reported as Rose let out a sigh of relief.

"What's it like down there?"

"_It's hard to tell. Some sort of cave. Cavern. It's _massive_._" The Doctor replied, before Ida spoke up.

"_Well, this should help. Gravity globe._"

There was a moment of silence before her gasp came over the comm.

"_That's_…_ That's… my God, that's beautiful._"

"_Rose, you can tell Toby... we've found his civilization._" The Doctor called out and Rose turned to Toby with a smile.

"Oi, Toby. Sounds like you've got plenty of work."

"Good, good." He replied, not looking too excited as he eyed his hands and I kept my distance. "Good."

Rose glanced at me then in worry. "You alright?"

I nodded. "For now."

"_Concentrate now, people._" Zach said. "_Keep on mission. Ida, what about the power source?_"

"_We're close. Energy signature indicates north north west. Are you getting pictures up there?_"

"_There's too much interference. We're in your hands._"

"_Well, we've come this far. There's no turning back._" Ida said.

"_Oh, did you have to?_" The Doctor whined. "_No turning back? That's almost as bad as 'nothing can possibly go wrong', or 'this is going to be the best Christmas Walford's ever had'._"

"_Are you finished?_"

"_Yeah. Finished._"

I snickered, feeling my mood pick up a little at their bantering, up until Danny called in.

"_Captain, sir. There's something happening with the Ood._"

"_What are they doing?_" Zach asked, exasperated.

"_They're staring at me. I've told them to stop, but they won't._"

"It's starting." I murmured, drawing Rose's attention to me as the two on the comm continued their conversation.

"_Danny, you're a big boy. I think you can take being stared at._"

"_But the telepathic field, sir. It's at basic one hundred. I've checked. There isn't any fault. It's definitely one hundred._"

"_But that's impossible._"

"What's basic one hundred?" Rose asked and I winced, grinding my knuckles against my temples as the barriers in my head began to fall once more and I tried to keep up with them.

"_They should be dead._"

"Basic one hundred is brain death." Jefferson restated as the aching in my head grew worse and I gripped the railing beside me tightly with one hand; the other holding my head as I clenched my eyes shut.

"_But they're safe. They're not actually moving?_" Zach asked over the comm.

"_No, sir._"

"_Keep watching them. And you, Jefferson? Keep a guard on the Ood._"

"At arms!" Jefferson called out and Rose turned to him in shock.

"You can't fire a gun in here. What if you hit a wall?"

"I'm firing stock fifteen. It only impacts upon organics. Keep watch. Guard them." He said, gesturing to the few Ood in the room with us as the Doctor called out.

"_Everything alright up there?_"

"Yeah, yeah." Rose said, followed by Zach.

"_It's fine._"

"_Great._" Danny also said.

Rose noticed that I was having a rough time then and placed a hand on my back softly as I panted and shivered; feeling as though the room was superheated and I was freezing cold.

"You alright?"

"Not… really." I grunted, wincing in pain as Rose lightly touched my forehead.

"My God… You're burning up!"

I scoffed. "Oh really? I didn't notice."

Her eyes widened then. "Wait. They said basic one hundred. What does that mean for you?"

I peered up at her. "Remember when the Ood were at basic thirty and what the Doctor said then?"

"Something about them screaming, right?"

I nodded, cringing again as a spike of pain ripped through my head. "Y-Yeah. That's me. Right now."

"But… W-What do we do?"

"Nothing you _can_ do." I said, taking in a deep stuttering breath. "I've just got to work through it. Keep putting up mental blocks as quickly and effectively as I can, and hope it doesn't get through any more than it already has."

"But the Doctor—"

"Can't find out." I cut her off, gazing at her seriously as I battled with the pain in my head. "Even if you told him, there's nothing he can do when he's not up here. And if he _does_ come back up here, then we'll _all_ die."

I glanced around to make sure no one was paying us any mind and went on.

"I'll be fine, Rose. Believe it or not, but this is nothing to me." I cringed. "Well, more than nothing, but less than other things I've had to deal with."

"What do you mean?"

I went to explain, but the Doctor's voice interrupted.

"_We've found something._"

"You'll find out later, Rose. Promise." I said, making her nod in begrudging acceptance before turning back to the comm.

"_It looks like metal. Like some sort of seal. I've got a nasty feeling the word might be trapdoor. Not a good word, trapdoor. Never met a trapdoor I liked._" The Doctor rambled, Ida taking over from there.

"_The edge is covered with those symbols._"

"_Do you think it opens?_" Zach asked.

"_That's what trapdoors tend to do._"

"Snarky git." I scoffed, turning to eye Toby suspiciously; knowing what was going to happen soon.

"_Trapdoor doesn't do it justice._" Ida mused. "_It's massive, Zach. About thirty feet in diameter._"

"_Any way of opening it?_"

"_I don't know. I can't see any sort of mechanism._"

"_I suppose that's the writing. It'll tell us what to do. The letters that defy translation._" The Doctor explained and Zach called in.

"_Toby, did you get anywhere with decoding it?_"

Rose turned to Toby. "Toby, they need to know that lettering. Does it make any sort of sense?"

"I know what it says." Toby muttered, head bowed.

"Then tell them."

Jefferson frowned in confusion though as I pushed off the railing and grabbed Rose by the upper arm. "When did you work that out?"

"It doesn't matter, just tell them."

"Rose, we need get away from him."

"What? What for?"

"Rose, for once in your life, believe me when I say that we need to run. And _now_."

She frowned, before turning to see Toby as he stood; covered in lettering and with bright red eyes; a smirk on his face.

"These are the words of the Beast. And he has woken. He is the heart that beats in the darkness. He is the blood that will never cease. And now—"

"He will rise." We both said in unison, his eyes locking onto me and making me cry out as the pain in my head spiked ten fold.

"Officer, stand down." Jefferson ordered as Rose tried to help me stand; my legs feeling like jelly as the thing tore through the barriers in my mind twice as fast as before.

Rose went to grab the comm, but I stopped her, speaking in a breathy whisper.

"N-No use… Comm's down… W-We need to… _go_."

I let out a whimper of pain as Toby spoke again.

"Mister Jefferson. Tell me, sir. Did your wife ever forgive you?"

"I don't know what you mean." Jefferson said, though his expression said he did.

"Let me tell you a secret. She never did."

"Shut up." I breathed out, forcing myself to glare heatedly at Toby as he turned to me with a frown. "I know what you are… and all you're doing… is preying on people's weaknesses… but it's not gonna work… you'll die here, in the end."

I managed to smirk, but he smirked back in return.

"You act so confident, Alexander."

I scowled. "Don't you call me that name."

"Does it matter?" He asked, taking a step forward despite Jefferson's gun being aimed at him. "Either way, he'll still leave you. And he will never forgive you for what you've done and what you will do. Your precious _Doctor_ will bring about your downfall, Seer. And you will be ripped apart in the cascade of darkness. _Alone_."

His words chilled me to the core, hearts skipping a beat in fear, though I tried to stay strong.

"He wouldn't do that."

"Then you do not know him as well as you think." Toby smirked, before I cried out in pain and doubled over; Rose having a hard time trying to keep me upright as a burning fire raged through my head.

I couldn't pay much attention after that moment, being practically dragged away as that deep voice echoed in my head and I struggled to remain in control of my body and mind; having a hard time keeping from repeating what the Ood were saying. After a second, I couldn't tell if I was having a hard time standing because of the planet shaking violently or because of what was going on in my head, but then I spoke clearly.

"The pit is open... he's free."

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"Every myth is based on a piece of truth."_

_ Rose frowned. "You're not helping."_

_Alex looked at her with a matching frown. "I'm not going to lie to you, Rose. Down there, in that pit, is a Beast. The very likes of which will make your skin crawl, because he sees everything. Every little piece of darkness that every person—human or alien—holds, and he manipulates those fears and worries and guilt until you become so weak, so useless, that you have no choice but to give in to him. Because he take those things and smears them in your face until you can't even fight back. And what could you possibly call that other than Satan? He is Satan… And you will worship him."_


	52. The Satan Pit

**Sorry about the late update! my work schedule is crazy this week. but anyway, i hope you all enjoy this chapter ^^ please review and lets me know what you think!**

* * *

"Open fire!"

Gunshots rang out as the guards shot at the Ood, Alex's expression crumpling as she shook her head and mouthed out an apology to the possessed Ood. Once they were down, Rose helped Alex lean against the wall on the ground as she tried to put up her mental barriers, and Rose hurried to the comm; scared to death.

"Doctor? Doctor, can you hear me? Doctor, Ida, are you there?"

There was no response except the computer announcing the door across from the group opening.

"_Open door twenty-five._"

Jefferson and the other guard raised their weapons, but Danny was the one who rushed it.

"It's me, but they're coming!" He closed the door behind him. "It's the Ood. They've gone mad."

"It's not their fault." Alex muttered softly, but no one heard as Jefferson tried to get a hold on what sort of situation they were in.

"How many of them?"

"_All_ of them! All fifty!"

"Danny, out of the way. Out of the way!"

"But they're armed! It's the interface device. I don't know how, but they're using it as a weapon."

Jefferson didn't listen and opened the door, only for an Ood to kill the guard he was with before Jefferson began shooting once more. Jefferson sealed the other doors that were around them before Zach called in for a report.

"_Jefferson, what's happening there?_"

"I've got very little ammunition, sir. How about you?"

"_All I've got is a bolt gun. With, uh, all of one bolt. I could take out a grand total of one Ood. Fat lot of good that is._"

"I recommend strategy nine."

"_Strategy nine._" Zach repeated. "_Agreed. Right, we need to get everyone together. Rose? What about Ida and the Doctor? Any word? And how's your other friend?_"

"I'm fine." Alex said, panting as sweat slid down her face to the collar of her shirt. "I-I think I've got it covered for a while longer."

Rose turned to her suddenly. "What about the Doctor? I can't get a reply and—"

Alex pointed to the comm. "Three, two, one..."

"_Still here._" The Doctor chirped out, Jefferson and Danny looking at Alex in shock.

"How'd you do that?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "She's kind of psychic. You get used to it. And Doctor? You could've said something, you stupid—"

There was a wave of feedback, making the comm screech as the Doctor complained about it.

"_Whoa, careful! Anyway, it's both of us. Me and Ida. Hello. But the seal opened up. It's gone. All we've got left is this chasm._"

"_How deep is it?_" Zach asked.

"_Can't tell. It looks like it goes down forever._"

"Drop a rock." Alex muttered tiredly, resting her eyes.

"_What's that then?_"

"Um, Alex said drop a rock." Rose repeated for him.

"_Oh! Of course! Simple physics equation! Hold on, give me a sec._"

There was a pause before he spoke up again.

"_Ah, right then. Problem. Never heard it hit the ground._"

"_So we _still_ don't know how deep it is._" Zach sighed.

"Sorry. Worth a shot." Alex breathed and Rose furrowed her brows.

"'The pit is open'. That's what the voice said."

"_But there's nothing, I mean, there's nothing coming out?_"

"_No, no. No sign of the Beast._" The Doctor replied.

"It said Satan." Rose went on.

"Come_ on, Rose. Keep it together._"

"Is there no such thing? Doctor… Doctor, tell me there's no such thing."

The Doctor didn't answer, but Alex spoke up, surprisingly.

"Every myth is based on a piece of truth."

Rose frowned. "You're not helping."

Alex looked at her with a matching frown. "I'm not going to lie to you, Rose. Down there, in that pit, is a Beast. The very likes of which will make your skin crawl, because he sees everything. Every little piece of darkness that every person—human or alien—holds, and he manipulates those fears and worries and guilt until you become so weak, so useless, that you have no choice but to give in to him. Because he take those things and smears them in your face until you can't even fight back. And what could you possibly call that other than Satan? He _is_ Satan… And you will worship him."

A smirk came over her face, making Rose take a half step back in fear as Jefferson raised his weapon at her, before she grunted in pain and doubled over with her hands gripping at her hair.

"G-Get out of my _head_. You are _not_ allowed in here. I won't _let_ you." She growled out, before she relaxed slightly and just sat there quivering.

Rose took a step towards her. "A-Alex? You alright?"

"S-Sorry." She said, taking in a deep breath and letting it out. "I-I wasn't paying attention. H-He forced himself through for a second."

"And how do _we_ know he won't posses you like the Ood?" Jefferson demanded and Alex lifted her head with sad eyes, hesitating.

Rose though, spotted something shine on Alex's chest and pointed it out. "Alex? What's that?"

Alex furrowed her brows before following Rose's finger down and seeing that her ring had come out of her shirt. Her eyes softened and she lifted it, brushing her fingers over the ring as a new-found determination came over her and she turned to Jefferson with a deadly serious expression.

"I won't allow it." She pushed herself up off the floor with a cringe, but managed to stand up on her own two feet. "I'd sooner die than let him take me. After all..." She clenched her ring as she smiled a little. "I'm getting married."

"W-What?" Rose stuttered out in shock as Alex tucked it away and smiled; though it looked a little forced.

"Can't disappoint him now, eh? He'd be awfully cross with me if I got possessed by the Beast before we got married. Can I borrow that?"

She gestured to the comm and Rose handed it over silently, still stunned by Alex's sudden confession.

"Hello, Doctor. Remember what I said before? Ignore that. I just realized now that if you listened to me right off, you'd probably die."

"_Well, thanks a lot._" He grumbled sarcastically.

"You're welcome." Alex said. "Oh, but you'll need to remember it later. Wait until you can use the cable to get partway down first."

"_What cable?_"

"Spoilers." She said, handing Rose back the comm before suddenly crying out and sinking down onto one knee.

"Alex!"

Alex held up a hand and stopped her. "S-Sorry. He's breaking through barriers again. Doesn't like me giving out hints, I suppose."

She chuckled a little, but everyone in the room could tell that she was scared and that bothered Rose, because Alex was _never_ scared. Not when facing Daleks or Cybermen or anything. So when you can physically _see_ that she's scared, then you _know_ it's not good.

"_Ida?_" Zach called out then. "_I recommend that you withdraw. Immediately._"

"_But we've come all this way._" Ida complained, but Zach went on, seriously.

"_Okay. That was an order. Withdraw. When that thing opened, the whole planet shifted. One more inch and we fall into the black hole. So this thing stops right now._"

"_But it's not much better up there with the Ood._" She continued to argue.

"_I'm initiating strategy nine, so I need the two of you back up top immediately, no arguing. Ida? Ida?_"

"She's not listening." Alex muttered, Rose turning to her in confusion.

"Why not?"

Alex peeked an eye open tiredly. "She's asking the Doctor what he thinks. He'll make the ultimate decision." She slowly shut her eye again with a soft sigh. "Though it won't matter in the end."

Rose went to question further, but the Doctor piped in on the comm.

"_Rose, we're coming back._"

Rose smiled, picking up the comm. "Best news I've heard all day."

Jefferson cocked his rifle then, pointing it at Toby.

"What are you doing?" Rose questioned him.

"He's infected. He brought that thing on board. You saw it."

"He's not infected." Alex drawled out, but Jefferson turned the gun on her.

"Oh, right. And I'm supposed to believe you? You're infected too."

Alex glared at him, but Rose stepped in front of her angrily.

"Are you going to start shooting your own people now? Is that what you're going to do? Is it?"

"If necessary." Jefferson said sternly.

"Well then, you'll have to shoot me _if necessary_, so what's it going to be?"

Jefferson lowered the gun as Rose knelt down by Toby.

"Look at his face. Whatever it was, it's gone. It passed into the Ood. You saw it happen. He's clean."

"No."

All eyes went to Alex as she pushed herself up with a wince.

"Alex?" Rose muttered softly, confused as to why she was arguing about this when it could very well get her and Toby killed.

"He's not clean. Neither of us are clean."

"I knew it." Jefferson said, lifting his rifle as Rose panicked.

"Alex! What are you saying?!"

She stood up and leaned heavily on the railing behind her as she pulled a hand through her hair. "It's not a virus or a sickness. It's that _thing_ trying to force it's way into our heads."

"What, like possession or something?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah, except it's big. Big enough to split itself among all the Ood and still have parts left over. It's sitting dormant in the back of his head." She pointed to Toby, who paled in shock. "And it's still in the back of mine trying to push through."

"Then I'll shoot you both and end it." Jefferson grunted, but Alex glared at him; anger flaring.

"Don't you _get it_? Shooting us won't _do_ anything. You'll have two dead people and that thing will go and find another host. It could take _anyone_. So, if I were you, _Jefferson_, I would put the gun down. Because I'm your best shot right now, of getting out of this mess alive."

"What about the Doctor?" Rose asked as Jefferson begrudgingly lowered his weapon.

Alex turned to her, exhausted. "He won't be able to help us down there. We're on our own."

She shook her head. "No. He said he was coming up."

Alex said nothing and Rose grew worried.

"Alex, tell me he's coming up."

"Rose, if you knew what the Doctor was capable of and you were that thing down there, would you actually _let_ him come up here to fix things?"

Rose said nothing, turning to the comm, scared for the Doctor as Ida asked to get them brought up. Alex put a hand on her shoulder.

"I promise, he'll be fine. But it will be a while before we see him, and I'm going to need your help, Rose."

She turned towards Alex. "My help?"

Alex though, turned her gaze away towards where the pod cable was. "He's coming back. Rose, I hate to say this, but I need you to help me, because this isn't going to be _easy_."

Her voice cracked as she fell to the ground; Rose grabbing her in worry as the lights went out and a voice rang out over the comms.

"_This is the darkness. This is _my_ domain. You little things that live in the light, clinging to your feeble suns which die in the—_" The voice said; the screen showing the Ood.

"_That's not the Ood._" Zach said, cutting the Beast off. "_Something's talking through them._"

Alex though, was biting her bottom lip to keep from repeating what the Beast was saying; Rose getting worried when blood slipped down her chin as she bit through it.

"_Only the darkness remains._"

"_This is Captain Zachary Cross Flane of Sanctuary Base Six, representing the Torchwood archive. You will identify yourself._" Zach demanded.

"_You know my name._"

"_What do you want?_"

"_You will die here. All of you. This planet it your grave._" It replied, but Alex scoffed through the pain in her head.

"You're u-underestimating us."

The Doctor spoke up then, confused. "_If you are the Beast, then answer me this. Which one, hm? 'Cause the universe has been busy since you've been gone. There's more religions than there are planets in the sky. The Archiphets, Orkology, Christianity, Pash pash, New Judaism, San Klah, Church of the Tin Vagabond. Which devil are you?_"

"_All of them._"

"_What? Then you're the truth behind the myth?_"

"_This one knows me as I know him. The killer of his own kind. And the Seer knows me as well. So far ahead of the universe. The Bringer of Death and Destruction. The Destroyer of Worlds._"

Alex flinched as her breathing grew more ragged and she began to quiver. Rose wasn't sure what that meant, but knew that now wasn't the time to question it.

"_How did you end up on this rock?_" The Doctor asked, after a pause.

"_The Disciples of the Light rose up against me and chained me in the pit for all eternity._"

"_When was this?_"

"_Before time._"

"_What does that mean?_"

"_Before time._" The Beast repeated.

"_What does 'before time' mean?_"

"_Before light and time and space and matter. Before the cataclysm. Before this universe was created._" It said, only confusing and frustrating the Doctor even more.

"_That's impossible. No life could have existed back then._"

"_Is that _your_ religion?_" The Beast asked, mockingly, almost.

"_It's a belief._"

"_You know nothing. All of you, so small. The Captain, so scared of command. The soldier, haunted by the eyes of his wife. The scientist, still running from Daddy. The little boy who lied. The virgin. And the lost girl, so far away from home. The valiant child who will die in battle so very soon._"

"Doctor, what does that mean?" Rose asked, still holding a shaking Alex, though her own fear began to settle in now too.

"_Rose, don't listen._" The Doctor told her.

"What does it mean?"

The Beast replied instead. "_You will die and I will live._"

The image on the screen flickered into a large red skinned, horned beast that roared loudly, making the group jump away from the screen.

"What the hell was that?" Danny asked in a shaky voice.

"I had that thing inside my head." Toby replied.

Rose though, was more worried about what the Beast had said. "Doctor, what did it mean?"

Everyone began panicking, talking all at once as Alex curled up further on the floor in a ball, whimpering as the tensions ran high and it became even harder for her to stay in control with all their emotions hitting her senses all at once. The Doctor attempted to shut them up, but no one listened, until he caused feedback to come from the comms.

"_You want voices in the dark, then listen to mine. That this is playing on very basic fears. Darkness, childhood nightmares, all that stuff._"

"But that's how the devil works." Danny muttered.

"_Or a good psychologist._" The Doctor countered as Ida piped in.

"_Yeah, but how did it know about my father?_"

The Doctor didn't really have an answer for her. "_Okay, but what makes his version of the truth any better than mine, hm? 'Cause I'll tell you what I can see. Humans. _Brilliant_ humans. Humans who travel all the way across space, flying in a tiny little rocket, right into the orbit of a black hole just for the sake of discovery. That's amazing! Do you hear me? Amazing, all of you. The Captain, his officer, his elders, his juniors, his friends. All with one advantage. The Beast is alone. We are not. If we can use that to fight against him—_"

Alex grabbed the comm then, cutting him off. "Doctor, run! Get out of the pod! The cable is going to—"

There was a loud bang as the cable broke, falling into the shaft. Immediately, Rose went to the comm.

"Doctor, we lost the cable! Doctor, are you alright?! Doctor!"

"_Comms are down._" Zach announced as Rose continued to try. "_I've still got life signs, but we've lost the capsule._ _There's no way out. They're stuck down there._"

Rose looked around in shock. "But we've got to bring them back."

"They're ten miles down. We haven't got another ten miles of cable."

"Rose."

Rose turned to Alex with a wince, she looked worse than before with her hair sticking to her face, skin a deathly shade of white, and red rimmed eyes.

"He'll be okay. T-They both will. Promise. A-An Alexander Holmes promise."

Jefferson scowled down at her. "Promises won't do anything about getting us out of here."

Rose shook her head. "No. Alex doesn't make promises she can't keep. She knows what's going to happen and if she says the Doctor will be okay, then..." Rose looked down at Alex as she helped her sit up carefully, turning back to Jefferson with a stern look. "...Then I'll trust her on that with every fiber of my being."

Jefferson wanted to argue, but Rose had this expression that he just couldn't argue against. It wasn't as though he didn't like Alex. She just unnerved him. Before, she had mentioned his wife and that had put him on edge, even more so when this devil thing mentioned it and she got possessed along with the Ood and Toby. For all he knew, she _was_ that Beast down there. It made sense to him if she was. They didn't start having problems until her and these other two showed up, and she knew things that no one else but the Beast knew. But then he'd look at her and how hard she was trying to fight this thing taking over her mind and he wondered if, perhaps, he was wrong. She only seemed to be trying to help them, after all, so he begrudgingly stayed quiet and chose to lighten up a bit. Though he would remain on alert in case something happened and she got possessed again. Loud banging knocked him out of his thoughts and he called up Zach on his comm.

"Captain? Situation report."

"..._It's the Ood. They're cutting through the door bolts. They're breaking in._"

"Yeah. It's the same on door 25." Jefferson replied, unease growing in his stomach.

"How long's that going to take?" Rose asked, looking away from Alex, who leaned on her shoulder tiredly.

"Well, it's only a basic frame. It should take ten minutes."

There was a bang and Jefferson frowned.

"Eight."

"_I've got a security frame. It might last a bit longer, but that doesn't help you._" Zach muttered, before Rose cut in.

"Right. So we need to stop them, or get out, or both."

"I'll take both, yeah?" Danny said, mockingly. "But how?"

"Alex?" Rose turned to the red-head, who shook her head slightly as Rose got up.

"C-Can't. I-I need to focus on barriers. Sorry, but you need to think, Rose." Alex said, managing a small smirk as Rose frowned.

"Oh, haha. So funny." She thought for a second as Alex let out a long breath and shut her eyes to put up more mental barriers.

"Alright then. You heard the Doctor." Rose said confidently, feeling nice being in charge for once. "Why do you think that thing cut him off? 'Cause he was making sense. He was telling you to think your way out of this. Come on! For starters, we need some lights. There's got to be some sort of power somewhere."

"_There's nothing I can do. Some Captain, stuck in here, pressing buttons._" Zach said angrily.

"That's what the Doctor meant. Press the right buttons."

"_They've gutted the generators..._" He trailed off then, an idea coming to mind. "_But the rocket's got an independent supply. If I could reroute that... Mister Jefferson? Open the bypass conduits. Override the safety._"

"Opening bypass conduits, sir." Jefferson said, seeing what he was thinking and smiling a bit.

"_Channeling rocket feed in three, two, one. Power._"

The lights came back on and the generator started up as Rose clapped.

"There we go."

"Let there be light!" Danny smiled, actually seeing some hope.

"What about that strategy nine thing?" Rose asked, a hand at her mouth as nervousness creeped up on her.

"Not enough power. It needs a hundred percent." Jefferson said.

"All right, we need a way out. Zach, Mister Jefferson, you start working on that. Toby, what about you?"

"I'm not a soldier. I can't do anything." Toby snapped, getting up, but Rose stopped him.

"No, you're the archeologist. What do you know about the pit?"

"W-Well, nothing. We can't even translate the language."

"Right." Rose said, turning to go, but Toby stopped her.

"H-H-Hold on. Maybe."

"What is it?"

"S-Since that thing was inside my head, it's like the letters made more sense." He admitted, not too pleased about it.

"Well, get to work. Anything you can translate, just anything. As for you, Danny boy." Rose turned to the other crew member. "You're in charge of the Ood. Any way of stopping them?"

"Well, I don't know."

Rose grabbed his jacket sleeve and pulled him away from the railing he was leaning on. "Then find out. The sooner we get control of the Base, the sooner we can get the Doctor out. Now get going. Shift."

She pat him on the back and turned to Scooti. "Scooti, can you do me a big favor."

"Sure thing." Scooti smiled and Rose gave Alex a small glance.

"Could you keep an eye on Alex? Let me know when she's done with… whatever she's doing and see about bringing her temperature down? She felt a bit warm."

Scooti nodded. "On it."

* * *

"We've got this cable. We might as well use it." Ida said to the Doctor, who smacked himself in the face.

"Ooh! I am thick! Mr. Thickety-Thick-Thickness!"

"What?" Ida asked in confusion, not sure where he was going with this.

"The cable! Alex said that I couldn't do anything until we got the cable to use!"

Ida furrowed her brows. "What if it doesn't reach the bottom? I understand abseiling into the pit. It's the only thing we can do. Even if it's the last thing we'll ever achieve."

"I'll get back." The Doctor said seriously. "Rose is up there." He smiled then. "Besides! Alex said I needed to 'take the jump', so I should be able to survive the fall once I take the cable as far down as it will go."

"'Should'?" Ida questioned and the Doctor frowned.

Despite Rose's previous words, he did _not_ trust Alex's predictions one hundred percent. Though he _did _doubt she'd allow him to die, that didn't mean he didn't have his doubts. What option did he have though? Rose was still up there and with Alex dealing with this Beast trying to get into her head, the Doctor didn't know how useful she'd be. She might not be able to get them out of this mess. She might not be able to protect Rose. The Doctor frowned at the thought, remembering what happened back with Bad Wolf and how Alex just stood by and watched as Rose risked her life to save them all. His hands fisted at his side, but he took a deep breath and relaxed. _That's neither here, nor there. What matters right now, is getting down there and stopping this thing._

"Well, better get started."

* * *

"How's she doing?" Rose asked, kneeling down in front of Alex as she panted and Scooti wiped some sweat from her forehead.

"Not so good." Scooti said sadly. "I can't get her temperature down."

Alex wearily peered an eye open. "S-Sorry. Not much help this time r-round, am I?"

Rose gave her a small smile, patting her leg. "That's alright, Alex. Just let us know if there's something important we need to know, yeah?"

Alex nodded, shivering for a second before Scooti allowed her to rest her head on her shoulder. Rose gave her one last concerned look, before getting up and seeing how Danny was doing. She jumped though when there was a bang and yet another bolt on the door was cut by the Ood.

"There's all sorts of viruses that could stop the Ood." Danny said, drawing her attention back to him as he shook his head. "Trouble is, we haven't got them on board."

"Well, that's handy, listing all the things we haven't got. We haven't got a swimming pool either. Or a Tesco's." Rose joked lightly, before Danny's mouth dropped open.

"Oh, my God. It says yes. I can do it." He went on to explain. "Hypothetically, if you flip the monitor, broadcast a flare, it can disrupt the telepathy. Brainstorm!"

"What happens to the Ood?" Rose asked in worry, knowing how Alex had said it wasn't their fault and not really wanting to hurt the aliens; despite their odd tentacle mouths.

"It'll tank them spark out."

"There we are then." She smiled, patting him on the back. "Do it."

"No, but I'd have to transmit from the central monitor. We need to go to Ood Habitation."

There was another bang and a spark as another bolt was cut and Rose pat him on the back as she passed.

"That's what we'll do then. Mister Jefferson, _sir_. Any way out?"

"Just about. There's a network of maintenance tunnels running underneath the base. We should be able to gain access from here." He replied.

"Ventilation shafts." Rose smiled, knowing that the Doctor would be excited if he were there.

"Yeah, I appreciate the reference, but there's no ventilation. No air, in fact, at all. They were designed for machines, not life forms."

"_But_." Zach cut in as another bang rang out. "_I can manipulate the oxygen field from here. Create discrete pockets of atmosphere. If I control it manually, I can follow you through the network._"

"Right. So we go down and you make the air follow us by hand." Rose repeated, sounding a bit nervous.

"_You wanted me pressing buttons._"

"Yeah, I asked for it." Rose agreed begrudgingly. "Okay, we need to get to Ood Habitation. Work out a route."

"_I'll figure that out._" Zach offered and Danny spoke up then.

"I'll work on the virus from here. Shouldn't take long."

Rose bobbed her head, before turning to Alex. "Alex, you okay for a bit of a crawl?"

Alex nodded. "Y-Yeah. Just need a bit of help getting down there."

Rose pulled her up with Scooti's help and Jefferson went over to the grating and pulled it up just as the bangs from the door grew louder. The Ood were almost through.

"Danny!" Rose called out, trying to get him to hurry.

"Hold on! Just conforming."

"Dan, we got to go now! Come on!" Jefferson hollered.

"Yeah!" Danny shouted back, grabbing the computer chip and showing them it. "Put that in the monitor, and it's a bad time to be an Ood."

Rose draped an arm around his shoulders; the other around Alex. "We're coming back, have you go that? We're coming back to this room and we're getting the Doctor out."

"We w-won't need to." Alex muttered and Rose winced, but nodded as Jefferson began calling out the order.

"Okay. Danny, you go first, then you; Scooti. Miss Tyler next then To—"

"No." Alex interrupted.

"No?"

Alex brought a hand to her head. "Jefferson, you go next."

"I need to be in back to hold a defensive position."

Alex shook her head. "I'm sorry, but if you go in last, you will die."

He looked at her in shock but she went on.

"And I'm sorry to say that so bluntly, but now's not the time to argue." She cringed, knees buckling for a second and forcing Scooti to help her. "H-He's already upset I'm interfering. You go after Rose. Protect them from us. I'll go next and Toby will go last."

"What?! Why me?!"

Alex frowned at him. "Because we've both got this Beast trying to get into our heads, but you don't have the advanced mental capabilities I do, so you're more likely to get possessed next. This way, i-if need be, Jefferson can save the others from us if the worst happens and the Ood will be less likely to kill us since the Beast is trying to possess us."

"Sounds good enough to me." Jefferson said as another bolt was cut and everyone hurried into the tunnel. "Come on, quick as you can!"

"God, it stinks." Rose complained from inside, turning to Danny. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm laughing." He spoke to Zach then. "Which way do we go?"

"_Just go straight ahead. Keep going till I say so._"

The group began crawling through the tunnels and Rose glanced up to see Danny's backside.

"Not your best angle, Danny."

"Oi, stop it." He whined.

"Could be worse!" Alex called out from behind Jefferson, who frowned back at her.

"Shut it."

"_Straight on until you find junction seven point one. Keep breathing. I'm feeding you air. I've got you._" Zach replied.

The group soon stopped in front of a block, coughing and panting.

"We're at seven point one, sir." Danny said into his comm.

"_Okay, I've got you. I'm just aerating the next section._"

"Getting kind of cramped, sir. Can't you hurry up?"

"_I'm working on half power here._" Zach argued.

"Stop complaining." Jefferson grumbled, though Rose felt the need to pass it on.

"Mister Jefferson says stop complaining."

"I heard." Danny grumbled and Rose turned around.

"He heard."

"But the air's getting a bit thin." Toby whined from behind Alex, who panted heavily.

"He's complaining now." Rose drawled.

"I heard." Jefferson muttered.

Rose sniffed then, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Danny, is that you?"

"I'm not exactly happy."

"_I'm just moving the air._" Zach went on. "_I've got to oxygenate the next section. Now, keep calm or it's going to feel worse._"

"S-Says you." Alex huffed, sweat dripping off the end of her nose. "You're not trying to fight a Beast in your head at the same time."

There was a bang and Alex groaned.

"Here they come."

"What?" Danny asked, worried and Zach piped in.

"_The junction in Habitation Five's been opened. It must be the Ood. They're in the tunnels!_"

"Well, open the gate!" Danny panicked.

"_I've got to get the air in!_"

"Just open it, sir!"

"Where are they? Are they close?" Rose asked, looking back at Alex; though Zach responded first.

"_I don't know. I can't tell. I can't see them. The computer doesn't register Ood as proper life forms._"

"Who's idea was that?" Rose complained as Alex scoffed with a shake of her head.

"Y-You humans are so stupid sometimes."

"Oi, you're human too, you know." Rose frowned.

"Partially." Alex drawled, surprising the others in the tunnel.

"What?!"

She waved them off. "No time to explain. Ood aren't too far. A few minutes behind us at most."

"Open the gate!" Danny shouted and the gate finally opened; allowing them to hurry through.

"_Danny, turn left. Immediate left._"

"The Ood, sir. Can't you trap them? Cut off the air?" Jefferson asked.

"_Not without cutting off yours. Danny, turn right. Go right! Go fast, Dan. They're going to catch up._"

"I'll maintain a defensive position!" Jefferson called out, stopping, but Alex shoved him forward.

"Not a chance in hell, you dimwit. _Move_."

"But the Ood—"

"Won't kill _us_!" Alex argued, wincing as the pain in her head spiked again. "Now go!"

He frowned, but continued as Danny reached the next door.

"Eight point two. Open eight point two, Zach!" Danny shouted worriedly. "Open eight point two!"

"_I've got to aerate it!_"

"Open it now!"

"_I'm trying._"

Danny started hitting the gate, but Scooti shouted at him.

"Dan, stop it! That's not helping us!"

"Zach, get it open!" Toby wailed, looking behind him in fear.

The gate finally opened and everyone pushed through.

"That's it! Come on." Danny called out.

"_Danny, turn left and head for nine point two. That's the last one. Toby, you're lagging behind! Keep up or I won't be able to open the next gate._"

"Sorry! I'm trying!" He cried out, barely making it before the gate behind him closed.

"_Opening nine point two._" Zach called out, but the moment he did, they were faced with a group of Ood.

"Lower nine point two!" Rose shouted as they backed up.

"Back! Back! Back!"

"We can't go back! The gang point's sealed off. We're stuck." Toby said and Alex huffed.

"Up. R-Rose, the grating."

She looked up and quickly pushed through the grating, helping them out as the Ood pushed through. Toby was the last and took a moment; shushing the Ood as the Beast, before returning to normal and the others helped him up. A door opened behind them and they rushed forward to the next door.

"This way!"

"_Hurry up._" Zach called out as they reached Ood Habitation.

Scooti lowered Alex to the ground as she panted heavily and Danny did his best to hurry and put in the virus to stop the Ood.

"Get it in!" Rose shouted.

"Danny, look down."

"Transmit."

"I'm trying! I'm trying! I'm getting at it." Danny said in a panic, scrambling to put the computer chip in.

"Danny, get that thing transmitting!"

He finally got the chip in and the Ood held their heads in pain as Alex let out a shout of pain of her own and curled up into a ball on the floor.

"Rose!" Scooti called out, said girl hurrying over and holding Alex to her as tears slipped down Alex's face.

"I-It hurts. It hurts. T-They're crying a-and screaming."

"Sh, I know. I-I'm sorry, Alex. R-Really." She whispered to her, rocking her slightly before the Ood were down and Alex relaxed slightly; exhausted.

"You did it. We did it!" Rose grinned, handing Alex off to Scooti once she was alright and jumping up to hug Danny in relief.

"Yes!"

After the round of hugs came about, Rose picked up the comm and got a hold of Zach.

"Zach, we did it! The Ood are down. Now we've got to get the Doctor."

"_I'm on my way._"

"Rose." Alex breathed out. "We won't be able to get him. H-He gets _us_."

Rose frowned, worried. "But I have to try. I-I have to at least talk to him."

The group rushed off, hurrying to the drilling room where Rose grabbed a hold of the comm.

"Doctor, are you there? Doctor, Ida, can you hear me?"

Zach came down the stairs behind them. "The comms are still down. I can patch them through the central desk and boost the signal. Just give me a minute."

He worked on that, before they finally got a response.

"Doctor, are you there? Doctor, Ida, can you hear me? Are you there, Doctor?"

"_He's gone_." Ida replied.

"What do you mean, 'he's gone'?" Rose breathed out, looking at Alex in worry.

"_He fell into the pit. And I don't know how deep it is. Miles and miles and miles._"

"What do you mean, he fell?"

"_I couldn't stop him. He said your name and that… if he lived through this… he might trust you a bit more, Alex._"

"How s-sweet." Alex chuckled weakly as Zach took the comm to speak with Ida.

Rose though, moved over to Alex, gently brushing some hair from her sweaty forehead. "A-Are you sure he'll be alright?"

Alex nodded, putting a small smile on her face as she pat Rose's leg. "P-Promise. There's some sort of air pocket at the bottom. Lightens his fall and he'll b-be able to breathe. T-The Tardis is down there too. He'll help… all of us."

She cringed again, gripping her head tightly with a groan of pain.

"Alex? Alex, you alright?"

"S-Sorry. H-He's fighting back harder. W-With the Ood down, h-he can focus more on Toby and I." She looked up at Rose then, eyes more tired than Rose's ever seen them. "I don't want to say this, but w-we need to go."

Zach nodded, turning to the group as well. "She's right. Danny, Toby, Scooti, Jefferson, close down the feed links. Get the retrotropes online, then get to the rocket and strap yourselves in. We're leaving."

"But the Doctor—"

"Rose, if you trust him and if you trust me, then listen. He will be safe." Alex sighed softly, closing her eyes for a minute. "He would want you safe."

Rose frowned a little, but nodded. "O-Okay. Alright."

Zach pulled a hand through his hair. "It'll be a bit cramped, but we should have room for everyone. Scooti, I'm putting you in charge of making sure these two are strapped in safely."

"Sure thing." She nodded, helping Alex up along with Rose as they headed off towards the rocket. On the way though, Toby spotted something.

"Did that one just move?" He asked, pointing to an Ood and Danny grew worried.

"It's the telepathic field. It's reassuring itself."

"Move it." Zach demanded, trying to hurry them up. "Get to the rocket. Move!"

Alex though, spared the Ood a sorrowful glance. _I'm sorry. I'm so sorry._

* * *

The Doctor looked around, having woken up to find himself breathing and alive, just as Alex said. He kept his comm on, hoping that Ida might be able to hear what he had to say as he wandered the pit with a torch.

"The history of some big battle." He rattled off, looking at some cave paintings on the wall. "Man against Beast. I don't know if you're getting this, Ida. Hope so. Anyway, they defeated the Beast and imprisoned it."

He found two urns then, sitting on pedestals and compared them to the two on the wall.

"Or maybe that's the key." He touched one and it lit up itself and the other. "Or the gate, or the bars."

There was a low growl then and the Doctor turned to see a huge red skinned, horned Beast chained to the cave walls, looking at him and growling fiercely.

"I accept that you exist." The Doctor said, eyeing the creature and stepping closer. "I don't have to accept what you are, but you're physical existence, I'll give you that. I don't understand. I was expected down here. I was given a safe landing and air. You need me for something. What for?"

The Beast snarled at him, but said nothing.

"Have I got to, I don't know, beg an audience? Or is there a ritual? Some sort of incantation or summons or spell? All these things I don't believe in, are they real? Speak to me! Tell me!"

The Beast remained silent, watching him through dead eyes.

"You won't talk. _Or_ you can't... Oh, hold on, wait a minute, just let me. Oh! No. Yes! No. Think it through. You spoke before. I heard your voice. An intelligent voice. No, more than that. _Brilliant_. But, looking at you now, all I can see..." He stepped closer again, the Beast snarling. "...is the Beast. The animal. Just the body. You're just the body, the physical form. What's happened to your mind? Hmm? Where's it gone? Where's that intelligence?"

Realization dawned on him then.

"Oh, no."

He turned to the cave drawings, thinking it through.

"You're imprisoned, long time ago. Before the universe, after, sideways, in between, doesn't _matter_. The prison is _perfect_. It's absolute, it's eternal. Oh, _yes_! Open the prison, the gravity field collapses! This planet falls into the black hole! You escape, you die. Brilliant!" He shouted. "But that's just the body. The body is trapped, that's all. The devil is an idea. In all those civilizations, just an idea... But an idea is hard to kill. An idea could escape. The mind. The mind of the great Beast. The mind can escape! Oh, but that's it!" He shouted, rushing about as he understood. "You didn't give me air, your jailers did! They set this up all those years ago! They need me alive, because if you're escaping, then I've got to stop you."

The Beast roared angrily, not liking this apparently as the Doctor picked up a large rock and turned towards the urn.

"If I destroy your prison, your body is destroyed. Your mind with it."

He lifted the rock over his head, but the Beast made a noise, sounding almost amused and the Doctor dropped the rock.

"But then you're clever enough to use this whole system against me. If I destroy this planet, I destroy the gravity field. The rocket. The rocket loses protection and falls into the black hole... I have to sacrifice Rose."

The Beast laughed loudly, believing that it had won.

* * *

"It doesn't make sense." Rose muttered. "We escaped, but there's a thousand ways it could've killed us. It could have ripped out the air or—I don't know—burnt us or anything. But it let us go. Why?"

"I-It needs us." Alex panted, making Rose turn to her with furrowed brows as Alex squirmed uncomfortably.

"It wanted us to escape?" Rose questioned, catching Alex's eyes briefly as Toby turned to her with a snarl.

"Hey, Rose. Do us a favor. Shut up." Toby snipped in a harsh whisper, starting the countdown to when they'd be out of the reach of the black hole.

"R-Rose." Alex breathed out softly. "I c-can't do it. You n-need to. H-He's trying to stop me from telling you, b-but you need..."

She let out a quiet whimper and Rose grabbed her hand in worry.

"What, Alex? What is it?"

"G-Gun. W-W-Window." Alex breathed out, and Rose winced at how tightly her hand was gripping hers, before pulling away and watching Toby warily, because something was definitely wrong.

* * *

"So, that's the trap." The Doctor said, thinking about any other ways he could end this mess. "Or the test, or the final judgment, I don't know. But if I kill you, I kill her."

The Beast laughed, leaning in and growling at the Doctor mockingly.

"Except that implies, in this big grand scheme of Gods and Devils, that she's just a victim. But I've seen a lot of this universe. I've seen fake gods and bad gods and demi-gods and would-be gods, and out of all that... out of that whole pantheon, if I believe in one thing, just one thing... I believe in her." He said, picking up the rock and smashing the urn despite everything.

Because he trusted Rose and a part of him, trusted Alex too. Sure, Alex didn't say thing when she needed to and she often got them into a load of trouble that the Doctor often became furious about, but if there was anything the Doctor knew about Alex, it's that she never broke a promise.

"_...your Tardis is _fine_...She's fine, and you and Rose are going to be fine as well. I promise…"_

Not once when she has said that word has she been wrong or lied or anything. So when she said they'll be fine, with a promise, he believed her. He hated to admit it because of all the things she hasn't done and probably won't do in the future, but right here, right now, he believed that everyone would live.

"This is your freedom. Free to die. You're going into that black hole and I'm riding with you."

* * *

The rocket shook violently and Danny looked around in worry.

"What happened? What was that?"

"What's he doing?!" Toby shouted instead, drawing Rose's attention to him. "What is he doing?!"

"We've lost the funnel." Zach shouted, doing everything he could to stop them from being pulled back. "Gravity collapse!"

"What does that mean?" Rose asked, fear creeping into her veins.

"We can't escape. We're headed straight for the black hole!"

Rose turned to the window. "It's the planet. And it's moving. It's falling."

She sat back in her seat and then spotted Toby; covered in symbols as Alex clutched her head in agony.

"I am the rage!" Toby shouted and Rose tried to speak over him.

"It's Toby! Zach, do something!"

"And the bile and the ferocity!" Toby went on, before Alex called out.

"Rose!"

Rose blinked then, remembering what Alex said and she scrambled towards the gun as Toby breathed fire.

"I shall never die. The thought of me is forever. In the bleeding hearts of men, in their vanity and obsession and lust!" He ranted on, before Rose picked up the gun and glared at him.

"Go to hell."

She shot out the window and reached over, unfastening Toby's seat belt and allowing him to get sucked into space.

"Emergency shield!" Zach shouted and the broken window was sealed off. "We've still lost the gravity funnel. We can't escape the black hole!"

"But we stopped him." Rose argued. "That's what the Doctor would've done."

"Some victory. We're going in."

"Rose, something's wrong with Alex!" Scooti shouted and Rose turned to her in slight fear as Alex shouted out in pain and squirmed in her seat.

She clutched at her head and black marks like the ones on Toby started to show up, only to fade again and repeat the process.

"Alex! Alex, hang in there!" Rose shouted, not knowing what else she could do for her struggling friend. "D-Don't let him get you too! I-I don't want to loose you, Alex! Please!"

She was still having trouble though and Rose thought of something then upon spotting the chain around her neck.

"Your fiancé!" She shouted. "Alex, you can't let him get you! What about your fiancé?! He'll be furious!"

Alex peered an eye open, it changing from red back to blue as she panted and Rose reached over and pulled the ring out from her shirt to show her.

"Remember?! You said you had to keep yourself safe for him!"

Alex's gaze shifted to the ring and she took it from Rose and gripped it tightly in her fist; clenching her eyes shut and locking her jaw as she fought back against the Beast desperately. Soon, the marks faded from her skin and Rose couldn't help the small smile that came across her face until Danny shouted out.

"The planet's lost orbit! It's falling!"

"I'm sorry." Alex muttered then, drawing Rose's attention back to her in surprise to see tears slipping down her face as she cried softly. "I-I'm sorry I can't… I-I can't save you all."

Rose was confused as to who she was talking to, but fear settled quickly in her stomach as she wondered if the Doctor was in trouble. There was a beeping and the screen fizzled out.

"The planet's gone." Danny breathed out, turning to Rose with a sad look. "I'm sorry."

"Accelerate." Zach growled, growing frustrated when the rocket didn't do anything, and he gave up. "I did my best. But hey. The first human beings to fall inside a black hole. How about that? History."

Jefferson scowled. "I think history is the _last_ thing I'm worried about."

Suddenly though, the rocket stopped shaking and everyone looked around, stunned.

"What happened?" Rose asked, turning to Alex to find her completely unconscious and unable to answer her question.

"We're turning." Zach said in disbelief. "We're turning around. We're turning away!"

"_Sorry about the hijack, Captain_." A familiar voice said over the comm. "_This is the good ship Tardis. Now, first thing's first. Have you got a Rose Tyler and Alexander Holmes on board?_"

"I'm here!" Rose chirped, relieved. "It's me! Alex is too! Oh, my God. Where are you?"

"_I'm just towing you home. Gravity schmavity._" The Doctor joked. "_My people practically invented black holes. Well, in fact, they did._" He ranted. "_In a couple of minutes, we'll be nice and safe. Oh, and Captain? Can we do a swap? Say, if you give me Rose Tyler and Alex, I'll give you Ida Scott? How about that?_"

"She's alive!" Zach grinned.

"Yes. Thank god!" Danny cheered as Jefferson smiled and pat a cheerful Scooti on the leg.

"_Yeah, bit of oxygen starvation, but she should be alright. I couldn't save the Ood. I only had time for one trip. They went down with the planet._"

Rose's eyes widened in realization as she gave Alex a look. "That's who Alex was apologizing to." She turned to the others who gave the unconscious woman sad looks. "She kept saying she was sorry she couldn't save them."

"_She kept trying to tell us too._" The Doctor piped in sadly. "'_It's not the Ood's fault', remember?_"

The ship grew quiet before he piped in again.

"_Is she alright? I don't think I've ever heard her this quiet._"

"She's, um… unconscious." Rose muttered.

"_Ooh, best give her a full scan when she gets back then. Hopefully there's not too much damage._" He perked up then. "_Ah! Entering clear space. End of the line. Mission closed._"

* * *

The Tardis was soon parked inside the ship and he passed Ida along to Jefferson, who handed him Alex before giving him a salute.

"Let her know I appreciate what she did. Even if I didn't exactly show it."

The Doctor bobbed his head. "Will do. Mind sending Rose back here?"

He nodded with a small smirk. "She was having some trouble with the seat belt. Give her a moment."

The Doctor grinned, before carrying Alex into the med bay and lying her down; setting up the machines to do a full body scan before spotting something poking out of her shirt. He picked it up and glanced at it in surprise, the engagement ring sitting on his palm. He shook himself out of his daze, figuring that she'd have someone and that it shouldn't be so surprising, but there was this tiny ache in his chest that bothered him at the sight of the ring. Setting the feeling aside though, he replaced the ring and headed back out to greet Rose in the console room. Rose came in soon enough and rushed to him; the two hugging and spinning around before the Doctor set her down and changed into his suit before he went back to the comm.

"Zach? We'll be off now. Have a good trip home. And the next time you get curious about something… Oh, what's the point. You'll just go blundering in. The human race."

"_But Doctor, what did you find down there?_" Ida asked, making the Doctor's smile falter. "_That creature, what was it?_"

"I don't know." He admitted, though the words tasted sour on his tongue. "Never did decipher that writing. But that's good. Day I know everything? Might as well stop."

Rose though eyed him. "What do you think it was, really?"

"I think we beat it. That's good enough for me." The Doctor hummed.

"It said I was going to die in battle and that Alex was the Bringer of Death." Rose pushed though, and the Doctor gave her a stern look.

"Then it lied." He calmed down, putting back on his cheerful façade. "Right, onwards, upwards. Ida? See you again, maybe."

"_I hope so._"

"And thanks, boys!" Rose called out with a grin.

"_Hang on though, Doctor. Two things. Will she be alright? Alex, I mean. She saved our lives, after all._"

The Doctor took a deep breath. "Well, I'm not sure. She's exhausted herself mentally and physically and I won't really know until she wakes up and the scans are finished."

"_Give her our gratitude, would you? From the lot of us._"

The Doctor smiled a bit. "Will do."

"_And you never really said, Doctor. You three, who are you?_"

"Oh, the stuff of legend." He grinned over at Rose, pulling the lever for the Tardis and sending them into the Vortex.

Once they were comfortably adrift, he turned to Rose and tossed a thumb over his shoulder.

"I'm going to go back and check on Alex, is that alright?"

Rose nodded. "Fine by me. I need to shower anyway and get some sleep."

"Wake you up in eight hours?" The Doctor smiled, making Rose chuckle.

"Yeah, that's fine. Let me know how she is though, yeah?"

"Of course." He chirped, heading off to the med bay.

Alex was still sleeping, but the scanner said that she was probably going to wake up any minute. The Doctor decided to stick around until then and looked over the scans to see if there was anything off that shouldn't be. _Dehydration, low levels of iron and other nutrients. God, 117 lbs? Does she eat?_ He glanced at the woman before shaking his head and looking back at the papers. _I'll be sure to make her eat something when she gets up... What else?_ Physically, there wasn't much to worry about. Nothing a bit of food and water couldn't do. _And relaxing for a bit would probably do her wonders. She's wound tighter than a two dollar watch._ There was a shuffle and a groan then, and the Doctor peered over the scans to see Alex trying to sit up; a hand on her head and pain etched into her face. The Doctor quickly assisted her and eyed her in worry. He wasn't heartless, after all, and even he could sympathize with Alex and the pain she must of gone through while trying to fight the Beast.

"Whoa there. Easy does it."

Alex frowned and wearily looked over at him with a frown. "You're being nice… Why are you being nice?" She looked around. "Did I pop off again? Which Doctor are you?"

The Doctor raised a brow. "Um, this one. The only one."

She groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "No, no. Which _one_? Who's your companion?"

The Doctor frowned, not liking what Alex was implicating. "Rose. Always Rose. What makes you think it was anyone else?"

She tensed, before rolling her shoulders and rubbing at one of them; covering up the fact that she'd nearly let something slip. "Sorry. Head's a bit scrambled. I… I didn't pop off, did I? When are we?"

"You passed out in the rocket after leaving the impossible planet orbiting the black hole with the Beast in the pit." He rambled off, still eyeing her somewhat suspiciously. "I brought you on board and gave you a full scan, but I need to check your mind for any damages."

She let out a soft sigh and pulled her hand through her hair. "Right. Sorry, just let me make sure everything's sorted."

After a minute or so of silence and her frowning with her eyes closed, she opened them and turned to let her legs dangle off the end of her bed and face him; giving him a nod as permission for him to check her mind. He pulled his chair up in front of her and placed his fingers on her temples, making a face when he entered her mind.

"Ooh, definitely had some cowboys in here."

"Duh." She flinched. "Oi, watch it, spaceman. That's still sensitive."

"Sorry." He muttered with a frown of concentration. "I don't see any definite scarring, but you mind will be a bit tender, just like any other injury. I suggest keeping any and all mental contact on the low side. Don't push more than what you can handle. Wait..." He pressed further into her mind. "What's this? This scarring is—"

_Dun, dun, dun, dun._

"Don't touch that!" Alex suddenly blurted out and the Doctor was immediately shoved out of her head as she cringed with a hiss of pain and cradled her head in her hands. "D-Dammit. W-Why do you have to be so nosy."

The Doctor scowled. "What was that, Alex? That scar was _old_. Very old. And for it to be as large as it was and active with just a touch… And the sound..." His frown deepened. "How did you get that?"

She frowned, looking up at him with a hand over part of her face as she started to glow. "You'll find out eventually, Doctor."

He didn't look pleased at her cryptic answer, getting up since it seemed she'd be leaving soon anyway; turning away from her as he headed towards the door. "Make sure you eat something. The scans said you're underweight and dehydrated."

She snorted indignantly. "No kidding. Kind of hard to get anything done chasing after you."

Even he couldn't help the small smile that flickered across his face at that.

"And Doctor?"

"Hm."

She sighed softly. "What happened to the Ood..."

He stiffened slightly.

"It wasn't your fault. I just wanted you to know that and… they don't blame you."

He turned around at that, giving her a look. "But how did you—"

She simply smirked and tapped her temple, making the Doctor roll his eyes with an annoyed sigh as she popped off; finally understanding that maybe she wasn't all that bad.

* * *

**_Sneak Peak:_**

_He was right behind me now, I could feel it, and the ring of stones and wood around the town was just a few feet away. So, in a desperate attempt to save my skin, I dove forward and did a neat little roll before popping right back up into a standing position a little stunned._

_"Wow… Didn't think that'd actually work." I muttered, eyeing my arms for scrapes and seeing none._

_ The noise stopped though and I dared myself to look over my shoulder to see the cyborg standing there looking at me with his usual scowl on his face. I don't know what possessed me in that moment, but I waved at him._

_"H-Hello."_


	53. A Town Called Mercy

**Here's the next one. It's a bit early (5:30am, to be exact) but I'm staying up, getting my hair cut, then sleeping until I need to go to work, so I figured you'd all want this earlier instead of later ^^ hope you all enjoy it and let me know what you think! oh and fair warning to you all. Things do get a little heated in this one ;) I blame the hat.**

* * *

I winced, groaning softly as dust blew across my face and the heat of the sun beat down on my back. Upon opening my eyes, however, I panicked at the large eyes of a spiky lizard.

"Uwah!" I shouted, scrambling into a sitting position and floundering back onto my hands in a panic.

Not sensing my panic, the lizard just blinked and as I calmed down, I frowned at the thing.

"You, my little friend, are very rude to wake me up like that." I winced as my head ached and I brought my hand up to it. "I've already got a headache, you little twerp, so you scaring the living daylights out of me was _not_ appreciated."

It blinked again and I moved a bit closer, wiggling my finger in front of it.

"Actually, now that I look at you, you're rather cute, with your little spikes and yellow eyes and—"

I was promptly cut off as the lizard bit down on my finger.

"Ah! Let go! Not cute! You are _so_ not cute!"

I finally managed to get it off me and it scampered away as I got up and waved my fist at it. "Yeah! That's right! Go and hide under a rock!"

Breathing a bit hard in the afternoon heat, I tugged at my shirt to fan myself as I looked around and tried to figure out where I was this time. _Another desert. Lucky me. So either I somehow ended up back in Utah, or I'm in 'A Town Called Mercy'. Which shouldn't be too bad, a revengeful cyborg isn't _nearly_ as bad as what I dealt with on that stupid planet._ Just thinking about it gave me a headache and I rubbed at my temples before pulling my coat off, and pulling it up and over my head to protect me from the sun. I walked a little ways before I spotted the town I was looking for and quickly made a bolt for it. About halfway there though, the 'swishing' noise of a teleport started up behind me and I quickly started running for my life. _Come on, come on! Nearly there! I can't let him catch me!_ I mentally pushed myself, legs burning, sides aching, throat dry, and sweat practically pouring off me in buckets as I ran.

He was right behind me now, I could feel it, and the ring of stones and wood around the town was just a few feet away. So, in a desperate attempt to save my skin, I dove forward and did a neat little roll before popping right back up into a standing position a little stunned.

"Wow… Didn't think that'd actually work." I muttered, eyeing my arms for scrapes and seeing none.

The noise stopped though and I dared myself to look over my shoulder to see the cyborg standing there looking at me with his usual scowl on his face. I don't know what possessed me in that moment, but I waved at him.

"H-Hello."

He didn't say a word, just disappeared with his teleport and giving me a chance to close my eyes and relax as I let out a sigh; only for the loud cocking of a gun to interrupt my peace.

"Oh, _come on_!" I complained, rather loudly, trying to see through the sunlight and get a good look at the person behind the gun. "Can't I get a _little_ hospitality? I just ran a quarter of a mile in the desert at _noon_, mind you, and you have the nerve to point a gun at me?"

The man seemed a bit confused as I brushed myself off as best I could.

"Aw, and look! Just when I thought things couldn't get any better. I got my coat dirty. _Again._" I grumbled, turning to the man who had a gun pointed my way and I glared. "Put the gun down."

He immediately stiffened, his shotgun straightening. "No. I wanna know what you're doing here. Who are you?"

"Alexander Holmes. You can call me Alex." I replied, clearing my throat that was a little scratchy and dry from lack of water. "And I _really_ suggest you put that gun down."

"No. Not until I know what you're doing here." He said and I sighed, spotting the people from the town slowly trickling out of the buildings.

"Well, let's see. I was taking a nice stroll through the desert and got a bit lost. So, when I saw a town, I made a bolt for it. It's just my luck some weird looking guy started coming after me." I gave the man a look, playing innocent since I knew they were looking for an alien and I _was_ one. "So, you still gonna shoot me?"

The man seemed conflicted, but then there was a loud shout and all eyes went to the approaching man.

"Now, what's going on here?"

"Sheriff." The man aiming a gun at me said shakily. "This guy just crossed the border. He might be the alien doctor."

I leaned around the muzzle of the gun to look at Sheriff Isaac; having caught up on my reading as I walked earlier.

"Or, I might not. Do I look very doctor-ly to you?" I asked, raising a brow.

"Put the gun down, Jacob." Isaac ordered.

'Jacob' begrudgingly did as he said.

"Who are you?" Isaac asked.

"Alexander Holmes. Just Alex, is fine though. And like I told Jacob here, I was walking, got lost, and rushed to the first sign of life I found, your town. And did I mention the cyborg chasing after me? He made me dive just to get into town."

Isaac sighed, pulling a hand through his hair with a sigh. "You're not from around here, right?"

I nodded. "Yup. I'm looking for someone, actually. They said they'd be passing through, though I'm assuming they're not here yet, or else they'd be right here where the action is." I rolled my eyes. "My fiancé is a _bit_ of an idiot and tends to run headfirst into trouble."

"Fiancé?"

I gave him a blank look, clearing my throat and gesturing to my sweat-soaked shirt that now clung to my form; and what little feminine features I had. He immediately flushed and turned away, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"S-Sorry, ma'am. It's just… with how you look, I assumed..."

I waved it off, nonchalantly. "Nah, it's fine. Happens all the time. I don't mind and sometimes I prefer it that way. I'm not your average girl, after all."

"R-Right. Well, unfortunately, we can't help you if you were planning on leaving this town. We're kind of trapped here ourselves with that… thing out there. But you're welcome to stay. We may not have much, but we can't exactly turn you away."

I shrugged. "Eh, that's fine. Like I said, I'm waiting for some people. Could I have some water though? I'm a bit parched."

He nodded and led the way to his office where I was handed a glass and greedily chugged it down before he refilled it.

"You sure you're alright with staying?" He asked as I drank my second and third glass of water. "I don't know how much we can do for you, since we're having troubles as it is."

"It's fine, it's fine. I'll find something I can do. Need anything fixed? Animals I can take care of? I can even do waitressing if you want. But I'm not wearing any dresses."

He smiled a little. "I'm sure I can find something."

I smiled back. "I'll all yours."

* * *

"Mercy. Eighty-one residents." The Doctor hummed, reading the wooden sing hanging above him.

"Look at this." Amy called out, bringing his attention to the ring of rocks and wood in front of the town. "It's a load of stones and lumps of wood. What is it?"

The Doctor scanned it with his sonic, allowing Amy and Rory to gather round as he read the results. "A load of stones and lumps of wood." He clarified for them, before hopping up on it and making his way into town.

"The sign does say 'Keep Out'." Rory warned, uneasy about this whole thing, but the Doctor was unbothered.

"I see 'Keep Out' signs as suggestions more than actual orders, like 'Dry Clean Only'."

"Ten pounds says Alex does the laundry." Amy muttered to Rory, who readily agreed.

They followed the Doctor anyway, the trio walking through the town despite the looks they received from the townsfolk. It wasn't until a street lamp nearby sparked, that they stopped; the Doctor quickly whipping out his sonic and scanning it.

"That's not right."

"It's a street lamp." Rory questioned, unsure about the 'wrong-ness' of it.

"An electric street lamp about ten years too early."

"It's only a few years out."

"That's what you said when you left your phone charger in Henry VIII's ensuite." The Doctor challenged and Rory shrugged, knowing he was beaten there.

"Least I didn't leave my iPod like Alex did." He grumbled under his breath though.

"Doctor, um..." Amy tried to get his attention; the stares of the towns people beginning to unnerve her.

"Anachronistic electricity, 'Keep Out' signs, aggressive stares. Has someone been peeking at my Christmas list?" The Doctor grinned, pulling out a toothpick from inside his tweed jacket. "The only thing missing, is a prompt appearance of Alexander."

"Doctor." Amy called out, but he just kept walking, leading them into the local pub.

Of course, the moment they walked in, all eyes went to them and the music and noise ceased. Ignoring it, he went to the bartender, leaning on the counter and messing with the toothpick in his mouth.

"Tea. But the strong stuff. Leave the bag in." He said in a gruff voice, turning his attention to the toothpick he'd gotten stuck.

"What're you doing here, son?" She asked him and he pulled out his toothpick with a chuckle; not seeing the person sitting in the back of the room watching him from under their black stetson.

"Son? You can stay."

A preacher stood up behind him, making him turn. "Sir, might I inquire who you is?"

"Of course. I'm the Doctor. This is—"

The Doctor was cut off though, as everyone in the bar stood up.

"No need to stand." He said, trying to appear confident as he turned to Amy and Rory. "You see that? Manners."

He then caught sight of the man behind him, measuring out his shoulders. "Oh, thank you. But I don't need a new suit."

"I'm the undertaker, sir." The man replied, and the Doctor turned away with a smile, until that information sank in.

Another younger man spoke to him though, before he could question that.

"I got a question. Is you an alien?"

"Well, uh, bit personal. It's all relative, isn't it? I mean, I think _you're_ the aliens, but in this context, yes. Yes, I suppose I am."

The people immediately charged at that, hoisting the Doctor up over their shoulders as they carried him out of the bar and to the line of rocks and wood; dragging Amy and Rory along too. The trio tried to stop them, but it was no use, and soon the Doctor was thrown over the line. He stood up with a groan of pain and turned to head back into town, but the towns people there all pulled out their weapons, stopping him in his tracks.

"He's comin'. Oh _God_, he's comin'." The preacher said and the Doctor turned to look behind him and spotted the figure approaching with short teleports.

"Preacher. Say somethin'." The younger man from earlier said, and the preacher began praying as the Doctor began panicking the closer the figure got to him.

"Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done."

A gun shot went off them and all eyes turned to the man with the smoking gun as he approached with the person wearing the black stetson, pulling back his coat to reveal the Sheriff's badge.

"You, bow tie man. Get back across that line. _Now_."

The Doctor, not wanting to find out who was heading this way, hopped back across the line as the cyborg—now that he was close enough to see him—stopped and promptly vanished. The younger man though, wasn't so convinced that the Doctor be saved.

"Isaac, he said he was a doctor. An alien doctor."

"That a reason to hand him to his death?" Isaac questioned.

"But Isaac, it could be him!"

"You know it ain't." Isaac countered, heading back down the street, but not before nodding his head to Amy. "Ma'am."

The Doctor, trying to act like he hadn't been scared that whole time, spun around and brushed himself off, giving the towns people a look before following after Isaac and the mystery character with Amy and Rory. The five of them ended up in his office, a jail cell off to one side where the mystery person stretched and took a seat on a chair in the corner of the room; crossing their arms over their chest and tilting their stetson down over their eyes like they were about to take a nap.

"What was that outside?" The Doctor asked, furrowing his brows as he eyed the silent figure briefly.

"The Gunslinger." Isaac said, leaning on the desk. "Showed up three weeks back. We've been prisoners ever since. See that border line stretching round the town? Woke up one morning, there it was. Nothing gets past it, in or out. No supply wagons, no reinforcements. Pretty soon the whole town's going to starve to death."

"But you let us in." Rory muttered.

"You ain't carrying any food. Just three more mouths to feed. We'll all die even sooner now." Isaac replied.

"What happens if someone crosses the line?"

Isaac tossed him a stetson with a hole through the top.

"Ah, well." The Doctor put his finger through the hole. "He wasn't a very good shot then."

"He was _aiming_ for the hat, you dimwit." The figure on the chair said, surprising the group as they reached up and removed the stetson they were wearing. "Honestly, for constantly telling me how you're the cleverest man in the universe, you sure can be a bit slow sometimes, can't you?"

The Doctor's mouth dropped open in shock as Alex gave him a look.

"Alex?!"

"Why do you always look so surprised to see me?" She asked, rolling her eyes before getting up and stretching with a yawn. "You should be used to me popping up out of no where by now."

The Doctor smirked. "Oh, I could _never_ get used to that."

Isaac looked between the two. "I'm guessing you know them then, Alex?"

She nodded, gesturing to them. "Amy, Rory, and my fiancé, the Doctor. They're the ones I told you I was waiting for."

Isaac eyed the Doctor with a funny look. "I… see. Not what I expected, but then again, neither were you." He nodded towards her when the others looked at him in question. "She's only been here for a few days, but has done more work than nearly every single man in town. Never would've expected it, but she's a great help."

"That she is." The Doctor hummed, passing Rory the stetson he'd been holding and snaking an arm around Alex's waist to pull her up against his side with a grin.

She rolled her eyes at his affection, but didn't pull away, giving Amy a chance to speak.

"What does he want? The Gunslinger." Amy asked, taking the hat from Rory and getting back on topic. "Has he issued some kind of demand?"

She passed the hat back to Rory, who passed it back to the Doctor.

"Says he wants us to give him the alien doctor." Isaac explained and the Doctor tossed him back the hat as Amy and Rory turned to the bow-tie wearing man.

"But that's you. Why would he want to kill _you_? Unless he's met you."

"And how that we'd be here? We'd didn't even know_ we'd_ be here_._" Rory said, whispering the last bit.

Amy smiled at Isaac, explaining. "We were aiming for Mexico. The Doctor was taking us to see the Day of the Dead festival."

"Sounds fun." Alex hummed absentmindedly.

"Mexico's two-hundred miles due south." Isaac said as the Doctor eyed the light above the desk warily.

"Well, that's what happens when people get toast crumbs on the console." The Doctor scolded Amy and Rory. "Anyway, I think it's about time I met him, don't you?"

"Who?" Isaac questioned as the Doctor sat up on the desk.

"The chap outside said I could be the alien doctor, but you said I wasn't, so you already know who it is. Two alien doctors. We're like buses." He chuckled, before continuing on. "Resident eighty one, I presume, so beloved by the townsfolk he warranted an alteration to the sign. Probably because he rigged up these electrics, and I'm guessing he's in here, because if half the town suddenly wanted to throw me to my death, this is where I'd want to be."

"I don't know what you—"

The Doctor made towards the cell and Isaac chased after him, but was cut off before he could finish.

"It's fine, Isaac. He knew from the beginning."

Isaac frowned at the figure in the cell sitting up and sighing.

"Alright, Isaac." He said, pulling the blanket off to reveal a curved tattoo across his face. "I think the time for subterfuge has passed. Good afternoon. My name is Kahler-Jex. I'm the doctor. Isaac, if you would."

Isaac headed over and unlocked the cell door, allowing Jex to come out now that he'd been discovered. The Doctor, of course, grew more and more excited upon hearing the man's name.

"The Kahler. I love the Kahler. They're one of the most ingenious races in the galaxy. Seriously, they could build a spaceship out of Tupperware and moss."

"Alright. How did you get here?" Amy asked Jex, trying to get right to the point as Alex pushed the Doctor down into a chair.

He tugged her down as well and she sighed once she'd plopped down into his lap and he smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist affectionately.

* * *

"My craft crashed about a mile or so out of town. I would have died if Isaac and the others hadn't pulled me from the wreckage."

"And you stayed, as their doctor."

"On my world, I was a surgeon, so it seemed logical. And it gave me an opportunity to repay my debt to them."

_More like make up for your guilt._ I thought sourly, having never really liked Jex for what he did to the Gunslinger. _No one should treat people as experiments._

"Listen to him, talk like it was nothing." Isaac scoffed, smiling. "Tell them about the cholera."

"Now, Isaac, I'm sure our guests are—"

Isaac cut him off, too eager to tell a story. "Two years after he arrived, there was an outbreak of cholera. Thanks to the doc here, not a single person died."

"A minor infection we'd found treatment for centuries ago." Jex explained, being modest.

"No, no. What, what do you call them? The electrics?"

Jex explained. "Using my ship as a generator, I was able to rig up some rudimentary heating and lighting for the town."

"So why does the Gunslinger want you?" The Doctor asked, his gaze shifting to me as I quickly looked away, hoping he wouldn't see my distaste towards the man just yet.

Things were going to get tough from here on out, because this was a big turning point for the Doctor and for Amy. This was the moment that the Doctor forgot who he was, or—depending on the point of view—when he realized what he was. I was worried that interfering in this too soon, might change things and not for the better.

"It don't matter." Isaac answered the Doctor.

"I'm just saying, if we knew that—"

"America's the land of second chances. We called this town Mercy for a reason. Others, some round here, don't feel that way." Isaac argued, growing defensive.

"Now, Isaac, we've discussed this." Jex said, trying to calm him.

"People who's lives you've saved are suddenly saying we should hand you over."

"They're scared, that's all. You can hardly blame them."

"Them being scared scares me... War only ended five years back. That old violence is still under the surface. We give up Doc Jex, then we hand the keys of the town over to chaos."

"Did you repair your craft? Surely someone with your skills—"

The Doctor was cut off once more.

"It really was very badly damaged."

"Or you're just too scared of the Gunslinger to go out there and fix it." I muttered under my breath, unnoticed by everyone except the Doctor.

_Damn his good hearing. _I mentally complained, though he didn't make a comment on it as he got up and sat on the desk; leaving me to sit on the chair.

"We evacuate the town. Our ship's just over the hills. Room for everyone. I'll pop out, bring it back here, Robert's your uncle."

"Really?" Amy questioned, hesitant. "Simple as that. No crazy schemes, no negotiations."

"I've matured." The Doctor said smugly, making me snort and earn a pout from him. "I have! I'm twelve-hundred years old now. Plus, I don't want to miss 'The Archers'."

"Oh, so you're not even a tiny bit curious?" Amy questioned him as he moved towards the door.

"Why would I be curious? It's a mysterious space cowboy assassin. Curious? Of course I'm not curious."

I leaned over towards Rory, whispering quietly. "He's _so_ curious_._"

"No kidding." He muttered back when Isaac called the Doctor back in.

"Son? You've still got to get past the Gunslinger. How you going to do that?" Isaac asked and the Doctor smirked. "With a little slight of hand."

The Doctor headed out and I sighed moving to head out after him.

"Doctor!" I called out, having lost sight of him and heading to the left to try and catch him. "Doc—"

I was cut off as I was grabbed from behind and pulled into an alleyway, two seconds from punching the smirking Eleventh Doctor in the face.

"Hello, Alexander." He hummed and I rolled my eyes.

"I hope you know, I was _so_ going to punch you. Don't sneak up on me like that."

He pouted childishly. "Why not? You sneak up on me all the time!"

"Yeah, because I pop up all over the place." I said, resisting the urge to roll my eyes again. "And what was that about being more mature? Seems to me, you're as childish as ever."

"Ooh, cheeky. You're the older _cheeky_ Alex." He mused, smirking once more as his thumbs rubbed circles on my waist.

"And you're the older clingy Doctor. No change there." I joked, leaning up and kissing him.

I only intended for it to be a brief peck, but he deepened it with a low growl and pressed me further up against the wall; his mind brushing up against mine and I winced.

"Oi, not so rough." I grumbled between breaths. "Head's a bit tender… I just got back… from the impossible planet you know."

He pulled away at that, eyes softening as he brushed his fingers across my temple gently. "I'm sorry I couldn't of been there for you, Alex."

"Hey now. No apologizing. I'll have you know I saved a couple of lives that day even _with_ some crazy Beast raging around in my head." I smiled a little, leaning in again. "I got to see you being nice too. It's not every day I get to have a _nice_ Rose-Tenth."

He pouted suddenly. "You'd rather be with him?"

I gave him a look. "Really? You're getting jealous over yourself, you _do_ realize that, don't you?"

He continued to pout and I sighed, kissing him briefly.

"No, Doctor. I'd rather be with you. Right here, right now."

He smiled, brushing noses with me. "Just how I like it."

He glanced up at the stetson on my head and his smile grew as he tapped it lightly.

"I like your hat. Very western."

I snorted, pulling it off and looking over the black material; a feather stuck to the side of it. I then looked up at him as he smiled at me fondly. _That reminds me. I haven't seen _him_ in a stetson yet. I haven't been to that part of the 'Impossible Astronaut' episode yet—though I'm not exactly looking forward to it. But I wonder…_ I reached up and plopped the hat on his head and couldn't help my breath getting caught in my throat as his eyes went up to look at the rim of the hat. His gaze shifted to mine then, and I snapped my gaping mouth shut, feeling my face heat up and turn a nice red the longer he looked at me; a churning in my stomach as his green eyes scanned me over and a slow smirk began to form on his face.

"Something wrong, Alex?"

"N-Nope!" I said, voice coming out as a sharp squeak; like a teenage boy who just hit puberty.

He raised a brow, grin growing more mischievous. "Is that so? Because _I_ get the _feeling_ that there's _something_ you _might_ want to tell me, _Alexander_."  
_  
Oh dear God, when he says my name like that._ I swallowed thickly at the husky tone in his voice, not realizing I was speaking until I'd already said what blurted through my mouth.

"_God_, you're hot."

My eyes widened and I slapped my hands over my mouth as my face darkened into a nice cherry red and I had to lean against the wall to not crumble to the ground with my shaking legs. His eyes grew darker then and I wondered what he was about to do, when a shout came out from around the corner.

"Doctor! Alex! Hello?!"

"S-Sounds like A-A-Amy needs something. W-Why don't I-I just..."

I tried to duck under his arm and make a bolt for it, but he easily anticipated the move and spun me back around and pinned me to the wall.

"She can wait." He muttered quietly, breath brushing over my flushed face before he kissed me passionately.

It wasn't until a hand had already creeped up my shirt that someone cleared their throat and the two of us separated; myself a beet red and the Doctor looking rather _disappointed_.

"Cyborg?" Amy chimed from the opening of the small gap between houses. "Time gone wrong? People in danger? Does any of that mean _anything_ to you two? Because I _really_ don't think now's the time to be getting into each others' pants."

The Doctor frowned, grumbling complaints as he walked off to whatever he had been planning on going in the first place, but I stayed where I was; frozen as Amy turned to me with a raised brow.

"Aren't you going, Alex? What happened to keeping him out of trouble?"

I opened my mouth a few times, having to close it as I struggled to get the words out, before I finally managed to say something.

"I-I actually don't think I can move without falling to the ground right now. S-Sorry."

She snorted and rolled her eyes, wandering off as I tried to do anything other than stand there with legs feeling like jelly after what just happened. _I _seriously_ need to get him to wear stetsons more often._

* * *

I shuffled uncomfortably. Rory and Isaac had gone off to keep the Gunslinger busy so that the Doctor could rush off and fix Jex's ship, leaving Amy and I with said man. I wasn't pleased. I disliked the man for what he'd done to people like Kahler Tek—or the Gunslinger, as everyone knows him—and it was nice and all that he was trying to make up for the wrongs he committed, but this wasn't exactly the best episode to be in as far as possibly changing things, goes. There wasn't much I could do here. For all I knew, my future self had been with this Doctor and he hadn't actually been alone that long, so things might not even happen the way they should. But the problem was, this was a time when the Doctor needed to realize that he _can't_ be on his own. This was when he became the Oncoming Storm. When he picked up a _gun_ and threatened to _kill_ someone. And as much as I didn't want him to have to go through that and see what Jex had done, I knew he needed to. This was just something I couldn't mess with. Because if I did, then who's to say he wouldn't become the Oncoming Storm at some other point in time? Who's to say he didn't pick up a gun and _actually_ kill someone later on because _I_ screwed it up by interfering?

I frowned, eyes gazing lazily out the window as Amy spoke with Jex. _I can stop him sure. I might even be able to save Isaac too, but other than that, I have to watch the Doctor as he looses himself, and it's _not_ going to be easy. Not for any of us._ I rubbed at my temples, head aching. _God, what a mess this is. And here I thought things were going to be easy for once in my life. Why does he have to get into so much trouble? Would it kill him to just relax at a beach or something every once in a while?_ A loud alarm went off then and Amy rushed out the doors of the Sheriff's office as Jex followed with a worried look on his face.

"Speaking of trouble." I muttered under my breath, getting up as well; feeling as though I could use a stretch.

"That's the alarm on my ship." Jex said, not sounding too pleased.

"Maybe the Doctor wants to get it working again." Amy offered and I snorted.

"Or he's meddling."

She gave me a nod. "Or that."

"But that wasn't the plan." Jex said, growing more concerned. "He's not following the plan."

"Yeah, well, get used to it." I grumbled. "He _never_ follows a plan."

"No kidding." Amy chuckled. "Welcome to our world."

Jex hurried inside and I wandered over to Amy's side, speaking quietly so Jex wouldn't overhear me.

"Amy, do me a favor and keep a bit of distance between you and him, okay?"

She gave me a look. "Why's that? He dangerous?"

I winced. "Spoilers."

She wrinkled her nose. "Ooh, I really hate that word. Between you and River, I don't know which one of you makes it sound more ominous."

"Oh, that'd be me. Most definitely."

She chuckled. "Yeah, probably. But I'll do it. Keep a bit of distance, I mean. Two feet good?"

I nodded with a face. "Eh, yeah. That'd about do it."

"Will do."

She turned and went to head inside, but the moment she did, she was faced with a revolver; courtesy of Jex.

"I'm sorry, Amy. He really should have followed the plan."

Amy frowned, turning back to me as I came up beside her and he shifted the gun between the two of us.

"Two feet?"

I shrugged. "I _did_ try to tell you."

She gave me a look. "And I'm guessing this answers my question on whether he's dangerous or not."

"Now, I didn't say that." I hummed, ignoring how Jex was frowning at the two of us. "Really, I'd say he's practically harmless."

"N-Now that's enough." Jex said, moving over to the window and taking some money from off the table near there. "Isaac says he doesn't care about my past, but things _may_ have been uncovered that even he might struggle to forgive, so it's best we beat a hasty retreat."

"'We'? We're coming with you?" Amy questioned, giving me a look, but I just smiled.

"It's unlikely the Gunslinger will shoot if I'm with you. As far as I can tell, he's programmed to take innocent lives only if absolutely necessary."

"Oh, well colored me reassured." Amy grumbled as I gave Jex a look.

"Really? He's programmed not to take innocent lives unless necessary? And what makes you think that you stepping over that line doesn't make it necessary? Hm? The way I see it, you're just a coward running away from your problems."

"Alex." Amy hissed, but I ignored her, taking a step towards Jex, who swiveled the revolver my way.

"Who's to say how many towns he'll follow you to. How many people are you going to have in the crossfire, Jex? You're going to run from this town and find another and another and another and you honestly think he won't follow you to every one? Is life on the run, really worth it?"

"W-Well, I—"

"Better yet." I interrupted. "Have you even tried talking with him? Standing at the ring of rocks, just inside the town and having a decent conversation? You could...oh, I don't know… apologize? Make it up to him? _Something_?"

"But he'll kill me." Jex argued and I gave him a stern look.

"How would you know? You haven't even _tried_. You're too busy taking two women as hostages in a vain attempt to ensure your escape and run away. And how's that going to fix anything? You may be trying to help the people here, but are you _really_ helping? Honestly, what harm could a little conversation do, hm?"

Jex almost seemed to consider that for a second, before he shook his head and frowned back at me. "No. He won't listen. He'll just shoot me on the spot and I'm _not_ dying. Not today. Now let's go."

He took a step forward, gun at the center of my chest and I sighed.

"Well, I _did_ try. Sorry, Jex."

He gave me a confused look. "W-What for?"

I smiled innocently. "This might hurt a bit."

I stepped forward, grabbing the gun and pointing it up at the ceiling as it went off. I then twisted my body and threw Jex to the ground; twisting his arm and forcing him to drop the gun with a shout of pain as I twisted his wrist and planted a knee into his back to pin him down. It was then, of course, that Isaac entered the room, gun drawn.

"Alex? What're you doing?"

I looked over at him. "Hm? Oh, Jex decided to pull a gun on us, so I… well, as you can see, I stopped him from shooting us. Sorry about the ceiling though."

I threw a finger up at the bit of light coming in from the roof and Isaac looked up at it in shock, before turning back to me.

"Could you, uh..."

He gestured at Jex, and I nodded, getting up off him and pushing him down into a chair as Isaac frowned down at him in confusion and disappointment.

"Doc, what's going on? Were you seriously using a gun on these two?"

"I-It was stupid of me. I realize that now." He said, giving me a fearful look as I glared at him; knowing he was lying through his teeth. "I just thought I'd put you all in danger. Perhaps if I left—"

"He's lying!" The Doctor called out, having returned from his trip and I stepped back, staying out of his way for now. "Every word, everything he says, it's all... lies. This man is a murderer."

"I am a scientist." Jex argued, getting up

"Sit down."

Jex didn't move, so the Doctor shouted.

"Sit down!"

He did, looking at _him_ fearfully now.

"Tell them what you are."

"What am I? A war hero." Jex said proudly, and it took everything in me not to snap at him; the word 'hero' putting a foul taste in my mouth.

"Okay." Isaac said, moving over towards them upon seeing the tension rise. "Somebody want to tell me what is going on?"

The Doctor, having moved away from Jex turned back towards Isaac and the others. "The Gunslinger is a Cyborg."

"A what?"

"Half man, half machine." the Doctor explained. "A weapon. Jex built it. He and his team took volunteers, told them they'd been selected for special training, then _experimented_ on them, fused their bodies with weaponry, and programmed them to _kill_."

"Okay. Why?" Isaac asked, turning to Jex. "Why would you do that, Doc?"

"We'd been at war for nine years. A war that had already decimated half of our planet." Jex explained. "Our task was to bring peace, and we did. We built an army that routed the enemy and ended the war in less than a week. Do you want me to repent, to beg forgiveness for saving millions of lives?"

_No, you damn moron. He wants you to apologize for those you _didn't_ save._ I growled mentally, feeling my anger rise with the anger in the room; the Doctor alone, projecting enough anger to make my blood boil.

"And how many died screaming on the operating table before you had _found_ your advantage?!" The Doctor shouted, obviously trying to rein in his temper as he pulled away from the man.

"War is another _world_. You cannot apply the politics of peace to what I did. To what any of us did."

_Tell that to the others. Oh wait. They're _dead_._

"What happened then? How come you're here?" Rory asked, the Doctor having walked away for a second, only to lean on the wall and listen.

"When the war ended we had the Cyborgs decommissioned, but one of them must have got its circuitry damaged in battle. It went offline and began hunting down the team that created it until just two of us were left. We fled, and our ships crashed here."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. _Broken circuitry my ass. He became _human_. He stopped being the machine that just followed orders and realized what he'd become. Like the Cybermen with the emotional inhibitors damaged. Except he doesn't die. He has to continue living on, knowing that he's a monster and that these are the people who created him. For all we know, he's just trying to prevent this from happening to others._ I struggled to keep my own cool, knowing things were only going to get worse from here as everyone started to divide into two sides.

"So, what do we do with Jex?" Rory asked, starting it.

"What do we do with him?" Isaac questioned, confused.

"Yeah. I mean, he's a war criminal."

"No, he's the guy that saved the town from cholera. The guy that gave us heat and light." Isaac argued.

"Look, Jex may be a criminal and yeah, kind of creepy—" Amy said, Jex interrupting.

"And still in the room."

She ignored him. "—But I think we should put aside what he did and find another solution."

"Another solution? It's _him_ or _us_." Rory argued and Amy grew more annoyed.

"When did we start letting people get _executed_? Did I miss a memo?" She turned around. "Doctor, tell him."

"Hm? Yes. I don't know. Whatever Amy said." He replied, not even sparing me a glance as he pushed off the wall and Jex spoke to him.

"Looking at you, Doctor, is like looking into a mirror, almost. There's rage there, like me. Guilt, like me. Solitude. Everything but the nerve to do what needs to be done. Thank the gods my people weren't relying on you to save them."

_Seriously? Seriously, Jex? You just _had_ to push that button, didn't you? Push all the damn buttons that piss the Doctor off._ I felt the anger in the room rise even higher and I did my best to separate it from my own jumbled feelings as the Doctor frowned.

"No. No!" He shouted, rushing over and grabbing Jex. "But these people are… Out! Out! Out!"

I cursed and hurried after them, grabbing the forgotten gun on the floor and biting my bottom lip as just the feeling of holding the weapon made my stomach churn. The Doctor shoved Jex all the way to the ring and pushed him out of it as I hurried after them; trying to sort my head out and figure out what I was going to do. What I was going to say. And _who_ exactly I was doing this for. It was then, that the Doctor took a man's gun and I froze. There was just something about him holding a gun and the anger that radiated off him that scared me. Scared me to death. Because this wasn't him. This wasn't the Doctor any more. He wouldn't do this. He wouldn't even _consider_ doing this. Yet here he was, and _I_ needed to be the one to stop him.

"You wouldn't." Jex muttered, nose-to-gun with the Doctor; hands up.

The Doctor cocked the gun. "I genuinely don't know."

"Doctor." Isaac said, trying to get his attention. "Doctor."

The Doctor spun around with the gun and everyone ducked, except me; my own gun pointed at him and a stern look on my face.

"Let him back, Doctor."

He lowered his gun, but gave me a disbelieving look; not even caring that I had a gun, let alone, pointed at him. "Or what? You won't shoot me, Alex."

I shook my head, lowering the gun slightly. "No. I wouldn't… But that wouldn't stop me from doing this."

I lifted the gun, to my own head and he eyed me; scanning me to see if I would actually do it. And it hurt. The Doctor I knew and loved would've dropped the gun in a second and begged me not to, but he wasn't my Doctor.

"We can end this right now." He said, walking over to me, though I didn't lower the weapon. "We could save everyone, right _now_."

"We wouldn't _be_ saving everyone." I argued. "Jex would be dead. These people _here_ might end up dead. Hell, Doctor! You've got me pointing a gun at my own head and you don't even seem to care, so for all I know, _I_ might be dead!"

He shook his head. "You don't mean that."

"How would you know?" I snapped angrily. "You're not even _my Doctor_."

He flinched at that, but continued to push the envelope. "Jex has to pay for his crimes."

"And then what? People _die_, Doctor. People get hurt, people make mistakes. Things happen!"

"But they keep coming back! Don't you see?!" He shouted; my hand starting to shake as my hearts broke for the man in front of me who was so lost. "Every time I negotiate, I try to understand. Well, not today. No. Today, I honor the victims first. His, the Master's, the Dalek's, all the people who died because of _my mercy_!"

I lowered the gun and shoved it into his chest; forcing him to take it.

"_Fine._" I snapped. "Then you better take care of me first."

I pushed past him and walked straight towards Jex, who was standing there stunned and confused.

"Alex. Alex! Get back here!" The Doctor shouted after me, but I walked right over the ring of rocks and wood, and stood in front of Jex defiantly, turning around to face the Doctor.

"No. You want him to pay for his crimes, then I might as well pay for mine too." I said, doing my best to keep my voice from shaking. "I've killed plenty of people in my life too. I wiped out an entire _fleet_ of Daleks. I've watched people die and get hurt. My _friends_, my _family..._ _you, _Doctor. I'm watching you hurt right now, because I wasn't there for you. Because _I_ have left you alone for so long, that you've forgotten who you are and what you stand for. So if anyone deserves to stand out here, it's me. It's _my_ mercy that's gotten people killed. Not yours."

He was silent for a minute, just watching me as I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly; scared out of my mind as I listened for the swishing sound that accompanied the Gunslinger.

"Alexander Holmes." He finally said, letting out a tired breath of his own as he pulled a shaking hand through his hair. "Fine. _Fine_. We'll think of something else, but frankly, I'm betting on the Gunslinger."

I scowled at him as he handed off the guns to someone else and stepped towards us; holding out a hand to me.

"Come on. Come back over the line."

I frowned, folding my arms over my chest and not moving. "I don't know if I want to."

He groaned. "You can be cross with me later. Now, hurry up. You too, Jex. Move over the line." He glanced behind us and I saw the fear that suddenly entered his eyes. "Now."

I quickly stepped over and the Doctor held me for a moment, but I squirmed from his hold and stayed close despite him trying to push me away.

"Make peace with your Gods." The Gunslinger said to Jex, as he turned around to face the man's weapon.

"Kahler Tek, isn't it? I remember all your names, even now." He said, before begging. "Please. I'll never hurt anyone again. I'm even helping people here."

"Last chance." The Gunslinger said, ignoring his words. "Make peace with your Gods."

"No!" Isaac shouted, diving in as I dove in right on top of him. Pain radiated through my shoulder as the gun went off and I landed on top of Isaac underneath me; Jex safely out of the way.

"Alex!" The Doctor shouted, as I clutched my shoulder in pain and he pulled me up to a sitting position. "Alex, it's okay. We can get you to Jex's surgery. He can save you."

I glared at the Doctor. "Y-You idiot. It, ngh, b-barely hit me."

"What?" The Doctor reached for my shoulder, but I cried out in pain and hit him in the leg repeatedly.

"Gah! D-Don't touch it! It _really _hurts, you moron!"

"O-Oh, thank God." The Doctor breathed out, clinging to me with his nose pressed against my face as I swatted at him.

"_Hurts_!"

He pulled away, picking me up carefully and facing the Gunslinger with a glare as he spoke to Isaac.

"Isaac, take Jex to his cell. Keep him safe."

"Y-Yeah. Alright." He replied, still a little stunned at being unhurt.

The Doctor though, ignored him taking Jex away and kept his harsh gaze on the Gunslinger. "This has gone on long enough."

"You are right. You've got until noon tomorrow. Give him to me, or I'll kill you all."

The Gunslinger teleported away and the Doctor let out a breath, looking down at me.

"I'm sorry."

I peeked open an eye at him, not pleased. "You better be." I closed my eye. "Honestly, I'm always saving your butt."

He chuckled a little. "Yes. Yes, you are."

* * *

"Ow, ow, ow!" I whined, smacking the Doctor's hands lightly as he bandaged my shoulder in another room away from the others; since I had to remove my shirt in order to get it done properly. "That _hurts_!"

"Well, maybe next time, you won't get _shot_."

I wrinkled my nose and frowned. "Yeah, well '_maybe next time_', you won't make me get in the mess in the first place."

"_I'm_ not the one who decided to be on the wrong side of the line." He argued.

"Oh, yeah? Well, _I'm_ not the one who threw a hissy fit over a bit of name calling and decided to _kill_ someone."

"I'm not the one who aimed a gun at her fiancé!" He shouted and I shouted right back.

"No! You were too busy making me turn a gun on myself just to get you to listen!"

We both huffed, glaring at each other, before what we said finally clicked and we both softened up and turned away; ashamed.

"I'm sorry." I muttered, reaching for my shirt and trying to pull it on with some difficulty.

"No. No, _I'm_ sorry." He insisted, helping me put my shirt back on and then my coat. "I was angry and frustrated because of what he said and not knowing what to do, and I just… I'm sorry."

"I felt that and my head didn't really appreciate it." I complained, giving him a look. "I'm still getting over what happened with the Beast in the pit, remember?"

"Sorry." He murmured again.

I sighed softly, lightly grabbing his face and kissing him on the forehead. "Enough. It's over, we're both alright, I saved Isaac's life, Jex is safe, and I'll tell you what."

The Doctor looked up as I gave him a small smile.

"We're both better people because of all that. Even Doctors make mistakes, but as long as we make up for them, then there's no harm done, yeah?"

He smiled a little back. "Yes. You're right. You are… always, _always_ right."

I kissed him lightly, smirking afterward. "Mm, you should say that more often. You might learn something."

He chuckled, leaning in for another kiss. "I need to do a lot more than that."

There was a knock and we pulled away as Amy called out. "Oi, either you two are fighting with your weird mental powers, or you're kissing and now is _not_ the time for kissing!"

"Oh, we let you and Rory kiss all the time." I whined, liking my moment with the Doctor and not wanting it to end so soon.

"Yeah, in the _Tardis_! We don't exactly _snog_ when there's a killer cyborg on the loose!"

I pouted and the Doctor chuckled, helping off the desk I'd been sitting on and back onto my feet.

"Later." He hummed with a mischievous smirk. "And perhaps, a certain _hat_ will be involved?"

I felt my face heat up and quickly punched him in the arm as he laughed and we walked out of the room; hands intertwined.

"S-Shut up."

"If you two are done?" Isaac said, clearing his throat and I turned away in embarrassment as he went on. "I've already spoke to the townsfolk and they're willing to help, after a bit of talking."

"That must've been fun." I muttered, turning to the Doctor. "Looks like you've missed out."

He groaned. "Frightened people? Give me a Dalek, any day. I'm glad I didn't have to do that."

_Yeah, but that's another thing that's changed. Since I saved Isaac, a lot is going to be messed up._ I mused, knowing that there wasn't much I could do now. I had to just let things take their course, since I had limited foreknowledge on this episode now. _Have to admit, I didn't expect him being alive to have changed things so much._

"Fresh coffee, marshal." The coroner offered and my eyes drifted to the hot cup that the sheriff accepted.

"Can I get some?" I asked, gesturing to the cup and the coroner eyed me. "I'll let you measure me."

He smiled as the Doctor stared at me in disbelief.

"Alex!"

"What?!" I frowned. "I want coffee. And you can't tell me that he's not bored. It'll give him something to do." I turned away, smiling a little. "And I could use a new suit."

"Alex." He groaned, making me chuckle.

Isaac cleared his throat again and I chuckled nervously.

"Sorry."

He shook his head, leaning back on his desk. "Well, Doctor, what are we going to do? I reckon you're our best chance at getting out of this in one piece, so I'm putting you in charge of coming up with a plan."

"Ooh, a plan. Love a good plan."

I rolled my eyes. "Right, because you _never_ stray from a good plan."

"Shush, you." He chided, eyeing Isaac for a second, before pointing at him. "Can I wear one of those?"

Isaac furrowed his brows and looked down to his sheriff's badge. "What, this? I might have a spare somewhere. I suppose I could lend you that. Let the folks outside understand that you're in charge."

"Perfect." The Doctor beamed and I snickered, glancing over at Amy.

"He just wants to be a sheriff for the day."

She chuckled. "_Oh_, yeah."

"Right then!" The Doctor chirped, keeping me pulled tight up against his side as he moved towards Isaac's desk and looked around the room. "First thing's first." He turned to Jex with a stern look. "What is it you want now? Do you even know?"

"You think I'm unaffected by what I did? That I don't hear them screaming every time I close my eyes? It would be so much simpler if I was just one thing, wouldn't it? The mad scientist who made that killing machine, or the physician who's dedicated his life to serving this town. The fact that I'm both bewilders you." Jex said and the Doctor frowned, leaning against the desk and trying to keep from pacing to stick by my side instead.

"Oh, I know exactly what you are, and I see this reformation for what it really is." He said, watching Jex flop down and try to ignore him. "You committed an atrocity and chose this as your punishment. Don't get me wrong, good choice. Civilized hours, lots of adulation, nice weather, but, but!" He shouted, making me wince slightly as his grip tightened. "Justice doesn't work like that. You don't get to decide when and how your _debt_ is paid." He snapped and I took a deep breath, letting it out and allowing my calming presence to brush up against the Doctor's angry one.

It hurt, that's for sure. His mind lashed out at first, before he realized that it was me and what I was trying to do, and he quickly relaxed and allowed me to comfort him as best I could with a quickly forming headache. His grip lightened up and he leaned into me a little with a quiet sigh of his own as Jex spoke; sitting up.

"In my culture, we believe that when you die your spirit has to climb a mountain carrying the souls of everyone you wronged in your lifetime. Imagine the weight I will have to lift." He said, sounding rather upset for how he was boasting earlier. "The monsters I created, the people they killed. Can you see now why I fear death?... You want to hand me over." Jex said coming to a conclusion at the Doctor's silence. "There's no shame in that. But you won't. We all carry our prisons with us. Mine is my past. Yours is your morality."

He went back to his bed and laid down, the Doctor muttering quietly.

"We all carry our prisons with us. Ha."

"Hm, have a plan then?" I hummed, eyes having slipped shut as I leaned tiredly against the Doctor.

"The beginnings of one, yes." He turned towards Isaac. "Isaac, can you gather everyone together? We'll need all of their help if we want to get through this."

"Will do."

The Doctor started to pull away from me and I frowned, tugging him back.

"Oi, where do you think you're going without me?"

"Sorry, Alex. I have plans to work on and it looks like you could do with some sleep." He turned to Amy. "Amy, could you keep an eye on her?"

"Hey now, I'm fine!" I argued. "Let me help."

He brushed his hands across my face, a thumb brushing under my eye. "Alex, you have bags under your eyes that are dark enough to make you look like a panda. Not to mention, your most recent injury and your tired mind. When was the last time you actually got some sleep?"

I pouted, knowing that he was right and I begrudgingly groaned. "_Fine_. But you better be wearing a stetson tomorrow."

He smirked, kissing me briefly and lightly pushing me towards Amy. "You know I will."

He rushed out the door then, Isaac and Rory following as I crossed my arms over my chest and scoffed.

"He's such a kid."

"Says you, Miss _Stetson_." Amy snickered and I flushed a vibrant red before playfully shoving her and moving to the cot in the other open jail cell; plopping down and getting some rest in preparation for the next day.

* * *

The Doctor stood out in the center of town; grand central station behind him as the clock ticked it's way up to high noon. He cracked his neck as he waited and the townsfolk sat in the church to pray. There was a 'swishing' sound, making Amy jump in the Sheriff's office and Jex rise from his bed. It happened again, and the Gunslinger stepped over the line of rocks around the town, just as the clock on the station chimed noon. He stood apart from the Doctor, facing him, but staying a few feet away. The moment the clock stopped chiming, however, he lifted his weapon just as the Doctor rose his sonic screwdriver and used it to disrupt the Gunslinger's systems; giving him a chance to bolt for it. Windows shattered and the Gunslinger let off a few shots, taking out the clock tower, and with that, the plan was sent into action.

"Ready?" Amy asked Jex, holding up the keys to his cell.

"Ready?" Rory asked Isaac and Walter—another townsfolk who offered to help.

All of their faces having a dark green mark like Jex's on their face. Walter bolted out first, then Isaac, then Rory; confusing the Gunslinger as he tried to figure out which one was his actual target. Meanwhile, Jex was sneakily making his way out of the town.

"Disengage. It's a trick." The Gunslinger said, walking around in search of his target.

He was moving past the chapel, when a girl inside accidentally knocked over some books; alerting him to their presence. He shot open the glass doors, enticing screams from the people inside before he walked in and raised his weapon. The Doctor—face only partially done up with Jex's mark—turned towards the sound as did Jex and Alex, who turned to the Doctor and received a nod. She hurried out and the Doctor followed. She rushed on to the chapel and the Doctor quickly shooed Jex out of town.

"Go! Just go! We can't save them while you're here!"

Jex ran, and Alex burst into the chapel; grabbing the Gunslinger's attention as she held her hands up.

"Whoa, there. Now hold on. I just want to talk."

"Where is he?" The man demanded and Alex swallowed thickly.

"Look, I know you want to get revenge and all that, but look what you're doing. These are innocent people here. They have no weapons, nothing. They're scared. Women and children and preachers and elders. I get what happened to you. I know you're angry and I am too. No one should deserve to be treated the way you and those other people were."

"Then bring him to me." He demanded, taking another step towards her, though she stood her ground.

"But then what? You kill him or whatever. You get your revenge and then what? Kill _yourself_? Isn't that a waste? You're still human under all of this. That's why you weren't killing off innocent people. It's got nothing to do with your programming or whatever. You just want to have the wrongs done to you fixed. I get it. Really, but violence isn't going to fix anything!"

"Move." He ordered, lifting the gun towards her chest, but she looked right up at him with a serious look.

"You won't shoot me. I know you won't. Not because of your programming, but because you're _human_."

He didn't move for a second, before charging up his weapon as Alex clenched her eyes shut in preparation for being wrong. When the gun went off though, a chunk of the chapel was blown through and the Gunslinger stomped past her and back outside. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and turned to the townsfolk.

"You lot, stay in here. Trust me, you'll be safe here."

The preacher nodded and Alex hurried out, taking the back way to catch up with the Doctor.

"You alright?" She asked, breathing hard and he nodded.

They were both quiet when they heard the Gunslinger's approaching footsteps and Alex's breath hitched when the man rounded the corner with his gun out and ready to fire. The Doctor and her got up and held their hands up in surrender, moving out from behind the building.

"Where is he?"

"He's gone." The Doctor said, making the man angry.

"Where?! Answer me!" He shouted, stomping forward as the Doctor grabbed Alex's hand and backed them both away from the man.

"Away from here. Look up. Any second now, you'll see the vapor trail of his ship. This is their home, not the backdrop for you revenge. Look Up, go after him, take this battle away from—"

"_Kahler Tek_." Jex's voice rang out through the town. "_Kahler Tek._"

"Jex." The gunslinger growled. "Coward. Where are you?"

"_I'm in my ship._"

"What are you doing?!" The Doctor shouted, ducking with Alex to dodge the swing of the Gunslinger's gun. "Just go!"

"_Where are you from?_" Jex asked, ignoring the Doctor. "_Where on Kahler?_"

The Doctor went to say something, but Alex stomped harshly on his foot and gave him a pointed look, making him shut his mouth with a pout.

"Gabriah." The Gunslinger responded.

"_I know it. It's beautiful there. When this is over, will you go back?_"

"How can I? I am a monster now."

"_So am I._"

"Just go! Finish this!"

"Doctor, will you shut it?" Alex grumbled. "What will change if he leaves? They just end up in another town somewhere and more people will get dragged into this mess."

"I'll find you." The Gunslinger said, reenforcing Alex's comment. "If I have to tear this universe apart, I will find you."

"_And as Alex said, you will chase me to another planet and another race will be caught in the cross-fire._"

"Face me!" The Gunslinger shouted. "Face me!"

"_No. You've killed enough._ _I'm ending the war for you too._"

"I'm sorry, Jex." Alex said then, the Doctor turning to her in confusion. "I may not have liked you or what you did, but I'd never wish this on someone. And I'm sorry there was nothing I could do."

"… _You've done enough, Alex. Thank you._"

She took in a stuttering breath and lowered her gaze to the dirt as the Doctor furrowed his brows.

"What's going on?"

"_Ten._" The computer counted down and the Doctor's eyes widened in realization as Alex gripped his hand tighter.

"The count down… What's going on? Jex!" He shouted.

"_Thank you too, Doctor. I have to face the souls of those I've wronged._" Jex said as the computer reached number five. "_Perhaps they will be kind._"

"But Jex." Alex spoke up again. "You'll get to see all the souls you've helped too."

"_Perhaps._"

The countdown ended and there was an explosion; all eyes turning to the black smoke that drifted up into the sky from a ways off. The Gunslinger soon bowed his head with a sigh.

"He behaved with honor at the end. Maybe more than me."

Alex turned to him and shook her head. "You were only doing what you thought was right, Kahler Tek. And he just did the same."

"We can take you back to your world. You could help with the reconstruction." The Doctor offered, but the man shook his head.

"I will walk into the desert and self-destruct. I'm a creature of war. I have no role to play during peace."

"Hey, now! Don't say that!" Alex complained, standing before Kahler Tek with her hands on her hips, much like a mother scolding her child. "What's killing off another person going to do, eh? And there's plenty you can do here. Make up to these people for scaring them to death."

He frowned. "How?"

She smiled, holding up a finger, telling him to wait as she went over to the Doctor and snatched his temporary sheriff badge, before pinning it onto the Gunslinger.

"There. You can be the assistant sheriff and chase all the bad people away from this town. I'm sure Isaac could use the help." She turned around, calling out. "Can't you, Isaac?!"

Isaac, Rory, and Amy walked out from behind one of the buildings; Isaac rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, I suppose. But no killing." He said, pointing at the Gunslinger. "I think we've had enough of that around here for one lifetime. A bit of peace would do us all a lot of good, I think."

"See?" Alex chirped with a smile. "Who needs war when you have peace? Really, there's nothing better. In fact, who needs a sheriff? You can be the town's guardian angel."

Rory and Amy gave Alex a look, wondering where the heck her mind was to see the cyborg as an angel, but no one argued and even the town decided to give the Gunslinger a second chance. Isaac became the town mayor instead of the sheriff—the position getting left behind in the dust as time went on—and peace was restored in the town of Mercy. Well, it would be. The Doctor hadn't quite left yet, after all.

"Okay, so our next trip." He rattled on, walking out of the 'mayor's office' with a skip in his step; Alex walking along calmly behind him. "Oh! You know all the monkeys and dogs they sent into space in the fifties and sixties? You will never guess what really happened to them."

"Could we leave it a while?" Amy asked, tiredly. "Our friends are going to start noticing that we're aging faster than them."

Alex snickered. "What's wrong, Amy? Getting wrinkles?"

Amy punched her hard in the arm and Alex hissed in pain as she clutched the appendage.

"Ow! I'm _injured_! Remember?!"

"Sorry." Amy grumbled, not looking very apologetic at all.

"Another time?" The Doctor said, disappointment coming off him in waves, though he kept up a front. "No worries."

The two went into the Tardis and Alex followed, leaving the Doctor outside to face off with Walter in a quick draw with their 'finger guns'; the Doctor winning before Alex poked her head back out and grabbed the Doctor by the ear.

"Ow, ow, ow! Alex! That hurts!"

"Yeah? Well, stop kidding around and get in here already." She complained, before smirking and plopping a black stetson on his head. "We've got unfinished business to take care of."

The Doctor's eyes widened and he quickly waved goodbye to Walter before getting pulled inside; leaving to go on a different _kind_ of adventure.

* * *

**_Sneak peak:_**

_"Doctor, I'll be _fine_. It's just a train ride! You act like it'll blow up or something."_

_ The Eleventh Doctor frowned, looking me over as if to make sure I was still in one piece—though I hadn't even walked out the Tardis doors yet._

_"You don't understand, Alex. There's something odd about these tickets. Who just gives me free tickets for the Orient Express?"_


	54. Mummy on the Orient Express

**Alright, you lucky reviewers, you. I'm updating early! ^^ for good reason though. i'll be updating today and on Monday because i'll be away camping for Labor Day Weekend and won't be able to update next Tuesday and Thursday like i usually would. hence, early updates! Let me know what you all think of this chapter though! it gets a bit tense ;)**

**And be sure to have watched "Death of the Doctor" from The Sarah Jane Adventures! That chapter is coming up sooner than you think. **

* * *

"Doctor, I'll be _fine_. It's just a train ride! You act like it'll blow up or something."

The Eleventh Doctor frowned, looking me over as if to make sure I was still in one piece—though I hadn't even walked out the Tardis doors yet.

"You don't understand, Alex. There's something odd about these tickets. Who just gives me free tickets for the Orient Express?"

"Um, someone nice? Or perhaps someone who accidentally bought one too many tickets and figured you'd be the first person who'd be all for taking a trip on a _space train_." I argued with a roll of my eyes. "Really. I'll be fine! Just head off and go on some adventures on your own, okay? Go find Jack, take him with you. Or River even, I don't care so long as there's no kissing or flirting." I waved off, already a little annoyed. "Honestly, you've been clinging to me like a leech and I just want to go enjoy myself on my own for a bit, okay? Have a nice meal, meet some new people, hopefully no alien craziness happening while I'm there. You know, just take a break."

He pouted, putting in the coordinates and I sighed, knowing what he was doing.

"You're not going to get me to change my mind by acting like some cute abandoned animal, you know."

He turned around, the pout still there. "But Alex! I wanted to have fun _with_ you! You usually pop off after a few days or so, and it's rare you're able to stick around this long! Can't we just have some alone time here? On the Tardis?" He smirked then, grabbing my waist suddenly and kissing me as he dipped me backwards. "I still have the stetson in the wardrobe."

I raised a brow, clinging to his arms to keep him from dropping me. "You _do_ know that constantly wearing that hat will eventually make me not care, right?"

His pout returned full force as he stood me back up. "I just want to enjoy our time together. Is that so much to ask?"

I sighed, pulling a hand through my hair tiredly. "Look. I love you, Doctor, really. But even I need a break sometime. And two months of running through the Amazon and being chased by Jezarks and surfing on lava in Florinall 9 _while_ being chased by Sontarans is a bit much for me. You've got to remember that I'm _always_ popping up with you and always getting into crazy messes. And as much as I love doing it, especially with you, there are times where I just want to have a nice quiet day somewhere. _Alone_. Alright?" I leaned in and kissed him again, him groaning against my lips as I pulled away. "Now would you kindly allow me to go? I will call you if I need you to come and get me. And if you hear nothing after three days, assume I've popped off and couldn't connect, okay?"

He begrudgingly nodded, his hands on my hips as his thumbs rubbed small circles on them and he gave me a pitiful look.

"Another kiss for the road?"

I snorted, leaning in again. "Clingy."

He smiled a little, kissing me again and bringing a hand up to cup my cheek as he deepened the kiss; his mind begging me not to leave him. When I went to pull away, however, he quickly spun me around and pinned me up against the console; making me yelp and allowing his tongue to take advantage of the moment as one of his hands tugged on the hair at the back of my neck and the other moved towards my chest. I somehow managed to pull away though as the Tardis hummed out a complaint and tipped the room; myself lightly smacking him on the back of the head.

"You said a kiss, not a snog fest and a groping session." I scolded him and he smiled innocently.

"I don't know what you mean."

I pushed off the console and rolled my eyes with a small smirk. "Yeah, well, just make sure you don't go making out with one of my way younger selves. The last thing I need is a new memory of you shoving your tongue down my throat when I first pop up."

"I'll be careful." He chirped, making me doubt that he actually would be careful.

_And he'd probably do it just to see my reaction. Little brat. _I mused, giving him one last peck as I opened the door to head out.

"Be careful, Doctor. Don't go ruining some tribal ritual and end up becoming a sacrifice again like you did with the Seetar."

He wrinkled his nose. "Yes, I do think I'll avoid that one. And you be careful too. I've still got a bad feeling about that free ticket."

I smiled a little. "If it tries to eat me or there an infestation of Jakra worms or something on the train, I'll call you right up. See you later, Doctor."

He grabbed my wrist though, stopping me before I could go. "Say it. Just once."

I sighed. "Fine, _Theta_."

A shiver racked his spine and he immediately kissed me passionately, before I pulled away and bopped him on the nose.

"No more. Behave."

He made a face at me, but allowed me to go; the familiar noise of the Tardis echoing through the baggage car of the train as I headed out to the dining car in the hopes of grabbing a good meal before heading to bed. Thankfully, the dining car wasn't too far away and I dropped off the bag I had brought into my room before making sure I was dressed appropriately for the 1920's replica in a nice dark vest and tie over my white dress shirt and suspenders. I had tucked my free ticket into my pocket in case someone happened to question me, before tugging on my grey driving cap and heading back into the dining car just as my stomach growled. I ended up with a nice seat at a table and got some whiskey and a nice meal, enjoying the pleasant lack of shouting, running, and panicking that I'd been doing with the Doctor for the past two months. Or so I said, but already, a part of me wished that he was here now, talking about some planet I'd never heard of or making me run from something dangerous because he screwed up somehow.

I sighed, plopping my chin into my hand and taking a nice long sip of my drink. _Maybe I shouldn't of left without him. He's already proven he can't stay alone for very long and… I miss him after only an hour of being away. _I frowned, shaking my head and chugging the last of my drink. _No. I wanted this, now I'm going to see it through._ I smiled a bit then, getting a refill from the waiter who'd been watching me out of the corner of his eye. He was a looker, so I can't say I minded his curious gaze, but I was quickly distracted by him when there was a commotion not too far away.

"You! Ah, you!" An elderly woman called out and I raised a brow at her odd behavior as she gestured to the empty space between the tables before me; calling over one of the train's attendants. "Throw that man out of my dining car. It's disgusting."

"I'm sorry, ma'am. Which man?" He asked, just as confused as I was, and I continued watching.

"Which man?! I'll have your job. That man, right there, dressed as a monster."

The attendant walked away, assuming there was nothing wrong and the woman was delusional and I'd had my fair share of crazy relatives in my past life, and would've assumed the same thing, if it wasn't for the fearful look on the younger woman's face across from her.

"Mama, there isn't anyone there. Are you feeling okay?"

"Don't you dare lie to me, girl. I won't be made a fool of." The elderly woman argued, before looking back down the hall again. "Stop it. Stop it. Stop him at once. Right now."

I frowned, starting to get up in the fear that something might actually be going on, but nothing made any sense. Either the woman really was seeing things due to her age or ill health or something, or there was really something there.

"Mama, there's no one there. You're worrying me. Do you want one of your pills?"

The woman ignored her, hands waving about in a panic. "Oh, no! Get it off! Get it off!"

Without warning, the elderly woman slumped over and I was immediately rushing over, checking the elderly woman's pulse and quickly questioning her younger relative.

"Did she have any medical issues? Anything major? Heart attacks, stroke, migraines, dementia, PTSD, anything of that sort?"

The woman opened and closed her mouth in a panic, obviously startled and not knowing what to say, before a man pushed through the crowd.

"I'm a doctor, excuse me."

I frowned in annoyance, but moved aside for the medical professional, wondering what the heck just happened and if I really would have to cut my relaxation time short in order to call the Doctor.

* * *

"Your train awaits, my lady." The Twelfth Doctor said, holding a hand out for Clara after landing the Tardis in the baggage car of the Orient Express.

"Wonderful." Clara said sarcastically.

"The baggage car." He grumbled. "But thanks for lying. The real wonderful is through here." He showed her over to a door and allowed her to go in first, before pointing a finger at her in the small hall. "There were many trains to take the name Orient Express, but only one..." He opened the door into the lounge dramatically. "...in space."

Clara chuckled and headed inside, looking around as the Doctor followed after her and shut the door behind them.

"Of course it is." Clara said with a small smile, sounding as though she shouldn't of expected anything different.

"Completely faithful recreation of the Original Express." The Doctor ranted. "Except slightly bigger and in space. Oh, and the rails are actually hyperspace ribbons. But in every other respect, identical. Painstaking attention to detail."

A man bumped into him harshly then, moving past as the Doctor and Clara got a good look at his steampunk eyepiece. The Doctor rubbed his arm.

"Most of the time."

The two said nothing for a moment, allowing the atmosphere to sink in and listen to the music being sung in the background, but the Doctor frowned upon seeing Clara putting on a fake smile.

"You're doing it again."

"Doing what?" She asked, confused.

"The smile."

"Yeah, I'm smiling."

_God, I wish Alex were here. She'd deal with this better than I could._ The Doctor sighed. "It's the sad smile. It's a smile, but you're sad. It's confusing. It's like two emotions at once. It's like you're malfunctioning."

"Sorry." Clara muttered, loosing the smile and that made the Doctor feel even worse.

_I don't like this tension. I was never good with humans and even worse now in this body. What do I say to fix this?_

"I just thought it'd be a good one to—"

Clara finished his sentence for him. "—to end it. Yeah… It is. It's a good choice. A good one to end on."

"Yeah?"

"Mhmm."

He smiled, feeling he'd finally done something right _without_ Alex's help, and he held out his arm. "Shall we?"

"Mhmm." Clara hummed again, taking his arm as they walked through the car and found a table to sit at with some champagne.

"_Ladies and gentlemen. If you would be good enough to look from the windows on the right of the train, you'll be able to see the soaring majesty of the Magellan black hole._" The computer announced, and the two of them looked out to look, missing the person who just popped up to take a seat at the bar behind them.

"Oh, I remember when this was all planets as far as the eye could see. All gone now. Gobbled up by that beast." He paused, seeing Clara smiling again. "And there's that smile again. I don't even know how you do that."

Clara chuckled bitterly, neither noticing that the person at the bar was listening in with a small frown on their face.

"I really thought I hated you, you know?" Clara said bluntly.

"Well thank God you kept that to yourself." The Doctor complained, changing subjects. "There's this planet, Obsidian. The planet of perpetual darkness."

Clara though, wasn't falling for it. "I did. I did hate you. In fact, I hated you for weeks."

"Good, fine. Well, I'm glad that we cleared that up." He said flippantly, his hearts aching, but trying to hold onto something to distract him. "There was also a planet that was made completely of shrubs. I took Alex there once, but she wouldn't stop sneezing, so we left early before she blew up into a balloon."

The person at the bar choked and had to wave over the bartender for a glass of water.

"I went to a concert once." Clara went on, ignoring his topic change once again. "Can't remember who it was. But do you know what the singer said?"

"Well frankly, that would be an absolutely astonishing guess if I did know." He mused.

"She said, 'Hatred is too strong an emotion to waste on someone that you don't like'."

The Doctor was actually surprised by those words and eyed Clara hesitantly.

"Were people really confused? 'Cause I'm confused. Did everybody leave?"

"Sh. Shut up." Clara chuckled. "Look, what I'm trying to say is, I don't hate you. I could never hate you. But I can't do this anymore. Not the way you do it."

There was a pause before the Doctor finally said something.

"Can I talk about the planets now?"

"Yes. Go." She chuckled, eager to hear what he had to say and glad that he wasn't making a big deal out of this being their last trip together.

"Thedion Four. Constant acid rain. Had a lovely picnic there once, wearing a gas mask. Alex said the food tasted funny and she _did_ have a hard time eating with the mask on. Said something about it missing a mouth hole."

"That's a lie." A short haired, blonde woman said; drawing attention to the group.

"I'm sorry?" Clara questioned.

"That's a lie, what you said. Thedion Four was destroyed thousands of years ago, so you couldn't have been there."

Two uniformed train attendants came out of the back room and addressed her. "Miss Pitt, are you sure you wouldn't rather rest in your room?"

"That man's a liar." She said, gesturing to the Doctor who leaned against the table with a confused and thoughtful look.

"Perhaps you'd allow Mister Carlyle here to escort you back." The one man offered as the other led Miss Pitt away,

"It'll be alright, miss. Just come with me."

"Sorry about that." The remaining man apologized to the Doctor and Clara. "I suppose it's understandable in the circumstances. I don't believe we've been introduced. Captain Quell."

"I'm Clara. This is the Doctor."

"Ah, another one."

"Sorry? Another what?" Clara asked and the Captain rambled on.

"Well, we've got doctors and professors coming out of our ears on this trip. So, what are you a Doctor of?"

"Now, there's a question that's never asked often enough." The Doctor mused with a thoughtful look. "Let's say... intestinal parasites."

"I'm beginning to think Miss Pitt was right about you."

The figure at the bar snorted quietly, covering it up with a cough when the Doctor turned in search of the sound.

"What's wrong with her?" Clara asked, stopping the Captain who'd tried to leave. "Did something happen?"

"You mean you really don't know?"

The Captain went on to explain what had supposedly happened to Miss Pitt's grandmother, keeping details to a minimum and making sure his voice was hushed in order not to alert any of the other passengers. All he managed to do though, was peak the duo's curiosity, along with the figure at the bar who'd been listening in the whole conversation, who had yet to hear about the supposed 'mummy' that the elderly woman had seen. Needless to say, when the trio was interested in something, it wouldn't be long before they somehow got involved. And that was _exactly_ what they did.

* * *

_Who would've thought._ I mused, trailing after the Twelfth Doctor and Clara as they headed to their rooms. _I didn't need to pop off, I just had to attempt to take a vacation, and poof! Yet another adventure._ I sighed quietly, waiting around the corner as I listened to Clara and the Doctor discuss what they'd just heard.

"There's a body _and_ there's a mummy. I mean, can you not just get on a train? Did a wizard put a curse on you about mini-breaks?" Clara asked and I shook my head.

_More like put a curse on me. I swear, I can't catch a break, can I?_

"It might be nothing." The Doctor said, though I knew that wasn't true. "Old ladies die all the time. It's practically their job description."

I rolled my eyes. _God, I forgot how rude he could be._

"And the monster?" Clara asked as the Doctor rambled on.

"Well, seen by no one except her, which suggests that it wasn't there. A dying brain, lack of oxygen, hallucination. Anyway, people do just die sometimes. She was over a hundred years old."

"Says the two thousand year old man." Clara mocked and the Doctor looked down at her with a frown.

"Clara, you actually sound as if you want this to _be_ a thing. Do you?"

She shook her head. "No. No, look. Fine. You know, if you think that there is nothing to worry about, then that is fine by me."

She held her hands up in surrender and started back down the hall; forcing me to duck my head back around the corner and hope the Doctor and her didn't see me.

"Are you sure?"

"Ah, yes. I'm sure."

"To our last hurrah." He said and I frowned; having got the gist of what was happening between him and Clara, but not knowing exactly what nor the circumstances that led up to it.

_This is their last trip together. But why? Did Clara do something? I doubt it, the Doctor seems bothered, so _he_ must have done something and Clara decided to call it quits, but…_ I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. _I hate to say it, but Clara is as much of an adrenaline junkie as the Doctor and I. And I doubt that she'll be able to just drop it. If she was serious, then she wouldn't have bothered going on a last trip. She would've just walked out, slammed the door, and that'd be the end. So what's going on?_

"Our last, yeah. I mean, it's not like I'm never going to see you again." She said and I winced in understanding.

_Oh dear. She doesn't understand._

"Isn't it?"

"Is it?"

"I thought that's what _you_ wanted." The Doctor muttered and I stifled a groan, covering my face as understanding dawned on me.

_She thinks he'll just show up again. That he'll come around to 'hang out' or something, but the Doctor doesn't do that. And she hasn't realized this yet. When the Doctor drops you off because you say you're done, he won't come back._

"No, what I mean… You're going to come round for dinner or something, aren't you? Do you… Do you do that? Do you come round to people's houses for dinner?"

_No, he doesn't._

"Of course. Why wouldn't I do that?" He said, lying.

"I don't know. I thought you might find it boring."

_He does. He doesn't want to get involved in domestic life. He wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole. He leaves and that's it, Clara. Don't you get it?_

"Is it boring?"

"No."

They grew quiet before Clara lifted her champagne glass.

"To the last hurrah."

"The last hurrah."

There was a quiet 'clink' of their glasses, and then silence before the two went their separate ways and I heard both their doors close. With a quiet sigh, I rounded the corner and went over to Clara's to knock; only to pause as I heard her talking.

"Hey, Danny. Just thought I'd check in."

I lowered my hand, hoping that Danny would give her some advice and instead moved on to the Doctor's room, where I heard him talking as well.

"It's nothing. Nothing. Definitely. Sure. Ninety nine percent sure." He said, before beginning to argue with himself. "Really? Ninety nine percent? That's quite high. Is that the figure you're sticking with?" He questioned himself. "Okay, okay. Seventy five... Well, that's jumped quite a bit. You've just lost twenty four percent."

At this point, I had quietly slid his door open and was leaning against the door frame with my arms crossed over my chest.

"You know, I'm starting to think Miss Pitt was right. You're absolutely bonkers." I said, shutting the door behind me and plopping down on the bed next to him as he sat up and stared at me in confusion. "Talking to yourself may be a sign of high intelligence, but it's also a sign of insanity, you know. Killer mummy on the train or not."

"When did you get here?" He asked and I hummed.

"About an hour before the late Miss Pitt had her accident. Your Eleventh self let me stay for a few days after I got tired of being chased by aliens for two months. This was supposed to be my relaxation time away from the crazy, but you see how that tuned out."

"Ah, yes. The free ticket fiasco." He nodded in remembrance. "This explains why you didn't call me. I suspected you just popped off, but seems I was here with you the whole time."

"Hm, starting to think _I'm_ the one cursed by a witch."

The Doctor winced. "You heard that?"

I turned to him with a raised brow, preparing my scolding. "Yeah. That, and I overheard you two talking in the lounge over a couple of glasses of champagne. Sounds to me like you did something to upset Clara enough so that she doesn't want to hang around anymore. Care to explain."

He floundered uncomfortably, obviously trying to find a way to phrase things so that he wouldn't be putting himself into trouble; something he rarely ever succeeds in.

"Well, great story. You weren't there, shame, but I took that loud annoying child to the moon."

I raised a brow. "'Loud annoying child'?"

He wrinkled his nose. "You know. The dark-skinned one from that school who said we were snogging in the caretaker's office."

"Ah, okay. Go on." I waved off, fiddling my thumbs.

"Yes, well, took her up there. Found a nice little space base where there was this alien that kept attacking and killing people. The usual. Turns out, the moon was a giant egg! Imagine that. Some big beast flying by and just dropping it off as—"

"And where does Clara getting upset with you come in?" I interrupted, making him frown, knowing that I'd caught him trying to avoid the subject.

"You… don't want to know about the egg?"

I gave him a look. "No. You can tell me later. Preferably _after_ you explain why Clara wants to leave and also after we take care of this mummy."

"Yes! The mummy! Interesting, isn't—"

"_Doctor_."

He sighed, dropping his head to look at his hands. "I made her choose."

I furrowed my brows in confusion. "Choose what, exactly?"

"The egg was going to hatch. The moon _was_ the egg. I made Clara choose whether to have the animal killed to save the moon or allow it to hatch and possibly risk the entire safety of the planet Earth. _Without_ me."

I gave him a disbelieving look. "You… You made Clara choose whether to kill an innocent creature or risk billions of people's lives, while you just, what? Took a trip elsewhere?"

He groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "It's not that simple, Alex. It was up to them. It was her, that kid, and the Captain of the base. It was their job to decide, because it's their planet, not mine. They had a choice, time was in flux. I can't make that decision for them."

"No, but you could at _least _ be there to help!" I argued. "Do you know what kind of pressure that puts—"

I stopped, knowing that he, of all people, _did_ understand what kind of pressure that puts on a person. He had, after all, had to make that same decision himself once. His planet, or the universe. My anger faded away and I let out a sigh of my own, pulling a hand through my hair.

"Sorry, it's just… You _know_ what that does to a person, Doctor. You know the kind of thoughts that go through your head when you realize just how much is on the line. And she needed you. You shouldn't have left her, because—whether you trusted her to make the right decision or not—you being there would have helped her choose. You wouldn't of even needed to say anything. She just needed someone else there who would support her no matter what she chose and you rushed off." I gave him a sad look, seeing just how much Clara's wanting to leave was hurting him. "You can't treat her like she's just some silly little innocent creature that has no idea what it's doing without someone to lead it around. She's clever and smart and can make her own decisions, but even the smartest and bravest people need someone there to help them out. Help push them in the right direction or they end up going astray. So I really think you should apologize to her. Understand that what you did wasn't exactly the best choice this time around, Doctor, and let her know that you've realized that and perhaps she'll stay. Alright?"

He looked over at me and I back at him, before he hesitantly pulled me into a side hug and laid his head on mine as I leaned into his touch.

"When did you start being clever?"

I lightly smacked his stomach. "When did you stop realizing I was clever?"

He chuckled, his deep voice reverberating in his chest. "Touché… Can we talk about the mummy now?"

I chuckled back. "Sure. Go for it."

"What do you know about it, since you were present at the scene of the first death?"

"Nothing much." I mused, thinking back to the scene. "She was fine, then kept pointing down the hall saying something about a mummy monster that wasn't really there to the rest of us. I only realized something was wrong when I caught sight of her relative's face."

"How's that then?" He asked and I hummed.

"Well, I figured that the lady was just delusional, but if that was so, then the relative wouldn't of looked so freaked out about the whole thing. She looked as though she'd never seen the elder woman like this, so I figured something was up."

"What about her death?"

I shrugged. "Not much I could tell you. She was calling out for the mummy to stop and was waving her hands, like she was protecting her face or head or something, then… poof. Nothing. She slumped down and I was barely able to check for a pulse before a doctor walked over and took care of it. She was dead when I got to her and I tried to ask the relative questions, but she was in shock and never answered. I would've pursued further, but I wanted to give her a chance to calm down after that. And, as you saw by her actions in the lounge, it _might_ be a while."

"Hm." He hummed out, eyes sparking with intrigue as he thought. "A mummy that only the victim can see." He smirked then, standing up and pulling me up along with him. "I know _exactly_ what this sounds like."

He pulled on his coat and tugged me out the door, but I pulled him to a stop outside Clara's door and cleared my throat. He groaned, but went over to her door and knocked.

"Clara? Clara, I think there really is something going on. Come join us. I've brought Alex along too."

There was silence and I shrugged. "Maybe she beat you to it?"

He frowned, not liking that possibility, but walked off as I followed after him into the back room where the engineer's car was. We both poked our heads in, like the sneaky detectives we totally weren't and, upon not seeing any movement, we headed in and looked for evidence from the first murder. _Or accidental death, but if I call it murder, it makes things more exciting._ I mentally face-palmed. _Oh dear, the Doctor really _is_ rubbing off on me, isn't he? _The Doctor found something that was wrapped up in plastic wrap and he peeled the stuff off and scanned it with his sonic screwdriver as I moved over beside him to see what came up.

"Beautiful bit of kit, isn't it, gentlemen?" A voice said, making me jump alongside the Doctor as we turned to see the engineer behind us in the shadows. "The Excelsior Life Extender. It's like driving around in a portable hospital."

"Yes, well, it didn't do Mrs. Pitt much good, did it?" The Doctor said, standing tall and tucking me into his side protectively.

"Got me there, sir. Certainly got me there. Maybe it malfunctioned." The man offered.

"Oh, I don't think so. The records show that the machine did everything it could to keep her alive."

"Yeah. And almost drained the battery doing it."

"What do you know?" I asked, eyeing the man as suspicion swirled in my stomach.

He shrugged. "Well, I know that when I find a couple of guys fiddling with a chair that someone died in, it's best to play my cards close to my chest."

"Really? Well, _I_ know that when I find a man loitering near a chair that someone died in, I do just the same." The Doctor countered.

"Perkins. Chief Engineer." The man introduced.

"The Doctor and my _wife_, Alexander Holmes. Nosey Parkers."

"Just Alex is fine." I interjected briefly as Perkins chuckled.

"Pleased to meet you, Doctor. And sorry about the mix-up, Alex."

I waved it off. "Happens all the time. So what _do_ you know about this thing?"

"Rumor has it that someone or some_thing_ else might be responsible." Perkins said mysteriously and it wasn't long before he too, joined our ranks and we sent him off to get us what he could as far as schematics.

I had actually sent him on a mini-mission myself and had him get me info on the passengers to look through, because something told me this was going to become a series of murders and if I could find connections between the victims, that would make us one step closer to finding out who—or what—is behind all this and how to stop them. While he went to get that though, the Doctor and I headed off to the lounge in search of someone the Doctor had recognized on the train.

"You _do_ know I'm not actually married to you yet, right?" I asked, curious to see how he'd respond.

I wasn't disappointed.

"What?" He questioned, coming to a halt before moving to scan me with his sonic. "I could've swore you've aged at _least_ five years since we last—"

I shoved his sonic away with a shocked and angry look. "Five years?! I'm only thirty two, thank you very much! P-Possibly thirty three, but I don't need you rubbing it in!"

"Yes, yes." He drawled out. "I forgot how touchy you can be about your age. Not that it matters, you're still a Time Tot in comparison to me either way."

"Oi! That's even worse! Now you're calling me stupid _and_ a baby!"

"I'm not saying that!" He argued, possibly trying to diffuse the situation, but it was hard to tell with his rudeness coming out in waves. "I'm just saying that you're far less advanced than I am in mental capabilities and knowledge of the universe!"

"See! You _are_ calling me stupid!" I shouted, before I gasped and pointed a finger at him. "You never got me ice cream for the last time you called me stupid! Where's my free ice cream?!"

"We're doing this _now_?!"

"Yes, we're doing this now! You owe me! You just called me old, stupid, _and _a toddler, I think I deserve some compensation!"

"You want compensation? Fine!"

He suddenly slammed his lips onto mine, tangling a hand in my hair as he held me in place, before pulling away and leaving me with my mouth hanging open, dumbfounded.

"Happy?" He asked, face grumpy, but an amused twinkle in his eye.

"A-Ah, yeah. Yeah, I think I'm good." I said, pulling a hand through my hair before picking up my cap that the Doctor had pulled off in his haste. "But, uh, I would still like some ice cream later? If we could?"

He rolled his eyes, a small smile on his face. "Yes, yes. We'll get your confectionery dessert later. _After_ we deal with this mysterious mummy, alright? Now come along. We've already wasted enough time."

"Best waste of time if I've ever seen one." I muttered under my breath as he pulled me into the lounge and promptly brought me to a man with a small mustache that was sitting at a table.

"What's the most interesting thing about the Foretold?" The Doctor blurted out and I smacked his arm.

"Rude."

He rolled his eyes and ignored me as the man glanced up from his book confused.

"I'm terribly sorry, I don't believe we've met."

"You know." The Doctor went on. "The Foretold. Mythical mummy. Legend has it that if you see it, you're a dead man."

"Yes, I know what it is. You see, I happen to be—"

"Emil Moorhouse, professor of alien mythology. I'm the Doctor, this is my wife Alex. Pleased to meet you." He quickly introduced as I gave a small smile to the man before us. "So, the most interesting thing about the Foretold. Go."

The Doctor suddenly pulled me off balance, making me fall into the booth beside him, before he wrapped an arm around my shoulders; us facing Mr. Moorhouse.

"Uh, well, it would have to be the time limit given before it kills you. I can't think of another myth where it's so specific. How does it go? Um...'The number of evil twice over. They that bear the Foretold's stare have sixty six seconds to live'."

"No, no, no. Nice try. Very atmospheric. But that's not it. Try again."

I smacked the Doctor once more, making him frown at me as I looked at Mr. Moorhouse across from us.

"Sorry, he's a bit rude. We're just curious about something we overheard earlier, is all."

Mr. Moorhouse raised a brow. "A cynical man might say that you were trying to pump me for information."

I shrugged. "In a way, I suppose we are. No harm done, though, right?"

He agreed, but before he could say anything, the Doctor went on one of his rants as he pulled out a silver cigarette case that made me raise a brow at him.

"The myth of the Foretold first appeared over five thousand years ago. In some stories, there is a riddle or secret word that is supposed to make it stop. Some characters try to bargain with it, offer riches, confess sins. All to no avail."

He opened the case and offered some strange looking candies to Mr. Moorhouse who took one, before he offered it to me. I hesitated—having never really been one for jelly beans or Swedish fish, but _loving_ gummy bears and sour patch kids—but took one and tried it. Surprisingly, it wasn't too bad, though it was a bit too sweet for my tastes and I probably would never eat more than one or two in a sitting.

"Well, you certainly know a little mythology." Mr. Moorhouse mused out loud, before he turned to me. "And what about you? Are you as knowledgeable as your husband?"

I shook my head. "Not really. I mostly know random Earth facts and Earth history. Not so much mythology, though I was interested in that when I was younger."

He nodded and turned back to the Doctor who spoke again.

"I know a lot. Because, from time to time, it turns out to be true."

"But that's the great appeal, isn't it?" Mr. Moorhouse said with an excited smile. "Earth legends are such dry affairs, and _always_ fiction. But up here, in the stars, anything's possible. That's why I chose this field, to be honest. Hoping one day I might meet a real monster."

"Isn't that everyone's dream? But you still haven't answered my riddle." The Doctor pushed. "What's the most interesting thing about the Foretold?"

"Well, you can't run from it, that's for sure. There are accounts of people trying, but it never works. No matter how far you run, it's always right there behind you."

I furrowed my brows in thought. "I'm guessing physical attacks don't work either?"

He nodded. "That's right. Passes right through it, unaffected."

"Nope. Even colder." The Doctor grumbled, interrupting again.

"Alright, I give up, you tell me." The man sighed.

"Mrs. Pitt, the old woman who died."

"She died of old age. Nothing supernatural."

"No. That's my answer." The Doctor said, confusing us both.

"Her death?"

"No. The fact that you were here to witness it, along with my wife."

There was a commotion behind us and the Doctor pushed me out of the booth.

"Excuse us, Professor."

"Doctor. Doctor!" I called out as he pulled me along. "What did you mean?"

"A professor with astounding knowledge on a myth that just so happened to be on this train? Doesn't that ring suspicious?"

I thought about it, his words ringing true, especially since I knew some of the other guests riding.

"You're right. The people aboard this train. They're all doctors and professors and, well, clever people. That _can't_ just be a coincidence. But why gather them all up here and sick a mummy on them? Revenge for something? Curiosity? For _fun_ even?"

He turned around and smiled at me. "That's what we're here to find out."

We somehow managed to get through the crowd of people and hurried after the Captain of the train, stopping him as he had been heading back to his office.

"I think we need to talk." The Doctor said sternly, making the man turn around with a frown.

"This matter does not concern the passengers." He replied gruffly.

The Doctor pulled out his psychic paper and handed it to the man. "We're not passengers. We're your worst nightmares."

"A mystery shopper and his wife. Oh, great." The man complained, passing the paper back as I raised a brow at what the paper had apparently said.

The Doctor too, seemed surprised at that.

"Really? That's your worst nightmare?" He rolled with it though. "Okay, I'm a mystery shopper. I could do with an extra pillow and my wife could do with a huge tray of your best ice cream desserts. And we're very disappointed with your breakfast bar and... all of the dying."

The man was silent for a second, before gesturing back down the hall. "Right this way."

We followed after him and entered his office, having a nice look around as he pulled out some glasses and offered us drinks. The Doctor didn't accept any, but I willing partook, ignoring the Doctor's scolding look as I accepted the drink and stuck out my tongue at him, sipping at the alcohol.

"This is not exactly within your job description." The Captain said, though the Doctor hardly cared about his suspicion.

"Come on, Captain. Where would be all be if we followed our job descriptions, hm? Good question. Glad you asked." He said, answering himself as I sighed—knowing what was about to happen—and took a larger sip of my drink. "In your case, you'd be doing something instead of climbing inside a bottle."

"I have followed the procedure for accidental death to the letter."

I raised a brow at that. _And yet there hasn't been an investigation by any of the crew into how the death might have occurred? You'd think they'd ask a bit more questions rather than just writing it off. Though, then again, they are trying to run a business. Probably not the best thing to be doing, going around and prodding the passengers._

The Doctor seemed to agree with my train of thought. "Yes, I'm sure you have. And I'm sure you do enough of your job to avoid complaints."

"You don't know anything about me." The Captain scowled, growing defensive.

"Wounded in battle, honorable discharge. And this is just a guess, but I think you've had the fight knocked out of you. You expected this to be a cushy desk job where you could put your head down until retirement. Well, I'm sorry. As of today, that dream is over." The Doctor ranted and the man continued to argue.

"There is no evidence of any attack or other parties."

I frowned. "Just because there's no evidence doesn't mean something strange isn't going on, Captain. And if there _is_ an unexplainable death, then I would assume it would be your _duty_ as Captain of this train to see that it is thoroughly investigated, and any and _all_ possibilities are proved false before you go and label it an accident."

"She's right." The Doctor scowled. "Let's just sit around and wait for the evidence while the bodies pile up. Or, here's a crazy thought, we could do something to stop it."

Upon seeing that the Captain wasn't going to give in until there was yet another dead corpse or two, the Doctor shook his head.

"Why are we even talking to you?"

The two of us left and I glared at the Captain as we left his room, where we very nearly bumped into Perkins with rolls of papers.

"Uh, passenger manifest, plan of the train and a list of stops for the past six months." He said, handing the papers to the Doctor, before passing a bundle to me with a wink as I nodded in thanks and took the passenger records for myself.

"Quick work, Perkins." The Doctor complimented, though the caution was back. "Maybe too quick."

"Yes, sir. I'm obviously the mummy. Or perhaps, I was already looking into this."

I smiled at the Doctor's frown, nudging him in the side as we walked off and Perkins followed behind us. "Ooh, I like him. Can we keep him?"

"We're not keeping him." He grumbled and I pouted.

"You're just cross that he was giving you sass."

"You provide enough '_sass_', thank you very much."

I grinned childishly. "Someone has to keep you on your toes."

* * *

Clara sat on a box in the storage room where she and her newest companion Maisie had been locked in, ever since she'd bumped into the woman who was searching for her grandmother's corpse to pay her respects. She silently wondered where the Doctor was, having brought up the man to Maisie while they'd been sitting around waiting for the man to realize they weren't where they should be. _He should have figured something out by now. Knowing him he'd already rushed off by the time I went to find him. Oh, I wish Alex were here. She'd at least realize something was wrong._ Clara then remembered the conversation she'd had with the Doctor and sighed softly. _She probably wouldn't be happy about me wanting to leave either. It's my decision though. What the Doctor did was just…_

"This Doctor." Maisie spoke up, dragging Clara from her thoughts. "He's your what, exactly?"

"He's not my anything." Clara defended.

"Oh, you mean you're just friends."

"Yeah." She replied chuckling, not understanding why Maisie was giving her this look. "Of course we're just friends." She paused then, back in her thoughts. "Oh. Well, not even friends. Not any more."

"Well, that clearly isn't true."

Clara frowned. "It's true. It is. It's very true."

"You do seem to be here together." Maisie protested.

"Seriously?" Clara said in disbelief. "We're stuck in this carriage, probably all night, and all we can talk about is some man?"

"_Some_ man?" She countered and Clara shook her head.

"Not that kind of…" Clara took a deep breath and let it out, smile faltering. "Look, we, um… We knocked about together, we traveled and now we're stopping. This is a… I don't know… goodbye to the good times?"

Maisie glanced at the dark sarcophagus across the room from them. "Were the good times all like this?"

Clara laughed a little. "Yeah. Now that you mention it..." She paused, growing solemn again. "About the Doctor… There was this… _thing_ that happened. He made me… Well, let me explain."

And she did. She went on to explain what had happened back on the moon, able to just tell the truth about everything since they technically _were_ in space and things like creatures laying eggs as a planet's moon probably wasn't all that uncommon. So, she just belted it all out, hoping to get the other woman's opinion on the situation and have someone possibly back up what she'd said and done to the Doctor. Just have someone tell her she did the right thing by doing this, wanting to stop traveling with him. Because there was that bit of doubt that kept gnawing at her stomach. Telling her that she wouldn't be able to give it up, despite how hard she was trying to today. That, and she got the feeling that if Alex were here, the woman would be more intent on trying to keep her around as opposed to having her leave. _Though she's surprised me before. I'd probably be talking to her right now if it wasn't for this situation._

"Oh, he was wrong." Maisie announced.

"Yes, yes." Clara agreed, happy that someone else thought the same. "Yes, he was."

"And, and high-handed and... and thoughtless and, and, and arrogant beyond belief."

"Exactly." Clara nodded.

"And you got on a train with him." Maisie said, surprising Clara, who hadn't expected that response.

"I was saying goodbye. You can't end it on a slammed door."

"Yes, you can." Maisie argued. "Anyone can do it. People do it all the time. Except, of course, when they can't."

Clara looked away nervously, wondering if that was what had happened with her as Maisie sighed.

"Life would be so much simpler if you liked the right people. People you're supposed to like. But then, I guess there'd be no fairy tales."

Clara couldn't help that tugging in her gut telling her that this woman beside her was just explaining her situation away _exactly_. She wanted to love Danny. He was the 'right person' and the Doctor was the 'fairy tale'. She felt horribly guilty, because she _did_ have a small crush on the Doctor, but she knew it would never go any further than that, because he had Alex and Clara herself honestly didn't feel anything more towards him than she did towards Alex; who was a really good friend and mentor of hers. Family, even. There was just something about the Doctor and that adventure that came with him that gave her a rush and she was worried that she wouldn't be able to give it up. And if that happened, then what about Danny? What about the man who she felt was the right one? The one she might fall in love with and marry and have kids with? Could she really leave him behind for some adventure? _I really don't know anymore…_

* * *

"—ake up. Alex, wake up."

I groaned, swatting at the hand shaking my shoulder before I lost my balance and nearly fell out of the chair I was in, making my eyes snap open and my heart race before the Doctor caught me and I glared tiredly at him.

"I was sleepin'." I grumbled, yawning and stretching my arms above my head as he pulled out a phone from the wall and began calling someone. "Who're you callin'?"

"Clara." He said, and that woke me up faster than nearly falling to the floor.

"Let me talk to her." I said, making grabby hands at the phone.

He lightly pushed my hands away. "Later. I go first."

I pouted, flopping back in the chair in front of the CCTV we'd been watching videos on, and crossing my arms as I glared at the Doctor's back; who was smart enough to take a few steps away from me so I would be able to smack him if he started being rude.

"Wake up sleepy-head." He said into the phone and I rolled my eyes. "Time for breakfast. Knowing this train, it'll taste amazing."

"Not like we'll actually be getting any." I muttered under my breath, stomach growling for food already.

"Can't even get that right, huh?" He replied to whatever she said, before rambling on and giving her no chance to reply, no doubt. "Bad food on trains is traditional. Listen, there's been another mummy murder. So our last hurrah just became a little bit more interesting."

There was a shout and I raised a brow at the Doctor.

"What? Where are you?" He asked before rushing out calling her name as he pounded on a door just down the hall from the engineering room. "Clara! Is that you?"

"Clara? How the devil did you get in there?" I called out, spotting the heeled shoe in the key pad. "Never mind. I see it now."

The Doctor pulled the heel from the keypad and it sparked and fizzled at him, before he bent down to it. "Computer, can you open the door please?"

_Ooh, he said please. That's rare. _I mused with a quiet snicker, earning a look from him as the computer responded.

"_Call me Gus. I'm afraid this door can only be opened by executive order._"

"Oh, forget it." He said, attempting to use his sonic only for it to not work, surprisingly. "Now the stupid sonic screwdriver's not working… I don't know, some sort of a suppression field, I would guess. And it has to be a guess because—as I say—the stupid sonic screwdriver's not working. What are you even doing in there?... What? Was I supposed to waken you up? Drag you out of bed because I had a hun—"

"Give me that." I grumbled, snatching the phone from him and pulling a hand through my hair as I held him back with my hand on his chest and spoke. "Hello, Clara. Alex. Sorry about him, he seems to be extra rude today."

"_You're telling me._" She chuckled. "_When did you pop in?_"

"I didn't, surprisingly. Eleven dropped me off for a vacation and you see how that's turning out."

"Alex." The Doctor complained. "Give it back."

I smacked at his hand, making him cradle it like I'd actually hurt him as I went on.

"Anyway, Clara, just curious. Is there anything in there that could cause this suppression field that's messing with the sonic? Or anything that could help give us info on the mummy?"

"_Actually, um… there's a sarcophagus._"

I blinked, turning to the Doctor in surprise and worry; mouthing to him what she said and making _his_ eyes widen as he tried again to take the phone and I actually allowed him to succeed this time.

"Is it in there?" The Doctor demanded to know and when the lights flickered, I felt my hearts sink. "Clara, it's coming."

He frantically worked at the lock as I tried to figure out if there was anything I could do. The Doctor stopped after a moment though, looking confused as he mouthed to me that the sarcophagus was empty. _Alright, now I'm confused. Does this mean Clara's not a target? And if so, then who is and why isn't Clara them? Not to be rude to Clara, but wouldn't it choose whoever was closest? Or is it just picking people off at random?_ I shook my head, spotting the Captain and some men enter the hallway with guns drawn and I quickly tucked my info on the passengers away and held up my hands in surrender.

"Doctor, Alex. Move away from the door."

"Our friend's inside." He said, but the Captain wasn't bothered by that fact.

"Then they're in trouble too. I spoke to Head Office. There is no mystery shopper and his wife. Neither of you are even on the passenger list."

"Clara, I'm going to have to call you back." The Doctor said into the phone as the Captain moved forward. "Come on."

The Doctor and I were handcuffed and moved out of the baggage car as the Doctor complained.

"You know, I'm going to have to mark you down for this."

"You are _not_ a mystery shopper. For all I know, you two are the ones behind the killings."

I lifted my hands. "Actually, I have a ticket in my coat pocket proving that I'm a passenger, so technically I _could_ mark you down for this."

"A likely story." The man scoffed and the Doctor frowned.

"Oh, come on, Captain. How many people have to die before you stop looking the other way?"

Just as we entered the lounge though, realization dawned on us as a guard panicked on the floor; shooting at seemingly nothing.

"He's the next target..." I breathed out, wishing I could look over the papers in my coat and figure out how the victims were being chosen.

_There just has to be a common figure linking them to one another. Anything! Age, height, sex, race, hair color, skin color, medical history, criminal history, something!_

"What do you think you're doing?" The Captain demanded from the man as he begged to something no one else could see.

"Please, please! Stop! No!"

"Get up, man! That's an order! The Captain demanded, before the guard collapsed and the doctor from before came over to check for a pulse; shaking his head to let everyone know there wasn't one.

Another man handed the Captain the guard's gun and he took it, turning to the Doctor and I.

"Turns out it's three." He passed the gun over to another guard as we were released. "The amount of people who had to die before I stopped looking the other way."

I glared at the man. "That's three too many." I snapped, reaching into my pocket and waving the ticket for the train I had at him. "And next time, gather evidence before you go around accusing innocent people."

He grabbed the ticket from me and looked it over before paling and bowing. "Apologies, ma'am."

I snatched the ticket back from him angrily. "Oh, shut up. We've got bigger things to worry about than your bleeding reputation."

Perkins popped up out of nowhere then, coming up between the Doctor and I with a frown.

"Same as the others?"

The guards took their colleague's body away as the Doctor turned and got everyone's attention; myself flipping through the papers in my hands and moving towards a bar stool in search of some sort of evidence about the victims that could be useful. I was already feeling rather useless with the past three deaths and unless I found some way to keep myself occupied, I doubted that I would be able to stand this sort of thing much longer. _I'll definitely have a temper by the end of all this._ I mused, dragging a hand down my face as I tried to focus; the Doctor's voice ringing in the background.

"Ladies and gentlemen, could I have a moment of your time, please? There's a monster on this train that can only be seen by those about to die. If you _do_ see it, you will have exactly sixty six seconds left in which to live."

_Bit blunt, but as long as it gets the point across._ I thought, pulling out the papers on the three deceased.

"But that isn't even the strangest thing. Do you know what is? _You_. The passengers. Experts in alien biology, mythology, physics. If _I_ was putting together a team to analyze this thing, I'd pick you."

_And there's the answer to my previous question. The Doctor thinks someone gathered everyone together to analyze the mummy. But for what purpose?_ I shook that thought from my mind, knowing it wouldn't help save whoever was going to be the next victim.

"And I think somebody has. Someone of immense power and influence has orchestrated this whole trip. Someone who I have no doubt is listening to us right now."

I felt a small change in the ship then, looking up from my paper with furrowed brows as I tried to figure out what it was; though the Doctor was either clueless or didn't care.

"So, are you going to step out from behind the curtain and give us our orders?"

"The engines. They've stopped." Perkins announced, giving me revelation as to what had changed.

The train had stopped. Of course, that wasn't the strangest thing to happen at the Doctor's words. The lights flickered, the doors closed, and the entire car changed into that of some high-tech futuristic laboratory.

"And the façade drops away because what use are a bunch of scientists without a lab?" The Doctor said, myself looking around as more than half of the people in the car flickered out of existence.

"Teleporter?" Perkins offered, but I shook my head.

"Holograms. Fake people to fill in the numbers and keep us in the dark that something suspicious was going on."

The Doctor pointed at me and touched a finger to his nose. "Right on point, Alex. Hard light holograms. They were never really here."

"That was my best guard." The Captain complained, though that was the least of our problems.

"_Good morning, everyone._" The computer greeted. "_Around the room you will find a variety of scientific equipment. Your goal is to ascertain the Foretold's true nature, probe for weaknesses with a view to capture, after which we will reverse engineer its abilities. Isn't this exciting?_"

"Hardly." I snorted quietly, searching through the files in hand once more as I listened in.

"You said capture, implying that you can't control this thing." The Doctor commented. "And yet somehow you got it on board. How?"

"_There is an artifact, an ancient scroll. I have highlighted it for your convenience._" The computer explained, some spotlights lighting up said scroll at the end of the hall. "_For reasons currently unknown, the Foretold appears in the vicinity of this artifact._"

"And kills at regular intervals." The Doctor concluded.

"Then just maybe we should throw this thing out in the airlock." The Captain said, moving past me towards the scroll.

The Doctor tried to stop him, but the man wasn't listening and I rolled my eyes before getting up and grabbing his arm tightly.

"He said, stop."

The man struggled to pull away, glaring at me. "Well, I'm not going to just sit here when throwing that thing out could be our one chance at living."

"And you honestly don't think this person thought of that? Watch."

I grabbed a small glass beaker from off the table nearby and threw it at the artifact, only for it to hit a force field and get zapped, before falling to the floor in shatters.

"See? You would've walked right into that. So shut up and let us all think for a moment, yeah?"

I pushed him back as Mr. Moorhouse spoke up.

"What if we say no? Down tools. Refuse to work."

"_That_ is_ your choice, of course. But it would be very _upsetting_ were you all to die at the hands of the Foretold._"

"So hurry up, before it kills you." Perkins summarized.

"But even if they agree to this, how are they supposed to study a creature that they can't even see? We don't even know what the species is." The Doctor questioned, just as the lights flickered and I quickly looked up and searched through the people for the target. "Perkins, start the clock."

Perkins started up a stop watch as Mr. Moorhouse spoke up and I winced before quickly searching through my papers for his file; pulling a pen from my pocket to make notes.

"Approximately one point eight meters tall. Actually, seeing it in the flesh isn't nearly as rewarding as I thought it might be."

"Oh, dear." The Doctor muttered, turning to him. "Hard cheese. What can you see? Details."

"Yes. Yes, of course, of course." He put on some glasses. "Uh, well. It just looks like, uh, a man in bandages. I—"

"What kind of bandages? Old? New?" The Doctor interrupted.

"Old."

"Whole? Ragged?"

"Ragged. Falling off in places. I don't know what you want me to tell you." He said, growing more panicked as the seconds went on and I mentally cursed; knowing that there wasn't much he _could_ tell us.

"Listen to me!" The Doctor demanded. "You can see this thing. We can't. Tell us what you can see. Even the smallest detail might help save the next one."

"_Doctor_." I scolded, making him spare me a confused glance, before Mr. Moorhouse's expression faltered and he removed his glasses.

"The next one? You mean you can't save me?"

"Well, that is implied, isn't it?" The Doctor said bluntly and I bit back another curse. "Yes, this is probably the end for you. But make it count. Details, please."

"Uh, flesh. Some of it is visible." He continued as Perkins called out.

"Thirty seconds."

"Not helping." I chided the man who had the decency to look a little apologetic before I turned to Mr. Moorhouse. "Describe the skin. Markings? Tattoos? Texture? Preserved?"

"Uh, leathery, ancient looking, peat bog preserved."

"Keep talking." The Doctor encouraged as I wrote that down. "Don't waste this chance."

It was then though, that Mr. Moorhouse changed his attitude.

"I want to bargain for my life."

"W-W-What?" The Doctor asked in disbelief.

"Well, it says… some of the myths say if you… if you find the right word, if you make the right offer, then it lets you go."

"This is not a myth. This is real. Forget your superstitions. Tell us what you can see."

"Doctor." I chided again, drawing his attention to me as I shook my head. "Every myth has some truth. And this is the last ten seconds. Let him do as he pleases."

The Doctor frowned, ready to scold me, but Mr. Moorhouse nodded in agreement.

"She's right. This is my life, my death! I'm going to fight for it how I want! Uh, I give you..."

"Ten seconds." Perkins said, wilting under my glare.

"My soul. I confess all sins. I give you all my worldly goods. Only, please. Please, please. No!"

He fell to the ground and I let out a soft breath, guilt eating away at me for being able to do nothing to help him except take notes and give him his last ten seconds of life to himself.

"_We apologize for any distress you may have just experienced. Grief counseling is available on request. On the bright side, I'm sure you've all collected a lot of data. Well, done, everyone!_" The computer chirped and I scowled.

"Well, aren't you cute. Give me a damn bottle of whiskey, Gus and let's get this shit over with." I complained, accepting the bottle that appeared with a glass and getting to work with a highlighter I pulled from my pocket; ignoring the world around me as I immersed myself in the files.

* * *

A phone went off and the Doctor quickly picked up the one he'd been using to contact Clara.

"Clara Oswald." He hummed out, hoping she had some good news for him.

"_Okay, so first thing's first. The sarcophagus is actually a secure stasis unit._" She explained; her and Maisie going through some files they'd found in their little storage hold.

"Yes. It's where they want us to put the Foretold if we capture it."

"_Well, that would have been good to know._"

"Sorry. Teeny bit busy round here. What else?" He asked, eyeing Alex as she pulled a hand through her hair again; driver's cap forgotten on the bar beside her along with an empty whiskey bottle.

"_Please terminate your call and return to work._" The computer chimed, but the Doctor ignored it as Clara responded.

"_We have some paperwork. Passenger manifests from other ships. Maisie recognized a couple of the names. These are missing ships._"

"So we're not the first."

"_No._"

"_Please terminate your call and return to work._" The computer repeated, ignored once more.

"_I've got some progress reports. The Gloriana spent three days getting picked off by the Foretold. All died. Performance marked as poor. The Valiant Heart. Forty two crew, four died. Performance, promising._"

"_Please terminate your call and return to work._" The computer said a third time, but this time, the Captain got the Doctor's attention.

"I think you should do as it says."

There, outside the window, was the cooking staff; frosted over after having been ejected out into space.

"_I'm sorry. I know that must have been distressing for you._" The computer chimed in. "_But if you are disobedient again, I will decompress another area containing less valuable passengers._"

"Doctor, I got it." Alex called out, but the Doctor was too focused on what he'd just heard.

"Less valuable passengers? How does it choose?"

"Doctor, I—"

"Well, I'm assuming qualifications—" Perkins piped in, but the Doctor shook his head.

"No, no, no. not the computer. The Foretold. How does it choose to kill? We've assumed it's random. What if it's not?"

"Doctor!" Alex shouted loudly, finally making him turn around, though he didn't look pleased.

"What? Can't you see I'm busy? I have no time for you and your drunken rambling."

Alex scowled, stomping over and waving the files she had. "Yeah? Well you better listen then, because I know how it chooses it's victims."

"What?" He questioned as the computer chirped.

"_Well done._"

"Thanks. The whiskey helped." Alex offhandedly replied, before handing the papers over to the Doctor to look at. "Now as I was saying, I know how it chooses. I've been looking these over since earlier because I'm not thick, you know. Every serial killer investigation starts out the same. I would know, I've worked on some. And the first thing the cops do, is see how the victims are connected. Don't know why you lot skipped over that."

"So? What'd you find?" He asked, tossing the papers over his shoulders like they were useless and focusing on Alex as she sighed.

"It's their health. It's picking off the weakest prey one by one." She explained, holding up her fingers and ticking them off. "Mrs. Pitt was over a hundred years old, had to have some sort of medical issue. Chef had a rare blood disorder—and yes, Captain, that was in his personal files. I snuck a peak. Get over it."

The Captain begrudgingly shut his mouth, which he'd opened to ask how she knew.

Alex though, went on, eyes shifting to the ceiling. "The guard had synthetic lungs implanted last year, and Mr. Moorhouse had frequent panic attacks after a car accident that same year."

The Doctor smiled, kissing Alex on the forehead. "This is good news. _This_ means we can work out who is next. It's sensing the illness somehow. Fake organs, even psychological issues. Did you figure out who was next?"

Alex winced and turned towards the Captain who tightened his hands into fists and stepped forward.

"You really think it can sense psychological issues?"

The Doctor didn't even turn to him, lost in thought. "It seems so. Why?"

"Because he's next, Doctor." Alex said, making his eyes widen as they trained themselves onto the man standing before them as he explained.

"When you said I'd lost the stomach for a fight, I wasn't wounded in battle as such, but… My unit was bombed. I was the sole survivor. Not a scratch on me. But post-traumatic stress, nightmares… Still can't sleep without pills."

"Sorry." Alex apologized, getting a nod of appreciation from the man, though the Doctor remained clueless apparently to what he was saying.

"You are probably next. Which is good to know."

"Well, not for me." The man glared.

"Well, of course not for you, because you're going to die. But I mean, for us, from a research point of view."

Alex smacked the Doctor harshly on the arm. "Shut up and give the man a break, would you? I understand you're trying to distract yourself from the seriousness of this situation, but have some tact. _Please_."

The Captain scoffed. "You know, for a doctor, your bedside manner leaves—"

He was cut off as the lights flickered and the Doctor complained.

"Well, there goes our head start. Perkins, start the clock."

Perkins did so and the Doctor turned to the Captain.

"What can you see?"

"Almost feels... out of focus. Gives me a headache just looking at it." The man said, drawing his gun, but the Doctor tried to stop him.

"Oh no, no, no, no. That didn't work before."

"What kind of soldier would I be, dying with bullets in my gun?" He countered and the Doctor begrudgingly covered his ears and watched the man fire off his shots; shattering beakers across the room.

"Fifty seconds." Perkins called out and before Alex could say anything, the Captain shouted.

"Shut that man up!" He then glanced at the Doctor, who was holding a slightly shaking Alex close. "For the record, it didn't even flinch."

"Where is it now?" The Doctor asked, pulling away from Alex, once he was sure she was alright.

"Approximately twenty feet in front of me and closing."

"Forty seconds." Perkins chimed; obviously not going to head the warnings previously mentioned.

"Am I close?" The Doctor asked, standing in the middle of the hall.

"It's passing right through you, like a ghost."

"Feel anything?" Alex asked the Doctor, but he shook his head.

"It's not a hologram." Perkins called out, having tried to scan it.

"If you move, will it follow?" The Doctor questioned.

"Do you want me to move?" The Captain asked, unnerved. "Because I can certainly do that."

"Keep looking at it, but back off quick as you like." The Doctor instructed, but the Captain didn't get a chance.

"It teleported away." He said, looking around as the lights flickered, before he turned completely and backed up. "It's behind me."

"Twenty seconds." Perkins chimed.

"I think this is it." The Captain said, seeming to of given up. "Still, suppose it's not a bad way to go. Blood pumping, enemy at the gates and all that. And thank you, Doctor, for waking me up. And you, Alex, for putting me in my place for once." He then stopped and stiffened. "It's reaching for me. Hands on my head."

"Zero." Perkins announced and the Captain let out a cry before crumpling to the ground.

The medical doctor headed over to check on him and confirm his death as Perkins also went to the man's side and Alex kneeled down and closed the Captain's eyes; mouthing sorry as the Doctor rambled away.

"Teleporter. That means tech. Then sixty six seconds to do what? Sixty six seconds. That seems very, very specific. Too specific for organic. So, what, more tech? What? More? A countdown clock? Something charging?"

"A man just died in front of us. Can we not just have a _moment_?" Perkins demanded, but the Doctor frowned.

"No. No, no, no. We can't do that. We can't mourn. People with guns to their heads, they _cannot_ mourn. We do not have time to mourn. Everybody, what takes sixty six seconds to charge up or to change state? Anyone?" He sighed. "Am I surrounded by idiots? If only I could see this thing."

"I swear to God, Doctor, if you even _think_ about doing that, I will bloody kill you myself before the mummy can get to you." Alex growled, but the Doctor ignored her again.

"One minute with me and this thing, it would be over!"

Perkins laughed bitterly, getting up. "You know, Doctor, I can't tell if you're a genius or just incredible arrogant."

"Both." Alex muttered, getting up and moving back over to the table where another bottle awaited her.

"Alex is right again. On a good day, I'm both." He stopped then, pointing at Perkins as something dawned on him. "Ancient tech. This thing has been around for centuries. How? Tech that keeps it alive. Tech that drains energy from the living." He clapped his hands. "Scanner."

Perkins tossed it to him and he scanned the Captain's corpse.

"Deep tissue scan." He passed the scanner back. "He's been leached of almost all energy on a cellular level. The heart attack is just a, is just a side effect."

"Energy..." Alex muttered, before speaking up. "Is that why the lights flicker when it teleported? That's the give away, right? When it first teleports in, the lights flicker, and if it teleports after that like it did with the Captain, the lights also flicker. And when it reaches for the head at the end, it's the same thing too. The brain is where the signals are sent to and from the body, so it reaches for that in order to get the greatest amount of pull on the energy. Drains it all from the biggest source."

"Correct, Alex! You are on quite the roll today, though I suggest laying off the whiskey for another twenty minutes, or we might just very well loose that."

Alex scoffed, but didn't drink anymore. Simply watching the amber liquid swirl in her glass absentmindedly as she thought and listened.

"But why take sixty six seconds to drain us? Why not just pounce?" The Doctor muttered in question and Perkins offered up an explanation.

"Phase. Moving energy out of phase. That takes about a minute, doesn't it?"

"That's why only the victims can see it." The Doctor gaped in realization. "It takes them out of phase so it can drain their energy. You, sir, are a genius! This explains everything! Apart from what it is and how it's doing it. Sorry, I jumped the gun there with the 'you're a genius, that explains everything' remark."

Alex spoke up then, having scooped up the papers on the floor and picked one out of the pile.

"And I think I know who the next victim is..."

She handed it over to the Doctor who looked at it with a frown.

"Ah, of course. That makes perfect sense."

* * *

A headache was coming on and between the whiskey and the way the Doctor was acting, I was about two seconds away from hitting him. I was doing my best to keep a hold on my temper though. I knew what he was doing and, though I didn't appreciate his blunt comments, I understood that he was trying his best in his own way. _Though if someone _else_ chose to hit him, I'll bet it will lift a lot of weight off my shoulders._ I groaned quietly under my breath and pinched the bridge of my nose as he spoke to Clara about the next target: Miss Pitt.

"Clara, it doesn't care. Her bad day, her bereavement, her little breakdown, puts her squarely in its cross-hairs. She's next. Every simulation we've run confirms it." He said, pausing for a second as she spoke. "This thing can teleport. We need her here. Even the computer agrees."

I got a bad feeling then. Like Clara had asked something important and that the Doctor's next response would tick me off more than I'd want it too.

"Of course not. Why would you think that?" He questioned, my hearts suddenly pumping overtime as the tension in me grew. "This is another chance to observe it in action."

_Just stay calm, Alex. You can do it. You know the Doctor's just being blunt to get things done faster. He wants to help them. He does. He's doing his best to get this over with as quickly as he can in order to save more lives. You get that, so ignore his rudeness and just—_My thoughts were abruptly cut off with his next words. And I didn't even have to know what Clara had said to understand that any and all self-control I had was about to fly out the train window.

"Of course, as it kills her. If it happens in there, it'll be a waste. So bring her to us… Well, I don't know. Lie to her. Tell her I can save her. Whatever it takes to get her here."

I swore the passengers on the train could _hear_ as the last cord keeping me in check snapped and as I stomped over towards the Doctor who hung up on Clara and tossed his phone aside, Perkins spotted me and took a few hesitant steps back. For good reason too. The moment I'd crossed the car and reached the Doctor—who was giving me a confused look—I swung a punch and knocked him solidly to the ground as I glared down at him.

"You son of a bitch." I growled out, eyes sharp with anger, and shining with tears. "I don't _care_ how rude you decide to be, but you will _never_ _**ever **_ask Clara or anyone else to do something like that. _Ever_. Do you understand me?"

He frowned, starting to get up as he rubbed his jaw where I'd hit him. "We need her _here,_ Alex. Any way possible in order to stop this thing. Don't you understand _anything_?"

I growled and went to hit him again, but Perkins had grabbed a hold of me and was holding me back.

"Understand?! _Understand_?! You think I'm stupid and don't understand what's going on?! I get that there's some killer mummy on board killing people one by one! I understand that Miss Pitt is the next victim and that we need her here in order to try and stop this thing! But what I don't _understand_, Doctor, is what you've become in order to achieve that! Can you answer that question?! Because this isn't the Doctor! This isn't _my_ Doctor! My Doctor can be as rude as he wants, and because I understand him better than anyone, I've allowed him to do that. I've allowed _you_ to be a jerk because I know that this is how this you cope with pressure! This is how _Nine_ coped with pressure! But when you stop caring completely about someone's life and you decide that you're going to tell your companion—your _friend—_to lie to someone _for_ _you_, about _dying_?! That's where I stop you! That's where I punch you in the face, because the Doctor doesn't do that! The Doctor doesn't place that burden on someone he cares about just because he wants answers!"

"Then what do you expect me to do?!" The Doctor shouted back, angrily. "Tell her she's the next victim and we need her here to get information on a killer mummy?! Or better yet! Why don't _you_ just tell me what to do, Miss Know-It-All?!"

I flinched back. "I-I can't. You know I can't!"

"Oh, why not?!" He argued. "You think you're so clever, after all! You think you've got the answers to everything because you've had that stupid foreknowledge packed away in your head for so long, that you've gotten cocky! Go on then! Amaze us all! The mummy will be here soon and Clara will be here with Miss Pitt too! You obviously think you can do a better job than me, so hop to it!" He shouted and I didn't know what to do for a moment.

He plopped down heavily in a chair and folded his arms over his chest, staring me down with a heated gaze much like that of the Oncoming Storm, except it was far more painful to look at than before.

"I-I don't—"

I was cut off by the door opening and Clara along with Miss Pitt entering the room. The Doctor bolted up and rushed past me, knocking into my shoulder painfully as he hurried over to Maisie; who held out her hand with a small smile.

"Hello, again. I'm Maisie."

"Good for you." The Doctor said bluntly, pulling her towards me. "This is Alex. She'll be taking care of this mess for us."

I looked at him in panicked shock, but he only spared me a heated glare before Clara spoke and got his attention.

"We passed the Tardis on the way here." She said, looking between us suspiciously. "Thought about getting inside, hiding, pulling the levers and hoping for the best. But we couldn't even get in. there was a forcefield around it."

The Doctor threw something my way and I caught it, fumbling with it a second before looking down at the scanner and back at him.

"Better get to it then, Holmes." He growled, making me flinch upon him using my last name, before he turned back to Clara. "It's probably Gus trying to block our escape route."

Swallowing thickly, I scanned over Maisie in the hopes that I'd find something since the Doctor didn't appear he was going to help me unless this whole thing came down to the dire circumstances. Already, I could feel my breathing shorten in fear for what was coming, and anger at myself for loosing my temper with the Doctor; hands shaking slightly as I tried to distract myself by listening to Clara and him talk.

"But how does he even know what it is? 'Cause if he knows what it is, then he knows what you are."

"Well, he has tried to entice me here before. Free tickets, mysterious summons, he even phoned the Tardis number. Do you know how difficult a number—"

Clara cut him off. "You knew. You knew this was no relaxing break. You knew this was dangerous."

"I didn't _know_." He argued. "I certainly hoped."

"Okay, this. You see, this. This is why I'm leaving you." Clara frowned, angrily. "This. Because you lied. You lied to me, again. And now you've made me lie. You've made me your accomplice."

The Doctor scoffed and threw a finger my way. "Hardly. Holmes is the one who said she wouldn't come otherwise."

My hearts sank. My gaze turning to a shocked Clara, who looked at me in shock as I tried to figure out what the hell the Doctor was doing.

"Alex? Y-You made me do this?"

"I-I..."

I didn't. I knew I didn't, but one look at the Doctor made me understand what was going on. It was like being with the Ninth Doctor all over again. He had trusted me. This Doctor had trusted me to have his back because I knew him. I knew him better than anyone else and I'd thrown that right back in his face. And now he was punishing me for it. He was showing me just how hard it is to make a decision like this. To have a good friend unable to trust you, to have multiple lives on the line and in your hands, to have the person you thought knew you the most going against you, and I was expected to keep my cool and solve the problem like the Doctor had been. He was showing me everything that he had to deal with before I'd hurt him a few moments ago. And now I either had to back down, or I had to try and come up with something on my own. And you'd think that'd be an easy decision. That I'd just back down, apologize for what I said, and beg the Doctor to save us all, but I couldn't do that. I don't know why. Maybe it was my own selfish pride, maybe it was because I didn't think what I said and did was the wrong thing to do. But either way, I made my choice and I set my jaw tight as I forced myself to think and come up with a solution.

"Alex? Did you tell the Doctor to say that?" Clara persisted and I grit my teeth.

"Yes." I said, bluntly, turning to her with a blank look; though my eyes were begging her to understand how apologetic I was even though it wasn't technically my fault. "And I'm sorry, but we needed her here."

"What?" Maisie questioned, confused. "Sorry, when did you lie? Clara?"

"Maisie, I am… I am so sorry." Clara apologized as I turned my attention to the bigger problem.

_Think, brain, think! The mummy goes after the weak. Those incapacitated in some way. The only way I can think of stopping this thing from coming after Maisie is if someone else was hurt more than her. But that can't be it, because then others would have been taken before her. Then someone has to take her place. Become her. But how? _I grimaced, pulling a hand through my hair as I struggled to come up with something._ Take on her problems, how? Would using my head work? Like with the headbutts, but instead of passing something along, I share that with her? Take it from her? Could I do that? Is it possible?_ I bit my bottom lip, knowing that it might not work, but having no other choice as the lights above us began to flicker and Maisie gasped, pointing behind me. _And if I do get it to chase me, what then?_ _I'll have to figure it out._

"Maisie, hold still and think about everything that's hurting you right now." I ordered and her eyes softened as I placed my fingers on her temples, shutting out the area around me as I focused on taking her pain and sorrow from her and into myself.

"Do we start the clock?" Perkins asked, his voice partially drowned out as I focused.

"Wait." I muttered softly, hearing the Doctor now.

"What are you doing? Holmes, what do you think you're doing?!"

I ignored him for a second, before sucking in a sharp breath and letting Maisie go, holding my head at the headache that had doubled.

"It's gone." Maisie said in disbelief.

I shook my head though, turning around and facing the Doctor. "No, it's coming after me now. I'm doing what you wanted, and I'm figuring out how to stop it."

His eyes widened and he immediately began to panic. "You can't. Alex, you can't do that!"

"Just watch me." I growled out, turning to Perkins. "Start the clock."

He did so as I faced the mummy now headed my way, wincing as Maisie's feelings and memories hit me harder than I would've liked; no doubt thanks to the sentient part of my head connecting with her emotions.

"Alex, stop this!" The Doctor demanded, but I pushed past him and faced the mummy as it stalked forward; staying just out of it's reach as I thought out loud.

"Nothing new, from what I can see. Everything about his appearance has already been said." I rattled on. "He shouldn't be able to hurt me before my time is up, but I'm not going to test that. Moorhouse said there was a word to stop him."

I hissed in pain as a memory flickered through my mind; intense emotions following in it's wake.

"Oh, you _really_ disliked your grandmother." I said, feeling my own anger and dislike towards the Doctor rising to the surface. "Agh, I need something more. Something more to connect you to that word. Whatever that word is." I paused then, spotting something. "Hold on, is that a tattoo or something?"

Another memory forced itself through and I cried out in pain as I stumbled back, being forced to grab a hold of a nearby table in order not to fall and possibly give myself away to the mummy.

"God, what a witch. She _did_ poison your pony. You weren't paranoid, Maisie."

"Oh!" She said in slight relief, before I recognized the symbols on the man's chest and my eyes widened as I turned and hurried towards the fabric on the wall.

"They're the same as this! The markings on his chest under the bandages are the same as this!" I said, before feeling my hope drop like a rock in my stomach. "Oh, but what does that _mean_? And sorry, Maisie. Your father too, was sort of..."

"What?"

"Thirty seconds." Perkins chimed and I winced.

"Oh, what does it mean? What does it mean? Tapestry? Scroll? Um..." I smacked myself in the forehead, before the Doctor suddenly spoke up.

"A tattered piece of cloth attached to a length of wood that you will kill for."

I turned and made a face at him. "What, like capture the flag?"

He gave me a stunned look, and then it clicked.

"Which was based off battlefields. He's a soldier!" I shouted, gesturing to the mummy, who was far closer than I would've liked. "He's a bloody undead soldier! They've just got him thinking he's still trying to capture the enemy's flag and he'll kill off all of them until…" My mouth dropped open in shock as I continued to back up. "My God, what a life you've had."

"Alex!" The Doctor shouted, just as my back touched the wall and the mummy reached for my head.

"We surrender!" I shouted, clenching my eyes shut and waiting for the pain that would come with death, only for nothing to happen.

"Zero."

I hesitantly opened my eyes as Maisie gasped.

"I can see it again!"

"It's okay." Clara reassured as the mummy lowered it's arms away from me. "I think we all can."

"Do I start the clock?" Perkins asked, and the Doctor answered.

"No. The clock has stopped."

The mummy lifted his arm to his head in a salute, before falling into a pile of dust and bandages on the ground. I couldn't move, hearts pounding away in my rib cage as my legs shook underneath me, but the Doctor stepped forward and pulled something up and out of the remains of the mummy.

"We were fighting that?" Clara asked, the Doctor holding up some kind of mechanical device.

"So was he."

"I-It's not over." I muttered, realization dawning on me once again. "We've beaten t-the enemy of Gus. There's no more use for us."

"_Thank you so much for your efforts_." The computer chirped as the Doctor moved over to a desk and began doing something with the device he'd picked up. "_They are greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, survivors of this exercise are not required._"

"Ah, well, there's a shocker." The Doctor drawled as the lights flickered and a small alarm went off.

"_Air will now be removed from the entire train. We hoped you have enjoyed your journey on the Orient Express._"

Passengers started gasping and clutching at their throats, but I forced myself to shakily move towards the Doctor.

"I take it you know a way out." Clara said, starting to breath a little heavier.

"My enemy's enemy is my friend." The Doctor rattled off. "Especially when he has a built in teleporter."

"Great, so use it." Clara demanded.

"A little more work." The Doctor said quickly, Clara starting to fumble as I myself got a bit dizzy from lack of oxygen.

"Doctor." She breathed out, going to fall, but I caught her and lowered her to the ground.

"Couple of minutes. Max. I'll give you a shout."

I turned to sit on the ground a bit more comfortably, confused as to why I hadn't passed out quite yet; though I knew I was getting there. The Doctor spotted me though and spoke.

"Good to see your respiratory bypass system has started to develop. Though it won't quite reach the capabilities of a fully fledged Time Lord until a long while from now."

I didn't reply, still feeling rather disgusted with myself for what had happened and our previous argument. Especially since I didn't believe to of done anything wrong, other than hurt the Doctor. There was a flicker and I could breathe again, but I was already slipping into unconsciousness; just barely awake enough to feel the Doctor picking me up and laying me down on the jump seat.

"S-Sorry." I breathed out, fading quickly as something was placed over me.

"No… I am."

Something lightly touched my forehead before pulling away and I let out a long breath, before finally succumbing to the inky darkness of my mind.

* * *

Clara woke up to the light sound of scratching nearby and a soft breeze brushing across her face. She furrowed her brows in confusion, before shifting on the ground and sitting up; watching the Doctor as he scratched something into the dirt.

"Oh, hello again. Sleep well?" He asked.

"Weren't we just on a train?" She questioned, looking around the rocky area in confusion.

"Oh, that was ages ago."

"And?"

"And what?" He asked with a raised brow.

Clara gave him a look and he explained.

"Oh, and we got off the train. Oh, well, the teleporter worked eventually. Beamed everyone into the Tardis. No casualties, just a bevy of sleeping beauties. I tried hacking Gus from the Tardis, find out who set this all up. He really didn't like that. Set off some fail-safe thing. Blew up the train."

"Blew up the train?" She said in disbelief.

"Blew up the train." He repeated, holding his arms out. "But we got away. Then I dropped everyone off at the nearest civilized planet, which happened to be here." He said, gesturing to the city across the way from the beach they were on. "You seemed happy asleep, so I just left you."

"So you saved everyone."

"No, I just saved you and I let everyone else suffocate. Ha, ha, ha." He said sarcastically.

"Hm." Clara hummed.

"Yeah, this is just my cover story." He rattled on.

"So, when Alex lied to Maisie… when she made _me_ lie to Maisie."

The Doctor stopped, suddenly looking very guilty and Clara paused.

"It was _Alex_ who made me lie… wasn't it?"

He shook his head slowly. "No… No, that was me. I couldn't risk Gus finding out my plan and stopping me, but Alex snapped at me and I snapped back." He frowned, his scratching in the dirt getting more violent. "I was just so angry and we started arguing, so I showed her what sort of position I was in and made her take the blame, like a stupid child who wasn't happy getting what he wanted."

He threw his stick angrily, huffing and puffing as Clara slowly spoke again.

"So… you were pretending to be heartless."

He turned back to her, eyes sad. "Would you like to think that about me? Would that make it easier? I didn't know if I could save her. I didn't even think that Alex would figure it out to save her, and that I would have to step in and figure something out on my own. I couldn't save Quell. I couldn't save Moorhouse. There was a good chance that she'd die too. At which point, I would have just moved onto the next and the next, until I beat it." He said, sitting down beside her. "Sometimes the only choices you have are the bad ones. But you still have to choose."

Clara looked over at him. "And Alex? You said you two had a fight."

He sighed quietly, looking down at his hands and messing with his wedding band with a look far more upset than Clara could imagine.

"We did. On the train." He gestured to a lightly bruised part of his face—Time Lord abilities having healed it a little but not completely yet. "She punched me after what I told you about lying."

"Good for her." Clara said with a small smile, looking out over at the city. "If she hadn't I probably would've."

She waited for some snarky retort, but upon hearing nothing, she realized that this was serious. The Doctor and Alex had had a _real_ fight. Not just their usual bantering or arguing that was easily fixed, but something more serious.

"And then what?" She asked, cautiously.

"She was upset that I told you to lie to that woman like that. Said she understood me and what I had been doing, and had allowed me to get away with being rude to the people on the train up until then, because that is what I do. I just tried to get everything done as quickly as possible to save as many as I could, and that meant getting answers."

"Which you get by being rude." Clara nodded, understanding that now that it had been explained.

She'd seen him do it numerous times before in this body—almost never as Eleven—but she just assumed he was a rude person now. She didn't think to consider it as his coping mechanism. _Alex really is amazing to spot something like that._

"But then what happened?" Clara asked, moving on. "I mean, I knew something was going on when Maisie and I showed up, but I didn't know what."

He sighed again, looking up at the sky. "She had said that I wasn't _her_ Doctor. Not the way I was acting. And with tensions running high, I had had enough. I said she didn't understand and what would she expect me to do about it, other than lie to Maisie about her being safe. Then I told her to figure it out. Without my help."

Clara's eyes widened as her moth dropped open in shock. "That's why you told Maisie that Alex would figure it out. And that's why you said _she_ was the one who made you say that."

The Doctor bowed his head again, solemn. "Yes. I was angry and figured that she could figure it out on her own if she wanted to stop me. I wanted her to understand why I was doing things this way, but I didn't realize she already knew. Anger… Anger, it really clouds ones mind." He said, waving a hand about his head.

Clara furrowed her brows though, still confused about one thing. "But then why not just apologize? She didn't have to actually figure it out. She just had to get you to do it. And with her being… well, Alex, it wouldn't of been too hard to do that."

The Doctor let out a bitter chuckle. "Yes. She would have easily been able to get me to do it, but… I suppose she just wanted to show me something."

"Something?" Clara wondered, lost.

"Yes. I mean, it could have just been that she was prideful. Or perhaps she just wanted to prove she could do it. Or didn't want to say she was wrong, but that would be a first. She's always blaming herself for things, even when the events are out of her control."

"Then… what?"

The Doctor looked over at Clara, and her hearts broke for the man before her. "She knew what I was doing. She knew that I was punishing her by putting her in my place and going, 'Here! See what I have to do?'. And instead of running away from that by apologizing or whatever it is you humans do when faced with that sort of thing, she chose to take my place. She chose to understand me even _more_ than she already did, by being the Doctor in that one moment."

"Can she actually do that?" Clara asked, curious. "_Be_ the Doctor?"

Said man shrugged. "Why not? She stopped the mummy, didn't she?"

"Well, yeah, but… You're you, right? You can't just become another person."

He gave her a sad look. "Wasn't that what I did? _I_ became the bad guy, and tossed her into the fray, thinking that she'd just turn around and apologize, begging me to become the Doctor and save those people. But instead, she shoved all of that back in my face and did it herself. She wasn't wrong, what she told me. I'd lost myself, desperate to save as many people as I could, I didn't think to consider those right in front of me until it was _her_ who the mummy was after. And by that point, there was almost nothing I could've done."

"Yeah, how _did_ she do that, anyway?"

The Doctor hummed. "Hm, same way I get into people's heads, I suppose. Except her mind works a bit differently than mine. Probably wouldn't of worked if I'd done it. That bit of the sentient Tardis in her allowed her to connect to Maisie's emotions in her memories and give Alex herself a copy of them. Enough to fool the mummy, it seemed; though I couldn't be sure. She always manages to surprise me."

"Yeah, you both seem to have a habit of doing that." Clara joked with a small smile, before it faltered. "Have you apologized yet? To Alex? You _are_ sorry, aren't you?"

"Course I am." He grumbled, as though hating the fact that he had to apologize to Alex. _Again_. "But she's asleep and I doubt a simple apology would be enough to make things up with her this time around."

Clara gave him a suspicious look. "So, in other words, you're avoiding her because..." She smirked then, smacking him on the arm. "Oh, you're scared, aren't you? You're scared she won't forgive you or you won't know what to say, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not." He said, but Clara knew better.

"No, I'm right, aren't I? I've seen you two fighting before. You chase after her, sure, but in the end, you go rambling on about something and she's the one who puts you back on track. She practically pulls an apology out of you!"

"Not true!" He argued, a pout on his face. "I can stay on topic if I want."

"Yeah, but not with her." Clara shook her head with a chuckle. "God, you two are _so_ the married couple."

"We _are_ married."

Clara rolled her eyes. "No, I mean how you two act like a married couple. With the silly fights and the arguing and apologies that are _never_ what they should be. God, they could make a TV show with you two."

The Doctor wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Ah, no, thank you. I think we could do _without_ the ridiculous notion of us being on one of your silly little reality shows."

Clara chuckled, nudging him. "Well, go on then. Go make up with her and stop avoiding it like a kid."

He pouted childishly. "I'm _not_ a kid."

"Oh, yeah. Course." She said sarcastically. "You're a big ol' Time Lord who's _afraid_ of apologizing to his _wife._"

"Fine!" He complained, getting up and holding out his hands as he walked backwards towards the Tardis. "You see! I'm going!"

"Mhmm." She hummed. "Just try to keep any of your 'making up' in your room. I'd rather not walk in on you two snogging in the console room again."

"Oh, that was one time." He drawled, speaking over his shoulder with an eye roll as he walked the right way this time.

"Yeah, one time nearly every _day_."

"Yes, well, it's your fault! You should knock first."

"Right, cause I never though of that." She huffed with a small smile, before the Doctor begrudgingly entered the Tardis; letting out a relieved sigh upon seeing his coat folded on the jump seat and no Alex in sight.

Instead, he distracted himself by heading downstairs and speaking to Perkins, who was looking through the inner workings of the Tardis.

"What do you think, Perkins?"

"Uh, it's uh, quite a vehicle you have here, Doctor. I won't pretend to understand half of it. Having said that, I did notice you've got a couple of drive stacks need replacing."

"Oh, you did, did you?"

"Yeah. You should get someone in. And a job like that takes forever."

"Really? Well, I suppose, whoever I did get in, it might just be easier to have them stay on board for a while. I don't suppose you'd know of anyone?" He asked, hinting at having Perkins stay.

"No. Sorry, Doctor, but I don't think I do." Perkins responded, saying 'no' to his offer of staying as well. "That job could, uh, change a man."

"Yes, it does. Frequently." The Doctor mused, his thoughts trailing back to what had happened on the train and who he'd yet to speak with. "Well, I won't keep you. Good bye, Perkins. Good to meet you."

"You too, Doctor. And uh, good luck." He replied, them having headed upstairs where Clara was waiting and giving the Doctor a look; knowing he hadn't spoken with Alex yet.

"Yes… I'll definitely need it." He grumbled, quickly looking away from Clara.

Once the door shut behind Perkins, Clara turned towards him.

"You're avoiding her."

"Yes, yes, I know." He complained, waving it off. "I'll see her in a minute. I just want to get us sent off first."

Clara hummed, changing the subject. "Do you love it?"

"Love what?" He questioned, confused.

"I know it's scary and difficult, but do you love being the man making the impossible choice?" She asked.

"Why would I?"

"Because it's what you do, all day, every day."

"It's my life." The Doctor countered.

"Doesn't have to be." She had a thought then. "Is it like..."

He moved around the console, eyeing her. "Like what?"

"An addiction?"

The Doctor gave her a look. "You can't really tell if something's an addiction till you try and give it up."

"And you never have."

"Let me know how it goes." He said as her phone rang and she went upstairs to answer it.

He watched her go, idly messing with controls on the console and waiting for her to return so they could head off, but his thoughts trailed back to Alex. _What would she have said? Clara asked if I love doing this and I gave her an answer, but what would Alex have said?_ His eyes drifted to the panel in front of him. _Perhaps I'll ask. _He glanced up, seeing that Clara had stopped talking, and he spoke.

"Was that Danny? What did he want?"

Clara took a deep breath and smiled, moving to the top of the stairs. "He's fine with it."

The Doctor gave her a look, absolutely confused by this sudden change in demeanor. "Sorry, I—"

"Danny. He's fine with the idea of me and you knocking about." She said, coming down and standing before him. "It was his idea that we stop, but he'd decided he doesn't mind and neither do I. Oh, to hell with the last hurrah. Let's keep going."

"That's a big change of heart." He replied, suspicious, but not entirely upset by this.

"Yeah, they happen."

"Seriously?" He questioned with a grin, making sure that this is what she wanted.

"Look, as long as you get me home safe and on time, everything is great. I am so sorry. I've had a wobble. It's a big wobble, but it's fine. Forget about it. Now, shut up and give me some planets."

"Well, I'm glad you said that, because you know that one that made entirely of shrubs." He stopped, trying again. "Are you sure about this?"

"Are you? Have you ever been sure?"

"No." He replied.

"Then, what are you waiting for? Let's go." She stopped then, holding up a finger and stopping him. "No, wait. You need to talk to Alex first. And if she's coming with us, I suggest _not_ going to the planet of shrubs."

He frowned, knowing he couldn't avoid it any longer. "Fine. I'll go talk to Alex."

"Good." Clara smiled. "And _then_ we can go see some planets."

He smiled a little back, heading up the stairs. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

That being said, he honestly wished he could miss this part. He was standing outside of Alex's door with a scowl, remembering the numerous other times that he stood outside this very same door after one of their arguments. _In fact, I've been outside this door more often than I would have liked._ He wasn't going to be like his past self though. He wasn't going to fidget and beg forgiveness and try to figure out what he was going to say outside her room. He was different now. And this body didn't do that childish fidgeting that his last body did. Nor did it do the whole awkward foot shuffle and messing up his hair bit that his Tenth body did. Nope. This version of him was different and as such, he stormed right into Alex's room without knocking and immediately spouted out what he wanted to say.

"Alex, I'm not going to apologize to you, because in a way I wasn't wrong, but I was, so I should apologize and you were right so—"

He stopped realizing that Alex wasn't in her room and his confidence wavered as he felt fear creep up on him. _Oh no. No, no, no, no, no._ He immediately rushed from the room and back to the console room where Clara was waiting in changed clothes, looking at him in surprise.

"Well, that was fast. Did you apologize already?"

"No. She wasn't in her room and if she popped off already, then I have a _very_ big problem." He rambled, rushing to the Tardis controls and checking for life signs.

Upon seeing that there was still three people aboard the ship, he let out a sigh of relief and Clara chuckled.

"Getting older already?"

He frowned at her, before sweeping his coat behind him and heading off once more; this time, for the kitchen. "I'm not _old_. Two thousand is still young for a Time Lord."

"Yeah, well, your grey hair says otherwise." Clara joked and he didn't bother giving her a response as he went after Alex again, running what he was going to say through his head once more.

It was then that he winced, realizing that what he'd said in her room probably would have gotten him slapped if she'd been in there, so he revised his previous speech. Upon entering the kitchen, however, all thoughts flew from his mind as he saw Alex sitting at the table with her back facing him; an empty bag of gummy bears on the floor next to her and a carton of her favorite ice cream in front of her. It was the sniffles that echoed in the room though, that made the Doctor realize that he'd really hurt her this time round and it was going to take more than a simple 'I'm sorry' to fix this mess. _Especially if she's gorging herself on sweets. She only does that when she's thoroughly upset about something._ He went to speak, but Alex spoke instead; though it was to the Tardis, since she hadn't noticed his presence just yet.

"T-The big jerk-face." She sniffed, stabbing her spoon into the ice cream and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "Why'd he have to go a-and say that? I-I already know I'm u-useless without my stupid f-foreknowledge. H-He didn't have to go a-a-and rub it in. I was trying m-my best! I-I figured out h-how it chose it's v-victims and who was next. B-But then he had to go be all, 'Just lie to her, Clara' a-and I just… I just lost it." She stuffed another large spoonful in her mouth, speaking around the soft serve sloppily. "I mean, 'hat else 'hould I of done? 'im and 'lara were already u'set with each udder. 'as it bad ta 'elp him keep a companion? I didn' think so."

She swallowed as the Doctor slowly began to feel more and more guilty.

"I just didn't want him to loose another person close to him because he was upset." She muttered, sniffling again. "I-I know he was just being mean t-to get things done faster and save people, b-but the others d-don't get that. A-And when he told Clara t-to lie, I just thought h-he'd gone too far. I-I thought that… t-that he'd gone back t-to being like Nine a-and I was just scared."

_No… Alex, I would never…_

Alex chuckled bitterly then, wiping her face. "I-I'm so stupid. O-Of course he'd get upset. I was getting in the way."

The Tardis let out a worried hum and Alex shook her head.

"No, I-I was. I was stopping him from figuring it out, so he made _me_ do it. H-He was showing me w-what he had to deal with and h-how me getting angry just made it that much worse."

The Doctor remained silent, because she was right. That was why he'd done that to her back on the train, and it was obvious that she knew him far better than he expected at her age. He knew she'd know his younger selves better than this one, but for her to have understood him to this extent was unexpected. To him, she hadn't known him this well until she was older, but apparently, that was wrong. And this only added to the guilt the Doctor was feeling, because he'd assumed otherwise. He had lashed out at her on the train because he assumed she didn't know him as well as she believed. She'd said she did, but he didn't believe that, and got angry because—the way he saw it—she was getting overconfident. She was trusting her foreknowledge to tell her what he was like, and he didn't want to believe that she had figured him out on her own. What she was saying now though, showed him that she had. She'd learned who he was, not with her foreknowledge, but with her own experience and he'd lashed out at her for that.

Alex let out a shaky sigh then, dragging him from his thoughts as she opened up a cherry flavored soda he hadn't seen a moment ago, and poured it into her ice cream; making him wince. _That can't be good for her._

"I deserve this." Alex muttered softly, staring idly at the concoction she'd made as it fizzed and foamed, before dipping her spoon in it and eating some. "I screwed up by getting in his way a-and I was lucky I figured things out or those people might have died because of me."

The Tardis let out a disgruntled hum and she waved her hand up at the ceiling.

"Yeah, sure, the Doctor would've stepped in and saved the day, but..." She lowered her hand and sighed again, taking another bite. "But how could I do that to him? He trusted me to believe in his decisions and then I went and tossed it back in his face. I-I could have just apologized and he could've taken over, but… I wasn't wrong, was I? H-He shouldn't of tried to make Clara do that, right? A-And he could've gotten Maisie there without lying… I think."

She frowned, before groaning and tossing a bag of gummy bears into her ice cream-soda combo, making the Doctor grimace and start to move towards her as she continued eating it.

"And I just… I didn't want Clara to have to go through that sort of pressure. She did anyway, but…" She sighed, dragging her free hand through her hair. "What am I even saying? I did it for my own stupid, selfish reasons. I wanted to be right a-and I took his place because… because..."

She started to sniffle again and the Doctor stopped, standing right behind her now as she put her spoon down and started wiping at her eyes again.

"B-B-Because i-it was hard a-and I was scared. A-And everything w-was against me and I-I was panicking and I just… I-I didn't want h-him to have t-to do that. H-He had already been t-trying and then I got a-angry and made it worse, a-and I didn't want him t-to do it. He always has to be the o-one making the i-impossible decisions, b-because he doesn't want a-anyone else to. A-And I didn't want him t-to have to make this one on his own. I-I was right there, but I-I couldn't do anything, s-s-so I did it for him. I-It was the only thing I-I could do. I-I had to do _something_."

The Doctor couldn't stand by anymore and he reached around her and hugged her tightly as she stiffened in his arms; him pressing his nose to the top of her head.

"I'm sorry, Alexander. I am more sorry than you can ever imagine."

She squirmed, trying to get away from him. "N-No, it's _my_ fault. I-I shouldn't have… H-How long have you been here?"

He hugged her tighter, not letting her go. "I was here when your ice cream was just ice cream."

The tips of her ears turned red in embarrassment and the Doctor would have chuckled, if she wasn't pulling away from him once more.

"J-Just let me go. I-I'm s-sorry, okay? I shouldn't h-have gotten angry a-and I should've j-just stayed out of the way. I didn't mean to—"

"_Alexander_." He said sternly, making her stop and tense up, before he tried to calm himself down and spoke softer. "You don't need to apologize."

She turned around in her chair, looking up at him with red-rimmed, worried eyes. "But I—"

"_No_." He said, frowning as she flinched and looked down, before sighing and moving in front of her and kneeling down to her eye level. "Alexander, I wasn't planning on saying this when I first went around looking for you, but _I'm_ the one who should be apologizing. What you did was not wrong and how I reacted was not what I should have done. I should have _never_ made you do that and I am sorry for not seeing just how much you have come to understand about me in such a short time."

At her confused look, he sighed and explained.

"I didn't believe you to have understood my intentions on the train because this you is still very young to me. And you haven't been around this version of me for very long, so I assumed that you were depending on your foreknowledge of my past selves when you claimed to have understood me, therefore I grew angry and did not think to consider that you were possibly trying to help. And I am… sorry for that. I should have never doubted you."

Alex looked at him cautious for a moment and he frowned.

"What? Is there something on my face? Here I am trying to apologize and you're too busy looking at my face like there's something wrong with it." He grumbled and Alex's lips twitched into a small smile; making the Doctor pleased he'd at least done the 'cheering up' part right.

Alex shook her head then, still eyeing him. "No, it's just… I feel like I've never gotten to actually… just… _look_ at you. _This_ you."

He rolled his eyes. "Of course. And _now's_ the time to do it?"

"No, you're right. Sorry." She muttered, looking away and the Doctor frowned, feeling as though he'd done something wrong, so he took her hands and placed them on either side of his face, surprising her.

"Go on then. Get a good look. I won't stay this old and grey forever, you know."

She nodded and his eyes stayed on hers as she looked over every crease and contour of his face, her slim fingers brushing over his cheeks and eyebrows as though seeing them for the first time. The Doctor was actually beginning to think that whatever she'd done to get Maisie's memories might have messed up something in her mind that was making her act strangely like this, but as he watched her expression change with every new wrinkle or part of his face that she looked over, he suddenly wondered if she was just honestly seeing him for the first time this clearly. As a person and not just that man she runs around with on adventures. And when her eyes locked onto his, his hearts skipped a beat at just how much care and love was behind each look she gave him.

"I love you." She said, out of the blue and he raised a brow.

"Of course you do." He rattled off, smirking smugly. "How could you not? I'm amazing."

She smiled a little again, smacking him lightly on the shoulder. "Shut up."

He gave her a look then. "Apology accepted then?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess so." Her smile faltered then. "If you'll accept mine."

He shook his head. "I _told_ you, you have no need to apologize."

"I do. I mean, I hardly did anything and then I went and yelled at you on top of all that?"

He shook his head again, reaching up and taking her head in his hands. "You did more on that train than I ever could have, Alexander. And I deserved to be scolded after what I made Clara do and after what I made _you_ do. And you will _always_ be useful to me. Whether I need a good scolding because I'm doing something I shouldn't be, or whether the universe needs saving, it will always be you _and_ me. Together, so don't you _ever_ call yourself useless."

She let out a long sigh, nodding her head, before he slowly pulled her towards him and kissed her gently. She returned the affection with gusto, sliding out of her chair and sitting on the floor in front of him as she tangled a hand through his grey hair. And oh, how he missed her. Once she pulled away though, slightly out of breath, he gave her a stern look.

"And no more of that concoction on the table. Between the whiskey and your love of sweets, one—if not _both_ of your hearts will cease to work."

Alex pouted childishly. "But they're _gummy bears_. And ice cream and soda are always a good combination!"

"Not cherry soda and peanut butter cup ice cream! And then the gummy bears?!" He argued, making a disgusted face. "That's the worst possible combination!"

"Yeah, well—" Alex paused, seeming to struggle with something to argue back with and her expression slipped back into a frustrated pout as she crossed her arms over her chest; cheeks tinted red. "S-Shut up. It didn't taste like anything at the time. I was too frustrated to notice."

He stood up with a light huff, before reaching down and offering Alex a hand up. Alex accepted and was pulled to her feet a little too quickly; stumbling into the Doctor's chest as he caught her and held her there. Alex let out a soft sigh, before looking up at him in curiosity; a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Do we have some time before our next adventure?"

He was confused for a second, before it clicked and he smirked. "I'm sure Clara can wait."

Alex grinned, grabbing his hand and tugging him out of the kitchen. "Oh, thank God."

* * *

**_Sneak Peak:_**

_"I'm so sorry for your loss."_

_"Thanks." The figure on the ground grumbled, patting themselves down once they'd moved into a sitting position." But I don't think I've lost anything yet. Unless… no! Did I loose a tooth?! I can't have! All I did was trip!"_

_ They hastily brought a hand to their mouth, before letting out a sigh of relief._

_"Oh, thank God. He would've killed me if I got hurt already. I've only been here five minutes..."_


	55. The Death of the Doctor (SJA)

**Alright. here's the next chapter, as promised, and this is the episode from the 'Sarah Jane Adventures' so please watch "The Death of the Doctor" if you haven't already. the link is on my profile if you need it. And please let me know what you think ;)**

* * *

Sarah Jane smiled fondly as her, Clyde, and Rani spoke with her son Luke via a webcam at her home.

"_No, 'cause I had to do this essay. Two thousand words on pendulum physics. It was fascinating, but then everyone wanted to go out for a burger, and I thought, why not? So we all went into town, and—_"

"I hope you finished your homework." She lightly scolded the boy, who smiled.

"_Oh, Sanjay owes me five quid, because I bet him you'd say that._"

"Right, and who's Sanjay?" Clyde asked, getting jealous that his best friend might have already replaced him.

"_He's just down the hall. He's brilliant. We just clicked straight away. He's smart, he's cool, he keeps making me laugh. I think he's the best mate I've ever had all my life._"

Clyde's expression fell and after a pause, Luke started laughing.

"_Whoa, your face. That is brilliant._"

The others began laughing too and Clyde gaped in shock at the joke.

"What? I—"

Rani interrupted him. "That is such a classic."

Clyde frowned. "Right. Forget next week, swot boy. You're on your own."

Sarah Jane laughed along with them, glad to see her son doing well on his own, when Mister Smith, her computer, spoke up.

"Emergency broadcast. UNIT armed forces are converging on this house, Sarah Jane. Right now."

Her eyes widened in shock, before narrowing as her and the other two hurried out to see what was going on; anger towards the group who never seemed to leave her alone thanks to her connection with the Doctor and Alex.

"Stop right there." She demanded from the UNIT soldiers who stood before her driveway. "I'm not having soldiers on my property."

"Everything okay?" Her neighbor across the way asked, Rani's father.

"Yes, fine." She dismissed, before facing the soldiers once more. "They're just leaving."

One woman stepped forward. "Miss Smith, my name is Colonel Tia Karim, representing the Unified Intelligence Task Force. If I could have a word in private?"

"No, no, no." She said adamantly. "You're not getting any closer. Just tell me, what do you want?"

"I'm sorry, but it's my solemn duty to inform you that your friend, the Doctor, is dead."

"Don't be stupid." Clyde muttered, hoping it was a joke.

Rani was the same. "He can't be."

Karim explained. "Last Sunday at 1700 hours, the body of a Time Lord was returned to the Earth. UNIT scientists have checked the DNA results, and it's definitely him. I'm sorry, Miss Smith, for your loss. Sorry for the whole wide world, because... he's gone. The Doctor's gone. He's dead."

Seeing no other choice, Sara Jane invited Karim in and they moved into the attic for an explanation.

"The Doctor was found ten thousand light years away by a race called the Shansheeth. They sent us this." Karim passed Sara Jane a black stone. "It's called an epitaph stone. It's a recording device, the equivalent to a death notice. The Shansheeth are what you might call intergalactic undertakers."

"Oh, come on. This is ridiculous. There's no such thing."

Mister Smith spoke up. "Sarah Jane, I can confirm the Shansheeth are known throughout the universe as the carers of the dead. It is said they trawl the battlefields of outer space, looking for heroes to bring home."

"Yeah? Well, that's quite enough from you, thanks. Just... shut up, and play this thing." She said, dropping the stone into the computer's scan box and stepping away; hoping that this wasn't true.

A hologram of a robed vulture-like creature formed in the room.

"_I bring condolences from the Claw Shansheeth of the 15hth Funeral Fleet upon this terrible day._" It said and Sara Jane paused the image with a laugh.

"Well, as if you'd trust that thing? Just look at him!"

Rani spoke up, shocked to see Sarah Jane acting like this after what they've encountered before.

"Hey, that's not fair. Since when did we judge by appearances?"

"Since this lot started lying." Sarah Jane countered.

"Okay, look. I hope this is all a big mistake, I really do." Rani continued, trying to calm her. "For the Doctor's sake, we've got to find the facts, which means we stop and we listen."

Sarah Jane went quiet and nodded. "Yeah."

"Thanks." Rani said, turning to the computer. "Mister Smith?"

The image resumed.

"_The Shansheeth did journey to the wastelands of the Crimson Heart, whereupon we found the body of the last Time Lord. Witnesses say that he perished saving the lives of five hundred children from the Scarlet Monstrosity._"

"Sounds like him." Clyde mused, downtrodden.

"_The Doctor's home world is long since lost, but legends talk of his love for the Earth. Therefore, the Shansheeth will return the Doctor to the human race. Oh, weep for him, peoples of the Earth. Mourn his loss, for the universe feels darker tonight._"

The image disappeared and Rani turned to Sarah Jane.

"So, what do you think?"

Karim spoke up first however. "UNIT will take charge of the funeral in conjunction with the Shansheeth. We'll be using UNIT Base Five, situated inside Mount Snowdon. We can arrange transport and accommodation for all of you."

"Thank you." Sarah Jane replied, making Karim give her a surprised look.

"Then you'll come?"

Sarah Jane smiled. "Oh, yes. Nothing's going to make me miss this. I'll be there."

After a discussion with her son in private about not believing what was going on, she joined the other two down below the next morning to go to the UNIT base. She didn't believe a word these people said, and it wouldn't be the first time. But especially about this, because she knew she would've felt something if he'd really gone. Not only that, but Alex wasn't mentioned once. Not her, no one and she knew he didn't travel alone. Once at the base though, she grew even more suspicious. There was just something not right about all of this.

"We've allocated bedrooms. The funeral will take place at 0900 hours tomorrow, so that gives you time to acclimatize." Karim explained as she walked them through the base. "The doors to the funeral wing will be sealed at 2100 hours. This is still a working military base, so you'll only have access to the specified areas."

"That's nice. Bring us all this way to tell us we're not trusted." Sara Jane quipped.

"So who else is coming?" Rani asked, trying to keep tension down.

"Well, it's all been a bit of a rush. The Brigadier's stranded in Peru, and Miss Shaw can't make it back from Moon base until Sunday."

"You've got a Moon base?" Clyde gaped in shock. "Oh man, I am running out of reactions."

They entered a hallway then and stopped upon seeing the small blue aliens working in the ceiling with a ladder.

"Wait. You've got Graske? What are you doing with Graske?" Rani asked, taking a slight step back.

"I knew it. I said there was something going on." Sara Jane smirked, but Karim looked confused.

"Sorry, what's the problem?"

"We've met Graske before, and believe me, they're trouble." Clyde explained, also cautious.

"Oh, they're not Graske. They're Groske."

One of the aliens walked over. "Groske very different. Groske are blue. Hate Graske. Graske make me stamp my feet." He grumbled, walking past the group as Karim explained.

"The Groske were stranded on Earth in 2006. We took them in, and they've been earning their keep as workmen."

The Groske spoke up then, waving the group along.

"Groske build rocket for funeral. Come and see. Come and see."

They followed after him and stared up in disbelief at the ready-made rocket waiting there to take the Doctor's body out into space.

"Rocket X-15 will take the Doctor's body into space, sealed inside a lead-lined coffin. Then he'll be set free. In death as in life." Karim rattled on.

"Very poetic." Sarah Jane said, unamused

"I think it's beautiful." Rani replied, making Sarah Jane look at her in surprise as she went on. "Just what he deserves."

"What about the Tardis? And Alex? His companion?"

"There was no sign of it or her. The body was found all alone."

Clyde let out a whistle. "Blimey, though. Not so bad way to go. That's a real, proper rocket."

"Boy smells." The Groske complained, making Clyde turn to him with a frown.

"Thanks a bunch. You short little titch."

"Clyde, of all the things for you to laugh at, height?" Rani scolded him as the Groske agreed.

"Yeah, you smelly bad smell boy."

"You blue, bluey blueness." Clyde retorted as Karim started to lead the group away once more.

"Anyway, this area's about to be sealed off as part of the curfew. I can take you to your bedrooms. Then the Shansheeth are holding a gathering of remembrance."

"Just watch it, you." Clyde pointed to the Groske as the others walked ahead.

"But you see?" The Groske pointed to Clyde's hand, which glowed with light blue electricity in the center. "So bright. You smell of time."

"What do you mean?"

"He's coming." The Groske concluded, before walking past him.

After everyone dropped off their things in their rooms, the group headed to the chapel where the Shansheeth were at; two opening the doors with bows.

"I'm so sorry for your loss." One said, repeating it once more. "I'm so sorry for your loss. The Claw Shansheeth invites you to spend tonight reflecting in the memories of a loved one lost."

"So who are all these people?" Clyde asked in a whisper, looking at the few other people sitting in the room as they approached the lead coffin.

"Old soldiers." Karim replied. "It's not easy to find friends of the Doctor. He'd come and go without a trace."

Rani spoke sadly. "Think of all the lives he touched. The whole planet should be in mourning, but no one knows."

Sarah Jane spoke up then. "Can I see him?"

"I don't think you want to." Karim said, making Sarah Jane even more suspicious.

"That sounds to me like you're hiding something."

"Sarah Jane, he… he was hurt." Karim said, and understanding dawned on Sarah Jane and Rani headed over, worried.

"Hey. Hey, come on. Let's go and sit down."

The three of them sat together and Sarah Jane just stared for a second.

"I don't even know what he looks like."

"I'm sorry?" Karim questioned, confused.

"I think he regenerated. The last time I saw him, he didn't say a word. He just look at me, as though…" Her eyes gravitated to the coffin again. "That body could have a different face, and I wouldn't even know if it was him or not."

Karim left, leaving them to their mourning as the Shansheeth spoke up once more.

"Honored guests steeped in grief and misery, this is the cradle of the lost chord. It's bittersweet melody will unite—"

Sarah Jane tuned the alien out and spoke to the two kids beside her.

"If you don't mind, I just need to gather my thoughts on my own."

"Yeah, sure." Rani said, her and Clyde moving to the other side of the room as one of the Shansheeth started to play a harp.

"Close your eyes. Remember."

Sarah Jane did just that along with the others in the room, remembering their times with the Doctor from her almost wedding to their last time seeing each other, to the classic Doctor she knew years and years ago. Just then, a crash brought her out of her thoughts and all eyes went to the blonde woman panicking about the broken vase of flowers on the floor.

"Oh, sorry. Just ignore me. I brought flowers, which was silly, really. I mean, there's no need, is there? Well, you know. I saw these lilies and I thought they were appropriate. Oh, and the vase was so beautiful. It was hand-blown by Asian Argentines. I don't suppose it was actually hand-blown, because, glass would get really, really hot." She rambled on, reminding Sarah Jane of someone, as a Shansheeth bowed to the woman.

"I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Thank you. Oh! Aren't you lovely?"

Another one repeated the sentiment. "I'm so sorry for your loss."

"I know, it's terrible, isn't it? You are so gorgeous. Oh, I wish I had my glasses. You're like a vulture. A great big alien vulture." The woman rattled on, grinning from ear-to-ear as she pulled the younger boy up beside her. "Babe, aren't they wonderful? No, no, no. Don't be afraid. It's just like I taught you. Oh. You know, I've missed all this. Listen, babe, can you do something with those for me? There's a good boy. Thanks."

She passed him the flowers and he went to sit by Clyde and Rani as the blonde woman headed over towards Sarah Jane.

"I'm sorry. I'm making an awful lot of noise, aren't I? Although there is this tribe called the Nambikwara. You know, from the Mato Grosso. I lived there for about six months in '83. When there's a funeral, they sing all night. I mean, they sound like birds. Honestly, it is the most astonishing sound I've ever heard." She spotted Sarah Jane laughing and tilted her head curiously. "Sorry, um, do I know you?"

"We've never actually met, but it's Jo Grant, isn't it?" Sarah Jane asked, sitting beside the woman after having stood at some point during her ramble.

"Wow! It's a long time since I've been called that. Actually, it's Jo Jones since I got married." She corrected.

"I arrived just after you left." Sarah Jane explained. "You'd gone to live on the Amazon."

The woman gasped, excited. "They told me about you. You must be Sarah Jane Smith."

Sarah Jane said her name along with her and the woman gasped again.

"Oh, darling!"

"After all this time—" Sarah Jane started, but was cut off as Jo hugged her with a laugh.

"Oh, and look at you. You're so beautiful."

The boy, Santiago, chatted a bit with Rani and Clyde, before the Shansheeth spoke again.

"With respect, the cradle will continue."

The harp started up again, but the three kids continued chatting and even Sarah Jane and Jo started up.

"Oh, they used to tell so many stories about you at UNIT."

"Those soldier boys. Ooh, happy days." Jo smiled.

"So, you're still married?"

"Oh, yes. He's picketing an oil rig in the Ascension Islands at the moment. And I've got seven children." Jo replied.

"Seven." Sarah Jane gaped in surprise.

"And Santiago is one of twelve grandchildren. Would you believe number thirteen on it's way?" She chuckled. "How about you, sweetie?"

"Oh, I've got a son. He's called Luke. He's just gone to university. No, no dad in the picture."

"Oh, playing the field. Good on you, girl."

It was then that the doors opened once more, a figure in a dark crimson cloak walking in, only to trip over their own two feet and tumble to the ground; the harp playing stopping once more as a Shansheeth bowed.

"I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Thanks." The figure on the ground grumbled, patting themselves down once they'd moved into a sitting position." But I don't think I've lost anything yet. Unless… no! Did I loose a tooth?! I can't have! All I did was trip!"

They hastily brought a hand to their mouth, before letting out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank God. He would've killed me if I got hurt already. I've only been here five minutes. You scared the living daylights out of me!" They scolded, turning and pointing up at the bird, before suddenly jumping up to their feet and circling the bird. "Wow! You have got to be the neatest alien I've seen yet! Well, aside from the Saraani. They were _beautiful_. Aside from their ban on drinking. They threw out my whiskey and that wasn't very nice. But God, you lot are gorgeous! Alien vultures! Never thought I'd see the day."

A Shansheeth up front cleared it's throat and the cloaked figure stopped, realizing they were interrupting and brought a hand up to rub the back of their neck.

"Right. Sorry. I get a bit distracted sometimes. Ignore me!"

They hurried off and sat not too far from Sarah Jane and Jo, who both gave each other a glance before chuckling and continuing on with their conversation; paying no attention to the cloaked figure who was watching them from under the darkness of their hood.

"It's funny, all of this today, because it got me thinking. Because the Doctor, he showed me such a remarkable life, and when he went, it just took me a long while to get over it." Sarah Jane explained; the cloaked figure pulling out a set of headphones and an ipod and putting one in while the other ear remained open to listen in on their conversation.

Jo nodded. "Me too. You know, sometimes I think I've never stopped running."

"Then he came back and I realized the life I wanted was right under my nose all that time."

"Who? Who came back?" Jo questioned. "The Doctor? Recently?"

"About four years ago." Sarah Jane replied, a little confused.

"I never saw him again."

"It was just a coincidence." Sarah Jane said, trying to perk the woman up a bit. "The first time, we were both investigating this case."

"The first time? You mean it was more than once?"

That only made Sarah Jane guiltier.

"Yeah."

"Oh, he must have _really_ liked you." Jo leaned on her as they looked at the coffin up front, the cloaked figure sighing softly. "You know, it's funny, but I have this notion that if the Doctor died one day. I mean, even if he was as far away as Metebelis Three, that… that I'd feel it, you know? In my heart."

"That's exactly what I thought, but I didn't feel a thing."

"Nor me. Not a peep."

"Do you think the same as me?"

They both turned to each other, hope spreading in their chests.

"Why? Because I think he's still alive."

Jo and Sarah Jane finished that sentence together, before hugging; soon leaving to their rooms once the service ended; though the cloaked figure went another direction entirely. The kids soon left the two older woman who were planning on figuring out who'd fake the Doctor's death and why; them feeling more inclined to believe the man was actually dead.

"It's tragic. He's dead, but they just can't face it." Rani said.

"I never met the Doctor." Santiago admitted. "I always wanted to, but… too late."

"I wish he was here right now." Clyde said.

"Yeah, me too."

"No, I really wish he was here right now, because then he could explain this." Clyde said, holding up his hand, which was glowing with blue electricity again.

"It's happening again."

"But I can't say anything, can I? Not inside UNIT. They'd lock me up and dissect me."

"Hold on. What do you mean, 'it's happening again'." Santiago questioned, confused.

"The last time we met the Doctor, it was at Sarah Jane's wedding, and we got stuck in this time loop thing. And the Tardis, the Doctor's time machine, it was phasing in and out of reality. I touched it, and got zapped with this stuff. Artron energy, the Doctor said. It was part of the Tardis." Clyde explained.

"Whoa. And you thought my life was good?"

"Smelly getting closer." The Groske from before said, standing at the end of the hall.

"What do you know about this stuff?" Clyde demanded to know, but the alien ignored him.

"Closer and closer." He said, before rushing off; the others giving chase.

"Oi, come back here, blue boy."

They caught him diving into a ventilation shaft and started after him.

"He's like a mouse in the skirting board. You coming?"

"Honestly, it'll be fine. We do this kind of thing all the time." Rani said to Santiago as she climbed in.

"My gran once handcuffed herself to Robert Mugabe. I'm loving it."

Once in the shaft, Clyde called out to the Groske.

"Oi, Groske, where are you?"

"Clyde, keep it down. This is a top secret military base and they might shoot us dead. Oh, and I kind of promised my dad I'd be in bed by half ten." She added offhandedly.

As they searched though, they didn't know about the Shansheeth using their harp to hypnotize Sarah Jane and Jo Grant in their room. It wasn't long before they found out though; Clyde stopping at the grating separating then from the room the Shansheeth were in.

"What have we stopped for?"

"Hush a minute." Clyde whispered back to Santiago.

"Clyde, I'm staring at your bum." Rani complained.

"No, seriously, sh." He shushed, listening in.

"The woman are named Smith, Sara Jane and Jones, Josephine. We must drain their minds." A Shansheeth said.

"What of their bodies?" Another asked.

"They will die. Fortunately, there are excellent undertakers at hand."

"Ooh, I _knew _those mangy birds were up to something."

Clyde had to cover his mouth to keep from yelping at the sudden voice beside him, turning to see a red-headed woman in a cloak smiling back at him.

"Oh, hello! Haven't met you lot yet. You're with Sarah Jane, right?"

"W-Well, yeah, but who're you?" He asked and she went to answer, only for his hand to start glowing blue and he groaned.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no."

The Shansheeth spotted the light and Clyde panicked.

"Back up! Back up! Back up!"

"We are witnessed." The Shansheeth announced as Santiago spoke up.

"There's no room to turn around."

"Go backwards. Shuffle!" Rani said, but there was a loud whistle and they turned to the woman.

"Or, I can go backwards and you lot can follow me. That work for you?"

"Fine! Just go!" Clyde shouted.

"Oi, no need to be pushy." She frowned, backing up in her ventilation shaft. "Don't you know how to respect your elders?"

A Shansheeth poked it's head into the shaft and growled, as Santiago shouted up ahead.

"Shuffle faster!"

"Do you know how hard it is to shuffle backwards in this thing?!" The woman called out, before grinning as her feet hit a grating. "Ah-ha! Perfect!"

She swung a foot back, kicking the grating right off and shuffling backwards out of the shaft before stretching her arms up above her head as the others climbs out.

"Ooh, that was a tight squeeze. I've been in smaller, but my God, does that mess up your shoulders."

"We've got to get out of here." Clyde said.

"Yeah, yeah. Working on it." She replied, leading the way and pulling up her hood, making him question it.

"Why do you need your hood up? You trying to be sneaky or something, 'cause the cloak gives you away."

"Oh, but not as much as someone recognizing who I am would."

"And who is that?" Rani asked, but before she could answer, the group jumped as Sarah Jane and Jo came from an adjacent hallway.

"There you are!"

"Sarah Jane, it's the Shansheeth." Clyde said quickly. "They're lying through their beaks. They want you and Jo. This whole thing's a trap."

"I knew it." Sarah Jane said with a smirk, but then spotted the cloaked figure. "Hold on, you were at the funeral. Who're you?"

"Forgot me already? Or did I not do that adventure..." She muttered, pulling off her cloak and making Sarah Jane gasp.

"Alex! It's you!"

Alex grinned. "Hello. Haven't actually met yet, but I know all about you, Sarah Jane. Or, well, I know _of_ you. Didn't watch Classic Who, so I don't really know about your adventures with the Doctor other than at the school, but you know what I mean. Glad to know we've met before."

"Blimey, do you ramble on." Clyde commented under his breath, but Alex rounded on him.

"Oi, I heard that. And you'd ramble on too, if you were stuck with a rude version of the Doctor for nearly four weeks. Doesn't let you get a word in edgewise at all."

"That sounds like him." Sarah Jane chuckled and Alex smiled back, before Jo spoke up.

"Sorry, who are you again?"

"Right. Proper introductions. I'm Alexander Holmes, you can call me Alex. I suppose I'm the Doctor's companion, but I pop in and out of his time-line at random points so everything's a bit wibbly for me. One minute we're friends. The next, he hates me. Then we're married and he's all touchy-feely and then—"

"You're _married_?!" Sarah Jane gasped and Alex blinked.

"Did I not mention that before? Or, well, after, for me."

"No! Oh, congratulations, Alex! That's wonderful!" She said, hugging Alex, who chuckled.

"Well, _I'm_ not married to him yet. I'm technically still his fiancée, but he's married to me sometime after his Tenth regeneration."

Her gaze softened. "So he _did_ regenerate."

Alex waved her hands about. "Don't worry! He's alright. Bit goofy and acts like a five year old at times, but still the Doctor.

"So he's still alive?" Jo questioned, hopeful as Alex nodded. "Yes!"

"Of course I'm still alive, Jo. I thought that was obvious. Catch up." Clyde said, though Alex raised a brow as did the others in the room.

"I beg your pardon?"

Sarah Jane was even more cautious. "Clyde, is that you?"

"Course it's not. It's _me_." He replied. "I'm using Clyde as a receiver. I've keyed into his residual Artron energy so I can organize a very complicated biological swap across ten thousand light years. Hold on."

Clyde was jolted with electricity and Alex stiffened, taking a slight step back, before he spoke with his regular voice.

"That wasn't me. That wasn't me, speaking. I'm getting—" He then looked down at his hand in confusion. "That's not my hand. Cause… my hand's not white."

He cried out in pain again as more electricity zapped him, changing faces as he spoke.

"Sorry, Clyde, but this… space… is… taken."

He solidified into the Eleventh Doctor with a shudder, looking over the confused faces.

"Good. So, gosh. That was different. Hello, everyone."

"Who are you? Where's Clyde?" Rani asked.

"Come on, Rani. Use your brain. Clyde and I swapped places. I'm where he was, he's where I was. Which means, right now… Ooh, he's in a lot of trouble." The Doctor said, making Rani upset.

"You bring him back, whoever you are."

But Sarah Jane had figured it out. "No, no, no. Rani, don't you see? It's you, isn't it? You've done it again like Alex said."

"Hello, Sarah Jane." He smiled, before looking around. "And did you say Alex was here?"

Alex stormed up to him then and punched him right across the face, making him land on his backside and hold his cheek with a shocked and pained look.

"Ow!"

"_That's_ for leaving me stranded in the deserts of Saraanis in the middle of a religious revolution after they stole my whiskey and you went off to buy ice cream without me!" She shouted, letting out a huff and placing her hands on her hips as he got back up again.

"Right. I'll try to remember that one, though it doesn't look like that worked out very well."

"You're such an idiot, Doctor." She scoffed, making Jo and the others look at the man in shock.

"That's the Doctor?" Rani gaped in shock.

"What Doctor?" Jo questioned. "The Doctor? My Doctor?"

"Yeah, well, he can change his face." Sarah Jane said.

"I know, but into a baby's?"

Alex snorted and the Doctor frowned.

"Oi. Imagine it from my point of view. Last time I saw you, Jo Grant, you were, what? 21? 22? It's like someone baked you."

She made a face at him as Alex smacked his shoulder, making him pout.

"Don't be rude."

"Everyone!" Santiago shouted, getting our attention as he gestured down the hall at the approaching Shansheeth. "Meanwhile..."

"Ah, yes. The Claw Shansheeth of the 15th Funeral Fleet. I've been looking for you." The Doctor said, stalking forward as Alex followed. "Have you been telling people I'm dead?"

"I apologize." One of the Shansheeth said. "The death notice was released a little too soon. Though, I can rectify this, immediately."

It lifted a hand and just as red energy shot out of it's hand, Alex shoved him aside and took the hit instead; crying out in pain as the Shansheeth just continued it's assault.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Doctor. It seems your friend is willing to take your place, though once I'm done dealing with her, you'll be next. Rest in peace."

"Alex!"

He went to move in front of her, but she glared at him and he rolled his eyes.

"My _goodness_, are you stubborn. But sorry. I have a plan!"

"Don't you _dare_." She bit out through clenched teeth, but he smiled and moved between her and the beam; crying out in pain himself before giving her a small smile and starting to glow with blue electricity.

"I'll see you in a bit."

"You bloody—" She was cut off as he disappeared and the Shansheeth stopped it's assault in surprise when Clyde popped up instead; Sarah Jane rushing forward and helping her to her feet as Clyde turned around confused.

"I was on a planet."

"No, no! Never mind that!" Sarah Jane shouted, grabbing his arm as well. "Run!"

He did so, upon seeing the Shansheeth stalking forward. They hurried through a door; Alex leaning against the wall just inside panting and shaking slightly as Sarah Jane hurried the group along; only for the Doctor to return as he ran through into the next room.

"Come along, Smith!" He shouted, scooping up Alex in the process as she glared at him, but didn't protest as he hurried along and rushed everyone into the next room. "In, in, in, in, in."

Karim walked down the hall, calling out to the group. "I'm sorry, is there a problem?"

The Doctor gave her a look, shutting the door before opening it again and speaking to her.

"Sorry, I was… slamming it."

"Rude." Alex breathed out, and he put her down on her feet, giving her a concerned look.

"You alright? I know how you are with electricity."

She tried to wave it off, but the Doctor grabbed her wrist and showed her her shaking hand with a raised brow. She sighed, tugging the appendage our of his grip.

"I've been better, but I'll be fine."

"Good." He smiled, kissing her briefly before turning to the others and leaning heavily against the door. "Right. Now we need to lock it. Come on, use the sonic lipstick."

"Haven't you got the screwdriver?" Sarah Jane questioned.

"They took it."

Alex rolled her eyes, hugging herself in a vain attempt to stop shaking. "You're useless without that thing, aren't you?"

"Oi." He scolded her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her into his side with a smirk. "I'm still clever and I've got you. What more do I need?"

"Suck up." She grumbled, though her cheeks were red in embarrassment at him being touchy-feely in public.

"Oh, they do sonic lipstick now?" Jo said excitedly, before looking between the two still holding one another. "And you two are just about the cutest couple I've _ever_ seen."

The Doctor grinned, pulling Alex a little closer before she stepped harshly on his foot and gave him a pointed look.

"Right. We're running out of time. I need you, Sarah, and you, Jo." He said, grabbing their hands and pulling them over as well. "Alex, you can just hang on."

"Will do." She muttered as Jo looked at the Doctor in confusion.

"Need us for what?"

"Remember the old days when we'd go zooming off to faraway worlds?"

Alex groaned and let him go, slipping away and making him pout. "Yeah, no. I think I'll stay here."

"But Alex!" He whined and she shook her head.

"We can be hormonal teenagers later, Doctor. These kid will need _someone_ to stick around with some clue of what to do." She smiled then, patting Rani and Santiago on the shoulders. "I'll keep watch."

He smiled back, fondly. "Counting on you, Alex. Stay safe."

"As safe as I can be with crazy vultures coming after me, but yeah. I'll see what I can do." She chuckled, before he and the two women popped off and were replaced with a very confused and green-looking Clyde.

"I'm getting space sick."

* * *

There was a knock on the door and I leaned up against it with the other kids as Karim spoke from the other side.

"I'm sorry, but can I help? Is there something wrong?"

"But she's on our side, isn't she?" Santiago questioned and I wrinkled my nose.

"Doubt it. She brought you lot here, didn't she? Add that on top of the fact that the Shansheeth haven't killed her to get in and I'll bet they're waiting outside with her. Besides, someone had to fake the DNA results, right? The Shansheeth needed an inside man… Or woman, in this case."

Rani, who was over by a screen nearby spoke up. "We're slap-bang in the middle of the base. There's got to be a way of getting help."

"Yeah, doubt it. Hey put us here for a reason." I replied, just as an alarm went off and Santiago looked around worriedly.

"What's happening?"

"That would be the reason." I hummed, gesturing to the screen. "She's sealed us in the Funeral Wing. I'd say we're trapped, but I do my best not to use definitive statements when there's always the possibility of escape."

"What escape?!" Rani panicked. "We're trapped!"

I raised a brow, putting a hand on my hip. "Seriously? Are you lot really that thick?"

"Oi, who you calling thick?!" Clyde argued and I rolled my eyes.

"Honestly, we just climbed through the base in one and somehow you've all missed it." I rambled, moving over to the ventilation shaft and pulling off the grating to find a blue alien sitting there. "Well, hello there. Who're you?"

"I'm a Groske. Not a Graske. Graske make me stomp my feet." He replied, making me smile a bit before he waved us along. "Hurry. Hurry. Follow me."

"Well, you heard the man, hurry it up!" I called out, making sure all the kids were in before following in the back; hoping the Doctor was having an easier time with whatever he was doing, than we were.

* * *

Said Doctor was scrambling away, working with Sarah Jane on the device that swapped him and Clyde.

"There, and there." He told Sara Jane, having her use her sonic lipstick to help him.

"Did it hurt?" She asked him suddenly. "I mean, the regeneration. That last body of yours, was he okay in the end?"

"It always hurts." He said solemnly, before smiling a little. "And Alex was there for me in the end. Always is… And there."

Sarah Jane smiled as well, sonicking what he pointed at. "I'm glad she makes you happy, Doctor… so how did you end up in this place?"

"The Shansheeth lured me." He answered. "A mighty old battlefield, just begging to be explored. Because I'm traveling with Amy now. And Rory. They got married. So, I dropped them off at a honeymoon planet, which isn't what you'd think. It's not a planet for a honeymoon. It's a planet _on_ a honeymoon. It married an asteroid. I thought about taking Alex there for ours, but we've been putting it off. She's been popping in and out and sometimes not being old enough to know we're married, and she said she wanted me to take her somewhere unique. Someplace I've never taken any other companion and I haven't quite thought of the right planet yet." He shook his head then, his smile not fading, but getting back on topic. "Anyway, then they nicked the Tardis. The Shansheeth, not Alex or Amy and Rory. Fortunately, I had all this wreckage to build a space swapping doo-dah thingy ma-wotsit. I would've connected with Alex's Artron energy, but she would have been rather cross with me and she has this problem with electricity, as you saw."

"So you've got a married couple in the Tardis." Jo spoke up from her seat on a rock a little ways away.

"Mister and Mrs. Pond. And Alex and myself of course; when applicable." He replied with a smile.

"I only left you because I got married." Jo said, making tension rise up as the Doctor started to feel a bit guilty. "Did you think I was stupid?"

That got his attention.

"Why do you say that?"

"I was a bit dumb." She answered with a chuckle, trying to ease things up a bit, though it wasn't as happy as she would've liked it to be. "Still am, I suppose."

"Now what in the world would make you think that, ever, ever, _ever_?" He questioned her, moving to go stand beside her.

"We'd been traveling down the Amazon for months, and we reached a village in Cristalino, and it was the only place in thousands of miles that had a telephone, so I called you." Jo explained as he sat down on a rock nearby. "I just wanted to say hello. And they told me that you'd left, left UNIT, never came back. So I waited and waited, because you said you'd see me again. You did, I asked you and you said yes. You promised. So I thought, one day, I'd hear that sound, Deep in the jungle, I'd hear that funny wheezing noise, and a big blue box right in the middle of the rainforest. You see, he wouldn't just leave. Not forever. Not me. I've waited my whole silly life." She said, getting teary despite her bitter sweet chuckles.

"But you're an idiot." He replied.

"Well, there we have it."

"No, no, no. But don't you see? How could I ever find you? You've spent the past forty years living in huts, climbing up trees, tearing down barricades. You've done everything from flying kites on Kilimanjaro to sailing down the Yangtze in a tea chest. Not even the Tardis could pin you down."

"Hold on." She stopped him. "I _did_ sail down the Yangtze in a tea chest. How did you know?"

"And that family." He rattled on with a fond smile. "All seven kids, twelve grandchildren, thirteenth on his way. He's dyslexic, but that'll be fine. Great swimmer."

"So you've been watching me all this time?" She asked and his smile faltered.

"No. Because you're right. I don't look back. I can't. But the last time I was dying, I looked back on all of you. Every single one… And I was proud."

"It really is you, isn't it?" She said, smiling away.

"Hello."

Sarah Jane pulled out a small whistle and blew on it to get their attention.

"Sorry, but we've got that lot back at home with the Shansheeth."

"Yes, yes. Don't let my wife know I forgot about her, or I'll never hear the end of it." The Doctor said, getting up and moving back towards the device. "And I still need you, Jo. Now, that bag of yours, I can smell blackcurrant. Is it buchu oil?"

"Hand-picked in Mozambique." She said, digging through her bag and passing him the small bottle.

"Oh, perfect. These circuits need connectivity. Wonderful. Little tiddly drop. That's it. What a team."

* * *

The Groske pushed open another grating and we all came out in a small room in the vents.

"Hey, nice. You've got a little den. What's all the hurry for?" Clyde asked the Groske, who picked up a box and held it up.

"Pizza go cold."

"Ooh, can't have that happen. I haven't had a bite in ages." I said as my stomach growled, taking a slice from the box and groaning as the melted cheese hit my tongue. "Oh _man_, this is good."

"Alex!" Rani scolded and I lifted a hand with a smile. "Sorry. Hard to think on an empty stomach."

"I thought you had a plan!" Clyde said, looking between me and the Groske.

The Groske answered first.

"Shansheeth too scary. We hide."

"No, but we've got to do something." Clyde argued.

"Yeah, but hiding's not bad, because we've got to keep you safe, Clyde." Rani said. "See whatever the Doctor's doing, he needs you for that body switcheroo."

Clyde frowned, before turning to me. "What about you then? You're with the Doctor. Don't you have a plan?"

"Actually, I'm more like him than you think. I tend to make things up as I go." I hummed, finishing my pizza slice and grabbing another from the Groske with a thankful nod.

"Oh great. Great." Clyde complained. "Stuck in Groskeville."

"Oi, that's not very nice. He didn't _have_ to help us hide you know. You should be thankful to him." I scolded the boy. "'Sides, I don't see _you_ coming up with any great ideas."

Santiago chuckled though. "I can't believe you get to do this all the time. Like aliens and chases and stuff."

"You can talk, Santiago." Clyde said, sitting down with the rest of us. "You're off to Paraguay and Mount Everest."

"Dude, you just zapped into another planet."

"Yeah, that was pretty cool." Clyde admitted proudly and I snorted.

"Men. You lot always need to see who's better, don't you?"

"Tell me about it." Rani chuckled with me. "We've been to parallel times, dream dimensions, limbo. And then we go home for tea."

"We see all this, then my mum's like, 'What did you do today'. I'm like, 'Not much'."

Rani nodded, continuing on with his story. "Went to the library."

"Played a bit of footie." Clyde went on.

"Stayed behind after Drama Club."

"Oh yeah, and I, uh, fought off a platoon of Judoon in my spare time."

The two laughed, but I caught sight of Santiago's upset expression and kept an eye on him.

"I've not seen my mum for six months now."

"How come?" Rani asked, delicately.

"She's in japan, organizing a rally. I mean, that's great, you know. It's really good work."

"Yeah, of course it is." Clyde said.

Santiago seemed more like he was convincing himself though. "Before that, she was in Africa, finding shell flower plants. My father's with the Gay Dads Organization, hiking across Antarctica. We haven't all been together since about… February?"

"When are you going to see them next?" Rani questioned, sounding worried.

"Soon… I don't know. Soon though."

"You should talk to them." I blurted out, drawing the group's attention to me as I stared off to the side with a solemn look. "Families need to stick together and talk to one another, because what happens if they don't and something bad happens?" I turned, waving my hands about; one still holding a pizza slice. "Not that anything will, it's just… What your parents do is a dangerous thing. It's good, sure, but if something goes wrong… Heck, even if something doesn't, are you really willing to let that chance go to waste? People don't live forever and you don't really know what you have until it's gone, so isn't it better to enjoy it while it's there?"

Santiago nodded, head bowed, but Rani was eyeing me.

"What about you, Alex? We know you're traveling with the Doctor and all, but have you got any family?"

I smiled sadly. "No. Mine are all gone. Believe it or not, but I'm from a different universe entirely. I got shoved here one day, ended up dying and popping back up in my old universe, then chose to come back. On my Earth, all this is a TV show with the Doctor as the main character." I chuckled. "Kind of silly, isn't it? I get called the 'Seer' and all this nonsense because I know what's going to happen, but it was all just a show to me."

"Why come back then? You had a family, right? Were they gone or… or did you just leave them?" Rani asked, choosing her words carefully, I'm sure.

"I left them, because I wasn't happy with my life there. I feel horrible for it, but they'd want me to be happy. That's just the kind of family they were. And I had to come back. I couldn't leave the Doctor alone."

Rani went to ask something else, but just then, a panel came down and shut us in.

"What's that? What's happening?" Clyde asked, panicking as the Groske glanced at me briefly before answering him.

"Trapped."

The room began to turn red and the Groske looked worried now.

"Heating. Hot, hot, hot."

"Well, that's not good." I muttered, mind immediately searching for a way out as Clyde turned to me with a look.

"You think?!"

"They're trying to boil us!" Rani shouted in disbelief.

"Alright, alright. Calm down. Panicking will get us nowhere." I said, though my hearts were already beating at a quick pace. "First off, take off your jackets. Those will only dehydrate you faster."

Clyde and Rani did that as I went over to the panel that had covered the door and slammed a heavy foot into it. It clanged, but I winced, knowing that there wouldn't be much of anything that could get through it.

"Okay, that route's out. The metal's too thick to do anything with unless you're a tank." I rattled off, checking off that escape route in my head as I pointed to where the heat was coming in. "Groske, do these lead anywhere?"

He shook his head. "Only to central heating device. Metal would be too hot to touch closer you get. No way out. We die like rotisserie."

"Oi, don't be a negative Nancy. That was just option two." I looked up at the grating above us, pointing to it. "And that one?"

The Groske shrugged and I grinned.

"That's good enough for me." I turned to Santiago and Clyde. "Oi, you two. Interlock your fingers and give me a boost. Use me like a battering ram."

"Are you serious?!"

"You could get hurt!"

I rolled my eyes. "It's either I get a little scraped up, or we all die in a tiny room that smells like burnt pizza and sweat. Your choice. Oh, and Rani? Might I suggest shouting for help?"

"On it." She said, calling out for the Doctor and Sarah Jane as the two boys knelt down and interlocked their fingers so I could step on their hands.

"On three, fellas. One, two, three!"

They grunted and shoved me upwards; myself cringing as I lowered my head and my shoulder slammed into the metal grating above with a loud clang.

"Again! One, two, three!"

And again I was shoved up into the railing; having to stop with a pained wince as my shoulder ached in protest; the Doctor's voice finally echoing back through the shaft.

"Hold on! We're coming!"

"About time, you nitwit!" I shouted back. "What were you doing, having a bloody tea party?!"

I heard him grumble and mutter something too quietly for me to hear and the others in the room started calling out.

"Doctor!"

"They're roasting us!"

"Let us out!"

There was some clattering, before the Doctor spoke up again.

"And… release!"

The panel lifted and I frowned at the Doctor who sat in the tunnel looking rather pleased with himself.

"Blimey. You really have changed faces, haven't you? I couldn't see you before. I was too busy swapping." Clyde rattled on, Rani getting annoyed.

"Oi, we're still cooking back here."

"Where's my gran?" Santiago asked and, upon seeing no Jo Grant or Sarah Jane, I groaned.

"Oh, you lost them, didn't you."

The Doctor pouted. "Oi, now. I didn't loose anyone, thank you very much. Things just got a bit… complicated. It was you lot or them and the Shansheeth obviously need them for something, so I have a little bit more time to save them than you. So you should be happy. You could be fried right about now."

"Still am." I grumbled and he winced.

"Right. Yes, sorry. We'd better..." He paused, looking stuck. "Can't turn around."

I rolled my eyes. "Shuffle backwards, moron."

"Yes, okay. No need to be rude, Alex." He complained and I started shoving in kids after him.

"I'm allowed to be rude. It's _hot_ in here!"

Once we were all in the shaft, Clyde continued to ramble on about the Doctor.

"Even your eyes are different. It's weird, 'cause I thought the eyes would stay the same. Can you change color, or are you always white?"

"No. I could be anything." The Doctor replied, sounding pleased with the questions.

"And is there a limit? How many times can you change?"

"Five hundred and seven." He said and I raised a brow, shaking my head.

"Oh."

"Oi, Doctor?" I called out from the back of the line. "What are they trying to do anyway? What do they need Sarah Jane and Jo for?"

"Well, from what I understand, they want the Tardis for something. Can't do that without the key, but they've got no chance of getting it from me, so they're trying plan B." He answered and Rani called out this time.

"What's plan B?"

"Using a Memory Weave and making the memory of the Tardis key that Sarah Jane and Jo have, create a physical object."

"They can do that?" I asked, not seeing how that could work.

"With the right strength of memories, yeah. They can."

We soon scrambled out of the ventilation shaft and rushed off to where the funeral room was; the Doctor knowing that that was where the Shansheeth had the Tardis lying in wait. Already we could hear the loud hum of the machine echoing through the Funeral Wing.

"So is this a revenge plot or something else?" I asked, but the Doctor shrugged.

"I haven't the slightest!" He then ran up to the doors of the funeral room, shouting. "They've sealed it off! Jo, Sarah, can you hear me?!"

"They want the key!" Sarah's muffled voice called out. "They've got the Tardis and a Memory Weave!"

"Too late. Full activation." Another voice—Karim's I was betting—said.

"Concentrate. Think of the key." The Shansheeth also egged on, and the Doctor immediately gave out an order as he went to the computer panel nearby.

"Try to find a way in."

The kids and Groske scrambled to find some way into the room, but I stood there, eyes scanning the door knowing that there'd be no way to get through those. _It's UNIT. They know how to lock down their building for emergencies. There'd be nothing that could get through those doors. And I doubt the walls would be an easy way through either._ I mentally scrambled for some way to get Sarah Jane and Jo out of this. _Come on. There's got to be something. If we can't get in and they can't get out, then there's got to be something else I can think of to stop the Memory Weave from here. Or even from in there. But what? No doubt those two are tied down and strapped to… oh… They're connected to the machine. They can stop it because they're connected to it, but how?_

"There's nothing. We're going to need a bulldozer." Santiago called out and the Doctor stood up, desperate as he pulled out the Tardis key from his jacket.

"I've got the original here. You can have it if you let them go."

There was no response from inside and I assumed that it didn't work and wasn't enough to convince them, but I continued to rack my mind for an answer as Clyde started clamming a fire extinguisher into the doors.

"It's not shifting!"

"Stop it! Stop!" I shouted, making everyone turn to me in confusion and anger as I brought a hand to my head. "Just think for a second, would you? There's no way we can get those doors open without a tank. This is UNIT, remember? So we've got to think of something else!"

"And what else could there be? There's nothing!" Clyde argued and I frowned at him before turning to the Doctor.

"Doctor, we have to stop the machine. Can't Sarah Jane and Jo do something since they're connected to it? Turn it off or… or something?"

His eyes widened and he got up from where he'd been messing with the wires on the floor; grabbing my face and kissing me abruptly before pulling away with a grin.

"You are _brilliant, _Alexander! Absolutely brilliant!"

I blinked, confused as to what I'd apparently done to make me so amazing. "Um, thanks?"

He bopped me on the nose with his finger. "You and I are _definitely_ going out for ice cream later."

My own eyes widened as a hopeful grin stretched across my face. "Really?"

"Really really." He chirped back, turning to the computer he'd been at. "Open comms. Sarah, Jo. Can you hear me?"

"The key." Sarah Jane cried out. "It's almost ready."

"Listen to me. Both of you. I want you to remember." He told them, confusing me as well as them, apparently.

"We are doing it. That's the trouble." Jo breathed out.

"No, no, no, no. I want you to remember everything. Every single day with me. Every single second."

My mouth dropped open in shock. "Overload the system." I hurried over to his side as he spoke with them. "It's a machine that feeds off memories! Just like people drink water. Too much, and you drown!"

The Doctor smirked at me with a wink, confirming that I was right as he went on speaking to them both.

"Because your memories are more powerful than anything else on this planet. Just think of it. Remember it. But properly. Give the Memory Weave everything. Every planet, every face, every madman, every loss, every sunset, every scent, every terror, every joy, every Doctor. Every me."

I smiled as they remembered, but I suddenly paled in realization; voice quiet.

"They're overloading the machine."

The Doctor got the other kids to help them in remembering, shoving their memories into the Memory Weave, but I was panicking. _The machine will overload. And if it overloads, then it'll explode. They're stuck in there and we can't get in. They might even be able to get out. So what can they do? No Tardis key. They can snap, but then the Shansheeth and Karim get in and that could ruin everything if they get control of the ship. Not that she'll let them, but there's no telling what them pushing the wrong button could do._ I groaned, moving away from the group and pacing behind him; struggling to think and remember what exactly was in that room when we'd first been in there for the Doctor's fake funeral. _Benches, the Memory Weave—obviously—the curtains, Tardis, the coffin, the—_My eyes snapped open and I smacked myself in the forehead.

"Of course!"

The group turned to me and I only then realized that they were possibly having a teary moment with Sarah Jane and Jo, but I ignored that and pushed the Doctor away from the door.

"You two, you listening?"

"Oh, Alex." Sarah Jane said sadly. "I know we've only just met not that long ago, but I just wanted to say—"

"Oh, shut it. You're not dying yet." I said bluntly, rolling my eyes.

"I beg your pardon?" She said, sounding offended and I groaned.

"You can hit me or whatever later. Remember why you were brought here?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The funeral!" I called out, just about ready to say the answer if it got them to stop wasting time. "You went to the _Doctor's_ funeral!"

"With a lead-lined coffin!" They both said and I grinned.

"There ya go! Hop to it, ladies!"

The Doctor turned to the Groske. "How much time have they got?"

"Big bang. Ten seconds." He replied and the Doctor turned to the others.

"Ooh. Come on."

They rushed to the end of the hall and I went to go too, but spotted the Groske standing before the door as he counted down and rolled my eyes.

"Come on then! You too!" I called out, scooping the little guy up under my arm like a football and rushing to the end of the hall before I put him down as he continued the count down.

"Five, four, three, two—"

The doors were blown off and we coughed in the smoke as we got up; the Doctor asking Rani about the Mona Lisa for some reason, before we headed into the destroyed room.

"Yum. Smells like roast chicken." The Groske said and I winced, feeling bad for the Shansheeth who were just tired of having to watch people mourn, and for Karim, who was just bored with life in general.

"Now then, Smith and Jones." The Doctor chirped, tugging me to his side when he saw I was upset, before opening the coffin lid to reveal the two unharmed women clinging to each other. "The coffin was the trap. The coffin was the solution. That's so neat. I could write a thesis. Come on then, you two. Out you get."

It took them a bit, them too busy laughing in relief, but soon enough we were in the Tardis and headed back to their home. The kids walked out, but Jo and Sarah Jane stayed and looked around as the Doctor kept me snuggled up against him as he leaned back against the console.

"Still the same old Tardis. It doesn't matter what's changed, it still smells the same." Jo said happily taking in a deep breath. "Nope. I've got to say my goodbye, or else I'd stay with you forever. Besides, I probably couldn't keep up anymore. Get you into trouble with the Time Lords."

I glanced at the Doctor in worry, but he nuzzled his nose into my hair as he spoke; not letting it get to him this time.

"Hm, yeah. I'd probably better of. You know me. Stuff to do. I promised Alex some ice cream."

The group chuckled along with me, before Sarah Jane spoke.

"It's daft though, because we were both saying. We had this theory that if you ever died, we'd feel it, somehow. We'd just know. But that's just silly, isn't it?"

The Doctor pulled me a little closer and I leaned into him, closing my eyes and offering him what mental comfort I could.

"I don't know. Maybe not. Because between us three, if that day ever comes… I think the whole universe might just shiver."

He jumped then and the two woman jumped in surprise, before we all laughed again; thought I could still feel how tense the Doctor was through his jacket. He let me go then to hug Jo and Sarah Jane, before they too started to head off, but Sarah Jane turned to me at the last second.

"Alex?"

"Hm?" I hummed out, feeling the Doctor watching us from the other side of the console as he prepared the Tardis to take off.

"What I was about to say, in the funeral room…" She smiled, gesturing to the Doctor with her head. "Take care of him for us?"

"Will do." I smiled.

"And keep in touch?" She asked. "Share some of your stories or just pop in unexpected. I won't mind."

I nodded. "I'll do what I can. Depends who I pop up with."

She chuckled. "Of course. Good luck, you two. Stay safe."

"Good bye, Sarah Jane." I replied as the Doctor came back over with a grin and wrapped his arm around my waist as he waved.

Once the door closer, I looked up at him with childish excitement.

"So… ice cream?"

He chuckled, kissing me and pulling away. "How could we not?"

I beamed and grabbed his wrist, pulling him along. "And I can help drive, right?"

"Oh." He groaned. "I _guess_."

"Oi! Don't say it like that! I'm an excellent driver!"

"Yeah, when you're _not_ driving." He muttered, but I smacked him on the arm.

"I heard that!"

"Drat." He said, a smile on his face. "Time Lord hearing must be coming in."

"Oh, you bet, spaceman. Now show me what button to push." I grinned and off we went to yet another adventure.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"Ooh, books! Love books!" My smile faltered then as I looked around with a frown. "But this _isn't_ the Tardis library."_

_ I spun around, bounding off in a run and searching for something familiar as I called out._

_"Hello? Any one there? Ooh." I stopped, looking around the lobby area I was in and rubbing the back of my neck. "I'm in a library. Shouldn't be running. Or shouting, really. But why hasn't anyone shushed me yet? That's usually the first thing they do. Rude people get shushed. That's just how it works… Isn't it?"_

_I groaned and ruffled my hair, turning around and suddenly freezing in place. The place I'd just come from looked different. Not like anything had moved or was switched out with something else. No. it just looked… _darker_. And this chill went up my spine, because I suddenly felt unnerved by the shadows. Like they were watching me. _


	56. Silence in the Library

**Here's the next chapter! hope you all enjoy it. ^^ camping for me wasn't as great as it could have been, but i enjoyed the relaxation. and i got a lot of writing done for "Amber Leaves" so those of you who read that should be glad to know you'll be getting a chapter soon. probably within the next week depending on how work goes ;) but i hope you all like this chapter and please let me know what you think!**

* * *

"Whoa!" I yelped, grabbing a hold of whatever was closest to me in order to not attempt to fall. "That was definitely a doosy. It's been a while since popping off has nearly knocked me off my feet."

I cleared my throat and brushed myself off, looking around as I tucked my hands into the pockets of my coat much like the Tenth Doctor always did. Looking around though, all I saw was shelves of books and my face lit up with a grin.

"Ooh, books! Love books!" My smile faltered then as I looked around with a frown. "But this _isn't_ the Tardis library."

I spun around, bounding off in a run and searching for something familiar as I called out.

"Hello? Any one there? Ooh." I stopped, looking around the lobby area I was in and rubbing the back of my neck. "I'm in a library. Shouldn't be running. Or shouting, really. But why hasn't anyone shushed me yet? That's usually the first thing they do. Rude people get shushed. That's just how it works… Isn't it?"

I groaned and ruffled my hair, turning around and suddenly freezing in place. The place I'd just come from looked different. Not like anything had moved or was switched out with something else. No. it just looked… _darker_. And this chill went up my spine, because I suddenly felt unnerved by the shadows. Like they were watching me. I swallowed thickly and took a few steps back, reaching into my pocket and pulling out my notebook without taking my eyes off the darkness. _Libraries. Where have I read about libraries?_ I took a chance and quickly flipped through my book, stopping on a page and paling at the title.

"My God, I must be getting stupid." I muttered under my breath, looking up and jumping as I saw the shadows having moved closer to me. "Oh yes. Definitely becoming an idiot. But I'm _not_ stupid enough to stick around. See ya!"

I turned and took off in a run, tucking my notebook under my arm as I ran past shelves of books on history, bibliographies, geography, advanced mathematics, and even comedies, before I skidded around a corner and cursed at another group of shadows headed my way.

"Right. Not that way then. Off I go!"

I turned and rushed another direction, keeping a quick and even pace to keep from getting winded; something I'd been forced to learn with how long I'd been sticking around the Doctor nowadays after the usual adventures. _Honestly, I just turned thirty-three a few weeks ago and as much as I appreciated being able to spend that time with Eleven, being hunted down by a ravenous group of Pescatons was _not_ my idea of a birthday gift. I don't care _how_ fit it made me with all the running we did, I did _not_ appreciate smelling like fish for three days afterward._ I shook my head out of my thoughts and was about to pass yet another corridor of books, when I back tracked and saw that at the end of said corridor was a set of doors.

"Oh, thank God." I breathed out, checking behind me to see the shadows far closer than I would've liked and paling as I took off in a sprint for the doors.

I slammed into them with my shoulder, hoping they'd open, but they didn't and I only earned a sore shoulder for my efforts. _Open! Open! Open!_ I mentally shouted, kicking at the door, before I stopped and smacked myself.

"Oh, I'm _definitely_ an idiot."

I reached a hand out and turned the handle, rolling my eyes as the door easily slipped open. But upon catching sight of a shadow a mere foot from me, my eyes widened and I bolted into the next room; slamming the doors behind me and leaning up against them, panting. A group of people looked at me in surprise as I tried to get words out, throwing a thumb over my shoulder as I spoke shakily.

"D-Don't go through there. B-Bad idea. Shadows and… just… Don't go in there."

"Alex?" Three familiar voices called out and River, Donna and the Tenth stepped forward as I smiled and waved a little.

"Y-Yes. Hello. That's me." I said, pushing off the door and giving it a look before pointing at it again. "Did I mention the shadows outside?"

River smiled. "Yes, sweetie, you did."

"Oh. Good." I grinned, before I let out a yelp as the Doctor grabbed me in a hug; lifting me up and over his head excitedly.

"Ha! The gang's all back together!" He laughed, myself clinging to his shoulders with wide eyes.

"Yes, well, I'd like to be put _down_ now."

He continued to grin as he set me on the floor and tilted his head, giving me a once over. "How old are you?"

I raised a brow. "While that's a rude question to ask a woman… I've just turned thirty-three a few weeks ago. Why?"

As if his grin couldn't get any bigger, he somehow managed to do it. "Just wanted to know if I could do this."

"Do wha—"

I was cut off as his mouth ravished mine, our tongues intertwining as his hand grabbed the back of my neck to hold me in place before pulling away to smirk down at my flustered red face.

"_That_."

"O-Oh." I said, mind trying to reboot after the sudden lip-lock, but Donna coming over and smacking him on the arm drew me out of the daze.

"Oi, spaceman. Stop hogging her all to yourself. Not everyone wants to watch you two snogging all day." She complained, making him rub the back of his neck with a chuckle; not bothered by her scolding in the least as she turned to me and hugged me tightly. "It's good to see you, Alex."

"Ah, you too, Donna. It's been a while, actually. Since _I_ saw you last, anyway. It was probably longer for me than it was for you and the Doctor, but can never be too sure." I said with a small smile, before turning to River, who'd gotten paler. "River? You alright?"

She shook it off, pulling on a smile, though I could see right through it. "Just fine, sweetie. How are you doing? I hope he's not pestering you too much." She said, nodding her head towards the confused looking Doctor, who interrupted our conversation.

"Wait. You _know_ her?"

I gave him a look. "Course I do. I could technically tell you everyone's name in this room, but River's extra special." I grinned, looking at the woman who nodded appreciatively, and thus missing the jealous frown that marred the Doctor's face.

I spotted some torn papers on the floor and gave them a look before giving Donna and the Doctor a disapproving frown.

"Did you two rip up the contracts already?"

"Um, well…" The Doctor muttered, shuffling uneasily and I went over and smacked him on the arm.

"That was rude. Apologize to Evangelista."

He turned to said woman, who looked surprised I knew her, and bowed his head. "Sorry..."

"Good." I huffed, turning to River. "Has he mentioned the danger yet?"

She raised a brow. "You think there's danger here?"

"I'll take that as a no." I muttered under my breath as the Doctor turned around and explained.

"Something came to this Library and killed everything in it. Killed a whole world. Danger? Could be."

"That was a hundred years ago. The Library's been silent for a hundred years. Whatever came here's long dead." She argued and he gave her a look.

"Bet your life?"

"Always."

"_And_ that's enough flirting." I chimed in as Lux confronted Other Dave for sealing the door and the Doctor went over there and demanded a torch that Lux gave him without a second thought.

I, though, smacked River on the arm and gave her a look. "Stop it."

"Stop what?" She asked innocently and I groaned.

"River! Flirting! With the Doctor!" I complained, trying to keep my voice down. "I know you're just messing with him, so stop it."

Her smirk only grew though, confusing me. "Oh, sweetie. It's not _him_ I'm messing with."

"What?"

She didn't respond and the Doctor grabbed my arm and tugged me away suddenly, pulling me over to the side of our little circle of light as he shined his flashlight into the shadows; Donna coming up on his other side and joining us.

"Almost every species in the universe has an irrational fear of the dark." He said, keeping an arm around my waist as I continued to question what River had meant by what she said. "But they're wrong. Because it's not irrational. It's Vashta Nerada."

"What's Vashta Nerada?" Donna asked and he explained briefly.

"It's what's in the dark. It's what's always in the dark." He said, before pulling be back around and walking towards the group of archaeologists. "Lights! That's what we need. Lights. You got lights?"

He tossed the torch to Lux, who barely caught it as River responded.

"What for?"

"Form a circle." He explained quickly. "Safe area. Big as you can, lights pointing out."

"Oi, do as he says." She told the group, as the Doctor let me go with a wink and took off his coat before tossing it aside.

"You're not listening to this man?!" Lux argued, but River argued right back as the Doctor crouched down on the floor to check something.

"Apparently I am." She said, before handing out orders. "Anita, unpack the lights. Other Dave, make sure the door's secure, then help Anita. Mister Lux, put you helmet back on, block the visor. Proper Dave, find an active terminal. I want you to access the Library database. See what you can find about what happened here a hundred years ago. Pretty boy, handsome, you're with me. Step into my office."

"Professor song, why am I the only on wearing my helmet?" Lux questioned as I mouthed the word 'handsome' in confusion.

"I don't fancy you." She replied with a smile and Lux removed his helmet with a huff as the Doctor took my hand and pulled me over to where Proper Dave was; putting on his glasses in the process.

"Probably I can help you."

"Pretty boy. Handsome. With me, I said." River called out and the Doctor and I turned as Donna leaned over a table with a smug look.

"Oh, _I'm_ pretty boy." He realized, pointing to himself.

"Yes." Donna said, before frowning as she scolded herself. "Oh, that came out a bit quick."

"Pretty?" He questioned, looking at me and I grinned.

"Only a bit."

He shrugged, not seeming bothered now, but furrowed his brows then. "But she said handsome too. So which is it?"

River called out, having heard us. "You're pretty boy. _Alex_ is handsome."

"Me?" I questioned, pointing to myself in confusion as the Doctor frowned over at River. "You need _me_?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course I need you! Now hurry up, sweetie."

I rubbed the back of my neck nervously, but went over to her with the Doctor, who promptly pulled me right back to his side again. _God, he's being awfully clingy today. Don't know what his problem is, but whatever._ I mentally sighed as he scolded someone about their shadows.

"Don't let your shadows cross. Seriously, don't even let them touch. Any of them could be infected."

"How can a shadow be infected?" Other Dave asked, but no one answered him.

I spotted Evangelista trying to help and gave Donna a pointed look, to which she nodded and headed over to deal with the problem as the Doctor and I went over to River; who was digging through her pack for something. She pulled out her book and the Doctor cleared his throat, curious as to what was going on and she just glanced at him briefly as she flipped through the pages.

"Thanks."

"For what?" He questioned and I felt horrible for what River was about to find out.

"The usual. For coming when I call."

"Oh, that was _you_." He said, surprised and giving me a look as I fidgeted uncomfortably.

"You're doing a very good job, acting like you don't know me. I'm assuming there's a reason." River rattled on and the Doctor looked her over in confusion.

"A fairly good one, actually."

"Um, River?" I said quietly, trying to get her attention, but she wasn't paying attention.

"Okay. Shall we do diaries then? Where are we this time? Uh, going by your face, I'd say it's early days for you, yeah?"

"River?" I tried again, pulling away from the Doctor, but once again she ignored me.

"So, um, crash of Byzantium. Have we done that yet?" She looked at the Doctor, who gave no response, so she moved on before I could get a word out. "Obviously ringing no bells. Right, um… Oh, picnic at Asgard. Have we done Asgard yet?" Still nothing. "Obviously not. Blimey, very early days then. Whoo, life with a time traveler. Never knew it could be _such_ hard work." She chuckled and I cleared my throat, finally getting her to look at me.

I didn't even have to say it. She could tell. Her cheerful expression dropped and she turned to the Doctor with sad eyes.

"Look at you. Oh, you're young."

"I'm really not, you know." He said with a small smile, liking the praise, I'm sure.

"No, but you _are_. You're eyes. You're younger than I've ever seen you." She said, reaching out and brushing a hand over his face as I shuffled uncomfortably.

I was jealous, but the heartbreak I was feeling for River overcame any thought of stopping her.

"You've seen me before, then?" The Doctor said, eyeing her hand and glancing at me briefly as he pulled away from it and took my hand in his, more than confused. "Are you like Alex, somehow? And we've just met in the wrong order or something?"

River lowered her hand and looked at me, before back at him; the pain in her eyes visible. "Doctor, please tell me you know who I am."

"Who are you?" He asked and that sealed it for her.

She looked to be on the verge of tears before she turned to me. "A-And you? Do you just know of me, or…"

"Oh, River." I sighed, hugging her. "You are the most amazing woman I've ever met and I am so sorry this had to happen to you. Though I am _not_ sorry for what happened in the barn, _Mels_."

She chuckled, hugging me back tightly as something wet dropped onto my neck. "Thank you. Thank you for knowing me." She whispered.

A strange sounding alarm went off then and we pulled apart as Proper Dave called out.

"Sorry, that was me. Trying to get through into the security protocols. I seem to have set something off. What is that? Is that an alarm?"

Donna walked towards us. "Doctor? Doctor, that sounds like..."

He nodded. "It is. It's a phone."

He headed over to where Proper Dave was and River turned to me in worry.

"Any hints, Alex?"

I winced, knowing what was going to happen today and that none of it would be good. "Nothing good. 'Saved' is the key word here and the database isn't what you think it would be."

The Doctor had stopped, looking at me as I said this and got my attention. "Scale of one-to-ten?"

"Twenty." I muttered apologetically and he gave me a stiff nod before resuming what he was going to do.

* * *

After attempting to call up the data core and reaching a little girl coloring in her living room, things only seemed to grow more confusing for the Doctor. First off, there was this River Song woman that Alex somehow knew and who somehow knew him, yet he didn't have the slightest idea who she was. What's more, she set him on edge when she was around Alex. It was like she was teasing him with the fact that Alex knew her and they were apparently close friends, and he did not appreciate her rubbing that in his face. Alex—bless her—was oblivious to the other woman's teasing and obvious flirting with her, which made the Doctor happy that he didn't have any actual competition, but also upset because this meant Alex wouldn't stay away from her either. So he'd been trying to keep Alex with him, but he could tell she was starting to get annoyed and knew better than to push her into sticking to his side, because in the end, she'd just pull further away from him. Luckily, Donna had caught on and—though she smirked at seeing the Doctor jealous of a _woman_, at that—she was keeping Alex over by her for now, so the Doctor didn't have to worry.

He _was_, however, worried about other things. Like the fact that Alex was rather fidgety today. He knew it wasn't a good thing, but he didn't know if it somehow had to do with him and whatever adventures she was on before she popped up, or if it had to do with their _current_ adventure. He was betting on the later, and if that was true, then he knew he had a real big problem on his hands, because Alex didn't get uncomfortable about adventures unless something really bad was going to happen. And, as she said before, this one was going to be _very_ bad. _A level twenty on a scale of one-to-ten is never good. And even worse coming from Alex._ He glanced at said woman to see her shuffling her feet and looking around the shadows with a small worried frown on her face, so he quickly went and gave out orders once more as he hurried through the room.

"I need another terminal. Keep working on those lights. We need lights!"

"You heard him, people. Let there be light." River also called out and when the Doctor went over to the next terminal, he spotted the blue book River was holding and picked it up in curiosity after some debate, only for River to snatch it from him.

"Sorry, you're not allowed to see inside the book. It's against the rules."

"What rules?" He questioned and she looked at him almost sadly.

"_Your_ rules."

_Must be like Alex's black book. Especially if River is someone from my future._ He mused, pushing the thought of the book from his mind as he worked on the terminal. He heard a familiar cry of pain then and quickly turned to see Alex wincing and holding the back of her head as books started flying around.

"What's that? I didn't do that. Did you do that?" He asked Proper Dave who shook his head.

"Not me."

"Alex, you alright?" He called out, trying to get into the controls to stop this.

"Fine. I just don't appreciate the thesaurus to the back of the head." She grumbled, before a message appeared on the screen before the Doctor.

_Cal Access Denied._

"What's Cal?" He questioned in confusion, turning around and waving Alex over; tucking her into his side and smacking aside a book that flew their way. "You sure you're alright?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm _fine_. Stop being so clingy. It was just a book." She said, though she didn't pull away and leaned back into his side; making him smile a bit.

"Course. You're right."

One of the archaeologists started freaking out a bit, but the Doctor left her to Donna as he tried to figure out what was going on with the computer, a few more books flying off their shelves.

"What's causing that?" River asked, looking around. "Is it the little girl?"

"Yes." Alex muttered, the Doctor nodding.

"But who is the little girl? What's she got to do with this place? How does the data core work? What's the principle? What's Cal?"

"Ask Mister Lux." River offered upon Alex shaking her head at the Doctor; not being able to answer his questions just yet, it seems.

So, the Doctor did just that.

"Cal, what is it?"

"Sorry. You didn't sign your personal experience contracts." Lux said haughtily and the Doctor frowned, expecting some snarky retort from Alex, but the woman just sighed softly so he confronted Mister Lux.

"Mister Lux. Right now, you're in more danger than you've ever been in your whole life. And you're protecting a patent?" The Doctor questioned, annoyed by the man's ignorance and confused as to why Alex was acting strangely.

"I'm protecting my family's pride."

"Well, funny thing, Mister Lux. I don't want to see everyone in this room dead because some idiot thinks his pride is more important." The Doctor snapped, but Alex tugged on his arm.

"Doctor, let it go. We've got bigger things to worry about right now." She said, before giving him a look when it appeared he was going to argue. "And right now, _you're_ that idiot, because your pride is more important than signing a contract for answers. So don't argue."

He pouted, knowing she was right and that she'd just beaten his own argument, so he let it go as River smirked.

"I didn't sign it either. I'm getting worse than you two."

Alex smiled back at the woman a bit, making the Doctor bristle as he tried to get things back on task and distract Alex from the woman as he tugged her away from her.

"Okay, okay, okay. Let's start at the beginning. What happened here? On the actual day, a hundred years ago. What physically happened?"

"There was a message from the Library." River explained, the Doctor not noticing Alex looking at a panel in the wall that had just opened up. "Just one. 'The lights are going out'. Then the computer sealed the planet and there was nothing for a hundred years."

"It's taken three generations of my family just to decode the seals and get back in." Lux explained as Evangelista spoke up.

"Um, excuse me?"

"Not just now." Lux shushed her as River went on.

"There was one other thing in the last message."

"That's confidential." Lux argued, unhappily.

"I trust Alex with my life, with everything." River said, making the Doctor stiffen as well as Alex. "That Doctor too, but he's part of the package."

"You've only just met them!"

"Nope, he's only just met me. And Alex and I have known each other for years." River smirked at the Doctor, who tightened his grip on Alex's wrist as River pulled something out of her backpack and worked on it.

"Um, this might be important, actually." Evangelista spoke up once more as Lux shushed her again.

"In a moment."

Alex tugged on the Doctor's sleeve then and he briefly spared her a glance.

"I'll go see what's wrong."

"No. Stay." He said bluntly, missing the annoyed frown on her face until she reached up and grabbed his ear tightly; pulling him down as he cried out in pain. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"

"Let me _go_, Doctor."

"Alright, alright! No need for the ear-pulling." He whined, rubbing his ear as she stuck out her tongue at him and went to go comfort Evangelista.

River cleared her throat and he turned back to her as she continued to explain. "Anyway, this is a data extract that came with the message." She showed him the device she'd been working on.

"'Four thousand and twenty-two saved. No survivors'." He read.

"Four thousand and twenty-two. That's the exact number of people who were in the Library when the planet was sealed."

"But how can four thousand and twenty-two people have been saved if there were no survivors?"

"That's what we're here to find out."

"And so far, what we haven't found are any bodies." Lux said ominously, not knowing how soon it would be before they _did_ find a body.

A scream rang out then, followed by a shout that had the Doctor's very hearts stop.

"Doctor!"

He and the others immediately turned to see an opening in the wall and rushed through it into another room, coming to a halt in the center of the room where Alex stood and a skeleton sat in a chair.

"Everybody, careful." The Doctor said sternly. "Stay in the light."

"You keep saying that. I don't see the point." Proper Dave grumbled, but Alex pointed at the skeleton.

"T-That's the point." She muttered, making the Doctor notice how pale she was and how her hand shook slightly.

"Alex." He said cautiously, coming up behind her and placing a hand comfortingly on her shoulder; though she remained stiff. "Who screamed?"

"Evangelista. I-I tried to stop her, but..." Alex took in a stuttering breath. "I'm sorry."

Upon hearing those words, River grew worried and turned on her comm.

"Miss Evangelista, please state your current..." She paused, hearing her words repeated to her as though the woman was in the room. "Please state your current… position."

She reached forward and pulled up the comm from the skeleton in shock.

"It's her… It's Miss Evangelista."

"I-I'm sorry." Alex whispered softly, River turning to her to see just how heartbroken she was over this; not only for Evangelista, but for River as well. River had lost a colleague, a friend.

"We heard her scream a few seconds ago. What could do that to a person in a few seconds?" Anita questioned in disbelief.

"It took a lot less than a few seconds." The Doctor said seriously, his arms around Alex's shoulders as the woman shook slightly against his chest; turned away from the skeleton.

"What did?"

"Doctor." Alex muttered softly, making the Doctor look down at her in worry. "C-Can I just step out f-for a second? Please."

"Yeah, sure. Of course. Donna can—"

"No." She cut him off, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, but she needs to stay. I just… I-I can't listen to this."

He wasn't sure what she meant, but nodded; letting her go as she walked back into the room they'd been in, just as Evangelista started ghosting.

* * *

I shook quietly in the other room as the Doctor and the others dealt with Evangelista ghosting. I knew they were probably worried. I usually didn't just walk out like that after a death. I'd seen deaths before, prevented them, or at least stayed solemn and mourned with the others when I couldn't, but this one was different. It wasn't something you can forget easily. The Vashta Nerada eating a person in front of you. I would describe it, but I honestly wouldn't want to described that sort of thing to anyone. They made it look simpler in the show. Toss a chicken bone in the dark, it pops out bone on the other side. But Evangelista's scream echoed in my head. The way she turned around when I called out for her to stop, the scream, the sounds of flesh being ripped from bone in an instant, and then the skeletal remains just dropping back into the chair behind her like she hadn't even been there in the first place. It was unnerving. And to know that that was what was going to happen to others today, within the _hour_, sent tendrils of fear through my body. Because there was nothing I could do to save them. Any of them. I couldn't even come up with something to save River, and that tore me to shreds everytime she looked at me or smiled. Because I knew what was going to happen to her and there was nothing I could do, except pretend to be happy. And it was killing me.

I took in a deep stuttering breath, hands tangled in my hair as I sat on a chair, alone, in the lit up floor. And when a hand landed on my shoulder, I had every right to jump in a panic; only to see Donna standing there looking worried.

"You alright?"

I felt even more guilty then, upon seeing her own pale features. She'd just dealt with someone she knew ghosting and I hadn't been there for her. I was too busy panicking over something I couldn't change. And I reached up and pulled her down into a hug.

"Oh, Donna. I'm so sorry." I breathed out, her hugging me back, probably more than confused.

Of course, I was wrong. Never could predict how Donna was going to react to things accurately.

"Sorry? What have you got to be sorry for?" She questioned, pulling away and giving me that mother's scolding look; hands on her hips and everything. "You didn't go and do… that to Evangelista and you were obviously having a rough time, so I don't blame ya for walking out of that room. I honestly, was about to as well. So don't you go apologizing for something that any human being would do, got it?"

I smiled a little, bowing my head. "Y-Yeah. Yeah, I got it… Thank you, Donna."

"Oh, come here." She said, pulling up and hugging me tightly, before patting me on the shoulders. "Now, why don't you tell me how you know that River woman, hm?"

I chuckled, knowing how Donna was always on the look out for a bit of gossip. "She's a friend."

"Mm, seems like more than that to me. She's got the Doctor all antsy with how she keeps looking at you."

I furrowed my brows. "What? No. We're just friends. Honest. I knew her when she was younger, thanks to the whole time travel thing. We'd meet up, get drinks, have a good laugh, that sort of thing."

"Seems to me like she's poking fun at the Doctor trying to get you jealous. She wants your attention." Donna said, giving me a look, but I was adamant.

"No way. She might be teasing him, but she's trying to get _him_ interested. Not me."

"I don't know. I'd keep an eye on her. Just watch. When she teases the Doctor, see who she looks at afterward. 'Cause it looks to me like you've got someone else begging for your affection, and it's not Mr. Spaceman over there." She said, a knowing smirk on her face though I wasn't buying it.

_No. No way. River doesn't like me like that. I mean, there was the kiss in the barn, but that was in order to get her out of trouble and she thought I was a guy too._ I frowned, thinking more on the times I spent with River. _Although, there was the nights we hung out and she insisted on sleeping beside me and always ended up curled up into my side. _And_ the times when I'd get really drunk at the bar and she'd take me back with her to Amy and Rory's and talk about how she wouldn't let the Doctor have me and…_ My thoughts derailed as my eyes widened and my mouth dropped open in shock. _N-No. No way! She can't! River can't… I mean, she just can't! We're both women a-a-and… oh my God, she _does_, doesn't she?!_ I glanced over at River who caught me looking and smiled with a wink; setting my cheeks aflame as I buried my face in my hands with a groan. _Noooooo. Why does this have to happen to me time and time again? What did I do to deserve this, universe?! Now I'll never be able to look at her the same way ever again! Oh man, what a mess I've created… And I don't even know _how_ I created it!_

"Okay, got a live one." The Doctor called out, making all eyes turn to him as I sighed softly, upset about my latest realization. "That's not darkness down those tunnels. This is not a shadow. It's a swarm. A man-eating swarm."

He threw the chicken leg River had given him, into a shadow, where it came out a bone; though I couldn't help the flinch I made upon seeing it happen again—chicken leg or not.

"The piranhas of the air." The Doctor went on. "The Vashta Nerada. Literally, the shadows that melt the flesh. Most planets have them, but usually in small clusters. I've never seen an infestation on this scale, or this aggressive."

"What do you mean, most planets? Not Earth?" Donna questioned, growing fearful of these creatures.

"Mm." The Doctor hummed. "Earth and a billion other worlds. Where there's meat, there's Vashta Nerada. You can see them sometimes, if you look. The dust in the sunbeams."

A shiver went down my spine at that thought, hoping there weren't any on the Tardis or I'd never be able to sleep again.

"If they were on Earth, we'd know." She argued.

"Nah. Normally, they live on road kill. But sometimes people go missing. Not everyone comes back out of the dark."

"Every shadow?" River questioned, looking fearful as she shined her torch into the shadows.

"No. But any shadow." He clarified.

"So what do we do?" River turned to me and I stiffened; the Doctor answering and drawing her attention from me.

"Daleks, aim for the eye-stalk. Sontarans, back of the neck. Vashta Nerada? Run. Just run."

"Run? Run where?"

"This is an index point." He said, looking around. "There must be an exit teleport somewhere."

Everyone turned to Lux.

"Don't look at me. I haven't memorized the schematics."

"Doctor, the little shop." Donna said. "They always make you go through the little shop on the way out so they can sell you stuff."

He grinned at her after checking the hall as I smiled at her as well; knowing I would have never thought of that on my own like she had.

"You're right. Brilliant! That's why I like the little shop."

"No, you just like it so you can buy strange little knick-knacks for you strange-little-kick-knack collection." I said, making him turn to me with a pout.

"Oi, don't be rude."

I smiled cheekily. "I'm not being rude. I'm stating a fact."

"Okay, let's move then." Proper Dave said, starting to rush off in that direction, but the Doctor stopped him as my smile fell.

"Actually, Proper Dave? Could you stay where you are for a moment?"

"Why?" He questioned, unsure.

"I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry." The Doctor apologized, gesturing to the floor at his feet. "But you've got two shadows… It's how they hunt. They latch on to a food source and keep it fresh."

"What do I do?" He asked, scared now and I debated on whether I should mention that shielding the visor helps prolong death.

_For all I know, it will give the last person a chance at living, but then again, it might give the Vashta Nerada a chance to adapt and it won't change anything. Might even make it happen faster._ I begrudgingly groaned, before standing up and speaking.

"Doctor, tint his helmet visor. It'll make it… take longer for them to catch on." I said, turning to River. "And could you increase the mesh density to eight hundred percent?"

She nodded and went to do that, pulling out her own sonic screwdriver; which the Doctor raised a brow at. "Gotcha."

"What's that?" He asked her.

"It's a screwdriver."

"It's sonic."

"Yeah, I know. Snap." She smirked at him, making that bit of jealousy swirl in my stomach and causing me to frown slightly, before I caught her grinning mischievously at me and that heat in my face returned.

_Dear God, Donna was right. Oh, this can't be happening._ I mentally lamented, picking up Proper Dave's helmet and passing it to the Doctor so he could do what I said; River going around and helping everyone into their helmets and upgrading their suits. The Doctor grabbed my wrist then, but I dug in my heels, stopping him.

"Oh, no." He argued, face serious. "Not this time, Alex. There's no way I'm letting you stay here while these things are running loose. You get caught, and there's no saving you. And I'm not about to risk that."

I glared at him. "Well too bad, spaceman. Because I'm staying. It's my life and my decision, and I can help you here more that I could with Donna. Send her back, keep her safe, but there's no way I'm leaving you to deal with this on your own. Got it?"

"Sorry." He said suddenly and I knew what he was going to do when he reached up to my head and I braced myself for the headache I was about to give myself as I forcefully kicked him out of my mind before he could utter the word 'sleep'.

"Ow! You kicked me out! Where did you learn to do that?!" He whined, holding his head, only to pale upon locking eyes with my glare.

I grabbed his tie and brought him down to my level angrily. "If you _ever_ do that to me again when I decide to disagree with you, I will give you a _lot_ more than a headache to deal with. Do you _understand_?"

He nodded and I let him go, storming off and angrily plopping down in a chair with my back facing him as I crossed my arms over my chest; furious about the fact that he'd try to deny me my own freedom in order to keep me safe. I'd never even attempted to do that to him, so him doing it to me after I adamantly said 'no' only ticked me off further than I already was. That big bundle of nerves in my shoulder tightening as my stress levels sky rocketed and River called out to him not long after he'd sent Donna away.

"Where did it go?" He asked Proper Dave in confusion as to why the second shadow disappeared."

"It's just gone. I looked 'round, one shadow. See?"

"Does that mean we can leave?" River questioned. "I don't want to hang around here."

"I don't know why we're still here. We can leave him, can't we? I mean, no offense."

"Shut up, Mister Lux." River snapped at him and I spoke up before the Doctor could go around asking complicated questions.

"It's in the suit."

"What?"

I turned my head slightly, but didn't face him, still angry. "The Vashta Nerada. It's not gone, it's in the suit."

"You can't be serious?!" Proper Dave exclaimed, panicking and I pinched the bridge of my nose, struggling to keep from being blunt, but having no real choice with the headache I had and the craziness of this situation.

"Moving, staying still, none of that changes anything. Your tinted visor will prolong it for a bit, but I don't know how long. We need to leave though. _Now._" I said, getting up and frowning at the lot.

"And how do you know this, huh? You and this Doctor, you think you know everything?" Lux scoffed and I shifted my heated glare at him.

"Actually, yeah. I know quite a bit about this mess. I know who's in danger, who's not, what's going to happen in the end, and the thing about Cal that you're hiding." I snapped, Lux tensing with wide eyes. "And you know what? I'm going to do everything I can to help, but if you don't want to listen, that's your choice. I'm not in the mood to argue with you. So if you choose not to listen to me and end up dying, it won't be my fault. So do me a favor, make this easier on all of us, and take my words as gospel if you want to get out of here in one piece, _alright_?"

He nodded shakily and hands landed on my shoulders, making me round on the Doctor and smack his hands off me.

"Don't touch me." I growled, walking away and over towards the wall where River would use her gun to get us out. "You're the _last_ person I want to speak to right now."

It was a bit harsh, but I couldn't keep doing this. He was being too clingy lately and with this mess and what he tried to pull only a moment ago, I was two seconds from snapping. _I seriously need a nice long drink and a massage. My shoulder is _killing_ me._ I rubbed at it angrily, muttering annoyances under my breath until Proper Dave said those fated words.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

* * *

The Doctor winced when Alex shoved him off, knowing he'd screwed up by trying to knock her out and keep her safe, but what else was he supposed to do? He didn't want her getting hurt, much less getting caught by the Vashta Nerada, so he figured sending her away with Donna would help. She could keep Donna safe and she would be safe. It was a win-win as far as he was concerned. _Though knocking her out was probably _not_ the best way to go about it. She's obviously dealing with a lot of pressure right now and doing that only seemed to make things worse._ He mused, watching as she walked a ways away from him and rubbed at her shoulder while grumbling under her breath. He could still see it though, in her eyes. The hurt that came with what he'd tried to do to her, and the deep sadness for what had happened to Evangelista brimming right under the surface. He'd seen her flinch when he tossed the chicken leg to the Vashta Nerada and knew she was beating herself up about being right there to stop Evangelista, but he needed her to understand that it wasn't her fault, what happened. Problem was, getting close enough to her that he could help her through that. He'd _really_ messed up by trying to send her away.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Proper Dave suddenly said and the Doctor turned to him in confusion.

"No one. They're fine."

"No, seriously." Proper Dave said. "Turn them back on."

"They are on." River said, also confused.

"I can't see a ruddy thing." Proper Dave argued and the Doctor stiffened when he heard Alex mutter in a soft whisper.

"I'm sorry."

Knowing that was never good, he slowly spoke to Proper Dave.

"Dave, turn around."

He did, revealing the tinted visor and the Doctor scanned it with his sonic cautiously, double checking to make sure it was just the visor tint making it dark.

"What's going on? Why can't I see? Is the power gone?" Proper Dave panicked. "Are we safe here?"

"Dave, I want you to stay still. Absolutely still." The Doctor ordered, when the man suddenly jerked. "Dave? Dave? Dave, can you hear me? Are you alright? Talk to me, Dave."

"I'm fine. I'm okay. I-I'm fine."

"Doctor." Alex called out, suddenly beside him and pulling him away from Proper Dave. "We need to leave."

"Not yet." He argued, but Alex's grip on his arm tightened and she pulled him back another step.

"Doctor, look at his comm lights."

The Doctor did and his hearts skipped a beat as he saw them blinking and Dave began repeating his words; stuttering over them like a broken record.

"I-I can't. Why can't I… I-I can't. Why can't I."

"He's gone. He's ghosting." River breathed out.

"Then why is he still standing?" Lux questioned.

"Because the Vashta Nerada have taken over the suit." Alex explained, pulling the Doctor back further with the rest of the group.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Proper Dave questioned. "Hey, who turned out the lights?"

His helmet tipped forward and Proper Dave's skull appeared; the Doctor grabbing Alex's hand instead and pulling her back towards the wall as the suit started to walk forward toward them.

"Doesn't move very fast, does it?" River commented.

"It's a swarm in a suit." The Doctor argued when four shadows spread out from the suit's feet toward the group. "But it's learning."

"What do we do? Where do we go?!" Lux panicked.

Alex pointed at the wall, grabbing Lux and yanking him down. "River!"

"On it, sweetie." River smirked, pulling out a gun and shooting a square hole in the wall.

"Squareness gun!" The Doctor chirped happily as River began shoving people through the hole.

"Everybody out. Go, go, go. Move it. Move, move. Move it. Move, move."

The group ended up in a half lit passageway and River turned to the Doctor in worry.

"You said not every shadow."

"But any shadow." He said ominously, looking around and tightening his grip on Alex's hand.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Proper Dave called out and Alex pulled the Doctor along and grabbing River's hand as well.

"Run!"

The group soon stopped by some bookshelves and the Doctor got to work on fixing the lights in the area to keep them safe, when Alex spoke up.

"Doctor, Donna's not in the Tardis."

He stopped, eyes wide. "What?!"

Alex waved a hand; the other on her head as she sat on a pile of books. "She's fine. Safe. Promise. The Library saved her. It thought she was in danger from the Vashta Nerada. But she's fine."

He let out a soft sigh of relief, before focusing on what he'd been doing, explaining when he caught River watching him. "Trying to boost the power. Light doesn't stop them, but it slows them down."

"So, what's the plan?" River asked. "Do we have a plan?"

The Doctor ignored her question, diverting the topic. "Your screwdriver looks exactly like mine."

"Yeah. You gave it to me."

"I don't give my screwdriver to anyone." He frowned, thinking it over briefly. "Well, maybe Alex, but that's different."

Alex scoffed as River smiled a little.

"I'm not anyone."

"Who are you?"

"What's the plan?" She shot back and the Doctor turned back to a node nearby.

"Curious. Donna Noble. She's somewhere in this Library. Do you have software to locate her position?"

The node turned it's head around to reveal Donna's.

"Donna Noble has left the Library. Dona Noble has been saved."

The Doctor turned to Alex in shock, but she hadn't even moved.

"I told you. She's fine. She's safer where she is than with us. I promise you, she's fine and we'll get her back at the end of all this, okay?" She got up then, wincing and rubbing at her shoulder; keeping her eyes away from the Doctor. "We need to move. Proper Dave is coming."

The Doctor though, reached out and grabbed her shoulder, turning her around to argue with how nonchalant she was being about this whole mess—loosing Donna, the Vashta Nerada, all of it—but when he saw her expression, he just couldn't do it. She was shaking slightly under his fingers and the worry and fear was evident in her eyes despite how well she was attempting to hide it. And he knew now what she was trying to do. She was trying to cope. She was cutting herself off from those feelings as best she could and being as blunt and straight forward as possible in order to have everything work out as quickly as it could. The sooner this was over with, the sooner she could be on her own to sort out the mess of feelings she was shoving aside. Not only that, but by being as blunt as possible, she was egging the people around her. _Trying_ to get them angry with her because she felt she deserved that.

And that wasn't something he knew just by looking. That was something he knew from experience. He had known Alex for so long, that he knew she blamed herself for everything that happened. Whether it was her younger self or her older self. She would constantly put the blame upon her own shoulders and push people's buttons in order to get some form of punishment for allowing those things to happen. That was why she got angry with Lux earlier and spouted out that she knew everything that was going to happen. Because she wanted him to get angry with her and blame her for Evangelista and Proper Dave's deaths, because she _knew_ they would happen and it appeared she did nothing to stop it. She tried though. The Doctor knew she did. Because why else would she have made him let her go so she could check on Evangelista? And why else would she have told him to tint the visors—something he wouldn't have thought of for a while—on Proper Dave's suit to give him more time? Sure, the first attempt didn't work and he wasn't sure how much tinting the visors had helped, but she was _trying_. And how could he blame her for that? So instead of getting angry with her for acting the way she was, he pulled her back to his chest and hugged her tightly, lowering his mouth to her ear as he spoke softly.

"I'm so sorry, Alexander. I shouldn't have tried to send you back or knock you out or any of that _stupid _stuff. And I'm sorry. I should be helping you deal with this and I'm just standing back like an idiot and making you handle this alone. I should know better than anyone what you have to go through during things like this and I should be helping you in any way I can."

She nodded slowly, gently touching his arm as she muttered a small apology herself.

"Sorry I'm acting like a jerk. I'm just… running out of ideas to help."

"You're doing just fine." He smiled, kissing her cheek and pulling away, just as Proper Dave's voice called out.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

"Doctor! Alex! We have to go, now!" River called out and the group started running once more, Proper Dave calling out behind them along with the node, before they were forced to come to a halt as the shadows closed them in.

"Doctor, Alex, what are we going to do?" River asked and the Doctor looked between the people of the group in worry, having no idea for once.

And Alex's grip on his hand tightened in worry, letting him know that he wasn't the only one, and no one knew what was going to happen next.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"They'd better take it, because right now, I'm finding it very hard to make any kind of offer at all. Because, you know what?" He stopped and faced Anita and Alex with a glare. "I _love _Alex. She's brave, and smart, and has just the right amount of spunk. And I don't care for the fact that they're attached to her right now, but I'm going to let that pass, so long as they let them pass."_

_ Alex stepped out of the shadows, two shadows below her feet poking out of the darkness. "When did you find out?" She asked, voice tight with fear._

_ He gave her a sad look. "When you didn't try to stop me."_


	57. Forest of the Dead

**Here you go, guys! The exciting conclusion to the Library. And i'm posting it a day early because i have work tomorrow and i'm unsure if i'll have a chance to post it then. So enjoy! Let me know what you think, and thanks to those who reviewed/favorited/followed! **

**PS: did anyone notice the comparison to the Twelfth Doctor that i gave about Alex in the last chapter? ;)**

* * *

"Gun!" I called out and River used the squareness gun once more on the shelf beside us; shoving people through the hole she created.

"This way! Quickly! Move!"

We continued to run with River making holes in the wall, until we reached a round room with a large skylight above us.

"Okay, we've got a clear spot. In, in, in!" River called out. "Right in the center. In the middle of the light, quickly. Don't let your shadows cross. Doctor."

"I'm doing it." He hummed out from the floor where he was scanning the shadows with his sonic.

"There's no lights in here." River said, voice panicky as I moved over and rubbed her arm to attempt to comfort her. "Sunset's coming. We can't stay long. Have you found a live one?"

"Maybe." The Doctor said with a frown. "It's getting harder to tell. What's wrong with you?" He complained, smacking his sonic.

"Smacking it is not going to make it work." I grumbled, turning to River. "And yes. There's a live one. No need to waste the poor chicken leg."

"Okay, watch your feet, everyone." She called out, moving to sit by her companions as I did the same; continuing to offer what little comfort I could to the group mentally; though I was a bit worried as well and low on energy after everything that's happened.

"They won't attack until there's enough of them. But they've got our scent now. They're coming."

"Oh yeah, who is he? You haven't even told us. You just expect us to trust him and his girlfriend?" Other Dave snipped, the panic getting to them.

"He's the Doctor and she's Alex." River said bluntly.

"And who is the Doctor?" Lux questioned, glancing briefly at me, only to wince and look away.

"The only story you'll ever tell, if you survive him." River said with a small smile at me. "Which you have a higher chance of if Alex is sticking around."

"Hm, cute." I hummed sarcastically, eyeing the shadows with a frown.

Anita spoke up then. "You say he's your friend, but he doesn't even know who you are."

"Listen." River said sternly. "All you need to know is this. I'd trust that man to the end of the universe and I'd trust Alex even further than that. And actually, we've been."

"He doesn't act like he trusts you." Anita grumbled.

"Yeah, there's a tiny problem. He hasn't met me yet." River explained, a hint of sadness in her voice as she got up and headed over to the Doctor.

I sighed and followed after her, intent on helping her stay calm upon seeing how upset she was getting.

"What's wrong with it?" She asked the Doctor, letting out a soft sigh when I placed a hand on her shoulder and allowed some comfort to wash over her.

The Doctor scowled, fighting with his sonic. "There's a signal coming from somewhere, interfering with it."

"Then use the red settings." River offered.

"It doesn't have red settings."

"Well, use the dampers."

"It doesn't have dampers."

I rolled my eyes as River pulled out her sonic.

"It will do one day."

The Doctor took it from her rudely, myself sending him a scolding glance that he begrudgingly pouted at before turning back to River.

"So, sometime in the future, I just give you my screwdriver."

"Yeah."

"Why would I do that?" He frowned, suspicious.

"To save a life, perhaps?" I offered, making them turn to me as I sighed. "She didn't kill you for it, if that's what you're worried about. Honestly, you two need to get along. Donna's fine, so stop getting upset over it, Doctor. River, I'm sorry you've lost people here, but you need to calm down too. You're both sitting here bickering about screwdrivers and other stuff when the important thing is getting these last six people out of here alive. And I can't keep playing the mediator when I'm stuck doing that on my own. So do me a favor, yeah?" I grabbed both their head and smacked them together; making them cringe and rub at their foreheads in pain as I gave them both stern looks. "_Focus._ Now River? Tell him."

She gave me a worried look. "Are you sure?"

I nodded, turning away, stomach twisting in jealousy because not even _I_ hadn't been told what she was about to tell the Doctor. "Yeah. He needs to trust you and I'm not sure if I can be the one to convince him of that."

She nodded and whispered in his ear, before pulling away at his shocked look. "Are we good? Doctor, are we good?"

"Yeah, we're good." He said, still stunned by whatever she told him, though she nodded, eyes still sad.

"Good."

She took her screwdriver back and he gave me a sad look as well, before shaking himself out of it and getting back on task when I mouthed for him to focus.

"Know what's interesting about my screwdriver? Very hard to interfere with. Practically nothing's strong enough. Well, some hairdryers, but I'm working on that. So there is a very strong signal coming from somewhere, and it wasn't there before. So what's new? What's changed?.. Come on! What's new? What's different?"

"I don't know. Nothing." Other Dave responded. "It's getting dark?"

"It's a screwdriver. It works in the dark." He said, before looking up. "Moon rise… Tell me about the moon. What's there?"

"It's not real." Lux said. "It was built as part of the Library. It's just a Doctor Moon."

"What's a Doctor Moon?"

"A virus checker." Lux explained. "It supports and maintains the main computer at the core of the planet."

"Well, still active. It's signaling. Look. Someone somewhere in this Library is alive and communicating with the moon. Or, possibly alive and drying their hair. No, the signal is definitely coming from the moon. I'm blocking it, but it's trying to break through."

An image of Donna appeared from his screwdriver and River called out.

"Doctor!"

He turned and gaped in shock. "Donna!"

"Doctor, that was your friend." River said, confused. "Can you get her back? What was that?"

"Hold on, hold on, hold on. I'm trying to find the wavelength. Agh, I'm being blocked." He complained, before Anita spoke up.

"Professor?"

"Just a moment." River said, but I wasn't going to allow that.

"River, she's got two shadows." I said and everyone turned and backed away from her, whereas I moved forward and passed her her helmet. "Put this on, Anita."

"It didn't do Proper Dave any good." She said, making me wince.

"I'm sorry. Really, I am, but we have to try, okay?"

She nodded, looking completely crestfallen as I felt the same, struggling to keep my composure as I tried to come up with a way to stop this; but nothing was coming up. I wasn't a miracle worker, after all. How do you stop shadows from killing someone? _Light… Maybe…_

"Doctor? I want to try something." I called out, making him eye me with a worried look.

"What?"

"Light. You said light slows them down, right?"

"Well, yeah, but what are you thinking?"

I paced a bit, tugging at the hair at the base of my neck. "W-Well, the suits. They're like a giant hiding hole of shadows, yeah? What if we put a light in the suit? Light up the inside, make it harder for the shadows to get in? I'd say take off the suit entirely, but the increased mesh density is obviously proving to be of some use or they'd be bones almost instantly—No offense." I muttered quickly. "And I _know_ that tinting the visor slows them down a little. Proper Dave lasted a tiny bit longer than he should have. Sorry again, no offense meant."

"No, that might just work." The Doctor said, making me stop and look at him hopefully.

"R-Really?"

He nodded with a grin, bounding over to me and kissing me before pulling away. "Really."

He then hurried over to Anita and worked with his sonic, somehow lighting up the inside of her suit; though she didn't look too pleased about being a walking glow stick. He then tinted her visor and Other Dave spoke up worriedly.

"Can you still see in there?"

"Just about. The light glares a bit on the visor, but I can see well enough." She replied and I spoke up then.

"Oh, and we might want to run."

"Why's that?" River questioned and I pointed at the figure at the back of the group. "Because there's seven of us when there's supposed to be six."

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"

"Run!" The Doctor shouted as Proper Dave's suit marched after us and we bolted down the corridors.

The Doctor came to a stop though, letting of of my hand and nudging me forward towards River.

"Professor, go ahead. Find a safe spot and take Alex with you."

"It's a carnivorous swarm in a suit. You can't reason with it." She argued, but I pushed her in front of me.

"River, trust me, he'll be fine. Promise." I looked over my shoulder at the Doctor with a frown. "Though I don't appreciate being handed off. I _can_ handle myself, you know."

He smiled cheekily. "Of course, but there's always a fair share of trouble involved."

I rolled my eyes. "Says you. And don't over think things. Remember what books _are_ and things will make sense a whole lot faster."

He raised a brow. "This one of your hints?"

"Yeah, so listen to it for once." I said, sticking out my tongue as he chuckled and turned to face the oncoming suit. "And watch your back."

"Will do."

River though, was proving to be hard to convince.

"Other Dave, stay with—"

"Nope!" I interrupted, turning Other Dave around as well. "Other Dave is coming with us too. One swarm suit is bad enough."

"What?" He questioned, though I didn't answer as River gave me a sad, knowing look and we hurried off down the corridor.

I, myself, hoping that keeping Other Dave with us not only saved his life, but didn't put the Doctor's in jeopardy.

* * *

The Doctor faced the oncoming suit with a bit of confidence after Alex gave him some hints, though he did feel a bit guilty since she'd let him stay back and do this and he'd tried to knock her out and send her away earlier. He'd definitely have to make it up to her when they got out of this.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" The suit said, and the Doctor stepped towards it, careful to keep some distance between him and the swarm.

"You hear that? Those words? That is the very last thought of the man who wore that suit before you climbed inside and stripped his flesh." He said quickly, wincing at the though of how Alex would've reacted to the bluntness of his words. "That's a man's soul trapped inside a neural relay, going round and round forever. Now, if you don't have the decency to let him go, how about this? Use him. Talk to me. It's easy. Neural relay. Just point and think. Use him, talk to me."

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" The suit repeated, but the Doctor was stubborn and tried a different tactic.

"The Vashta Nerada live on all the worlds in this system, but you hunt in forests. What are you doing in a library? You came to the Library to hunt. Why? Just tell me why."

"We did not." The suit said shakily, stopping it's advance.

"Oh, hello." The Doctor said, a bit surprised that it had done as he'd asked.

"We did not."

"Take it easy. You'll get the hang of it. Did not what?"

"We did not come here." It said, confusing the Doctor.

"Well, of course you did. Of course you came here."

"We come _from_ here." The suit clarified.

"From here?"

"We hatched here."

"But you hatch from tree. From spores in trees." The Doctor continued, still lost.

"These are our forests."

"You're nowhere near a forest. You're not in a forest, you're in… a library."

The Doctor's mouth dropped open in understanding as Alex's hints came back to him.

"_Remember what books _are…_ and watch your back."_

"You came in the books. Microspores in a million, million _books_." He said, realization dawning on him as he looked out the window beside him. "Oh, look at that. The forests of the Vashta Nerada, pulped and printed and bound. A million, million books, hatching shadows."

"_...and watch your back."_

His eyes widened and he spun around, spotting a shadow heading his way, backing up and out of it's reach just in time.

"Ooh, that was a close one. Thing about me, I'm stupid." He said making a face as he switched his glance from the shadows on the ground and the suit before him. "I talk too much. Always babbling on. This gob doesn't stop for anything. Especially with Alex not around. Want to know the only reason I'm still alive? _Other_ than my girlfriend tending to pull me out of tough situations..." He grinned. "Always stay near the door."

He pointed his sonic at the ground and a trap door opened up, dropping him down into open air outside, where he _just_ managed to grab a hold of a support beam and began making his way across it bit by bit, to catch up with Alex and the others.

Said others, were standing in a room as River scanned the floor with her sonic; Alex and Anita standing closest.

"You know, it's funny. I keep wishing the Doctor was here."

"Mm, tell me about it." Alex hummed, frowning slightly. "I feel a bit useless without him around."

Anita though, was nervous. "The Doctor is here, isn't he? He is coming back, right?"

River stood and faced Anita, eyes sad. "You know when you see a photograph of someone you know, but it's from years before you knew them. and it's like they're not quite finished. They're not done yet. Well, yes, the Doctor's here. He came when I called, just like he always does. But not _my_ Doctor. Now my Doctor, I've seen whole armies turn and run away. And he'd just swagger off back to his Tardis and open the doors with a snap of his fingers. The Doctor in the Tardis. Next stop, everywhere."

"Spoilers." A deep voice rang out, making River turn to where the Doctor was standing at the top of some stairs, heading down to join them. "Nobody can open a Tardis by snapping their fingers. It doesn't work like that."

"It does for the Doctor. Alex too, just ask her." River smiled and he turned to Alex who leaned back on the palm of her hands and tipped her head back to look at him.

"Yeah… how was your climb?"

He grimaced. "Slow." He then turned to River with a frown. "I _am_ the Doctor."

"Yeah. Some day."

He frowned at that and turned to Anita. "How are you doing?"

"Alright, considering." She muttered. "If they've taken Proper Dave, why haven't they gotten me yet?"

The Doctor looked down at her two shadows. "I don't know. Maybe tinting your visor and lighting up the inside of your suit is making a difference."

"It's making a difference, alright. No one's ever going to see my face again." She said and the Doctor spotted Alex turning away from the woman slightly, upset.

"Can I get you anything?" He asked Anita, who chuckled bitterly.

"An old age would be nice. Anything you can do?"

"I'm all over it." He said confidently, moving to turn away, but she stopped him.

"Doctor. When we first met you, you didn't trust Professor Song. And then she whispered a word in your ear and you did. My life so far… I could do with a word like that. What did she say?" Anita asked, Alex getting up behind the Doctor and brushing off her pants. "Give a dead girl a break. Your secrets are safe with me."

"Safe." He breathed out, stunned and confusing Anita.

"What?"

"Safe. You didn't say 'saved'. Nobody says 'saved'. You say 'safe'." He turned around suddenly. "That data fragment! What did it say?"

"'Four thousand and twenty-two people saved. No survivors'." Lux repeated, just as lost as the others in the room.

"Doctor?" River questioned, but the Doctor was grinning ear-to-ear, not really listening.

"Nobody says 'saved'. Nutters say 'saved'. You say 'safe'. You see? It didn't mean 'safe'. It meant… It literally _meant_, 'saved'!" He turned towards Alex, tilting his head with a smug smirk. "Oh, and you knew it. You hinted it to me and River, right at the start." He stalked forward toward a certain red-head. "Alexander Holmes, you _brilliant_ woman, you."

He grabbed her and hugged her, spinning her around with a laugh as she let out a yelp and clung to him for dear life until he set her down and kissed her deeply; pulling away to look into her eyes.

"God, I love it when you're clever." He whispered and her face heated up a nice red tint.

"B-But I'm not… I'm just telling you what I already know."

"Yes, but in a way that it doesn't draw suspicion. In a way that makes me think and doesn't give anything away too easily or too soon. _You_, Alexander, are _very _clever for coming up with a way to do that all on your own. Even more so for saving Other Dave and helping Anita get along this far. And I love you for it. So don't you _dare_ think you are useless to me, because I wouldn't be anywhere without you."

She stiffened. "Y-You heard that?"

He let out a soft sigh, pressing his forehead to hers and letting out a wave of comfort over her frazzled nerves; feeling her relax slightly.

"Alexander, I am the worst boyfriend in the world if I'm still making you feel that way after all these years."

"That's not true." She muttered quietly, leaning into his hands that were holding her face.

"No, it is. Because I love you and you shouldn't have to feel that way because of me. Especially when you're doing so much. So as soon as this mess is over I'm going to make it up to you. I don't know what I'll do just yet. It's a work in progress, but I'll figure something out."

"Hm, I'm sure we'll think of something." She hummed, a mischievous spark in her eyes that made the Doctor get a little pink, before River cleared her throat and they pulled away from one another in embarrassment.

"If you two are done with your little _talk_, might we possibly focus on something a bit more important? Like getting _out_ of here?"

"S-Sorry." Alex apologized, whereas the Doctor felt a smirk tugging at his lips at River's jealousy; putting an arm around Alex's waist and pulling her closer to him as he spun around and went to get into the data core.

"Right then! Shouldn't be too hard to find. Just need to get access into the Library Archives." He rambled, putting on his glasses with a wink at Alex—knowing how much she liked them—as he typed away. "See. There it is, right there. A hundred years ago, massive power surge. All the teleports going at once. Soon, as the Vashta Nerada hit their hatching cycle, they attack. Someone hits the alarm. The computer tries to teleport everyone out."

"It tried to teleport four thousand twenty-two people?" River question in surprise.

"It succeeded. Pulled them all out, but then what? Nowhere to send them. Nowhere safe in the whole Library. Vashta Nerada growing in every shadow. Four thousand and twenty-two people all beamed up and nowhere to go. They're stuck in the system, waiting to be sent, like emails. So what's a computer to do? What does a computer always do?"

"It saved them." River smiled, understanding dawning on her as the Doctor rushed over to a table and began drawing on it.

"I hope that's erasable." Alex muttered and the Doctor smiled.

_Leave it to her to think of the little things._ "The Library. A whole world of books, and right at the core, the biggest hard drive in history. The index to everything ever written, backup copies of every single book. The computer saved four thousand and twenty-two people the only way a computer can. It saved them to the hard drive."

An alarm went off then and Alex looked around with a small frown.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Lux questioned.

"_Auto-destruct enabled in twenty minutes._" The computer chimed.

"What's maximum erasure?"

"Exactly what it says." Alex grumbled, pulling a hand through her hair.

"In twenty minutes, this planet's going to crack like an egg." The Doctor expanded.

"No." Lux argued. "No, it's alright. The Doctor Moon will stop it. It's programmed to protect Cal."

"I doubt the computer will listen to anything right about now." Alex said softly, making the Doctor give her an odd look, before the screen on the terminal abruptly went bank.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" He shouted, sonicking the terminal in the hopes of getting it working again.

"_All Library systems are permanently offline. Sorry for any inconvenience._" The computer announced as Lux panicked a bit.

"We need to stop this. We've got to save Cal."

"What is it? What's Cal?" The Doctor asked, very confused about this whole mess.

"We need to get to the main computer. I'll show you." Lux said begrudgingly.

"It's at the core of the planet." The Doctor said in disbelief, not knowing how exactly they'd get there.

"Well, then. Let's go." River smiled and sonicked the floor, allowing it to open up and a blue beam to come out. "Gravity platform."

The Doctor headed over with a smile. "Oh, I bet I like you."

"Oh, you do." River smiled back with a nod, glancing at Alex, who was frowning as she stood between them. "Though Alex is more my cup of tea."

Alex's mouth immediately dropped open as she pointed a finger at River. "Y-You..."

The Doctor though, just pulled her onto the gravity platform as River followed with a chuckle. "Yes, well, bigger things to worry about now, Alex."

"But she—"

"Yes, yes. I know." He drawled out, a bit of bite to his tone as he frown over at River, who continued to smile away.

They hurried through a corridor when they landed and the Doctor looked up.

"The data core. Over four thousand living minds trapped inside it."

"Yeah, well, they won't be living much longer. We're running out of time." River complained and the Doctor rushed to an access terminal.

"_Help me. Please, help me._" A little girl's voice cried out from the computer.

"What's that?" Anita questioned.

"Was that a child?" River said, shocked and confused.

"The computer's in sleep mode. I can't wake it up. I'm trying." The Doctor grumbled, typing away.

River was at another one. "Doctor, these readings..."

"I know. You'd think it was dreaming."

"She is." Alex said, making him turn to her in surprise as Lux spoke up.

"She's right. It is dreaming. Of a normal life and a lovely dad, and of every book ever written."

"Computers don't dream." Anita said, lost.

"No, but little girls do." Lux announced, pulling a lever and opening up another room where a node was; it's head turning to reveal a little girl.

"Please, help me." She begged. "Please help me."

"Oh my God."

"It's the little girl." Anita said in shock. "The girl we saw in the computer."

"She's not in the computer. In a way, she _is_ the computer. The main command node. This is Cal."

"Cal is a _child_? A child hooked up to a mainframe? Why didn't you tell me this? I needed to know this!"

Alex grabbed the Doctor's hand and frowned up at him, making him frown in return, but calm down as she sent him some calmness of her own. _Though it's wavering, so she can't be as calm as she wants us to think._ He mused silently as Lux argued with his previous comments.

"Because she's family!" He shouted back, before calming down. "Cal. Charlotte Abigail Lux. My grandfather's youngest daughter. She was dying, so he built her a library and put her living mind inside, with a moon to watch over her, and all of human history to pass the time. Any era to live in, any book to read. She loved books more than anything, and he gave her them all. He asked only that she be left in peace. A secret, not a freak show."

"So you weren't protecting a patent. You were protecting her." The Doctor said, understanding dawning on him now.

"This is only half a life, of course. But it's forever." Lux said, brushing a hand across her face.

"And then the shadows came."

"The shadows." The node said. "I have to… I have to save… Have to save."

"And she saved them. She saved everyone in the Library. Folded them into her dreams and kept them safe."

"Then why didn't she tell us?" Anita asked and the Doctor responded, eyes sad with sympathy and understanding.

"Because she's forgotten. She's got over four thousand living minds chatting away inside her head. It must be like being… well… me."

Alex squeezed his hand in comfort and he accepted the gesture as River said the question on everyone's mind.

"So what do we do?"

"Easy!" He called out, running back to the terminal and pulling Alex along before letting her go and typing away on the terminal. "We beam all the people out of the data core. The computer will reset and stop the countdown. Difficult. Charlotte doesn't have enough memory space left to make the transfer." He rushed over to a storage box and opened it, grabbing what was inside. "Easy! I'll hook myself up to the computer. She can borrow _my_ memory space."

"Difficult. It'll kill you stone dead." River said in a panic, sending a glance over to Alex who stayed silent and stood in the shadows to hide her expression.

"Yeah, it's easy to criticize."

"It'll burn out both your hearts and don't think you'll regenerate."

"I'll try my hardest not to die. Honestly, it's my main thing. Promised Alex I'd make everything up to her after all this, so I can't break that."

"Doctor!"

"I'm right, this works. Shut up. Now listen. You, Other Dave, and Luxy boy, back up to the main Library. Prime any data cells you can find for maximum download, and before you say anything else, Professor, can I just mention in passing as you're here, shut up."

River let out a gasp, glaring at him. "Oh, I hate you sometimes!"

"I know!" He called out after her as her and the others went to head out.

"Mister Lux, Other Dave, with me. Anita, Alex if he dies, I'll kill him!"

They both rushed off and Anita looked over at Alex with a shrug, and she sighed softly; no one noticing her tired, saddened expression.

"What about the Vashta Nerada?" She asked the Doctor as he rushed around the room doing various things such as flipping switches and pushing buttons; much like what he did on the Tardis.

"These are their forests. I'm going to seal Charlotte inside her little world, take everybody else away. The shadows can swarm to their hearts' content."

"So you think they're just going to let us go?" Anita questioned.

"Best offer they're going to get." He replied.

"You're going to make them an offer?"

"They'd better take it, because right now, I'm finding it very hard to make any kind of offer at all. Because, you know what?" He stopped and faced Anita and Alex with a glare. "I _love_ Alex. She's brave, and smart, and has just the right amount of spunk. And I don't care for the fact that they're attached to her right now, but I'm going to let that pass, so long as they let them pass."

Alex stepped out of the shadows, two shadows below her feet poking out of the darkness. "When did you find out?" She asked, voice tight with fear.

He gave her a sad look. "When you didn't try to stop me."

She sighed softly, pulling a hand through her hair. "I should've known that you'd find out whether I tried to hide it or not."

"Can you connect with them?" He asked her and she winced, but nodded.

"It's hard. They don't have much as far as telepathic capabilities, so it's like a radio with a bad connection, but I know what they're trying to say, so I guess I can translate for you. Um… they said, 'These are our forests'."

The Doctor nodded, understanding that he was speaking with the Vashta Nerada now, not Alex. "I'm giving you back your forests, but you are giving me them, Anita, and Alex. You are letting them go."

Alex winced again, fighting a headache he knew communicating with the Vashta Nerada was causing. "'These are our forests. They are our meat'."

Alex took a step back as the shadows under her and Anita's feet stretched towards the Doctor, but he frowned.

"Don't play games with me." He snarled, more angry about Alex's situation than anything at the moment. "You're trying to kill someone I _love_. That is not a safe place to stand. I'm the Doctor and you're the biggest library in the universe. Look me up."

There was a beat of silence, before the shadows withdrew and disappeared, Alex speaking their final words.

"'You have one day'." She let out a sigh of relief then and the Doctor was right in front of her; hands on her temples and checking her out as she frowned and grumbled lightly at him. "I'm fine. Stop it. It's just a headache."

He nodded, pulling out of her mind and turning to Anita. "Anita, you alright?"

"Yeah. Surprisingly."

"Good." He said, before turning back to Alex and suddenly pulling her into a heated kiss, before separating with a small frown. "_You_ are not to scare me like that again."

"R-Right." She stuttered out, red in the face and a bit breathless, making him smile a bit before he hugged her tightly; his head resting on hers.

"You are _such_ a trouble maker."

"Says you." She grumbled as River suddenly dashed back in.

"Anita, the shadows."

The Doctor pulled away from Alex with a smile, keeping a hand around her shoulders. "All gone. For now, anyway."

River nodded, pointing to where she'd just come from. "Anita, could you go help Mister Lux and Other Dave?"

Anita nodded and hurried off, removing her helmet along the way, as River faced Alex and the Doctor gave her a look.

"I told you to go."

"They can manage without me, but you two can't."

* * *

She rushed up and punched the Doctor, knocking him out, and went to punch me, but I ducked and grabbed her arm, flipping her over my shoulder. I winced as River grimaced in pain and started to get up again, feeling bad for having done that.

"Sorry. Reflex. You should know better than to try and punch me, River." I said not really sounding as apologetic as I wanted to.

"Though I might've stood a chance when I punched him." She said with the slightest smile. "Guess not… but I have to do this. You know that."

I nodded, solemnly. "I know. I-I tried to think of some way to stop it, but..."

River smiled slightly, heading over towards me and brushing a hand over my face. "I know, sweetie. I know how hard you tried."

I shook my head, feeling my throat tighten with oncoming tears. "N-No. You don't understand. I-I saved them. I saved Anita a-and Other Dave. They were supposed to… when you got pulled into the system, they were supposed to be there for you. And now—"

River sighed, cutting me off. "My goodness, you always did talk _so_ much."

She suddenly pressed her lips to mine and I stifled back a cry of surprise as she placed her hand at the back of my head and deepened it desperately before pulling away and wiping a tear from my face.

"There. That's better."

"B-But River, I—"

My vision wobbled then and I felt her grab onto my arm to keep me from toppling over as my legs suddenly grew weak; only then noticing the light pink substance on her lips.

"L-Lipstick." I slurred as River helped me to the ground beside the Doctor; digging through my coat and pulling out a set of handcuffs.

I tried to struggle, but it was useless. Whatever River had drugged me with made my limbs feel like limp noodles and with my vision twisting and weaving the way it was, I doubted I'd be able to do much if I _had_ managed to fight back.

"N-No, River… Y-You can't. Please… I don't… want you to go." I cried, tears slipping down my cheeks as the metal bracelet clicked shut around my wrist and River wiped my tears away with a small smile.

"Oh, sweetie, you'll see me again."

"B-But you won't." I argued, unconsciously leaning into her touch as my mind grew foggier. "I-I'm sorry… so please… p-please d-don't go, Mels… please."

"I love you, Alexander." She breathed out then as my vision went black and I faded into unconsciousness.

* * *

"_Auto-destruct in two minutes._" The computer chimed as the Doctor started to come to and he caught sight of River finishing up the wiring of the terminal.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Come on, what are you doing? That's my job." He argued, spotting Alex unconscious beside him; handcuffed to him. "And what did you do to Alex?"

"Oh, and I'm not allowed to have a career, I suppose?" River drawled.

"Why are we handcuffed? Why do you even have handcuffs?"

"Spoilers." She smirked, before her gaze shifted to Alex and the smile faded. "And she's fine. I knocked her out with a paralytic. She'll be awake in a few hours and… this will all be over."

"This is not a joke." The Doctor said sternly. "Stop this now. This is going to kill you! I'd have a chance, you don't have any."

"You wouldn't have a chance, and neither do I!" She snapped back, before changing the subject. "I'm timing it for the end of the countdown. There'll be a blip in the command flow. That was it should improve our chances of a clean download."

"River, please. No." He said, begging now.

"Funny thing is, this means you two have always known how I was going to die. All the time we've been together, you and Alex knew I was coming here. The last time I saw you, the real you, the future you, I mean, you turned up on my doorstep, with a new haircut and a suit; Alex in tow looking all dazzled up in my favorite outfit of hers, with that dark blue vest and hair looking so perfect you'd just want to run your hands through it for days." She smiled fondly at the memory, voice tight with tears. "You two took me to Darillium to see the Singing Towers. What a night that was. The Towers sang, and you both cried."

"_Auto-destruct in one minute._"

"Neither of you would tell me why, but Alex mentioned before that when she turned thirty-three that there wouldn't be much time left for me. You even gave me your screwdriver. That should've been a clue. Alex though… Oh how clever was she." River held up a little flash-drive like object. "She'd been getting me to work on this with her for ages. Never giving me any idea what it was or what it was even for. Just saying I'd know what to do with it when the time was right and 'the Library was darkened with shadows'."

The Doctor looked hopeful, but River gave him a sad smile.

"It won't save me. She told me as much, but she said it holds memories. That's all it is. 'A drive full of memories and dreams and could-have-beens'. She took after you with her way of words." She joked lightly, before her smile faltered once more and she faced him sadly as he tried to reach his sonic which wasn't too far ahead of him. "There's nothing you can do."

"You can let me do this." The Doctor argued, but she shook her head.

"If you die here, Alex will be devastated. It'll mean I've never met you and all I want is for her to be happy. And if that means you surviving this and I don't, then so be it."

"Time can be rewritten."

She shook her head. "Not those times. Not one line. Don't you dare." Her eyes softened then as she watching him, fighting back, for _her_. "It's okay. It's okay. It's not over for you. You'll see me again. You've got all of that to come. You and me and Alex, time and space. You watch us run."

"River, you know my name."

"_Auto destruct in ten..._" The computer counted down.

"You whispered my name in my ear." The Doctor went on, doing his best to ignore it.

"_Nine… eight… seven..._"

"There's only two reasons I would ever tell anyone my name. There's only two times I could." He pressed on, desperate to know why River had to be the other person who knew his name; the other a short-haired blonde woman.

"Hush now." River said gently.

"_Four… three..._"

"Spoilers."

"_Two… one..._"

She smiled before putting the two cables together, a bright light shining out before it died down and there was nothing left of River Song. The Doctor didn't do anything after that, simply staring at where the woman had been and holding onto the unconscious Alex for comfort until he noticed a tear slide down her cheek.

"I'm sorry." He muttered to her, wiping it off. "I couldn't… _We_ couldn't…."

He let out a soft sigh and stretched his leg out, pulling over the screwdrivers and unlocking the handcuffs; tucking them into his coat with River's and her journal, before lifting up Alex and carrying her outside where the people saved wandered about; waiting for Donna to show up. He found her soon enough and she explained to him how she'd been dreaming of this wonderful life with someone she'd met and she wanted to see if he was real. And he allowed her to. Someone needed to find something happy in all of this, but she soon wandered back to him looking downtrodden.

"Any luck?"

"There wasn't even anyone called Lee in the Library that day." She said sadly. "I suppose he could have had a different name out here, but—let's be honest—he wasn't real, was he?"

"Maybe not."

"I made up the perfect man. Gorgeous, adores me, and hardly able to speak a word. What's that say about me?"

"Everything." The Doctor muttered, before catching the annoyed look Donna sent him. "Sorry, did I say everything? I meant to say nothing. I was aiming for nothing. I accidentally said everything."

"Says you, look who you've got." She said, gesturing towards the peacefully sleeping woman in his arms.

He snorted a bit, a small smile on his face, before Donna gave him a tentative look.

"What about you? You alright?"

"I'm always alright." He said, smile faltering, and even Donna didn't look convinced.

"Is 'alright' special Time Lord code for 'really not alright at all'?" She asked.

"Why?"

"Because I'm alright too."

Things were quiet for a second, before the Doctor nodded towards the door.

"Come on."

She followed after him—missing the man who just teleported away behind them, trying to call her name—and as they walked over to a balcony, the Doctor spoke.

"You know, Alex always said this thing. She'd get upset with me when I said I was 'alright' and would say, 'It's alright not to be alright, because not being alright gives us a reason to seek out others who also aren't alright and gives us all a chance to be alright'."

Donna snorted as the Doctor sat Alex down in a nearby chair and set River's blue diary on the railing of the balcony.

"That's a lot of 'alrights'."

The Doctor couldn't help but smile a bit at that, fingers brushing over the cover of River's book until Donna brought up something.

"Your friend, Professor Song. She knew you in the future, but she didn't know me. What happens to me? Because when she heard my name, the way she looked at me—"

"Donna, this is her diary. My future. I could look you up. What do you think? Shall we peek at the end?"

"Spoilers, right?" Donna said, throwing the chance away. "Alex has a book like that too. Imagine what she'd think."

The Doctor grimaced at the thought. "Right..."

He took out River's sonic screwdriver then, looking it over before placing it on the book as well, and then heading over to pick up Alex.

"To the next chapter then?" He asked Donna, before suddenly stopping and leaving Alex to pick up the sonic screwdriver once more.

"Why? Why would I give her my screwdriver? Why would I do that? Thing is, future Alex and I had years to think about it. All those years to think of a way to save her and what he did was give her a screwdriver while Alex gave her that drive of memories. Why would _I_ give her my sonic screwdriver?"

He rolled the sonic in his hands before seeing a familiar neural relay on it with two green lights.

"Oh! Oh! Oh, look at that. I'm very good!" He grinned.

"What have you done?" Donna asked.

"Saved her." He bolted up the stairs and pointed at Alex as he did. "Stay here and look after her! I'll be back!"

He rushed through shelves of books, one light going out on the sonic screwdriver as he ran, begging her to keep going.

"Stay with me! You can do it, stay with me! Come on, you and me, one last run!"

He reached the gravity platform, but disabled the platform, so instead he could just jump down it as the last light began to blink.

"Sorry, River. Shortcut."

He finally made it to the command center and jammed the sonic screwdriver in, turning to see Cal smile as he smiled back; knowing that he had saved River, at least in some way.

* * *

River stood in a white robe in the center of a grassy field as Doctor Moon and the little girl walked up to her.

"It's okay, you're safe." The girl said. "You will always be safe here. The Doctor fixed the data core. This is a good place now. But I was worried you might be lonely, so I brought you some friends. Aren't I a clever girl?"

"Aren't we all?" Evangelista said, Proper Dave coming up with her along with a short haired blonde woman, who grinned away as she pulled along a man in a tweed jacket and bow-tie; his brown hair flopping on his head.

"Oh, for heaven's sake. He just can't do it, can he? That man. That impossible man and his wife. They just can's give in." River said, heading over and hugging them all as the blonde woman smacked her upside the head.

"Oi, that's _me_ you're talking about."

"Me too!" The man behind her whined, pouting childishly.

The woman turned and put her hands on her hips. "Well, it's _River's_ memories and dreams, so it's _my_ turn to be more important than you, Doctor."

"But Alex!" The Doctor whined and River laughed, unable to believe just how much Alex and the Doctor had done for her, even when she thought it was the end.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"I… swear… Being connected… to you is… no walk in the park. That's for sure." I breathed out, letting out a long breath before getting back on my feet to hobble along. "N-Now do me a favor, yeah? I don't know what's going on. So give me a clue? And _please _no chickens or nothing. I don't know how good my running will be with my leg like this."_

_ She let out a pained hum and something fell from the ceiling before she went deadly quiet. I was worried for her, having never before seen her like this, but I picked up the object and looked it over before paling._

_ "Oh god. That is… That is _definitely _not good."_

_ In my hands was a silver object with something burned into the side. Words._

Big friendly button.


	58. Journey to the Center of the Tardis

**Hiya! ^^ Because it's technically Tuesday and i can't sleep, I'm updating! Whoo! This is a very... odd chapter, to say the least. Writing it was kind of hard, but I got through it. And you all finally get to learn what happened to get Alex into the Doctor Who universe! Let me know what you think though. It's always nice hearing from you all and if anyone has questions, fire away! I love thinking about the characters (mine and the Doctor Who ones).**

* * *

"You said—"

"I know what I said. I was the one saying it." Clara snapped at the Doctor, aggravated with him ever since Alex had popped off and he'd nosed in on their conversation about getting along with the Tardis.

"You said it was looking at you funny." The Doctor argued in return, determined to get her to at least _talk_ to his ship.

"I was tired, overwrought. I didn't mean it. It's an appliance. It does a job."

"It's a pretty cool appliance." He snipped, patting the console as the two of them went in circles around it. "We're not talking cheese grater here."

"You're _not_ getting me to talk to your ship. That's properly bonkers."

He rubbed the console, whispering to it. "It's okay. It's okay."

Clara made a face. "Ew, you're like one of those guys who can't go out with a girl unless his mother approves."

"It's important to us you get along." The Doctor frowned, before an idea popped into his head. "I could leave you two alone together."

"Now you're creeping me out. And have you _heard_ some of the stories Alex has brought up when _she's_ been alone with her?" Clara argued. "I mean, chased by chickens, closet of lobsters, crazy turkeys, falling _shoes_."

"The Tardis likes her! That's just her way of expressing it to Alex! She's like a cat!"

Clara gave him a disbelieving look. "What sort of cat puts _lobsters_ in someone's closet."

The Doctor groaned. "Not like that! What I'm saying is, sometimes the Tardis purrs and plays nice and other times she plops a dead mouse on your pillow to say she likes you."

"Gross!"

"She's only done it to Alex! There's nothing to worry about." He complained. "Take the wheel. Not the wheel." He changed his mind. "I'll make it easy. Shut it down to basic mode for you."

"Basic? Because I'm a girl?" Clara argued, waiting to see his response as he set the Tardis up to basic mode.

"No. Alex would _kill_ me if I said that and you repeated it to her." He grumbled, before pulling her to a section of the Tardis and standing beside her. "Stand here. Now, turn that knob over there."

"What's that do?" She asked, doing as he said and turning a yellow knob.

"Turns on the radio." He smiled, loud music playing in the background as Clara smiled back and shook her head.

"Alright, now what?"

"Pull that lever. It sort of… Think of it as putting the Tardis into drive."

"Okay." She said, pulling it. "Next?"

He leaned over the console a bit, pointing out a green button. "Push that one there."

"And that one does..."

"Starts the engines."

She raised a brow. "Don't you usually do that _before_ you put the car into drive?"

He rolled his eyes. "Honestly, she's not a car. She's a complicated time and space machine. I'm sure a few things could be done backwards."

"Alright, alright. Don't get your knickers in a twist." Clara smiled, reaching over and pushing the button, only for the lights to suddenly go out. "What have I done?"

The music started up again, muted, and the lights changed to blinking red ones, making the Doctor even look worried.

"Uh, okay." He moved around to a screen with the map and some smaller Gallifreyan on it, just as a crack appeared.

The screen flickered and even more cracks started forming as Clara headed over in worry.

"Doctor?"

The Doctor frowned, flipping some switches in the attempts to fix whatever was wrong, but nothing was working.

"All the electrical impulses are jammed. I can't get the shields back up." He went over to two switches and began struggling to pull them up. "She's completely vulnerable."

Clara, thinking it was her fault, panicked a bit. "I swear I just touched it."

He finally managed to flip them, creating a shower of sparks as the ship jolted and they both stumbled back.

"Magnetic hobble-field!" the Doctor called out over the noise, attempting to fix things once more. "We're flying right into it! Clara, stay by me!"

She didn't move, too stunned to, really. "Please tell me there's a button you can use to fix this!"

"Oh, yes. Big friendly button."

"You're lying."

"Yup."

"To stop me freaking out?"

"Is it working?!"

"Not so much!"

A round metal device rolled towards her and she reached over to pick it up, but the hot metal burned her palm and she dropped it with a hiss as the ship jolted and her and the Doctor both were knocked out.

* * *

I woke up feeling as though I'd gotten drunk and then ran over by a semi truck before being dragged down the highway at eighty miles an hour. Long story short, I felt like crap. _I don't know what River put in her lipstick, but my _God_ is it strong._ I mused, groaning and sitting up as I rubbed at my head. I felt something strange though and pulled my hand away to see blood; making me immediately panic and check my head again. I was bleeding, apparently, and as I looked around, I could understand why. I was in the Tardis surrounded by chunks of metal and other pieces of her. _I must of popped off at some point while I was knocked out, but that doesn't explain this mess. Did I show up while we were crashing or something?_ I went to get up, but let out a sharp cry of pain upon trying to move my left leg. Seems my head wasn't the only thing that was bleeding. A long piece of metal piping had come off the wall, breaking at sharp enough of an angle that it had sliced through the top part of my thigh, leaving me with a rather large gash in my leg that was bleeding pretty bad.

Gritting my teeth against the pain, I managed to get the metal piping away from my leg and promptly grumbled curses under my breath as I had to rip the sleeve off my shirt to use as a make-shift bandage. Once that was properly taken care of, I used another pipe on the wall to help me stand and did my best to keep my weight off my injured leg as I huffed and tried to figure out what was going on and where I was in the plot; if anywhere.

"Come on, Sexy. Talk to me. What's going on?"

The ship let out a strangled hum, sounding in pain and I winced at the headache she passed along. _In pain, obviously. Must have crashed pretty bad and the Doctor probably took down the shields in order for it to be this bad. Though I question what the idiot was thinking to put the shields down in the first place._ The Tardis seemed to hum quietly in agreement, also annoyed at the Doctor's stupidity it seemed. I sighed though, and began making my way along in the hopes of coming across the Doctor or the console room. After a while though, I realized something was very wrong because no matter what directions I ended up taking that _should_ have gotten me to the console room, I'd yet to reach it. Not only that, but the Tardis was very _very_ quiet. And, believe it or not, but that wasn't right. She always had her humming to communicate and there was always this light pressure in my head letting me know she was there. But right now, that pressure was nearly nonexistent and my shoulder had this strange pulsing ache to it. Something was wrong with the Tardis, and that was _never_ a good thing.

"Just hang on, Sexy. I'll find the Doctor and he'll be able to do something about this." I murmured.

It was then though, that the aching in my shoulder spiked and I cringed; doubling over in pain and leaning against the wall.

"O-Oi, that hurts, dammit." I cursed, feeling as though someone was slamming a foot into my shoulder or hitting it with a hammer.

The pain grew sharper for a moment, causing me to whimper in pain as I clenched my eyes shut and sank closer to the floor, before it stopped; leaving me panting and sweating, and very much not pleased.

"I… swear… Being connected… to you is… no walk in the park. That's for sure." I breathed out, letting out a long breath before getting back on my feet to hobble along. "N-Now do me a favor, yeah? I don't know what's going on. So give me a clue? And _please_ no chickens or nothing. I don't know how good my running will be with my leg like this."

She let out a pained hum and something fell from the ceiling before she went deadly quiet. I was worried for her, having never before seen her like this, but I picked up the object and looked it over before paling.

"Oh God. That is… That is _definitely_ not good."

In my hands was a silver object with something burned into the side. Words.

_Big friendly button._

"Clara." I breathed out, tossing the object aside and moving a bit faster as my eyes narrowed in determination despite my protesting body.

Upon opening the first door I found, I entered the smoking console room and coughed violently as the smoke entered my lungs and I covered my nose and mouth with my arm.

"No. N-Not yet." I coughed again, turning and leaving the room, hacking and choking. "I-I can't… be in the console room yet, Sexy… Not 'til I find… Clara."

I coughed more of the smoke from my lungs, wincing as I wheezed, but pushed onwards and left the console room behind; making my way towards the library.

"Hang on, Clara. Just… hang on."

* * *

"I don't get it." Gregor said as the Doctor entered the Tardis ahead of him and Tricky and Bram entered from behind. "I thought she was lying on her side."

"The Tardis is special. She has her own gravity." The Doctor rattled on quickly, his worry for Clara's safety being his top priority at the moment. "I'd explain if I had some charts and a board pen."

"It's… It's… It's bigger—" Gregor started, the Doctor waving him off as he worked on the console.

"On the inside. Do you know, I get that a lot."

"Whoa. Awesome." Tricky said, voice warping at the end.

"Well put. Whoa and awesome." The Doctor said, flicking a switch and turning on the extrapolator fans. "Safe to breathe."

He and the others removed their respirators and the Doctor scanned around with his sonic.

"Okay, now, the last thing I remember, you were right there." He muttered to himself, moving to where he last saw Clara. "Come on, Clara. Talk to me."

"How big is this baby?" Bram asked.

"Picture the biggest ship you've ever seen. Are you picturing it?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Now forget it, because this ship is infinite." The Doctor stated, working on the console again.

"It could take you hours to find the girl." Gregor piped up.

"Days. Plus, this whole place is toxic. She could be dead by the time I reach her. _So_, here's the mission. We're going to find her in one hour."

"We?"

"You're my guys for this."

"That wasn't the deal."

"'Tis now."

"What makes you think we'll help?" Bram asked and the Doctor flipped two switches down, starting up a countdown.

"I've just activated the Tardis self-destruct system. One hour until this ship blows."

Bram ran to the door, but it closed shut.

"Don't try to leave. The Tardis is in lockdown. I'll open those doors when Clara's by my side."

"You crazy lunatic!" Bram shouted.

"My ship, my rules!"

"You'll kill us all. And the girl." Gregor argued, but the Doctor didn't care.

"She's going to die if you don't help me. Don't get into a spaceship with a madman. Didn't anyone ever teach you that?" He questioned them as they all tried to get out the doors, so he changed the countdown to thirty minutes. "Okay, a little gentle persuasion. Say, thirty minutes."

"She'll die even quicker now!" Bram argued and the Doctor knew he needed a bit more.

"We all perform better under pressure. Anybody want to go for fifteen minutes?"

He reached for the controls, but all three of them called out to stop him.

"Whoa!"

"Whoa!"

He turned to them, eyes deadly serious. "it's your own time you're wasting. Salvage of a lifetime. You meant the ship. I meant Clara. And possibly my wife, if she happened to pop on board during this mess."

"We're looking for someone you don't even know is here?!" Bram questioned and the Doctor turned to him, stomping forward with such a darkness to his gaze that it was a wonder Bram didn't move away from him.

"She'll leave me a sign. She will let me know if she is here, and if she is, then I will tear this ship apart to find her. Do you understand?"

Bram nodded shakily under the Doctor scrutinizing gaze, before the man nodded and started for the hall.

"Follow me."

* * *

Clara wandered around before coming upon a wooden door and closing it behind her. It seemed like the room she entered was a storage room of some kind and she looked around in curiosity; tapping a planet that was hanging off the mobile of a wooden crib. She then picked up a model of the Tardis sitting on a shelf with a chuckle, tossing it with a spin and not knowing just how significant some of the stuff she was finding was. She set it down and picked up a magnifying glass and then an umbrella, before suddenly feeling that chill that goes up one's spine when they realize they're not alone. She caught sight of something charred black, hissing and growling with beady red eyes, letting out a gasp before quickly bolting from the room.

* * *

The trio, exchanging nervous looks, followed after the Doctor. After a minute though, Gregor started to lag behind, pulling out a scanner.

"Report. What's on board this thing?"

"_Dynomorphic generators, conceptual geometer, beam synthesizer, orthogonal engine filters_." The device rattled off and Gregor couldn't calculate how much this scrap of metal could be worth, so he quickly came up with a plan and caught up with the group.

"Guys, guys, look. I think we should split up. It's our best chance of finding the girl You know it is."

The Doctor looked conflicted, knowing better than to let a group of greedy, lying scavengers wander about his ship, but what choice did he have? The most he could do was give them a warning and hoped they listened.

"Don't touch a thing. The Tardis will get huffy if you mess." He said walking off.

Tricky followed after him, something the Doctor was both grateful for and upset about. Because that meant that the other two were probably going to head off and do something they shouldn't, but it also meant he got the company of the better of the three brothers.

* * *

Clara ran through the corridors of the Tardis in a panic, looking back every so often to keep track of the charred zombie creature following after her as she tried to loose it. She passed by an observatory, letting out an amused chuckle at the sight before coming upon an Olympic sized swimming pool. She was stunned, questioning just what sorts of other rooms the ship had tucked away as she ran and entered another room. She listened for the creature, hearing nothing, and then checked on her burnt palm; the sting of which bothered her slightly as well as what was slowly showing up on her palm. _Looks like words… _She blew on it lightly, trying to cool the burn, only to look up and see where exactly she was at.

"Now that's just showing off." She muttered, looking upon the vast expanse of the library with levels upon levels of books and shelving, connected with spiral staircases and carved stone marbling.

Needless to say, she was jealous. And upon staring up at the mass of books, she wasn't paying attention as a hand wrapped around her mouth and another pulled her back as she let out a muffled scream.

* * *

The Doctor and Tricky wandered the halls, before Tricky suddenly spotted something and pat the Doctor on the arm.

"I think I found something." He said, voice warping partway through his sentence.

The Doctor stopped and followed his finger to what he was pointing at and immediately rushed over with wide eyes at the writing on the wall. It was written in blood, which worried him, but he couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped his lips when he read what it said.

_The chamber of secrets is open._

_Just kidding. I'm off to the library to grab Clara._

_Find the console room, meet us there._

_And DON'T split up with Gregor and Bram._

_Check the ARS room._

_-Alex_

He winced at the amount of blood needed to write the message, knowing that she was injured to quite the extent in order to do so, but knowing that her sense of humor was still intact, gave him hope that she must be doing alright. Though what her message told him had him worried and he immediately took off down the hall with Tricky on his tail.

"Who's Alex? How's she know my brothers?"

"She's my wife. Think of her as a psychic with a little bit of humor and spunk."

Tricky raised a brow, confused, but let the comment go. Now wasn't the time to question this man especially if his brothers were doing something they shouldn't be.

* * *

With one brother in the console room, trying to tear things up, Gregor followed his trusty scanner in search of other valuables, when it said something he didn't expect.

"_Everything._"

"What?" He questioned. "Report."

"_Everything behind that door._"

"Everything?" He asked, disbelieving as he faced the door.

"_Sensor detects everything you could possibly want._"

Not seeing a downside to that, he entered the room to see a large tree-like object with limbs that dangled down with glowing white egg-shaped lights.

"_Everything._" His device repeated, but he hardly saw 'everything'.

"I don't understand. Give me a price tag."

"_Incalculable._" The device reported, confusing him more.

"What?"

"_More valuable than the total sum of any currency. Living metal. Bespoke engineering. Whatever machine you require, this system will build it._"

Smirking, he shut the scanner off and pulled out his laser cutter to take one of the glowing lights, when the Doctor and Tricky suddenly ran in and stopped him.

"No! No, no, stop! Please don't. Don't touch it. Please." The Doctor said quickly, patting one of the lights as Gregor begrudgingly lowered the laser cutter. "She won't let you touch it. I can feel a Tardis tantrum coming on."

"What the hell is this place?" Gregor demanded to know; the Doctor not knowing when to stop his rambling, answered.

"Architectural Reconfiguration System. It reconstructs particles according to your needs."

"A machine that makes machines?"

"Yes, basically." He said, before realizing that his words wouldn't have convinced Gregor to stop as the man reached for one of the lights. "What are you doing? No, no, don't. Don't! If you walk out of here with that circuit, the Tardis will try to stop you. Now listen to me. Look, the clock is ticking. We must find Clara and my wife."

Gregor didn't seem to care though and ripped the bulb out; making the tree flicker with a screech before coming back on again; the door out disappearing.

"What the? Where's the door gone?" Tricky asked, patting the walls where the door had been; the bulb stored away in his backpack.

"Ever seen a spaceship get ugly?" The Doctor muttered, knowing that things wouldn't turn out very good like this; especially with Alex connected to the Tardis the way she was.

_She's going to be in pain and _very_ huffy. That's the worse kind of Alex to deal with. Reasoning will be useless._ He mused with a wince as Gregor scowled.

"This isn't happening."

"She won't relinquish it." The Doctor tried again. "Her basic genetic material."

"Torch it." Gregor ordered Tricky, tossing him a small explosive. "I said, torch it."

Tricky wouldn't though, looking up at the tree. "Can't you feel it, Gregor? The ship. The ship's in torment, like it's a living thing. You can't hurt it."

Gregor took the explosive and set it, but the moment he went to place it on the wall, the door reappeared; open and he smirked.

"What's the matter, Tardis? Scared to fight me?"

He walked out confidently, but the Doctor sighed, knowing that this wasn't going to go well. Not at all.

* * *

"Clara! Clara, calm down! It's me!" Alex whispered harshly, before letting out a grunt of pain as Clara elbowed her in the ribs, making her double over. "O-Ow."

"Alex?" Clara questioned as Alex peered up at her with one eyes shut in a painful grimace.

"Y-Yeah, hello. Elbow to the ribs. N-Not nice."

Clara frowned. "Well, you're the one who snuck up on me!"

Alex quickly covered her mouth and shushed her. "Sh, that thing's still around here. Rather not have to run from it. Don't know how long I could."

Clara raised a brow in confusion as Alex pulled away and peered around the corner of the books shelf; giving Clara a chance to see her in the light.

"Alex, you're hurt." She breathed out and Alex gave her a slightly reassuring smile; skin a number of shades paler than Clara remembered her to be.

"Yeah. Kind of happens when you pop up unconscious in a crashing ship. Though I wonder what that'll mean when this is all over..." She paused, before coughing violently and shaking her head, having to grab the bookshelf to steady herself as Clara grabbed a hold of her as well to keep her from falling. "Whoa. Head-rush. Not fun." She said, voice croaky. "But never mind me. How are you holding up?"

"Me?" Clara gaped at her in shock. "You're… You're bleeding and hurt, and you're worried about _me_?"

"Course!" Alex smiled, wincing a bit as she steadied herself and stood up on her own, breathing with a bit of a wheeze. "I'm used to this, surprisingly enough. But you're hurt too and you've got no clue what's going on, like I do, yeah? You've gotta be at least a little freaked out by all of this."

"A little bit, yeah, but..." She stopped, frowning suddenly and confusing Alex. "No, hold on. You mentioned this. The future you mentioned this."

"Mentioned what?" Alex questioned, curious, but also a bit worried about what Clara was about to say.

"This. What you're doing. Before she popped off, she said, 'Rule number one: Alex cares about others to distract herself from caring about what happened to her'. Something's wrong. Alex, something's wrong, and it's not any of this. Something happened to you."

Alex winced, smile slipping into a frown as she grumbled quietly. "Stupid future self giving me away."

Clara looked at Alex in worry, knowing she was right. "Alex, what happened?"

Alex's expression softened and she glanced down, sadly. "I lost someone. Someone close to me and there wasn't anything I could do to prevent it or help her or anything. And I feel like what I did to help, only made things worse for her in the end." She looked up then, grabbing Clara's hand and tugging her along as she limped through the library. "Come on. We can't stay here."

Clara though, tugged against her. "Alex, you need to talk about this! You said you popped up here unconscious, so you haven't had time to mourn or anything yet, so you need to—"

"Clara, I can't!" Alex half-yelled, eyes sharp as she stared down Clara, who stiffened upon seeing the angry woman. "This is how I live now, okay? I go on an adventure and sometimes someone dies. _Sometimes_ they're someone close to me and there's nothing I can do to help them because they _have_ to die or the whole universe will be thrown into chaos. And before I can mourn or cry or whatever else it is people do when they loose someone, I pop off to another adventure. And in that moment, I need to focus on what's happening because there are lives I can save in that moment and mourning over something that's over and done with will do nothing for the people who are in danger right here, right now. Okay? So when I stop and get a chance to, I'll do that. I'll cry and scream and punch things or whatever, but right now, I need to focus in order to help you, help the Doctor, help the Tardis, and whoever else because that is not as important and what's happening this very moment. Understand?"

She didn't. Clara didn't understand. How could she? She'd never gone through what Alex was dealing with. Sure, she could understand what she was saying and that this was how Alex had to handle things, but understanding why someone like her hand to go through this sort of thing? Clara couldn't begin to understand, so she stayed quiet as Alex let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose with a muttered apology about the Tardis's emotions leaking through some mental block in her mind and melding with hers. Something Clara _did_ understand though, was just how tired and worn-out Alex appeared in that moment. Sad thing was, Clara had seen that look before. But she'd seen it on the Doctor and to her, that made sense. He was over a thousand years old and had so many burdens he had to carry around, it was a surprise he didn't have a mental break. Alex though, she was only in her thirties and already she had all of these burdens placed on her and Clara was scared. She was scared that Alex would break one day. Just shatter into a million pieces because she held all of this in. And as determined as Clara was to ensure that this didn't happen, Alex was right. Now wasn't the time to deal with it.

"Alex, what was that thing? Chasing us?"

"You honestly don't want to know." She muttered, making Clara frown, before she spotted something strange.

A book, sitting on it's own on a sort of pedestal, as though it was special or something. She went to ask Alex about it, but thought better of the idea as Alex was still on the lookout for the creature, and instead went over to it herself and flipped through the pages.

"So that's who—"

She was cut off as Alex abruptly closed the book, nearly smashing her fingers in the pages, and Clara went to get upset with her, but saw something like a deep sadness in her eyes as she looked down at the book and brushed her fingers over the cover, before it was gone.

"We're running from charred zombie creatures and you're busy reading?" Alex questioned just as a low growl echoed through the room and she grabbed Clara and pulled her behind a shelving full of bottles of liquid.

The bottles gave off muffled whispers as Clara and Alex lowered themselves to the floor and peered around the corner, only to quickly duck back as the creature turned towards them and one of the bottles tipped over above them. Clara quickly got up and waved the vapors away from the bottle, but Alex didn't move; eyes wide and breathing short and quick. Clara glanced at her briefly, wondering why she was acting that way, but couldn't ask with the creature just a few paces behind their hiding place. Suddenly the creature rushed right past them and down the hall and Clara grabbed Alex around the arm and hefted her up; pulling her down the hall in the opposite direction; away from the monster.

"Alex? Alex, what's wrong with you?" She asked the other woman, who was barely shuffling along as she pulled her away from the library.

"T-The bloodshed." Alex breathed out. "The battles a-and the screaming. C-Children, families, torn apart. H-How can they… I-I don't..."

"Alex!" Clara shouted, pushing the woman up against the wall, but Alex wasn't even looking at her.

Her eyes were dazed as though she wasn't even seeing where she was and Clara frowned, worried as she pat the woman lightly on the face with no reaction.

"Alex? Hey, you're scaring me now. Stop it. Look at me. Hey."

Clara lifted the woman's face to look at her, but furrowed her brows in confusion upon seeing something purple slide down her face and chin. Clara wiped it off, recognizing it as some of the substance from the bottle that had tipped over, wondering if Alex had tried to look up at it and ended up with some in her eyes or mouth or something. Not knowing what to do though, Clara just pulled Alex along as best she could with the woman muttering under her breath at whatever she was seeing. Hoping that they'd find the Doctor soon, because Clara wasn't sure what else she could do for the injured and confused woman.

* * *

"It's the same. It's just the same." Tricky said; him, the Doctor, and Gregor having been walking through the same corridor for ages now.

"It's diverting us, spinning a maze around us." The Doctor explained. "We will never reach Clara or Alex in time."

Gregor ignored them and kept walking, only to end up right back where they were.

"It's just the same again." Tricky argued as the Doctor agreed.

"No point in building walls. You'll just know how to smash them down. It's found other ways of controlling you. Smart bunch, Time Lords. No dress sense, dreadful hats, but _smart_. If you want to get out of here, let that circuit go. It's creating a labyrinth." The Doctor snarled at Gregor as Tricky tried to get into contact with Bram.

"Bram? Bram, can you hear me? Bram, the ship is alive. Get out of there. Bram, don't touch anything."

Bram, of course was ignoring him and going further and further into the Tardis control panel, heading down a ladder until it burned him and he fell to the bottom; Tricky continuing to try and talk to him through their radio.

"Bram? You've got to get out of there fast."

They heard screaming then, and the Doctor whipped out his sonic screwdriver to check for lifesigns, because that was _not_ something that normally happened in the Tardis and if they weren't alone and Alex and Clara were possibly in danger, then he really needed to hurry this up.

"Channel's dead." Gregor muttered.

"We've got to help him." Tricky said, but Gregor hardly seemed to care and he yanked at his arm. "Gregor, do something. Do something!

"It's too late! He's gone. Let's just worry about the salvage." Gregor argued, trying to turn away, but Tricky wasn't having it.

"You care more about that circuit than you do about him!"

The Doctor got between them and forced them apart, pointing rudely in Gregor's face.

"Your concern for your brother is really touching. The android is more cut up about it than you. Now will you two stop bickering and _listen!_ There is something else down there."

They all stopped and listened, hearing a hissing and growling noise as the Doctor scanned around again.

"We've got to get out of here. Gregor, give it back. Give it back to her." Tricky said, fighting with Gregor over the bulb as the Doctor walked away.

"What are you doing? You're always on the side of the machines." Gregor argued, dropping the bulb and allowing it to roll along the floor as the Doctor called out.

"Fellas! Multiple lifeforms on board the Tardis with us. I am getting a massive signal."

"Where are they?" Tricky asked, the Doctor backing up to join him and Gregor in worry.

"Oh, you're not going to like the answer. About two steps away." He whispered. "One step."

They all turned around to see a charred creature headed their way; knocking Tricky aside as Gregor kept it's attention for the Doctor to check on him.

"Gregor, look out! Careful! Gregor, no! We have to stay together. Come on, run. Tricky, run!" The Doctor shouted as Gregor went one way and Tricky hurried the other; giving him a chance to look at the conjoined creatures going after them with a sad look. "I'm sorry."

He and Tricky ended up back in the console room, confusing Tricky.

"Back where we started."

"No, it's an echo." The Doctor explained, rushing up to the console and messing with some things. "The console room is the safest place on the ship. It can replicate itself any number of times. It's trying to protect us."

"Because I tried to give back the circuit?" Tricky asked, feeling proud of himself as the Doctor smiled and gave him a pat on the face.

"Team Tardis."

* * *

Clara wandered down a hallway that was a bit different than the others; Alex hanging over her shoulder and still muttering away, though seeming to come out of it a bit when they wandered into the console room.

"Oh, thank you. Thank you, Thank you, thank you, thank you." Clara thanked the ship, setting Alex down on the jump seat for now and heading over to the doors, to find them missing. "No! The door. Where's the door gone? No. You can't do this."

"It's an echo." Alex said and Clara turned to her worriedly.

"Alex?"

Alex didn't look up, eyes still fogged and dazed, but a part of her was still consciously reaching out to help Clara.

"It's an echo of the console room." She said, before muttering about wars and battles as she rubbed her hands together. "S-So much fighting and loss. Just stop. End this. It's too much."

"Alex. Alex, stay with me. What do you mean an echo?" Clara asked, patting the woman's face lightly to try and get her focused again.

"It's an echo. A copy that flickers in and out of time with the original." She rattled on, hands shaking a bit as her eyes faded in and out of focus. "War. Fighting… She's trying to keep us safe. The Tardis console room is safest. She's keeping us safe. The Doctor will find us here… Stop it. No more. Gallifrey will fall."

Clara sighed, loosing Alex again to whatever that liquid was putting her through and turned away to try and figure out what to do next, because waiting around for the Doctor was _so_ not her style. She tried getting out a few times, but it was no use and she ended up right back there, so she plopped down and decided that there wasn't much else she could do; up until some things fell off the console and made her look up.

* * *

"Where did… Where did that go?" Tricky asked, having seen the things the Doctor knocked over disappear.

"There's more than one echo room." The Doctor realized, smacking himself in the face. "_That's_ why Alex said they'd be waiting for us here. Hey, look. Look." He pointed at a shadow that went across one of the panels with no source as to where it came from. "The Tardis has got Clara and Alex safe. That was one of them. That was one of them there." He kissed his hands and pat the center casing of the console. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"Why can't we see them?" Tricky asked.

"It's like a light switch. Two positions, flickering at super-infinite speeds. We're only together for a brief second." The Doctor explained, flicking another switch. "Sh."

Clara's panting echoed through the room as well as Alex's soft muttering.

"I can hear them."

Then, there was growling and a scream and the Doctor felt panic course through his system.

"She let it in." He said, quickly began trying to come up with a way to save Clara and Alex. "She let it in!"

* * *

Clara rushed up the stairs with the creature chasing after her, pulling Alex up out of the jump seat and trying not to crumple under the woman's weight as her injured leg gave out on her for a second.

"Alex, come on, I need your help. I can't run when you're not carrying at least some of your own weight." She grunted out, stuck on one side of the console as the creature remained on the other. As she went from one side to the other though, the creature followed her and tilted it's head, making her curious. "What are you?"

* * *

"If I can just isolate her position, I can nudge the alternation, reach in and grab her." The Doctor rattled on, just as Gregor entered the room with his scanner.

"_Console room. Echo imprint of the original._" The device said as Gregor frowned at the Doctor.

"You're coming with me. I need you to get me out of here."

He was ignored though as the Doctor sonicked the scanner in hope.

"_Scanning for female human. Scanning for female human._" It said and Gregor followed it until it was pointing at the door, where Clara and Alex were trapped, facing the creature before them. "_Unidentified human and partial human species._"

And the Doctor grabbed the device from Gregor and moved to the door. "It doesn't know Lancashire."

"What?"

"It doesn't know sass." The Doctor rambled on with a smile. "Yes! It's found Clara. Alex too! It's found them. They're right there." He said, sonicking the space before him as Clara let out a scream and he reached in and pulled both her and Alex out and to him; holding them carefully as Clara squirmed and continued to scream.

"It's okay. It's okay. Clara, I'm so, so sorry." He apologized as Clara pulled away from him with Alex and stared in shock and confusion. "Sorry. Please, please, forgive me, Clara."

She huffed and punched him solidly in the shoulder with her free arm.

"Ow! Okay, so we're not doing hugging. I get that now." He complained, tossing the device onto the console as Clara sat Alex down in the jump seat, facing him angrily.

"What do you keep in here? Why have you got zombie creatures? Good guys do not have zombie creatures. Rule one basic storytelling." She snapped, punching him again.

"Not in front of the guests." He tried, before spotting Alex and rushing over to her in worry. "Alex? Alex? Clara, what's wrong with her?"

Clara huffed. "I was honestly hoping you could tell me that. Who are they?"

"Friends." He rattled on, waving a hand as he looked Alex over in concern. "Well, people who aren't trying to kill us, so I don't need punching again. Explain to me what happened to make Alex like this? Quickly?"

"Um, I don't really know. I think it was this bottle of stuff that fell on her in the library."

The Doctor turned around with a frown. "A bottle?"

She nodded. "Yeah. It was whispering and it tipped over while we were hiding from one of those creature things. I think it might have gotten in her eyes or mouth. That was around when she started acting funny. She keeps muttering things about wars and fighting and stuff. I would've done something, but we were being chased an—"

"This bottle, what did it say?" The Doctor asked suddenly, kind of scaring Clara with the haunted look in his eyes. "Clara! What did the label say?!"

"E-Encyclopedia of Gal-something."

"Gallifrey..." The Doctor breathed out and Clara nodded.

"Yeah. I think that's what it said. Why? Is that bad?" She asked, worriedly looking at Alex as the Doctor began digging through his jacket pockets.

"Oh, bad doesn't cover it." He grumbled, pulling out a water bottle and tilting Alex's head back as he poured some of it in her eyes to flush them out; rubbing at them for her as she coughed and sputtered. "Those are meant to be smelled. They're like smelling salts, but they put your mind into the book that they're labeled for. But because it got in her eyes, she's seeing everything instead, so it will be harder to get her out of the book."

"That doesn't sound too bad." Clara said, but the Doctor growled lowly.

"It's the book she's in that's the problem. The Encyclopedia of Gallifrey. It's a book of war and devastation. A book about the worst battles in the history of time and right now, she's seeing it. It wouldn't be so bad, if she didn't have that bit of the sentient Tardis in her mind, because every person she looks at, every person she sees in that fight, she can feel their emotions. If I can't wash this out completely and _quickly_ then it's very possible that Alex will be trapped in that book and will have permanent PTSD; possibly loosing herself in that reality and being unable to discern what's happening here and now, versus what's happening in that book."

Clara worriedly looked at Alex, her concern growing with this sudden realization that they might be loosing Alex for good, but as the Doctor stopped flushing the woman's eyes out with water and she rubbed at her eyes, hope was restored.

"W-What are you doing, spaceman?" She muttered and the Doctor let out a sigh of relief as he grabbed her face and kissed her deeply.

He pulled away from her with a grin, despite her confused and drenched face. "Oh, I'm _so_ glad you're alright."

She blinked. "Um, far from alright, actually. My head really hurts, the Tardis has apparently crashed, there's zombie things chasing us, and my leg's sort of out of commission because I popped up here unconscious and in the middle of said crash. Oh, and let's not mention the constant aching of my shoulder." She grumbled, leaning to the side and glaring at Gregor behind him and pointing a finger at him. "_You_ are a greedy, selfish, horrible jerk of a brother and I hope your father is up in whatever heaven you believe in glaring down at you for you've done."

The man looked shocked and went to question her, but she turned away from him and leaned over the Doctor's other side to smile at Clara.

"And you, are a brilliant, wonderful friend for dealing with me and my bum leg while I was off in whatever book decided to drug me."

Clara raised a brow with a small smile, glad Alex was okay, but the Doctor soon grabbed Alex's attention.

"You don't remember?"

Alex shook her head, grabbing it as she swayed and the Doctor quickly steadied her. "Whoa, another head-rush. But no. Couldn't tell you anything other than the fact that I don't feel good about whatever it was I saw. Which I'm assuming is a good thing, if my memory serves me right and that bottle was about the Time War."

The Doctor let out another sigh of relief and pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head. "Oh, you are brilliant. That mind of yours is just… brilliant."

"Um, thanks?" Alex said, confused about what her mind had to do with any of this as the Doctor pulled away and passed her the half empty water bottle and some pills he'd pulled from his pocket.

"Take these. They'll help with the concussion."

Alex nodded, not about to argue and took the pills as Gregor spoke up.

"Alright, alright. Look. A deal's a deal. You got the girls back. Now cancel the self-destruct."

"Ah." The Doctor hummed, getting up with one final pat to Alex's head as he approached the man. "Ah. You know, I've got to tell you, I won't be needing you in my quiz team."

"What?"

"There's no self-destruct. Hey? Hey? Hey?" He laughed, playfully punching Gregor in the chest and giving him a noogie. "Had you going though, boys, didn't I? I just wiggled a few buttons. Yeah, the old wiggly button trick. And the face. You've got to do the face." He got all serious and glared at Gregor. "Save her or we all die." He then went back to smiling. "I thought I rushed it a bit, but—"

"So you're telling us we're safe?" Tricky asked and the Doctor frowned.

"Ish. Apart from the monsters and the Tardis reinventing the architecture every five minutes. Guys, don't worry. The countdown's a fake. Look, just give me a second. I'll turn it off. I only made it _look_ as though the engine was actually exploding."

"Doctor?" Alex called out, making him turn to her curiously.

"Yes?"

"The engine… it's sort of _actually_ exploding."

He furrowed his brows. "_No_."

"Uh, yeah." She said, giving him a look and he turned back to the console, flicking some switches to turn off the countdown.

"No, no. I faked it. Really I did."

"Yeah, well, _she's_ not really faking it. I believe I did mention my shoulder aching? That's a big clue right there. Though tweedle-dum bashing on the doors with a hammer and a laser cutter didn't exactly help." She complained, giving Gregor a scolding look.

"Ah..." The Doctor muttered, drawing attention to him. "That's not good." He turned to Alex with a frown. "Why do you have to always be right?"

Alex scoffed. "Because I like being right? Isn't that how marriage works? The wife's always right even when she's wrong?"

He wrinkled his nose, not liking that idea as he turned back to the console. "But _I_ like being the right one."

"Doctor?" Clara questioned.

He waved a hand. "Don't panic. Or maybe panic."

"Something you want to share with the rest of us?" She hummed, still hanging onto that bit of hope that Alex was wrong.

"It appears the engine is damaged. We're in trouble, Clara. Proper trouble. It needs fixing or we're toast."

"So now would be a good time to use that big friendly button, right?" She questioned and the Doctor scrambled downstairs as Alex groaned and followed after him and the others at a slower pace.

"Yes, sorry. I should have had one built in."

"Where are we going?" Tricky asked and the Doctor sonicked open a panel in the wall.

"Detour. The center of the Tardis."

A bit of jiggery-pokery and the group was in a long green lit corridor with the Doctor leading the way and Clara helping Alex along, until she spotted something move in the darkness with a growl.

"Sh. Something's in here."

The Doctor turned off his sonic as Tricky spoke up worriedly.

"Those things, they've followed us."

"Doctor, what are they? Why aren't you and Alex telling me?"

The Doctor glanced at Alex who turned away. "Clara, trust me. Some things you don't want to know."

There was a growl from behind them and Gregor spoke.

"They're on the move again."

"Run. Move! Move!" The Doctor called out and the group rushed forward, only for Clara to come to a stop with Alex, who was wheezing.

"You alright?"

"N-Not really." She coughed. "The Tardis led me to the console room early on. When it was still filled with toxic smoke from t-the fuel line."

"Well, that can't be good. Doctor?" Clara turned, but didn't see him. "Doctor?" She huffed. "Again?"

She winced then and glanced at her hand, still unable to clearly read what the words were other than the first few letters of each. The first word being 'big'.

"I know what I said, I was the one who said it." Her voice said, but it was from a different her walking down the corridor ahead of them.

"You said it was looking at you funny." The Doctor's voice rang out, but again, a different Doctor.

Clara turned, only to see herself standing before her with crossed arms.

"Now you're creeping me out."

Another one appeared then. "Please tell me there is a button you can use to fix this!"

Clara turned her and Alex away from herself and went around the corner only to see the Doctor, who apparently couldn't see them.

"Oh, thank God. Doctor? What's going on?" She frowned when he didn't even react to her, moving towards him. "Say something."

"Clara, that's not him." Alex breathed out, stopping her.

"What? What do you mean?"

Just then, the actual Doctor rushed out from behind them.

"Clara, don't touch it. There's a rupture in time somewhere on board the ship. A small tear in the fabric of the continuum. It must have happened when the Tardis was pulled in by the salvage vessel. The Tardis is leaking."

"Leaking what?" She asked as he picked Alex up into his arms and led them through the corridor.

"The past. You, me, Alex. Everything we've done, everything we've said. Recent history. It's not real. It's a memory."

"Everything?" Alex wheezed out with a wince. "Oh dear. I honestly hope no one has to see what _we've_ been doing, Doctor."

He swallowed thickly at that, cheeks a bit red as he nodded. "Oh yes. Hopefully not." He paused then, looking down at her with a small frown. "Have you gone a bit croaky? You're breathing sounds off."

Alex scoffed, rolling her eyes. "L-Like I told Clara, the Tardis sent me to the console room too early. There was still smoke. I inhaled some of it."

He winced. "Ooh, that's not good. Look at you, finding trouble everywhere you go. Gash in the leg, trapped in a book, inhaling deadly toxins. If you weren't you, you'd probably be dead by now."

"Oh thanks. Love that vote of confidence." She drawled as he sighed.

"You'll be fine. You're body's still working on things, so it's got enough left over energy to filter out the more deadly factors of the poison gas. You'll have that wheeze and cough for a day at the most. Maybe two days, if you push it."

"Lucky me."

They all came to a stop though upon spotting one of the charred creatures.

"Then again." Alex muttered as Clara gestured to it cautiously.

"What about this? Is this a memory too?"

"If you're giving me the option, I'd say this one's real." The Doctor muttered as the creature growled and gave chase; the three of them—Doctor still carrying Alex—running away from it.

"She's right onto us!" The Doctor called out as they ran, making Clara glance at him in confusion.

"'She'?"

"Clara, don't ask me any more."

They ducked around a corner and waited as the creature stopped to look for them and a set of their past selves passed down the hall.

"You're like one of those guys who can't go out with a girl unless his mother approves."

"It's important to us you get along."

The creature went after them and the trio moved out into the corridor as there was a banging noise.

"Doctor, I suggest we run." Alex wheezed out.

Clara raised a brow. "Why? What's that noise?"

The Doctor looked up at the ceiling in worry. "We're right under the primary fuel cells."

"So? S-So what?"

"So… So the fuel's spilled out, so the rods will be exposed. Means they'll cool..."

"...and start to warp." Clara finished for him understanding dawning on her.

"And start to warp. Maybe even..."

"No, don't you say it." She demanded. "Don't you dare say it."

"Maybe even… break apart." He said anyway just as a pipe shot through the wall in front of them, making them jolt back.

"Run?"

"I'm liking how you're thinking." He muttered, patting Alex in his arms as he felt her preparing an argument. "You too, Alex."

"Yeah, no kidding." She muttered as they bolted down the corridor; pipes bursting through the walls around them.

They had to duck a few times, being a bit harder for the Doctor who was carrying Alex, but they stopped short of another pipe just as a scream rang out. The trio gave each other glances and rushed through; the piping having stopped. They caught up with Tricky and Gregor, but Tricky was pinned to the wall.

"You made it… through." Clara's words died in her throat upon seeing the two.

"What's the matter with you?" Tricky asked, confused. "Why won't you cut me?"

"Tell him." Alex snapped at Gregor.

"Tell me what?" Tricky asked as the Doctor placed Alex on the ground and held onto her to keep her steady.

"Tell him what an idiotic thing you and Bram did to him. Tell him how you lied about _everything_."

"You can't, can you?" The Doctor cut in, seeing Gregor's expression. You're a coward. You won't save him, but you're scared to tell him why."

"What're they going on about?" Tricky asked and the Doctor went on.

"Robots don't need blast suits. They don't need respirators. They don't get frightened of monsters in the dark."

"What's he talking about?"

"Two bionic eyes and a synthetic voice box." The Doctor said, scanning tricky with his sonic screwdriver. "But you, my friend, are human. Flesh and blood."

"It was a joke." Gregor said quietly.

"What?"

"It was just a stupid joke. We did it to relieve boredom."

"You stupid son of a bit—"

"_Alex_." The Doctor scolded and she scowled at him before shifting her angry glare at Gregor.

"You're a right jerk, I hope you know that. You lied to your own little brother because you were _jealous_ of what he was getting. What he _earned_. And you thought it'd be funny? To make him think he was a _robot_? Emotionless, cruel, stupid even? You tricked your own brother into thinking he was a bit of scrap metal you could replace with spare parts! If anyone here is a damn robot, I think it's you, you heartless bastard!"

"Alex, that's enough." The Doctor said sternly, tugging her away from Gregor as she started to cough and he let out a wave of calm to cool her temper; knowing that a part of it was her own feelings about siblings, but that another part was the Tardis's anger towards Gregor trying to take her apart leaking through.

"I'm sorry." Gregor told Tricky. "You're human, Tricky."

"Cut the metal." The Doctor ordered. "Cut the metal, go!"

Gregor did so, freeing his bother before the Doctor picked Alex up once more and hurriedly led them through the corridors to another door.

"Where are we?" Gregor asked.

"Power source." The Doctor said, peeking through a window in the door before lowering Alex to the ground. "Right, you lot, wait here. I'll check if it's safe. We can only survive for a minute or two in there."

"Um, what happens if we stay any longer?" Clara asked after tapping his shoulder, curious.

"Our cells will liquefy and our skin will start to burn."

"I always feel so good after we've spoken." She said sarcastically.

"Marvelous. Keep this door shut."

"That will _not_ be a problem."

"Alex, take care of yourself. Stay off that leg." He said, kissing her briefly as she hummed.

"You too. The 'take care of yourself' thing, anyway. Your legs are fine."

He smiled a bit. "Always with the humor."

"Hey, I just don't have any random history facts to spout about in here. Nothing's relevant to my universe on the Tardis, except maybe the kitchen fridge."

He chuckled, ruffling her hair and heading into the room, before the two brothers started to fight; leaving Alex to groan and wish she'd gone with the Doctor, even if it meant being turned into one of those creatures chasing them. _Because anything would be better than listening to these two squabble._

* * *

I was _more_ than grateful when the Doctor returned to stop the fighting between the two brothers, though a part of me did wish Tricky had at least gotten one punch in, but that might have been the Tardis talking.

"How are you holding up, Alex?" The Doctor asked as he helped me up.

"Hm, alright, I suppose. My headache's fading slowly now that those two aren't at each others' throats and my shoulder's doing alright, though it's throbbing a bit and my leg feels sort of numb. But all in all, fairly decent."

He sighed, reaching for the door to the Eye of Harmony. "I _really_ need to get you to the med bay."

I pat his shoulder with a small smile. "Trust me, if everything goes as it should, you won't have to."

He raised a brow at that, but when I didn't say anything more, he let it go and burst into the orange glowing room.

"Okay, move, move, move!" He shouted over the noise as our group hurried in only to stop on the catwalk and stare at the amazement that was the Eye of Harmony. "The Eye of Harmony. Exploding star in the act of becoming a black hole. Time Lord engineering. You rip the star from it's orbit, suspend it in a permanent state of decay."

"T-That's amazing." I breathed out, earning a small smile from him.

After all, it was one thing to see it on a TV screen, but to be right here seeing something like that was absolutely spectacular.

"This way. Quickly!" He called out, tugging me forward and to another door, opening it as a charred creature stood there.

He quickly closed it as it pounded against the glass window and the brothers hurried to the other door only to find another creature there as well.

"There's no way out! We're trapped!" Gregor announced, I myself having leaned up against the railing, wheezing.

"Doctor? I think you better explain now!" I called out, making him turn to see an annoyed Clara.

"You're going to tell me right now!" She shouted, grabbing his arm and stopping him from passing her. "If we're going to die here, you're going to tell me what they are!"

"I can't." He said, giving Alex a worried look.

"Tell me. What's the use in secrets now?"

"Secrets protect us. Secrets make us safe!" He yelled, grabbing her face to try and make her understand. "Why do you think Alex has to hide so much from me about her predictions? She's trying to keep us safe!"

"Don't drag me into this, Doctor! Just tell her! She's going to find out anyway!" I argued. "Do it, or I will!"

"_Sensor detects animal DNA. Human core element. Calculating data. Calculating data._" Gregor's scanner said, making the Doctor turn to him in a panic.

"No, no! Turn it off!"

I groaned, shouting over the noise before the scanner could be the one to give Clara the bad news. "It's us, Clara! Those creatures are us!"

"What?"

"_Lancashire. Sass. Identifiable substance. Clara._"

Clara turned to the window where the creature was in shock as the two brothers rushed to the other door. "That's me."

"I'm so sorry." The Doctor breathed out.

"It's me. I burn in here."

"It's not just you." I panted. "Remember the creatures? They're all different. There's two, conjoined at the shoulder." I gestured to Tricky and Gregor. "There's a large one, that's Bram. Then there's the female one, you. And then there's the other two, conjoined at the chest. Clara, we are _all_ supposed to die in here."

"No..."

The Doctor shook his head. "It isn't just the past leaking out through the time rift. It's the future. Listen, I brought you here to keep you safe, but it happened again… You died again."

Clara frowned. "What do you mean, again?"

The Doctor dragged a hand down his face and wandered over to me, but as much as I wanted to comfort him, I knew I needed to stay away in order to disrupt the time-line.

"Doctor. Your hand."

He furrowed his brows, before looking up at the creature pounding on the door across from him with it's hand over it's face. He turned to me and grinned, bounding over and kissing me as he pat at my face.

"You are _brilliant_."

I rolled my eyes. "So you keep saying. Honestly, I'm just repeating what I already know."

"I don't care." He grinned, making my hearts swell as he turned to the two brothers. "As long as we can interrupt the time-line, this can't happen! Don't touch each other, otherwise the future will reassert itself!"

He went over and pulled them back and away from one another as the creatures conjoined at the chest broke through the door. The one grabbed Gregor's backpack though and began pulling him back as Tricky and the Doctor tried to help him.

"Gregor, Gregor, let go of the circuit!"

"Just let it go!"

"Gregor, Gregor!"

Tricky rushed forward then and shoved the creatures off the catwalk; knocking them over the railing and down below, but then the other creatures made it through and the Doctor began to panic. He looked at me longingly, wanting to hold me as the danger grew closer, I suppose, but he held himself back from doing so in order to keep us from ending up like one of them only for Tricky to attack the conjoined creatures ahead of him. The creatures fell over the side, but grabbed onto Tricky, trying to drag him down as well.

"Tricky!"

"No, don't touch him, or time will reassert itself!" The Doctor shouted as Gregor helped Tricky up and the two became joined at the shoulder with screams as they became the very creature that had been knocked off the catwalk. Clara grabbed a hold of me and helped rush me through the door as the Doctor followed and closed it behind us, sonicking it shut as we hurried to the next room.

"The engine room. The heart of the Tardis."

"I-I wouldn't run, if I were you." I called out to him as he ran ahead and Clara and I followed at a slower pace.

Sure enough, he very nearly toppled over the edge of a cliff and I reached out and had to pull him back onto solid ground as Clara looked around in confusion.

"We're outside."

"No, we're still in the Tardis." The Doctor said as I pulled away from Clara and sat down on a boulder nearby; rubbing at my throbbing shoulder and resting my leg.

"There's no way across."

"No, okay, you're right." The Doctor muttered, looking worried.

"So what do we do? Time for a plan. Do you have a plan?" Clara asked him.

"_Well_, no. No plan. Sorry."

"Alex? Helpful hints?"

"You can always jump." I shrugged, earning a sour look from the woman.

"If neither of you have a plan, we're dead!"

"Yes, we are." The Doctor said and I groaned, remembering what happened next and wanting no part in it since it needed to happen in order for the Doctor to trust Clara. "So just tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"Well, there's no point now. We're about to die. Just tell me who you are."

"You know who I am." She said, looking at me for help, but I ad no help to give.

"No, I don't." The Doctor went on, gaze serious. "I look at you every single day and I don't understand a thing about you. _Why_ do I keep running into you?"

"Doctor, you invited me. You said—"

He cut her off. "Before that. I met you in the Dalek Asylum. There was a girl in a shipwreck and she died saving my life, and she was you."

"She really wasn't." Clara insisted, starting to look scared now as she backed up a bit.

"Victorian London. There was a governess who was really a barmaid, and we fought the Great Intelligence together. She died and it was my fault, and _she_ was _you_."

"You're scaring me."

"What are you, eh?! Are you a trick?! A trap?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Clara shouted, nearly backing off the edge of the cliff as I tried to leap up from my place and grab her.

"Clara!"

The Doctor grabbed her first though and I cringed as my leg gave out and I was forced to shuffle back to the boulder with a cringe as blood seeped through the make-shift bandage around my leg.

"You really don't, do you..." The Doctor muttered, pulling her away from the cliff edge and letting her go; something I was grateful for since that hint of jealousy was creeping back up on me.

"I think I'm more scared of you right now than anything else on that Tardis." Clara muttered, worriedly looking between him and me. "Is that what you meant by Oncoming Storm? Because I can see now why you'd be a bit freaked out about it."

I blinked, confused and also trying to clear the fog that drifted across my vision briefly. "What?"

"Ah, never mind. Too early." She grumbled before the Doctor pulled her in for another hug.

"You're just Clara, aren't you." He laughed, prodding her nose and face before pinching her cheeks and hugging her again.

"Okay, I don't know what the _hell_ this is about, but the hug is really nice."

"He's a good hugger." I hummed, rubbing at my eyes as my vision swirled a bit and I felt my body sway. "I can vouch. Whoa, falling."

The Doctor was there in an instant, catching me before I could hit the rocks and sitting me back upright as he pat my face lightly and his eyes worriedly searched mine.

"You alright? You look pale."

"You're a doctor. You tell me." I mused, eyes getting unfocused for a second before clearing up.

He checked the pulse in my neck before waving Clara over. "Clara, does she look paler to you?"

Clara wandered over with a concerned look. "Yeah, actually. I mean, no offense, but you're normally kind of pale, Alex with a smidge of tan that's too light to really be noticeable."

"I'm flattered." I drawled sarcastically. "And I'm just a bit light headed."

The Doctor must have caught sight of my bleeding leg then and groaned, reaching up and ripping the other sleeve off my shirt before using it as a secondary make-shift bandage for my leg before wrapping his jacket around my shoulders.

"You're loosing too much blood, though I doubt the running is helping you at all."

"The Doctor without running? You're asking for the impossible." I mused aloud, giving him a small smile as he pecked me lightly on the lips and picked me up.

"We're not going to die here." He said, carrying me to the edge of the cliff with Clara following hesitantly. "This isn't real. It's a snarl."

"What?"

"What does a wounded animal do? It tries to scare everyone away. We're close to the engine. The Tardis is snarling at us, trying to frighten us off. Alex was right. We need to jump."

"You're both insane." Clara said in disbelief and I chuckled.

"Only the best people are insane."

The Doctor smiled at that. "We'll cross a portal to the engine."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Well, ask Alex. She'll tell you."

I nodded. "Yup. Promise."

"And I can trust you? _You_, who's lost enough blood that you can't even see straight."

"Oi, what does seeing straight have to do with predicting the future? Hm?" I argued and she sighed.

"Good point. Ready?"

The Doctor smiled, hooking her arm in his; which was holding up my legs. "Ready. Geronimo!"

He took the jump, taking Clara and I with him as we landed somewhere awfully familiar.

"The heart of the Tardis." The Doctor breathed out, staring at the floating pieces of metal in the expanse of white. "The engine… it's already exploded. It must have been the collision with the salvage ship."

"We're not dead." Clara said, the only thing that was making sense to her at the moment.

"She wrapped her hands around the force. Froze it." The Doctor continued to mutter as he set me down and I looked around with stunned shock on my face.

"So… So it's safe?" Clara asked.

"Temporary fix. Eventually, this whole place will erupt. There's no way I can save her now… She's just always been there for me and taken care of me, and now it's my turn and I don't know what to do."

"Doctor?" I breathed out, making him turn to me with devastated eyes. "As much as I hate to ruin this moment, two things." I held up two fingers. "One, Clara's hand."

He furrowed his brows as Clara looked just as confused.

"My hand?"

I nodded, looking around in a daze as I waved vaguely in her direction. "Yeah, yeah. The burn. Show him your burn."

"Um, alright." She said, showing him the burn on her hand and his eyes widened.

"You… You are beautiful. Beautiful fragile human skin." He kissed her hand, but I was too distracted with what was around me to be jealous at the moment. "Like parchment. Thank you. Alex, you too."

"Yeah, sure, no problem. But about that other thing? Thing two?" I turned to him as he stared back curiously. "I've been here before."

Immediately, he grew confused.

"What? But that's impossible."

I shook my head as he approached. "No, seriously. I've been here before. When I first showed up, before I even knew what was going on, I was here. _Right here_. I was in this white space with broken engine parts floating around a-and I went to the middle of it. Everything was frozen in time, but I found the center point and there was this dark crack thing." I said, waving my hands about in a vain attempt to express what I was trying to say. "It, um… I wasn't going to touch it. I'm not stupid, but then there was this light orb thing and I felt like I _had_ to touch it. Like it was calling me or something. And I tried to fight it, but my hand moved on it's own and I _did_ touch it. And it went into my arm and up to my shoulder, like liquid fire o-or something. And I could hear the Tardis humming to me and then I fell through the crack and ended up in my first adventure with you. I didn't remember it very well and I didn't think it was real, actually, but this is it. This is where it all started." I turned to him, suddenly feeling very lost. "I-I don't understand. What happened?"

"Well, um, it's quite possible..." He shook his head, coming over to me and pulling me into a hug; something I needed with how I was freaking out about this sudden revelation. "It's possible that you somehow ended up here and the reason you pop around my time-line is because that… that _orb_ you found, was the Tardis. Her engine had exploded and she needed a way to save herself. One last desperate act and when you showed up here..." He pulled away and looked down at me, brushing a hair from my face. "You were her chance. She used you to save her, making you absorb a part of her to keep her alive and get back to me. That's why the Tardis likes you, why you always pop up in _her_ time-line, why you pop off at all. It's the Tardis in you calling out to her and vice versa. The Artron energy, the ability to adapt your body so quickly to it, that was all her!" He grinned, spinning me around excitedly. "Alex, you're a human body with a _Tardis_ inside! You're an impossible feat! A miracle! You saved her!"

"But Doctor, this doesn't happen!" I argued, very much confused. "You know that. Everything that happens after you give your past self that button, it never happens, so how—"

"But it _does_ happen." He smiled, kissing my forehead and then my cheeks and my nose. "You were here. Twice, even. And this all still happens, we just forget about it. Because to our past selves it never happened but to us, here and now, it has. And you are fifty million _times_ more brilliant because of it."

I blinked, still confused about this whole mess, but decided that it wasn't worth freaking out about and gave him a small smile.

"Alright. I guess I can live with that. Especially if it means you call me brilliant more often."

He smirked, leaning in as he tugged me closer. "Hm, I think I can arrange that."

We kissed passionately as his hand tangled in my hair, only for Clara to clear her throat and remind us that we weren't out of the dark just yet.

"As much as I _love_ standing here while you two snog..." Clara muttered sarcastically with a disgusted look on her face. "I do believe that we were going to do something?"

"R-Right." The Doctor stuttered out, face red as a tomato, though mine wasn't much different before he winked at me. "We'll continue this later."

I smacked his arm lightly. "Shush. Universe to save."

He smiled, managing to sneak in another kiss as he pulled out his sonic and began his usual ramble. "The rift in time. All the memories leaking out. I need to find the moment we crashed. I need to find the… _music_." He said, music ringing out as the three of us followed it to it's source; a crack in the wall of the console room below deck. "The time rift. Recent past, possible future."

"What are you going to do?" Clara asked as he pulled out the metal remote that he'd taken from Gregor for the magno-grab device he'd used to pull the Tardis into their scrapping ship.

"Rewrite today, I hope." He said, using the sonic to burn the familiar words 'big friendly button' into the remote. "I've thrown this through the rift before. I need to make sure this time. Going to take it in there myself. There might be a certain amount of yelling."

"It's going to hurt?" Clara questioned, sending me a worried look as I gave the Doctor a small reassuring smile back.

"Things that end your life tend to do that." He said, returning the gesture.

"Wait!" Clara stopped him, looking even more worried. "All those things you said. How we've met before, how I died."

"Clara, don't worry. You'll forget. Time mends us. It can mend anything. Even Alex's bum leg."

"Oi." I piped in, pouting as he smiled at me.

"I don't want to forget." Clara said suddenly. "Not all of it. The library. I saw it. You were mentioned in a book."

"I'm mentioned in a lot of books."

Clara pressed the issue as he went to walk away, trying to get him to listen. "You call yourself the Doctor. Why do you do that? You have a name. I've seen it. In the corner of that tiny—"

The Doctor placed a finger over her mouth, silencing her. "If I rewrite today, you won't remember. You won't go looking for my name."

He pulled away as she eyed him suspiciously.

"You still have secrets."

"It's better that way."

"Everyone has secrets." I muttered as the Doctor went over to the crack and I hobbled after him, standing just a foot away.

"One for the road?" He asked, smiling sadly as I nodded, placing a hand on his cheek.

"Always."

Our lips met with a desperate passion before we pulled apart and he smiled at me.

"I won't forget what we're going to finish. Promise you that."

"I should hope you wouldn't forget. I know I won't."

He chuckled, brushing his hand across my cheek with a cocky grin.

"Geronimo."

I braced myself as he pushed himself into the crack, screaming, hoping that this all worked out.

* * *

The Doctor and Clara let out shocked cries as the Tardis console sparked and the ship threw them both back.

"Magnetic hobble-field!" He shouted over the noise of their crashing. "We're flying right into it! Clara, stay by me!"

"Please tell me there's a button you can use to fix this!" Clara cried out desperately, hanging onto the railing for dear life.

"Oh, yes. Big friendly button." He said sarcastically.

"You're lying."

"Yup."

"To stop me freaking out?" She asked.

"Is it working?"

"Not so much!"

He heard a cry then, turning to look behind him from where it was coming from and seeing himself sticking out of a crack in the wall.

"Doctor! Doctor, I'm from your future!" He called out, surprising the current Doctor. "We haven't got long to reset time! And don't forget about Alex! You've got some unfinished business with her!"

The future Doctor threw something up on deck and the Doctor watched it roll over to Clara, panicking as she picked it up and burned her palm.

"Clara! No! _No_!"

She dropped it and he quickly caught it and turned to to see what was written on the side; chuckling when he read the words.

"Ahaha. 'Big friendly button'." He laughed, hitting it and making the magno-grab stop what could have been a horrible disaster before he quickly put up the shields and piloted the Tardis elsewhere. "Right then! Clara, I've obviously got some repairs to start on. Feel free to do whatever it is you humans do when I'm busy. Oh! And send Alex down here if you bump into her."

"Will do. See you in about an hour?"

He nodded and she wandered off as he started up the repairs needed to fix up the Tardis console, who chimed happily when Alex did manage to wander into the room; holding her head with a wince.

"I don't know what stuff River puts in her lipstick, but _man_ is it strong."

The Doctor paused, gaping at Alex. "You kissed _River_?!"

Alex flushed, immediately panicking as she waved her free hand about. "I-I-It's not like that! She kissed me! At the Library! She did it to drug me a-and..." She trailed off, growing upset and the Doctor immediately stopped what he was doing and rushed over to her; pulling her into a hug as he pat her hair in comfort.

"Hey, there now. It's alright. She's fine. More than happy, thanks to you."

"W-What did _I _do?" Alex sniffed, starting to cry into his jacket as he held her. "I-I took away her friends who would've been there for her."

"No, you save her friends' lives. And I'm sure she'd much rather have them living happily than have them dead to keep her company, don't you think?" He asked, pulling away from her and wiping her tears with his thumb. "I'll even give you a spoiler. You made her a little memory stick with memories of our trips together with her. She has her own little Alex and Doctor in that library with her. And I _never_ would have thought of that."

"Really?" Alex asked, hopeful once more.

"Really." The Doctor repeated with a smile, before giving her a mischievous look. "You know, I met someone today who just about saved our lives. He wore the most dashing bow-tie and had amazing hair, and he told me that we had some unfinished business to take care of. Any idea what he meant?"

Alex chuckled, hugging him around the neck and pecking him lightly on the lips. "I'm sure I could come up with something."

"Brilliant." He smirked, picking her up off her feet as she yelped and laughed, clinging onto him as he moved them elsewhere; getting the feeling that Clara had seen quite enough of their activities for two days crammed into one.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"How can you be here?" The Doctor rattled on in shock, having apparently not heard him as the helmet-wearing soldier behind him grew annoyed._

_ "I-I don't know. It's kind of fuzzy."_

_ "Fuzzy?"_

_ "Yeah, like your head, moron." The soldier snipped, coming up and smacking the Doctor on the back of the head._

_ "Oi! Why'd you hit me?! You… You big old mean Roman soldier, you." He frowned, smacking the soldier's chest plate as they rolled their eyes and removed their helmet; pulling down the thin dark blue cloth that had been covering their nose and mouth._

_ "_You _are quite honestly, the biggest, most oblivious moron, I've ever met." They said, shaking out their longer auburn hair that had been tied back into a small ponytail and giving the Doctor an annoyed look as he gaped in shock._

_ "A-Alex?!"_


	59. The Pandorica Opens

**Hello! Sorry i missed updating Friday. I've been a bit swamped with work, now that i work days _and_ nights, plus volunteering on Fridays evenings and... well, I sort of slept all day Friday and didn't get a chance to update. But ignore my rambling. Here's the next chapter! I hope you all enjoy it and thanks to those who have reviewed/favorited/followed this story and hello to all the new readers! ^^ please let me know what you all think about this chapter, okay? I love hearing from you all. :)**

* * *

"Right place?" Amy called out to the Doctor as they exited the Tardis, having gone to Planet One—the oldest planet in the universe—in order to translate the oldest words in the universe that were written on a cliff face; only to find the worlds 'Hello sweetie' and some coordinates.

"Just followed the coordinates on the cliff face. Earth. Britain. 1:02am." He tapped his watch. "No, pm. No… AD."

Ahead of them and down the hill was an encampment of soldiers. _Roman_ soldiers.

"That's a Roman legion." Amy breathed out in surprise.

"Well, yeah. The Romans invaded Britain several times during this period." the Doctor rattled off, silently wondering what silly little history fact Alex would have spouted about the soldiers if she were here.

"Oh, I know. My favorite topic at school." Amy said proudly. "Invasion of the hot Italians."

He gave her a strange look and she pouted.

"Yeah, I did get marked down for the title."

A soldier rushed up to them then, saluting.

"Hail, Caesar!"

"Hi." The Doctor waved, a bit confused.

"Welcome to Britain. We are honored by your presence." The soldier said, kneeling with his head bowed respectfully.

"Well, you're only human." The Doctor smiled, the man having brushed his ego. "Arise… Roman person."

"Why does he think you're Caesar?" Amy muttered to him and it only took a second for them to spot the smear of lipstick on the man's lips.

"Cleopatra will see you now." He rattled off as the Doctor sighed, rolling his eyes at River's antics before the two of them followed after the soldier to a tent where River awaited them; all gussied up as Cleopatra.

"Hello, sweetie." She chirped as a couple of servants passed her a goblet of wine.

"River. Hi." Amy said, a bit surprised at the set up.

"You graffitied the oldest cliff face in the universe." The Doctor lightly complained to River.

"_You_ wouldn't answer your phone." She countered, clapping her hands to send the servants off and give them some privacy before she handed the Doctor a rolled up parchment.

"What's this?"

"It's a painting. Your friend Vincent." She explained and the Doctor snatched it from her abruptly and began unrolling it on a table. "One of his final works. He had visions, didn't he? I thought you ought to know about this one."

"Doctor." Amy muttered, eyeing the painting in worry. "Doctor, what is this?"

The image was that of the Tardis exploding and a lump formed in the Doctor's throat as he stared at it.

"Why is it exploding?" Amy asked.

"I assume it's some kind of warning." River replied.

"What? Something's going to happen to the Tardis?"

"It might not be that literal. Anyway, this is where he wanted you. Date and map reference on the door sign, see?"

"Does it have a title?" The Doctor asked, having taken a seat in a chair nearby in a vain attempt to calm down.

"'The Pandorica Opens'." The woman responded, ominously.

"The Pandorica?" Amy questioned, brows furrowed. "What is it?"

"A box, a cage, a prison. It was built to contain the most feared things in all the universe." River rattled on.

"And it's a fairy tale, a legend." The Doctor drawled, not wanting to believe it. "It can't be real."

"If it is real, it's here and it's opening, and it's got something to do with your Tardis exploding." She argued, the Doctor laying out some maps. "Hidden, obviously. Buried for centuries. You won't find it on a map.

"No, but if you buried the most dangerous thing in the universe… you'd want to remember where you put it." He said, finding what he was looking for and turning to River. "We need to go. River, horses."

"Right." She clapped her hands and the servants returned, her ordering them to prepare some horses for the three of them, and a lithe Roman soldier brought over three of the animals, handing them off to the group., though their helmet covered more of their face than the other Romans around them

The Doctor swore the soldier was watching him, but when he went to look, the person was facing away from him and petting the head of the horse fondly. They actually reminded him of Alex and her fondness for the animals, but he shook himself out of it and mounted; taking off with the others after a hunch. They soon arrived at Stonehenge after River had changed and grabbed her scanner; the Doctor scanning around the rocks in search of some sort of mechanism that could lead them to the Pandorica.

"How come it's not new?" Amy asked, speaking about the rocks. _Because they were old in my time, so I thought they'd be new now._

"Because it's already old. It's been here thousands of years. No one knows exactly how long." River explained simply, helping the Doctor scan around.

"Okay, this Pandorica thing. Last time we saw you, you warned us about it, after we climbed out of the Byzantium." Amy said, trailing after River, who place a finger over her lips.

"Spoilers."

"No, but you told the Doctor you'd see him again when the Pandorica opens."

"Maybe I did, but I haven't yet. But I will have." River said, before calling out to the Doctor. "Doctor, I'm picking up fry particles everywhere. Energy weapons discharged on this site."

"If the Pandorica was here, it contains the mightiest warriors in history. Now, half the galaxy would want a piece of that. Maybe even fight over it. We need to get down there." He said, his ear pressed to a stone lying on the floor; having apparently discovered the entrance to where they needed to be.

It took a while to get everything set up—and a trip or two back to the Roman camp to get some gear—but by evening, they were able to finally get the door open.

"The Underhenge." The Doctor murmured upon seeing the stairway below the stones, oblivious to the Cyberman head nearby twitching.

Sonic out, he went in first with Amy and River—holding a torch—behind him. Of course, the Doctor used his sonic to light a fire on an _actual_ torch and used it to light up the room better as he lit River's torch and they faced the large door before them. He eyed her as he removed the wood beam blocking it, being dramatic and extremely cautious should something dangerous be on the other side as he went to open it. He couldn't help but grin as the excitement and curiosity overcame him, however. When he opened the door though, he gaped in shock at the box that sat in the center of the chamber.

"The Pandorica…"

"More than just a fairy tale."

The Doctor moved closer, ever curious, but kicked something on the ground and glanced at it to find a Cyberman's arm. He felt the ever creeping worry grow stronger, but went over to the box and brushed a hand over it.

"There were two goblins, or tricksters, or warriors. Nameless, terrible things, soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies. The two most feared beings in all the cosmos. And nothing could stop them, or hold them, or reason with them. One day, they would just drop out of the sky or appear in a flash of gold light, and tear down your world." He said, the story coming back to him after so long.

"How did they end up in there?" Amy asked.

"You know fairy tales. A good wizard tricked it."

River made a face, passing Amy the torch so she could scan the box. "I hate good wizards in fairy tales. They always turn out to be him."

"So, it's kind of like Pandora's box then. Almost the same name." Amy hummed, waving the torch a bit, feeling much like an Indiana Jones explorer.

All she was missing was the hat and whip.

"Sorry? What?" The Doctor questioned, putting his torch in a holder nearby.

"The story. Pandora's box, with all the worst things in the world in it. That was my favorite book when I was a kid." She said as the Doctor stalked over with a stern look. "What's wrong?"

"You favorite school topic. Your favorite story. Never ignore the coincidence… unless you're busy." He said, turning away from her and back to the box. "In which case, always ignore a coincidence."

"Can you open it?" River asked and the Doctor nodded.

"Easy. Anyone can break _into_ a prison, but I'd rather know what I'm gonna find first."

River's device chirped. "You won't have long to wait. It's already opening... There are layers and layers of security protocols in there, and they're being disabled one by one. Like it's being unlocked from the inside."

"How long do we have?"

"Hours, at most." River told the Doctor who frowned.

"What kind of security?"

"Everything. Deadlocks, time stops, matter lines."

"What could need all that?"

River gave him a look. "What could get past all that?"

"Think of the fear that went into making this box. What could inspire that level of fear?" He asked, moving over to the box with a smile. "Hello you. Have we met?"

"So why would it start to open now?" River asked, coming around the side of the box to look at him as he pressed his forehead to it.

"No idea."

Amy cleared her throat, gaining their attention. "And how could Vincent have known about it? He won't even be born for centuries."

The Doctor scanned around. "The stones. These stones are great big transmitters, broadcasting a warning to everyone, everywhere, to every time zone. The Pandorica is opening."

"Doctor, everyone everywhere?"

"Even poor Vincent heard it, in his dreams. But what's in there? What could possibly justify all this?" He rattled on, ignoring her.

"Doctor, _everyone_?"

"Anything that powerful, I'd know about it. Why don't I know?"

"Doctor, you said everyone could hear it. So who else is coming?" River said, finally getting his attention as he turned around and let out a breath.

"Oh."

"'Oh'? 'Oh', what?" Amy questioned, confused as River understood just how much danger they were in and began using her scanner on the rock.

"Okay, if it is basically a transmitter, we should be able to fold back the signal."

"Doing it." The Doctor called out, moving around and using his sonic; Amy still lost.

"Doing what?"

"Stonehenge is transmitting." River explained as quickly and simply as she could. "It's been transmitting for a while, so who heard?"

"Okay, should be feeding back to you now." The Doctor interrupted. "River, what's out there?"

"Give me a moment."

The Doctor knew they didn't have that much time. "River, quickly. Anything?"

She paled. "Around this planet there are at least ten thousand starships."

"At least?" Amy muttered, worried.

"Ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a million, I don't know." River admitted in a panic. "There's too many readings."

"What kind of starships?" The Doctor asked, that worry growing even more when a crackled radio transmission echoed through the room; the voice eerily familiar.

"_Maintaining orbit._"

"_I obey. Shield cover compromised on ion sectors._"

"Daleks. Those are Daleks." Amy breathed out in a slight panic as the transmission went on and River turned to the Doctor.

"Daleks, Doctor."

"Yes. Okay, okay, okay." He said, snapping out of his own panicked daze. "Dalek fleet, minimum twelve thousand battleships, armed to the teeth. Ah!" He scrambled for something to say, pacing. "But we've got surprise on our side. They'll never expect three people to attack twelve thousand Dalek battleships. Because we'd be killed instantly. So it would be a fairly short surprise. Forget surprise."

Other transmissions started echoing through the room then, making River panic even more.

"Doctor, Cybermen."

"No, Dalek ships. Listen to them. Those are Dalek ships." He argued.

"Yes. Dalek ships, _and_ Cyberships."

"Well, we need to start a fight, turn them on each other. I mean, that's easy. It's the Daleks. They're so cross."

"Sontaran." River said, listing off the other ships above the Earth. "Four battle fleets."

"Sontarans. Talk about cross, who stole their handbags?" He rambled.

"Terileptil, Slitheen, Chelonian, Nestene, Drahvin, Sycorax, Haemogoth, Zygon, Atraxi, Draconian. They're all here for the Pandorica."

The Doctor turned back to the box, mouth agape. "What are you? What could you possibly be?"

He brushed his fingers over it, but as the ground shook with approaching alien starships, the group bolted from the cavern and back up above Stonehenge.

"What do we do?" Amy asked, scared and wishing Alex was here, because at least then she'd know they'd be alright.

"Doctor, listen to me." River demanded. "Everything that ever hated you is coming here tonight. You can't win this. You can't even fight it. Doctor, this once. Just this one time. _Please_. You have to run."

"Run where?" He called out over the noise of the ships.

"Fight now?!" She countered as the Doctor looked out over the horizon to the Roman camp with a set of binoculars from his pocket.

"The greatest military machine in the history of the universe."

"What is? The Daleks?" Amy questioned, confused.

"No. No, no, no, no, no. The Romans." He turned around with a smile. "River? If you would?"

River groaned, rolling her eyes. "You better have a plan."

He smirked, fiddling with his bow-tie. "I never have a plan."

She scoffed. "Isn't that the truth."

And off she went to the Roman camp, only to have forgotten that the commander in charge had returned at that moment and proceeded to get captured.

"So." The man said, annoyance obvious. "I return to my command after one week and discover we've been playing host to Cleopatra. Who's in Egypt. And _dead_.

"Yes." River said, hardly bothered by his hostility. "Funny how things work out."

The ground shook and the commander stared upward in worry, before turning back to River angrily.

"The sky is falling and you make jokes? Who are you?"

"When you fight Barbarians, what must they think of you?" River asked instead and the man laughed.

"Oh, riddles now?"

"Where do they think you come from?" River went on and he drew his sword.

"A place more deadly and more powerful and more _impatient_ than their tiny minds can imagine." He growled, just before River had enough and pulled out her weapon; disintegrating a wooden ornament stand nearby and making the man gawk as she smirked.

"Where do I come from?" Her smirk fell, growing serious. "Your world has visitors. You're _all_ Barbarians now."

"What is that? Tell me. What?" He demanded.

"A fool would say the work of the Gods, but you've been a soldier too long to believe there are Gods watching over us. There is, however, a man. And tonight he's going to need your help."

Another voice called out then, making the commander turn.

"Sir?"

The commander turned to River, putting his sword away. "One moment."

He then wandered over to the two Romans standing in the door as one whispered something to him. The commander wandered back to River then, confusing her.

"Well, it seems you have a couple of volunteers."

River glanced at the two, confused, but was willing to accept any help they could get and nodded; the group going around and searching for other volunteers; only one person knowing that the Doctor and Amy had a bit of trouble on their hands at the moment.

* * *

Amy was scared and more than worried as she hid in another room, honestly wishing there was someone else there who could help her right about now. The Doctor was unconscious in the other room and she was being chased by this Cyber-whatever creature that was coming after her. That is, until she managed to duck into this room. Problem was, she knew better than to think that a bit of wood would keep out the robot. Not to mention that there wouldn't be much for her to do with her vision swirling the way it was after whatever the robot had shot her with. Just then though, the banging against the doors stopped and she slowly went over to them and pressed her head against them cautiously. What she didn't expect were the two swords that stabbed through the door, causing her to let out a scream and tumble back. The doors swung open then, revealing the dead, sparking Cyberman with two blades in it's chest and two blurry Romans standing in the doorway.

"Who… Who are you?" She asked as the one took off his helmet and the other went over to the Cyberman and pulled their sword out.

"I _told_ you, he was mine!" That one argued as the other rolled his eyes.

"Fine, whatever. Sorry." He grumbled, turning to Amy with a smile. "Hello, Amy."

She began to collapse and the man—Rory—hurried and picked her up, laying her down on a nearby rock and checking her vitals. Another soldier wandered in then.

"Sirs, the man's coming around."

"Amy!" A distant shout called and the soldier left when the other nodded their head and the Doctor came bumbling through. "Where's Amy?"

"She's fine, Doctor. Just unconscious." Rory replied, but the Doctor hurried over and checked anyway with his sonic.

"Okay, yes." He relaxed, relieved. "She's only sedated. That's all. Half an hour, she'll be fine. Okay." He pat the helmeted soldier on the shoulder as they raised a brow at him. "Romans! Good. I was just wishing for Romans. Good old River. How many?" He asked Rory, but the other one answered.

"Fifty men up above. Volunteers."

"Oh!" The Doctor grinned, turning back to them. "You were the one with the horses! I remember you."

They scoffed out their nose and the Doctor gave them a look, the noise sounding familiar, before Rory spoke up once more.

"What about that thing?"

He ignored him. "Fifty? You're not exactly a legion."

"Your friend was very persuasive, but, uh, it's a tough sell." Rory grumbled, giving the other soldier an annoyed look at his questions being ignored, but they just shrugged.

"Yes, I know that, Rory. I'm not exactly one to miss the obvious. But we need everything we can get. Okay..." The Doctor pulled out a couple of guns from nearby as Rory tried to get his attention. "Cyberweapons. This is basically a sentry box, so headless wonder here was a sentry." He rambled on, smacking the dead Cyberman with one of them. "Probably got himself duffed up by the locals. Never underestimate a Celt."

"Doctor?"

"Hush, Rory. Thinking. Why leave a Cyberman on guard, unless it's a Cyberthing in the box. But why would they lock up one of their own? Okay, no, not a Cyberthing, but what? What? No, I'm missing something obvious, Rory. Something big. Something right slap in front of me. I can feel it." The Doctor rattled on, getting in Rory's face.

"Yeah, I think you probably are." The man drawled, giving the other soldier a pointed look as they snickered.

"I'll get it in a minute." The Doctor muttered, heading off as the helmet-wearing soldier spoke up.

"Three… two… one..."

There was a clatter as the Doctor dropped the weapons in realization and he doubled back and poked Rory in the chest; making the man teeter back and forth slightly.

"Hello again."

"Hello." Rory muttered back.

"How've you been?"

"Good. Yeah. Good. I mean. Roman."

The Doctor made a face, gesturing to Rory. "Rory, I'm not trying to be rude, but you died."

"Yeah, I know. I was there."

"You died and then you were erased from time. You didn't just die, you were never born at all. You _never_ existed."

"Yeah..." He said sadly. "Alex explained that."

"How can you be here?" The Doctor rattled on in shock, having apparently not heard him as the helmet-wearing soldier behind him grew annoyed.

"I-I don't know. It's kind of fuzzy."

"Fuzzy?"

"Yeah, like your head, moron." The soldier snipped, coming up and smacking the Doctor on the back of the head.

"Oi! Why'd you hit me?! You… You big old mean Roman soldier, you." He frowned, smacking the soldier's chest plate as they rolled their eyes and removed their helmet; pulling down the thin dark blue cloth that had been covering their nose and mouth.

"_You_ are quite honestly, the biggest, most oblivious moron, I've ever met." They said, shaking out their longer auburn hair that had been tied back into a small ponytail and giving the Doctor an annoyed look as he gaped in shock.

"A-Alex?!"

"No, I'm just some big old mean Roman soldier." She grumbled sarcastically, smacking the Doctor again. "Of course it's me, you dolt! I mean, seriously? I've been stuck waiting around for you for _years_! My shoulder must be on the fritz or something, because one minute I'm with a later Eleventh who _finally_ got around to taking me out for ice cream, and the moment the bowl touches the table, off I pop smack dab into the middle of a Roman camp." She prodded the Doctor in the chest, annoyed. "You're lucky I know sword fighting, or else they would have skewered me on the spot instead of giving me the option of joining the ranks when I knocked out their so-called 'best warrior'. And I swear to _God_, if I don't get my ice cream soon, I'm going to loose it."

The Doctor swallowed thickly, knowing better than to get between Alex and her ice cream as he held his hands up in surrender. "A-As soon as this is done I-I'll be sure to get you some."

"Hm, you better." She leaned in then, speaking too quietly for Rory to over hear. "_Theta._"

His eyes widened as a shiver went down his spine and he opening gaped at Alex. "Y-You mean..."

"Yup." She nodded, pulling back and crossing her arms over her chest.

He pointed between the two of them. "You and I can..."

"Uh-huh." She smiled, but it quickly fell as she pointed at him sternly. "But only if there's ice cream."

And the Doctor immediately grinned before rushing over and crushing her in a hug; spinning her around with a laugh.

"Oh! This is great! Amazing! It's Christmas!" He shouted, kissing Alex before placing her on the floor and grinning at her as Rory waved; not wanting to interrupt, but ever curious as to what was going on.

"Um, why is it Christmas?"

"Because, Rory!" The Doctor spun around with Alex in his arms as he nuzzled her head. "We're getting married!"

"Uh… huh. Congratulations and all, but I'm hoping you'll do that _after_ we fix this mess?"

"Of course not! We can pop off and get married and then come back here before you know it and—"

Alex cleared her throat and glared darkly at the Doctor, who immediately pouted and changed his response begrudgingly.

"Or we'll stay here and fix everything before we go."

"That's better." Alex sighed, giving Rory an apologetic look. "Sorry. You know how he is."

The ground shook then and they could hear the Romans outside panicking, so the three of them hurried out to see the Pandorica glowing green as the patterns on the side began to move.

"What is it?" Rory questioned, worried. "What's happening?"

"The final phase." The Doctor breathed out, lowering his sonic and taking Alex's hand out of reflex. "It's opening."

He let her go and went over to the box, scanning it again before brushing his hand over it as Rory went outside to see just how bad things were with all the spaceships flying about. Alex stayed though, catching the comm the Doctor tossed her.

"Answer that. River's calling and we're going to need her help."

Alex stared down at the phone though, silent and eyes sad, making the Doctor turn around and pause in what he was doing.

"Alex? You alright?"

Alex looked up, snapping out of her daze and planting a smile on her face—one the Doctor immediately knew was fake.

"Yeah, no. I'm fine. Just… zoned out for a second there."

He nodded hesitantly, but knew they didn't really have the time to discuss whatever was bothering her at the moment and went back to work as Alex put the comm onto speaker mode so the Doctor could hear River respond on the other side.

"_You're surrounded. Have you got a plan?_"

"Does he ever have a plan?" Alex grumbled, surprising River.

"_Alex? When did you get here?_"

"Been here, actually. Volunteer Roman number two. Though I doubt we have time to be worrying about when I popped up. Doctor?"

"Yes, I have a plan." The Doctor drawled from his place on the floor in front of the Pandorica. "Now hurry up and get the Tardis here. I need equipment!"

Alex rolled her eyes and took the phone off speaker, before speaking to River on her own; making the Doctor listen in, curiously and worriedly.

"Ignore him. He's busy and doesn't have time to be polite, but River? It's not your fault, okay? There's no need to be sorry. You'll be fine. Everyone will be. I promise, but it's going to be rough. I'm sorry."

Alex hung up then before River could respond, letting out a long sigh and pulling her hand through her hair; causing it to come out of it's small ponytail and tumble down to the back of her neck.

"Alex?"

She turned around hesitantly, turning to the Doctor who'd pushed himself up onto his elbows to face her.

"How bad will this get?"

She winced. "For River? Nine. For Amy and the others? Eight. For you?" Her eyes saddened, scaring him. "A million times worse."

He got up and headed over, tugging her into a hug and kissing her temple before leaning his head on her shoulder.

"Hey, it's alright. I can handle it. You know that."

"Doesn't mean I want you to." She muttered and he smiled a bit at how much she cared.

"Everything will be fine. You said so yourself. And the journey's a part of the experience."

She snorted. "Who told you that?"

His smile grew as he nuzzled her head. "Some noisy little red-headed woman who always scolds me."

"Who, Donna?" She joked and he chuckled, spinning her around and kissing her.

"Hm, different red-head. A much..." Another kiss. "...cuter one."

"Oh, Amy?" She teased again and he pouted.

"Oh, hush you."

He kissed her one final time, glad that he'd gotten her to smile, before he smirked down at her.

"Want to hear me make a speech?"

"Love to." She grinned back and off they dashed to the grounds above where spaceships noisily flew about, creating a ruckus.

Stumbling a bit, the Doctor dropped the comm he'd sonicked, making a screeching noise that he promptly apologized for.

"Sorry, sorry, dropped it." He muttered, before shouting to the ships above. "Hello, Stonehenge! Whoever takes the Pandorica, takes the universe. But bad news, everyone!" He hopped up on top of one of the stones with a grin; pulling Alex up beside him and tucking her into his side as he grinned. "Cause guess who? Ha! Listen, you lot, you're all whizzing about. It's really very distracting. Could you all just stay still a minute because _I am talking_!"

The ships suddenly grew quiet and stopped moving as he went on.

"The question of the hour is, who's got the Pandorica? Answer, I do. Next question. Who's coming to take it from me?" He held out his free arm. "Come on! Look at me. No plan, no back up, no weapons worth a damn. Oh, and something else. I don't have anything to lose! _So_, if you're sitting up there in your silly little spaceship, with all your silly little guns, and you've got any plans on taking the Pandorica tonight, just remember who's standing in your way. Remember every black day I ever stopped you, and then, _and then_, do the smart thing. Let somebody else try first."

All the ships backed off at that, stunning Rory as the Doctor turned to him and tossed him the comm.

"That will keep them squabbling for half an hour." He then looked around, speaking almost distastefully. "_Romans_."

Alex smacked him. "Oi, be nice."

"No time to be nice." She hit him again, making him wince. "But I'll try. Come along, Rory."

Rory followed after them as they headed back below.

"They're still out there. What do we do now?" He questioned.

"If I can stop whatever's in this box getting out, then they'll go home." The Doctor said simply, though he caught the look on Alex's face and knew that things weren't going to be that easy.

"Right."

"Rory, I'm sorry. You're going o have to be very brave now." The Doctor breathed out then, spotting the newly awaken Amy behind the man.

"Oh, my head." Amy complained, moving right past Rory and over to the Doctor who let Alex go and took Amy's head in his hands.

"Ah."

She opened her mouth. "Ah."

The Doctor chuckled though after his quick look over. "Just your basic knockout drops. Get some fresh air, you'll be fine." He said, patting her arm and turning back to the Pandorica with his sonic. "And don't mind Alex. She popped up with the Romans."

Alex waved a little. "Hello."

Amy waved a little back, hugging the woman and pulling away. "How'd you enjoy the hot Italians?"

"Mm, very hot." Alex hummed back, enjoying the jealous look the Doctor gave her over his shoulder.

"Is it safe out there?"

Alex hummed again, eyes rolling up to the ceiling. "Technically, no. not in the slightest. But for you, yeah. Well, mostly. Won't get dangerous until later. But no worries. You're fine. Promise. Have fun with the Romans."

"Will do." Amy mock saluted, scooting past her and nearly bumping into Rory. "Ooh, you're the guy, yeah? The one who did the..." Amy made some fencing gestures. "...swordy thing."

"Yeah."

"Well, thanks for the..." She repeated the gestures. "...swording. Nice swording."

She pat him on the shoulder and made for the stairs, leaving Rory in shock for a second before turning and calling after her.

"No problem. My men are up there. They'll look after you."

"Good. Love a Roman."

Alex stepped towards Rory then, worried. "I'm sorry, Rory."

"You were right." Rory said, turning back to her looking absolutely crushed. "I mean, I know you explain it before and I said I believed you, but… I didn't want to. And seeing it here, now, it's just..."

"I really am sorry. She'll remember. I promise. It'll just… It'll take a while."

"But you never explained, Alex. How did I end up here?" He questioned and Alex winced.

"I can't tell you, Rory. It's spoilers."

"Oh, right. Course not." He frowned, getting upset now. "You can tell me my fiancée forgot who I am, but you can't tell me anything else. What good are you then?"

The Doctor stormed over then and shoved something into Rory's chest, making the man stumble a bit.

"Don't you talk to my fiancée like that, Rory. She's doing what she can to help and she didn't have to tell you that Amy had forgotten you, but she did. So you better remember that and do something useful yourself. Shut up and go get her."

He backed off to reveal the ring box Rory had left in the Tardis all those years ago, confusing the man.

"But I don't understand. Why am I here?"

The Doctor sighed, letting go of some of his anger at feeling Alex send a wave of calm to him. "Because you are. The universe is big. It's vast and complicated and ridiculous, and sometimes, very rarely, impossible things just happen and we call them miracles, and that's the theory. Nine hundred years, never seen one yet, but this would do me. Now get upstairs. She's Amy and she's surrounded by Romans. I'm not sure history can take it."

Rory hesitated, but nodded, turning to Alex and looking a little sheepish for his earlier outburst.

"Sorry. Really. And, um, thank you. For, you know. Telling me."

She smiled back. "It's fine. Wouldn't be the first time someone wasn't happy with what I've told them will happen. You're not nearly as scary as the earlier versions of him." She said, tossing a thumb over at the Doctor who pouted.

"I _apologized_."

Alex rolled her eyes. "Yeah, a few hundred years late."

"I was busy!"

Rory shook his head and let the two banter while he headed upstairs, hoping to be able to get Amy to remember him; even just a little bit.

* * *

I was getting more anxious by the second as the Doctor fiddled with the Pandorica before me. I knew River was getting into trouble right about now and that soon Amy and Rory would be in quite the predicament themselves. But none of them would be in more danger than the Doctor and the biggest problem was, there wasn't anything I could do about it. If I tried to stop anything or take his place anywhere, it could spell disaster for the entire universe. So what could I do other than stand aside and let things happen as they should? It'll be tough, of course, and I hoped I could pull it off, but I knew I needed to focus on the here and now in order to make sure things happen as they should and nothing deviates from the plot just because I was here? The comm went off then and I took a deep breath before answering it as I got the Doctor's attention.

"Doctor, it's River."

"Good. Put it on speaker."

"Can't." He looked over at me with a frown, and I sighed, handing it to him.

"Just answer it, and please keep your voice down."

He eyed me suspiciously, but did so. "Tardis. Where is it? Hurry up."

I couldn't hear what River was saying, but kept an eye on the Romans around us to see if any of them were listening in.

"What are you even doing there?" He questioned her, giving me a look as I swallowed thickly and turned away; knowing he wouldn't be happy with me when things got even worse than they were now.

"Something's using her memories. Amy's memories… You said something had been there… If they've been to her house, they could have used her psychic residue. Structures can hold memories, that's why houses have ghosts. They could've taken a snapshot of Amy's memories. B-But why?"

The Doctor eyed the Romans that I'd been watching.

"Projections, or duplicates… They might think they're real. The perfect disguise. They actually believe their own cover story, right until their activated."

He grew frustrated then. "Why? Who'd do that? What for? It doesn't make sense?.. River? River? River, what's happening?!"

He turned to me and I mouthed an apology, before promptly promising she'll be alright before he could panic and he nodded, turning away.

"You're flying it wrong… Where are you? What's the date reading?"

He paled suddenly. "You need to get out of there, now. Any other time zone. Just go… Well, then shut down the Tardis. Shut down everything!"

He began pacing then. "But how? Why?"

A high pitched screeching rang out suddenly, making me wince and turn to the Romans as they bent over and dropped their torches.

"Um, Doctor?"

He ignored me. "Listen to me, just land her anywhere. Emergency landing, now. There are cracks in time. I've seen them everywhere, and they're getting wider. The Tardis exploding is what causes them, but we can stop the cracks ever happening if you _just_ land her."

"Doctor?" I called out again, backing away from the closest Roman just as the Pandorica started to open and he faced it seriously.

"Well, now. Ready to come out, are we?... Okay, just walk out of the doors. If there's no one inside, the Tardis engines shut down automatically. Just get out of there. Run!"

"Doctor!" I shouted as the Romans' hands opened up to reveal guns; finally getting his attention as he turned around.

"Oh dear."

"'Oh dear' is right!" I snapped at him, taking his hand and tugging him back a step. "God, you need to pay attention when I call you. You're going to get me killed!"

"_Doctor! Doctor, I can't open the doors!_" River's voice called out and he reached down to pick up the comm as he called out to Amy.

"Amy!"

"You moron, don't worry about Amy." I grumbled, pulling him back up. "It's _us_ you should be worrying about. He's fighting it, Amy will help, you'll save her. River, I'm sorry. It'll be scary for a while, but I promise you'll be safe!" I called down to the comm as the Romans grabbed the Doctor and I and pulled us forward.

"Plastic Romans. Duplicates, driven by the Nestene Consciousness, eh? Deep cover, but what for? What are you doing? What's in there, eh? What's coming out?"

"The Pandorica is ready." The one Roman said.

"What? Do you mean it's open?" The Doctor questioned and I groaned.

"You moron. Think about the stories! You talked to the box and whatever you believed was inside it because you thought it was something you met before because the universe feared it! Think about what you said! It's a prison for the most feared being in the universe! As much as I hate to say it, but what if it's empty? Empty and waiting? Huh?" I turned to his stunned face with a panicked look. "It's _ready_. Not open, but _ready_."

"You have been scanned, assessed, understood, Doctor. Seer." A Dalek voice rang out and the two of us were turned around to see the white Dalek standing there as the yellow and red ones appeared behind it.

"Scanned? Scanned by what? A box?" The Doctor questioned, voice tight and giving me glances every once in a while.

"Your limits and capabilities have been extrapolated." It said, the rest of the alien forces from above beaming in behind them.

Sontarans, Judoon, Slitheen, Cybermen. Any and all of the Doctor's enemies appearing, but what had me worried, was the change in dialogue. _Why did it say I was scanned? W-Why me too? It can't mean… No… No, it can't._

"The Pandorica is ready." The Sontaran said.

"Ready for what?"

"Ready for you." The Dalek said, the light in the Pandorica dimming to reveal an empty chair in the center.

The Doctor began struggling against the Romans as I did the same; the four easily pulling us through the group of aliens as we fought against them. He was strapped in to the seat and the Romans stood with me by the door as he questioned them.

"You lot, working together. An alliance. How is that possible?" The Doctor questioned, disbelieving.

"The cracks in the skin of the universe." The Dalek replied.

The Sontaran continued. "All reality is threatened."

"All universes will be deleted." A Cyberman spoke up.

"What? And you've come to us for help?" The Doctor said, hoping that this wasn't true.

"Doctor, we both know that's not what's going on." I breathed out as the Sontaran argued.

"No. We will save the universe. From you!"

"From me?"

A Cyberman continued. "All projections correlate. All evidence concurs. The Doctor will destroy the universe."

"No, no, no. You've got it wrong." He argued.

But the robot didn't listen. "The Pandorica was constructed to ensure the safety of the Alliance."

"A scenario was devised from the memories of your companion." The Dalek said, followed by the Sontaran.

"A trap the Doctor could not resist."

"The cracks in time are the work of the Doctor. It is confirmed."

"No, no, no. Not me. The Tardis. And I'm not in the Tardis, am I?" He continued to argue, but it was no use.

"Only the Doctor can pilot the Tardis." The Dalek replied.

"Please, listen to me!"

"You will be prevented."

"Total event collapse! Every sun will supernova at every moment in history! The whole universe will never have existed. _Please_, listen to me!"

"H-Hold on a second." I spoke up then, nervously. "W-What about me? What do I have to do with any of this?"

The Dalek turned it's eye-stalk to me and I felt my blood run cold; memories of the torture I'd gone through with the Daleks flashing before my eyes.

"You are the Seer. The most feared creature of all time and space."

"W-What?" I breathed out, confused and scared as the Sontaran went on for the Dalek.

"You are the Bringer of Death. The Destroyer of Worlds!"

"N-No! T-That's not true!" I argued. "I-I've never… I didn't mean to..."

The Cyberman spoke then. "You will be imprisoned as well. You and the Doctor both will be prevented. While your visions may have proven useful, you will only cause destruction to the Alliance in the end."

The Romans tugged me into the box as the chair the Doctor was in turned to reveal another and I too was strapped in, panic rising as I yanked fruitlessly at my bonds.

"B-But why?! T-This wasn't supposed to happen! I-I wasn't supposed to be involved!" I shouted, but the Doctor spoke up.

"Alex. You said this box contained the most feared '_being_' in the universe."

"Yes! Yes! 'Being'! As in one person!" I shouted, throat tightening as the metal clamps locked shut around my shoulders, wrists, and waist.

"But Alex, listen! The story talks of two people! _Two_ warriors trapped in the Pandorica!"

"B-But that can't be!" I shouted back as the Romans walked out of the box and I stared out at the aliens in a panic as the chair began to turn back around.

"Alex, you can't see your own time-line! I'm sorry, but think about it! There's been little hints everywhere! You hear stories of what happened to you, but you never saw them in your show. Things _change_, Alex! _You_ change them! You became a part of the stories and you can't see what happens to you! I'm sorry, but this is the truth!" He said, sounding on the verge of tears himself as one of my own slipped down my face.

"B-But… I-I don't want to. Doctor, you don't understand how bad this is going to get. How bad this adventure will be and if I'm involved this much… If I'm stuck at the center of this, what's going to happen to me?"

"Seal the Pandorica." The Cyberman called out and the doors began to close as the Doctor breathed out one last thing to me.

"I don't know, Alex. I'm sorry, but I don't know."

And with that, the Doctor and I were sealed in. The Tardis exploded with River trapped inside, apologizing with the words, 'I'm sorry, my loves'. And the centurion, Rory, cried over the woman he'd just killed; Amy. Leaving the universe to collapse as stars went out and all that was left, was the Earth.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"Honestly. How are we supposed to go on and get married after this whole mess if you're already forgetting about me?"_

_ The Doctor chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Right. Sorry. I was busy. You know what happens when I get busy."_

_ Alex continued to frown though, approaching him as he took a hesitant step back._

_ "Yeah, you forget about the _nonessential _things, and last time I checked, your fiancée is supposed to be _essential_!"_

_ "Ooh, you know what you need? A vacation." The Doctor said, stepping over to her and placing his hands on her shoulders; which were tense and not in the slightest way, relaxed. "A nice vacation and possibly some food. You always get snippy when you're hungry."_

_ Alex suddenly slammed a fist into his stomach, making him double over and cradle his injured abdomen as she scoffed._

_ "How's _that _for snippy?" _


	60. The Big Bang

**_Here's the next chapter! hope you all enjoy it and like the twist i put on it and the moment you've all been waiting for! i won't say what it is yet, but you'll see. ;) so please review and let me know what you think! and excuse the typos. i'll fix any remaining ones when i come back from work._**

* * *

_1,894 years later_

Little Amelia Pond knelt at her bedside, praying to Santa, a slight breeze in the garden outside her home blowing a small pinwheel.

"Dear Santa. Thank you for the dolls and pencils and the fish. It's Easter now, so I hope I don't wake you, but, honest, it is an emergency. There's a crack in my wall. Aunt Sharon says it's just an ordinary crack, but I know it's not, because at night there's voices. So, please, please, could you send someone to fix it, or a policeman, or—"

She was cut off by a strange noise and she paused.

"Back in a moment."

Getting up, she hurried over to the window in hope that Santa had sent someone, but there was nothing but the moon; hanging in a starless night sky.

* * *

"It's a lovely painting, Amelia." A woman—her psychiatrist—said, gesturing to little Amelia's painting of a starry sky. "And what are all these?"

"Stars."

"Oh, Amelia." Her Aunt Sharon sighed, exasperated.

"Tell you what. Shall we go outside?" The other woman offered and the trio headed to the door and looked up. "What do you see, Amelia?"

"The moon." The little girl replied.

"And what else?"

"Just the dark."

The woman nodded. "But no stars. If there were stars up there, we'd be able to see them, wouldn't we?"

Amelia frowned, not liking what the woman was saying.

"Amelia, look at me." The woman said, bending down to her level. "You know this is all just a story, don't you? You know there's no such thing as stars."

"Alright." She muttered, if only to get the woman to leave her be and her aunt sent her up to bed to talk with the woman alone.

Amelia could still hear them though, even from her bedroom.

"But there's bound to be a bit of her that feels alone. Amelia's a really good person."

Amelia wandered out of her room and stood at the top of the staircase, listening in.

"It's quite common, actually. Throughout history, people have talked about seeing stars in the sky. God knows where it comes from."

"I just don't want her growing up and joining one of those Star Cults." Her aunt complained. "I don't trust that Richard Dawkins."

Amelia heard a noise then and spotted someone with a red fez rush past the front door; dropping something through the mail hatch. Checking to make sure she wouldn't get caught by her aunt, Amelia went over and picked up the pamphlet to the museum; words in red written on it and an artifact in particular circled within.

_Come Along, Pond._

Curious as ever, she decided to ask her aunt to go there the next day and once there, hurried the woman along to that one particular box that had been on the pamphlet.

"Come on, Aunt Sharon."

"Oh, look at that. That's good, isn't it?" Her aunt said, gesturing to another artifact, but Amelia didn't care. She was more curious about why that strange person had put the pamphlet through the door and circled the box inside.

"Not that. This way."

"But we're not looking at anything." Her aunt argued.

"This way!"

Amelia decided she'd get there faster when her aunt proceeded to stop, and took off without her; causing the woman to chase after her.

"Amelia!"

She stopped and looked at some Daleks briefly, before heading over to the large black box and hiding within the crowd around it as her aunt continued to call out her name and search for her; Amelia sipping at the last of her drink until it was suddenly snatched from her. She looked around, but whoever had taken it was gone so she shrugged it off and instead turned back to the box; spotting a yellow post-it note stuck to it; familiar red ink spelling out words on the paper.

_Stick around, Pond._

Hearing her aunt call for her again, Amelia took her chance and hurried off; rushing through the museum and searching for a place to hide until closing time. Once it was dark and the museum was empty, she came out from the grasses she hid behind; accidentally knocking over some replicas of penguins.

"Sorry." She apologized, before heading back over to the box cautiously and ducking under the red velvet ropes to take off the post-it note.

She looked up at the box and then reached out and touched it; not expecting it to glow green and then suddenly open to reveal a red-haired woman sitting inside looking rather exhausted and annoyed.

"Okay, kid. This is where it gets complicated." Older, regular Amy replied.

* * *

_1,894 years previously_

"So, the universe ended. You missed that, in 102 AD." Rory muttered, looking down at Amy's body in his arms sadly. "I suppose this means you and I never get born at all. Twice, in my case. You would have laughed at that… please laugh. The Doctor said the universe was huge and ridiculous, and sometimes there were miracles. I could do with a ridiculous miracle about now." He sniffed, and suddenly the Doctor—wearing a red fez and carrying a mop—showed up.

"Rory! Listen, she's not dead. Well, she is dead, but it's not the end of the world. Well, it is the end of the world. Actually, it's the end of the universe." He rambled, before remembering something. "Oh no. Hang on."

He disappeared and Rory gaped in shock, completely stunned.

"Doctor? Doctor?!"

He reappeared then, missing the mop now. "You need to get Alex and I out of the Pandorica."

"But you're not in the Pandorica." Rory said, confused.

"Yes, I am. Well, I'm not now, but I was back then. Well, back now from your point of view, which is back then from my point of view. Time travel, you can't keep it straight in your head. It's easy to open from the outside. Just point and press." He handed Rory his sonic and started messing with the device on his wrist again. "Now go."

He vanished once more, only to reappear a moment later.

"Oh, and when you're done, leave my screwdriver in her top pocket. Good luck."

And off he went, leaving Rory still very lost and confused.

"What do you mean? Done what?"

Seeing that that Doctor wasn't going to reappear and give him an answer, he got up and set Amy down carefully; heading below to where the Pandorica was waiting, before opening the box and revealing a rather surprised Doctor inside.

"How did you do that?" The man questioned as his restraints were removed.

"You gave me this." Rory said, showing him the sonic in his hands, but the Doctor pulled out his own.

"No, I didn't."

"You did. Look at it."

The Doctor slowly touched his sonic to the one Rory had, and they sparked.

"Temporal energy. Same screwdriver, different points in its own time stream. Which means it was me who gave it to you. Me from the future. I've got a future. That's nice." He smiled, before someone cleared their throat.

"If you two are done comparing your new toys, would you mind possibly… getting me out of here!" Alex shouted from inside the Pandorica, making the Doctor wince and use his sonic to turn the chair around to show a disgruntled Alex as her own restraints were removed and she got up with a frown of annoyance etched onto her face. "Honestly. How are we supposed to go on and get married after this whole mess if you're already forgetting about me?"

The Doctor chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Right. Sorry. I was busy. You know what happens when I get busy."

Alex continued to frown though, approaching him as he took a hesitant step back.

"Yeah, you forget about the _nonessential_ things, and last time I checked, your fiancée is supposed to be _essential_!"

"Ooh, you know what you need? A vacation." The Doctor said, stepping over to her and placing his hands on her shoulders; which were tense and not in the slightest way, relaxed. "A nice vacation and possibly some food. You always get snippy when you're hungry."

Alex suddenly slammed a fist into his stomach, making him double over and cradle his injured abdomen as she scoffed.

"How's _that_ for snippy?" She grumbled, storming off and stabbing her sword into one of the nearby fossilized Daleks with a shout before she headed above ground.

"Ooh, I'm going to regret that." The Doctor muttered, voice tight with pain as Rory wandered over to the Dalek she'd stabbed and pulled out her sword.

"Doctor, as much as I enjoy watching you two flirt and all, what are these?"

The Doctor gave him a look. "Flirt? You thought that was flirting?" The Doctor shook his head then, standing upright. "No, no, no. Not the point. History has collapsed. Whole races have been deleted from existence. These are just like after images. Echoes. Fossils in time." He said, tapping a Roman soldier on the ground with his knuckles. "Footprints of the never-were."

"Uh, what does that mean?"

"Total event collapse. The universe literally never happened." The Doctor explained in simpler terms, pouting upon the fact that Alex would have understood him straight away and would have done the explaining if she wasn't in a mood up above them.

"So, how can we be here? What's keeping us safe?" Rory questioned, looking worried.

"Nothing." Alex said, heading downstairs with Amy in her arms. "We're at the center of it all, so we're the last to go. Simple as that. Now would you mind putting her in the box? She's rather heavy."

Rory hurried over and took the woman as the Doctor stared in shock.

"Amy? What happened?"

"I killed her." Rory said sadly and Alex groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"She's not dead, Rory. And technically, it's not your fault. It's because of what you are and how you were programed."

"And what would that be?"

"Nestene duplicate." The Doctor answered as Rory placed Amy in the box like Alex had said. "A lump of plastic with delusions of humanity."

"Doctor, shut up." Alex said sternly, kicking him in the shin and making him hop around on one foot and complain.

"Alex! What was that for?!"

"Because I know what you're going to do and there's no need. He's more Rory than a lump of plastic, so there's no need to antagonize him; as much as I would love to see him punch you for it."

The Doctor's mouth dropped open. "He would have punched me?!"

"_You_ would have claimed the universe was more important than his fiancée!" Alex argued and Rory frowned.

"Oh yeah. I would have punched you for that."

Alex waved a hand his way. "See? I saved him the trouble and dealt with you myself. Now let Amy know what's happening so we can get this show on the road."

The Doctor pouted, muttering complaints under his breath, but did as she said and touched Amy's temples as Rory questioned them.

"Um, what's he doing?"

"He's leaving her a message to let Amy know what's happening when she wakes up. Think of it like a mental answering machine." Alex rattled off, turning her back on the Doctor as he closed the Pandorica and explained to the panicked Rory what was going on.

"I'm saving her. This box is the ultimate prison. You can't even escape it by dying. It forces you to stay alive."

"But she's already dead." Rory argued as Alex hummed.

"Nope."

The Doctor nodded, heading her way. "Alex is right. She's mostly dead. The Pandorica will stasis-lock her that way. Now, all it needs is a scan of her living DNA and it'll restore her."

"Where's it going to get that?"

"In about two thousand years." He hummed himself, placing his hands on Alex's tense shoulders and beginning to massage them as she slowly began to relax and he leaned over and spoke quietly to her. "You alright?"

"No, not really." She sighed out, leaning back into his hands. "It's been a rough couple of trips and then I'm thrown into this mess and I just..." She sighed again and the Doctor caught sight of her clenched fists. "There's nothing I can do to change this. Any of it. I want to. Really, I do. I don't want anyone to get hurt or have to go through this, but I've thought it through and what could I possibly do? I don't even know what part I play in all of this. Usually I can guess, or make sure I take someone's place or _something_, but I can't here. Anything I try to do could ruin everything and the universe could get destroyed and it will be all my faul—"

"It will _never_ be your fault, Alex." The Doctor cut her off as she sighed and turned her gaze to the floor.

"But it could be. If I do _anything_ wrong, that's how things could end up. And..." She trailed off, but the Doctor understood immediately.

"You're scared."

She let out a bitter chuckle. "Of course, I'm scared. Look at it from my point of view. I have to watch people suffer, _friends_ suffer while knowing it's going to happen and I could change it, but then you toss in the fact that I'm involved in this plot somehow and if I take one step out of line, that's the end for us all. And let's not forget that I can't see what happens in my own future. I'm not even supposed to be _in_ this universe, so if it disappears, what does that mean for me? I'm smack dab in the middle of this mess, so for all I know, I'll disappear or I'll be the only thing left. So yeah, I think being scared is allowed. Even for me. 'The woman who's never scared'." She scoffed, trying to hide the shaking in her voice. "W-What a joke."

"Oh, Alexander." The Doctor breathed out, turning her around to hold her to his chest in a hug, kissing the top of her head as she clung to him and let out a shaky breath. "My brave Alexander. Even the strongest of people get scared. Just because they try their very best not to show it doesn't mean they're not frightened. Myself included. And just because people might think you're never scared, doesn't mean you can't be. And being scared only makes you better."

Alex chuckled quietly. "Like a super power."

The Doctor pulled away and smiled down at her. "Exactly. Now, shall we go save the universe?"

Alex sighed, struggling to hold back a smirk. "If we have to."

"Now, hold on." Rory spoke up then, not the slightest bit bothered by the Doctor and Alex forgetting about him and cuddling off in the corner. "She's going to be in that box for two thousand years?"

The Doctor nodded, leaving Alex's side and grabbing River's vortex manipulator; punching in some numbers.

"Yeah, but we're taking a shortcut. River's vortex manipulator. Rubbish way to time travel, but the universe is tiny now. We'll be fine." He rattled on, making sure the device was strapped on properly, though Rory was confused.

"So, the future's still there then? Our world?"

"A version of it. Not quite the one you know. Earth alone in the sky. Let's go and have a look. You put your hand there. Don't worry. Should be safe. Alex, you too."

"That's not what I'm worried about." Rory snipped and the Doctor gave Alex a questioning look, but she just nodded to Rory; trying to get him to say something.

"She'll be fine. Nothing can get into this box."

Rory scoffed. "Well, you got in there."

"Well, there's only one of me. I counted."

"This box needs a guard. I killed the last one."

"_We_ killed the last one." Alex piped in.

"No, Rory. No. Don't even think about it." The Doctor argued, seeing where this was going.

"She'll be all alone."

"She won't _feel_ it."

"You bet she won't."

"Doctor, just let him." Alex muttered, but the Doctor was worried, wanting to make sure that Rory knows what this meant for him.

"Two thousand years, Rory. You won't even sleep. You'd be conscious every second. It would drive you mad."

"Will she be safer if I stay?" Rory asked, turning back to the Doctor seriously. "Look me in the eye and tell me she wouldn't be safer."

The Doctor sighed. "Rory, you—"

"Answer me!"

"Yes. Obviously." He answered the man finally.

"Then how could I leave her?"

"Why do you have to be so… human?" The Doctor asked, suddenly looking a bit envious of Rory and what he was determined to do and wondering if Alex would do the same for him.

He glanced at her and she raised a brow, knowing he was thinking about something, but not sure what.

"Because right now, I'm not." Rory responded then, making the Doctor turn his attention back to the man as he set the coordinates and Rory put his helmet back on.

"Listen to me. This is the last bit of advice you're going to get in a very long time. You're living plastic, but you're not immortal. I have no idea how long you'll last. And you're not indestructible. Stay away from heat and radio signals when they come along. You can't heal, or repair yourself. Any damage is permanent. So, for God's sake, however bored you get, stay out of—"

He teleported away with Alex, leaving Rory to stand around and wait, two _thousand_ years.

* * *

The Doctor and I popped up, facing an oncoming Dalek as I groaned and held my stomach.

"Ooh, I'm _never_ going to get used to that thing." I complained, moving off to the side in case I should vomit as the Doctor was left to face the Dalek.

"Trouble. Oh." He turned and spotted Amelia and Amy with a smile. "Ah, two of you. Complicated."

"Exterminate!" The Dalek called out, raising it's weapon as the Doctor quickly turned and grabbed the two and pulled them past me. "Weapons systems restoring."

"Come along, Ponds! Alex, you too! No time to be space sick!"

"Ugh, tell that to my stomach." I groaned, an arm wrapped tightly around said body part as the Doctor hurried over to a Middle Eastern Exhibit nearby and snatched a red fez from off one of the manikins.

"What are we doing?" Amy questioned, very confused, obviously.

"Well, we are running into a dead end, where I'll have a brilliant plan, that basically involves not being in one."

"What's going on?" Someone called out then and we all rounded to the security guard holding a torch; blocking our vision of who it was, though I already knew.

"Get out of here! Go! Just run!" The Doctor shouted at the man as the Dalek turned towards him and I hurried over to a trash can near by to empty my stomach.

"Drop the device!" It ordered, but the Doctor quickly tried to save the security guard.

"It's not a weapon. Scan it. It's not a weapon and you don't have the power to waste."

"Scans indicate intruder unarmed." The Dalek said, and the security guard smirked.

"Do you think?"

The torch was dropped and the guard shot the Dalek in the eye-stalk, making it spin in a panic.

"Vision impaired. Vision—"

The Dalek shut down and the Doctor, Amy, Amelia, and I hurried in—now that my stomach had settled a bit.

"Amy!" The security guard, Rory, shouted as she gaped in shock before running over to him.

"Rory!"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. It just happened."

"Oh, shut up."

They kissed and I smiled, glad they'd found each other after two thousand years, though the Doctor wrinkled his nose at them.

"Yeah, shut up, because we've got to go. Come on."

Rory ignored him, eyes only for Amy. "I waited. Two thousand years I waited for you."

"No, still shut up."

They began snogging again and the Doctor frowned.

"And break… And breathe. Well, somebody didn't get out much for two thousand years."

"I'm thirsty. Can I get a drink?" Amelia asked, making him more annoyed.

"Oh, it's all mouths today, isn't it?" He complained, plopping the hat over her head as I rolled my eyes and hummed.

"You're just jealous."

He gave me a look. "Jealous? Of… Of _that_?" He asked, gesturing to Rory and Amy, who were still going at it. "Of course not."

"Ah, okay. Then I just won't have to make it up to you then." I mused out loud, turning away only for him to grab me and spin me around to face him as he bopped me on the nose.

"_You_, are a little minx. I hope you know that."

"Mm, _your_ little minx."

We shared a brief kiss as well; myself thankful for the travel sized mouthwash I'd found in my pocket and used earlier to get rid of that nasty aftertaste from my space sick. But he suddenly pulled away and I knew I'd lost him as he started to ramble.

"The light. The light from the Pandorica. It must have hit the Dalek." He moved away from me—accepting the fez Amelia had shoved at him—and faced the Pandorica, only to see the Dalek beginning to move. "Out! Out! Out!"

And we all made a bolt for it; myself being sure to grab Amelia's hand and tug her along with us. The moment we were safe, Rory closed the door behind us and the Doctor turned to him.

"So, two thousand years. How did you do?"

"Kept out of trouble."

"Oh. How?" The Doctor questioned, putting on his fez.

"Unsuccessfully." Rory replied as my stomach churned uneasily again, making me furrow my brows in confusion until something dawned on Rory; the Doctor having picked up a mop. "The mop! That's how you looked all those years ago when you gave me the sonic."

"Ah, well, no time to lose then." He mused, before using the vortex manipulator to pop off.

I sighed, before spotting something that made my hearts stop. The hand I had wrapped around my stomach was sort of see-through, and that did _not_ bode well for me.

"Oops, sorry." The Doctor said, having suddenly popped up to put the mop through the door handles to keep it shut, before popping off again.

"How can he do that? Is he magic?" Amelia asked, but no one answered her as I mentally panicked.

_A-Alright. Disappearing. Not good. I need to tell the Doctor, but…_ I winced. _He's already got so much on his plate. And if I tell him, he might very well just change focus onto helping me instead of the universe. In other words, telling him might ruin everything. I can't do that. Not to him. Not to anyone. _I pulled a hand through my hair, hiding my other hand as I came to a decision. One I really wish I didn't have to make.

"Right. Let's go then." The Doctor chirped, popping back in and rushing towards the stairs, only to stop and turn suddenly. "Wait! Now I don't have the sonic. I just gave it to Rory two thousand years ago."

He popped off again, returned and smiled.

"Right then." He went over to Amy and pulled his sonic from her top pocket. "Off we go!" He said, only to stop once more. "No, hang on. How did you know to come here?" He asked Amelia, who handed him the leaflet and post-it note. "Ah, my handwriting. Okay."

He threw the leaflet and post-it note over his shoulder before rushing down stairs to grab two new ones and write the messages for Amelia. He popped off again, before returning and handing Amelia her drink from before as I tugged my coat sleeve over my slowly disappearing appendage.

"There you go. Drink up." He told the girl, before hurrying up the stairs once more only for Amy to stop him.

"What is that? How are you doing that?"

"Vortex manipulator. Cheap and nasty time travel. Very bad for you. Alex is proof with her space sick. I'm trying to give it up."

"Hardly." I grumbled as Amy complained along side me.

"Where are we going?"

"The roof." He answered as there was a flash above us and the Doctor appeared; looking beaten and bruised as he collapsed on the stairs.

The current Doctor rushed over to him and scanned him with the sonic; ordering me to stay back the moment I went towards his future self.

"Alex, now is not the time for you to be getting sentimental." He said sternly and, as much as I wanted to smack him for saying that, I bit my lip and backed off.

"Doctor, it's you." Rory said in shock. "How can it be you?"

"Doctor, is that you?" Amy asked, voice shaky.

"Yeah, it's me. Me from the future." He answered gravely just as the Doctor on the ground sat up and whispered something to the current Doctor, before collapsing once more.

"Are you… Are you… Is he..." Amy stuttered out, not wanting to say it. "Is he dead?"

"What?" The Doctor breathed out, not really listening was my guess. "Dead? Yes, yes. Of course he's dead." He rattled off quickly, looking me up and down with a frown that made me nervous.

_He didn't… Did his future self find out and tell his past self?_ I swallowed thickly, preparing for the leashing I thought I would receive, but it never came and he turned away from me.

"Right, I've got twelve minutes. That's good."

"Twelve minutes to live? How is that good?!" Amy argued, making him stop at the top of the stairs.

"Oh, you can do loads in twelve minutes. Suck a mint, buy a sledge, have a fast bath. Come on, the roof."

"We can't leave you here dead." Rory pushed, making the Doctor frown down at him.

"Oh, good. Are you in charge now? So tell me, what are we going to do about Amelia?"

Amy and him turned to find the girl gone and her drink forgotten on the ground behind them.

"Where did she go?"

"Amelia?"

The Doctor though, was starting to get rude, trying his best to keep things moving along. "There is no Amelia. From now on, there never was. History is still collapsing."

"But how can I still be here if she's not?"

"You're an anomaly. We all are. We're all just hanging on at the eye of the storm. But the eye is closing, and if we don't do something fast, reality will never have happened. Today, just dying is a result. Now, come on!" He turned and headed off as Amy turned to Rory and I; Rory covering the Doctor with his jacket.

"He won't die. Time can be rewritten. He'll find a way. I know he will. Right, Alex?"

I winced. "Spoilers."

She frowned, not liking that response, but I didn't stick around to try and comfort her. Not when I had my own problem. _Like not disappearing._

"Move it! Come on!" The Doctor called out up ahead as I grimaced and hoped he wouldn't notice that my legs had started going transparent as well now.

I was the last to get up the ladder onto the roof for this very reason and once up there, I knew I'd missed part of the conversation as the Doctor ripped off a satellite dish.

"What are you doing?" Rory asked him.

"Looking for the Tardis."

"But the Tardis exploded."

"Okay then, I'm looking for an exploding Tardis." The Doctor corrected, before eyeing me once more. "You're awfully quiet, Alex. Something the matter?"

"Hm? Ah, no. Just… nothing to say, I guess." I shrugged, grateful that I was standing behind and air conditioning unit on the roof and the Doctor couldn't see my legs; which were transparent up to my knees now.

He looked suspicious, but didn't push for an answer as Amy spoke up.

"I don't understand. So, the Tardis blew up and took the universe with it. But why would it do that? How?"

"Good question for another day. The question for now is, total event collapse means that every star in the universe never happened. Not one single one of them ever shone. So, if all the stars that ever were are gone, then _what_ is that?" The Doctor asked, gesturing to the so-called 'sun'. "Like I said, I'm looking for an exploding Tardis."

"But that's the sun."

"Is it? Well, here's the noise that sun is making right now."

The Doctor turned his satellite dish towards it, and the painful wheezing sound of the Tardis rang out; making me wince and rub at my shoulder; which I hadn't noticed was aching until now.

"That's my Tardis burning up. That's what's been keeping the Earth warm. And why Alex has a fever right now."

I blinked, confused. "I do?"

I touched my forehead, and sure enough, it _was_ rather warm. However, I couldn't figure out why I hadn't noticed it before now. _That and my aching shoulder, but even that's a bit… dull._ I cringed when an idea came to mind. _Is it because I'm disappearing? Is that why I didn't notice? But the Doctor did, so… did I just screw up?_ I glanced over at the man, expecting another suspicious look for what I'd said a second ago, but he was more focused on the voice coming through the Tardis noise now.

"_I'm sorry, my loves. I'm sorry, my loves._" River's voice repeated.

"Doctor, that's River." Amy gaped in shock. "How can she be up there?"

"It must be like a recording or something." Rory tried, but the Doctor shook his head.

"No, it's not. Of course, the emergency protocols. The Tardis has sealed off the control room and put her into a time loop to save her. She is right at the heart of the explosion." He hopped down from where he'd stood and began working with the vortex manipulator before popping off and returning with a stunned River.

"Amy! Alex! And the plastic Centurion?" She questioned as the Doctor briefly explained.

"It's okay. He's on our side."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"I dated a Nestene duplicate once. Swappable head. It did keep things fresh." She smirked at Rory who looked disgusted. "Right then, I have questions, but number one is this. What in the name of sanity have you got on your head?"

The Doctor looked at her. "It's a fez. I wear a fez now. Fezes are cool."

River and Amy shared a look, before Amy snatched the hat off his head and threw it into the air; River pulling out her gun and vaporizing the thing as the Doctor let out a soft groan of disappointment.

"Oh."

Just then though, the Dalek from before rose up to the roof. "Exterminate."

"Run, run! Move, move!" The Doctor shouted and the group of us hurried back into the building as it shot at us; the Doctor protecting himself with the satellite dish from before.

The Doctor sonicked the door shut, River growing impatient.

"Doctor, come on."

"Sh." He shushed her, listening. "It's moving away, finding another way in. It needs to restore its power before it can attack again. Now, that means we've got exactly four and a half minutes before it's at lethal capacity."

"How do you know?" Rory questioned as the Doctor hurried down the stairs.

"Because that's when it's due to kill me." He replied solemnly.

"Kill you?" River questioned. "What do you mean, kill you?"

"Oh, shut up. Never mind. How can that Dalek even exist? It was erased from time and then it came back. How?" The Doctor questioned as we all followed him through the building and I responded with a hint.

"Doctor, nothing can get out of that box."

"Right." He said, not really getting it, but he suddenly stopped and turned towards me a second later. "Right! Yes! Exactly! You are just—" He reached out and kissed me suddenly, resting his forehead against mine. "—brilliant, you are… And awfully warm. Are you sure you're alright?"

I pulled away from him, nodding. "Fine. I guess I'm just used to it or something."

His brows furrowed as River cleared her throat and distracted him.

"So? How is the Dalek alive?"

"You said the light from the Pandorica." Rory offered, but the Doctor explained.

"It's not a light, it's a restoration field. But never mind. Call it a light. That light brought Amy back, restored her. And when the Tardis blew up, it caused a total event collapse. A time explosion. And that explosion blasted every atom in every moment of the universe. Except—"

Amy answered him, having figured it out. "Except inside the Pandorica."

He nodded. "The perfect prison. And inside it, perfectly preserved, a few billion atoms of the universe as it was. In theory, you could extrapolate the whole universe from a single one of them. Like… Like cloning a body from a single cell. And we've got the bumper family pack."

"No, no. Too fast. I'm not getting it." Rory shook his head, so the Doctor explained.

"The box contains a memory of the universe, and the light transmits the memory, and that's how we're going to do it."

"Do what?" Amy asked.

"Relight the fire. Reboot the universe. Come on!"

Rory and Amy still looked a bit lost and River complained as she followed after him.

"Doctor, you're being _completely_ ridiculous. The Pandorica _partially_ restored _one_ Dalek. If it can't even reboot a single life form properly, how's it going to reboot the whole of reality?"

"What if we give it a moment of infinite power? What if we can transmit the light from the Pandorica to every particle of space and time simultaneously?"

"Well, that would be lovely, dear, but we can't. Even Alex can tell you that much. Because it's _completely impossible_." River continued to argue and I felt a knot form in my throat at knowing that the Dalek was going to show up and shoot the Doctor in a matter of seconds.

And I'd already seen him die. I _knew_ he was going to die—or at least get close to it—and I didn't want to mess that up, but watching that happen? Seeing him actually get shot in front of me as I stood back and let it happen? Call me crazy, but I couldn't do it. I couldn't let the man I love and was going to get married to die like that. Universe in danger or not; I loved him and I wasn't about to let the Doctor die if there was something I could do about it.

"Ah, no. You see, it's not. It's _almost_ completely impossible. One spark is all we need."

"For what?"

"Big bang two! Now listen."

He turned and in that second I moved in front of him as the Dalek called out it's cry and shot at me.

"Exterminate!"

"No!" The Doctor shouted, but my hearts stopped as the beam hit me and passed right through me and into the Doctor.

"No!" I cried out, turning around to see the Doctor fall to the ground and his panicked and pained gaze shift to me as River knelt to his side.

"River, Alex! Get back!" Rory shouted, but I couldn't move.

It felt like I was rooted in place as the Doctor quivered in pain and River began to ask him if he needed anything and if he could hear her. I couldn't even feel the tears slipping down my face as I apologized to him; voice not even working as I started to fade from existence. A tear slipped down his own face as I reached out and tried to touch him, only for my hand to pass through him like a ghost. The only thing I could do for him though, was gesture to his vortex manipulator and mouth apologies as I finally faded completely; my consciousness lost to the Void between universes.

* * *

The Doctor couldn't do it any more. What was the point? Alex was gone. She'd disappeared much like little Amelia, except the Doctor didn't think she'd be coming back. Once the universe was reset, he'd be gone. Wiped from it along with his ship. Alex couldn't exist in this universe without him. Without the Tardis, she would have never been brought to this universe to begin with. And without him, she would have never stayed. So what purpose did he have? Only one. He could save this universe. Give Amy a chance at having a family. Give Rory a chance to finally get married and have a life. Allow River to live without having to run into him and Alex every turn and worry about what they'd think of her. But even if he did somehow make it through all this, he wouldn't know what to do. Alex wouldn't be there. She was his entire existence. _She_ was the reason he still searched for companions, his reason for continuing on and going on adventures and saving worlds. She was his everything and without her, the universe would be nothing but dull to him.

So when he popped back up in the Tardis after flying the Pandorica into the exploding ship, he was not happy. He was devastated, completely crushed. It didn't matter that he was alive. That he had both legs and his bow-tie. That he could go out and buy a fez if he wanted to. Because she wasn't there. He would never see her smile again, or laugh at his silly antics. He could never kiss her again or sneak off to enjoy themselves privately when the Ponds weren't looking. He was alone. And no amount of adventures could fix that.

"Lyle beach." His own voice called out, a past self and Amy walking in through the Tardis doors and drawing his attention to them. "The beach is the best. Automatic sand."

"Automatic sand? What does that mean?" Past Amy asked.

"It's automated. Totally. Cleans up the lolly sticks all by itself."

The current Doctor got up and moved around the corner to see Amy leaning on a railing with sunglasses on. Understanding dawning on him. _Last week, when we went to Space Florida. I'm rewinding. My time stream unraveling, erasing. Closing._ A crack behind him closed and he turned around, just as a blonde, short-haired woman walked in wearing some cargo shorts and an open army green button up over a white t-shirt.

"Hm, don't know if I'll like Space Florida. It's always hot and humid there, isn't it?" She rambled, leaning back against the railing across from Amy.

"Alex!" The current Doctor shouted, hopeful as the woman turned and looked over her shoulder.

It was as though she was looking right at him, but it was obvious she couldn't actually see him, and his hearts sank as he breathed out her name once more.

"Alex..."

He flashed to a different point in his life, this time when Amy was putting a card in a shop window and he called out to her.

"Amy! I need to tell you something!"

Amy turned, but walked off and the Doctor muttered to himself with a small frown.

"She can hear me, but if she can hear me..."

He turned, spotting another crack and disappearing once more, only to end up in the Byzantium where Amy and Alex were sitting on a couple of rocks with their eyes shut; his past self walking off. Quickly, he hurried over and spoke with Amy first; despite how much he wished to just enjoy his time with Alex.

"Ah! Doctor! I thought you were going. Did you forget something?" Amy questioned him and he smiled a little as he took her hands in his.

"Amy, you need to start trusting me. It's never been more important."

"But you don't always tell met he truth." Amy replied.

"If I always told you the truth, I wouldn't need you to trust me." He countered.

"Doctor, the crack in my wall. How can it be here?"

"I don't know yet, but I'm working it out. Now, listen. Remember what I told you when you were seven?"

"What did you tell me?"

"No. No, that's not the point. You have to remember." He groaned, pressing his forehead to hers before sighing and turning to Alex; taking her hands this time. "And Alex. Oh, my brave Alexander. You're far too strong for your own good." He breathed out, feeling tears prick his eyes as he remembered how she'd tried to save him before she faded.

"Yeah, well… glad you got a new coat." She smirked, making him chuckle a little.

"Always so clever. But you have to start trusting me too, Alex. Start telling me when things are wrong. Not with others, but with yourself." He muttered, knowing that he might have been able to do something about her fading if she hadn't kept it a secret from him; though he wasn't sure there would have been anything he could have done.

_Even now, she's always getting into trouble._ He mused, lightly touching a cut on this younger Alex's forehead; causing her to wince.

"And try to take better care of yourself. Stop jumping into dangerous situations, 'ey? You're going to make me feel old."

"Worrywart." She grumbled, causing him to chuckle again before he forced himself to pull away from her; knowing that he was out of time.

"Doctor? Remember what? What did you mean? Doctor?!" Amy called out after him, before he disappeared and arrived in Amelia's home.

He checked his watch and let out a soft sigh. "Amelia's house. When she was seven… The night she waited."

He headed outside to find the little girl asleep on her suitcase and couldn't help the fond smile at the sight as he shook his head.

"The girl who waited. Come here, you."

He picked her up and carried her to her bedroom where he laid her down to sleep and plopped down in a chair at her bedside with a bitter chuckle.

"It's funny. I thought if you could hear me, I could hang on somehow. Silly me. Silly old Doctor. When you wake up, you'll have a mum and dad, and you won't even remember me. Well, you'll remember me a little. I'll be a story in your head. But that's okay. We're all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh? Because it was, you know. It was the best. The daft old man who stole a magic box and ran away with his crazy, red-headed, short-haired wife." He let out a sad sigh. "Did I ever tell you that I stole it? Well, I borrowed it. I was always going to take it back. Oh, that box. Amy, you'll dream about that box. It'll never leave you. Big and little at the same time. Brand new and ancient, and the _bluest_ blue ever. And the times we had, eh? Would have had… Never had… In your dreams, they'll still be there." He chuckled bitterly once more. "The Doctor and Amy Pond and Alexander Holmes, and the days that never came."

There was a noise behind him and he turned to the crack in Amy's wall.

"The cracks are closing. But they can't close properly until I'm on the other side. I don't belong here any more. Not without Alex. Or you… I think I'll skip the rest of the rewind. I hate repeats." His voice cracked and he struggled not to let tears fall as he thought of all the good times he'd had; not only with Amy, but with Alex and his past regenerations. "Live well. Love Rory. Bye bye, Pond."

He kissed her forehead and moved over to the crack, disappearing once and for all and never seeing little Amelia sit up and look around in confusion for the crack and the mysterious Doctor; who she would dream about for years to come, along with Alexander.

* * *

Amy woke up, dazed and a bit confused after the dream she'd had of the Doctor speaking to her when she was seven. She never _did_ find out how she ended up back in her bed all those years ago, but numerous psychiatrists and constant scolding from her aunt had made her forget about it. She wouldn't think about it today though. It was a very special day for her, however the sight of her mother sort of made her pause as she stared down her wedding dress.

"Morning!"

"You're my mum." Amy breathed out and said woman gave her a look. "Oh my God, you're my mum."

"Of course I'm your mum. What's the matter with you?" Her mother gestured to the tray she had. "And this is your breakfast, which your father made, so feel free to tip it out of the window if it's an atrocity. Downstairs? Ten minutes? Big day."

Her mother scurried off, leaving the tray behind as well as a confused Amy, who muttered quietly to herself.

"Of course she's my mum. Why is that surprising?"

She shook herself out of the thought, quickly scarfing down some of her breakfast and poking her head out the door to find her father there smiling happily.

"Ah, Amelia. I feel I may have been using the same joke book as the best man."

Amy though, could care less and jumped into the man's arms. "You're my tiny little dad!"

"Amelia? Why are you behaving as if you've never seen us before?" Her mother asked, walking in and helping her father put on his tie.

"I don't know. It's just..." She shrugged lightly, before excusing herself to call up Rory.

"_Hello._" He chirped, sounding as though he was in the middle of brushing his teeth.

"Do you feel like you've forgotten something really important?" Amy asked him out of the blue, confusing the man. "Do you feel like there's a great big thing in your head and you should remember it, but you can't?"

There was a pause. "_Yup._"

"Are you just saying 'yes' 'cause you're scared of me?"

"_Yup._"

She smiled a bit anyway. "Love you."

"_Uh, yup._" Rory quickly corrected himself. "_Uh, I mean, I love you too._"

She rolled her eyes, but smiled as she turned once again to her wedding dress and excitedly went on her way to walk down the aisle. It, surprisingly, went without too many problems. There was a bit of a fiasco when Rory very nearly dropped the ring—his hands were shaking so bad—but other than that, everything went as a wedding should. During the reception though, that nagging thought that she was forgetting something popped back into Amy's head as she looked around the room; her father needing another minute to fix some things on his speech. A bushy haired woman walked past the windows of the reception hall, catching Amy's gaze and causing her to stand.

"Amy? You okay?" Rory asked, worried about this sudden change.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Amy replied, not sounding alright in the slightest as she sat back down.

"Right, uh… You're crying." Rory pointed out and Amy sniffed, touching her cheek and discovering that she _was_ crying as he'd said.

"So I am. Why am I doing that?"

Rory chuckled nervously. "Because you're… happy. Probably. Happy Mrs. Rory. Happy, happy, happy."

Amy shook her head. "No. No, I'm sad. I'm really really sad."

Rory shuffled awkwardly, voice tight. "Great."

"Why am I sad?" Amy questioned him and he shrugged, before she spotted an old worn blue book on the table. "What's that?"

"Oh, someone left it for you. A woman."

Amy grabbed it from him, flipping through it only to find it blank. "What is it?"

"It's a book."

"It's blank."

"It's a present." Rory said, eyes worriedly scanning the crowd in the hopes that no one had noticed Amy's sudden mood change.

"But why?"

"Well, you know the old saying?" Rory brought up, but Amy suddenly looked confused. "T-The old… wedding thing? Huh?… Amy? W-Wha… Hey."

Something was wrong, he knew that, but before he could try and find out what, Amy's father stood up.

"Ready now. Sorry about that." He chuckled. "Last minute adjustments to certain aspects."

Amy though, wasn't listening, her eyes drifting from a young man's red bow-tie to an older man's suspenders, then to a woman with rather short cut hair and the long dark coat hung up on a coat rack by the door. Her eyes drifted down to the blue book in her hands then and a tear slipped off the end of her chin and onto the cover, before she abruptly stood up.

"Shut up, dad."

"Amy?" He questioned, confused by her sudden interjection. "Amelia?"

"I'm sorry, but shut up, please. There's someone missing. Someone important. Someone so, _so_ important."

"Amy, what's wrong?" Rory asked, just as lost as everyone else.

"Sorry. Sorry, everyone." Amy called out. "But when I was a kid, I had an imaginary friend."

Her mother nearby groaned as she went on.

"The raggedy Doctor. My raggedy Doctor and Alexander Holmes. But they weren't imaginary. They were real." Her mother complained again, but Amy ignored her and called out to the room. "I remember you. I remember! I brought the others back, I can bring you both home too. Raggedy man, Alex, I remember you and you are both late for my wedding!"

Glasses around the room began to shake and clatter as she went on, getting more enthusiastic with every word.

"I found you. I found you in words, like you knew I would. That's why you told me the story. The brand new ancient blue box." She smiled as the wind picked up, despite the windows being closed. "Oh, clever. Very clever."

"Amy, what is it?" Rory asked, still a bit lost.

"Something old. Something new. Something borrowed… Something blue." She recited and with a loud wheezing noise, the Tardis materialized in the center of the room, making Rory suddenly remember as well.

"It's the Doctor. How could we forget the Doctor? I was plastic. He was the stripper at my stag." Rory rambled, immediately reassuring Amy's mother as Amy stepped over the table and strode straight to the Tardis doors and knocked.

"Okay, Doctor. Did I surprise you this time? You and Alex both?" She called out, but the Doctor poked his head out he door, all decked out in a tux.

"Ah, yeah. Completely astonished. Never expected that." He stepped out further, tugging on his lapels. "How lucky I am to be wearing this old thing. Hello, everyone. I'm Amy's imaginary friend. But I came anyway." He grinned, shaking Amy's father's hand, before looking around. "Has anyone seen my fiancée?"

"I thought she'd be with you." Amy said, furrowing her brows as the Doctor did the same. "Though, you may definitely kiss the bride."

"Amelia." The Doctor stopped her, pressing a finger to her lips. "From now on, I shall be leaving the kissing duties to the brand new Mister Pond." The Doctor smiled, wiping his finger off on Rory before shaking his hand.

Rory though, wasn't please with his new title. "No. I'm not Mister Pond. That's not how it works."

"Yeah, it is." The Doctor countered and Rory soon realized that there was no _way_ Amy would change her last name to Williams, so he gave in.

"Yeah, it is."

"Right then, everyone." The Doctor did a quick turn around. "I'll move my box. You're gonna need the space." He hurried into the Tardis, but stopped in the doorway with a smile. "I only came for the dancing."

The Tardis dematerialized, but Amy nudged Rory lightly in the ribs. "Did he seem… upset to you?"

"Well, he was, uh, smiling. But yeah. He did seem a bit off."

Amy suddenly grew worried. "What about Alex? She didn't show up with him, so doesn't that mean… Is she… Is she gone, Rory?"

Rory gazed sadly at the space where the Tardis had been. "We can only hope not. For our sakes… and the Doctor's."

* * *

The Void. That dark expanse of nothingness between universes. The Howling, Hell, give it whatever name you will, but that's where I ended up. It was strange though. I couldn't describe it very well. Anything I might say could never give the full picture of what it was like being trapped there. Trapped in nothing. It was like trying to think of nothing, but the moment you do, then you know you're already thinking of nothing and doing so, isn't 'nothing'. Bad explanation, but that is how hard it is to describe this. I had no feelings, no thoughts, no body or movement, no anything. I didn't even know if I actually existed anymore, that's how empty I felt in this place. For all I knew, I was a billion different atoms spread out all over the place, or I was just unconscious somewhere and in a coma or something. But I had no way of figuring that out. All I knew was that I was gone. Lost. Erased from my own universe by the crack I'd gone through, only to be wiped out by the Doctor Who universe. I had no place else to go and, if I could feel anything, I'd probably feel scared.

Suddenly though, it felt like everything was moving again. I could heart my hearts beating in a rhythm of four. I could hear my thoughts, feel my body lying on the ground beneath me, hear dull noises slowly clearing through the fog in my head as I let out a groan and tried to push myself up. I didn't get very far, only managing to roll myself over onto my back to look up at the tree-like structure above me. I was in the ARS room of the Tardis, who hummed happily upon my return and I blinked dazedly up at her, trying to get my head in order. Which is hard to do when I was stuck in a place where not even thoughts existed. It took another moment or two, but soon I was up on my feet—albeit a bit unsteadily—as I made my way to the console room to see if I'd popped to some other place in the Doctor's time-line and had missed my own wedding as a result. _Amy and Rory's too. Although I think they'd be more upset about me not telling them I'm okay, than not showing up to their wedding._ I winced then, another thought coming to mind. _Not to mention the Doctor. With how he reacted to my death the first time around, who _knows_ how he'll react this time. Especially since it was before we were supposed to get mar… ried._ My thoughts derailed as I stood at the top of the stairs leading into the console room.

The Doctor sat in the jump seat below, his floppy hair tussled as though he'd run his hands through it a million times over, and the tux he was wearing starting to get wrinkled. His top hat sat on the chair beside him alongside his white scarf, but what worried me, was the way his shoulders shook slightly while his head hung in his hands and he spoke in soft breathy whispers.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm s-so sorry. I-I'm never… I-I'll never see you again. I-I-I don't even know… if I can hang onto y-your memories. H-How long until those disappear too?" He sobbed quietly. "O-Oh, Alex. Oh, m-my sweet, _dear_, Alexander. We were supposed t-to get married. I-I can't even bring myself to go back to Amy and Rory's wedding without you. I-I-I didn't even get to say goodbye. I-I didn't get to tell you h-how much I… how much I love you."

I didn't want to scare him, but I couldn't take it any longer and I rushed down the stairs just as he looked up to see who it was; only to tackle him in a hug and hang onto him tightly; never wanting to let him go.

"A-Alex?"

"S-Shut up." I cried, my own tears slipping down my face and onto his tux, as I tightened my grip and buried my nose into the crook of his neck. "J-Just shut up."

"B-B-But you're alive. Y-You're okay!" He said, the amount of joy and relief he was feeling rolling off him in waves as it mixed with my own and I reached up and grabbed his face before kissing him deeply; him responding back with equal fervor.

It wasn't until the both of us were out of breath and he was hovering over me as I lied back on the jump seat that he pulled away; looking happier than ever.

"I love you." He said with a smile as I gave him one back in return.

"I love you too."

A spark appeared in his eyes then and he suddenly pulled me up and dragged me to the console as he rushed around it and set coordinates.

"Let's get married. Now. _Right_ now." He said quickly, sending us off and landing so quickly, I barely had time to register it before his lips were back on mine and he pulled away to look down at me with those emerald green eyes of his. "Let me marry you, Alexander Holmes. In this instant, this very _moment_, because I love you so much right now and I cannot think of anything that would make me happier than if you were to become my wife."

I smiled at him softly, unable to help but get a little teasing in. "I thought you're supposed to give the whole 'let's get married' speech when you propose?"

He smiled, unbothered as he bopped me on the nose with a finger. "Since when do I follow the plan?"

I laughed and allowed him to pull me out onto the most _amazing_ set up just off of the beach of whatever planet we were on; the water crashing against the rocks a little ways away being a dark violet shade instead of the usual blue. What really stunned me though, were the people waiting over by a small group of trees; waving us over as the Doctor tugged me across the sand to the group.

"I see you all got my message." He smiled as I gaped in shock at Captain Jack, who shook his hand.

"Course! Can't miss out on this, can I? A few loose Weevils won't stop me." He winked over at me before I released the Doctor and gave the man a hug.

"Jack! My God, I haven't see you in ages!"

"Same here." He smiled, pulling away with a laugh. "You need to pop in more often. And not just when you and mopey over here are fighting." He chuckled, tossing a thumb over at the jealous Doctor, who quickly tugged me back into this side.

"We get along just fine, thank you."

"Oh, sweetie. We _all_ know that's not entirely true." Another voice said humorously, and River Song walked past Jack and over to me, hugging me as I hugged back.

"River! Oh, you're just all over the place, now aren't you?"

"Anything for you, dear." She smiled, as I grinned back and the Doctor tugged me away once more with a quiet mumble about not inviting flirts the next time he decided to plan something.

Of course, nothing prepared me for the couple who wandered over next; my mouth dropping open as a young blonde woman and her familiar brown-haired companion headed my way.

"J-Jenny! Lucas!" I beamed, going in for a hug, only to hug Lucas and point rather rudely at Jenny's protruding stomach. "Jenny! You're pregnant!"

She laughed. "Yup! You're going to be a grandmother, Alex."

"No." I breathed, looking between her and Lucas. "You two? You're kidding!"

Jenny gave Lucas a look. "I told you she'd say that."

He just chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Heh, sorry, mum. We _did_ get a bit carried away."

"Carried away?" I yelped. "You're having a _kid_! That's amazing! Boy or girl?!"

"Boy."

"Girl." They both said simultaneously and Jenny gave Lucas a look before the Doctor behind me cleared his throat and leaned over to me.

"Twins, actually. One of each."

As if I couldn't be even more stunned by all of this, that news made my legs go weak and the Doctor very nearly had to catch me before I fell.

"Twins?!"

The happy couple chuckled, but River was soon interrupting as she pulled me from the Doctor with a smile.

"Well now. We can't have you going down the aisle like this, Alex. What'd you do? Fall into a blender?"

I looked down at my dirty coat and jeans with an embarrassed tint to my cheeks.

"U-Um… maybe?"

"Oh, now we can't have that." A new voice said and I grinned at seeing Vastra, Jenny, and Strax heading our way. "Strax, you stay here while Jenny and I go and take care of some things."

"Of course." Strax said, wandering over to where Jack was as River and the other two dragged me away to whatever they were planning on doing.

"N-Now hold on! I know it's my w-wedding day and all, b-but you're not planning on sticking me in a dress, are you?" I yelped, my stomach churning at the thought.

I knew doing something like that might make the Doctor happy, but with how uncomfortable I felt in those things, I wasn't sure whether I should or not. _What if something bad happens? W-What if I spill something on it? O-Or I trip over it? Or rip it even?!_ Two heavy hands landed on my shoulders and I jumped, only to see the Doctor smiling over at the women in front of me.

"Could I just borrow her? Just for a moment?"

The group nodded with smug grins as he pulled me aside and turned me around as I looked at him in worry.

"Alexander, no matter what, I will _always_ love you. Dress, no dress, long hair, short. You could walk out there in your dirty coat and jeans for all I care and it wouldn't make a difference in the universe. I'll even take you away from all this if you want. Just go to a registry, just the two of us, and get married that way. Anything you want, so long as you're happy."

"But I want you to be happy too." I muttered and he smiled, kissing me softly.

"I'm already happy, Alexander. I'm marrying _you_."

I felt all that worry disappear and I kissed him back before we separated and went to get ready for our wedding.

* * *

The Doctor couldn't believe it. He was getting _married_. Married, to Alexander. After waiting for so long for the right moment, the right Alex, the right _him_. He was finally marrying the woman he loved. And even if half the people he'd invited were flirts, he was unable to let anything bother him. Though the thought of what kind of scolding he'd get from Amy and Rory later did cross his mind once or twice. When Alex headed down that aisle though, everything that had been running around rampant in his head, suddenly came to a standstill as he gazed upon her. She wasn't wearing a dress or a skirt or anything, and—as he'd told her—that was fine. Even wearing a simple white button up and deep red waistcoat, he couldn't help but think she looked absolutely stunning. Her blue eyes sparkled with overwhelming joy and her mind echoed that, making his own happy feelings sky rocket as she wandered up beside him and he took her hands; barely registering what the man wedding them was saying even as he took the wedding ring from Jack and placed it on her hand and the simple vows were said before those fated words sealed the deal.

"You may now kiss the bride."

His lips met hers with a new found fervor, melding with her mind and body as Jack wolf whistled loudly and the others cheered them on. Even when he pulled away from her, it felt like they were both two whole new people. Her blue eyes sparkling as she grinned up at him and him laughing lightly in return, before he knew it was time to go and head back to the Ponds. Though brief, they both felt as though they were walking on clouds as they said their goodbyes—promising to keep in contact and meet up with everyone sooner or later—and off they went into the Tardis and back to the wedding with silent agreements that they would tell the Ponds as soon as they had the chance.

It didn't take long for that to happen and, after a small complaint from Amy, their wedding reception became that for _both_ couples. They shared the wedding cake and whenever the crowd cheered for the bride and groom to kiss, Alex and the Doctor did the same as Amy and Rory; both duos sharing their moments with the other.

"You're terrible! That is embarrassing!" Amy chortled as Alex clung to her stomach and laughed with tears in her eyes at the Doctor's strange dance moves.

He didn't mind though and soon all of the kids in the building were joining along with him, since he kept things fun.

"That's it. That's good. Keep it loose." He encouraged, winking over at Alex as she smiled at him fondly.

When the slow tunes came on though and Amy and Rory took the floor, the Doctor was quick to surprise Alex with an offered hand.

"Can I have this dance?"

She flushed a brilliant red, looking more than a little embarrassed as she looked around nervously. "B-But I can't dance. You know that."

He smiled at her, taking her hand anyway and pulling her up from her seat. "Neither can I."

He was lying of course, and Alex soon discovered that as she stepped on his foot for the fifth time with a sheepish apology.

"Y-You lied. You can dance fine."

"So I can." He smiled innocently, earning a pout from the woman he was holding before he leaned down and whispered to her. "But even with your bad dancing, I still love you."

"Was that supposed to make me feel better?" She grumbled and he chuckled.

"Well, if it did, then that'd be nice. But, I was thinking something more along the lines of a nice trip to my favorite ice cream shop and perhaps a bit of alone time later? Hm?"

Alex smiled. "I suppose I can forgive you for that. Tardis?"

"Oh, yes." He grinned, tugging her away as they both chuckled to themselves; happier than they'd been their whole lives and not knowing that, for one of them, that life was going to end soon.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"Now, that's not very nice! Trees do all sorts of nice things for humans. You should be happy they're sticking around." I said with a grin, having managed to climb through the foliage just ahead of Danny Pink, Clara, and a group of stunned kids._

_"Alex?! What are you doing here?!" Clara asked, stepping forward before giving me a once-over. "And dressed like _that_."_

_I pouted. "Oi, I happen to love my outfit, thank you very much. I find it rather suiting for… whatever situation this is." I murmured, waving a hand at the trees around us, before turning to her. "Mind informing me of what exactly is going on? I seem to be rather lost."_


	61. In the Forest of the Night

**Here's the next chapter. I was bored and it was 5am and i haven't slept since 11am yesterday morning, so i thought why the heck not ^^ might as well post the next chapter now. so ta-da! hope you enjoy! please review and let me know what you all think!**

* * *

"Well, now. I should wear this get-up more often if I knew this is where I'd be ending up." I smirked, adjusting the snap brim brown fedora on my head and tucking the satchel that was wrapped over my shoulder behind me. "Indiana Jones never steers me wrong."

Reaching past the curled up whip at my side, I pulled out a machete and began hacking away at the forest around me as I pushed through it, curious as to where I ended up. As for the Indiana Jones outfit I was wearing? Well, the Doctor and I had gone to some planet I couldn't remember the name of, after hearing about some story of an ancient artifact being sought after in a cave. Needless to say, how could the Doctor and I resist? And when I went to get dressed for the trip, the Tardis had the right idea and gave me this outfit. The Doctor, of course, was jealous, but more than excited and I popped off not long after we discovered the artifact was protected by a rather _dangerous_ group of aliens, who didn't appreciate us storming through their sacred temple ground. _And I _may_ have popped off leaving the Doctor running from them, but I'm sure he'll be fine._ I chuckled, cutting through some more foliage and taking notice of the strangely London-looking lampposts that some vines were tangled around. Feeling a bit more like I was in 'The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe', I shrugged it off and continued on until I heard voices up ahead.

"I thought we were getting a coach. Where's the coach?" A little girl's voice asked and I tilted my head curiously, wondering what she'd be doing in a forest as a familiar male voice answered her.

"Well, Ruby, it seems there are a lot of trees in the way."

"Why can't we just wait here until they've gone?" She asked as I started cutting towards them.

"Because trees don't just disappear, Ruby."

"They just came. Why wouldn't they just go?"

"Now, that's not very nice! Trees do all sorts of nice things for humans. You should be happy they're sticking around." I said with a grin, having managed to climb through the foliage just ahead of Danny Pink, Clara, and a group of stunned kids.

"Alex?! What are you doing here?!" Clara asked, stepping forward before giving me a once-over. "And dressed like _that_."

I pouted. "Oi, I happen to _love_ my outfit, thank you very much. I find it rather suiting for… whatever situation this is." I murmured, waving a hand at the trees around us, before turning to her. "Mind informing me of what exactly is going on? I seem to be rather lost."

She rolled her eyes. "No kidding." She stopped though, poking me in the chest. "Wait a minute. I thought _you'd_ know."

"Me?" I shook my head, hands up in surrender. "Oh, no. I haven't the slightest idea. I just popped up a moment ago and followed the voices. That, and judging by Danny's presence, you're with Twelve and I have no idea what goes on in his adventures. They're always a surprise." I frowned a bit, remembering the last time I'd been with Twelve. "Though not always a _pleasant_ surprise."

"Mister Pink?" One of the girls spoke up, pointing at me. "Who _is_ that?"

"Oh, um, well. That's a… friend of mine and Ms. Oswald's." He said, eyeing me almost nervously. "She's, sort of, um..."

I rolled my eyes and moved past Clara, giving the girl a smile. "I'm Alexander Holmes. I'm sort of a time traveler and adventurer."

The group behind her let out noises of excitement and curiosity and I knew I had them hooked, until one of the boys—a brown haired, kind of snobby one—raised his hand.

"But Alexander is a boy's name. You're not a boy."

I continued to smile though, used to dealing with kids and brats. "Good eyes. But see, I have a boy's name because I'm a girl who's _better _than any boy."

He scoffed, folding his arms. "Yeah right. No girl can beat a boy."

I raised a brow. "Oh yeah? Then I'm sure you'll be surprised to know that I've fought with guys twice my size and have won. I've even given Mister Pink over there a good talking too."

All eyes went to Danny who gave me a deer-in-the-headlights look.

"Really?"

"You got beat by a girl, sir?"

"Um, well, she didn't _beat_ me, per say, but… um." He quickly looked away for a distraction. "Ah, Bradley! We're going to head north east first to collect Maebh from Trafalgar Square, then we're going south to the river. Come on, keep up!"

The group groaned, but continued along as I tucked my machete away and stayed back with the kids; smirking at Danny's obvious nervousness towards me. _That, and did he say Trafalgar Square? Isn't that in London? _Are_ we in some over-forested London?! Ooh, that is so cool. _A hand tugged on my sleeve then and I looked down at the girl who tried to get my attention.

"What's up?"

"You said time travel, but you don't look like a crazy scientist or anything. So can you tell us what the future's like? Or not?"

I grinned, noticing that I've caught the attention of most of the group of curious kids. "Actually, I can tell you all sorts of things, but I have to be _really_ careful, because if I give the wrong thing away, the whole of reality could collapse and the future would cease to exist."

The group let out awes of excitement and pestered me to tell them something, so I went on to talk about things I'd seen on my travels; aliens, flying cars, cat nurses. You know, the usual. And not once did I stop smiling, drawing the attention of the two adults ahead of us.

* * *

"She's good with the kids." Danny muttered, sounding rather surprised. "I didn't think she would be, what with how she looks and such."

"Oi, and since when have looks got anything to do with personality?" Clara countered and he shrugged halfheartedly.

"I'm just saying. It's weird, you know? You just wouldn't expect it from her if you looked at her."

Clara glanced back at Alex as she waved her hands about, telling the kids of some alien she'd seen; all eyes drawn to her as she told her tale. "She's always been good with kids. It's just sort of her area. She had six siblings, with her being the oldest, so I suppose that's where it came from."

"Six? Wow, I don't think I could handle that. Just this group is tough enough. I've already lost one." He said, before a thought came to mind. "What about her and the Doctor? Have they thought about kids?"

Clara shrugged. "Dunno. They've never mentioned it to me and..." She frowned, thoughtfully. "I honestly don't know if they can even have kids together. They're kind of different species, but I never asked. It's just sort of personal to them, I suppose. I don't really want to meddle."

"Hm, don't think he'd be the best father either. He ends up in all sorts of dangerous situations, imagine how he'd be with a kid."

Clara snorted. "Him with a kid? I can see it now. 'No touching the console', 'Go run off somewhere I'll pick you up when I feel like it, though I'll probably be late, so don't count on it'."

Danny smirked. "Sounds about right."

"What do you think of this though?" Clara asked, gesturing to the forest around them. "The question is, how did they get here? Can a forest grow overnight? Or have we been asleep for years, like Sleeping Beauty?"

"No, the question is, how are we going to get these kids home?" Danny countered, making Clara realize that she'd been a bit more focused on the adventure than the kids.

"Oh, absolutely. Yeah. That is the big question." She said, glancing back at the kids and Alex once more before back to him as he trailed through the forest with ease. "You are enjoying this just a little bit too much. Come on. Are you not even a little bit curious about how? Who? Why? When?" She asked, that natural adventurous spark poking it's head up again.

"_I_ am curious." He answered. "I am bewildered. I am, in fact, enchanted. But I'm not the priority. The kids are."

"You see. Now, that attitude is..." She lowered her voice as he went past her. "...actually very attractive."

"Isn't it?" A voice said beside her ear, making her jump and turn to smack the snickering Alex.

"Stop… poking your nose into things!"

"Aw, but you two are cute!" She chuckled. "And the whole 'father figure caring for children' thing is _so_ hot. But don't tell the Doctor I said that. It's more fun watching him struggle with the little rugrats." She changed subject then. "And remind me again, where exactly are we?"

"London." Clara answered with a roll of her eyes.

"Seriously? Huh. And this forest bit just popped up overnight?"

"Yup."

"_No._" Alex breathed out, before a grin overcame her features. "Seriously? Ooh, that is so cool. How did it get here? _Why's_ it here? Do we know if someone did it, or if it just happened?"

Clara gave her a stunned look. "See?! Now _that's_ what I've been waiting for! Someone to start asking the right questions other than me."

Alex chuckled, before that girl—Ruby—toddled up beside her and Clara and spoke up, sort of rambling on.

"Miss, Alex, in the museum, right. I was reading about reproduction."

"Oh, Ruby, this really isn't the right moment." Clara grimaced as Alex winced.

"Ooh, yeah. Not the right people to ask about that either. Try your mum."

Ruby wasn't listening though and continued on. "And that said that trees have blossoms, and then that turns into fruit or seeds or nuts. Right?"

Alex nodded, eyeing the girl and wondering what the point was as Clara drawled out an agreement.

"Right, Ruby."

"These trees have got blossoms and nuts." Ruby said, pointing out a tree with white flowers and green nuts, making the two adults head over to it in wonder.

"Oh, yeah. That is strange." Clara muttered as Alex picked off a nut from it.

"Really weird. It's like the trees are going through their entire life cycle at once."

She trailed after Clara and Ruby as a majority of the class went on ahead, but two boys were behind them.

"Nuts. That's unfortunate for you, isn't it, Bradley? You have an allergy, don't you? What if one of them falls on your head? Do you die? Or swell up like a massive melon?" The one boy—Samson—joked as Bradley complained.

"Shut it!"

"Oi. Samson, right?" Alex called out, having heard him and then smacked the boy upside the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for? You can't do that!"

"First off, I can, and I will, because I don't accept bullying in any fashion or form. Two, I'm not your teacher, so I can do what I please. And three, allergies don't work that way and can be very serious conditions that actually _can _kill someone if they're not careful, so do not joke about it unless you want me to joke about you and spread it around the class; whether it's true or not. Got it?"

Samson bowed his head with a pout. "Yes, ma'am."

Alex nodded, rubbing the kid's hat back and forth under her hand as though ruffling his hair. "Good. And that's _sir_ to you."

* * *

"Trafalgar Square. Well, done, Bradley. Excellent navigation skills." Danny complimented the boy, who hadn't really done anything, though I understood the tactic.

_Give him praise, make him feel good about himself, better kid he is, thinking he's better or more special than the others. Teaching skills 101._ I mentally snickered, a smile on my face as a familiar blue box was pointed out by Clara.

"Ah ha! There it is. All sorted now. Come on."

Bradley though, stood before the lion statue and spoke to Danny.

"Can we take a picture with the lion, sir? Please?"

"Um, stay together, but okay." He replied as the group stood around the lion and took selfies, leaving the three of us adults to watch.

"I cannot believe Bradley just said please." Clara smiled and Danny raised a brow.

"Really?"

I nodded though, eyeing the brown haired kid. "Ooh, yeah. He did seem like that type."

"What type?" Danny asked me and I hummed, drumming my fingers on the whip at my side.

"The typical bullying type. The one kid who thinks he's better than the others and has to prove it in order to get his way. Resorts to brawn rather than politeness."

Clara nodded. "Yeah. He usually prefers other means of persuasion. Tends to get a bit violent. And Ruby, well, she's usually a bit… She's not really the brightest crayon in the box." Clara turned to Danny though, with a smile. "You bring out the best in them."

There was a cry of pain as the ground shook and all eyes turned to Ruby as she dusted herself off and brought us a branch from the tree she'd been climbing on.

"Look, sir. No rings. Trees usually have rings to tell you how old they are. This one's got _no_ rings. Why's that then, sir?"

I took the branch from Danny, about to speak when a deep Scottish voice rang out and we all jumped; turning to see the Twelfth Doctor hiding behind a tree nearby.

"The rings mark the years of growth. One ring for each year. This grew up overnight. That whole tree is the result of just one night's growth, and they're still growing." He rambled on, coming out from behind the tree with a dramatic arm gesture as I rolled my eyes and Clara introduced him to the kids.

"Everyone, this is the Doctor, and he's going to sort everything out. Isn't that right, Doctor?" Clara just smiled though, not waiting for him to answer. "That's what he does."

When he _did_ answer though, it wasn't what she expected.

"Well, having looked at things, I think, probably the answer to that is… _no_."

Clara, though, continued to push it; trying not to scare the kids. "He always says that. He's really clever."

"Oh, yes, I am. Very clever. But what use is clever against trees? They don't listen to reason. You can't plead with them. You can't lie to them. They have no moving parts, no circuits. This is a natural event."

I mentally scoffed. _He's just upset he can't use his sonic to figure this one out. The dramatic nincompoop._

"How can it be natural for a tree to grow in one night?" Danny asked, making the Doctor turn to him.

"Exactly what they said about the Ice Age. How can whole glaciers just pop up out of nowhere? Well, they just did. That's how this planet grows—a series of catastrophes. Farewell to the Ice Age. Welcome to the Tree Age… Possibly. When the Ice Age was here, you lot managed to cook mammoth. Now there's a forest, you'll just have to eat nuts."

"Has he gotten ruder?" I whispered to Clara who sighed as Bradley spoke up.

"I can't eat nuts. I've got an allergy."

Clara though, forced another smile on her face. "Don't worry. It's a thing he does. He pretends he's not interested and then he has an idea. He's playing for time."

She nudged me in the side then, giving me a point look and gesturing with her head towards the Doctor as she bit out words quietly.

"Do something about him."

"What do you expect _me_ to do?" I grumbled back, earning another elbow to the ribs, before the Doctor suddenly turned around and walked back towards us.

"Time! Interesting."

"See? Clever kicking in." Clara smiled, as though she knew he was about to do that a second ago; making me roll my eyes and dodge another elbow.

"A tree is a time machine. You plant a little acorn in 1795, and in the year 2016, there's an oak tree, there, in the same spot, with a tiny little bit of 1795 still alive inside of it. You can't create a whole overnight forest with extra special fertilizer. You have to mess with the fabric of time. And communicate with trees." He rushed into the Tardis with Clara hurrying in behind him as I turned to the confused kids.

"Don't mind him. He's only a little bonkers."

"No kidding." Samson muttered as I smiled and bounded after the two with the group behind me.

"So you're saying it's an act of aggression?" Clara asked the Doctor as I headed into the Tardis, brow raised.

"Really? They're trees. Can't be that aggressive."

"Um, trees clean the air." Ruby piped in as the Doctor spotted the horde of kids filing into the ship and his eyes widened in worry and annoyance.

"Exactly. Well done, Ruby." Clara complimented the girl, before getting back on topic. "Someone or something who's trying to scrub the atmosphere before colonizing or invading."

It was my turn to nudge her and gesture to the Doctor, her taking in his panicked look and understanding dawning on her.

"Ah, yes. Doctor…" She cleared her throat. "This is Coal Hill Year Eight Gifted and Talented Group."

Samson was up on the second floor, looking at one of the things on the wall.

"What are the round bits for?"

"Ask your teacher." The Doctor snipped, pulling him down. "Come on. Down!" He then spotted the kids messing with the console and grew more annoyed. "Hey! Away from the console. Come on. That's an antique. Get away from there! Don't touch that! Haven't any of you been struck by the fact that, look, it's bigger on the inside?"

"There wasn't a forest. Then there was a forest. Nothing surprises us anymore." Ruby responded, frustrating him.

Seeing him steadily growing angrier, I clapped my hands loudly.

"Alright, you lot! In front of me, two single file lines! And if you're good, I'll show you all where the entertainment room is!"

All the kids hurried over and got into the two lines like I asked, making me smile up at the Doctor who gave me a grateful look as he went on his explanation.

"These trees all appeared at once. That wasn't a coincidence. There's no such thing as an arboreal coincidence. Something, someone has coordinated this. To coordinate, you need to communicate. _Every_ communication channel on the Tardis is open, and… nothing."

I tapped Clara on the shoulder. "How many kids are in this group?"

"Should be eight, why?"

I quickly looked over the two lines in front of me. "Um, because I'm counting seven."

"What?" She too quickly looked over the kids before groaning. "Oh, no."

The Doctor hurried down then, looking over the kids himself. "Maebh Arden. Maebh Arden. Which one is Maebh Arden?"

"Doctor." I called out, trying to get his attention.

"Which one's Maebh? Maebh? Maebh?"

"Doctor!" I shouted, making him stop and look up at me; having been bent over and looking at my stomach as he passed from kid to kid. "We're missing a kid."

"What?"

I frowned, bending down towards him and reiterating what I said, slower. "We're _missing_ a kid."

Ruby, of course, panicked. "Oh, my God. Maebh's gone! Maebh's lost in the forest! Maebh's going to die!"

"Agh!" The Doctor shouted, panicking as well as he stood upright and Clara shushed Ruby.

"Ruby! That's enough! Doctor—"

"We've got to find her!" He yelled, hurrying upstairs as I told the kids to stay put and passed out a handful of candy from my jacket pocket to keep them occupied.

"Yes, I know that we have to find her. Doctor, listen to me." Clara called after him as we both hurried up. "Her sister went missing last year. She's on medication. The child is barely functioning. She hears voices. She's very vulnerable."

"What do the voices say?" The Doctor asked suddenly and it clicked for me.

"You think she's the connection we need? You think she's what whoever or whatever caused this is talking to?"

He snapped a finger, gesturing to me. "Exactly. Now what do the voices say?"

Clara shook her head. "I don't know. She takes tablets and they stop."

"You people." He complained. "You never listen. If a child is speaking, listen to it."

"Oh, like you listened to her?" Danny quipped and I gave him a scolding glare, making him wince as the Doctor glanced between us for a second then turned back to his scanner of the sun.

"He's right." He said, surprising me. "She was trying to tell me something and I ignored her. Maebh Arden is tuned to a different channel. _She_ can lead us to the source, to the heart of the forest. We have to listen to her. We have to find her."

He took out his sonic and began fiddling with it, making Clara give him a look.

"Not everything can be fixed with a screwdriver. It's not a magic wand."

"Does she have a phone?" The Doctor countered, confusing her, though I understood and snickered.

"Well, yes. She does."

"Have you got the number?"

"Um, yep."

He sonicked her phone and rattled off the results. "Maebh Arden. Five hundred yards south east of here. I'll go get her." He took the phone and hurried off as Clara turned to Danny and I hurried after him.

"Doctor! Slow down!" I complained, running into his back when he suddenly stopped and rubbing my nose as he muttered to himself.

"Those kids are still on my ship."

I groaned. "I'll take care of it. Just don't leave without me, got it?"

I doubled back and poked my head into the Tardis, pointing at the kids down below.

"Alright, you lot, here's the deal. I'll give Mister Pink over there another handful of candy to pass out _if_ you all promise not to touch anything. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!" They all chorused and I nodded, handing Danny another handful of candy from my pocket.

"Harmless candy. It's alien, but all it is, is like fizzy soda candy that taste slightly like mangoes and peaches. The entertainment room is through the bottom door, take the first right, second left, third door on the right. Have you got that? Movies of all sorts will be on the shelving inside the room on the right. DVD player, next to that. Have fun."

"A-Alright?" He said, before I rushed back out with Clara on my tail.

"You and Danny alright?" I asked, cautiously. "Seemed a bit tense."

She forced a smile on her face, though I could tell it was fake. "Yeah. Oh, yeah. We're fine. Peachy keen."

"You're a _really_ bad liar." I said, giving her a look, to which she sighed and dropped the smile.

"Yeah, no, sorry. We're just a bit… Things with the Doctor have just… gotten a bit out of hand."

"Is this after the, uh, train?" I asked, cautiously. "I'm a bit off with this Doctor and the time-line of events."

"Yeah, um, it is. We made up, but..."

"But you haven't told Danny you're still sticking around the Doctor?" I surmised as we approached said man.

"Yes?"

I sighed and she groaned.

"I know. I know, I should have told him, but I'm just… I'm afraid, okay? He a really good guy and I really do like him, so..."

"You don't want to loose him." I hummed, nodding in understanding as the two of us kept our distance from the Doctor for a bit to finish our talk and not get overheard by Big-Ears. "You didn't tell him, because you're afraid he'd leave you. But you know, Clara, I think telling him might just be the better option. You're a very… adventurous person and if he's really the one, then he needs to be able to keep up with you and accept that. And as much as I understand his view of not wanting you to travel with another man on your own, I _am_ there at least part of the time and if you just explain to him how you feel about the Doctor versus how you feel about him, then maybe he'll ease up a bit. You obviously need that bit of freedom to be allowed to go off and do crazy adventurous things, so Danny needs to give you that opportunity and you need to trust him enough to give him the option to give that to you. Just talk to him for a little while after all this, okay? Take a chance and if it doesn't work out, then maybe he wasn't the right one. And if it does, then you can both come to an agreement and be happy. Alright?"

Clara stared at me for a minute and I wondered for a second if I said something wrong, but apparently I hadn't, because she just shook her head.

"You know, I swear you get older and wiser and more like the Doctor every time I see you."

"Um, thanks?" I replied, wondering if I should treat it as a compliment or not.

She rolled her eyes. "What I'm saying is, thanks for the advice. I'll definitely try that and… it's kind of weird, seeing you act this way. Is it because of the kids?"

I blinked, confused. "What about the kids?"

"Well, you're acting all motherly and wise, so I just figured—"

"Are you two coming or are you both just going to stand there chattering away like chimps?" The Doctor called out and the two of us sighed before heading after him, setting our conversation aside for another time. As we walked though, he brought up something else that made me snicker.

"'Gifted and talented'? Really?"

"Furious, fearful, tongue-tied. They're all superpowers if you use them properly." Clara replied "Are they going to be alright?"

"They're in the Tardis, the safest place on the planet." He said, just as there was a loud rumble and we all looked up to see a huge statue falling towards us.

The Doctor grabbed me and shoved me underneath him as we jumped out of the way, making me cringe as I was forced to spit out dirt.

"You alright?" He asked and I looked up at him with a frown.

"You know, I could have dodged that on my own _without_ the mouthful of dirt."

He rolled his eyes, helping me up. "Oh, yeah. Blame me for saving your life."

I brushed off my pants, annoyed. "Says the man who's life _I'm_ always saving. Honestly, I didn't even get a 'hello how are you?' when you showed up. It was all, 'Trees! Trees! Trees!'. A simple 'hey, Alex, nice to see you' would have been nice."

"Oh, alright. Hello, Alex? How are you doing? I know there's not really time for this conversation because of the planet being taken over by trees, but I'll waste time with pleasantries anyway!" He drawled back and I went to snap at him, but Clara cleared her throat and drew our attention to her.

"As amusing as this is, there are _children_ in danger and I think you two can have this conversation later. Though I prefer you two jump one another when I'm _not_ around. The sexual tension between you two is suffocating."

I turned a nice cherry red at her words as the Doctor even got a little pink and adjusted his coat.

"Well..." He cleared his throat. "If this is an invasion—"

"What?" Clara breathed out.

"It's over." He finished, getting serious once more as I sort of shuffled and kept my eyes on the statue beside us, rather than my husband and Clara. "They're here. They've won. What do they want?"

"What could trees _do_?" I asked, looking up at them and tossing any other thoughts from my mind as I tried to focus on what was going on and not what Clara had said a moment ago. "They can't communicate with humans naturally, so they can't have invaded to be demanding something, otherwise they'd have found a way to speak with us. Looks to me like all they did was… grow. Other than their roots possible upturning a few statues, I honestly don't think they're threatening the planet in any way. You lot will probably just cut them all down again like you did when England was first colonized and you needed paper or… whatever."

The Doctor gave me a look and I kicked him in the shin, making him let out a complaint.

"What was that for?!"

"Y-You were looking at me like I'd grown a second head! You deserved it! Now let's just find this kid before she trips over a root or something." I said, turning away quickly as my face heated up once more and we pressed onward, further into the forest.

After a while though, the Doctor was back in the lead and Clara glanced behind us.

"Doctor? Look behind us. The path we just walked down. It's overgrown already."

The Doctor hardly cared wen he picked up a pink phone from off the floor; getting our attention quickly.

"Clara! Alex!"

Clara took the phone from him in confusion. "Why would she put her phone down?"

"Doesn't want to be followed?"

"Doubt it." I muttered as he listed off another option.

"Lost a hold of it in a struggle?"

"With who? I haven't seen anyone for at least an hour other than your little group of kids."

The Doctor's eyes widened. "Left it as a clue, so we would know where she's going. Trail of breadcrumbs. Hansel and Gretel."

Clara though, looked worried. "I'm actually frightened. I never get frightened. Why am I frightened?"

"You just lost a little girl."

"Yeah, but she wasn't frightened before." I argued, feeling a shiver go up my spine. "I'm not exactly feeling peachy keen about something either."

"Alex is right. That is a worry, but I know you'll find her. No, no, no. This is not a worry. This is a dread." Clara said, calling out. "Maebh!"

"You're perusing a little lost girl through a mysterious forest. The path has disappeared. You find yourself with a strangely compelling masculine… figure." He paused, glancing at me as I rolled my eyes.

"Not now, spaceman."

He pouted a bit, but called out with Clara and I. "Maebh!"

"Any minute now, we're going to find a gingerbread cottage with a cannibal witch inside." Clara grumbled. "Maebh!"

"Exactly. The forest. It's in all the stories that kept you awake at night. The forest is mankind's nightmare."

"For good reason." I murmured, remembering the Vashta Nerada from the Library and feeling that dread grow.

After a bit more walking, we came across a red pencil pouch, which Clara picked up.

"Is it hers?" The Doctor asked and she looked it over before nodding.

"Yes. Clever girl."

We tried to walk forward through the foliage, but were stopped by a number of men in silver hazmat suits.

"Get back." One ordered. "We're burning here. Stay back."

"We're looking for a little girl." Clara tried, but the men were more focused on their job.

"Stay back. We're about to burn."

The group ahead of him tried to use a flamethrower on the tree, but shockingly, it literally had no effect at all and the tree remained the way it was; merely snuffing out the fire.

"Oh, that's interesting." I muttered under my breath as the three of us moved on.

"Trees control the oxygen on this planet. They withhold it, they smother the fire." The Doctor explained to me as I nodded, his words making sense. "What sort of forest is clever? What sort of forest has its own built-in fire extinguisher?"

"The kind that need to fight a fire?" I offered as a suggestion, only earning a roll of the Doctor's eyes as Clara frowned, worriedly.

"What do they want?"

"Why now?" The Doctor countered.

"What do you mean, why now?" Clara asked.

"The whole natural order is turning against this planet, but why? Why now?"

"Well, what else?" Clara questioned, making the Doctor stop and pull out a paper notebook that I eyed in curiosity.

"How did she know about this?" The Doctor asked us, flipping through the pages to show a picture of an angry sun shooting a lightening bolt at a number of trees below.

"What is it?"

"A storm?" I questioned, but the Doctor shook his head.

"This is a massive solar flare headed for earth, like the one that destroyed the Bank of Karabraxos. I've got an entire Tardis and I didn't notice this. But she knew. How?"

"She was looking for it?"

Again, I earned an annoyed look from the Doctor as I held my hands up in surrender and chose to wisely keep my mouth shut.

"This is Maebh's." Clara said, closing the book and checking the cover. "Where did you get this?"

"You left your marking in the Tardis."

"Oh, great. Right. Well, that's just brilliant, isn't it. You don't think Danny saw this, do you?" She asked with a worried look, but the Doctor hardly cared at the moment.

"I've just informed you that a solar flare is going to wipe out your planet. You're worried about a row with your boyfriend." He complained, trying to get back on track. "How did she know this? She even put the date on it!"

"I always make them date their homework." Clara frowned, but the Doctor held out his hands.

"It's _today's_ date!"

Her eyes widened in shock as understanding came over her and I tried to get my head wrapped around this.

"Well, there must be… a way."

"They want something. They're saying something. If there is a way, the way is Maebh Arden."

"Okay, you know they're not really gifted and talented, don't you?" Clara said, not seeing how this would work, apparently. "I just tell them that to make them feel good."

I snapped my fingers though, things starting to make sense. "Oh! The trees! They're communicating and Maebh is the only one who can hear them!"

The Doctor pointed a finger at me with a grin. "Correct! She's lost someone. People who've lost someone, they're always listening, always looking, always hoping. So, they notice more. They hear more."

I felt a little worried for the Doctor, sensing that his own words were more from personal experience than anything, so I wandered over to him and took his hand. Sure, I earned a confused look from the clueless man, but that hardly mattered to me. Especially when there was a long howl.

"Was that a howl?" Clara questioned and I winced as another howl rang out; closer this time. "Was that a wolf? No. That is impossible. We're in London."

"Would that be the London with the zoo?" The Doctor said, looking slightly worried now too as his grip on my hand tightened. "The zoo with the pack of wolves? The zoo whose barriers and gates have probably been mangled by the trees? No, wolves are not impossible. Stick to the path, Red Riding Hood."

"There is no path." Clara muttered as the pack of wolves howled again.

"Then we're lunch."

"Um, just curious, but what _other_ dangerous animals do we have to worry about that may have escaped from the zoo?" I asked as we looked around in worry.

"Oh, the usual. Monkeys, sloths, gorillas, reptiles, bats, zebras, elephants..." The Doctor trailed off then.

"Doctor?" I breathed out, getting worried.

He looked down at me, equally concerned. "And tigers, cheetahs, lions, and bears."

"O-Oh my."

A little girl's scream echoed off in the distance, making my hearts skip a beat in fear.

"Maebh?!"

We took off running, myself letting go of the Doctor's hand and leading the group. I found a fence where Maebh was, fearfully looking back at the three wolves headed her way.

"Maebh, put your back to the fence." I told her, eyeing the wolves as Clara hurried over.

Maebh though, went around to the gate of the fence—which I'd yet to notice—and came to our side; giving me a chance to feel at least a little more relieved as the Doctor confronted her.

"Maebh. You came looking for me. You didn't—" He stopped as she waved her hands about her face. "Maebh, Maebh. You didn't just stumble into the Tardis. Tell me what you know."

"Doctor." Clara called out, as I turned and moved over towards her, pulling her behind me at the sight of the wolves.

"This is important." The Doctor argued, ignoring us as I snipped at him.

"Yeah? Well, I think the wolves are more important than you questioning a little girl. Mind helping us out?"

"These are zoo wolves. They're not even used to hunting." He drawled out and I shouted at him.

"It's all instinct, you idiot! They don't need to _learn_! Now get over here and help!"

"Alright, okay. We've just got to look as if we're too much to bother to eat, right?" He offered, tucking myself and Maebh into his sides and pulling Clara over as well. "So stay still. Stay together. Look big. Look big, like a four headed, eight legged scary thing!"

The wolves let out high pitched whines then, hopping over the fence and running off, which made the Doctor cheer happily.

"Ah, ha! Told you they were rubbish. Those wolves are terrified."

"Yeah, but I don't think it was because of us, Doctor." I muttered, adrenaline pumping wildly through me. "They didn't even look our direction."

"What are _wolves_ frightened of?" Clara asked, just as a deep growl echoed in front of us and a huge tiger walked through the forest.

"Tigers." I said, voice tight.

"There are very good solid scientific reasons for being really quite frightened just now." The Doctor said, gripping me tightly in a hug as he pulled me to his chest; my hearts pounding away in my chest to the point where I felt I might just very well pass out. "Use the whip!"

I gave the Doctor an incredulous look. "You're kidding, right?"

He looked back at me with wide eyes. "No, use it!"

I groaned. "You idiot! I can't use this! It's a prop! I would probably smack one of us in the face with it before I use it properly! And even if I do use it against the tiger, that'll just piss it off!"

The tiger roared and growled at the fence before us, making the Doctor and I stop our argument, before a light flickered in it's face and it soon wandered off as Danny Pink and his group of kids cheered and wandered over to the fence with grins.

"Mister Pink." Clara said, looking more than relieved as I let out a shaky breath and leaned back into the Doctor; who was equally as relieved as I was. "Why thank you very much."

"Ah, no problem. Just decided it was best not to leave you alone… with him." Danny said, quickly looking away when I gave him an annoyed look as he went on; though the Doctor had released me to look over at Maebh; who was waving her hands about her head again.

"Um, has she had her medication yet?" Danny asked after a bit of gloating.

"Um, oh. No, I—"

"No, no, no." The Doctor stopped her. "Not her medication. We don't want to shut her up, we want to know what she knows." The Doctor bent over and tried to get Maebh's attention. "Maebh. Maebh, what's the..." He waved his own hands at his head. "What is, Maebh, what is this? What is this?"

"Looks like she's trying to shoo off a fly or something." I muttered as Danny called out, annoyed.

"Apart from being almost savaged by a tiger and abducted by a Scotsman, she's allowed any nervous tick she likes, okay?"

The Doctor approached him angrily and I groaned softly as he got in Danny's face and waved his hands about again.

"This, is not a nervous tick. This is react—"

"Please!" Ruby called out. "Just give her her tablets. She's been in a state since her sister went missing."

Maebh ran off then and the group of us hurried after her. We ended up in some open area of forest where the setting sun was able to peek through the trees and light it up rather nicely.

"Miss? What is it, Miss?" Ruby asked as Maebh faced the sun.

"It's coming. It's coming for everyone, and I can't unthink it."

"Maebh." The Doctor tried. "Maebh, this forest is communicating. With you. Nobody else. No technology can hear what it's saying, but you can. Tell us what it wants. Where it came from. Just tell me who did this."

I blinked then, realizing that I was quite stupid in not thinking about this before, but with my head having part of the sentient Tardis in it, I _might_ be able to communicate as well. I closed my eyes and tuned out what the Doctor was saying and what Maebh was saying, focusing on the trees in the hopes that I might be able to catch a hold of whatever they were saying to the little girl. When I finally did get a hold of something, it was strange. It wasn't like speaking with an actual being, and I wasn't getting actual words from whatever it was. It was just sort of fuzzy thoughts bouncing in and out of my head, too fast to really comprehend. I tried to slow them down to make sense of them, but whatever I was trying to communicate with retaliated and I cringed, bringing a hand to my head as I opened my eyes and stumbled back a step.

"_Ow_, was the headache really necessary?" I grumbled, catching the Doctor's attention as he turned to me with furrowed brows.

"What were you doing?"

"Trying to speak with whatever is speaking through Maebh." I said, rubbing at my head with another wince. "It just sort of threw thoughts around then pulled them back too quickly to look at. So I tried to slow them down and make sense of them, but whatever it was didn't like that and rather rudely kicked me out. Though I honestly don't even know if I was '_in_' in the first place. Whoa..."

I swayed a bit, stumbling back before the Doctor caught me and set me down on the ground.

"Honestly, you should know better than to try and force your way into anything like that. You're lucky it didn't put you into a coma." He grumbled, a worried edge to his voice that made me smile like a drunken fool.

"Aw, you care. How cute.~"

He immediately groaned. "You are _so_ going back to the Tardis to rest as soon as I figure this out."

"The Doctor? Rest? Oh, it'll be a miracle." I joked again, feeling more than a little light-headed as I started to fall back; only for him to sit me back up and complain.

"You know what? I changed my mind." He grumbled, bringing his hands up to my temples. "_Sleep_."

And everything went dark.

* * *

After a rather riveting conversation with the being called 'Here', the Doctor had picked up Alex and brought her back to the Tardis with the rest of the group, where Clara stopped him; and the kids—plus Danny—pulled at the vines that had wrapped themselves around the blue box. He was worried, not only about what possible damage the 'Here' might have done to Alex's mind, but also because there wasn't anything he could do. He couldn't think of a plan to save Earth. To save his home away from home. He set Alex down up against the Tardis, brushing a stray hair from her face with a small concerned frown before he joined Clara in tugging at the vines.

"When they're done, you need to get in your box and go. You and Alex both." She said suddenly, voice low so as to keep the others from hearing.

"We're all going. We're taking the kids." He argued, figuring that that was what she'd meant earlier when she'd said 'save what you can'.

"Taking them where? What are you going to do with them? Leave them on an asteroid? Find a space academy for the gifted and talented? They just want their mums and dads, and they're never going to stop wanting them."

"I can save you and Danny." He tried.

"Danny Pink will never leave those kids so long as he is breathing." She countered, said man cheering with the kids when the door of the ship was freed and they went to go take more pictures.

The Doctor turned back to Clara then, desperate not to loose another companion. "I can save you."

"I don't want you to."

"What? You don't want to live?" He questioned in disbelief.

"Of course I want to live. I just..."

"What?"

She gave him a sad look. "Don't make me say it."

He frowned. "Say what?"

She took in a deep breath and let it out. "I don't want to be the last of my kind."

"Then why did you bring us all here?" He grumbled after a pause, growing more and more upset with each passing second and wishing that Alex was conscious to help him through it.

"Because it's the only way to get you back to the Tardis. Make you think you're saving someone. Well, you know what, Doctor? This time, the human race is saving you." She unlocked the door to the ship with her key and gave him a serious look. "Make it worthwhile."

"This is my world too. I walk your earth. I breathe your air."

"And on behalf of this world, you're welcome. Now go. Save the next one."

He frowned, glancing down at Alex, who was sleeping peacefully. "You wouldn't be the last of your kind. Alex is human."

"Alex is _part_ human." Clara countered. "Part human, part Time lord, part Tardis and whatever else she somehow got mixed with. But I know that she wouldn't want to ever leave you. She gave up everything for you and if she was awake right now, she would understand. She wouldn't be happy about it, but she would understand and she would let us _go_."

He frowned, but knew there wouldn't be any changing of Clara's mind once she'd decided on something; reminding him of Alex sometimes. So he turned and called out to Maebh.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't help you." He apologized to the girl, who shook her head.

"You helped me loads. I thought it was all my fault. I feel much better now. Are you going to get rid of the forest?"

The Doctor couldn't answer her, so Clara did instead.

"Hard to get rid of a flame-proof forest, Maebh. Eh? Come on."

Clara took Maebh over to where Danny and the others were and the Doctor bent down and picked up Alex, giving the group one last look before heading into the Tardis. He sent the Tardis off into the Vortex after setting Alex in the jump seat, and he leaned against the console trying to rack his mind and think up something that would give him a chance to save Earth.

"Flame-proof forest." He breathed out, annoyed, before hearing a groan behind him that made him turn.

"I'll have you know… knocking me out… very not nice." Alex complained, sitting up and rubbing at her head. "Did you save Earth already?" She gasped then, looking more alert. "Did you save it without me?!"

He rolled his eyes, heading over to her. "Only you would be more concerned about getting left out of an adventure than your own health." He grumbled, placing his hands on her temples and skimming her mind in search of any lasting damage that the 'Here' might have caused.

"Says you." Alex muttered, wincing when he managed to find a tender spot. "_Ow_."

"Apologies. Seems your little talk with the 'Here' strained something." He said, pulling away. "No speaking with sentient beings for a while."

"What? Like pulled a muscle? In my _mind_? That's possible?"

He smiled a little. "Course it is. Using your abilities like that is like working out a muscle. Stretch too far or have something pull the muscle the wrong way and you strain it. The later being applicable in your case."

"Lucky me." She mumbled, looking around. "Where's Clara? And the kids?"

The Doctor's smile faltered and he turned away before Alex noticed. "Outside. Her and soldier boy are taking the kids back to their parents."

"Oh…" Alex said, the tone of her voice catching the Doctor's attention and making him turn around.

"What?"

"Hm?" Alex hummed, looking at him in confusion, though he saw right through her façade.

"Don't act coy with me. You're upset about something. What is it? Go on. Spit it out."

Her expression faltered slightly as she turned back to the doors. "Nothing. It's… It's nothing."

The Doctor went over and blocked her view, making her look up at him. "If it was nothing, then you wouldn't be looking like that. Now tell me."

She let out a soft sigh, looking down sadly. "I just… I guess I'm just a bit homesick."

He furrowed his brows. "Homesick? Well, that came out of the far left field..."

Alex pulled a hand through her hair with a groan. "Ugh, it's just… being with those kids. They reminded me of my family, you know? My little sisters and brother. My parents and grandparents. They gave me that little bit of… I don't know. It's stupid. Forget I said anything."

The Doctor though, understood. He'd been trying to ignore the feeling himself. The way the kids wandered around the Tardis with innocent curiosity. Their small clever moments and how eager they were to learn about things that were new and mysterious. They reminded him of his own daughter. His family. And he knew it would be even more painful for Alex, who had always been surrounded by her siblings and the craziness that went along with them.

"I miss them." Alex said suddenly, staring witlessly at the floor as she wrung her hands in her lap. "My siblings. Kids in general. I don't know why, but I guess I've just been so used to having some kid to take care of running around somewhere, that I didn't realize I'd miss it when I didn't have it anymore."

"Motherly instinct." The Doctor rattled off, making Alex chuckle, confusing him.

"Clara said something like that. She said it was weird that I got all motherly and wise because there was children around."

"Do you..." The Doctor paused, unsure how to word this without things getting awkward between them. "Have you ever thought of having children?"

She stiffened, like he'd expected, but she soon relaxed. "Yeah. When I was younger back home, I thought of it. Told my parents I wanted two boys and a girl. My sister was completely against having kids because of how rough it was taking care of all of our siblings, but… there were times when my little sister would come up to me and just say something cute and there was that thought. 'Man, I wish I had a little me running around being cute like that'." She trailed off then, looking over at the Doctor, who was now sitting beside her on the jump seat with his hands together in his lap. "We can't have that, can we?"

He looked over at her as she quickly waved a hand with a bitter sweet smile and turned back to the ground.

"Never mind. Silly question. We're different species. I'm practically a mutt with all the mixed up parts I've got, so there's probably no way—"

"There is." The Doctor said suddenly, making her look up in shock.

"W-What?"

He glanced at her, once again trying to get his words into the right order. "We could. Have kids, I mean. Wouldn't be easy. Lots of variables to work out and we'd probably fail a few times before getting it right, but it is scientifically possible."

Things grew quiet and he shuffled a bit at the tension.

"We… could have kids?"

He slowly nodded. "If that's what you wanted, then yes. It's possible."

"We could have lanky mini Doctors running around with moppy brown hair and fuzzy eyebrows?"

He smiled a little at the thought. "And mini Alexanders with short cut hair and snarky attitudes."

"Oi." Alex complained, playfully pushing the Doctor as the two of them chuckled before things grew tensely silent once more.

It took a moment, before Alex let out a soft sigh.

"I like kids. I really do. And there will always be that part of me that will want to have my own kids running around, but…"

"But?" The Doctor murmured, confused.

"But would I really want them to live constantly in danger like this? Not that it isn't fun or that they wouldn't enjoy it, but for us to constantly have to worry about them getting hurt or captured or eaten or whatever else could happen..." She pulled her hand through her hair again, looking rather worn out. "As much as I would like to, I really don't think that is something we should do. I don't want kids in danger, much less our own. I don't want you or myself to stress out about the danger they'd be put in or finding time to take care of them while we're traveling about fighting aliens and saving worlds. Even Jenny and Lucas. They've… settled down with their kids. They put adventuring and that sort of stuff on the back burner in order to raise their kids properly and..." She looked up at the Doctor. "I couldn't do that to you. I couldn't make you give up all of this because of some ingrained motherly need to have kids. I don't even think _I'd_ be able to give this up at this point. Maybe if I was back home or something, but not here. Not now. I'm just… I'm honestly just fine with the two of us. The mad man and his wife in the Tardis."

Said ship let out a pleasant hum and Alex chuckled slightly, before the Doctor grabbed her face in his hands, kissing her passionately and cutting her laughter short before he pulled away.

"I love you. I want you to know that."

Alex smiled a bit. "I always know that. You don't need to remind me."

"Hm, but I do. Otherwise you'll go gallivanting off with some other handsome time traveling alien."

Alex chuckled. "Now where am I ever going to find another one of those?"

"There aren't any. I checked."

They kissed again, before a chime went off and they pulled away, Alex looking over at the monitor showing the solar flare of the sun starting to form.

"Uh, Doctor? You _did_ say that you saved Earth, didn't you?"

"Actually, it was _you_ who said—" He tried, but was quickly cut off as Alex bolted up.

"Why didn't you tell me?! If I'd known that, I wouldn't of been wasting time!"

He pouted, looking rather put out. "I actually found our time together rather productive."

Alex turned to him and rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. Now help me think about a solution to all of this. What are we dealing with other than a forest? There's got to be something else."

"A flame-proof forest." The Doctor corrected, making Alex stop what she was doing as she slowly turned to the Doctor; realization dawning on them both as they spoke simultaneously.

"A _flame-proof_ forest!"

"A thousand atom bombs and no one hurt." The Doctor rattled on quickly. "I am Doctor Idiot!"

"You?! What about me?!" Alex wailed. "I said it more than once and didn't even catch on to what was coming out of my mouth! What kind of forest has it's own in-built fire extinguisher? One that's meant to fight _fires_!"

"Hang on!" He called out, making Alex grab a hold of the railing as he quickly sent the Tardis back to where it was and then grabbed her hand and pulled her along as he chased after Clara and the kids.

"Clara! Come back here! Come back!"

"Clara!" Alex called as well. "We've figured it out! We know what's going on!"

The Doctor managed to call the kids back and with them, the two adults followed and he gathered them in the Tardis, sitting them on the steps and explaining.

"It's there on the screen. Look. Big solar flare headed this way. A thousand kilometers a second. Coronal mass ejection. Geomagnetic storm. It's huge. It's brewing up a solar wind big enough to _blow_ this whole planet away."

At the stunned faces of the kids, he paused.

"I assumed your teachers have mentioned this?"

"I thought it would spoil an otherwise enjoyable walk." Clara bit out in annoyance, making Alex groan as the Doctor grumbled as well.

"Okay. Okay. Well, this is the bad news. The good news is, it's happened before!" He said, trying to fix thing. "And you're still here. The Tunguska Blast, 1908. That should have blown the whole planet off its axis, but it didn't. It knocked a few trees over. Well, a few tens of thousands of trees over. Curuçá in Brazil. Same story. Earth should have been _smashed_, but it wasn't. What do these things have in common?"

"They're really, really scaring us?" Ruby said.

"_Trees_. Whenever there's a planet-threatening, extra-terrestrial impact, _trees_. Massive forest, filling the atmosphere with oxygen. Pumping it up like a massive, highly inflammable airbag, so that when trouble hits—"

"Everyone dies." Samson said.

"No. The impact burns off the excess oxygen. You have some fairly hectic weather for a few days and some fairly trippy looking sunsets, but apart from that, you will be all right. I was wrong. The trees are not your enemy. They're your shield. They've been saving you since forever. Protecting you from everything that space can throw at you."

"The wide ring." Clara said then, looking hopeful as she got up and moved to the Doctor's side. "The red ring. In the museum, Ruby saw a cross-section of a tree. One of the rings was wider than the others, and red."

"Atmospheric dust, captured by the trees. The fingerprint of an asteroid. Happy Red Ring Day." The Doctor explained, only for Ruby to speak up.

"I don't get it. If they're good, then why are we chopping them down?"

The Doctor, Clara and Alex all turned to her shocked.

"W-What?" Alex breathed out and Danny explained.

"The Government are sending out defoliating teams. They're dropping chemicals on them right now."

The Doctor groaned. "What is it with you people? You hear voices, you want to shut them up. The trees come to save you, you want to chop them down."

"Or you think you need to save the world when it's already saving itself." Clara countered.

"I did admit that I was wrong." The Doctor grumbled, moving to another portion of the Tardis. "Excellent. Mobile networks are still operative. Right. We are going to call everyone on Earth and tell them to leave the trees alone."

Maebh stood up. "Can I do it? I started it. I should finish it."

Seeing no problem with it, the Doctor nodded with a smile. "Okay. Okay. Class project. Save the Earth."

"Um, why is she glowing?" Samson asked, pointing over to Alex who groaned in complaint.

"Really? Now? I didn't even get to see the Earth get saved."

"I'll record it for you." Clara said, waving her phone and earning a nod of thanks from Alex as Ruby spoke.

"Are you going to blow up?"

"Ah, no. I told you. I'm a time traveler. This is just how I time travel." She said, before grumbling under her breath. "Not of my own choice and usually smack dab in the middle of danger."

"Will we get to see you again?" Maebh asked and Alex shrugged with a grin.

"Dunno. Maybe later. Maybe earlier." She winked, before giving them all a look. "Now you kids behave for Mister Pink, Clara and the Doctor, yeah?"

"Yes, sir." They chorused and she smiled again, waving before disappearing in a flash of gold light; making them awe in amazement; them going on to save the Earth and Alex one step closer to the end.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_Once they were nearly across from me, I jumped out and grabbed the person's shirt, holding the machete up threateningly. _Nobody_ sneaks into a school on my watch. Whether I worked here or not._

_"Oi, what do you think you're doing, sneaking into..." I stopped though, blinking at the man I was holding hostage in the dark who held his hands up in surrender. "Doctor?"_


	62. School Reunion

**So sorry about the late update! i had work most of the day and then i absolutely had to watch the second episode of Castle (and if you watch that, then you'll understand why it was absolutely necessary i find out what happened after that crazy season premiere). but here's the next chapter! i hope you all enjoy it and let me know what you think! ^^**

* * *

"I don't know where I am, but walking through a school at night is kind of creepy.~" I sang, mopping some halls of a darkened school that I'd popped up in hours ago.

I'd actually popped up in a janitor's closet and, seeing no other option, _borrowed_ a blue jumpsuit and proceeded to be inconspicuous by playing janitor. I had the headphones blasting music around my neck and everything, and I honestly didn't mind cleaning. After that stint with the Twelfth as a caretaker, this was a piece of cake. Though some of the teachers looked familiar, but I figured I was in the Doctor Who plot somewhere, so it shouldn't be a big surprise. Avoiding the headmaster was the key here, and I'd been lucky enough to do so, otherwise, I knew I'd be found out as not really being a janitor; despite how clean I was keeping the school. I heard the creak of a door and lifted my head, wondering what that could have been before shrugging it off. I _was_ at a school at night, after all. Creepy noises were probably the usual. But then I heard the echo of voices and knew I wasn't imagining things.

"Alright, team!" Was all I heard, but the voice was familiar and I pulled my machete out of my janitor's cart and headed towards the voice. And yes, I kept the whip too. It was hooked around a belt loop on my waist and had already earned me a few curious looks from students, though no one commented. Being a janitor has it's perks.

"Be back here in ten minutes." That same voice said and I ducked around a corner as footsteps headed my way.

Once they were nearly across from me, I jumped out and grabbed the person's shirt, holding the machete up threateningly. _Nobody_ sneaks into a school on my watch. Whether I worked here or not.

"Oi, what do you think you're doing, sneaking into..." I stopped though, blinking at the man I was holding hostage in the dark who held his hands up in surrender. "Doctor?"

He looked me over and went to say something, but a loud screech echoed through the halls and caught our attention, making me groan as I realized what was going on and where in the plot I actually was.

"Oh, _great_. Just what I wanted."

The Doctor though, frowned as I released him and slipped the machete back into it's case. "What are you doing here? And why do you have a machete?"

His voice was sharp and caused me to roll my eyes, remembering that this was Rose-Tenth and he obvious didn't like me, hoping I'd be able to kepe my temper in check this time around and not snap at him like I did in '_42_'.

"I'm here because I popped up in a janitor's closet this morning and decided to stick around since it seemed familiar. As for the machete, well, I was in a forest last trip and a machete seemed like a good thing to have around."

He gave me an odd look. "And you though carrying a machete around the school would be a good idea?"

I pouted. "It's dark and I heard a noise and voices! Protecting myself was the main priority!"

He snorted. "And I'm sure the whip was just for looks, right?"

I turned red, smacking his arm playfully. "Shut up! It's your stupid ship's fault! She made me dress up as Indiana Jones!"

He started walking off and I followed after him, hearing him quip back.

"More like Janitor Jones now."

"Shut _up_! I couldn't very well walk around the school dressed as Indy! I left my jacket in the closet and took what I could." I complained, crossing my arms over my chest in annoyance as he smirked slightly at my misfortune.

It was weird. He was being rather nice to me and I couldn't fathom why. _Maybe Rose said something on their last trip. What _was_ their last trip with me?_ I furrowed my brows in thought, not paying attention and bumping into the Doctor's back when he stopped suddenly; making him turn and glare at me as I rubbed my nose. He didn't bother snapping at me though, which was a plus, because Sarah Jane Smith walked out of the room ahead of us and stared in shock at the Doctor.

"Hello, Sarah Jane." He smiled.

"It's you. Oh, Doctor. Oh my God. It's you, isn't it? You've regenerated." She breathed out, stunned.

"Yeah. Half a dozen times since we last met."

"You look incredible."

"So do you."

"Hm. I got old… What are you doing here?" She spotted me then, curiously looking my way. "And who's this?"

"Well, UFO sightings, school gets record results. I couldn't resist." He smiled, before dropping it and tossing a thumb over my shoulder. "And that's Alex, don't mind her."

"Oi! Rude!" I snipped, smacking the back of his head and moving past him, holding out my hand to her with a smile. "Sarah Jane. Lovely to see you again. I'm Alexander Holmes. Alex is fine. And I'll explain the seeing you again part later since Mister Grumpy here, has no manners."

The Doctor frowned as Sarah Jane chuckled. "Nice to meet you, Alex."

The Doctor sort of pushed me aside then, getting Sarah Jane's attention. "What about you? Why are you here?"

"The same." She smiled, before it fell and sadness quickly replaced it. "I thought you'd died. I waited for you and you didn't come back, and I thought you must have died."

"I lived. Everyone else died." The Doctor murmured, making my hearts ache as I wished I could hold his hand like I did with the future Doctors and comfort him.

The most I could do though, was comfort him mentally, though he gave me a small confused frown when I did.

"What do you mean?" Sarah Jane asked, confused

"Everyone died, Sarah."

She tried to compose herself, shaking her head. "I can't believe it's you."

There was a high pitched scream then and she suddenly grinned.

"Okay, now I can."

We laughed and bolted down the hallway, with me in the lead.

"This way!"

"How do you know?" The Doctor snipped and I rolled my eyes.

"Seriously? Are you still asking that? I'm called the Seer for a reason, you know."

We bumped into Rose then, heading the same way and she smiled at me.

"Alex! When did you show up?" She spotted Sarah Jane then though, and her smile fell. "Who's she?"

"Rose, Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane, Rose." The Doctor quickly introduced with a smile, though Rose didn't look nearly as pleased.

"Hi, nice to meet you." Sarah Jane smiled, shaking her hand before turning to the Doctor. "I can tell you're getting older. Your assistants are getting younger."

"I'm not his assistant." Rose snipped and I groaned, already sensing the tension between them.

"No? Look at you, tiger." She panted out, before I grabbed Rose's hand.

"I'll explain things later. Try not to fight. Come on!"

We caught up with Mickey, who panicked, rats on the floor.

"Sorry, sorry. It's only me. Alex?" He blinked and I wiggled my fingers in a wave.

"Hello. Ignore me. Continue."

He nodded, turning back to the Doctor. "You told me to investigate, so I started looking through some of these cupboards and all of these fell on me."

The Doctor bent down and picked up a few of the packaged, Rose making a disgusted face.

"Oh my God. They're rats. Dozens of rats. Vacuum packed rats."

"And you decided to scream." The Doctor said, making Mickey defend himself

"It took me by surprise!"

"Like a little girl?"

"It was dark! I was covered in rats!"

"Nine, maybe ten years old. I'm seeing pigtails, frilly skirt." The Doctor rattled off, causing Mickey to rub his head at the Doctor's comment with a whine, before Rose got their attention.

"Hello? Can we focus? Does anyone notice anything strange about this? Rats in school?"

"Well, obviously they use them in Biology lessons. They dissect them. Or maybe you haven't reached that bit yet. How old are you?" Sarah Jane quipped at her and I pulled a hand through my hair as I slipped past them and into the closet.

"Excuse me, no one dissects rats in school anymore. They haven't done that for years. Where are you from, the dark ages?" Rose snipped back as I popped back out; tugging on my jacket and having removed the blue jumpsuit.

"Actually, I'm happy to inform you that these rats were not here earlier today. This is where I popped up. So they're special order." I said, stepping between Sarah Jane and Rose to try and keep the tension down between them. "So perhaps we should look elsewhere for clues?"

The Doctor nodded, starting to notice the tension as well. "Everything started when Mister Finch arrived. We should go and check his office." The Doctor said, before he tossed a rat at Mickey and began heading that way.

The rest of us followed, though I did my best to be between the two bickering woman to keep more arguments from occurring. Needless to say, it wasn't working very well and they just argued over me.

"I don't mean to be rude or anything, but who exactly are you?" Rose smiled, sickeningly sweet.

"Sarah Jane Smith. I used to travel with the Doctor."

"Oh. Well, he's never mentioned ya."

"Oh, I must've done. Sarah Jane. Mention her all the time." The Doctor said, getting involved, though I doubted that now was the time.

_That, and he's lying. He's rubbing his nose, so it's pretty obvious. _I mused, glad that the two women had moved ahead of us, though the tension only grew worse at the Doctor's words.

"Hold on… Sorry… Never."

"What? Not even once? He didn't mention me even once?"

"Ho, ho, mate." Mickey grinned, putting a hand on the Doctor's shoulder. "The missus and the ex. Welcome to every man's worst nightmare."

We made it to Finch's office and the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to unlock the door, speaking to us over his shoulder.

"Maybe those rats were food."

"Food for what?" Rose questioned as he headed into the office.

"Really big bat people." I muttered under my breath.

"Rose… You know how you used to think all the teachers slept in the school?" He stepped further in, allowing us to file in afterward and catch sight of what he was looking at hanging from the ceiling. "Well, they do."

"No way!" Mickey said, bolting out the door upon catching sight of the bat-like creatures hanging upside down off one of the pipes on the ceiling.

The rest of us hurried out after him, running out of the school, though I fast-walked along with the Doctor near the back.

"I am _not_ going back in there. No way." Mickey shouted, breathing hard as Rose gasped out.

"Those were teachers."

"When Finch arrived, he brought with him seven new teachers, four dinner ladies and a nurse. Thirteen. Thirteen big bat people. Come on." The Doctor turned around, making to head back in the school, but Mickey wasn't having it.

"Come on? You've got to be kidding!"

"I need the Tardis." The Doctor said, briefly turning before walking once more. "I've got to analyze that oil from the kitchen."

"Um, Doctor?" I raised a hand, making him turn to me with a frown.

"Oh, what now? Here to inform us about something useless? Or something that you should have mentioned far earlier?"

I took a deep breath and let it out, remaining calm as I tipped my head slightly. "Actually, I was just going to say that Sarah Jane has something to tell you, but please. Feel free to get angry with me some more."

He frowned at me, before Rose elbowed him in the side and cleared her throat, making him huff and begrudgingly apologize.

"Sorry." He quickly turned to Sarah Jane. "What is it?"

She looked between us briefly, before smiling at him. "I might be able to help. I've got something to show you."

She took the Doctor's arm and led us towards the car park, heading towards her car and opening the back to show us a large cloth covering something. The Doctor pulled the cloth off and grinned.

"K9! Rose Taylor, Mickey Smith, _Alex_, allow me to introduce K9." He reached over, messing with some of the robot dog's insides. "Well, K9 Mark Three to be precise."

"Why does he look so… disco?"

"Oi!" The Doctor said loudly, offended as he pulled his head out of the boot of Sarah Jane's car. "Listen, in the year 5000, this was cutting edge. What's happened to him?"

"Oh, one day he just…" Sarah Jane shrugged. "…nothing."

"Well, didn't you try and get him repaired?" The Doctor questioned, messing with the dog once more.

"Well it's not like getting parts for a Mini Metro, Beside, the technology inside him could rewrite human science. I couldn't show him to anyone."

"Ooh, what's the nasty lady done to you, eh?" He cooed, petting the dog's head and making noises as he scratched the dog behind the ears.

I smiled at the fondness the Doctor showed his old pal, wondering if there were any old K9 models hidden away on the Tardis that I could fix up for him in the future. I felt a chill go up my spine then and glanced up with a frown at the Krillitane watching us, who eyed me like a midnight snack.

"Look, no offense, but could you two stop petting for a minute?" Rose interrupted my staring contest, making me turn back to them. "Never mind the tin dog. We're busy."

"Now, Rose. Lighten up." I hummed, trying to keep the tension down as the Doctor closed the boot of the car. "K9 could analyze the oil you got for us. Unless you'd rather we went back into the school and risked getting eaten by bit bat people?"

She frowned at me though, something I didn't expect. "Yeah, take her side, why don't ya. I'll remember that when the Doctor started getting upset with you again." She snapped, moving to get into the car.

"Rose. Rose! That's not what I—"

She slammed the car door in my face and I winced. _Great. See what you did? The one person on your side with this Doctor, and you went and screwed things up._ Giving Rose one last sad glance, I went around to the other side of the car and sat in the very back with K9; all other seats having been taken. The atmosphere in the car—already tense with Sarah Jane and Rose—only grew worse with her and myself now fighting. When we got to the small café place too, she stormed off before I could say a word and aggressively ordered some chips as the Doctor smirked at me and walked off with Sarah Jane. I waited until Rose got her chips and went to sit with Mickey before I went and got some coffee—black, seeing as they didn't sell alcohol and I'd be needing _something_ to keep me in check. I even bought a sandwich to keep my mouth occupied so I could wallow in self pity at my own table behind the Doctor's and Sarah Jane's. It would give me a chance to listen in, after all, and possibly provide some sort of comfort to the woman; who was directly behind me.

"I thought of you on Christmas Day. This Christmas just gone? Great big spaceship overhead. I thought, oh yeah, bet he's up there." Sarah Jane said, sounding wistful.

"Right on top of it, yeah."

"And Rose?"

"She was there too."

"Alex? Were you there?" She asked me, making me pause in the biting of my sandwich.

"Uh, no. I didn't show up with the Doctor until way after that. Sorry."

She shrugged, smiling away as the Doctor used his screwdriver on K9 and narrowed his eyes my way.

"No need to apologize. I was just curious." She said pleasantly, before turning back around and allowing me to hesitantly resume eating my sandwich as she turned to the Doctor sadly. "Did I do something wrong, because you never came back for me. You just dumped me."

"I told you. I was called back home and in those days humans weren't allowed." He replied, rather bluntly.

"I waited for you… I missed you."

"Oh, you didn't need me." He smiled. "You were getting on with your life."

"You were my life…You know what the most difficult thing was? Coping with what happens next, or with what doesn't happen next. You took me to the furthest reaches of the galaxy. You showed me supernovas, intergalactic battles, and then you just _dropped_ me back on Earth. How could _anything_ compare to that?"

"All those things you saw, do you want me to apologize for that?"

"No, but we get a taste of that splendor and then we have to go back."

"Look at you, you're investigating. You found that school. You're doing what we always did."

"You could have come back."

The Doctor looked at her seriously. "I couldn't."

"Why not?"

Things grew quiet between the two once more and I swallowed thickly as the tension at the table grew before Sarah changed the subject.

"It wasn't Croydon. Where you dropped me off, that wasn't Croydon."

"Where was it?"

"Aberdeen."

"Right. That's next to Croydon, isn't it?"

"Not quite." I muttered. "Complete opposite side of the UK."

He frowned. "No one asked you."

Sarah Jane, surprisingly enough, lightly smacked his hand. "Now I may not know what happened between you two, Doctor, but there's no need for that. Since when were you so hostile towards your companions?"

"She's _not_ my companion." He snapped and Sarah Jane frowned at him.

"She travels with you, does she not? That sounds like a companion to me."

"Um..." I hesitantly spoke, not wanting Sarah Jane and the Doctor to fight as well. "Actually, I sort of just pop up around him. There's this energy in my should that just pops me from one place in his time-line to another, so I suppose I'm technically _not_ a companion."

The words hurt to say, knowing that the later Doctor would never want for me to say such a thing, but knowing that right now, I didn't really have much of a choice. If he and Sarah Jane fought now, who would be the one to convince the Doctor later to not take Finch's offer? I knew he wouldn't listen to me, so it had to be her. A little heartbreak was nothing compared to the Doctor accepting that offer and possibly ruining everything after this.

"Nonsense." Sarah Jane said, still continuing to defend me, much to my shock. "Popping up in his time-line or riding in the Tardis, you're still his companion, whether he accepts that or not. Now..." She turned around in her seat, ignoring the Doctor's stunned expression as his mouth hung open in shock and she placed her arms on the back of the booth to look at me. "I'm curious. What did you mean earlier that you're called the 'Seer'?"

"Um, well..." I glanced at the Doctor who glared at me, before I turned back to Sarah Jane. "I'm sort of from another universe? And this was a TV show that I watched, so I kind of know a lot of what happens in a number of the Doctor's adventures, including this one. It, um, seems to have given me that name among a number of… slightly unpleasant aliens. Though the Ood say it too, so it's not entirely unpleasant."

"Ood?" She questioned and I nodded.

"They're these aliens that look kind of like people, but with big heads, squinty eyes and, uh… tentacles as mouths." I said, putting and hand in front of my own mouth and wiggling the fingers to emphasize; Sarah Jane chuckling.

"Well, they certainly sound interesting."

I nodded, starting to smile upon talking about the Ood; who were more like friends to me than anything. "Oh, they're great. Love them. They're telepathic and have three brains. They've got their own brain, one they kind of..." I winced. "Well, they sort of hold it in their hands. It's kind of gross. But then they have this _huge_ one that sort of connects them all together like one big entity and—"

I was cut off as there was a whirring sound behind Sarah Jane and K9 lifted his head; exciting the Doctor and bringing all attention back to him.

"Oh, hey! Now we're in business!"

"Master." K9 said, robotically, making the Doctor's grin widen.

"He recognizes me."

"Affirmative." The dog replied, wiggling his ears.

"Rose, give me the oil." the Doctor said, holding out a hand as Rose brought him the jar and he started to open it.

"I wouldn't touch it, though. That dinner lady got all scorched."

"I'm no dinner lady." The Doctor answered. "And I don't often say that."

He smeared some of the goop onto K9's plunger-like scanner to examine it.

"Here we go. Come on, boy. Here we go."

"Oil. Ex-ex-ex-extract. Ana-ana-analysing."

"Listen to him, man. That's a voice." Mickey laughed, only for Sarah to scold him.

"Careful. That's my dog."

"Confirmation of analysis. Substance is Krillitane Oil." K9 replied, the Doctor's expression dropping.

"They're Krillitanes."

"Is that bad?" Rose asked.

"Very. Think of how bad things could possibly be, and add another suitcase full of bad." The Doctor said, sounding displeased.

"And what are Krillitanes?"

"They're a composite race. Just like your culture is a mixture of traditions from all sorts of countries, people you've invaded or have been invaded by. You've got bits of Viking, bits of France, bits of whatever. The Krillitanes are the same. An amalgam of the races they've conquered. But they take physical aspects as _well_. They cherry pick the best bits from the people they destroy… That's why I didn't recognize them. The last time I saw Krillitanes, they looked just like us except they had really long necks." The Doctor said quickly, thinking.

"What're they doing here?"

"It's the children. They're doing something to the children." He turned to me then, angrily. "Why didn't you tell me?"

I frowned, feeling that anger from before rearing it's ugly head. "I told you back with the werewolf why I can't tell you things, Doctor. I'm not going to have the destruction of the universe on my head, just because you want answers before I can give them to you."

"There are _children_ involved. Children in danger! Doesn't that mean anything to you?!" He shouted, making me grit my teeth before feeling something in me snap.

I reached forward and grabbed his tie tightly in my fist, growling at him with a fury I didn't know I was capable of.

"Listen here, you lanky, dimwitted moron. Don't you _ever_ think for a _second_ that I don't care what's happening to those children or _any_ children, for that matter. I didn't tell you for a reason and one of those reasons is because those children will be safe if everything goes as it should. And if you want me to put those kids in danger because you're too thick headed to be patient and figure out what's going on yourself, then you have another thing coming, because I'm sick and tired of your crap. And I'm willing to take everything you throw at me. Insult me all you want, yell at me all you want, but accuse me of not caring? About _children_? Then you and I are going to have a problem and it will be _far_ bigger than the Krillitanes. So shut up, stop wasting time pissing me off, and go do something about this mess, before I beat you to the ground so hard, your body won't even know what regenerating _is_."

I shoved him back and snatched my coffee off the table behind me, angrily storming off outside and grinding my teeth together so hard that my jaw was starting to get stiff and sore. I'd been trying not to snap at him and loose my temper all night, and had been doing a relatively good job of it, but when he mentioned me not caring about kids? After that discussion I'd had with Twelve? I was more than insulted, but I was hurt that he would ever think such a thing. That he would consider me heartless enough that I would let kids get hurt without a second thought. Without _doing_ something about it. Angry didn't cover what I was feeling right now. _Furious_, didn't cover it. I honestly needed a new word to describe how ticked off I was.

I sat down on the curb, grumbling curses and complaints under my breath before chugging my coffee and letting out a quiet cry of pain when I scalded my tongue on the hot drink. As I gingerly held the end of my tongue with a slight wince, I suddenly felt all my anger dissipate into sorrow. I missed the Doctor. _My_ Doctor. The one who'd joke and laugh and smile at me. Who'd care if I got hurt by what people were saying, even if I didn't show I was hurt by their words. I missed my husband. And as much as I knew that this was the same man, that didn't make it any easier to see him hate me so much. To have the man I love, turn around and snap at me. Throwing insults at me like atom bombs and not caring if I came out of the wreckage alright or torn to shreds. And it hurt, to see those eyes that I'd gotten used to looking at me kindly and with such caring and devotion, glance at me was anger and frustration and rage. I hadn't done anything wrong, but to him, I had and that was what mattered.

And I hated myself for acting the way I was. For getting so angry with the Doctor, even though I knew that this was what he was like before he had some semblance of understanding. I _knew_ that he wouldn't like me and that the only thing keeping him from snapping at me before was Rose. But then I got her angry by siding with Sarah Jane—which I wasn't—and was left on my own. But I should have been strong. I should have pushed through the anger and frustration with the man and just let him shout abuse at me, because in the end, he'd become the man I'd gotten to know. The man I _married_. And that should have been enough for me to keep going. That should have been enough for me to remain calm and ignore his hurtful words, but I'd lost sight of that when he mentioned the kids. I lashed out at him for not understanding even though I _knew_ this version of him wouldn't understand me until later. And now, all I wanted was for him to stroll out of that shop and pull me into his arms with an apology so I could apologize in return and everything would go back to being okay. But that was impossible, because he wasn't _my_ Doctor. He was Rose's. He was Sarah Jane's. He was _Mickey's_. And he wouldn't do that. Not to me.

"You alright, dear?" A voice said, making me flinch when a hand was placed on my shoulder and I turned slightly to Sarah Jane; a little happy that at least one of the people here cared.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." I said quietly, staring at my half full cup of coffee in my hands. "Just lost my temper, is all. Sorry."

"You do that a lot, you know." She said, moving to sit down beside me as I glanced at her in confusion. "Apologize. Especially when there's nothing to apologize for."

I shook my head, turning back to my cup. "No. I shouldn't have snapped at him like that. Bringing up more tension doesn't solve anything, and he has every right to be angry with me for staying quiet about things."

"But the way I see it, you're right. They show it in movies and television shows all the time, don't they?" She said, sticking up for me even now. "If you make one wrong move in the past, it effects everything in the future. You're doing the right thing by keeping quiet about things and the Doctor isn't as smart as he thinks he is, if he thinks otherwise."

I sighed though, still not entirely convinced that the way I reacted to the Doctor's words was the right way. "I still shouldn't have said what I did though. He doesn't understand me yet. He… doesn't get what I'm trying to do for him until later, so I shouldn't be blaming him and getting angry at him for thinking that I don't care. I may know him, but he doesn't know _me_, so how can I expect him to see that I do care?" I groaned, pulling a hand through my hair tiredly. "I just… I'm expecting him to know me already and he doesn't and I forget that, when I'm upset. I just snap even though I know that he wouldn't understand. How can I blame someone for not knowing me?"

"I think..."

I turned to Sarah Jane, a deep tiredness evident on my face.

"I think you can blame him, because he's not trying."

"What?"

"He's not trying to get to know you. How can he understand you better and prevent these arguments from happening, if he doesn't go through the effort of at least attempting to get to know you? You have every right to be angry with him for what he said. Even _I'm_ a bit angry about it, because that's something he should know about. Every woman has a motherly instinct somewhere inside them and to say that you don't care was more than rude of him." She said, getting a bit passionate about things before calming down a bit and looking up at the stars above us. "He may be a clever man, but he certainly is quite daft about things such as this. And I honestly think, that if he stopped fighting with you about what you know and just sat down and got to know you, that you two would get along rather well."

I smiled softly at the ground, feeling the light tap of my wedding ring around my neck bump into my chest.

"We do… Later, I mean. He starts to see that I'm helping him in any way I can and… we get along rather well. He treats me like a real companion. Like a close friend, even." I said, trying not to let it slip that we were actually married, since in the future, Sarah Jane didn't know.

"I think it's a bit more than that." She said suddenly though, making me turn to her with wide eyes.

"W-What?"

She smiled slightly. "I can see it, you know. In your eyes. Rose's too, but yours show it so much more… You love him, don't you?"

I felt a bit of pink rise up into my cheeks and turned away sheepishly at having already been caught. "I-I do."

"And you've been with him longer than Rose too, haven't you?"

I nodded. "I've been popping around his time line for nearly ten years… But he can't know. Not him, or Rose, or anyone." I said defensively, causing her to chuckle.

"Your secret's safe with me." She paused then, a mischievous spark in her eye. "Do you ever tell him? In the future, do you tell him how you feel?"

My face turned a beet red and she clapped, grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Oh, you do! Tell me! How does it go? What did you say? What does _he_ say?"

"I-It was nothing special." I muttered, thoroughly embarrassed to be talking about my love life with Sarah Jane, of all people. "I-I mean, we both kind of thought we were going to die and it just sort of… came out?"

"Oh, that sounds like him. Confessing when you think it's all about to end… And then what? How did he react?"

"U-Um, I actually popped off right afterward and didn't really get to see, other than him saying it back. I sort of… ended up in a rather poor situation though and caught a future version of himself kissing another woman."

"He didn't." Sarah Jane breathed out. "Ooh, I would have rightly smacked him for that."

"Oh, I did. But it wasn't until much later when I caught him at it again with a _different_ woman." I said, starting to get a bit cheered up after talking with her. "I was furious and he knew it too. She was his companion and she'd technically eloped with him the night before her wedding and when he took her home, she kissed him. Then he thought he'd fix everything by taking her, her husband, and me to Venice, Italy for a sort of double date, but I walked right out the doors and didn't see him again until we bumped into some weird vampire fish alien things that were trying to flood the city. I let him have it though."

"Sounds exciting." She grinned, eyeing me again with a smirk. "But you made up right away, didn't you?"

I pouted childishly. "Not _right_ away. But… a life-or-death situation kind of puts things into perspective. He took me somewhere afterward, just the two of us and we talked things through."

_That, and him proposing sort of fixed things up real fast._ I mused silently, remembering the evening he did so and earning a small chuckle from Sarah Jane.

"I'll bet that was just wonderful, wasn't it?"

I nodded. "It was."

"You must be very special to him. You don't usually get to see that romantic side of his." She said wistfully. "He's got so many walls put up with such rough outer edges that it's like climbing a mountain just to get him to say something sweet and actually mean it."

I hummed. "You're telling me. It takes him _decades_ to think anything of me. The only one he has eyes for right now, is Rose."

She eyed me then, worried. "And you're alright with that? If you two are so close in the future, I just assumed that you and her would be like… well, myself and her at the moment."

I shook my head, waving it off. "Nah. This is how things have to go. Like you said, mess with the past, and the whole future will be effected."

She looked at me sorrowfully. "But… how difficult that must be for you."

I sighed softly. "It is. Like I said, it hurts seeing how he doesn't understand me or even want to, but… this is Rose's time with him and I don't want to come between them."

"Because she leaves." Sarah Jane said, kind of surprising me at how she figured that out until I realized I practically gave it away.

_I need to be more careful about what I say._

"Companions of his come and go." I replied, not giving her anything specific. "I'm sure you know that as well as I do."

She too, nodded sadly. "And he never even mentioned me."

"But he never forgets you." I said, making her turn to me. "I told you before, you and I meet again later on, and it was quite the troublesome situation, but… he came to your rescue. Probably did so before that too. But he's always fond of his Sarah Jane."

She let out a quiet half-choked sob and pulled me into a hug as I hugged her back. "Oh, Alex. Thank you."

"Hey now. I should be the one thanking you." I said as we pulled apart and I smiled. "You reminded me why I shouldn't care about some know-it-all idiot Doctor who thinks he knows what's best."

She chuckled as did I, up until someone cleared their throat and we both turned to see an annoyed Rose with her arms crossed in front of her. _Oops. I forgot. She's angry about me and Sarah Jane being friendly. And I just think we made it worse._

Rose gestured to the shop with her head. "The Doctor says grab the tin dog and let's go."

"R-Right." I muttered, getting up and tossing the rest of my cold coffee in the trash, bobbing my head to Sarah Jane. "It was, uh, nice talking to you."

She smiled back. "Any time you need to talk, Alex."

I nodded, turning back around and very nearly running directly into Rose. Swallowing thickly, I pointed at the café.

"I'm just going to… uh… help Mickey with the dog."

"Yeah. You do that." She snipped at me, storming into the café first and slamming the door; making the bell chime angrily above it as I winced.

"Oh dear. Am I the cause of that?" Sarah Jane asked and I pulled my hand through my hair with a groan.

"No. No, that was all me." I grumbled, rubbing the back of my neck. "I really need to just learn to keep my mouth shut."

I headed inside and helped Mickey pick up and carry K9 to Sarah Jane's car, before heading back into the café to grab a soda or something before we headed off again. That, and I was purposely avoiding Rose, the Doctor, and Sarah Jane in the hopes that I wouldn't cause any _more_ fights to break out. _Especially since the Doctor and Rose are going at it right now. The four of us are just at each others' throats today._ I mused, sighing softly as I headed outside with my drink. _I wonder what the Doctor thinks of me though. Later on, anyway. I'm human. Partially, anyway. Won't I die someday too? The Doctor could live for centuries more, maybe even millennia… Won't he outlive a mutt like me?_ I frowned, thinking back to the blonde I'd bumped into before who I believed to be my future self. I could have been wrong. That could have been a complete stranger for all I knew, but if it was me… If I really did regenerate at some point, then would I be able to live alongside the Doctor like that? Better yet, with the Artron energy in my body, would I ever stop bouncing around his time-line? Would the regeneration effect that in any way? Would it cause me to jump further back into the Classic Who episodes? Or would I bounce further ahead and end up meeting the Twentieth Doctor or something?

These questions and more swirled around my head, starting up a slight headache until a loud screech made me look up. At the sight of the approaching Krillitane, a million _other _things went through my mind. Two in particular sent a chill through my bones. _Is he flying _lower_? And directly _at_ me?!_ I tried to duck and turned to bolt for it, but the Krillitane was too fast and grabbed me under my arms, easily picking me up from off the ground as I let out a yelp at the sudden loss of earth under my feet.

"O-Oi! Put me down! Preferably someplace safe!"

The bat let out a screech as I tried to look back down at the Doctor and the others, but upon seeing that they were only mere specks in the distance now, I quickly turned away and muttered quick curses under my breath; not usually one to be afraid of heights after being in the Tardis so long, but feeling the fear of falling all the same. Finally, I was set down and none-to-gently either, with my knees hitting harshly against concrete before the Krillitane carrying me shoved me down to lie on my stomach; with it on my back pinning me there with a screech as I grimaced.

"Get off me, Batman!" I shouted at the creature, wincing away from it when it faced me and screeched loudly in my face. "Ugh, your breath smells worse than you do. Chew a mint or something, would ya?"

"I cannot say that it is wise to tease him while in your situation, Seer." A familiar voice said and I frowned over at the shiny pair of shoes I could see.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Mister Finch." I said, knowing those shoes could only belong to _one_ bat person. "What's a Seer?"

He chuckled, kneeling down so I could see the grin that stretched across his face. "It's no use playing innocent, _Alex_. We heard it from your own mouth. I believe your exact words were, 'I'm called the Seer for a reason'."

I groaned, lightly lifting my head and dropping it onto the concrete repeatedly. "Stupid, stupid, stupid I _really_ need to start keeping my mouth shut."

"Oh, now I wouldn't say that. After all, you're going to be telling us all _sorts_ of things in a moment. And I won't take 'no' for an answer."

"You and every other bad guy in the universe." I muttered, mentally wishing that I was elsewhere and possibly with another Doctor, because this wasn't going to be pleasant. _And I'm probably going to need some sort of consolation after this, especially if it goes as poorly as I suspect it will. _

* * *

_She just _had_ to get into trouble, didn't she?_ The Doctor mentally complained, grumbling under his breath as he wandered towards the pool after sending the others on their way. _It's all because she got taken that those two are teaming up against me._ And that was true. While he'd been elated that Rose and Alex were fighting, he wasn't pleased with Sarah Jane standing up for Alex, nor was he happy that Sarah Jane and Rose hadn't been getting along. He had no idea what it was, other than jealousy on Rose's part. But why would she be jealous? She was different than Sarah Jane and he'd never leave her behind, even if it meant that he got hurt in the end. She was different. She was special. So when Alex got taken by the Krillitane, he thought he'd finally have it easy. With Alex gone, Rose could focus on him more and he could focus on getting her and Sarah Jane to get along.

Nothing works out as he wants it though, and the moment the woman had been taken, both Sarah Jane _and_ Rose had turned to him demanding he do something to get her back. He hadn't wanted to. If Alex knew so much, she should be able to take care of herself. He didn't know why she didn't dodge the Krillitane. He figured she would, if she knew it was going to happen, which brought up the question… _Did she know? Does she not see her own part in things?_ He furrowed his brows in thought, before shaking his head. _Even if she doesn't, she seems perfectly capable of taking care of herself._ He remembered when she grabbed him and yelled at him, how tightly she held him there and how he'd attempted to pull away, only to find that she had more strength than he expected and held him still. He didn't usually pay much attention to her—hoping to forget her existence entirely, if possible—but he did get a good look at her then, and the amount of sheer muscle mass on the woman was surprising. It was as though she was _built_ for dangerous situations and confrontations. Or just dealing with the Doctor in general.

She had strong arms that looked as though she did some sort of boxing with how built they were, though if she was popping up all around his time-line, he wondered when she had the time to do that sort of sport. And her legs were tight with muscles from constant running. Overall, she was a strong woman who could probably handle more than what comes her way. The more he thought about it though, the more he began to get this tight feeling in his chest. _Why_ would she need to get strong? Shouldn't he have dealt with whatever came their way without her having to resort to strength training and endurance? And if she had to get strong, then what about Rose? Will Rose have to start doing something like that? Maybe she did it to protect Rose? _They do appear to be good friends, despite what I want, but then where am I? Shouldn't I be protecting Rose?_

He scowled, and shook his head out of those thoughts, knowing that he was thinking too hard about things. And, as he entered the pool, he stalked slowly across the floor and turned his thoughts to something more important. Finch, and his group of bat friends.

"Who are you?" He asked the man, who approached from the other end of the pool.

"My name is Brother Lassa. And you?"

"The Doctor." He replied easily, before asking something that had been on his mind. "Since when did Krillitanes have wings?"

"It's been our form for nearly ten generations now. Our ancestors invaded Bessan. The people there had some rather lovely wings. They made a million widows in one day. Just imagine."

"And now you're shaped human."

"A personal favorite, that's all." Finch replied easily.

"And the others?"

"My brothers remain bat form. What you see is a simple morphic illusion. Scratch the surface and the true Krillitane lies beneath. And what of the Time Lords? I always thought of you as such a pompous race. Ancient, dusty senators, so frightened of change and chaos. And of course, they're all but extinct. Only you. The last."

The Doctor ignored the man trying to rile him up. "This plan of yours, what is it?"

"You don't know."

"That's why I'm asking." The Doctor said, annoyed.

"Well, show me how clever you are. Work it out."

"If I don't like it, then it will stop."

"Fascinating." Finch said, now standing in front of the Doctor. "Your people were peaceful to the point of indolence. You seem to be something new. Would you declare war on us, Doctor?"

"I'm so old now. I used to have so much mercy. You get one warning. That was it." He answered the man, turning and walking off.

"But we're not even enemies. Soon, you will embrace us. The next time we meet, you will join with me. I promise you."

The Doctor doubted it and almost walked out there, but then remembered the angry faces of Sarah Jane and Rose.

"And Alex? What have you done with her?"

Finch raised a brow. "Oh, so you _do_ care. She was rather adamant about you not caring. Curious."

"I don't care." The Doctor said bluntly. "But my companions do, so I'm only asking because of them."

Finch tilted his head. "So you wouldn't mind should I… say… _extract_ information from her?"

_Good luck. She won't even tell _me_ things, let alone some Krillitanes._ The Doctor mentally snorted, though that tight feeling in his chest returned. Guilt, he realized. Whether she tells him things or not, here he was ignoring the fact that she might be getting _tortured_ for information. She was still human. A strange, annoying, and infuriating one, but human nonetheless. And the Doctor was standing by and allowing her to possibly get hurt despite knowing this, and it made his stomach churn. Was this really what he'd become? The Doctor was supposed to save people, help them, but here he was condoning someone to torture because she held back a few things. _Important_ things, but even so, nothing that he'd want someone to get tortured for.

"If you harm her, then I might very well declare war." He said seriously, making Finch's lips twitch up in a smirk.

"Hm, uncaring, indeed."

The Doctor frowned as the man walked past him and out of the room, leaving him be as he returned to his office where a certain red-head was waiting. Upon entering, Finch stared blankly at the Krillitanes that screeched around Alex, who was strapped to his chair and kicking in vain at the creatures as she shouted at them angrily.

"Oi! Watch the claws you dimwitted, flying heathens! You better hope I don't get out of these restraints, or you'll be the ones lying face first on the pavement!"

"That's enough." Finch said, making the Krillitanes stop their assault. "I need to have a little chat with Miss Alex."

The Krillitanes slunk out of the office, changing into their human forms and wandering off, giving Finch the chance to turn to Alex and enjoy the view. Her jacket had been removed and her white shirt had rips and tears in it, to the point where it was in near ribbons. And it was speckled with red from where the Krillitanes' claws had sliced through it and across her body. Alex was breathing slightly hard, but held her head high, hardly bothered by her predicament, it seemed.

"So? You wanted to talk. Now talk." She said, eyes laced with annoyance more than anything else.

"My, my. You are a tough nut to crack, aren't you?" He smirked and she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever. Would you hurry up though? I can't exactly escape while you're still here watching."

Finch laughed, wandering around his desk and leaning on it as he looked down at her. "Very well, though I doubt escaping will be as easy as you believe it to be."

Alex shrugged, looking bored with the situation now, though she was internally panicking and hoping Finch didn't notice how quickly her hearts were pounding in her chest.

"I spoke with your Doctor friend."

"Oh? Good for you. Did he tell you how big of an idiot you are?"

Finch's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Not quite. He _did,_ however, mention you. And said if I should harm you in any way, that he'd declare war on us."

Alex hummed. "Rose must have gotten to him. Or Sarah Jane… or both. Women can be quite terrifying, you know."

"Hm, so you say, but..." Finch leaned over and picked up a letter opener from off his desk, moving towards Alex as he examined the blade and ran his fingers over it. "...you appear quite harmless to me."

Alex glared. "Untie me, and I'll show you just how _harmless_ I can be."

Finch chuckled. "Such _fire_, but I wonder how long it will last.

He quickly jammed the small knife into Alex's shoulder, making her cringe and grit her teeth as he smirked and leaned in, his breath brushing over her face.

"Now then, why don't you give me a glimpse. Hm? Will these children solve the Skasis Paradigm? Will the Doctor thwart my plans? And if so, how do I stop him?"

"Go chew on a rat, Finch." Alex spat through clenched teeth. "I'm not telling you anything."

Finch twisted the blade, causing her to grimace and let out a hiss of pain as he hissed in her ear. "We'll see about that."

* * *

Rose and Sarah Jane chuckled as they spoke about the Doctor and his little quirks, having started to get along the moment Alex got taken. It seemed that worry for their friend brought them together somewhat and they realized that arguing over pointless things now, would do nothing to get Alex back sooner. Especially with the Doctor not liking her very much to begin with. The man needed a push to go and get her, and the two of them were just the women to give it to him.

"With you, did he do that thing where he'd explain something at like, ninety miles per hour, and you'd go, 'what?' and he'd look at you like you'd just dribbled on your shirt?" Rose asked Sarah Jane, who nodded.

"All the time. Does he still stroke bits of the Tardis?"

"Yeah! Yeah, he does. I'm like, do you two want to be alone?"

They both laughed before Sarah Jane brought up Alex.

"What about Alex? I've only just met her, but is she anything like him? I don't know what it is, but she just seems similar to him."

Rose nodded. "Oh yeah. She rattles on a bit like he does and spouts these little random fact and such when she's nervous about something. Oh, but she's clever and is always bouncing around like him." She smiled fondly. "She's a good mate though. Like, you can just talk with her about stuff and she just sort of gets it. I mean, the Doctor does sometimes, but then there's time where you'll ask him something and he just sort of shrugs his shoulders, you know?"

Sarah Jane nodded. "Or he'd do that thing, where he sort of messes up his hair and tries to find something else to do?"

Rose grinned with a nod. "Oh yeah. But Alex is different. She's human, but she's so much like him, you'd think they were two peas in a pod."

Sarah Jane's expression softened. "She does seem like that, doesn't she? Like she's been through so much that it shows. In her eyes, she looks so old and tired like the Doctor, but she's still so young and she tucks it all away and still manages to smile about things. I don't know how she does it."

"Me neither. She's really tough. Physically too. When she pops up between big adventures like this, she sort of disappears on the Tardis and I have to go looking for her and find her in the gym."

Sarah Jane gaped. "I didn't know there was a gym."

"You're telling me. And you should see her! You'd think she was a champion boxer or something! And she's rarely out of breath with all the running around the Doctor does and I'm huffing and puffing. Oh, it makes me jealous, but I can't get up the nerve to go and do that on my days off, you know? And she's right clever and can give the Doctor a run for his money when she gets in fights with him. You saw, yeah? Back at the chip shop?"

Sarah Jane nodded with a grin. "And his face! He was too stunned for words!"

They both chuckled again as said man entered the room and eyed them both, confused.

"How's it going?"

They kept laughing though, thinking about everything they'd said about him and just how ridiculous the man was.

"What?" He frowned. "Listen, I need to find out what's programmed inside these."

They just couldn't stop laughing though, and were now doubled over as the Doctor grew frustrated.

"What? Stop it! Stop laughing at me or I won't help you lot get Alex."

"You found her?!" The both questioned, immediately ceasing their laughter.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, wishing everything was that easy. "No, but I know Finch has her and she'll be somewhere where she's most convenient for him, so I'm assuming she's in his office."

"What are we waiting for then? Let's go." Sarah Jane said, but the Doctor shook his head.

"She'll be fine. We need to figure out what Finch is up to first."

"Doctor!" Rose shouted, frowning at him. "She's our _friend_. I know you and her aren't exactly on good terms, but what if that was me? If Finch took me, would you _still_ be sitting here like this? We're wasting time when she could be getting hurt!"

"That's different." The Doctor argued. "And right now, it's her life or all the kids here, so which do you think I should choose?!"

Rose went silent, but glared at him and stormed off with Sarah Jane on her heels; the two of them shooing kids from the class as the Doctor cursed Alex under his breath and went to work trying to figure out the computers on his own in tense silence. After a while of struggling with the devices, the Doctor was about ready to call it quits and try finding another way in, when the screens all turned on and a green cube was shown; codes and other such things running beside it.

"You wanted the program, there it is." Sarah Jane said, her and Rose having wandered back over to look at the screens; still angry with the Doctor, but knowing that this was more important at the moment.

"Some sort of code." The Doctor muttered, before realization dawned on him. "No. No, that can't be…"

* * *

"Come on, come on." I hissed under my breath, exhausted and in pain as I strained my neck to grab a hold of the letter opener in my shoulder with my teeth.

_Three, two, one._ I pulled it out, letting out a whimper of pain as I took deep breaths from my nose and turned my head to drop the letter opener over my shoulder and down to my hands. _And if I'm lucky, I won't miss._ I closed my eyes and begged the universe that hated me so, that I wouldn't, before dropping it and feeling it hit my fingers. I very nearly did drop it, fumbling with it for a moment, before getting a decent hold on the blade and letting out a sigh of relief. My shoulder throbbed with pain as I struggled to cut through the thick rope around my wrists and then my back. Right as I finished and brought my hands around in front of me to rub at my raw wrists and get the blood circulating through my hands again, the fire alarm went off and I cursed under my breath.

I was late. Well, 'late' wasn't exactly the right word, but I had missed quite a bit and I knew that if I didn't get out of this school soon, I'd end up getting caught in the kitchen explosion. When I got up though, everything spun and I stumbled, grabbing a hold of the desk in order to keep upright as I tried to clear the fog in my vision. _Lost too much blood. Not good._ I pushed myself along though, moving slower than I wanted. The fire alarm had long since been cut off and I knew I had no time to join the Doctor and others in the kitchen, so I just made my way for the exit. Kids started running out then and I sort of joined the group until I had to stop; panting and leaning against the wall as I clutched my shoulder.

"Alex?!"

I turned slightly as Mickey hurried up, looking me over in worry as I smiled slightly.

"H-Hey, Mickey. Looks like your day's been a bit..." I cringed. "Better than mine."

"Oh man. Here. Let me help."

He grabbed me around the waist and looped my arm over his shoulder, helping me out of the building and helping me sit down on the curb of a planter near by, just as the school exploded and kids cheered. The cheers changed to chants for Kenny, the boy who helped the Doctor blow up the school, but I sighed in exhaustion and guilt; knowing that I should have been more careful and have not gotten caught, if I wanted to do anything in this adventure. _I would have at least have been able to save the teachers who became the Krillitanes' early lunch… but I couldn't even make up with Rose or apologize to the Doctor._ I glanced up at the two briefly. The Doctor was holding a heartbroken Sarah Jane who cried over K9's death and Rose was with Mickey, trying not to bother the two, surprisingly. All-in-all, I felt rather lonely and leaned back against the tree behind me and closed my eyes, nodding off as I thought about the Doctor and how he'd be fussing all over me right about now.

"Oh my God. Alex!"

I wearily opened my eyes, lifting my head from my chest and letting out a pained grunt when Rose practically tackled me in a hug.

"Ah! Sorry." Rose said, pulling away as I gripped my injured shoulder with a pained grimace. "Are you alright? I didn't… I didn't know you were hurt. Sorry."

She looked extremely guilty, so I smiled lightly, waving it off.

"I'm fine. Really. It's mostly just little cuts and scratches. And he didn't hit anything important in my shoulder, so I'm honestly just fine. A little dizzy and tired from blood loss, but that's an easy fix."

Rose continued to look guilty and bowed her head as she rubbed at her arm. "No, I mean… Sorry. About before when I got angry. I was just… I thought I was loosing you. That Sarah Jane was.. taking my place or something. It was stupid. I'm sorry."

"It wasn't stupid." I said, making her look at me in surprise as I let out a deep breath and closed my eyes again, exhaustion catching up quickly once more. "Everyone worries about loosing a friend at some point, but I'd never give you up, Rose. How could I trade out my best friend for someone else?"

I smiled a little, only for her to hug me tightly once more.

"Ngh, watch the shoulder. The shoulder, Rose."

She let me go, breathing out one last sentence. "Thank you, Alex."

"Are you alright, Alex?" Sarah Jane asked, eyes rimmed with red and heading over with the Doctor, who winced at my haggard appearance.

"I should be asking _you_ that." I said softly.

"I'm not the one bleeding on the floor." She countered, heading over and brushing a finger over my arm. "Oh, dear. They did quite a number on you. Doctor?"

The Doctor sighed, but headed over and pulled a penlight out of his pocket and shinned it in my eyes.

"How are you feeling? Any dizziness? Confusion? Balance problems? Nausea? Headache?"

I winced away from the light, frowning at him. "I'm fine. A bit dizzy and exhausted, but fine. I just need to take a hot shower and sleep for a bit and then I'll—"

"Absolutely not." Sarah Jane said sternly, hands on her hips as she stared me down. "You, missy, are going right to the Doctor's med bay where he will patch you up. You can do the rest _after_ your wounds are taken care of."

"Yes, mother." I droned, earning a smack upside the head. "Ow!"

"Hmph." Sarah Jane huffed as I pouted and rubbed at my head before the Doctor suddenly picked me up.

"Well, you heard the woman. Off you go."

"O-Oi! Put me down! I can walk just fine, thank you!" I argued, but he rolled his eyes and ignored me, taking me to the med bay to patch me up before I showered and went to bed; popping off sometime while I was asleep and not getting a chance to say goodbye to Sarah Jane or the others. Who wouldn't be seeing this me again.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

"It's a… countdown."

_"Countdown to what?" I asked, spinning around and searching for the man, but he wasn't there. "Countdown to what?!"_


	63. The Wedding of River Song

**Okay, i hate to do this to you awesome people, but i may have to shorten when i update again. i've fallen behind with prewriting chapters due to work, but i will do my best to stay ahead and keep updating two times a week. hopefully, i'll be able to keep doing that, but if not i'll let you know. right now, i'm only partway through chapter 65 so, it's cutting it pretty close. :/ but please enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think! and sorry about the cliffhanger there ;P had to do it.**

* * *

I had a dream. A dream that chilled my bones and sent a shiver of fear trickle down my spine. A dream so frightening, that my breath was cut short and any fear I'd previously had seemed small in comparison. I stood in a dark room, a cell, with a person chained to the wall before me. Their back was laid bare, the crisp white shirt they'd been wearing dirtied and torn to hang limply around their waist. The woman who hung there was silent. Dead or unconscious, I didn't know, but the scars on her back were familiar. Small, minute ones, but one large one from a knife that had been dragged down their back; old, but still a little pink. But none of that mattered, because the mark on their left shoulder told me who the woman was who hung there. _I_ hung there. The Gallifreyan marks on my shoulder twisting and swirling in a way that any normal mark or tattoo shouldn't; the lines of it glowing ever so slightly. I felt sick, watching it, watching myself even though I was right there as the Doctor's voice echoed in the quite chamber.

"_It's a… countdown."_

"Countdown to what?" I asked, spinning around and searching for the man, but he wasn't there. "Countdown to what?!"

"To the song's end."

I spun around and paled at the sight of Ood Sigma, fear hanging in the air as his spoke.

"The song's end is nearly upon you, Seer. The Silence are coming and you will be the one who's song ends. The song with two choices. One that changes and hurts the man you love the most and will cause you unbearable amounts of pain. And another, one which will end it all. The pain, the sorrow, the guilt… and the dream. Returning things as they were."

"B-But how do I choose?" I stuttered out, hearts racing in fear upon knowing that my death was approaching.

"You do not." He replied, confusing me. "You do not get to choose. Your soul and your actions until this point choose your fate. Everything that has happened—every choice, every action—will all be accumulated together and when your choice is made, what happens to you will be determined."

"But I..." My voice cracked. "I don't want to die."

"All songs must end." Ood Sigma said bluntly, stabbing me in the heart as I quivered slightly. "And that moment is fixed. Without your death, the universe will fall and time will cease to exist. Your death is inevitable and you can no longer run from it, Seer. It will happen just as it was always going to."

"No. No! I don't want to die! I-I can't die!" I shouted in vain as the Ood disappeared and the air was thrown from my lungs as I woke up gasping and covered in sweat in a hallway.

A hallway _full_ of Silence.

My heart pounded away quickly in my panic, and it felt like my lungs had shrunk down to nothing with how hard it was for me to breathe. My head started to ache as the Silence turned to me with hisses, trapped behind walls of glass, but I could feel them trying to get into my head and wipe my memory of them, the sharp pain in my head increasing the longer I was in there with them, but I couldn't move. I was stuck on the ground in fear as my eyes shifted from Silence to Silence; a small whimper escaping my throat as my headache spiked sharply. A hand clamped over my mouth then and I immediately panicked, regaining my strength as I fought against my attacker as I was pulled out of the room.

I managed to bite harshly into the person's hand, earning a cry of pain as I escaped and ran through the closest door; quickly falling to my knees as I held my head in pain and someone called out to me.

"Alex?"

I turned, seeing River and Amy standing there with Kovarian tied to a chair behind them. I tried to say something, but all that came out was a whimper of pain as I doubled over. The two of them quickly rushed to my side, trying to help, before something was pressed to my right eye and the pain faded. I panted, confused, though River sighed in relief and explained.

"Sorry, sweetie. But you're going to have to wear that for the time being, okay?"

I furrowed my brows and touched my eye where an eye-patch was, as she continued.

"It was all I could think of. Keeps the Silence from erasing their existence from our minds, so it should keep your mind from trying to tear itself apart."

I nodded, accepting her help to stand, and looked around, lost with how my head was scrambled at the moment.

"Where am I?"

"Cario, Egypt." Amy said. "Area 52. The end of time."

I groaned, rubbing at my head a bit. "That explains a lot. Is the Doctor—"

I cut myself off at seeing Mels standing there before me, dark skinned and dreadlocks tumbling down her back, making me blink.

"Mels?"

She raised a brow. "It's been a while since you've called me that, Alex. Is something wrong?"

I looked over at Amy, ready to say something, but shook my head and turned back, only to see River standing there again.

"Okay. Well, that's weird." I muttered, making her give me a worried look.

"Alex? What are you talking about?"

I pointed at her. "You were Mels. I mean, the last body you had. With the dreadlocks and the skirt."

"Okay, now you're scaring us." A young voice said and I turn to Amy, only to see little Amelia Pond looking at me with a strange look. "You sure you're alright, Alex?"

"Amelia. Little Amelia." I breathed out, bringing a hand to my head with a wince as my head started to ache painfully once more. "But… you were Amy."

"I _am_ Amy." She repeated, seriously. "Alex, what's going on?"

"I-I don't… I don't know." I admitted, looking back at River only to jolt at seeing her in a spacesuit. "Why are you in a spacesuit? T-That's not right. None of this is right." I said, starting to freak out a bit as River held out her hands in worry.

"Alex. Alex, you need to calm down and tell us what's going on."

"Y-You keep changing. You were Mels, then back to River, now you're in a spacesuit." I turned to Amy, who was back to being Amy, but the younger one I'd met back in 'The Beast Below'. "A-And you were Amelia. The little girl and now you're younger Amy. The one who didn't like me."

Someone approached then and I immediately backed away in full on panic mode at the Dalek that stood there.

"Is she alright?" It questioned River as I grabbed Amy and pulled her back—her back to her normal self with the eye-patch.

"No! Stay back!"

"Alex! What are you doing?!" Amy demanded, pulling away from me as I tried to grab her again.

"No! Stay away from it! It's dangerous!"

"Alex, it's just Doctor Kent! I don't know what you're talking about!"

"B-But..." I turned back to where the Dalek had been, but it was just a confused woman in a white lab coat, giving me a strange look. "B-But it was… a Dalek. I-I-I saw it."

"Alex, I think you need to sit down." River suggested, a Cyberman bringing me a chair that I hesitantly sat in. "Now, I think something's wrong and it probably has something to do with you being in this time-line, but I'm going to need you to tell me exactly what's going on before I can try to help you, okay?"

"I-I already did." I said, watching as the Cyberman became a soldier the moment I blinked. "I-I saw different versions of you a-and Amy, but then I'm seeing Cybermen and Daleks and I-I don't know what's going on." I said, clutching at my head that was starting to hurt painfully once more.

"Alex? Alex, look at me."

"I-It hurts." I whimpered, vaguely hearing River call for something before I was hit in the head with some sort of energy and everything went black.

* * *

A figure wearing a robe and looking worse for wear was brought into Churchill's office, Churchill himself sending the guards off and leaving the man on the ground before him.

"Tick tock goes the clock, as the old song says." Churchill said, looking down at the bedraggled man before turning to the clock behind him. "But they don't, do they? The clocks never tick. 'Something has happened to time'. That's what you say. What you never _stop_ saying. 'All of history is happening at once'. But what does that _mean_? What happened? Explain to me in terms that I can understand. What happened to time?"

The man looked up, revealing a bearded Eleventh Doctor.

"A woman."

* * *

_Earlier_

* * *

"Imagine you were dying. Imagine you were afraid and a long way from home and in terrible pain. Just when you thought it couldn't get worse, you looked up and saw the face of the devil himself." The Doctor said ominously, approaching the defeated Dalek on the ground and looking at it from under the brim of his stetson. "Hello, Dalek."

"Emergency. Emergency. Weapon system disabled. Emergency." The Dalek cried as the Doctor opened up the top of it with his sonic screwdriver.

"Hush, now. I need some information from your data core. Everything the Daleks know about the Silence and the death of Alexander Holmes."

* * *

_The Docks of Calisto B_

* * *

The Doctor stepped into the bar and faced the red skinned man at the front counter, eyes serious. "Gideon Vandaleur. Get him. _Now_."

"Who says he's here?" The man replied, only for the Doctor to slam the eye-stalk of the Dalek he'd defeated on the counter before him.

It didn't take long after that for the Doctor to have a seat at a table nearby as the man rushed off to get Gideon; leaving the Doctor alone to stare down at his wedding ring sadly as he twisted it on his finger. A hooded figure joined him at his table, drawing his attention to him.

"Father Gideon Vandaleur, former envoy of the Silence. My condolences." The Doctor hummed, confusing the slim man wearing a black eye patch once he'd pulled down his hood.

"Your what?"

"Gideon Vandaleur has been dead for six months." The Doctor said, sonicking the person in front of him and shutting down the Teselecta. "Can I speak to the Captain, please?" He asked the tiny man residing in the eye, who hurriedly rushed off to relay his message.

"Speaking." Replied the Captain, making the Doctor grin.

"Hello again, the Teselecta time-traveling shape-changing robot powered by miniature people. Never get bored of that. Long time since Berlin."

"Doctor, what have you done to our systems?" The Captain questioned, annoyed.

"They'll be fine if you behave. Now, this unit can disguise itself as anyone in the universe, so if you're posing as Vandaleur, you're investigating the Silence. Tell me about them."

"Tell you what?

"One thing. Just one… Their weakest link."

* * *

The Doctor walked beside Gantok, the so-called weakest link of the Silence, after he defeated him in a live chess battle; live being the pieces that get charged up with electricity the more you move them. The two had entered a sort of crypt in search of Dorium, who would be able to give the Doctor more information about the Silence and what they wanted to accomplish by killing off him and Alex. Alex especially. Just the thought of his wife dying a second time sent ice through his veins.

"The Seventh Transept, where the Headless Monks keep the leftovers." Gantok announced. "Watch your step. There are traps everywhere."

There was a scuttling noise and the Doctor grimaced. "I hate rats."

"There are no rats in the transept." Gantok replied, making him hopeful.

"Oh, good."

"The skulls eat them."

The Doctor turned towards the rows of skulls as they turned to face him, and he shivered, wondering how Alex would handle being in a place like this. _Knowing her, she'd be like a kid in a candy store. Perfect place for an anthropologist. Skulls. Bodies._ He shivered again, brushing the thoughts aside.

"The Headless Monks behead you alive, remember?" Gantok said, in no way comforting the Doctor, who spotted boxes on pedestals ahead of them.

"Why are some of them in boxes?"

"Because some people are rich, and some people are left to rot. And Dorium Maldovar was always very rich."

The Doctor went over to the box and opened it as Dorium sneezed, making him jump before turning to Gantok.

"Thank you for bringing me, Gantok."

"My pleasure. It saves me the trouble of burying you." Gantok smirked, pulling out a gun and approaching the Doctor. "No one beats me at chess."

The Doctor spotted something and tried to stop Gantok, but the man walked right into a trip wire and fell into a pit of skulls.

"Gantok!" The Doctor called, rushing forward to try and help, but it was no use and he watched painfully as Gantok was devoured, until the skulls turned to him and he quickly sonicked the trap shut.

"Hello? Is someone there?" Dorium called out, having woken up, it seemed and making the Doctor slowly approach; wondering how it was possible that the man still functioned as only a head. "Ah, Doctor. Thank God, it's you. The Monks, they turned on me."

The Doctor winced. "Well, I'm afraid they rather did, a bit."

"Give it to me straight, Doctor. How bad are my injuries?"

"Well..."

Dorium started laughing then, and the Doctor let out a soft sigh of relief. "Haha! Oh, your face!"

* * *

_Churchill's Office_

* * *

"This is absurd." Churchill said, affronted. "Other worlds, carnivorous skulls, talking heads. I don't know why I'm listening to you."

"Because." The Doctor explained. "In another reality, you and I are friends. And you sense that. Just as you sense that there is something wrong with time."

"And you keep mentioning this Alex fellow. Who is that? What does he have to do with any of this?"

"She..." The Doctor looked sadly down at his ring again. "She's my wife."

"Is _she_ the woman you were speaking of?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No. This is another woman. I'm getting to her."

"What's she like? Attractive, I assume?"

"Hell… in high heels." The Doctor answered, making Churchill raise his brows in curiosity.

"Tell me more."

* * *

_The Seventh Transept_

* * *

"Oh, it's not so bad, really, as long as they get your box the right way up." Dorium told the Doctor, not sounding nearly as unhappy about his situation as he expected. "I got a media-chip fitted in my head years ago, And the Wi-fi down here is excellent, so I keep myself entertained."

"I need to know about the Silence and what they want with Alex." The Doctor demanded from the man, getting back to the subject at hand.

"Oh. A religious order of great power and discretion. The sentinels of history, as they like to call themselves." Dorium explained.

"And they want Alex and I dead."

"You're a man with a long and dangerous past, but your future is infinitely more terrifying. The Silence believe it must be averted." Dorium said, narrowing his eyes. "And your wife is not as pleasant as you'd imagine. She is as dangerous as you, if not more so, and is one of the most feared beings in the universe. The Seer and Changer of Time. A woman that even the most feared beings are afraid of."

The Doctor frowned. "Alex? But she's harmless. Well, unless you get on her bad side, but even then! She's never hurt anyone."

Dorium sighed with a roll of his eyes. "It's because you're in love with her, that you don't see the truth. She has inadvertently caused a _number_ of deaths. Some for the better of the universe, others for no reason at all."

"She didn't actually do it, though." The Doctor argued. "She tried to prevent them. She _always_ tries to prevent them."

"Would you say the same about the fleet of Daleks that was destroyed with Davros? I do believe _she_ was the one who 'pulled the trigger' in that one."

"To protect _me_." The Doctor frowned. "_I_ would have been the one to do it otherwise and she was only trying to help."

"Either way, many people do not see it as such. And it's not necessarily her causing death that's the problem. She's kind."

"Kind?" The Doctor questioned, confused now.

"_Too_ kind. She forgives everything and everyone, no matter how heinous they are. And for beings who have always been that way, hearing that someone sees good in you and _forgives_ you for actions that you never wanted forgiveness for. Well, that is far worse than any punishment. Add that on top of her foreknowledge capabilities, and she is dangerous enough for the Silence to want to end her existence. And if not them, then I'm sure a number of others are waiting in line."

The Doctor scowled, biting back his harsh words because he knew it was true. "What about me? What's so dangerous about my future?" He asked, steering the subject away from his wife.

"'On the Fields of Trenzalore, at the fall of the Eleventh, when no living creature can speak falsely, or fail to answer, a question will be asked. A question that must never, ever be answered'." Dorium recited.

"'Silence will fall when the question is asked'."

"'Silence _must_ fall', would be a better translation." Dorium corrected. "The Silence are determined the question will never be answered. That the Doctor will _never_ reach Trenzalore."

"I don't understand. What's it got to do with me?"

"The first question. The oldest question in the universe, hidden in plain sight. Would you like to know what it is?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?" He asked seriously, the skulls in the room turning to them both ominously. "Very, very sure?"

The Doctor hesitated, swallowing thickly. "Of course."

"Then I shall tell you. But on your own head be it." Dorium chuckled, telling the Doctor what the question was and watching as his face paled.

It only took a split second decision, before the Doctor hurried over and closed Dorium's box, picking it up and rushing back to the Tardis as the man complained.

"It's not my fault. Put me back. Ow! I've fallen on my nose."

The Doctor sent the Tardis off and checked the screen before him, looking at his death date with a solemn expression as Dorium went on.

"Have you got Wi-fi here? I'm bored already and my nose is hurting. We all have to die, Doctor, but you and Alex more than most. You do see that, don't you? You know what the question is now. You do see that you have to die. You and Alex both."

* * *

_Senate Room_

* * *

"But what was the question? Why did it mean your deaths?" Churchill asked, confused by all of this.

"Suppose there was a man who knew a secret. Him and his wife. A terrible, dangerous secret that must never be told. How would you erase that secret from the world? Destroy it forever, before it can be spoken?" The Doctor asked him, and he hesitated.

"If I had to, I'd destroy the man."

"And silence would fall. All the times I've heard those words, I never realized it was our silence. Our deaths. The Doctor and Seer will fall." The Doctor said, looking around the room suddenly, confused. "Why are we here?"

"This… This is the Senate room."

"Why did we leave your office?" The Doctor rephrased.

"Well, we wanted a stroll, didn't we?" Churchill replied, though he sounded a little confused as well.

"I think I've been running." The Doctor muttered, feeling a little sweaty, before he noticed Churchill looking down at his gun. "Why do you have your revolver?"

"Well, you're dangerous company, Soothsayer." He answered, sounding as though he was trying to convince himself than anything.

The Doctor though, noticed a tally mark on his arm. "Yes, I think I am."

"Resume your story."

* * *

_Tardis_

* * *

"Doctor, please, open my hatch. I've got an awful headache. Which is to be honest, means more than it used to." He said as the Doctor opened the box and tilted his head to look at Dorium; who was upside down with his eyes closed in a painful grimace. "It's like some terrible weight is pressing down on my… Oh, I see."

"Why Lake Silencio? Why… _Utah_?" He asked the man, walking away to stare at the monitor once more.

"It's a still point in time. Makes it easier to create a fixed point. And your deaths are a fixed point, Doctor. You can't run away from this."

"Been running all my life. Why should I stop?" The Doctor countered.

"Because now you know what's at stake. Why your lives must end."

"Not today." The Doctor said, punching in a number on the Tardis phone and waiting for it as it rang.

"What's the point in delaying? How long have you delayed already?" Dorium pushed.

"Been knocking about. A bit of a farewell tour. Things to do, people to see. There's always more. I could invent a new color, save the Dodo, join the Beatles." He spoke into the phone then. "Hello, it's me. Get him. Tell him we're going out and it's all on me, except for the money and the driving." He turned back to Dorium then. "I have got a time machine, Dorium. It's all still going on. For me, it never stops. Liz the First is still waiting in a glade to elope with me—though I doubt Alex would appreciate that, never mind. But I could help Rose Tyler with her homework. I could go on all of Jack's stag parties in one night." The Doctor said, voice getting tight near the end as desperation caught up with him.

"Time catches up with us all, Doctor."

"Well, it has never laid a glove on me!" He shouted, before hearing a response on the other line. "Hello?"

"_Doctor, I'm so sorry._" A woman, a nurse, said sadly."_We didn't know how to contact you. I'm afraid Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart passed away a few months ago… Doctor?_"

"Y-Yes. Yes, I-I-I..." He didn't know what to say.

"_It was very peaceful. He talked a lot about you, if that's any comfort._" The nurse said, trying to offer something to the Doctor. "_Always made us pour an extra brandy in case you came round one of these days._"

"Doctor? What's wrong?" Dorium asked, seeing the expression on the man's face and growing slightly concerned.

"Nothing. Nothing, I just..." The Doctor hung up the phone sadly. "Alex, she… she doesn't have a choice, does she?"

Dorium shook his head. "No. She will most likely pop up there regardless."

The Doctor sighed softly, twisting his wedding ring and reaching into his pocket to pull out some Tardis blue envelopes. "It's time… It's time."

He returned to the Calisto B bar where the Teselecta was summoned once more and he placed the envelopes before it with instructions to deliver the letters.

"Surely you could deliver the messages yourself?" The Captain of the robot asked.

"It would involve crossing my own time stream. Best not." The Doctor said, smiling, but sad.

"According to our files, this is the end for you. Your final journey. We'll deliver your messages. You can depend on us."

"...Thank you." The Doctor said softly, walking towards the door, only for the Teselecta to call out to him.

"Doctor. Whatever you think of the Teselecta, we are champions of law and order just as you have always been. Is there nothing else we can do?"

The Doctor just looked at them sadly and walked out, leaving the Teselecta and it's crew behind.

* * *

_Senate room_

* * *

"Why would you do this?" Churchill demanded to know. "Of _all_ the things you've told me, this I find hardest to believe. Why would you invite your friends to see your deaths?"

"I had to die. As did Alex. But neither of us had to die alone." The Doctor answered solemnly. "Amy and Rory. The last Centurion and the girl who waited. However dark it got, I'd turn around and there they'd be. If it's time to go, remember what you're leaving. Remember the best. My friends have always been the best of me. And Alex has always cared for my companions more than anything."

"And did you tell them this was going to happen?" Churchill questioned.

"It would help if you didn't keep asking questions." The Doctor said in slight annoyance, glancing at his arm again to see three tally marks now and whispering. "We don't have much time."

"And the woman you spoke of. Did you invite her?" Churchill asked, ignoring the Doctor's complaint.

"Yes. She was there. River Song came twice. Everything was in place. I only had to do one more thing. I only had to die."

"You say that as though you were alone. Wasn't Alex supposed to go as well?"

The Doctor nodded, sadly. "We were to go together. I couldn't live without her, and she came back for me all those years ago… She was the same. So we would both die, but we'd be together in the end."

* * *

_Lake Silencio, Utah_

* * *

The Doctor walked over to the spacesuit that had just walked out of the water of the lake, pausing only when he heard someone chasing after him, and he turned with a frown.

"Alex, I told you to stay back."

Alex shook her head, a frown marring her features. "No. I said I'd never leave you alone, and I meant it." She grabbed his hand, holding it tightly, and the Doctor tightened his grip on it as well; feeling her hand shaking slightly in his.

He honestly wanted to march her right back to the others, to keep her safe. He knew she was supposed to die here, but what he didn't know was if _her_ death was a fixed point as well. He didn't know if River was supposed to kill her or if something else happened—such as her trying to keep _him_ from dying—but if he could, he wanted to be able to prevent it from happening. He just worried about the consequences.

The two walked hand-in-hand to the spacesuit, who opened the visor up to reveal an emotional River Song.

"Well, then. Here we are at last." The Doctor said, a sad smile on his face.

"I can't stop it. The suit's in control." She cried, looking between the two of them in worry.

"You're not supposed to. This has to happen."

"Run." River begged.

"I did run. Running brought me here."

"I'm trying to fight it, but I can't." River said, desperately trying to send them away. "It's too strong."

"I know. It's okay. This is where I die. This is a fixed point. This must happen. This _always_ happens. Alex knows too." He said, the red head nodding in finality as she squeezed the Doctor's hand. "Don't worry. You won't even remember this. Look over there."

River turned slightly, seeing herself standing not too far away. "That's me. How can I be there?"

"That's you from the future, serving time for a murder you probably can't remember. My murder." He replied, continuing to use the words 'me' and 'I' in the hopes that Alex wouldn't die here as well.

"Why would you do that? Make me watch?"

"So that you know this is inevitable. And you are forgiven. Always and completely forgiven."

Alex nodded again, sniffling as she struggled to hold back tears and River slowly began to raise her arm. "I-I'm sorry, River. I'm so, so sorry you have to do this. B-But it's okay. It has to happen and I will _always_ forgive you. No matter what."

"Please, my love. Please, please just run!" River said, looking more at Alex than the Doctor; though the Doctor didn't notice as he answered.

"I can't."

"Time can be rewritten." River countered, but Alex spoke.

"D-Don't, Mels."

River fired the shots then, the Doctor and Alex flinching as the noise rang out loudly across the deserted lakeside, only to look confused at being alive. Alex, however, looked completely petrified.

"Hello, sweeties." River smirked as the Doctor gaped at her in disbelief.

"What have you done?"

"Well, I think I just drained my weapons system." River rattled off quickly with a grin.

"But this is fixed. This is a fixed point in time."

"Fixed points can be rewritten."

"No, they can't." Alex breathed out, making the Doctor nod vigorously.

"She's right! Of course they can't. Who told you tha—" He was cut off then, as everything went white.

* * *

_Senate room_

* * *

"Well? What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" Churchill repeated, confused as he approached the Doctor, so the man explained.

"Nothing happened. And then it kept happening. Or, if you prefer, everything happened at once and it won't ever stop. Time is dying. It's going to be five o' two in the afternoon for all eternity. A needle stuck on a record."

"A record?" Churchill said, voice almost disgusted. "Good Lord, man. Have you never heard of downloads?"

"Said Winston Churchill." The Doctor muttered.

"And Alex? What about her?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I don't know. Time is happening all at once. She could be here somewhere. She could not. She could be trapped in an unmoving time bubble. She could be popping up every few milliseconds never having a chance to so much utter a word or take a breath. She could be dead, for all I know. But she could also be alive, and that's what I'm hoping for. That she's alive and safe."

Churchill sniffed then, catching the scent of something. "Gun smoke. That's gun smoke." He lifted his revolver. "Oh, I appear to have fired this."

The Doctor lifted a spear that was in his grasp. "We seem to be defending ourselves."

"I don't understand."

"The creatures that lead the Silence. Remarkable beings. They're memory-proof." The Doctor rattled on, the two of them backing up.

"But what does that mean?"

"You can't remember them. The moment you look away, you forget they were ever there." He checked his arm, seeing only four tally marks and relaxing slightly. "Don't panic. In small numbers, they're not too difficult." When he shifted his spear though, his other arm was revealed to have _multiple_ tally marks littering his skin and he paled.

Both men heard a noise and looked up to see _dozens_ of Silence hanging from the ceiling. Before they could react to them though, something rolled to their feet. The grenade let out a bang and smoked before people in combat gear rushed into the room, shouting.

"Go! Go! Go! Keep the Silence in sight at all times. Keep your eye drives active."

"Who the devil are you? Identify yourselves!" Churchill ordered, a familiar woman heading over.

"Pond. Amelia Pond."

The Doctor laughed, happy for the first time in a while, before quickly having to push down Churchill's arm; who had started to lift his weapon once more.

"No! She's on our side. It's okay, Winston." The Doctor caught sight of Amy's eye patch though, and his expression fell. "No. No, Amy. Amy, why are you wearing that?"

She didn't answer him, lifting a weapon and knocking the Doctor out.

* * *

It didn't take long for the Doctor to realize that Amy was still his Amy and _not_ a servant of the Silence, and he even bumped into Rory; though Amy had no idea that he was her husband. When they reached Cario, however, he hardly paid much attention to anything due to the fact that Amy had said they had Alex with them. He might have paid more attention if she were safe, but when Amy said she'd popped up in with the hundreds of Silence, he worried that she might have slipped back into the coma she'd been in once before. She'd only been there a few days—according to Amy—but that did little to lessen his worry. He'd even put on the recommended eye patch without a fuss… Okay, he did fuss a _little_, but for good reason! He'd also tried to see if he could get Rory and Amy back together, but with his lack of social skills and his mind distracted with other things, it didn't exactly go well. It wasn't until he was brought into the center of the pyramid that he paid attention to anything.

"Hi, honey. I'm home." He hummed, looking around the room for his missing wife, but feeling the need to greet River anyway. "Now where's my wife?"

"Really?" River questioned, brow raised as she held up a packet of papers. "A simple hello and then 'where's my wife'? That's not exactly the greeting I wanted and what sort of time do you call this?"

She moved aside to reveal Kovarian tied to a chair as she spoke.

"The death of time. The end of time. The end of us all." She groaned. "Oh, why couldn't you just die?"

"Did my best dear. I showed up." The Doctor quipped. "You just can't get the psychopaths these days."

He gazed around, finally paying attention to the place he was in, though he still bounced on his heels anxiously.

"Love what you've done with the pyramids. How did you score all this?"

"Hallucinogenic lipstick." River replied. "Works wonders on President Kennedy. And Cleopatra was a real pushover."

"I always thought so." The Doctor smiled slightly, earning a smile in return from River.

"She mentioned you."

"What did she say?"

"Put down that gun."

"Did you?"

"Eventually."

"Oh, they're flirting." Kovarian groaned. "Do I have to watch this? Oh, I know! Bring in his wife. I'd _love_ to see some entertainment there."

River turned to the woman, a bit angry. "It was such a basic mistake, wasn't it, Madame Kovarian. Take a child, raise her into a perfect psychopath, introduce her to the Doctor and Alex. Who else was I going to fall in love with?"

The Doctor wasn't nearly as pleased as she was though. "It's not funny, River. Reality is fatally compromised. Tell me you understand that."

"Do you and Alex want dinner?" River asked casually.

"I don't have the time." The Doctor said, growing angrier by the second. "Nobody has the time, because as long as I'm alive, time is dying. Because of you, River."

"Because I refused to kill the person I love."

"Oh, you love me, do you? Oh, that's sweet of you. Isn't that sweet. Come here, you." He lunged at her, but Amy called out to the men behind him.

"Get him!"

They grabbed him as River smirked.

"I'm not a fool, sweetie. I know what happens if we touch."

He lunged again though, managing to grab her arm as time started to move.

"Get him off me! Doctor!" She shouted, struggling to get away.

"I'm sorry, River. It's the only way."

Flashes of what was supposed to happen started up, but the images were in black and white. They soon stopped though, when the men finally pulled the Doctor off of River.

"Cuff him." She hissed, rubbing at her wrist as the Doctor groaned.

"Oh, why do you always have handcuffs?"

"Ask your wife. They're hers." River quipped, making the Doctor quickly try to change the subject.

"It's the only way, River. We're the opposite poles of disruption. If we touch, we short out the differential. Time can begin again."

"And I'll be by a lakeside killing you. You _and_ Alex. Is that what you want?" River countered angrily. "Because it wasn't you I was speaking about earlier. It had never _been_ you."

The Doctor looked at her in shock as realization came over him. "B-But the flirting..."

River rolled her eyes. "To make her jealous."

"W-What about in Berlin?"

River sighed. "I saved you because she begged me to. If not, then you would have died and I have no doubt she would have probably offed herself just to be with you. Though I do like you a bit. Just not in the way that you think."

"But… she's not part of the fixed point. You don't have to kill her! She doesn't have to be involved!" He argued, fear making his stomach twist into knots.

"Doctor, she _is_ a part of this! You saw it! When we touched, things still weren't how they should have been! Time only moved a minute further when it could have probably moved three minutes if we were all together."

"Where is she?" He suddenly asked, panicking and struggling against the men holding him back. "Where's my wife?!"

Amy and River exchanged glances, but River soon gestured to a couple of the men, before turning back to the Doctor seriously as they left the room.

* * *

_I was scared. More than scared, terrified. I could still feel myself in there with them. Hearing them hiss out breaths and stare at me with those tiny dead eyes. The Silence, constantly calling out my name, reaching for me with their electricity-covered hands. I could feel them watching me. Constantly, knowingly. They knew me. Knew who I was, what I was capable of, and they wanted it stopped. They wanted me stopped. No more Alex, no more Seer, no more foreknowledge or deaths. No more me. And I could feel it. Electricity shooting through me, killing me dead. Their hands around my throat strangling me. River shooting me in that astronaut suit. Again and again, dying. I kept dying. And it scared me. I didn't want to die. I wanted to be safe. I wanted to be okay. I wanted to be here helping the Doctor through things. I wanted him to help me through things. But most of all, I wanted all of this to stop._

_The screaming, the crying, the pain and the fear. I wanted to be happy. I wanted to not have to be afraid of death or dying or getting hurt. I wanted the Doctor to stay safe. I wanted to be safe. Not from everything, but from the Silence. From Death. I'd died once already and you'd think that would have desensitized me to it. I'd come back, after all. But it only made me more afraid. The pain that came with it. How my body slowly shut down and I could feel every heartbeat as my heart struggled to pump blood through me. The cold chill and numbness that swept over me. The Doctor's agonizing cries for me to be okay. The struggle to breathe. To function. And not only that, but I didn't know if I would come back this time._

_Sure, I saw my future self who appeared to be regenerated, but how could I be sure that was what it was? I'd gone over this back when I had argued with the Doctor and Sarah Jane had perked me up, but it was more like she'd just distracted me from it for the moment and that worry was now returning full force. For all I knew, I would die and when my body tried to regenerate, I'd be sent back to my world and that would be the end of it. The Ood's prediction came to mind and I wondered if that might have been one of the choices._

"_One that changes and hurts the man you love the most. One that will cause you unbearable amounts of pain. And another, one which will end it all. The pain, the sorrow, the guilt… and the dream. Returning things as they were."_

"_Shut up. Shut up. Shutupshutupshutup!" I wailed, curling up further into the small ball I'd curled myself up in; hands over my ears and eyes clenched shut. _

_The voices all overlapped with one another, drowning me in thick ink. The Doctor's voice, all of his companions, my parents, my siblings and grandparents, my friends, the Ood, River, Jack, the Beast in the pit, the Master, the drums. All of it growing louder. The thick black tar rising from my ankles to my waist to my shoulders and throat. And I choked on it, drowning, but it felt like I'd been drowning for ages. Days, weeks, months, years. I didn't know, but I couldn't take it much longer. I could feel my will straining as walls and barriers in my mind began to crumble piece by piece; large chucks of stone falling into the ocean of ink and creating ripples that threatened to push me completely under with every wave. And just as I felt my muscles give and I sank under the black sludge, something grabbed my hand._

"_Alex!"_

_I was pulled up, head coming out of the tar and giving me a chance to see who called me. Who stopped me from drowning. Who took my hand and pulled me out of the ocean of darkness that had begun to kill me. And I saw him. I saw a man with close cut hair, big ears and a leather jacket. I saw a man with brown hair spiked up on his head in a pinstriped suit and ratty Converse. I saw an older man with grey hair and bushy eyebrows. And I saw a man with floppy brown hair wearing a bow-tie. All of them the same man. All of them pulling me out. All of them calling my name as I struggled to get their name out of my mouth._

"_T-Theta."_

"_Don't worry, Alex. Hang on. I've got you." He said, desperately trying to pull me out, but I was so tired and my eyes started to slip closed as I sank down a little further. "Alex! Alex, please! Hang on! Hang on, Alexander!"_

_I wearily opened my eyes, only to choke on the ink upon seeing one of the Silence behind the Doctor; hand outstretched and electricity sparking dangerously as it approached him. My hearts stopped and I began to struggle to get out of the thick tar, _needing_ to save him. I could suddenly care less if I drowned, so long as I saved the Doctor from the alien behind him. And the moment I was pulled out, I moved past the ecstatic Doctor and right into the sparking hand that had been centimeters from touching him. Electricity jolted through me, dropping me to the ground like a rock as the Doctor scrambled to turn me over and help me._

"_Alex. Alex, you need to wake up! Please! This isn't real! This is just your fears playing tricks on you! Please, Alex! If you don't get up, I'm going to lose you! I-I can't lose you, Alexander! I can't lose you again!"_

_But it had to be real. I could hear them, hissing and calling out to me. Their garbled voices trying to pull me back into the tar like slimy hands crawling up my legs. The Doctor began ripping them off me shouting at me to fight back. To snap out of it and realize what was going on and that none of this was real, but I couldn't. Tears streamed down my face as I cried, sobbing heavily with every shaking breath I breathed in._

"_T-T-Theta. T-Theta. I'm s-scared, T-Theta. I-I-I'm so s-scared."_

_He leaned over me, lifting my head and shoulders off the ground and shushing me as he brushed back my hair._

"_Sh, sh, sh. It's okay, Alex. It's okay to be scared. I'm here with you. I can help you."_

"_T-They're coming." I wailed, voice cracking with fear. "T-They're coming a-and they're going t-to kill me. I-I-I don't want t-to die, Theta. P-Please. I-I don't want to."_

_The Doctor's expression fell. "Alex, I'm sorry. But we have to. Time will fall apart if we don't and—"_

"_N-No!" I cried, clinging to him as my chest ached and my head pounded with every beat of my heart. "I-I don't know what will happen! I-I won't come back! H-How could I come back?! I-If I die, w-who will be with you?!"_

_He pulled me up and clutched me to his chest as I sobbed into the crook of his neck, rocking me back and forth._

"_Alex. Alexander, you _will_ come back. You always do. And even if you don't, I will rip time apart trying to find you. So no matter what, I will make sure you come back. I will make sure you are safe. I won't let anything take you from me. Not ever."_

_Things started to slow down then. My breathing evened out, the voices turned to whispers and then muted, and the ink slipped back into the ground as though it had never been there. Not even the Silence remained and soon, everything was gone. Fading from existence until I opened my eyes and woke up._

* * *

My eyes snapped open, wide with fear as I struggled to breathe and I sat up and stared at the person who'd woken me. Rory stood there, looking rather sheepish as he hesitantly pulled his hand back.

"S-Sorry. The boss, she says they need you in the control room."

I nodded, pulling a hand through my hair tiredly as I slipped out from under the covers; making Rory turn away at the sight of my black compression shorts. "I'll be there in a second."

He hurried out then, making me snort at the fact that Rory was still Rory, even when he didn't know who he was. My small smile quickly faded though as my headache returned and I cringed, wishing I could take something for it, but we'd tried everything and nothing seemed to quell the pain. So I sighed softly and got up, pulling on a shirt and not bothering to switch out my shorts for some pants. _They're probably just going to ask me to fix something again. Nothing I really need to get dressed up for._ I glanced in the mirror though, and winced at my haggard appearance. My hair was messed up from my tossing and turning in my sleep as well as running my hand through it multiple times. My eyes had dark bags under them from the frequent nightmares, and I was awfully pale despite my attempts to get some sun light out in the Reception Room at the top of the pyramid. _I'd actually go out, but with everyone changing into aliens in my mind, I'd rather not deal with the paranoia. _I turned away and headed out, covering my mouth as I yawned and entered the control room.

"So? What is it that's so important you had to wake me up from my… nap…" I trailed off, catching sight of the Doctor—who looked relieved—and I promptly turned a deep shade of scarlet as I realized how awful I must look.

I quickly turned to Amy—who looked like Little Amelia to me again—and hissed under my breath at her.

"W-Why didn't you _tell_ me he was here?"

"You didn't ask." She said smugly, giving me a look over. "Nice shorts."

"Shut it." I snipped, the Doctor catching my attention as he flickered into the Tenth.

"Alex? Y-You're okay."

I scoffed, internally wincing for the lie I was about to tell him. "Of course I am. Perfectly fine. What'd you think I was?"

"W-Well, I thought… With the whole time thing… Are those compression shorts?"

I instantly turned a bright red as Amy and River chuckled and I smacked the Doctor on the arm.

"Eyes up front, mister! I think my outfit is of less concern than the Silence."

He raised a brow. "The Silence? They're fine. Haven't you seen them? Well, course you have. You sure you're okay?"

He flickered into Twelve and I glanced up at him with a nod.

"Yeah. Never better." I murmured, before turning to the door with a frown. "They're coming."

"Who's coming?" He asked, before I reached over and yanked off his eye-drive.

"Eye-drives off, everyone! Now!" I shouted, hurrying over and taking off Amy and River's as they gave me odd looks.

"Alex? What's going on? Is this..." Amy looked at the Doctor briefly. "...another episode?"

"No. Foreknowledge, actually." I said, keeping my own eye-drive on for as long as I hoped I could as I snatched the radio off a soldier nearby. "Borrowing this, thanks. Captain Williams? Bring all the men back to the control room and have them fortify it, on the double. And get your butt in here with us."

I tossed the radio back to the soldier as River grabbed my arm and quickly let go as time skipped a beat.

"Alex, what's going on? An explanation please?"

"Kovarian? Nothing sassy to say?" I quipped over my shoulder to the woman who rolled her eyes.

"You've already given it away. I honestly don't see the point."

The Doctor spoke up then, eyeing me in confusion. "Wait. You said, 'they're coming'. The Silence?" He turned to River and the others. "How many Silence do you have trapped here?" He asked, watching water drip from the cracks in the ceiling before Kovarian answered.

"None. They're not trapped. They never have been. They've been waiting for this, Doctor. For you." Kovarian turned towards me. "And for her."

Rory burst in then, announcing that the Silence had escaped, but my eye-drive was starting to act up, so I quickly removed and braced myself for the massive headache that occurred not a moment later; causing me to grunt in pain and grab a hold of a desk nearby to keep from collapsing.

"Alex!"

The Doctor struggled with the men holding him back—looking like the Ninth now—but I waved him off, forcing myself to give him a small smile.

"S-Sorry. The feedback was a bit stronger than I e-expected." I cringed again, holding my head as I turned to River. "Oh, look. You're Mels again. That's nice." I shook my head, smacking myself lightly. "Nope. Not important. We need to get to the Receptor Room. I can't be here when they walk through that door, which they will in a few moments, so might I suggest running?"

Kovarian clicked her tongue. "Such a disappointment. That's the problem with the Seer. It's difficult to come up with anything clever when she knows it all already." She rattled on. "The Silence would never allow an advantage without taking one themselves. The effects will vary from person to person. Either death or debilitating agony. But she rather ruined the show." The woman complained, before her own started to spark; her questioning the Silence behind it. "What are you doing? No, it's me. Don't be stupid. You need me. Stop it. Stop that!"

The Doctor turned to me, sparing me a glance as I panted and leaned against the desk. He turned away though, looking to River with a stern expression on his face.

"We could stop this right now, you and I."

"Get it off me!" Kovarian shouted, being ignored.

"Amy, tell her." The Doctor demanded from the Pond, but she didn't seem to be so into that idea.

"We've been working on something. Just let us show you."

"There's no point." He argued. "There's nothing you can do. My time is up."

A thought of mine drifted to the surface, long enough for me to grab a hold of it momentarily. _'My'? Has he still not realized that my death is as much a part of this as his? _

"We're doing this for you!" Amy shouted.

"Then people are dying for me. I won't _thank_ you for that, Amelia Pond."

"Just let us show you." River pleaded.

"Please." Amy breathed out, but the Doctor turned to me.

"Alex, tell them. Please. Tell them to stop all of this. Tell them that this needs to stop."

I looked at him wearily, wishing that I could say those words that he wanted to hear most, but I knew I couldn't. Things had to go this way. He _had_ to marry River. Just as I always knew he would. He looked absolutely crestfallen, reading what I was trying to say just from my expression and he let out a soft sigh as he bowed his head and Amy asked Rory how much time we had left.

"Uh, a couple of minutes."

"That's enough." River said. "We're going to the Receptor Room right at the top of the pyramid. I hope you're ready for a climb."

"N-No. Not r-really." I breathed out, voice a high pitch and tight with pain as I cringed against the headache I was still struggling to battle against. "G-Go on ahead. I-I-I need a minute."

"_One_ minute. That's it." River said, taking the others up the stairs before I took a deep breath and at least rounded the corner; hiding in the shadows until Amy had passed me and went to go help Rory and deal with Kovarian.

It wasn't that I hated the woman, but I really didn't like her very much for what she did and the pain she caused Amy, Rory, River, and the Doctor. But without her, River wouldn't have become who she did, the Doctor wouldn't have learned multiple valuable lessons, and many of the good things that happened would have never occurred without her coming in and messing things up for the lot of us. So I couldn't let her die. That part of me that couldn't watch people get hurt when I could do something about it, was screaming at me to stop Amy and what she was about to do, but Amy needed to learn a lesson as well. So she had to believe she'd killed Kovarian, as much as I didn't want her to. And when she headed up the stairs with Rory, I turned back and stumbled into the room, rushing over to the squirming woman and biting back the pain the electricity from the eye-drive zapped into my arm.

"W-What are you doing?" She questioned me as I undid the rope binding her to the chair, as quickly as I could with the Silence nearly in the room.

"Something I probably shouldn't. Now run. There's a passageway to the outside through that wall there. The pressure pad is the only discolored stone. Get out."

"Your kindness will get you killed one day." She said, rubbing her wrists as I hurried back towards the stairs, looking over at her sadly.

"You're right. I'm going to die today because of that kindness, but you know what? I wouldn't change that for the world. Not one life I've saved. Not one enemy that I've helped. I would do it all over again and it would always end this way. And I don't know what I've been so scared about, because 'everybody knows that everybody dies and nobody knows it like the Doctor and I'." I smiled at her and waved, rushing up the stairs, only to cry out in pain and stumble; grabbing my head in pain.

Images of Doctors and adventures passed through my head quickly, stopping on the Silence I had to deal with back in Utah and very nearly making me lose consciousness if it weren't for those old words popping back up into my head.

"_Don't stop fighting."_

"Oh, Doctor..." I pushed myself up, using the wall as a crutch. "...W-When will I ever?"

I pushed myself onward, coming up to the Receptor Room and catching the very last bit of the argument the Doctor was having with River.

"River, this is ridiculous. That would mean nothing to anyone. It's insane. Worse, it's stupid. You embarrass me."

I don't know what it was. Maybe it was simply the way he said it, but the moment those words came out of his mouth, I was standing in front of him and punching him hard across the face.

"Alex!"

I lightly pushed Amy off me and faced the man as he stared up at me from the ground in shock.

"Embarrassed? The only person who should be embarrassed right now, Doctor, is _you_. Because I can tell you now, if it was us in her place… If _you_ had to kill the person you loved right now in order to fix time, I know for a _fact_ that you would do everything in your power not to. So shut the hell up and listen to what she has to say before you go around talking out of your a—Ngh!"

I gripped my head in agony, accepting the help to the ground from Amy, but glaring at him when he started towards me.

"_Listen_ to her." I growled and he hesitantly backed off as River stepped towards him to finish.

"Those reports of the sun spots and the solar flares. They're wrong. There aren't any. It's not the sun, it's you. The sky is full of a million, million voices saying yes, of course we'll help. You've touched so many lives, saved so many people. The both of you have. Did you think when your time came, you'd really have to do more than just ask? You've decided that the universe is better off without you, Doctor, but the universe doesn't agree." River turned to Alex. "The same goes for you, Alex. All of those tiny little lives you saved, every one of them is repaying the favor. The Ood, the Tritovores, Silurians, all of them are willing to help you."

I glanced at the ground sadly, because there was a point where I too, had thought like the Doctor and believed that the universe here would be better off without me. The Seer who only seemed to bring death in it's wake. The Destroyer of Worlds, as Davros had said. And I, deep down, had believed every word.

"River, no one can help us. A fixed point has been altered. Time is disintegrating." The Doctor argued, glancing sadly at me, though I did my best to ignore it.

"I can't let you both die." River countered.

"But I have to die."

I glanced at him when he said 'I' again, a slight frown on my face, but no one noticed as River shouted back at him; voice thick with tears.

"Shut up! I can't let you die without knowing you are loved by so many, and so much. And Alex..." River turned to me with tears in her eyes; voice shaking as I was helped back up into a standing position. "…you are loved by no one more than me."

* * *

The Doctor frowned at those words, disagreeing, but his frown faded into disappointment, because—he realized—that River might be right. With how he'd acted before with women while Alex hadn't been around, maybe she _did_ love Alex more than him. He didn't deserve her after what he'd done after all, and he knew it.

"I'm sorry, River." Alex said, making them both turn to her in surprise as she sighed quietly and pulled a hand through her hair. "But you're wrong."

River began to smirk, but the Doctor was still confused.

"What?"

Alex continued. "There is someone who loves me more than you. A big idiot with commitment issues, who handles change in drastic ways like raiding the kitchen and passing out on someone else's bed, to being as big of a jerk as he can be while forgetting who I even am. A man who can never seem to keep his promises and is always jumping headfirst into trouble without a thought to his own life, because he thinks no one cares for him in the entire universe when the one who cares the most about him is standing right there trying to help." She turned to the Doctor then, exhaustion showing as plain as day on her features along with another emotion; love. "But damn him to hell and back if he thinks I'd just leave him on his own because of that."

"Alex?" He muttered in question as she rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, self-proclaimed smartest man in the universe and you can't even figure out what I'm trying to say, spaceman?" She turned to River then, raising a brow. "Can I seriously just fix the universe already? If he gets any dumber, I don't think I'll be able to go through with this and I already told you his _name,_ so there's no harm done if we just move on with this."

River grinned. "Sweetie, I thought you'd never ask."

Alex's eyes widened as River approached her, waving her hands frantically. "H-Hold on! I-I didn't mean—"

She was cut off as River grabbed her and kissed her; making Amy and Rory's mouths drop open in shock as the two glowed and the Doctor abruptly shoved his way between them and glared at River.

"Hey! That's my _wife_ you're kissing!"

River just shrugged. "I had to get something out of this."

"And I already _told_ you, we're not doing a three way kiss to get out of this!" Alex argued with a groan as River just frowned.

"Well, I'm not marrying him." She said, tossing a thumb over at the Doctor.

He nodded, looking disgusted at the thought. "Yeah, no. Definitely not. I'm happily married already, thank you."

Alex looked between them in worry. "B-But… that's how… what are… what are we going to do then? Time has to go back the way it was."

"Well, I have an idea, but first I want to know something." The Doctor said, turning to Alex seriously as she looked back in confusion. "What's been going on with you?"

"W-What?"

"I get the headaches and the lack of sleep. That makes sense, but the way you look at people..." His eyes narrowed. "You watch them cautiously, like they're going to attack you. And when you spoke with Amy, you were looking down. And with me, you were looking slightly higher. You're seeing something no one else is, and it's scaring you, so I want to know."

"D-Does it matter?" She countered. "This will be over in a second."

He shook his head. "It matters. Because anything that frightens my Alexander needs to be taken care of. And _you_ need to be taken care of."

Alex hesitated, but Amy nudged her. "Tell him."

She bit her bottom lip for a moment, before letting out a soft sigh. "I've been seeing things. When I look at River, I sometimes see Mels or the spacesuit or younger Melody. And when I look at Amy, I see Amelia sometimes. The same for the other people here, but I see them as… aliens. Daleks, Sontarans, Cybermen, Silurians. I don't know why, but everything I look at flickers between images." She looked at him. "Even you. You keep changing from Nine to Ten to Twelve and back. I've even seen some versions of you I've never met. One with a scarf, one with a celery stick in the pocket, and the colorful one. My God, why did you ever wear such a coat?"

The Doctor grimaced at the memory. "Yes, I wonder the same, sometimes." He shook his head from the thought. "But never mind that. I think I know what's happening."

"You do?" The three woman questioned and he nodded, ego growing at the knowledge of being the only one who knew.

"Of course. Time's happening all at once, after all. Alex is just experiencing it more than most. She seeing people who are familiar to her—such as you two and myself—as ever person they've been. That's why she's seeing my regenerations, past and future. She's seen them all, so she witnesses them because for her, she's seeing all of my time happening at once. And for people she doesn't know, her mind replaces them with people she _has_ seen." He turned to Alex then, eyes soft. "Oh, how hard that must have been. I'm so sorry."

She looked at him for a second, before reaching in her pocket and holding up a small key. "F-For the cuffs." She murmured as he turned around and she uncuffed him; cheeks red in embarrassment.

"I was meaning to ask about that, though… I suspect that we'd much rather talk about that in private?"

"Oh, yes. Please." Amy complained. "I'd really rather not hear about that, thank you."

"So, um… What's the plan?" Alex asked and the Doctor grinned.

"I'm glad you asked."

He held out his arms with a huge smile and after a second River shook her head with a chuckle and Alex immediately rushed in and tackled him in a hug; River joining the two of them as time started to move.

"I love you." The Doctor whispered to Alex and she nodded.

"Me too." She turned slightly to River then, with a smile. "You too, River."

"More than the Doctor, I hope."

"Hey!" He complained, right before everything went white and time restored itself.

* * *

The Doctor and Alex stood before River as she pleaded for them to run, but neither did, because they both knew it was the end of them. The Doctor though, knew he'd be safe. He was stowed away safely inside the Teselecta-copy of himself with the Tardis. It was Alex, who he was worried about, because as many times as he said it, _he_ was supposed to die that day and he would _never __**ever**_ let that happen to Alex. Not again. So when River raised her arm to shoot them, he shoved Alex behind him and took the hit. However, when he began to 'regenerate' and stood back up again to take the second shot, Alex stood before him.

"No." He breathed out, seeing her look at him with a sad smile.

"I'm sorry, b-but I can't just stand here and watch." She said, voice cracking as River's gun went off and Alex crumpled; falling in on herself and hitting the lakeside sand harshly.

"No! Alex!" The Doctor shouted through the pain of his so-called regeneration, but in reality in pain of what had just occurred.

He didn't get a chance to continue before River emptied the last of her weapon into his Teselecta body and walked off with tears in her eyes. The actual Doctor though, watched Alex with fear stricken hearts as she choked and hacked on her own blood, turning to face him as tear slipped down her face and into her hair.

"S-S-Sorry." She apologized again, skin starting to grow a sickly ash white. "I-I just couldn't… watch you get hurt… E-Even if y-your… safe."

The Doctor shouted for her from his place inside the Teselecta, desperately trying to think of some way to help her, to save her without giving away to the Silence that he was still alive. But what could he do? Alex was seconds away from dying, second heart or not, and he couldn't so much as hold her hand as she went. Tears streamed down his own face as he desperately called out to her; trying to reach her through the eye he was standing in, and she slowly brought a finger up and shakily used it to close the eyelids.

"S-Sorry. I-I love you."

"_No_!"

The eyelids snapped open not half a second later and he panicked; all sight of Alex gone and he hurried to the Tardis and began trying to track her down. He didn't care if he had to cross his own time-line. He would find her and he would help her. He _had_ to. Hell, for all he knew, she bounced back to her universe and he'd have to somehow find a way to get there without ripping _time_ apart. And some would say that he didn't have to. She'd popped off, so she should be safe with another him, right? But fear gnawed in his stomach at the thought. She could be with a version of him who hates her and knows nothing about her biology changing and could screw everything up. She might end up with a version of him who doesn't even _know_ her. Or better yet, she could end up in an adventure _years _before he even showed up and could die waiting for him. So as soon as he could, he sent the Tardis off after her; the ship groaning and sparking dangerously as he tried to pilot her through the Time Vortex after Alex's Artron energy signature.

It was more complicated than it sounded. He had to make sure he'd gotten the right version of Alex to track, because if he tracked the signature from a _younger_ Alex, then what would be the point? He needed to calculate the _exact_ amount of Artron energy she'd accumulated up until her exact age and the exact genetic code; which her changing biology had managed to make _far_ more complicated than the usual. And if he was wrong by even a millimeter, he'd end up with a younger Alex and he'd lose the older one forever. And after mentally double, triple, and quadruple checking his math, he landed the ship and hurried out the doors in a desperate attempt to find her and save her. Of course, for him to end up exactly where he had been was _not_ what he'd been expecting and he frantically rushed back inside the Tardis and tried again with the same result. Growing frustrated, he slammed a fist against the console angrily.

"Stop this! Stop doing this! Let me find her! Let me save her! I-I can't let her die! Not again!" He pressed his forehead to the panel, tears pricking his eyes as he begged his ship desperately. "P-Please. Please let me save her. I-I can't lose her again. I just can't."

The ship let out a chime and a monitor spun around and clonked him upside the head, making him get ready to snap at his ship again, if it weren't for what she was showing him on the screen.

"Oh, I am _stupid_!" He said, patting the Tardis affectionately as she hummed out an eye roll and he hurried off down the halls; Alex having simply popped on board the Tardis in the ARS room again.

He ran through the halls, faster than he's ever gone before, skidding to a halt and running into the room to see Alex curled up into herself on the floor in pain; gripping her shoulder which was glowing on and off, as though Alex was trying to suppress whatever her body was trying to do. The Doctor didn't bother asking her why and just picked her up and rushed her to the Zero Room in the hope that being in that room might help her Artron energy stabilize and not send her off to wherever it was trying to send her.

"Hang on, Alex. Just hang on." He whispered to her as she gripped his tweed jacket tightly and let out a pained whimper.

He rushed into the Zero Room and laid her down, allowing her to sort of float there, though it didn't seem to be helping in the slightest, so he dashed out and to the med bay, grabbing anything he thought might be able to help. Upon returning to the Zero Room though, Alex was in far worse shape than before, sweat covering her body as she shook and made quiet noises of pain; doing what she could to stay as quiet as possible as her shoulder flared gold before dimming again. He needed answers now, and as much as he didn't want to try and force her to speak in this condition, he needed to know what was going on so he could figure out what to do.

"Alex, I need you to talk to me, okay? I know it's hard, but I need to know what's going on with your body right now and you're my best source of information."

"H-Hurts." She whimpered and he nodded.

"I know it hurts, but you need to tell me how bad, where it hurts, sharp pain or deep ache? Come on, Alex, I need details if you want me to help. Otherwise..."

_I don't know what else I can do to save you…_ He left that go unsaid and shook himself out of the thought as she tried desperately to get words out, but already he could see her getting paler and the life slowly draining from her eyes.

"S-Shoulder… L-Like being… r-ripped apart."

"Good, alright. Let me see it, okay?" He said, reaching over and pulling off Alex's shirt to look at her shoulder only for his eyes to widen and narrow quickly, gritting his teeth loud enough for Alex to hear.

"I… I-I'm sorry, Alex."

She couldn't even acknowledge what he said, crying out in agony as her shoulder flared again and then dimmed. The Doctor though, grabbed her hand and pulled it away from her shoulder, confusing her.

"W-What are y-you—" She was cut off by another flare and went to reach for her shoulder again, but the Doctor held tightly onto her hand and prevented her from doing so.

"Let go, Alex. I know it's hard, but just… just let it go."

"N-No." She argued, squirming on the ground as the pain grew worse. "I-I can't leave y-you. I-I don't want t-t-to go."

"Alexander." He said, voice stern, but sad. "Please. You'll die if you don't."

She hesitated, but the Doctor reached over and brushed a hand over her face gently, making her look up at him wearily.

"Please. I can't promise that you'll come back, but I… I don't want you to die, Alexander. And I'll do everything I can to get you back, if you do go. But don't die. I love you, Alexander and if you die..." His voice cracked and he struggled to hold back the wave of emotions that tried to overcome him; a single tear slipping down his face and into her cheek.

Slowly, Alex let out a long breath, relaxing as her shoulder glowed a bright gold and she did as the Doctor said and let go; her final breath breathing out those fateful words.

"I-I-I love you, T-Theta."

"A-And I love you, my dear, sweet Alexander." He cried, holding her tightly with every ounce of strength he had as the glow enveloped her body and he prepared for her to pop off somewhere else and leave him alone to never see her again.

That being said, he did _not_ expect the abrupt blast of golden energy to knock him off his feet and slam him into the wall behind him; knocking him out cold.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"No! Doctor! Doctor, please! D-Don't leave me!"_

_ But it was too late. The Tardis disappeared with a whine and I slumped back into the snow as tears started to slip down my cheeks._

_ "N-No… H-He's coming back. He has to come back. H-He'll see that I-I didn't mean to a-and he'll have to come back." I said, before a choked sob escaped my throat upon seeing the Doctor's silver wedding band sitting in the snow before me; picking it up and holding it up to my face as I cried. "_P-Please_ come back."_


	64. The Snowmen

**Alright. You all are probably _not_ going to be very happy about this for multiple reasons. Reason 1: get your tissues ready, this chapter is going to be a crazy one. Reason two: due to work and a crazy writers block on the next chapter after this, I _won't_ be updating again this week. I will do what I can to move forward and get the next chapter out by next Tuesday, but I can't make any promises. Please review though and let me know what you all think about this chapter! ^^ I hope you all enjoy it and sorry ahead of time if you cry...**

**and i know the place clara works is supposed to be an inn, but it looked like a pub to me so whoops.**

* * *

I sat up abruptly, immediately feeling that something was wrong. It was weird. I didn't feel physically wrong, but there was just this ingrained feeling that something was off. And I suddenly wished for some ridiculous friend to pop up out of no where and inform me I wasn't wearing pants or something, to make the feeling go away. I pushed up from off the ground and stumbled about, in search of someone, though I couldn't remember who until I spotted the man across the room, unconscious.

"Ah! Yes! Him… The… The..." I smacked myself in the forehead a few times before the name clicked. "Doctor! Yes, Doctor." I frowned, feeling upset for some reason. "Why'd I forget that?"

I shook the feeling from my mind and went to head over and see if he was okay, but walking seemed to have become an issue and I kept walking crookedly. I even walked into the console and earned a rather painful bruise on my hip. _What's wrong with me?_ _I can't even remember what happened. How did I end up in here again?_ My mind was a scrambled mess and I was having a hard time trying to collect my thoughts long enough to focus, much less get over to where the Doctor was to check up on him. Suddenly though, my stomach churned.

"Uh-oh..." I immediately covered my mouth and rushed out into the hallway to find a bathroom—running into multiple walls along the way.

After thoroughly emptying my stomach of it's contents, I washed off my face and glanced up, only to pale.

"T-That's… That's not me." I breathed out, staring back at the blonde haired figure in the mirror and touching my face frantically as the person in the mirror did the same. "No, no, no. T-That's not right! I-I'm not blonde! I'm a red-head! Soul-less ginger Alex! What—Freckles?! And my cheek bones are so." I brushed a hand along my sharp cheek bones, humming. "Actually, they're not bad. Someone could cut themselves on these things… Agh! Focus! I'm not me!" I shouted, rushing out of the bathroom on gangly legs and tripping over myself trying to get back to the console room. "Doctor! Doctor, help! Something's wrong! Something's dreadfully, awfully wrong and I can't—"

I tripped and fell onto the grating before the Doctor with a groan.

"Ugh, ow."

"Alex? Are you okay?"

I accepted the hand that was offered me and I face the Eleventh Doctor with a stunned look as I brought a hand to the top of my head and measured our height difference.

"My God, I'm taller than you!"

He pouted. "Alex, I—"

I cut him off grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. "No, Doctor, something's wrong! My face is all weird a-and my hair! I'm not ginger! I-I look like a completely different person and—"

A hand covered my mouth and I stopped, blinking once as he sighed.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Alex. But it seems you may have… regenerated."

It took a second for that to comprehend in my scrambled head, but once it did, I paled even more and quickly pulled his hand away as I spouted out questions.

"But how?! I-I'm not a Time Lord! S-Shouldn't I have just popped back home o-or something?! I expected myself to actually _die_! That tentacle alien thing said I had two choices, but how is this one of them?! How could this possibly have—"

The hand was back over my mouth and I was silenced again, though I licked the Doctor's hand in an attempt to get him to let me go. He simply raised a brow.

"Licking me isn't going to make me let go, Alex. And I'm honestly not sure how you could have regenerated. I _have_ seen this version of you before, so I'm glad about that, but I never expected..." He shook his head. "No, that's not important. You're alive and you're with me, and that's what matters."

I tried to say something past his hand and he rolled his eyes.

"My best guess is that the Artron energy does what it would have done if you were a Time Lord. I just never expected for you to have all of the chemical components in order to do that. You would have to have an _extremely_ specific amount of—"

I grumbled something again, making him stop.

"Yes, yes. Alright. I won't get into the technicalities of it. All I'm saying is that it should technically be impossible! While you have all the Artron energy you could possibly need stored away in your body to do this, in order for it to all come together like that and make you regenerate is unheard of. I have no idea how you pulled it off, and I highly recommend _not_ doing it again. For both our sakes, because I doubt your body would be capable of it. One regeneration is hard enough and because you're part human _and_ sentient Tardis, there shouldn't be enough Time Lord in you to accomplish this a second time. I _could_ be wrong, but let's not test it, shall we?"

I grumbled again, but this time in worry. Already I felt strange to be in this body and I knew how the Doctor's regenerations could get, so I was unsure about everything and he understood that.

"It's alright. You'd be fine. I'm here and I can help you through it, so everything will be o—"

Everything suddenly went white and I stumbled, catching myself on the Tardis railing with no Doctor in sight. In fact, the whole ship seemed dark and empty and I felt panic rise up into my throat. _Did I pop off? I-I didn't feel anything, but if I did, then where is he?_ I swallowed thickly and decided that I would need a quick wardrobe change if I was going to bump into him again, especially if I had ended up with another Doctor. Showing up in a t-shirt and compression shorts wouldn't exactly be the best thing to do. And I felt uncomfortable in these clothes suddenly. They just didn't feel like… me anymore. So I snuck down to the wardrobe and began skimming through clothes and trying on various things—the Tardis actually giving me _choices_ now—before I settled on a nice, crisp white button up shirt that I rolled the sleeves up to my elbows on, a grey vest, a pair of dark blue jeans and a set of black Converse. I must have been taking after Ten with the shoes, but I felt a lot more like myself in the semi-formal outfit and I grabbed a deep red scarf to tuck away into my coat should I need to go outside and find it freezing, before I headed back upstairs to the console room.

I put the scarf in my coat, it having been hanging over the railing by the door, and I put it on and looked around for a second. My legs were slightly better and I could actually walk straight, but they often jerked suddenly in another direction and would take some getting used to. My stomach had settled down as well, though I knew it wouldn't last since it still felt… _wrong_. That, and it was starting to feel a bit warm in here and a quick touch to my forehead let me know that I had a slight fever. _Not good, but probably normal all considering._ I mused silently, walking towards the stairs in the hopes of finding the Doctor so he could help me through whatever was happening in my body after the sudden regeneration. I kept reaching up to tug at the hair at the base of my neck, only for it not to be there and feeling rather silly doing so, and my mind was still jumping from thought to thought with no sense of direction. _Did the Doctor ever take me out for ice cream? Do I even _like_ ice cream? And why call it ice cream?_ I was suddenly stopped though when I walked into the man I was looking for and I felt relief flood through me.

"Oh, thank God. You've met this me before, right? Can you help me with something?" I asked, only to stiffen at the glare he aimed my way. "Um… Y-You _have_ met this me before, right?"

"Get out." He said sharply, taking a threatening step towards me as I took a hesitant one back.

"W-Wha—"

"Get out!" He shouted and I stumbled back, tripping over my own feet again and looking up at him in confusion.

"It's me! Alex! I-I know I look different, but—"

"I know who you are and I want you _off_ my ship! Now!" He shouted, grabbing my arm and yanking me up off the ground as he started to tug me back to the console room.

"W-Wait! I-I don't even know what's going on! Doctor!" I called out, struggling slightly, as I tried to figure out what was happening.

He slammed me against the wall then, making me wince as he held me there by my shirt and growled at me.

"You. You _monster_. I don't know why I ever let you on this ship. Why I ever came to care for you with what you are. You disgusting, despicable _ape_."

I flinched at his words, hurt and frightened and very much confused; still trying to work through my regeneration.

"W-What… B-But Doctor, I… What did I..."

My tongue seemed to take that moment to forget how to work and I couldn't get anything more out before the Doctor pulled me away and slammed me against the wall again in his anger; making my head bounce off it and start up a headache on top of everything else.

"You _killed_ them. You just watched that happen to them! Amy and Rory are _dead_ because of you!" He shouted, fist shaking as I tried to get my mind to focus enough to remember who those people were.

"I-I don't…" I grit my teeth, trying desperately to remember because I knew that if I told him I couldn't, he'd do something horrible.

It was then my mind clicked and I remembered the red headed woman and her husband, and I remembered how they were supposed to die and understanding dawned on me. I'd allowed that to happen. Once again, the Doctor's companions had died because of me and I felt my hearts ache. Because despite that, I knew there wouldn't have been anything I could do. Amy and Rory were always going to die there, and they went in the best way possible. They were _happy_. But this? I never once expected this. I never expected the Eleventh—the kid, caring, flirty, touchy-feely Eleventh—to snap like this and I felt fear take a hold of me, because I realized I didn't know where we were. _And if he'd trying to kick me out, then he might just very well throw me out into space or the Time Vortex or some planet in the middle of nowhere. I'm going to die._ I realized, feeling sick once more as my stomach churned and my head ached and everything just seemed to be spinning out of control. _I just regenerated and now I'm going to die._

"I-I'm sorry." I apologized, the only thing I could say. "I'm sorry that happened. I'm sorry I allowed that to happen, but Doctor, they were happy! They were together in the end and I know it's hard for you, but—"

"Don't you talk to me like you know me." He snapped, furious as he swung me aside and made me stumble back; him stalking forward menacingly. "Don't you act like you know what they wanted! They _died_ because of you! The Bringer of Death! The Destroyer of Worlds! I should have listened to all those warnings! All of them shouting at me to get rid of you! What good are you to me?! All you do is watch them die! All you do is kill them off one by one! You're useless to me! A big, stupid bag of bones and flesh who thinks she can be a Time Lord because of some stupid accident! But you're just a mutt! A piece of garbage, know-it-all, who thinks she's God because she watched some sci-fi television show and knows how it's all going to happen! Who thinks she gets to choose who dies and who lives! But you're just trash! You're a disgusting heap of mix matched parts that doesn't deserve to live! Not when you kill everything you come into contact with! Now get off of my ship!"

He shoved me back repeatedly as I tried to say something to stop him, the two of us having entered the console room as I tripped again and tumbled down the set of stairs leading in. I cringed at the pain it caused, but didn't have time to focus on the pain as the Doctor pulled me up by my shirt and started dragging me to the doors; my collar choking me.

"D-Doctor!" I cried out, trying to knock some sense into him. "P-Please! I'm sorry! I know it hurts a-and I know it's hard, but please! Think about what you're doing! Y-You're going to kill me! Theta!"

"Don't you call me that name!" He shouted, swinging me up and slamming my back into the Tardis doors as I glanced at him in a panic. "You don't deserve to say that name! Not ever! Not that name, not their names, none of them! You killed them and if you die, then good riddance! The universe would be better off without you! You should have never come here! And I should have done this a long, long time ago."

He thrust the door open and I felt my hearts skip a beat at the chill that came through the doors; unable to see what awaited me as he suddenly placed something around my wrist. I looked at it in a panic, the pitch black band tightening as I tried to get it off to no avail.

"W-What—What is this? Why isn't it coming off?" I looked at him in fear. "W-What are you going to do?"

"I'm getting rid of you, once and for all." He snapped, shoving me out the door and I felt my throat tighten as I fell; only to come into contact with snow and I felt my hearts start up again as I frantically stared up at the Doctor who loomed over me.

The Oncoming Storm glared down heatedly at me and I scrambled to try and reach for him, make it up to him or something, but he dropped something in front of me and slammed the door in my face and I called out desperately as the Tardis engines started up.

"No! Doctor! Doctor, please! D-Don't leave me!"

But it was too late. The Tardis disappeared with a whine and I slumped back into the snow as tears started to slip down my cheeks.

"N-No… H-He's coming back. He has to come back. H-He'll see that I-I didn't mean to a-and he'll have to come back." I said, before a choked sob escaped my throat upon seeing the Doctor's silver wedding band sitting in the snow before me; picking it up and holding it up to my face as I cried. "_P-Please_ come back."

* * *

Three days. Alex sat outside in the snow, not moving from that spot for three days, waiting for the Doctor to return. Vastra and Jenny had found her the evening of the third day, after receiving an inquiry to investigate what a mysterious person was doing half-buried in the snow for so long without moving or speaking a word to anyone. They discovered her half-frozen with the beginnings of hypothermia and a very high fever, soaked to the bone by the snow with sad, dead eyes. She'd finally moved when they headed over and stared in shock at who it was, forcing a broken smile on her face and saying 'hello' before finally collapsing in the snow; unconscious and very ill. They'd been quick to take her in and tend to her and once she awoke, they immediately knew something was very, very wrong. She would murmur to herself, saying 'He'll come back. He has to come back'. And they all assumed the 'him' she spoke of was the Doctor, though Alex never spoke of what had happened nor why she held on so tightly to the wedding band and why she never removed the black bracelet on her wrist.

When she was finally well enough to get out of bed though, she took walks to where she'd been found and just sat there on a bench until it got dark and she'd head back to Vastra's home. Jenny attempted to get her to speak to them about what had happened, hoping that kind words would help, but when that didn't work, Vastra took over. Her harsher method did little good though, and all they managed to get out of her was that 'it was her fault' and 'he had to come back'. She'd once overheard a conversation between Jenny and Vastra about her bracelet though, and explained to them what she believed it to be; her voice was dead when she did so.

"_It's to keep me from him."_ She had said. _"It absorbed excessive amounts of Artron energy. So right now… I'm only human."_

Years passed in this manner and by the third year, Alex had stopped her daily walks and had begun to move on and open up more. She helped Vastra and Jenny with their investigations, and would, more often than not, assist Strax with tending to the horses and making tea. But she never said a word about the Doctor after that. She had frequent nightmares as well, and would often wake up in the middle of the night and—being unable to return to sleep—would go down to a pub to sit quietly and drink. After another year of this, however, Alex came into them one day and said she was going to go off on her own. She explained that she couldn't rely on them forever and, despite their protests, she left that evening and didn't return.

"Will she be okay?" Jenny asked Vastra as she sipped her tea one evening.

"I am hardly the one to give an accurate answer." Vastra countered, placing her cup down with a sigh. "But she has been deeply hurt and is doing what she can to move on. Leaving us was probably to keep from reminding herself of him. It was probably for the best."

"But what if he comes back? Will he be able to find her? They… They _are_ going to make up, aren't they?"

"While our previous experiences with this version of Alex may show that, time can change it's course. And if he was the one who placed that collar on her wrist, then it's possible that he may not return for her."

There was a ring of the bell then and Jenny and Vastra exchanged glances as Strax went to answer it; hardly getting a word out of his mouth before someone pushed past him and burst into the sitting room.

"Where is she?" He demanded, green eyes looking around the room in desperation and worry as Vastra picked up her cup once more.

"Jenny, if you would."

"My pleasure." Jenny said, setting the kettle down and promptly slapping the Doctor hard across the face. "How _dare_ you abandon her like that, Doctor."

He hardly seemed fazed by the hit and stared solidly at Vastra. "Where is she? I know she came here."

Vastra scoffed. "Of _course_ she came here. We are the only people left for her after you abandoned her out in the snow."

The Doctor winced, moving to take a seat as directed by the Silurian. "I know and I've reflected on my actions and I understand that I was wrong. I should have never done that. I should have never blamed her for what happened and throwing her out like that was the worst thing I could have ever done. Alex is the _last_ person I should have ever done that to, but our relationship is in jeopardy and if I can't find her then—"

Vastra held up a hand, stopping him. "I understand that you are repenting of your actions, however, we do not even know what happened to cause her to be in the state she was in. How long has it been for you since you two separated?"

"A few days? A week or two? I'm not sure." He answered, brows furrowed.

Vastra looked up at him. "Doctor, she's been here for over four _years_."

"No..." He breathed out, eyes wide in panic. "N-No, that can't be right. I set it to come back after a day."

"She waited for you." Jenny said, a bit of bite to her tone. "She waited in that spot where you left her for three days in the snow. You're lucky we came upon her, because otherwise, she may have possibly _died_ there, Doctor."

"Where is she?" He said, getting up and looking around the room once more. "Where is she? I have to find her!"

"Not here." Vastra said bluntly. "We haven't the slightest where she's gone off to. It took her three years to stop walking to that place and waiting for you, Doctor. Three years and she finally started to move on, but then she wished to go off on her own."

"And you let her?!"

Vastra snapped at him. "Should I not have? Doctor, you don't seem to understand how deeply you have hurt her. She has done nothing but mope around this house since we found her and has only just started to move past what happened this last year. But even then, her smiles aren't happy, her laughter is forced, her eyes are dull. She has lost any joy she had and leaving this house was her chance to get away from everything associated with you. And you expect me to stop her? She, who finally has a chance to move on, only for you to pop back up again and break her hearts once more? I think not."

He glared at the woman, who was hardly bothered by his anger. "That's not your choice to make."

"No, it's not." Vastra agreed, eyes narrowing at him. "It's _hers_."

He was silent for a moment, before the anger from before slowly disappeared from his face, turning to a deep sadness once more.

"You're right. You're… absolutely right. I don't deserve to find her after what I did."

"Doctor?" Jenny spoke up, making him turn to her. "What happened? Between you and Alex, I mean. She… She never said."

And so, the Doctor explained. Everything from how Alex had reacted with the Weeping Angels taking Amy and Rory, to how he treated her when she first showed up, to that moment when he threw her out the doors and flew off; giving him the opportunity to calm down and realize the mistake he'd made. And when he finished, Vastra frowned at him.

"Doctor, where in her time-line do you think Alex is?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused.

"How long do you believe for her to have been in that body?"

He frowned. "What does that matter?"

"It _matters_, because she has informed us that upon her arrival in your ship, she had only _just_ regenerated. She had been with a previous version of your eleventh self and had barely awoken to discover she had regenerated with perhaps a few minutes worth of conversation with the past you, before popping up with the current you. She was within the first _hour_ of her regeneration when you threw her out to be on her own."

He paled then, realizing that what he'd done had been far worse than he could have imagined.

"No… But she… She can't… The inhibitor… She could die."

Vastra raised a brow. "Inhibitor? The bracelet?"

The Doctor nodded, growing frantic. "Yes. It blocks her off from absorbing Artron energy. I-I, um, found it and meant to get rid of it, but never got around to it. So when I lost my temper, I put it on her to prevent her from jumping back into my time stream. But if she had just regenerated, that bracelet is inhibiting her growth. It's preventing her from fully merging with her new body. She's a ticking time bomb full of regeneration energy and is technically trapped in the first fifteen hours of regeneration." He turned to the two of them with concern. "Has she been ill? Stumbling and tripping over her own feet? Unable to stand certain foods? Anything out of the ordinary?"

Jenny and Vastra exchanged looks, before the Silurian nodded.

"When we found her, she was bedridden with fever for almost a week and has since been seen stumbling into things on occasion."

Jenny nodded as well. "I bring her lunch sometimes, while she's out, and she'll grimace when she thinks I'm not looking over things like apples or certain kinds of tea and bread. I thought she was just being picky, but she's liked that food before."

The Doctor groaned, dropping his head into his hands. "I've really screwed up. Everything I did was just one big screw up. I need to find her."

Jenny shuffled a bit, before questioning him. "Just, um, how bad is it? The effects of the inhibitor."

He looked up at her, gaze dead serious. "If she were to get hurt, anything worse than a stumble, she might very well slip into a coma. She has so little Artron energy in her right now, that she would be unable to heal correctly without months or _years_ of rest. Her entire body would have to shut down all other nonessential functions in order to heal. And if she were in a near-fatal accident, she would die in an instant. No chance to take her to a medical bay or anything." He turned back to Vastra. "Is there _any_ way for you to help me find her?"

Vastra thought for a second. "I know a few of the pubs she frequents when the nightmares become too much for her, but the only other place would be where you abandoned her."

"And the stables!" Jenny piped in, before speaking a bit quieter. "She's been tending to the horses there as a means of comfort, I think."

He nodded, grabbing his hat from Strax and the list from Vastra, before rushing to the door, but Vastra stopped him.

"Doctor." She paused, making sure he was listening. "If you find her, bring her back here."

He nodded, before dashing out in the hopes of finding the woman he'd messed up with. And hopefully before she managed to get into any trouble. Oh, who was he kidding? He'd be better off _looking_ for trouble.

* * *

Clara watched as the same woman wandered in again. No one seemed to question the woman's masculine dress and Clara often wondered if the men just didn't realize she was… well, a _she_, or if they just didn't care. But the woman had been frequenting her pub lately, always getting the same whiskey and sitting at the corner table, away from the more rowdy customers. Clara had often caught her watching though, as she went about picking up mens' cups and delivering drinks. She didn't know if the woman was as curious about her as she was, but kept to herself. There was just something about the woman. And as strangely as she dressed, it wasn't that. There was this darkness to her, mystery and a deeply ingrained sadness. Clara half expected her to be crying silently while she drank, like some of the men did here. But she never did. Never uttered a sound, really. Only the occasional thanks when Clara wandered by to refill her drink.

Tonight was different though. The woman had shown up earlier than usual and was carrying a pack over her shoulder. She walked slightly crooked, making Clara wonder if she'd already spent some time at another pub before coming here, but Clara wandered over nonetheless with the woman's usual glass of whiskey; offering to take it over there instead of the man who was going to. When she sat it down though, she caught sight of something the woman had in her hand. A ring. A simple silver wedding band, but seeing as she already had one on her left ring finger, Clara assumed it must have been her husband's. Understanding dawned on Clara then and she raised her hand to let her boss know she was going to take a break; though she doubted the man cared. She wasn't about to lose this job, and she had another, so it didn't bother her in the slightest if he did. Instead, she took a seat across from the woman, who glanced up briefly, but made no comment about it.

"Did you lose him recently?" Clara asked, a bit bluntly, but this person looked like they could take a hit… or twenty.

She shook her head. "No. He's fine. He just… isn't happy with me at the moment. And I don't think he'll come back. It's been four years, after all." She chuckled bitterly. "I've waited for him this long, but he probably found another companion to go off with."

"Well, then he doesn't know what he's missing." Clara said definitively. "I can tell you right now, you're probably the most well-behaved person in this place and I'll bet you're strong too."

She chuckled again, waving the comment off. "Hardly. I can have quite the temper when I want and as far as strength goes..." She trailed off a bit, smile slipping. "I seemed to have lost quite a bit of that lately."

Clara looked at her worriedly, before holding out her hand. "I'm Clara. Clara Oswald."

She took it from her. "Alexander Holmes. Just Alex is fine though."

Clara raised a brow. "Seriously? Your parents must have had a blast raising you."

Alex's smile reappeared but only slightly. "They did."

Clara leaned forward on the table then, a mischievous smirk on her face. "Well? Tell me about this idiot husband of yours."

And the two talked for hours. Clara learned about this Doctor fellow and how amazing he was, but also how stupid he was for how he'd hurt Alex. And she had determinedly announced that should she meet him, she was going to show him just how big of a mistake he'd made. Alex smiled a bit more after that though, something which lifted Clara's spirits a little at seeing the usually depressed and quiet woman open up slightly. And the two got along really well, though Clara did have to return to work after a while. She hadn't wanted to, but when Alex insisted, she reluctantly agreed and went back to serving men. It wasn't until one of the drunkards tried to cope a feel that she saw just how strong Alex could be. Said woman promptly flipped the man over her shoulder, knocked him out, and proceeded to take him and throw him out the door with a threat to the rest of the men in the pub not to disrespect the woman again. There were grumbles of complaint, but none of the men wanted to test their luck with her and Clara thanked the woman before returning to work.

When she brought Alex some more whiskey, however, she noticed the bruising on the woman's knuckles and promptly grabbed her and pulled her towards the back door, despite her protesting.

"It's just a bruise! I'm fine, Clara." She said, but didn't use her strength to pull away from the woman as they headed out into the snow and Clara gathered some up in a handkerchief for her to place on the bruised knuckles. "Really, I've dealt with worse. This is normal for me."

Clara frowned up at her as she held the make-shift ice pack to the woman's hand. "This shouldn't become normal for _anyone_, Alex. Now behave. I'm going to go get your things and you can stay at my house for tonight. I'm sure my boss will be alright with it."

"You don't have to! I'm—"

"If you say 'fine' again, I'm _so_ going to smack you." Clara threatened, making Alex smile, before the woman rolled her eyes and hurried back into the pub to grab Alex's coat, bag, and scarf.

When she returned, she helped Alex into her coat and scarf—Alex pulling on a tan hooded cloak over it with a shiver—before the two heard a rustle of snow and spotted a snowman not a foot away from them. A man in a top hat passed by and Clara questioned him.

"Did you make this snowman?"

"No." He said bluntly, but Clara noticed Alex stiffen out of the corner of her eye.

She went to comment on it, but turned back to the snowman problem first. "Well, who did? Because it wasn't there a second ago. It just appeared. From nowhere."

The man stopped and turned back to the snowman, putting on a pair of glasses and grabbing a chunk of snow from the snowman; not paying attention to Clara, nor Alex—who'd taken a step back.

"Maybe it's snow that fell before. Maybe it remembers how to make snowmen."

"What? Snow that can remember? That's silly." Clara said with a scoff, turning to Alex with a confused look before back to the man as he eyed her.

"What's wrong with silly?"

"Nothing. Still talking to you, ain't I?" She quipped and he smiled a little, though she noticed he had that same darkness in him as Alex did.

"What's your name?"

"Clara."

"Nice name. Clara. You should definitely keep it." He said, calling back to her as he rounded the corner down an alleyway. "Goodbye!"

She frowned and grabbed Alex, ready to tug her along, but Alex remained rooted to the spot.

"Oi, what's wrong with you?"

"T-That's him." Alex said. "That man, he's… he was my..."

Clara's eyes widened in realization, looking between the alleyway and Alex in shock.

"_Him_? He's your husband?"

Alex hesitantly nodded, and Clara gave her a look before tugging her along after him anyway.

"Oh, then we are _definitely_ going to have a talk."

"No! We can't!" Alex hissed at her, but Clara ignored her and called out to the man; a hand on her hip as Alex tried to tug her back.

"Oi! Where are you going? I thought we was just getting acquainted."

"Those were the days." The man said, looking upset and Alex stopped tugging on Clara as he walked off.

There was a snort of horses and a voice shouting them onward, Clara turning to Alex in worry.

"Is that it? You're just going to let him go?"

"I could say the same for you." Alex muttered, eyes stuck on the road the man had disappeared on.

"Yeah, but I'm only going after him if _you_ want to. And right now, the way you're looking that way, you _do_ want to go after him."

"No, I don't." Alex said, turning away and staring to walk back to the pub, but Clara trailed after her and stopped her.

"Yeah, you do. Because I've seen that look before. I've seen it on dozens of men in that pub when their ex walks out on them. That longing. But never once before have I seen it like the way you look at him. Like his leaving is literally ripping your heart out of your chest and smashing it into a million pieces. You _want_ to go after him."

Alex clenched her fist at her side; the other holding the handkerchief to her hand. "He doesn't want me. That's the problem. He left me, Clara. Left me here, left me waiting for four years. I was finally getting over him and then he just pops back up like that… he won't take me back."

"And how do you know that?" Clara argued. "Yes, I agree, he's a right git for doing what he did to ya, but you can't know anything for sure until you go after him and find out, now can you? And even if he doesn't want you back, we'll make damn sure he wish he did. Now come on. No one tears my friend's heart to pieces like that and gets away with it."

"Hearts."

Clara paused, turning back to Alex in surprise. "What did you say?"

Alex took her hand and placed it on the left side of her chest and then her right, watching Clara's eyes widen in shock as she smiled. "_Hearts._"

It took Clara a second to get her bearings, but then she gave Alex a look.

"You are _so_ explaining that later."

Alex chuckled and off they ran to catch up with the Doctor's brougham carriage.

* * *

"_How refreshing to see you taking an interest again. Was she nice?_" Vastra's voice said over the comm inside the carriage, making the Doctor grumble.

"I just spoke to her."

"_And made your usual impact, no doubt._"

"No. No impact at all. Those days are over and I need to focus on finding Alex."

"_You can't help yourself. It's the same story every time. And it always begins with the same two words._" Vastra said, not wanting to mention Alex again while talking about a possible companion for the man.

"She'll never be able to find me again. She doesn't even have the name, Doctor." He argued with the woman, before a questioning frown came over his face. "What two words?"

Suddenly, the top of the carriage opened up and Clara's head poked through the top.

"Doctor? Doctor who?" Clara looked up then with furrowed brows. "What do you mean, that's his name? It can't just be 'the Doctor'."

The Doctor frowned, trying to look up the hatch and see who she was speaking with.

"Who are you talking to? How do they know who I am?"

"I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." Clara replied, shocking the Doctor until she gestured to the roof. "Her words, not mine."

Eyes hopeful, the Doctor called out. "Strax! Stop the carriage!"

The carriage screeched to a halt and Clara let out an exclamation of surprise as she fell inside. The Doctor though, hardly cared and hurried out of the carriage, locking Clara in for now as he went around and climbed up the back in search of who she'd been speaking with. No one was there though, and his hopeful expression fell into a sad one as he stepped down and turned away towards the building beside them; where a man who'd just gathered a sample of the recent snowmen had disappeared to. He missed the hooded figure watching him from an alleyway nearby, however, as Strax pulled out some binoculars and watched the man enter the building.

"They've taken samples from all the snowmen all over London." Strax reported, repeating what Vastra and Jenny had informed him from before the Doctor and he had taken off. "What do you suppose they're doing in there?"

"The snow is new." The Doctor said, picking up some himself. "Possibly alien. When you find something brand new in the world, something you've never seen before, what's the next thing you look for?" He asked Strax, who smiled.

"A grenade!"

"A profit." The Doctor corrected, rolling his eyes. "That's Victorian values for you."

"I suggest a full frontal assault with automated laser monkeys, scalpel mines, and acid." Strax smiled.

"Why?"

His smile faltered. "Couldn't we at least investigate?"

"It's none of our business." The Doctor said, turning away from the building.

"Sir, permission to express my opposition to your current apathy?" Strax asked, the Doctor stopping and turning around.

"Permission granted."

Strax straightened up. "Sir, I am opposed to your current apathy."

Cries from Clara to be let out of the carriage reached their ears, but the Doctor ignored her for now as he pat Strax's face.

"Thank you, Strax. And if ever I'm in need of advice from a psychotic potato dwarf, you'll certainly be the first to know." He bit out, before something cold and wet hit him in the back of the head.

He turned around quickly with a frown at the snowball attack, but couldn't see who it came from, so he slowly turned back as Strax spoke up.

"But if the snow is new and alien, shouldn't we be making some attempt to destroy it? Be reasonable."

"It's not our problem." The Doctor reiterated, heading towards the rattling carriage with Clara's shouts coming from inside. "Over a thousand years of saving the universe, Strax, you know the one thing I learned? The universe doesn't care."

Yet again, he was hit with a snowball and he rounded with a growl of annoyance.

"Alright, you! Come on out!"

There was silence and nothing moved as Strax tilted to look past the Doctor.

"Who are you shouting at?"

The Doctor didn't move for a second, eyes scanning the road, before turning back.

"Nothing. No one." He shook his head, brushing snow out of his hair as he faced the carriage once more. "We have a problem of our own to worry about."

He headed over and threw open the carriage door, startling Clara as she sat back in her seat panting.

"Don't worry, no one's going to hurt you." The Doctor said, sitting across from her as Strax stood in the doorway.

"What is that thing?" She asked, staring at the potato-shaped alien.

"Silence, boy!" Strax ordered as the Doctor rolled his eyes once more.

"That's Strax." He explained. "And as you can see, he's easily confused."

Strax corrected himself. "Silence, girl! Sorry, lad."

"Sontaran. Clone warrior race. Factory produced, whole legions at a time. Two genders is a bit further than he can count."

"Sir, do not discuss my reproductive cycle in front of enemy _girls_." Strax said. "It's embarrassing."

"Typical middle child of six million." The Doctor drawled out as Clara furrowed her brows.

"Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter, because you're about to forget that you and I ever met." He turned to Strax. "We'll need the worm."

"Sir." Strax nodded before walking off.

"You'll need the what? The worm?" Clara questioned. "What worm? And where's my friend?"

"Don't worry. It won't hurt, but one touch on your bare skin and you lose the last hour of your memory. And what friend? There's no one else."

"Ooh, she really must not like you then." Clara said with a smirk, before frowning and looking out the window. "Though we're going to have a talk about abandoning friends with strange men called 'the Doctor'."

The Doctor went to question her about this so-called 'friend', but Strax reappeared then, empty handed.

"Where is it?"

"Where's what, sir?" Strax asked.

"I sent you to get the memory worm."

"Did you? When?" Strax questioned, before spotting Clara. "Who's he? What are we doing here?" He smiled suddenly. "Look! It's been snowing!"

"You didn't use the gauntlets, did you?" The Doctor questioned him, getting rather annoyed with the alien.

"Why would I need the gauntlets?" He smiled again. "Do you want me to get the memory worm?"

The Doctor groaned. "You… never mind. I'll do it."

He got out with Clara following him, before he lifted up an empty jar from the back of the carriage.

"Strax, you let it out!"

"Did I?"

The Doctor sighed, gesturing to the underside of the carriage. "Just check underneath there while I find the gauntlets."

"Sir."

Strax ducked under the carriage and the Doctor wandered the carriage in search of the gauntlets, but couldn't find them for some reason.

"Strax? Where are the gauntlets? Did you pack them?"

"Of course I did, sir."

The Doctor sighed, dragging a hand down his face. "Never mind. Well, can you see it?"

"I think I can hear it." Strax replied and Clara giggled, making the Doctor turn to her with as serious a look as he could muster with the current situation.

"Oi, don't try to run away. Stay where you are."

"Why would I run?" She questioned him. "I know what's going to happen next, and it's funny."

"What's funny?" The Doctor questioned, feeling a sense of nostalgia from when Alex would chuckle at something that had yet to happen.

"Well, your little pal, for a start." She replied with a smile. "He's an ugly fello, isn't he?"

She was hit upside the head with a snowball and turned around with a shout.

"Oi! What was that for?!"

She ducked as another one flew her way and groaned.

"Fine! Sorry!"

The snowball assault stopped and the Doctor raised a brow.

"Friend of yours?"

Clara huffed. "Yeah. I'm starting to question it though. But anyway, your friend. He's funny."

"Maybe. He gave his life for a friend of mine once."

Clara raised a brow. "Then how come he's alive?"

"Another friend of mine brought him back. I'm not sure all his brains made the return trip!"

"Neither am I." Clara said too, before they were both hit with snowballs and the Doctor turned around and stomped off a little ways away.

"Now _where_ are those coming from?!"

What he missed while his back was turned, was a cloaked figure coming out of the alleyway nearby and handing two black gauntlets to Clara, who held back a snicker as the figure smiled and disappeared into the shadows again.

"I can see it!" Strax called out and the Doctor returned to he carriage.

"Ooh! Can yo reach it? Have you got it?""

"Got what, sir?"

The Doctor frowned as Clara held up the two gauntlets beside him.

"Because these are the gauntlets aren't they?"

The Doctor got up and looked at them just as Strax called out in a panic from under the carriage.

"Sir, emergency! I think I've been run over by a cab!"

The Doctor felt surrounded by idiots and took the gauntlets from Clara with a grumble of complaint as Strax came out from under the carriage and discovered himself to be alright.

"If you need something done..." The Doctor complained, heading under himself to get the worm, _with_ the gauntlets.

He soon had the pest in hand and struggled with it for a second as he tried to get it back into the jar.

"There you go. One touch and you lose about an hour of your memory. Let it bite you and you could lose decades." He turned to Clara then as she stood by and watched in fascination. "And you're still not trying to run."

"I don't understand how the snowman built itself. And my friend's doing a rather fine job of keeping an eye out for me. I'll run once you've explained."

"Clara who?" The Doctor questioned and she gave him a look in return.

"_Doctor_ who?"

"Oh, dangerous question." He said, remembering the warnings he'd gotten about those words.

"What's wrong with dangerous?" She countered, and he smiled at her.

_A woman after my own heart._ He mused, before his smile faltered at the thought of Alex. He didn't have long to think about it though, before a snowman popped up beside them and he rattled on an explanation as he put the memory worm away; not noticing it.

"The snow emits a low level telepathic field."

"My snowman." Clara muttered; unheard by the Doctor.

"It seems to reflect people's thoughts and memories because it's unusual, somehow it carries a previous shape and—"

"No, Doctor! My snowman." She repeated, grabbing him and pointing the snowman out to him and he blinked.

"Ah! Interesting. Well, were you thinking about it?"

"Yes." She replied and another one appeared.

"_Well_, stop." They turned to run, but another appeared. "Clara, stop thinking about the snowmen!"

The snowman before them growled and let out an icy breath as the Doctor panicked a bit more.

"Get down!" They ducked and he grabbed Clara's face. "Clara, listen to me. The snow's feeding off your thoughts."

"I don't understand."

"You're caught in their telepathic field. They're mirroring you. The more you think about the snowmen, the more they appear. Imagine them melting. Picture it. Picture them melted!"

She closed her eyes and the two of them were splashed with icy water, with some warmer water mixed in. They gasped and the Doctor smiled.

"Well, very good. Very, very good. Ha!"

Clara went to get up, but faltered as the same cloaked figure hurried to her side and helped her up, having dropped the bucket they'd been carrying.

"Is that going to happen again?" She asked, her friend nodding as the Doctor smiled.

"Well, if it does, you know what to do about it." He turned to the figure then, frowning. "And is this the friend who likes to throw snowballs?"

Clara, quick to counter the Doctor turned to him. "I won't know how to stop them if I forget."

The Doctor glanced at the memory worm in a jar that he was still carrying and sighed. "Good point."

The three of them went back to the carriage and he pushed Clara inside, turning to push her friend in as well, but said friend was gone again. He shook his head and tried to forget about them as he spoke to Clara.

"Don't come looking for me. Forget about me. You understand?"

"What about the snow? Shouldn't we be warning people?" Clara asked.

"Not my problem. Merry Christmas." He said, closing the door and turning to Strax. "Take her back where we found her."

"Sir."

Strax sent the carriage off, but Clara had escaped through the other door that her friend had opened from the outside. Clara smacked Alex on the arm with a frown though, keeping her voice hushed as they followed after the Doctor.

"What are you doing? I thought you were going to talk to him!"

"I _can't_, Clara. He _left_ me. He left me, _again_. And that's not something I can just push aside and forget about. I want to fix things between us, but what if he doesn't? Or what if he _does_? Things can't go back to what they were. Not again. Not after this."

"Why not?" Clara argued, the two following the Doctor to the park where he'd first left Alex, who hesitated before continuing to follow. "There's no rule that says you two can't fix things. And you seriously need to talk it out. You can't just keep hiding in the shadows like that throwing snowballs to correct him."

Alex shuffled as they watched the Doctor whistle for a bit before jumping up and pulling a ladder down from seemingly nowhere. Once he'd disappeared and the ladder retracted, the two woman came out from behind the tree they'd been hiding behind and approached it. Clara stopped though and turned to Alex.

"Okay. We're going to stop this, right now. Either you go up there to… wherever he is, with me. Or you stay down here and head home or to an inn or whatever. Because we can't keep doing this if you and him are going to be all fussy about things. So make a choice, Alex, because I'm going up."

She jumped up and grabbed a hold of the ladder, pulling it down before heading up it with Alex staring at it from below; biting her lip. The ladder started to retract, but Alex groaned and grabbed the bottom rung before climbing up it as well. Wishing she almost _hadn't_ become such good friends with Clara so quickly.

* * *

Clara stood before the Tardis is awe, silently wondering what could have possibly gotten the blue box up into the cloud. She reached out and touched it, feeling a hum reverberate through her fingers before she quickly pulled away and a voice spoke up from behind her, making her jump.

"Beautiful, isn't she?"

Clara spun around and frowned at Alex, who wandered over with a small smile. Clara, of course, promptly smacked her on the arm, giving her a scolding look.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" She said in a harsh whisper. "It's rude."

"Says the woman who chased down a man in a carriage, said his potato-esque friend was ugly, and never thanked her friend for giving her the chance to keep her memory of the last hour." Alex ticked off on her fingers, making Clara groan.

"I'm never going to win an argument with you, am I?"

Alex smirked. "I highly doubt it."

Clara turned back to the blue box. "What is this? Do you know?"

Alex nodded, placing a hand on the blue box and closing her eyes as it hummed happily and the light on top flashed a few times.

"She's the Tardis. The Doctor's ship." She said, leaning her forehead against the doors, voice soft. "And oh, how I've missed her."

There was a clattering inside and Alex jolted away from the box, grabbing Clara and tucking her around the other side of the box as the Doctor walked out, looking confused.

"Hello?"

He walked further out and the two woman snuck to the other side of the box, further away from him.

"Hello?" He called out again, moving around the box as well, but Clara and Alex stayed one step ahead of him and rushed towards the stairs, just as he came back around to the front of the box. "Hello?"

When he went over to the staircase though, he spotted something on the ground and picked up a dark red shawl; recognizing it as Clara's.

The two women headed back to the pub and stayed there in the upstairs bedroom, having to share due to lack of rooms, but neither minded. Clara was the first awake, with a smile on her face and a chuckle at Alex; who had an arm draped over her and a bit of drool at the corner of her mouth. Alex had mentioned before they went to sleep that she might have nightmares and end up waking Clara up in the middle of the night, but that didn't seem to be the case today and Clara wondered if it was just because she was lonely that she hadn't been sleeping well.

"Alex. Alex, get up. I've got to get ready for work." Clara said, shaking the woman who blinked wearily and sat up; bringing a hand to her mouth with a grimace.

"Ew, I _drooled_? Ugh." She flopped back onto the bed. "Five more minutes."

Clara rolled her eyes, but got up and started getting ready. "Only five, but then we need to go. You said you were good at maths, yeah?"

Alex nodded with a yawn, snuggling deeper into the pillow on the bed. "Mm, great with numbers… Love kids… teaching… stuff."

Clara snorted as Alex drifted off to sleep again, only to wake her up in five minutes and bring her some tea to help wake her up as she got dressed. Clara watched her for a second though, for more than one reason. When Alex was picking out clothes, she stopped on a deep red waistcoat and had this far off look in her eyes. The same sadness from before returning, before she set it aside to dress in as she pulled out the rest of her clothing. After that though, Clara hadn't meant to stare, but caught sight of the scars on the woman's body; from the long one on her back, to a gunshot wound on her shoulder that must have been near fatal. But then there was this weird tattoo like mark on her shoulder that almost looked like it moved at times. And as much as she didn't want to say anything about them, she was curious as to their stories and as to the woman who bore them. They _did_ only start getting to know each other the other day, and Clara was eager to learn more about the mysterious Alexander Holmes.

"Alex? Not to be rude or anything, but… what are those scars from?"

Alex pulled her shirt on up over her shoulders and began working on the buttons, humming. "Depends which one. The one on my back was from being attack by a guy with a knife. The gunshot on my shoulder was from getting shot helping someone. And the one on my stomach was from..." She trailed off a bit, before shaking her head. "...It's not important. Oh!" She held up her hand and pointed at a scar across her palm. "And this one's from trying to fix a toaster!"

Clara raised a brow and her smile slowly faltered.

"Oh dear. That hasn't been invented yet, has it? Um… it's like… a tiny oven that cooks single slices of bread and—"

"And you get hurt often?" Clara questioned, making Alex stop trying to describe a toaster and turn a light shade of red in embarrassment.

"I-I-I tend to find myself in rather… unpredictable and potentially dangerous situations…"

"Uh-huh. Meaning you find trouble."

Alex winced, smiling nervously. "Only a little."

Clara rolled her eyes and off they went to her other job, catching a cab and making Alex raise her brows as Clara swiftly changed out of her red dress and into a fancier black one.

"Ooh, impressing the men with your sophisticated ways, are we?"

Clara smacked Alex on the arm as she laughed. "Oh, shut it. And I'm Miss Montague now, so don't go messing this up. I suggest keeping your mouth shut until I'm able to introduce you properly."

Alex mock saluted her. "Yes, governess!"

Clara groaned, before the carriage stopped and she straightened her posture and opened the door to greet the maid.

"Alice, how smart you look today."

"The governess should enter by the back door unless accompanied by the children." Alice replied, stiffly, but Clara paid no mind.

"And how are the children? Excited about tomorrow?"

"Fracesca, same as ever. Digby says he missed you every day. Captain Latimer wants to see you."

"Of course... Every day?"

"Twice on Saturdays."

"That's better." Clara smiled, stepping out and gesturing to Alex. "And this is Alexander. He is to be helping me with the children and is an excellent mathematician, great with children. I've asked for his help in today's lessons."

Alex stepped forward though, without any warning, and took Alice's hand. "It is very lovely to make your acquaintance, Miss Alice. I hope we will have the chance to see you again later today, perhaps?"

She kissed the back of the woman's hand, who promptly flushed scarlet.

"P-Perhaps, Mister Holmes."

Alex smiled pleasantly. "I look forward to it."

The two walked off to where Captain Latimer's office was and Clara smacked Alex again.

"What was that? I told you to stay quiet."

Alex rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Sorry. I just thought we'd have less problems if the maid wasn't suspicious of me."

"So you decided to _flirt_ with her?"

"Well, what better way to distract a woman?" Alex shrugged, before Clara hit her again.

"You better not pull any of that with the Captain. No doubt he will not be happy with me bringing you in today, anyway."

"Why's that?"

Clara glared at Alex, who held up her hands in surrender, before she knocked on the Captain's door and entered; closing it behind her and Alex.

"Captain Latimer." She smiled, clasping her hands together before her as the man turned and frowned slightly at Alex.

"Ah, Miss Montague, you're back." He said, still eyeing Alex. "Who is this?"

"Alexander Holmes. He will be helping me today with the childrens' lessons on maths. I hope you don't mind. He is a good friend of mine and offered to assist, and I'd rather they get their learning from a man more educated in the matter than I."

"Right… yes, of course. It's… nice to meet you, Mister Holmes." Latimer said, shaking hands with Alex, who smiled.

"And you, sir."

Clara cleared her throat, stopping the two, who'd started to size each other up during their brief handshake.

"Apologies for my brief absence. Family illness is so unpredictable. You wanted to see me? Should I have Alex wait for me in the hall?"

"Ah, yes, if you could, Mister Holmes."

Alex bowed slightly. "Of course."

She left the room, but couldn't help overhearing the Captain revealing some of his affections for Clara as she waited outside; snickering when Clara walked out with a look of slight distaste.

"Ooh, who's flirting now, Miss _Montague._"

"Shut it." Clara snipped under her breath, before the two went out to the garden to see the children playing.

Upon spotting her, however, the two kids hurried over.

"Miss Montague!"

"Miss Montague, you're back!"

"Ah, ah!" Clara lightly scolded and they both stopped and greeted her properly.

"Good morning, Miss Montague."

"Good morning, Miss Montague."

"Good morning, Francesca. Good morning, Digby." She said, shaking their hands. "Christmas Eve is the most thrilling day, don't you think?"

Alex cleared her throat and the two kids looked her way as she smiled. "Hello. I'm Alexander Holmes, here to help with maths, apparently. It's nice to meet you both."

The two bowed their heads respectfully, murmuring to her.

"And you, sir."

"And you, sir."

Alex sighed. "Goodness, ease up a bit. No need for the 'sir' nonsense." She leaned down a bit smirking. "Just call me Alex."

The kids lightened up a bit, Digby even revealing a smile as Clara spoke up.

"What have you two been up to while I've been away?"

"I did seven drawings and we saw a dead cow." Digby replied excitedly.

"Ooh, sounds exciting." Alex smiled.

"Do your secret voice." Digby asked of Clara, who spoke in her regular accent.

"Allo, mates."

The two laughed and the group of them headed off to a bench; Alex helping Digby make snow rabbits and Clara speaking with Francesca about her nightmares.

"They're not exactly nightmares. Just dreams." Francesca said, Digby speaking up as he gathered snow.

"About our old governess. The one who died. She's haunting Frannie from beyond the grave."

"Haven't you spoke to your father about this?" Clara asked.

"You can't talk about things like that to Daddy." Francesca replied solemnly and Alex frowned.

"Oh, pish posh. I'll bet even your father has had nightmares before. And speaking with him might help you get over any fears you have of the woman. No doubt she wasn't as amazing as Miss Montague here."

"Oh, not nearly." Digby smiled. "Do you want to see where she died?"

Alex glanced at Clara, who shrugged. "I don't see why not."

The group headed back around to the front of the building, where there was a frozen-over pond.

"She fell in there and then it froze." Digby explained. "She was in the ice for days and days. I hated her. She was cross all the time. In Frannie's dream, she's still down there, waiting to come back."

"Everything else has thawed, but this pond is still frozen." Clara mused, giving Alex a glance as she hummed.

"Well, depending on the thickness of the ice, it is still technically possible, but..." Alex rapped her knuckles on the ice; it giving off a hard 'thump'. "...that's awfully thick. It should have thinned quite a bit, yet it hasn't."

Clara thought back to what the Doctor had said about the snow feeding off someone's thoughts, and turned to Francesca.

"Frannie, this is important. You dream about her. What do you dream?"

"She's cross with me." The girl answered. "She says I've been bad and she's going to come out of the pond and punish me."

"When?"

"She said she'd come back for Christmas. Tonight."

Clara and Alex exchanged worried looks as Digby piped in.

"I think Frannie's gone mad, don't you? I think she needs a doctor."

"Doctor who?" Alex offered, though not looking too pleased about it.

"Exactly what I was thinking." She turned to the children. "Excuse me, I have a short trip to town I need to take care of. You two behave while I'm gone."

She started out and asked Alice to keep an eye on the kids as Alex hurried to catch up.

"Now, hold on. Where are you going?"

"To the park."

"What? To shout up into the sky at the ship no one can see?" Alex scoffed, grabbing her arm. "I think not."

She let out a sharp whistle and a carriage pulled up, her pulling Clara in behind her and giving the address to the driver.

"Where are we going?"

"To the one place I know where he'd have been. And to the few people who could possibly help us."

"But I thought the Doctor—"

Alex groaned. "He's being a stubborn git right now. He… He lost a couple of close friends and doesn't want to get involved with people anymore. So he won't help us unless he's got good reason to."

"Friends? You?"

She shook her head. "No. The two people I killed."

Clara's eyes widened. "What?… Now, you didn't say that before."

Alex sighed, pulling a hand through her hair tiredly. "Not like that. What happened was… I knew they were going to die and I knew _how_, but I did nothing to prevent it. I could have stopped it, but I didn't because it would have messed up the future. That's why he's cross with me. I killed his companions and he blames me for it."

Clara frowned. "But the whole _future_ could have fallen apart, yeah? He can't blame you for that. You only did what was right."

"Not to him, I didn't." She said sadly. "And this isn't the first time I've done this. _All_ of his companions, I… I could have helped, but I stood back and let it happen."

"Alex." Clara grabbed the woman's hand tightly. "None of that is your fault. Just because you knew some things, doesn't mean that letting things go as they should is something to be blamed for. You're just allowing things to take their course. Everyone dies at some point and if you were unable to prevent that, then it's no one's fault except the forces that took them from you. And if this Doctor fellow can't take the time to understand that, then perhaps he doesn't deserve to have the chance."

"I guess..." Alex said, placing her free hand over Clara's with slight smile. "Thanks, Clara."

"Don't thank me just yet. We've still got Francesca to save."

The carriage pulled up to Vastra's home and Alex knocked on the door, Jenny answering it with a surprised look on her face.

"Alex? My goodness, we've been looking everywhere for you!"

Alex chuckled nervously. "S-Sorry about that. I was staying with a friend." She gestured to Clara, who waved a little. "This is Clara, and we sort of have a problem involving your snowman case."

Jenny nodded, all seriousness. "I'll inform Madam Vastra you're here."

Alex nodded and they followed after her to the garden where Strax stood before them.

"Do not attempt to escape or you will be obliterated!" He said sternly. "May I take your coat?"

"Nice to see you too, Strax." Alex chirped, handing her coat over as Clara did the same; leaning over and speaking quietly to him. "Left side pocket. There should be those Pop Rocks you like."

Strax grinned, bowing slightly. "You generosity is appreciated for supplying me with the exploding rock candies."

Alex smiled as he headed off excitedly. "You're welcome."

Clara raised a brow, but Jenny rolled her eyes.

"Ignore that. Alex enjoys giving him treats despite what Vastra says about them ruining his appetite. She spoils him."

"I can see that."

The group entered the garden where Vastra was sitting, sipping at her drink; though Clara paused and stared.

"Sit." Jenny said and Alex lightly bopped Clara on the back of the head.

"Don't stare. It's rude." She then sat across from Vastra with a small smile. "Hello, again."

"And hello to you too." Vastra replied, watching Clara as she too, sat. "I see you've brought a friend. I hope you know that _he_ won't be too pleased about your avoiding him and finding a new mate."

Alex winced. "She's not my mate. She's a friend. We came to an understanding about _him_, and if _he_ wishes to see me so much, then he shouldn't have made things so difficult between us." Alex accepted some whiskey that Jenny brought over with a bob of her head. "That, and he should look harder. I was right beside him quite some time yesterday. I may be avoiding him, but who is to say he's not doing the same, in his own way?"

"Hm." Vastra chuckled with a small smile, drinking some more of her drink and setting it aside as she turned to Clara. "There are two refreshments in your world the color of red wine. This is_ not_ red wine." She turned back to Alex. "I trust you will keep your silence?"

Alex nodded, sipping her drink. "I have my drink, and if Jenny will provide me with The Strand, I will be perfectly content in retaining silence while you two discuss things."

Vastra nodded at Jenny, who soon returned with the paper, and Alex opened it up and began to read in complete silence as Jenny explained the rules to Clara.

"Madame Vastra will ask you questions. You will confine yourself to single word responses. One word only, do you understand?"

"Why?" Clara asked, doing as she was told.

"Truth is singular. Lies are words, words, words." Vastra explained, before asking the questions. "You met the Doctor, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"And now you've come looking for him again. Why?"

Clara paused, trying to think of how to respond with one word as Jenny encouraged her.

"Take your time. One word only."

Clara finally found a word. "Curiosity."

"About?" Vastra asked.

"Snow."

"And about him and Alex?"

Clara glance briefly at Alex, who made no move to reveal she'd heard her name in their conversation. "Yes."

"What do you want from him?"

"Help."

"Why?"

"Danger." Clara answered.

"Why would he help you?"

"Kindness."

"The Doctor is not kind." Vastra said, and the slight crinkling of paper made her glance at Alex, who'd tightened her grip on the article, but said nothing.

"No?" Clara asked, though a part of her knew that, based on how he'd treated Alex.

"No." Vastra confirmed. "The Doctor doesn't help people. Not anyone, not ever. He stands above this world and doesn't interfere in the affairs of it's inhabitants. He is not your salvation, nor your protector. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?"

Clara smiled, having found the word she was looking for that would throw what Vastra just said back in her face; after her comment before about lies. "Words."

Vastra and Jenny looked a little surprised, glancing over at Alex who flipped a page in the paper to hide her small smirk.

"He was different once, a long time ago, as Alex can—and probably already has told you. Kind, yes. A hero, even. A saver of worlds. But he suffered losses which hurt him. Some more than others." At this, Vastra gave Alex a pointed look, but the woman ignored her. "Now, he prefers isolation to the possibility of pain's return… Kindly choose a word to indicate your understanding of this."

"Man." Clara said and Vastra glanced at Jenny, who nodded.

"We are the Doctor's friends. We assist him in his isolation, but that does not mean we approve of it. The same goes for Alex as well, who has decided to move away from him and his influence as of late. So, a test for you. Give me a message for the Doctor. Tell him all about the snow and what fresh danger you believe it presents, and above all, explain _why_ he should help you."

Clara went to say something, but Vastra leaned forward and placed a finger on her lips, silencing her.

"But do it in one word." She said, making Clara gape in shock. "You're thinking it is impossible that such a word exists, or that you could even find it. Let's see if the Gods are with you."

* * *

The Doctor sat in his Tardis, frowning at the book he was reading, having found not a hint of Alex anywhere in the pubs he'd checked. While the owners had seen her there, none of them were recent enough to give him a hint as to where she went. And he was slowly growing frustrated and upset. He deserved this. After what he'd done to Alex, he believed himself to deserve her abandoning of him, but there was a tiny sliver of his heart that begged for him to find her. To search her out to the end of the universe if need be, and yet here he was sulking away in his ship; having given up. Growling, he threw the book away and went to pull on his coat to leave, when the phone rang. He frowned, but answered it.

"Yes? What? I was about to leave."

"_Miss Clara and her concerns about the snow._" Vastra replied. "_I gave her the one word test._"

"That's always pointless." The Doctor complained, though he was ever curious about what the clever woman had responded with. "What did she say? Well? Well?"

"_Pond._"

The Doctor's eyes widened, and then softened into a deep sadness as he removed the glasses he'd gotten from Amy back in New York.

"_Strax has already suggested where to start investigating._" Vastra said. "_Oh, and upon asking her if there were any other choice of word, she replied with… Alex._"

The Doctor's hearts stopped for a second before he dropped the phone and bolted out the door; only grabbing a few items that he knew would make his wife more than pleased if she were to see him; which he hoped she would.

* * *

As much as I probably would have enjoyed the Doctor's talk with Simon and the Sherlock Holmes get-up I knew he'd be in, I was still struggling with gathering enough confidence to talk to him. I wasn't upset with him, because I understood where he was coming from and a part of me blamed myself for _all_ of his companions' deaths; not just Amy and Rory's, who'd I'd yet to deal with. But there was another part of me that was angry with him for saying what he did, because—as Clara had said—it wasn't my fault. I wasn't the Weeping Angel who zapped them back into time. Sure, I knew it was going to happen, but what could I do? If they didn't live out their lives in that point and time, then the Doctor wouldn't meet Clara—here and in the future—and a good chunk of the future would never happen. And yet _another_ part of me was scared. He'd kicked me out, left me behind. He'd become the hateful Ninth Doctor in that moment and I wondered if that was how he really felt about me. Every time there was a big screw up, did he secretly blame me? Has he _always_ blamed me, but never said anything for some reason? Was what he shouted at me before, his true feelings about me? About everything? And as confident as I'd felt telling Vastra what I did, my own words had cut deeply into my hearts and I feared that he _too_, was avoiding speaking with me. Out of disgust or his own fear, I didn't know and I silently wondered if I'd ever find out. Because at the rate we were going, he might very well leave me here without ever speaking.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, having gotten a headache while thinking about these things the whole trip back to Latimer's home. For hours now, I'd been thinking about it as I worked with Digby and Francesca with their maths. And Clara had given me a worried look when I'd sneezed a few times and refused Alice taking my coat and scarf the moment I entered the doors. I would have thought I was getting a cold, if it were possible for me. The Doctor had once mentioned ages ago that due to my changing biology, I would be able to defend myself against most illnesses, just like Time Lords. And, as he'd said, I'd yet to experience any actually sickness since I'd gained my second heart. But as I cleared my scratchy throat for the fourth time in the past few minutes, I wondered if the Artron inhibitor the Doctor had put on me had messed up my regeneration cycle somehow. _I wouldn't know though. The Doctor knows how my body works better than I do ever since things changed. But I can't exactly go and ask him._ I peered out of the window to see said man standing on the edge of the pond with his finger pointed at Strax—arguing about the cleverness of the alien's joke most likely—before I ducked back into the room and Clara headed over instead; a small smile on my face as I remembered the conversation they would have been having as I pulled out my black book and looked over this episode.

"Am I going to have the nightmare tonight?" Francesca asked Clara, who'd moved away from the window to tuck them into bed.

"Definitely not."

"How do you know?"

_She doesn't_. Some snarky voice in my mind said and I winced, rubbing at my face as I tucked my book away.

"Because, someone's coming to help." Clara replied as Digby joined his sister on the bed.

"Who?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Is it one of your stories? Your definitely true ones?"

"Ha! All my stories are true." Clara said with a mocking laugh, making me raise a brow.

"Like how you were born behind the clock face of Big Ben?" Digby questioned.

"Accounting for my acute sense of time." Clara answered, making me snort and earn a dirty look telling me to shut up as Francesca asked about another.

"And you invented fish."

"Because I dislike swimming alone."

"So what's this one?"

Clara smiled. "There's a man called the Doctor. He lives on a cloud in the sky and all he does, all day every day, is to stop all the children in the world ever having bad dreams."

"I've been having bad dreams." Francesca said, looking hopeful and I smiled softly, remembering my own siblings getting excited like that.

"He's been on holiday. But I am confident he has now returned to work. And as a matter of fact, he's right here."

The door creaked open and I was on my feet in an instant as the candle beside the bed flickered.

"Aren't you, Doctor?" Clara asked, but the person who entered the room wasn't the Doctor, but a woman made of ice.

"Bloomin' hell!" Clara shouted as the kids screamed and I pulled them behind me; the ice woman shouting loudly.

"The children have been very naughty!"

"Get back, now. Quickly." Clara told the kids as I stood before them all and searched for a way out of this.

"You're doing your other voice!" Digby said.

"Yes, love, did you notice?" Clara asked, not bothering to hide it now as the ice woman went on.

"Naughty, naughty children."

"Run!" I shouted, getting the children and Clara into the school room and locking the door as Francesca panicked.

"What do we do?!"

"Frannie, Frannie. Imagine her melting." Clara said and Francesca stared at her in shock.

"What?"

"In your head! Melt her."

"I can't!"

"I'm getting impatient!" The ice woman shouted as she forced the door open and I backed up with the kids again. "You have been very naughty!"

"What about the man?!" Digby asked. "You said the man was here! The cloud man!"

"Well, he's not, is he?"

I grimaced. "He _is_ late."

"Where's the Doctor?!" Digby asked, frantically.

"I don't know!" Clara shouted, just as a puppet in the nearby mini-theater moved.

"Doctor? Doctor? Doctor who?"

The puppet pulled out the sonic screwdriver and aimed it at the ice woman who groaned before shattering into pieces as the Doctor popped up from behind the curtain; still speaking in the nasally puppet voice.

"That's the way to do it!"

The puppet went to kiss him, but I had had enough and ripped the stupid thing off his hand as his eyes widened.

"Alex?"

I then promptly punched him hard across the face, knocking him out cold as I let out a huff, feeling a lot better now. I turned to see the kids and Clara staring at me stunned, but I rolled my eyes and grabbed the Doctor by the back of his collar.

"Come on. I don't have time for this."

"What did you do?" Francesca asked, shocked as I pulled him out from behind the mini-theater.

"I knocked him out, because he deserved it and I was getting annoyed with that frisky left hand of his."

"Frisky left hand?" Clara questioned and I left the Doctor lying on the carpet with a shake of my head.

"Don't ask."

I picked up his sonic and started scanning the remains of the ice woman as Francesca spoke up again.

"Where did she go? Will she come back?"

"Do you want the honest answer or a lie to make you feel better?" I asked, knowing better than to choose by myself.

"The truth." Digby nodded definitively.

I flicked out the sonic and nodded. "Alright. No, she didn't go anywhere. She's melting into the carpet, but yes, she will come back despite the Doctor's new anti-freeze setting. Simon is outside making it snow remembering snow, so it won't be long before your ex-governess starts to put herself back together again. Which is why the Doctor should really stop faking that he's unconscious now, because if he doesn't, I'm likely to take care of that for him."

The Doctor chuckled nervously at the glare I sent him, sitting up and rubbing his bruised cheek.

"You can't blame me. I didn't expect you to be _that_ angry."

I felt that anger rise again, watching as he flinched back, but I tossed him his screwdriver and walked to the door.

"We're not having this conversation now while there's some idiot messing with killer snow and children around." I snapped. "Now hurry up and come up with something to fix this."

"Right… Well, you're welcome." He said to Clara who nodded.

"I'm very grateful. I knew you'd come."

"No, you didn't." He argued, picking himself up from off the floor. "Because I don't. Because this isn't the sort of thing I do any more. Next time you're in trouble, don't expect me to—"

He stopped and I glanced back at him sadly, previous anger fading away like the melted snow being absorbed into the carpet as he looked at his reflection in a mirror.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Clara asked, worried.

"Sorry. It's just… Didn't know I'd put it on. Old habits." He said, adjusting his bow-tie and locking eyes with me in the mirror, before I turned away.

I still couldn't face him. Sure, I punched him and got angry, but that was a split reaction. That was all of my anger coming out at once, more than any other emotion, and that was me taking care of it in one go. Now that I'd dissolved my anger, everything else was bubbling up and I struggled to rein it all in as we faced the problem at hand first.

"It's cooler." Clara muttered, the Doctor smiling a little.

"Yeah, it is, isn't it? It is very cool. Bow-ties are cool."

"She's talking about the room, Doctor. And we need to go, because the ex-governess isn't going to just stay a puddle." I said, grabbing Francesca and Digby and tugging them to the door. "Children first. Let's go!"

A bulge had just started forming in the carpet then, but I'd gotten the kids out and Clara and the Doctor were following after, just as we bumped into Latimer down the stairs.

"Children, what is the expla—Who the devil are you? What are you doing in my house?" He asked of the Doctor.

"It's okay. I am your governess' gentleman friend, and we've been upstairs… kissing! Alex and I, anyway." The Doctor responded, reaching to take my hand, but I pulled away from him, trying not to see his hurt expression.

Alice ran in then. "Captain Latimer! In the garden, there's snowmen and they're just growing out of nowhere! All by themselves. Look!" She shouted, going to answer the door where a bell had been chiming.

From the stairs, I groaned at hearing Vastra's voice.

"Good evening. I'm a lizard woman from the dawn of time, and this is my wife."

Alice screamed and ran back to the stairs as Strax walked in.

"This dwelling is under attack. Remain calm, human scum."

Alice screamed again and fainted, myself managing to catch her with a slight grunt and pointing at Strax as I lifted her over my shoulder.

"What have I told you about addressing people as scum?"

Strax pouted. "Not to."

"Good. Then don't. And make sure to apologize to them. I might just give you another bag of pop rocks."

He nodded, turning to the kids and Captain. "My apologies, human sc—"

I cleared my throat, setting Alice down gently in a chair nearby and covering her with my coat.

Strax correct himself. "Human _beings_."

"Better. Here. Catch."

I tossed him the package of pop rocks, which he caught excitedly and the Doctor turned to Latimer.

"Any questions?"

Latimer, despite everything that had happened within the last couple of seconds, turned to Clara.

"You have _two_ gentleman friends?"

Clara sighed at that, but there wasn't time and the Doctor quickly dashed off to the window.

"Vastra, what's happening?"

"The snow is highly localized and on this occasion not naturally occurring."

"It's coming out of that cab parked by the gates." Jenny informed.

"Sir, one of the pulver grenades would blow these _snowmen_ to smithereens." Strax offered, as the Doctor groaned, playing with Strax's ears.

"They're made of snow, Strax. They're already smithereens. See, Clara? Our friends again."

"Clara? Who's Clara?"

"You've got a lot to learn, buddy." I grumbled as the Doctor quickly explained.

"Your current governess is in reality a former barmaid called Clara."

"That's the way to do it!" A voice called from upstairs, the ice woman, who was now at the top of the stairs.

"Meanwhile, your previous governess is now a living ice sculpture impersonating Mister Punch. Jenny, what have you got?"

"Mister _who_?" I questioned, but was ignored as Jenny threw a little ball that created a forcefield on the stairs to prevent the ice woman from coming down.

"That should hold it."

"Sir, this room. One observation window on the line of the attack and one dependable entrance." Strax said, gesturing to a room that made me happily pat the alien on the head.

"Good thinking, Strax. Everyone in! Captain, take Alice, if you would."

They all headed in as the Doctor scanned the ice woman and Vastra came up beside me.

"Nice to see you off your cloud and engaging again. The both of you."

"I'm not engaging again. I'm under attack." The Doctor argued, glancing back at me as I frowned slightly and started to walk off.

"And I'm only here to help my friend and the kids."

I entered the other room where Clara was trying to keep the kids calm and I coughed into my fist; chest starting to ache along with my head.

"You alright, Alex?"

I waved Clara off. "I'm fine. Headache."

"Strax, how long have we got?" The Doctor asked, walking in with Vastra, and I winced when he didn't even spare me a glance.

"They're not going to attack. They made no attempt to conceal their arrival. And attack force would never abandon surprise so easily, and they're clearing in a defense formation."

"Way, aye, aye. Well done. Straxy. Still got it, buddy." The Doctor complimented, giving him a noogie and kissing the Sontaran on the head.

"Sir, please do not noogie me during combat prep." Strax complained, but was ignored.

"So there's something here they want." Vastra said.

"The ice woman." Clara offered.

"Exactly."

"Why's she so important?" Jenny questioned.

"Because she's a perfect duplication of human DNA in ice crystal form. The ultimate fusion of snow and humanity. To live here, the snow needs to evolve and she's the blueprint. She's what they need to become. When the snow melted last night, did the pond?"

"No." Clara answered.

"Living ice that will never melt. If the snow gets hold of that creature on the stairs, it will learn to make more of them. It will build an army of ice. And it will be the last day of humanity on this planet."

The doorbell went off then and the Doctor cracked his neck.

"Stay here."

He walked out and Clara headed out after him, but I stayed put. I knew what was going to happen out there. Clara was going to kiss the Doctor, and he was going to like it. But how could I stop him when he didn't even want me anymore? When he left me, dropping his wedding ring in the snow, and taking off after being sure to strand me here? How could I fight for a man who may not even care for me anymore? How could I fight for a man who has someone better? My stomach churned uncomfortably and I frowned at the ground, before Clara suddenly returned and grabbed my hand; pulling me out.

"W-What are you doing? Why are you pulling me along too?" I asked, confused.

"To prove a point." Clara said, a bit of bite in her tone that surprised me.

"Oi. I told you two to stay in there." The Doctor scolded us, before turning to me. "Did you put her up to this?"

Those words hurt more than I wanted them to. The sense of distrust between us growing. He almost looked like he wanted to apologize, but didn't as Clara frowned.

"She didn't drag me into anything. I did this on my own and pulled her out with me."

"You seem to do that a lot." The Doctor commented.

"It's why you like me."

"Who said I like you?" The Doctor countered and I closed my eyes, not wanting to see the two kiss.

When lips pressed themselves to _mine_, however, my eyes snapped open and I scrambled to do something as Clara kissed me and pulled away with a smirk.

"She did."

"W-W-What?" I stuttered out as the Doctor suddenly pushed between us with a stern frown on his face.

"_She_ did? How did doing _that_ prove anything?!" He said, trying to keep his voice down, but failing as I brought a hand to my aching head and tried to figure out what just happened.

"Well, she closed her eyes before I even did anything. She closed them, because she expected us to kiss. _She_ thinks you like me and I in return."

The Doctor turned to me and I took a hesitant step back.

"I-I-I… What was I… In the plot, you two… I-I didn't..."

Words just couldn't seem to form as I tried to explain myself and the ever growing flush to my cheeks. The Doctor though, turned back to Clara.

"But why kiss her then?"

"To make you jealous." Clara answered simply, stunning us both.

"What?!"

"Jealous? Why would I need to be jealous?"

"Because." Clara smirked. "She's told me all about you, Doctor. Everything you've done and what you did to her, and I think that you need to feel a bit jealous. Because right now, Alex is a free woman. She can get with whomever she wants. Man, woman, potato alien, whoever. And you wouldn't be able to stop her, because _you're_ the one who let her go. You abandoned her, and if you think that she would come wallowing back to you, you're wrong. And if you think that I won't support her in whatever she decides to do, then you're also wrong. And I may have only known Alex for a couple of days, but we're good friends. So when I see her avoiding someone, _fearfully_, then I know that said someone needs to be taught a lesson. I don't care _who_ you are, but if Alex decides to leave you for good, then I'm going with her. So you two better figure it out as soon as this is over and done with. Because I've had enough of _both_ of your mood swings for one night. Got it?"

I nodded and the Doctor gave me a glance before nodding as well, turning to go answer the door and leaving us behind him a few steps.

"Thank you." I muttered and Clara smiled.

"You're my friend, Alex. And we've got to stick together. Married or not."

I felt my hearts swell at how much she cared, but when she headed after the Doctor, my smile dropped because I remembered what happened to her at the end of all this, and my hearts broke. The Doctor liked her. She was another companion that was going to die and I'd have to watch it happen again. _Can I save her? Would that ruin anything? But if he takes this Clara, then will he take the future one? Would the future one even exist? Or would this Clara stay behind and get with Captain Latimer? There's so many things to worry about… But she's my friend._ I swallowed thickly, hoping I'd come up with the right decision when the time came down to it. The door slamming shut startled me out of my thoughts as the Doctor walked past.

"We need to get her out of here, but keep her away from them."

"How?" Clara asked as the Doctor took out an umbrella and turned with a smirk.

"With this. Do I always have to state the obvious?"

"Those creatures outside, what are they?" Latimer asked, having come out of the room at some point.

"No danger to you, as long as I get that thing out of here. You, in there, now." The Doctor said quickly, telling him to return to the room as he hurried up the stairs and sonicked the barrier.

"What are you doing?" Clara asked as the barrier dissolved.

"Between you and me, I can't wait to find out."

Clara grabbed my hand and tugged me up next to the Doctor with her as he turned to her and the force field moved behind us.

"Right, if you look after everyone here, then I can—Clara!" He shouted, having not expected her to be there, getting into the middle of things.

"Doctor."

"Duck!" I called out, pulling Clara down as the three of us ducked under the ice woman's arm and hurried up the stairs past her; Clara and the Doctor complaining the whole time.

"That was stupid."

"You were stupid too."

"I'm allowed. Ask Alex. I'm good at stupid."

"Oh, _now_ I exist?!" I snapped at him, earning a sheepish look as the ice woman below repeated Mister Punch's words.

"That's the way to do it!"

"Why does she keep saying that?" Clara asked.

"Mirroring. Random mirroring. We need to get on the roof."

"This way!" Clara shouted, grabbing both my hand and his as she pulled us along.

"No, I do the hand grabbing. That's my job. That's always me!" The Doctor complained and I groaned.

"Oh, shut up! I've pulled you along plenty of times! Get used to it!"

The Doctor went through the window, with me following, but Clara called out to us.

"My bustle is stuck."

"Your bustle?" The Doctor complained as I pulled Clara through and she fell on top of me.

"You're really going to need better clothes for this sort of thing." I grumbled under her weight and the weight of her clothes. "Might I suggest pants?"

"Ah, ah! None of that! Off her!" The Doctor said, pulling Clara off me as I coughed and brushed the snow off me; standing up.

"Ignore him. He gets jealous of women around me."

"Really now?"

"I do not." The Doctor argued, but I scoffed.

"Wouldn't be the first time a woman's kissed me and every time, you always whine about it. Cassandra, Martha's sister, River, Jenny—"

Clara gaped. "You kissed _Jenny_?!"

I winced, rubbing my neck at the memory. "Yeah, Vastra wasn't too happy about that. We were just fencing and I tripped and, well, she got rather into it… Though I suppose those fencing jokes could have sounded like flirting..."

"You kissed _Jenny_?!" The Doctor repeated and I groaned.

"Yes! Sorry! _She_ kissed _me. _But yeah. And Vastra had me deal with the effects of her poison sting for a few hours after that, so don't think I'm doing it again, any time soon." I ranted, before we heard a clatter of the ice woman getting through the door of the room we'd just left.

"Now, what's the plan?" Clara questioned.

"Who said I've got a plan?"

"Course you've got a plan. You took that." She said, pointing at the umbrella.

"Maybe I'm an idiot." He countered and I groaned.

"You're always an idiot, who makes up the plan as he goes. Goodness, do you _really_ have to test her?"

Clara looked between us. "This is a test?"

The Doctor tossed her the umbrella. "Yes. To see if you're clever."

"What will it do to us?" She asked about the ice woman and I answered bluntly.

"Eat us."

"That's the way to do it!" The ice woman said, turning to snow to get out the window and onto the roof with us.

"So, come on then. Plan. Do I have one?" The Doctor encouraged.

"Oh, I know what your plan is. I knew straight away." Clara replied.

"No, you didn't." He argued catching the umbrella she tossed him and tossing it back as I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, she did."

The Doctor glanced at me as I coughed into my elbow and back to her. "Show me."

"Why should I?"

"Because we'll be dead in under thirty seconds. Do I have a plan?"

"If we'd been escaping, we'd be climbing down the building. If we'd been hiding, we'd be on the other side of the roof. But no, we're standing right here."

"So?"

"So!" Clara reached up with the umbrella and pulled down the hidden ladder. "After you."

"After you." The Doctor replied and I groaned, shoving the Doctor towards the stairs.

"You first. She's wearing a dress."

"Eyes front, soldier." Clara chirped.

"My eyes are always front!" He snipped, embarrassed as I muttered quietly under my breath.

"Yeah, right. I know mine aren't."

He glanced down at me as I followed after him, avoiding eye contact as Clara chirped from behind me.

"Mine aren't either. Very nice, Alex."

I smirked down at her, going along with her flirting. "Thanks. I work out."

"Stop it." The Doctor complained.

"No."

He pouted at Clara's response, but kept heading on up as Clara gave the ice woman one last quip.

"I understand you're the previous governess. I regret to inform you the position is taken. Goodnight."

She stepped onto the ladder and it retracted, myself helping her up onto the stairs as she started asking questions.

"So you can move your cloud? You can control it?"

"No. No one can control clouds. That would be silly. The wind, a little bit."

"She's following us." Clara informed us as we spotted the governess a little ways below on the ladder.

"That's the idea. Keep her away from the snow." The Doctor answered, sending back some questions of his own. "So, barmaid or governess, which is it?"

"That thing is after us and you want to chat?" She scoffed.

"Well, we can't chat after we've been horrible killed, and Alex doesn't seem in the mood currently."

"How did we get up so high so quick?" Clara asked, never answering his question.

"Clever staircase. It's taller on the inside."

"I'll bet you've been wanting to use that one for ages." I grumbled, him pouting at me as we reached the cloud.

"What am I standing on? What's this made of?"

"Super dense water vapor. Should keep her trapped for the moment."

He flipped his sonic and tucked it away in his pocket as he headed over to the Tardis.

"Do you actually live up here on a cloud in a box?"

"I have done for a long time now." He said as I brushed a hand over the Tardis again with a soft sigh as she chimed away happily.

"Blimey, you really know how to sulk, don't you?" Clara said, earning a snort from me as the man pouted.

"I'm not sulking."

"You live in a box!" She countered.

"That's no more a box than you are a governess."

"Oh, spoken like a man. You know, you're the same as all the rest. Sweet little Clara, works at the Rose and Crown, ideas above her station." Clara complained as the Doctor opened the Tardis doors and the three of us headed inside. "Well, for your information, I'm not sweet on the inside and I'm certainly not..." Clara seemed to realize then where she was as the Doctor turned on the lights. "...little."

The Doctor grinned at her amazement. "It's called the Tardis. It can travel—"

"Anywhere in time and space." Clara breathed out, making the Doctor frown and turn to me as I sat in the jump seat.

"Did you tell her already? That's no fair!"

"No fair? Who do you think knocked on your door yesterday, hm? I couldn't exactly leave her with, 'it's a blue box on a cloud'. That's just ridiculous."

"Yeah? Well your… hair is ridiculous." The Doctor countered, and once again, I felt my hearts ache a bit; still not used to this body after regenerating, but before he could apologize or anything, Clara rushed back into the Tardis.

"It's smaller on the outside."

The Doctor turned, brows furrowed. "Okay. That is a first."

"Is it magic? Is it a machine?"

"It's a ship."

"I know that. Is there a kitchen?" Clara questioned, curiosity at it's best.

"Another first."

"I don't know why I asked that." Clara said though, my eyes saddening at remembering how this Clara got here in the first place. "It's just… I like making soufflés."

"Soufflés?"

"Why are you showing me all this?" She asked, suddenly suspicious.

"You followed me, remember? I didn't invite you." The Doctor countered and I scoffed.

"You didn't exactly stop her either."

Clara nodded. "She's right. You're nearly a foot taller than I am… You could have reached the ladder without this. You took it for me. Why?"

She tossed him the umbrella and he caught it.

"I never know why. I only know who." He said, holding up a key to the Tardis as I stood and moved over to the console with another cough, rubbing at my sore throat with a wince.

"What's this?" Clara asked.

"Me. Giving in. Because anyone who can become such a great friend to Alex in one day deserves a chance." He said, turning slightly to me before turning back to Clara as I stared down at the console sadly.

"I don't know why I'm crying." Clara muttered as my hearts ached.

_Because you know, deep down, that this won't happen. Not for this you. Not now. You have to die. _I winced, rubbing at my head and mouthing a curse under my breath as I tried to get that voice in my head to shut up for a bit. Just as the Doctor bounded around the console and I caught sight of the doors opening behind Clara.

"Clara!" I shouted, just as the ice woman grabbed her and started dragging her out; myself right on their trail with the Doctor behind me.

"Clara! Clara!"

"Get off of me!" Clara shouted at the ice woman, struggling in vain.

"Water vapor doesn't stop ice. I should have realized!" He said, sonic out. "Let her go! Let her go, now!"

"No!"

"No, Clara!"

The ice woman faltered and fell of the edge of the cloud just as I reached out and grabbed Clara's arm. The problem was, the ice woman held on for a second longer and with her added weight, I started to fall off as well.

"Alex! No!"

A hand grabbed my wrist as my shoulders strained to hang onto Clara while the Doctor clung to me from the cloud.

"Alex! Clara! Hang on!"

"I-I can't!" Clara said and I could feel her hand slipping from mine; slick from the water of the ice woman.

"Please!" I begged, tears already coming forth. "Please, Clara! You have to hang on! _Please_! He can't lose another one! I can't let him lose another one because of me!"

She looked up at me though and I already knew it was too late. "I'm sorry, Alex."

Her hand slipped from mine and I shouted as she fell.

"No! Clara!"

The Doctor pulled me up onto the cloud, but I yanked myself away from him and hurried to the Tardis.

"Alex—"

"No!" I shouted back at him, my hearts feeling as though they were being ripped apart, because I let it happen again.

Just as I always do. I let him lose another companion. I let Clara die just as I'd let Rose, Donna, and Amy and Rory die.

"W-We have to help her." I said, voice cracking as I went around the console and started to pilot the ship; him staring at me in shock.

"W-When did you learn to do this? How did you learn to fly her?"

I wiped angrily at my tears, working as fast as I could. "I read the manual."

The Tardis landed and I rushed to where Clara's body was in the ship, skidding to her side before the Doctor started to pilot the ship once more. I lifted Clara up, ignoring the strain it put on my aching shoulders and taking her out into the study where we cleared off a table and laid her down for Strax to look her over. I took a heavy seat in a chair nearby and tuned out the world, knowing how things turned out with Clara in the end, and not wanting to hear them say those fated words. I was struggling though. Every part of my body and mind screamed in pain and agony, heartbreak ripping me to pieces as I held everything back. I couldn't fall apart. Not here. Not now. Not with everyone watching.

I yanked at the short blonde hair on my head, numb to the pain as I clenched my eyes shut and grit my teeth together tightly; voices shouting at me in my head.

"_This is your fault."_

"_You knew about this! You knew this would happen and you let her go!"_

"_Useless! You useless, _selfish_ human being!"_

It was Nine's voice, but it was shifting, morphing into that of Ten's and Eleven's, and even Twelve's. All of the Doctors shouting at me, all of my enemies laughing and mocking me.

"_The Seer!"_

"_Destroyer of Worlds!"_

"_Bringer of Death!"_

All I could hear was that shouting. Nothing Jenny or Strax or any of the others said was penetrating this darkness that had overcome me and I suddenly felt like I was back in that nightmare. That I was drowning in the deep sludge that I'd filled myself with and I was slowly suffocating, drowning. Except this time, there would be no Doctor to help me. No, he'd be the one holding me under.

* * *

Vastra looked at Alex briefly, seeing the woman struggling to keep her composure as she shook and shivered in the shadows of a chair in a corner. Concern filled her, but she knew that she would not be able to console the woman, and instead, Vastra snuck off into the Tardis to the one man who could. Because as much as Vastra was annoyed by Alex's unconscious flirting towards her wife, she rather liked the woman. If she'd not been wed to the Doctor and if Vastra herself had not been wed to Jenny, then perhaps Alex would have become her companion. The woman was cunning with just enough brawn and spark to keep her from being easily pushed over and Vastra liked that in a woman. So when she saw that woman on the verge of teetering over the edge, she knew she must do _something _to help.

The Doctor was still in his ship, having allowed Alex to bring in the fallen woman on her own, and was scanning some of the ice woman's shards that had entered the ship with Clara's body. Vastra closed the door behind her with a creak, making the man look up briefly, before returning to what he was doing.

"Isn't the creature still a danger?" Vastra asked, hoping they'd seen the last of the deadly ice woman. "It could reform."

"No. Not in here." The Doctor said bluntly.

"Then you should be with Miss Clara." Vastra said, watching his reaction.

"She's going to be fine. I know she is." He said, determinedly, before some of that hope dwindled. "She has to be."

"Doctor, her injuries are severe." Vastra said, trying to get him to see the situation for what it was. "That equipment will bring back anyone for a while, but long term—"

"No, you don't understand. She _has _to be fine." He interrupted her and hand fisted around a piece of ice. "It was my fault. I am responsible for what happened to Clara. She was in _my_ care."

"What is the point of blaming yourself?" Vastra asked, frowning. "Your wife is out there doing that right this moment, and she _needs_ you. But how can you comfort her when you also put the blame on your own actions when there was nothing either of you could have done?"

He turned away, saddened. "She's not my wife. Ever since I threw that ring to the ground, she hasn't been my wife, because I don't deserve her. And there is no point in blaming myself, because Clara's going to live. And when she does, then Alex will have nothing to blame herself for. I won't have Alex be at fault for another life. Not again. Not after what I've done to tear her down like this."

Vastra went silent, pondering what exactly the Doctor hoped to accomplish when his wife was on the verge of shattering to pieces. She knew it would be impossible to save Clara. Alex's state told her that much, because why would the woman be so distraught if Clara would live? But if Clara died, then the Doctor would have nothing to work with in this big plan of his. Alex would forever blame herself for what happened, and after he'd hurt her the way he had four years ago, it would take more than convincing to prove to Alex that she was not the one at fault here. Not only that, but the two only seemed to be drifting further apart, and Vastra could only hope that they somehow found a way of making up with one another, because never before had she witnessed two beings get along so well as the Doctor and his Seer.

* * *

I couldn't remember the Doctor leaving to go confront Simon and the Great Intelligence. I couldn't remember when snow began to fall and the snowmen began to grow. But I remembered Clara calling out to me.

"A-Alex..."

I lifted my head slowly, forcing myself to stand up and very nearly staggering back down again if Jenny hadn't caught me. She gave me a worried glance, but I ignored it as I approached Clara with a deep cough.

"Clara… I-I'm so sorry." I breathed out, reaching out to hold her hand, but hesitating before pulling my hand back.

"What a-are you apologizing for?" She questioned with a small smile as she took my hand anyway. "You did everything you could."

I shook my head, guilt eating me from the inside out. "N-No. No, I didn't. I-I could have stopped it. I-I could have saved you, Clara."

"But then t-the future would be ruined, w-wouldn't it?" She countered and I couldn't say anything against that argument.

"I'm so sorry."

"Alex, look at me."

I lifted my bowed head and looked back at her tired eyes as she smiled.

"It's okay… D-Do you know why?"

I slowly shook my head, tightening my grip on her cold hand.

"Because… now someone out there c-can travel with the two most amazing people in the universe. Someone else can h-have the chance of a lifetime. B-But only if you help him. H-Help the Doctor, help you."

"I-I can't, Clara. I-I _can't_."

"Course you can." She breathed out, eye slipping closed. "You have to… be… together."

She went quiet and a tear slipped down her cheek, making my own throat tighten as the snow outside turned to rain. Latimer held his children as they cried over the loss of Clara, who would only have moments left, and I suddenly couldn't do it any more. My hearts shattered, my soul broke. Everything I ever stood for seemed wrong now and I walked out of the room quickly. Out of the home and out into the storm without even my coat, because I didn't belong here. Not anymore. I didn't belong with Clara, with the Doctor, or Vastra, or Jenny. I didn't belong with the savers of the world, or the good people of Earth. I deserved to be alone. Away from everything that I could hurt. Everyone I could kill. And despite Clara's words to me, I couldn't do it anymore. I had finally been broken.

* * *

The Tardis reappeared in the study and the Doctor hurried out, having understood that the rain meant Clara's final moments were upon them, and that he'd been wrong.

"I'm sorry. There was nothing more to be done. She has moments only." Strax reported as the Doctor's brows furrowed in worry at not seeing Alex.

He wouldn't waste his moments with Clara though, and came over to her side with a sad smile.

"We saved the world, Clara. You and me. We really, really did."

"Are you going back to your cloud?" She asked, voice soft.

"No more cloud. Not now."

"Why not?"

"It rained." He said as she let out a breath and closed her eyes.

"You have to find her, Doctor… Find Alex."

"I will." He said, determined. "I promise."

Clara went quiet then and he thought she'd moved on, if it weren't for her whispering those final words.

"Run. Run, you clever boy… And remember."

He frowned at those words, them sounding very familiar, but was cut off as the clock chimed midnight and Digby spoke up.

"It's Christmas. Christmas Day."

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"Please, Alex. I'm sorry. Really I am. I should have never said those things to you or did what I did. I was stupid and blinded by what happened t-to Amy and Rory." He said, voice cracking just saying their names. "I understand that now. I know I screwed up, but please let me make it up to you. I'll do anything! Just name it and I'll get it done!"_

_ "...Take me home."_


	65. The Next Doctor

**Um, hello... *waves timidly* you're all probably not going to be happy, but because of my crazy work schedule the next couple of weeks, i'll only be posting one chapter a week on Tuesdays for a while. Super sorry. With the holidays coming up (which i will probably be working on as well) things are getting a little hectic. Please let me know what you think of this chapter though! i love the feedback from you guys ^^**

**and if any of you are reading Amber Leaves i want to let you know that i've finished writing the next chapter, but i need to type it up and with my schedule the way it is, it might be another few weeks before you get it. sorry. :/**

* * *

He remembered. He remembered where he'd heard those words. Remembered the soufflé girl and what she'd told him back in the Dalek Asylum. And he felt hope in that, but his hope would have to wait, because someone was missing. Alex had disappeared that night. According to the others, Clara had spoken with her and then she'd wandered off into the storm. Jenny had said she wasn't well and felt hot to the touch as well as the coughing fits the Doctor had witnessed earlier, so he'd grown worried when she'd yet to return to Vastra's home by the next morning. He'd remembered the state she'd been in earlier when he'd been preparing to leave to face Simon, and guilt welled up in him, because he should have paid more attention then instead of waiting for whatever was bothering her to get as bad as it did.

As it was, he was still guilt ridden about how he'd treated her before. He'd just been so upset about Amy and Rory's death, that he'd taken it out on the closest person. Not only that, but his mind at the time had believed in what he'd been saying. That their deaths were Alex's fault because she stood by and did nothing, like she'd done with so many of his other companions, but he knew that wasn't true. He loved Alex _because_ she did all that she could. Even if it meant that she got hurt in the end, she always did what she needed to in order to keep him happy and from blaming himself for the deaths that happened around him. So when she shouted those words while trying to save Clara, it tore at his hearts, because she didn't care about nearly being pulled off the cloud herself. She only worried that he would lose another companion. That he'd be hurt even worse than he already was, losing three companions in the span of a few weeks. And he silently wondered if she knew that Clara was supposed to die here, but still attempted to save her anyway.

"Come on. Come on." He breathed out, checking the monitor of the Tardis that he'd locked onto Alex's time signature.

It was a shot in the dark, because she had so little Artron energy right now that it would be near impossible to find her this way, but it was his only chance. And he hoped that the Tardis would recognize even the tiniest spark of her Artron energy and would be able to point him in her direction. Because otherwise, he feared she might very well die again, in her condition. She was running on borrowed time, and the Doctor was determined to find her before that time ran out.

* * *

I stumbled again, cursing under my breath as I held onto a tree and tried to get my vision to stop spinning. My fever had risen and my coughing was worse than before, making my chest ache and my body quiver with every gasp. It took everything in my power to keep moving, to get further away from people. To be honest, I was completely lost somewhere in the outskirts of London. The most I knew, was that I was in a forest somewhere maybe five to ten miles away from the town. That being said, moving around in my circumstances was probably not the best idea. And when my vision refused to settle and my stomach churned with the threat of nausea, I slumped to the ground and leaned back against the tree as I closed my eyes. A deep cough racked my frame and I grimaced at the thick feeling of mucus in my lungs, wheezing and clenching a fist around the fabric of my shirt just above my first heart.

I was scared. The Ninth's voice continued to echo in my mind as well as the angry shouts of Rose-Tenth and the most recent shouting of the Eleventh. But really, I was more scared of myself at the moment. Those rumors of the Seer being the Destroyer of Worlds and the Bringer of Death hadn't meant anything to me before. They'd just been the words of some people who disliked me, and I'd done my best to ignore them. But now, more than ever, they seemed to ring true and I was scared that I'd somehow do it again. That I'd meet someone and they'd end up dying because of me. Because I didn't do anything to prevent it. How many times had a companion or friend of the Doctor's died because of me? How many times did the _Doctor_ die because of me? How many of his regenerations were my fault? How many of his _near_ deaths could have been prevented if I just stepped in and told him something?

I took in a shaky breath, shivering in the chilly England weather and wishing I'd at least brought my coat and scarf when I'd rushed out. I wrapped my arms around my body to try and retain some warmth, though it was near impossible with my soaked clothes and the slight breeze that wound it's way around the tree I was up against. _I-I need to stay away. Away from people. Away from aliens. A-Away from the Doctor._ _I-I-I… I need to…_ I felt tears spring forth and sniffled back a choking sob, burying my face into my knees as I brought them up to my chest. And I must have blacked out for a moment then, because I remembered nothing until a loud clap of thunder woke me.

At the noise, I jolted and forced myself to stand, immediately having to stabilize myself against the tree before I toppled over, but I pushed myself onward to find some sort of shelter from the incoming rain. I'd gotten lucky and discovered an abandoned, half burnt down farmhouse just outside the forest, and took shelter there as the rain began to fall heavily against the partial roof. The whole place was torn up and large holes were in the floor and ceiling, but I'd found a dry patch off in a corner of the room and settled down there as my eyes started to drift closed again in exhaustion. I kept drifting in and out of consciousness then, only being able to stay awake long enough to hear the occasional clap of thunder or a rat scuttling across what remained of the floorboards of the farmhouse, seeking shelter. If my mind could stay put together for longer than a few seconds, I might have been worried about my condition. Being as sick as I was and having a drifting consciousness couldn't have been a good thing, but I could barely focus on my own thoughts; and even those seemed to drift away with the falling rain. Only a few thoughts stuck long enough to make any difference.

_I'm scared…_

_...I hate myself…_

_...This body, everything…_

_It's wrong… It's all wrong._

_...Stay away… Doctor…_

_I don't want… to hurt you anymore._

… _So tired…_

_When does it stop?_

My head lolled against the wall as I leaned heavily against it, body chilled to the bone, but feeling as though it was on fire as a quiet sound came to my ears. Something brushed against my mind, soft, like a mother's worried hug and I leaned back into the warmth, a humming echoing in concern in my head; but that hardly mattered. I was just so tired and it felt so nice, that hum. It was like we knew each other, but closer than that. Like I was a _part_ of the being. There was a clattering of noise in the farmhouse, but I couldn't be bothered by it, relishing in that warm embrace around my mind until something hot touched my cheek. Wearily, I peeked out of an eye to see what it was, but my vision was blurred and the figure just appeared before me as a brown blob. So I closed my eyes again and let out a deep breath as I focused back on that warm feeling.

Then it felt like I was on a boat. A gentle swaying back and forth with a few drips of water landing on my face and sliding off; the warmth getting bigger in my mind until it felt like my whole body was surrounded in it. A moment later, I could feel the chilly fabric of my clothes being removed and I couldn't bring up the energy to fight as I was undressed and slowly placed into warm water. My body relaxed almost instantly as something massaged my shoulders and back, working it's way around as the sweet scent of honey and cream filled the air. I was wrapped in something fluffy and warm then, curling around the fabric as I felt myself floating once more and I was placed down on something before feeling those same ministrations drying the water from my hair and body, and I was tucked into something warm once more; humming deeply in my throat in content unconsciously as I clung to the object before me, not wanting to let go as everything drifted into black.

* * *

It was worse than he thought. Alex was very sick and her body was having a very hard time trying to fight off the illness even after he'd removed the Artron inhibitor. That, in and of itself, was difficult seeing as he had to make sure that Alex's body wouldn't immediately go into shock at the sudden reintroduction of the energy. Not to mention, the sudden release of the regeneration energy she'd been holding within her body for four years. That was a big part of the reason why she was so ill. Time Lords—partial or not—shouldn't hold in regeneration energy. As it was, the energy ripped them apart and put them back together again cell by cell, but to hold it in was poison. It would slowly eat away at a Time Lord's body and had already done so with Alex's. Her immune system was destroyed and this was the result of it. If she was fully human, she'd be dead by now. She'd already spent three days unconscious in the med bay after the Doctor had picked her up, with a fever of over 110 degrees. To a _Time Lord_, that was a very dangerous temperature to have, and her being only part only made it that much more deadly.

It took another two days before the fever finally went down and she stabilized, but the Doctor was more than worried about when she woke up. He knew she didn't realize he'd found her. Her being unresponsive to his questions, and the fact that he bathed and dressed her without complaint, proved that much to be true. So he worried about her reaction when she realized where she was and who she was with. Already, it seemed she wasn't happy with him and had been avoiding him, and as much as he understood that, he did want to make it up to her. The problem was, he was unsure how. That, and trying to figure out which problem to deal with first would be difficult when Alex was so difficult to read; especially when she didn't want him to know what bothered her. As it was, there was him ending their relationship, him yelling about his companions' deaths, her recent regeneration, them loosing Clara, and who _knows _what else. And trying to figure out which would be her biggest priority and her reaction to his apologies would be was like trying to get a boulder to talk.

He sighed from his little hammock under the Tardis console, idly swinging back and forth as he thought of all the possible endings to his future talk with Alex. _Or 'talks'. Either way, it could be an easy fix. A couple of apologies here, some hugging and comfort there, lots of explaining… Or it could end horribly with fighting and shouting, nothing getting solved, her walking out, her hating me…_ He frowned sadly at the thought, hoping that the worst case scenario wouldn't happen. He'd much rather the best case scenario, but he'd probably get something in between, if he was lucky. He dragged a hand through his hair, which was disheveled by this frequent action of his that he picked up from Alex, but he fell out of his hammock upon hearing the loud shout from the med bay.

"No!"

Eyes wide, he realized Alex woke up—possibly from a nightmare—and he scrambled into the med bay to see her panting with a hand clutching at her throat, as she tried to calm down; her body shivering slightly. _Nightmare it is, then._ The Doctor mused, hesitantly approaching in the hopes that he might be able to talk with her.

"Alex? You're okay. It's alright. You're safe."

She turned to him and he saw a flash of anger in her eyes. "Safe? How am I any safer here t-than in that nightmare?"

He flinched, understanding now that the best case scenario was not likely to happen at all at this point. "Please, Alex. I'm sorry. Really I am. I should have never said those things to you or did what I did. I was stupid and blinded by what happened t-to Amy and Rory." He said, voice cracking just saying their names. "I understand that now. I know I screwed up, but please let me make it up to you. I'll do anything! Just name it and I'll get it done!"

"...Take me home."

"W-What?"

She turned and shouted at him. "Take me home! My universe! My home with my family and my friends! Because I don't want to be in this stupid universe anymore!"

She got up and stormed out of the room with him following after her, begging and pleading with her to stay, but it fell on deaf ears. Alex was leaving. Leaving him, leaving everything. All because he screwed up. Because he didn't trust her enough to believe that there was nothing she could have done to save Amy and Rory. All because he was upset and lost his temper. And now, he'd lost her. Lost his wife, his friend, his companion, his _love_. And there was nothing he could do to stop her from walking out those doors.

* * *

The Doctor woke up with a gasp, panting heavily and in a panic at the nightmare he'd had, before he caught sight of the sleeping woman in front of him and let out a shaky breath. He was in the med bay, a hand wrapped around Alex's as she rested, having apparently fallen asleep at her bedside; which was understandable after the few days he's been wide awake taking care of her. That nightmare hit a bit close to home though, and he swallowed thickly as he brought her hand up to his forehead and clenched his eyes shut.

"Please… Please don't leave me, Alexander. I'm sorry. _So_ sorry. So please… please forgive me." He pleaded with her as she slept.

And he didn't leave her side for a long while after that, worried that his nightmare would come true if she woke up without him there. It took some coaxing, but eventually the Tardis was able to convince him to change into some clean clothes and take a bath. He even went and got himself a cup of tea, feeling much better after everything that had happened, but he very nearly dropped said cup when he returned to the med bay and found Alex sitting up and awake. His breath caught in his throat when she turned to him and spoke.

"Why am I here?"

His hearts plummeted and he expected her to say something more, shout at him even, but she remained silent and waited for his response.

"O-Oh, um… well, you see… you sort of..." He swallowed thickly and tried to get his thoughts in order enough to speak at least _one_ full sentence. "Y-You were sick and the Tardis managed to lock on to your signature, so I brought you here. You've been asleep for nearly a week."

She groaned, dropping her face into one of her hands. "Again?" She grumbled, before shaking her head and turning back to him with a frown. "Doesn't matter. I'm fine now, so just drop me off somewhere. I can't be here."

"_Take me home."_

The Doctor shook his head, quickly coming over to her bedside as she tried to get up. "No! No, I can't do that! Please, stay!"

He expected her to get angry. To shout and yell at him to leave her alone. To let her go and do as she pleases, away from him, but one look at her expression and he worried that he had the wrong idea about how she'd react to what he'd done. She was sad. A deep, dark sadness that spread across her features and it was hard for even him not to notice. The way her shoulders were slouched, eyes tired and looking anywhere but at him, how she moved slowly but hesitantly; like any action she made would have some sort of dire consequence. And the fear. He didn't know what she was afraid of—hopefully not him—but he could practically taste the fear coming off her and that worried him more than anything.

"Alexander?"

"I-I can't. I'm sorry, but I can't stay here. Not with you." She said, quickly turning away as he stared at her in shock, before hurrying after her; determined to get to the bottom of this.

"Alex! Alex, wait! At least tell me why! I'll do anything! Please!" He called after her, fear welling up in him, since it seemed his nightmare was coming true. "Please don't leave me!"

She stopped, hand on the door leading to the console room, unmoving. So he took his chance.

"Please, Alexander. I can't do this. I couldn't stand it when I left you. I tried to convince myself that I did what I should have, but every cell in my body screamed that I was wrong. That I needed to find you, because I didn't feel whole. I felt like a part of me had been shoved out those doors with you and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I said all of that to you. I'm sorry I ruined our marriage and blamed you for Amy and Rory's deaths. I was wrong. You should _never_ be the one to blame for someone dying. Friends or not. I'm over a thousand years old and I should know better. I've known you for a number of those years and I should _know_ that you were right doing what you did. That what you did, probably saved hundreds of lives in the future including theirs. They got to live happily with each other because you left things how they were, instead of having them die on an asteroid or something. And I should be _thanking_ you for that. I should be showering you in appreciation and I will! I will do everything in my power to make it up to you, so please… _please_ don't go." He cried, voice tight with the threat of the tears he was struggling to hold back. "I love you. I love you so much. And if you leave… I-I honestly don't know what I'll do. I _need_ you, Alexander." He slowly reached out, pulling her towards him as he curled around her in a hug, his nose pressed to the back of her neck. "_Please_."

He could feel her shaking in his arms, but he refused to let go until she answered, and even then he might very well hang on.

"Y-You don't understand." She said, voice cracking and making him hold on a little tighter.

"Then help me. Help me understand so I can fix this. Please, Alexander. I want to fix this so badly, but I have no idea how. Help me, help you."

She stiffened at that and he tried to get a glimpse of her face, but the tear that fell onto his hand told him enough as Alex sucked a tight breath through her teeth and tried to keep from crying.

"I-I-I just… I-I need some time a-alone. P-Please." She said softly, a hand gripping her pants in a tight fist and the Doctor hesitated.

"Just… please don't leave. Stay on the Tardis. I-I'll leave you alone, if that's what you want, but don't leave. Not like this. Not with _us_ like this."

She nodded slowly and he released her, feeling slightly more hopeful. Because if she agreed to that, then he'd have more of a chance to make things up to her. He'd be able to figure out what to do. He'd be able to try some things and hopefully she would forgive him for what he'd done. Even if he had to go domestic and stop traveling for a while. He'd do anything to help her, to keep her. Anything, except take her home.

* * *

The Doctor had kept his promise. I hadn't bumped into him once since I asked to be alone, though he was obviously still looking out for me. I often found little notes around the Tardis, usually accompanied by food or tea with the occasional soda. I'd found one in the kitchen, reminding me to eat because I was still recovering, beside a plate full of my favorites. I felt bad, because I couldn't enjoy it as much as I'd like. My taste buds were still off and everything tasted strange. It was like biting into a banana and expecting it to taste like a banana, but instead it tasted like an orange or a lemon. It was hard, but I forced myself to eat regularly and—more often than not—it was something the Doctor made for me. Then I'd found a note in the library beside a hot cup of tea and an Agatha Christie novel, letting me know that he hadn't torn out the last page in that book, like he had with a number of her other novels. It was always a challenge to figure out the criminal when you never got an answer. And that had kept me up during the nights back when we were on good terms.

Now though, I was uncomfortable. All of these little things he was doing for me made my stomach churn in guilt and my head swim in confusion. I didn't understand why he was treating me like this. I understood that he was trying to make up for throwing me out of the Tardis before, but I'd sort of drawn back into myself and was waiting for him to hunt me down and yell at me again. I was reverting back to my early self and felt that I _should_ be punished for letting Amy and Rory die. That the Doctor should yell at me and leave me behind again. But there was this part of me that knew I'd done what I should and that he was right to apologize and beg me to stay; as harsh as that sounds. And, to be honest, that wasn't even what was bothering me the most. The Doctor got angry, as he'd always done, and then he apologized, just as his older selves always had. I'd grown used to his accusing me of killing people and, while a part of me will always blame myself for what happened to companions and others who have died because I took a backseat to events, it had started not to bother me anymore. There was always another version of the same man to look forward to. One who would comfort me, one who would laugh and joke with me. One who just… _understood_ me.

So what really bothered me, was myself. This new body in particular was something I just couldn't seem to get used to. I'd gotten used to my hair being slightly longer after being forced to grow it out a little while being a Roman, and I'd tried to do that again while in London, but the moment I could feel it touch the back of my neck, I had this dire need to get it cut back. And the _color_. Every time I looked in the mirror, I'd flinch; expecting that darker red shade, only to get a blinding yellow with dark roots. But I was so self-conscious in this body. It was so different. And I'd popped off from the other Eleven before even getting close to working out it's kinks and such. So it was as if every part of my body was trying to be difficult. I ran my head into cupboards and shelves because of my new height. I smashed my hand into the floor while bending down to pick up something. I needed _reading_ _glasses_, for Pete's sake!

Then there were the freckles, the lighter skin color, the contours of my body, how I gained fat and muscle mass, how quickly I moved or reacted to things. Every ounce of me was screaming that this wasn't who I was. That the person I looked at in the bathroom mirror was someone else and I was trapped in their body. I knew this wasn't true, but I couldn't help but think that something had ultimately gone wrong with my regeneration. I didn't know if it was because I was only a partial Time Lord or what, but weren't Time Lords supposed to change personalities? Weren't they supposed to become nearly different people, but with the same underlying aspects as before? So why was I still me? Why did the only thing that change, be my body? Even my eyes were the same! And, while that did make looking in the mirror slightly easier, I felt so uncomfortable with this new body, that nothing seemed right with me anymore. It was as though after regenerating, I'd become some kind of monster.

The body changed, the mind stayed the same, but everything that had happened after I regenerated only seemed to drag me down into a deeper pit. Clara was killed because I didn't do anything. The Doctor ended his relationship with me. Amy and Rory died and their deaths were blamed on me. I'd gotten sick more times than I could count. My body still liked to change tastes around or walk me into the occasional wall or toss out a random thought for no reason. I'd started to get weird cravings too. I'd wake up at 3am and hurry to the kitchen because I desperately needed to have a mango, but then I'd eat it and spit it out because I'd hate it. So I'd end up eating a giant can of refried beans with a spoon the size of my fist. I thanked the universe that the Doctor hadn't caught me doing that yet, but he brought a whole new set of problems.

He'd never told me what he thought. Everything had been so crazy with Amy and Rory, and Clara and the snowmen, and me, that I never got the chance to really look at myself until now. And when I did, the first thing I could think of, was what the Doctor thought. Did he like this new me? Did he hate it? _What about the hair? Or my cheek bones? I gain muscle faster than before. Does he like that or hate it? Am I too skinny? Too muscly? Too fat? Too tall? Too pale? Should I try to tan? _Can_ I tan? Or do I just burn like a tomato? What about the scars? Does he care? And my voice is a little deeper too. I became more masculine. Will he be upset? Will he like me? Does he still hate me? Will this change things between us, because I'm not the same person he fell in love with? Aren't I… Am I a monster now? _These thoughts and more raged through my head at the moment he'd tried to stop me from leaving after waking up. And I knew I couldn't stick around him. I knew that he would influence my thoughts, or just distract me from them, when all I really needed was some time on my own to sort through things.

When he'd begged me not to leave him though, I couldn't do it. It was that heartbroken tone in his voice, the way it shook and cracked with emotions so deep, that I couldn't bare to even look at him without falling apart myself. And I had really just wanted to turn around and apologize and have the both of us forget this mess, but I knew that if I did that, then all of these questions and emotions would come up later and I'd fall apart. Possibly in the middle of some adventure. Maybe even without a kind and caring version of the Doctor. And then where would I be? I'd be worse off than now, if I'd done that. So I'd forced myself to stay away from him and I was _more_ than grateful to him for doing as I asked and staying away from me. Sure, I missed him being right there next to me when I had nightmares and I missed how he'd always try his best to cheer me up somehow when I was upset about something and tucked it away. I missed the little looks he'd give me when he'd think I wasn't looking, how I'd catch him staring and he'd blush and pretend that he hadn't been doing that for the past five minutes. I missed teasing him, kissing him, loving him. I just missed _being_ with him, but I knew I couldn't go back to him. Not until I'd figured this stuff out. Not until I was able to understand that this was me now. _I_ was the blonde person in the mirror who actually had a slight British accent and was slimmer than before. _I_ was the person who didn't like apples anymore and cared more for cherry flavored _anything_ with bitter dark chocolate, than the sharp taste of citrus or the sweet taste of milk chocolate and peanut butter that I used to enjoy so much.

So until I came to that realization, I had to stay away. As much as it hurt to do so, I needed to figure things out on my own and when I was ready, I would find the Doctor. But until then, I wandered the Tardis and found quiet places to do things. I worked out in the gym. I read in the library. I watched a couple of sappy movies—which had taken over my previous love of horror films—and I even went to the observatory to look at the stars or to the pool to do a few laps. But all the while, I thought and thought and considered what I was going to do and how I was going to handle things. But most of all, I thought about the Doctor. About him and about us.

* * *

The Doctor was getting antsy. He'd been doing his best being patient with Alex and it had gone on to nearly five days without a word from her. That meant five days of no traveling. 120 hours of no running from aliens. 7,200 minutes of silence in the Tardis. And over 432,000 seconds of him desperately trying to find things to do to keep himself occupied and he was running out of ideas. He'd done what he could for Alex without bumping into her, just as she'd asked. Left notes here and there reminding her to take care of herself. Giving _her_ things to do to stay occupied. Anything he could do to help her, he was doing it. He'd hoped it would make things move along faster, but that didn't seem to be the case. And once the fifth day hit, he'd begun to worry. So, he decided to head off and search for her.

He checked the obvious places first; the library, the gym, the pool, the entertainment room twice, and finally, her bedroom. Surprisingly enough, she wasn't in any one of those places so he tried the slightly less obvious rooms next; the kitchen, the observatory, the gardens, the zero room, the storage room, and even the med bay. But still, nothing. That was when he realized she might have popped off and he quickly rushed back to the console room in the hopes that she hadn't; doing a quick scan for her only to find her in a room he didn't expect.

He hesitated, but only for a second before heading off to find her. The familiar gold Gallifreyan engraving of his name on the dark wood door of his bedroom was easily found and he went to open the door, only to hear that quiet shuffling noise that he'd familiarized himself with after being with Alex for so long. Slowly, he opened the door and peered through the crack, searching for Alex. The woman was curled up around once of his dark orange pillows, clinging to it like a life line as she struggled not to cry; her shaky breath hissing through clenched teeth. The Doctor wasn't sure what to do, though. She'd told him she wanted to be alone, but it had been five days of her probably doing this very thing. And as much as the Doctor wanted to obey her wishes, he knew from personal experience that after a while, you feel like you want to be alone when in reality, you just want someone there for you. He soon came to a decision though, and closed the door.

Slowly and quietly, he walked along his rust colored brown carpet and sat on the edge of the bed behind Alex. He ignored how she stiffened and held her breath, and gently placed a hand on her head and ran his fingers through her short blonde hair. She relaxed, but didn't turn towards him or say anything, just quieted down and allowed him to continue. He needed to say something though. There was just this bubble of words that wanted to come out of his mouth and it didn't take more than a moment before he started speaking to her quietly; doing what he could to just try and help her through whatever it was she was having trouble with. Be it him or something else entirely.

"I'm sorry… I know you wanted to be alone, but..." He shook his head, trying to start again. "I just wanted to make sure you're alright. I-I know I'm not exactly the person you want to see at the moment, but I truly am sorry, from the bottom of my heart and I hope you have it in you to forgive this big, bumbling idiot of a Time Lord. And I'll apologize as many times as it takes to fix this, because I love you, Alexander. And no matter what happens, that will never change."

He paused, glancing at her as she laid there; keeping her face hidden and remaining silent.

"But… I'm beginning to think that what happened between us isn't what's really bothering you. And if it's something I can help with, then I hope you'll share it with me."

She curled up further and the Doctor worried that he'd said something wrong, opening his mouth to apologize again, but Alex spoke up with a croaky voice.

"I-I waited for you."

He flinched, looking away. "I know. Vastra told me as much."

"I never stopped waiting, y-you know." She said, making him look back at her in confusion, trying to understand what she was getting at as she pulled something out of her shirt. "I-I knew you would come back and what you said… it wouldn't be the f-first time. I was more worried than anything."

"Worried?" He questioned, turning slightly to try and get a better look at what she was holding onto; a silver chain with something on it.

"...I was worried... about you."

His eyes widened at that, seeing now that what she held was his wedding ring that he threw on the ground when he left her.

"About _me_? B-But… I left you there! I threw you out into the snow a-and you nearly died because of it! I even put the inhibitor on you and said those horrible things, but you were worried about _me_?"

She tucked her face deeper into the pillow with a nod. "I-I just wanted to help you. To have a friend die… after loosing so many people… I know how that hurts and you've lost so many more. So I just… I wanted to ease that burden. Even if you just yelled and blamed me. I-I didn't want you to be alone. I didn't want you to deal with that on your own."

The Doctor's throat felt tight and he swallowed thickly as he tried to keep tears from forming in his eyes. Because this was proof of how much Alex cared for him. He'd done something so horrible to her, hurt her so badly, but she'd only thought of him the whole time. She'd worried about _him_, who'd thrown her out into the cold on her own with nothing but hurtful words and an abandoned wedding ring. And he questioned if he would've been able to do that if their situations had been switched.

"But… if that's what happened, why did you run away? After Clara..." He couldn't finish that sentence, but Alex had understood.

"B-Because you were right." She murmured, hands tightening in the fabric of the pillow. "I-I'm a danger to everyone. To you, to Clara, Amy and Rory… Every companion you've ever had, has been hurt because of me. Every person I've been around has died or gotten hurt b-because I didn't do anything. A-A-And when that happened to Clara, I just..." Her voice cracked as she curled up even tighter around the pillow. "I-I-I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't w-watch people keep dying around me, s-so I ran. I-I was a monster. I couldn't be near anyone, not even you. They'll die. _You'll_ die. A-And it will be all my fault."

"That's not true!" He said, rather loudly as he turned and grabbed her upper arm with a shaking hand. "Alex, that will _never_ be true! None of those deaths were your fault. Not a single one and I was stupid for saying that they were. You have _always_ tried your hardest to make sure things turn out okay and I love you for that. Every person you save makes me so happy, even when I had no hope of anything working out, you always proved me wrong and I couldn't be happier because of that. And I should be _thanking_ you for what happened with Amy and Rory, and for all the attempts you made to help those around us. Because Amy and Rory are happy because of you. They were able to live out their years together because you allowed things to happen as they should have. Otherwise, they might have died elsewhere, sad, separated, alone, painfully, I don't know! But you have always done your best and I could _never_ blame you for that."

"I-I will _always_ blame myself, Doctor. T-Their deaths will always be on my head." She argued, making his hearts ache as he tried to find something to say. "J-Just as you blame yourself for the Time Lords, I blame myself for every companion you've lost while I've been around. A-And nothing you or anyone else say will change that. I can't even convince _myself_ of that. A-And I'm sorry, but I can't help but blame myself for what happened."

"Then we'll _both_ blame ourselves." He said seriously. "Because I'm just as much at fault as you are. We can share this burden, Alexander. Every person, every death, every _life_. All of it will be carried by the both of us."

She went quiet again and he felt slightly better that he'd helped her thus far, but there was still something else that he was missing. He'd fixed their argument about Amy and Rory, solved the issue with him loosing his temper, and he knew there wouldn't be much he could do about her mourning Clara's death other than comfort her, but there was still something left.

"Alex… What is it?" He asked, settling for the direct approach. "What else is there that's bothering you?"

She shook her head, not wanting to say, but he pressed for an answer.

"Alexander, please. Let me help you."

Finally, she spoke, voice soft and tight with the threat of oncoming tears.

"A-Am I selfish?"

He was confused, tilting his head slightly as he tried to figure out where this came from. "Absolutely not. You are the most selfless person I know."

She flinched and he felt that worry creep up on him again.

"I'm not. I-I'm really not." She said, voice muffled slightly by his pillow. "I-It's stupid. It's stupid and selfish. I shouldn't even b-be bothered by it."

"Alex, what is it?"

He sensed her frustration start to grow and would have backed off about the subject if it hadn't been for the other emotion he felt; fear.

"I-It's this stupid body. I hate it. E-Everything's wrong and ever since I regenerated, nothing good h-has happened. I-I can't eat anything I like. I can't walk straight and I keep bumping into things. And it makes me so upset, b-because I look in the mirror and I-I don't even know who I am anymore! Nothing feels right with me. Nothing _looks_ right! I-It's like I'm trapped in this… this _shell_ and I'm so lost. Because I-I'm not the person you fell in love with anymore. I'm t-this stupid, yellow haired freak with freckles a-and scars and all this body's done i-is kill off another companion and ruin everything between us. And I just… I-I-I just want to go back. I-I want to go back to being me!"

Her tears stained his pillow as she struggled to rein back her sobs and the Doctor's hearts broke for her. She hadn't had any time to adjust to having a new body, nor did she have someone there for her to help walk her though it. She wasn't like him, who had done it before and had knowledge of what could happen afterward. And because of this incident between them, he hadn't been there for her during this sudden change and he understood why she felt the way she did. It was an unfamiliar situation for her and such a big change that she didn't know how to cope. And with their relationship already strained, he could understand why she felt that it was so important to know what he thought about it. That, and even _he_ had been nervous around her when he'd regenerated into this body. A complete physical change like this would make anyone worried about how their significant other would react.

He had it easy. He'd met this version of her before, and he thanked the universe for that, because if she'd shown up with a version of him that _didn't_ know about this her, he worried things might have gone on far worse than they were now. He worried that it might have made her feel this negativity towards herself even _more_. But that didn't happen, so things weren't too bad. Now it was just a matter of convincing the stubborn woman that she was still his Alexander and he would care for her anyway.

"Alex." He said quietly, tugging at her shoulder. "Look at me, please."

She hesitantly pulled her face out of his pillow and gazed up at him with teary, puffy blue eyes and a red, runny nose as he looked her over. Reaching a hand up, he ignored her small flinch at his touch and lightly brushed his fingers over her facial features. He rather liked this body of hers, to be honest. The light splash of freckles across her nose, the sharp angle of her cheek bones, the milky white skin that he knew would tan a little later on. Her figure that was just the right amount of muscle without being too much, making her lean and more than able to handle the craziness of their adventures. And the fact that she would fit perfectly against him, even if she was a little bit taller than he was. He might have said he missed her ginger hair, but even with this blonde shade, he couldn't help but love how it looked on her.

"S-Say something." She muttered quietly, getting a little pink and turning away slightly in embarrassment when his eyes locked back onto hers.

He smiled though, brushing a hand up the side of her face before leaning in and placing a kiss on her lips. When he pulled away, he couldn't help but be amused by the worried, confused look she gave him.

"I love you, Alexander." He said softly, rubbing his thumb over her cheek as his eyes quickly scanned her face again. "No matter what body you have. Even if you grow old or somehow regenerate again into a man or grow two heads or something. I will _always_ love you. My brave, strong, clever Alexander, who never gives up on a stubborn, cranky old Time Lord like me." He kissed her again, pulling away to wipe at the tears that slipped down her face as she tried to hide her face behind her arm; her mouth turned up in a quivering half-smile, half-grimace as she sucked sharp breath through her teeth. "I will _never_ give up on you. And I will always, _always_ love you."

"T-Thank you." She cried, uncovering her face to reach up and hug him tightly around the neck. "T-Thank you f-for loving me, Theta."

"Always and forever." He hummed, carefully tucking an arm under her lower back to support her as she pulled back and kissed him passionately.

And he responded in kind as he laid her back down on the bed so they could show each other just how much they really cared. One fond touch at a time.

* * *

I ended up popping off a few weeks after that, the two of us trying to help ease me into my body better since I'd never really had the chance to work things out with someone there to help. And thanks to the Artron inhibitor being gone, my legs finally started to work the way I wanted them to and my taste buds had settled down. I still needed reading glasses, but the Doctor said some regenerations were like that and purposely had flaws. Time Lords weren't perfect, after all. And slowly but surely, I'd started accepting the fact that this was who I was now. The blonde hair was mine, the freckles were mine and everything else about this new body was still me, just slightly different. Having the Doctor there beside me helped—his constant reminders that he loved me adding to my building self-confidence—and he reassured me that it would be some time before I popped back to a version of him that _didn't_ know this version of me. And that was more than reassuring. Having a new body was one thing, but trying to explain that to someone was a completely different matter; let alone explaining it to a stubborn Doctor. The only thing that worried me, was just how far back I'd have to explain it to him. _If I have to explain it to Rose-Ten or even Nine? That would be a disaster._ I thought with a wince. As I looked around and paled at the sight of snow.

My breath caught in my throat and my hearts skipped a beat, flashes of when the Doctor left me behind clear as ever in my mind; but I forced myself to take a deep breath and calm down. _I'm not there. We made up. Everything is okay. I just popped off somewhere and it happened to be snowing. No problem._ I relaxed and got up, brushing off my pants and tugging my coat closer around me; pulling out my scarf and wrapping it around my neck to fight off the cold. That was another thing that was different. I seemed to get cold easier, but the Doctor said that was probably due to what happened with the Artron inhibitor. He apologized profusely, however he said it would probably be a long time issue with this body and made doubly sure that my coat had internal heat regulators to help. _Of course, he could have just said my coat would keep me warm, or just added better lining or something. No need for the 'heat regulators'. I honestly think he just wanted to say that to sound clever._ I rolled my eyes and headed off, not bothering to search for the Doctor because—knowing me—I'd shown up early again and it'd be some time before I caught sight of him. _Besides, I can finally get a drink without the Doctor watching me twenty four seven._ I smiled at the thought and headed to a nearby pub for my usual, but I overheard something once I'd sat quietly at the bar and sipped my drink.

"The funeral is going to be at two."

"Who's it for again?"

"Idiot! It's for that reverend! Show some respect."

"Well, how was I supposed to know?"

"Oh, and did you hear? Sounds like he had this weird scaring on his face."

"Strange. I thought it was an accident."

"That's what they're saying, but then where'd the scars come from?"

I got up and headed over to the group of men with an innocent smile. "Hey, I think I've heard of this reverend person. Do you know where the funeral's at? I'd love to pay my respects."

Thankfully, they were rather chatty guys and—though they didn't know where the funeral would be held—they knew what to look out for. _Shouldn't be too hard to find a group of men in black following a carriage. That, and there's only a few graveyards around this town._ I mused, flipping through my black notebook and skimming the episode I was undoubtedly in. _'The Next Doctor'. Definitely a fun one, though I can't say the same for the Doctor._ I frowned slightly, pushing the thought from my head as I tucked the book away and checked in my pocket to see if I had some sort of weapon or enough money to get one. I smirked when I reached into my pocket though, hand gripping the handle of my weapon before releasing it and dashing off down the street to find the funeral of Reverend Fairchild in the hopes that I could save at least a few of the lives that would be lost today. Upon approaching the cemetery, I easily spotted where the men were having the funeral and kept a bit of distance for now.

I knew that Miss Hartigan would show up soon enough, once the vicar had started his speech for the deceased, but what bothered me was that I wasn't sure how many of these men I would be able to save. It honestly depended on how many Cyberman and Cybershades would show up and, if I remembered right, there shouldn't be more that five or six of them. I should be able to handle that amount, but with the men panicking and the few who stayed with Miss Hartigan, I wasn't sure what more I'd be able to do. _I should be able to at least help the vicar, but that's the minimal for me. If I have the chance to help all of them, I will, but most likely, I'll only be able to help a few of the men who end up getting chased and the ones who are needed by the Cybermen will probably get taken no matter what._ I winced at the thought, knowing that they would be more lives that I couldn't save, but I took a deep breath and relaxed as best I could, because I knew that the Doctor would support me through their deaths, just as he supported me through Clara's.

My head lifted as I heard the approaching feet of the Cybermen and as the men started to panic, I took my chance and shouted out to them all as I left my hiding place.

"Over here! This way! Quick!"

The vicar spotted me and he hurried over as a number of other men did as well. There were still a few who were straggling a bit and I drew the long sword from my coat pocket with a smirk, making the vicar pause and gape as he moved beside me.

"What manner of witchcraft is that?!" He exclaimed and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, do me a favor? Save the stupid questions for later, vicar and get these men out of here!"

He nodded hastily and hurried to help the few men who'd reached us as I leapt out into the fray. I managed to cut pretty deeply into a Cybershade that had tackled a man, ordering him to run to the vicar where it was safe as the half-robot animal snarled from behind it's mask and faced me. I simply twirled my sword expertly and dodged it as it jumped towards me, running away from it and over to a Cyberman who was about ready to kill another one of the men. I sliced it's arm off, having managed to get the sword to cut through the unarmored elbow joint, and tossed the man behind me as a Cybershade tried to grab him. I apologized as I killed the beast, cringing at the black, oil-like blood that stained my hand as I turned to block a Cyberman arm reaching for me. I saw two more Cybershades with a man though, and quickly twisted and spun under the Cyberman's arm, slicing though some of it's exposed wires in it's back and dashing off only to get tackled by a Cybershade. I cursed under my breath as I managed to cut into the beast and throw it off me, scrambling for that one last man as the Cybershade dragged him to a Cyberman. I jumped between them and blocked the Cyberman's arm with a smirk.

"Can I cut in?" I questioned, before swiftly twisting and slicing off it's head and jabbing my sword into one of the Cybershades, yanking it our and hitting the other hard across the head with the hilt; stunning it.

I pulled the shocked man up though and pushed him behind me as I kept watch and backed him up, away from the approaching Cybermen and Cybershades as I realized the problem with my plan.

"Oh dear. I forgot what to do when they all teamed up against me." I frowned, turning over my shoulder to look at the quivering man I was protecting and forcing a fake smile. "Yes, hello. Might I suggest you run? It'll be easier to deal with them if you're not around."

He let out a yip and nodded, before bolting after the vicar, who waved him down and called out to me.

"And you, sir! Hurry!"

I shook my head though, eyes shifting between the remaining three Cybershades and two Cybermen.

"Go! I'll keep them from following! Run!"

He nodded. "May God bless you!"

I shook my head with an exasperated breath. "With my luck turning out the way it has been? I'm going to need _every_ God blessing me for this one." I remembered something then and called out to the vicar. "And if you happen to bump into a man called the Doctor, tell him to hurry up! He's _late_."

* * *

The Doctor entered the stables alongside Rosita and the other man who called himself 'the Doctor'.

"So, you live here?" The Doctor asked, looking around at the setup.

"A temporary base, until we rout the enemy. The Tardis is magnificent, but it's hardly a home."

The Doctor didn't agree with those words, his Tardis being much _more_ than a home to him, but he was already putting together who this man was, and it wasn't 'the Doctor'.

"And where's the Tardis now?"

"In the yard."

The Doctor noticed something odd then. "Uh, what's all this luggage?"

"Evidence." The other man replied. "The property of Jackson Lake, the first man to be murdered. Oh, but my new friend is a fighter, Rosita, much like myself." He smiled, talking to the woman now. "He faced the Cybermen with a cutlass. I'm not ashamed to say, he was braver than I. He was quite brilliant. It's a shame we've yet to find Alex. I'm sure he would have done much the same if he were around."

The Doctor stopped scanning the luggage, lifting his head up at the name. "Did you say Alex?"

The other man nodded, giving him an odd look. "Yes. Alexis is his real name, but Alex is what he goes by. I was sure he'd be around here somewhere, but it seems he hasn't popped up yet." He suddenly frowned. "Or he's already hot on the trail and we're falling behind!"

The Doctor smirked a bit, turning back to scanning the luggage. "That wouldn't surprise me."

"Are you whistling again?" The other man questioned and the Doctor turned, putting a finger up to his lips to keep Rosita quiet as he slipped his sonic screwdriver back into his coat.

"Yes. Yes, I am. Yeah. Yeah."

Rosita approached him though, when he started going through the luggage.

"That's another man's property."

"Well, a dead man's." He countered. "How did you two meet, then?"

"He saved my life. Late one night, by the Osterman's Wharf, this creature came out of the shadows. A man made of metal. I thought I was going to die. And then, there he was. The Doctor. Can you help him, sir? He has such terrible dreams. Wakes at night in such a state of terror."

Before the Doctor can respond, the man interrupts.

"Come now, Rosita. With all the things a Time Lord has seen, everything he's lost, he may surely have bad dreams."

"Yeah." The Doctor's stomach churned as a small frown appeared on his face, wishing Alex really was there, because surely she'd be able to lend him some comfort. "Oh, now. Look." He pulled out a silver metal tube from the luggage, changing the subject. "Jackson Lake had an infostamp."

"But how? Is that significant?" The man asked.

"Doctor, the answer to all this is in your Tardis. Can I see it?" The Doctor asked, knowing that he was going to have to break the news soon.

"Mister Smith, it would be my honor." The man smiled, before leading him out into the yard.

* * *

I scowled, wincing when my knees hit the pavement before Miss Hartigan. I'd put up a good fight, but the Cybershades managed to sneak up on me and pin me down. It was only by blurting out that I was the Seer that the Cybermen didn't kill me on the spot. But that brought up a whole _new_ set of problems.

"You will predict our success."

I groaned, rolling my eyes at the robot. "What is it with you people? I can't _predict_ success. I can predict, sure." _Lies_. "But success is not something I'm seeing for you lot. You get pretty close though. So I'll give you that.

"Predict our success or you will be deleted." It threatened and I wished I could pinch the bridge of my nose in exasperation.

"Alright, alright, look. You lot get your Cyberking resurrected and your giant robot works, good for you, but in the end, you're screwed. Always have been. Can't help you there."

"Then you are of no more use to us. Delete him." Miss Hartigan said, but I quickly stopped her.

"Now, hold on a second! My goodness, can't a woman finish her sentence?" I huffed, taking in the surprised expression of Miss Hartigan and sighing. "Yeah, that's right. I'm a woman dressed as a man. Get used to it. But before you lot go killing me, I'll bet I can be of use to you yet."

The woman frowned. "And why would _you_ help _us_?"

I gave her a disbelieving look. "Uh, living sounds like a good idea. What do you think?" I gestured to the Cybermen around us with my head. "You know, life or death situation? I may not be super clever, but even an idiot would choose to live."

"Hm, good point."

"Glad you agree." I grinned, though I was rather uncomfortable with all the Cybermen.

I remembered my last experience with them and suppressed a shiver as I continued.

"As I was saying, I can be useful to you. I'll bet half those kids in that back room you've got over there aren't working because you've scared the living daylights out of them. Sure, you can just delete those who don't work, but then you loose workforce and that'll really slow down your plans. So, how about you leave me back there? I can help out, speed things up a bit by working. _And_ an adult figure who's not about ready to pee their pants at the sight of robots in the Victorian Era, might actually provide them some comfort and get them to work. The way I see it, it's a win-win. You lot get your plan done on time, and I get to live a bit longer."

"Hm, I don't see why not." Miss Hartigan smirked. "You're going to die anyway, why not make use of you?"

"Oh, joy." I drawled, being lifted up to my feet before getting dragged away to go help the children work.

_Shame they don't know what I'm _really_ up to._ I mused silently, wincing at the clang of shackles that were placed around my wrist; something Miss Hartigan came up with to 'keep me out of trouble'. I snorted. _Yeah right. Between the Doctor and me, I don't know who's the bigger trouble magnet._

* * *

The Doctor and Rosita looked out from their hiding place, having followed the children who'd been walking down the street to the hideout with the Cybermen; Jackson having been left behind to deal with the sudden realization that everything had gone wrong for him and his wife.

"That's the door to the sluice. All the sewage runs through there, straight into the Thames." Rosita explained as two Cybermen moved to guard the door.

"Yeah, that's too well guarded. We'll have to find another way in." He said, the two of them getting up and making to head back only to see two more Cybermen standing there. "Whoa! That's cheating, sneaking up. Do you have your legs on silent?"

Miss Hartigan walked out then, calm as can be. "So, what do we have here?"

"Listen. Just walk towards me slowly. Don't let them touch you." The Doctor said, trying to get the woman over to his side and away from the Cybermen; hoping he'd be able to save someone tonight.

"Oh, but they wouldn't hurt me, my fine boys. They are my knights in shining armor. Quite literally." She smirked, but the Doctor wasn't entirely convinced.

"Even if they've converted you, that's not a Cyber speech pattern. You've still got free will. I'm telling you, step away." He insisted, but the woman just continued on.

"There's been no conversion, sir. No one's ever been able to change my mind. The Cybermen offered me the one thing I wanted. Liberation."

"Who are ya?" Rosita asked, confused, but Hartigan snapped at her.

"You can be quiet. I doubt he paid you to talk. More importantly, who are you, sir? With such intimate knowledge of my companions."

"I'm the Doctor." He replied, standing up a little straighter, though he could practically hear Alex snickering in his head about his ego showing.

"Incorrect." One of the Cybermen said. "You do not correspond to our image of the Doctor."

"Yeah, but that's 'cause your database got corrupted. Oh, look, look, look. Check this. The Doctor's infostamp." The Doctor pulled the device from his pocket and tossed it to the Cyberman, who caught it. "Plug it in. Go on. Download."

"The core has been damaged. This infostamp would damage Cyberunits."

"Oh, well. Nice try." The Doctor shrugged, waiting as the Cyberman repaired the device.

"Core repaired. Download." It took a second, before the Cyberman responded. "You are the Doctor."

"Hello." Said man waved.

"You will be deleted."

"No, no. Oh, but let me die happy. Tell me, what do you need those children for?"

"What are children ever needed for?" Hartigan replied. "They're a workforce."

"But for what?"

"Very soon now, the whole Empire will see. And they will bow down in worship."

"And it's all been timed for Christmas day. Was that your idea, Miss..."

"Hartigan. Yes." She answered happily. "The perfect day for a birth, with a new message for the people. Only this time, it won't be the words of a man."

"The birth of what?" The Doctor asked, brows furrowed in confusion.

"A birth and a death. Namely, yours. Thank you, Doctor. I'm glad to have been part of your very last conversation. Now, delete them." She ordered and the Cybermen took a step forward, only to get electrocuted.

Jackson Lake held up the infostamp he'd used, having come out of his slump for now and armed to the teeth with infostamps.

"At your service, Doctor."

"Shades! Shades!" Hartigan called out, but the Doctor knew better than to face an enemy they couldn't defeat.

"Run! Come on!"

"One last thing." Rosita said, before heading over to Miss Hartigan and punching her square in the jaw.

"Can I say, I completely disapprove." The Doctor scolded her, hearing a quiet snicker in the back of his head.

"_Oh, but I approve completely."_

_Alex?_ His mind went quiet and he frowned, but quickly regained his senses as the Cybershades went to Miss Hartigan's side, giving them a chance to escape. It wasn't long though, before the three of them discovered a way into the Cybermens' little hide out and they peered through an opening hidded away as they watched children working with loads of machinery.

"Upon my soul..." Jackson muttered as Rosita turned to the Doctor.

"What is it?"

"It's an engine. They're generating electricity, but what for?"

"We can set them free." Jackson said, hopefully, but the Doctor shook his head and stopped him as he reached for an inforstamp.

"No, no, no, no, no, no... no." His voice trailed off upon spotting a little boy crying and wailing, his hearts skipping a beat in worry as a Cyberman approached him.

"You will work."

The boy shook his head and cried. "I-I'm scared. I-I miss my mum."

"You will work, or you will be deleted." The Cyberman ordered, lifting and arm towards the boy and the Doctor very nearly dashed out himself, if it weren't for the loud shout that stopped the Cyberman.

"Oi! Tin man! Weren't you listening to your crazy boss lady?" A blonde headed woman walked out, shoving the Cyberman's arm away without fear as she reached down and picked up the sobbing little boy. "Honestly, you'd think I wouldn't have to repeat things with all of you Cyber-idiots connected to one another. There's no deleting the kids. They start getting upset and stop working, you find me. Got it?"

The Cyberman said nothing and the woman scowled, prodding it in the chest.

"I asked you a question. Do you understand?"

"I… understand." The robot finally replied, stomping off as the woman huffed and comforted the kid with a tender expression, before turning and locking eyes with the Doctor tucked not too far away.

And he couldn't help the grin that overcame his features at the familiar blue eyes that sparked mischievously at him.

"Oh, Alex. You sly fox, you." He muttered, her sticking out her tongue and pulling down on her eyelid before she turned away and adjusted the kid so he was on her right hip and she could pick up the box he'd stopped carrying with her other arm.

"_You're late."_ Her voice ran in his mind and he mentally chuckled.

_I'll make it up to you back on the Tardis. Promise._

"_You better. I expect full compensation for saving over seven lives today, _plus_ taking care of these kids. I fought those Cybermen with a sword, and I must say, I did much better than you."_

_Oi._ He pouted, glasses on as he looked over the readings for the energy output of the engine they were nearly smack dab in the middle of.

"Power at ninety percent. But if we stop the engines, the power dies down, the Cybermen'll come running. Ooh, hold on. Power fluctuation." He hummed, watching the numbers change. "That's not meant to happen."

"It's going wrong." Jackson offered, but the Doctor shook his head.

"No, it's weird. The software's rewriting itself. It's changing."

"_Miss Hartigan."_ Alex's voice rang out in his mind. _"Nothing can change her mind. Not even the Cybermen."_

The Doctor frowned, not understanding the hint she'd told him, but was quickly distracted as the panel before him sparked dangerously.

"Whoa! What the hell's happening? It's out of control."

"It's accelerating. Ninety six percent. Nintey seven."

"When it reaches a hundred, what about the children?" Rosita asked and understanding dawned on the Doctor like he'd been dunked in the Antarctic.

"They're disposable… Alex." He breathed out, turning and making a dash for it as he called out to the other two from over his shoulder. "Come on!"

* * *

An alarm went off and I looked up, turning to the eldest of the kids and nodding. They nodded in return and one boy cupped his hands around his mouth as he called out.

"Olly olly oxen free!"

Another girl echoed it and so did a number of other older kids as I passed the little boy in my arms over to the one closest to me. The kids immediately knew what to do and scrambled towards the elder kids who led them to an exit as the Cybermen struggled to comprehend what was going on. _Those morons never thought for a second I'd be making a plan with the kids for an escape. Morons. They even left me with my coat. _With a maniac grin, I reached into the pocket of my coat and drew out a second sword.

"Oi, bolts for brains!" I called out, jumping off of the platform I was on and jabbing my sword into the Cyberman below me with a smirk at the others. "Let's play."

* * *

The Doctor rushed into the engine room only to be completely stunned at the downed Cybermen and the obvious lack of kids.

"Blimey. Where'd they all go? They can't have escaped that quickly. It should have been chaos." He knelt down to one of the Cybermen, a bundle of it's wiring sliced through in it's shoulder. "And this." He let out a long whistle. "Someone's got to have some pretty significant knowledge on these guys to find weak points like that. And a _huge_ amount of strength. These wiring are reinforced with—"

"_My God, do you ever stop talking?"_ He heard Alex groan in his head and he stood up, looking for her.

_Alex? Where are you? We need to get out of here and I'm not leaving without you._ He said, brows furrowed as he searched the platforms and nicks and crannies. She didn't answer him and he groaned before putting back on his glasses and turning to another panel with a frown.

"It's some sort of starter motor, but starting what?"

He scrambled to come up with something, hoping Alex would save him the trouble, but he was knocked out of his thoughts when Jackson called out.

"Doctor, my son!"

"What?" The Doctor's eyes widened, him removing his glasses and scrambling over to the distressed man as he explained as quickly as he could.

"They took my son. No wonder my mind escaped. Those damned Cybermen, they took my child! But he's alive, Doctor!" Jackson turned to the little boy standing on one of the upper platforms. "Frederick!"

The boy didn't move even when the Doctor tried to get him to and Jackson grew worried.

"No, he's too scared. Stay there! Don't move! I'm coming!" Jackson raced over towards the stairs leading up there, but an explosion knocked his off his feet as the Cyberking began to rise.

The Doctor hurried to the man's side, helping him up as they both stared up at the boy.

"I can't get up there. Fred!"

"They've finished with the motor. It's going to blow up." The Doctor rattled on, worry growing ever more present with every passing moment.

"What are we going to do, Doctor? What are we going to do?" Jackson panicked, but before the Doctor could respond, someone groaned loudly.

"Honestly! You lot are _always_ forgetting about me, aren't you?"

The Doctor turned towards the platform where the boy was and grinned at seeing Alex up there, frowning down at him as she lifted the frightened boy into her arms.

"Alex! Ha!"

"Oh, you better 'ha'!" She complained. "I shouldn't have to work this hard. _You're_ supposed to be the hero of this mess." She smiled a bit though, rolling her eyes as she grabbed a hold of the rope nearby. "But how can I resist a good old fashioned rope swing?"

She wrapped the rope around her arm, making sure the boy was holding on to her tightly before she swung off the platform and landed safely on another, quickly rushing down the stairs and passing Frederick back to his father with a grin.

"Merry Christmas."

Jackson cried, hugging his child for dear life as the Doctor came up beside Alex, quickly turning her around and kissing her passionately before pulling back with a big grin.

"You are just _brilliant_."

"I should think so." She smirked, before it dropped. "Though I really think we should continue this a bit later. You know, giant robot Cyberman raging through London, engine blowing up."

He nodded, loosing the grin as well. "Right, yeah. Definitely should take care of that."

"What are we waiting for then?" Alex smirked, grabbing his hand and tugging him along. "Come on then, Jackson! Hop to it!"

"Yes, ma'am!" He smiled, following after them as the Doctor complained.

"But _I'm_ supposed to be the one pulling people along!"

"Get used to it, Doctor!" Alex chirped back, weaving through the machinery easily. "_I'm_ the one who always knows where we're going!"

He rolled his eyes, but smiled a bit, squeezing her hand a bit tighter as they ran into the basement of Jackson's home; Alex sending him off as the Doctor grabbed a part from the Dimension Vault that was still sitting there. Once he had it, she pulled him along once more and they bumped into Jed; who—after a bit of bribery—brought them both back to the Tardis balloon and began helping them set it up to fly.

"You're flaming bonkers, sirs." He said to them both.

"It's been said before." The Doctor mused. "Now give me!"

Jed handed him the Dimension Vault device as Alex tossed the packs of infostamps into the basket and the Doctor complained.

"Not enough power. Come on!" He turned to Jed then. "Jed, cut her loose!"

He scrambled to do so and the Doctor turned to Alex, but furrowed his brows in confusion to find her not there. Of course, he jumped when she spoke up from behind him.

"You're not leaving me here, you know."

"Alex." He groaned, turning around in the small basket to face her. "Please. Do me a favor and stay here."

She frowned. "Absolutely not."

"And why not? It's safer down here!"

She scoffed. "Yeah, have you _seen_ the giant Cyberman? You know, the one shooting buildings down? I think I know what I'm talking about when I say I'm safer up there with you."

"Have you ever flown one of these before, sirs?" Jed asked, interrupting their conversation as they glared at one another.

"Nope. Never." The Doctor replied, not breaking his gaze from Alex's.

"Can I have my money now?"

"Oh, shut up and let her loose already, Jed." Alex snapped, looking away first and tossing sandbags over the side of the balloon to let out more weight "And I'm not leaving, so good luck convincing me otherwise, Doctor."

He frowned, but didn't argue any further as Jed let the balloon go and called up to them, wishing them luck. There was something off about Alex and he couldn't quite pinpoint it, but he was determined to get to the bottom of it as soon as he fixed the giant robot situation. Said robot, was turning their way and the Doctor wrapped the roll of infostamps around his arm as he faced Hartigan.

"Excellent. The Doctor and the Seer. Yet another man come to assert himself against me in the night. Might as well be two men."

Alex frowned, but stayed silent as the Doctor faced her, understanding Alex's previous hint now.

"Miss Hartigan, I'm offering you a choice. You might have the most remarkable mind this world has ever seen. Strong enough to control the Cybermen themselves."

"I don't need you to sanction me." She drawled, making Alex scoff out her nose as she leaned up against the side of the basket.

"No, but such a mind deserves to live. The Cybermen came to this world using a Dimension vault. I can use that device to find you a home, with no people to convert, but a new world where you can live out your mechanical life in peace." The Doctor said, doing what he could to give this woman a chance.

"I have the world below and it is abundant with so many minds ready to become extensions of me. Why would I leave this place?" Miss Hartigan questioned.

"Because if you don't I'll—" He paused as Alex placed a hand on his arm, glancing at her briefly before turning to Hartigan again. "—_We'll _stop you."

"What do you make of me, sir? An idiot?"

"Well, you _did_ leave me with a bunch of kids who were easily influenced into—"

"_Alex_." The Doctor murmured, and Alex shut her mouth.

"Right. Sorry. New mouth."

He raised a brow at that, but quickly turned back to Miss Hartigan with a shake of his head. "I'm not saying that. The question is, what do you make of us?"

"Destroy him." She ordered, and the Doctor let out a soft sigh.

"You make me into this." He muttered reaching over to use the infostamps as Alex's hand covered his.

"_Together."_

He felt a bit better that she offered to share this burden with him, but it didn't change what they were about to do. When the infostamps stopped firing, Miss Hartigan smirked.

"Then I have made you a failure. Your weapons are useless, sir."

"We weren't trying to kill you. All we did was break the Cyber-connection, leaving your mind open." The Doctor explained, lowering his arm sadly, despite Alex trying to comfort him. "Open, I think, for the first time in far too many years. So you can see. Just look at yourself. Look at what you've done."

"And know that you are forgiven." Alex said after him, causing the Doctor to turn to her as Miss Hartigan did the same, surprised. "Because nobody deserves to go through what you have, Mercy."

The woman started, visibly stunned as Alex gazed at her sorrowfully.

"You've been hurt so badly by so many people… and I hope that no one will have to go through what you have without someone there to lift them up out of the dirt of the back alleys."

Miss Hartigan opened her mouth to say something, but then noticed the Cybermen at her side and began screaming as the Doctor apologized.

"I'm sorry, Miss Hartigan. But look at what you've become."

"We're so sorry." Alex breathed out, the Cybermen exploding as their senses overloaded and Miss Hartigan disappearing, before the Cyberking started to sway.

There was a noise then and the Doctor let out an 'ooh' as he picked up the device he'd taken from the Dimension vault.

"Now you're ready."

Using that, he was able to send the Cyberking to the Time Vortex where it would fall over without causing any damage and would be disintegrated. And he stood there, staring over the city of London solemnly, leaning on the edge of the basket with a sad look, before Alex nudged her way over beside him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry." She muttered, making him raise a brow.

"What for? You haven't done anything worth apologizing for. If anything, I should be thanking you, Alex. You've helped more people today than I ever could have. The children, the men from the funeral, Fredrick, Jackson, even Miss Hartigan; I'm sure." He rubbed her arm. "What could you _possibly_ feel responsible for?"

She glanced at him before looking back down over the city, leaning into his embrace and resting her head against his chest to listen to his familiar four heartbeats.

"For making you go through with that." She muttered, but before he could argue the point, she added another bit. "And… for being afraid."

He furrowed his brows, confused and went to ask her about it, but cheers rang up from below and the two of them turned to the people of London as they cheered for them both. The Doctor stood upright and waved a bit, but Alex just leaned against the side of the basket with a chuckle.

"What?"

"You're like a pretty Disney princess on a parade float. You've got the wave down and everything."

He pouted, bumping her hip with his. "Says you. I wasn't the one swinging around saving people like a knight in shining armor."

"You were busy." She shrugged, the Doctor taking notice of the shackles still around her wrist and whipping out his sonic.

"Here. Let me take care of that."

"Oh, nearly forgot about those." She hummed absentmindedly. "They actually came in handy when one of the shades nabbed my sword."

He shook his head, the shackles falling off with a clatter and him rubbing his thumbs gently over her red wrists. "Only you could fight an army of Cybermen with a sword and win."

"You could've won too, if you knew what you were looking for."

"Perhaps." He smiled, leaning in and pressing his forehead to hers. "But then what would you do?"

"Hey, don't you start. Trust me, I'd find all sorts of trouble whether you were around to cause it or not."

"Hm. Is that so..."

He kissed her lightly, using the sonic to slowly lower the balloon as she deepened the kiss, before they both pulled away and she smiled at him.

"Merry Christmas."

He grinned back. "Merry Christmas."

* * *

I stretched languidly on the jump-seat of the Tardis, glad to be back in the ship, even if I'd only been away for a day or so. Just her presence relaxed me and set me at ease, though my thoughts still swirled around the moment the Doctor tried to get me to stay behind while he went up in the balloon. A shiver went up my spine despite the fact that I'd yet to remove my coat and scarf—knowing we were going to spend Christmas dinner with Jackson once he and the Doctor finished their discussion. But the idea did little to change my train of thought. I'd been scared. Deadly terrified that he'd leave me again like he'd done before. With the snow and everything else that was going on, I felt as though I was back there with Eleven throwing me out of the Tardis. It felt stupid. _I_ felt stupid. We'd made up with one another and I shouldn't be bothered by something so simple as the Doctor wanting to keep me safe, but it bothered me. It scared me. I had been afraid of him in that moment and despite the fact that I'd been doing my best not to show it, I could tell he was suspicious.

I rolled onto my side with a sigh, back facing the doors as I whispered quietly under my breath.

"I'm so stupid..."

"Now we both know that isn't true."

I flinched at the Doctor's voice, silently cursing myself for speaking out loud.

"Now what is it that's bugging you, Alex?" He asked, coming over to me and sitting me up so he could sit beside me; where he proceeded to massage my shoulders. "Is it something to do with what you said before? Are you afraid of something?"

I let out a quiet groan, his fingers working magic against my aching muscles that had gotten so tense without my noticing.

"No fair." I grumbled, leaning into his touch. "You _know_ I'm practically a puddle when you do this."

He chuckled a little before drifting off into silence and I gave in with a sigh.

"Something… happened last trip. Something that… changed me. My body, my thoughts about my foreknowledge, and… our relationship." I felt him stiffen, pausing his massage as I continued, eyes turned to my hands in my lap. "I just… I thought I was fine. We'd made up and everything was going good. I popped up here and freaked out a little bit, but I was able to push through for a while, but then… I got scared. I-I can't tell you what happened this last trip, but with the balloon, I sort of just froze. My mind went blank and everything I thought I'd fixed just came back up again and I thought..." I gripped my hands tightly around each other. "I-I thought you were going to leave me behind."

He remained silent and I quickly went off into a ramble, pulling myself away from him as I did.

"That's why I apologized. I-I know you're not exactly the same man who hurt me, but you are him at the same time. And I know that you put all of this trust in me now and for me to suddenly freak out about it was stupid. It's not your fault. It never _was_ your fault and it's not going to _be_ your fault. It's mine. I should have found a better way to do things. And I know none of this is making sense to you because I can't tell you anything, but it's been really bugging me. And I just regenerated into this body a few weeks again and my head's still a little scrambled, and my self-confidence isn't what it should be, but I just didn't want to hurt you and—"

I was cut off as he wrapped his arms around me and tucked his nose into the crook of my neck, before turning his head so that his breath ghosted over my ear.

"It's okay." He said simply, myself feeling a little shaky and knowing that he could tell when he held me a little tighter. "Alexander, I love you for everything you've ever done. For things you're going to do and things you're doing. But I love you the most when you forgive people, especially me. And I apologize for whatever it is I end up doing to you, because for me to hurt you this much is inexcusable. But for you to forgive me and worry about hurting me when you're obviously in so much pain… How could I _ever_ get upset with you for that?"

"I'm just… so confused." I said, my mind scrambling for some words to hang on to that would make some sense of what I felt right now, but confused seemed to be my only option.

The Doctor shook his head though, not caring as he tugged me up onto his lap and nuzzled his nose into the crook of my neck.

"And that's okay, Alex. I will help you as much as I can." He breathed out, trailing kisses up to my jaw. "And I will love you as much as I can, to make up for whatever my idiotic future self may have done." He captured my lips in a gentle kiss before pulling away. "And I will do _anything_ to make you happy, because you are so magnificent and brilliant and clever and kind. And there's no one else in the universe as amazing as you. And I don't want you to feel otherwise."

I reached up and kissed him in return, pulling his head down to meet me half-way as our kissing changed to fond touches and I pulled away breathlessly.

"We need to go."

"What for?" He hummed, kissing me again with his hand ducking under my shirt to touch my bare stomach lightly.

"Christmas dinner." I hummed back, unable to stop myself from returning the kiss.

"Oh, I've already told him to go ahead. We're not staying."

I pulled away, surprised, and ignoring the Doctor's small pout. "But… we're supposed to."

He raised a brow. "Because your foreknowledge said? Is there danger?"

"Well… no."

"Alien invasion?"

"No."

"Mysterious, unexplainable problems?"

"N-No."

He smirked then, a familiar mischievous glint to his eyes. "Then I think we can skip out on this one."

I let out a yelp when he suddenly picked me up and began carrying me off; unable to help how my face turned pink in embarrassment at his next words.

"After all, I have everything I need to make me happy, right here."

* * *

**_Sneak Peak:_**

_"Don't complain. At least you have _some_ idea of where you're going next. I don't even know which version of you I'm going to end up with." My eyes widened then as I looked down at myself and turned to the Doctor. "Dear God, I'm not wearing—"_

_ I popped off in a flash of light and popped up inside the Tardis console room as I finished my sentence._

_"—pants..."_

_ The song 'Supermassive Black Hole' by Muse was playing and, though I rather enjoyed the song, that did nothing to stop the steady red tint that was traveling up my face at the three sets of eyes on me._

_Amy smirked devilishly. "Well then. Looks like somebody got _busy_.~"_


	66. The Rebel Flesh

**Here's the next chapter and sorry it was so late! i had work this afternoon and didn't get a chance to post it earlier. i hope you all like it though! please let me know what you think ^^**

* * *

"So, I don't get it." I muttered, a thump echoing in the room as the tennis ball I threw bounced off the wall and I caught it, throwing it again. "People always argue about that question, but it's so _easy_. If the tree falls, it will always make a sound, whether we're around to hear it or not. The laws of physics doesn't change just because someone isn't around to witness it, so isn't it the same here? And if we're talking about the chicken and the egg problem, then isn't it obviously—"

"Alex." The Doctor grumbled, an arm wrapped around my stomach and his head tucked into my shoulder as I caught the tennis ball again. "Go to sleep. You're rambling again."

"Yeah, well I wonder where I got _that_ from." I complained, before my eyes widened and I sat up abruptly. "Or maybe _you _got it from _me_? I mean, I've been in your past and you just ramble on and on, so..." I paused. "But if that were true, and I also got my rambling from you, then don't I technically get my rambling from myself? Or is this one just big never-ending paradox thing? _Or—_"

"_Alex_." The Doctor grabbed his dark blue shirt that I was wearing and pulled me back onto the bed, trapping me there as he wrapped his hand around his tie that was on my neck; keeping me from getting up again with the threat of possibly choking. "Sleep. I know it's difficult in this body, but you need to." He leaned over, kissing me lightly as his brown eyes gazed tiredly into mine. "Please."

I pouted, but set the tennis ball aside and rolled to face him, kissing him in return. "Fine. I'll save my mental musings for a more awake Time Lord genius."

He hummed contently, snuggling closer to me with his nose tucked into the crook of my neck, before I groaned; feeling an ache in my shoulder.

"Or not."

He let out a groan of disappointment and I rolled my eyes as I pulled away from him and sat up with a stretch.

"Don't complain. At least you have _some_ idea of where you're going next. I don't even know which version of you I'm going to end up with." My eyes widened then as I looked down at myself and turned to the Doctor. "Dear God, I'm not wearing—"

I popped off in a flash of light and popped up inside the Tardis console room as I finished my sentence.

"—pants..."

The song 'Supermassive Black Hole' by Muse was playing and, though I rather enjoyed the song, that did nothing to stop the steady red tint that was traveling up my face at the three sets of eyes on me.

Amy smirked devilishly. "Well then. Looks like somebody got _busy_.~"

"S-Shut up!" I said, voice cracking as Rory raised a brow.

"Are you wearing pa—"

"No!" I shouted, before realizing what I'd answered and turning a million different shades of red in an instant. "I-I mean… You're mom's not wearing pants!" I yelled before scrambling up the stairs and hurrying out before I died of embarrassment.

* * *

Amy snickered at Alex's misfortune of popping up the way she had as Rory sighed, but what caught her attention was the unusually silent Doctor. Said man had a hand over his mouth in a vain attempt to hide the deep red tint that had traveled up to his cheeks. She headed over curiously.

"Doctor? Are you alright?"

"Yes! No! Of course I am! Who wants fish and chips?" He said, voice rather loud and Rory raised his hand, making him point and hurry around the console to send them away. "I'll drop you both off. Take your time. Don't rush." He rattled on and Amy raised a brow at his behavior as Rory too, questioned him.

"Uh, and you?"

"Things to do. Things involving other things." The Doctor said, making no sense at all.

Amy however, smirked. "Things with Alex?"

The Doctor sputtered, face red in embarrassment as he tried to cover up his stumble. "W-What? N-No. Well, not in the sense that you were thinking. I mean, really Pond. Get your mind out of the gutter."

Amy, seeing what was going on, continued to push it; that smile remaining on her face at getting the Time Lord flustered.

"Well, in that case, whatever you're up to, I'd personally like to be a part of it."

She'd never seen the Doctor's head snap up so fast; his voice cracking when he spoke.

"W-What?!"

"Ah-ha!" Amy said loudly, poking him in the chest. "I see what this is! You were going to ship us off so you and Alex can have some alone time!"

"Was not!"

"Were too!"

"Was—" He cut himself off, seeing that they were about to argue like idiots and wanting to be at least a _little_ clever since Alex was on board. "Alright! Fine! I was! But you and Rory get to do all sorts of… kissy kissy things and Alex isn't always around." He pouted, before puffing out his chest. "We deserve some time alone just as you do."

Before Amy could give some sort of response, a loud horn blared and the Tardis jolted violently.

"Solar tsunami. Came directly from your sun. A tidal wave of radiation. Big, big, big."

"Oh, Doctor. My tummy's going funny." Rory groaned, holding his stomach.

"Well, the gyrator disconnected. Target tracking is out." He said, attempting to explain the feeling before another jolt hit. "Assume the position!"

Amy sat in a chair and covered her head as she went into the fetal position; Rory taking a second to figure out that this was 'the position' before doing the same on the ground. It was then though, that everything stopped and the Doctor shot up with a grin.

"Textbook landing."

A groan was heard and Alex poked her head around the door at the top of the stairs looking a little green.

"Ugh, s-someone's going to wanna clean up the mess in the hall. I-I sort of revisited my lunch." She covered her mouth again before rushing back down the hall and the Doctor winced.

"Right. Forgot that body of hers gets space sick rather easily..." He trailed off before grinning again. "No matter! The Tardis will clean it up. What say we head on outside and see where we ended up while Alex gets her bearings, eh?"

He draped his arms over Amy and Rory's shoulders and led them out, ever curious about what was happening outside and not really wanting to get between Alex and her space sick.

* * *

I felt a bit better after emptying my stomach and cleaning out my mouth with some mouthwash, but there was something that was bothering me. It was that little tingling sensation in the back of my head, screaming at me that something was wrong or something was _going_ to be wrong very soon. So when I exited the doors and the Doctor excitedly grabbed my hand and pulled me towards a large castle-esque building, I quickly understood what had been bugging me as he pointed at something gold on top.

"Alex! Come look at my cockrel!" He grinned, Amy snorting.

"Oh yeah. You are _so_ not trying to get it on with her."

The Doctor let my hand go and stepped over to her with a frown; my gaze frozen on the spinning rooster on the top of the building as realization dawned on me.

"Amy, gutter. Keep your head out of it."

"Oi! I'm not the one saying things like 'look at my co—'"

"Doctor." I breathed out, voice soft, but the worry hidden in the tone drew his attention to me as I swallowed thickly.

"Oh, no." He muttered, hurrying over to me and taking my face in his hands. "I know that look. I've seen that look a hundred times and it never spells out anything good… How bad? One to ten?"

"Y-You know how you don't like moral confrontations with humans?"

His brows furrowed. "Yes. That ride through Midnight proved that much."

I shivered at the name, grateful that I hadn't ended up in that episode yet. "W-Well, it's like that. I-I'm gonna rank it a high eight. Maybe a nine."

He groaned, closing his eyes and pressing his forehead to mine. "A nine. That's one away from a ten That's not good. Never good, really." He looked at me, not pulling away as I tried my best to keep my worry under wraps and not send any of it to him. "Dangerous?"

I nodded.

"Lots of fighting?"

Another nod.

"Humans and aliens?"

I winced. "Sort of."

He frowned curiously at that, but lowered his voice even further with the next question. "Deaths?"

I hesitated, having to try and speak more than once before my voice actually worked. "A-A-At least eight. Human a-and non."

He let out a soft sigh, but didn't shift his eyes from my worried gaze. My stomach flipped with every second of silence, a part of me waiting for the explosion of anger from him—left over trauma from my abandonment—but he brushed a thumb over my cheek softly.

"It's okay. We'll do everything we can. _Together_. Alright? Don't take anything that's about to happen all on yourself. It won't be your fault." He said quietly, brushing a kiss across my lips before taking my hand and giving it a tight squeeze as he put on a smile for Amy and Rory and threw a hand out towards the monastery. "Well then! What are we waiting for? Onward! Let's satisfy our rabid curiosity."

"So, where are these Dusty Springfield loving monks then? And should we _really_ be looking for them when Alex has mentioned how bad this adventure is going to get?"

The Doctor scanned around with the sonic as he tugged me through the courtyard of the building. "I think we're here. This is it."

"Doctor, what are you talking about? We've never been here before."

"Hm?" He hummed, making Amy suspicious.

"We came here by accident?"

"Accident?" He questioned, before I nudged his side and he snapped out of whatever daze he'd put himself in. "Yes, I know. Accident."

"Rory, I wouldn't—" I was cut off as Rory hissed in pain and waved his hand about. "—touch that."

I sighed as he frowned at me and Amy checked his hand; the Doctor explaining.

"Acid. They're pumping acid off this island. That's old stuff. Fresh acid, you wouldn't have a finger."

"Oh, isn't that reassuring." I grumbled, just as an alarm went off.

"_Intruder alert. Intruder alert._"

"There are people coming. Well, almost." The Doctor mused out loud.

"Almost coming?"

"Almost people." I corrected, exchanging a look with the Doctor to let him know that these were going to be the aliens I'd hinted at earlier.

"I think we should really be going." Rory said as the rest of us hurried inside.

"Come on!" Amy called to him but he insisted.

"I'm telling you. When something runs towards you, it is never for a nice reason."

She doubled back and grabbed him, pulling him after us as we entered the room full of harnesses; most of which had people in them.

"What are all these harnesses for?" Amy asked as we hurried through.

"The 'almost people'?" Rory offered and I shrugged at the two, not really able to give them a definite answer on that one. _They're kind of for both, I would think. They're for the normal people to work and for the Flesh to function. But then the Flesh can function on their own, so maybe it's just for the people?_ The confusing thoughts made me space out for a second, before we stopped and someone shouted at us; a rather pointy looking spear aimed our way.

"Don't move!" One shouted, and I'd have to either get introductions or check my black book to remember his name.

"Stay back, Jen. We don't know who they are." Another said, helping remember at least the woman's name as the Doctor introduced us with a smile.

"Well, I'm the Doctor and this is Amy and Rory, and my wife, Alex." He said, looking excited and practically bouncing beside me with excitement. "And it's all very nice, isn't it?"

_I don't know _how_ he manages to overlook the fact that I told him half the people in this room are going to die, just because he's curious about the Flesh. _Amy though, had been looking between them and the people in the harnesses and finally realized something was up.

"Hold on. You're all… What are you all? Like identical twins?"

Two more people walked in, the head boss woman that I didn't really care for stepping up. "This is an Alpha grade industrial facility. Unless you work for the military or for Morpeth Jetson, you are in big trouble."

"Actually, _you're_ in big trouble." The Doctor said, pulling out his psychic paper and handing it to her.

"Meterological Department? Since when?" She asked, suspicious.

"Since you were hit by a solar wave." The Doctor countered, prepared for anything, it seemed.

"Which we survived."

"Just, by the look of it. And there's a bigger one on the way."

"Which we'll also survive." She said, turning to the man who'd spoke before. "Dicken, scan for bugs."

_Oh, there's another name. So we've got Jennifer, who's killed and who's doppelganger goes crazy. And Dicken, who dies trying to close the lockable door… Hm, I might be able to save him, but I don't even know when Jennifer is killed by her doppelganger, nor where she was even at._ I felt sadness creep up on me, but a squeeze of my hand, made me relax slightly at knowing the Doctor had felt it. _I really need to work more with this body and keeping my emotions in check._

"You're not a monastery, you're a factory." The Doctor said, lightly tugging me back as Dicken scanned us. "Twenty second century army-owned factory."

"You're army?" Amy questioned and the boss spoke up once more.

"No, love. We're contractors, and you're trespassers."

"It's clear, boss." Dicken said as she handed back the psychic paper.

"Alright, weather man. Your ID checks out. If there's another solar storm, what are you going to do about it? Hand out sunblock?"

"Cheeky." I breathed out, earning a nudge from the Doctor as he chuckled, before getting serious.

"I need to see your critical systems."

"Which one?"

"You know which one."

She didn't look pleased, but she gestured for us to follow her, handing out introductions along the way as I flipped quickly through my notebook; trying to avoid the Doctor's curious mental pokes as I tried to figure out if there was anything I could do to keep people and Gangers alike, from dying.

* * *

The Doctor eyed Alex from the corner of his eye, keeping a hold of her hand and not wanting to let her go. He knew things would be tough for her right now, if her timidness was anything to go by. _She must be early on in this body. She puts on the tough act to hide it, but the signs are rather obvious._ He mused, taking in her darting eyes and slightly shaky hands. He could feel mentally too, how her walls came up quickly to hide her worry, though some of it still leaked through the cracks. He'd seen her skimming her black book as well, looking a bit panicked and knew that she must have been trying to figure out if there was anything she could help with and, judging by her pale features, there probably wasn't much. _And with her being in her early days, she'll be very self-conscious about it._

He mentally sighed, hating his future self for whatever he'd done that made Alex revert back to her old self like this. And, as much as he enjoyed holding her hand like this and being her knight in shining armor, he missed the confident Alex who would playfully scold him for babying her and would take matters into her own hands. Not that she wouldn't do that now—back with the Cybermen and Miss Hartigan showed how she could easily take control over a situation—but if she did, it was only because she was desperately trying to hide what was bothering her and distract herself from it. He shook his mind out of those thoughts and turned back to the white bubbling liquid in front of him. Cleaves had already explained what the liquid was and he could tell that Alex didn't care for how they treated the Flesh. He could feel her growing frustrated and he silently hoped she would be able to keep her temper when things got a bit dicey. It was a toss up with her though, especially in this body.

Her previous body had quite the long fuse and one could _see_ the build up of anger before she snapped; if they were looking hard enough. This body was different in that she'd be completely normal one minute, might get a bit frustrated the next, then would calm down, only to snap when someone brought up a trigger. It was like poking a bear with a stick. It might ignore you the first time, roll over once or twice, but then it will snap so suddenly you wont know what happened until you realize your hand's missing. And with this adventure being a possible _nine_ on the danger scale, he couldn't help but wonder how things would turn out when she did finally snap.

He took out his sonic, trying to push those thoughts to the back of his mind, and scanned the white substance before him; Buzzer calling out.

"Hang on. What's he up to? What you up to, pal?"

He struggled for a bit, feeling something in his head. "Stop it." He demanded, before pulling the sonic away from the vat. "Strange. It was like… for a moment there, it was scanning _me_."

He felt Alex grip his hand a little tighter and turned his gaze to her. She had closed her eyes and her lip was twitching into a slightly pained expression and the Doctor immediately knew what she was up to.

"Alex. Alex, stop. You need to pull back." He said, reaching out and brushing his fingers over her temples before she sucked in a sharp breath and panted.

"S-Sorry." She muttered, still looking a bit dazed. "I-I just thought… if I tried..."

The Doctor shook his head. "No, I understand. But you need to be careful. Your mind works slightly different than mine and is potentially more controllable and easier to get in to. All it takes is for something potentially dangerous to tap into the sentient part of your mind, and you could become nothing more than a puppet unless someone else snapped you out of it."

"G-Good to know." She said, eyeing the vat as the Doctor hesitated and soon placed his hand on the top of the white substance.

"Doctor." Cleaves warned, but he held his hand there, determined to get a better feeling of whatever this being was and attempt to connect with it.

"Get back, Doctor. Leave it alone." Cleaves insisted, and with a gasp, the Doctor yanked his hand back away from it.

"I understand."

"Doctor? Are you alright?" Amy asked, eyeing him in concern along with Alex, who rubbed at her head.

"Incredible." The Doctor breathed out, turning to them. "You have no idea. No idea. I mean, I felt it in my mind. I reached out to it and it to me."

"Don't fiddle with the money, Doctor." Cleaves warned, but he gave her a serious look.

"How can you be so blinkered? It's alive. So alive. You're piling your lives, your personalities directly into it."

He reached into his pocket and tugged Alex a little closer to him as a loud crack of lightning lit up the window outside and he checked his snow globe.

"It's the solar storm." He said, putting the snow globe away. "The first waves come in pairs. Pre-shock and fore-shock. It's close."

"Buzzer, we got anything from the mainland yet?" Cleaves asked, starting to get a little worried about this.

"No. The comms are still too jammed with radiation."

"Okay. Then we'll keep pumping acid until the mainland says stop. Now why don't you stand back and let us impress you."

The Doctor frowned, unimpressed with the woman's act of being in charge, but allowed her to show them how the Flesh worked. It was too early to start causing fights. A face soon appeared in the white liquid and after that, a Jennifer Ganger sat up with a gasp.

"Well, I can see why you keep it in a church. Miracle of life." He mused absentmindedly, though he still was unsure about the situation.

"No need to get poncey. It's just gunge." Buzzer said, helping her out as Cleaves sent them an order.

"Guys, we need to get to work."

"Okay, everybody, let's crack on."

"Did I mention the solar storm?" The Doctor frowned, hating when people thought he had no idea what he was talking about as lightning cracked. "You need to get out of here."

"Where do you want us to go? We're on a tiny island."

"Well, I can get you all off it." He informed them, hoping that'd convince them.

"Don't be ridiculous. We've got a job to do." Cleave scoffed and he checked this snow globe again, squeezing Alex's hand.

She'd been awfully quiet and it worried him. A quiet Alex was never a good sign.

"It's coming."

"That's the alarm." Jennifer said, staring to worry along with him.

"How do you get power?" The Doctor asked

"We're solar. We use a solar router. The weather vane."

"Big problem." He muttered, wondering how they couldn't see the issue.

_Solar storm, solar power. You'd think they'd realize how this would turn out._ He mentally groaned.

"Boss, maybe if the storm's back we should get underground." Jimmy said, looking a bit concerned too. "The factory's seen better days. The acid pipes might not withstand another hit."

"We have two hundred tons of acid to pump out. We fall behind, we stay another rotation. Anyone want that?" Cleaves barked and Alex frowned, muttering under her breath.

"Yeah, but at least you'd live another day."

The Doctor shushed her quietly when Cleaves turned her way and scowled, him letting her go with a comforting peck on the cheek before grabbing Cleaves and pulling her to the side; tired of her attitude.

"Please, you're making a massive mistake here. You're right at the crossroads of it. Don't turn the wrong way. If you don't… If you _don't_ prepare for this storm, you are all in terrible danger. Understand?"

"My factory, my rules." She snapped back at him and he resisted the urge to pull his hair out.

"I need to check the progress of the storm. Monitoring station?" He asked, them staying quiet before he repeated himself seriously with a snap of his fingers. "Monitoring station."

"Three lefts, a right, and a left." Jennifer finally answered him. "Third door on your left."

"Thank you."

_At least _someone's_ cooperating._ He took Alex's hand and pulled her along, the storm already causing problems and making the ground shake as they finally found the monitoring station and he was forced to release Alex in order to deal with the sparking monitor.

"Waves disturbing the Earth's magnetic field. There is going to be the mother and father of all power surges. See this weather vane, the cock-a-doodle-do? It's a solar router feeding the whole factory with solar power. When that wave hits, ka-boom. I've to get to that cockerel before all hell breaks loose." He stopped, grinning with a chuckle. "I never thought I'd have to say that again. Amy, breathe."

"Yeah. I mean, thanks. I-I'll try." Amy said, looking confused.

He then turned to Alex. "And you. I need you to stay here. Okay?"

She hesitated and he sighed, pulling her close.

"Please, Alex. I don't need you going off and getting electrocuted." He smiled a bit, winking. "That's my job."

She nodded and he kissed her, deepening it with a hand on the back of her neck, before hurrying off to deal with the soon to be exploded cockerel. Alex, of course, didn't listen and soon bolted up after him. He didn't notice, climbing the tower and checking inside the box labeled high-voltage just as a bolt of electricity his the weather vane and he screamed while falling. His landing was softer than expected, but he still managed to clonk his head on the ground and passed out; having landed directly on top of Alex.

* * *

"Alex? Alex, wake up! Oh, you're not going to be happy with me. Though I _did _tell you not to come up here… Though I should have known you wouldn't have listened."

I groaned, feeling a hand on my cheek as I wearily opened my eye sot see a blurry brown blob hovering over me.

"Alex?"

"Doctor?" I muttered, trying to sit up with his help and holding my head with a cringe. "Ow."

"Yes, ow." He said, checking me over and touching a tender spot on the back of my head that made me wince as he frowned suddenly. "Did you try to catch me?"

I pouted, knowing where he was going with this. "I expected you to be lighter."

He sighed, pressing his forehead to mine. "Thank you. Though that was a very stupid idea."

"Shut up." I grumbled, before he helped me onto my feet and took my hand.

"Come on. We better go and check on the others. I get the feeling we've been out longer than we should have."

It didn't take long before we bumped into Cleaves. I already knew it was really Ganger Cleaves, but I kept my mouth shut; knowing the Doctor figured it out rather quickly.

"Cleaves! You're out of your harness!" He called out, the two of us scrambling down the stairs, hand-in-hand.

"I'm sorry, Doctor. You were right." She said and I wondered how that didn't give him the hint.

"You've lost all power to the factory."

"Doctor, I abandoned my team." She said, looking upset.

He pat her on the arms and took her hand in his other one. "Then let's go get them."

The three of us ran down the corridors to the harness room, him and Ganger Cleaves chatting along the way.

"How long would you say we were unconscious for, Cleaves?"

"Not long. A minute? Two minutes?" She offered and I shook my head.

"An hour."

The Doctor smiled a bit at me, whether he was glad that I knew the answer or that I was actually talking now, I wasn't sure.

"She's right. I've seen whole worlds turned inside out in an hour. A lot can go wrong in an hour." He hummed, loosing his smile quickly.

We resumed our dash and upon entering the harness room, I quickly spotted Rory hugging Ganger Jennifer and the displeased look Amy covered up as she spoke to us.

"Doctor, Alex. These are all real people, so where are their Gangers?"

"Don't worry." Ganger Cleaves said. "When the link shuts down, the Gangers return to pure Flesh. Now, the storm's left us with acid leaks all over, so we need to contact the mainland. They can have a rescue shuttle out here in no time."

Music started playing then and everyone glanced around.

"That's my record." Jimmy said in surprised. "Who's playing my record?"

"Your Gangers." The Doctor said, making all eyes turn to him. "They've gone walkabout."

"No, it's impossible. They're not active. Cars don't fly themselves, cranes don't lift themselves and Gangers don't—"

Ganger Cleaves stopped as the music let out a screech for a second before singing started up. Obviously, she was wrong. _Not to mention she's one herself, but let's not get into that. I actually like Ganger Cleaves a bit more than normal Cleaves. Less attitude._ I mused, though my mind took a quick turn and I suddenly frowned contemplatively. _I wonder how Ganger Cleaves ended up with a more mellow personality and Ganger Jennifer with such a drastic one… Is it just because they have the memories of the person and reacted to them differently? Like going back in time and realizing that you could have acted differently back then, but you end up becoming a whole different person in the future because of how you handled it?_

"Alex?"

I jumped, startled out of my thoughts as the Doctor gave me a worried look.

"You alright? You sort of spaced out for a second there." He smiled a bit. "Train of thought change track?"

I looked surprised. "How'd you know?"

He beamed me a smile, tugging me along as we headed to the dining hall after the others. "I know quite a bit about that body of yours. Lots of it's little quirks. Sensitive to the cold, prefers semi-formal wear as opposed to casual, likes cherries over oranges, sensitive stomach, _more_ than sensitive ears—"

I flushed a nice red shade at that one, remembering how I'd discovered that with his future and past self rather quickly.

"—and a cunning mind with quickly changing thoughts and ideas. You do space out a little more than usual, though you being so quiet has me a bit concerned." He concluded, eyeing me in worry.

"No, I'm fine. Really." I insisted, squeezing his hand in comfort. "Like you said, train of thought took a sharp left turn out of nowhere. Wasn't expecting it, is all."

"Alright, but if there's anything bothering you, let me know."

I nodded and we pushed past the plastic curtains to see the messed up dining hall.

"No way." Buzzer muttered as he and the others looked around, stunned.

"I don't… I don't believe this."

"They could have escaped through the service door at the back." Jimmy said and I frowned.

"They're not prisoners. And even if they did do that, they _left,_ not 'escaped'."

He raised a brow at me, but didn't say anything as the Doctor spoke up.

"It would seem the storm has animated your Gangers."

"They've ransacked everything." Ganger Cleaves breathed out and I felt my frown deepen.

"They're not thieves either. They didn't 'ransack' these things, they 'searched through' them."

"Through _our_ stuff!" She exclaimed.

"_Their_ stuff." The Doctor corrected, brushing a thumb over my knuckles to calm me a bit.

"Searching for what?" Jimmy asked, being one of the few people from their group that I actually liked.

_Least he has a bit more of an open mind._

"Confirmation. They need to know their memories are real." The Doctor explained.

"Oh, so they've got flaming memories now." Buzzer scoffed.

"They feel compelled to connect to their lives."

"Their _stolen_ lives." Ganger Cleaves pushed and I turned to spouting random history facts in my head to keep from listening to her and possibly loosing my temper.

_People were hired to be alarm clocks for people by shooing peas at their windows. King Tut's parents were brother and sister. There's giant pyramids over 6,000 miles underwater. Generals often brought hookers to keep the soldiers in high spirits. All British tanks since 1945 are equipped with tea-making facilities. 1788, the Austrian army attacked itself and lost 10,000 people. Julius Caesar wore a laurel wreath to hide his baldness. Napoleon was once attacked by rabbits._ I must have been muttering them under my breath though, because the Doctor let out a choked laugh as he pulled something out of the microwave and I realized that I'd spaced out again. Which was both good and bad. I kept calm and didn't snap at anyone, but I missed out on quite a bit and the Doctor was already revealing Cleaves as a Ganger.

"It's hot." He said, after handing her the plate and waiting a bit.

She quickly dropped it and it shattered on the ground as he rattled on, ignoring her confused and frantic expression.

"Trans-matter's still a little rubbery. Nerve endings not quite fused properly." He muttered, checking her hand before she pulled away.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's okay."

"Why didn't I feel that?" She questioned.

The Doctor went on. "You will. You'll stabilize."

"No, stop it." She said, lashing out in fear. "You're playing stupid games. Stop it!"

She turned her back to us and the Doctor hesitantly approached her.

"You don't have to hide. Please, trust me. I'm the Doctor."

She turned around with a hiss, face more like a Ganger's now and Buzzer grabbed a knife as Jimmy held him back.

"Where's the real Cleaves, you thing? What have you done with her?"

"Oi!" I shouted at him, still a bit snippy. "Why are you accusing people without any proof of something happening, huh? She hasn't done anything wrong!"

"She's a thing!"

"And so are you! A big flesh bag of water, fat and bone, and you don't see me accusing _you_ of doing anything! And _you're_ the one holding a knife!"

He frowned, but went quiet, no longer fighting Jimmy as Amy questioned the Doctor.

"Doctor, what's happened to her?"

"She can't stabilize. She's shifting between half-formed and full-formed, for now at least." He explained before she spoke in an odd voice.

"We are _living_."

She suddenly screamed and bolted from the room, the Doctor insisting we let her go before Amy turned to the both of us in worry.

"Doctor, Rory."

"Rory?"

I smacked him upside the head. "Yes, Rory. He's gone. With a rather panicky Ganger, I might add." I turned to Amy then, holding up a hand. "But he's safe. No worries."

"Always with the Rory." The Doctor complained, flinching back when I glared at him for being rude. "Right. Let's go find him, shall we? Jimmy, lead the way."

Jimmy nodded, grabbing a torch for each of us and showing us to the closest restroom where we found a broken stall door and a cracked mirror.

"Rory." Amy said, worried as the Doctor took in the sight of the mirror. "Doctor, you said they wouldn't be violent."

"But I did say they were scared and angry. Alex too, mentioned that this one was a bit panicky."

I nodded. "Trust me, Amy. He's fine. I promise. And whatever you're feeling right now, they're feeling it too, except ten times stronger since they barely know who they are. So give them a break. Everyone lashes out when they feel lost trapped. Gangers _and_ humans. Time Lords too, even."

She was hesitant, but nodded, before Jimmy brought up another good point.

"And early technology, is what you said. I heard it, under all of the yelling." He glanced at me and I turned away with a pout, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Sorry..."

He gave me a once over before turning back to the Doctor. "You seem to know something about the Flesh. You _and_ your wife."

"Do you? Doctor? Alex?" Amy pushed as Jimmy joined in.

"You're no weatherman. Why are you really here?"

"I have to talk to them. I can fix this." The Doctor insisted and I took his hand and squeezed it a bit as he let out a breath at the calm wave I sent over to him. "_We_ can fix this, together."

I hummed contently and gave Amy a look. "And you should know by now how much I know, Amy. And I'm sorry, but things aren't going to be easy. For any of us, but there isn't a whole lot I can do."

She frowned. "But you said people will die." She stepped forward, pointing at me accusingly. "You said at least _eight_ people will be killed in this mess."

"What?" Jimmy said in shock, but I ignored him and went on.

"Yes, I did and I'm sorry, but there isn't much I can do about it. I've thought about everything I can do and what kind of consequences would come about if I did manage to save even _one_ of them. And there's already a few who I have no chance of saving and—"

"So you're not even going to try?" She snapped and I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"I _will_ try. I will _always_ try, but I can't save everyone and I need you to understand that for when the time comes, Amy. You and Jimmy and all the others here need to understand that because sometimes there just isn't anything I can do and putting the blame on me in a tense situation isn't going to change the fact that they're gone."

I was tensing up. I could feel an ache in my back and shoulders as I hunched in on myself. My hands shook as I pulled them through my hair and dragged them down my face, and my jaw ached from grinding my teeth. So I had every right to flinch when a pair of hands touched my shoulders and a wave of calm washed over me from the Doctor; who rubbed his thumbs over my back. I relaxed slightly and turned away from the others as we left the room with a tense silence hanging in the air. I felt ridiculous and was worried that I was overreacting, but dealing with all the twists and turns that this body was causing in my head and this crazy adventure on top of that, and I could feel the pressure building. I'd been doing good to keep my temper in check even with the snapping earlier, but I didn't know how much longer I would last at this rate and the only thing keeping me from loosing it right now, was the Doctor.

"_Are you alright?_" I heard him ask in my head and I sighed softly.

_No, not really. I'm honestly just stressed and I'm not used to this body and how it handles pressure just yet. It keeps jumping from 'brave and clever' to 'ridiculous and crazy' to 'I swear to God I'm going to punch someone'._

"_How long have you been in this body?_"

I winced. _Less than a month._ I replied, only to glance at him in surprise when his arm wrapped around my waist and he tugged me close to his side; kissing my temple before whispering in my ear.

"You're doing great, Alexander. I promise."

I nodded, leaning into his embrace before a thought threw itself to the forefront of my mind and I suddenly pulled him to a halt. He went to ask me why, but the pipe in front of us burst and let out a hiss of steam and splashes of acid. Kissing me briefly on the side of my head, he turned to Amy and Jimmy behind us.

"It is _too_ dangerous out here with acid leaks."

"We have to find Rory." Amy insisted as Jimmy looked over the ruptured pipe.

"Yes, I'm going back to the Tardis. Wait for me in the dining hall. I want us to keep together, okay? No more wandering off."

"And what about Rory?"

"Well, it would be safer to look for Rory and Jennifer with the Tardis." He replied, before looking at me. "Alex, you're welcome to come with me or stay with them."

I hesitated. On one hand, I could go with the Doctor, watch him loose his shoes, and bump into the Gangers. _Or_ I could stick with the others and deal with the stressful situation in the dining hall until the Doctor returns. I didn't want to choose the option I was going to, but I knew I'd be of more help with the others than with the Doctor.

"I'll stay."

He eyed me cautiously. "You're sure?"

I nodded, smiling a little at his concern. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure."

He came over and held my face in his hands, kissing me deeply before pulling away.

"Stay safe."

"I'll try." I replied before he headed off; only to return again a moment later and get directions from Jimmy.

It wasn't long though, before we were in a corridor near the dining hall and we bumped into Rory; myself pretending that I hadn't seen Amy panic a bit at the sight of Kovarian peeking out at her through a door.

"Amy. Alex."

"You're okay." Amy said, sounding relieved. "What happened?"

Ganger Jennifer peeked out from behind Rory then.

"She needs protecting." He said and before he could explain further, Buzzer and Dickens showed up from around the corner.

"Jen?"

"No. It's a Ganger." Amy clarified, though I almost wish she hadn't. "Rory, listen."

Rory frowned though. "No, _you_ listen. Nobody touches her!"

Everyone looked at one another in tense silence and I placed a hand on Rory's shoulder, making him round on me and eye me suspiciously.

"Rory, the Doctor wants to meet up with everyone in the dining hall."

Ganger Jennifer shuffled a bit, nervously, but I smiled a little at her.

"_Everyone_."

She smiled a little back and the six of us headed off; myself trying to keep the tension down as best I could. _I don't need a migraine on top of everything else. _Upon entering the dining hall, I saw Buzzer, Jimmy and Dickens prepare to interrogate Ganger Jennifer, but I stopped her from sitting across from them.

"Now hold it. If anyone should be getting interrogated for answers, it's me. Not Jennifer." I said, sitting down across from them, much to their surprise as I crossed my arms over my chest and propped my ankle up on my knee. "Ask away. Oh! But do any of you wear size ten shoes? Though his feet are a little wide, so perhaps size eleven would be better..."

Buzzer looked at me, confused. "Now hold on. Why should we ask you? What do you know?"

"Rude." I muttered, before speaking a bit louder. "And you'd be surprised about how much I knew. Go ahead. Ask me about Jennifer… And seriously, I need those shoes."

Dicken went to grab the shoes for me and Buzzer frowned.

"Where's Jen?"

"Wandering the building, looking for us and trying to avoid the Gangers, like a majority of the rest of you."

"Majority?" Jimmy questioned and I nodded.

"Oh, yeah. The Doctor, Rory and I are rather fine bumping into them. Though crazy Cleaves is out on the hunt and will show up here in a bit, but I'll take care of that when it happens."

"Oh, right. And I suppose you think they're safe too, don't you?" Buzzer scoffed and I raised a brow.

"Honestly? No. No one in this room is safe. Not one Ganger and not one human. I'd say the safest person here is the Doctor and I. But that's only because I know things and the Doctor's protected by me. That, and Rory's a bit naive." I turned to him. "Sorry, Rory. But you'd take in a killer tiger if it looked at you pitifully enough."

"Oh, yeah. Thanks." He muttered sarcastically as Buzzer spoke up, raising his voice and drawing my attention back to him.

"But they're not _human_. They're copies! They're just pretending to be like us!" He insisted and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Yeah? Then tell me. What makes them different?"

"They're Flesh!"

"So? Are you telling me that I could put Jen—" I turned to the Ganger as my train of thought drifted. "Can I call you Jen? I need a way to differentiate and calling you Ganger Jennifer is a mouthful, not to mention rather rude."

She nodded and I turned back, continuing my previous thought.

"But if I put Jen beside Jennifer in this room right now, are you saying you could tell the difference? You can pick the human from the Ganger?"

He hesitated and I pushed on.

"Because you could try asking them questions. Things that only the so-called _real_ Jennifer would know, but they'd both give you the same answer, because they're both _her_. And they're not copies, exactly. You saw Cleaves—Well, Ganger Cleaves." I paused again. "No. Still a mouthful. I'm just going to stick with nicknames. So… Cleave then. You saw Cleave earlier. Are you telling me that she wasn't the slightest bit different from Cleaves? Not… say… less rude and bossy?"

He exchanged a look with Jimmy and the others, who'd obviously seen the difference.

"Ah. See? Not copies. They're not exactly the same and I'm not sure why, exactly, but I've got a theory."

"Ooh! A theory!" The Doctor chirped, walking in with the other Gangers. "Hello!"

The Gangers lined up across from the others and Jimmy let out a breath.

"This is..."

"You're telling me." Ganger Jimmy—or Jim, as I'll call him—said.

"Alright, Doctor." Cleave said. You've brought us together. Now what?"

"Before we do anything, I have one very important question."

I got up and took the shoes Dicken had brought over, holding them up in front of his face with a smile.

"Way ahead of you, dear."

He grinned, taking them from me and kissing me on the cheek. "You're the best. Now, what's this theory of yours? You've got me curious."

My mind ran at a million miles an hour and my mouth quickly followed as I rambled.

"Well, Cleave—Ganger Cleaves—acts slightly different than Cleaves and there will be another Ganger who acts _much_ different than the original. So I figured that the Gangers get the same memories and such, but the way they take those memories and live them out is different. Sort of the whole, if you could go back in your time-line, what would you change? How would you act differently in that situation? Say... Cleaves is afraid of the dark—probably not true, but go with it—and Cleave got her memory, her life and soul, but faced the fear of the dark and as such, her personality is different. Cleaves might still jump when the lights go out, but Cleave will be fine. Does that make sense? It's the whole butterfly effect thing. You go back in your life and change something, and it effects your future self. The Gangers are doing the same. Some act like the originals, like Jim and Buzz. But others act differently, like Cleave being slightly nicer and Dickey not sneezing. They're not exact copies, because they took the memories and had different feelings towards them; thus changing their personality. Dicken, why do you sneeze?"

"I-I, uh… When I was younger, I was trapped in a cupboard and I sort of panicked and inhaled the dust and started sneezing. Since then it's just been something I do."

I snapped my fingers and pointed at Dickey—Ganger Dicken. "Dickey, you don't sneeze, why's that?"

"Huh? Uh, well I remember getting trapped in the cupboard and sneezing, but… I don't know. It just never really bothered me."

"Good catch, Alex!" The Doctor grinned, hurrying over and spinning me around in a hug; kissing me deeply and bopping my nose with a finger. "You are _brilliant_."

I smiled in return. "You're welcome."

He spun around to the other people in the room, hugging my waist. "See? The Flesh was never merely moss. These aren't copies. The storm has hardwired them. They are becoming people."

"With souls?" Jimmy asked and the Doctor nodded as the Gangers and humans curiously looked at one another.

"Exactly. We were all jelly once. Little jelly eggs sitting in goop."

"Yeah, thanks." Amy muttered. "Too much information."

The Doctor ignored her and continued. "We are not talking about an accident that needs to be mopped up. We are talking about sacred life. Do you understand?… Good. Now, the Tardis is trapped in an acid pool. Once I can reach her, I can get you all off this island. Humans and Gangers, eh? How does that sound?"

"Can I make it home for Adam's birthday?" Jimmy asked and Jim questioned it as well.

"What about me? He's my son too."

Jimmy looked at him in surprise. "You? You really think that?"

"I feel it."

Jimmy still questioned it, cautious. "Oh, so you were there when he was born, were you?"

Jim didn't take offense, surprisingly. "Yeah. I drank about eight pints of tea, then they told me I had a wee boy and I just burst out laughing." He chuckled. "No idea why… I miss home, as much as you."

They looked at one another, not threatening in any way and I smiled, glad that they were getting along thus far.

"I'm not going to lie to you. It's a right old mess, this." The Doctor said, making sure there wasn't tension between the two and the others who were eyeing their Gangers. "But as you might say up North—"

"Doctor?" I interrupted and he turned to me, tilting his head curiously.

"Yes?"

I kissed him lightly. "Shut up."

He pouted as I gave Jimmy a look.

"He's over-thinking it. Ignore him. The easiest solution is twins."

"What?" Everyone questioned and I rolled my eyes.

"Twins. Twin brothers. Jim and Jimmy. Gives you both a chance to stay around Adam. The close uncle and the father. You can both live just fine together. Same goes with the rest of you. Can't be too hard, can it? The worst you can do is argue with yourselves." I grinned and the group seemed to ease up; Gangers and humans smiling slightly at one another.

"Right. First step is we get everyone together, then get everyone safe. Then, get everyone out of here." The Doctor rattled off as Amy spoke up.

"But we're still missing Jennifer and Cleaves."

"I'll go and look for them." Jimmy offered and Jim stepped forward.

"I'll give you a hand, if you like. Cover more ground."

Jimmy smiled a little. "Yeah, okay. Thanks."

"No need." I said, stepping away from the Doctor and making them stop in confusion as Cleaves walked out with a sparking device.

"This circus has gone on long enough!"

Cleave sighed, rolling her eyes. "Oh, great. You see? That is so _typically_ me."

"Doctor, tell it to shut up." Cleaves snapped and he looked a little panicked.

"Cleaves, no. No, no."

"Circuit probe." She said, holding up the device a little higher. "Fires about, ooh, forty thousand volts? Would kill any one of us, so I guess she'll work on Gangers just the same."

"It's interesting you refer to them as 'it', but you call a glorified cattle prod a 'she'." The Doctor mocked and I lightly smacked his arm as Cleaves frowned.

"When the real people are safely off this island, then I'll happily talk philosophy over a pint with you, Doctor."

"And why can't we just drop you off somewhere and then take the rest with us?" I asked, raising a brow and moving slightly closer as she turned towards me.

"Because. They're monsters. Mistakes. They have to be destroyed."

"Kind of harsh, don't you think? Calling yourself a monster?" I said, the Doctor warning me.

"_Alex._"

I ignored him as Cleaves snapped at me.

"That _thing_ is _not_ me."

"Really?" I turned my head towards Cleave. "Cleave, tell me, how you think. What do you think about the way Cleaves is acting right now?"

Cleave looked uncertain, but spoke. "We always have to take charge. Even when we don't really know what's going on."

"And how's the head?" I questioned, making Cleaves turn to me angrily.

"Shut up!"

I held my hands up in surrender, but continued speaking. "She's not that much different than you, Cleaves. And Gangers?" I didn't turn, but spoke over my shoulder to the group. "Don't take anything she does next as a threat. Remember how scared and panicked you were when you realized something was different? When you looking at yourself and realized you weren't Flesh anymore? That's what she's doing right now. Cleaves is lashing out because she doesn't know what else to do." I smiled a bit. "How human."

Cleaves growled, but the Doctor reached out towards her.

"Give me the probe, Cleaves."

I spotted Buzz making a dash for her, but I'd already seen it. I knew it was going to happen and I cursed myself for what I did next._ Damn me and my constant need to change things._

* * *

The Doctor wasn't fast enough. Nobody was. No one, but Alex. She jumped between Buzz and Cleaves, shoving him back just as Cleaves used the circuit probe and shocked her in the chest.

"Alex! No!" The Doctor shouted as she stumbled back into a cart of supplies and Cleaves looked at the probe in shock.

She never wanted to kill the woman. Sure, Alex annoyed her and made her angry by teaming up with the Gangers, but now she was a murderer. She's killed a _real_ person. Not a Ganger. _B-But it's not my fault. She jumped in front of him!_ The Doctor though, was furious and as he knelt beside Alex, he looked over his shoulder at her with a heated glare; the Oncoming Storm in his eyes making her flinch back.

"Look what you've done! Look what you did to my wife!"

"S-She did it to herself!" Cleaves tried to argue as Amy spoke up from beside the Doctor.

"Doctor, her heart!"

He turned back to Alex, cursing under his breath and leaning his head down to check Alex's hearts. Sure enough, one of her hearts had stopped and the Doctor immediately began doing chest compressions.

"Come on, Alex. Come on."

Jimmy took a hesitant step forward. "Is she..."

"No. I won't let that happen." The Doctor growled, but Rory had caught sight of Jen, who was shrinking away nervously; face morphing into one more like the Flesh and less human.

"Jen?"

"What happened to her will happen to all of us if we trust you." She growled.

"Wait, wait. Just, wait." The Doctor said, trying to stop her from causing a panic and trying to revive Alex's stopped heart at the same time. "She's alive. I promise you. Everything will be fine."

"No!" Rory shouted, tacking Cleaves as she prepared to shock Jen.

He disabled her weapon and the Gangers ran towards the exit.

"Wait!" The Doctor called out, but it was too late and he glared at Cleaves as he moved Alex into a sitting position and got Amy to hold her. "Look at what you have done, Cleaves."

"If it's war, then it's _war_." She said, still acting confident despite her poor decisions. "You don't get it, Doctor. How can you? It's us and them now." She turned to the rest of her team. "Us and them."

The Doctor smacked Alex hard on the back and she suddenly snapped her eyes open with a gasp, hacking and coughing as the Doctor let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness." He breathed out as she leaned back against him.

"Wow. I-I have no idea how I managed with one heart before." She said, looking at him. "I take back all the times I smacked you for making fun of humans for only having one heart. It's just… ugh."

The group of people in front of them stared in shock, Buzzer speaking first.

"H-How is she alive? That was forty thousand volts."

"Right. Sorry. Should have mentioned that. Alex is only _part_ human. Two hearts, and a hell of an immune system… well, normally. She still catches colds, for some reason." The Doctor said, before Alex got a look around the room and groaned; ignoring his comment about colds since her regeneration was in his future and any information about it would be spoilers.

"Oh, Jen turned, didn't she?"

Rory nodded as the Doctor helped her up; Alex still being unstable and rather shaky in the aftermath of the attack.

"Her and the others ran off after Cleaves attacked you."

"Figures." She scoffed, glaring at Cleaves. "Seriously. Name one thing, _one thing_, that makes you hate them so much, other than the fact that they were born differently. And if you say personality? Well, that'd be more than ironic."

Cleaves frowned. "They're monsters."

"In what way?" Alex countered, straightening up and making the Doctor wonder if he would have to hold her back, as Cleaves shifted nervously.

"They just are!"

"Yeah? Well they're not the ones who just tried to kill me. So if they're the monsters, what does that make you?"

It was like watching two dogs getting ready to fight. Hackles raised, growling, teeth bared and that tense stiffness of their bodies right before they would launch themselves at one another. Except Cleaves didn't quite look like the top dog at the moment; her tail tucked between her legs, so to speak, as she remained silent to Alex's accusation. Alex though, scoffed, not wanting to waste her time with the woman and she turned to Jimmy, Buzzer and Dickens.

"Alright, you three. What do you think? And ignore Cleaves. She's not in charge of you lot right now. You're not sending acid off an island anymore, you're trying to survive. Whatever she says means nothing unless it will accomplish that and a _war_ while we're trying to get out of here won't be helping."

"What do you mean, 'what do we think'?" Jimmy questioned, so Alex clarified.

"About Jen, Cleave, Buzz, and Dickey. The Gangers. After everything you've seen and what they've shown you, what do you think of them?"

"They're, uh… they're okay, I guess." Dickey said with a shrug and Cleaves rolled her eyes.

"Oh, brother."

Alex turned around, teeth bared and a snarl on her face. "You keep your mouth shut, or I'll quickly find a way to shut it for you. No one _asked_ for your opinion."

Cleaves glared in return, but remained silent as Alex turned back around and looked at the others.

"Jimmy? How about you?"

"Well, it's a bit strange, but… I don't know. I don't really mind them. And I think you were right, before. They're just scared."

Alex nodded, turning to the last of the group. "Buzzer?"

He shifted, uncomfortably. "They're alright, I guess. But if they attack us, I'm not just going to sit back and let that happen."

Alex sighed, but nodded. "Point taken. Now then, I say that until we know for certain what they're planning on doing—be it returning to join us or attacking; thanks to crazy Cleaves—"

"Hey!"

Alex ignored her. "We should find someplace to stay that can be defended easily, should things take a turn for the worst."

"But I thought you said they were alright? They were safe?" Buzzer questioned, and even the Doctor was a bit hesitant about whatever Alex was planning.

"They are, but like I said, the Gangers take the memories they have and adapt to them differently. You can't tell me you lot haven't noticed the other odd Ganger."

The exchanged looks and Amy stepped forward.

"What do you mean?"

Buzzer responded. "Jen. She's acting different."

Jimmy nodded. "More scared. And the other Gangers followed her out."

Alex nodded. "That's right. Jen's changed. She's basically switched roles with Cleave. She wanted to be stronger instead of cowardly, and now she'd in charge. And they're not dangerous, but as Cleaves just tried to do here, she's taking charge and trying to get them on her side. Whether they do it or not, is completely up to them. We may be willing to work together with them here, but over there, they are scared and panicking because of what happened. Speaking of which. Doctor?"

"Yes?" He asked, head snapping up to look at her as her face crumpled in pain.

"C-Catch."

He hurried ran over and grabbed her as she huffed and panted, clutching at the fabric of her shirt right above her left heart; the _human_ heart that had gotten the aftershock of the circuit probe. He quickly lowered her into a chair at the table and brought a hand up to her wrist to check her pulse as the others gathered around.

"What's wrong with her?" Jimmy asked, sounding worried.

"I thought you said she'd be alright?" Amy too, questioned.

"Yes, well, I forgot to take into account the fact that only _one_ of her hearts is alien. And her human heart is struggling to cope with the backlash of electrical signals and the sudden increased work load, and lack of blood and oxygen."

Amy frowned, confused. "Wait, so which heart stopped?"

"The alien one."

"You keep saying alien, but she looks pretty human to me." Buzzer said.

"Time Lords came first. You look Time Lord."

"Time Lord?" Jimmy muttered. "What's that?"

"An alien." The Doctor spouted, spitting out answers left and right without really paying attention.

He was more focused on getting an accurate reading of Alex's pulse. _Though my watch might be a bit slow._

"So she's half human, half of this Time Lord thing?" Dicken questioned, scratching his head.

"No. She's one third human, one third Time Lord, one third sentient Tardis." He rattled out, before frowning. "With one of her hearts going three times faster than it should be."

"L-Lucky me." Alex panted out, sweat starting to form on her brow.

He reached over and picked her up, holding her close to his chest as he turned to Cleaves with a stern frown.

"The most fortified and dependable room in the monastery."

She blinked, not really paying attention, so he repeated himself.

"Cleaves, the most fortified and dependable room in the monastery."

"The chapel." She finally replied.

"Thank you." He muttered.

"Only one way in. Stone walls, two feet thick."

"You've crossed one hell of a line, Cleaves. You nearly killed someone who was standing up for them, my _wife_, and then you threatened the rest. They're coming back, but whether it will be in a big way or not, is depending on Alex's words to them. So you better hope that they saw her as a better person than any of us, or we're in a _hell_ of a lot of trouble."

He turned and hurried out, the group following and casting Cleaves looks as she followed in the back. As they rushed to the chapel though, Alex spoke in a breathy voice.

"D-Doctor."

"Alex, don't talk. You need to save your energy right now."

She ignored him. "Tell R-Rory I'm sorry."

The Doctor frowned down at her, confused and a feeling of worry bubbling up in him. "Why? What for?"

"J-Jennifer."

He went to question that further, but she let out a whimper and he panicked slightly.

"Alex? Alex, what's wrong? Where does it hurt?"

"C-Chest… Burns."

"Hang in there, Alex. Deep breaths, stay calm. You need to slow your heart down."

"What about the flares?" Jimmy asked as they reached the door to the chapel.

"We'll worry about the flares when we're locked inside. Eh, eh, Rory, Pond." He said, the others having rushed past him and those two remaining just as a scream was heard.

"Rory, come on." Amy insisted.

"Jen's out there. She's out there and she's on her own."

The Doctor glanced down at Alex, before turning back to Rory. "Rory, Alex told me to tell you she's sorry."

Rory frowned. "What?"

"She said she's sorry. For Jennifer."

His eyes widened and he glanced at Alex, but she had her face tucked into the Doctor's clothes. Frowning, he stood up a little straighter.

"I don't care. She's out there and she's on her own."

"Well, if she's got any sense, she's hiding." He said, expected Alex to smack him, but she didn't so much as whisper a scolding at him being rude, which made his concern levels increase exponentially. "_Rory_."

"I know you understand that."

"Get in here." Amy said, but he ran down the hall. "Get in here!"

The Gangers marched over then, wearing the acid suits and Rory ducked down a corridor as the Doctor called out to Amy and managed to tug her back, into the chapel. She started to struggle, but he snapped at her.

"Amy!" He lowered his voice as she stopped. "They're not after him, they're after us. And right now, I need you to focus because I cannot fight with you and take care of Alex at the same time."

"Why?" A voice breathed out. "Why?"

The Doctor turned and faced the dark where it was coming from, suspicious. "Show yourself. Show yourself!"

Amy continued to try and get him to see some sense, but he was ignoring her and set Alex down in a chair nearby as the others barricaded the door.

"This is insane." Jimmy said. "We're fighting ourselves."

"Yes. Yes, it's insane, and it's about to get even more insanerer." He looked puzzled then. "Is that a word?" He quickly turned back to the figure hiding in the dark though, not allowing himself to be distracted for too long.

Not with Alex the way she was.

"Show yourself, right now!"

Amy spoke up though. "Doctor, we are trapped in here and Rory's out there with them. Hello? We can't get to the Tardis and we can't even leave the island."

The voice from before spoke, but this time with a familiar voice.

"Correct in every respect, Pond. It's frightening, unexpected, frankly a total utter splattering mess on the carpet, but I am certain—one hundred percent certain—that we can work this out." The figure stepped into the light, adjusting his bow-tie and revealing the Ganger Doctor. "Trust me. I'm the Doctor."

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"...So, what's the plan?"_

_"Save Alex, then save them all. Humans and Gangers."  
_  
_ "Tall order. Sounds wonderful."_

_"Is that what you were thinking?"_

_"Yes! It's just so inspiring to hear me say it."_

_"I know." The Ganger laughed._

_They both grinned at each other, before their eyes went straight to Alex as she sucked in a gasp and a wisp of gold dust floated up out of her mouth. She glanced at them both in worry as the Doctor took her pulse._

_"Brilliant." _


	67. The Almost People

**Here's the next chapter. Sorry it's a bit late. I had work and my ride home though i finished an hour later than i did. :/ but here you all go!... though i wonder where you all went. it got awfully quiet last chapter. but no pressure! i like reviews as much as the next person, but if you don't want to leave one, that's fine. *draws circles in dirt on the floor in a corner* enjoy.**

* * *

The Ganger Doctor let out a painful scream and the Doctor hesitantly approached.

"What's happening?"

The Ganger Doctor started rambling. "I wonder if we'll get back. Yes, one day." He screamed again. "I've reversed the polarity of the neutron flow."

"The Flesh is struggling to cope with our past regenerations." The Doctor realized, trying to help the Ganger. "Hold on."

"Would you like a jelly baby?" The Ganger said in a different voice, before screaming. "Why?! Why?! Why?!"

"Why, why, what?"

The Ganger stood up a bit straighter. "

Hello, I' m the Doctor." He said, before struggling again. "No, let it go! We've moved on!"

The Doctor grabbed him, as the others watched from further away; Jimmy and Buzzer holding Amy back. "Hold on, hold on. You can stabilize."

"I've reversed the jelly baby of the neuron flow." The Ganger said, even his words getting scrambled. "Would you like a Doctor. Doctor. I'm… I'm the… I can't." He breathed out, slumping over, but the Doctor shook him.

"No. Listen. Hold on. Hold on."

"No!" The Ganger shouted, before screaming again and shoving the Doctor away; his face morphing into a more Flesh-like one before finally going quiet.

He stumbled about, holding his head as the others returned to blockading the door up until everything went quiet.

"I think I liked it better when they were being noisy." Buzzer said, Amy quickly agreeing, before turning to the Doctor and his—now stabilized—Ganger.

"Doctor, we need you. Get over here."

"Hello." The Ganger said, making Amy grow rather annoyed.

"Doctor!"

"Cybermats." The Doctor said, making the Ganger sigh as Amy gave up and went over to the workers; the Gangers of which had started using acid on the door.

"Do we really have time for this?"

"No, not with Alex the way she is, so talk while I work." The Doctor said, the two of them heading over to Alex. "I'd like more proof that you're me. Cybermats."

"Created by the Cybermen. They kill by feeding off brainwaves." He stopped then, glancing over at the others. "Rory and Amy, they may not trust both of us."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" The Doctor asked.

"Inevitably."

"I'm glad we're on the same—"

"—wavelength." The Ganger finished with a smile. "You see, great minds."

"Exactly. So, what's the plan?"

"Save Alex, then save them all. Humans and Gangers."

"Tall order. Sounds wonderful."

"Is that what you were thinking?"

"Yes! It's just so inspiring to hear me say it."

"I know." The Ganger laughed.

They both grinned at each other, before their eyes went straight to Alex as she sucked in a gasp and a wisp of gold dust floated up out of her mouth. She glanced at them both in worry as the Doctor took her pulse.

"Brilliant." The Ganger smiled, making the Doctor grin back.

"Isn't she just?"

"I mean, the impossibility of it all is just awe inspiring."

"You're telling me. And we _married_ her."

"Oh, yes. Good decision. Very good decision."

Alex frowned, smacking them both upside the head. "Will you two cut it out a-and just let me know if that was a good or bad thing? Because last I checked, gold dust is not normal."

"Oh, don't fret, Alex." The Doctor said as the Ganger nodded.

"You're perfectly alright. You're body is simply compensating."

"Compensating for..." She questioned and the Doctor explained.

"Your Time Lordy bits are helping the human bits work more efficiently."

The Ganger grinned in agreement. "You made your human heart go into panic mode and the Artron energy was able to work together with it to slow it down and siphon the excess energy and blood to your other heart."

"Which was struggling to get going after having been knocked out of commission by that blast of electricity."

"**Like we said, you're brilliant.**" They both said together, pulling her up out of the chair with grins, before narrowing their eyes at each other.

"We need rules."

"Yes, we do."

"What's off limits?"

"Hm, excessive kissing. No more than one every half an hour."

"We can switch off."

Alex frowned, smacking the two of them in the chest with the back of her hands. "Or, you can just get what you get and be happy with it. I may be exhausted and rather stressed out, but I'm not so idiotic to not know that you two are one and the same, if a bit different. The Doctor, is the Doctor, is the meta-crisis Doctor, is the Ganger Doctor, is the Doctor Doctor. So no fighting over me, or you'll _both_ get nothing. Got it?"

They both pouted, but drawled out their answers together like scolded children.

"**Yes.**"

"Good. Now go bug Amy. You've both been ignoring her and I'm willing to bet she'll come bug me next and I have a headache."

"So, what now, Doctor?" The Ganger asked.

"Well, time to get cracking, Doctor."

Alex groaned as they both hurried off and stood before Amy and the others, speaking simultaneously.

"**Hello. Sorry, but we had to establish a few ground rules."**

"Formulate a protocol." The Doctor said, making the Ganger smirk.

"Protocol? Very posh."

"A protocol between us. Otherwise…"

"…it gets horribly embarrassing…"

"…positively confusing…"

"…potentially awkward for Alex…"

"…And dangerous for us."

"_Due_ to Alex."

"She likes to hit."

Alex sent them a glare that they both chuckled nervously at.

"I'm glad you've solved the problem of confusing." Amy muttered.

"That's sarcasm." The Ganger noted.

"She's very good at sarcasm."

They both turned to her suddenly. "**Breathe.**"

"What?" She questioned, taking a slight step back before the Doctor went on as if they hadn't just done that.

"We have to get you off this island. And the Gangers too."

"And Cleaves, if you say anything idiotic about them trying to kill us, I swear I will rip your head right off your neck." Alex snapped, pinching the bridge of her nose from the chair she'd taken up residence in.

"Sorry about her." The Doctor muttered.

"Yeah, she's not in the best of moods." The Ganger went on.

"**Nearly dying does that to you."**

Cleaves scowled, but crossed her arms over her chest, remaining silent.

"Doctor, we're trapped in here." Amy said, getting things back on track.

"Right. See, I don't think so. The Flesh Bowl is fed by cabling from above."

"But where are the earthing conduits?"

"All this piping must go down into a tunnel or shaft or something, yes? With us?"

He looked around and moved some boards nearby, discovering a decent sized utility tunnel.

"Yowza. An escape route."

"Yowza?" Amy questioned under her breath and Alex sighed, moving past her.

"Ignore him. He's stressing a bit."

Sure enough, the two Doctors looked at one another.

"You know, I'm starting to get a sense of just how impressive it is to hang out with me."

"Do we tend to say yowza?"

"That's enough. Let it go, okay? We're under stress."

The group climbed into the tunnel just as the Gangers broke through the door. The Doctor sonicked it shut as Cleave growled in annoyance and locked eyes with Alex. The Doctor hurried along, but she stayed for a second.

"Please remember what I said before."

Cleave though, was more shocked that she was alive and couldn't say anything as she headed off after the others.

* * *

Everyone was talking rather loudly and I was quickly starting into get annoyed and finally snapped.

"Guys! Let's just hurry to the evac tower. You can contact the mainland there, get a computer map to locate Rory, and escape the asphyziant miasma."

They turned to me with confused looks.

"Asphyziant miasma?"

I groaned, stomping forward and covering my mouth with my scarf as I gestured to the acid pool that had formed not far ahead of us. "Yes. Choking gas. Can't exactly breathe easy _now_, can you?"

The group choked and hacked and I rolled my eyes as I pushed them all forward.

"Lead the way, crazy Cleaves."

She scowled, wanting to complain, but the gas made it difficult and I smirked under my scarf. We reached the evac tower and Amy clutched her stomach complaining about a muscle being pulled, though the Doctors and I knew better. A bell chimed outside and Jimmy wished Adam a happy birthday as I smiled at him.

"You know, Jim is thinking the same thing."

He turned to me in surprise.

"He's thinking about Adam. How he gets all excited and does a little dance."

Jimmy looked at me suspiciously. "How do you know that?"

"She's a bit psychic." The Doctor said, his Ganger—Doc—speaking up as well.

"You get used to it."

I suddenly sat up though, drawing their attention to me.

"Something wrong, Alex?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but my stomach growled and answered for me, turning my cheeks a little pink as Amy snickered.

"S-Shut up! I nearly died. I'm allowed to be hungry!"

"Alex, catch." I turned to the Doctor, catching whatever he threw at me and I looked at the green fruit excitedly.

"Ooh! It's that fruit that I like!" I stopped though, frowning a bit. "Wait, but doesn't it taste like fizzy mangoes? I don't like mangoes."

The Doctor shook his head. "Not this one. That one was blue. This one's green. Whole different flavor and one of your favorites. Trust me."

I shrugged and took a bite of the fruit as the Doctors ducked behind the console to try and get the power working; the other people in the room watching me with various expressions of disgust as my eyes widened at the alien fruit in my hands.

"Oh my God! Where did you get this?! I-It's like… It's like a cherry cream soda or something!" I took another bite and groaned. "Oh, I could die happy eating one of these."

The Doctors chuckled as Cleaves rolled her eyes and spoke to them.

"Can you really get the power back?"

"Oh, there's some power floating around." Doc said, ducking down as the Doctor popped up.

"Sticking to the wires, like bits of lint."

Amy frowned. "Can you stop finishing each others'—"

"—sentences?" The Doctor finished. "No probs."

"Yes." Doc said, standing up again.

The two ducked back behind the console as Amy furrowed her brows, lost.

"No, but, I… Hang on. You said that the Tardis was stuck in acid, so won't she be damaged?"

Doc popped up on the right this time. "Nah, she's a tough old thing. Tough, old, sexy."

The Doctor popped up on the other side as Doc ducked down again "Tough, _dependable_, sexy."

"Come on. Okay, how can… how can you both be real?"

"Well, because we are. I'm the Doctor." Doc said, on the left again as the Doctor popped up on the right.

"Yeah, and so am I. We both contain the knowledge of over nine hundred years of memory and experience."

"We both wear the same bow-tie, which is cool."

"Because bow ties are..."

"...and always will be."

"But how did the Flesh read you? Because you weren't linked up to it." Amy asked, still lost, so I wandered over.

"Easy. He scanned it, it scanned him, and so you get Doc over there." I replied, gesturing to the man on the left, who looked a little surprised, up until I made grabby hands at him and the Doctor. "Do either of you have another one?"

They both rolled their eyes, the Doctor tossing me a second one.

"No more, after that. You'll ruin your appetite."

"Ooh, we going out for dinner afterward?" I asked, tilting my head curiously as he winked and didn't reply; leaving me to pout and chew on my fruit.

"No getting away from it." Amy said. "One of you was here first."

"Well, okay. After the Flesh scanned me, I had an accident with a puddle of acid. Now, new shoes. A situation which did not confront me learned self here." Doc said, ducking down as the Doctor spoke; them having switch sides yet again.

"That satisfy you, Pond?"

"Don't call me Pond, please." She said and Doc popped up on the other side with a look. "What?"

"Interesting. You definitely feel more affection for him than me." The Doctor said, myself looking between the three in worry.

"No, no. I… Look, you're fine and everything, but he's the Doctor. No offense. Being almost the Doctor is pretty damn impressive."

"Being almost the Doctor's like being no Doctor at all."

"Don't overreact."

"You might as well call me Smith."

"Smith?"

"John Smith."

Doc popped up as the console turned on. "Yes! Communication a go-go."

"Find Rory! Show me the scanning tracking screen." Amy demanded as everyone headed around to the console to search. "Come on, Rory. Let's be having ya."

"There's no sign of him anywhere." Cleaves said, looking as the scanner checked everywhere.

"Come on. Come on, baby. Show yourself." Amy begged and I turned to Doc, leaning against the back of the console beside him; licking my lips clean of the fruit I'd gotten on me.

_You alright, Doc?_ I asked him, telepathically; not wanting the others to overhear my conversation.

"_How do you know it's me?_" He asked, before smiling. "_Ah, is it the shoes? The foreknowledge?_"

I raised a brow at him. _Oh right. Because I could see your shoes from the opposite side of the console? The way you two were flipping around and trading places made me dizzy._ I scoffed, munching on the last quarter of my fruit. _And I don't always need to depend on my foreknowledge, you know. I don't need it to tell me who you really are._

He frowned slightly. "_And who's that?_"

I smirked at him, chin resting on my arms as I glanced up. _The Doctor. Another Doctor, but the same. Why do you think I call you Doc? If I really wanted to separate you, I'd call you John like the Doctor said. But I don't. So Doc it is._ I hummed, tossing the rind of the fruit into the bin in the corner. _Though I will try not to call you anything but the Doctor out loud so you and he can do whatever it is you're trying to do with Am—_ I was cut off by him suddenly putting his lips on mine, him pulling away as I blinked at him.

"Thank you." He said, before I remembered something and pulled an object out of my pocket; reaching over the console and shoving it into Cleaves' mouth to keep her from asking the mainland to wipe out the Gangers.

She glared at me from over the apple, and I cleared my throat before pressing the button on the console to speak.

"Right, sorry about that." I said in a rather good impression of Cleaves' voice, if I do say so myself. "We're requesting immediate evacuation. The acid pipes have burst and we can't get to the acid suits. The storm's also effected the power supply. We just barely got it running."

"What are you—" I cut Cleaves off with a banana this time; ignoring her growl of displeasure.

"_Copy that, Saint John's. Shuttle's dispatched. Hang on._"

"You'll need to airlift us out of the courtyard."

"_Got it. We'll swing in and get you out._"

I ended the call just as Cleaves shouted at me.

"What do you think you were doing?! You have no right—"

"I have _every_ right!" I shouted in return, temper flaring. "You're not stupid, Cleaves. You knew the Gangers were listening in and what you were about to say would have started an all out war with them! If you don't like them, then fine! No one said you needed to! But when we're trying to get everyone out alive, then I would think you of all people would have the common sense to not pick fights with every living thing in the building! If you hate them all that much, then we will gladly drop you off wherever the hell you want to go and we'll take them away from you, but you don't have the right to choose who lives and who dies off of some biased preconception, understand?!" I lowered my voice, trying to rein in my temper. "Their lives may not matter to you, but they matter to me, and I'm not about to let you hurt them while I'm around. So do me a favor… try not to kill me again."

I started to storm out of the room, but paused in the doorway, pointing at the console. "Don't let her near that again."

I paced in the small corridor outside of the evac tower, angrily muttering curses under my breath for acting the way I did, but my body was acting up again. My chest still ached from what had happened earlier and I was struggling to keep my hands from shaking at the thought. _Electricity really messes me up._ Not only that, but Cleaves was really getting on my nerves with her attitude and it didn't help that the Flesh was racking my mind at the moment either. As it was, the barriers weren't as easy to put up in my head since I hadn't had a chance to practice in this new body a whole lot and after a while of fighting it, I moved around the corner somewhere and just curled up on the floor with my head between my knees. I heard the Doctor come out and start speaking with Amy, but their words only made my head ache more, until something covered my mouth and I looked at the figure in front of me in shock as they shushed me.

"Sh. I've got a plan.

* * *

"I'm sorry." Amy said. "What I said about you being almost the Doctor. It's just really hard, because I've been through so much with him. I've even seen… I've even seen the moment of his..." She couldn't even finish the sentence, though she didn't know that she was telling the _actual_ Doctor that she'd seen his death. "Can you die? If you really are the same, then you can die. You can be killed and I might have seen that happen."

"Why?" He asked, though not necessarily to her.

"Why? Because you invited us to see it. Your death."

_Spoilers again, Amy._ I thought, gritting my teeth as the Doctor's questioned echoed in my head with the emotions of the Flesh. She let out a yelp though as the Doctor grabbed her and pushed her up against the wall, his temper getting away from him.

"_Why_?"

"You're hurting me." Amy said, voice cracking with fear and I struggled to get my mind under control so I could stop the Doctor.

"It's all the eyes say. Why?!"

I'd managed to get up and went over, grabbing a hold of the Doctor's coat and yanking him off Amy, but putting a hand out to keep her where she was as I snarled at him; feeling everything he was feeling only five times worse.

"Pay attention to what you're _doing_, Doctor." I snapped, cringing as the question that rang through my head like a gong.

He stepped closer to me though. "I can feel them as they work each day, knowing the time was coming for them to be thrown away again. Not again, please… And then they are destroyed and they feel death, and all they can _say_ is, why?" He grabbed me by the coat now. "Why?!"

"Because they don't understand!" I shouted back at him, making him stop and realize who he was holding and shouting at. "Those humans in there didn't understand what they were doing and what was the Flesh supposed to do?! They had no way of communicating with them! No way of telling them to please, stop! You're hurting us! We can feel everything you do! And it hurts! I-It hurts so much!"

Tears slipped down my face as I choked back a sob and Amy rushed back into the evac tower; the Doctor brushing a hand over my face sorrowfully.

"Oh, Alex. I'm so sorry, Alexander. I didn't think… It didn't cross my mind that you would feel it this badly."

"D-Doctor, please make it stop." I cried, the emotions and thoughts in my head so scrambled and out of control that I didn't know what else to do. I was becoming a jumbled mess of Flesh and of myself and my barriers were quickly falling apart.

"Sh, it's alright. It's okay." He breathed out, placing his fingers on my temples and closing his eyes.

I immediately felt barrier upon barrier go up in my head, blocking out the Flesh to a more muted level and I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"Thank you..."

"Of course. My clever Alexander. I can't hide anything from you, can I?" He said, talking about him and Doc.

"It's not going to be easy, you know."

His smile faded as we headed back towards the evac tower. "Yes. I know."

_But I'll stick with you, Theta. _Both_ of you._ _Together, remember?_

He nodded, nuzzling his nose into the side of my head for a second before we headed in just in time to hear Amy's shout.

"Keep him away from me."

The Doctor though, gestured to Doc. "Did you sense it?"

"Briefly. Not as strong as you and Alex though."

The Doctor turned to Amy, apologizing. "Amy, I'm sorry."

"No. You keep away. We can't trust you." She snapped at him, but I took a step forward.

"Well, I trust him."

Amy shuffled a bit, not saying anything to that, but looking a bit uncomfortable and the Doctor spoke to everyone.

"It would appear Alex and I can connect to the Flesh."

"You _are_ Flesh." Amy said, but I glared at her and she backed off somewhat.

"I'm beginning to understand what it's been through, what it needs."

Amy opened her mouth again, but I snapped at her before she could.

"Amy, shut up."

"It's much more powerful than we thought." The Doctor went on, ignoring us both. "The Flesh can grow, correct?"

Cleaves eyed him. "Its cells can divide."

"Well, now it wants to do that at will. It wants revenge. It's in pain, angry. It wants revenge."

"I was right." Amy said, ignoring my warning. "You're not the Doctor. You can't even be. You're just a copy."

The Doctor and Doc eyed her as I frowned, disappointed in Amy for the way she was acting, but also trying to understand that she was just scared. Just like the Gangers and Cleaves, she was lashing out at what she didn't understand. But that didn't mean her words didn't hurt anyone. Both the Doctor _and_ Doc were radiating a deep hurt and sorrow at her words and I tried to send them as much comfort as I could while keeping my anger in check._ It won't do any good to start a fight now. Not after the last one._ I watched as the Doctor was told to sit on a barrel and I reached over and grabbed a chair, sitting beside him and making the others look at me in confusion.

"Alex? What are you doing?"

I gave Amy a look. "What does it look like? If the Doctor's being forced to sit over here because he lost his temper due to the influence of the Flesh in his head, then I should be in the same boat, no? If you can't trust him all of a sudden, then you can't trust me either, Pond."

She winced at me using her last name and for good reason. I _never_ called her 'Pond'. It was always Amy. But if she's this willing to throw away her trust in the Doctor—Ganger or not—then she wasn't Amy to me anymore. And she understood that now. I would stand up and protect the Doctor, always, no matter what.

* * *

Alex spoke telepathically with the Doctor and Doc, both of who were more than appreciative of her support when everyone else in the room seemed against them. Both wondered what they would do if she hadn't been there, but immediately pushed the thought aside. Amy was still adamant about Doc being 'her Doctor' and was clueless to the fact that she was hurting both Doctors by doing so. She hut the Doctor by telling him she didn't trust him and acting cruelly towards him, and she hurt Doc, because every hurtful word she told the Doctor was meant to be for him. Alex kept them from dwelling on it too much, but they weren't immune to the hurtful comments and were more than grateful when they managed to get a screen up.

"That's Rory and Jennifer."

"They're heading for the thermostatic room."

"Let's go get them."

Doc tossed the sonic to the Doctor and Amy frowned.

"Hang on."

"We can't let him go. Are you crazy?" Cleaves argued and Alex scoffed.

"No, that's still you, sweetheart."

Cleaves glared at her as Doc turned to the Doctor.

"Am I _crazy_, Doctor?"

"Well, you did want to plumb your brain into the core of an entire planet just to halt its orbit and win a bet." The Doctor replied, pocketing the device as Doc chuckled and then quickly put on a no-nonsense face.

Alex snorted. "Mad man in a box is right."

"He can't go and rescue them." Amy argued. "I'm going."

"Do you know, I want him to go." Doc stood up, standing before her seriously. "And I'm rather adamant." He said and Amy knew she wouldn't be able to push the issue, but Buzzer spoke up.

"Well then, he'll need company. It's fine. I'll handle it."

The Doctor snapped his fingers. "Thank you, Buzzer." He then spoke to Amy. "It'll be alright. I'll find him."

"Doctor?"

He stopped and glanced back at Alex who gave him a serious look.

"Stay together. You'll need to find the Gangers and no matter what you find, the two of you need to stay together or I'm going to have to apologize twice and I _really_ don't want to. I'm already sorry about what you're going to find, but there was nothing I could do."

"What's she talking about?" Cleaves asked, but the Doctor nodded, getting the hint and heading out as the group turned back to the stare down between Doc and Amy.

"Can't explain it to you now, but you need to trust him. Can you do that for me, Amy?" Doc asked her and she frowned.

"And what if you're wrong?"

"I'm never wrong." Doc smiled, earning a mental snort from Alex before Cleaves suddenly spoke up.

"These temperature gauges are rising. Jennifer and Rory must have shut off the underground cooling vents."

"Why do that? They'll kill us." Dickens said.

"I kind of think that's the point." I said, earning a dirty look from Amy as Doc spoke up.

"And now it's heating up the whole island. How long till it blows?"

There was a rumble, which told him not long, and Dicken panicked a bit.

"Gangers or not Gangers, we need to get the hell out of here."

Cleaves tried to get into contact with the evac, but her head suddenly hurt and she had a quick discussion with Doc about the clot in her head, before there was another rumble.

"Something just cracked." Amy said, looking worried and Doc and I shared a look before he nodded.

"Yeah, we can't stay here. Let's go."

"He's right. Let's shift." Jimmy said and Cleaves tried one last time to try and get a hold of the evac, but the console sparked after another rumble and it went dead; myself having to pull the woman away from it and out of the room. We passed a wall with multiple Ganger eyes in it, watching us, but soon came upon the thermostatic room where Doc attempted to fix the machine, to no use.

"It's a chemical chain reaction now. I can't stop it. This place it going to blow sky high."

"Exactly how long have we got?"

"An hour? Five seconds? Uh, somewhere in between." He rambled, before an alarm blared. "Out!"

The group of us hurried from the room as the console sparked and we bumped into Rory.

"Thank God. All right?" He asked, Amy grabbing him in a hug.

"Oh, Rory. Oh, Rory."

"There's a way out. Jennifer found it. A secret tunnel under the crypt." He explained, Doc eyeing me as I mentally spoke with him.

_Do it. We have to. It's a trap, but it turns out alright. And if we don't do it, it's possible Jen will attack us._ He frowned, thinking.

"_Why? Why her? Why is she attacking? The others don't appear to be._"

I rolled my eyes. _Remember what I said before. She's changing the way she reacted to a memory. While Jennifer grew fearful, Jen grew stronger. But that underlying fear is still there. Powerful and scared is not a good combination. And if I could, I'd do something to help her, but we won't be able to. I'm sorry. _He took my hand as the group of us headed to the so-called secret passageway.

"_It's alright. You've done what you could and so far, it's better than anything I could have come up with. I'm not upset with you and I doubt he will be either._"

We entered the acid room and Jimmy frowned.

"We _can't_ leave without Buzzer!"

"I'll go back for him." Cleaves offered, but I stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"If the Doctor did what I said—which he would have—then there's no need to worry. They're fine and should be on their way back."

She went to say something, but the door was suddenly shut and locked; Doc shouting and rushing towards it.

"Rory! Rory Pond, Roranicus Pondicus!"

"Rory, what the _hell_ are you playing at?" Amy shouted, rushing over.

"They've been throwing away old Flesh and leaving it to rot. Alive. I think the world should see that."

"Rory, there is no time. The factory's about to explode!" Doc said, and I sighed.

"That's really not the way to go about things."

"Are you sure about this?" Rory asked Jen. "Because I'm not. Let them out."

"The little girl got strong." Jen told him, confusing him.

"What?"

Doc turned to me, understanding dawning on his features at Jen's words.

"The little girl lost on the moors in her red willies, looking for a way home? Well, she got strong, Rory. I told you, remember?"

"But that wasn't… It was the other Jennifer that told me about being a little girl."

"Oh? What other Jennifer?"

"Well, the… the, uh… Wait." It finally clicked for him. "You tricked me? Let me go. I'm opening the door. Let me—I'm sorry!" He shouted as she pulled him away; leaving Cleave standing on the opposite side of the door.

"We have to be free."

"I'm sorry too, Miranda. Of all the humans in the world, you had to pick the one with the clot. But hey, them's the breaks. Welcome to the human race." Cleaves snapped at her, but I went to the window and looked out at Cleave.

"Did you remember what I said? Cleave, please tell me you're all just going along with this until you come up with a plan."

Cleave looked at me for a minute and gave me the briefest of nods, making hope fill my hearts as she hurried off. Of course, Doc's words sort of killed it for me.

"This is going to overheat and fill the room with acid, just as a point of interest."

"And we can't stop it?" Cleaves asked.

"Just as a point of interest?… No."

I sighed, sitting down on the floor and letting my legs dangle under the railing as I rested my head on my arms, crossed over the bar.

"Lower the lid and that will help a little bit. And then we just have to wait for Cleave." I smiled, and he nodded, gesturing for Dicken to do that as Cleaves turned to me.

"You can't seriously expect us to just sit here and hope that _thing_ comes and helps us, are you?"

I gave her a look. "Yeah, I kind of do… I know." I got up and faced her, leaning on the railing. "How about we make a bet? If Cleave comes and saves our butts, then I want you to actually _attempt_ to play nice with the Gangers. You don't have to like them, but just stop being a jerk to them about everything. You know, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all'."

She smirked. "And if they don't?"

I shrugged. "Then you're free to treat them however you wish without my complaint and I'll let you do anything to me. Hit me, shoot me, electrocute me, imprison me, gag me, whatever."

"Alex!" Doc shouted, eyes shining with worry, but I ignored him as Cleaves held out her hand.

"Deal."

I shook on the bet and she wandered off, before Doc grabbed my harshly by the arm.

"What are you _thinking_?!" He hissed out.

I pulled my arm from his grip, frowning at him. "I'm thinking that the Gangers are going to help us."

"You can't know that!" He argued. "Alex, time is constantly changing! Not all of your foreknowledge is true because even the smallest things can change everything! Just you being here has probably changed everything!"

I turned, fully facing him and squared my shoulders as I spoke seriously.

"Do you trust me?"

"What are you—"

I cut him off, repeating myself. "Do you _trust_ me?"

He opened his mouth to argue further, but stopped, slowly dropping the look as he eyed me and sighed.

"Of course, I trust you."

"Then trust me with this."

"I just don't want you to get hurt." He muttered and it was my turn to sigh before I leaned in and kissed him; pulling away and pressing my forehead to his.

"I know, but let me do this. And if I'm right, then we'll have one less problem to deal with, okay?"

"And if you're wrong?" He asked and I smirked, stealing his line from earlier when Amy had asked him the same thing about trusting the Doctor.

"I'm always right."

He smiled back, kissing me briefly as well, before we both pulled apart and went downstairs to wait for Cleave. It didn't take long before the vat of acid started bubbling and fighting back against the lid and Jimmy went to go and put extra clamps on it, but I grabbed him and pulled him away.

"What are you doing?!" He demanded, trying to get out of my grip, but I wasn't about to let him die when Jim was on the way and his son was waiting for him.

"Saving your life! Now shut up and do as I say, because Adam is _not_ going to loose his father on his birthday!"

Jimmy stopped struggling, eyes wide just as the lid to the acid vat jumped up and spat out a large spot of acid, directly where Jimmy would have put the clamp. He stared at it in shock, looking back at me as I let him go and pulled a hand through my hair. I turned away from him as Jim rushed into the room and faced him.

"I'm sorry. I'm the fake. Adam deserves his real dad."

Jimmy looked at him and his sudden declaration in shock, before he smiled and shook his head.

"Nah. Now that's not entirely true. He family to the both of us now, eh? He deserves us both, I think."

Jim smiled back and the two hugged, and I faced Cleaves, brow raised. She scoffed, but appeared to be willing to keep up the deal we had as the group of us headed upstairs to where the rest of the Gangers were. The Gangers, and Adam.

"Daddy, it's me!" Adam said, before looking confused as Jim and Jimmy approached the boy. "Why are there two of my daddy?"

Jim and Jimmy exchanged looks before smiling, Jimmy draping an arm over Jim's shoulders.

"Adam, this is your uncle Jim. He's my twin brother and he'll be staying with us for a while. Is that alright?"

Adam grinned, doing a little happy dance. "I get to have two daddies!"

They all chuckled, but I turned away from the moment to search the room and do a head count. _Jim, Jimmy, Cleave, Cleaves, Doc, Doctor, Amy, Rory, Adam, Dicken, Dickey, Buzz, and… _I let out a soft sigh of relief seeing Buzz and Buzzer together smiling about something off to the side and felt a huge weight roll off my shoulders. That is, up until the Doctor grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards the door.

"Now we need to move."

We ran down a corridor only to skid to a stop upon seeing Jen having literally become a monster; growling and stretching her body out as she prepared to chase us.

"Run… Run." The Doctor said simply, before shouting it. "Run!"

I mentally asked him to let me go and he hesitated, but did so, allowing me to move to the back where Dicken was just as the group pulled to a stop once more.

"Ooh, roof's going to give." The Doctor said just as I hurried back down the passageway and struggled with the lockable door.

Doc saw me doing this and hurried after me; helping me just as Jen rounded the corner.

"What are you doing?!" I shouted at him.

"Helping!"

"You idiot! I've saving Dicken's life! If you stay here, then you could die!"

Jen knocked over a barrel as she approached, growling and snarling, before the door finally gave way and we pulled it shut; leaning against it as he quickly locked it with a grin at me.

"_Or, _I could not."

I groaned and smacked him, the two of us rushing back to the other door as everyone realized where we'd gone.

"Y-You… You two locked the other door, didn't you?" Dicken asked and I nodded as Doc did the same but with more enthusiasm.

"Oh, yes."

The Doctor though, was still staring up at the roof.

"Here she comes."

The Tardis suddenly fell through and he beamed.

"_Oh_, she does like to make an entrance." Doc said, the Doctor pulling the door open with a laugh, before waving everyone over.

"Everyone move!"

"Go! Go, go, go!" Doc shouted, pushing the other door closed and leaning against it.

I did the same, pushing Cleave towards Cleaves as they both looked at me in shock.

"Don't just stand there! Go!"

They looked reluctant, but both hurried along into the Tardis with the others. Amy though, pawed at Doc.

"Hey, hey. Now's our chance."

"I have to stay."

"Oh, don't be crazy." She said, before changing her mind. "Okay, but what happens to you?"

"Well, this place is just about to explode. But I can stop her."

"Both of you can survive this, okay?" Amy pressed. "There has to be a way."

The Doctor turned to Doc though. "Or perhaps you think I should stay instead, Mister Smith."

"No, of course not." Amy argued, looking between the two. "But look. This man… I've flown with him, you know? And you are amazing and yeah, I misjudged you, but you're not him. I'm sorry."

"Amy." Doc said, giving up the ruse. "We swapped shoes."

"I'm the Doctor." The Doctor said as Doc followed; still pressed against the door beside me.

"And I'm the Flesh."

"You can't be." She breathed out. "You're the real him."

"Amy." I said, looking at her seriously. "That's Doc, not the Doctor. And he hasn't been the Doctor for a long while."

"What?"

"I'm the original Doctor, Amy. We had to know if we were truly the same. It was important, vital we learn about the Flesh, and we could only do that through your eyes. Alex was the only one who knew."

Doc nodded, giving me a look. "And we still haven't figured out how."

"Cause I love you, you dimwits. I'm amazing, so get used to it."

Amy took a second, before rushing over and hugging Doc.

"I never thought it possible."

"What?" He asked.

"You're twice the man I thought you were."

Doc whispered something to her, making her eyes go wide, before there was another jolt and Rory called out.

"Amy, come on!"

"Well, my death arrives, I suppose." Doc said, the Doctor frowning.

"But this one, we're not invited to."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing." The Doctor said, changing subjects as he tossed Doc the sonic "Your molecular memory can survive this, you know. It may not be the end."

"Yeah, well. If I turn up to nick all your biscuits, then you'll know you were right, won't you?" Doc teased, making the Doctor chuckle, before holding out a hand to me.

"Come on Alex."

I shook my head, smiling a bit. "No, thanks. I'm good."

He frowned as Doc turned to me.

"Now, hold on a minute. I'm not having you stay here to try and save me. Go. You've got a Doctor to be all lovey-dovey with."

"Yeah. And he's right here." I smiled, making the Doctor get upset.

"Alex? What are you talking about?"

I gave him a look. "_Oh_, hurts doesn't it? Remember that pain after what happens in New York."

"What happens in New York?" He questioned, even more lost than before.

"Spoilers."

There was another bang against the door and both Doctors grew worried.

"Alex! Just go!"

"Please!"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, come _on._ I can figure it out, but you two can't? Now what's that got to say about us, hm?"

"What are you talking about?!" The Doctor shouted, growing more panicked and I sighed.

"Oi! Come out, now! If I keep doing this we're _all_ going to die."

Both Doctor's turned to see a figure stepping out from behind one of the pillars in the room; shocking both of them into silence as _another _Alex walked out with a sigh; pulling a hand thorough her hair.

"_You're_ the one who came up with this plan. It's not _my_ fault you didn't realize what dealing with _two_ Doctors entitled." She said and the Doctors both made faces.

"_**What**_**?!"**

"When did you..."

"I don't..."

"_**How**_**?!"**

Both Alexs sighed. "Honestly, it's not that hard to figure out."

"For geniuses, you're both pretty stupid."

"**It's staring you right in the face."**

* * *

"_Sh. I've got a plan."_

_I stared in shock at the figure hushing me, feeling rather panicked that I was staring at a doppelganger of myself. I couldn't figure out how I could have possibly ended up with a Ganger, but my mind quickly put together the pieces once I'd calmed down a bit. _When I tried to connect to the Flesh. It must have…_ My Ganger smiled, speaking quietly._

"_There you go. Took you a moment, didn't it? And for all purpose's sake, call me Lex." She said, pulling her hand from my mouth as I furrowed my brows in confusion._

"_A plan?"_

"_Ah, yes. That. Believe it or not, but I've got some pretty extensive knowledge up here in my head about this episode. You're lucky the Flesh isn't very clever and didn't think to search through the memories before placing them into a Ganger, or else you might have had some _very serious_ problems."_

_I winced, realizing how things could have gone horribly wrong because of what I tried to do. "Right…"_

"_Now, don't go getting all depressed on me. Think of it this way, I can help."_

"_Help? How? Two of everyone is bed enough, but two Doctors _and_ two of me?"_

"_Yeah, have to admit, I was a bit skeptical at first too."_

"_**And if Jack were to hear about this..."**_

_We both stopped, exchanging looks before chuckling._

"_My God, look at us!"_

"_It's brilliant! We're like twins!"_

"_But with the same thoughts..."_

"_...and half the idiocy of the Doctor and his Ganger."_

"_Oh, most definitely."_

"_**We're the **_**sane**_** ones."**_

_I adjusted my position a bit and nodded at Lex. "So? What's the plan?"_

"_Well, I figure we'd split up. Cover more ground, save the people you wouldn't be able to without a second us."_

"_Alright. I'm listening. Who we talking about?"_

"_Buzzer."_

_I snapped my fingers. "Right. There's no way I can predict how he'll act. He might still be on the fence about the Gangers."_

_Lex nodded. "Plus, one of us can go and double check that the Gangers choose the right side. You know how things get a bit dicey when Buzzer and the Doctor split up."_

"_Of course. Things can never be easy, can they." I sighed, before a thought came to me. "Wait, but who's going where?"_

_Lex grinned mischievously, making me smile as well. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"_

"_Depends, are you thinking about nachos?"_

_Lex gasped. "My God, yes! How'd you know? Damn these cravings."_

_We both laughed quietly, before getting serious once more._

"_No, but seriously."_

"_Yeah, yeah. Mess with the Doctor, right?"_

"_Duh. He deserves it after the crap he's put us through recently."_

_I nodded. "Most definitely. So, you go with them and I'll catch up?"_

"_Meet me in the crypt?" Lex said, before wrinkling her nose in distaste. "Ooh, that sounds ominous, but there's no better way of saying that, is there?"_

_I shrugged, but got up from my place on the floor with a smile; shaking Lex's hand. "Well then, better head off. Good luck."_

"_**Don't die."**_

_We snickered again, before I hurried off, feeling more than pleased now that I knew that I could be in two places at once. That, and that the Doctor was going to get one _hell_ of a wake up call._

* * *

The Doctor stood there with his mouth hanging open in shock and I used a finger to push it shut with a 'snap'.

"Stop gaping. You should be glad. Me in two places at once means more things go right."

"It _does _explain a lot." Doc said as Lex nodded beside him.

"I haven't the slightest how you two didn't figure it out earlier."

I readily agreed. "Couldn't of been that hard."

"**How could we have saved Buzzer **_**and**_** be locked in the acid room?"**

"Obvious, really."

"Elementary."

"I barely got out of the room with the Gangers before the Doctor regained consciousness."

Lex bobbed her head at my comment. "Oh, yeah. I can imagine."

We were cut off from our friendly banter as Jen banged on the door again, giving the Doctor a chance to get his voice in.

"And you're alright with this? With… dying?"

Lex raised a brow. "Seriously?" She turned to me. "Is he serious?"

I sighed. "Yeah, he's a bit slow today."

"Hey!" He argued, but Lex spoke up before he could complain more.

"Look, I've got her foreknowledge of this mess. To be honest, a lot of people are alive right now that shouldn't be and the two holding this door should have been Doc and Cleave. _Someone's_ got to take out the crazy Ganger behind this door and we all know there can't be two Doctors _or_ two Seers." She smiled at the Doctor who looked back sadly, hugging me to his side. "I've known this since I climbed out of that vat."

I nudged the Doctor, making him turn to me as I spoke. "Think of it this way, she _wants_ to do this."

Lex nodded. "I do."

"Why?" Doc questioned. "Why would you _want_ to do something like this? Like dying?"

She rolled her eyes before reaching up and kissing him, pulling away with a smile. "Because I'm dying with you. I can't exactly leave my Doc to die on his own, can I? I promised."

"**I will never leave you alone."** We both said, looking at our Doctors who couldn't look happier.

With nods to our Ganger selves, the Doctor pulled me to the Tardis and Lex and Doc went to face Jen, with one last call of 'geronimo' before they were no more and we were off. Gangers and humans alike. More lives saved in that day than I could have ever hoped for. And for once, I was grateful for what the universe had thrown at me that day.

* * *

**_Sneak Peak:_**

_"Huh..." I muttered, the familiar school grounds surprising me once it occurred to me that I wasn't in Kansas anymore. "Popping off is coming as more of a surprise nowadays without all the aching accompanying it."_

_ I shrugged, turning back to my book before I frowned; unable to get past the next sentence as a tingling itch crept across my skin. Something was wrong._

_ I got up and looked around, spinning in place as I checked my surroundings, but figured nothing here was what was bothering me, so I looked up at the buildings. And it wasn't until my eyes skimmed something just past one of them, that I stopped. A plane. A simple plane had caught my eye and I couldn't figure out why until I closed an eye and held up my thumb before it._

_"Oh… Oh-ho!" I grinned, excitement growing in me. "The planes have stopped."_


	68. The Magician's Apprentice

**Happy Halloween! I'm updating early thanks to grapejuice101's insistence. So... ta-da~ hope you all have more fun than i'm going to have working a nine hour shift. stupid daylight savings. curse you benjamin franklin *grumbles* but anyway! please enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think ;) i'm a little nervous about using such a new episode, but hopefully it turned out alright! and sorry ahead of time for alex's meltdowns. she's having it a bit rough.**

* * *

Things with the Doctor had gotten a bit tense after what happened with the Gangers. Not because of what I'd done or because of what happened there, but because of what happened _after_. I'd very nearly forgotten about Amy becoming a puddle of goo and had fallen into my default mode of expecting him to get upset with me for it, but he hadn't. In fact, he'd been avoiding me ever since while he and Rory made plans to go and save her from Kovarian. I was a little put out by it, but gave him his space and kept my distance, choosing instead to read a book… or twenty. Seems my ability to read quickly had gone up considerably since I regenerated, though this also meant it was easy for me to get sucked into a novel and not move or react to outside sources until it was too late. That being said, my popping off halfway through '_Pride and Prejudice_' surprised me when I was forced to hold down a page from the novel as a breeze cut through the open area I was in. I hadn't reacted immediately, in fact, I'd finished that page and moved onto the next one before it occurred to me that there is no breezes in the Tardis unless you were in the garden or some other 'supposed to be realistic' outdoor areas of the ship. And I had been in the library. A very _not_ outdoorsy zone.

"Huh..." I muttered, the familiar school grounds surprising me once it occurred to me that I wasn't in Kansas anymore. "Popping off is coming as more of a surprise nowadays without all the aching accompanying it."

I shrugged, turning back to my book before I frowned; unable to get past the next sentence as a tingling itch crept across my skin. Something was wrong.

I got up and looked around, spinning in place as I checked my surroundings, but figured nothing here was what was bothering me, so I looked up at the buildings. And it wasn't until my eyes skimmed something just past one of them, that I stopped. A plane. A simple plane had caught my eye and I couldn't figure out why until I closed an eye and held up my thumb before it.

"Oh… Oh-ho!" I grinned, excitement growing in me. "The planes have stopped."

I felt a sense of giddiness rise up in me, knowing exactly where I was and who I'd end up being with, and I snapped my novel closed and dashed through the school grounds towards the classroom window; grabbing the caretaker's ladder along the way.

"Clara!"

* * *

A piece of gum was spit into a bucket with a 'clang', Clara having just caught yet another student chewing gum in class.

"Will I get it back after school?" Ryan asked with a teasing grin and Clara raised a brow as the kids in the class groaned in disgust.

"How will you know which one's yours?" She countered and he shrugged as she rolled her eyes and the kids chuckled. "Fine then. Right. Now here was I? Jane Austen. Amazing writer, _brilliant_ comic observer—"

There was the noise of a page flipping at the window and she turned to see Alex leaning on the window sill with a book in her hand; glasses on her face as she looked up, smirking.

"And between you and me, she's a _great_ kisser, but don't tell my husband I said that." She said, winking at the class before looking up at Clara. "Hello, Clara."

Clara looked around at the class, before hurrying over and hissing at her. "Alex! What are you doing here?! I'm trying to teach a class."

Alex hummed, glancing back down at her book and flipping another page. "Oh, you know. I was reading in the library, having a bit of alone time since Eleven was in a mood, and then I realized I was suddenly outside. And on your campus, at that. Funny how the universe works." She said, lifting her novel a tad to reveal the cover.  
"I was just reading one of her books and now I'm interrupting a lecture about her in your class." She smiled before leaning over and looking past Clara at the kids. "Sorry about that, you lot! How you all been since the last time I saw you?"

"Um, who _are_ you?" A girl asked and Alex pat her face suddenly.

"Oh! Right! New face! I keep forgetting that. I finally got comfortable in it and now it's like nothing ever happened. I'm Alex! You know, Alexander Holmes! I was with you guys when the trees took over London." She smiled and Clara cleared her throat as the kids continued to stare back in confusion.

"Alex? That was _another_ class. And almost a year ago. Now, would you please..." She trailed off, looking past Alex now and Alex smirked.

"Oh, _now_ you've noticed. Took you long enough. Did you really think I'd just poke my head into your class just because I felt like it?" She scoffed, glancing back down at her book. "I'm not the Doctor."

"Miss?" A girl spoke up as Clara stared blankly out the window. "Miss?

"Is she okay?" Another kid asked and Clara suddenly turned and grabbed a marker, using it to circle the plane and watch it for a moment, before finally speaking.

"Everybody turn on their phones. News websites and Twitter."

"Twitter?" Ryan questioned, surprised and Alex grinned.

"Hashtag, the planes have stopped."

The kids grew excited as they started reading up on planes having stopped all over and Clara helped Alex through the open window just as a man burst in.

"Miss Oswald, there's a call at the office."

"Yeah. That would probably be UNIT."

"Ooh!" Alex grinned. "Clara's playing with the big dogs while the Doctor's away?" She paused suddenly, mind taking another turn. "I should get a dog."

Clara smacked her on the arm, snapping her out of it as she chuckled and nervously rubbed the back of her neck, and the man glanced between the two before speaking again.

"They're telling me you're needed. They were going to put me through to the Prime Minister."

Clara pulled on a leather jacket and went over to him with Alex. "Mr. Dunlop, sorry. I have to take the rest of the day off owing to a, um, personal crisis."

"Or possibly world crisis, but take your pick." Alex piped in, giving Clara a once over. "Love the jacket, by the way, though not really my style. I'm more of a semi-formal kind of person—"

"Alex, shut up." Clara drawled out, grabbing her arm and pulling her along as she made a call; dashing out of the building and to where her motorcycle was parked. "Yes. Yes, yes, yes. I'm coming. No, don't send a helicopter. Think it through. And I've got Alex with me, so be sure to let security know. What?"

Clara frowned before turning to Alex. "Do you know anything about this?"

"Hm?" Alex glanced up at the sky. "No. I don't know anything about adventures with the Twelfth Doctor, though give me a bit and I'm sure I'll come up with some kind of theory by the time we get to wherever it is we're going."

Clara nodded, relaying the message before climbing onto her motorcycle and Alex getting on the back.

"Sorry, I don't have a helmet!"

"Ooh, saving the world _and_ breaking the law. Doctor, have you regenerated since the last time I saw you?"

"Oh, shut up." Clara chuckled, before they were off to the Tower of London.

Upon arriving, the UNIT headquarters was in panicked chaos, everyone trying to figure out what they could do and what exactly was even happening.

"He's not answering his phone. Have you tried?" Kate asked Clara as Alex looked around in curiosity. "Either of you?"

Alex turned to the woman, slightly surprised and pointed at herself, but Clara answered for the both of them.

"We don't know enough yet." She said, tugging Alex further into the room. "He doesn't appreciate gossip."

"Gossip?" Kate questioned, sounding a little affronted.

"How many planes?" Clara asked.

"4,165 aircraft currently airborne." Anther woman said, gesturing to the map in front of them with numerous red dots.

"That's a lot of passengers."

"That's a lot of fuel." Clara countered, glancing at Alex, who was being suspiciously quiet.

"Oh, dear God. Yes, it is." Kate said, having not thought about it from that perspective.

Clara moved around to the other side. "Okay, so what could you do with 4,000 flying bombs?"

"Ah, well, 439 nuclear power stations currently active." The other woman said.

"What else?"

"I dunno. Uh, fault lines. Earthquake? A tsunami?"

"Running simulations now."

"So, this is an attack?" Kate questioned, but Clara countered it.

"What kind of attack advertises? Why show somebody what you can do? Why not just do it?"

"They're showing off." Alex said, now holding a cup of tea and sipping it lightly, making Clara wonder where she got it from.

"What do you mean?" Kate muttered, looking worried. "You say that like there's more meaning to it."

"Because there is. Someone wants our attention. This is their way of doing it. Get the world to panic, get the smart people together. Get the word out, that..." She stopped suddenly, eyes widening. "Oh, no."

"Alex?" Clara said, looking worried at the way her skin quickly drained of color and she began muttering under her breath.

"No, it can't be. He's gone. It's impossible. How could he have gotten out? And if he got out, who's to say the rest of them haven't? This is just proving that. It's mini-time locks. That's Gallifreyian tech. That's _Time Lord_ tech."

Clara's mouth dropped open at that, understanding dawning on her as well; on more than one thing. "Oh."

"Oh?" Kate questioned, before one of the guys spoke up.

"We've got a message. The Doctor channel."

"Sorry, what?" Clara questioned, expecting some quip from Alex, but the woman hadn't moved.

"Kate explained though, giving her a worried glance. "He never uses it. I doubt he remembers it even exists."

Clara frowned. "Then who is it?"

She'd expected it to be the Doctor, but that wouldn't have made Alex look so scared and hearing this only confirmed that it wasn't him.

"Decrypting. We're getting text through, I think."

"Texting? Definitely not the Doctor."

Alex took a step towards the computer as words showed up on screen. "No. It wasn't him. It was _never _him, but you will wish it was."

Words finally appeared.

_You so fine._

"Have you got any more?"

"Coming."

_You blow my mind._

Alex frowned. "I know those words."

"You do?"

She nodded, leaning in towards the screen. "It's a song. It's… It's, uh..." She tapped at her temple before spouting out the title. "'Oh, Mickey'. By Toni Basil. It's from the 1980s, but why send us the lyrics?"

Then, the whole message came through.

_Hey Missy, you so fine. You so fine, you blow my mind. Hey Missy!_

Alex furrowed her brows. "Who's Missy?"

Clara turned to her in shock, just as a video feed appeared with Missy speaking.

"_Today, I shall be talking to you out of—_" Her head suddenly stretched out of the screen. "—_the square window!_"

"What the hell was that? How did she do that?"

"Dunno. Some sort of psychic projection, or something."

"Hm, clever." Alex hummed, still eyeing the woman on screen with a tilt of her head.

"_Okay, cutting to the chase. Not dead, back, big surprise, never mind. I'm in a lovely little square in one of your… Oh, I don't know, hot countries. There's a light breeze coming from the east. This coffee is a buzz-monster in my brain, and I'm going to need eight snipers._" She said, lifting and lowering her cup as Alex spoke.

"Buzz monster?"

Kate was more concerned about the other thing she'd said. "Eight what?"

"_Three for each heart, and two for my brain stem. You'll have to switch me off fast, before I can regenerate. How fast can you get here? Ooh, I'll need to arrange you a flight corridor._"

She licked her finger and held up a controller, Kate continuing to ask questioned.

"Why do you need snipers?"

"_Because it's the only way she'll feel safe enough to talk to me._" Missy replied, before turning to Alex. "_Although, Alex might be pretty good with that, but you look a little shaken up, dear. Something wrong?_"

Alex frowned. "I don't like guns."

Missy smirked. "_Well, sweetheart, at least they won't be pointed at you this time. Shall we meet at, say, four o'clock?_"

The connection was cut off then and Alex immediately turned to Clara.

"Explain."

Clara sighed. "Missy is the Master. He regenerated and we haven't quite figured out how he managed to get back from Gallifrey. And not too long ago something happened—you were there, so I can't give you details—but we thought she had died."

"And apparently she hasn't." Kate finished, making to continue, but Alex held up a hand and shushed her, keeping her gaze focused on Clara.

"And you. All of this; joining UNIT, being the hero when the Doctor's not around… Danny's dead, isn't he?"

Clara grew somber, but nodded and Alex pulled a hand through her hair tiredly.

"Alright then. No use dwelling on a past I will get to experience sooner or later. Where's our helicopter?" She said suddenly, turning to the people in the room and clapping her hands. "Chop, chop. She's got over 4,000 planes at her disposal, we don't want to keep her waiting."

The people hurried along to get everything ready, locating the source of the transmission and prepping Clara and Alex for what they were going to do. Clara though, pulled Alex off to the side for a moment.

"Thank you."

Alex blinked. "For what?"

"You know what for." Clara murmured. "For not making a big deal out of it. Out of what happened with Missy and..."

Alex pat Clara on the shoulder. "Believe me, I know what it's like to know things before others and have them question you without them knowing that some things are sore subjects. I'm sorry for what happened to Danny too, and seeing how you are right now, I know that you're doing your best to move on, so I won't bring it up unless you want to talk about it. And believe it or not, Clara, but you and I are very much alike."

"How's that?"

Alex smiled softly. "When we're hurting or upset about something and there's people in danger, we shove all of our feelings aside and take care of the problem before we take care of ourselves. And you know what? It just means that we need someone to put us back together later. And when we find him, he's _so_ going to get in trouble for not answering your calls."

Clara smiled a little back, chuckling briefly before Alex grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Now come on. We've got a needy Time Lady to deal with."

* * *

"Alex, you've been acting a bit strange since you showed up. Everything alright?" Clara asked me as we drove from the airport to the plaza in Spain where Missy was waiting.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"When you first showed up in my class room." She explained. "You were acting kind of funny. Like the idea of trouble was something fun, kind of… Kind of like how the Doctor acts."

I pouted childishly. "I'm not allowed to be like the Doctor a bit? I _am_ married to him. I'd think it'd be kind of mandatory."

She shook her head. "No, not like that. Like you were _literally_ channeling your inner Doctor. You had the silly jokes and the whole being clever thing earlier. You popped up just as something was happening and then you acted like… like it was a game or something. It's weird. I mean, you have your moments where you and the Doctor sort of overlap, but this was a bit over the top. So what's going on?"

"Well, I had a rough adventure last stop. There were these clone-like things that were becoming human and lots of people were supposed to die, but I saved most of them and—"

She shook her head. "No. That's not what this is about. You're rambling. And I know you, Alex. And you don't ramble unless you're avoiding something."

"The, uh… The Doctor sort of avoided me after the whole thing with the clones was fixed. One of his companions had been taken and… He wasn't doing it to upset me or anything, but..." I shook my head, turning my gaze out the window. "I thought he was upset, but now I'm not sure. He didn't yell at me or anything, just acted like I didn't exist, so I gave him some space. That, and..." I glanced over at her with a small smile. "It's been a while since I've been with you. The last time I was with you..."

My throat tightened and I turned away, taking in a deep breath and letting it out. It was difficult to even _look_ at Clara now. I'd pretended like I was fine before, but when I saw her smiling, I thought of that time I'd spent with her in London. The barmaid and governess. The woman who chased the Doctor down and kissed me to make a point. The companion I had a chance to save but fell right through my fingers to her death. And this wasn't her, but it was. And how was I going to explain that? I'd seen her _die. _I'd held her hand and mourned over her body, and yet here she was, looking at me like I'd suddenly fallen apart. And I felt like I had.

"S-Something happened. It was the other you. T-The one that went through the Doctor's time-line to fix things. You had died. I-I had a chance to save you, but you still fell off that cloud. And I thought I could pretend everything was okay, but it hurts to look at you without replaying what happened in my head. And I've told myself again and again that it's not my fault, but I was right _there_. I was holding your hand as you fell and he should have blamed me. Your death a-and Amy being taken... H-He should have..."

Tears clogged my throat and I hissed a breath out of my teeth as I clenched my eyes shut and dragged a hand down my face.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm s-so sorry, Clara."

"Hey. Hey, look at me." She said, turning my face to meet her. "I'm right here. Alright? I'm fine. And this Amy person, I'm sure she turns out alright too, yeah?"

I nodded, trying to turn away, but she kept me facing her.

"See? Then I don't want you crying. We both ended up alright and none of what happened was your fault. And I know it's upsetting, but I promise that after a little while, you'll get the chance to move on and things will be right with the universe again. Okay? And I'll bet that the Doctor wasn't upset with you. I think he was just trying to protect you."

"W-What?"

She nodded, smiling a bit. "He could never hate you or blame you for what happens to people; especially his companions, Alex. Because he loves you, he distanced himself from you, so that he wouldn't be tempted to get answers from you. He didn't want to have to put you in that position where you had to choose the fate of the universe over a good friend, so he took a step back and figured it out himself. And if he didn't? Well, then you have every right to smack him good and hard when we find him."

I smiled a little at that, nodding as Clara allowed me to face the front and sat back in her seat as well.

"Now then, on to other important things. You know the Master better than I do, so—"

I shook my head, waving a hand. "Oh, no, no, no. This isn't the Master anymore. At least, not entirely. He's regenerated, so he's mostly a new person with some underlying Master bits. So technically _you_ know her better than I do. I'll give you head on this, and follow up if I've got anything worth saying, yeah?"

Clara shrugged, but I could see her smile and knew that she was more than excited to be the one in charge for once. _No Doctor around, semi-clueless me, and out comes Clara. Defending the planet._ We stepped out of the vehicle once it pulled up to the plaza and I immediately turned to the men in suits around us.

"Leave."

"Ma'am?" One of them questioned and I frowned.

"You heard me. Get in the car and drive away. We'll contact you if we need you." I demanded, before making a face. "And don't call me 'ma'am'."

The men hesitated, but soon did as I said—though I could probably thank Kate for that—and Clara turned to me in confusion.

"Why did you do that?"

"Missy is holding the whole world hostage with over 4,000 planes. You don't think she'd get rid of a few people in range if it meant convincing us further?"

"Good point."

"Hm." I hummed as we both headed over to where Missy was waiting with her tea.

"Well, go on." She said after I sat down, but Clara remained standing.

Clara took a seat beside me and Missy pushed a cup my way.

"I got you some tea, Alex. Might seem a bit presumptuous of me, but I figured you'd like some." She said, smirking slightly. "I promise it's not poisoned."

"Wouldn't surprise me if it was." I said quietly, though I accepted the cup and sipped at it; hiding my surprise at how good it was.

"How's your boyfriend?" Missy asked Clara. "Still tremendously dead, I expect."

"Still dead. Yup. How come you're still alive?"

"Death is for other people, dear."

"In other words, she did something clever." I said, making Missy sigh wistfully.

"Oh, you know me so well… Would you like to sit in the shade? I know how you humans burn."

Missy lifted her controller and moved a jet directly overhead to block out the sun.

"Better? I expect you've tried to contact him by now. Well, you should know, I can't find him either. No one can." She said, glancing at me as I relished in the taste of my tea. "Though I doubt Alex has tried. How long ago did you show up, dear? An hour? Two maybe?"

"Something like that. But you know how he is. If he doesn't want to be found, then no one will find him." I replied, making Missy smirk.

"Oh, but he'd come running if you called… Though perhaps maybe not this time." She placed something on the table and I looked at it curiously; recognizing Gallifreyian on the front, though struggling to read it.

The Doctor had been teaching me some things about the language, but simple words were the only thing I could make out. And even then, that was with the Tardis helping slightly.

"It's a confession dial." Missy explained.

"A what?" Clara asked and I answered.

"It's a will."

"Ooh, you've been studying." Missy mused, explaining a bit further. "The Last Will and Testament of the Time Lord known as the Doctor, to be delivered—according to ancient tradition—to his closest friend on the eve of his final day."

Clara reached for it, but got electrocuted.

"Ah, ah! What are you doing?" Missy asked her.

"You said… I thought..." Clara glanced at me and Missy made a face.

"No, no, no. it was delivered to _me_."

"You?" Clara questioned in disbelief.

"Well of course it was sent to me. What have you got to do with it? I'm his friend. You're just..."

"I'm just what?"

Missy gestured to a couple with a little dog walking past a ways away. "See that couple over there? You're the puppy."

"Since when do you care about the Doctor? And why not send it to Alex?"

"Since always." Missy answered her first question, completely ignoring the second. "Since the Cloiter Wars. Since the night he stole the moon and the President's wife—sorry Alex—Since he was a little girl." Missy sat back. "One of those was a lie. Can you guess which one?"

"Little girl." I piped in, the two turning to me as I turned the confession dial in my hand.

"How..."

I blinked, looking at a surprised Clara and a slightly annoyed Missy. "Oh, you mean this?" I held up the will. "She never answered you. She completely ignored your question on why it wasn't given to me. Typical Doctor _and_ Master behavior. Avoid the subject so they don't see you bluffing. That..." I turned to Missy with a smug grin. "And you touched your ear."

"What?" She questioned, making a face.

I tapped my own ear. "You touched your ear. The Tenth Doctor used to do that when he lied or was put in a tough situation where he wasn't able to answer a question. Looks like you picked up the habit."

Missy groaned. "Oh, you think you're so clever."

I smiled a little, looking over the dial again. "Hm, you know I am. And as for the little girl bit, well… I know all of his regenerations, and all of them were men. Older men, but men nonetheless. I suppose it's possible he could have been a little girl once, though that's rare for Time Lords and Ladies, isn't it? That, and I know he was involved in the other two. The President's wife was really nice about the whole thing, though he nearly did get beheaded again."

"Wait, hold on." Clara said, confused; speaking to Missy. "He's not your friend. You keep trying to kill him."

"He keeps trying to kill me." She countered. "It's sort of our texting. We've been at it for ages."

"They are really good friends, Clara." I mused. "Long time friends. Most hero and arch enemy types are. Because what would the hero be without a villain to fight?"

"See? Alex understands." Missy smiled and Clara made a face.

"So the Doctor is your bezzy mate and I'm supposed to believe that you've turned good?"

"Good?" Missy made a disgusted face. "Sweetheart, if Alex hadn't sent those men a safe distance away, one of them would be vaporized by now. As it was, I also have every plane in the sky held hostage and it would only take the touch of a button to send one hurtling into a nuclear reactor. Then you'd have a real problem on your hands. And you still think I've turned good?" She turned her controller onto her with a cold look. "I could always just get rid of you. I'd still have Alex."

Clara stiffened, but I remained calm, narrowing my eye sat her from across the table as I spoke.

"Missy, stop playing with your food and explain why exactly you needed to hijack the planes and get our attention."

"Because the Doctor is in danger." She said bluntly and I felt my hearts skip a beat as I slid the will across the table.

"This tells me that enough, but why should we believe that you're going to help and not cause him more harm than good? Make us believe you."

"How?" She asked, frowning.

"Let go of the planes."

"The planes are keeping me alive. I mean, there's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight naughty little snipers ready to kill me."

"Snipers, which you told us to bring to keep _us_ alive. The way I see it, we're at a stale mate until someone surrenders. And since you're the one who came to us for help, you should be the first to hold up your hands. So let the planes go, because your friend—my _husband—_is in danger, so show us that you care even the slightest bit about him. Make us believe you."

Missy made a face, but begrudgingly let the planes return on their way; propping up her feet on the chair across from her like that was what she'd planned on doing all along.

"It's only a basic Time Stop. Parlor trick. Couldn't have done anything with them anyway."

I nodded, returning to my tea. "Yeah, I figured as much. You could have only sped up or stopped time for the planes, not change the direction they were already heading. But better safe than sorry. Send one plane going while another is still stopped in it's airspace, and you'll still manage to kill hundreds of people by crashing them into one another. Like I said, I'm not taking chances. Not with you."

Missy grinned devilishly at me. "Oh, what I wouldn't give to have you on my side, Alex. The chaos we could cause."

"What does it say?" Clara asked suddenly, making us turn to her.

"What does what say?"

"His confession."

Missy sat up. "It will only open when he's dead."

"Then it won't open, will it?" Clara said, leaning forward as Missy spoke.

"Question. If the Doctor has one last night to live, if he's certain he's facing the end of his life, where—in all of space and time—would he go?"

"Here." Clara said simply and a man brought over a laptop at her signal; Missy getting up and pacing.

"Well, yes. Earth, obviously. But where? When?"

Clara began typing away and Missy leaned over her shoulder as she worked, myself thinking.

"Somewhere where he could avoid it." I hummed out loud. "Somewhere where he could just forget about it for a day. Have a party, make a mess of history somehow. He's in the past."

"What else?" Missy asked me, my mind rattling on a million miles a minute as someone on the computer spoke.

"_The algorithm generates probabilities based on crisis points, anomalies, anachronisms, key words._"

"_Such as?_" Kate asked.

"_Blue box, Doctor._"

They took a moment before speaking up once more.

"_There we go. San Martino, Troy, multiples for New York, and three possible versions of Atlantis. It's easier than you'd think. The Doctor makes a lot of noise and he loves to make an entrance._"

"_But which one? Where is he now?_"

"Get rid of crisis point." I spoke up. "Like I said, he'd be having fun. Getting away from everything and _not_ saving people. Not when he's going to die. And he'd do the exact opposite of what anyone normal would do. He won't be pouting and morning his upcoming death. He'd be making noise in the loudest way possible without there being any danger."

Clara sighed. "You're right. We're looking for a party."

The map on her screen got rid of the lights until only one was left.

"There he is. 'Do not go gentle into that good night'." She quoted, Missy smirking between her and myself.

"You go girls."

She suddenly grabbed both of our wrists and we disappeared from the plaza in Spain; reappearing in a noisy area on top of what appeared to be a castle wall.

"Whoo!" Missy screamed as I covered my mouth and moved a bit further away to vomit. "Mummy, do it again! Vortex manipulators. Both of yours are slaved to mine. Cheap and nasty time travel. As Alex can tell you."

I groaned, leaning heavily against the stone wall; lifting a hand up. "I-I'm okay. J-Just give me a second."

"Mhmm." Missy hummed, her and Clara moving over to the edge of the wall and looking down below as people shouted and cheered. "Pick a local. According to you two, this is where the Doctor is."

"Okay, how do we find him? How do we know what we're looking for?" Clara asked and I groaned again.

"Seriously? Look for anything wrong. Anachronisms. And knowing him, he'll make the biggest entrance—" I was cut off as the sound of an electric guitar rang out. "—possible."

I couldn't help the snort that escaped me upon hearing the Doctor playing a rock version of his own opening theme song; though the grin quickly fell off my face as I turned and puked again; groaning quietly as a shout rang up from below.

"Dude! What is that?"

"You said you wanted an ax fight."

I managed to settle my stomach soon enough and leaned against the wall between Missy and Clara to see the Doctor standing on top of a tank with a group of clueless people. _Where'd he learn to play guitar?_

"Oh, come on." He hopped down from the tank. "In a few hundred years, that'll be really funny. It's a slow burner."

"A musical instrument is not an ax." The man before him argued.

"Yes. And a daffodil is not a broadsword, but I still won the last round!" He called out and cheers rang up as I shook my head at his ridiculousness; resting it on my arms on the castle wall.

"What do you think do my tank? Don't worry, it isn't loaded."

_How did he get a tank here? It shouldn't even fit through the Tardis doors._ I mused, filing the question away for later as the man down below frowned.

"I don't like it."

"Neither do I. I bought it for my fish." The Doctor replied, making me smile a bit.

"Your fish?"

"I may have ordered online."

The crowd still murmured, completely lost.

"Oh, come on. Fish? Tank? Honestly, this stuff will be hilarious in a very few hundred years. Do please stick around."

"What's the matter with him? He's never like this." Clara commented and I snorted as Missy spoke.

"Oh, you really are new, aren't you?"

The Doctor looked up at us and I wiggled my fingers in a wave as he pushed his sunglasses down.

"Wait, hang on. Did he just hear that?" Clara questioned. "He doesn't know we're here, does he?"

The Doctor responded for us by playing the beginning to 'Pretty Woman' on his guitar, before turning to the people in the stands.

"Now, you lot! I've been here all day and it's been a great day!"

"You've bee here for three weeks." The one man with the ax said.

"Three weeks? It must be nearly bedtime." The Doctor breathed out as Clara took my hand and pulled me towards the stairs. "Well, we've partied." He said, cheers ringing out. "Yes! I helped you dig a well, with a first-class, child-friendly visitor's center! I've given you some top-notch maths tuition in a fun but relevant way. And I have also introduced the word 'dude' several centuries early. Let me hear you!"

"Dude!" The crowd shouted as Clara and I stood in the entryway.

"Are you a Renaissance...?"

"Dude!"

"Are you Medieval...?"

"Dude!"

"I am a dragon slaying…?"

"Dude!"

"We are all the young…?"

"Dudes!"

"I like it. But I've got some sad news for you, dudes. Tonight, I'm going to have to leave you."

The crowd cried out in disappointment, but he continued.

"But before I do, I'd like you to meet a couple of friends of mine."

He lowered his sunglasses as the crowd cheered and applauded, giving Missy a look before turning his gaze to us and gesturing over. Clara tugged my arm, but I adamantly shook my head.

"Uh-uh. No way. That's an awful lot of people and this body doesn't do full on attention very well."

"Oh, come on. He's waiting. Look at him!"

I did and hesitated, seeing the Doctor staring right at me with a small pout on his face. _My God, it's like I kicked an Adipose. Oh, don't look at me like that. _The Doctor started playing something on his guitar and I bit my bottom lip harshly; unsure whether to laugh at his choice of 'Beautiful Soul' by Jessie McCartney or be thoroughly embarrassed by it. Clara, taking the initiative, pushed me from behind and made me move right up to him.

"Hello, Alex." He said with a smile and I felt my throat tighten, before I just gave in and reached up to grab him around the neck and kissed him passionately.

He responded in kind and I pulled away with a goofy smile on my face as the crowd around us whooped and hollered.

"This!" He announced, pulled me to his side and holding out his arm and guitar at the crowd. "Is my most beautiful wife!"

The crowd cheered loudly and I buried my face into his chest, smacking him as I groaned out a complaint.

"Stop! You know I don't like attention!"

"Nonsense." He argued, before turning his sights onto Clara.

"How did you know we were here? Did you see us?" She asked.

"When do I not see you both?"

"What? Two faces in all of that crowd?"

"There was a crowd too?" He hummed, kissing me atop the head as I lightly smacked him for the public display; already more embarrassed than I wanted to be.

"Wow. We're doing charm as well now, are we?" Clara teased. "Which one do us is dying?"

The Doctor grew tense, reaching past me and pulling her into a hug with us.

"Okay, and we're doing hugging now too. I can't keep up."

"Well, you know what they say. Hugging is a great way to hide your face." He answered, and I could feel his emotions wavering from how joyous they'd been a second ago, to being somber.

I quickly tightened my grip on him, trying to send comfort, but knowing that I wasn't really sending much with how worried for him I was. He readily accepted the gesture though, sending me a little comfort as well as we pulled apart.

"Okay, look. I guessed a party, but not like this. What is this? This isn't you."

I pulled away from the Doctor a bit to look at her, a small forced smile on my face. "Yes it is."

The Doctor nodded. "Alex is right I spent all day yesterday in a bow-tie, the day before in a long scarf. It's my party, and all of me is invited."

He pulled away from me and began playing the beginning to 'Hey Mickey' as Missy finally showed her face.

"What the hell are you up to, man?" She questioned him.

"It's the wicked stepmother!" The Doctor called out to the crowd. "Everyone, hiss!"

He strummed his guitar as the crowd booed and Missy waved about a handkerchief with a flourish.

"Well, apparently, you think you're going to die tomorrow." She said, pulling out the will and holding it up.

"Well, I've got some good news about that."

"Oh, yeah?"

"It's still today!"

"Oh, that's very good." Missy muttered as the Doctor played his guitar some more, but I watched him in concern; knowing what he was doing and that it was exactly what he'd done while he was Eleven.

He was finding every possible way to avoid the problem at hand, pretending he was alright, when he so obviously wasn't. He was scared. I could feel it. That emotion came off his body in waves and made my body itch like I had a rash, because I didn't know what to do. Not only that, but I was just as scared as he was, because I didn't know if he came out of this alright. I didn't know if this was where 'Doctor Who' ended or if he somehow regenerated or escaped unscathed. And it terrified me. I'd grown so used to knowing, that not knowing was more frightening than I could've imagined. Especially since this might very well be my last time with the Doctor, for good.

The man behind the Doctor suddenly started choking and my thought came to an abrupt halt as the Doctor hurried over to him to try and help.

"Bors. Is it a marble again? Did you swallow one of the marbles I gave you? Don't swallow marbles!"

I hurried over to try and help as well, scolding the Doctor.

"Don't you know better than to give children marbles?!"

"He's not a child!"

"He's some clueless guy from medieval times who challenged an even bigger child to an ax fight! Of _course_ he's a child!" I argued, just before the Doctor found the problem and pulled something off of Bors' throat.

A sweeping, ice cold chill spread quickly through my body at the slithering creature the Doctor tossed away and I felt my breath catch in my throat as my eyes locked onto the banded snake that slithered under the coat of a man not far from us. It was hard for me to focus on the fact that this man with long scars across his face, was obviously not from around here and could be a dangerous problem, when my hearts pumped quickly with adrenaline and I recognized the feeling that had overcome me at the sight of the serpent. Pure, unadulterated, _fear_.

"Doctor, your friends have led me to you." The man said, voice coming out in too much of a hiss for me to be comfortable; my hands starting to shake. "You will come."

"Says you and who's army?" The Doctor countered, taking a slight step back towards me; though I wished he'd move faster.

The man's face suddenly twisted, my stomach leaping into my chest as I realized those weren't _scars_ that had been all over his face, and he uncoiled himself to reveal a _far_ too big snake. His cloak fell to the floor as his smaller companions slithered around him and I immediately took several steps back as I tried to find an escape; panic welling up in me as my breath shortened to the point of near hyperventilation. _S-Snakes. This body doesn't do snakes. This body is _deathly_ afraid of snakes. Oh, God. I can't breathe. I-I-I need to get away, b-but the Doctor and Clara… W-What do I do? _The crowd screamed and ran off, but the Doctor moved towards the snake; everyone seeming oblivious to my internal panic.

"Nobody dies here! Not one person, not one of my friends nor my wife, do you understand?!" He shouted at the snake, who didn't really respond.

"Davros, creator of the Daleks, dark lord of Skaro, is dying." It hissed.

"So I hear."

"He would speak with you again on the last night of his life."

"Then you will harm nobody in this place. Not one person. Are we very, very clear?"

The snake bundled itself back up under it's cloak, becoming more human-like, but I would never forget that he was a snake. Every movement of his looked like something slithering and knowing that there were dozens, if not _hundreds_ of snakes under than cloak with him, did nothing to settle my shattered nerves. _I'm scared. I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared. I am _terrified_. Doctor, please. Please, for once, let's just go._

"Are you so dangerous, little man?" The man hissed at the Doctor mockingly.

"You want to know how dangerous I am? Davros sent _you_. You know how stupid you are? Heh, you came." The Doctor chuckled, moving back towards the tank and eyeing me briefly in confusion as the man hissed threateningly and the Doctor turned back to him. "Is that supposed to frighten me? Snake nest in a dress?"

_Yes. Yes, Doctor, and it's _really_ freaking me out now!_ A quiet, near silent whimper escaped my mouth and Missy turned to me with an odd look in her eyes, but the Doctor's next words distracted her.

"Now, explain, politely. Davros is my arch-enemy. Why would I want to talk to him?"

"No, wait. Hang on a minute." Missy complained. "_Davros_ is your arch-enemy now?"

"Hush." The Doctor demanded as Missy muttered under her breath.

"I'll scratch his eye out."

"Davros knows. Davros remembers." He hissed, tossing a mangled sonic screwdriver into the dirt before the Doctor.

"That's yours." Clara breathed out, a bit shocked and I struggled to switch my focus away from the snake man and back to the Doctor; whose wide range of mental emotions were getting harder to read over my own overwhelming panic.

"Uh… it was." He muttered.

"Was?"

"I don't have a screwdriver anymore."

"Ooh." Missy called out. "Never seen that before. Doctor, the look on your face. What is that?"

I knew what it was, but I couldn't say it. I'd only seen the Doctor look like that a few times and it was always after he did something he very much regretted and I wanted to help him. I wanted to give him some sort of comfort, but I was still so petrified of the snakes, that I couldn't form words, much less speak them—mentally or otherwise.

"Shame." Clara said, also recognizing it. "You're ashamed… Doctor, what have you done?"

I tried to speak, desperately trying to say something, _anything_, because the look on the Doctor's face was killing me. He looked so hurt, so tortured by whatever it was that he'd done, and I couldn't do anything. I bit my bottom lip and forced myself to move, reaching for the Doctor's hand, but he moved away and headed towards the man.

"Is your ship in orbit?"

"Prepare yourself for teleport." The man hissed as my throat tightened.

_What do I do? What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?! I-I need to focus. I need to get control over myself, because the Doctor's hurting and in trouble a-and he _needs_ me!_

"Doctor, listen to me. I know traps. Traps are my flirting. _This_ is a trap." Missy said, trying to convince him otherwise, but he didn't seem to care.

"I am… prepared."

Missy stood in front of him, arms out as she tried to talk some sense into him. "You sent your wife and I your confession dial. You threw yourself a three week party. You _know_ what this is." She continued.

"Yes. Goodbye." He told her, turning to Clara and speaking in a whisper. "Goodbye, Clara."

He faced me—hands behind his back as a snake acted like rope and wrapped around his wrists—and he opened his mouth, but I wasn't going to let my fear of snakes keep me from protesting what he was about to say to me.

"D-Don't you say it." I said, wincing at the stutter in my voice.

"Alex, I—"

"No! It is not goodbye! It is _never_ goodbye between us!" I shouted at him, my previous panic mixing with my frustration towards the man in front of me; myself turning to the snake man and walking just past the Doctor, despite every fiber of my being hating for what I was about to do next. "Take me too."

"No..." The Doctor breathed out as Clara nodded and moved to my side as well.

"She's right. We're coming with him. All three of us."

Clara and Missy assumed the position beside the Doctor and I, though I felt the shaking start up again.

"U-Um, but c-could I sort of forgo t-the snakes? I-I've got handcuffs!" I dug through my pocket and held up the metal manacles. "I-I can use handcuffs. What's wrong with handcuffs?"

"No, no, no, no, no. Under no circumstances!" The Doctor argued, before I grimaced at the snake man's movements. "What are you doing now?"

"Voting. We are a democracy." It hissed out with a smirk. "It is agreed."

"No, no, no. I forbid it. No, no, no!" The Doctor tried, but the snake man sent three snakes towards us and I clenched my eyes shut and turned around, muttering under my breath.

"I-It's just rope. M-Moving, slightly alive, rope."

I let out a soft whimper as the snake finally wrapped itself around my wrists and we were teleported into a ship.

* * *

"Davros is the child of war, a war that wouldn't end. A thousand years of fighting, till nobody could remember why. So Davros, he created a new kind of warrior, one that wouldn't bother with _that _question. A mutant in a tank that would never, ever stop. And they never did." The Doctor explained to Clara, who didn't know who the man was.

"The Daleks?"

"How scared must you be… to seal every one of your own kind inside a tank?" He said, pausing. "Davros made the Daleks, but who made Davros?"

He frowned suddenly, having expected some sort of interruption from Alex, but when he leaned forward to look past Missy at her, he was rather surprised to see her shaking in a corner with her knees pulled up to her chest and her back facing them; soft mutters drifting over to his ears.

"Alex? Is everything alright?" He called out, making Clara and Missy look at her as well.

"F-Fine. J-Just fine." She stuttered out, voice quiet and shaky, though she didn't turn around and the Doctor could see her hands clenched tightly behind her back; knuckles a pale white.

"Alex, what's going on?" Clara spoke up then, also seeing how the woman's demeanor was concerning. "You don't _sound_ okay."

"I-I-It's nothing."

"You don't _honestly_ expect us to believe that." Missy piped in.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and got up, moving past Missy and scooting over to sit directly behind Alex, speaking quietly.

"Alex. I can't fix it, if you don't tell me what it is that needs fixing."

"I-It's not important." She murmured, though it was plainly obvious that it was.

"_Everything_ is important." He argued. "Especially if it has you in this state."

He winced when he saw her flinch at his words, making him realize that that might _not_ have been the best thing to say. _She's young. Still relatively new to her body, if the self-consciousness is anything to go by. She's embarrassed by how she's reacting to something she believes is insignificant to the situation we're currently in._ He frowned, because as much as she believed that to be true, he believed the exact opposite. Nothing—not his death, not Davros, not even Colony Sarff and his snakes—would be more important than keeping his Alexander happy. And after almost two hundred years of being together with her, not once has that changed.

_Wait… I've missed something._ He realized, brows furrowing as he tried to figure out what it was he'd been so oblivious to miss. _Something important. Oh, come on mind. Think!_ He shut his eyes, focusing on what he remembered, flashes here and there connecting the dots in his head.

"_U-Um, but c-could I sort of forgo t-the snakes? I-I've got handcuffs!"_

He remembered hearing her muttering to herself.

"_I-It's just rope. M-Moving, slightly alive, rope."_

Then he thought back to when she first started acting strangely. Back to when he'd pulled the snake off of Bors's neck. The way she paled, eyes locked onto Colony Sarff, and the feeling. He hadn't been paying attention to it, because it was all over the place after Colony Sarff showed up, but if he'd focused, he would have found that _Alex_ had been emanating the most amount of fear in that moment.

And he might have assumed it had something to do with her foreknowledge if he didn't already know that she didn't have any with his Twelfth self. And as all of these points came together, he opened his eyes, feeling more than a little guilty for how oblivious he'd been to the terror Alex had been feeling.

"Snakes."

She stiffened when he'd breathed out that word, saying nothing, but the Doctor knew better. He knew what her silence meant.

"You're afraid of snakes." He reiterated, wanting to breathe out a sigh of relief that it wasn't anything worse, but knowing that if he did, that would only make things worse. "But Alex, that's fine."

"N-No, it's not." She argued, shaking slightly as the Doctor resisted the urge to sigh at her stubbornness and frustration towards herself for something that was only human.

Heck, even _he_ has things he's afraid of. Unfortunately, he was unable to continue their conversation when Missy called out.

"Okay, great. Coming out of hyperspace." She said as the ship shifted and she lowered her feet from the boxes she'd propped them up on.

The Doctor looked out the window at the floating building outside, unable to help but change the subject right now. "So, that's where he ended up."

"What is that?" Clara asked.

"I don't know. A hospital?" He guessed, not really sure and the four of them were escorted off the ship and into another room where Missy began singing; as though testing the acoustics of the room.

_I-I'm not supposed to be like this._ Alex's thoughts rang out; her mental barriers in shambled with how frazzled she was. _I-I-I'm not supposed to be afraid. I-I used to love snakes! I-I owned a snake, named him Sebastian. H-He had this silly pattern on his face that made it look like he was smiling all the time._ She rambled, curled up in a ball up against the wall and a pillar in a corner. _Of a-all the things to be afraid of… I-It couldn't have just been something obvious. Not the Daleks or the Cybermen. God, I'd rather be afraid of those potato headed Sontarans over s-s-snakes. A-And now's not the time t-to be dealing with this. I-I can't be afraid now. Not with this mess, b-but…_ She curled up a little tighter, the Doctor noticed, and he went to try and help her, but Clara spoke up first.

"Alex, what's going on? Would you just tell us already or something? Your uneasiness making me nervous."

The Doctor mentally groaned, wishing he'd never told Clara that Alex's emotions could be transferred to nearby people if they were strong enough. Especially with Missy right there.

"Oh, she's just petrified of snakes." Missy blurted out, not really caring, it seems about Alex's reaction. "One of the perks of a new body that you're not used to yet. You find out all sorts of things during all the wrong moments."

"_Missy_." The Doctor hissed, angrily and she gave him a look.

"What?" She drawled out and the Doctor scowled before moving over to a trembling Alex and knelt before her; speaking to her telepathically as he brushed a stray hair off her ear.

_Alex, don't listen to her. Everyone gets scared of something and it's that fear that helps us move past difficult things in our lives._

She shook her head slightly. _Y-Yeah, but they're afraid of things that any normal person _would_ be afraid of! Daleks a-and the Vashta Nerada! I've faced s-so many creatures that I _should_ be afraid of, so why is it t-that snakes, of all things, scare me more than any of them?! I-I don't understand this stupid body and why it has to go a-and do things like this when I-I-I should be helping you!_

_Then help me, by helping yourself, Alexander._ He told her bluntly as he turned around and reached over, taking her quivering hands in his; squeezing it in comfort despite their awkward position of facing back-to-back. _Open your mind, calm down, focus on me._ He took a deep breath in, feeling her do the same as he allowed a sense of calming comfort wash over her; the two of them letting out the breath and repeating the action. It wasn't so much meditating as it was a light level form of hypnosis, and he let Alex know that so she wouldn't react adversely to what he was doing. He still had memories of the last time he'd tried hypnotizing her, and they weren't pretty.

This time though, was different. Alex willingly allowed herself to get pulled into the trance-like state, matching her breathing with his and steadily relaxing. This wasn't a permanent fix by any means, but it would help her rebuild her mental barriers and give her a chance to focus and calm down enough to push past the fear, at least for a little bit. He pulled out of the trance once he felt her barriers starting to repair themselves and he stood up, moving towards the door, but keeping an eye on the half-conscious blonde. She'd been hyperventilating earlier and near a mental break down—thanks to her fear and the combination of chaotic events—and with a snake still coiled around her wrists, he knew better than to assume the light trance she was in would be enough. That, and it was ultimately up to her on whether it would work or not. You can't _force_ someone to get help, after all. They have to accept it first and be willing to work with you. _Though she seems to be doing alright thus far._ He mused, turning back to his pacing as his train of thought turned to the situation ahead of him; though a part of him was still one hundred percent focused on Alex's well-being.

"How long have we been waiting?" Clara asked and he shrugged.

"Who knows. It's always the way with hospitals."

The door opened then and Colony Sarff slithered in, making the Doctor glance at Alex; feeling slightly relieved when she remained in her trance, unbothered for now.

"You will come." The snake said to him, turning to the other three. "_You_ will stay."

"Fair enough." Missy shrugged and the Doctor reluctantly moved to go, but Clara stopped him.

"Doctor, you sent Missy your confession dial."

"Well, we've known each other a long time. She's one of my own people." He replied, having expected some sort of backlash for sending it to Missy of all people. "And I would have sent it to Alex, but with her popping up all over the place, it's kind of hard to write a mailing address."

"My point is, we both saw her die on Earth ages ago. And obviously you knew that wasn't real. Or worse, hoped it wasn't. Either way, I think you've been lying."

"I'm sorry." He said, not knowing what else to do.

"Don't apologize. Make it up to me." She demanded, pretending to be alright when she chuckled and forced a smile on her face. "There, see? Haha. Now you have to come back."

"I was _always_ coming back." He said, giving Alex a pointed look, though he didn't miss the way Clara's smile faltered.

"Yeah, but not for me." She muttered under her breath, barely audible, but the Doctor heard it.

He felt bad for saying it, but he wasn't technically lying. Alex was always at the forefront of his mind lately and even before, there was always this sense that if he had to choose between her and a companion, he'd pick her every time. Not that she'd ever be okay with that, and the guilt alone would eat him alive should that sort of situation ever arise, but that was the one thing he would never lie about. Alex was the most important thing in the universe to him. Important enough that he would consider sending his confession dial to _her _before even his own people. And important enough, that even his own death didn't seem like an obstacle that would come between them.

"Gravity." He half-whispered as he left the room and Missy shook her head with a whine.

"I _know_."

The door closed behind Colony Sarff and the Doctor, separating them from Clara, Alex, and a, now dancing, Missy. Clara turned to her in confusion.

"Gravity?"

"Oh, yeah. You know what's wrong with the gravity in here?"

Clara frowned. "No."

"Nothing." Missy said, jumping up and down in front of Alex, who appeared to be coming out of it finally. "It's perfect. But this is a space station. So gravity should be artificial. All coppery smelling around the edges, a tiny bit sexy." She hummed, kneeling down and poking Alex in the forehead; earning a slight frown from the half-conscious woman. "But this feels real, man." She said in an American accent, before switching back to her Scottish one. "Like a planet."

"How can _you _and the Doctor be friends?" Clara asked, still lost on that whole concept. "And does that mean you're friends with Alex too?"

"Of course. And why shouldn't we be?"

"You spend all your time fighting."

"Exactly." Missy said sharply, before holding up her wrists and tossing the dead snake onto the floor; easily pulling the other one from off Alex's wrists. "You know what this airlock is?" She asked, wandering over to the door outside. "I'll tell you. It's pants."

"What do you mean?"

"T-There's always a surprise inside." Alex murmured, still a bit out of it, but coming to as Missy pulled her up with a grin.

"Exactly. But I mean, today, might be the day."

"What day?"

"The day I kill you and take lovely Alex here for my own." She said seriously, before placing her hand on the airlock controls; making Clara freak out a bit.

"What are you doing? Are you opening it?"

"Yeah, course."

"Missy, we'll get sucked out!"

"We might not." Alex said, though Clara was hardly reassured.

"Alex, stop her!"

Missy though, chuckled. "You, Alex and I, together. Off we go. Let's make jam." She said as an alarm went off and the airlock opened.

Missy hardly seemed bothered though, and stuck her arm out curiously; her other hand wrapped around Alex's as the woman rubbed at her face with soft murmurs about stupid Doctors and headaches.

"It's warm, isn't it? The deep space anyway." Missy said, Clara coming up beside her.

"What are you doing?" Clara asked when Missy started to make to walk out into seemingly space.

"Treading softly."

Missy took a step out, tugging Alex along with her as Clara looked down in worry.

"What? There's a floor?"

"No, we're walking on air." Alex drawled and Clara rolled her eyes.

"Glad to see you've returned to your sardonic self."

"There's _ground_." Missy corrected them. "This is the ground."

Clara cautiously stepped out as well as Missy spun Alex around and did a little dance with her.

"We're on a planet. And _that _is not a space station." She said, pointing at the building they'd just left. "That is a building. And the rest of the planet—the whole thing—is invisible."

"I'd argue that it's cloaked, but I suppose you'd know better than I would." Alex muttered as Clara twirled around herself.

"That's ridiculous."

"Well, yes. Of course it is. I mean, how would you ever find your glasses? Or the little girl's room? And what if you kissed an ugly? Unless, when you're part of the atmosphere..." Missy said, looking up as the view started to change. "...you start syncing with the spectrum."

"Why would anybody hide a whole planet?"

"That would rather depend on the planet, dear." Missy said and the group turned to see the other buildings appearing on the horizon.

"No..."

"What? What is it?" Alex asked, a chill sweeping up her spine for apparently no reason, but deep down in her gut, she knew that this planet wasn't safe.

This planet was dangerous and something about it did not settle right with Alex at all.

"They've built it again. They've brought it back. No, no. No."

"Where are we?!" Alex demanded, feeling Missy tighten her grip on her hand.

"Skaro."

Alex paled, understanding immediately why she was so uncomfortable and frightened of the planet. "No..."

"What's Skaro?" Clara asked, still lost.

"The beginning. Where it all started." Missy explained. "This is the planet of the Daleks."

"Correct." A mechanical voice said and they all turned to the Dalek rolling towards them.

Unable to escape without the threat of extermination, the trio were brought into another room _full_ of Daleks and the Tardis.

"The Tardis. How did she get here?" Clara asked, the Dalek Supreme responding.

"It has been procured."

"Yeah? Yeah? Well if you're trying to get inside, you can't." Clara said, growing nervous as a laser lowered itself from the ceiling. "Nothing can enter the Tardis."

"I doubt that's what they're planning." Alex muttered, wrinkling her nose. "What use do these over grown salt-shakers have for a Tardis?"

"The Seer is correct. The Tardis will be destroyed."

Clara laughed. "Yeah, well good luck, because she's indestructible."

"Did the Doctor tell you that?" Missy asked her. "Because you should never believe a man about a vehicle."

"Rule number one: the Doctor lies." Alex finished, before Missy let her go and started forward.

"Daleks! Pay attention." She called out. "You know what this is? This thing you're about to destroy? I'll tell you. It's the dog's unmentionables. And you know all about those, don't you?" She asked, tickling a Dalek nearby. "This is a Tardis. With this, you can go anywhere, do anything, kill anyone. With this, the Daleks can be more powerful than ever before." She climbed up onto a raised platform. "You just need one thing. Me. You need me. A Time Lady to show you how it works. With this and with me, everything can be yours. And you can burn it all, for ever and ever and ever."

"Missy, I honestly don't think—"

Missy ignored Alex's warning. "Or would you rather just kill me?"

The Daleks all turned to the Dalek Supreme—Alex taking Clara's hand as they cautiously moved back towards the door.

"Maximum extermination." The Dalek responded and Alex called out in fear.

"Missy! Run!"

Missy didn't have a chance though, before the Daleks chorused out an 'exterminate' and she was vaporized; leaving the other two at the mercy of the Daleks.

"C-Clara, you know what they say about facing a wild animal?" Alex whispered quietly, voice shaking slightly with fear as the Daleks all turned to face them.

"W-What's that?"

"Don't run. Don't run and don't ever turn your back."

"These aren't wild animals, Alex." Clara breathed out, panic evident in her voice as she lightly tugged on Alex's hand around hers, which tightened.

"Don't run. D-Don't move." Alex insisted, but the atmosphere was tense.

Far too tense for Clara's liking, and much to tense for her to not even attempt to escape; despite Alex's words. So in a quick, desperate attempt, she yanked her hand from Alex's and bolted for the door.

"Clara! No!"

"Exterminate!"

Clara let out a scream as she was vaporized and Alex's breath hitched.

"Again..." She whispered. "I've killer her again..."

_No! No, Alex! It's not your fault! It was _never_ your fault!_ The Doctor's voice called out in her mind, but she turned to the Dalek Supreme, rage and hatred in her eyes as she snarled at it.

"Why did you do that? You didn't have to do that!" She shouted, fists clenched at her sides. "She was unarmed! No weapons! Nothing! And you just killed her!"

"She was of no use to us." The Dalek responded.

"She had plenty of uses! She was my _friend_!"

"Irrelevant."

"I'll show you irrelevant." She growled, stalking forward, but not one Dalek attempted to shoot her as she stood before the Dalek Supreme, all sense of fear gone. "What's wrong?! Aren't you going to kill me too?!"

"You are the Seer."

"Oh, and that makes me important, does it?! Well, guess what?! I can't tell you anything! I have absolutely no foreknowledge of this event at all, so good luck getting anything from me! Now bring her back! Bring Clara and Missy back!"

"They have been exterminated. The Seer is useful." The Dalek Supreme said, but that only made Alex angrier.

"Useful?! How am I useful?! I can't tell you anything! I can't tell anyone anything! And don't you think that if I knew what would happen I would have saved her?! I would have saved them both if I knew!" She shouted, slamming her fists against the metal hull of the Dalek as tears slipped down her face. "She died again and it's all my fault! Why does everyone have to die because of me?!"

"You will predict." The Dalek demanded once Alex had stopped; panting and shaking her head.

"I won't. I can't. T-There's nothing… nothing I can tell you."

"Then you will be exterminated."

"...Yeah… Yeah, I probably will." She muttered, stepping away from the Dalek as it raised it's weapon. "I'm sorry, Doctor."

_Alex! No!_

"Exterminate!"

* * *

**_Sneak Peak:_**

_Between the Doctor's upcoming death, dealing with Missy and Clara's deaths, and my fear of snakes having already rattled my nerves, and I was one step away from a complete mental breakdown in the middle of the planet of Daleks. Oh, yeah. Things were going great. And did I mention? I'd just died too. Or, at least I think I did._


	69. The Witch's Familiar

**Oh geeze. Um... hello. *cowers behind chair* sorry it's a bit late. i probably should have updated this sooner today and i'd blame my work that called me in on my off day due to an incident yesterday, but i woke up around 5pm and it's about 6 now so...sorry? Here's the conclusion to the two parter though~ and i hate to say this, but I _really_ don't like the next chapter i'll be posting after this. there's just something about it i hate, but i've been told it's fine, so i'll post it anyway and after that it might take a bit longer for chapter 71 because i'll be doing the 50th anniversary movie/episode thing! whoo! something to look forward to, you guys ^^ hope you all enjoy this though. it might get a bit sad for alex, but things cheer up next chapter.**

**let me know what you think of this one though! i get the feeling that alex has a bit too many meltdowns in this one, but she's got a lot on her plate and not a whole lot of time to deal with it, so i hope it's alright. :/**

* * *

Clara spun around dizzily by her ankles as Missy spoke from the ground across from her, sharpening a stick.

"Consider the Doctor. The Doctor trapped. The Doctor alone… You alright there, dear?"

"Where are we?" Clara asked. "Where's Alex? How did we—"

"Sh, now. Mommy's talking." Missy shushed her, continuing her narrative. "Okay, I'm going to tell you a story of the Doctor. It's classic. On the run, no Tardis. No friends, no help. In other words, the Doctor, happy. It was a long time ago. Doesn't matter which face he was wearing, they're all the Doctor to me. So let's give it to the eyebrows."

"But the Daleks—"

"Yes. I'm coming to that."

"Shouldn't we be, um… I don't want to say dead."

"Hush." Missy quieted her again. "He's traveling by teleporter. Unfortunately, his teleporter is out of power. Also unfortunate, he's being stalked by, oh, say about fifty android assassins? I may be rounding up." Missy shrugged, touching the pointed end of her stick. "Ow… Fifty invisible, indestructible android assassins, all exclusively programmed to kill him."

"Why are you sharpening that stick?" Clara interrupted and Missy decided to humor her

"Well, I've no idea how long we're going to be stuck out here. Might have to go hunting."

"So why am I tied up?"

"In case there's nothing to hunt." Missy winked, getting up and poking Clara to make her spin. "The Doctor, then. Surrounded. Outnumbered. Outgunned. And freeze. Nanoseconds to live. Four, I'd say, being generous. Now, my question is this. How did he survive?"

Clara frowned, trying to think despite all the blood rushing to her head.

"Oh, come on, Clara! You know him. Consider the Doctor. Alex too, if that will help."

"Where did he get that teleport thingy?" Clara finally asked, making Missy smile.

"Oh, good! Good! He stole one from an android."

"So, I'm guessing he uses the same energy as the android weapons, right?"

"Excellent! Not seeing you as sandwiches now."

"Okay, then. He uses the energy wave from the android weapons to recharge the teleport bracelet and at the exact moment he's supposed to disintegrate… he actually teleports." It clicks then. "Hang on. That's how you did it. That's how we escaped the Daleks."

"I modified the same principle for our vortex manipulators, yes. Blew them off, I'm afraid. But the Doctor, he… he improvised it. He must have gone through several thousand calculations in the time it takes to fire up a disintegrator. Seriously, what a swot!"

"So the androids think he's dead and the Doctor escapes."

"No, he's the Doctor… He fell into a nest of vampire monkeys." Missy corrected her. "But that's another story!"

Missy cut Clara down and hurried on.

"Why does the Doctor always survive?" She asked.

"Because he's clever." Clara panted out.

"Yes, but there's lots of clever dead people. I love killing clever clogs, they make the best faces."

Clara thought about it for a second, getting up. "Because he always assumes he's going to win. He always knows there's a way to survive. He just has to go and find it."

"Yes, except this time, he made a will and threw himself a goodbye party. Now, if the Doctor assumes he's going to die, what happens then?"

"Alex."

"Yes, well, she's not exactly with us, now is she?" Missy drawled, making Clara frown.

"Is she..."

"Oh, goodness, no." Missy waved off. "According to my vortex manipulator, my little trick worked for all three of us. Problem is, it wasn't made to do that for three people. Two should have been the limit, but I managed to tweak a few things in order for it to work for all three of us."

"Then where's Alex?"

"I honestly have no idea." The woman shrugged. "Still on this planet somewhere, is my guess. It wouldn't have dropped her off too far."

"You _lost_ her?!"

Missy waved Clara's concern off. "Oh, now, don't go giving me that. There _are_ some calculations that I didn't manage to get all the way through. I may be clever, but I can't account for every possibility. She'll be _fine_. She can take care of herself. Believe me. I would know. I've had quite the scuffle with her before."

"So she's safe? _Please_ tell me she's safe." Clara begged, not knowing what the Doctor would do if Alex was hurt, or possibly killed.

"I couldn't tell you. She'll definitely be a little space sick, but for all I know, she popped up in the middle of a Dalek war meeting or something. If she's lucky, she ended up in a storage closet, but I don't have _all_ the answers. She's alive though. For now, anyway."

"How do you know?" Clara asked suspiciously and Missy tapped her head.

"I can hear her. Not words or anything. She's gotten better at blocking me and others out of her head, but I can feel her presence. Being part Time Lord and part Tardis sort of makes it easy for other telepathic beings to notice you're around. The most I can give you is a vague direction. One that tells us that she's either still in the building we just escaped or she's past it somewhere out in the open, possibly."

"So you're saying that Alex is out there somewhere, on the home planet of the Daleks, and it's up to the two of us to help her _and_ the Doctor?"

"Ah, I'm glad you're catching on." Missy smiled. "Although, the Doctor is our first priority and he's trapped at the heart of the Dalek empire. He's a prisoner of the creatures who hate him most in the universe. Between us and him is everything the deadliest race in all of history can throw at us. _We_, on the other hand, have a pointy stick. How do we start?"

"We assume we're going to win." Clara said simply, though the worry on her face proved that it wasn't going to be as easy as she made it sound.

"Oh. Pity, really. I was actually quite peckish." Missy lightly complained, starting to walk across the desert before Clara hurried after her.

"Can I have a stick too?"

"Make your own stick."

* * *

I gasped, sucking in air only to vomit off to the side once I'd landed, ending up in some dark cavern somewhere. My stomach churned uncomfortably and my eyes still burned with tears as I struggled to get my bearings, much less deal with the giant mess that was my emotions. Between the Doctor's upcoming death, dealing with Missy and Clara's deaths, and my fear of snakes having already rattled my nerves, and I was one step away from a complete mental breakdown in the middle of the planet of Daleks. Oh, yeah. Things were going great. And did I mention? I'd just died too. Or, at least I think I did.

I let out a choked sob as I leaned back against the cavern wall, only to pull away at the slimy feeling; scrambling back along the ground as I looked around in a panic. _I'm in hell… I've died and gone to hell, haven't I? Creepy cavern, exterminated by Daleks, everyone I care for dying or going to die…_ I curled up into a ball, clutching my head.

"A-All it's missing is the s-s-snakes." I muttered bitterly, a half-laugh, half-whimper escaping my lips.

_Calm down. C-Come on, Alex. Get a hold of yourself!_ I took a deep stuttering breath and let it out, repeating the action a few times and trying to ignore the musty smell of the cavern as I willed my hearts to slow. _Good. Now let's work through this. __**Together.**_

**_~~~break~~~_**

_I lifted my head and opened my eyes, Eleven standing before me with a soft smile on his face as he held his hand out and helped me stand._

"_There we go. See? Better already."_

_I looked around to find myself standing in the Tardis observatory; the large domed top splattered with specks of white, blue, and gold stars and the plain silver metal floor under our feet vibrating with the Tardis's hum._

"_Why are we here?" I asked, turning back to him. "Why are you here?"_

_Twelve stood there now, rolling his eyes. "Really, it's _your_ head. What do you think I'm doing here?"_

_I clenched my eyes shut, shaking my head as I pinched the bridge of my nose. "S-So what? I've completely lost it and am having a conversation with a hallucination in my head?"_

_Ten shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose. But most people would probably call it a coping mechanism. You _are_ sort of having a hard time pulling yourself together. And who better to help you than this handsome man?"_

_He smiled as I snorted, shaking my head and coming to a decision._

"_Alright, then. If you're supposed to help, then help. What do I do?"_

_Eleven smiled, heading over and cupping my face with his hands as he pressed his forehead to mine. "Calm down."_

_I furrowed my brows. "I _am_ calm."_

"_No, you're not. Listen."_

_I did as he asked and closed my eyes, listening. I heard quick breaths, bordering on hyperventilation, the fast pace of two beating hearts pumping blood far too quickly. And I took those sounds and I focused on them. On slowing them down to match the calm sound of the Doctor's breathing and the beating of his own double hearts. Slowly, but surely, the sounds quieted and the Doctor kissed my forehead._

"_That's my girl."_

_He pulled away and I saw Ten grinning at me. "Now then! What next?"_

_I frowned. "I'm not sure. There's so much I've got to focus on—"_

"_Stop." Twelve said, looking at me seriously. "Find them and sort through them. Pick one at a time to deal with. Start with the first one to pop into your head."_

"_You're going to die." I blurted out and Ten pouted._

"_Again? Blimey. I seem to be doing that an awful lot, don't I?"_

"_You're telling me… What should I do?"_

_He shrugged, tucking his hands into his pockets. "Not much you _can_ do. What do you know?"_

_I pulled a hand through my hair. "Not much. It'll happen today. We're on Skaro, so probably death by Dalek or by Davros himself."_

_Eleven waved his hand. "Eh, deal with that later. You know I'm in trouble, so you need to get to me first. You can deal with the technicalities later."_

_I frowned, but thought of something. "But you knew about it." I took a step towards Twelve, poking him in the chest. "You knew you were going to die. You sent the confession dial and everything. You took your time to go out and party. This is just like last time, isn't it?"_

_A flash of Eleven doing a farewell tour passed before me; him taking me to see Craig and Stormageddon, seeing how all of his companions were doing, him meeting with the Teselecta and coming up with a plan ahead of time to save himself._

"_You already have a plan…" I breathed out, watching Twelve start to smile before I turned away and smacked myself in the forehead. "Of course! How could I not have seen that?! You may like the challenge of planning on the go, but this… this is important! This requires planning!" I spun around and pointed at a grinning Ten. "You have a plan!"_

"_I always have a plan!"_

_I raised a brow, a small smirk on my face. "Really?"_

_He opened his mouth, but shut it, pouting as he rubbed the back of his neck and glanced elsewhere. "Well, sometimes, anyway."_

"_That's what I thought."_

"_Moving on!" He clapped his hands together. "What's next?"_

_My smile dropped. "Missy and Clara."_

"_It's not your fault, Alex. We went over this." Eleven said, placing a hand on my cheek as I took in a deep breath to control myself._

"_I know. I know, but I can't help but think it is. You know that. There must have been something I could have done."_

"_Change of focus." Twelve said, turning me around and facing me the other way. "Where are you?"_

_I frowned, confused and tried to turn back. "But what does that—"_

"_Trust me."_

_I sighed and answered his question. "A cave of some sort."_

"_And?"_

"_And what? And what does this have to do with… oh." My eyes widened as realization hit me. "Oh! I'm not dead! And that means..." I turned around to the smiling Eleven. "Missy and Clara are alive! They're okay!"_

_A flood of relief went through me, until a thought came to mind._

"_But how? And where are they?"_

"_You know how." Ten said simply and I remembered how sick I felt upon showing up in the cavern._

"_The vortex manipulator. Missy must have done something to save us, but something must have gone wrong and I'm separated from them."_

"_So what are you going to do?" Twelve asked._

_I turned towards him and smiled. "I'm going to find you, of course. If I find you, I'll find them."_

_We both heard a noise then and turned; Eleven speaking up as we did._

"_You need to go."_

"_Will do."_

_Ten nodded as everything started to fade out. "And don't stop fighting."_

**_~~~break~~~_**

I opened my eyes suddenly, not remembering when I closed them, but feeling much better than before. I heard a noise then and bolted up from my place on the floor, desperately checking my pockets for something to use against the approaching Dalek—because what else could it be? Sure enough, a grey Dalek rolled around the corner just as my hand wrapped around something in my pocket.

"Intru—"

"Whoops!" I cut it off, throwing the round object that latched onto the metal shell of the Dalek and sparked; disabling it completely as I tossed another one of them in the air and caught it. "Electromagnetic pulse grenade. Disables Cybermen, computers, and even Daleks. Not completely and not for long, but just enough to have a good escape plan in the works. See ya!"

I bolted the opposite way, deeper down the cavern just as the Doctor's voice rang out.

"_Clara Oswald and Alexander Holmes. I want the both of them, safe, alive, and returned to me immediately. You bring them back. You do that. You do that now. Unharmed. Unhurt. Alive._"

"_Your associates—_" A Dalek started, but was cut off.

"_I saw what happened. I was there. And I'm hoping, for all of our sakes, that it was a trick._"

"_It was not deception._"

"_Because if Clara Oswald and Alex are really dead, then you'd better be very, very careful how you tell me._"

"Oh, Doctor." I murmured.

"_Who's going to go first? All the power Davros had is mine. Everything he had, I have. Who's going to tell me that Clara Oswald and Alexander Holmes are really dead?_"

"_Clara Oswald is not—_" The Dalek started before I very nearly ran into another Dalek.

"Whoops. Hello there."

"Intruder alert! The Seer is alive! The Seer is—"

The Dalek fizzled when the grenade I tossed landed on it's shell and I winced, knowing that I'd given myself away. _But then again, at least the Doctor knows I'm alright and won't do something drastic like blow up the planet._

"_Aha! See that? That's what I want to hear!_" The Doctor called out, hope filling his voice. "_And you're definitely in trouble if Alex is around, because she won't let you get away with this, just as much as I would! Snakes or no snakes!_"

I shivered at the mention of the reptiles, but stayed strong for now, because I knew what he was trying to tell me. He was stuck by Colony Sarff and it was up to me to get him out of this. I heard an alarm then and looked around, but there wasn't anything near me, so I hurried after the sound like any smart person would. I heard shouting and then an explosion off to my right and I continued to try and follow the sound as I heard voices. I hurried around a corner and blinked in surprise to find Missy standing beside a Dalek rather calmly.

"Um… am I going to need this?" I asked, holding up the electromagnetic pulse grenade as the Dalek turned it's eyestalk to me.

"I am a Dalek." The Dalek replied, making me raise a brow.

"Uh, yeah. I can see that. Hello to you too."

"Seer, I am a Dalek!" It called out and I looked over at Missy, who was smiling away like she had a secret.

"Oh, don't mind me. I've just sort of scrambled it's circuits. Wouldn't hurt a fly. Well, unless it starts to feel too emotional."

I frowned, confused. "I thought Daleks can't feel emotion."

"Sure they can. They just channel the emotion through their weapon." She turned to the Dalek. "Say I love you. Those exact words. Don't ask me why, just say it."

"Exterminate."

Missy chuckled. "Say, 'you are different from me'."

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

"Say, 'exterminate'."

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

The Dalek fired off a shot wildly and Missy grabbed me, pulling me out of the way as she danced around the gunshots with me. Finally, she held out her hands to calm the Dalek, who stopped as she explained; to it or to me, I couldn't tell.

"Cybermen suppress emotion. Daleks channel it through a gun. That's why they keep yelling exterminate. It's how they reload… So, let's go and kill them. Come on."

She led the way and I followed at her side, glancing warily at the Dalek rolling along behind us.

"Daleks channel emotion through a gun." I repeated and Missy nodded.

"Yup." She said, popping the 'p'.

"So… a Dalek could be apologizing when it kills someone." I muttered and she groaned.

"Oh, please don't do this, Alex. I know how you love to sympathize and forgive everyone and everything, but most Daleks aren't like that. They were creatures _born_ to hate and cause destruction. Many of whom are incapable of even forming the concept of forgiveness or love or happiness. So don't make them out as such."

I reluctantly nodded trying to focus my thoughts on the Doctor and what he might be up to now.

* * *

"They don't have much respect for you, do they? Your kids." The Doctor questioned Davros, feeling slightly better knowing that Alex was alive.

That meant that Clara and Missy were alive as well. He had been doubtful for a moment, but felt he should have given Missy some credit for taking care of them while he'd been stuck dealing with Davros. Of course, that didn't mean they were out of danger yet. They still had an army of Daleks to get past.

"Have you seen the state of this place? I mean, this is exactly where you dump a smelly old uncle slash family pet slash genius scientist who couldn't even invent legs. Seriously, how do your boys take it when everybody else has got two eyes?" He mocked Davros, though internally wincing at how Alex would have scolded him for it; evil Dalek creator or not.

"You know what it is, of course." Davros said, ignoring the Doctor's bait and commenting on his life support machine the Dotcor had been examining.

"Oh, yes. It's a hyperspace relay with some kind of genetic component."

"I am connected to the life force of every Dalek on this planet. It is what has kept me alive. As their hearts beat, so does mine." Davros explained.

"_Ooh_, nice. Vampiring off your own creations, just to eke out your days. I'm surprised the Daleks allow it."

"Oh, they have no choice. My Daleks are afflicted with a genetic defect."

"What defect?" The Doctor demanded to know, not knowing about this supposed defect.

"Respect. Mercy for their father. Design flaws I was unable to eliminate." Davros smirked as realization dawned on the Doctor as to what the cables hanging before him were capable of. "And now he sees it. _Now_ he understands. The cables, Doctor. Touch them. Imagine, to hold in your hand the heartbeat of every Dalek on Skaro. They send me life. Is it beyond the wit of a Time Lord to send them death? A little work and it could be done."

"And why would you be telling me this?" The Doctor asked, cautious.

"Genocide in a moment. Such slaughter, not in self-defense. Not as a simple act of war. Genocide as a choice. Are you ready, Doctor? So many backs with a single knife." Davros took his hand and raised it to the cables. "Are you ready to be a God?"

And the Doctor actually considered it. To be finally rid of his greatest enemy in one go. He was suspicious, sure. He knew better than to trust a gift from someone like Davros, who handed it over easily. Like he was taunting him. Waving the carrot in front of the mule to see if it would bite. And it was working. The Doctor _wanted_ to get rid of them. He wanted to end this once and for all. End the suffering, the pain caused by what the Daleks had done to him all those years ago and what they continued to do to him even now. But then he remembered something. A memory that had pushed itself up to the forefront of his mind. The meta-crisis Doctor and what he'd been about to do back with Donna and the others. The fact that, afterward, he discovered that _Alex_ had been the one to flip the switch. That _she'd_ taken those lives to try and protect him from making that mistake.

"_Killing is never a good thing. It is never right, no matter how cruel the person is."_ Her future self had told him when he'd asked her a philosophy question once. She always tried so hard for his sake to keep the deaths down to zero. She tried for beings who didn't even deserve it, and here he was, ready to kill a whole race because of what? Petty revenge? Killing them wouldn't stop the pain. Killing the Daleks wouldn't being back all those people who were lost in the war. Killing would do nothing but make him even more miserable and guilty than he was now. And when he saw his hand hovering before the cables, he wrinkled his nose in disgust for even considering it and lowered his hand.

"Why do you hesitate? No one would know. Clara Oswald and the Seer are as good as dead." Davros said, the Doctor moving away from the cables as Davros turned his chair to face him. "Is this the conscious of the Doctor, or his shame? The shame that brought you here."

"There's no such thing as the Doctor." The Doctor snapped, stomping away. "I'm just a bloke in a box, telling stories. And I didn't come here because I'm ashamed. A bit of shame never hurt anyone… I came… because you're sick and you asked. And because sometimes, on a good day, if I try very hard… and Alex is there with me, to support me… I'm not some old Time Lord who ran away. I'm the Doctor."

"Compassion then."

"Always."

"It grows strong and fierce in you, like a cancer." Davros returned.

"I hope so."

"It will kill you in the end."

And with every word, the Doctor grew prouder of what he'd done.

"I wouldn't die of anything else."

"You may rely on it."

The Doctor pulled a hand through his hair tiredly, honestly wishing he hadn't gotten himself in this mess in the first place.

"There is a question, Doctor. One I have longed to ask." Davros said, gaining the Doctor's attention once more.

"Yeah, well, if you're going to put your hand on my knee, it isn't going to go well. I'm happily married." He quipped, though Davros ignored him.

"Why did you leave Gallifrey?"

"Well, because I did."

"You stole the Tardis and ran and ran. Why?"

"It's a boring place, Gallifrey. I was going out of my mind." The Doctor replied, bored.

"Yet you long to return."

"Ah, well, I'm inconsistent."

"But it is always the same lie."

"What lie?" He asked, furrowing his brows.

"You weren't bored. No one runs the way you have run for so small a reason."

"I do." The Doctor insisted.

"No, you don't... Colony Sarff confiscated these items on your arrival." Davros said, rolling over to a box on a table nearby. "A Time Lord confession dial, I believe. Your confession. Tell me. Send me to my grave with this precious knowledge. What _is_ the Doctor's confession?"

Davros reached for the will, but the Doctor shouted at him.

"Don't you dare!"

"Is it possible I have touched a nerve?"

"Some things matter to me, Davros. Not many, but a few. And you don't put your fingers anywhere near them." The Doctor snapped, reaching into the box and pulling out his sunglasses. "And they'd better not be scratched. These are my best ones."

"Still you play the fool." Davros drawled as the Doctor put on the sunglasses.

"Well, by now that should make you nervous." The Doctor replied, tucking away the small picture of him and Alex he'd slipped out of the box as well. "_Especially_ when Alex is in danger."

* * *

"Halt! Report!" A Dalek said as Missy and I held up our hands in surrender.

"Humanoid intruders found on lower levels." The Dalek behind us replied.

"Why as the intruder not been exterminated? Explain. Explain. Explain!" It demanded and I glanced back at the Dalek behind us in confusion.

_Why isn't it answering?_

"We're prisoners of special significance. Count the hearts." Missy answered for it and the Dalek scanned us.

"You are Time Lords?"

"Time _Ladies_, thank you." Missy corrected. "Some of us can afford the upgrade. And this is the Seer. Did I mention?" She said, pushing me in front of her a bit as I scowled at her; not appreciating the automatic target she placed on my back. "Is it the same old Supreme Dalek these days? I fought him once on the slopes of the Never Vault. Tell him the bitch is back."

"You will follow." It screeched out and we followed it back to the control room where Missy smiled.

"Oh, hello! Look at you all, with your nice, shiny domes. Oh, I am loving this. You're my secret favorite. Don't tell the others."

I sighed, rolling my eyes as Missy bounded over and spun me around into a dip; surprising me as I clung to her arm in fear of being dropped.

"Don't be jealous, Alex. You're still my favorite Time Lady." She smirked with a wink, pulling me back up and I quickly took a step away from her, unsure.

"You are an enemy of the Daleks." The Dalek Supreme said, drawing our attention back to it.

"Yes, well, anyone who's not a Dalek is an enemy of the Daleks. So that was an easy guess."

"You will be exterminated!"

"Please. Please do. Because I have been on my feet all day. But before you get all extermiate-y, two things. One, I want to see Davros. Two, I have a lovely little gift for you all, if you take me to him right now."

"We do not negotiate."

"Clara Oswald and the Seer. I brought you complete control of the Doctor, gift-wrapped. Better. Clara Oswald is canned and the Seer has a fear of snakes. Shouldn't be too hard to grab her."

"M-Missy!" I shouted, growing nervous as the Daleks all stared at us and I feared she might very well get me killed.

* * *

"Make your confession, Doctor. Why did you really leave Gallifrey?" Davros questioned, but the Doctor changed the subject.

"How long has it been, you and I?"

"Long enough. Galaxies have burned."

"And now you ask me a personal question?"

"You have slaughtered billions of my children, as I have slaughtered billions of your race. We have exhausted the conventional means of communication." Davros argued, and the Doctor took off his sunglasses angrily.

"My people are alive. They didn't die. I brought them back. I found a way."

"Is this true?"

"Gallifrey is back in the sky. I don't know where, I may never know. But Gallifrey is back and it is safe from both of us."

"Doctor, my most sincere congratulations." Davros said, surprising the Doctor as he chuckled, lost.

"I'm sorry?"

"This is wonderful news. Beyond all hope. I congratulate you."

"Why are you saying that?" The Doctor asked, confused.

"A man should have a race, a people, an allegiance. A man should belong, Doctor. Believe me, _please_. I am happy for you. So happy."

"I don't, I don't understand this. Why are you—" The Doctor cut himself off upon seeing Davros actually begin to cry, sobbing quietly

"Come closer again. Let me see your face."

"You've seen it often enough."

"Let me see it again with my own eyes."

The blue eye on Davros's head flickered out and after a second, he opened his eyes. His _actual_ eyes.

"Closer, please." He begged and the Doctor knelt before him. "If you have redeemed the Time Lords from the fire, do not lose them again. Take the darkest path into the deepest hell, but protect your own as I have sought to protect mine… Did I do right, Doctor? Tell me." He asked, placing his metal hand on the Doctor's; it shaking slightly. "Was I right? I need to know before the end… Am I a good man?"

A flash of when he'd asked Clara that very same question flickered through his mind briefly, but the Doctor brushed it aside for the man before him.

"You really are dying, aren't you?"

"Look at me. Did you doubt it?"

"Yes." The Doctor admitted.

"Then we have established one thing only."

"What?"

"You are not a good doctor." Davros said and the Doctor tilted his head before they both began to laugh.

After a moment though, Davros had a hard time breathing, being forced to stop as the Doctor stood and looked at him in concern.

"Pity. I had hoped to see the sun one last time with the eyes of my true self." Davros said and the Doctor looked out to see the light of the approaching dawn.

After a moment of recovering himself, Davros rolled his chair over to the window and the Doctor got to work hooking it up to the life support device, trying to find a way to help the dying man.

"It is beautiful, my world, is it not?"

"How did you get it back?"

"The Daleks remade it. Like you, they have a strong concept of home." Davros said, having to clear his throat.

"No, like you. Everything you are, they are."

"Like both of us, perhaps. How far we have come to go home again."

The Doctor hooked a cable up to his chair and began desperately trying to start it up.

"I'm trying to pep this up, but you've been going a long time. Every Dalek on Skaro isn't enough any more."

"It is so good of you to help me." Davros said

"I'm not helping you. I'm helping a little boy I abandoned on a battlefield. I think I owe him a sunrise." He said, noticing Davros starting to fade. "Come on, chin up. Any minute now."

"I have always admired you, Doctor." Davros admitted.

"Here it comes."

"I wish, just once, we had been on the same side."

The Doctor paused, but leaned over towards him.

"Look, the sun's coming up. We're on the same side now."

"I regret I cannot open my eyes." Davros cried and the Doctor didn't know what to do, but soon came up with an idea, swinging his hand around and making his hand glow.

"Okay, don't ever tell anyone that I did this. Especially my wife. She'd rip me a new one if she found out. A little bit of regeneration energy. Probably cost me an arm or a leg somewhere down the line. Or I'll just be really little." He said, not hearing Davros begin to chuckle as he grabbed a hold of one of the cables. "Should be enough, just to—"

A snake swung down and grabbed his hand though, making him scream as he was forced to take hold of the cables; painfully loosing regeneration energy.

"Hold him firm, Colony Sarff. He is precious to us now." Davros called out, sounding much better than before.

"What are you doing?!" The Doctor demanded.

"Regeneration energy. The ancient magic of the Time Lords. I thought I would have to tear you apart to take it from you but, as always, your compassion is your downfall." Davros explained as the Doctor began to beg; him growing even stronger than before.

"No! No! No, please! No!"

"You have opened your veins of your own free will, and all Daleks shall drink the blood of Gallifrey. They shall rise stronger than ever. Though it's a shame I couldn't have taken the Seer's energy for this. The constant ability to absorb Artron energy would have made her the best conduit, and she has caused me just as much pain as you through the years. It would have been nice to hear her scream."

* * *

"Where is Clara Oswald?" The Supreme Dalek demanded. "You will tell us! You will tell us! You will tell—"

Missy stopped spinning me around in a dance as the Daleks suddenly slumped and went quiet.

"I'm sorry. Was I, um… Was I boring you?"

I felt a sinking in my stomach, hearing a scream on the border of my consciousness and I turned my head to the door in fear.

"Doctor..." I breathed out, taking off as Missy hurried after me; the Daleks leaking golden regeneration energy.

"No, no, no, no. Doctor, what have you done?" Missy groaned as the Dalek followed after us.

"What is happening?"

"We have to find the Doctor." She called out to it and I silently wondered why this Dalek wasn't glowing like the others and why Missy seemed intent on letting it know what we were planning.

I couldn't keep thinking about it though. Not when the Doctor was in danger. And I readied another grenade as I followed his mental presence. Missy was the one who blasted the door open, having grabbed the gun off a Dalek somehow, but as she took out the snakes I tossed the grenade onto the controls for the life support; shutting it down. I stiffened at the sound of Colony Sarff hissing, but I threw the fear aside as I skid to a halt beside the unconscious Doctor.

"Doctor? Doctor, get up." I said, patting his face before he opened his eyes and sat up abruptly.

"Alex… Where's Clara?"

I let out a sigh of relief as Missy rolled her eyes.

"Oh, hello to you too."

"You're alive, so she is too. Where is she?" He demanded, looking to me, but I honestly had no clue, so he turned to Missy.

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking."

"Sorry. I was separated from them." I said, helping him up and cringing as I stepped on a dead snake. "Missy was alone when I found her."

"And you didn't think to ask?" He frowned and I scowled back.

"Oh, well. Between the mental break down, the Daleks trying to kill me, and this whole disaster—Yes! Of course I asked!" I snapped at him, tossing a hand at Missy. "You know how she is! And I'm fine, by the way. You're welcome for the electromagnetic pulse grenade. You're lucky I'm clever and get awfully bored in the library, or I would've been _dead_."

"Oh, you are not fine." Davros interrupted us. "Thanks to you, Doctor, my creations shall grow to yet greater supremacy, and my own life is prolonged. This is the final defeat of the Time Lords. Have you _nothing_ to say, Doctor?"

"Three." The Doctor said, grabbing his confession dial from a box and tucking it into his pocket as I rolled my eyes.

"Do you understand what has happened? Hear my children sing." Davros grinned, not realizing that the Doctor was counting down to his demise.

"Two."

"Ooh, I know that face." Missy said, catching on as I scoffed.

"Yeah? Well he's going to have a _new_ face when I'm done with him."

"All praise Davros, creator and savior of the Daleks." Davros went on, before the Doctor finished, brushing off his shoulders.

"One."

The ground quaked violently then, myself having to grab onto Missy, who wiggled her brows as she held onto my waist.

"What is that? What's happening?" Davros questioned and the Doctor quickly explained.

"I knew exactly what you were doing and I let you do it. You transmitted regeneration energy into every Dalek on this planet. Every single one."

"What have you done?!"

"One word. Uh, no. Two words, actually. First word, moron." The Doctor said and Missy snickered as I smacked him on the arm. "Second word, sewers."

I blinked, entirely confused. "Sewers?"

Missy rolled her eyes. "Yes, dear. Where you found us? That cavern? It's actually the sewers. And it just so happens that it's made of decomposing Daleks."

I stuck out my tongue in disgust, tugging at my coat. "Ugh, seriously? I leaned back against that wall!"

"Hm, I thought you smelled a little funny." She joked as I smacker her arm as well. "And I just figured you spilled some tea on the back."

I groaned, spinning in place as I tried to look over my shoulder at my coat. "Are you serious? This is like the fourth coat I've used in the past week! Sexy's going to be furious!"

"Oh, dear. I'm not mad." Missy said and the Doctor scowled, coming between us suddenly.

"Right. No flirting. I don't appreciate the flirting."

Missy stuck out her tongue as I turned a nice red color; Davros interrupting once again.

"No. This cannot be correct. How can this be?"

"Generations of Daleks just woke up very cross, and they are coming up the pipes." The Doctor explained, taking my hand in his. "Or, to put it another way, _bye_."

He pulled me to the door and Missy soon called out after us as we ran, up until the ground shook and the Doctor fell; pulling me down with him and making my hand touch some dark goop coming from a small drain in the wall.

"Oh, that's gross." I complained as he pulled me up.

"Don't whine. We're in a hurry."

"Fine. I'll wipe it on your coat then." I snipped, doing just that as we rounded a corner and a Dalek suddenly rolled up.

"Doctor. Seer."

We pulled to a stop, hands out in surrender as the Doctor quickly tried to distract the Dalek.

"This city is about to be sucked into the ground. Your own sewer is about to consume you. There's no way you can win. There is nothing you can do. So just tell me, where is Clara Oswald?"

"I am a Dalek." It said, making me furrow my brows in confusion.

"Yes. You're a Dalek. Where is Clara?"

"I am a Dalek."

"Yes. I know that you're a Dalek. Where is Clara Oswald?" The Doctor repeated and the Dalek moved towards us, sounding almost frantic.

"I am a Dalek! I am a Dalek!"

"Doctor, I think—"

I was cut off by Missy rushing forward with her gun, pointing it at the Dalek.

"Doctor, Alex, stop!" She lowered her gun slightly though. "It's you, isn't it? I mean, no offense. You all look alike, but it is… it is you?"

"Affirmative."

I understood then, that this was the Dalek that had followed Missy and I, but I couldn't understand why the Dalek wasn't effected by the sewers _nor_ whatever it was the Doctor had tried to do. This Dalek was _wrong_, but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why.

"Clara's dead, Doctor." Missy finally said and I turned to her in shock. "This is the one that killed her."

"Do not listen to her. I am a Dalek. I am a Dalek." The Dalek repeated and I looked between it and Missy in confusion.

"I got her out of the city, but this one caught us and shot her down. There was nothing I could do, I'm afraid." Missy said, but that story didn't make sense.

_If Clara was killed, then how did Missy escape? Not only that, but escape leaving the Dalek alive as well as somehow making it go insane? That doesn't make any sense. Something about this story is wrong, but… but what?_

"I am a Dalek."

"She ran. She screamed. I'm so glad you didn't have to see that."

"I am a Dalek. I am a Dalek. I am a Dalek!" The Dalek repeated.

"This one's a mad one, isn't it? I mean, it's almost like it's _proud_." Missy said, coming up behind the Doctor.

"I am a Dalek. I am a Dalek. I am a Dalek!"

She handed him the gun. "Kill it, Doctor. They're all going to die anyway. Indulge yourself. Go on. Kill the Dalek." She enticed him and I struggled to say something, anything, to stop him.

"Do not kill me! Do not kill me!" The Dalek screeched and then it clicked.

_No…_ The Doctor lifted the gun and aimed it at the Dalek, but I moved to stand between them; arms open.

"No!"

"Alex?" He questioned, lowering his gun. "Alex, what are you doing?"

"Don't kill it." I argued, nervous with two Dalek guns pointed in my direction.

"But it killed Clara." Missy argued, the Dalek behind me speaking up.

"I am a Dalek. I am alive. I am your enemy. Your enemy."

"But look at it!" I called out frantically as the Doctor moved to raise the weapon again. "Listen! It's different! It wasn't effected by the regeneration energy! It's not being attacked by the sewers! It's not _killing_ us! It's not fighting back! It begged us not to kill it! There's something different with it! I-I don't know what it is, but there's something about this Dalek that's different!"

"Mercy. Mercy." The Dalek said then, making me turn to it in surprise as the Doctor even stared in shock.

"You shouldn't be able to say that."

"Mercy." It repeated.

"That word shouldn't exist in your vocabulary! How did Davros teach you to say that?" The Doctor demanded.

I turned towards the Dalek. "I don't think he did..."

"Mercy."

"Alex is right. Why aren't you trying to kill us?"

"Mercy. I show mercy." It said and the Doctor slowly lowered his gun.

"I'm putting the gun down. Open your casing."

"How?"

I blinked. _Shouldn't a Dalek know how to do this? Unless… it's not a Dalek._

"Just think the word 'open'. It'll work."

The casing opened then and the two of us stared in shock to see Clara wired into the Dalek.

"Oh, look at that. Now, there's a surprise."

"Missy, run." The Doctor said sharply as Clara panted, looking exhausted.

"Oh, Doctor… Alex..."

The Doctor rushed over and began unhooking her as Missy started up again.

"In a way, this is why I gave her to you in the first place. To make you see. The friend inside the enemy, the enemy inside the friend."

"I'm sorry, Clara. I'm so sorry!" The Doctor apologized to her, ignoring Missy.

"Everyone's a bit of both. Everyone's a hybrid."

"I said, run." He snapped, just as something jabbed itself into my neck and a hand covered my mouth before I could make a sound; things starting to go hazy.

"It wasn't me who ran, Doctor. That was always you."

He turned to me and I saw his eyes widen in fear, hearing him call my name just before everything went black.

* * *

I opened my eyes, mind hazy and the pale white room spinning, making my stomach churn before I draped an arm over my eyes with a groan. My mind felt like someone had taken an egg beater to it and I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out how I'd gotten to wherever I was or what had happened to get me here. _I-I remember… the planes had stopped, the Master was a woman… Clara was a Dalek? But then… we were leaving. The sewers were blowing up and the Doctor was unplugging Clara from the Dalek and then… What happened then?_

"Ah! Perfect!" The familiar voice of the Doctor said, rather loudly, as he entered the room and rushed over to my side. "How are you feeling? Headache? Dizziness? Nausea? Does anything hurt? Sharp pain, dull aches, bruises, bumps, nicks, scrapes, scratches? Are you—"

"Shut…_ up_." I complained, ears ringing despite the pillow I'd used to cover them. "Do you _always_ talk this loudly?"

"Ah, sensitive hearing." He said, much quieter, thankfully. "That will go away within the hour. Though the headache might last a bit longer."

I groaned, not pleased with that prospect as he went on.

"And seeing as confusion would be a normal reaction after being unconscious, I'll explain. Missy drugged you and tried to kidnap you, but I saved you and got you, Clara, and myself off Skaro and away to safety. You're welcome." He said proudly and I peered out from under the pillow.

"Doctor, come here."

"Hm?" He hummed, leaning in.

"Closer."

He leaned in even closer and I swiftly elbowed him harshly in the face as I forced myself to sit up and glare at him; holding my head to try and keep the room from spinning.

"You _idiot!_" I snapped at him as he rubbed at his jaw with a grimace of pain. "You think this is funny?! What do you think was going through my head this whole time, huh?! I thought you were supposed to _die_! I thought _Clara_ had died! I just had to deal with my greatest fear—which I didn't even know existed until now—loose my friend after _just_ getting over the fact that she already died _once_ because of me, trying to figure out a way to save you, discovering the Master was alive _and_ a woman, a-and somehow manage to pull through all of this with absolutely no time t-to deal with anything because this whole situation is just… just so chaotic a-and, I-I can't..." My voice cracked as tears clogged my throat; a fist shaking at my side as I pulled at my short hair with my other hand, desperately trying to keep myself together. "I-I just can't do this anymore. I-It's too much all at once, a-and I don't… I don't know what to do. I'm trying, b-but I can feel myself falling apart with every thing I shove back to deal with later, but there's never a 'later'. It just keeps building up and up and up, a-a-and I don't… It just keeps leaking out. I-I can't keep holding it back, b-but I can't just deal with it in the middle o-of a situation like that and then you joke and laugh about it, and I feel like I-I'm the only one w-who's panicking. And that only m-makes me feel worse."

"A-Alex, I didn't..."

I took a deep breath and let it out shakily, calming myself as best I could as I got up from off the bed.

"Man, that felt really good," I said.

I looked at the Doctor to see him still staring at me.

"Sorry. I just really needed to get that out. Thanks, for everything, really." I muttered, making to leave, but the Doctor grabbed my arm.

"Alex, you need to talk about this. You can't keep holding it back."

I looked up at him, just taking in his expression and his facial features. His furrowed brows, the small worried scowl on his face, the way his eyes sparkled with concern. And it didn't matter if it was this face or Ten's or Eleven's. The Doctor, my husband, always worried far too much, always had the same expression when I was dealing with something that he wanted to help me with and… Dammit. I love him.

"Oh, what the hell." I murmured.

I reached up and draped my arms around his neck, pressing my lips to his in a desperate need to feel that love from him as well. To know that he loved me and cared about everything I was going to spill to him in the next few moments. And he gave me that and more as he returned the affection, reassuring me that he would be there no matter what, and that's all I needed before I broke down into tears; clinging to him as he shushed me and I admitted everything, curled up in his arms as he soothed all of the deep jagged wounds in my heart.

* * *

**_Sneak Peak:_**

_"Oi! Watch it pal!" The person I'd bumped into shouted rather loudly._

_"Sorry, sorry. Should have been looking where I was… going..." I trialed off, looking at the Donna Noble scowling at me._

_"Yeah. Yeah, you should have." She huffed, storming off; myself ignoring the slight stinging of the back of my hand where the coffee had splashed onto it._

_She walked away, head held high and I watched her go as my mind ran rampant. _Donna… That was Donna. Not only that, but a Donna Noble that didn't recognize me. So this is before we met entirely…_ I grinned devilishly._

_"Ooh, this sounds like fun."_


	70. Partners in Crime

**Alright. Here it is. The chapter that I absolutely _despise. _Please, _please_ review and let me know what you think. I need some honest opinions on this one because I think it's absolutely horrid. But on the plus side, the next chapter is extra long and will be the 50th anniversary chapter. so look forward to next week :)**

**KizaMizuKHR: ****Just to let you know, I only realized when i was writing chapter 71 that I'd forgotten the fact that Alex had regenerated and Ten wasn't supposed to recognize her. I tried to fix that in this chapter but I need to go back and do something about that in chapter 65. That was my mistake and thank you for pointing it out. I'd forgotten which chapter I needed to fix that in. I really need to pay more attention to when I do something big like that. *sighs***

* * *

You know all those sappy stories your friends tell you about their boyfriends? You know, the ones where their boyfriends took them on some romantic trip somewhere for their three month anniversary or how they went and dressed up all nice and reenacted some movie scene that you loved ever since you were a little girl and they treated you like a princess for the whole day or something like that? And all you ever wanted to do was just groan and tell them to stop rubbing their happiness in your face, but instead you smiled away and said how sweet it was and how you wished someone would do that for you? No? Well, I sort of understood them now. I honestly don't think I'd ever loved the Doctor more than those two and a half months I spent with him after that disastrous day on Skaro.

He took me on all sorts of trips after leaving Clara to her relaxing time at home. We had some not so relaxing trips, but others were just the sweetest thing. He took me to the Eye of Orion the first week I was with him and it had the most amazingly beautiful moonsets that I'd ever seen. And it was like he knew everything I wanted and needed after that. He'd give me some space after a few days and let me relax on my own in the library or work out in the gym. He'd join me on occasion and read a book aloud to me until I fell asleep, since the nightmares had returned. He made us food sometimes too, apparently a better cook in this regeneration than his Eleventh self who could barely make toast without setting the kitchen on fire. And boy, could he cook. I don't think I'd even been more well fed than those two and a half months and if I hadn't continued to work out, I would have definitely become a fat couch Sontaran within the first couple of weeks.

He was so sweet though, giving me kisses here and there for no reason and his constant murmurs of how amazing and brilliant I was, really made my heart soar. My ears would tingle every time he whispered how much he loved me and my stomach was constantly doing somersaults as we both became the two biggest love-struck puppies in the universe. By the time we picked Clara up, she questioned what we'd done with her friends because—last time she checked—bumbling, giggling idiots weren't allowed on the Tardis. Of course, before I could argue with her that we were just having a good time, I'd popped off.

It had been a few days since then and I'd quickly acclimated to the London streets. Though I was technically homeless, I didn't want to go out of my way to purchase a flat only to have the Doctor show up a moment later and abandon it. So I usually hung around twenty-four hour diners and—thanks to my Time Lord side—sleep wasn't necessary for at least a few days, so I knew I'd be alright unless the Doctor proved to be months or years late. _To which I'll have to scold him about being on time, though it's technically the universe's fault, but shouting at the universe will do nothing for me. Scolding the Doctor at least makes me feel a little better and he needs a good scolding every now in then or his ego inflates too much._ I snickered into my coffee cup as I wandered around, only to bump shoulders with someone.

"Oi! Watch it pal!" The person I'd bumped into shouted rather loudly.

"Sorry, sorry. Should have been looking where I was… going..." I trailed off, looking at _the_ Donna Noble scowling at me.

"Yeah. Yeah, you should have." She huffed, storming off; myself ignoring the slight stinging of the back of my hand where the coffee had splashed onto it.

She walked away, head held high and I watched her go as my mind ran rampant. _Donna… That was Donna. Not only that, but a Donna Noble that didn't recognize me. So this is before we met entirely… _I grinned devilishly.

"Ooh, this sounds like fun."

I double checked the bracelet around my wrist, something the Twelfth Doctor had given me just in case I bumped into a version of him that was too early to know this me. He didn't specify _when_ that was, but he made it sound like it was near the end of his Tenth regeneration, so I'd aim for keeping it on when I was with Ten. The bracelet itself was a rather plain braided leather brown thing, but apparently it made me look like my past self. While it was nice I got to choose when the Doctor first meets this new me, it was kind of sad too, that I had to hide myself from him like this. I shook the thought from my head though, and I followed after Donna as she heading into a large building and when I passed the sign with it's title on it, I had to pause and back track.

"Ooh, even better."

_Adipose Industries. I get to see cute little fat babies!_ I chuckled, easily following Donna in through the front door and even into the viewing room where Miss Foster was giving a speech on her product. Unlike Donna and the Doctor, I didn't need to uselessly flash everyone an ID. _Really, I think they're just purposely being dramatic. I understand if someone asks you for one, or if they look at you suspiciously, but if you just walk in like you know what you're doing, then no one really pays any attention to you; whether you belong or not. That, and I think I left my psychic paper in my other coat…_ I pouted childishly as I sat in the back and sipped my coffee; grumbling under my breath about how my coats all looked the same.

Once Miss Foster started up her speech, I hate to say it, but I fell asleep. I was only awoken by the person beside me bumping into my knees as they tried to get out of the aisle. I hurriedly apologized and moved out of the way so they could get past before scrambling out myself. I scratched the back of my head in confusion though, because I appeared to have lost sight of Donna. I shrugged, knowing where her and the Doctor would have been headed and I made sure to grab a second cup of coffee from the break room before I headed over to the calling center and plopped down in a chair beside a smiling young man a he called up another potential customer.

I waved a hand and whispered quietly so as not to disturb his call. "Don't mind me. Routine customer service inspection. Just making sure you're doing everything Miss Foster needs you to do."

I smiled and winked as he nodded and smiled in return, going back to his call. He kept glancing at me though, which confused me, but I just figured I had a coffee mustache or something on my face so I ignored the looks as I picked up the pendant the man was describing to a customer.

"It's made of eighteen carat gold and it's yours for free."

I let out a soft whistle as I leaned back in my seat and held it up above my face. "Eighteen carats is quite a bit to be giving away for free. Miss Foster spares no expenses." I sat up and leaned onto the man's desk as I gestured to his computer with a smile. "Could you print out a customer list for me please? Promise I'll put in a good word to the higher-ups for ya."

He bobbed his head and I poked my head over the top of the cubicles.

"Is that the printer over by the plant?"

"Sure is." He replied as I ducked down, very nearly getting spotted by Donna as she popped up asking her worker the same; followed by the Doctor.

"I honestly think you lot should have your own printers if you have enough money to be giving away those pendants for free."

"That's what _I_ said! I mean, they want us to be more efficient with the number of customers we call up, but how can we do that when we have to walk all the way over there just to pick up what we printed out?" He said, spinning his chair around as I poked my head up once more.

"That _is_ pretty far." I popped back down before Donna spotted me again, only to jump at the lack of distance between me and… "W-What did you say your name was?"

"Jack." He smiled flirtatiously as he looked me up and down. "And yours?"

_Oh great. Another one._ I mentally groaned. But before I could come up with some excuse not to say my name, Miss Foster walked in and called out to everyone.

"Excuse me, everyone. If I could have your attention." She said, and I would have breathed a sigh of relief, if Jack hadn't stood up and leaned forward; placing his hands on the top of the cubicle behind me and thus trapping me where I was between him and the cubicle wall.

Oblivious to my uncomfortable expression, he winked as Miss Foster went on.

"On average, you're each selling forty Adipose packs per day. It's not enough. I want one hundred sales per person per day. And if not, you'll be replaced. Because if anyone's good in trimming the fat, it's me. Now. Back to it."

She walked off and Jack slowly sat back down, dragging his hand down to my upper thigh as he smiled.

"Now why don't I just print off that list for you so we can _both_ get back to business." He hummed and I nodded.

"Y-Yes! Yes. Course. I'll just, uh… Go wait by the printer! Thanks, Jack!" I said scrambling to get away from the over-affectionate man and nabbing the first paper that was spat out of the printer before I bolted from the room and into the nearest restroom.

It didn't help that it was a mens' restroom, but it was thankfully empty and gave me a chance to compose myself and mentally complain. _Oh, God. Why do I keep doing that?! I don't even know when I'm flirting and I just went and somehow managed to catch myself a flirtatious gay guy… _again_. God, the Doctor's going to get all possessive if he finds out._ I stared at myself determinedly in the mirror. _No. I won't let him find out. Besides, he was being flirted with today too. So we're even… I hope._ Shaking myself out of it, I walked out of the restroom and hunted down one of the customers at random. The young mother of three was very pleasant to talk to and I was more than happy to bounce one of her kids on my knee as she tried to deal with the other two and speak with me at the same time. Once I had the answers as I expected to get, I called a cab up and headed back to Adipose Industries, where I fell asleep on a bench just outside until morning. I thought I could have just found the Tardis and popped in on the Doctor—knowing that he was feeling rather lonely that night—but I didn't for more than one reason. I've picked up his habit of wanting a dramatic entrance, it seemed. Couldn't pass up _that_ opportunity. When morning came around, I yawned with a cat like stretch, before heading inside and tapping a security officer on the shoulder.

"Hi, sorry. I'm still a bit new around here. Could you point me to Miss Foster's office?"

He nodded, gesturing to an elevator. "Take that elevator, twelfth floor, last door at the end of the hall."

"Thanks. Oh! And is there a restroom near there? Or do I have to find one on a lower floor?"

"The restroom will be around the first corner on your right once you get up there." He drawled out, sounding a bit annoyed now, though I smiled pleasantly.

"Thanks so much."

I headed straight to the elevator and once up on the twelfth floor, I ducked into a bathroom stall in the mens' room; taping a piece of paper to the door and scribbling on it 'out of order' with the pen I'd pulled from my never-ending pockets. And with that, my hideout was secure. Though I wasn't going to be like Donna and the Doctor. I wasn't about to hide out in a _bathroom stall_ of all paces to hide from Foster and her minions. Oh, no. I was going to wait until she left to search for Penny—the reporter woman who's supposed to get caught—and while she's off doing that, I'll have a bit of time to snoop and find a hiding place _inside_ the office. That being said, I did _not_ expect it to take so long for the woman to leave her office. Thankfully the Tardis had though, or I would have been bored out of my mind without the multitude of books tucked away in my pockets.

_Blimey, I read way too fast now. _I mused, looking around the small bathroom stall that now had books precariously stacked on the toilet, myself, and the toilet paper dispenser. I heard Miss Foster then though, talking about finding someone and I knew that now was my chance; quickly tucking my books back into my coat and hurrying to the door to peek out. When I didn't see the woman nor her gun-wielding security guards, I grinned and made a mad dash to her office. Once there, I immediately went to the top left drawer of her desk and pulled out the little Adipose that had been tucked away in there with a coo.

"Oh, aren't you just the _cutest_ little fat baby _ever_!" I smiled, holding up the Adipose and tickling his stomach with a finger as he chuckled. "Absolutely _adorable_, you are. How could that big ol' meany Foster lock you up in a desk, hm? Shame on her."

The Adipose cooed back at me and I mentally smacked myself as I looked around the room.

"Ah, cute fat babies are so distracting. I need a hiding place. Somewhere inside that won't be easily found..." I looked at the panel behind the desk and grinned as I turned to the Adipose kicking his little feet on my shoulder. "Oh, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

* * *

"This is ridiculous!" Penny complained as she was pushed into Miss Foster's office; the Doctor ducking out of sight on the other side of the window just in time.

"Sit there." Miss Foster said, but Penny was being difficult.

"I'm phoning my editor!"

"I said _sit_."

The security guard forced her to sit as Miss Foster took a seat behind her own desk and the guards began to tie Penny to the chair.

"You can't tie me up! What sort of a country do you think this is?"

"Oh, it's a beautifully _fat_ country. And believe me, I've traveled a long way to find obesity on this scale."

Penny, ever the eager journalist, pressed for answers; neither her not Miss Foster noticing Donna peeking into the room from a window in a side door nearby. "So, come on the, Miss Foster, those pills. What are they?"

"Well, you might just as well have a scoop, since you'll never see it printed. This..." Miss Foster held up one of the Adipose pills. "...is the spark of life."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Officially, the capsule attracts all the fat cells and flushes them away. Well, it certainly attracts them. That part's true. But it binds the fat together and galvanises it to form a body."

Penny furrowed her brows in confusion. "What do you mean, a body?"

"I am surprised you never asked about my name. I chose it well." Miss Foster said, leaning forward. "Foster. As in foster mother. And these..." Miss Foster pulled out a drawer and furrowed her brows in confusion. "Oh dear. Seems one may have run off. No matter. Plenty more."

She closed that drawer and reaching into another drawer further down as she finished her previous thought.

"These, are my children."

An Adipose was placed on the table and Penny stared at it in shock and partial disgust.

"A-Are you kidding me? I-I don't… What the hell is that?" She questioned and Miss Foster went on to explain it to her as Donna and the Doctor poked their heads up and finally noticed each other.

Donna had her mouth gaping open in pleasant surprise as the Doctor and her began a silent conversation.

_Donna?_

_Doctor!_

The Doctor was more than confused by her presence there. _But what… what… what?_

_Oh my God!_ Donna continued, absolutely stunned that all her hard work had finally paid off.

_But how?!_

_It's me!_ She said, not answering his question.

_Yes, I can see that._

_Oh, this is brilliant._

The Doctor didn't quite agree. _What the hell are you doing there?_

_I was looking for you! _Donna replied, hand gestures and all.

He pointed at himself, confused._ What for?_

_I read it on the internet. Weird. Crept along. Heard them talking, Hid. You—_ Donna cut off her little conversation with him as she realized that Miss Foster and the other people in the room were staring at them.

"Are we interrupting you?" Miss Foster asked and the Doctor and Donna turned to one another.

_Run!_ He told her, just as Miss Foster gave the order to get them both.

Luckily, the Doctor sonicked Donna's door shut to give her more time, and he, himself, used the sonic to send the cradle he was in back up to the roof. With the door locked, the two guards soon came to the decision to shoot it down and them and Miss Foster hurried off; leaving Penny behind.

"What about me?!"

Penny sighed, struggling against her restraints before a noise made her lift her head only to see Alex stepping out from behind the hidden panel with an Adipose waving from her shoulder.

"Alrighty then! A bit cramped, but we did pretty good, didn't we, little fella?" She grinned, high-fiving the Adipose with one finger.

"W-What… W-Who are you?!"

"Alexander Holmes, at your service!" Alex said with a small mock bow, being careful not to knock the Adipose from her shoulder as she snatched a letter opener from off the desk and cut through the bonds around Penny. "And despite the cute little fat baby on my shoulder, I'm on your side! Or, well, the Doctor's side, but that's the good side, so I suppose it doesn't really matter and… Oh dear God, I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"You're bloody mad!" Penny said loudly and Alex just shrugged.

"I'm afraid so. Entirely bonkers. But all the best people are." She quoted with a smile as she placed the remote to the panel own on the desk and headed over to the window. "And I suggest you get going with your big scoop, before the_ real_ mad people come back. Rather not give Miss Foster a reason to sick her gun-wielding wacko's on you, yeah? They're heading up to the roof, so if you head down, you should be alright."

Penny hesitated, but hurried out just as Alex opened up the window and leaned out with a whistle as she looked down.

"Ooh, boy. Long drop. Good thing I'm afraid of snakes and not heights or we _might _just have a problem right about now."

There was a clang as the building was deadlocked and Alex winced.

"Right forgot about that. Hopefully Penny found a nice place to hide out then. Though knowing her, she's probably—" Alex cut herself off upon hearing the rustling of papers and turned to groan with a roll of her eyes at Penny neck deep in paperwork. "God, I feel like the Doctor… _Why_ does no one ever listen to us?"

_Well, no use arguing with her now._ Alex decided, hearing repeated clanging and leaning back out the window again; safely tucking the Adipose in the potted plant just inside.

"That's not gonna work!" She called out, hearing Donna call back unconsciously.

"Oh, just watch me!"

Alex grinned. _Sassy as always._ When the Doctor didn't even look though, her grin fell and she sighed. "And _clueless_ as always."

There was a loud 'clang' and the cradle the Doctor and Donna were in fell; tipping dangerously to one side and tossing Donna out into the open air. She luckily caught onto the fallen cable, but was still dangling hundreds of feet in the air as the Doctor called down to her.

"Hold on!"

"I _am_! Doctor!"

The Doctor tried to pull her up, but the weight was too much and he knew he didn't stand a chance. And when he looked back up to see Miss Foster trying to cut the other wire with her sonic, he quickly drew his own and zapped it right out of her hand; leaning out and catching it with a grin. He held the device in his mouth as he climbed up to the nearest window and sonicked his way in.

"I'm gonna fall!" Donna called out, not seeing Alex below her using the rope from Penny's little tie up to weigh her down with the heavy potted plant as she prepared to lean a bit further out the window.

"What the hell is going on?" Penny asked and Alex quickly waved her hand.

"Oh, don't worry about it. Hurry up and get your dirt and leave, would ya? Not to be rude, but this is kind of a life or death situation here. And with my friend hanging out the window hundreds of feet above the ground I honestly don't think now is the time to explain everything to you."

"This is all your fault!" Donna continued to shout; the Doctor looking back down at her briefly—furrowing his brows at the brief glance he'd seen of blonde hair. "I should have stayed at home!"

"I won't be a minute!" He called down to Donna, shaking the brief sight of blonde hair out of his head as he finally climbed inside the building and Alex reached for Donna's legs.

"He'll take too long! Trust me Donna! I'm your best shot right now!" She called out to the woman, though that did nothing to comfort Donna the moment she felt Alex's arms wrap around her legs.

"Get off me!"

"Donna! Stop squirming! I'm trying to—Ow!"

Alex released Donna for a moment, a hand over the left half of her face where Donna had managed to land a good kick.

"That hurt, you crazy red-head!" She shouted, grabbing a firmer hold of Donna and doing her best to keep the tears of pain from pouring from her left eye. "Stop kicking already!"

Finally, Alex was able to pull Donna inside and frowned at the woman as she pulled away.

"Honestly. Here I am trying to help, and you go and _kick_ me in the _face_?! Come _on_!"

"I'm about ready to do more than that, pal! You followed me! You're some creepy murdering psychopath who's been following me for days, aren't you?!"

"What?!" Alex paused then, thinking. "Well, I suppose I _did_ technically follow you here. And I _did_ sort of copy you as far as the whole hiding and sneaking in and—Ow!"

Donna had slapped Alex across the face at that point, shouting and grabbing the first thing that she could as a weapon.

"Y-You stay away from me, you… you bloody psychopath! Ah!" Donna screamed and dropped the Adipose she'd grabbed and Alex dived across the floor; catching the little guy who laughed like it was a game.

"You didn't have to drop him!" She chided Donna. "I may have probably… not really… deserved that slap and _maybe_ the kick to the face too, but look at him! He's just a cute little fat baby! He did nothing wrong!"

Donna stared at Alex like she'd grown two heads. "You think… You think that little… _blob_ is cute?"

Alex opened her mouth to respond, but the door suddenly burst open and the Doctor hurried in.

"Donna! I've got… you?" He looked at Donna, surprised to see her safely inside and unharmed, before spotting Alex; who was still holding out the Adipose that giggled away happily. "Alex?"

* * *

I gave him a look. "No, I'm Miss Foster. Of _course _it's me, you dolt! And I beat you in the whole saving the companion in a deadly situation thing…" I tucked the Adipose close with one hand and rubbed at my bruised cheek with the other. "Though I probably should have let you do the saving if it meant _you'd_ be the one who got kicked in the face and slapped."

He turned to Donna, surprised. "You kicked her in the face _and_ slapped her?"

"Her?! This guy's been following me since yesterday morning! I thought he was some crazy murderer stalker trying to kill me!"

"Oh, Donna. You've been watching too much crap tele." The Doctor sighed, as I waved a hand.

"And I _am_ a woman, by the way. Don't let the haircut and pants fool you. I am one hundred percent female… I think. Or does that change too?" I randomly asked the Doctor, who chuckled with a grin.

"No, no. You're female."

"Is anyone going to tell me what's going on?" Penny asked out of the blue and the Doctor gave her a once over.

"What are you, a journalist?"

"Yes."

"Well, make it up!" He smiled, before Donna cleared her throat; arms crossed in her typical 'I'm not happy about this' look.

"Yeah, well I'm not making it up. So who's she? How do you know her?"

"Oh! Well, she's Alex. Alexander Holmes. She's sort of… well..." He shuffled a bit, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly and I couldn't help the small snort that escaped me at his sudden shyness. "Oi! Don't laugh at me!"

"I'm not laughing. It's just been a while since I've bumped into such an innocent version of you."

He pouted and Donna looked between us before pointing.

"No… No! You two aren't… I mean, you can't be… can you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Donna, we're together. Believe it or not, I'm part Time Lord, part Tardis, part human. I know a good portion of the Doctor's life; past, present, and future. I have a fondness for cute things, love cherry flavored anything, and love mystery novels, rock climbing, and kickboxing. I'm a Taurus on most days, but can be a Virgo or an Aries on other. I like long walks on the beach and—"

"Alright! Alright! I didn't want your life story, you know." Donna complained and I flashed her a smile.

"I know. I just felt like messing with ya. Especially near the end there. I actually don't like the beach all that much."

"_Alex._"

"Right. Sorry."

Donna turned to the Doctor, struggling not to smile. "Is it always like this with you?"

"Oh, yes!" He grinned in return, grabbing my hand. "And off we go!"

As we all rushed towards the door, I called out to Penny.

"And you might want to use this chance to get out of here, Penny! No time like the present!"

We all started rushing towards the exit, but I pulled the Doctor to a stop as I remembered something.

"What? What is it?"

"If a person were to drop from the roof to the twelfth floor onto a desk, how badly would they be injured?" I asked and Donna immediately complained.

"We don't have time to worry about your silly little physics question! And why haven't you gotten rid of that thing yet?!" She demanded, pointing at the Adipose peeking out of my pocket.

"Oi! He's adorable and you're just to panicky to notice it! That, and he's just a little baby! I can't leave him all alone." I cooed, wiggling my finger at the cheerful little fat blob.

"They'd probably have a few broken bones, why?" The Doctor said, answering my question and I lifted my head to him.

"Oh, well, I just remembered I need to do something that will… hopefully prevent me apologizing later. So you two go on ahead. This little guy and I will just head out and do… the uh… thing." I held up a finger before Donna could make a smart comeback. "Very important thing. Don't mock the thing."

She stuck her tongue out at me, making the Adipose chuckle as I rolled my eyes and went to go, only for the Doctor to grab my hand and pull me to him. Lips pressed gently to mine and were gone before I even knew what happened and the Doctor's pink cheeks made me blink and he moved away slightly.

"Be… Be careful."

He hurried off with Donna then—who was wiggling her brows at me and gesturing that the two of us were going to have a nice talk later about the Doctor and I—and I couldn't move for a second as my own blush traveled up to my ears and I covered my mouth with my hand.

"M-My _God_, he's just so… he's just too damn _hot_ when he's innocent."

_Keep it in your pants, Alex. We've got a life to save, remember?… But he was just so… wow._ I cleared my throat awkwardly and turned around, heading for Miss Foster's office once more in preparation for what I was planning on doing to save her. Though what just happened was going to _definitely_ prove to be a big distraction. _And what a distraction it is._ Once I'd shown up in the office to see Penny still there, I groaned and smacked myself in the forehead.

"Ah! I forgot! Miss Foster comes back!"

"Glad to see you care so much for me, Mister..." Miss Foster said, walking into the room with her two guards.

"_Ms. _Holmes, actually." I corrected, holding my hands up beside Penny. "And could I not do the whole rope thing? I've recently had a bad experience and I'd rather handcuffs. I've got a pair, if you want. Brand new. Untested. Came from the planet Draconia. They usually use their steel for swords, but I had these specially commissioned for..." I trialed off. "Well, I'd rather not say why I got them, actually..."

"And how do we know you don't have the key?" Miss Foster said, cautious about this, as she should be.

"Here." I held out the handcuffs and the key. "Take it. The only key. I'll do _anything_ not to be tied up with rope right now. I'm not a fan of panic attacks."

Miss Foster smiled. "Very well then."

So, I was cuffed to a chair and Penny tied to a chair beside me, angrily glaring at my head as I ignored her and hummed 'I Write Sins Not Tragedies' by Panic at the Disco; a song that randomly got stuck in my head for some reason.

"I'd chime in with a 'haven't you people ever heard of—'"

"Will you shut _up_." She hissed at me and I pouted.

"Fun killer."

She groaned in annoyance, just as Miss Foster opened up the panel in the wall once more to reveal the inducer.

"What does that thing do?" Penny asked.

"Makes people turn into a bunch of little fat babies." I replied and Miss Foster nodded, making Penny's face grow even more shocked.

"It's the inducer. We had planned to seed millions, but if that man's an alien, then he's alerted the Shadow Proclamation, and the first one million humans will have to do."

"Actually, the Doctor's a bit of an idiot and he doesn't get along very well with the Shadow Proclamtion himself. Plus, he's all for second chances. Most likely he hasn't called anyone." I snorted. "Knowing him, even if he wanted to, he probably doesn't remember their number."

"Doesn't matter." Miss Foster said, setting up the inducer before speaking to the guards. "Find him. And the woman. Don't waste time, just kill them."

"I wouldn't.~" I sang, struggling to keep my eyes off my little Adipose friend who was slowly waddling his way over to the desk where Miss Foster had the key to the cuffs. "It might come as a bit of a _shock_ to your two little friends there, but they won't reach the Doctor."

Miss Foster shrugged, still messing with her machine. "Gives me more time to work on this without his interference."

"_Inducer transmitting._" The machine chimed and Miss Foster smirked at us.

"Mark the date, Miss Carter, Miss Holmes. Happy birthday. One _million_ birthdays." She said, calling out to the Adipose as my little friend hopped behind my chair to try and reach my hands and give me the key to the cuffs. "Come to me, children. Come to me."

She soon returned to the machine as I finally grabbed the key from my Adipose friend and she smirked.

"A nice try. Double strength."

She increased the strength of the transmission, but after maybe a minute, the inducer suddenly shut down; leaving her flipping the switches in annoyance.

"What's happened?" Penny asked and I grinned.

"The Doctor, that's what." I said, spinning around in the swivel chair behind Miss Foster's desk; neither of them having noticed when I'd gotten out of the cuffs that I now span around my finger. "Though I am curious… What do you think the Adipose's parents will do when they run out of use for you, Miss Foster? It won't be good, I'll tell you that much."

There was a rumble and a strange buzzing mechanical noise as the nursery arrived and Miss Foster smiled.

"It's my lift home."

"They're not going to take you home, Miss Foster!" I called out, hoping to possibly stop her. "They know that they've broken galactic law and they're going to get rid of the only witness: you!"

She didn't listen though and I sighed, moving over to the window and prying it open once more as Penny called out behind me.

"You're just going to leave me like this?!"

"I'm a bit busy, so until I'm _not_ busy, yeah. If it keeps you out of the way." I said, getting a bit rude while I tried to plan this out correctly; yet another strange thing this body did.

_Must have got it from the Doctor. I get rude when I'm focused intently on something. _There was a coo and I turned to my little Adipose friend who was peering out the window forlornly and I headed over and nudged him a little with my hand.

"Go on, little fella. Head on home."

The little fat baby grabbed my finger in a little shake, before floating up in the nearest blue light and drifting off with a wave as I smiled. I then quickly scrambled about the room, snatching the curtains nearby and breaking the legs off a few chairs before tying them to the desk and quickly pulling out a device I'd cooked up on the Tardis with the Doctor last trip that would meld objects together—to a point, of course. There were limitations, such as not being able to combine living organic matter and such. So I can't make a banana-apple or a hybrid anything like that. It's simply for things I'd be too lazy to sew, nail together, glue together, etc. Once the curtains were pulled tight over the chair legs, I melded the legs to the edge of the desk, muttering under my breath because I knew I'd be running out of time.

"Come on. Come on."

I then took a deep breath in and out, before starting to shove the desk over to the door.

"What are you even doing?!" Penny demanded to know.

"Saving a life! Now do me a favor and _shut up_!" I grunted out, finally managing to get the desk to the window so that the combined legs of the chair stuck out into the open air outside.

When I checked the distance to the blue beam though, I cursed. I was still half a foot short. Muttering curses under my breath for what I was about to do, I went and gathered as much strength as I could and tried to lift the desk up and over the window sill. It was hard and I had to use another chair to help me before I ended up dropping it on my foot, but I got it partially over the edge and I leaned my entire weight against the one side that was still in the room in order to keep it from possibly tumbling out of the window when Miss Foster fell. Right on cue, the beam disappeared and Miss Foster let out a scream before she hit the curtains and stared at me in shock as I grunted at the weight that was trying to pull the desk out the window.

"H-Hello there, Miss Foster. W-Would you mind hurrying through the window? I-I-I don't know how much longer I can hold this."

She did so, scrambling down the make-shift catch I'd made and climbing past me as I struggled to pull the desk back in closer to the room. Thankfully, I managed and I flopped back onto the cool tile, breathless and exhausted as sweat slid down the side of my face, which was tinted pink in exertion.

"W-Why did you do that?" Miss Foster asked. "Why did you save me? I just tried to kill _millions_ of people."

"B-But… you didn't. We… stopped you." I panted out.

"And that's it? You're willing to forgive me that easily?" She questioned, extremely confused, but thankfully I didn't have to answer because the Doctor and Donna had just strolled in.

"That's what we do." He said, drawing attention to him. "Everyone deserves a second chance. You okay, Alex?"

I groaned, draping an arm over my face. "That desk was heavy… and my face is _throbbing_."

"Sorry..." Donna muttered as the Doctor helped me up carefully, brushing a thumb over my bruised cheek gently—though I still winced at the pain it sent through my jaw.

"So that's it?" Penny said, sounding a little bitter as Donna got her out of the rope. "You're just going to let her go?"

The Doctor shrugged, pulling away from me and making me pout until he draped an arm around my waist and tugged me to him with a small wink that made my face heat up.

"Well, not on Earth, anyway. We'll probably take you down to the Shadow Proclamation and you can turn yourself in and possibly make a deal in order to get the Adiposian First Family in court for what they did. And what they tried to do."

"Not much of a choice then, is it." Miss Foster complained.

"We may have forgiven you, but you still did something wrong and there needs to be consequences, otherwise it could happen again. And we can't just walk away from that." The Doctor replied and I yawned, feeling the exhaustion from the past couple of days creeping up on me as I wished I'd gotten a better nights sleep earlier.

_But without the Doctor, the nightmares grew far worse and I was up half the night anyway._ I mused as I started to drift off; not feeling when the Doctor started to carry me back to the Tardis until I was already in the jump-seat and started to sit up.

"Go back to sleep, Alex."

"Mm, but Donna… the car… needs to take back." I grumbled, still mostly out of it as I rubbed my eyes with another yawn.

The Doctor gently pushed me back down though, pulling his coat higher up around my shoulders. "Just sleep, Alex. You're exhausted and your body needs to recuperate. I'll put you in your bed as soon as I drop Miss Foster o—"

"No..." I muttered, sleepily grabbing a hold of his hand by the fingers.

"Uh, no?"

"...Nightmares..."

"Ah… Right. Well, we'll both go to sleep once I send her on her way and get Donna settled in. Is that alright?"

"Mm." I hummed, falling back asleep. "Love you..."

"I love you too."

He brushed a kiss over my forehead just as I drifted off and fell completely asleep, prepared to fight off the nightmares with the Doctor at my side.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"The Moment is gone."_

_ "I don't understand." Androgar said. "What is the Moment? I've never heard of it."_

_ "The galaxy eater. The final work of the ancients of Gallifrey. A weapon so powerful, the operating system became sentient. According to legend, it developed a conscience." The General explained._

_ "And we've never used it."_

_ "How do you use a weapon of ultimate mass destruction when it can stand in judgment on you? There is only one man who would even try." He frowned then, looking around. "And where's the other one? It was placed just over there, wasn't it?"_

_ He gestured to a small raised platform that now had broken chains dangling from it and Androgar scowled._

_ "He took it too. That was our last chance against them! The Seer could have stopped this war, and he took it!"_

_ "As we always knew he would." The General murmured._


	71. The Day of the Doctor (50th Anniversary)

**Hi guys. Look! I'm posting this early! ^^ i've gotten a lot of requests to do so, so here you go, the 50th anniversary chapter! hopefully you all like it and i've tried my best to get alex back into character (someone mentioned that she was getting to be a bit _too_ much like the doctor, and-while that was rather the point-i don't want to overdo it and loose her to the doctor so i fixed it in this one). and a big reason why i'm posting this early is because i've had the honor of getting the stomach flu from one of my siblings who has passed it to everyone in the house. ugh, it sucks, seriously. two days of fevers, vomiting and diarrhea is not fun :P**

**but ignore my babbling. please review and let me know what you think about this one. i hope everything turned out alright and i'm curious to hear your opinions on it. :)**

**and thanks so much for the encouragement last chapter! i've gotten stuck in a rut this last week and was working through depression, so hearing you guys liked the last chapter so much really perked my spirits. you guys are the greatest! **

* * *

I sat up with a gasp, panting and struggling to calm down, images of the cackling Davros and the grinning Missy flashing through my mind as I quivered from the nightmare I'd just woken up from. I could still feel the snakes crawling over my skin and wrapping around my throat, and I let out a soft whimper as I curled up with my knees to my chest and tried not to hyperventilate. This is how it was after nightmares lately when the Doctor wasn't around to help me through it. I must have popped off not long after I'd gone to sleep, explaining how I ended up in my bedroom on the Tardis alone. I didn't call out to him though. I honestly hated having him see me like this and did my best to deal with my nightmares on my own, but he always knew somehow. Even when he was all the way on the other side of the Tardis, he always came running. And now was no exception.

"Oh, Alex." He said, having just entered the room and sitting beside me; pulling me close. "Sh, it's okay. You're alright… I honestly need an Alex warning system or something to let me know when you pop in. Maybe I'll start working on that."

I smacked him lightly, breathing slowing down to a normal rate as he continued to joke and try to cheer me up.

"Oh, come on. You're getting sneakier about it too. Sometimes I just turn around and poof! There you are reading on the jump seat like you'd been there for hours."

"S-Says you. You're always popping up when I'm trying to do something relaxing. You've made me spill my tea twenty-seven times already!" I lightly chided him, lifting my head to see the grinning Tenth, which confused me. "Ooh, okay. Bit lost. Did I _actually _pop off, or are you just an older or younger version of who I was just with?"

He tilted his head. "Depends. Where were you?"

"Uh, Adipose Industries."

"Ah, that was a while ago." He said, humming fondly, though I could tell something was up and I hesitantly asked him the same thing.

"And you?"

"Hm? Oh, just here and there. Out and about." He replied, getting up with a stretch.

"On your own..." I questioned, though it was more like a statement and I immediately knew why he'd been making that face earlier. "Donna's gone."

He grew somber at that, nodding and rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah… Yeah, she is."

There was something more though and I got up and moved closer to him, seeing the shame and guilt on his face.

"You've already been to Mars, haven't you..."

He didn't say a word and I sighed quietly, coming up behind him and hugging him, pressing my nose into his shoulder.

"You idiot. You made a mistake. That's nothing to be ashamed of."

"It is when I cost someone their _life_, Alex. I forced that woman to kill herself! That should have never happened! It wouldn't of happened if I had just… I-If I had just..." His voice cracked and I held him tighter.

"Everyone makes mistakes. And sometimes those mistakes get people hurt, but what you did… what you did, Doctor, was make yourself a better person. Other people won't die because you made that mistake and learned from it. And I know it's hard. I know that you could have possibly learned that lesson another way, but it's happened. It's done, and you need to move past it. I'll help you, if you need me, but you can't stay focused one that one mistake. Please, Doctor."

"You've already helped me." He breathed out, turning around and hugging me tightly in return. "You've helped me so much, Alexander, and I love you for it."

"I love you too. Mistakes and all." I hummed, before he pulled away with a grin.

"What do you say we go and visit 16th century England? Hm?"

I smiled back. "Alright. Let's go for it!"

"That's my girl!" He chuckled, taking me by the hand and pulling me to our next adventure.

* * *

"'Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.' Marcus Aurelius." Clara quoted to her class, writing it up on the white board just as the bell rang and everyone began packing up their things.

One of the other teachers hurried in though, and she gave him an odd look.

"Have you been running?"

"Are you okay?" The man asked instead, confusing her further. "There was a call for you at the office. From your doctor."

Clara smiled, putting on a more worried look as she turned back to him. "Did he leave an address?"

He handed her a piece of paper and she hurriedly grabbed her motorcycle gear and drove off to the address, stopping at the top of the hill and smiling at the Tardis before revving the engine and speeding towards it with the honk of her horn. The doors opened and she skidded to a stop in the console room, hopping off and giving the Doctor a look as he flipped through a book on Advanced Quantum Mechanics.

"Draft." He called out and she snapped her fingers to close the doors, before he closed his book. "Fancy a week in ancient Mesopotamia followed by future Mars?"

"Will there be cocktails?" Clara asked in return as he got up and removed his glasses.

"On the Moon." He grinned back.

"The Moon'll do." She shrugged, before they both laughed and he spun her around in a hug.

"How the new job? Teach anything good?"

"No. Learn anything?"

"Not a thing."

The two high-fived with both hands, just before Alex wandered into the room in his shirt and bright red bow-tie.

"Doctor, have you seen my pants? I keep loosing them."

"Have you checked the rooms?"

She rolled her eyes, not noticing Clara for now as she checked over the railing to the lower deck. "Of course I have."

"The pool?"

"Yes."

"Library?"

"Yup."

"Both our rooms, the kitchen, _and_ the anti-gravity center?"

"Check, check, and check." She said, lifting her head and facing him with a frown. "You know I'm starting to think she's hiding them."

It was then she noticed Clara—who was still in high-five position with the Eleventh—and turned a nice shade of red in embarrassment.

"Um..."

Clara glanced her over. "Do you mean pants like American pants or..."

"Let's go with the 'or'." Alex muttered and Clara 'ah'ed in understanding just as the Tardis shook and an alarm went off; making everyone look up.

"What's happening?"

"Whoa, whoa! We're taking off." The Doctor said as the ship gave another little jolt. "But the engines aren't going."

"Oh, God. Not _this_ adventure." Alex complained, returning to her search a bit more frantically. "Where's my pants?!"

As she went off towards the halls, the Doctor went towards the front door to call up the one person who would know _why_ exactly the Tardis was being picked up via helicopter.

"_Doctor, hello. We found the Tardis in a field. I'm having it brought in._" Kate Stewart said and the Doctor looked up.

"No kidding!"

"_Where are you?_"

He rolled his eyes and held out the phone so she could hear the helicopter, before bringing it back to his ear.

"_Oh, my God! Oh, Doctor, I'm so sorry. We had no idea you were still in there._"

The Doctor let out a scream as the helicopter changed course and he was flung out of the Tardis, dropping the phone and hanging upside-down out the door by his ankles as Clara hurried over to try and help. He let out a cry of pain when the phone hit him in the forehead, scrambling to grab a hold of it and responding to Kate.

"Next time, would it kill you to knock?!"

"_I'm having you taken directly to the scene._" Kate responded instead, him sort of enjoying his little ride until he felt his feet slipping a bit.

"I'm just going to put you on hold." He said, adjusting his position so that he was hanging onto the base of the Tardis by his hands.

Clara panicked for a second, but once she saw that he was alright she leaned against the door frame and enjoyed the scene too, up until they were set down in front of a number of soldiers and people.

The Doctor saluted, but then frowned in confusion. "Why am I saluting?"

He lowered his arm and approached Kate.

"Doctor, as Chief Scientific Officer, may I extend apologies of UNIT."

"Kate Lethbridge Stewart, a word to the wise. As I'm sure your father would have told you, I don't like being picked up." He lightly scolded as Clara snickered.

"That probably sounded better in his head."

Kate looked past them both and then turned to the Doctor. "Is Alex not with you?"

"Actually—" The Doctor was cut off as Alex walked out of the Tardis doors, one leg in a pair of pants that she was trying to tug on.

"Honestly! You lot always managed to need us when I'm lacking anything other than a shirt! You could just _call_, you know. I _do_ check his messages when I show up."

Kate smiled a bit. "Apologies to you as well, Seer."

"Use my name, please? I'm still not used to the whole title bit." Alex drawled, finally getting her pants pulled up and starting to loop a belt through them.

Kate nodded, turning back to the Doctor. "I'm acting on instructions direct from the throne. Sealed orders from her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the First."

She passed the letter to him as he looked it over and Alex wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"The Queen? The First? Sorry, Elizabeth the first?" Clara said, stunned.

"Her credentials are inside." Kate explained and the Doctor went to open it, but she stopped him.

"No, _inside_." She gestured to the gallery behind them and he nodded, gesturing to Osgood briefly as he tugged Alex past.

"Nice scarf."

Once inside though, Clara's curiosity became overwhelming.

"Did you know her? Elizabeth the first?"

Alex scoffed, tugging her hand out of the Doctor's as she huffed and he quickly changed the subject.

"Unified Intelligence Task Force."

"Sorry?"

"This lot." He explained, glancing at Alex and wincing when she glared at him. "UNIT. They investigate alien stuff. Anything alien."

"What? Like you?"

"I work for them." He said proudly.

"You have a job?" Clara muttered in disbelief and his prideful grin turned to a childish pout.

"Why shouldn't I have a job? I'd be _brilliant_ at having a job."

"You don't have a job."

"I do. This is my job. I'm doing it now."

"You never have a job."

"I do. I do." He insisted, a bit annoyed at her disbelief.

They stopped before a covered painting and when the white sheet was taken off of it, he paled, immediately seeking comfort from Alex and surprisingly receiving it as she took his hand. Though she mentally let him know she wasn't about to forget Elizabeth the First.

"Elizabeth's credentials, Doctor." Kate said as Clara stared at the paining in shock.

"But that's not possible."

"'No more'." The Doctor muttered.

"That's the title."

"I know the title." He snapped at Kate, though she continued fearlessly.

"Also known as 'Gallifrey Falls'."

He ignored her jab, though he wanted to snap back again, but Alex's grip on his hand kept him rooted in place as he frowned at the painting.

"This painting doesn't belong here. Not in this time or place."

"Obviously." Clara breathed out.

"It's the fall of Arcadia. Gallifrey's second city."

"But how's it doing that? How is it possible? It's an oil painting in 3D." Clara said, moving closer and wondering if she could just reach into the picture with how it was made to look; the city appearing to go on far past the frame it was contained in.

"Time Lord art. Bigger on the inside. A slice of real time, frozen." The Doctor explained.

"Elizabeth told us where to find it and it's significance." Kate told him.

"You okay?" Clara asked him when his face fell.

"He was there." He muttered.

"Who was?"

"Me. The other me. The one I don't talk about." He glanced at Alex, who kept her eyes locked onto the painting, but a squeeze of her hand let him know that she'd already known about this.

"I don't understand." Clara said, still lost.

"I've had many faces, many lives. I don't admit to all of them. There's one life I've tried very hard to forget. He was the Doctor who fought in the Time War, and that was the day he did it. The day I did it. The day he killed them all. The last day of the Time War. The war to end all wars between my people and the Daleks. And in that battle there was a man with more blood on his hands than any other, a man who would commit a crime that would silence the universe. And that man was me."

* * *

"The High Council is in emergency session. They have plans of their own." A man explained to the General of the army trying to fight the Daleks in Arcadia.

"To hell with the High Council. Their plans have already failed. Gallifrey's still in the line of fire." the General snapped, the two men coming to stand before the war table. "So, he was there, then."

The other man, Androgar, popped up a hologram of a wall with the words 'No more' burned into them.

"He left a message. A written warning for the Daleks. He's a fool."

"No, he's a mad man."

"_It's not just for the Daleks."_

The General frowned. "It's imprisoned. How is it still doing this?"

Androgar shook his head. "We don't know. We've suppressed it as much as we can, but it's still getting through somehow..." He then turned to the holograms on the table. "And as you can see, sir, all Dalek fleets surrounding the planet now converging on the capital. But the Sky Trenches are holding."

The building shook as another blast hit nearby, but the General paid it no mind; his attention elsewhere.

"Where did he go next?"

"What does it matter?! This is their biggest ever attack, sir! They're throwing everything at us!"

"Sir, we have a security breach to the Time Vaults." Someone called out and he moved over to check on it, another hologram popping up.

"The Omega Arsenal, where all the forbidden weapons are locked away." The General said ominously.

"They're not forbidden any more. We've used them all against the Daleks except that one."

"No. No we haven't."

They gathered a couple of troops and they all entered the vault where the General scowled at the empty pedestal.

"The Moment is gone."

"I don't understand." Androgar said. "What is the Moment? I've never heard of it."

"The galaxy eater. The final work of the ancients of Gallifrey. A weapon so powerful, the operating system became sentient. According to legend, it developed a conscience." The General explained.

"And we've never used it."

"How do you use a weapon of ultimate mass destruction when it can stand in judgment on you? There is only one man who would even try." He frowned then, looking around. "And where's the other one? It was placed just over there, wasn't it?"

He gestured to a small raised platform that now had broken chains dangling from it and Androgar scowled.

"He took it too. That was our last chance against them! The Seer could have stopped this war, and he took it!"

"As we always knew he would." The General murmured.

* * *

The War Doctor walked miles and miles through the desert sands, pausing only once to readjust the person slung over his shoulder and the hefty brown sack that he also carried along. Upon reaching a small abandoned wooden barn, he set the sack down and laid the person on a tarp covered crate nearby. He frowned at them, curious and ashamed of the fact that his own people had taken one of their own and locked them up in a weapon's vault of all things. The young woman didn't look dangerous, though he knew better than to assume otherwise and tied the woman's wrists together as a precaution.

She didn't seem like the usual Time Lords though. Her pitch black hair was trimmed short and was styled as though she'd just woken up and didn't bother to do anything with it. But she didn't look all prim and proper like the usual Time Ladies. There were scars here and there that he noticed peeking out from under her clothes that didn't appear to come from this area; let alone this planet. And the ring hanging from a chain on her neck made him wonder about her even more. The material it was made of wouldn't have been easy to get a hold of, but he dared not touch it, for it held regeneration energy that unnerved him with how familiar it was. Just looking at the ring made his fingers tingle, so he turned away from the unconscious woman and back to the other thing he'd snatched from the vault.

Removing the sack from around the box, he looked it over, gently touching one of the many gears, only to pull away from it should he end up doing something wrong and possibly dangerous.

"How do you work?" He muttered, tipping the box. "Why is there never a big red button?"

He heard a noise then and stiffened, getting up and heading to the door; calling out.

"Hello? Is somebody there?"

"It's nothing." A voice called out and he turned around to see a blonde woman sitting on the box. "It's just a wolf."

"Don't sit on that!" He scolded, pulling her up and pushing her out of the barn.

"Why?"

"Because it's not a chair! It's the most dangerous weapon in the universe." He said, before shoving her out and closing and latching the door.

When he turned around though, she was right back on top of the box, as though he'd never even moved her.

"Why can't it be both?" She asked, before changing the subject. "Why did you park so far away? Didn't you want her to see it?"

"Want who to see?"

"The Tardis. You walked for miles, and miles, and miles and miles and miles and miles."

"I was thinking."

"I heard you."

"You heard me?"

"No more." The woman then looked at the unconscious woman across the way, getting up and walking over to her; brushing a hand through the woman's messy black hair. "She did too. Heard you. Remembered you. Thought about you. Always thinking about you, this one. Past, present, future. Even in her universe. Oh, how she wished to travel the stars and do something more. And then her wish came true and look what it's done." The woman turned to him. "You really should take better care of her. This is going on her tenth body, you know."

He made a face. "You talk as if I know this woman."

"You do. Or, well, you will. Or maybe you already have?" The woman frowned, before dropping her tone again and repeating those words he'd said. "No more."

She then started sort of dancing around, repeating it over and over again until he'd finally had enough.

"Stop it!" He snapped, before turning to her. "Who are you?"

There was a click and the sound of gears, making him turn to the box.

"It's activating. Get out of here."

She rolled her eyes as he knelt to touch the box and it burned him.

"Ow!"

"What's wrong?" She asked, though she already knew the answer since she'd done it.

"The interface is hot."

"Well I do my best, though don't tell your girlfriend over there. Or is she your wife now? Can't remember."

He wasn't listening though, looking over the box. "There's a power source inside..."

It was then that it clicked what she'd said and he turned to her in shock.

"_You're_ the interface?"

"They must have told you the Moment had a conscious. Hello!" She chuckled with a wave. "Oh, look at you. Stuck between a girl, your wife, and a box. Story of your life, eh, Doctor?"

"You know me?"

She hopped down from the crate she'd been sitting on. "I _hear_ you. All of you, jangling about in that dusty old head of yours. I chose this face and form especially for you. It's from your past. Past or your future. I always get those two mixed up. I would've looked like her, but since she's here, I thought better than start up even more confusion."

"I don't have a future." The Doctor said solemnly, though she wasn't really listening.

"I think I'm called Rose Tyler. No. Yes. No, sorry. No, no. In this form, I'm called… Bad Wolf." She said, eyes glowing gold for a moment. "Are you afraid of the big bad wolf, Doctor?"

"Stop calling me Doctor."

"That's the name in your head."

"It shouldn't be. I've been fighting this war for a long time. I've lost the right to be the Doctor."

"_The Doctor will always be the Doctor, no matter what Doctor he is."_ A voice rang through his head and he frowned, looking around for the source mentally, but the Moment responded for him.

"Oh, look at that. She's been working hard on that. A big improvement in mental capabilities than from when she first showed up with you." She said, heading over to the unconscious woman and covering her eyes with a hand as she took a deep breath and let it out. "And quite the cowboys she's had in here. It's no wonder she's resting. But perhaps..."

The Moment glowed gold for a second, before it slowly disappeared and the woman underneath her hand let out a long breath before opening her eyes as the Moment pulled her hand away; ropes around her wrist snapping easily.

"Rose?" She murmured and the Moment smiled.

"Not quite, Seer."

Alex groaned and turned to the side to see the War Doctor, suddenly going wide-eyed and rolling off the crate in her shock, launching up onto her feet only to have to grab a hold of the crate behind her to keep from falling.

"Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no. I can't be here!" She turned to the Moment, who was watching in amusement. "Why did you bring me here?! I'll run into my other self! I'll run into _him_!"

"I didn't bring you here. You brought yourself here. Unless you mean this barn, and in that case, he carried you here over his shoulder like a sack of flour." The Moment countered and Alex turned to the War Doctor, pointing at finger at him scoldingly.

"And we're going to have a proper talk later about how you treat women, mister." She said, before suddenly collapsing; having to grip the crate tightly to keep from all out falling to the ground. "Ooh boy. Head rush. I… can't really remember. I was… with him then I was being shot at and… oh God. Did I die again?"

She got up and hurriedly started digging through some stuff off to the side before finding a dusty spoon and cleaning it up with her sleeve; patting her face and tugging at her hair as she looked at her warped reflection.

"Oh my God. I've got black hair! _Black_! I can't do anything with black hair! And… oh my… Is that… Are those my ears?! Good God, he'll mock me for centuries! It's Big Ears all over again except this time it's _me_!"

"Ahem."

She stopped when the Moment cleared her throat and promptly threw the spoon over her shoulder.

"Right. Sorry. You're supposed to be having a serious conversation. I'll shut up."

The Moment turned back to the War Doctor then as Alex sat herself down on a crate and twiddled her thumbs.

"You're going to be the one to save us all then."

"Yes." He answered immediately, glancing briefly at Alex as she tugged on one of her ears with a frown.

"If I ever develop an ego, you've got the job." The Moment joked, making Alex snort.

"Oh, yes. Most definitely."

The War Doctor scowled, turning back to the Moment. "If you have been inside my head, then you know what I've seen. The suffering. Every moment in time and space is burning. It must end, and I intend to end it the only way I can."

"And you're going to use me to end it by killing them all, Daleks and Time Lords alike. I could, but there will be consequences for you."

"I have no desire to survive this." He muttered, feeling the wave of comfort that Alex swept through the room and struggling to brush it off.

_She doesn't understand._

"Then that's your punishment. If you do this, if you kill them all, then that's the consequence... You live... Gallifrey. You're going to burn it, and all those Daleks with it, but all those children too. How many children on Gallifrey right now?"

"I don't know." He said, hesitating slightly, only for someone to speak up.

"Two point four seven billion."

He turned to Alex in surprise. "How do you know that?"

She turned back to him, eyes full of so much sympathy and empathy and _forgiveness_ that it almost physically hurt him to look at her. "Because one day, you will count them, and I will be there to count them with you and forgive you for every single one because none of their deaths are your fault and they never will be."

"And how do you know that?" He demanded to know. "How do you know?!"

She smiled a little, surprising him. "Always the temper with you. Threatening to feed me to the werewolf, leaving me behind with the Daleks, throwing me out into the snow to freeze. You're lucky I'm so patient with you. Any other woman and they would have smacked you right into your next regeneration before storming off." She said, lying back with her hands behind her head as she stared up at the roof. "The answer's in the name."

He furrowed his brows in confusion, but before he could question her, the Moment interrupted.

"Aren't you curious? Don't you want to see what this decision will turn you into?" She asked him and he turned to her, lost.

A portal opened up then and the group turned to it in surprise, except Alex, who already knew what was going on.

"I'm opening windows on your future. A tangle in time through the days to come, to the man today will make of you."

A red fez fell through and Alex got up with a grin, picking up the hat and plopping it on her head, spreading out her arms with a wide grin.

"Well? What do you think?"

"Okay. I wasn't expecting that." The Moment replied and Alex's expression suddenly turned to one of horror as she pulled the hat off her head and held onto it with her index finger and thumb like it was diseased.

"Good God. Did I just _enjoy_ putting on a _fez_?! River would kill me!… Though Eleven will be pleased." She shook her head, tossing the War Doctor the hat and going back to her crate. "Quick. Take it back. Keep that thing away from me before I go trying to put it on again."

The War Doctor raised a brow at the Moment, but she just shrugged with a smile.

"Well, you heard her. Best go give it back before someone starts to miss it."

"Oh, don't start." Alex groaned and the War Doctor got up and stepped through the portal.

* * *

"But the Time War's over." Clara said, confused. "Why have you brought us here to look at a painting?"

"The painting only serves as Elizabeth's credentials. Proof that the letter is from her. It's not why you're here." Kate explained to them and the Doctor hesitantly released Alex's hand and broke the seal on the letter.

"_My dearest love, I hope the painting known as 'Gallifrey Falls' will serve as proof that it is your Elizabeth who writes to you now. You will recall that you pledged yourself to the safety of my kingdom. In this capacity I have appointed you as curator of the Under Gallery, where deadly danger to England is locked away. Should any disturbance occur within its walls, it is my wish that you be summoned. God speed, gentle husband._"

"What happened?" The Doctor asked, knowing better than to look at Clara, who was staring at him angrily now that she realized _how_ he knew Queen Elizabeth the First.

"Easier to show you."

Kate led the way through an opening that was soon shut behind the group with a heavy steel door. Before them though, stood a picture of three people.

"Elizabeth the First. You knew her, then?" Clara questioned again and the Doctor wondered silently if the universe was out to get him by bringing up yet another one of his largest mistakes with Alex.

"A long time ago." He muttered, taking in the image of his Tenth self and Alex, and remembering that day as clearly as ever.

* * *

"Allons-y!" The Doctor called out as his horse galloped out of the Tardis with Elizabeth the First clinging to his waist with a giggle. "There you go, your Majesty. What did I tell you? Bigger on the inside." He boasted as she gave him a look.

"The door isn't. You nearly took my head off. It's normally me who does that." She joked before a second, black horse galloped out of the Tardis and Alex pulled it to a stop and pat it's neck fondly.

"Oi, you two. What did I say? _No_ flirting."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "We were only making jokes, Alex. Since when does that count as flirting?"

She huffed from upon her horse, turning it towards where their picnic was set up a little ways away.

"Since saying 'hello' counted as flirting."

"Only when Jack says it." The Doctor said, pointing a finger at her, but she rolled her eyes and galloped away as he sighed.

"He doesn't care for me much, does he, this Alexander of yours." Elizabeth hummed, hugging his waist a little tighter. "I'm more than willing to share you with him, so he's no need to be worried."

"Yes, well, he isn't one for sharing." The Doctor mumbled, internally wincing when he wondered how Alex would react when he put his plan into action.

"Well, perhaps we can change his mind." She said as the Doctor sent his own horse into a gallop after Alex's. "I can be very convincing, you know."

_I'm sure you can, but that won't convince Alex. Ooh, she's not going to be happy with me._ He sighed, knowing it was true when they arrived at the picnic sight and Alex kept glaring at him from across the blanket. That, coupled with the amount of alcohol she was consuming, and he knew it wouldn't be long before he started _hearing_ her complaining about the Queen, who was now laying in his lap.

"Tell me, Doctor, Alexander. Why I'm wasting my time on you both? I have wars to plan."

"You have a picnic to eat." The Doctor replied, hoping o keep her from mentioning Alex again.

He knew she didn't like it when other people called her by her full first name and he _really_ didn't need a fight with the First Queen of England and his girlfriend right now.

"You could help me."

"Well, I'm helping you eat the picnic." He replied instead and thought about feeding the woman a grape, but instead ate it himself; knowing Alex wouldn't be happy if he did otherwise.

"But you have a stomach for war. Both your faces have seen conflict. It's as clear as day."

"Oh, I've seen conflict like you wouldn't believe. But it wasn't this face." The Doctor said, thinking back and feeling as though he'd forgotten something important.

Or someone. He shook the feeling off and started to get up; helping the Queen to her feet.

"But never mind that, your Majesty. Up on your feet. Up, up."

"How dare you! I'm the Queen of England." She said in mock offense.

"I'm not English." He quipped back, glancing at Alex ever so briefly before swallowing thickly and getting down on one knee. "Elizabeth, will you marry me?"

"_Doctor._" Alex growled and he quickly turned to her.

"You too, Alex. I think it's about time I've asked the question to you as well."

She didn't look pleased though. The exact opposite, in fact, and the Doctor feared he may have just dug himself into an even deeper pit of trouble.

"Oh, my dear sweet love. Of course I will!" Elizabeth said and the Doctor took his chance and stood up; pulling away from her.

"Ah, gotcha."

"My love?"

"One, the _real_ Elizabeth would never have accepted my marriage proposal. Two, the _real_ Elizabeth would notice when I just casually mentioned having a different face. But then the _real_ Elizabeth isn't a shape-shifting alien from outer space. And—"

He pulled out a little machine that dinged.

"Ding."

"What's that?" Elizabeth asked.

"It's a machine that goes ding. Made it myself. Lights up in the presence of shape-shifter DNA. Ooh. Also it can microwave frozen dinners from up to twenty feet and download comics from the future. I never know when to stop."

"My love, I do not understand."

"I'm not your love, and yes, you do... You're a Zygon."

"A Zygon?"

"Oh, stop it. It's over. A Zygon, yes. Big red rubbery thing covered in suckers." He said, making the hand motions now that he'd put away the machine; mostly trying to stall from the punch he was about to receive from Alex. "Surprisingly good kisser. Think the real Queen of England would just decide to share her throne with any old handsome bloke in a tight suit, just cos he's got amazing hair and a nice horse? Oh."

He turned around to look at his horse, only to see a red Zygon standing there; understanding dawning on him.

"It was the horse..." He turned back to Alex, getting paler every second. "I'm going to be King… _W-We're_ going to be _kings_!"

"Not if I don't kill you first." Alex growled and he chuckled nervously before bolting for it.

"Run!"

"What's happening?!" Elizabeth panicked.

"We're being attacked by a shape-shifting alien from outer space, formerly disguised as my horse, and Alexander is most likely going to kill me for proposing to you, so I'm awfully sorry about that, your Majesty, but the wedding's probably canceled."

"You think?!" Alex shouted at him, just before he pulled them behind a half-destroyed stone building; the Zygon running past.

"Where's it going?"

"I'll hold it off. You run. Your people need you." The Doctor told Elizabeth.

"And I need you both alive for our wedding day." She said, kissing him and then suddenly grabbing Alex and doing the same before she had a chance to prevent it, and then running off.

"Oh, good work, Doctor. Nice one. The Virgin Queen? So much for history." The Doctor muttered to himself, before Alex swiftly punched him across the face.

"You _idiot_! I told you not to flirt for a _reason_! Now look what you've done! I wish you would just listen to me for once, instead of just going off and doing everything on your own!"

"Alex, I really don't think now's the right time to be talking about this with a Zygon on the loose." He said, rubbing at his aching jaw. "And nice punch, by the way. Excellent right hook..."

He trailed off upon seeing the look on Alex's face. It was only there for a brief moment before she covered it up, but he swore he saw a horribly hurt expression on her face. He couldn't figure out for the life of him why she'd be that hurt by what he did. She was the Seer and she probably knew he was going to say what he did, which was why she told him to not flirt—because she knew that Elizabeth was the real one and the horse was the Zygon, no doubt. But to look that broken up about it? Even if it was only for a split second, he knew that something wasn't right; but Elizabeth's cry out in the forest told him he didn't have time to think about it just yet. So he took her by the shoulders, speaking quickly.

"Alex, I know something's wrong. Something more wrong that my proposing to Elizabeth, and I promise we'll talk about it. But first we've got to save the Queen. I'm sorry."

She shook her head though, shrugging his hands off, which kind of hurt his feelings; though he too was quick to hide it. "I know. You're right."

She brought her fingers up to her lips and let out a loud whistle; _her_ horse galloping up beside them. She quickly jumped up onto it's back and held her hand out to the Doctor with a sort of half-smile.

"Need a lift?"

He smiled and accepted her hand up before they hurried through the forest, only for him to stop them.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." He said, hopping down from the horse and missing the small amused smile that threatened to break out on Alex's face as she leaned forward onto her horse to watch him face down the rabbit in front of them.

"Oh, very clever. Whatever you've got planned, forget it. I'm the Doctor. I'm nine hundred and four years old. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I am the Oncoming Storm, the Bringer of Darkness, and you are basically just a rabbit, aren't you?" He said, his previous bravado falling apart as Alex snorted and chuckled behind him. "And you _knew_! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you? And miss this? Oh, no. I think not. I'm still very upset with you and seeing you embarrass yourself by threatening a poor woodland creature has made my day just _that_ much better." She snickered and he went to complain, only for Elizabeth's shriek to ring out through the forest.

"Doctor!"

"Elizabeth!"

He hopped back onto Alex's horse and off they went, pulling to a stop where Elizabeth was lying on the ground. They both hopped down and the Doctor helped her up as Alex looked around suspiciously.

"That thing. Explain what it is. What does it want of us?"

"That's what we're trying to find out. Probably just your planet." He said, just as another Elizabeth walked into the area.

"Doctor. Step away from her, Doctor. That's not me. That's the creature."

"How is that possible? She's me. Doctor, she's me!" The one Elizabeth said as the Doctor pulled out his gizmo again.

"Not going to work." Alex muttered, leaning against her horse as she watched the two Elizabeths duke it out verbally.

"I am indeed _me_. A compliment that cannot be extended to yourself."

"Extraordinary. The creature has captured my exact likeness. This is exceptional."

"Exceptional? A Queen would call it impertinent."

"A Queen would feel compelled to admire the skill of the execution, before arranging one."

"It's not working." The Doctor complained, shaking his gizmo as Alex hummed.

"Told you. And might I suggest that the next time you think you know which one's the fake, ask me first, or you might just end up getting smacked again."

He winced and ducked his head in shame as the two supposed Queens continued.

"One might surmise that the creature would learn quickly to protect itself from any simple means of detection."

"Clearly you understand the creature better than I. But then, you have the advantage."

He looked up though, when a portal showed up suddenly and he moved them both back along with Alex.

"Back, all of you, now! That's a time fissure. A tear in the fabric of reality. Anything could happen."

Alex snorted and he gave her a look, before she pointed at the portal and a red fez tumbled to the ground.

"Ooh, so dangerous, isn't it, Doctor?"

He picked it up in confusion. "A fez?"

* * *

The picture of the Doctor, Alex, and Elizabeth was moved aside as Kate led the way.

"Welcome to the Under Gallery. This is where Elizabeth the First kept all art deemed too dangerous for public consumption."

"Bit pretentious." Alex muttered, warily eyeing the cloth covered statues in the room as the Doctor knelt down and grabbed a handful of sand from off the ground.

"Stone dust."

"Is it important?" Kate questioned and Alex nodded.

"How'd it get in? There's no draft, no opening for it to have blown in, so it must have already been here or someone put it here."

The Doctor snapped his fingers. "On top of things as always, Alex. In twelve hundred years, I've never stepped in anything that wasn't important." He turned to Osgood then. "Oi, you. Are you sciency?"

Alex smacked him upside the head, making him wince.

"Right. That was a bit rude. Sorry. What's your name?"

"Osgood."

"Nice name." He smiled. "Now, I want this stone dust analyzed. And I want a report in triplicate, with lots of graphs and diagrams and complicated sums on my desk, tomorrow morning, ASAP, pronto, LOL." He turned to Clara with a grin. "See? Job." He then turned to Kate. "Do I have a desk?"

"No."

"And I want a desk." He demanded from Osgood, until Alex cleared her throat. "Uh… _please_."

Alex rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything as Kate nodded to Osgood.

"Get a team. Analyze the stone dust. Inhaler!" She called out when Osgood wheezed and the rest of the group moved further into the Under Gallery.

Alex and Clara wandered around a bit, looking at paintings and such, but the Doctor had caught sight of a fez and—after checking to make sure Kate and Alex wouldn't scold him—he took it out of its glass casing and plopped it on his head, before getting Clara and Alex's attention. Alex rolled her eyes, but he was glad to see a hint of a smile, and Clara just shook her head.

"Someday, you could just walk past a fez."

"Never gonna happen." He replied, bounding up the steps into the next room where shattered glass lay scattered about on the floor before some paintings of landscapes.

"This is why we called you in." Kate said as Clara looked around.

"3D again."

"Interesting." The Doctor mused, picking up a piece of shattered glass.

"The broken glass?"

Alex nodded. "It's out here, splayed outward." She said stepping in front of the painting and turning around with her arms out to emphasize her point. "Like some broke out of the painting."

The Doctor nodded. "Right again. You're on a roll, Alex! The glass on all these paintings has been broken from the inside."

"As you can see, all the paintings are landscapes. No figures of any kind."

"But there used to be." Alex said, stepping back over the glass. "And they've broken out."

Kate bobbed her head in agreement, showing the Doctor and Clara the pictures she had of the paintings.

"Something's got out the paintings." Clara muttered to the Doctor.

"Lots of somethings. Dangerous."

"This whole place has been searched. There's nothing here that shouldn't be, and nothing's got out."

"Which means they're still here." Alex said ominously and before Kate could argue that point, a portal opened up before them, making the Doctor groan.

"Oh, no. Not now."

"Doctor, what is it?" Clara asked, but he continued to complain.

"No, not now. I'm busy!" He said, before turning to Alex. "Oh, and you knew, didn't you? That's why you complained earlier."

"Of _course_ I knew. When my past self is stuck dealing with the biggest moron in the universe the same time I am, and over the same _stupid mistake _he made. You better bet I know what's going on." Alex drawled out in annoyance, though the others in the room were still confused.

"Is it something to do with the paintings?" Kate questioned and he wrinkled his nose.

"No, no. This is different. I remember this. Almost remember."

"Doctor." Alex said, and he turned to her with a raised brow as she pointed above her own head.

He brought his hands up and grabbed a hold of the fez on his head and understanding dawned on him.

"Oh, of course. This is where I come in." He grinned, going over and kissing Alex with a passionate dip before pulling away. "Brilliant, you are."

She couldn't really get a word out, before he threw the fez in and promptly grabbed her by the arm and started tugging her after him.

"N-No. No, Doctor, I can't—" She tried to stop him, but he ignored her and threw them both into the time fissure with a shout.

"Geronimo!"

* * *

I blinked as the Doctor and another me fell out of the time fissure, having not expected a future version of myself to have gone so willingly with Eleven through this already knowing what was going to happen. I spotted the Tenth putting the fez on and rolled my eyes at his childishness; knowing that this must be where he got his fascination with the hat. _And what a muddled up paradox this is. The Doctor liking a fez because he gave one to himself. And the two meeting, only to forget later. Not to mention me meeting yet another future version of myself who has already experienced this and… Wow. I've got to go through this _twice_. _I wrinkled my nose in distaste. _I've got to deal with the Doctor and Elizabeth _twice_._

"Oh, this is just going to be the suckiest day ever, isn't it?"

My other self groaned as well, being helped up by Eleven. "You're telling me. Once was enough, but _twice_?"

"**Gross."** We both complained, ignoring the confused look that Ten and Elizabeth were giving us.

"Who are these men?" Elizabeth questioned and I winced, remembering that I looked like my previous body to her and Ten right now.

"That's just what I was wondering." Ten said, moving slightly in front of me and frowning at my other self, who sighed.

Eleven though, didn't notice the tension and just looked his past self up and down.

"Oh, that is skinny. That is proper skinny." He said, turning and checking his own profile. "I've never seen it from the outside. It's like a special effect. Oi!" He smacked the fez off of Ten's head with a smiled. "Ha. Matchstick man."

Both I and my other self smacked him upside the back of the head, making him pout childishly.

"**Rude."**

Ten looked between the three of us as I shook my head alongside my other self—now already dubbed Holmes in my head (not to be confused with Lex, my doppelganger from the 'Almost People' adventure).

"You're not..." He breathed out, before he and Eleven made some strange movements and reached inside their pockets to pull out their sonic screwdrivers.

Ten just pushed the button on his, but Eleven had to extend it out and smirk smugly, though Ten didn't take the bait once he realized that his was smaller.

"Compensating?"

"For what?"

"Regeneration. It's a lottery." Ten said, making Eleven mock him like the child he was.

"Oh, he's cool. Isn't he cool?" He asked Holmes and I. "I'm the Doctor and I'm all cool. Oops, I'm wearing sandshoes. How did you two fall in love with _that_?"

"Oi!" Ten complained and I sighed, leaning over towards Holmes.

"You know, I'm kind of glad you got dragged along. I don't think I'd be able to keep these two from fighting with only one me here."

"Yeah, well, I was hoping I wouldn't have to come here… You know why, of course."

I groaned. "Ugh, the marriage thing. I'm already about two seconds from snapping someone's neck. How are you doing? Having to go through it twice, I'd think it'd be slightly worse for you."

"Actually, slightly better. It's been a while since I've even thought of it. He does good about making up for his mistake, but keep an eye on her though." Holmes said, gesturing to the two Elizabeths. "She's rather foxy and will be convinced you're male until… well, spoilers. Though might I suggest ducking when the wedding's over?"

"Will do."

The Doctor's both cleared their throats and we turned to them with matching annoyed scowls, crossing our arms over our chests and watching as they winced and muttered to themselves.

"Probably not a good idea there's two of them this time round."

"Yeah, thinking about it now, it _is_ quite a bad idea. Not the best circumstances with… you know."

They both glanced back at us as we glared and Ten quickly went back to the subject at hand.

"What are you doing here, though? I'm busy."

"Oh, busy. I see. Is that what we're calling it, eh? Eh?" Eleven said, putting on the fez and then turning to the two Elizabeths. "Hello ladies."

"**Don't start."** Ten, myself, and Holmes said; though Holmes and I growled it.

"Listen, what you get up to in the privacy of your own regeneration is your business." Eleven said, cowering under Holmes's and my glares. "Though perhaps not while Alex is together with you, would be best."

"One of them is a Zygon." Ten explained, making Eleven gag.

"Ugh, I'm not judging you."

The time fissure made a noise and the lot of us turned to it; the Doctors putting on their glasses and immediately complimenting each other on them before speaking to the Elizabeths.

"Your Majesties. Probably a good time to run." Eleven said.

"**But what about the creature?"** They both asked.

"Run in opposite directions." I told them.

"**Of course, my loves."**

"Stay alive, my loves. I am not done with either of you yet."

The one hurried up and kissed me, making me blink in shock before moving on to Ten and running off. The other hurried up then.

"I understand. Live for me, my darlings. We shall all be together again."

Still in shock, I was unable to react when it did the same as the other, before running off and I turned to Holmes.

"I _really_ need to listen to you more."

"You _and_ the Doctor." She grimaced alongside me as we both remembered something.

"**And one of those was a Zygon."**

I groaned and began digging through my pockets before finding that travel bottle of mouthwash; quickly cleaning my mouth before passing it to Holmes to do the same. It was then that Clara's voice came through the fissure, distracting us all.

"_Doctor? Alex? Is that you?_"

"Ah, hello, Clara. Can you hear me? Alex is here too!" Eleven called out, tugging Holmes to his side as she rolled her eyes.

"_Yeah, it's me. We can hear you. Where are you?_"

"**1562\. England."** Holmes and I said in unison.

"_Was that… are there _two_ Alex's?_"

"And two Doctors." He responded. "Whole knew meaning to the phrase 'talking to yourself', isn't it?"

"_Can you come back through?_" Kate asked.

"Physical passage may not be possible in both directions. It's—Ah! Hang on. Fez incoming!" Eleven tossed his fez back into the portal and after a second, Clara responded.

"_Nothing here._"

"So, where did it go?" Ten questioned and the two Doctors both turned to us.

"Um, well..." I looked at Holmes. "Should we tell them?"

She snorted. "Why? They'll find out soon enough and it gives us something fun to watch."

"Oh, you mean them doing that whole squirming thing because we know what's going on and won't tell them?"

"Oh, yeah." She smirked and we high-fived before grinning smugly at the two Doctors.

"**Not telling."**

"Oh, come on." Ten whined. "We don't even know what we did wrong!"

"Well, actually—" Eleven started, but Holmes cut him off.

"Ah-ah! No telling him, or else you're sleeping on the couch for a week."

He opened his mouth to say something, but Holmes narrowed her eyes.

"_Without_ me."

His mouth snapped closed and he zipped it shut, giving Ten and apologetic look, but he sighed in understanding; knowing that he would have done the same.

"Okay then, you used to be me. You've done all this before. What happens next?" He asked him instead and Eleven frowned dejectedly.

"I don't remember."

"How can you forget this?" Ten demanded and Eleven scowled.

"Hey, hang on. It's not my fault. You're obviously not paying attention enough and… we both probably wanted to forget this whole thing with Elizabeth anyway, for Alex."

"Good point." Ten mumbled.

"Reverse the polarity!" Eleven said suddenly and Ten rolled his eyes before they both whipped out their sonics and did just that. "It's not working."

Ten sighed. "We're _both_ reversing the polarity."

"Yes, I know that."

"There's two of us." Ten explained further. "I'm reversing it, you're reversing it back again. We're _confusing_ the polarity."

I snickered over by Holmes. "Oh, I love that bit."

"Oh yeah."

"**Nitwits."**

"**Oi!"** The two Doctors complained before two people hopped out of the fissure again.

"Anyone loose a fez?" The War Doctor said, but Holmes and I were locked onto the other figure in confusion.

Holmes and I glanced at each other, speaking mentally. _That's not supposed to happen, right? I'm not imagining things?_

"_No, you're right. It's not."_

_I'm guessing you don't remember then, either?_

"_Nope. Nothing. I only remember the plot, not… our own time-line… You don't think..."_

_But that doesn't make sense! How could that be us? Future or otherwise! Gallifrey's time locked in that painting!_

"_Well, yeah, but if it can leak through a crack too, then who's to say something didn't happen that threw us into it."_

_But then how do none of us remember this?_

"_Same reason the Doctor doesn't, is my guess."_

_**Sh. Don't say anything, and go along with it.**_ A third conscious interrupted and both of us turned to look at the _third_ version of us as she smirked ever so slightly.

"You." Ten muttered, in just as much shock as the rest of us. "How can you be here? More to the point, _why_ are you here?"

"Good afternoon." The War Doctor greeted. "I'm looking for the Doctor."

"Well, you've certainly come to the right place."

"Good. Right. Well, who are you boys? Oh, of course. Are you his companions?"

The third us cleared her throat and tapped the War Doctor on the shoulder before whispering in his ear. His eyes widened and he turned to the Doctors in shock before turning back to her.

"No."

She shrugged as if to say 'what can you do?' and he turned back to the Doctors.

"You're me? Both of you?"

"Yup." Ten said, narrowing his eyes at the third Alex.

"Even that one?" The War Doctor questioned, gesturing to an offended Eleven.

"_Yes_!" He said in exasperation, rounding on me with a pout when I chuckled.

"You're my future selves?"

"**Yes!"**

"Am I having a midlife crisis?" He took a step forward, but the Doctors both whipped out their sonics and pointed them at him as Holmes and I sighed. "Why are you pointing your screwdrivers like that? They're scientific instruments, not water pistols. Look like you've seen a ghost."

"Still, loving the posh gravelly thing. It's very convincing." Ten commented and I mentally snickered, wondering if this was where his Twelfth self got _his _gravelly voice from.

"Brave words, Dick van Dyke." Eleven grumbled, before Ten tossed a finger at our other self.

"And who's that then? How'd he know about us being the Doctor?"

"Oh, well..." The War Doctor paused. "I just realized I never asked your name."

"I'm the Augur." She replied, Holmes and myself immediately recognizing the synonym for 'seer' and wondering how clueless the Doctors could be, to not connect the dots. "I was taken prisoner by the Daleks for my capabilities as a soothsayer, until this man found me."

The War Doctor eyed her suspiciously, but went along with it, just as a group of armed soldiers dashed out of the forest towards us with their spears; shouting.

"Which of you are the Doctor and Alexander Holmes? The Queen of England is bewitched. I would have the Doctor and his companion's head." The man in charge demanded to know, making Holmes, Augur, and I mentally groan as the War Doctor chuckled.

"Well, this has all the makings of your lucky day."

"_I think there's three of them now. Of the Doctor, anyway._" Clara's voice echoed from the fissure. "_I don't know about Alex._"

"**Just two, thanks!"** Holmes and I called out before the supposed 'Kate' spoke up; myself knowing that it was a Zygon copy now.

"_There's a precedent for that._"

"What is that?" The man in charge asked in shock.

"Oh, the pointing again." The War Doctor complained when Eleven and Ten aimed their sonics at the man. "They're screwdrivers! What are you going to do? Assemble a cabinet at them?"

The two Doctors exchanged looks as Holmes and I chuckled quietly.

"That thing. What witchcraft is it?" The man in charge asked again and Eleven took his chance.

"Ah, yes. Now that you mention it, that is witchcraft. Yes, yes, yes. Witchy witchcraft." He smiled, moving closer to the fissure. "Hello? Hello in there. Excuse me. Hello? Am I talking to the witch of the well?… Clara?"

"_Hello?_" Clara unhappily called back.

"Clara, hi. Hello. Hello. Would you mind telling these prattling mortals to get themselves begone?"

"_What he said._" She replied and he rolled his eyes.

"Yes, tiny bit more color."

"_Right…_" She grumbled before changing her voice into a more squeaky one. "_Prattling mortals, off you pop. Or I'll… turn you all into frogs._"

"Ooh, frogs. Nice." Eleven complimented, turning back to the others. "You heard her."

"_Doctor, Alex? What's going on?_" Clara asked.

"It's a… timey-wimey thing." He responded and the War Doctor made a face.

"Timey what? Timey-wimey?"

"I-I've no idea where he picks that stuff up." Ten said, earning an elbow to the ribs via Holmes.

"Oh, right. 'it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff'. 'This is my timey-wimey detector. It goes ding when there's stuff'. Of _course_ he didn't get it from _you_."

"W-Well, I—"

He was cut off by the appearance of the Queen.

"You don't seem to be kneeling." She said to the group of us. "How tremendously brave of you."

"Which one are you? What happened to the other one?" Ten questioned and she smirked.

"Indisposed. Long live the Queen."

The soldiers chanted along after her, before she gave the order.

"Arrest these men. Take them to the Tower."

Ten though, tried to stop the soldiers. "That is not the Queen of England! That's an alien duplicate!"

I groaned. "Do you _hear_ what's coming out of your mouth?"

"She's right." Holmes said, both our hands up in surrender. "Honestly, Doctor, it's 1562. Do you really think telling them she's an alien duplicate will matter?"

"Good point." He muttered, before Eleven grinned.

"And you can take it from them. They've checked."

"Oh, shut up." Ten complained, but he didn't.

"Venom sacs in the tongue."

"Seriously, stop it."

Eleven snapped his fingers then, realizing something. "No, hang on, the Tower. Did you say the Tower? Ah, yes, brilliant. Love the Tower. Breakfast at eight, please. Will there be Wi-fi?"

I groaned, grumbling to Holmes. "Obviously they _don't_ listen to themselves speaking."

She snorted back as the War Doctor gave Eleven a look.

"Are you capable of speaking without flapping your hands about?"

"Yes." He said, before realizing he'd flapped his hands again and shaking his head. "No. I demand to be incarcerated in the Tower immediately with my co-conspiritors, Sandshoes, Granddad, uh… Alex, Augur, and…."

"Holmes." I blurted out, gesturing to her beside me.

Thankfully we didn't fight about her being the one designated Holmes, and I thanked the fact that I could be a rather easy-going person when need be as the War Doctor complained.

"Granddad?"

"They're not sandshoes." Ten also whined, but the War Doctor chuckled.

"Yes, they are."

"Silence." The Queen demanded. "The Tower is not to be taken lightly. Very few emerge again."

"Well, we might as well try." I grumbled, knowing that it was going to be a _long_ time in that tower listening to the Doctors argue with one another, and I suddenly wished I was back with Twelve and Robin Hood, because _that_ would be a nicer argument to have to listen to than what was going to happen next.

* * *

The group was tossed into a dungeon in the Tower of London, left on their own as Eleven found a nail and flicked it, before scratching something in the stone pillar.

"Six of us in one cell? That's going to cause some nasty anomalies if we don't get out soon." Ten said, giving Eleven an odd look. "What are you doing?"

"Getting us out."

The three Alex's exchanged looks, knowing that this was just the beginning, as they settled themselves near their respective Doctors. The War Doctor was scanning the door out in search of an escape, but Ten immediately stopped him.

"The sonic won't work on that. It's too primitive."

Eleven turned around, agreeing. "Shall we ask for a better quality of door so we can escape?"

"Okay, so the Queen of England is now a Zygon. But never mind that. Why are we all together? Why are we all here?" Ten asked. "Well, me and Chinny, we were surprised, but you came looking for us. You knew it was going to happen. Who told you?"

"Oi. Chinny?" Eleven said, offended; him and Ten not noticing how the War Doctor and the three Alexs' eyes drifted towards the Moment leaning against a pillar nearby.

"You do have a big chin, dear." Holmes hummed, making Eleven pout. "Every regeneration of you has something. You have the chin, Nine had the ears, Ten has the matchstick frame and crazy hair—"

"—Twelve has the eyebrows." Alex piped in and Holmes nodded.

"Right, right. And your pal over here has the gravelly voice."

The War Doctor made a face. "Did you just call him _dear_?"

Ten and Eleven both kind of turned a little pink and shuffled in place, and all three Alex's rolled their eyes.

"**We're/They're together."** They all said at once and he made a face.

"You? With that?"

Alex flinched back and Ten stepped in front of her with a glare, whereas Holmes took a threatening step forward and Eleven held her back with a glare at the War Doctor as well.

"Yes, yes we are." He said defiantly. "And if you have a problem with that, you're going to have to take it up with me."

"With _us_." Ten corrected. "Because we love her more than anything in the universe, and we're not going to let you talk about her like that."

"More than the queen you proposed to a moment ago?" Augur brought up and Ten flinched, but Eleven continued to remain confident.

"More than _anyone_, ever." He said, grabbing Holmes' hand and holding it tightly. "There is no one more important to me than her. She makes me better, makes me more happy than I've ever been. She makes me feel like nothing I've ever felt before. And some old man like you—who doesn't even _know_ her—can't tell me who I can and can't love, and insult the person I care most about without me having something to say about it. So back off." He turned to Ten then, angrily. "And you. Is that how you defend her? Acting all high and mighty, only to cower away when someone pokes a sore spot in your relationship? Man up! She is your girlfriend and you better take damn well good care of her or I will most certainly come back and make sure you do it right."

Ten glanced back at Alex who smiled a little and he smiled back, tugging her to his side with a quiet apology. Things calmed down for a while with Eleven returning to his scratching and the War Doctor scanning the door again.

"In theory, I can trigger an isolated sonic shift among the molecules, and the door should disintegrate."

"We'd have to calculate the exact harmonic resonance of the entire structure down to a sub-atomic level. Even the sonic would take _years_." Ten said, sitting beside Alex on a crate nearby and letting her lean on him as he rubbed a thumb over the back of her hand.

"No, no, the sonic would take centuries. Oh, we might as well get started. Help to pass the timey-wimey. Do you have to talk like children? What is it that makes you so ashamed of being a grown up?" The War Doctor asked as he sat down on a bench; both Doctors giving him a look. "Oh, the way you both look at me. What is that? I'm trying to think of a better word than dread."

"Because growing up means understanding and accepting everything you've done up until that point." Holmes said, drawing their attention to her. "They act childish because they want to hide from the mistakes they've made, by never growing up to make them."

The War Doctor blinked. "You are… very wise for your age. How old are you?"

Alex furrowed her brows, ticking off fingers as Holmes did the same.

"Forty three." Holmes said as Alex wrinkled her nose.

"Gross. You're my seven year older self."

The War Doctor was surprised though. "Only forty three? Are you not a Time Lord? I had assumed..."

"Part Time Lord..." Ten started, smiling at Alex as she rolled her eyes and Eleven continued.

"...part human..."

...part Tardis." Holmes finished with a grin of her own. "I'm a one of a kind mutt who pops around this moron's time-line with foreknowledge of his life that helps me save people who don't really need to die." She paused, making a face. "That sounded much better in my head."

"But how?" The War Doctor asked, looked at Alex and Holmes in curiosity.

"**Long story."**

He nodded, accepting that as everyone turned back to what they were doing, except Ten, who eyed him suspiciously.

"It must be really recent for you."

"Recent?" The War Doctor questioned.

"The Time War." Eleven interjected. "The last day. The day you killed them all."

"The day _we _killed them all." Ten corrected solemnly as a wave of comfort brushed over all their minds from the Alex's.

"It's history for them." The Moment told the War Doctor, popping up beside him. "All decided. They think their future is real. They don't know it's still up to you."

He spotted Alex and Holmes watching him and he frowned slightly as Augur spoke with him mentally.

"_They won't say anything. They know it's your decision and they won't interfere."_

He slowly shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You're not talking about it." Ten said, confused as to why he mentioned it. "There's no one else here."

"Go on, ask them." The Moment pushed. "Ask them what you need to know."

He hesitated, but finally spoke up. "Do you ever count?"

"Count what?" Eleven asked, eyes focused on his scratching.

"How many children there were on Gallifrey that day."

Eleven stopped what he was doing, glancing over at Holmes, who stayed quiet and twiddled her thumbs on the floor leaning up against the pillar.

"I have absolutely no idea." He replied, going back to scratching.

"How old are you now?" The War Doctor asked, curious as to how long it took for him to forget something like the war.

"Ah, I don't know. I lose track. Twelve hundred and something, I think, unless I'm lying. I can't remember if I'm lying about my age, that's how old I am."

"Four hundred years older than me, and in all that time you've never even wondered how many there were? You never once counted?"

"Tell me." Eleven snapped, stopping his scrapping aggressively as he turned to face the War Doctor. "What would be the point?"

"Two point four seven billion." Ten answered then, getting up.

"You did count!"

"You forgot?" Ten snapped at Eleven, who frowned and resumed scratching for a moment. "Four hundred years. Is that all it takes?"

"I moved on."

"Where? Where can you be now that you can forget something like that?"

"Spoilers."

"No. No, no, no. For once, I would like to know where I'm going." Ten said, turning towards Alex, who looked down at the ground as Eleven grabbed Ten and turned him back around angrily.

"No. You really wouldn't. And don't you _dare_ harass her to tell you."

"I don't know who you are, either of you. I haven't got the faintest idea." The War Doctor said, not liking what he's seeing.

"They're you." The Moment answered. "They're what you become if you destroy Gallifrey. The man who regrets and the man who forgets."

"_And the woman who remembers it all."_ Augur interjected in his head and he turned to look at Alex and Holmes, who'd gone quiet at the Doctors' arguing.

And a thought came to him.

"Alex, was it?" He called out and they both turned to him as the Doctors eyed him warily. "Alex Holmes?"

"Alexander Holmes, but just Alex works." Holmes said with a shrug. "Though I'll go by Holmes for now so we don't all get confused.

The War Doctor nodded briefly. "Have _you_ counted?"

The Doctors both bristled, preparing to start something, but both Alex's stopped them with a gentle hand on their arms.

"**Yes."** They both said and the room got quiet.

"I count every chance I get." Holmes said softly as Alex nodded, and gripped Ten's hand a little tighter.

"I count because sometimes he forgets."

"Sometimes he can't finish."

"Sometimes he doesn't want to remember."

"I count..."

"...to forgive him."

Holmes looked at Eleven who smiled softly in appreciation. "You're twelve hundred and fifty three."

Alex looked at Ten. "And you're nine hundred and four."

They both turned to the War Doctor then with small smiles. **"And none of those deaths are your fault. And we will **_**never**_** leave you alone."**

He was shocked, to say the least. Unable to form a single sentence to respond to what they just told him, and absolutely stunned to hear someone say those words to him. _Knowing_ what he was going to do, yet still forgiving him and not placing any blame on him at all, as well as promising something that was impossible. It was so heartfelt though, that he couldn't argue. She _meant_ that promise. They both did. And something told him, that she would always keep it.

"Thank you." He finally said and they both smiled.

A set of grins more amazingly beautiful and hopeful than any he'd ever seen before, and he suddenly understood now, why it was that the Doctors had chosen this woman to fall in love with.

"The moment is coming. You have to decide." The Moment said from beside to him and he shook his head, replying silently.

Ten flipped his screwdriver then and the War Doctor glanced over at him as Augur spoke up from his side.

"It's the same screwdriver."

The Moment smiled. "Same software, different case."

It clicked then and the War Doctor breathed out in shock.

"Four hundred years..."

"I'm sorry?" Ten questioned, confused.

"At a software level, they're all the same deice, aren't they?" He clarified. "Same software, different case."

"Yeah." Ten said, still lost as Eleven too, joined in.

"So?"

"So, it would take centuries for the screwdriver to calculate how to disintegrate the door. Scanning the door, implanting the calculation as a permanent subroutine in the software architecture and, if you really _are_ me, with your sandshoes and your dickie bow, and that screwdriver is still mine, that calculation is still going on."

Holmes snorted. "Dickie bow-tie."

Alex chuckled a little too as Augur smiled a bit, but Ten checked his sonic; ignoring them.

"Yeah, still going."

Eleven checked next, a little surprised. "Calculation complete."

"Same software, different face." The Moment smiled at the War Doctor, who caught sight of the three Alex's doing much the same.

"Hey, four hundred years in four seconds. We may have had our differences, which is frankly odd in the circumstances, but, I tell you what, boys. _We_ are incredibly clever."

"Yeah, but not clever enough." Holmes said, getting up and brushing off her pants as Alex did the same.

"Honestly, you're the self-proclaimed genius of the universe, but you're not very clever at all."

Eleven and Ten pouted, the War Doctor making a similar expression as well.

Augur just rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Allow me."

She reached over and turned the knob, opening the door and allowing a surprised Clara to stumble in.

"How did you do that?" Eleven asked, shocked and the Alex's all sighed.

"**It was never locked."**

"Seriously, always check first before you go off into one of your monologues about doing something clever." Alex scoffed as Holmes corrected her.

"Well, in this case a trialogue, since there's three idiots trying to be clever."

Alex rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Clara looked around then. "Um, they're both you then?" She asked, gesturing to Ten and the War Doctor.

"Yes." The Doctor replied. "You've met them before. Don't you remember?"

"A bit." Clara said, nodding at Ten. "Nice suit."

"Thanks."

She turned to Holmes then, pointing at Alex and Augur. "And these two are you?"

Holmes looked at Augur briefly, but shook her head as she pointed at Alex. "Just this one. Younger version."

"Hello." Alex waved.

Clara waved back, before making a face. "Hang on. Six of you in one cell—and I may not know you, but you seem clever." She said to Augur who shrugged.

"Suppose so."

Clara continued. "And none of you thought to try the door?"

"I was teaching him a lesson." Alex said, Holmes nodding, whereas Augur smiled.

"It looked fun to watch them struggle."

The War Doctor spoke up for their side of the conversation though.

"It should have been locked."

"Yes. Exactly." Eleven agreed. "Why wasn't it locked?"

Elizabeth stepped into view then with a smirk. "Because I was fascinated to see what you would do upon escaping. I understand you're rather fond of this world. It's time I think you saw what's going to happen to it."

She led them out of the cell and to where the Zygons had set up their headquarters, explaining.

"The Zygons lost their own world. It burnt in the first days of the Time War. A new home is required."

"So they want this one." Clara concluded as Holmes groaned.

"Don't they always?"

"Not yet. It's far too primitive. Zygons are used to a certain level of comfort." Elizabeth went on before a Zygon came over.

"Commander, why are these creatures here?"

"Because I say they should be. It is time you too were translated." She told it, before turning to the group. "Observe this. I believe you will find it fascinating."

The Zygon placed it's hand on a cube and suddenly disappeared, reappearing inside of a 3D landscape painting; the exact one from the Black Archive.

"That's him! That's the Zygon in the picture now." Clara said, surprised.

"It's not a picture, it's a stasis cube." The War Doctor explained. "Time Lord art. Frozen instants in time, bigger on the inside, but could be deployed as—"

"—Suspended animation." Ten finished, Eleven snapping. "Oh, that's very good. The Zygons all pop inside the pictures, wait a few centuries till the planet's a bit more interesting, and then out they come."

"You see, Clara, they're stored in the paintings in the Under Gallery, like cup-a-soups." Eleven tried to explain. "Except you add time, if you can picture that. Nobody could picture that. Forget I said cup-a-soups."

"And now the world is worth conquering. So the Zygons are invading the future from the past." Clara said, her mind connecting the dots.

"Exactly."

Ten turned to Elizabeth and Alex groaned.

"Oh, here we go."

"And do you know why _I_ know that you're a fake? Because you're such a _bad_ copy. It's not just the smell, or the unconvincing hair, or the atrocious teeth, or the eyes just a bit too close together, or the breath that could stun a horse."

"Doctor." Alex called out, tapping his shoulder and making him turn to her in confusion.

"Yes? What? What is it?"

"Remember what I told you? What are you supposed to do when you think you know who the Zygon is and who Elizabeth is?"

He made a face, gesturing to Elizabeth. "Yeah. Yeah, but… But it's a bit obvious, isn't it? I mean—"

"_Doctor_." Alex pressed and he pouted with a sigh.

"Alex, is she the fake?"

Alex grinned. "No."

His mouth dropped open in shock, turning to Elizabeth who raised a brow and then back at Alex, gaping and pointing back at Elizabeth.

"Uh-huh. You just insulted the _real_ Queen of England." She replied and Elizabeth looked at her in surprise.

"How did you know?"

"I'm a… psychic."

She smiled, fluttering her eyelids in a more flirtatious manner and Alex paled, silently wondering what she did to accidentally flirt with the woman as said woman turned to the others.

"My twin is dead in the forest. I am accustomed to taking precautions." She said, pulling out a dagger from a thigh holster under her shirts; making the Alex's wince with sad frowns on their faces. "These Zygon creatures never even considered that it was me who survived rather than their own commander. The arrogance that typifies their kind."

"Zygons?" Clara asked and Elizabeth and the Alex's all chorused.

"**Men."**

"And you actually killed one?" Clara asked, distracting the Queen from giving Alex another flirtatious look.

"I may have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but at the time, so did the Zygon. The future of my kingdom is imperiled. Doctor, can I rely on your service?"

"Well, I'm going to need my Tardis." Ten said and she smiled.

"It has been procured already."

"Ah." Ten smiled, only for Elizabeth to go on.

"But first, my loves, you have a promise to keep."

"Oh, God. Please no." Alex groaned softly and Holmes shook her head sadly as the group headed outside and the arrangements were made.

Alex and the Doctor stood on either side of Elizabeth as the clergyman finished up the vows.

"I now pronounce you man and wife, the both of you."

"Whoo hoo!" Clara cheered, before spotting Holmes' dejected face and clearing her throat. "I'll just… shut up now."

"You may kiss the bride."

Elizabeth grinned and promptly attacked Ten with a kiss, Alex slowly trying to sneak away, but Elizabeth broke away from Ten and grabbed a hold of her. Panicking, she did the only thing she could think of.

"A-Actually, Elizabeth. I really think you should know. I'm actually a—"

She was cut off by the long make-out session with Elizabeth, as the War Doctor leaned over to Eleven.

"Is there a lot of this in the future?"

"It does start to happen, yeah." He said with a wince, knowing what was going to happen next as Holmes brought a hand up to her cheek with a cringe herself.

Elizabeth pulled away from Alex with a smile, but it quickly fell into one of horror as the final word slipped from Alex's mouth unknowingly.

"...woman."

"Excuse me?!"

"Oh, dear." Ten murmured, seeing what was about to happen as well and Holmes quickly called out.

"Duck! Alex, duck!"

"Duck!" Ten shouted as well.

Alex blinked, but it was too late. Elizabeth slapped her hard across the face, her own red with fury.

"How _dare_ you ruin the sacred vows of marriage! And _lie_ to me! I am the Queen of England! And I will see to it that you are decapitated for the crime you have just committed!"

"I-I… B-B-But.. I don't..." Alex stuttered out, in too much shock to really comprehend anything as Ten quickly yanked her up and pulled her towards the Tardis where the others were quickly making a mad dash for it.

"So long, your Majesty!" Eleven called out, before the doors closed behind them and Ten quickly dropped Alex off in the jump-seat as the War Doctor took in the interior.

"You've let this place go a bit."

"I've been busy." Alex murmured as Eleven nodded.

"It's his grunge phase. He grows out of it, though Alex takes care of the place when she's around."

"Don't you listen to them." Ten said, as an alarm sounded and the console sparked; changing the interior to a black and white layout; large circular lights on the walls. "The desktop is glitching."

"Three of us in different time zones. It's trying to compensate." The War Doctor explained as Eleven grinned, nudging Holmes in the side.

"Hey look. The round things."

"I _love_ the round things." Ten smiled.

"What are the round things?" Augur asked and Ten shrugged.

"No idea." He said, before he went back over to the still shocked Alex. "You okay?"

"Did I just make out with queen Elizabeth the First and the get threatened to be decapitated?" She asked, dazed and he winced.

"Ah, yeah. Yeah, you sort of did."

She frowned then. "And did you happen to propose to me as well? Just like that?"

He blinked, taking in her furious face before it dawned on him. "Oh." He turned to Eleven with a cringe. "I've really screwed up, haven't I?"

"Oh yes." Eleven responded, before messing with some of the controls and flipping a switch; making the layout change to his Tardis interior. "Ha! There, stabilized."

"Oh, you've redecorated. I don't like it." Ten complained and Eleven frowned.

"Oh. Oh, yeah? Oh, you never do. Listen. We're going to the National Gallery. The Zygons are underneath it and _you_, sir, are going to have a little talk with Alex in the Zero room for a bit. Fix the mess you've made, will you?"

Ten nodded, and went to take Alex's hand, but she frowned and stormed off to the Zero room on her own, making him sigh and pull a hand through his hair tiredly as he followed after her. The War Doctor though, leaned towards Augur.

"And I'm assuming domestics become a common thing as well?"

"Oh, yeah." She nodded, before smiling. "But we always make up in the end. Frustrate each other until the end of the universe, but always come back and learn something from it. We get very close, you know."

"We?" He questioned. "You talk as if you're that woman..." He paused as Augur looked away and tugged on her ear. "You _are_ aren't you?"

"Well, you can't tell the others." She said. "The Doctors can't know that I've died again. Let alone for the tenth time. They'd tear themselves apart."

"But you… how did you end up with me? It's impossible."

She smiled a bit at him. "Not really. I told you, didn't I? I pop around your time-line. Not too far of a stretch to say I popped up on Gallifrey one day, got caught by the Time Lords, and saved by you. The hard part is making sure your future selves don't find out that they've met me before your Ninth regeneration… or your Tenth, in this case. They always skip you in the line up, so it's hard to keep track."

He frowned, still trying to figure this out in his head. "So you are her tenth regeneration."

"Yup."

"You're going to be _with_ me. Together… Do we get married?"

"Spoilers, but seeing as you'll forget all of this..." She nodded towards Eleven and Holmes, who were chuckling to one another and holding hands. "Look at her neck."

The War Doctor looked over and saw the glint of a chain peaking out from under her shirt. When he turned back, Augur lifted the chain out from her own shirt and showed him quickly.

"Does that answer your question?"

He looked at her, eyes softening. "For how long?"

"I believe it's going on a thousand years now. Hard to keep track when I'm jumping through his time-line all over the place."

He felt upset by that, knowing that she could remember everything about himself—from his age to how many lives were on his hands—but couldn't keep track of her own life.

"Where is he now? Not with you, obviously."

Her mouth twitched in a sad smile. "Right here. I am always with you one way or another. I'm with Ten in the Zero room, I'm with Eleven by the console, I'm with you here and on Gallifrey. And I'll pop off, maybe leave you for a few weeks, but well bump into each other again, be it this me or another. Be it this you or another. But I did promise. I'll never leave you alone. Especially not with a decision like the one you have to make in a little while."

The War Doctor couldn't help but smile; overjoyed that he'd met this woman who would be his wife some time in the future. The woman who remembered, the woman who forgave, and the woman who would never leave him on his own.

* * *

I frowned angrily as I entered the Zero room, mostly at myself for throwing this little tantrum with the situation we were in. It just didn't seem that important anymore with the whole Zygon invasion going on, but it still hurt. And when Ten came in after me, I had a hard time facing him out of shame for my actions when people could possible be dying.

"This is stupid." I muttered. "Let's just go back. Sorry."

I tried to move past him to leave, but he grabbed my hand, stopping me as I froze on the spot and shut my eyes with a tense sigh.

"Alex, I know you're upset about something I said and—"

"It's not important." I argued, but he turned me around with a stern frown on his face.

"Alexander, _everything_ is important. Especially if it makes you upset. And we will help those people in time. I promise you that, but I'm not going to walk away from this. Because we have something special. We've _seen_ it! Just outside those doors are future versions of us who couldn't be happier together! But we're never going to be like that if you can't tell me what it is that's bothering you. Now, _and _in the future."

"But people are getting hurt!" I continued to push, having not seen the later Ten acting like this before.

"And right now, you're hurting too." He said, silencing me as his eyes softened, brushing over my cheek where the bruise from Donna's kick still laid; not fully healed. "Please, Alex. Just let me fix things between us before things get worse. I don't want to loose you over something like this."

I leaned into his touch with a soft sigh, closing my eyes as I gave in. "You proposed."

"I did."

I opened my eyes and frowned at him as he winced.

"Ah.. I, uh… take it you didn't appreciate that? I-I can take it back, you know. If you don't, uh, feel that way about me, I mean..." He said dejectedly and I rolled my eyes before pulling his tie down to meet me in a passionate kiss.

"You idiot." I breathed out, leaning in again as he growled in his throat in annoyance when I pulled away again. "I love you, but that is _not_ how you propose to anyone."

He pouted. "It's been a while..."

"I know." I replied, having expected him to have a wife once before anyway, and not really feeling bothered by it, surprisingly. "But you don't propose to someone you care about so offhandedly like that. It hurts. Especially when it's added in after you propose to the Queen of England, which I'm still mad about, by the way." I frowned, adjusting his tie that I'd messed up slightly in our exchange. "There were plenty of other ways to try and trick her other than that. And you could have always asked."

"I just… didn't think you'd tell me." He said, sounding upset that he even had to say it at all and it did kind of hurt, but I understood where he was coming from.

"I will tell you _anything_, if you ask. So long as it won't effect the entire universe if I did. And even then, I'd at least let you know it was spoilers or give you a hint to point you in the right direction." I explained, glancing up at him. "So don't be afraid to ask."

He smiled, tugging me in by the waist up against his body. "And you don't be afraid to tell… Seems we _both_ need to open up to each other a bit more." He said with a wiggle of his eyebrows and I smiled back.

"Well, it _is_ the Zero room. Time runs differently in here."

His smirk grew before he attacked my lips in a heated fervor as I struggled not to smile and laugh at the two of us; hiding away from the others to have a go in the other room. _Oh, Eleven is going to be _so_ jealous._

* * *

Alex and Ten soon returned to the console room and Eleven grinned when he looked up, about ready to say something upon seeing them smiling and holding hands happily, but he quickly realized something and wrinkled his nose.

"Oh, you didn't. Not while we're just in the other room! Couldn't you have found some _other_ way to make up?!" He complained as Alex turned a bright red and Ten got a little pink as well.

"H-How did you..."'

Holmes snorted. "There _is_ a difference between your usual messed up hair and your after sex hair, believe it or not."

"Alex!" Eleven chided, ignoring the fact that there was two as he lightly scolded Holmes. "Don't talk about that unless we're in private."

She raised a brow at him. "Why? You would've gotten a good shag if you had a chance too. I'm just stating the obvious."

He groaned, complaining about how his Alex grew up to be so rebellious, though Holmes soon kissed him to shut him up and gestured back to the console as a way to keep him going.

"Right! National gallery!" He nodded, preparing to do that but Clara spoke up.

"No. UNIT HQ. They followed us there in the black Archive."

Immediately, all eyes went to her and she blinked.

"Okay, so you've heard of that, then."

"He _did_ used to work there." Holmes piped in, leaning against Eleven as she glanced up at him. "And you might want to try and stop Kate. She's about ready to blow up the London area if it meant saving the world from the Zygons."

"Of _course_." He groaned, and she moved out of his way as he started calling her up. "Science leads, Kate. Is that what you meant?" He asked her. "Is that what your father meant?"

"_Doctor?_"

"Space-Time Telegraph, Kate. A gift from me to your father. Hotline straight to the Tardis." He replied, speaking quickly to attempt to diffuse the situation. "I _know_ about the Black Archive and I know about the security protocol. Kate, please. _Please_ tell me you are not about to do something unbelievably stupid."

"I already said she was." Holmes grumbled, earning a sympathetic glance from Alex as she pouted.

"_I'm sorry, Doctor._" Kate said, speaking to someone else then. "_Switch it off._"

"Not as sorry as you will be." Ten threatened. "This is not a decision you will _ever_ be able to live with."

Augur sighed softly. "The one who regrets..." She muttered, the War Doctor glancing at her briefly before seeing Alex and Holmes move to their respective Doctors and take their hands with soft smiles.

"And the one who forgives." He replied, making her smile a bit as she too, took his hand; surprising him slightly, but tightening his grip on it none the less.

"Kate, we're trying to bring the Tardis in. Why can't we land?" Eleven asked as Kate tried again to get someone to switch off the connection, soon succeeding. Alex spoke up though.

"The Tower of London is totally Tardis-proof. You can't materialize there."

"Yeah, remind me to fix that." He complained as Clara spoke up.

"How can they do that?"

Holmes answered her as Augur tugged the war Doctor over towards the stasis cube, making his eyes widen in understanding. "They have enough alien technology in there to blow up the universe in one go. Making a building Tardis-proof can't be that hard."

Eleven nodded. "Alien technology plus human stupidity. Trust me, it's unbeatable."

"We don't _need_ to land." The War Doctor said.

"Yeah, we do. A tiny bit. Try and keep up." Ten said, wincing when Alex smacked his arm.

"Rude. Give the man a chance."

"No, we don't. We don't. There is another way." The War Doctor picked up the stasis cube. "Cup-a-soup."

The other Doctor's grinned, but he furrowed his brows, confused.

"What is a cup-a-soup?"

Holmes chuckled. "I'll show you the moment we get a chance, mate. You'll either love them or hate them."

"Right then. I just need to make a quick phone call." Eleven said, dialing up the scientist back when he, Clara, and Alex were in the National Gallery. "Take a look at your phone and confirm who you're talking to." He spouted out quickly, having no time to deal with the man on the other line. "You were just talking to me, I know. I'm a time traveler. Figure it out. I need you to send the 'Gallifrey Falls' painting to the Black Archive. Understood? And don't ask questions. I don't have time to answer them. Just trust me."

He hung up then, not waiting for an answer before he spun around to everyone with a clap of his hands.

"Well then, let's get some basic rules down before we go popping into a painting of the Time War, shall we? Rule one. No wandering off."

"I thought rule one was 'the Doctor lies'." Holmes said with a smirk, making him bop her on the nose with a finger.

"Don't get snarky now, Holmes." He smiled back, before turning back to everyone. "Rule two, Alex! Both of you, no doing anything other than staying by your respective Doctors' side. Understood?"

"**Yes."** They both drawled, rolling their eyes as Clara and Augur snickered.

"And you." Eleven pointed a stern finger at Augur, who stopped snickering and raised a brow. "I don't know who you are, or what your purpose is in all of this, but no funny business."

"Cross my hearts." She hummed, making an 'x' over her chest on both sides.

"Good. Well then, let's jump into a painting." He grinned and it wasn't long before the group entered the painting and turned to an approaching Dalek.

The three Doctors used their sonics as well as Augur, who had a red tipped sonic herself hidden away in the small pouch at her hip. The Dalek screamed as it skidded back through the glass of the painting that had been moved into the Black Archive; startling everyone in it as the three Doctors and their respective Alex's stepped out of the frame.

"Hello." The War Doctor greeted.

"I'm the Doctor." Ten continued.

"Sorry about the Dalek." Eleven finished, though Clara added more.

"Also about the showing off."

"And the rudeness." Alex hummed.

"And let's not forget the fact that we've destroyed the glass of this painting and scattered it all over the floor." Holmes added and Eleven frowned back at her.

"You done?"

"Yeah. Unless I think of something else." She smiled pleasantly and he rolled his eyes and turned back to the scientists and Kate, as well as the Zygon look-a-likes.

"Kate Lethbridge Stewart. What in the name of sanity are you doing?"

"The countdown can only be halted at my personal command. There's nothing you can do." A Kate said.

"Except make you both agree to halt it." Ten said.

"Not even for three of you." Another Kate growled.

"You're about to murder millions of people." The War Doctor warned, but they didn't seem to care.

"To _save_ billions. How many times have you made that calculation?"

"Once." Eleven said sternly, Holmes at his side immediately, hand in his as she glared at Kate. "Turned me into the man I am now. I'm not even sure who that is any more."

"You tell yourself it's justified, but it's a lie. Because what I did that day was wrong. Just wrong." Ten said as well, Alex leaning into his side.

Augur glanced sadly at the War Doctor as he looked between her and the Moment, Eleven continuing.

"And because I got it wrong, I'm going to make _you_ get it right."

Him and Ten pulled up two chairs, plopping their feet up on the table as one of the Kate's spoke up.

"How?"

"Any second now, you're going to stop that countdown. Both of you, together." Ten started, Eleven going on with it.

"Then you're going to negotiate the most perfect treaty of all time."

"Safeguards all round, completely fair on both sides."

"And the key to perfect negotiation?"

"Not knowing what side you're on."

The two pushed away from the table and stood up, pulling out their sonics as Eleven started this time.

"So, for the next few hours, until we decide to let you out..."

"...No one in this room will be able to remember if they're human..."

"...Or Zygon."

"Whoops a daisy!"

Ten and Eleven hopped up onto the table and sonicked the memory device up above as the War Doctor laughed and helped them out as well as Augur. Both Kates looked at one another and immediately shouted out to the machine.

"**Cancel the detonation!"**

"Peace in our time." Eleven smiled as Holmes helped him down and kissed him; Alex and Ten doing the same.

"**Our clever boys."** They grinned, and they all turned to the others in the room as the Kates took a seat and negotiations began.

While they did that, under the supervision of Ten, Eleven, Alex, and Holmes, Augur and the War Doctor took a seat nearby with some cups of tea and Clara wandered around until she spotted them and headed over.

"Hello."

"Hello." The War Doctor chimed back as Augur raised a hand in a small wave and Clara sat backwards on a rolling chair near by.

"I'm Clara. We haven't really met yet."

"I look forward to it." The War Doctor said, before seeing Clara's brows furrow as she looked at the two of them. "Is there a problem?"

"The Doctor. My… My Doctor. He's always talking about the day he did it. The day he wiped out the Time Lords to stop the war." She said and he nodded.

"One would."

"You wouldn't." She replied. "Because you haven't done it yet. It's still in your future."

"You seem very sure of yourself." The War Doctor said back, looking rather surprised whereas Augur remained silently sipping her tea and watching.

"He regrets it. I see it in his eyes every day. He'd do anything to change it."

"Including saving all these people. How many worlds has his regret saved, do you think? Look over there. Humans and Zygons working together in peace." The War Doctor said, before asking what he wanted to know curiously. "How did you know?"

"Your eyes. You're so much younger." She turned to Augur then. "And you're so much older."

Augur smiled slightly. "Ah, you've figured it out then? I should've known you'd catch on faster than Tweedledee and Tweedledum over there."

"You're Alex, right? A future Alex?" Clara asked to confirm.

Augur nodded. "I pop around. Never expected to end up in the Time War, but we can't always get what we want.

"And you've got a sonic." Clara stated, gesturing to her pouch. "I saw you use it earlier."

Augur nodded, taking it out and looking it over. "Yeah. Took me forever to convince the Doctor to give me the mechanical make up for the thing. Made it myself, though it took centuries to get it to work. Trial and error."

"But… you're different than her. Than our Alex. Than that other Alex too. What happened?"

Augur smiled sadly. "Lots of things. Wars, arguments with the Doctor, torture, getting lost, loosing more and more people… I have little to no foreknowledge now. Things are getting harder to work through and deal with. Can't cope, I suppose. Ten regenerations, never knowing if this body will be the last, if I'll pop up one day with a Doctor who never knew me, or a Doctor who doesn't want me, having to see him fall apart because of decisions he's made and myself not being able to help, or him not wanting my help… People change, Clara. Every party, every disaster, every enemy, every friend… Events change people. For the better or for the worst… that's their choice to make. They have to lean to live with themselves for the choices they make. And sometimes they turn into monsters. They loose hope in themselves and in others… but sometimes, they become better people. They grow and overcome hard situations. They learn to smile again and to laugh despite the hardships they're living with. And sometimes… sometimes they become good people."

Clara looked at her with a small smile. "We're not talking about you anymore, are we?"

Augur smiled back. "I promised I'd take care of him. Even if it means he needs to make a tough decision, he can't stay young forever."

The War Doctor bowed his head slightly, understanding as he turned to Clara. "Then, all things considered, it's time I grew up. I've seen all I needed. The moment has come." He turned to where the Moment was watching. "I'm ready."

"I know you are." She said as Clara turned, only to see nothing there.

"Who's there? Who're you talking to—" She asked, only to turn back and see that the War Doctor and Augur had vanished; leaving only a cup of tea behind.

* * *

"You wanted a big red button." The Moment said as the War Doctor stood before the jewel shaped button on the box. "One big bang. No more Time Lords. No more Daleks. Are you sure?"

"I was sure when I came in here. There is no other way."

"You've seen the men you will become." She pressed, stalling for time, it seemed.

"Those men. Extraordinary." He smiled, seeing Augur smile a little as well.

"They were you." The Moment spoke up.

"No. They are the Doctor."

"You're the Doctor too."

He shook his head. "No. Great men are forged in the fire. It is the privilege of lesser men to light the flame. Whatever the cost."

Augur took his hand, stopping him before he could press the button. "You know… I've said something in the past. I've told you it more than once. And before, I was just saying it to make you feel better, but now… now I feel it has much more meaning to it than before." She looked at him, smiling that brilliant grin that made his heart swell. "The Doctor, is the Doctor. No matter what version. Whether he's the First Doctor, or the Tenth, or the Nineth, or Eleventh. The Meta Doctor, the Doctor Donna, the Doppelganger Doctor, or the War Doctor. The Doctor is always the Doctor. Because the Doctor is an idea. He is a hero and a warrior. The light and the dark. The savior and the destroyer. The Doctor could be anyone. He could be you or me. A human or an alien or an android. He could be anywhere doing anything, but if there's one thing the Doctor will always be. The Doctor _is_ a good man. And right now. The Doctor is you. Because you are saving billions, hundreds of trillions of lives over the cost of your own people. And that is something that only the Doctor could do. That is something I've _seen_ the Doctor do. But there's one thing you don't realize that the Doctor has."

He stared at her as she slowly placed his hand over the button, hers on top of it as she looked at him with the kindest, softest look he's ever seen.

"You're not alone. And I have _promised_ you that…. Doctor, you are never alone. And I forgive you."

He still hesitated though, hearing the laughter of children ringing through his head and the Moment spoke up.

"You know the sound the Tardis makes? That wheezing, groaning. That sound brings hope wherever it goes."

He smiled fondly, as did Augur. "Yes. Yes. I like to think it does."

"To anyone who hears it, Doctor, Seer." The Moment went on. "Anyone, however lost."

Suddenly, they could hear it, the sound of the Tardis.

"Even you two." She said, smiling at them both as they turned and two Tardis's appeared behind them; Clara, the Doctors, and Alex's stepping out of them.

"I told you. He hasn't done it yet."

"Go away now, all of you. This is for me." The War Doctor said, Augur coming up and taking his hand, making him correct himself. "For us."

They ignored him though, looking around the barn.

"These event should be time-locked. We shouldn't even be here." Ten said, his hand in Alex's as she too looked around.

"So something let us through." Eleven concluded as Holmes hummed.

"You clever boys." The Moment smiled, earning a small smile from Augur as well.

"Go back. Go back to your lives. Go and be the Doctor. Make it worth while." The War Doctor pressed, as he turned back to the button and he placed his hand back on it, but they didn't leave and Augur didn't join him this time.

"All those years, burying you in my memory." Ten said, Eleven continuing.

"Pretending you didn't exist. Keeping you a secret, even from myself."

"Pretending you weren't the Doctor, when you were the Doctor more than anybody else." Ten said as he and Eleven moved over as well.

"You were the Doctor on the day it wasn't possible to get it right."

"But this time..."

"...you don't have to do it alone."

All the Doctors placed their hands on the button and the War Doctor tried to compose himself.

"Thank you." He breathed out.

"What we do today, is not our of fear or hatred." Ten said. "It is done because there is no other way."

"And it is done in the name of the many lives we are failing to save." Eleven went on, glancing at Clara and the Alex's; Clara shaking her head. "What? What is it? What?"

"Nothing." Clara lied.

"No, it's something. Tell me."

"You told me you wiped out your own people. I just… I never picture _you_ doing it, that's all."

"Take a closer look." The Moment said, and the view changed, to the battlefield.

It grew dark and they watched as soldiers cried out and people screamed; children and families running for their lives.

"What's happening?" Clara asked and the War Doctor responded.

"Nothing, It's a projection."

"It's a reality around you." The Moment corrected.

"These are the people you're going to burn?" Clara asked, shocked and Holmes took her hand to comfort her a bit.

"There isn't anything we can do." Ten said solemnly.

"He's right. There isn't another way. There never was. Either I destroy my own people or let the universe burn."

Clara glanced at Holmes, who nodded towards them, encouraging her to speak.

"Look at you. The three of you. The warrior, the hero, and you."

Eleven looked at her, saddened and stepped over. "And what am I?"

"Have you really forgotten?"

"Yes. Maybe, yes."

"We've got enough warriors. And any old idiot can be a hero."

"Then what do I do?" He asked, desperate.

"What you've always done. Be a Doctor… You told me the name you chose was a promise. What was that promise?"

"Never cruel nor cowardly." Ten said.

"Never give up, never give in." The War Doctor followed.

They all went quiet though, still not convinced even as the scenery changed back to the barn. And Alex stepped over towards Ten.

"You. You big stupid hero, you."

Ten frowned, not pleased at the name calling as Holmes stepped forward as well.

"The lot of you. The three idiots, you are."

Now Eleven joined in on the frowning as Augur stepped just ahead of the two Alex's.

"Geniuses of the universe, who can't see what's directly in front of them."

"Oh, what is it? What? Just tell us already." Eleven complained and the three Alex's smirked identically; making understanding dawn on Ten and Eleven.

"Augur..."

"That means…"

"**The Seer."** The three Alex's replied.

"And what do Seers do?" Alex hummed.

"They see what they shouldn't." Holmes continued, and Augur flicked out her sonic.

"And they know better than to let their idiot Doctors go and do something stupid."

Her sonic buzzed and the button retreated back into the box, making the three Doctors continue to gap in shock.

"Now pay attention, because you three need to learn a lesson or two." Augur said, flipping the sonic in a way much like the Doctor, before tucking it away.

"First off, you should pay more attention to obvious things." Holmes said, exasperated. "I mean, _really_. It takes you this long to figure out she's a future version of me? I'm about ready to strip you of that self-proclaimed genius title."

Alex sighed. "Really not the point. But secondly, stop acting on your own. You keep forgetting we're here and run off and do stupid things, when all you have to do is just ask us. The worst we can say is spoilers. And we always give hints where we can."

"And hint number one… _think_." Augur said, holding out her arms. "Look at everything that's happened just now. This is the moment. The point in time where you take out Gallifrey in one fell swoop, but how long has that taken you? Shouldn't have been that hard to just push the button and be done with it."

"Rude." Holmes said, but continued. "But anyway, you haven't. You, War Doctor, have been sent to these two knuckleheads instead. What for? To see what you become after you make the big choice, right? And once you saw that you became a decent guy, you were all prepped to push the button."

"Question." Augur interjected. "Would you still have chosen to push it if you found out you weren't a good man afterward?"

Alex sighed. "Doesn't matter. The thing that you should've noticed, was the projection. Why would the Moment waste time preventing you from pushing the button? Much less, rub salt in the wound by showing you everything you were about to destroy? If anything, it's trying to stop you."

"The Moment is trying to convince you of something. It brought Tweedledee and Tweedledum here right as you were about to push the button. And what did she say? The Tardis brings hope." Augur said, stepping towards the War Doctor. "Hope for what? Why bring them? Why add two more people to this mess? How many Doctors does it take to push a button?"

Alex stepped towards Ten. "Especially since my future self was already here to push it with you. You weren't going to be alone, but she brought two more Doctors. Why?"

Holmes stepped up to Eleven next, grinning. "Unless there was another way. Three Doctors, one problem. Come on, boys..."

"_**Think**_**."**

"Oh! Oh, yes, that is good. That is brilliant!" The War Doctor cried out as Ten smiled as well.

"Oh, oh, oh, I'm getting that too! That is brilliant!"

"Ha, ha, ha! Alexander Holmes, you are just—" Eleven passionately kissed Holmes, who smiled. "—brilliant."

"You're welcome."

The War Doctor though, hugged Augur and spun her around with a laugh. "She didn't just show me any old future, she showed me exactly the future I needed to see!"

"Now you're getting it." The Moment grinned.

"Eh? Who did?" Ten questioned, confused

"Oh, Bad Wolf girl, I could kiss you." The War Doctor smiled, making Augur pout as the Moment chuckled.

"Yeah, that's going to happen. Though I think the Seer wants it just a bit more."

The War Doctor couldn't help it and grinned, planting a kiss right on a surprised Augur's lips.

"Sorry, did you just say Bad Wolf?" Ten asked, before Alex rolled her eyes and kissed him as well, shutting him up for now.

"So what are we doing? What's the plan?" Clara asked excitedly, a little annoyed by all the kissing going around and no action taking.

"The Dalek fleets are surrounding Gallifrey, firing on it constantly." The War Doctor explained as Ten stepped forward with Alex.

"The Sky Trench is holding, but what if the whole planet just disappeared?"

"Tiny bit of an ask." Clara said, lost, so he explained further.

"The Daleks would be firing on each other. They'd destroy themselves in their own crossfire."

"Gallifrey would be gone, the Daleks would be destroyed, and it would look to the rest of the universe as if they'd annihilated each other." The War Doctor finished, but Clara still had one more question.

"But where would Gallifrey be?"

"Frozen. Frozen in an instant of time, safe and hidden away." Ten smiled.

"Exactly." Eleven grinned.

"Like a painting." The War Doctor finished and they all chuckled before Augur cleared her throat.

"Might I suggest we get started then? The universe isn't going to wait all day."

"Of course."

"Off we go."

"Allons-y!"

* * *

"Another one." Androgar told the General as he led him to see the message they'd just received.

"Are you sure the message is from him?"

"Oh, yes."

"Why would he do that?"

There in the projection was two words.

_Gallifrey stands._

"What's the mad fool talking about now?

"_Hello. Hello. Gallifrey high command, this is the Doctor speaking._" Eleven's voice chimed in, a projection of him appearing above them.

"_Hello! Also the Doctor. Can you hear me?_" Ten said, appearing as well, and even the War Doctor popped in.

"_Also the Doctor, standing ready._"

Augur poked her head into the shot then. "_And the Seer. Hello! Didn't appreciate the chains though. Shame on you lot._"

"_We're here as well!_"

"_Triple the threat!_" Alex and Holmes chimed in as well and the General groaned.

"Dear God, three of each. All my worst nightmares at once."

"_General, we have a plan._" Ten said, Eleven following.

"_We should point at this moment, it is a fairly terrible plan._"

"_And almost certainly won't work._" Ten continued, making Eleven frown.

"_I was happy with fairly terrible._"

"_Sorry, just thinking out loud._"

"_**Focus!" **_Alex and Holmes shouted and they both winced.

"_Right, Sorry. We're flying our Tardis's into your lower atmosphere._"

"_We're positioned at equidistant intervals around the globe… Equidistant. So grown up._" Ten smiled and Alex smacked him upside the head.

"_Hardly._"

"_We're just about ready to do it._" The War Doctor piped in and the General spoke up in confusion.

"Ready to do what?"

"_We're going to freeze Gallifrey._" Eleven responded.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"_Using our Tardis's, we're going to freeze Gallifrey in a single moment in time._"

"_You know, like those stasis cubes?_" The War Doctor tried explaining further. "_A single moment in time, held in a parallel pocket universe._"

"_Except we're going to do it to a whole planet._"

"_And all the people on it._"

"What? Even if that were possible, which it isn't, why would you do such a thing?" The General asked and the Doctors grew serious.

"_Because the alternative is burning._"

"_And I've seen that._"

**"_And I never want to see it again._"** Ten and Eleven said, but the General was still conflicted about the idea.

"We'd be lost in another universe, frozen in a single moment. We'd have nothing."

"_You would have hope. And right now, that is exactly what you don't have._" Eleven countered.

"It's delusional. The calculations alone would take hundreds of years."

"_Oh, hundreds and hundreds._"

"_But don't worry. I started a very long time ago._"

"_You might say, I've been doing this all my lives._"

More images of even _earlier_ Doctors appeared on screen. All of them from the First to even the Thirteenth appeared, stunning the General as Androgar spoke up.

"Sir! The Daleks know that something is happening. They're increasing their fire power."

Seeing no other option, the General looked up at the screens.

"Seer, you have the foreknowledge of this, do you not? Will it work?"

Augur, Alex and Holmes walked forward, eyes serious.

"_**Spoilers.**_**"**

The General sighed, but nodded. "Very well… Do it, Doctor. Just do it. Do it!"

"_Okay, gentlemen. We're ready._" Eleven said. "_Geronimo!_"

"_Allons-y!_"

"_Oh, for God's sake. Gallifrey stands!_"

* * *

A sugar cube was plopped into a cup of tea as the group all sat and stood around in the National Gallery in a white room where 'Gallifrey Falls' sat hanging on a wall before them.

"I don't suppose we'll know if we actually succeeded." The War Doctor said, glancing at Augur who ate from a cup-of-soup quietly, pretending he wasn't looking at her as he sighed and turned away. "But at worst, we failed doing the right thing, as opposed to succeeding in doing the wrong."

"Life and soul, you are." Clara drawled, making Alex snicker a bit as Holmes smiled.

"What is it _actually_ called?" Ten asked, curious.

"Well, there's some debate." Eleven responded. "Either 'No More' or 'Gallifrey Falls'."

"Not very encouraging." The War Doctor muttered as Ten went on.

"How did it get here?"

"No idea."

"There's always something we don't know, isn't there?" Ten smiled, glancing at Alex and she waved her hands about.

"Oh, no. It's spoilers and you don't need to know. You'll find out eventually."

"When?" He asked, with a curious tilt of his head that reminded Alex of a puppy.

Alex simply gestured over to Eleven and Ten 'oh'ed in understanding. There was a splashing sound then and all eyes turned to see Augur gone and her cup-of-soup splattered all over the floor. Holmes frowned.

"Drat. I knew it would only become more sudden."

Alex groaned as well. "Aw, man! You mean I will stop feeling it coming and just be there one minute and gone the next? I'm going to be breaking all _sorts_ of tea cups now."

The Doctors and Clara collectively chuckled, before the War Doctor stood up.

"Well, gentlemen, it has been an honor and a privilege."

"Likewise." Ten said with a bob of his head.

"Doctor." Eleven smiled.

"And if I grow to be half the man that you are..." The War Doctor turned away from the other two and towards Clara. "...Clara Oswald, I shall be happy indeed."

"That's right." She said, going along with it and enjoying the disappointed looks on the Doctors' faces. "Aim high."

They hugged and the War Doctor turned to Alex and Holmes, who both smiled sadly at him.

"And you two. Oh, how I managed to come about catching you, I'll never know." He said, gesturing to the Doctors. "Keep those two out of trouble, as always. And I'll have you know..." He stepped forward and lightly bumped both their chins with his knuckles. "That smile is the most beautiful one I've ever seen, so keep smiling for me, would you?"

They both smiled at him. **"Promise."**

His smile faltered though. "I won't remember this, will I?"

Their smiles faded as well and Eleven spoke up.

"The time streams are out of sync. You can't retain it, no."

"So I won't remember that I tried to save Gallifrey rather than burn it. I'll have to live with that. But for now, for this moment, I am the Doctor again. Thank you." He smiled, moving towards the Tardis's and turning back. "Which one is mine? Ha!" He chuckled, heading towards his and flying off, where he would regenerate into the Ninth Doctor; forgetting everything that had just occurred.

"I won't remember either, so you might as well tell me." Ten said once he was gone, removing his glasses and looking between Alex, Holmes, and Eleven.

"Tell you what?" Eleven asked, giving Alex and Holmes a break for now.

"Where it is we're going that you don't want to talk about."

He hesitated, but gave in upon getting Holmes's permission. "I saw Trenzalore, where we're buried. We die in battle among millions."

"That's not how it's supposed to be."

"That's how the story ends. Nothing we can do about it. Trenzalore is where you're going."

"Oh, never say nothing. Anyway, good to know my future is in safe hands. Keep a tight hold on it, Clara."

"On it." Clara replied and he gave her a hug before ruffling Holmes's hair.

"Goes for you too. You get into just as much trouble as he does, I'm sure, but at least _try_ to keep me under wraps."

"Sure thing." She smiled, leaning around him and rolling her eyes at Alex, who snickered as they headed into their Tardis.

"Trenzalore. We need a new destination, because I don't want to go." Ten said, before slowly heading in after Alex and flying off as well.

"He always says that." Eleven said as the only Alex left nodded in agreement.

"Need a moment alone with your painting?" Clara asked and he smiled softly.

"How did you know?"

"Those big sad eyes."

"Ah." He hummed, though she stepped over and gave him a hug.

"I always know… Oh, by the way, there was an old man looking for you. I think it was the curator." She told him, before ducking inside as Alex got up, but the Doctor stopped her.

"Stay… please."

She shook her head with a smile, setting her tea down and moving to stand beside him as he tucked her into his side and leaned his head on her. "Clingy."

"Hm." He hummed out, leading them over to the bench and sitting down on it. "I could be a curator. I'd be great at curating. I'd be the Great Curator. I could retire and do that. I could retire and be the curator of this place."

Alex smiled a little as another voice spoke up from behind them.

"You know, I really think you might."

They both turned and headed over to see an older man standing there, one very familiar to the Doctor.

"I never forget a face."

"I know you don't." He replied. "And in the years to come, you might find yourself revisiting a few, but just the old favorites, eh?"

Eleven gave him a wink and the man smiled, glancing at Alex as she smiled in return and he turned to the painting.

"You were curious about this painting, I think. I acquired it in remarkable circumstances. What do you make of the title?"

"Which title? There's two. 'No More' and 'Gallifrey Falls'."

"Oh, you see, that's where everybody's wrong. It's all one title. 'Gallifrey Falls No More'. Now, what would you think that means, eh?"

The Doctor started to smile, hope filling his chest as he looked at Alex and back again. "That Gallifrey didn't fall. It worked. It's still out there."

"I'm only a humble curator. I'm sure I wouldn't know." The man said, but the Doctor wasn't convinced.

"Then where is it?"

"Where is it indeed? Lost. Sh." The man shushed him. "Perhaps. Things do get lost, you know. And now you must excuse me. Oh, you have a lot to do."

"Do I?"

"Mm."

"Is that what I'm suppose to do now? Go looking for Gallifrey?" The Doctor said happily.

"Oh, it's entirely up to you. Your choice, eh? I can only tell you what I would do if I were you. Oh, if I were you. Oh, perhaps I was you, of course. Or perhaps you are me. Congratulations." He said, the two of them laughing.

"Thank you very much."

"Or perhaps it doesn't matter either way. Who knows? Who _knows_." The curator tapped his nose and then left, leaving a very happy excited Doctor, who promptly kissed Alex deeply and pulled away as she raised a brow.

"I take it you're excited?"

"Oh, _much_ more than that."

Alex smiled. "To the Tardis?"

"To the Tardis."

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_ "Alex?" Clara questioned as one of the Vikings came by with a torch to reveal a very unhappy Alex._

_ "Oh, no." The Doctor grumbled, making Clara glance at him in confusion._

_ "'Oh, no'? Why are you saying 'oh, no'? I thought you'd be happy."_

_ "Yes, well, I would be. But it appears she's been here longer than we have, and judging from what she said earlier… they took her fish."_

_ "Took her fish?"_

_ The Doctor nodded, taking a slight step back as Alex stepped closer. "Yes, meaning we're late picking her up… and they took her food."_

_ "Oh, no." Clara muttered, understanding now what he was freaking out about._

_ "Oh, yes."_


	72. The Girl Who Died

**Hello... *hides* sorry this is late! my work schedule was hectic last week and i didn't get a chance to type up the chapter until my day off, only for me to get called into work for an overnight shift, so i was sleeping all day tuesday and didn't update. plus, i just got a new computer that i had to set up and transfer all my files to, and add that on top of procrastinating and i just barely finished this chapter now. so sorry again. :/**

**but here it is! no sneak peak today, unfortunately, since i haven't even started on the next chapter. the next episode will be the one following this one though, so there's that to look forward to. i should get around to typing it before next tuesday, but it _might_ be late again. my sleeping schedule is all out of wack, so i don't know for sure. i'll do what i can though!**

**but please review and let me know what you think. ^^**

**(and to those of you who read Amber Leaves, so sorry. I've been trying to type up the chapter and i'm maybe halfway done typing it out, but it will still be a while before i post it. i need to work on my time management.)**

* * *

"And the shadow of the day, will embrace the world in gray~" I sang idly as I rotated a fish on a stick over the small fire I'd made, stomach growling in eagerness.

I'd popped up not long after the fiasco with my other self in a forest somewhere. Of course, the Doctor was late, but I'd only been here for a few hours at most and luck was in my favor since I'd come across a stream right off the bat and happened to have somehow fit a fishing pole in my coat pocket. I wasn't worried about much, hence why I wasn't being too quiet with my singing. I could handle little things like wolves and possibly a bear, seeing as I was easily capable of dealing with the crazy aliens we bump into on a constant basis, but the silence was killing me. I needed something to do. People to chat with. _Anything_, really. So I figured why not entertain myself and possibly attract someone. Sure, I could attract a rather unfriendly someone, but I'd rather have someone to annoy with my singing than no one at all for who knows how long. For now though, I was more focused on the fish I'd finally finished cooking and I drooled a little as I held it up before me to take a bite. Of course, it was in that moment that someone had found me, and I did not appreciate the blade aimed at my throat when my dinner was _right there_ in front of me.

I blinked as a group of men with Viking helmets came out of the forest, surrounding me with their spears and swords and beards. _My goodness. I can see why Rory was all about the beards that one time with the pirates. It's like they're everywhere… I wonder what the Doctor would look like with a beard…_ I shook my mind out of my drifting thoughts as one of the men took a step forward.

"You're coming with us." He said sternly and I glanced down at my fish.

"Can I finish eating first?"

He gave me this look like I was insane and quickly nodded to the men standing behind me, who lowered their weapons and pulled me up by the arms.

"I'll take that as a 'no'." I grumbled as my fish was taken away and my hands were chained. "I'll have you know, I can get _quite _cranky and annoying when I'm hungry."

I figured they'd want to know what they were getting into by not letting me eat. _Eh, they'll figure it out soon enough._ I mused idly, wondering if the Doctor would show up to get me out of this mess with the Vikings, or if I was on my own this time.

* * *

The Twelfth Doctor grumbled under his breath as he stepped out of the Tardis and wiped his shoes as best he could on the grass in the forest, rather displeased that he had Love Sprite innards all over them. _Alex said she loved these shoes. And that spider just _had_ to crawl into Clara's helmet and make me squish it. Pesky thing_. He mentally complained as Clara came out asking about the people he'd saved and the enemies he'd defeated.

"What's to stop them re-arming and trying again?" She asked, not having bothered to change from the orange spacesuit she'd been in while floating around in space waiting for him.

"Nothing. But the Velosians will be ready for them this time. It's the best I could do, Clara. I'm not actually the police, that's just what it says on the box." He said, gesturing towards the Tardis briefly.

"You're always talking about what you can and can't do but you never tell me the rules. Even _Alex_ tells me her rules." Clara complained and he sighed.

"We're time travelers. We tread softly. It's okay to make ripples, but not tidal waves."

Clara snickered. "You _are_ a tidal wave."

"Don't say that."

"Alex would agree with me, you know."

He rolled his eyes, but suddenly a sword was at his throat, another soon being pointed at Clara's.

"Doctor?" She called out hesitantly as a group of men surrounded them with weapons and torches.

"No, no, not _Vikings_." He groaned, having hated them for ages. "I'm not in the mood for Vikings."

The leader of the group stepped forward then, addressing them. "You're coming with us."

"No, I'm not. Do you want to know why?" The Doctor said as the Vikings growled angrily at his defiance. "On my face, right now, more advanced technology than your species will manage over the next nine million years."

The Doctor gestured to his sunglasses that he'd slipped on, but the Viking leader took them and easily snapped them in half. Begrudgingly, the Doctor turned to Clara.

"Clara."

"Yeah?"

"We're going with the Vikings."

"You _think_?" She snapped.

"Chain them up with the other one." The leader ordered and the Doctor raised a brow.

"Other one?"

The Vikings didn't answer him and instead chained him and Clara up, before pulling another figure over.

"Oi! No shoving you big bearded Viking person, you! You're lucky I'm waiting for that dimwitted husband of mine to show up, otherwise you'd have a lot more problems on your hand other than just my singing! And I want compensation for that fish!" The figure shouted, before pausing at the sight of the Doctor and Clara as she was chained to them. "Oh, you've _got_ to be kidding me."

"Alex?" Clara questioned as one of the Vikings came by with a torch to reveal a very unhappy Alex.

"Oh, no." The Doctor grumbled, making Clara glance at him in confusion.

"'Oh, no'? Why are you saying 'oh, no'? I thought you'd be happy."

"Yes, well, I would be. But it appears she's been here longer than we have, and judging from what she said earlier… they took her fish."

"Took her fish?"

The Doctor nodded, taking a slight step back as Alex stepped closer. "Yes, meaning we're late picking her up… and they took her food."

"Oh, no." Clara muttered, understanding now what he was freaking out about.

"Oh, yes."

Alex stormed up to the Doctor and angrily got in his face. "_You_, are _late_."

"Ah, yes. Perfectly good explanation for that. You see, I—"

Alex cut him off. "I don't _care_ why you're late. You said you were making an alarm system to let you know when I popped up. Why haven't you used it?"

"I have!" He insisted, before wincing at her glare. "It just… only works when you pop up on the Tardis. I still need to calibrate it to work when you pop up elsewh—Ow!"

The Doctor hopped on one foot as Alex growled at him and one of the Vikings pulled her back a little to keep her from kicking him in the shin a second time.

"You idiot! What use is it if it only works when I'm in the Tardis?! How many times have I actually popped up in there?!"

"Well, if you want a number..."

"I swear to God, if you give me a number..." She snapped, making him quickly shut his mouth for fear of what she'd do to him.

"Right. I'm sorry, Alex. Really. I'll work on it as soon as we're back." He apologized and she scoffed, turning away from him.

"You better. I mean seriously, what kind of husband shows up late and allows himself to be captured by Vikings?"

Clara spoke up then, hesitantly. "But… weren't _you_ captured by Vikings?"

Alex stopped walking and turned to look over her shoulder with a glare. "I _allowed_ myself to be captured by the Vikings in the hopes that this _idiot_ would be around to pick me up sooner if I was stuck in trouble somewhere. I purposely got their attention, but look where it got me. Now we're _all_ captured." She turned away with a grumble. "If it knew it was going to be like this, I would have escaped already and saved _your_ butts. Lord knows I'm better at it than you two are… being late all the time… no fish..."

She continued to grumble complaints to herself the whole trip back to the Viking village and the Doctor knew better than to get too close when she was in a mood like that. Though the Vikings soon learned that lesson too when she managed to beat up one of them pretty decently even _with_ her hands chained together. It was his own fault, of course, for trying to poke her like a sleeping bear to see what she'd do, but after that incident, they _all_ kept their distance and kept their guards up. And it was kind of amusing to see how Alex went from a cranky, grumbling woman to a bored, slightly annoyed one the moment she had been given food. The Doctor would have chuckled at the Vikings' expressions, if he knew it wouldn't possibly get him beat up by her in return.

It took them all two days to get back to the Vikings' village and Alex was quickly getting cranky again with the Doctor's constant talking the whole way there.

"Plan, Doctor?" Clara asked as they were led into the village. "Any time soon."

"I do have a plan."

Alex scoffed, making the Viking beside her stiffen as Clara rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, so you kept saying for two days on a longboat."

"Well, only because you were looking worried."

"Only because you kept saying 'I do have a plan'."

"Always a cause for worry." Alex grumbled, earning a frown.

"I _do_ have a plan."

"Sure you do." Alex said, before frowning, brows furrowed as she spotted someone in the crowd.

The Doctor gave her an odd look too, before following her gaze and also staring at the young woman holding what was left of his sonic shades. She just gave him this odd feeling of deja vu and he was sure Alex felt the same, though she appeared more troubled by it than he was.

"You two alright? Do you know her?" Clara questioned, curious by their sudden staring.

"Never seen her before in my life." The Doctor murmured, looking again.

"Okay, so why are you two staring? Alex?"

"I dunno." Alex muttered, glancing back briefly as well. "Just this feeling."

"Nothing, probably." The Doctor said. "Too much time travel. It happens."

"What happens?"

"People talk about premonition as if it's something strange. It's not. It's just remembering in the wrong direction." He explained to Clara, before he was pushed forward again. "Okay, plan. We meet the boss man and we do the usual."

"Oh, please no." Alex groaned, though Clara was still a bit lost.

"What's the usual?"

"Replace him."

"How?" Clara whispered as the two leaders of the little group of Vikings saluted the elder who came out to greet them.

"To the primitive mind, advanced technology can seem like magic."

"It's going to be the yo-yo again, isn't it?" Clara complained, making Alex raise a brow.

"He's going to convince them he's all-powerful with a _yo-yo_?"

"Yeah." The Doctor replied, whining slightly at Alex's doubt in him. "It's in my pocket somewhere."

He smirked, holding up his manacles as Clara gaped at him in shock.

"How did you do that?!"

"Magic." He replied, though Alex rolled her eyes and revealed her freed hands as well when she went to undo Clara's manacles.

"In other words, he learned it from me. The two of us have issues with various handcuffs, so I've learned to get out of most of them on my own since he usually relies on his sonic that gets taken half the time."

"Fun killer." The Doctor grumbled, before flinging his yo-yo at the elder and making the Vikings take up arms with angry gasps.

"How dare you attack our Chieftain!" The leader shouted, though the Doctor pretended to put on a tough look.

"I am very, very cross with you. I am very disappointed!" He called out loudly, making some of the villagers step back hesitantly. "I have taken human form to walk among you."

"Who are you, old man?" The leader demanded.

"Do you not recognize the sign of Odin?" The Doctor said, flinging out his yo-yo once more.

"You are not Odin and that is not Odin's sign." The leader said, unconvinced and the Doctor dropped his 'Odin' voice.

"Oh, and you would know that how, exactly? Have you _met_ Odin? Do you know what Odin looks like?"

There was a loud clap of thunder then, despite the clear skies, and everyone turned to see a gathering of clouds where a man's face appeared.

"Looks like you got beat." Alex snickered, making the Doctor frown as the man in the sky spoke up.

"Oh, my people! I am Odin! And now, your day of reward has finally dawned."

A few people started kneeling in respect, but the Doctor attempted to stop them.

"Do not believe this foolish trickery!" He tried to yo-yo again, but it didn't come back to his hand like it was supposed to and he tried to cover that up. "It's supposed to do that."

Alex though, shook her head with a sigh, having trouble getting Clara's manacles off.

"Your mightiest warriors will feast with me tonight in the halls of Valhalla." The large face said and rays of light appeared, leaving behind five large, metal covered giants with weapons.

The Vikings charged forward and Alex took a step to try and stop them, but the Doctor grabbed her wrist and tugged her to his side, shaking his head as the Vikings attempted to fight the giants.

"Stay still. Stay very, very still." The Doctor ordered; him, Alex, and Clara backed up against a house.

"That's not really Odin, is it?"

"He hasn't even got a yo-yo."

"Would you knock it off with the yo-yo?" Alex snapped quietly, taking the toy from him. "I'm going to have Sexy hide it from you if you can't behave."

He pouted childishly as Clara tried to keep them focused.

"So this is an invasion."

"Doubt it." Alex muttered, earning a nod from the Doctor.

"This is a harvest. The strongest, the fittest. The weak and young, they'll leave behind." He turned to Alex. "Which is why I need you—especially—Alex, to stay hidden."

"Hm, I'll take that as a compliment." She hummed as a group of the Vikings were teleported away.

"We have to help them." Clara said, though even Alex hesitated.

"I don't know, Clara. Those are some pretty tough looking robots and without a plan, we can't exactly go charging in headfir—Clara! God, does nobody listen to us?" She complained as Clara rushed over to the girl from before.

The Doctor and Alex couldn't hear what she was saying to the girl, but they both tried to head over to them without drawing attention to themselves. Problem was, they were too far away to stop the giants from teleporting the two away; leaving behind a set of manacles. The giants themselves vanished and left the village stunned and disoriented.

"Oh, Clara. Why's it always have to be Clara?" Alex breathed out, staring up at the sky and quickly accepting the tight embrace the Doctor put her in.

"It's okay. She'll be alright, Alex. They were taking warriors. They took Clara because of my sonic sunglasses. They'll keep her and she'll be able to talk her way out of this."

"You're right... You're right. Sorry." She said, pulling away before a low growl interrupted them.

The Doctor raised a brow with an amused smirk as Alex's ears turned a nice shade of pink and he chuckled before handing her a cherry-flavored sucker from his pocket.

"Here. It's not much, but it should keep your stomach quiet."

She snatched it from him with a pout. "Stop laughing."

"Now who said anything about laughing? I'm not laughing."

"Yes, you are. I can see it on your big silly face. Middle of an alien harvest and my stomach's growling? Oh, ha-ha." She complained sarcastically and he smiled.

"Well, you've got to admit, it _is_ a bit funny."

Alex punched him in the arm. "Shut up."

* * *

I shuffled my feet in worry as we waited for Clara to return. I'd grown more than protective over her when I was around now, thanks to what happened before, and it was only the Doctor beside me who really kept me from finding a way up to that ship and dragging her back. And when she and the young girl returned, I was the first person there; immediately tackling her in a hug.

"Um, hello." She said as I buried my face in her shoulder and she pat my back. "I take it you were worried?"

"_Please_ stop getting into life or death situations like that." I complained, pulling away. "I honestly don't think my hearts can take much more of it."

She smiled a little, before the Doctor joined us, throwing her a thumbs up. We both gave him a look and he shrugged.

"I'm not a hugger..." He said, before giving in and grabbing us both in a hug and twirling us around happily. "I looked them up in my two thousand years diary." He said once he'd put us down. "They are called the Mire."

"Listen—" Clara said, but he didn't pay attention.

"They are one of the deadliest warrior races in the entire galaxy."

"Okay—"

"But they're practical. They get what they want and go." He explained, though I knew something was wrong by the look on Clara's face. "You persuaded them to go, didn't you? I knew that you would."

"The deadliest warrior race in the galaxy?"

"One of them, yes. Why?" He asked, seeing her expression as well now.

"Because I think this village just declared war on them."

"That's not good." I muttered.

"Oh, yes. Very not good." The Doctor replied, quickly sending her off to change out of her spacesuit and I followed after her, hoping to change into something a bit more flexible than my semi-formal dress shirt and coat.

"Clara?" I called out from my changing room in the wardrobe.

"Yeah? What's up?"

I hesitated slightly, before gathering my courage. "What do you think of that one girl you spoke to?"

"What?" She questioned, poking her head out as I stepped out in a pair of dark jeans, a grey hoodie, and a black varsity jacket. "Where did this come from?"

I shrugged, scuffing my high tops on the floor. "I don't know. It's just… that girl. There's something about her and I don't know what it is, but I don't like her."

"Lots of people get that feeling." She said, ducking back into her changing room.

I frowned though, sitting down on a bench nearby and intertwining my fingers. "No. This is different. This isn't just a feeling that makes me think she's a bad person. This is… This is me despising her for no apparent reason."

Clara walked out, dressed in a blue top and pants. "Now that doesn't sound like you. Really? You despise someone you've never met before?"

I sighed as she sat down beside me. "I don't know. That's what I feels like. And it doesn't make sense, but I can't help but _really_ not like her."

"Hm, well maybe it's like the Doctor said. Maybe she'll do something in the future that you'll be upset about and you're just feeling it now." Clara said, but bumped shoulders with me. "Just don't dwell on it. You know, here and now. Worry about the future later. Well, unless it's important. Then you can worry about it. With you, the rules sort of change."

I snorted. "Yeah, right. Tell that to Angry Brows. I'm _still_ not allowed to drink on the Tardis."

"For good reason." Clara chuckled. "Remember that one time you tried that alien whiskey that was some radioactive neon green color?"

I chuckled as we both headed out of the Tardis. "Oh, yeah. Hangover of the century, but _soooo_ worth seeing the Eleventh Doctor with pink hair."

"You don't even remember what happened! Five minutes into the drink and you said everything went blank!"

"It did!" I laughed. "Don't remember a thing, but just seeing the aftermath was enough to let me know that that drink was _amazing_."

She chuckled too. "The Doctor would disagree."

I snorted, knowing that she was right and silently thanking her for drawing my attention away from what had been bothering me since we'd shown up in this village. But now we had to change our focus back to the bigger problem at hand. The Mire.

What was left of the Vikings gathered with us in their meeting hall where Clara explained the situation rather simply.

"They're coming here tomorrow—ten of them—to kill everybody in the village."

"Ashildr, is this true?" Her father, I'm assuming, asked.

"It's my fault." She said, bowing her head and I felt a little bad for her, but that feeling from before came back and I wasn't so sure.

"Not every misfortune that befalls this village is down to you." He turned to the Doctor. "She thinks she brings us bad luck.

"What bad luck?" He questioned. "You haven't had any bad luck. You're fine."

I sighed softly, rolling my eyes at his childishness, but not feeling up to saying anything about it with the situation we were dealing with. He had enough on his plate to begin with, without me giving him a hard time. If he went too far though, I would step in. But for now, his rudeness was tolerable.

"We are about to be attacked by—"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes. With a whole day to spare! So leave! Hop it, take off! Into the woods, split up, hide. Hang about there for a week, come back home, make puddings and babies. That's basically what you do, isn't it?" The Doctor rattled on, though I doubted that these people would be so willing to cower away from _any_ enemy.

"We cannot leave this village." Ashildr's father, Einarr, said.

"Yes, you can. Just pick a direction. Fly like a bird, run like a nose. That's probably a Viking saying, I haven't checked that." He mused, making me sigh when he turned to me like I knew.

"No! We will fight!"

"Aye!" A chorus echoed and I stood up, crossing my arms over my chest and watching as the men sort of shrunk back a bit.

_They must have heard of my temper from the other Vikings. Makes things easier._ "Are you lot stupid?"

"Alex!" Clara scolded me, but I waved her off.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Being rude. Got it. But seriously? You lot aren't warriors. You're farmers, fishermen, the gatherers of the group. You're women and children and elderly and sick. And you honestly think you stand a chance against them? No offense, but your _warriors_ didn't stand a chance."

Einarr though, threw a bag of weapons on the floor with a triumphant shout.

"We are Vikings!"

Cheers rang out and I scowled, already losing my temper with these people. I quickly hooked my foot under one of the swords on the ground and flipped it up into the air, catching it and spinning around to hold it pointed at Einarr's throat and making the room go dead silent as he stared at the weapon fearfully and I spoke; deadly serious.

"You're so confident, aren't you? When was the last time _you_ picked up a weapon? Used it in battle, hm?" I asked him, getting no response as I swung the sword around and pointed it at the others. "Which one of you has even _held_ a sword before, huh?"

Clara and the Doctor raised their hands, but none of the Vikings did, proving my point.

"Now look. I get it, alright? You're Vikings. You're not weak. You don't run away, right?"

"Yeah!" The cheered, but I glared at them, making them go quiet.

"So you lot fight. You go out there and you fight with shovels and trowels, and what do you accomplish? Huh?" I toss the sword aside, hearing a baby cry in the distance. "Nothing. You die and sure, you weren't weak. You stood up to your enemies and died with honor. But what good is that honor when you're dead? When your wife and child are alone, or dead? What good is honor then, huh?"

They were quiet as the Doctor spoke up, voice soft.

"I am afraid, mother. Hold me, mother. I am afraid."

I turned to him, seeing his eyes closed as he listened to the cries of the baby and translated its fears; I myself feeling the worry and fear of everyone in the room and doing my best to block it out and not have it effect myself.

"Um, he speaks baby." Clara said to the confused Vikings, who understood then what was going on as the Doctor continued.

"Turn your face towards me, mother, for you're… you're beautiful. And I will sing for you. I am afraid, but I will sing." He turned to the group, coming over and tucking me into his side as I let out a shaky breath; his words combined with the emotions in the room, effecting me more than I thought. "Babies think that laughter is singing. Did you know that? I applaud your courage, but I deplore your stupidity. And I will mourn your deaths, which will be terrifying, painful, and without honor."

He tugged me along with him, the both of us knowing that there wasn't really any helping these people if they didn't want it. And I _did_ want to help them, but there wasn't much even _I_ could do. I might be slightly clever, but I was nowhere _near_ the Doctor's level and without any knowledge of what could happen, I had no real way of planning ahead; especially with an enemy I didn't know anything about. So it was really up to the Doctor to change his mind about helping them more than what we were already doing, but I didn't even know of what to say that could convince him of doing so. So as much as I wished to help them, I couldn't do anything.

"Stay." Ashildr said, making us both pause. "You could help us. I know you could."

"I told you to run. That's all the help you need. And that's all the help you're getting." The Doctor said sternly and we started to go, before she called out to _me._

"Seer."

I stiffened at the name, pausing and feeling the Doctor tighten his grip on me slightly.

"Please."

"I'm not the Seer." I said softly, glancing back at her as she begged me desperately. "I don't know anything about this and I… I can't help you. I'm sorry."

The Doctor tugged me outside, but we didn't stray too far from the building; the two of us taking comfort in one another as he brushed a kiss across my temple and helped me push away the feelings of the other villagers. The baby especially, was proving to be hard presence to push past, and I couldn't help but think of my own siblings back home crying and being afraid like this one was. And me, unable to do anything. Unable to stop it. To comfort them. The Doctor must have felt this, and he lead me a little further away from the infant's cries, though we could still hear them quietly as Clara came out after us.

"The Earth is safe. Humanity is not in danger. It's just one village." The Doctor said, trying to stop her before she could somehow convince us to help.

"Just one village?"

"Suppose we saved it by some miracle. No Tardis, no sonic. Just one village defeats the Mire. What then?" He asked her, bringing up more problems that us interfering could cause. "Word gets around. Earth becomes a target of strategic value and the Mire come back. And God know what else. Ripples into tidal waves until everybody dies."

The baby cried a bit louder and the Doctor held me a little tighter as I winced at the headache the child was giving me.

"What's it saying?" Clara asked suddenly.

"She." He corrected. "She's afraid. Babies sense danger. They have to." He said, avoiding her question and even I could sense that he was upset.

"Tell me."

"Mother, I hear thunder. Mother, I hear shouting. You are my world, but I hear other worlds now. Beyond the unfolding of your smile… is there other kindness? I'm afraid. Will they be kind? The sky is crying now. Fire in the water."

I glanced up at him when he said that, confused.

"Fire in the water?" He repeated, closing his eyes as I too, felt my resolve crumble; mentally scolding myself for not even trying to help these people.

_And because of what? No foreknowledge? That hasn't stopped me before. There are children here. There are _kids_ here. And I was ready to abandon them without even trying to help._ I too, closed my eyes, inhaling deeply as the sound of the baby's cries died down, before I felt a hand on my cheek. I opened my eyes to see Clara smiling at the Doctor and I.

"You both just decided to stay."

We both were about ready to ask her how she knew that as she started to walk off, but she turned around and answered that for us.

"The baby stopped crying."

She headed back in to give them the good news and the Doctor turned to me with a frown.

"What?"

"She's _your_ companion." He said, making me gape at him in shock.

"_My_ companion? She jumped into _your_ time stream." I argued, before holding up a finger before he could say anything. "And don't tell me anything about that. Still spoilers for me."

"Well… _you're_ the one who's overprotective of her."

"Oh right, because you're not? Last I checked, you jumped right in after her, _and _risked blowing up the universe to save her from your own exploding ship, _and_—"

"Well, she likes you more!"

"Ha! I doubt it, Spaceman. We all know how you are with women."

"Says you!" He argued back, before we were both glaring at one another, inches apart and realized what we were doing.

I felt my lip twitch up in a small smile as he struggled to remain angry about the whole thing.

"I take it we're saving a Viking village?"

He made a face. "Yeah, I suppose so. We just can't say no to her, can we?"

"Never." I hummed, reaching up and kissing him briefly. "Now come on, Clever Clogs. Better get moving before she comes back out to find us like this."

He hummed, tugging me a bit closer, much like his Eleventh self used to. "Hm, I don't think I'd mind that."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure that Viking in the doorway does."

The Doctor turned and, sure enough, there was a Viking standing in the doorway, mouth agape and pointing at us in shock as the Doctor sighed and turned back to me, giving me a quick peck.

"We'll continue this later."

"Of course." I chuckled, before we went to go prep the men and come up with a plan; hopefully coming up with something before the Mire showed up

* * *

The Doctor sighed softly, running his fingers through Alex's short hair as she slept tucked into his side. She was exhausted, he was sure. She'd been rushing around with him and the others, training the men to fight and putting out the fires they'd inevitably caused. That, and she was wearing down mentally as well. He could tell that with tensions running high she was struggling slightly to keep herself in check, but when the baby was brought up, it only seemed to get worse. He wondered sometimes, about what she thought about having children. They'd discussed it once before, but it was times like these when he thought she was holding back. _She would make an excellent mother._ He mused, kissing the top of her head as he wrapped his arms around her to keep her warm. _She was right, though. This is no life for a child... And then there's that other problem..._

As he looked down at her sleeping face though, he wondered what it would be like. To see her holding a little piece of the two of them, laughing and playing. Alex, smiling so happily with their child in her arms. Oh, how he wished to see that. To see that brightness in Alex's eyes once more. He considered taking her back to see little Alfie more than once before, but it broke his heart every time he did, because he'd see that change in her. He'd see her overjoyed and happy, only to leave and be reminded that he wasn't their child and she had to let him go. And that crushed him, but what could he do? It was up to her, of course, but what parent would want to put their child in this sort of danger? Certainly not her. _And the possibility of it actually happening... Oh, Alexander..._

"Weird sounding thunder." Clara said, breaking him out of his thoughts as she headed over and plopped down on a barrel nearby. "How's she doing? She looked sick a little while ago."

"Just sleeping." He murmured, leaning his chin on the top of Alex's head. "She was having trouble dealing with the overload of emotions from the villagers."

"The baby too, yeah?" Clara hummed, gazing softly at Alex, "She's always had a soft spot for kids."

He nodded, glancing up at the dark clouds. "That's not thunder, by the way. It's the weapon forges of the Mire. They're making sure we hear them."

She thought about that for a second before looking at him. "Well?"

"Well…" He sighed, thinking to the disaster that had happened earlier. "Heidi faints at the mention of blood, not just the sight any more. He's actually upgraded his phobia. Chuckles, he questions every single order you give him, which is going to be a little bit difficult, a little bit tricky, in the heat of battle."

"I keep waiting to hear what your real plan is."

"Teaching them to fight. That's the only plan I've got."

"Turning them into fighters? That's not like you. Either of you." She said. "I'm surprised Alex is letting you do it."

"I used to believe that too… She's not letting me do it, though." He replied softly. "She doesn't know what else to do. She still working on her confidence level, but it's hard for her in a completely unfamiliar situation like this."

"What happened?" Clara asked. "What happened to make you believe fighting was the way to go?"

"You." He answered, turning to face her. "Oh, Clara Oswald. What have I made of you? You and Alex both." He said, sounding a little hurt. "She was willing to just walk away with me…"

Clara frowned, upset with him and his sudden depressing way of thinking. "It doesn't matter how well you train them, it's not going to make a difference."

"They'll be dying with honor." He argued. "To a Viking, that's all the difference in the world."

"A good death? Is that the best they can hope for?"

"A good death is the best anyone can hope for, unless you happen to be immortal." He grumbled, before Ashildr walked out.

"Sorry." She muttered as Clara smiled.

"No problem."

"Night." The Doctor called out after her and Clara gave him a smug look.

"You've made an impact there."

"Stop it." He frowned.

"She's nice. Fight you for her."

The Doctor snorted. "Not fighting Alex?"

Clara made a face. "No. She said something strange. Said she didn't like her and couldn't figure out why."

The Doctor looked over at Clara, his own brows furrowed in confusion. "Really?"

Clara nodded. "Yeah, I know. I said the same thing. But she said it was just this gut feeling that she got. Like your premonition you mentioned earlier. Said she had no clue why, but she just didn't like her."

"Odd." The Doctor mused, glancing over at where Ashildr walked off. "She reminds me of her."

"Does she now?" Clara hummed, curious.

"The younger her." He answered. "Quiet, clever, absolutely no confidence in herself unless it's at the right moment. Yet is more masculine than most and has a way with words."

"Huh. I guess so. I didn't think about it like that, but you're right. They are pretty similar, aren't they?" Clara mused, before glancing at him. "Still don't want to fight for her?"

He scoffed. "The human race. You're obsessed. You all need to get a hobby."

"I've got a hobby, thanks." She said, giving him a look. "It's you two, by the way."

"Well, get a new one."

"Not this." She sighed, seeing what he was about to do.

"Tomorrow is going to be a bloodbath."

"Don't even ask."

"These people all died hundreds of years before you were born."

"I'm not running."

"I have a duty of care."

"No, you don't, because I never asked for that."

"Every time we do something like this, I keep thinking, what if something happens to you?" He said, sternly trying to stop her.

"What about Alex? I don't exactly see you telling her to go."

"I think _equally_ as much about her!" He snapped, forcing himself to take a deep breath and calm down as said woman stirred in his arms. "I worry about her every day. With every trip we take, I wonder if it will be her last and I've _tried_ pushing her away, but every time I do, she only ends up even more hurt than she would have been if I'd done nothing. And I'm not taking that risk. Not again."

"Sorry." She murmured, but pushed the issue. "And I'm not leaving."

"Clara—"

"No, Doctor. Stop thinking about me and start thinking about them. Because you're missing something."

He looked at her confused. "What?"

"How you're going to win." She said seriously. "You always miss it, right up until the last minute. So put down your sword, stop playing soldier, and look for it. Start winning, Doctor. It's what you're good at. And think of it this way… think of how upset Alex will be if something happens to that baby."

She walked off and he frowned, but knew she was right. There was something he was missing and Alex would never let him live it down if something happened to these people. So he needed to think. Because otherwise, Alex would pick up the task and do it herself. And he just _knew_ something horrible would happen to her if it came down to that. But first, he wanted to check upon someone who reminded him very much of his younger wife.

* * *

"—lex! Alex, wake up!"

"Mm." I grumbled, stirring only slightly, but the Doctor was persistent.

"Alex, I've figured it out! I know what we need to do!"

"Mm, fire… water." I muttered, only semi-conscious and having no clue what was coming out of my mouth.

"Exactly! I've figured out what the baby was saying! Fire in the water. It's electric _eels_."

I could feel my mind starting to buzz into life, the Doctor prodding me mentally with his own mind to get me up and I begrudgingly opened my eyes with a frown.

"Electric… what now?"

"_Eels_, Alex. Electric eels! The Vikings have barrels of them!"

"Mm, must be… tasty." I grumbled, rolling back over much to the Doctor's annoyance, before my mind suddenly clicked and I sat up abruptly. "Oh my God. Eels! We can use the eels!"

"There you go! Now, come on! We need to spread the news!" He grinned, grabbing my hand and tugging me out of the bedroom he must have dropped me off in and tugging me to the boathouse.

"Lofty! I had no idea that was your baby." He said happily, as we approached the man and the crying infant. "Hello, baby. I had no idea this was your junior parent."

"I'm trying to settle her. She likes all the fish." The man the Doctor dubbed 'Lofty' replied as Clara, Ashildr, and Einarr hurried in.

"You're shouting. What's happened?" Clara asked. "Did you trap your finger in something again and Alex can't help because she's laughing too hard?"

I snorted. "Does he really do that? Ooh, I can't wait."

She smiled at that, but the Doctor spoke up; ignoring us both.

"Chuckles, bedtime is cancelled. Everybody, off the hard stuff!" He called out to the others who were trying to see what all the commotion was about. "We've got a long night's work ahead of us. I need a blacksmith. Who's the blacksmith?"

"_I'm_ the blacksmith." Lofty said, raising his hand slightly.

"You're the blacksmith and you've got a baby too? He's been at it hammer and tongs."

"Doctor, Alex, explain. What's happening?" Clara asked, confused.

"There's going to be a war tomorrow. And here's some news. This just in. We're going to win the hell out of it."

I smacked him on the arm. "Language. There's a baby." I scolded him, gesturing to the child.

"Right. Sorry, baby."

"How?" Clara asked, trying to keep us on track.

He wasn't really listening though. "Ashildr, this is your village, and you will never have to leave it. I swear."

"Seriously, how?" Clara repeated and I went to answer, but the Doctor covered my mouth to silence me; which I glared at him for.

"I _told_ you we were basically doomed. Did no one in this two-horn town think to mention that you had eels?"

"Eels?" Clara questioned, completely lost and the Doctor grinned, releasing me after I licked his hand and running over to the barrels excitedly.

"I give you…" He tapped the barrels lightly, making the eels spark. "…fire in the water!"

"Electric eels." I replied with a smile as the Doctor hurried over to the baby.

"Yes, yes. I know how you feel." He wrinkled his nose suddenly then. "Well, not exactly. She needs changing." He informed Lofty as Clara rolled her eyes and gave him a smile.

"Plan then?"

"And it is… a doozy." The Doctor confirmed.

And it sure as hell was. The plan was absolutely insane and even as he prepared it and explained everything, I was still a bit skeptical. Even the revealing of Ashildr's puppet monster didn't convince me otherwise, but I trusted the Doctor and if he figured that this would work, then it just might. After all, he knew about the Mire more than I did. From what I saw, they were just big tin boxes with guns; hence why I figured the eels would work. Robots and uncontrollable electricity don't really mix well, after all. I had to say though, the first half of the plan was my favorite.

"Ah-ha! I win again!" I cheered, a two horned Viking helmet tipped lopsidedly on my head as I drank deeply from my pint; making Lofty frown as he lost the ring toss for the fifth time.

What can I say? Getting to drink and party as part of a plan? How could I resist? It was short lived though, because the Mire and their commander—the supposed Odin—walked in. I didn't let up on the act though, as the Doctor grabbed me and we danced our way over to the man in charge.

"Hey, hello, hi! I'm the Doctor, this is my lovely wife Alex. It's lovely to meet you face to, uh, convincing hologram. You could always go zzz and get rid of it, no? No, on second thought, don't. That, that, that suits you."

"It is time to fight." Odin announced, but I blew my lips in a raspberry.

"Pft, nah. Why fight? It's better to party!"

The village cheered behind me in agreement, though Odin wasn't nearly as convinced.

"Let me put that another way. You fight, or you die."

"We're unarmed. There isn't a single weapon in this room. Which I'm sure your systems are telling you." The Doctor said, holding his hands up briefly. "You wouldn't open fire on unarmed civilians, would you?"

"It wouldn't be the first time." Odin threatened.

A ring hit one of the Mire with a 'clang' and everything stopped as the Mire looked up and pulled on it to see a jumble of wires.

"Chuckles, now!" The Doctor shouted and Einarr smacked the side of the barrel of eels up in the eaves to get the eels going; electrocuting the Mire who hadn't noticed the rings and wires on their backs.

"Run, run, run, run, run, run, run!" The Doctor shouted as everyone bolted off to their positions; I myself heading over to where Clara and the Doctor were behind a table. "That's four down, six left."

"Go!" Odin shouted, and the Mire started forward until the Doctor shouted again.

"Chuckles, switch!"

The man hit a different barrel and this electrocuted the anvils that the Doctor and I had set up to act as magnets; attracting the Mire's weapons and yanking them right out of their hands. It also yanked off a few of their helmets to reveal strange fish-headed creatures with rows upon rows of teeth. The Doctor got up then, being right under the anvils and called out once more.

"Chuckles, off!"

The magnets were turned off and a helmet fell into the Doctor's arms as Clara picked up one of the guns and aimed it at Odin.

"Don't move."

"Go!" The man shouted, encouraging the rest of the Mire to continue as Clara stood by the Doctor and I to protect us; though I wasn't pleased about the weapon holding.

"How's it coming?" She asked him.

"Reversing the polarity of the neutron flow. I bet that means something. It sounds great. Ashildr!"

The girl hurried over and sat in a chair; this being the part of the plan I wasn't too keen on. My stomach churned uneasily. Like there was something wrong, but the whole place was in a panic and everyone was rushing about—Doctor included—so I couldn't be sure if that was my own feelings or that of everyone around me.

"Are you ready?" The Doctor asked her.

"I'm scared." She replied immediately and I felt my throat tighten as that echo of a baby's cry rang out in my head.

"You were born for this. Show them a story they'll never forget." He said, hooking her up to the Mire helmet.

The back door fell with a crash and Odin faced it with fear in his eyes at the dragonesque puppet that rolled in. But that wasn't what he and the Mire were seeing. According to the Doctor, by hooking Ashildr up to the helmet, she would be able to use her imagination to create an image that would 'frighten their pants off'. It seemed to be working too. Odin backed up fearfully as did the Mire, who soon began to teleport away instead of facing the puppet. When the only one left was Odin, the Doctor stood up and approached.

"That's enough, Ashildr. Story's over. Happy ending."

A loud farting noise came from the man blowing on the horn to make monstrous sounds, before he and some of the other villagers laughed; the door being closed behind the puppet. Of course, that meant that Odin realized that the 'monster' was a fake and he didn't look too pleased about it as the Vikings armed themselves and surrounded him.

"What trickery is this?"

"Ha! Says the man with a fake face. But you see, that's the trouble with viewing reality through technology. It's all too easy to feed in a new reality." The Doctor said with a smug grin, though I was hesitantly watching Ashildr; who'd yet to remove the Mire helmet.

Nearby though, Clara took her phone from Heidi, who had been recording the event and the Doctor went on to speak with Odin.

"A story to save a town, and a puppet from a nightmare. You see, you've just seen the world through the eyes of a storyteller. The mighty armies of the Mire. Brutal, sadistic, undefeated. Even I believed the stories. But after today, no one will again. An army like yours, it lives or dies on its reputation, its _story_. And today, you were sent packing by a handful of farmers and fisherman. Not to mention the whole wetting your pants and running away from a puppet debacle."

Clara started laughing, drawing his attention to her. "See, that was really funny."

"That was hilarious. It's just lucky that nobody recorded that. Oh, wait a minute. We did."

Clara chuckled as she replayed the video on her phone, but I slowly moved away from the group and over to the unmoving Ashildr.

"Ashildr? You alright?" I asked, speaking softly to not draw attention to us.

"Now, you see, we could just keep this as a funny little film and play it every year at the Christmas party, _or_ I could upload it to the galactic hub and get a second opinion. So the question you need to ask yourself is this. Just how important is your reputation to you? Here's a little sneak preview, piped straight into your helmets, free of charge." The Doctor threatened. "If you don't leave right now, I'll put it out there for all to see and no one will fear you again."

Odin was rather upset, but I ignored him as I knelt down before Ashildr, who'd yet to respond to me.

"Ashildr. Ashildr, talk to me. Move. Do something."

There was still no response and I reached out and touched her hand, only to find it ice cold. Cheers rang out as Odin was teleported away, but I knew that something was deadly wrong with Ashildr. Problem was, I didn't want to remove the Mire helmet on my own when I didn't know the technology. I could make things worse, so I immediately called out over the cheers in a panic.

"Doctor! Doctor, something's wrong! Something's wrong with Ashildr!"

He turned towards me and immediately rushed over with Einarr, who tried getting the girls' attention as the Doctor questioned me.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I tried to get her to respond to me or move or anything, but there was nothing. She's cold to the touch too, and I would have removed the helmet, but I don't know the technology, so I didn't want to make things worse."

He sort of just stared, shocked as Clara also pushed through the crowd.

"Get the helmet off her. Get it off. Now."

The helmet was pulled off by Einarr, making me feel horrible for not doing it sooner, and the man cradled Ashildr as Clara placed her fingers on her neck and turned to us.

"No pulse. I think… Doctor, is she dead?"

"I'm sorry." He said, barely audible. "I'm really, terribly sorry."

He hurried out and I glanced between him and Clara briefly, before chasing after him as Einarr cried over Ashildr along with the rest of the villagers

"Doctor. Doctor, please." I called out after him, trying to keep up as he hurried into the boathouse and went to one of the barrels; head bowed to look at himself in the reflection. "Doctor, I-I… I'm sorry."

"No. You've got nothing to apologize for. It was my fault."

I shook my head, approaching him and reaching a hand out to comfort him. "No, it's mine. I should have taken the helmet off sooner. If I had, then maybe—"

"No!" He shouted, rounding on me and making me take a hesitant step back at his sudden mood change. "No! I am sick and tired of you blaming yourself and I'm not having it anymore, Alex! You need to stop this! Stop this right now, because it's not your fault and it never will be! It's mine and it always has been! So just shut up and leave me alone!"

"I-I just… I just want to help. Doctor, just let me help you." I said, trying my best to stay calm in the sight of the angry and upset man before me.

"I don't need your help! I've _never_ needed your help, Alex and I never will! So just go! Go away and leave me be! Can't you tell when you're not needed?!" He yelled at me and it crushed me to hear him say that.

I knew he didn't mean it. I knew it was just him blowing off steam at the nearest person due to the tragedy that just befell us, but his words really hurt. Especially since I hardly did anything at all this adventure other than get too emotional due to the overwhelming emotions flying around. But the Doctor's connection with me and vice versa, was much stronger than that, so I felt everything he was feeling when he let his barriers down. And right now, I could feel that, but it didn't stop the pain his words caused me, so I turned and bolted from the room; bumping into Clara on the way.

"Whoa there. Hey, you okay?" She asked me and I nodded, voice cracking when I spoke.

"I-I just need a-a minute."

"Alex, I—"

"Sorry." I muttered, pushing past her before she could say anything, because I could feel myself on the verge of tears and I didn't want _anyone_ to see that.

Not when I'd been trying so hard to be strong.

* * *

Clara headed into the boathouse where Alex had come from and immediately approached the Doctor angrily.

"Oi, what was that about?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." He grumbled, but she wasn't about to let it go that easily.

"Don't give me that, Doctor. Alex just ran from here in _tears_. What the hell did you do?"

He frowned. "It's none of your business, Clara."

"It is most _definitely _my business when my friend is hurt and upset. So you better tell me what the hell is going on, or I'll walk away right now and you can deal with this mess all on your own."

The Doctor sighed, pulling his hand through his hair, much like Alex does when she's frustrated about something. "Fine… Fine. I was… upset about what just happened and I may have… taken my anger out on her." He caught sight of Clara's expression and groaned. "Yes, yes, I know I shouldn't have. I had no right to be upset with her, especially with how insecure she already is at the moment, and I _will_ apologize. I just… I need a minute to myself for a bit."

Clara understood that and leaned against a partially finished boat. "Heart failure, yeah?" She asked, talking of Ashildr and changing the subject slightly since it seemed the Doctor didn't wish to speak of what happened between him and Alex for now.

"Yeah. I plugged her into the machine. Used her up like a battery." He sighed. "I'm so sick of losing."

Clara looked at him, confused. "You didn't lose. You saved the town."

"I don't mean the war. I'll lose any war you like… I'm sick of losing people. Look at you, with your eyes, and your never giving up, and your anger, and your kindness. One day, the memory of that will hurt so much that I won't be able to breathe, and I'll do what I always do. I'll get in my box and I'll run and I'll run, in case all the pain ever catches up. And every place I go, it will be there."

"You did your best. She died. There's nothing you can do. You and Alex both. You need to stop blaming yourselves every time someone gets hurt."

"I can do _anything._ We both can. There's nothing we can't do. _Nothing_. But we're not supposed to. Alex knows that better than even I do. Ripples, tidal waves, rules. I'm not supposed to… Oh." He noticed something then, remembering when he was looking at his reflection in the water of a barrel. "Oh!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"My face." He breathed out, understanding dawning on him.

"Doctor, what's wrong with your face?" Clara asked, worry seeming into her tone as she wished Alex were here to help her figure this man out.

"I think I know why I chose it." He said. "I think I know what I'm trying to say. I know where I got this face, and I know what it's for."

"Okay, what's it for?" Clara asked, still very much lost as to what was going on.

"To remind me. To hold me to the mark. I'm the Doctor, and I save people." He shouted up into the sky. "And if anyone happens to be listening, and you've got any kind of a problem with that, to hell with you!" He turned to Clara then, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Find Alex. Bring her to the meeting house. If I'm going to do this, I can't go out looking for her. As much as I want to, I don't have much time."

He hurried out and Clara took a step after him, calling out. "Wait, Doctor?! Do what?!"

He didn't answer her though and she sighed, rolling her eyes as she headed out to find Alex. "Oh, what am I going to do with these two?"

* * *

"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid." I grumbled under my breath, smacking my head against the wall in annoyance. "Why did I run? Why do I always run? It wasn't even that bad. I knew what he was doing. I knew he was just being angry because of what happened, but I ran. I ran away when he needed me. Is that all it takes? A few mean words and I run away to cry like a two year old?"

Or so I said, but I'd still been unable to bring myself to go back and help him get through this. A soft cry came from behind me and I turned with a soft smile, heading over to the crib and wiggling my finger at Lofty's child.

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm being negative again. I'm trying though, and that's what counts, right?"

The baby cooed, reaching up to grab at my finger before I reached in and picked her up. She was very sweet and had her father's blue eyes, but I couldn't help seeing a slight overlap with my youngest sibling back home. Problem was, I barely remembered what she looked like anymore and that thought only dropped my mood again; causing the child to begin to cry once more.

"Sh, sh, sh. I'm sorry. Really. You just… You remind me so much of her." I whispered, not seeing the figure standing in the doorway. "Of all of them, really. Suppose I'm just a bit homesick. I miss having little rugrats running around." My smile faltered though the longer I thought about having a child. "But I can't do that to him. I can't tie him down to some civilized life like that… and I can't watch him fall apart if something should happen. He can't lose his family again."

"Have you talked to him about this?" A voice said from behind me and I flinched, closing my eyes with a soft sigh as I recognized Clara's voice.

"We… We spoke about it once before and decided against it. It's better that way."

"Sure doesn't seem like it to me, but it's your choice and if that's what you two decided, then I'm not going to stop you." She said, coming over and smiling at the baby as well; who quickly took hold of her wiggling finger. "So what are you doing here? It's not like you to leave the Doctor like that. He told me he sort of blew up at you, but I'm not stupid. You know him better than to take what he says personally when he's like that. So what's up?"

"Just me running away from my problems again. It's nothing. I'll head back now." I said, shaking my head as I put the baby back in her crib.

"No. This isn't nothing, Alex. You've told me before what it means when you say that. Nothing means it's very important and I'm not letting you go back to him until you tell me what's going on."

She crossed her arms over her chest and I smiled slightly.

"Oh, Clara." My smile immediately fell into a frown. "I _really_ need to stop telling you my secrets or I'll never get away with anything."

She chuckled. "Yeah, good luck with that. Now come on. Spill."

I sighed, pulling a hand through my hair. "He told me to leave. That he never needed me or my help and how he doesn't want it. And I know he was just letting off some steam, but…"

"But you can't help but wonder how long he's been thinking that and if it's true or not." She concluded, making me smile a little again.

"You know me far too well, Clara Oswald."

"Which is why I'm going to knock some sense into you, because he _loves_ you, Alex." She said, grabbing me by the shoulders and making sure I faced her. "He is always talking about you and when he's with you… there's just this look in his eyes. He doesn't look at _anyone_ that way. And for him to say that he never needed your help? Come on. We both know that's a lie. You've saved him more than anyone and he'd be so lost without you."

"You can't know that." I said, wincing once the words were out of my mouth and Clara looked me right in the eyes.

"Yes. I can. Because you're not always here, Alex. You pop off and you don't get to see him when you're gone. You don't see how he's constantly trying to find a way to distract himself from thinking about you, only to call out to you happily and remember that you're not there. He tries to play it off for me, but I can see it plain as day… He's _miserable_ without you. He can have as many companions as he wants, but if that meant losing you, he'd throw all of this away. So whatever he told you earlier was a lie. It was the _biggest_ lie that the Doctor could tell. And right now he's trying to save somebody, but he can't do it without you."

"What can I do?" I asked, worried.

She smiled. "Be Alex. Be the woman he married and show him that you support him no matter what. Because he realized something today, and I think he realized that he can't do his job without you there to save him." She nudged me playfully then. "So? You coming?"

"You always give the best speeches." I teased her, smiling and nodding. "Yeah. Let's go."

We headed back to the meeting hall where Ashildr was laid out and I spotted the Doctor on the floor by the Mire helmet; tossing spare parts over his shoulder. Clara nudged me in the back, gesturing towards him with a pointed look and I sighed softly, heading over to the Doctor while Clara moved by the villagers.

"Yes, Clara? Did you find her?" He asked, not even looking to see that it was me and not his companion. "I would have gone myself, but if I can save just one person… She would have wanted me to stay."

"Yeah. I would have." I said, making him stop and turn to see me, gaping in surprise. "And I'm sorry, about Ashildr, but I'll have you know I do want an apolo—"

I was cut off when he stood abruptly and yanked me to him; lips pressed against mine as relief flooded me and his mental apologies made my head spin and my legs go weak.

"I'm _so_ sorry." He breathed out once he'd pulled away and I couldn't help the words that came out of my mouth.

"N-Not for that kiss, I hope… Yowza."

He smiled at the familiar phrase from his Eleventh self and kissed my forehead. "Never. Now." He pressed the half of his sonic shades into my hand. "Do you think you could help me?"

I smiled. "I will _always_ help you, Doctor."

"Exactly what I want to hear." He smiled and we soon got to work.

* * *

Clara smiled fondly at the Doctor and Alex working together to help Ashildr, glad she was able to get the two back on good terms again, if that snog was anything to go by.

"What're they doing?" Einarr asked her, confused.

"Saving her… I think." She informed him, not really too sure herself.

Finally, the Doctor got up and helped Alex up as well, taking what was left of his sonic shades from her and holding out something towards Clara and the villagers.

"It's from the Mire helmet. Battlefield medical kit. I've reprogrammed it for human beings." He explained, and Einarr nodded, though he didn't understand what that would mean.

The Doctor placed it on Ashildr's forehead and the small square piece soon sank into her, disappearing and making Einarr gape in shock.

"It's gone. It's inside her."

"It's repairing her. It will never stop repairing her, if it works." He said, though Clara caught a worried look of apprehension on Alex's face. "Come on, Ashildr. Come on. The story's not over yet."

Einarr stroked his daughter's hair in hope. "Daughter, listen to me. This town has lost so much. If we lose you too, there'll be nothing left."

There was a long pause that felt like hours to some of the people in the room, before Ashildr suddenly gasped and opened her eyes, before slipping into unconsciousness. The Doctor struggled to hold back his relieved smile, making Alex smile a little too, though not looking nearly as happy about the situation as everyone else.

"She'll be conscious in a day, up and about in three. No swimming for a week. Now, we're going to need a longboat and some of your best rowers. We're two days sail from the Tardis. Come on, Clara, Alex."

"Wait, no." Einarr said, trying to stop them. "She'll want to see you when she wakes."

"Oh, no. Well, she'll… she'll see me often enough once she understands."

"Understands what?" He asked the Doctor, who tossed him another square. "Second dose."

"Will she need to take this?"

"No, no, no. It's not for her."

"Then who's it for?" Clara asked, confused and wondering why Alex was staying so quiet.

"Uh, whoever she wants."

"Doctor, Seer…" Ashildr wheezed out, barely conscious. "Thank you."

"Oh, don't thank us yet, Ashildr. Not yet." The Doctor said, him and Clara walking out as Alex glanced at Ashildr and mouthed the words 'I'm sorry'.

When they finally reached land again, Clara started to get a little worried. Alex and the Doctor hadn't spoken he whole trip there and, while the Doctor would hum an answer to Clara's talking, Alex seemed to be in a sort of daze the whole trip; which only worried her even more.

"Okay, it's official. Silence is even worse in a Scottish accent. Are you going to tell me what you two are brooding about?" Clara finally asked, unable to stop the question from tumbling out.

"It won't stop—the repair kit I put inside Ashildr—not ever." The Doctor explained. "It'll just keep fixing her."

"Well, good." Clara said, not understanding.

"I'm not sure, but it's entirely possible she has lost the ability to die."

Clara raised a brow at his phrasing, glancing at Alex, who was still silent. "The ability?"

"Oh, dying is an ability, believe me. Barring accidents, she may now be functionally immortal." He replied, unlocking the Tardis.

"If the repair kit never stops working, then why did you give her two?"

"So she won't be alone." Alex finally said in a soft whisper, stepping inside the Tardis and making Clara turn to the Doctor who watched her go in with sad eyes.

"Immortality isn't living forever." He told Clara. "That's not what it feels like. Immortality is everybody else dying. She might meet someone she can't bear to lose. That happens, I believe."

"Like you and Alex." Clara piped in and he nodded.

"Yes, but this was her idea. Alex's. When she heard what I was planning on doing, she hesitated." He said, heading inside as well, only to see Alex wasn't in the room and he went to check his scanners just in case. "She hesitated, because she knew. She was thinking rationally. I was angry. I was emotional. Just possibly, I have made a terrible mistake. Maybe even a tidal wave." He said, relaxing as he saw that Alex had just gone to the observatory and he sent the Tardis off. "Time will tell. It always does."

"Whatever you did for Ashildr, I think she deserved it." Clara reassured him, but he wasn't convinced.

"Yes. Yes, she did. But Ashildr isn't just human any more. There's a little piece of alien inside her, so in a way, she's… In a way, she's a hybrid." He thought back to what he'd been told about the prophecy, but shook it off.

"Hold on. You said it was Alex's idea to give her two."

He nodded. "It was. She knew before I did, what the chip would have done to Ashildr, and she wanted to make sure that she at least had some hope. She was thinking rationally, whereas I was focused on saving the life. She know the consequences of changing the future better than anyone and she always looks ahead. _That's_ why she's known as the Seer. Even when she has no foreknowledge at all, she will forever be called that because she understands how time works. How the smallest ripple can turn disastrous through changes like this. And when she realized that Ashildr might be immortal, she did what she could to try and give her a better life down the road. Because when you live too long, you change. You become a different person. She's seen that, personally. She's seen how time can scar people and change them. And she knew Ashildr would have a hard time, but what she doesn't know, is how she'll end up further down the road. She might become cruel, cowardly, joyful, or forgiving. It is up to Ashildr to make that choice, but it was Alex who gave her that choice to begin with. And it was me who is forcing her to make it." He paused on the stairs up to the observatory, turning back to Clara slightly. "People die, Clara. We can't always save them, because something will change further down the line. But I broke that rule today, and Alex did what she could to try and fix it, even the tiniest bit. But that also means she has a part in the responsibility."

"Because she didn't want you to be alone." Clara said, making the connection between the Doctor's long life and Ashildr's new one.

The Doctor smiled slightly, walking away. "She's far too kind for her own good."

"Like someone else I know." Clara commented and the Doctor didn't reply as he went off to find his wife, so neither of them had to be alone anymore.


	73. The Woman Who Lived

**Ugh, sorry for the super late update. My sleeping schedule has become virtually nonexistent and the moment i'm home from work, i fall asleep, only to not wake up again until i need to go back to work. mind you, this is falling asleep at 3pm and waking up at 4am. like i said, crazy. but! i did get this chapter done and here it is ^^ sorry if the end is a little rushed. there was a bundle of dialogue i liked but didn't know how to shove alex into it, so i skipped it. sorry :/**

** but ignore me. here's the next chapter! let me know what you think. i felt that Alex and Twelve don't get enough sweet moments, so i tried to add some fluff in this. not whole lot though, because... well, the episode is pretty serious and... angry brows isn't very fluffy...**

* * *

"Doctor, I already told you, I'm not in the mood." Alex complained, tucked away under the Doctor's old leather jacket and a grey hoodie.

"Oh, come on. It's your birthday and you've been moping around all day."

"I have not been moping. I've been… reading."

The Doctor scoffed. "Oh, sure. And I'm the man on the moon."

She frowned at him and turned back to the book she was looking at, and making the Doctor sigh as he trudged over.

"Look at you. Hiding away in those dark clothes. You always try to look more threatening when you're bothered by something. Where's your usual coat and dress shirt?"

"Wardrobe." She muttered as he moved her to sit behind her on the jump seat and wrap his arms around her.

"You should put them on. Maybe it'll help."

She frowned, setting her book down. "I don't _need_ help. I'm fine."

She looked back at her book, but the Doctor could tell she wasn't actually reading and that she _was_ bothered, despite what she said.

"Alexander…" He sighed softly, tugging her a little closer to him. "I understand that you're upset about Ashildr, but there's nothing we can do now other than keep an eye on her."

Alex sighed as well, finally setting the book down for good. "I know. I just… I would have never wished for that to happen to someone and the fact that we had to do it was just…"

"I know. But we should focus on the here and now, yes?" He got up, tugging her with him as he leaned over and nudged her chin with his finger. "I want a smile first though. It's your birthday. We should be celebrating."

Alex cracked a small smile at that and the Doctor grinned back. "You sound like Eleven."

His smile immediately turned into a frown. "It's always that one. Why's it always that one?"

Alex chuckled. "Well, for one thing, he doesn't have angry brows." She said, putting her fingers up to her face to act as angry eyebrows.

"They're not angry! They're just… stern." He argued pathetically, making Alex smirk.

"Oh, right. And let's not forget your Tenth self hated me half his life."

"You could be rather crabby." He grumbled, earning a smack upside the head from Alex.

"Says you! You tried to feed me to a werewolf! At least Eleven was sweet."

"And I'm not?" He pouted, before smirking and turning Alex around to trap her between himself and the console. "Though, I suppose I'm more of a _mature_ kind of man now."

Alex rolled her eyes and leaned in to kiss him, before pulling away and raising a brow. "Are you _that_ desperate to leave the Tardis?"

"Oh yes, please." He whined and she chuckled, before nodding to the controls.

"Alright then. I suppose one little adventure on my birthday couldn't hurt. Go find something alien."

The Doctor grinned, bounding away and setting the Tardis off before placing Alex's hand on one of the levers and telling her to hold it steady while he grabbed something from below decks. When he returned with a strange little gizmo, Alex raised a brow.

"It's my little gizmo. It tracks alien things." He answered her simply and she let out an 'ah' before he took over once more and grinned. "Ooh, seems there's something unexplainable in England."

"What year?" Alex asked curiously, leaning over to look at the gizmo in his hand.

"1650. No…" He shook the gizmo. "…1651."

"Sounds fun. What kind of alien thing is it?"

He shrugged, making for the doors with Alex right behind him. "Dunno. It's a tracker, not an identifier."

She raised a brow, ducking into the wardrobe as the Doctor debated on whether he should change his coat or not.

"Wouldn't it have been smarter to make a tracker-identifier? Combine the two in some way so you at least know what it is you're tracking? It'd make it easier to find it, you know."

"Oh, yes, well then. Maybe next time, _you_ can make the alien gizmos."

Alex poked her head out with a grin, the Doctor catching sight of her bare shoulder before focusing on her smirk.

"I'll take you up on that. Before you know it, I might just very well create my own sonic screwdriver." She said smugly before ducking back in to finish changing; though the Doctor was frowning.

"No, no, no, no, no. The sonic is _my_ thing. You can't have a sonic."

"Why not?" Alex called out. "You've switched over to those ridiculous sunglasses now and even River has a sonic something or another. Why can't I take a crack at it?"

"Well." The Doctor laughed. "The Tardis has the schematics digitally imprinted in her database. There's no blueprints or anything, so how could you even accomplish such a task?"

Alex strolled out, adjusting her coat over her deep blue waistcoat. "Well, I could just _ask_, you know. She does occasionally listen when she's not trying to maim me with some feathery animal of some sort."

"Ugh, the chickens." The Doctor grumbled as Alex nodded.

"And the turkeys and the occasional ostrich or two. She covered me in pigeon poop the other day when I said she needed a new paint job. Just walked right into the observatory only for a flock of them to just whoosh over my head and drop their payload. Took seventeen showers and three bottles of body wash to get the smell out."

The Tardis let out a pleased hum as Alex rolled her eyes and they headed out into the forested area they landed in.

"Right." The Doctor muttered, opening his tracker and getting excited as it beeped. "Warm."

It beeped more rapidly and Alex too, got a bit excited.

"Warmer."

The two grinned at one another and took off after the signal, soon coming across a carriage that happened to be in the middle of a robbery; though neither of them really bothered to pay attention to that as they climbed into the carriage.

"Hello!"

"Sorry about him. He's a bit eager." Alex apologized as the Doctor and her forced their way into the carriage.

"Oh, don't mind us, don't mind us. We're only going to be a minute. Don't worry. Oh, very warm."

"How warm?" Alex asked him, leaning over his shoulder despite the lack of room in the crampt carriage. "Like right under our noses warm?"

"More like right around the corner warm, but close enough." He corrected her.

"What are you doing?!" The highwayman asked as the Doctor poked his head out of the carriage window; Alex's just below him.

"Oh, just ignore us. We're just passing through, like fish in the night."

"This is a robbery! This is _my_ robbery!" The highwayman said in disbelief, though Alex ignored him as she corrected the Doctor.

"I think the phrase is 'ships in the night'."

"Is it?"

"Step aside or I shall blow your brains out." The highwayman threatened and the Doctor looked up once he'd helped Alex out of the carriage.

"Sorry, were you talking to me there? Try again. I promise I'll listen this time."

"_You_ have interrupted my robbery, sirs, and you will step away, if you wish to take another breath." The man demanded as the coachman of the carriage shouted in his panic.

"You're going to get us all killed, if you don't shut your mouth."

Alex laughed. "Oh yeah. Good luck convincing him of that. Believe me, I've tried for _years_ and he never listens."

Sure enough, the Doctor didn't pay any attention and was back staring at his gizmo. "Sorry. Sorry, I really was planning to listen that time but, basically, I didn't. Usually, someone hits me at this point, but she's taking the Year 7s for Taekwondo. And Alex is just as preoccupied as I am." He leaned towards the woman in the carriage. "It's her birthday."

"O-Oh, well, happy birthday, um… miss."

Alex hummed. "Yeah, thanks."

The Doctor though, quickly tugged her towards the back of the carriage excitedly with 'oh's of excitement as he went over to the chest in the back.

"Yes! Got you!" He laughed with Alex, before finally noticing the highwayman and his gun; being sure to tuck Alex behind him now that he realized what was going on. "Now, hold on. If I didn't know better, I'd say this was a robbery."

Alex rolled her eyes. "_Now_ he gets it."

The highwayman, just to make sure it was clear what his intentions were, reiterated what he was doing.

"_I_ am robbing these people. _You_ are getting out of my way."

"We just need one tiny little thing from out of this box." The Doctor tried, but the highwayman was determined.

"This is _my_ robbery!"

"Well, can't we share it? Isn't that what robbery's all about?"

"Doubt it." Alex muttered, just before the coachman shouted and launched the carriage away from the bickering group.

"Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no, no!"

"You bungled my heist!" The highwayman said, none too pleased about this.

"Sorry, he does that. Gets a bit too far into his own head sometimes. Pain in the butt to get him out of it." Alex rattled on.

"No, you bungled mine, Zorro!" The Doctor argued.

"Whey-faced fool!" The highwayman snapped back and Alex groaned.

"Oh, it's Robin Hood all over again."

"Yeah, well, why don't you show your face? At least I show my face. What's wrong with yours?" The Doctor complained.

"Nothing, Doctor, Seer." The highwayman said, voice having changed into one familiar enough to capture both Time Lords' attention as _she_ dismounted and removed her mask and bandanna.

"You…" The Doctor breathed out.

"Yes. It is me. What took you so long, old man?" Ashildr grinned, Alex looking between the two in worry.

"Old man?" He complained.

"It seemed apt." She responded, walking back to her horse with Alex and him following her. "Life expectancy is thirty five these days. Well, for everyone else."

"But didn't you know it was me?"

"Of course." She answered. "You don't forget the man who saved your life." She turned to Alex. "And the woman who apologized for it."

Alex glanced down at the ground, though the Doctor tucked her into his side as Ashildr went on.

"It's good to see you both."

"Yes, I didn't get that impression when you were threatening to kill us, not to mention upsetting Alex here."

Ashildr spoke, this time with her highwayman voice. "The Knightmare has a reputation to maintain." She turned to Alex once more, losing the masculine tone. "And it wasn't intended to upset her."

"That's a very good voice. How do you do that?" The Doctor asked, changing the subject.

"Practice."

"Last time I saw you, you were founding a leper colony. I was so proud of you."

"Proud of me? You weren't even there." Ashildr accused.

"Yes, I was. You didn't see me, but I saw you." He said, making Alex frown up at him.

"You saw her without me?"

"Well, you were being all mopey and you know how you get with your books." He said, returning her look. "I couldn't pull you away from '_The Stress of Her Regard_'."

"There was vampire fish people in it! It was 'Vampires in Venice' all over again! How could I say no to that?" Alex pouted, before Ashildr interjected.

"You just left me there?"

Alex turned to her and went quiet, eyes sad as the Doctor tried to brush it off.

"Well, you seemed fine."

"In a leper colony?" She shook her head, turning back to her things. "No matter. You're here now. We should celebrate."

"Oh, no, this isn't a visit, We've got a job to do. We're here looking for an alien object which has no business being here on Earth in 1651. It was just, it just so happened, you know, that my tracking device, it led me to the carriage that you were, you know, robbing. There wasn't… I didn't… It was a—"

"You mean… you haven't come for me?" Ashildr muttered.

"No. It was just a coincidence." The Doctor said, realizing that this coincidence could make or break both Ashildr _and_ Alex. "Oh, Ashildr, I'm sorry."

"Who's Ashildr?" She questioned him, making him look at her in confusion; glancing at Alex who turned away sadly.

"You are. That's your name. Ashildr, daughter of Einarr. Chuckles. I used to call him Chuckles. Do you remember?"

"Yes." She mused, thinking. "I think I remember the village."

"You _loved_ that village." The Doctor pressed, starting to understand what was going on.

"If you say so." Ashildr shrugged.

"Anyone in that village would have died for you."

"Well, they're all dead now, and here I am." Ashildr said bluntly, making Alex flinch. "So I guess it all worked out."

"Ashildr—"

"That's not my name." She said sternly. "I don't even remember that name."

"Well, what… what, what do you call yourself?"

"Me."

"Yes, you. There's nobody else here." The Doctor said, not understanding, but Alex did, tugging on his sleeve.

"No, Doctor. She called herself 'Me'."

He frowned turning back to Ashildr as she nodded.

"All the other names I chose died with whoever knew me. Me is who I am now. No one's mother, daughter, wife. My own companion. Singular. Unattached. Alone." She said, not seeing how Alex's face paled at her words. "Anyway, I should get started. Jump on, I'll give you both a ride. You can help me."

"With what?"

"Packing." She said, grabbing her horse. "Come on."

* * *

"It's a big place for someone who lives on their own." The Doctor said once we'd reached Ashildr's home.

_Talk about the pot calling the kettle black._ I mentally sighed, knowing that the Tardis was a _huge_ place for just the Doctor.

"I have a servant, and all manner of visitors drop in."

I turned then, feeling something tickle my mind ever so briefly. I'd gotten better with the whole mind thing, with the Twelfth Doctor's help. He knew more about how my mind worked than the previous regenerations, so he always found time to help me with it, enough so, that it was getting easier for me to feel presences; whether they were telepathic beings or not. It kept me on my toes, that's for sure and it had gotten us out of tricky situations more than once, but it did get to be a bit overloading, so I tried to keep it back under lock and key so I wasn't overwhelmed. This though, caught my attention. The stronger metal capabilities the creature had, the more of a presence they had. And this one was big enough to catch my attention, so it had to be at least human or higher. This wasn't just some rabbit in the woods.

"Seer? Everything alright?" Ashildr called out, seeing that I'd stopped to look at the surrounding trees.

"Yeah… Yeah, sorry. Thought I heard something." I muttered, turning away and locking eyes with the Doctor with the slightest mental note for him to keep an eye out for someone.

I caught up with them as we entered the house, Ashildr setting her things off to the side.

"Your device. What is it?" She asked.

"My curioscanner? Oh, it's, uh… It sort of scans for… It scans for curios. I've just realized how it got its name. It's been tracking exoplanetary energy for the last couple of weeks. I've been following it across the galaxy."

_Liar. You just started searching for it now. You're just trying to show off._ I thought with a roll of my eyes.

Ashildr opened a chest full of gold and I let out a low whistle at the sight.

"And do you know what you're looking for?" She asked us.

"I've got a pretty good idea, yes. Why?"

I mentally snorted at that, earning a mental elbow to the mind to keep my mouth shut and I wrinkled my nose at him in annoyance as she answered him.

"I wasn't just robbing Lucie Fanshawe for her loot. She's bragged about having the rarest gem in the land, an ancient amulet from foreign parts. Could it be we are looking for the same prize?"

The Doctor glanced at her chest of gold as she dumped in what she got and closed it.

"Clearly, you don't need money, so why do you rob?"

"For adventure, Doctor. Isn't that what life's all about?" She answered back and the two of us shared a look as we followed her further into the house.

She took off her coat and we entered the library, but instead of the usual books, the shelves were full of books of the same kind.

"I've had eight hundred years of adventure. Enough to fill a library if you write it down." Ashildr informed us and I realized what all the books were.

_Eight hundred years… Oh, Ashildr, what have we done?_ I thought sadly, feeling the Doctor send me some comfort as though he knew what I was thinking. He was across the room though, looking at a crown.

"A medieval queen? How exciting!"

"You'd think." Ashildr commented as I picked up one of the many journals on the shelves and began to read. "It was paperwork and backgammon mainly, as I recall. Ended up faking my own death. Did a bunk before the evisceration." She walked out and came back with a longbow, which the Doctor examined. "Now _this_ was much more my thing. The Battle of Agincourt. My first stint as a man. No-one will ever know that a mere woman helped end the Hundred Years' War."

The Doctor frowned as he let the string of the bow go with a twang. "You're immortal, not indestructible. You can be hurt. Killed even."

"Ten thousand hours is all it takes to master any skill. Over a hundred thousand hours and you're the best there's ever been. I don't need to be indestructible, I'm superb. You should have seen me. I could shoot six arrows a minute. I got so close to the enemy, I penetrated armor." She said, almost proudly and I let out a soft sigh as I replaced the journal I'd finished and pulled out the next one; hoping for a more pleasant story than one about a group of thieves that she ran for a short time.

"How many people have you killed?" The Doctor questioned her, daring to ask the question that I didn't want to hear the answer for.

"You'll have to check my diaries." She responded.

"You can't remember?"

"For what it's worth, I've saved many lives too." She said back. "I cured an entire village of scarlet fever once, almost got drowned as a witch for my troubles. Fortunately, I'm really good at holding my breath. Ungrateful peasants."

"The Black Death." I muttered, closing the book with a sad sigh. "I'm sorry."

The Doctor picked up a beaked leather mask nearby. "1348. I meant to warn you."

"I got sick, but I got better." Ashildr replied, turning to me as I grabbed a journal from the opposite side of the room; not wanting to read the stories of death from the plague any longer. "And it's not your fault, Seer. I don't blame you."

I turned to her with a glare. "Then you best not blame him either."

She said nothing, but the Doctor changed the subject to keep tensions down.

"Your immune system is learning too. There's another bout coming. And a big fire that tears through London."

"Excellent. Maybe I start it." Ashildr said with a grin, that I turned my back to.

_No one should be happy about causing death._

"No, that was the Terileptils. Surgeon, scientist, inventor, composer. It's a fantastic CV."

"You should read my journals." Ashildr said to the Doctor. "I read them myself now and then. Drink pomace wine, have a little me time."

"You don't seem the nostalgic type." He responded, curiously.

"It's not nostalgia, it's curiosity. I can't remember most of it. That's the trouble with an infinite life and a normal sized memory."

I closed my eyes as I put this one back, having read about the death of Einarr and her mourning over his loss and how she wanted so badly to give him the other Mire chip, but he sternly made her keep it for someone else. I quickly moved onto the next book shelf, just around the corner where they couldn't see me and could talk alone, though I could still listen in and read.

"It can't be easy, outliving the people you love." The Doctor said sadly, and I could feel his guilt from where I stood; unable to give him comfort when I felt just as guilty.

"According to my journals… hell."

"Sorry."

"You'll have to remind me, what's sorrow like? It all just runs out, Doctor. I'm just what's left. In fact, I've done all I can here. I look up to the sky and wonder what it's like out there. Please, take me with you. All these people here, they're like smoke, they blow away in a moment. You don't know what it's like." She said, beginning to beg as the Doctor moved just past me.

"I do know what that's like"

"Then, however you fly, whatever ship you sail in, take me with you."

"How'd you know I had a ship?" He asked, moving closer to her once more, though I was struggling to keep tears from falling with what I was reading.

"Because I'm incredibly clever. It doesn't matter. Take me with you."

"We'll talk about it."

Ashildr changed the subject then. "This thing you're looking for, I'll help you find it. It'll be quicker."

"We don't need your help."

"Yes, you do. I know where Lucie Fanshawe lives, and I'm an excellent house-breaker. We'll leave in an hour." She said, taking charge and walking out.

I was biting the knuckle of my index finger now, tears having welled up in my eyes as I heard the Doctor take a journal from nearby and read it out loud.

"'Today is the day I should have died. Instead, I was re-born, by my hero, a man called the Doctor and his wife, the Seer. She apologized to me as she was leaving, though I haven't the slightest idea what for'." He turned a number of pages. "'My love is dying. It broke my heart when the questions started and I knew I had to leave him. I returned to find an old man who smiles and thinks I am a dream. I am flesh and blood, my love, but all you see is a ghost'."

I heard more pages turn before his deep voice spoke and I felt the first quiet sob escape my lips.

"Tears."

"I-I'm sorry." I cried softly, sinking to the floor with my back against the bookshelf. "I'm so sorry, Ashildr."

The Doctor headed over, clutching me to him as he shushed me quietly and picked up the book I'd been reading. The book about the plague and the loss of her children. Her _only_ children. The Doctor read it too and held me tighter to him, muttering apologies as well as he let out shaky breaths into my hair. I calmed down eventually, though I felt much guiltier than before and the Doctor silently led me to the dining hall table and brought me a cup of tea that I nursed as he went to read through some more journals. I would have joined him, supported him, but I knew I couldn't take much more. I'd seemed to grab the worst out of the bunch, after all. If I read any more deaths, I don't think I would have been able to stay here at all. And I couldn't leave the Doctor to deal with this on his own.

Ashildr soon returned and gave me a small smile as she blew out her lamp, though the smile I returned wasn't as pleasant as I'd hoped it'd be. The Doctor too, came out of the library and spoke as I sipped at my tea.

"We read your journals. Why are there pages missing?"

"When things get really bad, I tear the memories out." She replied, making me set my tea down as guilt weighted heavily on my shoulders.

"What could be worse than losing your children?" The Doctor questioned and I shot him a glare for bringing it up.

"I keep that entry to remind me not to have any more." Ashildr responded, sounding perfectly fine with the question, though I knew better than to assume she was.

"We've left you alone too long." The Doctor finally said as she tended to the fire. "I had no idea how much you'd suffered. But I remember the person you used to be. She's still in there. I can help you find her."

"Spare me your pity. I'm fine." Ashildr snapped, and I stayed quiet, knowing that it wasn't my place to speak up when I wasn't exactly able to relate to the intense topic.

"I think this is just another mask that you wear to protect you from the pain." The Doctor argued and I winced at the similarities between the two of them.

"I think the alternative frightens you, that this is who I've become." She argued, but the Doctor was adamant.

"This is no way to live your life, de-sensitized to the world."

"So you intend to fix me? Make me feel again, then run away? The both of you?" She accused and I flinched again, as the Doctor stood up for me.

"Don't you _dare_ bring her into this. She has no choice on when she comes or goes. And she always does everything she can to help." He snapped at her and she frowned.

"I don't need your help, Doctor, Seer. You both need mine. Just this once, you can't run off like you usually do."

_Usually do?_ I mentally questioned, looking at Ashildr as the Doctor caught that too. _Who's she hearing this from? This and about the Tardis._

"How do you know? How do you know what I usually do? We've met once in a Viking village. I didn't give you my life story."

"It's true though, isn't it?" She asked, avoiding the question. "You're the man and woman who run away."

"Oh, who told you that?"

"Maybe I just worked it out." She said back, grabbing her pistol and hooking it to her waist. "Come on."

We both followed her out, pausing once just outside as the Doctor perked his head up, silently letting me know he heard something as I informed him I felt that presence again. We said nothing of it though, and continued onto this Lady Fanshawe's home. Ashildr had donned her mask again, looking at us both.

"Housebreaks can be tricky."

"Not for me. Sonic technology. It should be able to deactivate any alarm." He said and I smacked him on the arm. "What?"

"It's 1651. There _are_ no alarms. So unless you've somehow gotten that thing to work on wood, it will be of no use to us, Spaceman."

Ashildr smiled though. "I'm glad one of you has your head on right." She held up a wanted poster then, once we'd reached the front door. "The most wanted in the land."

"Now is not the time to be showing off." The Doctor drawled.

"Now seems like a very good time to me." She answered him, sliding the paper under the door and pushing the key out through the lock and onto the paper she pulled out, making me frown.

"You know, I've never understood why people would just leave their keys in the lock like that. Seems kind of silly to me."

"We can talk of human stupidity later." Ashildr said, handing me as mask. "You'll need masks, sidekicks. Watch and learn."

The Doctor made a face at us being called 'sidekicks' and put his sunglasses on. "Brought my own, thanks."

Once inside, I blinked, struggling to see where I was going and probably would have stumbled into something should the Doctor not have been leading me through by the hand. My night vision in this body wasn't as good as it could be.

"Tis black as night. I have a tinderbox somewhere." Ashildr said, searching her pockets, but the Doctor sonicked a candle that lit up.

"Show off." Ashildr muttered, before taking the candle from him. "Know where you're going, do you? The servant's stairs. Follow me."

She led us easily through the house and the Doctor started whispering rather loudly to her.

"Why are you still alone? What happened to the second immortality charge I gave you?"

"Sh." She shushed him, pausing on the stairs to show him said charge on a chain around her neck. "No one's good enough."

"Humans need—"

"Sh!" I shushed him, feeling a presence nearby as we waited for the light at the top of the stairs to go away.

He didn't listen, of course. "Humans need shared experiences."

"I'm regretting sharing this one." Ashildr grumbled.

"It isn't right for you to be on your own." The Doctor argued as a door closed up ahead and a servant bid someone goodnight; Ashildr hiding the light of the candle until the maid was gone.

"I'll wager there's a dressing room." She said, leading the way once more. "Come on."

We ducked inside the room and discovered a large jewelry cabinet, but instead of searching through the drawers, the Doctor thought it'd be smart to take out his beeping gizmo to find it.

"Doctor!" I quietly scolded, Ashildr doing the same.

"Doctor, turn that thing off."

It led him to the drawer that contained a box though, and once he'd opened it, he revealed a large purple gem surrounded by smaller diamonds and pearls.

"The Eyes of Hades." He muttered, identifying it as I raised a brow.

"As in the eyes of the Greek God of the Underworld? That can't be good."

"We'll discuss this later. Best get out before we're caught." Ashildr said, leading us back through the house. A door opened behind us though, and we panicked, hurrying as quietly as we could to the nearest open set of doors and closing them behind us with relieved sighs.

"Let's just go round and see if we can't get out the back." The Doctor whispered once we heard the snore of the sleeping man on the couch, earning a nod form me as Ashildr agreed.

"Okay."

We moved slowly towards the back of the couch, but Ashildr stepped on a creaky wood plank and the man woke up; us barely ducking and crawling to behind the couch as he looked around.

"Lucie? Lucie?" He called out, lighting a candle and heading for the door as the three of us somehow managed to duck behind the end of the couch and out of sight.

Ashildr poked her head up to check, but soon ducked back down and the man left the room. Once we were sure he was gone, we stood up, but the Doctor moved forward and knocked over the fireplace poker; making Ashildr glare at him as I smacked him on the arm.

"You _idiot_!" I whisper shouted at him as cries of alarm came from just outside the room.

"There is an intruder on the premises! Bring me my blunderbuss!"

"Blunderbuss?!" I questioned. "Is that a gun? A gun that busts blunderers or something?!"

"Or something." Ashildr replied, drawing her pistol and making me rush towards her and grab the barrel; pushing it down.

"What are you doing?! You can't kill him!"

"It's kill or be killed." She argued and I groaned.

"No, it's hide, or run, kill _or_ be killed. In that order! So let's hide!" I said, pulling her over towards the Doctor as I gesture to the fireplace. "Up the chimney, Santa!"

"I'm not _that_ old."

I rolled my eyes as Ashildr put her pistol away and I shoved him towards it. "Oh, can it and climb!"

We somehow managed to all get up the chimney, but the Doctor's knee was poking my ribs and Ashildr's right foot was very nearly stepping on my fingers.

"Your feet, you oaf." She snapped at the Doctor who pulled his feet up and made me cringe as he apologized. "Oh, I said you'd be a liability. Just let me shoot them and be done with it."

I frowned at her. "Absolutely not."

The Doctor complained as well. "_You're _the liability. I never have this trouble with Clara."

"Oi!" I said, knowing that he meant he'd had this trouble with me.

He rolled his eyes. "You _did_ threaten to shoot me and then turned the gun on yourself. That counts."

"That _so_ does not count." I argued, remembering the incident back in the town of Mercy easily. "You were the one lonely enough to threaten an unarmed man."

"Clara's still with you, is she?" Ashildr interrupted, curiosity winning out.

"Oh, you remember Clara, do you?" The Doctor asked, excited and I rolled my eyes at how easily our previous conversation was dropped.

"Of course. I take particular note of anyone's weaknesses."

I snorted, until we heard the sleeping man from before shouting rather close to our room.

"Search every nook and cranny! I warrant they will hang for this!"

"So what's wrong with Clara?" She asked, confusing me as the Doctor shifted and finally removed his knee from my ribs.

"There's nothing wrong with her."

"Why haven't you made _her_ immortal? Alex as well."

"Well, look how you turned out." He mocked her, but she frowned.

"They'll die on you, you know. They'll blow away like smoke."

I groaned, shifting a bit myself. "I'm right here, you know."

"Save your breath." The Doctor told Ashildr, ignoring me.

"How old are you, Doctor?"

"Older than you."

"And how many have you lost? How many Claras?"

"Oh, enough!" I snapped at them both, bringing their attention to me. "Enough of this, alright? I get it you're both trying to show the other what your life is like and how it should be, whoop-dee-doo. But what good is it to poke knives into each others' open wounds, huh? Just back off a little, will you? No more mentions of death, no more rubbing salt in each other's wounds. Just stop this nonsense, see that you're both right and wrong in your own ways, and _move on_. Because I swear, if I hear one more comment that hurts either one of you, I will yank on both your feet right here and get you caught by that idiot and his blunderbuss faster than you can call for help. Got it?"

They both bowed their heads and nodded, the three of us silently escaping the chimney and working a way down by the time the sun started to rise and we were heading back to Ashildr's home. Of course, they couldn't stay silent forever and the Doctor spoke up.

"Robbery, burglary, that's capital. Meat and drink to the hangman, Ashildr."

"I'm not Ashildr." She insisted. "I'm Me. And I fear no hangman in Christendom."

I felt the presences around us a bit too late, having not been focusing on searching for them while we were in the clear, and a man jumped out of the forest with a mocking laugh.

"Ah-ha!"

I groaned. "Great, another one." I turned to the Doctor with a frown. "Next time it's my birthday, remind me to just have a nice night in with sappy movies and a bottle or two of whiskey."

He went to argue with me about that, but Ashildr addressed the man before us; taking our attention away from our unimportant bickering.

"Sam Swift the Quick. I wouldn't be so bold if I were you. Don't you know who I am?"

"The Knightmare, which is why I'm not alone." He smirked, a number of others walking out from the trees.

"'Tis hardly a fair fight."

"And it was fair when you stole my patch?" He argued, Ashildr changing the subject.

"Is that a fake nose, Sam? They should call you Sam Sniffed."

"What's wrong with it? It's perfectly normal, innit?"

"Oh, here we go." I drawled, waiting for the Doctor to start complaining about their bantering.

"For an anteater maybe." Ashildr mocked him.

"_Ooh_. Well, never knew you were so puny, Knightmare. Or should I say, _Slightmare_."

The group laughed, but the Doctor soon groaned, like I'd expected.

"No, not the puns. Line in the sand. No puns."

They ignored him.

"It's what's in my brain that counts, Bingo Boy."

"Well, no brain outwits a bullet, Dandyprat." Sam said, drawing his gun.

"This is banter. I'm against banter. I'm on record on the subject of banter." The Doctor complained and I scoffed.

"Says the man who banters on a daily basis."

He frowned at me. "Only _I'm_ allowed to banter."

"What are you? King of the universe? Who put you in charge of the bantering rules?"

"Lay down your arms, hand over the loot, or I'll shoot." Sam ordered, making us turn our attention to Ashildr as she sighed.

"We better had. He'll probably aim to miss and hit one of us." She mocked him as the Doctor spoke up.

"We could give you cash instead."

"Or a good boot to the head." I grumbled as Sam looked us both over confused.

"Who's this? Your sidekicks? You've got your mum and dad as sidekicks?"

"I'm not his dad, I'm the Doctor." The Doctor responded, as I glared at Sam.

"And who you calling 'mum'? I'm not that old! And my name's Alex! Now put down that gun before I beat you upside the head with it!"

The Doctor tugged me back before I could lunge at Sam, who raised a brow at us both.

"Are those the best names you could come up with?"

"What? Says 'Sam the Quick'? That's trying a bit too hard, isn't it? Or are you a little bit slow?"

"You what?"

Taking her chance, Ashildr took Sam's gun and turned it on him.

"Oi!"

The Doctor smirked. "I rest my case. No-one outwits the Knightmare."

Of course, Sam tried to take the gun back at that; the two tumbling on the ground as I sighed.

"You really need to learn not to jinx us, Doctor."

Of course, the two men who'd come with Sam took their chance by placing guns under both out chins.

"If you value the lives of your sidekicks, back off! Put the weapon down!"

Sam managed to toss Ashildr off and get back up; aiming his weapon at us once more.

"Who's slow now?"

"_Annnnd_ ya jinxed it." I drawled, him giving me a confused look as Ashildr tripped him and grabbed the gun once more.

"Good question." The Doctor said as the two backed off once more and Sam begged for his life.

"Please, Knightmare. I don't want ta die. L-Let's have honor amongst us."

"Also, can you confirm that we're not your parents?" The Doctor asked Ashildr, who turned to us.

"What do you say, _mum_, _dad_? I should kill him. He'll be dead in a minute. What difference does it make?" She said and I frowned, shoving the Doctor's hands off me as I went and stood between Ashildr and Sam.

"You'll have to kill me first, for one thing." I said sternly, gazing seriously at her as she hesitated and the Doctor spoke.

"And if you kill either of them, you make an enemy of me."

She put her gun away and I spoke to Sam, not taking my eyes off Ashildr.

"Run."

He scrambled up and hurried off with his companions as Ashildr picked up her own weapon and tucked it away; the Doctor glaring at her.

"I know their lives are short, I understand. But those lives _do_ matter."

"Shut up. You're not my dad." Ashildr snapped, turning to go, but I grabbed her upper arm and stopped her; turning her to face me.

"And I'm not your mum, but you need to listen to me, Ashildr, when I say that you need to grow up and stop looking at everyone like they're trash. Because their lives may not seem significant to you, but they are to others. They have families, friends, people who care about them, just as you have. And not one life is unimportant. Human or otherwise. And I'll have you know, I used to _be_ one of those humans. I used to have a life like theirs. I walked the long, slow path for twenty years of my life and it may seem like nothing now. It may seem insignificant, but I would do _anything_ to be able to live my life like that once more."

"Then why don't you?" She snapped. "Why don't you just go back and live that life instead of standing here lecturing me?!"

She yanked her arm from my grip and I stared back at her with an angry expression, despite how my hearts were aching.

"Because I can't. I can never go back to that life. To those people. I'm from another _universe_, Ashildr, and I have no possible way of returning there, nor do I want to."

"But you said—"

"And I would. I would give anything to go back there. To say goodbye. To have that one chance to live that slow life for just a bit longer, but I would always come back here. I _chose_ to come back here, because there are people here who care for me. And there is a man, a very lonely man, who needed me and I wasn't about to leave him alone. And I'm sorry for forcing you into this life, but it happened. And you just need to learn to live with it, because one day you'll find someone to live for, just as I have. You'll find a reason to care for those simple minded people you bump into and you will _respect _them." I stepped closer to her, eyes blazing as I stared her down. "So don't you _dare_ threaten another life because you think they are unimportant, unless you want to end up on my bad side. And believe me, you _don't_ want to be on my bad side."

I stormed off ahead of them, and led the way back to Ashildr's house; too upset to talk to either of them at the moment.

* * *

The Doctor sighed softly, watching Alex across the room stare listlessly into the fireplace. He knew better than to bother her when she was both, angry and upset, so he left her alone for now. They'd have a talk back on the Tardis later, since it seemed she was feeling a bit homesick. She was acting odd earlier too, when he'd mentioned that it was her birthday. She seemed surprised at first, but then sort of slipped into a deep sadness for a brief moment before putting on a smile for him. Now he knew why. The only problem was, he would never be able to fix that. Homesickness was the one thing the Doctor couldn't heal. He'd come up with something special though. It was her birthday, after all. She should be celebrating. First thing was first though. He needed to help Ashildr remember who she used to be and deal with this Eyes of Hades and the guest hiding out in her garden.

"I have a theory about the amulet!" He called to Ashildr up the stairs, before someone cleared their throat and he turned to see an old man.

"Morning, sir. Forgive me, but might I inquire into who you are?"

"The Doctor." He answered, stepping down to see the man, who nodded with a small smile.

"Clayton, sir."

Ashildr came down the stairs then, dressed in something more feminine and formal.

"Would you care for a cocktail, milady?" Clayton asked her and she smiled at him.

"Oh, yes. Please. Oh, and a glass of whiskey for the gentleman in the sitting room, if you would?"

"Certainly, miss." He said, hobbling off and coughing as the Doctor raised a brow at Ashildr.

"Half blind and deaf as a post. He is no use any more, really, but…" She trailed off, the Doctor understanding.

"You keep him on. See? You do have a heart. You don't fool me." He smiled, though she ignored the comment as she gave him a better look at her outfit.

"How do I look?"

"Pink. Are you coming down with something?" He said, not really caring either way.

_Now, if it were _Alex_…_ He shook his head from that thought, changing the subject.

"Look, why would an alien artifact resemble the Eyes of Hades, King of the Underworld?"

Ashildr took the jewel from him and dropped it into her small purse as he continued.

"An ancient Greek talisman which wards off evil and protects those in death on their journey to an afterlife?"

"You tell me." She hummed.

"Could it be that the mythology originated on another planet?" He grinned, excited at the prospect, though Ashildr didn't look the same way.

"You can't wait to get going and find out, I'll wager."

"No. I think I want to stick around. Keep an eye on you for a while."

"Get me back on track?"

"Well, why not? Hey, we're a good team."

"Then take me with you." Ashildr said, trying once more to convince him to take her along for their travels.

"You don't want to get stuck with an old fool like me. Alex neither. You have this whole wonderful planet to play on."

"It takes a day to get to Kent." She argued.

"In the future, you'll fly."

She became even more upset. "I want to fly right now. I have waited longer than I should ever have lived. I have lost more than I can even remember. _Please_, Doctor, just get me out of this. I want more than this. I deserve more than this." She begged, as he turned his back to her. "Why not? Why not?!"

"Because it wouldn't be good." He said, seeing how she went from upset to blank faced, making him sigh. "Ashildr, please. Ashildr—"

"I am _not_ Ashildr anymore." She snapped, before something growled and the Doctor turned.

"Do you have a cat? It sounds like a very big cat." He moved towards the door where the sound was coming from. "Hence, the very big cat flap."

The door flew open and the Doctor took a few steps back, cautious of this newcomer as the large lion-like person stepped into the room; golden glowing eyes fading to a calmer yellow.

"Leandro, meet the Doctor." Ashildr said, moving to Leandro's side and facing the Doctor. "You thought I was helping you. In fact, it was the other way round." She glanced at Leandro. "Leandro, we have it. My friend here was as useful as I'd hoped."

"If somebody needed my help, why did nobody just ask?" The Doctor questioned. "I am forced to assume you have plans I wouldn't approve of. Oh, Ashildr."

"Stop calling me that." She snapped, tone even and the Doctor paused, before turning to Leandro.

"Kill me!"

"Why?"

"If you intend any harm to this planet or its people, then killing me is by far your best move."

"You invite your own death?"

"No. I just want you to attack you first. Then my conscience is clear."

"Of what?"

"You."

Leandro laughed. "You are not of this world, or part of my plans. I have no quarrel with you."

"Then tell me why you are here and what you intend to do. Otherwise, get on with trying to kill me. But I advise you. Be very quick and very sure. And be prepared to run for the rest of your life when my wife finds out."

"I am from Delta Leonis. My tribe was overthrown, my world destroyed, my wife killed as we escaped." Leandro said, though the Doctor was hardly convinced of his story.

"Using the amulet? That was your means of travel."

"I lost it when I crashed to Earth."

"I found him in my grounds. He's been sleeping there while I searched for it." Ashildr interjected.

"The Underworld, gateway to an afterlife, another reality."

"We need it to open a portal, travel the galaxy."

"Oh! Oh, so what's the plan, Ashildr? Fancy yourself as his new Queen? Hunting, running errands while he sleeps?"

"Oh, dear God. You're just like every other man. I don't know how Alex puts up with you. I'm not looking for a husband, you oaf. I'm looking for a horse to get me out of town. You said no." She said, attempting to make him guilty.

"Oh, what? And you think you can trust him?"

"He knows what it is like to be alone."

"So do I."

"Then how could you do what you did? You and Alex both."

"I'm looking for the headline here." He said, confusing her.

"The what?"

"Well, you know. You want to escape? Well, go on. Escape as much as you like." He said, before explaining. "Why would I not approve?"

"The amulet."

"What about it?"

"A death is required." Leandro informed him. "It is the only way the amulet works."

"Of course. Every single death is a tiny fracture in reality, and the amulet can lever the fracture open. Primitive, but effective."

"It's just exploiting an abundant resource. There's so much dying here." Ashildr said, voice cold.

"So who dies so you can run away?"

"Clayton?" She called out, Clayton's distance voice echoing down the hall.

"Coming, milady."

"No. You can't. He loves you." The Doctor argued.

"To the end, it would seem."

"Would you rather take his place?" Leandro asked, breathing fire and making the Doctor step back, only for Ashildr to stop the lion.

"Not the Doctor! We agreed!"

Leandro reluctantly stopped and the Doctor shook his head, disappointed as he looked at Ashildr.

"Oh, Ashildr, daughter of Einarr. What happened to you?"

"You did, Doctor. You happened and Alex sat back and watched."

"I heard my name. Did somebody call me?" A new voice said, Alex wandering into the room and quickly locking eyes with Leandro. "Whoa. That's a big cat."

"Alex, run! Get out of here!" The Doctor shouted, but Ashildr turned to her.

"If you try to run, I will have Leandro kill the Doctor here and now."

Alex hesitated, eyes narrowed at Ashildr as the Doctor tried to take a step towards her only for Leandro to growl and block his way.

"Alex, please. I'll be fine, but you need to go. _Now_."

Alex raised a brow. "Yeah, last time I check, Doctor we run _towards_ danger. Not away from it."

"Well, now is the one time I say run away."

"Oh, well, in that case, this is the one time I'll say no." She said, crossing her arms over her chest and the Doctor groaned.

"Oh, why do you never listen to me? And I'll have you know, that is _not_ the only time you've told me no."

Alex smirked. "Then you should be expecting it by now, and stop trying to tell me what to do when you're in danger. What'd you do this time, huh? Tried the yo-yo again, did you?"

He went to answer her, but Ashildr cut him off.

"Enough! Leandro, tie him to a chair. I'll take care of Alex."

"My pleasure." The lion growled, stalking towards the Doctor and giving him no where to go as he tied him to a chair and Ashildr bound Alex's hands together behind her back without a fight.

Alex had long grown tired of fighting. And this was someone that she knew. Something that she understood, because she'd seen it before. And she wouldn't fight with that other person. She would talk. And that's what she would do with Ashildr. When the moment was right, she would talk.

* * *

"There once was a man from Gallifrey." I said, Ashildr glancing at me out of the corner of her eyes as she led the carriage to Tyburn; the Doctor having been left behind at her home with some guards, none too pleased about my current predicament. "He lived much too long and for many years, he suffered; believing himself to have destroyed his home planet and everyone on it. And in his guilt, he ran."

Ashildr frowned, facing forward. "Why are you telling me this? Using guilt isn't going to get me to save you."

I ignored her questions, continuing on. "This man, he lived hundreds years believing that all was lost. He lived alone and had grown cold. Stupid apes, he called the humans, yet he continued to live in his home around them, saving them when they were too clueless to realize they were in danger. But he'd lost so many and didn't wish to make the same mistakes again. He was angry with the universe for being put in his position and never gave anyone second chances."

"Sounds like my kind of person." Ashildr said with a smirk.

"And his name, was the Doctor."

She turned to me quickly, very nearly yanking the carriage to a stop as I looked her way.

"He's not doing this to punish you, Ashildr. He knows better than anyone, what it's like to live too long and be alone."

"Then why won't he take me with you?"

"Because. He wouldn't have taken his younger self with him either." I replied, thinking back to the Ninth Doctor. "You're like him, Ashildr. Not the him now, but one from long ago. A war-torn Doctor who'd fought many battles and killed many people. A man who lost his home and his loved ones too many times to count. And that changes people. He ended up finding someone. Someone who he thought could make him better, and within the first month, he'd nearly killed her with his own hands. He picked up a gun, much as you have, and he aimed it her way because there was an enemy behind her."

"And how does that make him a bad man? He tried to save her, did he not?"

"Does one murderer make all humans bad people?" I countered, explaining further when she furrowed her brows in confusion. "The supposed enemy was part of the alien race that attacked his home, but this one had been trapped and tortured for who knows how long. And when it was finally free, all it wanted was to feel the sunlight. That's it. Nothing more. It didn't have a purpose anymore. The Doctor, though, was so… single minded. He believed that entire race to be such horrible monsters, that he never once considered the fact that they could change; that they could become… good. And he too, tortured that creature and aimed a gun at it, but this human… This tiny, insignificant human that he'd picked up just for fun, showed him the truth. She showed him the monster he'd become. How the good man became corrupted and lost who he was because he was alone and didn't understand how the most amazing things could come from the smallest of creatures." I leaned back, closing my eyes and hoping Ashildr was getting the message that I was trying to say, because I'd rather _not_ end up hung today. "The Doctor would never take that version of himself with him traveling, because it wouldn't be good. He would be unable to appreciate what truly matters."

"And what's that?" She asked, voice softer than before.

"Life, I suppose." I hummed. "What it means to live as long as you do. As long as _they_ do. I could be wrong though. I wouldn't really know. I used to be human and now I'm not, but I have yet to live long enough to feel what you're feeling, Ashildr."

"Stop calling me that." She snapped, though I didn't even open my eyes. "Why do you and the Doctor keep calling me by that name?"

"Because that's who you are to us. No matter what you may call yourself, deep down, you're still the Ashildr we met back in that Viking village. Just as everyone calls me 'The Seer', I am still just Alexander Holmes, some human who got stuck in the wrong universe and chose to stay."

The carriage was pulled to a stop and I sighed softly, getting down from my place beside her easily as she got down herself and eyed me cautiously.

"I hope you listened to me, Ashildr, because I'd _really_ rather not get hung today… but even if I do…" I turned and looked at her. "…then at least I'll know that I tried. I attempted to save Ashildr from immortality, and maybe I failed, maybe I didn't. But I planted that seed and maybe it will bloom one day and you'll understand what I was saying." I said, smiling at her, before I turned and allowed her to tug me up onto the stage beside Sam Swift.

_And to think, the only reason she wants me hung, is because I said I wouldn't tell her anything about the future._ I mentally rolled my eyes. _Imagine how she'd react if I told her I _had_ no foreknowledge? Her cat friend might have very well cut me down on the spot. Though I'm curious to see how the Doctor is going to fix this._ I glanced down at the crowd of people as they chanted for Sam and I to be hung, wincing. _Oh, look. I've got the front row seat… He better hurry it up. I won't be the only one dead if he's late._

"Ah, come to join me, have you Alex?" Sam smiled, though it was a bit forced.

I smiled back. "Oh, you know. Just hanging around."

I earned a few chuckles from the crowd, to which I bowed dramatically, grateful that the ropes around my wrists had been released.

Sam quickly caught on and winked, passing me his bottle, to which I gratefully drank. I would need to be a bit tipsy if I was to get out of this mess without the Doctor.

"Such a good turn out. We're honored." He said to the crowd, looking for the source of his joke. "Yeah, I, uh…" He spotted the executioner and pointed at him. "Hey, he's new at this. Someone will have to show him the ropes."

The crowd chuckled and Sam smiled over at me as I waved him on to continue.

"Don't worry, mate. You'll get the hang of it." He teased. "When I'm gone, they'll all say, 'that Sam Swift. He was well hung."

The crowd was eating it up and he looked around, spotting a few people he may have recognized.

"Well, I think a few of you know that already. Oh, yeah. I'm sure I recognize a few of you lovely ladies. You and you. I mean, I'd introduce you all, but I can't remember your names."

There were some boos and he glanced back at me in worry. I too, tried to come up with something as he turned to the executioner once more.

"Hey, it's a good job you're here or they'd kill me."

A bell chimed then and a man called out for hats to come off, letting us know that we were running out of time.

"Oh man. They're hanging us out to dry, Sam." I said, earning a few chuckles, though not enough and Sam turned to one of the women in the crowd.

"Mary? Meg? Help me out here, miss."

A man stepped forward angrily. "That's Mrs. Baxter to you!"

Sam grinned. "That's a funny name for a fella!"

The crowd laughed and I let out a sigh of relief as I drank deeply from the bottle I was holding.

"Hold on, we've got plenty more. Jokes, that is, as well as women."

"Hang him now!" Leandro's deep voice echoed from the back of the crowd where I spotted Ashildr's carriage waiting, though Ashildr weaved her way towards the stage as I swallowed thickly; us losing the crowd.

"Make us laugh, Sam!" A man shouted and I handed Sam back his bottle so he could drink some before he passed it back.

"Aye. For when you laugh, we live." He said, rather ominously, before returning to the jokes to keep our spirits up. "It was raining on the way over here. But the hangman says to me, it's alright for you. I've got to walk back through this."

I stared sadly at Ashildr as she passed some money to the executioner, Sam turning to her as well with a small smile.

"What are you paying for, my beauty?"

"To make it quick. A fitting end for you, Sam Swift." She turned to me. "And my sympathies to you, Alex."

I didn't move, just stared and she turned away from me as Sam spoke up.

"Who should be the last to kiss these lips?" He called out, women in the crowd calling out to be the one, but he turned to Ashildr.

"They must mean you, Lady Me."

She obliged him, kissing him and turning to me and surprising me as she kissed me in return.

"I'm sorry." She whispered to me as she pulled away and Sam furrowed his brows.

"You remind me of someone. And now I want to live more than ever."

"Time to hang!" Leandro called out again and I turned to glare at him from the stage.

"When I get my hands on that cat…"

Sam and I were pushed back towards the trap door by the hangman and a noose was slipped around my neck before Sam stopped him once more.

"Alright, alright. As God is my Highwayman. He steals the most precious gift of all. Life, magical, filled with adventures. And at least I can say I lived mine to the full."

"I love you, Sam Swift!" A woman called out and I smiled a little, before he and I both spotted our salvation.

"_Alex!"_

_You're late!_ I mentally scolded him, earning a wince in response as I gestured to the knotted rope around my neck.

"Is that the Doctor?" Sam questioned, before calling out to him. "Doctor! Doctor! I'm a robber!"

Everyone murmured in confusion and I gave the Doctor a pointed look, before he understood and called out as well; making his way ever closer to us.

"Have you taken anything for it?"

The crowd laughed and I was glad, because the Doctor would have dozens of puns up his sleeves to keep everyone entertained until he got up here to help us.

"Uh, Doctor, Doctor."

"Quick man! I'm running out of patients!"

More laughter.

"Have you ever seen such a sidekick so old?" Sam questioned the crowd as the Doctor frowned.

"I'm no one's sidekick."

Same went on though. "He's so old, he farts dust!"

"And his nose is so big that…" The Doctor trailed off, having aimed for a more insulting comment than a joking one, but Sam easily picked it up.

"…they'll have to widen the noose!"

"Or bury him in a pyramid."

The crowd laughed as I slipped a hand into my pocket and searched for something to get this rope off me before someone accidentally bumped the lever.

"You know what they say. Big nose…"

The crowd enjoyed the innuendo, but the Doctor quickly turned it into a joke.

"Big handkerchief!"

The executioner had had enough and started to shove Sam back to the other noose with me, but he desperately called out.

"No, Doctor! Don't leave us hanging!"

The Doctor, quick on his feet, pulled out his psychic paper and showed it to the executioner.

"Wait! I have a pardon here for Sam Swift and Alexander Holmes from Cromwell himself."

The executioner looked it over, before calling out to the crowd. "Sam Swift and Alexander Holmes are pardoned!"

I let out a sigh of relief as Sam did the same and I drank deeply from the bottle before handing it over to him as he fell to his knees and the crowd complained about their loss of entertainment.

"We didn't come all this way not to see someone hang." A man complained. "What about the Doctor? Yeah, hang the Doctor!"

The Doctor looked at me worriedly, but Ashildr stepped forward and shushed the crowd. I had a bad feeling though and pulled out the small knife from my pocket and began cutting at the rope above me.

"You want to see someone die?! How's this?"

"Ashildr, no!" I shouted, but she'd already pulled out the Eyes of Hades and put it to Sam's chest, killing him and shooting out a purple light into the sky as the crowd panicked.

"Purple. The color of death." The Doctor said, as I started to grow frustrated with how slow my knife was working. "His life force is opening a portal."

"To my new life." Ashildr said triumphantly, though the Doctor had to disagree.

"Or to hell."

Leandro revealed himself to the crowd with a breath of fire, but then a man pointed to the sky.

"Look!"

"Goodbye. Doctor, Seer." Ashildr said, but Leandro spoke.

"You are going nowhere."

The Doctor agreed, understanding dawning on him the longer he looked at the portal. "Doors work both ways. They let people out and they let the enemy in."

The planet that was now visible from the portal started to be surrounded by small lights and I cursed under my breath, nearly through the rope.

"What's that? What's happening? What are those things?" Ashildr questioned, starting to look worried.

"Space ships. Or, they will be." The Doctor explained. "They're coming through the rift, actualizing in this plane of reality."

Ashildr, finally realizing that something was wrong with Leandro's story, confronted him. "You said you were the last of the Leonians. We were meant to escape."

"You shall, in death."

Fire rained from the sky, sending the crowd into a panic just as I cut discovered the knife I was using was one of River's laser blades. Rolling my eyes, I easily sliced through the rope and went ahead and cut through the next one as Leandro jumped down to attack the crowd.

"Oh, no you don't!" I shouted, rushing between the Doctor and Ashildr and jumping into the fray myself; lassoing Leandro before he could set a person ablaze. "Hey there, kitty. Want to play?"

"Alex, no!" The Doctor called out and I rolled my eyes once more, keeping them locked on Leandro as I called out to him over my shoulder.

"Shut up and fix this, Spaceman! I need to keep these people safe and if you want to keep me safe, then you'll stop this!"

* * *

The Doctor sighed as Alex went over to keep Leandro occupied, Ashildr looking at him in shock.

"Y-You're not going to stop her?! Help her? Anything?!"

"She wouldn't let me even if I tried." He grumbled, as Ashildr looked around and suddenly realized the extent of what was happening.

"Doctor, what have I done? What have I done to these people? Stop this! They are defenseless!" She shouted at Leandro, but he ignored her; a bit more preoccupied with dealing with Alex as she taunted him.

"Ashildr, he doesn't care!" The Doctor said, stopping her from possibly getting mixed up in Alex and Leandro's little spat.

"But I do." She said, before realization dawned on her. "Oh, God. I do. I actually do. I… I care."

"It's awful, isn't it?" The Doctor grinned. "It's infuriating. You think you don't care, then you fall off the wagon. Meet someone who makes you care."

He glanced over at Alex as she nimbly ducked behind a cart of cabbages as Leandro breathed fire at her; a smile on her face despite the danger.

"Never mind about me." Ashildr said, drawing his attention back to her. "What are we going to do about them? We have to help them. They need you… They need us."

"Welcome back." The Doctor smiled at her, though she could care less with the situation at hand.

"Well? Do something then!"

"Okay. Okay. Um, Eyes of Hades. Afterlife. Death opens up a gateway. We need to close it."

"Yeah, I know. But how?"

"Reverse it!" Alex shouted, ducking under Leandro's arm swinging her way and kicking him in the back to make him stumble forward. "It needs death! Give it the opposite! Give it life!"

The Doctor quickly saw what she was saying, looking over at the dead Sam Swift.

"Sam Swift, he's the conduit. The amulet, it's still in him. It's his death that's opening the rift. We need to reverse it."

"You cannot reverse death." Leandro snarled, rushing towards Ashildr, but she pulled out the Mire chip from under her cloak.

"Oh yes. We can."

Leandro went to make a grab for it, but let out a roar of complaint as he was tugged back by the noose around his neck.

"Not so fast, kitty cat! You've still got me to deal with!" Alex said, making him snarl at her before he pulled her along with him back up to the stage. "Whoa! Stronger than you look!"

It was too late though, Ashildr had already placed the chip on Sam's forehead.

"No, my lady. They will destroy me for this." He said, the light from Sam changing to gold. "The light of immortality."

He growled at Ashildr and lunged, only to be pulled back once more by a struggling Alex as Ashildr ducked behind the Doctor.

"Ooh, boy. One too many wildebeests, ey, big fella?" She grunted out, but Leandro turned back to the portal.

"Spare me, my brothers!" He begged, only to be disintegrated as the rift closed and Alex flopped back onto the floor, panting in exhaustion.

The crowd slowly came out from their hiding places as Sam opened his eyes and looked around in surprise.

"I'm alive… I'm alive!" He cheered, the crowd cheering along with him as Ashildr smiled and the Doctor went over to Alex and offered her a hand.

"I sometimes wonder if you're too much trouble, you know."

She snorted, accepting the hand and easily being pulled to her feet. "We both know you're attracted to trouble."

"That I am." He hummed, pulling her to his chest and letting out a soft sigh. "Thank you. For talking to Ashildr—like I know you did—and for helping in any way you could."

"Welcome." She sighed as well, leaning into the embrace before the Doctor pulled away with a frown.

"Though do try not to play with large, dangerous, fire-breathing Leonians next time." He reached a hand up and fingered some of her hair. "You had one too many close calls."

"Eh, nothing a haircut can't fix. Ooh, I can dye it too!"

The Doctor made a face. "Why would you want to do that? I rather like it this color."

She raised a brow. "Even if it had a Tardis blue streak in it?"

He considered it for a moment, before shaking his head. "No, no, no. I know what you're doing and it's not going to work."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Alex hummed innocently as Ashildr headed over curiously.

"Oh, yes you do." He said, pointing an accusing finger at her. "With those big eyes and that face. You're trying to entice me to say yes!"

"Yes to what?" Ashildr asked and Alex rolled her eyes at the Doctor.

"I want to get a dark blue streak in my hair."

Ashildr hummed, looking her over and shrugged. "Hm, I think it'd look nice."

"See?!" Alex said, but the Doctor groaned.

"Oh no. You're not teaming up on me."

"I'll be even the Tardis would agree."

"Because it's her color!"

He argued and the two women chuckled, before Alex suddenly popped away and Ashildr jumped, looking startled.

"W-What happened? Where'd she go? She just… disappeared."

"Yes. She does that." The Doctor waved off, before frowning. "I remembered... She _does_ get that streak in her hair… _River_."

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"Any clues? Any hints for us then, Alex?"_

_"Hm, well, have fun in the lift. The way down's a blast. No, you're not dead, not in the past, no timey-wimey Tardis stuff. And uh... Oh yeah!" I smiled, beaming away at them innocently. "Don't let them touch you. Have fun!"_


	74. Night Terrors

**Sorry this is late! I had planned to post it on Tuesday since I only had work from 5am-9am, but they extended me until 1pm and then I fell asleep and... sort of didn't wake up until dinner and then went back to sleep and not wake up until 2am, only to be very sick. but I'm better now and here's the next chapter. Sorry about the ending, but people have been worried about something and this ending clears that up.**

**And as for the one-shot. I'll start working on it now. It should be posted by next week instead of a chapter for this (unless I find the time to do both) and as for which Doctor... well, I figured it'd be a secret until then ;)**

**But ignore me. Please read and review! Let me know what you think about this one. Especially that ending. And just to let you all know, I have been going back and rereading this bit by bit, fixing anything grammar wise. And if I find anything in past chapters that doesn't make sense with future ones, I will fix those too and let you all know. (I'm up to 'The Sontaran Stratagem' and nothing big yet, just a few spelling errors).**

* * *

I mumbled nonsense under my breath, snuggled up with a stuffed bear pillow on my bed in the Tardis after having had a long night out with River before she dropped me off to the nearest Doctor. I didn't even get to see which one it was, since I somehow managed to just walk in and pass out on my bed without bumping into anyone. I didn't mind though, smiling a bit in my sleep as I imagined the look on his face when he would see the buzzed sides of my head and the Tardis blue streak in my spiked up blonde hair. If Twelve's reaction meant anything, it was that his younger self would _definitely_ react in some over dramatic way. Didn't really matter to me now though. I was still buzzed by the drinking River and I had done while we were out, and even asleep, I still felt rather giddy. Things were going well for once, after all. Sure, there was the whole incident with Ashildr, but knowing that she accepted it and would later grow from what happened had me more relaxed about everything. And seeing as I hadn't been woken up yet by anyone, or by the Tardis blowing up or going crazy, this next adventure might not be too bad either. _Mm, but I still better get up… might miss something if I don't…_ I silently mused, starting to come out of my doze.  
I blearily opened my eyes, vision still a little blurry from sleep, but I furrowed my brows at the set of eyes staring back at me. With my sleep-addled mind, I didn't really comprehend that I wasn't alone and I closed my eyes; starting to drift off once more, before my mind caught up with me. _I'm not alone…_ My eyes snapped open at the thought, locking gazes with the golden eyed lizard on my face, before I let out a rather girly scream.

"Alex?! Alex, what's—"

"Get it off, get it off, get it off!" I said in a panic, curled up in a ball in a corner with the lizard on my back; turned away from the Eleventh Doctor with my hands over my head.

There was a soft sigh and I felt the lizard plucked off my back, its little claws gripping onto my shirt for dear life until the Doctor managed to release me from it.

"Rory, could you go and drop this off in the garden?"

"Uh, sure."

I buried my head even further into my arms in thorough embarrassment, knowing that Amy was most likely the one snickering in the doorway at my freak out.

"Alex, it's gone. I took care of it. You can get up now." The Doctor said softly, his hand gently touching my back, but I shook my head.

"Amy will laugh at me…"

"Amy will _not_ laugh." He said. "Will you?"

Amy snorted. "Seriously? She just freaked out about a _lizard_ and you don't want me to laugh?"

"It's a snake with legs!" I shouted, turning towards her with wide eyes. "And I woke up with it on my _face_! How about I go find some creepy alien cockroach and leave it in your bed for you to find and see how you like it?!"

She paled at the thought and held her hands up in surrender. "Right. No laughing. I think I can do that."

I still pouted, turning away with a huff in my corner. "Stupid body. I used to love lizards. Why's regeneration have to be so… different."

The Doctor rubbed my back comfortingly, helping me up off the floor with small smile. "You'll get used to it once you figure out all the little quirks and…" He paused, mouth dropping open in shock as he lifted a hand up and touched my hair where my blue streak was. "What did you do to your hair?!"

I couldn't help the smile that made its way onto my face. "I wanted something different."

He pouted at that, as Amy snorted, and I kissed him gently to make him happy once more.

"Come on. I'm sure we've got somewhere amazing we need to be."

He kissed me back, keeping his forehead on mine with a small whine. "Do we have to?"

Amy cleared her throat. "Uh, hello? Still here?"

We ignored her as I smiled at the Doctor.

"You know, it's _technically _still within twenty-four hours of my birthday. And your future self promised me something amazing and we still haven't gotten around to it yet."

He smirked back, eyes sparking mischievously. "Well, I'll just have to fix that, won't I?"

"Ah, yeah. No. I'm leaving. This is disgusting." Amy said, walking out. "Hurry up and shag so we can go somewhere and I can wipe my mind of this horrible mental image!"

The door closed and the Doctor and I both chuckled, him ducking his head to trail kisses along my chin.

"O-Oi, we're not _actually _going to… you know. Not while they're hanging around, right?" I asked with a chuckle, him finding a ticklish spot on my neck that I didn't know about. "S-Stop! That tickles! And you never told me if you liked my hair or not."

He pulled away and smiled. "I _love _your hair. Always will." He hummed, before placing another kiss on my lips. "And who said we wouldn't? We've got time. When's your birthday over?"

I snorted, but didn't protest. "About an hour."

"Mm, plenty of time."

* * *

Amy rolled her eyes at the Doctor's joyous mood once he and Alex had returned from their little… _moment_. She should honestly be used to it by now, but they loved to tease her and Rory about it, so it was often that the two of them were stuck in the middle of the two Time Lords being all lovey-dovey. Made Amy miss the younger Alex who had no idea about the two's romance. It was a surprise they managed to keep her regeneration secret from her for so long, but seeing her freeze up after the Doctor kissed her was very much missed, as oppose to seeing her actually be pleased about it and deepening it. Amy couldn't help but love the two though. They needed each other and it was nice to see how the brooding Doctor would light up whenever Alex walked into the room. The two were made for each other and Amy had to admit, she'd never seen a better, more loving couple than those two.

"So? Where are we off to?" Amy hummed, her and Rory sipping from a couple of mugs of tea.

Alex suddenly looked up though, seemingly at thin air. "Please save me from the monsters."

"What?"

The Doctor too, glanced at her in slight worry, before he suddenly spun around and pulled his psychic paper from his pocket. "Ow… oh."

"What?"

"Please save me from the monsters." He said, making Amy turn to Alex and back at him.

"But isn't that what…"

"Yes. Yes, it is." He said, moving around the console and giving Alex a quick peck on the cheek before setting the Tardis to go. "Haven't done this in a while."

"Haven't done what?" Amy asked, confused as all get out. "What are you doing?"

"Making a house call."

"But hold on. Why did Alex say what you said?"

"Mental prowess." He answered, grinning at Alex. "You've been practicing."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course, I have. Otherwise, I'd _always_ have people driving me nuts with their emotions flying around all willy-nilly. I needed a way to have control and your future self knew what he was doing. Though I must say, you're a _horrible_ teacher."

The Doctor gapped in mock hurt. "I am a _wonderful_ teacher!"

"Yeah, tell that to the physics class who stared at you like you were crazy back with Sarah Jane."

He flushed a little. "I-I was… I was distracted."

He pouted, and Alex snorted; the two of them heading out now that the Tardis had landed with Amy and Rory right behind them.

"No offence, Doctor—"

"Meaning the opposite." He commented, but Rory ignored him.

"—But we could get a bus somewhere like this."

"The exact opposite." The Doctor went on.

"Well, I suppose it can't all be planets and history and stuff, Rory." Amy hummed, looking around at the group of flats in a dark neighborhood that they'd ended up at.

"Yes, it can. Course it can. Planets and history and stuff. That's what we do." The Doctor argued, tucking Alex to his side by her waist as he scanned around with his sonic. "But not today. No. Today, we're answering a cry for help from the scariest place in the universe. A child's bedroom."

"But why are we here?" Rory asked as they approached the lift.

"Got a message on the psychic paper." The Doctor said, flicking it out to show him.

"'Please save me from the monsters'? Who sent that?"

"That's what we're here to find out."

Amy frowned, curiously. "Sounds like something a kid would say."

"Exactly. A scared kid. A very scared kid. So scared that somehow its cry for help got through to us in the Tardis and even in Alex's head."

"Hm." Alex hummed, looking around idly.

"Yeah, but you've traced it here." Amy said, lost once more.

"Exactly." The Doctor smirked as the lift arrived. "Ah. Going up."

Once they got up to a floor, the Doctor turned to them all. "Right then. Let's split up. Cover more ground. Rory, you go left. Amy, you go right. Alex and I will go up another floor and meet back here. Got it? Good. Off we go!"

"Wait, how come Alex—" Amy was cut off as the doors to the lift closed and the Doctor went up another floor with Alex. "—gets to go with you…"

Rory scoffed, turning to head the way the Doctor told him. "Alex _always_ gets to go with him. He'd have a fit, otherwise."

Amy pouted, turning to head the opposite way. "Yeah, but he _could_ share. She's our friend too."

"Good luck convincing him of that." Rory laughed and she rolled her eyes before knocking on a door.

She expected to see an adult, but a little girl opened it instead. "Hi. Are your mummy and daddy home, or is it just you?"

The door opened a little more to reveal another girl, exactly the same as the first.

"Okay…"

* * *

"Hello." The Doctor greeted Mrs. Rossiter as I smiled politely at the elder woman and turned my gaze back to my notebook; this being the _fifth_ flat we've checked.

It'd been a while since I needed hints as to what was coming up, but this was an episode I'd not thought of in a long while, so I needed a bit of memory refreshing. I was a bit worried though, deep down. I suddenly got the feeling that Ashildr and I were a bit alike in that we both were part human, but had long lifespans. And seeing how she changed so much in that amount of time, made me wonder about myself. That, and I could already tell that memories were slipping. I couldn't remember what my family's faces looked like anymore or how their voices sounded. Trips I'd gone on with the Doctor during my first time here were blurry now and it was only my notebook that reminded me of what happened. So yeah, I was starting to get a bit nervous again, but I wasn't about to let it get to me. Not now, anyway. Perhaps when I would be with Twelve again and we had some time to ourselves, I might bring it up, but for now I needed to focus on what was going on. Especially since the Doctor seemed to be getting into a bit of trouble.

"You could be anyone." Mrs. Rossiter said with a frown and the Doctor smiled.

"I could be, but I'm not. I'm—"

I slapped a hand over his mouth, cutting him off and leaning over to join their conversation.

"Sorry, Mrs. Rossiter. He's a bit forgetful. We _did_ come about the bins and wanted to let you know that today's not a good day to take them out. I suggest tomorrow morning is better. Word is, there's a rather angry possum hanging out over there and we'd hate for you to get hurt."

"O-Oh, well, thank you dear."

"You're welcome. Sorry to bother you." I smiled, grabbing the Doctor's ear and tugging him back towards the lift as he complained.

"Ow, ow, ow! Alex! Let me go!"

I released him as he pouted and rubbed at his ear. "Seriously, what makes you think just telling her you're the Doctor will get you into her house? Did she _look_ like she had a kid within the last fifteen years?"

"I was just trying to get information." He whined and I rolled my eyes, leaning over the railing and nodding across the way at where Amy and Rory were walking.

"Then you're looking the wrong way."

He wandered over and looked as well, spotting the little boy—George—peeking out of his bedroom window.

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you." I sighed, making to head for the lift with him following behind me. "You just have to ask."

I pressed the button and entered the lift, only for the Doctor to suddenly shove me into the wall and slam his lips to mine. I let out a small noise of protest, not caring for his sudden attack, but soon leaned into it before he pulled away with a small smile at my glare.

"I love you." He said softly, making me snort.

"Love you too, you hormonal teenager." I said, making him smile before the lift doors opened and Amy let out a groan.

"Again? Seriously?"

I leaned around the Doctor and gave her a look. "I'll have you know, it wasn't my idea."

"Course not." She said, obviously not believing me as the Doctor and I walked out and faced them. "Any luck? Other than… _that_."

"Three old ladies, a traffic warden from Croatia, and a man with ten cats." The Doctor replied, making a face at his own words.

"What are we actually looking for?" Rory asked, looking a bit annoyed at our little hunt.

"Ten cats…" The Doctor murmured, before I elbowed him in the ribs and he answered Rory. "Scared kid, remember?"

"I found scary kids. Does that count?" Amy questioned and the Doctor hesitated.

"Uh, try the next floor down. Catch you later."

He grabbed my hand, but Amy stopped him.

"Hold on a second. If you're taking Alex, then I at least want something." She said, turning to me as I blinked. "So? Any clues? Any hints for us then, Alex?"

I thought for a second on what I could tell them, before having an idea. "Hm, well, have fun in the lift. The way down's a blast. No, you're not dead, not in the past, no timey-wimey Tardis stuff. And uh… Oh yeah!" I smiled, beaming away at them innocently. "Don't let them touch you. Have fun!"

I waved once I'd shoved the confused couple into the lift and sent them on their way; the Doctor and I heading off and not hearing Amy scream as the lift suddenly flew downwards.

"_I hate you, Alex!_"

I sneezed though, rubbing my nose and glancing back as the Doctor gave me a look.

"You alright? Do you want my coat?"

I shook my head. "Nah. I'm fine." I said, humming as we approached George's home. "Did you know that the Japanese had this thing, where if you sneezed, it meant someone was talking about you behind your back?"

"Hm, curious. Is someone talking behind yours?"

I snorted. "I have no doubt that Amy's probably saying something nasty about me right now."

* * *

"Amy? Amy, are you here?" Rory called out in the dark, searching blindly for her.

"Yeah. Here." She said, seeing him reaching the wrong direction in what little light they had. "No, here. It's me."

Rory pulled out a penlight and turned it on, making her wince. "You okay?"

"Ugh, yeah. I think so. Remind me to kill Alex when we get back."

"What happened to the lift?" Rory asked, looking around a bit confused at their new surroundings. "We were in a lift, weren't we?"

"Yeah, yeah. We… I remember getting in and then what?"

"We're dead, aren't we…?" Rory said, before frowning. "No, wait, hold on. What was it Alex said again?"

"Have fun in the lift." Amy grumbled and Rory shook his head.

"No, after that."

"Um, I think she said we're not dead, not in the past, and no timey Tardis stuff."

"So if we're not dead, not in the past, and the Tardis didn't do anything, then what happened? Where are we?"

"Let's find out." Amy said, pulling him up and they started to wander the building.

They soon discovered a kitchen, where Amy stole a wooden frying pan as a weapon and a small lamp to carry to light their way; still a bit uptight about the glass eye they found in a cupboard. Rory's light flickered a bit, which confused them, but they continued right on until Rory remembered something.

"Wasn't there something else Alex warned us about?"

"Yeah, now that I think about it." Amy said, looking around cautiously after they heard children laughing not too long ago. "I think she said something like 'don't let them touch you'."

"Don't let _who_ touch us?"

"Probably whoever's laughing. They're getting closer."

"Who?"

Amy shrugged, the both of them approaching a door where the laughter was coming from cautiously. Rory pulled it open and they both jumped with a scream at the doll standing there, before Amy chuckled.

"Oh, it's just a dummy."

"This is weird." Rory said, not really liking this situation.

"Yeah, says the time-traveling nurse." Amy scoffed, glancing at the dummy with furrowed brows. "You don't think Alex meant this thing, do you?"

"We, uh, better leave it though. Just in case." Rory suggested and Amy nodded; the two of them heading upstairs and not seeing the doll turn its head to watch them go.

* * *

The Doctor happily knocked on George's home and tucked me to his side as I rolled my eyes with a small smile and he whipped out his psychic paper at the man who answered the door.

"Oh, right. Well, that was… quick." The man said, making the Doctor furrow his brows.

"Was it?"

He checked his psychic paper as the man explained.

"Chloe said she found someone. Social services."

"Yes!" The Doctor said, realizing now what was going on as far as his fake identity. "Yes."

"It's not easy." George's father said, looking tired. "You know. Admitting your kid's got a problem."

"You've got a problem. I've got a problem. I bet they're connected. I'm the Doctor. Call me Doctor. This is my wife, Alex. What can we call you?"

"Um, also Alex." He said, glancing at me as I smiled a little.

"Hello, also Alex." The Doctor smiled, stepping inside and spotting the little boy's room with his name on it. "So tell me about George."

The Doctor quickly made himself at home and I sighed, turning to Alex.

"Sorry about him. Doesn't really know personal space. And just call me Holmes for now. That way we don't get confused and he stops calling you 'also Alex'." I said with a small smile, shaking his hand as he nodded.

"Alright. Sounds fine to me."

I nodded and we headed into the living room where the Doctor had already discovered a family photo album.

"Doctor, just call me Holmes for now so we don't get confused with another Alex here."

"Will do, Holmes." He said, tugging me down onto the couch beside him as Alex sat across the way. "So, George. How is he? Good kid?"

"Actually, ever since he was born, he's been a funny kid."

"Funny's good. We like funny, don't we?" The Doctor said, flipping through the photos as I remained silent; letting them talk.

"He never cries. Bottles it all up, I suppose. Tell him off, he just looks at ya."

"How old is he?" I asked, more curious than anything.

"He was eight in January. I mean, he should be growing out of stuff like this, shouldn't he?"

"Maybe" The Doctor said, snapping the photo album closed and placing it on the table. "It's got worse though, lately?"

"Yeah. We talked about getting help. You know, maybe sending him somewhere. He started getting these nervous tics. You know, funny little cough, blinking all the time. But now it's got completely out of hand. I mean, he's scared to death of everything." Alex said, standing in his panic.

"Pantaphobia." The Doctor blurted out, confusing him.

"What?"

"That's what it's called. Pantaphobia. Not a fear of pants though, if that's what you're thinking. It's a fear of everything. Including pants, I suppose, in that case."

I nudged him, giving him a look and he smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry. Go on."

"He hates clowns."

"Understandable."

"Old toys. He thinks the old lady across the way is a witch. He hates having a bath in case there's something under the water. The lift sounds like someone breathing." Alex took a deep breath and sat in a chair. "Look, I don't know. I'm not an expert. Maybe you can get through to him."

"We'll do our best."

Just then, we heard a crash from George's room and Alex jumped up and hurried over to check upon him with the Doctor and I following behind. George spotted us in the door way as the Doctor tucked me to his side.

"Who're you?"

"I'm the Doctor." The Doctor smirked, ever dramatic, and I rolled my eyes as he lightly kissed my temple. "And this is my wife."

"A doctor?" George said, voice slightly rushed. "Have you come to take me away?"

I felt my hearts ache for him, alien or not, his wide innocent eyes making my stomach clench in unease that the Doctor felt; tightening his grip on me a bit.  
"No, George. We just want to talk to you." He said to the boy.

"What about?"

The Doctor pulled away from me with a small smile and headed over, as I waited in the doorway.

"About the monsters."

Alex looked uneasy and as the Doctor grabbed a rubix cube to keep his hands busy, I sat on the bed beside George with a small smile; ruffling his hair as his father expressed his concerns.

"Maybe it was things on the telly, you know?"

"Right." The Doctor said, more focused on the cube than what the man was saying.

"Scary stuff, getting under his skin, frightening him."

"Mhmm."

"We stopped letting him watch."

Now _that_ got his attention.

"Oh, you don't want to do that."

I nodded. "Television at a young age actually helps stimulate mental growth, if you're showing him the right kind of shows."

_Not that I'd know. I'm not an actual person from children services._ I mentally hummed, zoning out for a moment.

"Then Claire thought it might have been something he was reading."

"Great. Reading's great. You like stories, George?" He asked the boy, who nodded. "Yeah? Me, too. When I was your age, about, ooh, a-a thousand years ago, I loved a good bedtime story. 'The Three Little Sontarans'. 'The Emperor Dalek's New Clothes'. 'Snow White and The Seven Keys to Doomsday', eh? All the classics." He threw the rubix cube and I caught it. "Rubbish. Must be broken. I hate those things."

I sighed, working on the cube myself. "That's just because you're impatient. They're easy to solve, once you know what it is you need to do."

I held up the completed cube and he grinned, nudging Alex with his elbow.

"See? She's clever, isn't she? My clever Alexander."

I felt heat travel to my cheeks as I tossed him back the cube. "I'm not that clever. I just memorized the algorithm to solve it ages ago. It's all muscle memory now."

He headed over and bopped me on the nose with his finger. "Still clever."

I wrinkled my nose as he turned and tossed Alex the cube.

"Better tidy it away though, eh? How about in here?" He gestured to the cupboard, but immediately stopped as George's eyes widened and he gasped. "No… not the cupboard. Why not in there, George?"

Alex explained. "It's a… thing. A thing we got him doing ages back. Anything that frightens him, we put it in the cupboard. Creepy toys, scary pictures, that sort of thing."

"And is that where the monsters go?" The Doctor asked, George not responding, but his expressions were enough to get an answer. "Yeah. There's nothing to be scared of, George. It's just a cupboard."

The Doctor went to open it, still slightly hesitant as he slid his fingers down the wood to the lock. When he made to turn it and there wasn't a knock at the door, I spoke; making everyone jump.

"Doctor."

He pouted at me for scaring him, but quickly sobered up upon seeing my serious expression.

"Best not."

He went quiet for a second, but bobbed his head in silent agreement before there was a loud knock on the door. _Geeze. Makes me wonder what would've happened if I _hadn't_ been around to stop him._ I thought idly, though I was still a bit worried at the change. It'd been a while since I had to actually do something to make up for a change in the timeline and it made me worry. We could hear Alex open the door to let in the landlord, and as George shifted to listen in, I got up and went towards the Doctor; speaking quietly.

"Could you keep him occupied? Distract him?"

The Doctor frowned, eyeing me. "Of course, but what are you planning?"

I sighed, frowning a bit myself. "Nothing drastic. Just paying off a bit of rent."

"Mm, don't cause problems." He hummed and I snorted, giving him a look as I headed out to deal with the grumpy landlord.

"If I went around—" The landlord stopped arguing with Alex and turned to me. "Hello, who's this?"

I smiled innocently. "Nobody important. Love your dog. What's his name?" I asked, kneeling down and petting the dog affectionately; making it snort and grumble happily as I scratched its head.

"Bernard…" He said, eyeing me suspiciously as I cooed at the dog, who'd rolled over for some belly rubs.

"Ooh, big ol' Bernard's just a big teddy on the inside, isn't he? Just a big squishy teddy bear who wants a nice belly rub."

"Look, buddy. Leave my dog alone and just head off, would ya? I'm trying to have a conversation here." The landlord said, looking angry now and I stood, realizing now that I had a bit of height on the man.

"Oh yes. Big old scary man with a dog on a chain looking around for rent money to help furnish his nice apartment, where he sits and watches tele all day. Yeah, I know what you're here to discuss. So here." I shoved a small black pouch into his arms. "Money for rent for the next six months for Alex and his family here. Now scram. Before I call some higher up about your cushy, lazy job attitude."

The man coward ever so slightly under my glare and scuttled out the door with Bernard behind him, and I let out a huff as Alex spoke with a heavy stutter.

"Y-You just… But you didn't… I-I can't accept—"

I turned to him with an annoyed expression. "Look, I paid your rent for six months. It's done. Get over it. Use that time to find another job yourself and be sure to take care of George, okay?" I placed my hands on his shoulders and pushed down lightly on the tense muscles. "Relax a little."

He let out a sigh and slumped a bit, running a tired hand through his hair as he nodded. "Y-Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Thank you. Really."

I nodded and we headed back into George's room, where a pale Doctor sat before the cupboard.

"Right. Sorry about that. So, have we got this thing open yet?" Alex asked, reaching for the lock of the cupboard, but the Doctor stopped him.

"No! No, no, no, no, no. You don't want to do that."

"Why?"

"Because George's monsters are real." I replied, Alex giving me a dubious look as the Doctor quickly pulled me out of the room with Alex following quickly behind.

* * *

The Doctor searched through the cupboards idly, searching for the tea as Alex—not his Alex, but the other one—hurried in looking a bit annoyed with what Alex—his Alex, not this one—had said about the monsters. _I've really got to get used to calling her Holmes or everyone's going to get confused._ He frowned softly, before lightening up at thinking about how Al—_Holmes_—was sitting in George's room, keeping the boy entertained as he spoke with the father.

"You're supposed to be professionals. I'll never get him to sleep now. It's so irresponsible." The man said as the Doctor smiled upon finding three mugs, setting them down and getting serious for the man before him.

"No, Alex. Responsible. Very. Cupboard bad. Cupboard not bare. Stay away from cupboard. And there's something else. Something I've missed. Something staring me in the face." He frowned again, wondering what it was and the hint Holmes had given him before he'd walked out of the room.

_No, can't call her Holmes. It just doesn't feel right. Too distant. Not cute. Doesn't suit her. I'll call her… Lex? No. That's not right either… Alexander. Yes. Yes, I'll call her that. Bit of a mouthful, but she loves it when I call her that. _He smiled to himself, before shaking himself out of his thoughts. _No, no, no. Think about the hint. Photos, she said. Photos of what? Of whom?_

"Look, I'd like you to leave, please. You're just making things worse. Will you stop making tea. I want you to leave!" Alex said, taking the mugs from him.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes at Alex, pulling the mugs back. "No."

"What? What do you mean 'no'?" Alex questioned, heading over and closing the fridge on the Doctor angrily. "Leave. Get out."

The Doctor opened the fridge again and Alex closed it once more.

"Now, please. Look, maybe this was a bad idea. We should sort out George ourselves."

"You can't." The Doctor said, grabbing the milk from the fridge; knowing that this Alexander liked it better with a little milk, rather than sugar like before.

"No one's going to tell us how to run our lives. I don't care who you are or what wheels have been set in motion. We'll sort it."

The Doctor glanced up, not at all perturbed by Alex's mood. "I'm not just a professional. I'm the Doctor."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I've come a long way to get here, Alex. A very long way. George sent a message. A distress call, if you like. Whatever's inside that cupboard is so terrible, so _powerful_, that it amplified the fears of an ordinary little boy across all the barriers of time and space. Through crimson stars and silent stars and tumbling nebulas like oceans set on fire. Through empires of glass and civilizations of pure thought, and a whole, terrible, wonderful universe of impossibilities. You see these eyes? They're old eyes. And one thing I can tell you, Alex. Monsters are real." The Doctor said, voice as calm as ever as Alex stared at him in disbelief.

"You're not from social services, are you?"

_And of _course_ that's all he gets from that. Humans. Even Alex would be a bit awed by my speech._ The Doctor pouted

"First thing's first. You got any Jammie Dodgers?" He paused, turning back to the fridge and grabbing a jar of maraschino cherries with a grin. "And I'm taking these."

Alex made a face. "What? What for?"

"My wife. Loves them. Don't know why. New body and all that. Tastes change. Glad it wasn't pears though. Disgusting fruits. Cherries are marginally better. She pops them like candies." He rattled on, taking the jar and draining it, before dumping the fruits into a small bowl and taking it with the tea to George's room. "Knock, knock."

He pushed the door in and smiled as he brought Alexander her tea and cherries; her smiling faintly as she played with a few dinosaur toys with George.

"Brought you something. Thought you might need a bit of freshening up." The Doctor hummed, kissing her lightly and setting the tea to the side with the cherries as she bobbed her head.

"Thank you."

"Anything for you, Alexander." He replied, smirking a bit when he saw her ears go a little red at the name. _I knew it would be better than calling her Holmes._ "But I best get back. I've got some photos to look at apparently."

She nodded, turning back to George and setting the dinosaur aside while asking him if he wanted a story next, and the Doctor headed out; pausing once to look back and see Alexander sitting beside George on the bed with a book, smiling softly as she read him a book. _Oh, how I wish, Alexander._ He thought sadly. _How I wish it were possible to make you this happy._

* * *

It wasn't long before the Doctor and Alex returned to George's room, the two of them facing the cupboard as I sat with George on the bed, doing my best to comfort him as he cowered away from the furniture they were planning on opening. The Doctor cracked his fingers and rolled his neck, postponing the inevitable as George sucked in a quiet gasp and tucked himself a bit further under the covers as the Doctor approached the cupboard. The lift made its usual groaning noise and Alex jumped, taking a step back and tucking George's head into his side as the boy clung to him and the Doctor slowly reached for the lock on the cupboard. He finally unlocked it and swung the door open to reveal a doll house, clothes, and some toys lying about inside; confusing him.

"I don't understand. It has to be the cupboard. The readings from the sonic screwdriver, they were—"

"The photos, Doctor." I interrupted him and his eyes widened, making him rush out and grab the photo album.

"How old is George, Alex?" He asked George's father as I got up from the bed and stretched.

"What? How old?"

"Yes. How old is George?"

"Well, I told you. Just turned eight." Alex said, looking a little lost.

"So you remember when he was born, then?"

"Of course."

"Course you do. How could you not? You and Claire. Christmas Eve, 2002. Right?" The Doctor asked, pointing out a picture in the photo album as I tidied up the room a little; wanting to keep my hands busy.

"What? Uh, y-yeah."

"Couple of weeks before George was born. Tell me about the day he arrived. Must have been wonderful."

"Well, it was the best day of my…" Alex trailed off, brows furrowed and looking even more confused. "…life."

"Sure?"

"Yes."

"You don't sound sure." The Doctor pointed out and Alex immediately went on the defensive.

"What are you trying to say? Look, I don't like this. I've told you before, I-I want you to go."

"What's the matter, Alex?" The Doctor asked, trying to get him to see what was wrong.

"I can't… Oh, don't… Oh, this is scary."

"No, Alex. _This_ is scary. Claire with baby George. Newborn, yes?" The Doctor said, pointing out another photo.

"Yes."

"Less than a month after Christmas."

"So?"

"So, look. Look." The Doctor gestured to the New Years photo again. "Claire's not pregnant."

"What?"

"Not pregnant."

"Well, of course not! Claire can't have kids!" Alex shouted, before realization dawned on him and the Doctor flipped the photo album closed as I tucked little George into my side and rubbed his arm.

"Say that again."

"We tried everything. She was desperate. As much IVF as we could afford, but... Claire can't have kids… How… How can I have forgotten that?" Alex questioned, before the Doctor and him turned to George.

"Who are you, George?" The Doctor asked, eyeing me in concern, though I ignored him.

"It's not possible. This isn't—"

"George?" The Doctor repeated, reaching out towards me, before the lift started up and the toys around us started to shake.

"George, it's okay." I tried, attempting to comfort the scared boy. "George, they're only trying to help. There's no need to be scared."

It wasn't working though, the boy quivering in my arms as the lamp on the bedside table glowed brightly, making me wince. It was then that the cupboard opened up and George began breathing hard; the Doctor, Alex, and I all being tugged towards it.

"George!" I called out; the Doctor hanging into me as he shouted at the boy too.

"George! George, what's going on?! Are you doing this?!"

"What's happening?!" Alex asked, but we couldn't answer as George tugged his knees to his chest and chanted in fear.

"Please save me from the monsters! Please save me from the monsters! Please save me from the monsters!"

"George!"

It wasn't enough though, and the three of us were sucked into the cupboard. I groaned when I awoke, the Doctor lightly patting my face.

"Oh, you just _had_ to go and upset him, didn't you?" I grumbled, him pulling me up with a small apology.

"Sorry, Alexander, but if you wanted me to _not_ do something, then you probably should have mentioned it."

I frowned at his cocky smirk. "Yes, well, you know how it is, Spaceman. Things need to happen or other things won't. And I'll give you the same warning I gave Amy and Rory before they were dragged here."

"They're here too?" He said, sounding more curious than anything, which made me smack him upside the back of the head.

"Don't sound so excited, you dimwit. Right now, every one of us is in a bit of trouble. And like I told the other two, don't let them touch you."

He frowned, curiously. "Don't let who touch you?"

There was a bit of children's laughter then, oddly timed perfectly and I frowned at the ceiling.

"Them."

"Right. Don't let the laughing kid things touch you. Got it." He said, kissing my temple before tugging me down the hall with Alex on our tail. "Might I ask why?"

"They sort of turn you into one of them." I muttered, before Alex spoke up, ending our conversation.

"Look, will you stop?!" Alex demanded, grabbing the Doctor by his coat. "What is he? What is George? And how could I forget that Claire can't have kids? How?"

"Perception filter." The Doctor explained, patting his arms and walking away once more. "Some kind of hugely powerful perception filter. Convinced you and Claire, everyone. Made you change your memories. Now, what could do that?"

He said, making faces in a mirror before he glanced at me and I sighed; tightening my grip on his hand slightly to keep from looking back at the doll that was undoubtedly behind us.

"Think of the common cuckoo bird." I answered, making him mouth those words in confusion, but I was sure he'd figure it out sooner or later.

_Hopefully sooner rather than later._ I mused as we entered the main entrance hall of the doll house; the Doctor rattling on to himself.

"So, Claire can't have kids and something responded to that. Responded to that need. What could do that?"

"I thought _you_ two were the experts, fighting monsters all day long. You tell me."

I snorted, crossing my arms as the Doctor paced a little. "He's forgetful."

"Oi!" The Doctor complained. "Listen, mush, and my sassy wife. Old eyes, remember? I've been around the block a few times. More than a few. They've knocked down the blocks I've been round and re-built them as bigger blocks. _Super_ blocks. And I've been round them as well. I can't remember everything."

"Doctor." Alex breathed out, the sound of the lift echoing around us, but the Doctor wasn't paying attention.

"It's like trying to remember the name of someone you met at a party when you were two."

"Doctor, the lift."

"And I can't just jump for Brian like I normally—"

He was cut off when I pressed my lips to his, effectively shutting him up as I pulled away and nodded towards Alex.

"Alex is trying to tell you something. So at least _try_ to pay attention."

He pouted as I pulled away and went to light the lantern Amy left behind, but then frowned at the noise.

"What's that?"

"It's the lift." Alex answered. "It's the sound that the lift makes. George is scared stiff of it."

The Doctor frowned, moving off to a corner to think and I left him be, knowing better than to interrupt his thinking process, instead watching Alex take notice of the candelabra blinking it's lights out one by one in patterns of five.

"Five times." Alex mutters, drawing the Doctor's attention.

"What?"

"The lights. It's happening five times. It's like one of George's habits. We have to switch the lights on and off five times."

The Doctor knelt down beside him. "Now you're getting it."

"What do you mean?"

I hummed. "George takes everything he's afraid of and puts it in the cupboard. And anything that he believes will keep his fears at bay are integrated into the doll house. Like the flickering lights."

The Doctor nodded. "Alexander is right. But what is he?"

There was a bit of childish laughter from the doorway nearby and I tugged the Doctor up, eyeing the red-headed doll with a mental groan. _Oh, Amy._

"Doctor, we best go."

"Oh my God." Alex breathed out, jumping up as the Doctor whipped out his sonic and I shoved it down.

"You moron! They're made of wood!"

He groaned. "I've got to invent a setting for wood. It's embarrassing."

I scoff. "So you keep saying. I'll have you know, 1200 years and _still_ no setting for wood."

He made a face. "Really?"

"Yes, really! Now come on!" I said, pulling him along with Alex following behind us; myself passing the large pink scissors to the Doctor, who used them to push the doll back so we could run out the door.

"Don't run. We just want to play." The doll said, but I laughed bitterly.

"Yeah, well, we don't!"

"Massive psychic field, perfect perception filter, and that need. That need of Claire's to, to—" He passed the scissors to Alex to hold off the doll now as he sacked himself in the forehead. "Stupid Doctor. Ow. And the cuckoo bird! Oh, Alexander, you're a genius!" He said, turning around to kiss me passionately, leaving me slightly breathless as I blinked.

"A-As much as I hate to say I enjoyed that, w-we have a bit of a situation?"

"Right. George is a Tenza! Of course he is." He announced.

"A what?" Alex questioned.

"A cuckoo. A cuckoo in the nest. A Tenza. He's a Tenza." The Doctor tried for another door, but I pulled him back as he went on explaining. "Millions of them hatch in space and then whoomph, off they drift, looking for a nest. The Tenza young can sense exactly what their foster parents want and then they assimilate perfectly."

He tried a third door, but I pulled him from that one too as we started to head up the stairs.

"George is an alien?"

"Yep."

I cleared my throat. "Not the best thing to say, Doctor."

"But he's our child!" Alex said and the Doctor realized how what he said might not have been taken so easily.

"Of course he is. The child you always wanted. He sensed that instinctively and sought you out, but _something_ scared him. Started this cycle of fear. It's all completely instinctive, subconscious. George isn't even aware that he's controlling it. So we have to make him aware. George!" He called out to the space around us. "George, you're the only one who can stop this. But you have to believe. You have to believe. You have to know you're safe. I can't save you from the monsters. Only you can. George, listen to me. George, listen to me!"

Rory had backed down the stairs towards us now, fighting off his own set of dolls.

"Rory!"

"Doctor!"

"Where's Amy?!"

Rory gestured to the red-headed doll ahead of him and I huffed.

"Didn't I tell you not to let them touch you?! And I thought the Doctor was the only one who didn't listen to me."

The Doctor tried again to convince George. "George! George, you have to face your fears! You have to face them now. You have to open the cupboard, or we'll all be trapped here forever in a living death. George! George, listen to me. George! George, listen to me. George! Please! George, you have to end this. End this. End it. End it now!"

There was still silence and we were nearly back to back now with the dolls closing in and I shouted out to him.

"George! Please! Your dad's in here! Be brave for your dad! Save your dad from the monsters, George!"

Suddenly, the dolls stopped and I let out a quiet breath of relief as we turned to see George down at the bottom of the stairs.

"George. George, you did it. You did it. Hey, it's okay. It's all okay now. Everything's going to be fine."

Or so the Doctor said, but the dolls started moving again.

"No! No! No, no, no, no, no. George, you created this whole world. This whole thing. You can smash it. You can destroy it."

George shook his head and I turned to Alex.

"Alex, you're his father! His dad! George is scared and in danger and you need to help him!"

The Doctor's eyes widened. "That's what did it. That's what the trigger was. He thought you were rejecting him. He thought he wasn't wanted, that someone was going to come and take him away."

"Well, we…we talked about it." Alex admitted, sheepishly.

"Yeah, and he heard you, Alex. A Tenza's sole function is to fit in, to be wanted, and you were rejecting him."

"We just couldn't cope! We needed help!"

"He's just a kid, Alex!" I shouted at him. "He's just a little boy! How is he supposed to know that when all he hears is that his parents, the ones he cares about the most, are sending him away?! Any child would be scared!"

Alex looked conflicted. "But how can we keep him? How can we? He's not…"

"Not what?" The Doctor asked.

"Not… human."

And yet, when the dolls surrounded George and the boy cried out for his father, Alex pushed through the dolls and rushed in to save him; holding him close.

"Whatever you are, whatever you do, you're my son, and I will never, ever send you away." Alex said, holding him tightly as the Doctor wrapped his arm around my waist and sent me a soft smile as the cupboard blew open and returned us to their home.

George had his face washed up after his little cry and the Doctor went about getting breakfast started, with my supervision, since I knew how he could be in the kitchen. He makes good food, sure, but he usually ends up destroying the room in some way during the process. George chuckled and laughed as the Doctor and Alex played with him, and the door opened to reveal Claire herself returning from her night shift.

"Hello. You're Claire, I expect." The Doctor greeted, moving in the do the air kiss thing, before I cleared my throat and he chuckled nervously, holding out a hand to shake instead. "How'd you feel about kippers?"

"Uh, who—"

Alex answered before she could finish. "They sent a couple about George. It's all sorted."

I smiled at George, waving the spatula at him. "And we had a blast, didn't we, sport?"

"Yeah." He smiled as the Doctor grinned at Claire.

"See? He's fine."

"What, just like that?" Claire questioned, a little suspicious.

"Yes." The Doctor answered, smiling. "Trust us."

She smiled as well Alex giving her a quick peck as we finished up the kippers. I furrowed my brows though, a bit confused. _What are kippers? Are they fish? Some sort of… fillet of fish thing? Do I even _like_ kippers?_ I reached over and snatched a small piece, trying it only to immediately stick my tongue out and scrape it off into the sink; earning a giggle from George and the Doctor, who'd been the only two to see.

"Oh, shut it." I complained, drinking some water as the Doctor reached over and kissed my temple.

"Don't worry. We'll leave without any and I'll make you something in the Tardis."

"Alright." I grumbled, earning another chuckle and it wasn't long before we hurried out; only for Alex to stop us.

"Doctor, Holmes. Wait!"

"Sorry, yes. Bye." The Doctor said, but he continued to stop us.

"No. No, you can't just… I mean…"

"It's sorted. You sorted it." The Doctor reassured. "Good man, Alex. Proud of ya."

"What, that's it?"

"Well, apart from making sure he eats his greens and getting him into a good school, yes." The Doctor replied and I nudged him.

"I don't think he's asking about child raising advice, Doctor."

Alex nodded. "Is he going to—I don't know—sprout another head or three eyes or something?"

"He's one of the Tenza, remember. He'll adapt perfectly now. Hey! Be whatever you want him to be." The Doctor said, gesturing to George behind Alex as we walked further down the hall; the Doctor pausing. "We might pop back around puberty, mind you. Always a funny time."

"Now then." He chirped happily once we were heading down to where Amy and Rory were undoubtedly waiting. "What do you want for breakfast, eh? A little chops and gravy, a nice bowl of cereal, or waffles? I know how you like those. With a little whipped cream and some cherry flavored jam, with the little chunks of cherries in it. Eh? Sound good to you?" He asked, nudging me lightly, but I had something bothering me.

"Doctor? Could we…" I hesitated, earning a slightly worried look from him as I tried to gather my courage. "I-I know I said I didn't want to… because of all of this mess, but… I-I just think… I just feel a bit…"

He stopped walking and we stood before the lift, him squeezing my hand in his in silent encouragement. So, I took a deep breath and let it out, quickly spouting out what I wanted to say.

"C-Can we try to have a kid?"

Immediately, I knew something was wrong. His face went pale and his shifted slightly, his grip on my hand loosening before tightening again. And I felt my heart sank, because I knew something was wrong.

"W-Was I not supposed to ask that yet o-or something?" I asked, worry creeping upon me, because that was the only option coming to mind as to why the Doctor would react this way.

"No. N-No, it's not that, it's just…" He swallowed thickly. "H-Have I not told you? My future self, I mean. Surely you've asked before?"

"Not that question, no. B-But… you said it was possible. T-That it would take time a-and we'd have to figure something out as far as our adventures and such. B-But I'm sure—"

"Alexander, I'm sorry." He said suddenly, making me frown in confusion, still very much worried.

"W-Why are you sorry?"

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, and I could feel the waves of sadness creep over me from him, confusing me further.

"Doctor? Why are you apologizing?"

"Because… we can't have children, Alex." He said, making me stiffen. "I ran some tests in the Tardis and ever since you mentioned it, we've been trying, but… I'm sorry. There's too many differences. I'm a full Time Lord, and you're… you're so unique, that it's just…"

"But you said…" I furrowed my brows, remembering what Twelve had said about the two of us trying before and how greatly his words contradicted Eleven's now.

But then I thought about it. Twelve wasn't known for his great memory, so it was possible he'd forgotten entirely about running the tests and the results of such. Or he could have just been saying that to protect me. I was too young to know or something and he just didn't want me hurt. But finding out now, like this? It hurt far more than I wanted it to. It was one thing to not want it and then be told it can't happen anyway, but it was another entirely to grow to want it, only to be told you can't have it. And it felt like a part of me just chipped away in that moment, the Doctor's hand squeezing mine, being what pulled me out of my own thoughts.

"I'm so sorry, Alexander. If there was anything, and I mean _anything_, I could do, I would, but—"

"N-No. It's fine." I said, taking in a shaky breath. "I'm fine. I had figured that… that it wouldn't work anyway. A-And it's better this way, right?" I asked, hoping he'd be able to reassure me better than my lame attempt to reassure myself. "No dirty diapers, no waking up at ridiculous times, no morning sickness, no labor pains, no worrying about whether they'll be safe or not, n-no having to find a babysitter." I chuckled, feeling tears threatening to clog my throat. "I-Imagine we got Jack or River to babysit. All the problems they'd cause. A-And this way we don't have to settle down. Y-You can keep traveling a-and I can come with you a-and we can just run away from e-e-everything—"

I was cut off as the Doctor pulled me to him tightly, my hands gripping the back of his tweed jacket as he apologized and my tears slipped onto the fabric.

"I'm sorry, Alexander. I'm so, so sorry."


	75. Asylum of the Daleks

**Hey, sorry it's so late, but technically it's still this week? heh, heh... heh... right. sorry. i've had a rough week. i'm barely getting my sleeping schedule back on track so i'm not taking three to five hour naps anymore. but my stomach's been bugging me all week and i did nearly pass out at work last monday... but i'm doing better! sort of.**

**anyway, here's the next chapter. sorry about the ending. i tried to end it on a slightly happier note, but it's tough after what alex was just told in the last chapter. hopefully you guys like it though! please review and let me know what you think. hopefully i'll be able to get the next chapter out before this next week is over, but no promises. And i haven't spell checked it yet, but i will do that as soon as i can. :) enjoy**

* * *

I knew something was wrong the moment I popped off. It hurt. _Far_ more than it should have and left me panting and curled up in a ball of pain on the ground wherever I'd shown up. It felt like something had tried to rip me in half and it took me a moment just to gather my bearings enough to open my eyes and hear past the ringing in my ears.

"Seer… acquired."

I scrunched my eyes shut, struggling to get up from off the ground, but I found it near impossible and felt my breath hitch as tears clogged my throat. _No, no, no. Don't do this. Now isn't the time for a break down._ I told myself, but that pent up emotion from being told having kids was impossible kept bubbling up. Any little thing felt like it could send me into a mess of tears and I hated it. Especially right now, when I had no idea what was going on other than myself having been somehow pulled away from popping off and to wherever I was now. _I n-need to focus. I could be in very serious trouble. Someone _else_ could be in trouble. So take a deep breath. Hold it… let it out… Again._ I followed my own instructions, calming myself down as best I could just in time for something to nudge me in the side and a voice I wish I'd never have to hear again, spoke.

"You will stand!"

_Daleks… Now is _not_ the time to throw me with the Daleks._ I mentally complained, struggling to get my arms under me as the Dalek prodded me again with its gun.

"Stand!"

"I'm… _working_ on it." I snapped, still slightly out of breath and in pain. "S-Stupid octopus… Let's see you… try to move after… whatever you just did to me."

I finally managed to get on my feet, but I sort of wobbled and grabbed onto the Dalek to support myself.

"Release me!"

"I would… but if you need me to go anywhere… then I suggest you let me lean on you for a bit." I grumbled, not pleased myself I needed help from the salt-shaker shaped alien.

It shuffled a bit, obviously not pleased either, but eventually began to roll away; leading me to wherever it wanted me to go.

"Where are we going?" I asked, after a number of twists and turns, beginning to get the feeling back in my legs again. "Why did you bring me here? And where is this place anyway?"

"You are on the Parliament of the Daleks!" It screeched and I furrowed my brows, the name not ringing any bells as far as what adventure I could be on.

_My memory is getting worse and worse._ I was soon able to push off the Dalek and we faced a door with two other Daleks guarding it; one rolling up and making me stiffen.

"Turn around."

"What for?" I demanded, cautious as a shiver of fear went up my spine; scars aching in remembrance.

"You are our enemy. You will be restrained upon entering the Parliament."

I frowned, but turned; allowing the Dalek to put some sort of heavy restraints on my wrists behind my back, before being turned back around and facing the door as it opened. As we did so, I could hear the Eleventh Doctor shouting.

"At long last, it's Christmas! Here I am!"

I was pushed out and I rolled my eyes at the Doctor standing out in the center of a _huge_ mass of Daleks with his arms out.

"Oh, put your arms down, you dunce." I complained, making him whirl around in surprise.

"Alex?! What are you doing here?!"

I raised a brow. "Why do you always sound so surprised to see me? Your later Tenth self was at least excited about me popping up, but with you, it's _always_ the questions." I drawled, earning a pout from the man as I went on. "And to answer your second question, I got here probably the same way you did, only mid-popping off. And let me tell you, it wasn't pleasant. And before you ask me what's going on, I have no idea. My memory's getting worse and I haven't had a chance to check my black book, if you haven't noticed." I said, turning so he could see the restraints on my wrists.

The Doctor frowned and turned to the Daleks. "Why are we here?"

"Save us. You will save us." The Dalek Prime Minister said, making even me turn in surprise.

"I'll what?"

"You will save the Daleks." Another Dalek said, before all the Daleks began chanting it.

"Well… this is new." The Doctor said, finally getting the Daleks to calm down as he tried to think.

I simply rolled my head on my shoulders, a bit uncomfortable with the silence even after being allowed to join a disgruntled Amy and Rory; one of which decided to take the role of narrator.

"What's he doing?" Rory asked.

"He's chosen the most defendable area in the room, counted all the Daleks, counted all the exits, and now he's calculating the exact distance we're standing apart and starting to worry. Oh, and look at him frowning now." Amy rattled on, making me snort as we watched the Doctor pace. "Something's wrong with Amy and Rory, and who's going to fix it?"

The Doctor's gaze turned to me then and I mentally shuffled, knowing that Amy and Rory weren't the only ones he was concerned about now. Then he reached up and adjusted his bow-tie.

"And he straightens his bow-tie." Amy drawled, before the Dalek Prime Minister spoke.

"We have arrived."

"Arrived where?" The Doctor questioned, eyes serious.

"Doctor."

The woman with a Dalek eyestalk in her forehead spoke. "The Prime Minister will speak with you now."

The Doctor approached her, discussing something too lowly for us to hear, before she gestured for him to approach the Prime Minister. Before they could discuss anything, she turned to me.

"You as well, Seer."

I blinked, a little surprised as Amy hummed.

"Ooh, special privileges."

I was a bit more hesitant, but approached the Prime Minister as well, a little comforted when the Doctor grabbed my hand behind my back; mentally nudging me playfully in an attempt to help my unease. _There's just _far_ too many of these Daleks around. Too many in one room with me. Doctor or not, regeneration or not, that stupid fear of them probably won't ever go away. It's like being claustrophobic. God, it's suffocating._ The Doctor squeezed my hand and I forced myself to take a deep breath, doing what I could to ignore the many Daleks around us and focus on the one in front of us first.

"Well?" The Doctor said.

"What do you know of the Dalek Asylum?"

A shiver went up my spine, the name ringing a bell in my mind, and not exactly a good one. _Oh, how I wish I could check my book._ The Doctor glanced at me briefly in worry, but turned back to the Dalek.

"According to legend, you have a dumping ground. A planet where you lock up all the Daleks that go wrong. The battle-scarred, the insane, the ones even you can't control. It's never made any sense to me."

"Why not?" The Prime Minister questioned.

"Because you'd just kill them."

"They won't." I muttered, making him turn to me as the Prime Minister eyed me as well. "Anthropologically, it's a part of their culture. Daleks find themselves creatures of purity. Pure hatred, sure, but to get rid of one of their own would probably be offensive to them. Corrupted or not, the Daleks in the Asylum are still pure hatred."

I winced at how that sounded, but I'd been looking into cultures of alien races lately on the Tardis and the way the Daleks functioned had caught my interest. _Though I did sort of just go all 'uncaring, logical, crazy person' on that._

"It is offensive to us to extinguish such divine hatred, as the Seer has said." The Prime Minister confirmed.

"Offensive…" The Doctor muttered and the Prime Minister seemed to tilt his head slightly.

"Does it surprise you to know the Daleks have a concept of beauty?"

"I thought you'd run out of ways to make me sick. Hello, again. You think hatred is beautiful." The Doctor said, speaking softly, but with a tone that made even me a little cautious.

"Perhaps that is why we have never been able to kill either of you." The Prime Minister countered and I felt the Doctor stiffen, causing _me_ to squeeze his hand this time; knowing that otherwise he might just get us all into a bit of trouble.

_The Oncoming Storm is rearing its head up. And right now, that's one of the last things we need when surrounded by Daleks._ A panel over by Amy and Rory opened up in the ground and we wandered over to see a planet below.

"The Asylum." The woman Dalek said. "It occupies the entire planet, right to the core."

"How many Daleks are in there?" The Doctor asked.

"A count has not been made. Millions, certainly."

"All still alive."

"It has to be assumed. The Asylum is fully automated. Supervision is not required."

"Armed?" Amy questioned.

"The Daleks are always armed."

"What color?" Rory asked, making everyone turn to him. "I'm sorry. There weren't any good questions left."

"This signal is being received from the very heart of the Asylum."

Carmen began to play over the speakers, making me close my eyes as I remembered who it was exactly who was listening to this down in the Asylum. _Oh, Clara. I'm sorry, soufflé girl. I'm sorry you had to be put in this predicament… excellent choice in music though. I definitely need to hang out with you more often._

"What is the noise? Explain. Explain." A Dalek demanded and the Doctor spoke up.

"Uh, it's me."

"Sorry, what?" Rory questioned.

"It's me, playing the triangle." The Doctor chuckled, before sonicking the control panel. "Okay, I got buried in the mix. Carmen. Lovely show." The Doctor rattled on as I turned my head slightly to speak over my shoulder to the Daleks behind me; still not having opened my eyes.

"It's music. From an opera on Earth. Someone's listening to it."

The Doctor nodded as I opened my eyes and looked down at the planet.

"Someone's transmitting it. Have you considered tracking back the signal and talking to them?... He asked the Daleks." He grumbled, doing it himself. "Hello? Hello, Carmen? Hello? Come in. Come in, Carmen."

"_Hello! Yes, yes, sorry. Do you read me?"_ A voice said over the speakers, making me smile a little as I imagined Clara's smiling face.

"Yes, reading you loud and clear." The Doctor said, making odd hand movements that made me raise a brow. "Identify yourself and report your status."

"_Hello. Are you real? Are you actually, properly, real?"_

The Doctor gave me an odd look, but I just grinned, making him smile a little too. "Yeah, confirmed. Actually, properly, real."

"_Oswin Oswald, junior entertainment officer, starship Alaska. Current status, crashed and shipwrecked somewhere not nice. Been here a year, rest of the crew… missing. Provisions good but keen to move on."_ She said in answer to the Doctor's question.

"A year? Are you okay? Are you under attack?"

"_Some local lifeforms. Been keeping them out."_

"Do you know what those lifeforms are?" The Doctor asked, concerned.

"_I know a Dalek when I hear one, yeah."_

I could tell the Doctor was starting to worry about her. Not because he knew her—which he didn't, not yet, anyway—and not because she was stuck on the Daleks Asylum, but because she was human. A human trapped for a year by herself on a ship full of alien beings trying to kill her. It would change anyone, really, so I understood why he was concerned.

"What have you been doing on your own against the Daleks for a year?"

"_Making soufflés?"_

He chuckled. "Soufflés? Against the Daleks?" He turned to a Dalek nearby with a smirk, before turning back to the control panel. "Where'd you get the milk?"

"This conversation is irrelevant." The Dalek said, cutting off communication with Oswin as the Doctor rounded on it angrily.

"No, it isn't." He snapped. "Because a starliner has crashed into your Asylum, and someone's got in. And if someone can get in, then everything can get out. A tsunami of insane Daleks. Even you don't want that."

"The Asylum must be cleansed." It said and the Doctor steadily grew angrier.

"Then why is it still here? You've enough firepower on this ship to blast it out of the sky."

The woman spoke, drawing his attention to her. "The Asylum forcefield is impenetrable."

"Turn it off."

"It can only be turned off from within the Asylum."

I snorted. "Well, whose smart idea was that?"

The Doctor's lips twitched up in a small smile at that as he tugged me back towards Amy and Rory.

"A small taskforce could sneak through a forcefield. Send in a couple of Daleks."

There was silence and realization dawned on him as he began applauding.

"Oh. Oh, that's good. That's brilliant. You're all too scared to go down there. Not one of you will go, so tell me. What do the Daleks do when they're too scared?"

I cleared my throat, making him look at me with a curious look, and I raised a brow. "Why do you think we're here?"

He frowned, opening his mouth and then closing it with a frown as a Dalek spoke up.

"The Predator of the Daleks will be deployed."

"You don't have a Predator, and even if you did, why would they turn off a forcefield for you?"

"Really, Doctor." I sighed. "I haven't even had a chance to look at my black book yet, and I'm already connecting the dots."

"Oh, you are a sassy Sue today, aren't you?" He complained with a wrinkle of his nose as the Prime Minister interrupted.

"You will do it because you will have no other means of escape."

"May I clarify?" The woman said upon seeing the Doctor's confused expression. "The Predator is the Dalek's word for you." She turned to me then. "As the Destroyer is their word for the Seer."

I frowned at that. _Good to know Davros still has hard feelings about the whole 'Destroyer of worlds' thing, though it's understandable. Genocide does kind of get you a bad name in most circumstances._ I mused sadly, brushing away the feeling as it started to dredge up other emotions that I had no time to deal with right at the moment.

"Me? Me?" The Doctor questioned and the woman and two others headed over to put a wristband on the four of us.

"You will need this. It will protect you from the nanocloud."

"The what? The nano-what?"

I sighed and gestured to my wrists. "Can I get these restraints off at least? Bit hard to keep the Doctor on task and out of trouble if I can't use my arms."

I was released and rubbed at my wrists, ignoring the black band they'd placed on me instead as the woman went on.

"The gravity beam will convey you close to the source of the transmission. You must find a way to deactivate the forcefield from there."

"You're going to fire me at a planet?" The Doctor stated in disbelief. "That's your plan? I get fired at a planet and expected to fix it."

"In fairness, that is slightly your M.O." Rory said and I hummed with a nod as the Doctor frowned.

"Don't be fair to the Daleks when they're firing me at a planet."

"Firing _us_, actually." I smiled as the Doctor turned to the Daleks in surprise.

"It is know the Doctor requires companions and the Destroyer."

"Oh, brilliant. Good oh!"

I snorted at Rory's _enthusiasm_. "Hey, least you don't have a scary Dalek nickname."

Amy snorted as well. "_They_ haven't seen you with a puppy."

I stuck my tongue out at her as the Doctor leaned in to us all.

"Don't worry. We'll get through this, I promise. Don't be scared." He turned to me then. "Alex, any hints?"

I quickly dug through my coat and pulled out my black book, skimming the episode quickly, know that I had an idea of where we were. "Hm, well, should I not end up with you, I'd say… hm…" I scratched the back of my head. "Don't trust the guy you meet. Don't trust the dead. Amy will be fine. Good luck with these two."

I gestured to Amy and Rory; Amy frowning.

"Oi!"

I ignored her and went on. "And trust in Oswin."

"Trust Oswin." He nodded. "Right."

I grabbed his arm, stopping him. "And be nice to her, Doctor. She's kind of like me in the way that she won't show she's scared until it's too overwhelming to hold back. She's not like Amy and Rory."

Amy gave me a look. "Scared? Who's scared?" She smirked at the Doctor then. "Geronimo."

The Doctor grinned with a laugh, before he was pushed with the rest of us soon being pushed as well. I tried to get Rory right side up while in the beam, hoping that the Doctor would be at least a little kinder to Clara now, but then we landed and everything went dark.

* * *

Rory twitched as something cold and wet landed on his cheek, reaching up and wiping it off with his hand as he tried to get his thoughts back in order and figure out what happened. The last thing he remembered was being up on the Dalek ship and then falling. When he finally managed to open his eyes and he saw the neon green goop on his fingers, he bolted up and looked around stiffly. He was surrounded by Daleks and he felt panic rise in his chest as he slowly moved to his feet. They didn't move or make any sign of noticing him, so he hesitantly approached one. Hesitantly, he reached out and touched it, yanking his hand back in fear of it waking up, but the Dalek didn't move, so he relaxed and pushed it back. The Dalek rolled away with no reaction, so he assumed they were all asleep and went about looking around.

He honestly wanted to know if he was alone or not, but feared calling out should the Daleks be… light sleepers, so he remained quiet and just searched the area for something productive to do; using his pen light to see better in the dark and dank area. Unbeknownst to him, Amy and the Doctor had met up with a man up on the surface; Harvey. The Doctor was cautious of the man, remembering Alex's warning, but he seemed nice enough.

"We came down two days ago. There's twelve of our escape pods. I don't know what happened to them." Harvey explained, opening up a hatch as the Doctor scraped away from of the snow to see the name painted on the side of the hull.

"Alaska? That's the same ship as soufflé girl." Amy commented and the Doctor nodded as they followed the man down into the pod.

"Yeah. Except she's been here a year." He said, feeling something in his stomach stirring restlessly.

Like he was missing something right in front of him. _Oh, if only Alex hadn't gotten separated from us. If I'm lucky, she's with Rory. Lord knows she can hold her own—Daleks or not—but I know how she feels about them and with these ones being unstable, I wish she was with me and not possibly getting into trouble._

"We should have some climbing rope long enough for that hole." Harvey said as he and Amy dropped down into the pod; him speaking of the hole that Rory had fallen into.

Spotting others in white suits, the Doctor grinned. "Won't you introduce us to your crew?"

"Ah, yes. Sorry Guys, this is the Doctor and Amy." Harvey introduced, though none of the figures acknowledge him or even moved; making suspicion grow in the Doctor. "Guys?"

The Doctor moved forward and touched one, pulling off the hood to reveal a corpse.

"Oh, my God." Harvey breathed out as the Doctor began to sonic the body.

"They're dead. All of them."

"That's not possible." Harvey said, confused and frightened. "I just spoke to them. Two hours ago. We were doing engine repairs."

_Alex might be right about this. 'Don't trust the man you meet. Don't trust the dead'._

"You're sure about that, are you? Because, I'm no anthropologist like my wife, but I'd say they've all been dead for a very long time."

"But they can't have been."

"Well, they didn't get in this state in two hours." Amy countered, eyeing the body in disgust and wondering how excited Alex would have been to see it.

_The weirdo always liked corpses._

"No, of course. Stupid me." Harvey said suddenly, bringing their attention to him.

"Of course what?"

"I died outside and the cold preserved my body. I forgot about dying." He said, head tilting and jerking as a Dalek eyestalk came out of his forehead; making the Doctor rush over and use the fire extinguisher on the man as he shouted.

"Amy, the door!"

Amy punched the button and opened a door; the Doctor pushing the man back into it before sealing it shut.

"Explain." Amy demanded. "That's what you're good at. How'd he get all Daleked?"

"Because he wasn't wearing one of these. Oh, ho, ho. That's clever." The Doctor complimented, trying to calm his hearts. "The nanocloud. Microorganisms that automatically process any organic matter, living or dead, into a Dalek puppet. Haha." He pat a body on the head, not realizing what he'd just said. Anything attacks this place, it automatically becomes part of the on-site security."

"Living or dead?" Amy questioned, catching on immediately.

"These wristbands protect us. The only thing stopping us going exactly the way he did—"

Amy cut him off. "Doctor, shut up! Living or dead?"

"Yes, exactly. Living or… or…" Realization dawned on him as well and he turned to see the corpses beginning to move. "…Dead. Oh dear."

The two began to fight their way through the walking dead, barely managing to make it to the cockpit after having to yank Amy's arm away from a number of them.

"Is it bad that I've really missed this?" Amy asked, grinning as she panted alongside the Doctor, who frowned.

"Yes."

"Good."

He smiled, unable to really stay mad at her. "I know."

"_Unauthorized personnel may not enter the cockpit."_ A voice called out and the Doctor rolled his eyes, knowing who it was.

"Shut up."

"_Oh, Mr. Grumpy. Bad combo. No sense of humor in that chin."_

The Doctor frowned at Alex's familiar nickname for him, but also at the jab Oswin made at his chin.

"Is that her again? Soufflé girl?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, she…" He paused, realizing he'd gotten distracted. "Oi, what is wrong with my chin?" He rubbed at it, eyeing the camera Oswin was seeing them through as he grumbled. "You and Alex. Always finding something. First the ears, then the bean pole body, now the chin."

"_Careful, dear. You'll put someone's eye out."_ Oswin joked. _"Scanning you. You're in another of the escape pods from the Alaska, right? Same ship I was on."_

The Doctor frowned, suspicious of Oswin as well, though for a whole different reason; despite what Alex said about trusting her.

"How can you hack everything? It should be impossible. You're in a crashed ship."

"_Long story. Is there a word for total screaming genius that sounds modest and a tiny bit sexy?"_ Oswin asked, making the Doctor grin.

"Doctor. You call me the Doctor."

"_See what you did there."_ She flirted back, before the Doctor realized what he was doing and bopped himself on the forehead.

"No, no, no. No flirting. Married. Very, _very_, married."

"_Check the floor."_ Oswin said, changing topics. _"I'm picking up a breach at floor level. There could be a way out. See you later."_

The Doctor quickly found a hatch down and grinned. "Ah-ha! Hatch. Looks like it's been used already and they've tried to block it off behind them."

"Can't imagine why." Amy said sarcastically.

"The lower part of the pod is buried, so this must go straight down to the Asylum."

"Where Rory is."

"Possible Alex as well. Speaking of Rory though, is there anything you want to tell me?" The Doctor asked, knowing something was up, but not wanting to be blunt about it should it be a sensitive subject.

"Are we going to do this now?" Amy grumbled, obviously not wanting to talk, but the Doctor was persistent.

"What happened?"

"Oh, stuff. You know. We split up. What can you do?" She shrugged, but the Doctor stopped and gave her a serious look.

"What can I do?"

She paused, having not expected that apparently, but soon frowned. "Nothing. It's not one of those things you can fix like you fix your bowtie." She said, tugging his bow-tie as he stared sadly at her. "Don't give me those big wet eyes, Raggedy Man. It's life. Just life. That thing that goes on when you're not there."

Begrudgingly, he dropped the topic as he opened the hatch to reveal a ladder hanging down below. _I won't give up though. There's something else to them splitting up and there's something on Alex's mind as well._

"Okay, so somebody else got out this way then." Amy concluded.

"Yeah. Let's go and find them." He said, before he heard the walking dead outside the door hitting it with something. "Oh, hello, hello, hello. What are they up to?"

He went over to a monitor and paled at what they were holding up.

"What's that?" Amy asked.

"One of these." He said, gesturing to his wristband. "But where did they get it?"

Amy lifted up her sleeve to reveal a bare wrist. "Doctor, they got it from me."

"Oh, Amy." He said sadly, making her worry.

"Doctor, what's going to happen to me? Seriously. Tell me what."

He hesitated as they began to head down.

"So tell me. What's going to happen to me? And don't lie. Because I know when you're lying to me and I will definitely fall on you." She said from above him.

He remembered what Alex said about Amy being fine, and he relaxed slightly as he took a deep breath and let it out.

"The air all around is full of micro-machines. Robots the size of molecules." He explained. "Nanogenes. Now that you're unprotected, you're being re-written."

"So, what happens? I get one of those things sticking out of my head?"

"Physical changes come later."

"What comes first? How does it start?"

"With your mind. Your feelings, your memories, and I'm sorry, but it's started already." He said, repeating himself from earlier.

"How do you know?"

"Because we've had this conversation four times."

"Okay. Scared now." Amy admitted as they reached a door.

The Doctor reached up and held her for a bit. "Hang on to scared. Scared isn't Dalek."

* * *

Rory walked around for a moment, assuming he was alone for now and approached a nearby Dalek. It was odd, seeing as it had a large crack in it, and he'd always wondered what was inside one, so he headed over and turned its head to get a better look.

"You idiot!" Someone hissed out from behind him, making him jump and very nearly scream as Alex smacked his lifted hand. "Why'd you touch it?!"

"W-Wha… But it's dead, isn't it?"

She simply pointed at it and he turned back to it to see its eyestalk turn back to its original position, making him swallow thickly as he took a hesitant step back.

"_That_ answer your question?" She whispered, stepping back herself. "It's not dead. Sleeping. H-Hibernating, if you would. And we just woke it and it's friends up."

There was a loud clanging of metal and Rory flinched, realizing he'd just knocked some scrap metal around on the floor and making the Dalek in front of them turn towards them.

"Eg-eg-eg-eg-eg-eggs."

"What? Sorry, what?" Rory questioned as Alex looked around for a way out.

"Eg-eg-eg-eg-eg-eggs." The Dalek repeated.

"Eggs? You mean those things?" He asked, gesturing to the round objects that were on the Dalek; some of which were missing.

"Egg."

"I don't… I don't know what you want." Rory said, confused, but remaining cautious. "Those things. Are those things eggs?"

"They're not eggs, Rory." Alex grumbled, still looking around in worry as the other Daleks shifted. "And if I didn't have the Doctor and you didn't have Amy, I'd so kiss you right now for giving the Dalek a chance and asking it an innocent question. But it's really trying to say—"

"Ex-ter-mi-nate." The Dalek interrupted and Rory's eyes widened as he dropped the golden orb he'd picked up and the other Daleks started to chant it as well.

"Exterminate. Exterminate."

Alex grabbed his arm just as a Dalek shot at them, barely missing him if she hadn't pulled him away and a voice spoke out from the intercom.

"_Run! The door at the end. Run for it! They're waking up, but they're slow. The door at the end. Just run. Now! Now! Now!"_

"You heard the woman!" Alex shouted, her and Rory dodging Dalek blasts as they scrambled to the door at the end of the hall. "Duck!"

She shoved Rory down and let out a short cry of pain that made him hesitate.

"Alex?! You alright?!"

"Go, you idiot! Don't worry about me and run!" She shouted at him and they both slid under the door as quickly as they could.

It closed behind them, giving them a chance to take a breather as a camera lit up down the hall they were in.

"_So, anyway. I'm Oswin. What do I call you two?"_

"Uh, I can't remember." Rory muttered, trying to get his mind to work. "Uh, Rory and this is, uh, Alex."

"Hello." Alex chimed out, wincing as she clutched at her shoulder.

"_Lovely name, Rory. First boy I veer fancied was called Rory. Actually, she was called Nina. I was going through a phase. Just flirting to keep you cheerful."_ Oswin said, making Alex chuckle and shake her head. _"You alright there, Alex? And is that short for something? Or are you just Alex?"_

"Alexander Holmes, is my full name, Oswin. And I'll be fine. Just a bit…" She cringed again as she shifted. "…_singed_."

"O-Oh man. Oh, man." Rory panicked a bit, peeling her hand away from her shoulder as he got a look. "Oh, the Doctor's going to kill me."

Alex's shoulder had been clipped by one of the Dalek blasts when she'd pushed him down apparently, and it had burnt her shoulder pretty badly; leaving it charred and black in some places.

"Oi! Don't poke at it, you nimrod!" Alex scolded him, smacking his hand away as he pulled a hand worriedly through his hair. "And it was my own fault, so I'll keep the Doctor off you, alright?"

He wasn't really listening though, trying to work things through in his head. "W-We need to clean it. Um, sanitize it, cover it. Oh, it's bad. Very, very bad."

Alex sighed, glaring at him. "It's not. Stop panicking, alright? Third degree burn, so what? Check my coat, see if there's anything in there that can help."

He nodded, helping her carefully out of her coat and leaving her in her white dress shirt as he searched through the pockets.

"A-All I can find is bandages." He said, holding up a roll and Alex nodded.

"Good enough for now. The Doctor can treat it later. We need it covered though, like you said. Alien planet and all that."

He nodded, shuffling in embarrassment. "U-Um, you're going to need to take off your shirt."

She nodded, starting on undoing the buttons, but paused, giving Rory a look. "I won't tell him if you don't."

Rory frantically shook his head. "N-Not a word! I-I'm being professional, but… I _really_ don't want him attacking me for seeing you without a shirt."

Alex smiled and after a few minutes, she was bandaged up and had her clothes back on; though she kept from moving her left arm too much.

"_Hey there, beakie boy and hot stuff."_

Alex smiled a little at that, though Rory wasn't pleased.

"If it's a straight choice, I prefer Nina."

"And if that's a joke on my little burn situation, not appreciated. Otherwise… well, please continue."

Oswin chuckled. _"Loving this. The Nose and the Chin. You two could fence."_

Alex snorted as Rory huffed.

"_There's a door behind you. In there, quickly."_ She said as a door opened up and the two ducked inside; it closing behind them. _"Okay, you're both safe for now. Pop your shirt off, quick as you like. That's you, beakie. I already got to see hot stuff shirtless."_

"Uh, why?" Rory asked, giving the snickering Alex a glare.

"_Does there have to be a reason?"_

* * *

The Doctor walked towards where Oswin's camera was, having ordered Amy to stay put and keep the door closed.

"Oswin, can you hear me?"

"_Hello, the Chin. I have visual on you."_ Oswin replied.

"Why don't I have a visual on you? Why can't I ever see you?" The Doctor questioned, that suspicion still resting in his gut after everything that's happened thus far.

"_Limited power, bad hair, take your pick. There's a door to your left. Open it."_

The Doctor did as she said, seeing a screen there.

"_I'm going to send you a map to that's screen. I put your little friends somewhere safe. I can get you to them."_

"Rory and Alex? You found them?"

"_I call the Nose, Nina. And Alex is hot stuff. You chose nicely. Personal things though. Hush now."_

The Doctor frowned at the nickname for Alex, but knowing that she was safe for now, relaxed him a bit.

"How many Daleks directly ahead of me right now?"

"_Ten? Twenty? Hard to say. Some of them are catatonic, but they do have firepower."_

"How do I get past them?" The Doctor asked, turning to check on Amy only to see her already heading into the room with Daleks. "Amy!"

"Sh." Amy shushed him. "It's okay. It's just people in here. It's just people." She said, obviously not in her right frame of mind.

"Amy, it's the nanocloud. It's altering your perception. Look again." He pushed, trying to remain calm. "Look again. Those aren't people."

Amy stiffened, finally seeing the mirage clear as the Daleks turned towards her and the Doctor reached out behind her.

"Amy, come out. Take my hand. Run. Run!"

They bolted back to the ladder, only to see it moving as the corpses from before began to lower themselves down.

"Nope! They're coming down!"

"Uh, oh yes. They are. Run." He repeated; them trying to find someplace to go only for a Dalek to roll down the hall; leaving them with only the small cupboard Oswin had opened up.

"Intruder. Intruder." The Dalek repeated, but there was no firing of its weapon and the Doctor stepped out to face it.

"It's damaged." He said, making Amy come out as well.

"Okay, but what do we do?"

An idea popped into the Doctor's head as he spoke to the Dalek.

"Identify me. Access your files. Who am I? Come on. Who's your daddy?"

"You are the Predator." The Dalek replied.

"Access your standing orders concerning the Predator."

"The Predator must be destroyed."

"And how are you going to do that, Dalek?" The Doctor questioned. "Without a gun you're a tricycle with a roof. How are you going to destroy me?"

An alarm went off on the Dalek as it answered.

"Self-destruct initiated."

The Doctor pulled out his sonic and opened the roof of its casing as Amy panicked a bit.

"What's it doing?"

"It's going to blow itself up, and I with it. Only weapon it's got left."

"Self-destruct cannot be countermanded." The Dalek told him, but he grinned.

"I'm not looking for a countermand, dear. I'm looking for reverse."

The Doctor stepped back and the Dalek began rolling backwards, struggling to change direction, but to no avail as it rolled back into the other Daleks and exploded.

* * *

I flinched with a cringe when the explosion happened, despite knowing it was going to. Rory turned to me in worry and I easily waved him off.

"Go. It's the Doctor and Amy. I'll wait here."

He hesitated. "You sure?"

I nodded. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. It's safe here anyway and you'll only be gone a second."

He bobbed his head and left, making me sigh as I leaned back against the wall. My shoulder didn't really hurt—which I chalked up to possible nerve damage—so I wasn't too concerned about that, but I knew I needed to have a short talk with Amy out of the hearing range of the two boys. _And to think, she gave Rory up because she couldn't give him what he wanted. And I… I can't either, but the Doctor's so kind. _I smiled a little, closing my eyes. _The dork would chase me down if I even thought about running off._ My smile faltered though. _But knowing that I can't have kids with him… with the one person I've ever cared about to this extent… The one person who made me _want_ to have kids…_ I took in a shaky breath, letting it out before I got up and started to pace; keeping myself busy and preventing me from thinking about the depressing thoughts any further. _Not until we're all safe. Not until I can spend some time to just think on my own and come to terms with it._

The Doctor came in then, carrying Amy and he laid her down on the teleport with Rory at his side as I watched.

"Will sleeping help her? Will it slow down the process?" Rory asked, looking at the Doctor before turning to me.

Before I could give him an answer though, Oswin spoke.

"_You'd better hope so, because pretty soon she's going to try and kill you."_

The Doctor frowned at her, but I turned to Rory with a small smile.

"She'll be fine, Rory, so long as you two remember what's important."

He frowned at the cryptic words, until Amy stirred with a groan.

"Amy."

"Ow." She complained.

"Still with us." The Doctor hummed as Rory whispered at her.

"Amy, it's me. Do you remember me?"

Amy slapped Rory and I couldn't help the small snort that escaped me as he rubbed his cheek.

"She remembers me."

"Same old Amy." The Doctor grinned.

"_Do you know how you make someone into a Dalek?" _Oswin asked us. _"Subtract love, add anger. Doesn't she seem a bit too angry to you?"_

"Well, somebody's never been to Scotland." Amy grumbled as the Doctor turned to the camera.

"What about you though, Oswin? How come you're okay?"

"_I mentioned the genius thing, yeah? Shielded in here."_ She answered him, though I frowned a little at the Doctor's uncertainty.

That is, until the camera tilted towards me a bit.

"_How you doing, hot stuff? Shoulder alright?"_

I brought my hand across my throat trying to shut her up, but it was too late and the Doctor turned around quickly and stormed over to me as I rolled my eyes with a groan.

"Shoulder? What is she talking about, Alexander? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." I said, frowning at him as he grabbed my lower arms and looked me over with a careful eye.

Rory though, quickly threw me under the bus. "She was, uh, hit in the shoulder by one of the Daleks. It just clipped her, but…" He swallowed under my glare holding his hands up in surrender as he shut up. "Right. I'll shut up now."

"Yeah, you better, or I might just go back on my promise earlier and sick him on you."

"Alexander." The Doctor said, voice low and I sighed, turning back to him.

"I'm _fine_. There's no point in worrying about it now when there's nothing we can do, is there?" I asked him, making him scowl. "Don't give me that look. You know I'm right. And Rory patched it up, so it's covered. I can't even feel it unless I move my arm too much, so why don't we focus on the problem ahead of us and worry about me when we're back on the Tardis and Amy is safe. Hm?"

He continued to frown, but begrudgingly gave in. "Alright. You're right, but I'm not happy about it."

I smiled a little. "You never are."

He wrinkled his nose. "Cheeky."

I gave him a quick peck. "You know it."

Amy cleared her throat then, giving us a look. "Yeah, still being Daleked over here."

"Don't wanna here is, Pond." I hummed, moving away from the Doctor. "Especially not with what you'll be doing later while the whole planet's blowing up."

"What?"

I winked, holding a finger to my lips. "Spoilers~"

She groaned as the Doctor turned to the camera once more.

"Now, this place. The Daleks said it was fully automated. Look at it. It's a wreck."

"_Well, I've had nearly a year to mess with them, and not a lot else to do."_

A junior entertainment manager hiding out in a wrecked ship, hacking the security systems of the most advanced warrior race the universe has ever seen. But you know what really gets me about you, Oswin? The soufflés. Where do you get the milk for the soufflés?" He asked, for the umpteenth time. "Seriously, is no one else wondering about that?"

"I would be, but I already know the answer." I hummed, Rory getting a bit annoyed.

"No, Doctor. Frankly, no."

"_So, Doctor." _Oswin said, not answering his question. _"I've been looking you up. You're all over the database. Why do the Daleks call you the Predator? You too, hot stuff. The Destroyer sounds a bit much for someone like you."_

I frowned, turning away and remembering Davros's shout as the Daleks were blown up so long ago.

"I'm not the Predator, I'm just a man with a plan. And Alex… Alex was only trying to help." The Doctor replied, moving over towards me and hugging me from behind.

He rested his chin on my uninjured shoulder as he let out a wave of calm over me, relaxing the tensed muscles I hadn't even realized were stiff from her words.

"_You've got a plan?"_ Oswin asked as Rory scoffed.

"That's all he is."

"There's a nose joke going, if someone wants to pick that one off." Amy said, making me chuckle as the Doctor kissed my cheek and moved to the transporter.

"I think you've got that one covered, Amy."

"In no particular order, we need to neutralise all the Daleks in this Asylum, rescue Oswin from the wreckage, escape from this planet and fix Amy and Rory's marriage, and get Alex's shoulder looked at."

"Okay, I'm counting three lost causes. Anyone else?" Amy said, making Rory frown.

"Oswin, there's a Dalek ship in orbit."

"_Yes. Got it on the sensors."_

"The Asylum has a forcefield. The Daleks upstairs are waiting for me to turn it off. Soon as I do, they'll burn this whole world and us with it. So, Oswin, my question is this. How fast can you drop the forcefield?"

"_Pretty fast, but why would I?"_

"Because this is a teleport. Am I right, Oswin?"

"_Yeah. Internal use only."_ She answered as the Doctor began fiddling with it.

"I can boost the power. Once the forcefield is down, I can use it to beam us right off this planet."

Rory spoke up then, not liking the sound of this plan. "You said when the forcefield is down, the Daleks will blow us up."

"Take a bit to blow up a planet, Rory." I mused. "We'll have some time, though not much."

The Doctor snapped his fingers at me. "What Alex said."

"Fine, we'll be quick." Amy said, still lost. "But where do we beam to?"

"The only place within range. The Dalek ship."

She looked at him in shock. "They'll exterminate us on the spot."

Rory gave him a look as well. "Ah, so this is the kind of escape plan where you survive about four seconds longer."

"What's wrong with four seconds? You can do loads in four seconds." The Doctor said, giving me a look that said to keep quiet about the Tardis being within range as well. "Oswin, how fast can you drop the forcefield?"

"_I can do it from here, as soon as you come and get me."_

"No, just drop the forcefield and come to us." He argued, but she was persistent.

"_There's enough power in that teleport for one go. Why would you wait for me?"_

"Why wouldn't I?" The Doctor countered, looking at me for help, but I just watched silently.

"_No idea. Never met you. And while I might trust hot stuff over there to wait, you're a totally different story. Sending you a map so you can come get me."_ Oswin said, making me coo a bit.

"Aw, she likes me."

"_You know it."_ She chirped back, before Rory interrupted.

"This place is crawling with Daleks."

"_Yeah. Kind of why I'm anxious to leave. Come up and see me sometime."_

Rory leaned over towards the Doctor, speaking quietly. "So, are we going to go get her?"

"I don't think that we have a choice. Okay, as soon as the forcefield is down the Daleks will attack. If it gets too explody-wody in here, you go without me, okay?" He said, handing Rory the controls for the teleport and turning to me. "And you stay out of trouble."

He kissed me deeply and I in return, before he pulled away and let out a soft sigh, pressing his forehead to mine briefly as Rory hesitantly spoke; the Doctor ducking under the teleport to work on some more wiring.

"What about Amy?"

"Keep her remembering." The Doctor said. "Keep her focused. That'll hold back the conversion."

"What do I do?" Amy asked him and he popped back up and turned to her. "You heard what Oswin said. They're subtracting love. Don't let them."

He bounded off and Rory gave me a look. "I'm surprised you're not chasing after him."

I smiled, beaming away innocently. "Oh, I will. Just need to have a quick chat with Amy. Go stand over there."

He frowned at where I waved, but begrudgingly did so as I sat beside Amy, who gave me an odd look.

"You're not going to try and fix things like the Doctor, are you?" She asked and I shook my head.

"No. No, I'm not. I just… want to know how you're doing."

"Well, you know how it is. Being all Daleked and whatnot."

I shook my head, turning to her and making sure Rory was out of earshot. "That's not what I mean, Amy. I know about Demon's Run. I know what they did to you and what's happened because of it, and I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I allowed that to happen to you, but there's nothing I can do now that will fix it except give you the support that you need. I…." I hesitated, knowing now that Amy didn't know about my own problem. "I-I understand how it feels."

She frowned, glaring at me as she hissed. "And how could you know what that feels like? You don't know anything about what this feels like!"

I double checked that Rory wasn't hearing us, before turning back to her with a sad smile.

"Amy, you're not the only one." I said, seeing her glare lighten up slightly as she grew confused. "I, um… I just sort of found out myself that the Doctor and I… because I'm a big mixture of Tardis and Time Lord and human, we can't…" I swallowed thickly, trying to get the words out of my suddenly tight throat. "I-I just found out this last trip that I-I-I can't have kids with him."

Immediately, her eyes softened as understanding dawned on her.

"My God, Alex. I'm… I'm so sorry."

I smiled a little, knowing she meant every word, but also knowing that no one's apologies could really fix either of our problems. "So am I. And I'm still trying to come to terms with it, but you… You've done something I could never do. You gave him up. You gave him up so he could be happy and maybe I might have done that ages ago, but it's impossible for me now." I shook my head. "The point is, I'm here if you want someone to talk to about it. I-I might not be the best talker—despite my ramblings—but I'm a good listener and I wouldn't mind a girl's night out, even if it's just a big sob fest."

Amy snorted, before reaching out and hugging me, making me cringe.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow! Shoulder! Watch the shoulder!" I complained and she let me go quickly.

"Sorry. I just… Thank you, Alex." She smiled. "I might just take you up on that offer, if I can get you away from the Doctor long enough."

I smiled at her in return. "Hey, if we've got the Tardis on our side, he'll have quite the hard time finding us."

She chuckled with a nod, before I got up and brushed myself off.

"Well, I better go after the moron before he gets himself into a pickle." I said, making Rory come on back. "You two behave. No more fighting, and if you're going to make up with each other, at least _try_ to wait until after the planet explodes before you two… well… you know."

I wrinkled my nose at them before bounding off, feeling a lot better now that I had someone that understood what was going on and how I felt about it. _Not that the Doctor isn't good at helping, but sometimes you just need someone who gets it without trying to coddle you the whole time. Speaking of coddle…_ My thoughts trailed off as I approached the intensive care section, worry stirring in me as I hoped Oswin was clever enough to have remembered to wipe _me_ from the Dalek's memory banks as well as the Doctor. I hesitantly entered the room, seeing Daleks rolling back to their little spaces and walking past them cautiously. Thankfully, none of them seemed to notice me and I let out a soft sigh of relief until I suddenly felt the Doctor's dread not too far ahead of me. _Oh, Clara. You impossible girl. I'm so sorry. _I was still cautious as I approached, making sure the Daleks on either side of me weren't paying any attention as I approached the room where the Doctor and Oswin were; staying just outside the open door.

"Oswin, we have a problem." The Doctor said, though I didn't care for the tone he was using with her.

"No, we don't. Don't even say that. Joined the Alaska to see the universe, ended up stuck in a shipwreck first time out. Rescue me, chin boy, and show me the stars."

I winced at those words, closing my eyes and trying to imagine Clara saying that and not the chained up Dalek before us.

"Does it look real to you?"

"Does what look real?" Oswin questioned.

"Where you are right now. Does it seem real?"

"It is real." She said, and even through the Dalek, I could hear her worry growing.

"It's a dream, Oswin. You dreamed it for yourself because the truth was too terrible."

There was a short pause, before she spoke again.

"Where am I?.. Where am I? Where am I?"

The Doctor ignored her question, approaching the Dalek and speaking in a sharp tone. "Because you are a Dalek."

"I am not a Dalek! I am not a Dalek! I'm human."

I did my best to stay quiet, because I needed to see this through. I didn't want to interrupt the Doctor speaking with her, because it was important that Oswin realized what had happened. That being said, I wasn't about to let him speak to her harshly and waited patiently for when he'd begin to get upset with her.

"You were human when you crashed here. It was you who climbed out of the pod. That was your ladder." The Doctor said, lightly touching the Dalek and looking it over.

"I'm… human." The Dalek said softly.

"Not any more. Because you're right. You're a genius and the Daleks need genius. They didn't just make you a puppet. They did a full conversion." He said and I bit my lip to keep from comforting her.

Comforting my Clara.

"Oswin, I am so sorry, but you are a _Dalek_. The milk, Oswin. The milk and the eggs for the soufflés. Where… Where did it all come from?" He asked her, trying to help her see.

"Eggs…" The Dalek said as the Doctor got harsher.

"It wasn't real. It was never real."

"Ex-ter-mi-nate." The Dalek said, the Doctor questioning her.

"Oswin?"

"Ex-ter-mi-nate. Exterminate. Exterminate! Exterminate!"

I heard the chains break and the Doctor's ever growing franticness, and I took my chance to slip into the room as the door closed; grabbing the Doctor and pulling him behind me as the Dalek approached.

"Alex?!"

I turned to him with a glare, shoving him back towards the wall away from the door. "_You_ are in a lot of trouble, so shut your mouth."

His mouth dropped open in shock as the Dalek approached me, before trying to interfere, but I gave him another look and he hesitantly stopped.

"I know what I'm doing." I snapped at him, before turning to the approaching Dalek.

The Dalek backed me up against the door and I felt fear send my hearts to panic as the plunger came into contact with my stomach, but I forced myself to stay calm, because this was Clara. This was my Clara. The Impossible Girl. And she would never hurt me.

"Oh, Oswin. I'm so sorry." I said as the cries of 'exterminate' turned into sobs. "I'm sorry you had to find out like this. I'm sorry you ended up in this mess to begin with, but I want you to know…" I reached out and held the Dalek's head in my hands, knowing she was in there somewhere. "You are the most amazing person I have ever met. More amazing than myself or the Doctor could ever be. Because I know why you're here and I know what you've sacrificed to get here and do what you're doing right now, and it is _amazing_. And I will always love you for it. Because you are _my_ Impossible Girl, no matter what the bone-headed Doctor says." I pressed my forehead to the Dalek, sending Oswin as much comfort and caring as I could. "Clara Oswin Oswald, you are _brilliant_."

"W-Why?" The Dalek asked as I pulled away. "Why do they hate you so much? They hate you both so much. Why?"

The Doctor hesitantly approached. "I fought them many, many times. And Alex… She's fought them as well, but she has also shown them kindness, and that is something they just don't understand and it scares them."

"They have grown stronger in fear of you."

The Doctor nodded, taking my hand as I fought to keep myself in check. "I know. I tried to stop."

Things grew quiet between us before she spoke again.

"Then run."

The Doctor blinked. "What did you say?"

"I've taken down the forcefield. The Daleks have begun their attack. Run!"

"Oswin, are you—"

I tugged the Doctor, making him stop as the Dalek spoke up, determined.

"I am Oswin Oswald. I fought the Daleks. I am your Impossible Girl, Alex. And I am human! Remember me."

"Thank you." The Doctor said, turning and trying to pull me along, but I smiled softly and he reluctantly hurried out as I turned back to the Dalek, approaching it as it raised its eyestalk to look at me.

"Thank you." It said and I shook my head, kissing the top of the eyestalk. "No, thank _you_, Clara. And I will _always_ remember you. So long as you don't tell the Doctor I just kissed you."

The Dalek let out a soft chuckle and I bobbed my head before running out after the Doctor; holding back tears for the Clara that I'd been unable to save yet again.

* * *

The Doctor hurried into where the teleporter was, myself a pace or two behind, and he quickly tried to get Amy and Rory's attention. Said couple were stuck in a lip-lock and were obviously preoccupied.

"Let's go. We're good. Let's go." He tried, but I rolled my eyes and grabbed the controller from Rory and handed it to the Doctor.

"They won't listen. Just do it."

He grinned, giving me a look that definitely said we were going to be enjoying ourselves a bit later as well and I turned a nice red shade as we teleported away. Upon landing in the Tardis, I knew the Doctor was going to have a bit of fun taunting the Daleks and I went ahead and relaxed a bit on the jump seat; doing my best to ignore the snogging couple not a few feet away. He soon returned though and promptly dropped the Ponds back off at home, before setting off again; dancing around the control room.

"Doctor who?!" He grinned, bouncing down the stairs towards me. "Doctor who?!" He flicked a switch on the console and grabbed my hand; pulling me up and spinning me around as well, before pressing me up against said console with a mischievous smirk. "Doctor _who_."

He kissed me passionately, growling low in his throat as a hand trailed up my shirt, only for me to wince when my injured shoulder bumped against the monitor that had spun around.

"Ngh, seems the Tardis doesn't like us playing on the console." I grumbled with a glare at the ceiling as the ship hummed in annoyance and the Doctor begrudgingly stopped his attack.

"Unfortunately, she is right about getting your shoulder checked out first." He hummed, still managing to sneak a number of kisses to my neck and he led me towards the med bay. "And perhaps you can tell me what it was that had Amy and Rory split up."

I stiffened a little at that and winced at the mistake of doing so; the Doctor having stopped what he was doing to eye me oddly.

"Alex? Is there something _you_ need to tell me?" He asked and I cringed, stepping away and starting to remove my shirt so he could get a look at my injury.

"Not… particularly." I answered him, _knowing_ he wasn't going to like that answer. "Amy and I kind of… sorted it out a bit."

"Hm, I'm not entirely convinced of that." He said, confirming my suspicions as he gingerly removed the bandages. "Why don't we start with Amy? I'm positive they didn't just split up because of the usual reasons."

"It's, uh… not really my story to tell." I said, cringing in pain when he got to the last strip that stuck to my wound a bit. "But you're right. It wasn't the usual reasons and they didn't technically split up, she just… gave him up… for a good reason."

"A reason you can't talk about." He concluded, taking the cap off of a rather _wicked_ looking needle.

"Uh… yeah. You're not going to stick that in me, are you?"

"Actually, yes. I need to numb the area and remove any dead tissue." He answered simply, smiling a bit when he saw my face pale and my eyes lock onto the needle. "I'm assuming you might need a distraction?"

I nodded frantically, gripping the sheets tightly. "Yeah, actually. Distraction sounds nice."

He chuckled, moving closer, but putting the hand with the needle behind me and out of sight as he leaned in seductively. "Distractions are my middle name."

I snorted at the cheesy line. "I thought your middle name was trouble?"

His smile suddenly dropped and turned serious. "Amy was upset about something. Something important to Rory and something that you're familiar with." He spouted out quickly, making my hearts beat away frantically.

"W-Wha—"

"Something upsetting to both of you. Something you're both going through that is personal. Not in the 'they're a couple' kind of way, but in the 'it's _her_ problem' kind of way. It's _your_ problem. A problem you're both having. Something more recent for you. Something you haven't had time to deal with yet because you just found out. That's why you're trying to hide it from me. But it's not going to work."

I winced as I felt the stupid needle go into my shoulder, giving him a glare at the impromptu attack as his eyes softened.

"Alex, I know it's bothering you, but I want to help."

I shook my head, already feeling the numbness come over my shoulder and left arm. "We've discussed this already and you've already said there's nothing either of us can do."

His brows furrowed, obviously trying to remember what it was we'd talked about that was this important, and he finally asked the fatal question.

"Where did you come from? Before you popped up here?"

"I was… with you and Amy and Rory and we were… looking into George's cupboard."

He mouthed the word 'cupboard' before it finally seemed to click and he turned to me sadly.

"Oh… Oh, Alexander, I'm so sorry."

I shook my head, waving with the only hand that functioned at the moment. "You've apologized enough already. It's not your fault. It's neither of our faults and… while I'm not happy about it, I know that it's probably for the best. The last thing we need to another life we have to constantly panic about, much less something we created."

I knew the words coming out of my mouth weren't what I wanted to say, but I was struggling to come to terms with it and if this helped, then I'd repeat them as much as I needed.

"We could… always adopt." He commented, working on my shoulder again; something I made sure _not_ to watch.

"I suppose." I said. "But it's… it's not the same, you know? It's not something the two of us created. It's not a piece of both of us. It won't have your floppy brown hair or your eyes. It won't have my nose or my laugh. It won't be… _ours_. Not that I'm against adopting, but… seeing a kid that you know you made with someone you love… Finally finding someone that you love enough that you would want to have kids with, and then seeing those kids running around, it's just… I had just hoped I could have that. I wanted to see a little Doctor running about the Tardis with a little me right behind him. And I hadn't, at first, but to find out that I can't once I finally decided that I wanted kids was a bit… hard."

The Doctor moved in front of me with a nod, eyes downcast as he began to bandage me up once more. I didn't want him to be upset though, just as I didn't want myself to continue dwelling on this so much. Sure, it was hard and I would haunt me for a long, long time, but I wanted to accept that this is what happened. I can't have kids. Period. The end. Story over. I knew it wasn't going to be that easy, but I needed to try and accept this fact. And I didn't want the Doctor to constantly be hurt about it as though it was his fault.

I leaned forward and kissed him, making him pause as I smiled a little.

"I'm accepting it, you know. Bit by bit. And I don't want you to be upset about it any more than I am. And right now, I'm not upset."

He smiled in return, kissing me lightly back as he finished with the bandages. "You're stronger than I remember."

I snorted. "Yeah, right. Got it from you, if anything."

"How old are you now?"

I shrugged. "Dunno. Had a birthday recently, but I'd have to double check my notebook if you want a number."

He frowned, bopping me on the nose as he assisted me in getting my shirt back on; since my other arm was still numb. "I need to work on that. You always know how old I am, but never the other way around."

That raised up a question that I was curious about.

"Have I stopped aging?" I asked and he raised a brow before pondering it.

"Hm, I would say you've slowed down, but not stopped. You probably age like Time Lords do."

"Oh." I wrinkled my nose then. "Ew, doesn't that mean I'm like three compared to you?"

He made a face. "Are you calling me old?"

I smirked, tugging him closer. "Hm, perhaps. You _have_ been having trouble keeping up with me lately."

He gapped at me in shock. "Oh, I have not! And I'll prove it!"

He scooped me up off of the bed and out of the med bay, making me laugh.

"This won't prove anything! I can't use my arm!"

"Then I'll just have to make things interesting." He laughed back, the two of us doing our best to move on.

_Together._


	76. The Waters of Mars

**So, so sorry this is so horribly late. I got distracted with lots of different things. A new Naruto fanfic i started reading (deja vu no jutsu by vixen tail) and a new TV show that my mother suggested (Blindspot) which gave me an idea of a new sherlock fanfic that i might never post. oh, and nearly passing out at work a second time (still have no idea what's going on with that). but here's the next chapter. i hope you enjoy it, though it is a bit rough on Alex, for obvious reasons.**

**and FYI! i did change a big thing in the 'End of Time Part 2' chapter (chapter 49). it's near the end where the doctor _didn't_ recognize future alex, but i changed it so that he does, since it was causing issues with later chapters. i'm still going through them though, so be prepared for more edits later when i get around to them.**

* * *

"State your name, rank, and intention." A woman demanded from the Doctor, who was eyeing the gun she had with a small frown.

"The Doctor. Doctor. Fun." He answered her as someone else ran into the room they were in.

_I suppose this is what I get for wandering onto Mars and taking a peek at a nicely built station. Alex would kill me if she were here._ He smiled a little at the thought, but then frowned as he remembered the gun aimed his way. _Then again, might be best if she wasn't. She's not too fond of guns._

"It's a man." The new guy breathed out. "A man on Mars. How?"

"He vas vearing dis ting." Another woman said, holding up the orange spacesuit he'd shown up in; her accent heavily Russian. "I have never seen anysing like it."

"What did mission control say?" The man asked, the Russian answering.

"They're out of range for ten hours vis da solar flares."

"You can cut the chatter, everyone." The woman with the gun said, but the Doctor rather liked it.

"Actually, chat's second on my list. The first being gun. Pointed at my head. Which then puts my head second and chat third, I think." The Doctor rattled, getting distracted. "Gun, head, chat, yeah. I hate lists. But you could hurt someone with that thing. Just put it down."

"Oh, you'd like that." She countered.

"Can you find me someone who wouldn't?"

The woman still wasn't convinced. "Why should I trust you?"

"Because I give you my word. And forty million miles away from home, my word is all you got."

The two had a stare down, before the door opened again and a familiar face stumbled in.

"Whoa, that last jump did _not _agree with me at all."

"Don't move!" The woman in front of the Doctor shouted, turning to aim the gun at Alex, who blinked in surprise.

"'m I interrupting?" She questioned, tossing a thumb over at the door behind her. "I can just go."

"Wait! Wait!" The Doctor shouted, seeing that Alex wasn't quite in the right frame of mind, judging by how she swayed and had to grab the wall nearby to keep from toppling over. "She's with me!"

"_What_?" The woman with the gun questioned as Alex spotted him and a grin came over her face.

"Doctor! I don't know _what_ you gave me for my shoulder, but _man_ did it make for an interesting night."

The Doctor turned beet red, giving the woman with the gun a desperate look and she rolled her eyes before allowing him to hurry to Alex and help her down to where he was.

"Alex, have you been drinking again?"

"What?" Alex furrowed her brows, being forced to lean on him as she waved her hand. "No, no. You said no drinking 'til the numbness wears off. I've been doing good."

The Doctor gave the gun-wielding woman an apologetic look. "Sorry about her. She's not usually like this. Honest."

"Are you telling me to trust her as well?" The woman questioned, obviously suspicious. "Someone who just showed up on my station?"

"She does that. Not her fault. It's a, uh… genetic disorder. Sort of… not really. It's hard to explain. But you can trust her!" He insisted. "She wouldn't hurt a fly if she can help it. And if we're lucky, whatever I gave her should wear off in a bit."

"Ten minutes!" Alex said loudly with a cheesy grin, making the Doctor smile as well.

"See? Ten minutes and she'll be back to normal. If not a bit grumpy."

The woman before them was hesitant, but turned to her team. "Keep Gadget covering them."

The robot behind them with a gun itself shuffled a bit. "Gadget, Gadget."

"Ooh! A robot!" Alex grinned, making to touch it if the Doctor hadn't tugged her back.

"Ah, best not, Alex." He turned to the man with robotic on him. "So you control that thing? Auto-glove response."

"You got it." The man said. "To the right."

He and the robot shifted.

"Gadget, Gadget."

"To the left."

And they turned the other way.

"It's a bit flimsy." The Doctor said with a wrinkle of his nose, but Alex smacked him on the arm.

"Be nice to the robot, you rude not-ginger."

"Oi! It's not my fault." He complained as the robot repeated its name again, making him frown. "Does it have to keep saying that?"

"I think it's funny." The man replied and the Doctor scowled.

"I hate funny robots."

Alex smacked him again with a frown, and the Doctor rolled his eyes before a voice came over the intercom.

"_Excuse me, boss. Computer log says we've got two extra people on site. How's that possible?_"

"Keep the Biodome closed." The 'boss' said. "And when using open comms, you call me Captain."

"_Yeah, but who is it?_"

The Captain disconnected the intercom and Alex frowned.

"That's not nice. She's just curious."

The Captain glared at the woman. "And it's not your call to make."

The Doctor could see a hint of Alex's temper and squeezed her arm to clam her down; knowing that she was beginning to get over whatever he'd given her. _Though I'm curious as to what exactly happened, but I'll have to ask later._ He noticed her start to frown though. One of those faces she makes when she's struggling to remember something important and he wondered if she'd recognized something.

"Alex?"

"Something's wrong." She muttered, drawing the Captain's attention to her.

"What's she going on about?"

Before the Doctor could attempt to explain, a man speaking up.

"They can't be a World State flight, because we'd know about it. Therefore, they've got to be one of the independents, yeah? Was it the Branson inheritance lot? They've talked about a Mars shot for years."

"Right, yes, okay. You got me." He said, not really caring about who they thought he was. "So, I'm the Doctor. This is my girlfriend Alex. And you are?"

"Oh, come on. We're the first off-world colonists in history." The Captain said. "Everyone on planet Earth knows who we are."

"Oh, why does that ring a bell?" Alex complained, grinding her knuckles against her temples before turning to the Captain. "Can I pace? Just back and forth for a bit."

The Captain gave her an odd look, but nodded and the Doctor felt worry grow in him as Alex began to pace. _She only paces when she needs to think. And she's already pulling out her notebook _and_ tugging at her hair, which means this won't be a good trip and—is that a blue streak?_ He shook his head of that thought, turning back to the Captain as her words had rang a bell in his mind too.

"You're the first?" He asked again. "The very first humans on Mars? Then this is—"

"Bowie Base One." He said together with her, shock dawning on him.

"Number one. Founded July 1st, 2058. Established Bowie Base One in the Gusev Crater." The Doctor remembered and article he'd seen about the expedition. "You've been here how long?"

"Seventeen months." The Captain answered, eyeing both him and Alex; who'd paled several shades at the mention of Mars.

"2059. It's 2059, right now." He remembered a number of other articles, listing off the crew members. "Oh! My head is so stupid. You're Captain Adelaide Brooke! And Ed! You're Deputy Edward Gold. Tarak Ital, MD. Nurse Yuri Kerenski. Senior Technician Steffi Ehrlich. Junior Technician Roman Groom. Geologist Mia Bennett. You're only twenty seven years old." He said, remembering how the articles stated that they all passed away in 2059 and how sad it was that Mia was still so young.

"As I said, Doctor." Adelaide interrupted him. "Everyone knows our names."

"Oh, and they'll never forget them." He said, knowing that something happened in 2059 to cause the station to explode. "What's the date? Today? What is it? Tell me the exact date."

"November 21st, 2059." Alex breathed out, making the Doctor turn to her in surprise and finally noticing how pale she'd become; realization dawning on him as well.

"Right… Okay, fine." He said softly; Steffi giving them an odd look.

"Is there somesing wrong?"

"What's so important about my age?" Mia also questioned.

"We should go." The Doctor said, looking around at them all again and taking Alex's hand. "We really should go. I'm sorry." He glanced briefly at Alex before turning back to them. "We're sorry, with all our hearts, but it's one of those very rare times when we've got no choice."

"_Doctor_." Alex said, warning him on how he should choose his words carefully and he gave her a glanced out of the corner of his eyes before heading back over to the group and shaking their hands.

"It's been an honor. Seriously, a very great honor to meet you all. The Martian pioneers." He pat Gadget's head. "Oh, thank you."

He then saluted Adelaide. "Thank you."

He headed for the door, but stopped with furrowed brows. "There's the other two, hold on."

"Doctor, we really should go." Alex insisted, but he brushed her off.

"Margaret Cain and Andrew Stone."

Ed went over to the intercom as Alex tugged on the Doctor's arm, trying to get him to go, but he was gazing at her in confusion; unsure why she was in such a hurry.

"Maggie, if you want to meet the only new human being that you're going to see in the next five years, better come take a look."

A roar came over the intercom and the Doctor's head snapped up as Alex closed her eyes with a sigh.

"What was that?" Mia asked.

"Oh, I really should go." The Doctor breathed out, seeing now why Alex was in such a rush to leave.

Something, or someone was going to drag him into this mess and she was trying to prevent that. _Whatever is about to happen is going to be bad then. _Very_, very bad._ He turned to Alex as she pinched the bridge of her nose; still trying to get over whatever he'd given her no doubt.

"Alex, how bad is it? One to ten?"

She looked up at him with a sadness that he hadn't seen from her in a _long_ while. "Ten for them. _Twenty_ for you."

A shiver went down his spine at that, him glancing up at the scrambling team of pioneers before him before glancing at the door, but Adelaide called out to him.

"Doctor, Alex, you two are with me."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. Um, we'd love to help, but we're leaving right now." The Doctor said, not wanting to get involved in this if he didn't have to; especially with Alex's prediction, but the way she phrased it bothered him.

_She said it like she knew I'm going to stay. And if I am, then I might as well get a good look at what I'm dealing with, but the way she's trying to get me to leave contradicts that. _He thought quickly, giving the anxious Alex a brief glance. _It's inevitable to her. She knows I'm going to stay but she doesn't want me to. She's going to try and do everything she can to get me out of here, to convince me to leave. So what should I do?_

"Take his spacesuit. Lock it up." Adelaide ordered, making the Doctor wince.

_That solves this problem._

Adelaide glared at him. "This started as soon as you two arrived, so you're not going anywhere except with me."

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck, sparing Alex an apologetic glance, but she shook her head; knowing it was going to end up like this and not blaming him; which let a load off his shoulders as they went with Adelaide, Tarak, and Gadget to the Biodome.

"What's so important about Mia's age?" Adelaide asked, making the Doctor wince as he remembered Alex's warning about watching what he said. "You said she's only twenty seven. Why does it matter? What did you mean?"

"Oh, I just open my mouth and words come out. They don't make much sense." The Doctor said as his cover, making Alex snort.

"Telling me." Tarak agreed, making him smile.

"Thank you, doctor."

"Any time, Doctor." He teased back, Gadget making his usual robotic repeat.

"I hate robots. Did I say?" The Doctor complained, earning yet another elbow to the ribs courtesy of Alex.

"_Yeah, and he's not too fond of you. What's wrong with robots?_"

"They've tried to kill us more than once?" Alex offered, but the Doctor frowned.

"It's not the robots. It's the people. Dressing them up and giving them silly voices. Like you're reducing them."

"_Yeah. Friend of mine, she made her domestic robot look like a dog._"

"Ah, well. Dogs. That's different."

"_But I adapted Gadget out of the worker drones. Those things are huge. They built this place when the shell was lowered down from orbit. They've got a strength capacity of fifteen tons."_

Adelaide had enough. "The channel is open for essential communications only."

"_Sorry. Love those drones._"

The Doctor changed the subject then, curious about something. "I've read all that stuff about you, Captain Adelaide. But one thing they never said. Was it worth it, the mission?"

"We've got excellent results from the soil analysis."

"No, but all of it. Because they say you sacrificed everything. Devoted your whole life to get here."

"It's been chaos back home. Forty long years. The climate, the ozone, the oil apocalypse. We almost reached extinction. Then to fly above that, to stand on a world with no smoke, where the only straight line is the sunlight? Yes. It's worth it."

"Ah. That's the Adelaide Brooke I always wanted to meet. The woman with starlight in her soul." The Doctor grinned, before Alex cleared her throat and gave him a pointed look, making him chuckle nervously. "Though I wouldn't give up Alex for the universe."

"Nice save, Spaceman." She said with a playful roll of her eyes.

"What happened to you, anyway?" He asked her. "You were a bit tipsy when you popped up."

She turned a nice shade of red, which only made him more curious.

"S-Stupid future you didn't mention that the numbing whatever he injected me with would act as a high dosage pain reliever as well; with physical activity speeding up that process."

The Doctor turned a dark shade of red as well, ignoring the snickering from the group around him.

"Y-Yes, well. I-I-I meant what happened for me to give you the numbing agent."

Alex pointed at her shoulder. "Skimmed by a weakened Dalek shot. Got third degree burns."

The Doctor's eyes widened. "And what the hell was I doing?!"

Alex gave him a look, one relaxed enough to know that she didn't blame him at all for what happened.

"We got separated. You were helping one person, I was helping the other. We met back up, scolded each other and moved on. Don't get your knickers in a twist, love."

He pouted, but she took his hand and made him lighten up a bit.

"I'm _fine_. We've got bigger problems here."

"Any hints?"

That caught Adelaide's attention and the Doctor immediately winced at Alex's glare. _I really need to work on watching my mouth._

"What do you mean, hints? Do you two know something about this?"

The Doctor was going to deny it, but Alex immediately blurted out everything.

"I'm psychic." She said quickly, giving no chance for the Doctor to come up with something else; not that Adelaide would believe what he said. "I know what's going to happen for the next twenty-four hours here and as much as I would like to stop all of it; it already started before I'd shown up. The most I can do now in order to not completely change the series of events and make my foreknowledge useless would be to drop hints here and there." She turned to the Doctor. "Hint number one. Don't touch the water and don't touch anyone who has." She paused. "In fact, don't get anywhere near them if you can help it. In this adventure, water kills."

Adelaide gave her a distrusting look, but then spotted something ahead of them.

"What's that?" They got closer and her eyes widened. "It's Maggie."

"Don't touch her!" The Doctor shouted, taking Alex's advice.

"I know the procedure." Tarak said, putting on gloves. "Maggie, can you hear me? It's Tarak. Maggie? It's okay. She's still breathing. She's alive." He informed them before calling out on his intercom. "Yuri, I've got Margaret Cain, head trauma. I need a full medpack."

"_I've got it. Medpack on its way._"

The Doctor eyed Margaret, before turning back to Alex, seeing how the woman was frowning and eyeing her as well; a sudden worry filling his gut. _I should have listened… I should have left._

* * *

I shuffled anxiously as Adelaide got off the comm with Mia and Steffi; being informed that the roar we heard earlier was still their comrade Andy. Immediately, she turned to me and I hid my anxiety behind a stern mask of no-nonsense indifference; knowing what was coming and knowing just how to deal with it after having dealt with the angry Rose-Tenth for years.

"What's happened to him? Did you do it?" Adelaide snapped. "You know what's going on, so tell us."

The Doctor took a protective step forward, but I placed a hand on his chest and faced the woman on my own. I wasn't going to have him around to protect me all the time, and even then, I wasn't one who wanted protecting.

"I gave you my hints. And if you follow them, then you'll be safer than you would have been otherwise. But I'm not going to just hand you everything you ask for. Life doesn't work like that. Just know that this started to happen before either the Doctor or I showed up. And if I change _anything_, it could cause everything else to change and nothing I tell you would help anymore. So if you want any help from me, then you better be patient, because I will help where I can, but not always. And as for Andy…" I paused, my stern gaze softening. "I'm sorry, but he's already gone. There's nothing more we can do for him."

She glared at me, but turned around and stomped into the Biodome, making me sigh as I recognized her anger. Not towards me, but towards herself and the situation. I had just told her that her comrade was dead, after all. It's any Captain's responsibility to look after their crew, much less someone who she probably considered a friend. And knowing that I had answers that I couldn't tell her only frustrated her more. She wanted something she could do to help, and I wasn't able to give that to her. And believe me. I knew how that felt better than anyone. Especially with this adventure. _Because there's nothing I can do. Even saving Tarak could prove far too risky. The Doctor _can't_ save everyone on this station. I can't even allow him to save the few that he does in the episode. Not the Captain anyway._

The lights came on overhead as the Doctor grinned, but I couldn't feel happy about this situation at all. _Is there anyone I _can_ save? If I save them and the Doctor helps everyone escape except Adelaide… I risk all of them having survivor's guilt. Being haunted by this for the rest of their lives. __**But they'll be safe. **_Another part of me argued and I winced at the headache forming just behind my eyes as I thought more and more about this. _If I save them, what will be changed? Adelaide needs to die in order for her daughter to push the rest of the world into exploring space. She knows that, which is why she commits suicide in the end. But do Tarak, Steffi, Mai, Ed, Yuri, and Roman have to? Steffi has two kids. Yuri has his brother. And who knows what Roman could do for future robotics. And the others… What… What would the Doctor do?__** He'd save everyone. **_I winced at that, knowing that that was _exactly_ what he tries to do in this and the consequences it leads him to.

But then I remembered '42'. I remembered all the people I saved from the angry sun and how happy the Doctor was. How happy I felt and how happy everyone else was. And then I remembered what Donna said back in Pompeii to the Doctor.

"_Just someone. Please. Not the whole town. Just save someone."_

I groaned and grabbed Tarak as he started to head off towards the South door.

"Stay."

"Excuse me?" He questioned as Adelaide frowned at me.

"Look." I said, doing what I could to keep my temper in check. "You wanted me to help, I'm helping. If you go down there to check the South door, you'll find Andy and he'll infect you too. So do me a favor, yeah? Prevent anymore deaths by turning us around and sealing this area off completely."

Adelaide ignored me, shoving past me with her flashlight at the ready. "I'm not leaving until we know what happened to Andy. I'll check the South door myself, if I have to."

"No!" I shouted, feeling panic welling up in me, because if Adelaide died now, who knows how that would change things.

_No one else might be able to blow up the station. Ed would take over as acting Captain and could blow me off entirely. The others could all turn against us. The whole _planet_ might get infected._

"Please." I begged, a hand on her arm stopping her. "I get it, okay? Being a psychic is more than a bit unbelievable, but I swear that if anyone goes over there alone, Andy will _kill_ them. And if he spots us before we do, we might _all_ die. I'm not just saying things for no reason, Adelaide! I'm not trying to undermine your authority on this station or whatever else you think I'm attempting to do. I just want to save lives! _Your_ lives!"

She stared down at me before glancing at the Doctor who was, no doubt, watching me with a sad gaze all his own—judging by his feelings brushing against my mind—before she finally pulled her arm out of my grip.

"Fine. We'll go together to check on that area and if we see him, we'll leave."

I let out a sigh of relief, struggling to ease the tension out of my shoulders as she walked off and we followed after her. The Doctor though, cuddled me up to his side and kissed the top of my head as he rubbed at my arm.

"Thank you." He muttered quietly and I nodded, being sure to give him a taste of my unease.

"We need to leave." I murmured back, catching his sorrowful gaze as he nodded; the both of us silently agreeing that if either of us stayed any longer, we could _both_ screw up any chance Earth had of making it out into the stars.

* * *

The Doctor could tell that Alex was more than anxious about this one and knew he needed to leave; judging by her constant repeating of that. But _damn_ his curiosity. He really wanted to know what this possible infection was that Alex had been talking about that was apparently in the water. But then he'd think about how everyone was supposed to die on this station and what sort of horrors Alex was dealing with since she knew _exactly_ what happened. It was obvious by what she'd done to help Tarak that she was more than troubled by what was going to happen and seeing her try to help despite that only made her more endearing in the Doctor's eyes. Problem was, she knew just as well as he did that this was a big fixed point as far as Earth's space exploration was concerned. Anything they did here could affect the entirety of Earth's future history. Already though, he was beginning to have mixed feelings about it. He didn't want anyone to die, but what could he do?

The group had already started walking towards the South door together, thanks to Alex's suggestion and persistence when dealing with Adelaide, but the Doctor could feel Alex's emotions coming off her in waves despite his hand holding tightly onto hers. Which brought up yet another factor to the ongoing debate in his mind. He didn't want Alex uncomfortable. Not to this extent. Not to mention she was already injured and he knew that whatever numbing pain medication he'd given her some point in his future would be wearing off soon. So right now, the factors that leaned towards the two of them leaving were outweighing the ones that said to stay.

"_This is Sickbay. We have a situation._" Yuri's voice came from over the intercom, making Alex stiffen and the Doctor turn to her in worry at her pale expression. "_Maggie's conditions has… I don't know. I don't know what it is. It's water, just pouring out._"

"Yuri, calm down. Just tell me what's happened to her." Adelaide said, eyeing Alex as well.

"_The skin is… sort of broken around the mouth. And she's exuding water. Like she's drowning._"

Adelaide frowned, before turning and making to head back, only for Alex to stop.

"Do you hear that?" She asked, making the Doctor stop as well and listen with a curious frown.

"Sounds like water."

Immediately, Alex grabbed his hand and yanked Tarak in front of them.

"Run! Now!"

Tarak, not knowing what else to do, did so and Alex quickly grabbed Adelaide along the way despite the woman's protests.

"Hey! What's going on?!"

"No time! Andy's close and if he gets any of us wet, we're more than screwed! Run for the airlock and seal it on maximum!"

Adelaide begrudgingly ran with them and they all ducked inside the airlock just as Andy—or what had been Andy—rounded the corner and caught sight of them.

"Seal it!" Alex shouted, yanking the door closed with the Doctor just as Andy stepped close and shot water at the door; just in time for Adelaide to seal the door.

Alex let out a shaky breath, leaning back into the Doctor with a pale face and tense shoulders as the group eyed the creature just outside their doors.

"_Captain, we need you back here_." Steffi said and Adelaide picked up the comm, eyeing Andy as well.

"Just tell me that Maggie is contained. Can you confirm, Ed?"

"_Confirmed. She's locked in._"

"Keep surveillance 'til I get back." Adelaide gave Alex a look. "And close down all water supplies. All pipes and outlets. Don't consume anything or even touch it. Not even something that has come into contact with it. Have you got that, everyone? That's an order. Don't touch the water. Not one drop."

The Doctor held Alex in worry, rubbing at her arms that felt rather cold to him.

"You alright?"

"Y-Yeah. Yeah, for now, anyway." She said, though he didn't like how pale she was.

"You sure? You look a bit pale."

She nodded, sort of absentmindedly as she turned to the creature outside as the Doctor began to ask questions.

"Can it talk?" He glanced briefly at Alex as she watched Andy cautiously. "Human beings are sixty percent water, which makes them the perfect host."

"What for?" Tarak asked. "An infection?"

"Don't know." Alex muttered, rubbing at her temples. "I don't think it's an infection. It's intelligent. Sentient water, maybe? This one can't talk. It's a basic drone, but the one in Maggie is different. More human, though I'm not sure why."

"And we're not staying to find out." The Doctor said, coming to a decision upon seeing how quickly Alex's condition was slowly deteriorating. "Whatever's started here, we can't see it to the end. We can't."

_She's getting more and more stressed. Possibly to the point of going into shock, if she's not careful. She's trying to work out too many things at once and it's too overwhelming. Even _I_ don't think I'd be able to handle whatever's going through her head for very long before I'd snap. And I'm already having trouble convincing myself to leave._ The Doctor turned to the door when Alex jumped; Andy shooting water at it.

"We need to go." Alex muttered, starting to already push him and the other's back.

"This thing's airtight, yeah?" The Doctor asked and Adelaide nodded.

"And therefore, watertight."

"It depends how clever the water is." He commented as there was a sudden bang and the control panel inside sparked.

"They're fusing the system."

"Abandon ship!" The Doctor called out; the four of them hurrying out of the small room and through the tunnel where Gadget was standing guard; just as Andy broke through the door.

Alex glanced back as the Doctor began working out some quick rewiring on Gadget.

"I saved us some time, but you've still gotta be quick, Doctor."

He nodded, before hopping onto Gadget and wincing. "Ooh, it'll be a tight squeeze, but I think we can do it. Everyone, hop on."

Tarak gave him a disbelieving look. "What?!"

"That thing goes at two miles an hour." Adelaide also complained, but Alex readily got on and hung onto the Doctor.

"Trust me when I say it'll do a lot more than that now. And if you want to make it out of here, this is the best chance you've got."

Begrudgingly, Adelaide and Tarak squeezed themselves on and grabbed a hold of the Doctor before he started up the robot and they zoomed quickly to the door with Andy on their tail.

"The Central Dome airlocks have got Hardinger seals. There's no way they can get in." Adelaide said, quickly punching in the code as Tarak, Alex, and the Doctor opened the door and rushed inside. The Doctor though, hurriedly waved over Gadget as well; surprising Adelaide.

"I thought you hated robots."

"I do." He said, shutting the door just in time for Andy to catch up.

"We're safe. It's hermetically sealed. They can't get in."

"From here." Alex said ominously, rubbing at her shoulder when the Doctor wasn't looking.

"Water is patient, Adelaide. Water just waits. It wears down the clifftops, the mountains, the whole of the world. Water always wins." He said with a bit of a snarl, before turning them away from the door. "Come on."

"Biodome tunnel is out of bounds." Adelaide announced to the rest of her team. "Andy is infected. Repeat, infected. Make no contact. And if he makes the slightest move, tell me. I'm going to the Medical dome. Tarak, head to the Command Center."

He nodded and headed off, before she set the comm down and turned to Alex; making the Doctor stiffen protectively.

"What would have happened?"

"What?" She questioned, rubbing at her head and giving away to the Doctor that she had a headache and would be irritable for a while.

"You prevented Tarak from going to the South door alone under the claim that he would become one of those… _things_. But then you said you saved time. What was supposed to happen?"

"Tarak would have gotten infected by Andy and we'd end up here. Same circumstances as what just happened except I saved Tarak, so there was only one infected person to take that door out. That's how I saved us some time. Otherwise they would have taken the door down together and would have been a lot closer than they were." Alex explained.

"And what happens next?"

She shook her head with a sigh. "It doesn't work like that. If I tell you what happens next, then you'll try to change things and everything else I say after that would be wrong because we changed something earlier on. The butterfly effect, you know? I can only give you hints and interfere here or there with somethings that will hopefully change very little."

"Like Tarak getting infected."

She nodded. "While it's nothing minor to him or you, in the whole of things, saving him didn't change much as far as how things progress here. The most I did was give everyone a few more minutes of time."

Adelaide nodded in understanding and the group grew quiet in a tensely silence until the Doctor chose to break the ice.

"Blimey, it's a distance. You could do with bikes in this place."

Adelaide smiled a little at that. "Every pound in weight equals three tons of fuel."

"Yeah, I know… but _bikes_." He insisted, making her shake her head a little as Alex rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

* * *

I grimaced as my head throbbed angrily at my continuous overthinking, doing what I could to keep my temper in check with the Captain as well as remaining as level-headed as possible in order to not appear as panicked as I felt. I knew that the Doctor was already catching on and I felt bad enough for that already, but adding my panicking on top of everyone else's with the situation they were dealing with wouldn't help anyone. _Doesn't help that I tend to project my feelings onto people anyway. Twelve has taught me some stuff to keep that in check, but even he says too much of one emotion would make it that much harder to control._ I glanced at Maggie as she spouted out water with a grin; taking a slight risk and trying to see if I could communicate mentally. She turned her attention to me when I did so—thankfully unnoticed by anyone yet—but her rampaging thoughts about water and Earth only made my headache worse as I pulled away with a grimace. _My shoulder's starting to hurt again too. The pain medication is rubbing off._

"Can she talk?" Adelaide asked; myself tuning into the conversation once more as I kept an eye on the Doctor for hints of what I knew would be the Time Lord Victorious.

_And I thought the Oncoming Storm was bad. Makes me wonder just how bad dealing with him now is going to be and what I can do with him against me on this._

"Maggie, can you hear me?" Adelaide tried. "Do you know who I am? Your commanding officer, Captain Adelaide Brooke. Can you tell me what happened?"

The Doctor said something in another language that I recognized from my time spent figuring out alien languages in the Tardis library, making Maggie turn to him in surprise.

"What language is that?" Ed asked, though I answered before the Doctor could.

"Ancient North Martian."

The Doctor gave me a slightly surprised look and I shrugged.

"I get bored when I have downtime. Started looking into different languages. And between you and the books, I've learned a few things."

"Good on ya." He grinned, ruffling my hair as Adelaide snorted.

"Don't be ridiculous."

"What?" I countered. "Never thought there'd be life on other planets?"

She didn't really have anything to say about that and even Ed slightly agreed with me.

"It's like she recognized it."

"And her eyes are different." The Doctor said. "They're clear. Like she's more human."

"Not close enough for me." Ed grumbled, though Adelaide turned to me looking a bit stunned.

"You said that before. That Maggie was a bit more human."

I nodded with a wave. "Psychic. Hello."

The others in the room gave me a look at that, but the Doctor quickly got things back on topic.

"Where do you get your water from?"

"The ice field. That's why we chose the crater. We're on top of an underground glacier."

"Tons of water. Marvelous." The Doctor muttered as Yuri tried to argue the point.

"But every single drop is filtered. It's screened. It's safe."

"Looks like it, yeah." The Doctor said sarcastically, nodding towards Maggie, before Adelaide turned to me.

"Alright, Miss Psychic. What caused this then, if you know so much? And when did it start?"

I sighed, thinking back to what I read over in my notebook. "Started when Andy bit into a carrot he washed with the water. No one else has been infected other than him and Maggie, so no need to worry about hidden monsters in your pals. As for what caused it, Andy went to replace a filter, but the replacements were the wrong size. Your newest batch of water is unfiltered."

The Doctor groaned. "A _filter_. That's all it took. One tiny filter."

"Well, what does it want?"

"Earth, in a nutshell." I shrugged as the Doctor nodded, gesturing to Maggie.

"Look at her mouth. All blackened, like there's some sort of fission. This thing, whatever it is, doesn't just hide in water, it _creates_ water."

"She wanted Earth. A world full of water." Yuri breathed out, connecting the dots as Ed called the Captain away.

They weren't exactly whispering, but the Doctor headed closer while I just let out a tired sigh and rubbed at my eyes. Even Yuri was getting worried though and gave me a once over,

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" I grumbled. "I'm fine. Have a headache and am a bit sore, but I'll be fine."

"You just look a bit pale, is all. If you need anything, just ask. I'd be more than willing to help ya out if I can."

"Thanks, Yuri. But I doubt you have any whiskey on you."

He chuckled at that. "No, sorry."

"Soda?" I asked and he shook his head.

"Not even that, no."

I groaned. "You people and your disgusting space station food. It's worse than hospital food, I tell ya."

He laughed a little more, before Adelaide began announcing on the comms what was going to happen next.

"This is Captain Brooke. I'm declaring Action One. Repeat to all crewmembers, this is Action One with immediate effect. Evacuate the base."

He scurried around the room, getting things prepped as the Doctor came over to me and tucked me into his side as we watched.

"Steffi, what's your estimate on shuttle viability?"

"_It's a nine month flight. It'll take us at least three hours to load up everything we need._"

"You've got twenty minutes. And give me a report on Andy."

"_Still in the Biodome tunnel. He's just standing there. Like he's waiting._"

"Keep an eye on them. And make that twenty minutes fifteen." She said, turning to Ed. "Ed, line up the shuttle. Go straight to ignition status."

I winced, knowing that I could save Ed now by demanding he didn't go, but also knowing that if I tried, it was quite possible no one would listen. Not only because I wasn't the Captain and claimed I was psychic, but because that rocket was their only hope at getting off this place without the Doctor. And if I saved him now, then that would only mean another person possibly dying later if I screwed up. I bit the inside of my cheek, tasting iron, before begrudgingly keeping my mouth shut. Telling them about this would mean the Doctor would stay. And he can't do that if I'm to prevent a disaster.

The group of us left the Sickbay, making me realize I'd saved us even more time by mentioning what exactly had caused this mess as well as the fact that only two people were infected, but the moment we were hurrying to the command center, I could feel the guilt eating away at me. I actually felt physically sick by the time we reached the command center. _ Changed too much. The Doctor doesn't know about Adelaide's survival story. Ed is still going to die because I'm trying to help one person who means more to me than he does. I saved Tarak, but for how much longer? And I still have to fight with the Doctor in the hopes that I can make him leave _without_ becoming the Time Lord Victorious._ I winced at the thought, grabbing my stomach and taking a seat in a chair nearby as everyone scrambled around. _No, I can't even do that. He needs to become the Time Lord Victorious. He needs to learn that he's not the one who makes these decisions and he needs to come back and save _someone_. But it can't be Adelaide. No, it _has_ to be Adelaide, but I have to somehow stop her suicide? O-Or take her back here? Or can we leave her? Will she be okay with that? I-I don't… There's too many… I can't…How am I supposed to do this?_

I jumped when someone touched me; making my shoulder flare up in pain as I faced Yuri, who was holding one of their spacesuits. He looked far more worried for me now than before and I immediately knew I must be paler than a sheet, but the man was kind enough not to say anything about it as he handed over the spacesuit.

"The Captain says you're both free to go. The Doctor just wanted to make sure you had a suit before you left."

"O-Oh. Thanks, Yuri."

He nodded and I turned to the Doctor to see him looking crushed as I silently headed over that way to overhear the last part of his conversation with Adelaide.

"I'm saving my people, you save yourself. I know what this moment is. It's the moment we escape. Now get out."

She went off to deal with her comrades and the Doctor just stood there for a bit, watching them as I hesitantly hoped I didn't screw everything up by skipping over their conversation that should have happened over the crater.

"Did she… tell you about the Daleks?"

He nodded, staying silent as I pulled on the spacesuit and pressed further.

"And… you told her about her daughter…"

"I did." He answered, making me a little relieved, but I knew I couldn't be.

Not with the alarm sounding underneath everyone's chatter. It wasn't long before Adelaide spoke up and shut everyone up to find out that Andy was on the roof. Adelaide was quick to take control though, getting everyone back on task with Roman watching the roof for any signs of water. The Doctor took a moment more to watch, before heading into the airlock and pulling on his space suit silently. And it didn't take a genius to know that he wasn't happy about leaving. Nor was he too happy with me. Prepped to go out, the Doctor pushed the button, but our access was denied and he waited to hear why as Adelaide spoke over the comms.

"_Tell me what happens._"

"You should be with the others." The Doctor said, but Adelaide was persistent.

"_Tell me!_" She snapped, before delivering the threat. "_I could ramp up the pressure in that airlock and crush you both._"

"Except you won't." The Doctor replied, turning to the screen, though not giving his reason why like he would have before because I prevented their encounter with Andy.

Thankfully, he continued, because this was a conversation that I wouldn't be able to have with the woman.

"Imagine… Imagine you knew something… Imagine you found yourself somewhere. I don't know, Pompeii." He said, and I grabbed his hand to give him some sort of comfort for that day he'd experienced; only to wince when he pulled away. "Imagine you were in Pompeii."

"_What the hell's that got to do with it?_"

"And you tried to save them." The Doctor continued. "But in doing so, you make it happen. Anything I do… just makes it happen."

My hearts ached for the Doctor, but he was upset with me and I knew that he wouldn't let me comfort him. Not on this adventure.

"You're taking Action One. There are four more standard action procedures. And Action Five is?"

"_Detonation._"

"The final option. The nuclear device at the heart of the Central Dome. Today, on the twenty first of November 2059, Captain Brooke activates that device, taking the base and all her crew members with her. No one ever knows why. But you were saving Earth. That's what inspires your granddaughter. She takes your people out into the galaxy because you die on Mars. You die today... She flies out there like she's trying to meet you."

"_I won't die. I will not._" Adelaide insisted.

"But your death creates the future."

"_Help me. Why won't you help, Doctor? If you two know all of this, why can't you change it?_"

"I can't." He said, not including me in the mix because he was already starting to blame me.

I knew more than he did about all of this. I knew better how things would turn out and though I had saved Tarak, even he knew that it was a wasted effort. It didn't matter in the end.

"_Why can't you find a way? You could tell me, I don't know._"

"I'm sorry, but I can't. Sometimes I can, sometimes I do. Most times I can save someone, or anyone. But not you. You wondered all your life why that Dalek spared you. I think it knew. Your death is fixed in time forever. And that's right."

"_You'll both die here too._" Adelaide threatened, but the Doctor shook his head.

"No."

"_What's going to save you?_"

"Captain Adelaide Brooke."

There was a pause, before the door unlocked.

"_Damn you._" She cursed.

"Captain." I spoke up. "Don't make Steffi go back. And take Section A around. Section B will be blocked. Don't let Roman look at the ceiling. Keep him in front somewhere. And forgive Ed before bunkering down in Section F… I'm sorry."

"_Why are you telling me this now?_" She demanded. "_Why try to help us now when there's no point?_"

"Because." I said simply, giving the screen a sorrowful look. "Because I know apologies won't ever cover what's going to happen to you."

We could hear Roman shouting about water now and Adelaide running out of the room she'd been in as the Doctor and I slowly headed out to the Tardis. I knew what he was doing though and I clenched my eyes shut.

"Turn it off." I told him, but he ignored me.

I waited a bit longer before repeating myself, louder this time.

"Doctor, turn it _off_."

The noise of the rocket prepping downed out any answer he may have given me, but I could _feel_ his pain from where I was standing and—on top of everything else I was feeling—I felt like I was drowning. Before I could repeat it again though, the shuttle exploded and knocked us both off our feet. I grimaced in pain as something hit my already injured shoulder. I pushed myself up though, seeing the Doctor start to stand and staring at the destruction and knowing exactly what was going through his head as I forced myself to stand and moved in front of him.

"Doctor, you _can't_."

His angry eyes turned to me, though even after years of dealing with the Oncoming Storm aimed my way, it still hurt to see the man I cared for look at me the way he was now.

"Why not? Why can't I?! You do it all the time! You save everyone while I just stand back and watch! But no more! I'm saving them, Alex!"

He tried to move, but I shoved him back, just as frustrated as he was.

"No! You don't understand! This is a fixed point! If I could have saved them I would have, but we just _can't_ with this one and you know it! There's reasons why laws are put in place—"

"With only myself to enforce them and I say no more!" He shouted, but I persisted.

"You don't get to make that decision! No one does! Those laws weren't made for one man to govern! They were meant to keep the universe as a whole safe! If you change a fixed point, there will be consequences!"

"You do it constantly! What gives you the right to save lives while I'm forced to sit back and watch?!" He shouted, grabbing my wrist painfully.

"Because I try to look at every possible consequence of my actions! Every single one! I attempt to judge their character by their actions in the hopes that I didn't just save someone who could do horrible things! I look at every possible way that a situation could go horribly wrong by doing what I do and I try my hardest to make sure there won't be consequences, but you can't _do _that with a fixed point! It's not possible! I _tried_!"

"Then you weren't doing it right!" He shouted in return, throwing me aside and storming back towards the station as I grimaced and knew I had a decision to make.

_He's not listening. He's going to go back and try to save all of them. He needs to get the Tardis there using Gadget because that's his last shot. But I don't know if my warnings to Adelaide went through. If she listened, there might not be enough time to get all of them into the Tardis before the station explodes. I need to do something, and _fast_. _I pushed myself up onto my feet and turned towards my goal, taking off and running as fast as I could in the bulky spacesuit, hoping that I would make it in time.

* * *

The Doctor stormed into the Mars station with a fury he hadn't felt in ages as he tossed a canister of sealant at Mia and set his helmet down.

"Mia, take this sealant, fix that leak. Yuri, open emergency oxygen. Adelaide, don't just sit there. That's better. The Dome's still got integrity! It's ten feet of steel-combination, made in Liverpool. Magnificent workmanship."

"It can't be stopped. Don't die with us." Adelaide tried to stop him, but he grinned.

"No, because someone told me just recently. They said I was going to die. They said he will knock four times, and I think I know what that means, and it doesn't mean right here, right now, because I don't hear anyone knocking, do you?"

Andy knocked on the door of the section three times, before the Doctor frowned.

"Three knocks is all you're getting." He said, before punching in a code and electrocuting the door. "Water and electricity, bad mix. Now then, what else have we got?"

"But there's no way to fight them." Adelaide said, almost trying to stop him.

But he just kept going, especially upon seeing Roman and Steffi still with them

"Heat! They use water, so we can use heat. Works against the Ice Warriors, works against the Flood. Ramp up the environment controls and steam them."

"But you said we die." Adelaide argued as the station shook and the Doctor ran around trying to work controls. "For the future. For the human race."

"Yes, because there are laws. There are Laws of Time. Once upon a time there were people in charge of those laws, but they died. They all died. Do you know who that leaves? Me! It's taken me all these years to realize the Laws of Time are mine, and they will obey me!"

A blast knocked him off his feet and knocked his helmet to the ground as alarms went off and Adelaide checked the controls.

"Environment controls are down. Sorry, Doctor. It looks like history's got other ideas."

"I'm not beaten yet. I'll go outside, find the heat regulator." He stopped upon seeing his broken helmet. "Not beaten. Not beaten! You've got spacesuits in the next section."

He rushed to the next section, only to see water pouring down and turning him back around.

"We're not just fighting the Flood, we're fighting time itself. And I'm going to win!" He shouted, but even Adelaide was beginning to see it as hopeless endeavors.

"Something is happening to the glacier!" Yuri called out from his monitor as the Doctor messed up his hair.

"Think-a think-a think-a think. What have we got? Not enough oxygen. Protein packs, useless. Glacier, glacier mints, minty, Monty, molto bene, bunny, bonny, bish bash bosh. Argh. The room, the room, look at the room. Section F. What's in Section F? Anyone!"

"Nothing. It's just storage." Yuri said.

"Storing what?"

"I don't know. Uh, the weather spikes, the atom clamps."

"Gadget!" Roman called out. "I put Gadget in here just before we were going to leave!"

"Ah-ha! Perfect!"

The Doctor began setting up Gadget but Adelaide had seen enough and pressed a button on the control panel behind her, starting up the final countdown.

"Adelaide? What are you doing?"

"Oh my God. Action Five." Mia breathed out, making the Doctor growl.

"If I have to fight you as well, then I will."

The Doctor sonicked his controls for Gadget and sent the robot outside quickly towards the Tardis. Problem was, when Gadget reached where the Tardis should've have been, the ship was gone, making the Doctor's face fall.

"No… No, no, no. Why isn't it there? I parked it there!"

Suddenly, the sound of the Tardis started up and the blue ship appeared before the group of stunned people; Alex stepping out and glaring heatedly at the Doctor, before turning to everyone else.

"You lot, in. _Now._"

Mia helped Yuri up with Roman's help, dragging the half-conscious man into the ship as Steffi assisted Adelaide; only for Alex to stop them and send Steffi inside before turning to the Captain.

"Do you want to stay?"

"Alex, don't you _dare_." The Doctor growled, but Alex snarled in return.

"You shut the hell up, because this is not your decision to make! It's not your life, it's hers and I won't _ever_ let you take that choice from anyone. Got it?!"

Even he hesitated at that and Adelaide looked down before determinedly look back at Alex.

"I think you already know my answer."

Alex nodded solemnly and grabbed the Doctor; not giving him much of a chance to struggle as she twisted his arm around his back and pushed him into the Tardis in a more painful manner and allowing him to trip on the stairs and fall on his face as she turned and gave the Captain a salute.

"Thank you, and I'm so sorry."

She shook her head, gracing the blue-streaked blonde woman with a smile. "No, thank you. He needs you."

"More than he knows." Alex answered back, closing the door and moving towards the console as the Doctor scrambled up and rushed for them.

Alex flipped a switch though, locking them and starting up the ship despite the Doctor's angry shouts behind her.

"No! No! What are you doing?!"

She sent them away though, not taking her eyes off the Tardis console until the ship landed and she turned to the still stunned crew members.

"I'm sorry, about your Captain, but I gave her a choice and she chose to stay."

"But… why?" Roman asked; the Doctor suddenly quiet as he stood silently at the doors.

"Because this whole event was a fixed point in time." Alex explained. "It is thanks to Adelaide's death on Mars that her granddaughter was inspired to go into space and keep Earth's space travel going. Without her sacrifice, the Earth would be hundreds, if not thousands of years behind. This was a critical point that changed Earth's future and unfortunately, Adelaide would have to die on Mars in order for it to happen."

"She gave up her life… for the future."

Alex shook her head sadly. "No. She gave up her life for her _granddaughter's_ future."

The group had a moment of silence for the woman before Alex gestured to the door.

"We're in Britain. Twenty-first of November 2059. The same day. It's snowing, so there may not be too many cabs around, but I placed us close to a subway. And I'm sorry if this was a bit overwhelming for you all, but I didn't have much of choice." Alex said, glancing up and taking in Mia's pale complexion. "Take care of each other. And make sure someone out there knows the truth of what happened on Mars. I'm sure Adelaide would appreciate it."

The group nodded, slowly shuffling past the Doctor and out into the snowy world before Alex started up the ship again and landed her elsewhere. She stepped away from the controls then and walked to the door.

"Doctor, there's something I want to show you."

He said nothing, following her deftly out the door and onto yet another snowy street; immediately recognizing Adelaide's home and scowling.

"Why? Why did you bring me here? To rub it in my face?"

Alex shook her head, eyes sad. "My predictions aren't really predictions. They're just what I saw in a TV show."

"So what?" He snapped at her.

"In my show, this episode is called The Waters of Mars'. And in it, everyone but Mia and Yuri die. Steffi, Ed, Andy, Maggie, and Roman are all infected and the Time Lord Victorious saves Adelaide, Mia, and Yuri from the destruction of the station."

"I could have _saved_ her."

"No. Because you bring them back here. Mia is traumatized and runs away with poor Yuri forced to trail after her in the attempt to help her through the shock. They don't tell the truth of what happened on Mars until _months_ after the fact." Alex pauses before continuing. "And Adelaide speaks with you once they rush off. She understood better than you do what the consequences of your actions could be. And she tries to tell you. Tries to tell you that no one should have that much power. That you should have left them there. That it's not your right to declare what is little and what is important. But she said something that caught my attention." Alex moved to stand in front of the Doctor, not caring about the hateful glare he cast her way. "She said you had no one to stop you."

"So what? You're here to stop me and now she's _dead_." He snapped angrily. "I would have saved her! She could have had a life!"

Alex shook her head. "No, because she would have walked into her home and shot herself."

The Doctor's eyes widened abruptly. "W-What?"

"Adelaide Brooke would have stopped you the only way she knew how, by giving up her life to prove to you that what you were doing was wrong. And you got lucky in that episode. The only thing that changed was that she died on Earth. Her granddaughter still went up to space thanks to the truth told by Mia and Yuri. And you were lucky, because her suicide could have been taken as something shameful. You could have rewrote the entire history of Earth because you suddenly thought you were better than the law. But the Time Lord Victorious was wrong and she knew that. Even now, she knew that."

Alex took his hands in her icy cold ones, trying to warm his up even by a little bit; not seeing the pained wince he made at seeing the dark hand-shaped bruise forming on her wrist.

"That's why she stayed behind. That's why I gave her the choice. And I'm sorry you had to go through that, but… I was afraid."

He expected her to say she was afraid of him, but what she said next surprised him even further.

"I was afraid of not being there for you later if I prevented it now. It was hard enough watching you tear yourself apart with me here, and I could only imagine what it would have been like for you on your own. But I'm still sorry you had to go through it at all. And… I forgive you."

He stiffened at those words, his hearts aching as she still managed to smile at him after how he'd treated her. Someone he _loved_, and he treated her like he had when he was younger. And that crushed him. And he opened his mouth, scrambling to try and say some sort of apology to her, but she disappeared in a sudden flash of gold that only made his guilty feeling grow more suffocating.


	77. The Zygon Invasion

**I'm so, so sorry this took so long. I'll be honest and admit i was procrastinating a bit, but i had no idea what episode i wanted to do after the last one and then became unsure about how i was going to shove alex into this one. Hopefully it turned out alright. please let me know what you all think, but i'm going to have to adjust my updating schedule to once every other week unless i find time to post a chapter early. :/ sorry to do that, but i'm starting to get back into that frame of mind where it's becoming difficult to do anything and find enjoyment in it. Not that i'll give up writing anytime soon, but it's made it tough to do things. I'll do my best though, to keep my chin up and if any of you have ideas for chapters, let me know. I'm open to anything.**

**I _am_ open to doing Classic Who, Torchwood, and Sarah Jane Adventure chapters as well-I have an idea of how i can work those out-however, i've never seen any of their episodes. but if there's one or two that you want in particular, i am willing to watch them and see what i can do (or in the case of Classic Who episodes, i'll try to watch a number of the episodes with that Doctor to get a feel for his character/personality). BUT if i can't seem to find a way to fit Alex in, or if i can't get excited and into the episode long enough to figure out what to do, i will apologize and not do it. It's not that i don't like these shows or anything, but sometimes i just can't get into the mood to write up the chapter and i don't want ot make a cruddy chapter because of that.**

**Ahem... anyway, please review and let me know what you think of this chapter! I hope Alex's part in this one is good. I was having trouble placing her without the foreknowledge and such. She's definitely grown though, I'll give you that ^^ And sorry for the lack of 'Clara's' parts in this. I didn't want to keep jumping perspective for small amounts of conversation. Hope you forgive me! There'll definitely be more of her in the next one!**

* * *

I landed on the Tardis and immediately rushed to my bathroom to throw up, groaning in complaint as I leaned against the toilet and tried to get my stomach to stop churning. _What did the Doctor give me that it's making me this sick? I was fine with the giddiness, but this is a bit overkill. Does it just not agree with me popping around?_ I heard the Tardis giving me a concerned whine, but I waved the ship off.

"Mm fine." I grumbled, picking myself up unsteadily and washing my face only to wince at my pale reflection and the blood stain on the sleeve of my shirt. "Ugh, need to change the bandages and get a new shirt."

I wandered back into my room once I'd finished rebadging my shoulder and I grabbed a dark violet hoodie and a black jacket to wear over that before heading to the console room to ask whatever Doctor I was with if he could possibly figure out why I felt so awful. It wasn't hard to figure out which Doctor I'd landed with, what with the loud guitar noises coming from the console room and I walked in on the Twelfth Doctor playing 'Amazing Grace'. I rolled my eyes at his antics and descended the stairs as he checked a message on the monitor. When he went deathly pale, I grew worried and headed over as he prepared the ship to land.

"Everything alright?"

"Ah, Alex, perfect timing." He said with a forced smile. "I'll need you for this. Very important."

"Yeah, sure, alright." I said, feeling my stomach twist as the Tardis moved rather shakily. "But you didn't answer my question. And could you possibly make this a smoother ride?"

"Smoother ride?" He said with a disgusted wrinkle of his nose. "Now why would you want that? It's no fun."

"No, but it might keep me from ruining the Tardis floors." I snipped, moving to sit in the jumpseat as I held my stomach and covered my mouth. "Ugh, _please_."

He eyed me cautiously, but took the brakes off and smoothed the ride out before landing the ship and coming over to me in concern.

"What's wrong?" He asked, whipping out his sonic and giving me a scan.

"Nauseous mostly." I grumbled, allowing him to baby me for the moment. "Have been ever since the numbing stuff you gave me for my shoulder back after the Dalek Asylum wore off."

"Numbing stuff, numbing stuff." He rattled off, probably trying to remember what it was. "What color was it?"

I gave him a dirty look. "Like I was paying attention to the color. I was more worried about the gigantic _needle_ it was in."

"Ah! Intravenous! That narrows it down. Although… oh." He paused, wincing as he looked over at me and I frowned; knowing that look.

"What?"

"Oh, I really need to find a way to leave my past selves memos."

I growled. "What did you _do_?"

"Side effect." He muttered. "Rare with that medication, but you happened to be the lucky one to get it. It should go away in a day or so."

I groaned, flopping over with my face pressed to the seat. "Can't you do something to counter it?"

"Unfortunately, no. Adding another medication on top of that and your body trying to flush it out, could cause more trouble than it's worth."

"I hate you." I grumbled, glaring at him as he rolled his eyes.

"Yes, well, unfortunately I need you to come with me."

"Why?" I mumbled as he helped me back up onto my feet and handed me a glass of water.

"Nightmare scenario." Was all he had to say for my eyes to narrow seriously.

"Just my luck." I said, downing the water as he began stuffing my jacket pockets with water bottles. "I have to deal with Daleks, then insane Martian creatures, an idiotic Time Lord, and now I can't even have a day off while I'm sick because _somebody_ decided to try and start a war."

"Hey." The Doctor tipped my head up and kissed me gently. "I'm sorry. If I could, I'd pamper you to death right now."

I snorted. "Says Mr. Angry Brows."

He frowned. "You know I would."

I nodded with a slight smile. "Yeah, I know. But we've got a war to stop. We can relax later."

He smiled in return, kissing me again before tugging me towards the door. "And we will, as soon as this is done and over with. Thank you, Alex."

I raised a brow as we headed out towards the park and as on a couple of swings to wait.

"For what?"

"For helping that idiotic Time Lord see his mistake without suffering." He replied and I smiled a little as I swung back and forth idly.

"_Somebody_ had to. Sometimes you just need a good push in the right direction. Everyone does."

"Hm." He hummed, a smile etched onto his face at my words, picking up his phone and calling up Clara, no doubt. "Hello, it's Doctor Disco."

I snorted, earning an annoyed look from the Doctor as he went on.

"I'm in the twenty-first century. I don't know what month. I'm staking out some of the most dangerous creatures imaginable. Operating under deep cover. Trying not to attract suspicion. Give me a call, Clara. Nightmare scenario. I'm worried."

He hung up and gave me a dirty look as I held back snickers.

"W-What?" I asked between chuckles. "The most dangerous creatures imaginable? Deep cover? Pft, you're hiding in plain sight in the middle of a children's park in sunglasses stalking two _kids_. I'm surprised no one's called the cops yet about the 'strange man in the park'."

"Oh, ha ha." He complained, getting up with me and heading towards said girls; getting their attention. "Hey, Monster High and Cinderella. Down off the monkey bars. Listen to me, we've got to talk."

I lightly smacked his arm, mentally scolding him for being rude, but he rolled his eyes and ignored me as he went on to speak to the two.

"Look, I admire you, okay? I think you're ingenious. Pretending to be a couple of seven year olds is a splendid way to conceal your blobbiness. But let's not pretend. You're very blobby. In fact, you two are the big blobs. And you are not patrolling the ceasefire." He said, but the two ignored him. "Fine. Fine, bury your heads. Listen to me. Listen! There are other factions. I know that there are other blobby factions that you don't control. They're planning something. And if we don't get together and stop it, it'll be the end of this. Of all of you."

One of the girls turned to him. "This is our jurisdiction, Doctor. These are our creatures. We are close to finding them."

The other agreed. "They are our children, and we will deal with them."

I frowned though, not pleased. "But what if they're one step ahead? You can't know and if they get a hold of you first, then what?"

The Doctor interrupted before they could answer me. "Your kids are out of control. I'm taking this out of your hands."

His phone went off then and I waited to see what was going on.

"Are you phoning me with your backside again, or are you really sending me a distress signal?"

I smacked him again, making him frown. "Who is it?"

"UNIT. Now shush."

It was _my_ turn to frown and I went to argue until something was thrown into the park and began leaking red smoke. The kids in the area panicked and I hurried to help get anyone and everyone away from the possibly dangerous situation, but when I went to look for those two girls, I felt my hearts sink. The two were grabbed by a couple of Zygon and carried away; leaving the Doctor and I standing there, before he grabbed my hand and ran me back to the Tardis. I'd already done too much running and I flopped into the jumpseat with a groan as he flew the Tardis and landed her at UNIT's headquarters. Upon landing I bolted from the ship to the nearest trashcan; whereas the Doctor had a more dignified entrance.

"You said you had a video. Let me see it." He demanded as Kate Stewart and Jac both gave me worried looks.

"Is, um… Is she okay?" Jac asked and the Doctor waved me off.

"Oh, she's had a bad reaction to some medication. She'll be fine."

I flipped him off as I vomited in the trash can, managing to pull myself away from it and head over as they watched a video.

"_UNIT troops will be destroyed wherever they are in the world. The enemies of our race will be destroyed wherever they are in the world. The war is about to begin. There will be truth or there will be consequences._" Osgood said, two Zygons flanking her.

The Doctor attempted to get a hold of Clara again, having been trying since this whole mess started up. I rubbed at my face though, exhausted thanks to the side effects of the medication, silently thanking the Doctor when he put his arm around my waist and let me lean up against him. It was then that his phone went off and he managed to get Clara's location; though my stomach churned as a thought drifted through my head. _We don't know when this started, do we? Doesn't that mean… _anyone_ could be a Zygon? _I groaned. _Great._

* * *

The Doctor watched Alex in slight concern; doing what he could to keep an eye on her health as well as deal with the situation at hand. She was handling everything pretty well, though she still looked paler than usual and the Doctor couldn't help but blame himself for her condition. _How could I be so stupid? I should have checked for possible side-effects before I gave her the medication. The Tardis would have let me know ahead of time, but I was so eager for some alone time with her that it slipped my mind._ He mentally sighed, feeling Alex's mind brush his in worry upon her catching the look on his face. He gave her a reassuring nudge in return, but paused at the expression on _her_ face. _She wants to tell me something, but is unsure about it._ He smiled ever so slightly. _It's just like her. She always wants to be one hundred percent certain of something before she brings it up. Let's just hope it's not extremely important. Though knowing her, it is._

"You left us with an impossible situation, Doctor, Seer." Kate said, drawing him out of his thoughts and making him frown at the woman for dragging Alex into the problem as well.

"Yes, I know. It's called peace." He said flippantly. "What about the two little girl commanders? Weren't they helping you?"

"They've been almost impossible to deal with since Osgood left. Secretive, uncommunicative. We've known there's something going on. Some radicalization, some… revolution in the younger brood. They said they had it under control."

"Everyone wants to take care of their own problem before they drag others in." Alex said, looking around the underbelly of the junior high school they were in curiously. "It's instinct, probably. And a bit of pride mixed in too."

The group went through another area and the Doctor grabbed onto a red cable-like object before looking around.

"The Zygon Command Center. That's the control polyp for all Zygons on Earth."

Alex pushed his hand off of the cable with a grimace. "Yeah, could you _not_ touch the nasty looking alien tech unless you absolutely have to? I have to hold that hand sometimes, you know."

The Doctor smirked at her, before passing her his torch. "Would you?"

She rolled her eyes, but took it, getting another look around in case the Doctor overlooked something. _Which I might have. I'm more concerned about the polyp._ He headed over to it and splashed some water on it as he got to work.

"If this has been compromised, the Zygons are wide open. They'll be starting to panic. Starting to worry."

Clara raised a brow as the Doctor fondled some of the fronds. "Doctor, do you want to be alone with that thing? I'm sure Alex and I could come to an arrangement."

"Hm." Alex hummed, looking at some of the cables on the ceiling. "And I just might take it, if you don't wash your hands at least a hundred times after all this."

He groaned. "It's a command center. You operate it by titivating the fronds."

Clara though smirked. "Are you enjoying that?"

"Snogged a Zygon once. Old habits."

Alex grimaced. "Yeah, that was gross. I still don't appreciate that, by the way. You dragging me into the mess with Elizabeth just because you wouldn't listen to me."

"I apologized." The Doctor whined, before the screens before him lit up. "Still got the old magic."

"God, if Jack were here…" Alex muttered, making the Doctor scowl at the thought before Clara spoke up; distracting him.

"So, Osgood's been kidnapped, right? I thought Osgood was dead."

"There've always been two of her, ever since the ceasefire." Kate explained. "We never knew which one was real."

"Both of them." The Doctor and Alex said together; though the Doctor expanded a bit.

"They would have maintained a live link. They were both Zygon and human at the same time. They not only administered the peace, they _were_ the peace."

Jac nodded sadly. "When the other Osgood died, the survivor went pretty much mad with grief. Then she just disappeared. Went undercover in the States. Now, of course, the rebels have her."

Alex shook her head sadly. "Poor Osgood. Losing a part of herself like that…"

"Ah-ha!" The Doctor called out enthusiastically, trying to cheer Alex up. "Okay. Zygons hatched and dispersed all over, but something's gone wrong. Mexico border, North Asia, West Africa, Australia. Panic. Paranoia. What would happen if they knew who we were?"

There was a short beep and Jac spoke; holding out her tablet.

"We've received another video."

The group gathered around to watch; the screen showing the two blonde girls.

"That's the Zygon High Command. It's Jemima and Claudette." Kate said, confused.

"_We have been betrayed. We were sold. Our rights were violated. We demand the right to be ourselves. Normalize. Normalize!_" A Zygon demanded and the two transformed into their Zygon forms only to be turned to dust, causing Alex to turn a little green as the camera shifted to a Zygon. "_We are now the Zygon High Command. All traitors will die. Truth or consequences._"

Everyone turned away to take a deep breath and calm down, though Alex had to excuse herself for a moment; the Doctor worriedly watching her go as he spoke.

"So, we have a Zygon revolution on our hands. We need to open negotiations."

"I'm not negotiating with them. As far as they're concerned, everyone's a traitor." Kate said and Clara turned to her.

"If you're not going to negotiate, what are you going to do?"

"They're holed up in this settlement in Turmezistan. It's where they've taken Osgood. I'm going to order Colonel Walsh to bomb it."

Alex returned with a groan at her words. "Why does violence always have to be solved with more violence? We hardly even know what's going on anyway, what harm could talking do? Not to mention that would mean bombing Osgood too."

"The treaty's been comprehensively violated, Seer." Kate argued and the Doctor stepped forward; seeing that Alex was getting a bit annoyed with the title and the headache no doubt causing a spike in her temper at the moment.

"This is a splinter group. The rest of the Zygons, the vast majority, they want to live in peace. You start bombing them, you'll radicalize the lot. That's exactly what the splinter group wants."

"Truth or consequences. What exactly does that mean?"

"It's just the usual kind of nonsense these idiots call themselves."

Alex scoffed through her nose, leaning up against a portion of the wall _not_ covered in some kind of alien mess. "They're not idiots if they got this far. And it's not what they call themselves. They want people to know the truth about the Zygons. To go out and live their lives the way they want them to be lived. Out in the open and not hiding in a human form. That's the truth part. And we already know that if they don't get what they want, there will be consequences."

"Huh." Clara muttered. "I just thought it was that town in New Mexico."

Kate turned to her in confusion. "What?"

Clara blinked. "It's a town in New Mexico. Truth or Consequences. Uh, they renamed it after a TV show, for a bet or something." Upon seeing the odd looks everyone was giving her, she explained; shuffling slightly in embarrassment. "It's a Trivial Pursuit question. I used to memorize Trivial Pursuit questions so I could win."

Kate's eyes widened in realization. "That's the last place we received signal from Osgood's phone, isn't it? New Mexico."

"Okay. Kate Stewart, no bombs for you. Go to Truth Or Consequences. See what you can find out. The Doctor and Alex will go to Turmezistan. Negotiate peace, rescue Osgood, and prevent this war, cos that's what we do. Clara, Jac, you stay here. This is your country. Protect it from the scary monsters. And also from the Zygons."

"Fine."

"Oh, and do you still have the presidential aircraft?"

"I thought you didn't like being President of the World." Clara said, making Alex look at the Doctor in surprise.

"You're President of the World?"

The Doctor grinned, pointing at her as he smiled at Clara. "That there is one good reason. I get to show off my fancy plane. Who doesn't like poncing about in a big plane? That…" He tucked Alex into his side. "And Alex loves flying. She's not been feeling too great and what better way to fix that than to show her something amazing?"

Clara rolled her eyes as Jac smiled a bit and it wasn't long before the Doctor was standing at the top of his plane's stairs with an arm held up over his head; fingers in a peace sign and Alex tucked into his side with a big grin.

* * *

"Alex, wake up. We're here."

I mumbled some nonsense as the Doctor lightly pushed me upright and I rubbed at my tired eyes. I'd fallen asleep at some point on the plane and didn't expect to have the Doctor help me out of a _car_, but I figured he was being nice by letting me sleep while I wasn't feeling well. It _was _kind of funny to see how excited he was about showing off his plane, and that was a welcome relief from the disastrous situation we were dealing with. However, I'd yet to mention my concerns about the Zygon problem. It was just bugging me that we had no clue about the majority of this. We weren't entirely sure what the Zygons were aiming for—their purpose behind all of this—we didn't know how exactly they were planning on doing it or what they would do once they accomplished their goals. Hell, we didn't even know when they began putting their plan into action. They seemed pretty smart just to get this far, and I doubted we'd seen the whole of their plans in what had happened thus far. So would it be that much of a stretch to assume they'd been planning this for a while and were already a few steps ahead of us? I frowned at the thought as we walked, unease mixing with the nauseous feeling in my stomach as I looked idly off to my left.

"Something's bothering you." The Doctor said, making my head snap around to face him. "And I doubt it's the drone they're loading with missiles."

I looked back to see that there were a few soldiers arming a drone to my left and winced at the sight, wondering just what we were going to end up dealing with if they were already prepping for war.

"So?"

I glanced back at the Doctor and lowered my gaze as I scowled.

"I just… I don't like this. Any of it, really. There's just too much we don't know."

"It's not your fault."

I gave him a look, confused. "What?"

He glanced at me briefly before looking ahead once more. "Whatever happens here, it's not your fault."

"I… I know that." I said, watching his brows furrow as well. "Why would I blame myself for this?"

He grimaced. "I've made an error. I seemed to have miscalculated your age."

"What does that have to do with this?" I asked, more lost than before.

"You have always tended to put the blame on yourself." He explained, voice soft. "Whether what happened was due to you using your foreknowledge or not. I simply assumed…"

It clicked in my head then. "You thought I was going to blame myself for what was happening because I don't have foreknowledge this time?"

He fidgeted slightly. "As I have said, I seemed to have calculated your age wrong. After a certain point, you accepted things for what they were and tended to see things through rather than put blame on yourself for something out of your control." He frowned then, in annoyance. "Physically, you make things difficult when it comes to assuming your age."

"Is that a complicated way of saying I have a baby face?" I asked, raising a brow and enjoying the way he shuffled and attempted to not offend me.

"Not… Not necessarily. A baby face is when one's features are more rounded off with baby fat and other identifiable features, whereas you just… have a young face."

I snorted at the light shade of red on his face and I leaned over to kiss his cheek, making him look at me in confusion.

"I will take that as a compliment. Although you're very handsome yourself."

He wrinkled his nose. "I'm old."

"So?" I questioned, bounding ahead of him and tucking my hands in my pockets as I turned with a smile and walked backwards. "I like to think you just look wise."

He smiled a little at that, before giving me a pointed look. "Back on point, you said this situation bothers you?"

"Well, it bothers everyone, really, but think about it." I said, wandering back to his side. "They're clever, that much is obvious. But we don't know how long they've been planning, when exactly they put the plan into action, who's Zygon and who's not. Not to mention, we don't even know what their goal in all of this is. All radicals have some big idea, some big plan to get something accomplished. But all we know is the Zygons want to be seen for who they are. For what purpose though? Most of them are happy as is. What made this group so unhappy? Why are they doing this? And what will they do if they win? There's just a lot of unanswered questions and it makes me nervous." I muttered, giving the Doctor a look. "For all we know, they'd already started this plan _years_ ago. Anyone could already be a Zygon. Kate, Jac, Clara. Who's to say they're not when we don't even know the starting point?"

He hummed, brows furrowed in concentration. "I will have to keep that in mind. Can't trust anyone then."

"But we have to act like we do, or they'll get suspicious and might do something more radical than what they're doing now." I agreed, growing a little sad. "Though… Is it bad that I kind of feel sympathetic towards the Zygons?"

"No, course not." The Doctor said, shaking his head and wrapping an arm around my shoulders in a side hug. "You're just being you. Seeing all sides of the situation and seeing the good in everyone before writing them off as bad. That's how I came up with this whole plan, remember?"

I smiled softly, nodding as I remembered his other selves telling me their plan back in the Black Archive all those years ago.

"Yeah… Yeah, I remember. Though I hope you know, I'm still terribly embarrassed by the whole thing."

He smiled a little at that, the two of us approaching a tent. "As you should be. Now, chin up. We've got a bombing to stop."

I rolled my eyes at his enthusiasm, very nearly laughing out loud at his entrance into the tent that served as UNIT's base in Turmezistan.

"At ease. I'm the President of the World and this is my wife. We're here to rescue people and generally establish happiness all over the place. The Doctor. Doctor Funkenstein."

I leaned around him with a small smile. "And just Alex is fine with me. I'm not nearly as dramatic as he is."

The Doctor pouted at me, whereas the soldier in charge didn't even crack the slightest grin.

"Yes, we know who you are."

"Going to strike altitude." A young woman said from nearby and the Doctor and I both frowned; not liking what we believed to be happening right under our noses.

"What's going on here? Fun and games?" The Doctor asked as a radio came on. "You're not bombing that town. That's where their holding our friend."

"They're dangerous." The colonel said. "And your friend is almost certainly dead. I'm not going to allow them to disperse. You can't track a shape-shifter."

"Oh, you must be a delight at parties." I snipped bitterly, worry making my stomach churn uncomfortably as the woman on the radio spoke again.

"Visual on target."

"Confirm strike."

"Colonel." The Doctor warned, but the woman held fast.

"Confirm strike."

The woman though had stiffened and I moved a little closer to see why. There, on her screen was a father and son. Her _husband_ and son.

"Confirm strike." The colonel insisted, but I place a hand on the woman's shoulder, letting out a breath to help ease her mind.

"It's okay. No one will blame you if you don't." I said quietly, ignoring the colonel's glare on my back as the woman shook her head.

"Strike aborted. Strike aborted." She said, taking off her headphones and taking in a shuttering breath.

"Well, that's interesting." The Doctor mused and he and I locked gazes; a subtle nod letting me know that he was growing suspicious as to how long ago this plan had begun.

_They obviously have inside info on the UNIT people in charge. How else will they have known about her husband and son? For all we know, there's a Zygon _in _here who's keeping tabs on things and giving information to the others as to what disguises to use. This whole thing is risky; that much the colonel has right. It'll be nearly impossible to come up with a counter-attack of some sort without knowing the actual number of Zygons out there. Not to mention the Doctor and I don't even _want_ to counter-attack. We have to somehow get into contact with the head commander of the Zygons and somehow get them into a situation where we're on equal footing. We have to get them to the Osgood box._ I winced, feeling myself sway slightly as a headache reared up and felt someone grab my elbow.

"Sit." The Doctor said, leading me to a chair nearby and sitting me down. "I'll let you know when the cars are ready so you can come with us, but I want you to stay in them when we go to get Osgood."

I glared at him, not liking that idea. "But I can _help_."

He kissed my forehead softly. "I know you can, but you've got a fever now and the last thing I need is you collapsing while we're trying to get her out _and_ keep the colonel from bombing the town."

I frowned, still not being happy, but seeing his point and he brushed a gentle hand over my face.

"Please, Alexander."

"Fine." I grumbled, before prodding him in the chest. "But if I see you in any sort of trouble, you better bet I'll be coming in after you."

He smiled, kissing me lightly and pulling away. "Of course you will. Now _rest_."

I nodded, still sporting a pout as I leaned back in the chair and waited for him to return, feeling rather useless in all of this, but doing my best to stifle the ever-growing need to do something productive. _I can think, and right now, that's all we need. A new perspective._

* * *

The Doctor climbed out of the jeep, pausing when he spotted Alex shift towards the driver's side to get out as well.

"Hey, what did I say?"

She frowned, but sat back in the seat begrudgingly. "Yeah, yeah. I know. Stay in the car."

He nodded, keeping an eye on her as he went to join the colonel a little further ahead. He had no doubt that Alex would do something reckless if it meant helping him, but he was only concerned. Especially since she wasn't putting up as much of a fight as she normally would have. She'd finally ceased the vomiting, though he could tell she was still a little nauseous. But the fever was new, and he'd rather not drag her into this mess if he could. Alex and guns did not mix. And if _she_ was willing to sit in the car and wait, then he knew that she wasn't feeling her best either. That, of course, only made him anxious though. Because he knew how she thought of things like this. And he wasn't talking about the guns nor the Zygons. Alex was just one of those people who wanted to help. A restless individual who needed to be doing _something_ near constantly, especially if it meant possibly saving a life. Sure, she didn't have any foreknowledge now, but he knew that wouldn't stop her if she could help it. _I'll have to keep an eye on her._

"We all know what a rabbit warren this place is, but we've got intel they're holed up inside the church." The colonel said, before handing out orders. "Hitchley, you take the front, storm it, draw their fire. The Doctor and I will take the back."

The Doctor whipped out a photo of Osgood. "This is our object. We need to get her back, safely. Try to kill as few of them as possible. I need have to have someone to negotiate with."

He felt more than saw the colonel roll her eyes at that, but easily ignored her as she gave out her last command.

"You know what they're capable of. Do not fall victim to it. Truck open. Code Green."

"Let's move out!" Hitchley called and the group headed towards the front of the church; getting into position as the colonel and the Doctor moved behind the building.

Some shots were fired into the air to get the attention of whoever was hidden away in the church and Hitchley called out loudly.

"Come out! Throw down your weapons! Come out! We have you surrounded! Come out of there! Come out, we have you surrounded."

The church door cracked open and an older woman stepped out, making Hitchley readjust his grip on his pistol.

"I don't have any weapons. Please." The woman begged.

"Take aim. On my command."

"No. No, don't, please. Johnny, you don't understand."

"You're not my mother." Hitchley said, though his voice wasn't as strong as he'd tried to make it.

"They took us here. They came to the house and took us. They took your sister. Me." She stepped closer and Hitchley stiffened.

"Stay where you are."

"It's not us who are the impostors. Don't let them trick you. It's your commanders, your chief. They're the aliens." The woman insisted; the colonel speaking over their comms.

"_Do not fall victim. Ask for details. She's a copy. Ask something only your mum could know_."

Hitchley nodded. "Mom, I'm going to have to ask you some questions."

"Don't do this. You know it's me. Don't let them trick you."

"Date and place of my birth." He said, though she avoided the question.

"They brought us here. They're using us against you. I'm scared. Please, I'm so scared."

"Name of my favorite teddy bear." He tried again.

"I don't remember. I'm sorry, I don't. Don't kill me because I can't remember!" The woman said, the colonel trying to get Hitchley to make a move, only for more people to come out of the church; making the entire _group_ of soldiers hesitate.

"Stay back! All of you, stay back from them!" Hitchley said, voice tight.

"_That is not your mother. It is an alien hostile_." The colonel attempted to convince them.

"We're not those creatures. We're hostages." The older woman said, as the colonel shouted.

"_Kill it!_"

"I can prove who we are. Just come inside, I'll show you."

"_Don't go in there._"

"Please."

Hitchley wasn't entirely convince though, hesitating.

"You're not my mom."

"Oh, God. You're going to kill me."

Seeing his mother's face twist fearfully made Hitchley crack.

"Mom, please."

"You are." She said. "You're going to kill me… I love you. I forgive you and I love you."

"_Do it!_" The colonel ordered, but even the Doctor knew it was a lost cause.

Hitchley, near tears, lowered his gun. "What proof?"

"_Don't go in there. You're going to your death! Hitchley, kill it._"

Hitchley though, turned to his soldiers. "Let's go. Over and out, ma'am."

"_Damn it. Damn it!_"

Just then, there was a screeching of tires and the Doctor groaned, knowing what had happened as the soldiers were prevented from going into the church by one of the trucks they'd left at the entrance of the town; Alex in the driver's seat.

"Oi, you morons! Weren't any of you listening?!" She shouted at the men and women staring in shock. "Hitchley, did she ever answer your questions?"

"W-What?"

Alex rolled her eyes. "That woman you believe is your mother, did she ever answer your questions?"

"Well, no, but she could have—"

"What? Forgotten your date of birth? Seriously? I have _never_ met a mother who didn't know her own children's date of birth. Now stop and think for a minute. Because if you all go in there, sure, there's a chance they're telling the truth, but there's also the high probability you could be killed. Now, if you're _smart_. You would do the right thing and not go in there. Don't risk losing your life over something you're unsure about. Hell! Call your mother right now! I'll bet she's home watching the tele or something! Because if you go in there and you die, you're going to _devastate_ your mother. Do you understand me?"

Hitchley bowed his head shamefully. "Y-Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Now back down and head back to the trucks, got it?" She snipped, before turning to the possible Zygon on the other side of her truck. "And you lot. I get it, yeah? You don't like the rules some old people put in place. It happens. And you want the freedom to be whoever you want without all the running around in disguises. I understand. It's rough, having to hide who you really are just to get people to not pick on you or whatever. But how is this helping your cause? It doesn't make any sense!"

The Doctor quietly gave the colonel the signal to go into the church the back way; knowing that his wife would keep the Zygon busy for as long as she could. Intentionally or otherwise.

"What's the point in killing people off?! All you did was make them angry. How hard could it have been to talk to Mr. President of the World and come to an agreement that everyone was willing to come to? Did you ever think that _maybe_, you could be out in the open like you want _and_ live peacefully?! And even if that doesn't work out, why not just let the Doctor and I help you find someplace you _can_ be yourselves?! With your own government or whatever and without discrimination?! Why does everything have to start and end with violence?!"

The older woman took a step towards the truck. "Who are you?"

"Does it even matter?" Alex countered. "I'm trying to _help_ you! I'm trying to keep you lot from getting shot by trigger happy idiots and trying to keep kind, innocent people from being turned to dust for a problem that could be solved a different—_peaceful _—way!"

Just then, a noise came from overhead and Alex looked up; eyes wide before turning to the people in front of the church.

"Run! Hurry! Get out of here! Go!"

The group hurried back into the church and Alex cursed under her breath as she turned the truck around; glaring at the colonel in the distance and drumming her fingers on the wheel as she waited.

"Come on, Doctor. Come on."

A grey head finally dashed from out of the church and Alex let out a relieved sigh as he _and_ Osgood rushed into the truck.

"I'll have you know, I was getting somewhere before your bombing colonel friend started blowing up the place." Alex snapped as the Doctor groaned.

"If I had known, I would have prevented it."

"No, what you should have done, was improvise." Alex drawled, turning the wheel and avoiding a barrier in the road on the way out of the town. "As soon as I started talking to the soldiers, you should have stolen her comm…" She paused, giving him a short concerned glance. "Did the Zygons get out alright?"

"Um, they weren't in the church when we ran through." Osgood replied as the Doctor nodded.

"They most likely had some sort of underground tunnel. Though… one didn't make it. It attempted to stop us in the area Osgood was at and one of the bombs collapsed that part of the tunnel."

Alex winced, letting out a soft sigh, before turning to Osgood with a small smile.

"Glad to see you're alright though. No worse from wear."

Osgood smiled a little as well; both trying to push away the Zygon's death. "Glad to see you too, Alex."

"If you need anything, let me know." Alex chirped, turning back to the road. "I'm willing to help if I can, even if you just need to vent or whatever. Oh! And here."

She reached into her pocket and handed the woman something.

"A… banana?"

"Mm, rich in potassium. Thought you might be hungry and who doesn't like a good old fashioned banana?"

Osgood smiled, peeling the fruit and shaking her head. "Sometimes, it's hard to keep up with you, Alex."

"Me? You should try keeping up with him." She nodded towards the Doctor who pouted. "It's a full time job, I'll have you know."

Osgood chuckled with her as the Doctor groaned.

"Oh, enough bantering. You know how I hate bantering."

* * *

I groaned, stumbling out of the airplane's bathroom and collapsing in a chair as Osgood gave me a worried look and a Zygon was wheeled in; strapped to a dolly.

"Are you alright?"

I waved a hand nonchalantly, leaning my head back and closing my eyes; the Doctor too busy on the phone to deal with me for now. "Fine, fine. Doctor gave me some pain stuff and I'm dealing with some rare side-effects. Nauseous, is all… and a headache."

One of the men handed me a cup of tea that I gratefully accepted as Osgood sat down and the Doctor paced slightly now that he'd tucked his phone away.

"Doing alright then, Alex?" He asked and I tilted my hand a bit.

"I'm iffy. Give me a bit."

He nodded and turned to Osgood, smiling ever so slightly as he pointed out her shirt collar.

"Oh, I see you've accessorized it."

"Yes." She smiled, happy for the praise.

"The old question marks."

"You used to wear question marks."

I furrowed my brows, peeking an eye open. "Now, which one was that?"

"Hm, a number of them. Four, Five, and Six had them on their shirt collars sometimes. And Seven wore a jumper covered in them. Eight had the underpants." The Doctor said and I frowned.

"Now hold on, you _wear_ those underpants."

He smirked, and I flushed as I realized what I'd admitted to the people in the room; groaning as I buried my face in my hands.

"J-Just pretend I never said that."

"Will do." Osgood chuckled at my embarrassment.

The Doctor suddenly sat down then, giving Osgood a serious look.

"Which one are you? Human or Zygon?"

Osgood immediately grew serious. "I don't answer that question."

"Why not?"

"Because there isn't a question to answer. I don't accept it. My sister and I were the living embodiment of the peace we made. I will give all the lives that I have to protect it. You want to know who I am, Doctor? I am the peace. I am Human _and_ Zygon."

"Like a hybrid."

"A hybrid, if you like."

I glanced at the Doctor, feeling some sort of emphasis in that word—hybrid—but not knowing why that was so important to him. I shook it off though, knowing I'd probably discover the answer on some later adventure or something.

"Well, I'm proud to know you, Osgood. And I promise that I won't tell anyone that you're a human. Zygons need to keep the human original alive to refresh the body print. If you were a Zygon, you'd have changed back within days of your sister's death."

"Those were the old rules, before Zygons could pluck loved ones from your memory and wear their faces. Zygons only need to keep the original alive if they need more information from them. If the interrogation is over, then the original can die."

I stiffened at those words, remembering my previous theory and feeling worry well up in me.

"Doctor."

He gave me a look and nodded. "Yes. I know."

Osgood furrowed her brows. "Know what?"

"My wife." The Doctor said, getting up and pacing once more. "She's clever. Looks at things from a different perspective. Sometimes in a way I wouldn't notice. Especially when I'm distracted with something else. And she's come up with a theory."

Osgood frowned, turning to me. "What kind of theory?"

I winced at the thought. "I-I think the Zygons have been planning this for a while. We don't know exactly when they began putting things into play. We've only found out about the plan _now_, because this is their first public action."

"You mean…"

The Doctor nodded. "What if they'd already had pieces put into play before alerting us?"

"We can't trust anyone." I answered, giving the soldiers nearby a worried look. "We don't know who's Zygon and who's not. And for all we know, everyone we've come into contact with could already be one. Including those we trust most."

"Clara." The Doctor said, voice tinged with worry.

"Kate too then, I suspect." Osgood said, seeing my thoughts, and I bobbed my head.

"Unfortunately, yes. But with what you've just told us, their time could be more limited than we think. They're only useful until the Zygons don't need them anymore. And how long will that take? The Zygons are clever, I'll give them that. I just wish I understood the point."

The Doctor turned to the Zygon who'd been brought in. "Well, why don't we ask?"

He and Osgood approached the Zygon, whereas I just remained in my seat, not wanting to get up and rediscover my nausea.

"Bit of first-thing's-first-ness." The Doctor said, all seriousness. "What's your name?"

The Zygon looked to be almost confused.

"My name's… Well, you can call me the Doctor. But you knew that, didn't you? You want something. What is it?"

"You are the President of the World?" It asked and he shrugged.

"I suppose so."

"We want… the _world_." It said, laughing and I frowned.

"But for what purpose? That's what I don't get. Yeah, you take over the world. Perfect evil villain plot. But then what? Honestly, I never understood that. No one ever thinks about what happens if they win. Or is that the point? Do you _know_ you'll lose? And if so, then why bother with this?" I groaned, rubbing at my aching head and making the Doctor frown at me in concern.

"Don't overthink things, Alex. We'll find out sooner or later. Pushing yourself isn't going to do anything more than make you feel worse." He said, heading over and checking my temperature again as the Zygon continued.

"We want the truth of who we are to be acknowledged. We want to live as ourselves. At any cost. We want a home."

"Well, you can't have the United Kingdom. There's already people living there. They'll think you're going to pinch their benefits." The Doctor joked and I scowled, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"And we _know_ that you want that. But why take a home that's already someone else's? If you just asked, we could find you a new home where you could live peacefully as yourselves. We could even find a way to peacefully arrange it so that you can live hear out in the open if you give us a chance. But you declare war? I still can't see any purpose behind all of this."

"_Alexander_." The Doctor lightly scolded, heading over and placing his fingers on either side of my aching head and helping me relax a bit with some of his own more positive energy. "Relax."

"Sorry." I muttered. _I just don't know what to do._

"_I know."_ He mentally replied, looking at me with worried eyes. _"But we'll figure it out together. No use running about in a circle by yourself."_

I reluctantly nodded and he got up as the Zygon narrowed his eyes.

"We're already there, Doctor." It said, smirking. "The invasion's already taken place, bit by bit, over the last year. We've won the first battle. And now, we are going to begin the war."

"I knew it." I grumbled, the Zygon having confirmed my suspicions of them having started this early on. "We're out of time."

The Doctor knew what this meant as well and his phone went off; the Zygon grinning.

"Answer it. Say goodbye. This plane will never land."

"Really?" He said, turning away to answer the phone as I turned to the Zygon sadly.

"I'm sorry." I said and it scowled at me.

"Apologies won't save you."

I shook my head. "That's not why I'm apologizing. You're on this plane too. If we go down, so do you. A suicide mission that you were forced to undertake and I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry you have to die. No one should have to die for what they believe in."

I could feel the Doctor's fear spiking and I took a deep breath to try and keep myself separated from those panicked feelings in order to not end up vomiting again.

"So… I'm sorry. And I hope that at the end of all this, everything ends happily for everyone. _Including_ you and your species. Now, if you'll excuse me. I need to find something."

The Zygon watched me as I went in search of the parachutes I knew were on board, but even after I found two, I continued to search in the hopes I'd have enough for more than just two of us. _I can be hooked together with the Doctor's parachute, so we could take one and Osgood the other, but there's soldiers on here and the Zygon and if there's anything I can do, I will, but… I-I'm not finding anything._ The Doctor and I locked gazes and I let out a soft sigh, nodding as he grabbed me and one parachute before tossing the other to Osgood; and hopefully, we'd get them on in time to leave the plane, or we'd end up as shrapnel along with the rest of it.


	78. The Zygon Inversion

**Hey look, guys! I'm on time! :D I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and sorry about the slightly depressing end there. but please tell me what you think!**

* * *

"Doctor?" Osgood called out, looking out the window before I tugged her away and the Doctor quickly steadied us both as the missile zoomed overhead, barely missing the plane.

"Missed."

"Lucky us." I muttered, feeling my stomach churn at the turbulence of the plane and returning to my hooking up of the parachute.

We had a close call, but managed to escape the wreckage of the plane just before the second missile hit; the three of us floating down to a beach safely, where I groaned and stumbled away a ways after unhooking myself from the Doctor.

"Doctor? Seer?" Osgood called out, but I was a bit busy losing my lunch to answer her, leaving that up to the Doctor.

"Any questions?" He called out dramatically, before calling my way. "Alex, you alright?"

I flopped over onto the sand, closing my eyes and draping a hand over them. "N-No, not really."

"Why do you have a Union Jack Parachute?" Osgood asked as the Doctor bounded over towards me with her.

"Uh, camouflage."

"Camouflage?"

"Yes. We're in Britain." He replied, taking her glasses from her. "Ooh, your specs are broken. I'll fix them. You can wear mine. They're sonic."

"Sonic specs?" She questioned as he passed her his sunglasses.

"Yeah."

"Isn't that a bit pointless? Like a visual hearing aid?"

"Yeah, I tried telling him that." I grumbled out, the Doctor helping me sit up slowly and pulling out one of the water bottles from my coat pocket. "I like the screwdriver better myself, actually."

The Doctor frowned. "What's wrong with pointless? I once invented an invisible watch. Spot the design flaw." He scowled then towards me, speaking softer. "You're fever's worse."

"Sorry." I mumbled, dropping my head into my hand in exhaustion. "_I_ wanted to stay home."

"Just hang in there. Soon as this is over, you can rest."

_Yeah, I just don't know if I can make it that far._ I thought with a soft sigh, being helped back up onto my feet.

"You're both talking nonsense to distract me from being really scared. It's one of your character traits." Osgood said, putting on the Doctor's sunglasses and I snorted.

"You shouldn't think like that."

"Hm?"

I glanced at her as she joined the two of us. "Character traits. Treating us as a story or file you read. Believe me, I get it, but it's always best to try and get to know the person before you go labeling them a character. Helps you understand them better. Otherwise, you're disassociating and that could cause problems later on. We're people too, you know."

"Sorry." Osgood replied and I gave her a small smile.

"Like I said, I get it. I did it too, for a long while. Then I found things that were never mentioned. It's the tiniest things that differentiate a person from a character. Their favorite food, how they smile at something. Silly things, you know."

She smiled in return as the Doctor kissed the top of my head, mentally smiling at my words, before Osgood changed the subject.

"Why didn't that Zygon blow us up with her big bazooka?"

"She did blow us up with her big bazooka. This is us being blown up with a big bazooka." The Doctor cheekily replied and I gave him a small frown at his rudeness, making him wince.

"But, I mean, she seems to know what she's doing. The first thing _I'd_ do if I wanted to invade the world would be to kill you two."

"Thanks." He answered blandly.

"I wouldn't even let you get talking, like you always do. Bullet between the eyes, first thing."

"Point taken." I muttered.

"Twelve times, if necessary."

"Ah, yes. Why limit yourself? You've really thought this through, haven't you?"

I even raised a brow at her insistence. "Seriously, I know I think of better things villains could do, but do we _really_ need a play-by-play of how you'd kill us?"

"I'm a big fan." She smiled sheepishly, making me roll my eyes as she went on. "But she gave you a chance to get out. She hesitated. If she had Clara's memory print, she'd know better than to give you even a second."

The Doctor went quiet and I leaned into him, mentally offering him what comfort I could as my own hearts ached at the thought.

"You've gone quiet because I mentioned Clara. You think she might be dead."

"Yes."

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know. I'm still in the hope phase."

"How's that going?"

"Hell. Please talk about something else." The Doctor said sharply, but I interrupted.

"But… they need her, don't they?"

"What?" He grumbled.

I pulled a tired hand through my hair. "Well, think about it. She's our companion. She's their one shot at figuring out what we'd do about this mess, so they'd keep her alive as long as possible for answers, right? Especially if they're looking for the Osgood box. She might have what they need."

"But they could have gotten it already, couldn't they?" Osgood said and I cringed at the thought and the headache pounding behind my eyes.

"Well, y-yeah. I suppose so. But you're right. She hesitated and then missed. She was aiming to blow us up, but fail the first time. And, well… who's to say Clara's dead? If she's alive and this Zygon is still using her memories or whatever, then I doubt Clara would take that sitting down. She'd be fighting too. And 'a door once opened can be stepped through in either direction'."

The Doctor looked at me, struggling to hold back a smile. "You think she's trying to get into the Zygon's head."

I shook my head, regretting it when my vision shifted a bit, dangerously. "I-I don't know. It's possible, I would think. Especially with her personality. I-I can't be certain though."

I let out a yelp when I was suddenly scooped in his arms and spun around.

"Oh, bit it's a chance! And a very good one at that."

"Ugh, _please_ put me down." I groaned, dizzy and stomach churning once more. "I'm going to vomit all over your suit."

He quickly place me on my feet and I rushed over to a wall to vomit behind it, hearing the Doctor behind me grimacing.

"Whoops."

I turned and glared at him, not pleased about his little merry-go-round that upset my stomach again, though Osgood seemed pleasantly amused.

"Why do you two think they want to destroy the ceasefire?" She asked curiously once we were walking again.

"Don't think of them as rational. They're different. They don't care about human beings, they don't care about their own people. They think the rest of Zygonkind are traitors." The Doctor said sternly and I squeezed his hand to comfort him a bit as his phone went off. "It's a splinter group."

He pulled it out and we all looked at it.

"Clara. Well, not Clara. The Zygon who—"

"The Zygon who might have killed her. Read it." The Doctor snipped, handing it over to Osgood.

"It says, 'I'm awake'."

"It's Clara." I said with a small smile, tugging on the Doctor's hand. "Right? It's our Clara?"

"She's not dead. She's in a pod somewhere. They need a live feed to the information in her brain. But she's fighting back. She's trying to take control, piece by piece." Osgood said, feeling hopeful as well. "The Zygon probably doesn't even know it sent this, or why it misfired that bazooka."

The Doctor though, was hesitant. "You don't know. It's just a theory."

"Yeah, but you liked my theory before and look how right I was." I teased him, knowing that he was liking this theory more than he was letting on.

"Hm." He hummed, doing what he could to not give that away.

I gave Osgood a small smile, getting one in return as she knew what I did about how the Doctor felt about this theory of ours. As we walked a little further though, we noticed a police car and while the Doctor went towards it, I tugged him back.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?" He grumbled.

"We can't trust anyone, remember?" I said, moving him away from the police car. "And how will they help? They're not exactly going to give us a ride."

"Fair point." He said, before Osgood passed him his phone; having been calling up the Zygon that had Clara.

"She's answered."

"Hello." The Doctor said, putting the phone on speaker for us all.

"_You're dead._"

"Not really, if we're talking to you." I said, but the Doctor gave me a look and I shut up; glancing back at the police car in worry.

"Ignore her. What's your plan, Zygella?"

"_I don't have a plan._" She responded and I grimaced as the police car turned around.

"We're going to need one in a minute." I breathed out so only the Doctor could hear me and he glanced back as well.

"Come on, you don't invade planets without having kind of plan. That's why they're called planets, to remind you to _plan it?_ Hey, hey! That's good! Pun-tastic. Doctor Pun-tastic! Oh, come on, that was a good one, Zygella!"

"_Don't call me Zygella. My name's Bonnie._" The woman said, blinking and the Doctor and I furrowed our brows.

"And you're winking at me."

"_I am not winking at you. Where is the Osgood box?_" Bonnie questioned us and I felt hope rise in my chest as she winked again.

_It's Clara, right?_ I mentally asked him and felt his own hopefully feelings in return, only for me to look back and see the policemen on our tails and some coming around the bend in front of us. _Oh dear._

"We need some wheels." The Doctor said, turning and spotting the van parked not too far away. "The van."

Osgood hurried over there first, myself being helped along by the Doctor since my headache was starting to act up again; him speaking to Bonnie.

"Okay. Non-verbal communication. I assume that you never bothered to learn Morse code." He called out to Osgood. "Specs! Setting 137."

"_Tell me!_"

"Okay, we'll have to try something else. Twenty questions. Where's your pod? Is it in a tunnel? Is it in London?" The Doctor asked and I leaned over and saw Bonnie covering one eye then the other. "Thanks very much. Gotcha."

Osgood sonicked the door open and we climbed in; the Doctor finishing his phone conversation.

"Stay where you are, Clara. We're coming to get you. And for God's sake, don't let her into your memories."

I raised a brow at that, but quickly understood what he was doing as Bonnie frowned on the screen.

"_Memories? What memories? What has she got?_"

"Don't tell her where the Osgood box is, and above all, don't tell her _what_ it is." The Doctor said, before hanging up; Osgood looking worried as he started up the van.

"Obviously, the Zygon could hear that."

"Obviously." He said as I groaned in the back seat at his rushed driving. "Hang in there, Alex."

"I-I'll try."

"So she's going to poke around inside Clara's mind, looking for answers." Osgood said, continuing their talk, but giving me a worried look.

"The mind of Clara Oswald. She may never find her way out." The Doctor chuckled and Osgood smiled a little as well.

"You smile more than I expected."

"Dazzling, isn't it?" He chirped. "You have Alex to thank for that."

"W-Welcome." I breathed out, eyes clenched shut as a bead of sweat slipped down the side of my face; half doubled over in my seat as I tried to hold in what was left of my lunch.

A phone went off then and Osgood spoke up.

"Oh, I've got a ping on Clara's phone. It's the location Bonnie sent the text from. A shopping center, south London."

"Ah, London. Perpetual city, cradle of culture, here we come! Clara, stay safe. And Alex?" He called out, myself managing a groan. "Feel free to lie down. Take a nap."

I nodded, barely able to meet his concerned gaze in the rearview mirror as I unbuckled myself and rolled onto my side; curling up in a ball on the seat as he drove us to London to get Clara.

* * *

The Doctor parked the van and worriedly looked at Alex in the back seat. She hadn't moved from her curled up position and, judging by the sweat on her brow and the pained expression on her face, she wasn't doing too well. _And the side effects of the medication won't wear off for another thirteen hours at best. I should have let her rest in the Tardis._ He knew he couldn't do this without her though. She was already proving to be more than helpful as far as figuring out what the Zygons were up to, but the main reason he brought her was for her support. She'd helped keep his temper a few times now, and he was more than grateful just for that. _Though her saving lives and giving me hope with Clara was also beneficial._ He sighed softly as he got out and opened the back door; brushing a hand lightly over Alex's feverish forehead.

"Alex, do you want to stay here? It won't take but a minute."

The stubborn woman shook her head though, forcing herself to sit up despite how she was feeling and slowly climb out of the van to join him.

"N-No. I'm fine. We need to save Clara."

He frowned. "You're _not_ fine, Alex. We both know that. I can _see_ that. You should stay."

He placed a hand on her shoulder, but she lightly shoved it off.

"She's my companion too…" Alex muttered and the Doctor sighed quietly, reluctantly giving in and knowing that he wasn't going to convince her otherwise.

"Very well. Stay by my side though."

She nodded tiredly, allowing him to tuck her into his side with a soft kiss to her head as Osgood led the way into a shopping center.

"There's electricity in the air." The Doctor murmured, pausing in the doorway as Osgood wrinkled her nose.

"It stinks. It smells like barbecues." She said, before stepping in further and seeing the sparking piles of grey hair on the ground. "Oh…"

Alex turned away and the Doctor gave her a reassuring squeeze, leading her away from the piles as he pulled out a couple of torches and passed the other one to Osgood as they looked around.

"What's your name?" The Doctor asked Osgood suddenly.

"Osgood."

"No, no, no. Your first name."

"What's _your_ first name?" She countered and Alex snickered quietly.

"Basil."

"Petronella." Osgood supplied and the Doctor gave her an odd look.

"Let' just, uh, stick with what we had." He changed the subject. "I need to ask you, because it's important, because it might matter."

"What's important?" Osgood asked, confused as she turned towards him and he shined his torch at her.

"Which one are you? Human or Zygon?"

Alex smacked him, giving him a disappointed look that Osgood appreciated, but the moment was ruined when they heard a door open nearby and some strange noises. They looked at one another briefly and bolted after the sounds, Alex taking up the rear as they spotted the Zygon in a grocery store and followed after him. He'd changed then, into a more human from and hid behind the shelves as the Doctor spoke up.

"Whoever you are, we can help you." The Doctor called out, glancing at Alex as she huffed and used a shelf to keep her upright behind him and Osgood a ways.

"It wasn't me. They attacked me. They saw me. I-I had to." The man begged fearfully.

"It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay." The Doctor hurriedly reassured.

"A commander came. She turned me back! Agh!" He cried out in pain, struggling to keep from transforming.

"We can help. We can help you." Osgood offered. "Doctor, we can help him, can't we?"

"I'm not sure." The Doctor said honestly.

The Zygon shot the Doctor with some electricity, making him stumble backward as the Zygon took off, but he'd only dazed the Doctor and they hurried after him.

"Please! Come back! Come back!"

They caught up and the Doctor attempted to calm the fearful man.

"I can't help you just now, but—"

Stunned again, the Doctor cringed as the Zygon cried out.

"Why? I was happy like this. I was happy here."

"I understand." The Doctor said, placing a hand on his chest and looking around for Alex, who wasn't in sight.

"I can't change. I can't hide."

"Let us help you." Osgood attempted.

"No! You're 'Truth or Consequences'."

"We're not. We're really not."

"I'm not part of your fight. I never wanted to fight anyone. I just wanted to live here. Why can't I just live?"

"We're on your side." The Doctor said, voice tight and not knowing what the Zygon was going to do.

"I'm not on anyone's side. This is my home."

"Listen, we're not them."

"I can't go back now. You've taken my life!"

The Zygon lifted up a hand towards himself and the Doctor panicked.

"No, no, no! Stop! Stop! Stop!"

The Zygon paused. "They will kill me."

He lifted up his hand again, but Alex came out of the aisle closest to him and grabbed the appendage, begging the Zygon.

"No, please! _Please_! D-Don't die. Don't do this. We want to help you, please let us help you."

The Zygon stared, still very scared—even more so with someone holding onto him—and he started to struggle.

"L-Let me go!"

"Alex!" The Doctor called out, worried about what the Zygon might do.

"No, no, please." She cried softly, tears streaming down her face as she held on and even the Doctor had to stumble back at the sheer amount of concern and worry she let out; Osgood tearing up slightly as well. "W-We'll help you. We'll find someplace for you. W-We'll make it so you can hide again. Please, just don't do this. _Don't_."

The Zygon slumped to the floor, sobbing as Alex clung to him and he soon doing the same in return; a sense of calmness starting to push past the worry as the Zygon relaxed slowly and stopped painfully changing. Slowly, the Doctor approached him and placed a hand on the man's shoulder.

"We can help you. I promise. But I'll need you to wait here until I can get the rebellion group to stop, understand? Just hide out here and stay calm and that should prevent the change from occurring."

The man nodded, wiping at his face as the Doctor pulled Alex away and picked her up; her being even more exhausted than before and unable to stand after what she'd just managed to do.

"T-Thank you. Thank you." The man cried and the Doctor nodded, turning to Osgood and they hurried out.

"There it is, Osgood." The Doctor said, face very serious. "There's their plan. Unmask everyone, provoke fear, paranoia, provoke a war. Alex barely managed to stop one, but no one will be able to stop them all if this gets going."

"Sorry." Alex murmured tiredly from his arms and he gave her a small frown.

"While I agree you should be apologizing for risking yourself and making your condition worse by what you just pulled…" His eyes softened and he sighed. "…I love you for what you did."

She smiled a little back, but winced at the headache she undoubtedly had, just as footsteps approached and the Doctor grinned cheesily at the people heading towards them.

"Doctor."

"Kate!" He said loudly, wincing as he earned a glare from the exhausted Alex and speaking in a quieter voice. "Are you alright?"

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's just I'd heard otherwise."

"I'm fine. Doctor, we know where the Zygon command center is. We know where Clara's pod is. We can take you there." Kate said and the Doctor eyed them.

"Well, how very convenient, because that's just exactly what we're looking for."

He gave Alex a look, but she'd closed her eyes and was on the verge of falling asleep, so he let her rest and followed after Kate and her soldiers, Osgood trailing behind. They headed into an elevator and then into a cave where Kate led the way to where a number of pods were and she approached one spot where an indent was, in apparent shock.

"Well, they like a good cave, don't they?" The Doctor questioned, walking off. "How many of these pods are occupied?"

"I don't know." Kate said, shining her light on the empty space.

"Which one is Clara's?"

"Well, that's strange. It was here before."

"Doctor." Osgood spoke up. "I think they're Zygons."

"Oh, you cheeky little monkeys." The Doctor grumbled at the Zygon soldiers and Kate pulled out a Zygon communicator.

"The Doctor is here."

"_Don't kill him. We need him alive._" Bonnie replied from the other end.

"What for?"

"_Because I just found out why it's called an Osgood box. There's two of them._"

"Two Osgoods, two boxes." The Doctor shrugged, being careful not to stir Alex. "Operation Double. What did you expect?"

"_What's in them, Doctor? Tell me. Now._"

"One box normalizes all the Zygons."

"_And the other?_"

"Destroys them."

"_Which is which?_"

"Ah, that would be telling." He hummed.

"_Which box normalizes the Zygons, Doctor? Tell me, or she dies._" Bonnie threatened, using Clara as a bargaining chip.

"No. This is war. You pull the trigger, you pay the price."

"_Kill her._"

"The blue one." The Doctor gave in. "The blue one. The blue one normalizes all your people."

"_Are you lying? Are you lying to me, Doctor?_" Bonnie questioned and he silently wished Alex was awake because she was _much_ better at convincing people of the truth than he was.

"No, I'm not. And when you open up the box, you'll see I'm not lying."

There was a pause where Bonnie was opening up the box.

"_Doctor?... Doctor!_" She shouted, obviously not pleased with what she discovered.

"Yeah, I know." He grinned, cheekily.

"_Bring him to me!_"

The Zygons approached the Doctor, but Kate suddenly drew her weapon and shot them both, making Alex startle herself awake and the Doctor having to put her down.

"I'm sorry, Doctor, Seer. Self-defense."

Alex brushed a hand over the fallen Zygons with a grimace, glaring at Kate.

"They were just going to take us to her. You didn't have to kill them."

Kate glanced at her briefly before the Doctor spoke; him tugging Alex back to him and giving her what comfort he could to keep her from getting sicker.

"You're you."

"I'm me." Kate confirmed.

"How did you survive?"

"Five rounds, rapid." She said blankly, making Alex wince at the thought. "I'm sorry, Doctor, Seer. I know you don't approve."

"Stop _calling_ me that." Alex snipped and Kate had the decency to look sheepish under the woman's glare; the Doctor frowning as well.

"Why does peacekeeping always involve killing?" He grumbled before Kate destroyed the communicator. "Is this the lot of them?"

"No, there are plenty more of them. They were the nearest." Kate answered as the Doctor sighed softly and she turned to Osgood. "You're you?"

"I'm me." Osgood confirmed.

"But human or Zygon?"

Osgood frowned along with Alex. "_Me_."

Kate, knowing that she wouldn't get a direct answer turned back to the Doctor.

"What are we dealing with?"

"Twenty million Zygons about to be unmasked. You don't know whether they are human or not. And you can't fight them, not with soldiers." The Doctor spat out quickly.

"Which leads me to a very big question."

"Oh, I was really hoping that it wouldn't." He muttered, scratching his forehead with his thumb.

"The Z-67, Sullivan's gas. The gas that kills the Zygons. You took it."

"Well, you know how it is. Daddy knows best."

"That's what's in the red box, yes? Of course it is. If I remember rightly, it causes a chain reaction in the atmosphere. Turns every Zygon on Earth inside out."

"Let me negotiate peace. You can't commit mass murder." The Doctor argued.

"They why did you leave the gas with us?"

"The boxes are safeguards for both species. You agreed to that."

"I never agreed to that."

"Yes, you did. Then I wiped your memory. And you agreed to that too. But that's why there were two Osgoods to police the ceasefire. One human and one Zygon, to keep the secrets and keep the peace."

"I'm sorry, Doctor. Truly. But the peace is failing already. Come on."

Kate led the way, gun drawn and Alex sighed sadly as the Doctor helped her up and they all followed after her.

"How are you feeling?" He asked Alex as they walked.

"Better." She muttered, rubbing at her face. "Head still hurts, but my stomach has calmed down. So long as we're not driving anywhere, I think I'll be fine on that point. The situation could be better though." She said, before a shiver racked her spine. "And it's _damn_ cold down here."

The Doctor frowned, checking her forehead again and grimacing. "You still have a high fever, that's why it feels cold to you."

"Lucky me." She grumbled; the Doctor pulling off his coat and putting it over her as they all went to deal with Bonnie.

* * *

I hated this. Every second. And I'm not talking about being sick. Well, not entirely. But this whole 'Let's start a war for no reason!' thing. All the 'Let's solve violence with more violence!' and 'I just want to cause disaster!' too. It was really starting to work on my nerves and I was almost _glad_ I was sick, because otherwise I might have very well tackled both Bonnie _and_ Kate to the ground and tied them together just to get them to make up and stop this whole mess. I was grateful the Doctor was being very considerate towards my current condition and that he was taking head on this, because I wasn't too sure I'd be able to keep my temper, should I have been the one doing so. I'd already snapped at a group of soldiers _and_ Kate, so it was probably best I didn't snap at the radical Zygons who were trying to start a war. Yet another reason I was glad the Doctor had seated me down in a chair by Osgood, and not had me standing beside him as he prepared to argue with the two who wouldn't just let this go.

"Doctor, which of these buttons do I press? Doctor, which one?" Kate asked, moving to the red box on the table in the room of the Black Archive we'd entered; Bonnie at the blue one on the other side. "Truth or consequences?"

Bonnie repeated that, glaring at him. "Truth or consequences?"

I had to admit, I was impress the Doctor had seen far enough ahead of the whole Zygon mess to know what to label the buttons, and mentally noted I'd have to ask him how he knew about that later, but I leaned back in the chair with a tired sigh and pulled the Doctor's coat closer around me. Who was I to say no when my husband offered it up? And it was temperature regulated too. Said Doctor was bouncing away grinning tightly and putting on an act for the two at the boxes.

"This is the moment we've all been waiting for. Make your mind up time!" He cheered, though I could tell he was angry and disappointed with the both of them. "One of those buttons will destroy the Zygons, release the imbecile's gas. The other one detonates the nuclear warhead under the Black Archive. It'll destroy everyone in London. Bonnie!" He pointed at the Zygon dressed as Clara. "Bonnie, sweetheart. One of those buttons will unmask every Zygon in the _world_. The other one cancels their ability to change form. It'll make them human beings forever. There are safeguards beyond safeguards. I did this on a very important day for me and this ceasefire _will_ stand."

"This is wrong." Bonnie snipped and he argued with her.

"No, it's not."

"You are responsible for all the violence. _All_ of the suffering." She accused him and _I _frowned this time, prepared to defend my husband if I needed to.

He caught my slight movement though and gave me a stern look as he spoke. "No, I'm not."

I relaxed a little at that, but still felt like a bird with ruffled feathers as Bonnie went on.

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes. You engineered this situation, Doctor. You and your wife. This is your fault."

"No, it's not, It's _your_ fault." He snapped, losing his temper slightly when Bonnie tried to accuse me as well.

"I had to do what I've done."

"So did I." He shrugged, feeling me attempt to reassure him that I could care less about her accusations.

"We've been treated like cattle."

"So what?"

"We've been left to fend for ourselves."

"So's everyone."

"It's not fair."

I groaned at that, feeling like the Doctor was arguing with a couple of children and he quickly took back Bonnie's attention when my complaint made her glare at me.

"Oh, it's not fair! Oh, I didn't realize that it was not fair! Well, you know what? My Tardis doesn't work properly and I don't have my own personal tailor. Alex wanted a day off and wasn't feeling well, yet she's here with me to deal with you."

"The things don't equate."

"_Life's_ not fair." I grumbled, trying to get comfortable in the stiff chair I was in. "You get over it."

The Doctor nodded, silently agreeing with me as he face Bonnie.

"These things have happened, Zygella. They are facts. _You_ just want cruelty to beget cruelty. You're not superior to people who were cruel to you. You're just a whole bunch of new cruel people." The Doctor turned to the Zygons by Clara, who snarled at him, before turning back to Bonnie. "A whole bunch of new cruel people being cruel to some other people, who'll end up being cruel to you. The only way anyone can live in peace is if they're prepared to forgive. Why don't you break the cycle?"

"Why should we?" Bonnie questioned and the Doctor stopped, holding back a sigh.

"You know, my wife brought up an excellent question today. One that's been giving her a nasty headache. What is it you actually want?"

There was a long pause before Bonnie answered.

"War."

"Ah. Ah, right. See, my wife's been driving herself insane trying to answer that one, but then she thought what about when the war's over? When you have a homeland free from humans, what do you think it's going to be like? Do you know? Have you thought about it? Have you given it any consideration? Because you're very close to getting what you want. What's it going to be like? Paint me a picture. Are you going to live in houses? Do you want people to go to work? Will there be holidays? Oh! Will there be music? Do you think people will be allowed to play violins? Who's going to make the violins? Well? Oh, you don't actually know, do you?" He said, taking a step back and gesturing at me. "Alex, she's clever. She's tried figuring out what it was you lot wanted because she wants to help you. She wants everyone to come out of this situation with what they want because she's far too kind for her own good."

"Hm." I hummed, rubbing at my face tiredly.

"Look at her! She's made herself even more ill than before because she's trying to _save_ you. She's doing her best to think up a way to stop with without any more people dying. She stopped those soldiers from entering the church your Zygon friends were holed up in. Saved their lives. And she could have left. Could have just walked away and left your rubbery friends on their own, but she stayed and tried to help them too. Got them to run the moment she spotted the drone overhead with missiles. She even stopped that Zygon you tried to make a mockery of to not commit suicide! Risked her life to get him to stop! And why? Because she didn't know what to do. She _still _doesn't know what to do to help you. Because, like every other tantrumming child in history, Bonnie, you don't actually know what you want. So, let me ask you a question about this brave new world of yours. When you've killed all the bad guys, and when it's all perfect and just and fair, when you have finally got it exactly the way you want it, what are you going to do with the people like you?" He asked, trying to get her to see the point. "The troublemakers. How are you going to protect your glorious revolution from the next one?"

"We'll win." She said and I frowned.

"And how many people do you think have said that only to have it taken from them?"

The Doctor tossed a hand my way. "She's right. Maybe you will win, but nobody wins for long. The wheel just keeps turning. So, come on. Break the cycle."

"Why are you still talking?" Bonnie asked instead, annoyed.

"Because I want to get you to see, and I'm almost there." He said hopefully, desperately.

"Do you know what I see, Doctor? A box. A box with everything I need. A fifty percent chance."

"For us too." Kate said; the two of them holding their hands over the button, and I glared heatedly at her back, only for the Doctor to snap back into his goof off mode; though I knew better than anyone that he was running out of ideas.

"And we're off! Fingers on buzzers! Are you feeling lucky? Are you ready to play the game? Who's going to be quickest? Who's going to be luckiest?"

"This is not a game!" Kate shouted.

"No, it's not a game, sweetheart, and I mean that most sincerely."

"Why are you doing this?" Bonnie asked and I nearly scoffed at the hypocrisy.

Kate agreed with her; the first time they'd agreed on anything, really. "Yes, I'd quite like to know that, too. You set this up. Why?"

"Because it's not a game, Kate." He snapped. "This is a scale model of war. Every war ever fought, right there in front of you. Because it's always the same. When you fire that first shot, no matter how right you feel, you have no idea who's going to die! You don't know whose children are going to scream and burn! How many hearts will be broken! How many lives shattered! How much blood will spill until everybody does until what they were always going to have to do from the very beginning? Sit down and talk!" He shouted, throwing his hands up as I swallowed thickly and closed my eyes, doing what I could to keep his rampaging emotions from overwhelming me completely; though mine were very much in the same state as his were.

He sighed, covering his face and trying to calm down a little; probably for my sake. "Listen to me. Listen, I just, I _just_ want you to think. Do you know what thinking is? It's just a fancy word for changing your mind." He practically begged.

"I will not change my mind." Bonnie drawled, though her expression said she just very well might.

"Then you will die stupid. Alternatively, you could step away from that box, you can walk right out of that door and you could stand your revolution down."

"_No_. I'm not stopping this, Doctor. I started it. I will not stop it. You think they'll let me go, after what I've done?" She said, accusingly and it clicked for the both of us that she _was_ willing to stop, if she was safe.

"You're all the same, you screaming kids. You know that? 'Look at me, I'm unforgivable'. Well, here's the unforeseeable. I forgive you. After all you've done, I forgive you. And my wife forgave you even when you were plotting this mess. Before that, even. She forgave you when we came up with this whole situation. That's what those boxes are. Her forgiveness."

"You don't understand. You will _never_ understand." Bonnie accused and I felt my rage boil and my hearts ache in sadness, because we _did_ understand.

We were two people in the universe who understood _exactly_ what she was dealing with, and I knew her words were the snapping point for the Doctor, and I started to get up slowly as he spoke.

"_I_ don't understand? Are you kidding? Me?" He chuckled bitterly. "Of course I understand. I mean, do you call this a war? This funny little thing? _This_ is not a war! I fought in a bigger war than you will ever know! I did worse things than you could ever imagine! And when I close my eyes—" He cut himself off, turning and struggling to keep his voice from cracking as I laid his coat on my chair and headed over to him slowly. "I hear more screams than anyone could ever be able to count! And do you know what you do with all that pain? Shall I tell you where you put it? You hold it tight till it burns your hand, and you say this. 'No one else will ever have to live like this. No one else will have to feel this pain! Not on my watch'!"

And he stopped, huffing and pulling a hand through his hair as he tried so desperately to overcome the pain he'd just caused himself by admitting those things, but I wouldn't let him deal with it alone. He'd seen me coming over, tears in my eyes and in his and I stumbled into his arms; the two of us holding one another like lifelines as I sobbed and tried to give him what comfort I could, because he was hurting. The Doctor, my husband, who always tried so hard to help others and never show weakness, was falling apart at the seams. And it hurt. It hurt me more than any blade or bullet ever could, because I loved him. And no one should have to have suffered as much as he did and then be told he didn't understand. And I never fought in that war. I wasn't there for him during that time when he was hurting the most and it _killed_ me. It was so painful to know that he's had no one for so long. That he was in pain, alone, for the longest time and I couldn't fix it. I could try. Oh, I would try. I would do my best to help him, but I could never completely heal what had happened to him. I could only soften it. Ease the burns and the aches and the pain. I could only be there for him, and it hurt to know that it wouldn't be enough.

Kate reached over and closed the box in front of her, seeing know how broken and hurt the Doctor was as he held me, turning towards her slightly.

"Thank you." He breathed out. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry." She apologized, making me tighten my grip on the Doctor as he nodded and rubbed my back.

"I know. I know. Thank you." He looked at Bonnie then; myself peeking out from his embrace slightly to do the same. "Well?"

She made no movement for a while, turning to look at us and back at Kate briefly.

"It's empty, isn't it? Both boxes. There's nothing in them. Just buttons."

"Of course. And do you know how you know that? Because you've started to think like my wife and I." He said softly and she dropped her hand away from the box. "It's hell, isn't it? No one should have to think like that. And no one will. Not on our watch…" He smiled slightly when their eyes met. "Gotcha."

"How can you be so sure?" She asked.

"Because you're at a disadvantage, Zygella… I know that face."

Kate spoke up then, slightly worried. "This is all very well, but we know the boxes are empty now. We can't forget that."

"No. Well, uh, you've said that the last fifteen times." He said with a small smile, sonicking the memory filter on the ceiling and knocking her out as well as the Zygons; sans Bonnie.

Bonnie closed the blue box in front of her as Osgood went over to sit Kate up carefully; the Doctor still rubbing a comforting hand up and down my back as I tried to stop crying and shaking slightly in his arms.

"You didn't wipe my memory." Bonnie said.

"No. Just Kate's. Oh, and your little friends here, of course. When they wake up, they won't remember what you've done. It'll be our secret."

"You're going to protect me?" She questioned us, cautiously.

"You're one of us now, whether you like it or not." Osgood responded with a small smile.

"I don't understand how you could just forgive me."

"Because I've been where you have." The Doctor said. "There was another box. I was going to press another button. I was going to wipe out all of my own kind, man, woman and child. I was so sure I was right."

"What happened?"

He smiled, hugging me a little tighter and resting his chin on my head. "I met someone. A woman, very stubborn. She insisted and standing there next to me and pushing it together. She didn't want me to do it alone. And she insisted, repeatedly, that she'd already forgiven me for it. I hadn't even pressed it yet, but she forgave me anyway. Always has. How do you think I came up with the idea of these boxes? She wouldn't let me name them after her."

I grumbled in his arms. "It's _embarrassing_. And there's two of them."

"Well, there's a number of you out there, bouncing around my time stream." He teased and I frowned up at him as Bonnie smiled ever so slightly and Clara rolled her eyes.

"The Seer." Bonnie hummed and I turned towards her, leaning back into the Doctor's chest as he idly wrapped his arms around my stomach. "I should have known."

I raised a brow, but she shook her head, not letting me know what she meant.

"Thank you, for forgiving me."

I smiled a little. "Always will."

* * *

The Doctor sighed softly at Alex's breath brushing over his neck; the woman having insisted that he piggy back her back to the Tardis, only to have fallen asleep with his coat over her on his back.

"How's she feeling?" Clara asked him, having heard about her being ill while they'd walked.

"Not good." He responded, adjusted the slumbering woman on his back idly. "Her fever is still high and her body keeps shutting down to try and combat the medicine; hence why she's been sleeping on and off. I should have left her in the Tardis when she showed up."

Clara smirked over at him, nudging his side. "But you didn't. You _needed_ her here."

He cracked a small smile at that, remembering how Alex had helped everyone; himself included. "Hm, and she would have trashed the Tardis and hunted me down if I had."

"You never did tell me when she learned to fly it. And how'd she figure it out anyway?"

"Oh, well. The Tardis had some help in that." He grumbled. "Apparently, she managed to sneak a copy of the manual on board and was dropping it in Alex's lap whenever she had a dull moment. Add that on top of her watching me fly it, and it shouldn't be too hard to use practical application when I'm not looking."

"In other words, she snuck behind your back and taught herself?"

He sighed, begrudgingly accepting that, though it wasn't entirely true. Osgood found amusement in it though and chuckled.

"You two are quite the couple." She commented. "The Doctor and the Seer."

The Doctor hummed as they approached the Tardis and Osgood's smile brightened.

"The Tardis."

"The Tardis." He repeated and Osgood turned to him.

"What does it stand for?"

"What?" He rounded on her, surprised. "You're kidding me. Surely you know that."

"Well, I've heard a couple of different versions."

"I made it up from the initials. It stands for 'Totally And Radically Driving In Space'." He replied, hearing Alex's slight chuckle in his mind.

She was still asleep, but she'd lowered her walls after he'd gotten upset earlier, and was at least half conscious as to what was going on around her. A potentially unsafe thing to have happen, but things had calmed down enough where the Doctor would allow it. So long as he was the only sentient being in the area able to enjoy her open mind, anyway.

"Do you want to come?" He asked Osgood, knowing Alex might enjoy having her around for a bit. "All of the future, all of the history, and all of the universe?"

"More than anything." She answered, nodding. "But I think I have to stay. I've got a couple of boxes to keep an eye on. And a world to keep safe."

"Fair enough." He responded, ignoring Alex's mental picture of Osgood with a cape and sonic screwdriver that flickered briefly through his head as he turned to Clara. "Clara, would you mind, uh…"

"Mind what?" She asked, not realizing he'd like a moment with Osgood alone.

Or as alone as he could be with Alex's sickly mind doing strange things in his head.

"I'll see you in the Tardis, okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure." She said, understanding and turning to hug Osgood. "Take care, you."

"You take care of him. Don't let him die or anything." She responded. "Alex too."

"What if they're _really_ annoying?"

"Then fine." Osgood smiled, teasingly as the Doctor pouted.

"Got ya." Clara smiled, heading into the Tardis and leaving them be.

"I need to know." The Doctor said after a moment. "Which one are you?"

He winced as Alex protested in his head, Osgood frowning.

"I'm Osgood."

"Human or Zygon?" He pressed, scowling and flicking Alex in the nose at the headache she was attempting to give him for asking.

Osgood, realizing what was up, smiled a little at his antics. "I'll answer that question one day. Do you know when that day will be?"

Another Osgood walked up then, answering the question for her. "The day nobody cares about the answer. Gotcha."

This Osgood was a bit different than the other one. She wore a long coat with jeans and combat boots with a slim black tie and a white dress shirt and grey vest. All in all, the Doctor groaned.

"Oh no."

Osgood smiled. "Oh, look at his face."

"It's almost not fair." The second replied.

"Why? Why her?" The Doctor complained. "Why do you have to be like my wife? Couldn't you be like the other one? Dressed with question marks and celery sticks? And how? How you there be two of you again?"

"Oh, think it through, Doctor." Osgood drawled.

"Well, it wouldn't be right, would it?"

"To carry on using Clara's face…"

"When there's a vacancy."

"Zygella?" The Doctor questioned and Osgood corrected him.

"Osgood."

"But which one of you—"

He was cut off by Alex smacking him upside the head, earning a glare from the tired woman.

"Oh, would you just drop it? Zygon, not Zygon, what does it matter?" She glanced at the two Osgoods, her chin resting on the Doctor's shoulder and her arms hanging around his neck loosely. "Honestly, you're think he'd get it through his thick head by now. Love the look, by the way."

The second Osgood smiled with a bob of her head. "Thank you. We thought it'd be rude if we didn't show both halves of the Doctor."

Alex smiled at that, patting the Doctor's chest in a 'Look what they said about us!' sort of manner and he rolled his eyes.

"You're a credit to your species, Petronella Osgood."

"No, Basil." Osgood answered.

"We're a credit to both of them."

The Doctor smiled, moving towards the Tardis and opening the door; grinning back at them both.

"Oh, and you should know, we're very big fans."

The two headed inside, seeing Clara standing at the consoled and toggling one of the switches.

"So, you must have thought I was dead for a while." She mused, watching their reactions.

"I didn't." Alex yawned; the Doctor sitting her down on the jump seat and pulling his coat closer around her shoulders. "Big dummy here wouldn't listen though."

"How long was that?" Clara asked the Doctor curiously.

"Longest month of my life. Especially with Lady Nags-A-Lot over there attempting to convince me otherwise.

Alex hummed, eyes starting to slip shut again.

"It could only have been five minutes." Clara mused.

"I'll be the judge of time." The Doctor breathed out, moving over to her and flipping the switch that would send them away.

* * *

I frowned, something nagging at the back of my mind as I towel dried my hair lazily; humming and distracted. _Was it the way he said that? 'I'll be the judge of time'. I dunno. My head's still fuzzy._ I was still sick, it had only been a few hours since the Doctor sent us adrift and demanded that I rested and relaxed, after all. But I felt… antsy. Like I was bouncing, I suppose. I wasn't sure how to explain it. But I was a little peeved I didn't have this energy earlier when I needed it. Right now though, I didn't really care; choosing it ignore the Doctor's orders of resting and heading towards the kitchen. _And hopefully I can keep the meal down this time. I've done enough vomiting for the rest of my life, thank you very much._ Grumbling about what I wanted to eat under my breath, I approached the kitchen in sock-clad feet and sweats; not caring about the fact I was wearing one of the Doctor's dress shirts again and leaving it unbuttoned to reveal the black sports bra underneath. _He's my husband, Clara's a woman, they'll get over it. _I stopped though when I opened the door, seeing the Doctor's back slumped over slightly and his hands tangled in his hair as he breathed shakily over the table where a cup of hot tea sat growing cold.

He wasn't moving and I could feel that he was upset, but I wasn't about to approach him until I was sure I wouldn't be pushing any boundaries. _So what's he upset about? That's the only way I'm going to know whether to let him stew on his own or help him. That's just how the Twelfth Doctor works. Eleven's easy. He always wants me there. Ten's debatable, but even if I'm wrong, he'll still keep me there. Twelve though… He'll send me away if he doesn't want my comfort. And that's fine. There's times when people just want to be alone and I get it. Sure, it's unsettling, but he always comes back to me later and apologies before spilling what was bothering him anyway. But it's always better to wait it out than to do that. So what is it?_ I thought back to what happened today and found a number of things that could have upset him to this point, but one stuck out in particular and I fidgeted.

_The war. The whole situation was poking and prodding at him and the Time War. He's guilt ridden, but should I go in there?_ I grit my teeth, unsure. When it came to the Doctor's past, he tended to keep it to himself. Later Eleven and I had been working on that since we'd gotten married and I knew there were times when he just ended up dwelling on it to the point where I'd pass by his room on occasion and find him quietly crying. But the past was his and his alone. Whether I wanted to ease the burden or not. So I was hesitant. I hadn't dealt with Twelve dwelling over his past like I had with Eleven once or twice before. I'd even dealt with Ten being upset about it. Twelve was different though. He had his own way of grieving, and I didn't want to interfere with that if he didn't want me to. _But I don't want to leave either. I promised I'd never leave him alone._ I mentally groaned, before stepping into the room.

The Doctor stiffened at my approaching footsteps, but I stepped around the table silently and went about digging through the fridge for the food I wanted. He said nothing and I did the same, giving him his chance to ask me to stay or to go as I grabbed a couple of pork buns from the fridge and popped them in the microwave. _There's any number of ways this could go. He could say nothing and I could leave to my room to eat. He could tell me to stay and then say nothing. Or he could ask me to stay and spill everything, or part of what's bothering him. Or he could leave to be on his own elsewhere._ The microwave dinged and there was still no response, so I took my food, grabbed a bottle of soda from the fridge and made to leave, only for his hand to snatch my arm in a shaky grip.

"Stay."

I stood there for a second longer before nodding, turning back to sit across the table and give him some room, but he pulled me down into his lap and laid his head on my shoulder. I was stiff for a second, not sure what to do, but soon relaxed and began eating my food as he hugged me and softly cried on my shoulder. I did what I could mentally, brushing waves of calm and comfort over him, but said nothing as I ate. I still didn't know what was wrong, after all. Best not say anything whether it had the potential to upset him or not. After a while though—my food gone and my soda bottle empty—he stopped and simply squeezed me a little as he spoke in a croaky voice.

"T-Thank you."

I sighed softly. "I'm your wife. I'm supposed to support you. Figuring out how to do that exactly is the hard part. You keep changing it up on me."

He let out a hum and went quiet again, but I wasn't exactly comfortable on the chair and squirmed a little.

"Do you want to go lay down?" I asked, not pressuring him and willing to stay if he didn't want to move just yet, but he nodded and we headed to my room.

He pulled me down onto the bed in front of him and just held me, keeping his face hidden in my back before he spoke.

"I'm sorry."

I rolled my eyes, closing them and relaxing along with him. "I told you this already, Doctor. I'm your wife. No need to apologize when you're hurting and upset."

"I love you." He murmured.

"Wife." I repeated as he pulled me a little closer. "And I love you too, Theta."

He hummed quietly, before starting to explain. "I wish I never had to make that decision. That wars like that never had to happen. The Time War was…"

He trailed off before starting up again, telling me the blunt reality of the Time War that he'd experienced. All the fighting and bloodshed. The families and friends he knew that were hurt. How the war had hurt him. And I listened silently, offering him support and my back; never once facing him because I knew he didn't want me to see his face right now. But I offered him what I could, let him talk it out, let him cry. I allowed the Doctor to just empty everything out and in return, I loved him. And forgave him repeatedly. And he soon fell asleep, turning me around to face him before allowing his mind to open up and just bathe me in 'the Doctor'. I didn't mind. It was a little much at first, but I knew I'd done the same thing while sleeping on his back earlier. I didn't expect him to do it in return, but… we were more… complete now. It was one thing to be married and to do… other things, but this was more than that. This was losing yourself in someone else _entirely_. His past, his present, his feelings, his thoughts. No more holding back. No more barriers. Just… him.

And it hurt. It was sad and had me crying quietly for a bit, but it was also happy. Moments with his companions, with his granddaughter, his friends, the Master. There was so much that made the Doctor the Doctor, and he trusted and loved me enough to give him everything, just as I had done before. And I didn't think he'd reciprocate that. I didn't show him my everything in order to get the same from him. I did it because I cared and worried about him. And he did it because he was tired of holding it all back. Because he loved me and wanted me to know him better than anyone ever could. And as I fell asleep curled up in his arms, I silently wondered how I'd ever ended up with someone as amazing as the Doctor.


	79. Midnight

**I'm on time today whoo! :D hopefully i can keep it up though. i've been having a hard time getting motivated to write lately, but i'm doing what i can to push through it. and i hope you all like this chapter, it was definitely a tough one to write and i honestly hadn't planned on writing this episode, but i changed my mind after rewatching it a week or so ago. please review though and let me know what you think! i hope it turned out alright.**

**and for those who are reading _any_ of my other fanfics, i swear i will update them all at least once in the coming up week or two. i've just looked over Silent Guardian and will begin writing the next chapter of that this week, and the Amber Leaves chapter is already about half done. I'll read over Street Smarts to figure out where i want to go next in that and hopefully have a chapter for that soon as well. I just posted a chapter for The Black Panther and i _might_ get that epilogue up for Nonbeliever too, if i have a chance. I feel bad for leaving everyone hanging lately for all my other stories due to my focus on this one. :/ sorry.**

* * *

I hummed idly, having been dropped off for a spa day, courtesy of the grumpy-browed Doctor. _He insisted on me relaxing after what happened, but even I know it's just him apologizing for past mistakes._ I rolled my eyes, chewing on the large pretzel I'd snatched after leaving the massage appointment I'd had. I wasn't one for spas, but Clara apparently had given him advice on how to make things up with me and this was one of them. That being said, I didn't mind the massage. I was more than tense after everything that had happened, but I'd rather the Doctor be the one massaging my aching shoulders than some random oddly shaped alien. No offense to any oddly shaped aliens out there, but I find it easier to relax if there's only _two_ arms massaging, not five. That being said, I planned on ditching the rest of the appointments and relaxing in a different manner. Namely refilling the empty void that my stomach had become. Because apparently hacking out my guts for the past day and a half wouldn't be an easy thing to fix. At least nothing a pretzel, bowl of fruit, a foot-long sandwich, a salad, soda, and a half-gallon of strawberry ice cream could fix. And I'd eaten all of that in the last two hours, but still felt like I was starving.

"I'm gonna get fat." I grumbled with a slight frown, throwing away my trash and snagging one of the men wandering around to serve the people here. "Hey, do you have any banana pudding?"

He blinked, surprise showing in his three icy blue eyes. "Yes, ma'am. Would you like a bowl?"

I smiled with a nervous chuckle. "A-Actually, could you get me about a gallon of it? And a spoon."

A hint of disgust showed on his face, but he quickly covered it with a pleasant smile. "Of course, ma'am."

I wrinkled my nose. "Don't call me 'ma'am'."

The man hurried off at my expression, but soon returned with a _huge_ bowl of pudding that made my stomach growl loudly as I took it from him. He scurried off, not wanting to be around the strange person eating a giant bowl of banana pudding, whereas I headed off towards where I'd heard there'd be some sort of tram ride to an uninhabited planet. That was more for me than lazing about while strange aliens poked and prodded at me in an attempt to get me to relax. I caught the announcement that said the tram was boarding and I hurried along; purchasing a ticket last minute and bounding excitedly towards the vehicle. I didn't even notice the man in a long brown coat talking on the public phone nearby, too busy smiling to myself as I ate another spoonful of pudding and climbed aboard.

Others boarded with me—I, myself ignoring the odd stares as I ate with a ridiculous grin on my face—and I took my seat, waiting for us to head off. There was some time by myself, but then the stewardess came over with a forced smile upon catching sight of my bowl.

"Headphones for channels one to thirty six. Modem link for 3D vidgames." She rattled off, handing me things. "Complimentary earplugs, slippers, juice pack and peanuts. I must warn you, some products may contain nuts."

I chuckled. "Let me guess, the peanuts?"

She ignored my quip, though I couldn't help but think she was familiar. "Enjoy your trip."

I bobbed my head, happily tucking the items in the empty seat beside me and pulling out my own earbuds and iPod that I'd snatched from my room in the Tardis before heading out here. I popped one in and was searching for a song—holding the spoon of pudding in my mouth—but then I heard a familiar voice not too far behind me.

"I'm the Doctor. Hello!"

I blinked, turning in my seat and looking over the back to spot the Tenth Doctor as he spoke with the two behind him. I sniffed, my nose a bit runny still from being sick, and turned back before he could spot me; something in my gut telling me that this wasn't going to be the pleasant relaxing trip I thought it was. Scooping another spoonful of pudding into my mouth, I set the bowl aside and pulled out my notebook, wincing slightly at having forgotten enough of the Doctor's earlier years that I couldn't tell what episode I was in. _Damn, I'm getting old then. Though the Doctor would disagree, I'm sure._ It took a moment, but I'd started to recognize some of the people aboard the vehicle and I cringed upon finding the episode in my notebook. _Oh, no relaxing indeed. This is not good at all. I hate confrontation, especially with stubborn and scared people._ I put the book away and groaned, leaning my head back against the seat and closing my eyes, only for the stewardess to walk up the isle and announce what was going on.

"Ladies and gentlemen, and variations thereupon, welcome on board the Crusader Fifty. If you would fasten your seatbelts, we'll be leaving any moment. Doors."

The doors closed and I begrudgingly put on my seatbelt, tucking the bowl of pudding back into my lap and eating quietly.

"Shields down." She went on and once the shields were in place, she continued with her speech. "I'm afraid the view is shielded until we reach the Waterfall Palace. Also, a reminder. Midnight has no air, so please don't touch the exterior door seals. Fire exit at the rear, and should we need to use it, you first." She chuckled. "Now I will hand you over to Driver Joe."

The driver's voice came on over the speakers. "_Driver Joe at the wheel. There's been a diamondfall at the Winter Witch Canyon, so we'll be taking a slight detour, as you'll see on the map. The journey covers five hundred kliks to the Multifaceted Coast. Duration is estimated at four hours. Thank you for travelling with us, and as they used to say in the olden days, wagons roll._"

The shuttle shook a bit, heading out, but I put in my earbuds for now; knowing that things were going to get a bit noisy. Sure enough, the noise level picked up, but I was shielded behind a round of Korean pop music coming in through my earbuds, only for the noise to turn off and the stewardess to walk up to the front, looking rather befuddled. _I'll have to scold the Doctor for being rude. She's just trying to do her job._

"Dasi tto press your number daedaphae jwo. Jigeum nal tteonado jamkkanppunirago. Neukkyeojyeo deullyeojwo nae gwigae dasi soksagyeo jwo." I sang quietly to 'Press Your Number' by Taemin, very nearly jumping out of my seat when a peppy voice spoke up beside me over the sound of the song in my ears.

"Ooh! Korean, right?" The Doctor said curiously, making me stare at him with wide eyes as he grinned and threw out his hand. "Hello, I'm the Doctor."

I gapped, opening and closing my mouth for a second before it clicked. _He doesn't know me. T-This is the first time he's met me after I regenerated. This day just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?_

"A-Alex." I answered him, shaking his hand and still unsure about what I was going to do with him not recognizing me.

He blinked and then smiled even wider than before. "My girlfriend has that name! Love a good Alex."

_Do I tell him? Will he get upset about it? Maybe I should just stay quiet. But then won't he be angry? I knew this was going to happen sooner or later, but I'd honestly hoped it'd be on a better adventure and… I have no clue how I should react._ I swallowed, not realizing that I was still staring at the Doctor, who was steadily growing more curious. _But if I stay quiet… I get to see how the Doctor acts when I'm not around. Maybe things will get interesting… No, I shouldn't. He's my husband… or, will be my husband. Staying quiet would be like not trusting him to act properly when I'm not around. It'll be rude to him… but… how do I just tell him? Should I wait? Find the right time? But when will that be? This adventure gets crazy, quickly. So my only options are now, before the tram breaks, or after everything's over with. Tell him now and risk him being unfocused the rest of the trip, or afterwards and risk him being angry for not telling him?_ I winced ever so slightly, coming out of my thoughts and flinching back at the Doctor's curious brown eyes not too far from my own.

"You're a deep thinker, aren't you?" He commented with a smile. "Anything you want to share?"

A flush of embarrassment creeped up my face, much to his amusement, but he chuckled and moved back a step, sitting across the aisle from me.

"You don't have to share if you don't want to. I was just curious. You seemed rather lost in thought and troubled. Just wondered if I could help somehow."

I felt my lip twitch up, reaching over and grabbing my near half empty bowl of pudding. "Not unless you've got more food or have an idea on how to deal with a stubborn old man who thinks he knows what's best for everyone." _I'll wait until I have a better opportunity to tell him. No need to make things more complicated._

"Who's that then? Your father?"

I snorted, imagining the Twelfth Doctor's face if he'd heard that from his younger self. "Ah, no. My… boyfriend, actually." I replied, being sure to not call him my husband since he would find out who I was sooner or later and that information would be spoilers. "Thought I'd like a spa day after being sick, when I'd rather stay with him."

"Hm." The Doctor hummed. "Then why didn't you?"

"I knew better." I said, eating some pudding. "He was dealing with some troublesome things from his past that got brought up on our last outing. Needed some time alone. And it was his mistake that made me sick, so he's using this to make up for the guilt of it even though I told him it wasn't his fault. Like I said though, stubborn." I passed him the bowl and spoon. "Pudding?"

"Ah, well…" He eyed it and I rolled my eyes.

"It's banana."

_That_ got his attention and he took the bowl.

"Is it? Well then, can't pass that up." He said with a smile, eating some as well. "Sounds like he's a lucky guy though. Not everyone's so understanding."

"I suppose." I shrugged. "Though I consider myself the lucky one. I'd have nothing if it weren't for him."

The Doctor's eyes softened. "Nothing?"

I shook my head, staring ahead at nothing in particular. "Nothing. I suppose I could have had something, but I gave it all up for him. Felt he needed me more than they did… that's bad wording. Ignore that." I said with a small frown, earning a chuckle from the Doctor.

"No, that's alright. I think I understand. You traveling alone then? How long has your boyfriend left you for?"

I felt the need to mess with him well up in me and I raised a brow; struggling to keep the smile off my face.

"Trying to steal me away then, Doctor?"

He flushed, waving a free hand in a panic. "N-No! God, no! I-I was just—"

I laughed, unable to hold the façade up for long. "I'm _joking_, Doctor. And yes, I'll be traveling alone for a few days. Though you best be careful. That mouth of yours could get you in trouble with your girlfriend if you're not careful. There _is_ such a thing as being too friendly."

"R-Right." He said, rubbing the back of his neck and handing me back the pudding bowl. "You remind me of her though. My girlfriend. And that's not just because of your similar male attire either. I'm pretty sure she'd be bugging me for what I'd said too."

I felt my hearts swell at the caring look on his face and smiled, closing my eyes for a moment. "Sounds like you two are a perfect match, Doctor. You obviously love her very much and I'm sure she feels the same."

"Yeah." He smiled, beaming like an idiot and making me smile in return too. "So, that was Korean you were singing earlier, right?"

* * *

The Doctor watched the blonde woman he'd been speaking with earlier, only half paying attention to the lecture that Professor Hobbes was giving about the planet they were traveling through. There was just something about her that peaked his interest and he couldn't help but enjoy her company while she'd been talking to him. She reminded him a lot of Alex; from the way she dressed to her hairstyle to the way she spoke. He couldn't help comparing the two in his head, but he shook the thought from his mind because they couldn't be the same people. _Could they?_ He tilted his head curiously, watching the woman soaking in the information on the slideshow. _No… Can't be. I mean, she _is_ part Time Lord, but regeneration? And that would mean also that she… No. I refuse to believe that._ He frowned to himself, turning his attention back to the slideshow.

"Actually, I'm the first person to research this. Because, you see, the history is fascinating. Because there is no history. There's no life in this entire system. There couldn't be. Before the Leisure Palace Company moved in, no one had come here in all eternity. No living thing." Professor Hobbes said and the Doctor spotted Alex making to say something, but shut her mouth; only for Jethro behind him to speak up.

"But how do you know? I mean, if no one can go outside…"

"Oh, his imagination. Here we go." His mother drawled, but Alex turned in her seat and frowned at the woman.

"Not to be rude, but I was about to question the same thing. Does that make _my_ imagination extravagant?"

"W-Well, no. but he—"

"Has a _point_." Alex insisted. "If a tree falls in the forest and there's no one around to hear it, does that mean there's no tree? No. It just means that no one was around to see it fall. Can't tell there's no life if you've never been down there to try and find it."

Hobbes nodded. "Exactly. We look upon this world through glass, safe inside our metal box. Even the Leisure Palace was lowered down from orbit. And here we are now, crossing Midnight, but never touching it."

The tram suddenly rattled and pulled to a stop, surprising everyone on board except a frowning Alex nearby.

"We've stopped." Val said, worriedly. "Have we stopped?"

"Are we there?" Her husband, Biff, asked.

"We can't be. It's too soon." Deedee responded, looking a little anxious herself as her Professor spoke.

"They don't stop. Crusader vehicles never stop."

The stewardess stood up and tried to keep everyone calm. "If you could just return to your seats. It's just a small delay." She said, though everyone knew she had no idea what was going on either.

"Maybe it's just a pit stop." Biff offered.

"There's no pits to stop in. I've been on this expedition fourteen times. They never stop." The Professor insisted.

"Well, evidently we have stopped. So there's no point in denying it." Sky said a bit sharply.

Alex spoke up then, sounding as calm as can be. "We're on a different route. Obviously something happened on this one that they weren't aware of so they stopped as a precaution. Doesn't matter how many times you've ridden the shuttle, because I doubt any of those times were on this route. No offence, Professor."

"None taken." He said, relaxing a bit as well, though the Doctor swore he felt a wave of calm settle over the shuttle at Alex's words.

"We've broken down." Jethro laughed, but Alex cut Biff off before he could start.

"Perhaps. But that means nothing because they have emergency procedures for this sort of thing. Every tram does. They've most likely already called up another shuttle to evacuate us. Just more waiting around, if you ask me."

The stewardess walked up then, forcing a smile on her face. "Ladies and gentlemen, and variations thereupon. We're just experiencing a short delay. The driver needs to stabilize the engine feeds. It's perfectly routine, so if you could just stay in your seats."

The Doctor headed for the driver's door, using his psychic paper to get past the stewardess and check the drivers.

"Sorry, if you could just return to your seat, sir." The driver said, but the Doctor flashed his psychic paper at him.

"Company insurance. Let's see if we can get an early assessment. So, what's the problem, Driver Joe?"

"We're stabilizing the engine feeds. Won't take long." He lied and the Doctor tapped a screen nearby.

"Uh, no, because that's the engine feed. That line there, and it's fine. And it's a micropetrol engine, so stabilizing doesn't really make sense, does it? Sorry. I'm the Doctor, I'm very clever. So, what's wrong?"

The other driver spoke up. "We just stopped. Look, all systems fine, everything's working, but we're not moving."

The Doctor scanned the console with his sonic. "Yeah, you're right. No faults. And who are you?"

"Claude. I'm the mechanic. Trainee." He corrected.

"Nice to meet you."

Joe got things back into focus. "I've sent a distress signal. They should dispatch a rescue truck, top speed."

"How long till they get here?" The Doctor asked.

"About an hour."

"Well, since we're waiting, shall we take a look outside?"

* * *

I frowned at the door the Doctor had gone out of, chewing idly on the spoon hanging out of my mouth as a headache began to form just behind my eyes. I could _feel_ the unease coming off the other passengers and my never ending waves of calm were helping, but only minutely. And I knew things were going to get worse, but I questioned if _I'd_ be able to handle it. _Hell, I'd take the thing in myself, but I get the feeling that I'd be more helpful protecting the Doctor and preventing him from being thrown out then he does keeping me safe. After all, if need be, I _will_ get physical. Grappling with anyone in here would be easy. Though Biff might provide a bit of challenge. The Doctor, on the other hand, would try to stop them with words and that's how he gets screwed over in the first place._ I nodded to myself. _That's the plan then. Things go as they should and I protect the Doctor. Might be able to kick the creature out too, thus saving the stewardess, but… I don't think there's anything I can do about Sky._

I sighed quietly, snapping my black notebook closed and tapping the spine of it against my chin in thought. _Saving the drivers should be easy enough. Just need to get them out of the cockpit before the knocking gets to the front of the ship. The fun part is trying to keep everyone calm. If just this much is causing me a headache, I can only imagine how my temper will be when it's increased tenfold with panic._ I put the notebook away and sighed, rubbing my temples as the Doctor walked out and dealt with an already frantic Sky. When the stewardess headed to go talk to the drivers, I stopped her.

"Hey, sorry, but would there be any way you could convince the drivers to come out and join us? If they've already called up for some help, I mean. I doubt there'd be much to do other than wait and if they informed the more upset passengers personally about what was going on, that would help in everyone calm."

She smiled that same forced smile from before. "I'll see what I can do."

I smiled back, though a more honest one. "Thanks, um…"

"Angela." She replied and I nodded.

"Angela. I'm Alex, by the way. Nice to meet you. Well, you know. Put a name to the face."

"Hm." She said in a sort of half-chuckle, heading into the cockpit as I dropped the smile and pulled a hand through my hair.

_I need a drink._ And that thought only grew when Val overheard the Professor, Deedee, and the Doctor talking about what was going on and how much air we had.

"What did he say?"

"Nothing." The Doctor said, trying to keep things calm.

"Are we running out of air?" She pressed as the stewardess stepped back out and spotted the quickly spiraling atmosphere.

I cleared my throat, catching her attention and gestured to the cockpit. "Perhaps _now_ you could bring them out? Preferably before everyone in here completely losses their minds?"

She hastily nodded and returned to the cockpit as things grew steadily louder.

"How much air have we got?"

"Mum, just stop it."

"Everything is under control." The Doctor tried.

"Well, doesn't look like it to me."

"Well, he said it."

"It's fine. The air is on a circular filter."

"He started it."

The Doctor started to stand and the stewardess came out with the two drivers, but no one was paying any attention, so I did what Donna and I do best. I whistled.

"Oi!" I shouted, everyone going quiet as I calmed down myself and went about sorting my own feelings away from the chaotic passengers' and letting out more waves of calm. "If you all would just shut it and pay attention, I'm sure the _captain_ would be more than willing to explain things, so long as you remain calm. Okay?"

I received a few nods and the Doctor gave me a thankful look as we both sat back down and Driver Joe cleared his throat.

"Right then. Everything is fine. We've just taken precautionary measure and had to stop the vehicle for a bit. This _is_ a new path that the computer came up with, so it's quite possible something happened further up the line that made the vehicle stop."

"So you don't know what's wrong?" Val asked, voice shaking.

"No. However, we've already called up a rescue shuttle and it will be here within the hour."

"But what about the air?" Biff asked next.

Joe explained, calmly. "We have plenty of air. It's on a circular filter, so we will have air for _years_. There's nothing to worry about though. As the captain, I can guarantee that everything is fine and we will be back to the Leisure Palace safely in an hour or so. Everything's going to be fine."

"Oh, now you've done it." I breathed out under my breath, missing the look the Doctor gave me before there were two knocks.

"What was that?" Val asked, looking worried.

"It was probably the metal settling." Joe responded, eyeing the hull of the shuttle as well.

"Rocks. It could be rocks falling." Deedee offered.

There was another set of knocks and Sky looked rather panicked this time.

"What is that?"

"There's someone out there." Val said, immediately setting everyone on edge.

"Now, don't be ridiculous." Hobbes scoffed.

"Like I said, it could be rocks." Deedee answered and Hobbes argued that point.

"We're out in the open. Nothing could fall against the sides." The stewardess said, but the next set of knocks had her worrying.

"Knock, knock." The Doctor hummed, and I smacked him on the arm, making him frown at me as Jethro grinned.

"Who's there?"

"Is there something out there?" Sky asked, looking around. "Well? Anyone?"

"Yes." I said simply, making all eyes turn to me as I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back against the seat. "What? We've already said it's not rocks falling. It's happening too rhythmically to be the metal settling. Only other option is we happened upon a lifeform on the planet and it's making contact. We showed up in it's space and it wants to know what we are. Simple as that."

Two more knocks.

"I'm sorry, but the light out there is Xtonic. That means it would destroy any living thing in a split second. It is impossible for someone to be outside." Hobbes said nervously and I rolled my eyes.

"And it was impossible for people to believe that there was life on other planets for the same reasons. Can't be Martians on Mars because there's no atmosphere. Oh, but look. There is, because something _adapted_ to the atmosphere. Nothing's impossible if you really think about it."

The captain though, looked uncomfortable. "Sir, maybe you should get back to your seat."

I frowned. "I'm a woman, but thank you for calling me 'sir' instead of ma'am. And if we're stuck on this thing for another hour, then I think I'd rather _not_ be confined to my seat, thank you."

The knocking happened again and I shrugged off the captain's hand on my shoulder to watch the Doctor using his stethoscope on the shuttle's hull.

"Hello."

The knocks grew faster and shifted to another part of the shuttle.

"It's moving." Jethro commented; everyone up and on their feet now as my head ached terribly.

"It's trying the door!" Val exclaimed, taking a step away from said door.

"There is no it. There's nothing out there. Can't be." Hobbes insisted as the knocks moved up over the roof to the entrance door.

"That's the entrance. Can it get in?"

Deedee answered Val. "No. That door's on two hundred weight hydraulics."

"Stop it. Don't encourage them." Hobbes insisted and she frowned at him.

"What do _you_ think it is?"

Biff approached the door though, Val and the Doctor trying to stop him.

"Biff, don't."

"Mister Cane, better not."

"Nah, it's cast iron, that door." Biff said, knocking on it three times, only for the knocking on the outside to do the same.

"Three times. Did you hear that? It did it three times."

"It answered." Jethro said, just as stunned as his mother.

"It did it three times!"

"Alright, alright, alright. Everyone calm down." The Doctor said, moving between the group and the door as I kept an eye on Sky.

"Y-Yeah, but it answered. It answered. Don't tell me that thing's not alive. It answered him."

I reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder, letting out a deep breath and feeling her calm slightly under my touch.

"Sky, it's alright. Even if it did answer and it is alive, it can't get in here. Okay? Just relax."

She still had her shaky hands clasped together, but nodded and took a deep breath, jumping only slightly as the knocking happened again. _I can't save her. Even if I'm able to calm her down, I-I have to let her take the creature. I can't let it get back to the Leisure Palace. There's no way to save her. To save anyone. If she's safe someone else gets it and they're dead. We can't keep it contained. There's no way. This just… it's _impossible. I winced at the pounding behind my eyes, closing them with a hiss of breath from between my teeth as the Doctor knocked on the door four times. I was forced to let Sky go then, her panic overwhelming me very quickly and very suddenly, making me bring a hand up to my head in pain as she stepped back and began shouting at everyone.

"She said she'd get me. Stop it. Make it stop. Somebody make it stop. Don't just stand there looking at me! It's not my fault! He started it with his stories!"

"Calm down!" Deedee insisted, but she continued on; her words burning in my mind like a hot iron.

"And he made it worse! Why didn't you leave it alone?! Stop staring at me! Just tell me what the hell it is!"

"Calm down!"

I stumbled back, bumping into someone and slipping into a chair with my head in my hands as I tried desperately to get some sort of control over the emotions raging through my mind; vaguely hearing someone trying to talk to me through the burning fog in my head.

"Hey, Alex? Alex, what's wrong?"

"H-Help her." I breathed out, Sky's panicked voice echoing clear as day through my head as the knocks moved towards her.

"It's coming for me. Oh, it's coming for me. It's coming for me. It's coming for me. It's coming for me." She said, scared out of her mind as she backed up towards the cockpit door.

"Get out of there!" The Doctor shouted, reaching for her just before the lights sparked out and the whole shuttle lurched; throwing me out of the seat and across the way.

My side slammed painfully into the arm of a chair before I was flung the other direction and bashed my head on something solid; making stars flash across my vision as the world grew muggy and I felt someone grab a hold of me as we were tossed abut for another moment or two before everything settled down.

"—lex. Alex, are you alright?"

I groaned, cringing as I tried to sit up, but the brown blur that was holding me, stopped me.

"Whoa, there. Hold on a second. I need to know how bad you got hurt before you can think about moving."

I heard the familiar buzzing of the sonic and winced at the bright blue light.

"Ooh, not good. You've got a cracked rib and a mild concussion." He shifted out from under me, helping me into one of the few still-standing seats. "Stay here and don't move too much. Okay? And try not to think too hard. I've got to go check on everyone else."

I nodded, flinching as the headache in my head doubled with what had happened; screwing my eyes shut in a vain attempt to ease the pain and not have to deal with the commotion of the other passengers getting their bearings. I felt a bit worried now. Injured the way I was, I hoped I'd still be able to help the Doctor the way I wanted to. But with how Sky was able to throw off my sense of calm so quickly like that, I feared that keeping the rest of the passengers calm would be near impossible on my part. _I was lucky I even managed to get the drivers out of the cockpit before it was ripped off. But between Jethro creeping everyone out, Val instilling panic, and Angela quickly losing it, all I did was add two more people to the group of already mentally unstable people. I added two unknown factors to a group I might have been able to deal with. Not that I'm not happy I saved their lives, but things only seem to be going downhill in this adventure. And I doubt I'll be able to keep my temper much longer._

My vision was clearing up now and I could hear everyone clicking on their torches, as well as Jethro pointing out Sky.

"Never mind me. What about her?"

"What happened to the seats?" Val asked, Biff following.

"Who did that?"

"They've been ripped up."

I saw the Doctor heading her way and I stood up quickly, stumbling and catching his attention.

"Oi, I told you to stay sitting." He lightly complained, abandoning his original goal and trying to help me back into the seat.

"N-No." I argued, trying to move past him to get between everyone and Sky. "No, you can't touch her."

"What?" He questioned, Angela turning to a pale Joe and Claude.

"Joe? Claude? S-Shouldn't you do something?"

Joe shakily nodded. "I-I'll, uh, go check the cockpit. Get the lights back on."

"No." I breathed out, only heard by the Doctor and I leaned heavily on him.

He was suspicious, I'm sure, but didn't get a chance to question me when Joe opened the cockpit only for everyone to cry out at the bright light and he shut the door quickly.

"What happened?! What was that?!" Val questioned.

"T-The cabin's gone." Joe responded; Professor Hobbes scoffing.

"Don't be ridiculous. It can't be gone. How can it be gone?"

"Well… Well, you saw it." Deedee said, Joe having a hard time wrapping his head around things.

"I-It was almost like someone just… ripped it right off."

"What are you doing?" Biff questioned; I, myself having just noticed the Doctor had left my side and was working on a panel in the wall.

"Ah, that's better. Little bit of light. Thank you. Molto bene." The Doctor replied when Biff shined his torch at the panel.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Val questioned and Joe stepped forward again with a frown.

"Hey, you leave that alone!"

"No, it's safe." The Doctor replied, looking at the wiring inside. "But you're right. Something sliced the cabin right off. But you've sent the distress signal, yeah?" The Doctor stood. "Help is on its way. We'll get out of here. I promise. We're still alive and their going to find us and if my girlfriend was here, I'd have her tell you. Because she _never_ breaks a promise."

"_And is damn near brilliant at fixing problems like this."_ I heard his voice echoing in my head and I winced at the pain it brought with my headache, wishing I could tell him I was right here, but knowing that now wasn't the time.

"Doctor, look at her." Jethro called out and the Doctor shook his head from the thought.

"Right. Yes. Sorry. Have we got a medical kit?"

His question was ignored.

"Why won't she turn around?"

"What's her name?" Hobbes asked and Angela responded.

"Silvestry. Mrs. Sky Silvestry."

"Sky? Can you hear me?" The Doctor asked, making to kneel down as I called out quietly.

"D-Don't touch her."

The Doctor and others gave me a look, but he nodded ever so slightly; kneeling a bit away from her.

"Are you all right? Can you move, Sky? Just look at me."

"That noise from outside. It's stopped." Jethro said then, looking around along with his mother.

"Well, thank God for that."

"But what if it's not outside anymore? What if it's inside?"

"Inside? Where?" Val panicked and I groaned, holding my aching head.

"It was heading for her."

The Doctor though, was still trying to get Sky to react.

"Sky? It's all right, Sky. I just want you to turn around, face me."

Sky slowly turned and stared right at him and his torch. Just the way she was looking around the room had chills up my spine, but when she locked eyes with me, I swear I very nearly started up my respiratory bypass system due to holding my breath. I winced when there was a… knock at the barriers of my mind, fear clogging my throat as I shook before it was gone as quick as it came and she turned her gaze to the Doctor. I let out a breath, trying not to gasp for air and bring attention to myself as I clutched at my ribs that burned under the sudden pressure. _W-Why did she look at me? It felt like an eternity before she looked away. I could be wrong, but… there was that… knock. I-I don't know what else to call it. It was like it was testing me. Tapping away to see if I was like the ship. A-And that scares me. M-My God, does that scare me._ I sat down as normally as I could, but my body was quivering and my legs felt like jelly, and I knew that if I hadn't sat down, then I would have surely collapsed out of fear for whatever had taken over Sky. And that was when the repeating began.

"Sky?" The Doctor called out softly, earning the woman's voice echoing his question.

"Sky?"

"Are you alright?"

"Are you alright?"

"Are you hurt?"

"Are you hurt?"

"You don't have to talk."

"You don't have to talk."

"I'm trying to help."

"I'm trying to help."

"My name's the Doctor."

"My name's the Doctor."

"Okay, can you stop?" He asked and I shook my head with a soft sigh as she repeated the question.

"Okay, can you stop?"

"I'd like you to stop."

"I'd like you to stop."

"Why's she doing that?" Hobbes questioned and Sky rounded to him.

"Why's she doing that?"

"She's gone mad." Biff gasped.

"She's gone mad."

Val though, was getting frightened. "Stop it."

"Stop it."

"I said stop it."

"I said stop it."

"I don't think she can." Deedee offered, but Hobbes wasn't having it.

"Alright now, stop it. This isn't funny."

"Alright now, stop it. This isn't funny."

"Sh, sh, sh, all of you." The Doctor shushed them, Sky turning back to him as Jethro grinned.

"My name's Jethro."

"My name's Jethro."

"Jethro, leave it. Just shut up." The Doctor scolded.

"Jethro, leave it. Just shut up."

"Doctor." I spoke quietly, flinching as Sky repeated me. "Please, just stop talking to her. That will only make it worse."

He frowned at me slightly, but ignored my warning and turned back to Sky.

"Why are you repeating?"

"Why are you repeating?"

"What is that? Learning?"

"What is that? Learning?"

"Copying?"

"Copying?"

"Absorbing?"

"Absorbing?"

"The square root of pi is 1.772453850905516027298167483341. Wow."

"The square root of pi is 1.772453850905516027298167483341. Wow." Sky finished, only slightly behind him now.

"But that's impossible." Hobbes commented.

"But that's impossible."

"She couldn't repeat all that." Deedee agreed.

"She couldn't repeat all that."

"Tell her to stop." Val demanded, her voice wracking on my mind like a razor blade.

"Tell her to stop."

"She's driving me mad."

"She's driving me mad."

"Just make her stop!"

"Just make her stop!"

Val's panic started up the others and everyone spoke over one another with Sky repeating, forcing me to grind my knuckles into my temples in pain as I tried to figure out a way to shut them all up. I looked around and picked up a part of the arm of a chair that had come off, before slamming it against the hull of the ship a few times; immediately catching the attention of everyone as I glared at them all.

"If you could all just kindly _shut up_, then you would find that she goes quiet as well. Panicking about this situation is going to do absolutely _nothing_ other than get you all sent to the sanatorium the moment the rescue ship shows up! So take a seat and keep your mouths shut for the next sixty minutes, _please_!"

Sky repeated all of this, but I didn't so much as spare her a glance as the group of people shuffled anxiously and the lights flickered back to life. Joe looked up and let out a breath of relief as Claude cleared his throat and explained.

"T-That's the backup lighting system."

"Well, that's a bit better." Biff commented, not noticing how Sky had gone silent and was staring at me.

Hobbes nodded. "I suggest we do as Alex has said and just calm down. This panic isn't helping. That poor woman is evidently in a state of—"

What he said next was spoken over with Sky's voice as well.

"—self-induced hysteria. We should leave her alone."

"Doctor." Jethro breathed out, said man having stood and stared down at Val.

"I know."

His voice caught Hobbe's attention, and the professor frowned at him.

"Doctor, now step back. I think you should leave her…" He paused, realizing that Sky was talking _with_ him now. "…alone. What's she doing?"

"How can she do that? She's talking with you. And with me. Oh, my God. Biff, what's she doing?" Val questioned her husband as I groaned quietly and shifted further away from the easily panicked woman.

"She's repeating, at exactly the same time." Jethro said, Deedee following.

The Professor gapped. "That's impossible."

"There's not even a delay."

"Oh man, that is weird." The teen muttered.

"I think you should all be very, very quiet. Have you got that?" The Doctor tried, but Val wasn't listening.

"How's she doing it?"

"Mrs. Cane, please be quiet."

"How can she do that?! She's got my voice! She's got my words!" The irate woman shouted, Biff trying to calm her now.

"Come on, be quiet. Hush, now. Hush. She's doing it to me."

"Just stop it, all of you. Stop it, please." The Doctor insisted, and I'd finally had enough.

"Val." I said, voice laced with calm as thick as I could muster with the headache raging in my head. "Could you _please_ calm down?"

She shuffled a bit more, giving Sky an anxious look before bowing her head in a slight nod as I winced at the pressure that move put on my already tender mind and turned to the Doctor.

"And if you could, Doctor, please try not to antagonize whatever has Sky." I smiled a little at my next words. "If you're anything like my husband, then I know you'll do whatever it takes to fill your curiosity, but remember that it could be dangerous."

He eyed me suspiciously, but nodded, turning back to Sky and starting up his conversation with her. Or _at_ her, as it were.

"Now then, Sky. Are you Sky? Is Sky still in there? Mrs. Silvestry?" He paused. "You know exactly what I'm going to say. How are you doing that?.. Roast beef. Bananas. The Medusa Cascade. Bang! Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, Tardis. Shamble bobble dibble dooble. Oh, Doctor, you're so handsome. Yes, I am, thank you." He joked a bit, but kept trying. "A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O."

He grinned, standing up and turning to the group. "First she repeats, then she catches up. What's the next stage?"

"Next stage of what?" Deedee asked, as Jethro spoke.

"It's not her, is it? That's not Mrs. Silvestry anymore."

"I don't think so, no." The Doctor said and Biff held his wife a bit closer as she sniffled, but didn't begin to cry thanks to my earlier calming action. "I think the more we talk, the more she learns. Now, I'm all for education, but in this case, maybe not. Let's just move back. Come on. Come with me. Everyone, get back. All of you, as far as you can." He said, herding everyone to the back of the shuttle. "Come to the back. Stop looking at her. Come on, Jethro. You too. Everyone, come on. Fifty minutes, that's all we need. Fifty minutes till the rescue arrives. And she's not exactly strong. Look at her. All she's got is our voices."

I shook my head and he turned to me with curiosity.

"No, Alex?"

"She doesn't have our voices." I muttered. "You said so yourself. She's just copying. First she repeats, then she catches up, then… then she surpasses."

He frowned, still watching me as I stared at the woman across the shuttle who eyed me with a feral grin.

"Hm, perhaps. Any ideas on why it went after Sky?"

"There is no 'it'." Hobbes insisted, but Jethro argued the point, taking attention off me for now.

"Think about it though. That knocking went all the way round the bus until it found her. And she was the most scared out of all of us. Maybe that's what it needed. That's how it got in."

"For the last time, nothing can live on the surface of Midnight." The Professor insisted and I frowned at the man's stubbornness, but the Doctor took care of that.

"Professor, I'm glad you've got an absolute definition of life in the universe, but perhaps the universe has got ideas of its own, hm? Now trust me, I've got previous. I think there might well be some consciousness inside Mrs. Silvestry, but maybe she's still in there. And it's our job to help her."

"Well, you can help her. I'm not going near." Biff said and I nodded.

"Yes, best not." I turned to the Doctor then. "We should _all_ stay away for now." I said, emphasizing the 'all' and trying to keep him from spouting the words that would lose the trust these people had for him.

"She's right. Like she said, if Sky is copying us, then maybe the final stage is becoming us. I don't want her becoming me, or things could get a whole lot worse."

"Oh, like you're so special." Val muttered, remaining surprisingly calm still… thankfully.

"As it happens—"

"_Doctor._" I cut him off, making he pause and frown at me as I nodded towards the people and mouthed for him to behave.

I saw the slightest twitch of his lips into a smile, but it was gone as quick as it came.

"Right. So it's decided. We stay back and we wait. When the rescue ship comes, we can get her to the hospital."

The group nodded and I glanced at the stewardess and winced when she remained quiet. _Something's wrong. This is where she's supposed to suggest throwing Sky out, but she's not. Why?_ I thought back to what I read on the episode and mentally groaned at realizing the big mistake I'd made._ I saved the drivers. The whole reason she wants to throw Sky out in the first place is because the drivers were killed. But because I saved them, she's not thinking desperately. But we can't let Sky get back to the Leisure Palace. That's what it wants. But if I suggest that, then the group will come to the same conclusion as Angela did in the original plot. Except it will be _me_ who practically sentences Sky to death. And I can't think of any way to possibly separate her from whatever took her over. Not to mention whether Sky's even still in her body or not. _A sad thought crossed my mind then, making me gaze at Sky sympathetically. _It wouldn't surprise me if she was dead the moment the fear took control of her._

"Hey, you alright?"

I blinked out of my reverie and tore my gaze from Sky's, shifting it to the Doctor's worried ones.

"How's your head? And ribs, for that matter…"

I looked down at the hand I had draped around my torso to hold my side and looked back at him with a twitch of the lips.

"A-Alright, I suppose. Now that everyone's calmed down for a bit." I said quietly, looking around to see everyone speaking softly to one another in their own conversations and taking that chance to speak my feelings to the Doctor. "But… about whatever took over Sky… Don't you think it would be bad for it to be taken back to civilization? We don't know how far it is from taking one of us over and once the rescue gets here, how long before it takes someone else over?"

He shook his head. "No, because I'll be there to contain it."

I knew he meant the Tardis, but I bit my lip to keep from expression that concern and instead shifted to a more current one.

"What if it takes over you though?" I asked, catching his surprised look. "I'm not stupid. You're smart. _Very_ smart. And if it sees that… well, you'd be the first person I'd want to take over. You seem to know more than any of us on here and if it takes you over, then what's going to stop it?"

"You—"

He was cut off by Angela speaking up, his words making me cringe.

"Doctor, I was thinking… If we take that thing back to the Leisure Palace, if that thing reaches civilization… what if it spreads?"

"No, because I'll be there to contain it."

"You haven't done much so far." Val pipped up and I winced, feeling that what I'd done earlier was beginning to wear off.

"You're just standing in the back with the rest of us." Biff agreed.

"She's dangerous." Joe murmured and Angela spoke up then.

"We should throw her out."

"I beg your pardon?" Hobbes said, stunned, though Val was all for it.

"Can we do that?"

"Don't be ridiculous." The Doctor grumbled, seeing things beginning to spiral.

Angela was insistent though. "Look at her. Look at her eyes. Who's to say she won't kill us?"

"She can't even move." The Doctor said, trying to get the panicked group to see reason.

"She's still doing it." Biff said, his temper growing as he stormed past the Doctor towards Sky. "Just stop it! Stop talking! Stop it!"

"Biff, don't sweetheart." Val cried out and he returned to her side angrily.

"But she won't stop. We can't throw her out though. We can't even open the doors."

The Doctor got in his face, eyes deadly serious. "No one is getting thrown out."

Biff had a stare down with him and I winced, having seen similar actions between a couple of wild dogs on one of my anthropological excursions back home; staring each other down with snarling, gnashing teeth to see who would tuck tail and turn, or if they'd have to fight to see who was in charge. Thankfully, Biff turned and went back to comforting his wife, but Deedee had to ruin the tense calm by bringing up one of her facts.

"Yes, we can. Because there's an air pressure seal. Like when you opened the cabin door, you weren't pulled out. You had a couple of seconds, because it takes the pressure wall about six seconds to collapse. Well, six seconds exactly. That's enough time to throw someone out."

"Thanks, Deedee. Just what we needed." The Doctor snipped sarcastically, as Val turned to her hopefully.

"Would it kill her outside?"

"I don't know. But she's got a body now. It would certainly kill the physical form."

"No one is killing anyone!" The Doctor pressed, eyeing me for help, but I didn't know what to do.

I was having trouble separating emotions again and with them arguing and the Doctor adding more pressure on me and my already troubled thoughts on how to keep the plot going and ending this as safely as possible, I couldn't seem to get words out of my mouth to stop any of them from considering to throw Sky out.

"I wouldn't risk the cabin door again, but we've got the emergency exit and the entrance." Claude piped in, going along with things. "All we need to do is grab hold of her and throw her out."

"Now, listen, all of you. For all we know that's a brand new life form over there. And if it's come inside to discover us, than what's it found? This little bunch of humans. What do you amount to? Murder? Because this is where you decide. You decide who you are. Could you _actually_ murder her? Any of you? Really? Or are you better than that?" The Doctor asked, trying to make them see what they were turning into in their panic, but Angela spoke up determinedly.

"I'd do it."

And with her, the others readily followed. Deedee stunning the Doctor when she too agreed.

"What?"

"I want her out." Deedee said, shamefully.

"You can't say that."

"I'm sorry, but you said it yourself, Doctor. She is growing in strength."

"That's not what I said."

Deedee was in near tears now though. "I want to go home. I'm sorry. I want to be safe."

"You'll be safe any minute now. The rescue truck is on its way." He insisted.

"And then what?" Joe questioned. "We're just supposed to let it spread?"

"I said I'd contain it!"

Angela shook her head. "She's dangerous. And it's our job to make sure that this vessel is safe, and we should get rid of her."

"Now, hang on." Hobbes said. "I think perhaps we're all going a little bit too far."

"At last. Thank you." The Doctor said, breathing a sigh of relief before turning to Jethro. "Jethro, what do you say?"

"I'm not killing anyone." He said determinedly.

"Thank you."

"He's just a boy." Val said, arguing the point and offending Jethro.

"What? So I don't get a vote?"

"There isn't a vote. It's not happening. Ever. If you try to throw her out that door, you'll have to get past me first."

"Okay." Angela said, Biff backing her up.

"Fine by me."

"Oh, now you're just being stupid!" The Doctor said, getting in Biff's face. "Just think about it. Could you actually take hold of someone and throw them out of that door?!"

"Calling me a coward?"

"Enough!" I shouted, a hand on my head in pain as I stared them all down; Doctor included. "Don't you see what you're doing? You're turning against one another! All of you! And I get it, alright! You're scared to death of whatever took over Sky, but none of you are thinking clearly! Val, Biff. What if it took over Jethro? Would you be so willing to throw him out of the shuttle?"

"W-Well, no, but—"

"And Deedee. What if it was Professor Hobbes?"

She shuffled and lowered her gaze to the floor as I went on. Trying my best to get them to calm down and realize the severity of what they were suggesting.

"You guys are all turning against Sky because none of you knew her. She's just some stranger you don't know and her death wouldn't mean anything to you, so it's easy for you to become detached. But you're not seeing the whole picture! She has a family just like any of you. People who _care_ about her. And what do you think they'll feel like knowing that she was thrown out of a shuttle because a bunch of people were too scared to think of any other option. Huh? And what do you think _your _friends and family will think when they find out you've thrown someone out and killed them. Because they'll find out. Someone here will squeal and tell the press what happened and they'll realize their friends, their family killed someone for no good reason. So please, _please_ just think this through calmly. Rationally. We are not talking about throwing away a piece of trash that could be recycled. We are talking about taking a human _life_. We are talking about _murdering_ someone. And for what? Because we can't keep calm for another half an hour? Really?"

The group had quieted at my words and I felt hopeful that maybe, _maybe_ I had stopped the panic. I had prevented them from killing Sky and that the Doctor could somehow find a way to deal with whatever was in her, but all it took was one sentence from Val to send everything to pieces.

"What other choice do we have?"

I went to answer, to say something—_anything_—but the others quickly joined in.

"And I'm sorry, who are you?" Hobbes asked me, before turning to the Doctor. "And you're a doctor of what, exactly?"

Angela piped in then. "He wasn't even booked in. The rest of you, tickets in advance. She bought a ticket last minute and he just turned up out of the blue."

Val turned to us both. "Where are you from?"

"I'm just travelling. I'm a traveler, that's all." The Doctor replied, looking hesitant now that everyone was turning on him and myself as well.

"Like an immigrant?" She questioned before turning to me. "And you?"

"My husband sent me to Leisure Palace to relax after I was sick. I don't care much for spas and thought this sounded better." I responded, eyeing everyone and being sure to stay between them and the Doctor for now.

"Who were you talking to?" Angela asked the Doctor. "Before you got on board, you were talking to someone. Who was that?"

"Just Donna. Just my friend." He responded as Biff snipped.

"And what were you saying to her?"

"He hasn't even told us his name." Val pipped in with Jethro growing suspicious as well.

"The thing is, Doctor, you've been loving this."

"Oh, Jethro, not you." He complained lightly.

"No, but ever since all the trouble started, you've been loving it."

"It has to be said, you do seem to have a certain glee." Hobbes agreed, before looking at me with a frown. "And you've been clutching your head like you're in pain ever since the incident happened too."

The Doctor nodded, willing to agree to what he'd said about him. "All right, I'm interested. Yes, I can't help it. Because whatever's inside her, it's brand new, and that's fascinating."

"What? You wanted this to happen?" Val asked in disgust.

"No."

"And you were talking to her, all on your own, before all the trouble. Right at the front, you were talking to that Sky woman, the two of you together. I saw you." Biff said. "Spoke here with this one too." He gestured to me.

"Everyone spoke with everyone." I argued with a slight sigh, rubbing at my head. "That was what we all did after the entertainment system malfunctioned. Got to know each other. And I get bad headaches when situations get out of hand. People panicking causes it."

"And you went into the cabin." Joe said, gesturing to the Doctor before turning to me. "And you sent the stewardess in to get me to come out."

"What we you saying to Sky?" Biff asked the Doctor.

"I was just talking."

"Saying what?"

"He was getting to know her." I drawled. "Asked me the same things."

"You called us humans like you're not one of us." Jethro pointed out then. "You both did."

"And the wiring." Deedee mentioned. "He went into that panel and opened up the wiring."

"That was after." The Doctor argued, but Biff shook his head.

"But how did you know what to do?"

"Because I'm—"

I cut him off before he could dig himself a deeper hole. "He's an engineer! Okay? And I'm sorry, but I lied. He's my husband. We were just trying to get away from each other for a bit, but I got lonely and dragged him onboard. It was very last minute and he can get a bit enthusiastic about new things, which is why we agreed on the phone to pretend we didn't know each other while on the shuttle, because he's more social than I am and I wanted to enjoy the trip without having him yapping in my ear all day, alright?!"

The group grew quiet once more myself ignoring the Doctor's surprised gaze burning into the side of my head and Hobbes spoke up.

"Then perhaps you can tell us your names."

"I'm Alex Smith and he's Johnathan Smith." I replied, keeping as best I could to the John Smith nickname without setting off the others. "What else do you want to know? Our wedding anniversary? Birthdays? What we did on our first date? Because now you're all acting ridiculous. He's trying to _help_. Hell, _I'm_ trying to help by keeping everyone calm. And with you lot getting more and more panicked by the second, how is anyone supposed to be calm enough to do anything? Especially when you're questioning everyone around you who wants to help. Honestly, I think you would be grateful to have some clever people aboard who are willing to try and figure things out. Even Hobbes here could help if he wanted to, but with you attacking everyone who tries, it's no wonder he's not."

Hobbes shuffled a bit, nervous at the attention brought to him by my words, but I knew that if I'd just flat out said the Doctor would help that there'd be a whole new round of arguing that I wouldn't be able to deal with.

"So, if you've all calmed down now, perhaps we could collectively think of another solution as to making sure we are safe until the rescue group arrives, yes?" I finished and Biff begrudgingly spoke.

"And what do you propose?"

I sighed, rubbing at my aching head. "I-I don't know. Maybe we can sort of quarantine her off in that section of the shuttle or something."

"With what?" Val questioned. "There's nothing here!"

"Mom, stop. Just look." Jethro spoke up and his words had me freezing.

"You stay out of this, Jethro." Biff grumbled, but he insisted.

"Look at her!"

All eyes went to Sky, who stared at me but stayed quiet.

"She's stopped." Val murmured.

"When did she stop?" The Doctor questioned and I very nearly let out a sigh of relief if it weren't for the thought that went through my head at that moment.

_If not the Doctor, then who?_

"She looks the same to me. No, she's stopped. Look, I'm talking, and she's not." Val said happily and Biff tried.

"What about me, is she? Look. Look at that. She's not doing me. She's let me go."

Angela, Joe, and Claude all tried as well, but still nothing. Even Hobbes she didn't repeat and all eyes went to me as I felt my hands shake as they gripped the seat beside me. _No… No, no, no, no, no. Not me. Please. I-It was supposed to be the Doctor. I-I was supposed to protect him. H-How… How did it get in?_ I stared with frightened eyes at Sky's smirking face, mentally searching for how the creature had gotten into my head and I winced upon finding the tiniest sliver that it had crept through; sending ice down my spine.

"Alex?" The Doctor said quietly, approaching me slowly. "Alex, is everything alright? Can you says something?"

I opened and closed my mouth a few times, not taking my eyes off of Sky as I quickly thought through the episode and what the Doctor did to get Sky out of his head. _No. He didn't get her out. She took him. Took his voice. I-It was something he said. Something he said that Angela caught a hold of. That no one else on this shuttle said… Allons-y… molto bene… Yes, but… I never said those things to her. S-She won't have figured it out. How do I let them know? I-I need a word. I-I…_

"I-I need a word." I said, Sky speaking with me and making everyone take a few steps back.

* * *

"Alex, it's you. She's only copying you." Hobbes breathed out and the Doctor was quickly in Alex's face.

"Why you? Why is she doing this to just you?" He furrowed his brows then. "And what do you mean you need a word?"

"I-If it takes my voice." She said, wincing as Sky copied her. "If she takes my voice, then I need something t-to let you know it's still me."

He frowned, not understanding what she was getting at. _Make sure it's still her? But if it takes her voice, won't it be obvious?_ His mind ran around rampantly, his body moving before he realized he'd tucked her behind him and away from the other passengers protectively.

"How do you explain it, Doctor? If you're so clever." Biff challenged and the Doctor frowned at him before he tugged Alex over towards Sky.

"Mrs. Silvestry, I'm trying to understand. You've captured Alex's speech. What for? What do you need? You need her voice in particular. Why? Because she's the only one who can help? Oh, I'd love that to be true, but your eyes, they're saying something else." He said, getting no reaction from the woman. "Listen to me. Whatever you want, if it's life, or form, or consciousness, or voice, you don't have to steal it. You can find it without hurting anyone. And we'll help you. That's a promise. So, what do you think? Do we have a deal?"

The woman didn't speak, her eyes completely locked on Alex's and the Doctor felt something catch in his throat. He didn't know Alex that well, but her resemblance to his wife was uncanny and perhaps that was why he felt this desperate need to help her and protect her from the other frightened passengers. Then again, maybe it was just because she stood up for him and prevented him from saying impossibly stupid things that could have riled said passengers up. Either way, he had to help her. And in order to do so, he had to figure out how this creature in Sky worked and what it wanted.

"Delta Theta Sigma." Alex suddenly blurted out, making the Doctor blink at her in shock as they locked eyes for a second and she turned back to the passengers behind them. "You got that? Delta Theta Sigma. Remember that. There will be—"

At that moment, Alex's breath hitched slightly and Sky's voice spoke before hers.

"—a test later."

"—a test later."

"Hold on, did she…" Deedee spoke up, Jethro gapping in shock as well.

"She spoke first."

"She can't have." Val gasped.

"She did." Hobbes confirmed and the Doctor looked frantically between Sky and Alex as Sky smirked.

"Oh, look at that. I'm ahead of you."

"Oh, look at that. I'm ahead of you." Alex repeated, showing nothing visibly, but her eyes reflecting fear.

"Did you see?" Hobbes said, almost excitedly. "She spoke before Alex did. Definitely."

"Alex is copying her." Jethro concluded, but there was more to it than that.

That much, the Doctor knew. Her words before just didn't make sense, after all. _Why did she need a word? A-And why was it so close to my… to my name…_

"Doctor, what's happening?" Hobbes asked him, but Sky answered before he could.

"I think it's moved."

"I think it's moved." Alex repeated

"I think it's letting me go."

"I think it's letting me go."

"What do you mean?" Deedee asked, suspicious. "Letting you go from what?"

"But Alex is repeating now. She's the one doing it. It's her." Biff said, angering the Doctor as he quickly stood up.

"No. No it's not. There's something more. Something we're missing." He snapped, messing up his hair as he struggled to figure it out, but the others weren't as convinced.

"They're separating."

"Mrs. Silvestry, is that you?"

"Yes. Yes, it's me."

"Yes. Yes, it's me." Alex repeated after the woman, fingers quivering ever so slightly, unseen.

"I'm coming back. Listen."

"I'm coming back…"

"It's me."

"…Listen. It's me." Alex repeated, just a tad slower than Sky.

"Like it's passed into Alex. It's transferred. Whatever it is, it's gone inside her." Jethro said, but even Deedee could see now that that wasn't the case.

"No, that's not what happened."

"But look at her." Val insisted as the Doctor hurried over to hear what Deedee had to say.

"Look at me, I can move." Sky said, slowly getting up.

"Look at me…"

"I can feel again."

"…I can move. I can feel again."

"I'm coming back to life." Sky grinned, though it looked more like a smirk to the Doctor.

"I'm coming back to life."

"And look at her. She can't move."

"And look at her. She can't move."

"Help me."

"Help me."

"Professor?"

"Professor?"

"Get me away from her."

"Get me away from her."

"Please."

"Please."

Hobbes hurried to help Sky, but the Doctor blocked his path.

"Wait."

He frowned. "But Doctor—"

"_No_." He snapped. "Because something else is going on. Deedee, what is it? You've noticed, but I can't think straight. Please. Help me."

"I-It's… It's just as you said. Before, I mean. It repeats, then it synchronizes, then it goes onto the next stage."

"What? And you're on it's side?" Biff scoffed, but even Jethro was suspicious now.

"The voice is the thing."

"And _Sky_ is the voice. She _stole_ it. Look at her. It's not possessing Alex, it's draining her."

Angela clicked in then too. "She's got her voice."

Val spoke quickly though, arguing the point. "But that's not true, because it can't. Because I saw it pass into Alex. I saw it with my own eyes."

"So did I." Biff agreed.

"You didn't." Deedee said.

"It went from her, to Alex. You saw it, didn't you?" Val asked Jethro, but he shook his head.

"I don't know."

"Oh, don't be stupid, Jethro. Of course you did."

"I-I suppose—"

"Stop it! Enough!" The Doctor shouted. "You're all doing it again! Fighting each other isn't going to get us anywhere!"

"That's how he does it." Sky said ominously.

"That's how he does it."

"She makes you fight."

"She makes you fight."

"Creeps into your head."

"Creeps into your head."

"And whispers."

"And whispers."

"Listen."

"Listen."

"Just listen."

"Just listen."

"That's her."

"That's her."

"Inside."

"Inside."

"Throw her out." Biff said, having had enough of the creature's words as Val cried.

"Get her out of my head!"

"Yeah, we should just throw her out." Biff rattled on, the Doctor looking back and forth between the group of people and Alex in concern.

"Don't just talk about it, just… You're useless. Do something."

"I will." Biff finally said with confidence. "You watch me. I'm going to throw her out."

"Yes." Sky grinned.

"Yes."

"Throw her out."

"Throw her out."

"Get rid of her."

"Get rid of her."

"Now."

"Now."

"No!" Shouted the Doctor, shoving Biff back and stopping him. "I won't let you touch her!"

"Get out of my way!" Biff shouted back, shoving him off him and into Joe and Claude; who held him back as Biff went over to grab Alex.

"Don't!" Shouted Deedee, Val turning to glare at her.

"It'll be you next!"

Biff struggled with Alex's dead weight, the Doctor catching sight of her panicked and fearful eyes as Angela stepped forward.

"I don't think we should do this!"

"Professor, help me!" Biff demanded, but the Doctor still fought against his captors.

"No! Please! Let her go! It's not her! It didn't possess her! Please, I beg of you! Let Alex go!"

"I can't… I'm not…" Hobbes said, looking worried now as Biff and Val both shouted at him.

"What sort of man are you?! Come on!"

"Throw her out!"

"Come on!"

"Just do it! Throw her out!"

Alex's foot caught on one of the chairs as Hobbes lamely attempted to assist Biff; the Doctor shouting for them to let Alex go, tears pooling in his eyes for a reason unknown to him as Sky grinned manically in the shadows.

"Cast her out."

"Cast her out."

"Into the sun."

"Into the sun."

"I want her out." Val continued to shout again and again, Sky going on.

"And the night."

"And the night."

"Do it."

"Do it."

"Faster."

"Faster."

"That's the way."

"That's the way."

"You can do it."

"You can do it."

"Molto bene."

"Molto bene."

"Allons-y."

"Allons-y."

"Theta."

"Theta."

That got the Doctor's attention, a tear slipping down his face as his struggles increased and Joe and Claude began to have a difficult time holding him back.

"Alex! Alex! Let her go! Let Alexander go!" He shouted.

"Delta Theta Sigma." Sky said, unknowing of what she was even saying at this point, though the words caught everyone's attention except Biff and Val.

"Delta Theta Sigma."

"That's her voice." Angela breathed out.

"The starlight waits."

"The starlight waits."

"She's taken Alex's voice." Deedee said afterwards, and the two woman exchanged glances with one another before they rushed forward and tried to pry Biff off of Alex.

"W-What are you doing?!"

"Listen to her! She said it! She said 'Delta Theta Sigma'!"

"That's what she said before! She said to remember it because it would show it's still her! You can't throw her out! You can't!"

Jethro joined in as well, fighting against his father. "She's stolen Alex's voice!"

Joe and Claude released the Doctor, stunned and he quickly turned and spotted an angry looking Sky; grabbing her and yanking her towards the emergency door. He smashed open the button and grimaced against the sunlight as Sky and Alex screamed.

"I'm sorry." He apologized, before shoving Sky out as the door closed and Alex collapsed to the ground; panting breathlessly.

"I-It's gone." She muttered, eyes wide in shock. "It's gone, it's gone, it's gone, it's gone, it's gone."

Tears came to her eyes and she curled up on the ground with a quiet sob, clutching at her head and side as she cried and the others in the room backed up and gave her space; realizing now that they had very nearly sentenced an innocent woman to her death.

"I said it was her." Val spouted out, and the Doctor gave the woman a heated glare as he headed to Alex's side and pulled the woman to him.

Alex immediately clung to him, sobbing quietly with a slight wheeze into his shoulder as he rocked her back and forth and shushed her softly; realizing now that this was _his_ Alex. And he'd almost lost her. And even after twenty minutes, the tension in the shuttle hadn't stopped. Alex had stopped crying, but had yet to release the Doctor or make any sound; simply clinging to him like she'd never see him again. An announcement came over the intercom that the rescue shuttle had arrived, but still no one moved or made any reaction, other than the Doctor placing a soft kiss to the top of Alex's head. After a second though, a croaky voice spoke up.

"I-I-I forgive you."

All eyes went to Alex as she shifted slightly and looked around the room; locking eyes with everyone on board.

"W-What?" Hobbes questioned her and she turned back into the Doctor's chest as she spoke.

"I-I forgive you… for trying t-to throw me out."

Val let out a choked sob at that, but no one else said a word as the rescue crew boarded the shuttle and escorted the weary travelers off it and back to Leisure Palace. The Doctor keeping an arm around Alex the whole time as he walked with her to where Donna was; having phoned the woman to let her know that things hadn't gone well. Upon seeing the frazzled blonde woman—the Doctor having mouthed that it was indeed Alex—Donna scooped the woman into a hug, careful of the woman's ribs when she let out a yelp, and didn't let go until the blonde had stopped crying once more. The trio sat down on the stone steps then, the Doctor explaining what happened as he held onto Alex, and Donna giving the woman worried glances.

"What do you think it was?" She asked eventually.

"No idea." The Doctor said, giving Alex a look, but she shook her head silently; letting him know she had no clue either.

"Do you think it's still out there?" Donna asked, before changing topic. "Well, you'd better tell them. This lot."

"Yeah. They can build a Leisure Palace somewhere else. Let this planet keep on turning round an Xtonic star… in silence."

"Can't imagine you without a voice, Alex." Donna said, trying to cheer the woman up, but she stayed quiet. "Why didn't you tell the Doctor who you were?" She asked instead.

"I…" Alex winced and cleared her throat, trying again. "I didn't want to distract him. Didn't know w-what it would do to the future if I did and… I-I couldn't find the right time." She glanced up at the Doctor. "Sorry."

He shook his head, tugging her tighter to his chest. "No… No, it's okay. It was for the best and… trying to explain something like that is… It's not easy. I understand, really."

"I didn't mean f-for you to find out like this." Alex continued, burying her face in his suit. "I-I wanted to explain it properly."

"You still can." He insisted, standing and tugging her up with him as Donna smiled a little at the couple. "On the Tardis. In the library by the fire, snuggled up with me and a blanket and a nice warm cup of your favorite tea. I'm sure Donna won't mind a relaxing, in-home holiday."

Donna shook her head. "Course not. I've got some soaps to catch up on anyway, so I'll leave you two to it."

The group headed to where the Doctor parked the Tardis and went their separate ways once the ship was sent up into the Vortex. The Doctor strolling into the library with a soft smile and a warm cup of tea that he passed to Alex who managed to crack a slight smile back from under her blanket that he soon joined her under; the two gazing into the crackling fire in front of them as Alex explained some of what had happened, her new body's quirks, and the fears that their day on Midnight had settled into her once strong mind.

* * *

**_Sneak Peak:_**

_"He's the last of his kind. He looks young, but he's lived for hundreds and hundreds of years. And wherever they take you, Melody, however scared you are, I promise you, you will never be alone. Because this man is your father. He has a name, but the people of our world know him better as the Last Centurion." She paused, glancing at Kovarian, before turning her gaze back to her daughter. "And the Doctor will come with him. He will tear the universe apart trying to get to us, because they've taken something they shouldn't have. They have his wife."_


	80. A Good Man Goes to War & Last Christmas

**Alright, it's a bit late, but i finished it :) and sorry ahead of time to those of you looking forward to an exciting chapter of 'A Good Man Goes to War'. I sort of... got to a point where i realized Alex wouldn't end up contributing much and didn't want to copy scene's word for word with only snippets of alex popping in, so i made this a combination episode/chapter and cut that one rather short. i hope you all enjoy it though! and please let me know what you think on the 'Last Christmas' part. i hope i did that alright.**

* * *

"I wish I could tell you that you'll be loved. That you'll be safe and cared for and protected." Amy said softly, carrying a young baby—her daughter—in a white room surrounded by guards and Kovarian; who frowned down at her. "But this isn't the time for lies. What you are going to be, Melody, is very, very brave."

"Two minutes." Kovarian announced, Amy staring her down.

"But not as brave as they'll have to be. Because there's someone coming. I don't know where he is, or what he's doing, but trust me. He's on his way." She said, gazing out the window briefly. "There's a man who's never going to let us down, and not even an army can get in the way."

Outside the large viewing window, soldiers milled about, sending a nervous ripple down Amy's spine until Kovarian went to take Melody from her.

"Leave her." Amy begged, getting more tearful by the second as Kovarian pried the little girl from her mother. "Just you leave her. Please leave her! Please, leave her!"

"Give her five more minutes." A croaky voice called out, and Kovarian stopped her advance and turned to the figure on their knees by one of the doors; two armed guards standing behind them as they lifted their head to show off a wicked smirk despite the bruise on their jaw. "And if you're lucky, I'll tell you something interesting."

Kovarian narrowed her eyes at the blonde woman, but pointed out a nearby Moses basket. "Five more minutes."

Amy nodded, giving the blonde Alex a concerned look as the guards hefted the woman up, but she just smiled reassuringly as she was lead out and Amy turned her attention back to Melody as she laid her in the basket.

"He's the last of his kind. He looks young, but he's lived for hundreds and hundreds of years. And wherever they take you, Melody, however scared you are, I promise you, you will never be alone. Because this man is your father. He has a name, but the people of our world know him better as the Last Centurion." She paused, glancing at Kovarian, before turning her gaze back to her daughter. "And the Doctor will come with him. He will tear the universe apart trying to get to us, because they've taken something they shouldn't have. They have his wife."

* * *

"He is not the devil. He is not a god. He is not a goblin, or a phantom or a trickster. The Doctor is a living, breathing man, and as I look around this room I know one thing. We're sure as hell going to fix that." Colonel Manton called out to his troops as I huffed lightly with a pained grimace.

_If there's one thing Kovarian is good at, it's getting answers._ I mentally drawled, peering an eye open to glance at Amy and see how she was holding up as she looked out the window. _Not that I had anything to give her. She just wanted to know about the Doctor and whether the energy in my shoulder could be harnessed as a weapon. Silly thought, though entirely possible, I suppose. Though the round of beatings did nothing to… _entice_ such a response. _I snorted, earning a raised brow from Amy as I closed my eyes once more; my chained hands hanging off my propped up knee. _Idiots. Like threatening my person has gotten the energy to do anything before._ The door up above opened and I cracked an eye open once more to see someone enter the room. I knew who she was—not by name, but by her role in this mess of an adventure—so I settled back down to resume my nap as she approached.

"Sorry. I shouldn't be here. I'm meant to be at the thing... I brought you something. Your child's name in the language of my people. It's a prayer leaf and we believe, if you keep this with you, your child will always come home to you."

"Can I borrow your gun?" Amy asked, making my brows furrow at the thought.

"Why?"

"'Cause I've got a feeling you're going to keep talking." Amy bit out, and I spoke up despite the protests of my aching throat.

"Shame on you, Pond." I grumbled, not opening my eyes to see her—no doubt annoyed—expression. "Not everyone here is out to mess with us, you know. You should be grateful. She took the time out of her breaks to make that for you."

"She's still with them." Amy snipped and I hummed.

"Sure, but not for the reasons you think."

I could feel the other woman's eyes on me and I opened my eyes, almost enjoying the way her soldier trained body stiffened under my blank gaze.

"I know a lot of things, miss." I replied to her unasked question. "Though not much about you. Very little, really. Though I'm having a… problem remembering things lately. I'd say I'm getting old, but my husband would disagree."

Amy snorted quietly at that and I was pleased to see the hint of a smile on her face. _Thankfully not the first since I've been here, though they're still rare, considering the situation._

"Your name, for instance, escapes me. I'd look it up, but they seem to have taken an interest in my coat and removed it—and my notebook—from me. Shame they'll get nothing from it." I shrugged, regretting the action when a spike of pain went up my spine and I wheezed out a sharp breath. "A-Although, that would be the fourteenth coat I've had to get replaced. I'll be lucky if the Tardis doesn't leave a slimy fish or a scorpion in my bed."

Amy chuckled, making me smile a little. "She did that?"

I nodded. "Hm, except last time it was a little bundle of sea urchins and she had replaced the mattress with a waterbed. You can imagine my expression when I hopped into bed only to end up soaked and covered in the little spiny creatures. The Doctor was more than amused though."

"Um…"

I sighed, lifting a bandaged hand to rub at my aching head. "Yes, sorry. I ramble. Your name?"

"L-Lorna."

"Mm, not named after the fruit tree, I hope."

She shook her head and I sighed again, nostalgic.

"Ah, they have the strangest fruits. Tough suckers. A pain in the butt to eat, but excellent in pasta, strangely enough."

"Alex." Amy scolded and I waved at her.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll shut up now. Sheesh."

She rolled her eyes as I settled back again, listening as the colonel continued his speech down below and Amy turned back to the window with a frown.

"They're talking like he's famous. The Doctor isn't famous."

I snorted, but felt—more than saw—her annoyance and kept my mouth shut as Lorna responded.

"He meets a lot of people. Some of them remember. He's sort of like a… I don't know. A dark legend."

"Dark? Have you met him?" Amy questioned, sounding surprised, though I made no reaction to the words.

I knew what people thought of the Doctor and it hurt, but I couldn't help what they thought. _All that matters, is what he thinks and what the people close to him think._

"Yeah, but I was just a little girl."

"So was I." Amy admitted, surprisingly honest and open to Lorna.

"You've been with him a long time then."

"No. Alex has been with him longer. He came back for me."

Lorna glanced at me, I'm sure, but spoke with Amy. "You both must be very special."

"Hey. You can wait a long time for the Doctor, but he's worth it, okay? The thing is, he's coming. No question about it. Just you make sure you're on the right side when he gets here. Not for my sake, for yours." Amy headed over and took the prayer leaf from her, myself keeping an eye on them just in case, though I knew I didn't have to. "Thank you."

Lorna bowed her head and gave me a subtle nod that I returned, leaving Amy and I to watch and listen to the men and women below giving out cheers to the colonel's words.

"On this day, in this place, the Doctor will fall!" He called out.

"Hoo rah!"

"The man who talks, the man who reasons, the man who lies, will meet the perfect answer."

"Hoo rah!"

There was a very brief pause before he went on.

"Some of you have wondered why have we have allied ourselves with the Headless Monks. Perhaps you should have wondered why we call them Headless. It's time you knew what these guys have sacrificed for faith. As you all know, it is a Level One Heresy, punishable by death, to lower the hood of a Headless Monk. But by the divine grant of the Papal Mainframe herself, on this one and only occasion, I can show you the truth. Because these guys never can be persuaded."

I'd gotten up shakily at this point, waving off Amy's concern as I leaned up against the wall with a panting wheeze and watched with her as the colonel removed the hood of one of the Headless Monks to reveal the twisted stub of a neck.

"They can never be afraid."

Another hood dropped.

"They can never, ever be…"

And a third, moving down the row until he came to the fourth and it was thrown off to reveal a grinning Eleven.

"Surprised! Ha, ha!" The man laughed, earning a short chuckle from me before the pain in my ribs shut me up. "Hello, everyone! Guess who? Please, point a gun at me if it helps you relax."

Of course, everyone aimed their weapons at him, aside from Lorna; who I pinpointed out of the crowd of soldiers and monks.

"You're only human." The Doctor finished, tone dark and making me sigh quietly as I remembered how hard this adventure got for him.

_He will rise to his highest, and fall to his lowest._ I silently lamented, but turned my focus on the present, rather than the future.

"Doctor, you will come with me right now." Colonel Manton demanded, his own pistol leveled at the Doctor.

"Three minutes. Forty seconds." The Doctor said, before raising his voice in a shout. "Amelia Pond! Get your coat!"

The lights went out and Amy pressed her hands to the glass in worry, but I placed a pale hand on her shoulder with a small smile of reassurance. It did its job and she smiled in return, only to suddenly frown.

"W-Why didn't he call out for you?"

I contemplated that for a moment, before coming to a sad conclusion. "I… don't think he knows I'm even here, Amy."

Her eyes softened, sorrowfully, before the loud clang of a spotlight came on and illuminated the center stage below; the Doctor's voice ringing out from some unknown location.

"I'm not a phantom."

"Doctor?" The colonel called out, looking around.

"I'm not a trick."

The colonel continued to look for him, calling out again and steadily getting angrier and more panicked.

"I'm a monk."

"Doctor, show yourself."

"It's him! He's here! It's him!" A frightened man called out and the group of soldiers turned to face the monks; one falling before one of said monks killed a soldier.

Panic quickly ensued and it took a while before the colonel regained control by lowering his weapon and getting the other soldiers to do the same. While grateful that the killing had stopped, I knew things would get harder before they got easier, though the sight of the numerous Silurians, Judoon, Sontarans and other armed aliens brought a sense of peace for the moment.

"This base is now under our command." Strax announced, facing the colonel fearlessly.

"I have a fleet out there. If Demon's Run goes down, there's an automatic distress call." The colonel snapped, but the Doctor's voice rang out over the intercom and made me close my eyes with a soft smile at the thought of his grinning face.

"_Not if we knock out your communications array. And you've got incoming._"

"_Danny Boy to the Doctor. Danny Boy to the Doctor._" Another voice rang out.

"_Give 'em hell, Danny Boy._"

I could imagine the Doctor making his strange airplane movements and chuckled to myself for a moment; using a chair nearby to keep me on my feet as the ship shook slightly from Danny Boy's attack.

"_Target destroyed._" Danny Boy announced and Amy let out a laugh as I did the same; instantly regretting it as I had to double over and clutch at my ribs.

It took a moment of wheezing before I could get my body upright again, having to wave off Amy's concern once more with a cracked smile until a knock came to the door. Amy's eyes widened in a panic and hurried to a drawer nearby in search of a weapon.

"A-Amy." I drawled, wincing at the pained stutter and knowing that I needed to get to the Doctor before he did something he regretted. "We're fine."

"Like hell we are." She snapped, attempting to threaten the door with…

_Is that a toothbrush?_

"Who's that? Who's there?" She snapped. "You watch it because I'm armed and really dangerous and… cross."

"Yeah, like I don't know that." Rory's voice answered from the other side of the door along with the sound of the sonic.

"Rory?" Amy called out, voice soft and her hand lowering. "Rory, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me." He lout an annoyed sigh. "Look, hang on a minute."

I rolled my eyes and forced myself not to sit down; knowing that I probably wouldn't get up and find the Doctor if I did.

"Rory, take two steps to the right and try again."

"A-Alex?"

"Two steps. To the right." I repeated and Amy choked down her sobs.

"They took her. Rory, they took our baby away."

I mentally let out a breath of calm, trying to help, though the strain it put on me wasn't pleasant and the door opened to reveal Rory and baby Melody; looking slightly surprised that taking two steps to the right had actually worked before turning to Amy with the most proud look I'd seen the father wear.

"Now, Mrs. Williams. That is never, ever going to happen."

Amy couldn't move, she was so stunned, so Rory went to her.

"Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Where's she been? What have they done to her?"

Rory chuckle lightly at her worry. "She's fine. Amy, she's fine. I checked." He then looked down at the baby with a soft smile and tears in his eyes. "She's beautiful. Oh God, I was going to be cool. I wanted to be cool. Look at me."

"You're okay." Amy chuckled, teary-eyed as well. "Crying Roman with a baby. Definitely cool. Come here, you."

I turned away, finally slumping into that seat I'd been eyeing upon remembering that the Doctor would come here, and also to keep from interrupting their little moment after being apart for so long. _Sweet, but not if you're the third wheel._

"Ugh, kissing and crying. I'll… I'll be back in a bit." The Doctor said, having just entered, but before he could leave and before I could get a word out; Rory did that for me.

"Oi, you. Get in here now."

Rory caught my gaze and I brought a hand across my throat, letting him know not to bring attention to me just yet. _The last thing I need is to have the Doctor go on a rampage before meeting baby Melody._ Rory frowned, but silently agreed; distracting the Doctor with baby Melody while I shut my eyes with a quiet sigh; attempting to relax as much as I could before the Doctor realized I was there.

"My daughter." Rory said, introducing the two. "What do you think?"

"Hello. Hello, uh… baby." The Doctor said, sounding nervous and thrilled; very nearly making me blow my cover with a snort.

"Melody." Amy corrected.

"Melody? Hello, Melody Pond."

"Melody Williams." Rory said, but Amy immediately countered him.

"Is a geography teacher. Melody Pond is a superhero."

"Well yes, I suppose she does smell nice. Never really sniffed her. Maybe I should give it a go." The Doctor rattled off to the baby, before reaching out towards Amy. "Amelia Pond, come here."

"Doctor." She laughed, relieved to hug the man again.

"I'm sorry we were so long." The Doctor said, eyes closed and missing sight of me as he subtly sniffed Amy.

"It's okay. I, uh… I knew you were coming. Both of you. Our boys."

The Doctor blinked at the word 'our' but Melody's cooing distracted him.

"It's okay. She's still all yours. And really, you should call her mummy, not big milk thing."

"Okay, what are you doing?" Amy asked.

"I speak baby."

"No, you don't." She snorted.

"I speak everything. Don't I, Melody Pond?" The Doctor asked the baby, before frowning lightly and adjusting his bowtie. "No, it's not. It's cool."

"No, no. You don't speak baby." Amy continued to argue, things just not clicking right in her mind before she suddenly turned to me. "Tell me he doesn't."

The Doctor rounded, spotting me with a stunned expression as I ignored his gaze on me and I made a small shrug.

"He could. Don't see why not and he's yet to prove that he doesn't. I've seen him talk to babies before, but I've seen him talk to plants too, so he could be lying or he could be telling the truth. No way to really know. I just take his word on it."

"You…" The Doctor breathed out, drawing my gaze to his only to see something surprising; _rage_. "You!"

He stormed over and I attempted to stand before he got to me, but the pain in my ribs prevented me from getting more than halfway before he grabbed the front of my shirt and yanked me the rest of the way up.

"How _dare_ you!" He growled at me as Amy and Rory rushed over. "How dare you show up here and act like nothing's wrong!"

"Doctor!"

Rory tugged him off me and I collapsed back into the chair, body screaming in agony as I wheezed painfully; lungs struggling to expand properly with my cracked and broken ribs that the Doctor had shifted.

"I… I…"

I couldn't get the words out. I simply didn't have enough air to do so and my entire chest burned with a painful fire that set even my hearts ablaze. The Doctor hardly cared though, struggling against Rory as he looked between us in worry and Amy went to my side with Melody; placing a gentle hand on my back as I doubled over in an attempt to catch my breath.

"I tried. I _tried_ so hard to just put my anger towards you aside! But I can't! Not when there was a _child_ involved! Not when my _companions_ get hurt like this! You could have told me and none of this would have happened!"

I just let him rant angrily, not really listening to him as he let out his steam. I was more focused on trying to breathe properly. After all, I was getting old. _I'm nearing forty now, I think._ I'd long gotten over the Doctor and his anger towards me for what I knew and never told him. I'd come to terms with it and could handle his younger selves better than my past body. Even the usually kind Eleven getting angry at me like this was easier to ignore now, because I knew what he was doing. I'd known him so long. I'd seen so many sides to him in this body and his others. He was angry, sure. At me? Perhaps. But he was angrier at the situation as a whole. He was angry that his loved ones had been used as a way to try and get to him. Furious that they'd been hurt because of him. And he took all of that and focused it on the first person he could. Me.

And that was alright, surprisingly enough. I knew this had to happen and I couldn't change it. I knew he'd be angry. His previous actions when I was with him after the whole doppelganger incident being proof of that. But I knew it would turn out alright in the end. I knew that he'd been kind to me in the adventure following this one, so we'd made up at some point. I knew that Melody grew up to be the _amazing_ woman River Song, thanks to this incident. And I knew that the Doctor became a better person after he discovered his limits here. So what was a little anger? What did it matter that he was accusing me of something out of my control? I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Angry Time Lord or not. Because he was venting. I knew he loved me. I knew he cared. And this was just him reaching a breaking point. I would still be there for him. Even if it meant I was a target for his rage.

"Doctor! Just shut up and look at her!" Amy shouted suddenly, startling the Doctor out of his shouting and making him look at me as I clenched my eyes shut in pain and let out a weak attempt at trying to suck in air; the wheezing clearly audible. "Now, I don't know what the _hell_ happened, but you have no right to treat her like this! Alex was here for me! This whole time! She sat here a-and was tortured and hurt, but she helped me more than anyone ever could! She comforted me even though she was in pain and she told me everything was going to be alright every day! When she was going through hell and back! And what does it matter if she knew this would happen?! We're here! Melody is safe! We're okay! But you're here shouting at her?!"

"A-Amy… I-I-It's fine." I panted out, but she glared heatedly at me.

"No! No it's not! You were being hurt because they wanted to know about the Doctor! You were hurt protecting _him_ and you're going to just let him yell at you?! He should be worried! He should be trying to tear Kovarian apart for hurting you like this! Hell, he should have kissed you fifty times more passionately than Rory and I just for seeing you here! But you… Y-You just…"

Tears slipped down her face and I winced, from the sight of a crying Amy more than the pain.

"H-He's just… _frustrated_." I managed to get out, breath hitching painfully.

"I don't care! He _loves_ you!"

I closed my eyes, unable to look at her anymore for fear of crying myself. It wasn't until something brushed the hair from my sweaty forehead that I cracked my eyes open to see the Doctor looking over me with a guilty look in his own eyes. We just stared for a moment, before the Doctor lowered his gaze shamefully. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, struggling to say something. To apologize, perhaps, but I just stared at him seeing him for what he was. Just a man. Just someone hurting and struggling and trying to do the best he can with what he has. And he forgets. He forgets that there's always someone there for him. Forgets that sometimes you _do_ need to yell and shout and get angry. And sometimes you need to accept that there's nothing you can do. Or that there _is_. And sometimes… you just need to be forgiven.

I reached out, fingers lightly touching his cheeks and drawing his attention to me before I leaned in and kissed him. Forgave him. _Loved_ him. It took him a second before he responded in return, but by then the darkness that had been creeping up enveloped me whole and my hands fell; my body dropping against his as the lights turned out in my mind and everything fell dark.

* * *

He'd needed her. He had so desperately needed her, but she was here, in the med bay. Struggling herself with bodily afflictions and she couldn't be there for him this time round. And it hurt. It hurt to know he'd done this to her. He'd prevented her from being at his side, but a part of him was glad. She didn't have to see them in pain. She didn't have to watch Lorna and Dorium die. She didn't have to see him fall to his lowest, see him yell and shout at River. She wasn't there when that heated anger rounded towards her once more. He'd _saved_ her, from himself.

But as he sat on the side of her bed, brushing hair from her feverish forehead, he wished she could have been there. That she could have helped him, calmed his rage, eased his mind. That she could have saved Dorium and Lorna from their fates. That she would have been there to comfort the distraught Amy when her child was taken from her again. That she could have defended River and herself from him. Even now, as he remembered back to that moment, guilt ate away at him.

"_Well then, soldier. How goes the day?" River said, having appeared at the worst of times, and the Doctor stormed over angrily; rage boiling over once more._

"_Where the _hell_ have you been? Every time you've asked, I have been there. Where the hell were you today?!" He shouted at her and her face went blank._

"_I couldn't have prevented this."_

"_You could have tried! You and Alex both! But you both just sat back and watched it happen! Just like she always does! I don't know why—" He cut himself off there, turning away from River and pulling a hand through his hair; hating that he was questioning why he loved Alex, because of something like this._

"_And so, my love, could you." River said, and angry look on her face. "Blaming Alex is _not_ what you should be doing right now. Not when she's suffering just as much, if not more, than you are." River then turned towards Amy and Rory, eyes softening. "I know you're not alright, but hold tight, Amy. Because you're going to be."_

_The Doctor though was upset at her words, throwing out an arm at Amy and Rory._

"_You think I wanted this? I didn't do this. This, this wasn't me!"_

"_This was _exactly_ you. All this. All of it." River said seriously, making the Doctor's hearts crack and the sudden need for Alex to crop up._

But she's in the Tardis and… I-I was blaming her for this just a moment ago…

_River continued, not leaving out any harsh words for the Doctor. "You make them so afraid. When you began, all those years ago, sailing off to see the universe, did you ever think you'd become this? The man who can turn an army around at the mention of his name. Doctor. The word for healer and wise man throughout the universe. We get that word from you, you know. But if you carry on the way you are, what might that word come to mean? To the people of the Gamma Forests, the word Doctor means mighty warrior. How far you've come. And now they've taken a child, the child of your best friends, and they're going to turn her into a weapon just to bring you down. And all this, my love, in fear of you."_

"_Who are you?" The Doctor suddenly demanded, tired of this River Song accusing him of so much._

_River suddenly smiled though, attempting to backpedal out of the situation. "Oh look, your cot. Haven't seen that in a very long while."_

_The Doctor angrily grabbed her wrist, stopping her beside his cot. "No, no, you tell me. Tell me who you are."_

_River gently took his hand off her wrist and placed it on the corner of the cot. "I _am_ telling you. Can't you read?"_

_The Doctor frowned, not understanding what she meant for a moment, before he caught sight of what she meant and his hearts soared._

"_Hello." He said with a goofy grin on his face._

_River returned the smile. "Hello."_

"_But that means…"_

"_I'm afraid it does." River answered, looking amused._

"_Ooh, you and I, we, we, we, uh…" He made kissing noises and River nodded._

"_Yes. Alex too." She added at seeing the Doctor's guilty expression._

_The Doctor perked back up again, adjusting his bowtie with a grin. "How do I look?"_

_He knew he had to look his best for when he made up with poor Alex back in the Tardis._

"_Amazing."_

"_I'd better be."_

_River agreed with a pointed look. "Yes, you'd better be."_

The Doctor smiled down fondly at the blonde resting before him, laying down beside her on the white sheets and pressing his forehead against hers; mentally apologizing for all the harsh things he'd said and thought about her role in this. There wasn't much more he could do until she woke up though. He'd felt horrible when she'd collapsed earlier, but even worse once he'd done some scans to see the sort of condition she was in. _Broken and cracked ribs, fluid in the lungs from a previous illness that she must have been recovering from, a cracked femur, bruises all over, split lip, lacerations on her right arm, a few burns on the back of her hands…_ Oh he'd felt absolutely terrible upon discovering how she'd been tortured under his care yet again. And to push aside that pain and take care of Amy, only to have him yell at her for it? He felt like the absolute _worst_ husband on the planet. But he vowed to make it up to her the moment she was awake and well enough to go out.

He'd take her to a concert. Yes, that's what he'd do. He knew her fondness of classical music. A concert would be perfect. Bach, no… Chopin. _She did say she likes him best._ He nodded, having decided it. He'd take her to listen to Chopin when she awoke, but for now he'd wait by her side and maybe take a little nap himself.

* * *

Recovering from broken ribs and other such injuries wasn't much fun, let me tell you. Especially when the Doctor _insisted_ on doing other… things that would potentially cause more harm than good. And the few trips we took were very nice. I absolutely _loved_ the Chopin concert he took me to and the nice dinner afterwards. It was very sweet and very like him to apologize in such a way, but I knew he was distracted too. I'd caught him more than once in the console room frowning at the monitor and—on the occasions when I woke up in the middle of the night due to a nightmare—he sometimes sent the Tardis somewhere and went out on his own. He knew that I'd known about his little secretive excursions, because I'd wait for him to return with a nice hot cup of tea, and we'd just sit in each other's arms for the rest of the night giving each other reassurances. My telling him that he'd find River gave him hope, but it was slightly harder on his part to help me through my nightmares.

It wasn't that he wasn't trying or that _I_ wasn't trying, but they aren't the easiest things to get rid of when you've been in the predicaments I have. It helped when the Doctor slept beside me, his presence seeming to calm my nightly terrors. But because he was in search of River, he often fled in the middle of the night and I'd be forced to deal with the dreams on my own. The Doctor insisted it was due to the high stressed environment I'd been in not too long ago and my body was just trying to inform me that I needed a break, but I argued the point with him. After all, the last 'break' I had involved a tram on the diamond planet called Midnight and the one before that was a trip on the Orient Express with a killer mummy and a very cranky Twelve. Of course, when I told him as much, he assumed it was his job to fix things and we tried again to give me a break; him coming along for the ride.

That being said, they were a _disastrous_ three days on a planet being overrun by Giant Dellahan Dung Beetles. Needless to say, the Doctor was lucky he managed to get me off the Tardis a week after that incident and only because he offered to let me relax on Earth. With Clara. And I agreed simply because I missed Clara already and Earth seemed to be one of the more… relatively safe places I could go—_without_ the Doctor, mind you. The moment he stayed more than a few hours was the moment an asteroid with some sort of hybrid weasel creature would crash into the Parliament and cause some national distress that only he could fix. So I hastily sent him away with a short kiss before heading towards Clara's front door. It would be a bit of a surprise for her, since the Doctor didn't know her yet and couldn't call ahead of time, but I'd hoped she'd be alright with me staying for a few nights before the Doctor picked me up or I called him to let him know his older self did that for him.

He was curious, sure, as to who this… 'woman friend' was he was dropping me off with, but I mentioned spoilers and he pouted before I'd silenced him. Thing was, I wasn't sure where at in Clara's timeline I'd shown up. So when I knocked, I was prepared for just about anything except what I saw.

"O-Oh! Alex! You didn't tell me you were coming." She said with a small smile, though I knew immediately there was something off about it as she looked around. "The, uh… The Doctor just dropped you off, did he? Is he up to something?"

I furrowed my brows, taking in her rigid posture and the way she looked around almost nervously.

"Just me. I was with an earlier Eleven who didn't know you yet, so I couldn't exactly have him sticking around." I said, walking in past her as she shut the door behind me and the snowy street, cutting off the chill that had begun to sweep through. "Though I'm curious as to why him not being here has made you relax." I spun around to face her with an innocent smile. "Care to share?"

"What are you talking about?" She questioned, though I could hear and see her lying and I rolled my eyes as I stripped myself of my coat and hung it up; brushing off the snow.

"Oh, Clara, Clara. I know the Doctor's companions like the back of my hand. So trying to lie to me is a bit boring. You should at least try a bit harder to hide the fact that you're attempting to look me straight in the eyes with as serious face as you can muster. It's your… call sign, I suppose."

"My call sign? Seriously?" She scoffed.

"Hm, and now you're avoiding the question. Should I start trying to guess?" I asked, raising a brow.

Normally I wouldn't press for answers, but whatever was bugging her was obviously something big. Not only that, but she looked comfortable in her home. Which meant she'd been here a while. That the Doctor hadn't picked her up in a while. And she was hoping he wouldn't. And that was a big red flag to me.

"I don't want to talk about it." Clara finally said, glaring at me and I shrugged.

_Time for another approach._ "Okay. What's today's date?"

"Christmas eve. You don't even know when you've shown up?"

I snorted, heading for the kitchen. "Please. I'm worse than the Doctor when it comes to that. My entire body is a 'random button' on the Tardis. I pop up with no destination, no time to consider, nada, zip. One minute I'm in Rome watching Caesar eat grapes and the next I'm in a spaceship hurtling towards a sun. I couldn't tell you 1989 from 200,509." I rattled on, drawing things out and acting as Doctor-esque as I could, waiting for her to crack. "But, ooh boy, has it been a while since I've had a Christmas. Let me tell you, the last few Christmas's I've had have been insane. There was the one with the Cybermen and their giant Cyber-king. And then there was the other one with the ghosts that I haven't been to, though I'm looking forward to it. And then there's—"

"Alright! Alright. Fine. I'll… I'll tell you." Clara said, stopping my tirade and making me glance over my shoulder with a small smirk as I made tea and she glared. "Though I'm not happy about your method of making me spill. I swear, you and the Doctor get more alike every day."

I scoffed, turning and handing her one of the cups of tea I'd made. "Please. You'd be acting like him too, if you've been stuck with him for the past few weeks. You ask the man for a break and what does he give you? Giant alien _dung_ beetles infesting a planet's water supply. Very _aggressive_ giant alien dung beetles, mind you. Could care less if you were their poop or not. Just rolled you up in it and—"

"Yes, alright. Do you want to hear what happened or not?"

"Shutting up." I said, bringing my cup to my lips as I sat down and listened to Clara inform me of Danny Pink's death and the Doctor running off to find his home planet.

It hurt to hear this, knowing something was wrong. Clara had lied to the Doctor to get him to leave her and go home and it sounded as though he might have lied in return to get her to do the same. A large misunderstanding between two stubborn-headed individuals too prideful to tell the other they were simply lonely and wanted to stay. Worst part was, it sounded as though I hadn't been around for this. The Doctor was off flying in his ship on his own, Clara was dealing with her boyfriend's death on her own, and I'd popped off at some point. And this was what I was coming back to. Two people, two friends, lost on their own because they wanted the other happy, only to end up with neither feeling much more than broken-hearted emptiness.

I dragged a hand tiredly down my face. "And you want him to come back, yes?"

"No!" She argued. "I can't do that to him. He… He finally found his home. I'm fine. Really."

I gave her a deadpan look, blinking slowly and making her squirm. "No, you're not."

She pouted. "Well, I'm fine enough to not need him."

"Uh-huh. Sure you are." I drawled, drinking my tea and making a face at the cold liquid, pointing at it in disgust. "Do you have any soda? Cherry flavored, preferably."

She rolled her eyes and got up, going to her fridge and poked her head over the open door. "Does orange work?"

I stuck out my tongue at the thought and she sighed.

"Guess not… Grape?"

"Mm… yeah, I suppose. But you've got to get cherry next time."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll think about it. Your other self liked grape." She drawled, though I furrowed my brows, confused.

"Did she? I thought she was more of a… an apple kind of person. Like the green sour ones."

Clara opened her mouth, turned an embarrassed shade of pink and quickly passed me the grape soda and turned away. "A-Ah, yeah. I suppose she did. Sorry. Don't know how that slipped my mind."

I frowned, eyeing her suspiciously. "Clara, what's going on?"

"What? Nothing. Really. I just honestly forgot." She replied, before looking at me and pointing to the door. "Do you want the couch or the guest room?"

"Eye contact and changing the subject." I rattled off and she winced, looking away once more at my telling her I knew she was lying.

"Guest room it is then." She muttered as I thought over what could have possibly made her lie again, only to come up with one thing that made my mouth drop open.

"No."

She paused, turning back to me. "What?"

"No, no, no, no." I said, gapping at her. "Did I die? _Again_? Is that what this is about? When you said my 'other self', you meant a _future_ me? How the hell do I keep dying?!"

"Um, well… you mentioned an encounter with, uh… Genghis Khan?"

"Great." I grumbled, crossing my arms and propping my ankle up on my knee. "Pissed off yet another historical figure I wanted to meet. Let me guess… Stabbed?"

She winced. "Arrow."

"You're kidding." I scowled. "_Please_ tell me I go back to auburn hair at least."

"More of a… short curly brown?"

"Ugh!" I tossed up my hands and stood, taking my soda with me and storming past her as I grumbled under my breath. "Great. Just perfect."

"Guest room's upstairs, second door on your left!" Clara called out and I lifted a hand in thanks before making my way to the guest room in a worse mood than when I had Eleven blaming himself for my torture earlier in the month.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid. I die again at the hands of a great conqueror and not even by his own sword, but by an arrow, of all things. God, I hope the Doctor wasn't around for that one. How the hell did I piss off Genghis Khan anyway?_ I shook my head and sat on the edge of the bed in the guest room, wiping my face with my hand once again. _No, ignore that. Clara shouldn't have even told me anything. I need to forget about it or I'll get all depressed like the last time. I need to focus on fixing things between her and the Doctor. The moron. How could he lie about finding Gallifrey?_ I sighed, flopping back onto the bed with my arms draped over my face. _No, he probably lied for the same reason Clara did. He didn't want to tie her to him because he thought Danny was alright. And she didn't want to do the same because she thought he had his home. Kind to a fault those two are. Though it shouldn't be hard to just knock their heads together and resume my relaxing._ I hummed, liking that plan, and tossed my arms out to the side, only to spot something coming down from the ceiling and a curse escaping my lips.

"Well, fu—"

* * *

A loud thud and the noise of falling snow from the roof startled Clara awake, the pained grunt of someone echoing in the night and drawing her attention towards the window.

"Moron." The voice complained. "Numbskull. Elf."

"That's racist." Another voice complained.

"Of course it's not racist. You _are_ an elf."

Clara got up and out of bed to go and see what was going on, only to remember her other slumbering guest in the next room over. She quickly pulled on her dressing gown and barged into her guest bedroom to shake Alex's shoulder; startling the woman awake. Her eyes were wide and laced with sleep and fear, something Clara hadn't seen in a long while on said woman's face, before her eyes adjusted to the dark and she dragged a hand down her features tensely.

"Clara. God, was that really necessary?"

"Yes." Clara said, though gave the slightly shaking woman a concerned look. "Are you alright? You're shaking."

She nodded, brushing off the concern. "Yes, fine. Nightmare, that's all. Been having a hard time sleeping. Rough adventure. Now what is it you woke me up for?"

Clara glanced at the window and back to the yawning blonde. "There's someone on the roof. I heard voices."

Alex made a face. "Someone on the _roof_?"

Clara nodded. "Listen."

The two went quiet and, sure enough, the sound of footsteps and grumbling voices could be heard. Alex frowned up at the ceiling before getting up off the bed and grabbing her coat from off the chair nearby to cover her bare midriff—none of Clara's shirts having been large enough to fit the woman for pajamas, so she just slept in a sports bra and some oversized sweats Clara had found in the back of her closet.

"Well, come on then." Alex grumbled. "I'd like to get back to sleep and the sooner I beat the noisy burglars black and blue, the sooner that can happen."

Clara rolled her eyes, ignoring the woman's need for violence and wondering how the Doctor could claim she was peaceful and forgiving when she nearly always woke up bloodthirsty. The two headed upstairs and Clara opened the door first, to prevent the half dozing Alex from hitting the first person she sees, and they were both rather stunned at the picture they found.

A large red sleigh had crash landed on the roof of Clara's home, scattered tangerines lying on the snow-covered ground, and a man in a big red suit arguing with two smaller men in green with pointed ears.

"Chimneys?" The Santa-esque man complained to one of the small elves.

"I'm sorry!"

"I'm just checking that you can see these massive chimneys."

"I, uh, they… They're hard to miss."

"Well, as you've clearly demonstrated, Ian."

The other elf was calling at what appeared to be flying reindeer. Alex breathed softly under her breath, so as not to call attention to herself as she spoke to Clara.

"Dear God, I'm still in a nightmare, aren't I? Please tell me we didn't just stumble upon what I think we have."

"I-I… I don't know." Clara breathed back as Santa turned to Ian, the elf.

"Just, just clear all the tangerines up. Pick 'em up. All of them, Ian."

"You know, no one really likes the tangerines, don't you?" The elf countered.

"How _dare_ you! That's my signature gift. That, and the walnut."

"Tangerines?" Alex muttered to Clara.

"Don't ask."

She spoke a little too loud and Ian looked up and paused his picking up of tangerines.

"Uh, sir? We've been _seen_."

"Hello." Santa said, unsure.

"Hello." Clara replied as normally as she could, given the circumstances.

"Hi…" Alex answered not long after, suspicious.

"Hello." One elf chuckled nervously as the other waved.

"Hello, human."

"You can't call them human!"

"It's not racist. They don't mind."

"Actually." Alex raised her hand. "I'm only part human, thanks. Two hearts and all that."

The group blinked and Santa approached the two curious bystanders.

"Oh, sorry about this… ladies."

"Ooh, got it right on the first go. Props to you, big man." Alex hummed, earning a sharp elbow to the ribs from Clara as Santa continued.

"We are just three passing, perfectly ordinary roof people, doing some emergency roof things. Carry on. Merry Christmas. If, if it is Christmas, I mean. Heh, heh. I don't much care for things like that, myself. Pft. I mean, Christmas." He joked.

"Are you Santa Claus?" Clara finally asked and the man laughed.

"Me? _No_. Oh, no. It's ridiculous. Heh, heh. No, no, no."

Alex cleared her throat and pointed at the red-nosed reindeer flying by. "Really?"

Santa bowed his head in defeat. "Alright, fine. Yes, it's me. Ha. Guilty. How did you recognize me?"

Alex and Clara both gave him a look as the elf explained.

"You know how you grew that beard as a bit of a disguise? People have picked up on it."

Alex groaned and turned to go, a hand on the doorknob. "Oh, I'm drunk. That's it. We talked, drank, and now I'm hallucinating or dreaming. Trapped in a nightmare. I'm just going to—"

Clara didn't let her though, grabbing her wrist and taking a step towards Santa, also fed up with the insanity of the situation, but unwilling to pass it off as a dream or hoax.

"Okay. No. Hang on. Stop. Shut up. What? Seriously, you… you're Father Christmas. You're real."

"Of course I'm real." The man said, sounding offended.

"How could he not be real?"

"Huh? How do you think those presents got under the tree every year? By magic?"

"Well, I thought it was my mum and—"

"Mum and dad?" The elves said in unison as Santa laughed.

"Ho, ho!" Santa clapped like the three of them were in on a joke.

"Well, of course it was."

"I mean, it makes perfect sense."

"Yeah, your mum and dad, one day a year, for no particular reason, just out of the blue, suddenly decide to give you a great, big pile of presents."

"No, no, no. Because they love you so much. It's a lovely story, dear."

"Yeah, but it's time to start living in the real world, yeah?"

Alex stopped, waving her hands. "No, no. She's right. There's no way. I helped my own parents _wrap_ those gifts for my siblings for years! And sure, when I was a kid I might have believed in Santa… because I swore I saw someone watching me from my bedroom door one Christmas eve." She muttered, before shaking it off. "But there's no way! Hell, we reused the same wrapping paper nearly every year! I knew my grandparent's gifts from my parents' just by that!"

Santa scoffed. "Well, maybe I don't exist in your universe, kid, but here I do."

Alex suddenly clammed up, eyes wide and looking a bit pale, but before Clara could ask if she was alright, Santa pulled out a small notebook.

"Okay. Right. Clara Oswald. Mostly favors travel books, science kits, strict ban on hair products. Marginal for the naughty list, '93." Santa clicked his tongue. "Believer until the age of nine. Why did you stop?"

"Because you're a fairy tale. I grew out of fairy tales." Clara said, partially lying as Santa sighed.

"Did you, Clara? Did you really?"

The sound of the Tardis materializing started Alex out of her trance and she and Clara turned to the blue box in surprise as the Twelfth Doctor stepped out.

"Clara, I want you to step inside the Tardis. I don't want you to talk. I want you to do as I ask, please." The Doctor said, before noticing Alex behind her, still looking a bit pale. "You too, Alex."

The elves though, chitchatted away.

"That was good, with the box."

"Hmph. Not often we get upstaged on a rooftop. Hmm."

"Yes, I'm really here. I'm back." The Doctor went on, trying to snap Clara out of it. "Now get inside the Tardis."

Alex stepped forward, tugging Clara along with her and earning a grateful nod from the Doctor as they climbed into the box silently and shut the door behind them. As soon as the Doctor returned, Clara was gaping in shock and Alex was sitting silently on the jumpseat with her head in her hands.

"I'm really back here. This is, this is real, yeah?"

The Doctor said nothing, just prepping the Tardis to go.

"Doctor? Talk to me. I never thought I was going to see you again. What is going on out there? What's happening?" She was quickly distracted by the sound of the Tardis dematerializing. "Oh, that noise. Never knew how much I loved it."

The Doctor though, quickly grabbed her arms. "There's something you have to ask yourself, and it's important. Your life may depend on it. Everybody's life. Do you really believe in Santa Claus?"

"Do you know what?... Yeah. Right now, here, I think I do."

* * *

"Alex, what is it?" The Doctor asked, startling me out of my daze with his hands on my face.

"What?" I asked, blinking and looking up at him to see his worried expression and I realized that I'd sort of came in, curled up, and shut everyone out as I thought. "Oh, sorry. I just…"

I frowned, trying to remember what it was exactly I'd been thinking about. It was all sort of blurry now. _Showing up at Clara's, hearing about their misunderstanding, about my death, and then heading to bed… but… something's wrong._ I rubbed at my face for a second, brows scrunched together in confusion and the slight headache pounding away behind my right eye. _There was something… something else. _I remembered a dark shape falling from somewhere, but then the image went away as the Doctor brushed a thumb under my eye.

"You haven't been sleeping well."

"No. Not really. I came from… from Demon's run. Nightmares, you know. But there's something else." I winced. "Something that's giving me a damn headache."

_And there's what Santa said. How did he know I was from another universe? And why did he call me a kid? I'm getting old and sure, it's nice that someone other than the Doctor still sees me as young, but… I don't know. It's almost too good to be true._

"Alex?"

I lifted my head and felt even more confused to see I'd stopped following after the Doctor and Clara as we headed towards some sort of metal building out in the snow. _But wasn't I just…_ I looked back at the Tardis, wondering when it was I'd gotten up and left the jumpseat to be out here, but I couldn't remember and instead just followed after the Doctor and Clara.

"Coming."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Clara asked as the Doctor sonicked the door in front of us.

"Yeah, no. Just… I feel like I'm missing something. Something important, but every time I think about it, it slips through my fingers." I muttered, earning a worried look from her as the Doctor finally opened the door and a scream rang out from inside the building.

"W-We've got ghosts!" A woman shouted from the floor, wearing a comms device. "Yeah, yeah. It's a skeleton man, a girl in a nightie, and a feminine, shirtless Sherlock Holmes."

Clara exchanged glanced with the Doctor who quickly gave me a look and turned a nice pink as I remembered I wasn't wearing a shirt and quickly pulled my coat closed with an embarrassed tint to my cheeks. We turned our attention back to the room we were in though, a number of white sheets covering beds in what appeared to be a med bay or infirmary of some sort.

"Doctor?" Clara called out, looking around but the woman on the floor closed her eyes and covered her ears, shouting.

"No, no, no! You're making me think about them! Don't make me think about them!"

"What are they?" Clara asked and the figures started to sit up, making me take a step back.

"Uh, I'd rather not stick around to find out, yeah?"

The woman on the floor agreed. "Look. Just don't ask, yeah? And don't look. Don't make me think about them."

The sheets slipped down off of their heads, revealing some grey looking mass on their faces that made me go pale as a quick image of something black falling down on top of me flickered briefly through my mind before a headache made me hiss in pain and the image was gone.

"Deaf. Blind. How can they see us? How do they even know that we're here?" The Doctor asked, scanning the creatures with his sonic.

"They can only see you, yeah, if you see them. So just, so just don't look, don't even think about them." The woman explained.

"Oh, telepathic. They can home in on their own image in someone else's brain. Third-party perception. Mind piracy." The Doctor rattled off, before approaching Clara and I, giving me a concerned look at my slightly pained expression. "We're being hacked."

"What does that even mean?" Clara questioned as the creatures stood up from their beds.

"The visual input from your optic nerve is being streamed to their brains. Stop broadcasting. Close your eyes." The Doctor said, waving his hands about and I quickly did so.

"They're still coming, aren't they?" Clara muttered and I smacked her.

"Sh. Stop thinking about them."

"Alex is right. It's because you're still thinking about them. So long as you retain them as an active memory, they can still home in. Think about something else."

"How?"

The woman on the floor began singing and I too began muttering under my breath.

"Old McDonald had a farm."

"Why is she singing? Why are _you_ singing, Alex?" Clara asked, but the Doctor answered.

"They're running interference. They're trying to distract themselves."

"Worked wonders in band camp." I hummed out loud. "Had to keep a straight face while your seniors made jokes and tried to break your attention. Old McDonald did wonders."

The Doctor though, took a different approach with Clara.

"Three hundred and four minus seventeen."

"Sorry, what?"

"Plus twenty. Just do it!"

"Five hundred and seven." She replied after a second of thought.

"Minus fourteen, times four."

"One thousand nine hundred and seventy two."

"Stop being so good at arithmetic." The Doctor complained as I continued to hum the song in my head and did what I could to ignore the impeding sense of doom.

"I can't help it!"

"Danny Pink! What is Danny Pink up to right now? He's probably flirting with your neighbor or texting women of low moral character."

Even I opened my eyes in shock at that, in time to witness Clara slap him hard across the face.

"Don't you dare. Don't you dare say that." Clara breathed out and I looked between the two in worry, not even caring about the creatures standing within a foot of us.

"I was only—"

"Danny Pink is dead." Clara said sharply.

"No, he's not." The Doctor tried to deny.

"He's _dead_."

"Doctor." I muttered, drawing his attention to me; my look saying it all.

Suddenly, the door burst open and a group of people with guns hurried in shouting for us to run. And we did, only to see a group of black things hanging from the ceiling and for a moment, my mind cleared.

"Doctor! Those things! There was one—"

My mind suddenly went blank, unable to finish that thought as an explosion rang out and everyone turned to the hole that had been blasted into the side of the infirmary. A tangerine tumbled through the opening followed by a group of Slinkies and toy robots, before the sight of Santa riding a red-nosed reindeer rearing up came to our eyes. He got off and entered the building with his elf friends wielding a toy gun and balloon, making the Doctor frown and myself struggling to comprehend the confusion that seemed to echo through my bones.

"Well, now. What seems to be the problem? This is the North Pole. We don't want any trouble here." Santa said, the reindeer outside complaining and Santa pulled out a key fob, turning the light on his nose off and rendering any possible theory in my head null and void. "Oi! Sleepy heads! It's Christmas Eve, early to bed."

He clapped and the creatures all turned and went back to the beds, the woman who's entered into the room with the gun speaking up cautiously.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Oh, take a guess." The Doctor drawled. "Go on, push the boat out. Tooth Fairy, maybe? Easter Bunny?"

"Shut your mouth, wise guy, or you get yours." The elf with the balloon threatened and his companion quickly pointed it out.

"It's a balloon animal."

"That's a toy gun." He countered, offended.

"Yeah, well, at least it's unsuitable for children under four. Parts small enough to swallow, so watch out."

Santa sighed as the woman who'd been singing before when we'd first came in spoke.

"Now, this is ridiculous. Am I… Am I dreaming?"

"Oh, very good." The Doctor said and I furrowed my brows.

_So she is? But then if she is, are we all dreaming? And if so, then why are we all having the same dream? Is this going to be like 'Amy's Choice'? A dream within a dream? Choose between two realities or multiple dreams?_ I looked around in worry now, still feeling that something was very wrong about all of this. _Don't trust anything. That's all I can do._

"I need to know exactly who you are, and what's happening here." The leader of the group said, Santa pushing away the gun she had pointed at him.

"Hello, Ashley. Lead scientist on a polar expedition. Oh, that microscope really paid off, didn't it? Now, your mum and dad wanted me to get you a toy one, but sometimes, I take a chance."

"Who are you? Why are you dressed like… that?"

"Why do you think?"

"Come on, this is mental. This is totally not happening." The girl from before said.

"I got three words, Shona. Don't make me use 'em." Santa answered, givingme a name for the woman.

"What three words?"

"My. Little. Pony." He ticked off and she stomped forward with a glare.

"Shut up, you."

"Yeah? I've got lots more, babe." He sassed back, making me wonder if he really was Santa or a figment of our imaginations.

_Because I sure as hell would not make Santa this sassy. He acts like… the Doctor._ I looked at said man, wondering if that tidbit meant anything. If this was my dream, or Clara's, or the Doctor's and we were all just sucked into it.

"I will mark you, Santa." Shona threatened, making hands into claws and threatening his face.

"Okay, Doctor. Are you going to explain?" Clara asked, interrupting the two arguing. "What is going on?"

"It's an invasion, Miss Oswald." Santa piped in, making Clara turn to him, whereas I stayed focused on the Doctor.

"An invasion of, of what? Elves?"

"Whoa. _That_ is racist." Wolf, the elf with the toy gun, complained.

"Elfist!" Ian, the balloon one replied afterwards.

"Yeah. Which is a bit hypocritical, from someone of your height."

Wolf was just slightly taller than Clara and I frowned at the man, taking a protective step towards Clara and enjoying the way he caught sight of me and shuffled back a step. Santa returned then, having walked out at some point, and passed the Doctor a glass container with one of the creature's that attacked us in it.

"Huh? You've seen them before, Doctor?" Santa asked.

"I've heard of them."

"The Kantrofarri."

"Colloquially known as the Dream Crabs." The Doctor replied, making me even more suspicious about this whole thing having to do with the Doctor bleeding his personality into Santa.

_This whole thing is wrong. It's just screaming at me that it's wrong, but I can't… I can't figure out why that is._ I winced, rubbing at my head as my headache spiked momentarily.

"Alex? You're dozing again." Clara said and I opened my eyes, unsure when I'd closed them and when I'd ended up in another room leaning against a console while the Doctor and Ashley looked over the Dream Crab in its glass case. "Are you sure you're alright? You've been sort of out of it since I woke you up earlier."

"I-I don't… I don't know." I said, keeping a hand on my head as I looked around the room. "There's… There's something wrong. I can feel it, but… every time I think I've figured it out, it just sort of…"

That image flashed by again, a black creature falling onto me from the ceiling of… _Of where? What did it look like? Why… Why do those Kantrofarri send a chill down my spine for a reason other than fear? I'm missing something. What… What am I missing?_

"So we don't know what's real and what isn't?" Clara asked the Doctor.

"Exactly."

I blinked, lost again. _When did I move from the console to this chair?_ I looked down, pushing myself up with a frown and pulling a hand through my hair before the thought faded, but one still remained. _Something's wrong._

"Something's wrong." I repeated, moving towards the Doctor and grabbing his arm to get his attention. "Doctor, something's wrong. I-I can't figure it out, but—"

I was silenced by his lips abruptly pressing against mine, him pulling away with a grin as I blinked in stunned confusion.

"Have I ever told you how brilliant you are?"

"Um, yes, but I could do with a repeat." I breathed out and he grabbed my face and gave me another peck.

"You're brilliant."

"Thanks?" I said as he bounced a little and clapped his hands together with a big grin. "Can I, uh, ask _why_ it is I'm so brilliant all of a sudden?"

"Because, Alex! It's your mind! _Your_ mind in particular!" He cheered, brushing a kiss over my forehead before dancing around once more. "It's amazing! Human and Time Lord mixed together with that splash of sentient Tardis. It's too big a meal! You know something's wrong, because that's your subconscious leaking through! Screaming it at you!"

"Well, of _course_ something's wrong!" Ashley argued. "We've got a nest of those creatures sitting in our infirmary!"

"Oh, no, no, no. You humans don't get it. You're minds are too small, can't comprehend the whole picture. Even mine is struggling a bit, but _Alex's_. Oh, ho. Alex's mind is brilliant! Unique! It's getting the signal through more clearly. It's not just the beasties in the attic that are wrong, it's the _whole_ situation and she knows it!" He came over and suddenly grabbed my temples, making me wince when his mind brushed up against mine for a brief moment only for a high pitched screeching to send me pushing away and covering my ears.

"W-What the hell?!" I shouted, loudly, apparently since the others winced and I felt I'd only spoken slightly louder than usual.

"Oh, they're fighting back." The Doctor said, barely loud enough for me to hear as I rubbed at my ringing ears. "Rather ruthlessly, I imagine. We need to hurry."

"Are we in danger?" Clara asked then, the ringing starting to fade though I was left with more questions than answers after the Doctor's little attack.

"Oh, we are well way past danger, Clara. If I'm right, and I usually am, we're dying."

"Then how do we stay alive?" Ashley demanded to know, though the thought of dying sent a chill down my spine after what I remembered about Clara informing me of my run-in with Genghis Khan.

"I like you. Straight to the point. I want you to show me how you first encountered those creatures, and what happened to those people in the infirmary. I notice you all wear mini-cams, so I assume that there is footage."

"Is it possible I'm about to work with someone who might be a dream?" She countered.

"If it help, so am I."

She seemed to accept the Doctor's retort and chuckled, making to go to the other room. "We have footage on the drives. I'll see what I can pull up."

"Ashley." The Doctor stopped her. "What's this polar base for? Why are you all here?"

"It's a long story." She answered, heading out as I slumped back into a chair; Clara speaking up after a moment.

"What you said about Danny… unacceptable."

I winced, knowing what was going to happen now and hoping they could get through it without my having to interfere.

"I know. I had to flood your mind with random emotion."

"Random?"

_Oh, Doctor. You need to choose your words better._ I thought, wincing again when some of that screeching came back and the Doctor looked my way briefly.

"You never told me he was dead. _You_ said he made it back." The Doctor replied, turning away from the potentially angering subject and thinking a bit before speaking this time.

"Well, I lied. I lied, so you'd go home to Gallifrey instead of fussing about me."

"I never found Gallifrey." He admitted as well, allowing me to relax slightly. "_I_ lied, so you'd stay with Danny."

Clara walked away, taking a second to compose herself before she turned to me. "And you. Did you know about this?"

I groaned softly. "I assumed as much when you informed me of what happened. But it's not my place to inform you of something I don't know about for certain. Much less something that isn't mine to tell… And you mentioned dying?" I asked, turning to the Doctor who nodded.

"Yes."

"Why?" Clara joined in, letting things go for now.

"Oh, complicated."

I snorted as Clara frowned.

"How long do we have?"

"No idea."

"Best not to think about it." I responded, seeing how she could quickly trail down the same path I headed when I thought about my own approaching death. _Or _deaths_ in this case._ "Is this like uh… back with the Dream Doctor?"

Clara raised a brow, unsure of what I was talking about, but the Doctor hummed in thought.

"In a way. We need to trust nothing. Accept nothing we see. Whatever happens, interrogate everything."

"In case it's a lie." Clara said and he nodded.

"In case it's a lie."

* * *

"You alright?"

I jolted, preparing to answer, only to see that the Doctor was talking to Shona and not me, and that I'd someone left the chair I'd been in and was now in the other room with the others. I was beginning to feel dizzy with the whole jumping around thing, but then I'd forgotten it even happened and focused on the conversation the Doctor had with Shona.

"I'm trying to talk sense into, uh, Beardy-Weirdy."

_Timey-Wimey… It's just like the Doctor. _I thought, glancing at said man. _Why? Why does everything here come back to him?_

"You don't seem much like a scientist."

"That's a bit rude, coming from a magician." Shona joked back at him.

"Why are you out here? What brought you to the North Pole?"

"Long story, isn't it?"

_And that's the second time someone's said that. Does no one actually know? Or is it just something complicated enough that the dream can't make it? Oh, I'm so confused._ I rubbed at my forehead and watched the Doctor head towards Santa.

"How do you get all the presents in the sleigh?"

"It's bigger on the inside." Santa smirked as the elves let out 'oohs'.

_And again with the Doctor references. What the hell is this?_ I blinked and it seemed I'd once again moved without knowing it, and had skipped part of the conversation.

"Dormant at first."

"Until you looked at them too long. Till you thought about them."

And again, I felt a feeling of vertigo this time, skipping ahead once more.

"They're a bit like Facehuggers, aren't they?"

Again, the same shift; a hand on my face and my body slumping down slowly with every jump forward.

"It would take the Dream Crab a little while to take control. Depends how much of the host brain was…"

"Was what?"

"Digested."

I was on the floor now, head between my knees and breathing hard.

"Clara, could you fetch me the dead one?"

"Maybe I could fetch you a cup of tea while I'm at it." She quipped.

"Ooh, yes. And a punch in the face too." The Doctor quipped.

"My very next suggestion."

"Fair enough. Alex, could you… Alex?"

I breathed in a shaky breath, hearing the Doctor hurry over and crouch in front of me as he brushed his hands over my hands that were clenched tightly in the hair on top of my head.

"Oh, Alex. Hang in there."

"What's wrong with her?" Ashley asked.

"It's her mind trying to fight back." He responded, making me lift my head to face him as I realized I was crying, though unsure when I'd started.

"I-It's wrong. It's all wrong. W-Why can't I figure out why it's wrong?"

"Hey, hey. Sh, sh. It's okay. Take it slow." He shushed me as I tried to think it through over the pounding in my skull.

"B-But it's wrong. This whole thing. S-Santa doesn't exist. Repeating 'it's a long story'. The shape I saw at Clara's house. T-The skipping forward in time. It's all wrong."

He frowned. "Skipping? Who's skipping? Are… Are _you_ skipping?"

"I-I was sitting, then I was standing, then we were in here, then I was sitting again. I-I'm skipping. Missing things. Pieces I can't remember. W-Why is everyone referencing you? I-I don't understand what's wrong! Doctor, Doctor, help me! Stop this! Stop the nightmares!"

I heard the Master's laughing, the drums, saw Kovarian's wicked smirk, the gleam of a knife, chains, a black shape coming down from the ceiling in Clara's guest room, a scalpel slicing into my abdomen, a gun going off and a bullet tearing through my shoulder, the Doctor dying again and again, his companions falling into a void, trapped in another time, another universe, memories wiped, fighting wars. And then I woke up with a choked gasp, clutching my stomach and losing my dinner before letting out a whimper and quickly scuttling out of the infirmary and away from the grey pile of sand; barely catching sight of the Doctor and four others with a Dream Crab over their heads on the floor before I ducked into a storage closet in the next room and cured up as small as I could. _It's wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong._

* * *

The Doctor and everyone finally snapped out of the dream, waking up on the infirmary floor and scrambling to leave the room. Once they were out, everyone let out a screech of surprise when a figure burst through the opening at the other end of the hall with a pipe of some sort, only for the Doctor's eyes to widen at seeing Alex's panicked expression.

"Alex! Alex, it's alright! It's okay!" He called out, heading towards her with open arms and she dropped the weapon before tackling him in in tight embrace.

"I-I thought… I-I didn't know… what to do." She said, voice cracking but not yet crying as she held onto him and he held onto her tightly as well.

"Sh, sh. It's okay. We're fine. You're fine. Scared me half to death disappearing like that. I was hoping you'd popped off. You were right though." He said, pulling away from her slightly and brushing a hand over her cheek. "It was very wrong. Santa was our subconscious trying to show us how wrong it was. But it's okay now. We'll go."

He started to steer her out, but she stopped him.

"No. It's still wrong."

He frowned. "Impossible. We woke up."

Clara hurried up beside them as well. "Doctor, what about the Dream Crabs?"

"Oh, they're fine." He replied, not removing his eyes from Alex.

"And the people they're eating?"

"Beyond help."

"Doctor, the others are still in danger."

"Only if they're stupid. There are polar bears on this ice cap. Am I supposed to do something about that, too?" The Doctor said, but Alex spoke up again.

"No, we're _all_ in danger. There's still something wrong. Something very, very wrong."

The Doctor pulled away from her fully and place his hands on her temples, feeling her stiffen, but not entering her mind as he spoke softly to her.

"Alex… Alexander, I'm listening." He said, making sure he had her attention. "I know I had a hard time before, but now I am listening. I am listening to every word, but you need to explain it properly. Everything that's bothering you about this. Explain it to me."

"I-I… After I woke up i-in the infirmary, I still saw it." She said, trying to steady her voice by clearing her throat. "I keep seeing this… this black thing in a room that's familiar, but every time I try to think about it…"

She trailed off and the Doctor frowned, getting her attention once more.

"Every time you try to think about it what?" He pressed, her eyes focusing on his once more.

"It's wrong. It's all wrong."

"No, no, no." He said, moving his hands from her head to her shoulders as he desperately looked her over. "You were talking about a black thing in a familiar room. It's bothering you. Why is that room familiar?"

Her eyes widened. "The room! It has this black thing in it and—"

"Yes, yes I know. You told me that already, but you said the room was familiar. How?"

"It was… It was…" Her brows furrowed and the Doctor groaned.

"Oh. Oh, of _course_. It's stopping you from remembering. It's important, so it's stopping you from focusing long enough to remember why the room is familiar. Come on, Alex, think! Force your way past it and remember about the room!"

Alex brought a hand to her head, cringing, before her eyes snapped open and she gasped. "T-The room, it's Clara's guest bedroom! There was a Dream Crab in there before I went to bed!"

Clara's eyes widened as well. "Doctor? If Santa was only in the dream, why was he on my roof?"

The Doctor grinned, kissing Alex and spinning her around before placing her back on her feet and hurrying back.

"Four. Four patients. Four manuals. Do you know what I hate about the obvious?"

"What?" Clara asked as her and Alex followed after him.

"Missing it!"

With a blink, the trio were back in the main room with the four explorers, the Doctor speaking swiftly.

"As you were. No saluting. Are you the same people as before?"

"Of course they are." Clara complained.

"Oh, sorry, I deleted you." He replied.

"Well, that's not a very nice attitude, is it?" Shona drawled, but Alex spoke up.

"We skipped again. The both of us this time." She said, drawing the Doctor's attention to her. "That's why you forgot for a moment."

"Yes, excellent." He smiled at her before turning to the others and holding up four yellow books. "Four manuals, yes?"

"Yes, why?" Ashley asked.

"One each."

"One each, yes. What's the problem?"

"There's eight crew members if you count the ones in the infirmary." Alex pointed out, gesturing to the screens.

The Doctor nodded, tossing a manual to Shona. "You, gobby one."

"I have a name, actually." She complained.

"Doesn't matter. I don't need it. When we first met you in the infirmary, what were you doing?"

"Mm, it's a long story." She hummed.

"Uptight boss one." The Doctor tossed another manual to Ashley. "What is the primary mission of this polar base?"

"It's a long story."

"Pretty one. What brings you to the North Pole at your age?" He said, giving a pouting Alex a brief kiss. "No offense. You're the prettiest one here."

"Kiss up." She grumbled, earning a small smile from the man as he turned back to Bellows.

"It's a long… story." She said, catching on.

"Okay, why are they all giving the same answer, because that is a tiny bit freaky." Clara said, sounding worried.

"If you think that's freaky, try this. We were in the Tardis. Why did _we_ come here?"

"It's a long story." She said, before the penny dropped and she grew even more concerned. "Doctor?"

"Dreams. They're funny. Ha, ha, ha. They're disjointed. They're, they're silly. They're full of gaps. But you don't notice, because the dream protects itself. Stops you asking the right questions." He said, tugging Alex up beside him. "Alex, for instance, has a complicated brain, harder for the Dream Crabs to digest. She's had her consciousness leaking through the cracks like a broken pipe. She's noticed the gaps, felt herself skipping ahead seconds, minutes, possibly even hours. She couldn't ask about it though, because she kept forgetting. She's figured it out though. For example, why do you have four manuals, one each, when you have a crew of eight, as she said?"

"But we woke up." Ashley argued.

"Dream within a dream." Alex mused. "You don't know you're not dreaming until you know for sure you're not dreaming."

"Alex just got lucky. She knew from the start, but had no way of communicating it with us without losing a portion of her day." The Doctor hummed. "Clara? Page number. Make it a good one."

"Twelve." She said with a smirk and Alex returned it as every one of the crew flipped to that page.

"Very."

"Very."

"Very"

"…Dead."

"And who's going to be the first to admit it?" The Doctor asked, making Alex look at him confused; having missed the first part of this when she'd woken before the others.

"Admit what?"

"That the pain is still there."

"Actually, I think it's getting worse." Shona replied, rubbing her head.

"Yes. There is an alien organism in your brain, eating it. Of course it's getting worse." The Doctor drawled, but Clara's eyes were focused on the screens of the infirmary, along with Alex's.

"Doctor? What are they doing?"

"Factually, getting up." The Doctor said, seeing the Sleepers rising from their beds. "Significantly, sensing the endgame."

"How?"

"I don't understand." Ashley spoke up.

"Well, look at them. Go on. Look at them. Look at them properly. Look who they are. They're you. The Sleepers are you." The Doctor said, pointing out the names on the tags of the Sleepers.

"How can _they_ be us?"

"Because we're dreaming, all of us. This base isn't real. None of us are actually standing in the room. I'm probably asleep in my Tardis. Clara, you must be in bed and Alex staying in your guest bedroom. God knows where the rest of you are, probably scattered all over the world. But wherever you are, the Dream Crabs have got us, and we're all being networked into the same nightmare."

"What are they doing?" Bellows questioned, the Sleepers moving towards the cameras.

"It's your subconscious again. The Sleepers represent the part of your mind that's already surrendered to the attack. These are dream images of what's coming to kill you." The Doctor said bluntly, earning a light smack from Alex.

"That's me? That's actually me?" Albert breathed out in shock.

"No, it's a metaphorical construct representing a psychic attack within a shared dreamscape. Do please keep up."

Alex sacked him again, harder this time. "Behave."

He pouted, but then saw Alex's eyes widen as she bolted from his side and grabbed Albert; hauling him away from the screen as one of the Sleepers reached towards it and began pushing through the glass.

"Look out, they're coming through. Out! Outside, now! Run, run, run, run! Run! Clara, run. Run, all of you, run. Run!"

Alex doubled back and grabbed the Doctor, pulling him along when he attempted to stop and delay the Sleepers. With the door shut firmly behind them, they joined the rest of their group.

"We'll freeze to death out here." Bellows muttered.

"But it… it's just a dream."

"Yeah, a dream that probably would have killed your friend if I hadn't pulled him away." Alex grumbled, letting out a sneeze that made the Doctor tuck her into his side.

There was pounding on the door and the Doctor pointed at the Tardis.

"The Tardis! Come on! Come on!"

"Doctor, it's not the real Tardis." Clara argued.

"Well, let's hope that I dreamed it really well then." He said, but when he opened the door, three more Sleepers came out; looking like him, Clara and Alex.

"It's us." Clara breathed.

"Of course it's us. We're dreaming too."

They were surrounded now, numerous Sleepers having shown up out of nowhere and inducing panic on the group.

"Oh my God."

"How is that possible? How can there be so many?"

"The logic of a nightmare." The Doctor replied, being sure to keep Alex close to his side as Ashley pulled out a flare in the hopes that fire would keep them away.

"So tell us how to wake up." Shona said, fear making her voice tight. "Because you're always talking like you're so clever, going on and on. And your girlfriend here woke up before everyone before! So tell us what to do!"

"We have to leave this place."

"Leave it?"

"How?"

"Santa." Alex breathed out. "He saved us before, he can do it again."

The Doctor grinned. "Come on, it's Christmas, the North Pole. Who you gonna call?"

There was a jingle then and everyone looked up to see a large red sleigh heading their way. Santa landed and hurried everyone in—the time traveling trio in the front beside him and the rest behind them—and sent the sleigh up into the air.

"So what happens now?" Clara asked one they were up in the sky. "This is us just waking up, right?"

"Could be. Well, I hope so. Waking up or…" The Doctor trailed off, holding Alex a bit closer as she closed her eyes with a soft sigh.

"Or?"

"Just focus on this. Do you believe in Santa Claus?"

Clara smiled, leaning up against him. "I've always believed in Santa Claus, but he looks a little different to me and his wife is _much_ better looking."

"Oi." He grumbled, turning to complain to Alex, only to find that she was already gone; making him pout, whereas Clara snorted, leaving the Doctor to his pouting as she settled in for the ride.

* * *

I woke up, feeling groggy and moving slowly, only to hear the rattling of chains, which sent my hearts racing. My eyes snapped open and I looked around the dark room, fear trickling through my veins as my hearts pounded in my ears, sounding very much like the Master's drums.

"No, no, no, no, no. It's not real. T-This isn't real. I-I've still got the Dream Crab on me. I-I have to." I spewed out frantically, tugging on my chains in vain.

I heard footsteps approaching and grew more desperate, before ducking my head and clenching my eyes shut.

"I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming." I repeated under my breath frantically.

"Oh, I'm afraid not, sweetheart." A sickly sweet voice cooed at me, sending a shiver down my spine as it morphed between Kovarian's, the Master's, the hiss of a Silurian's, the electric garble of a Cyberman's, and that ever fear-inducing screech of a Dalek. "There is no Dream Crab. You're trapped here with us now. As you have been."

"No. No, I was at Clara's. I'm still there. I'm not here. I'm sleeping in her guest room." I pressed, but they—it—laughed.

"Oh, think what you will, Seer. But it's not true. You're trapped here with us, and not even the Doctor can find you."

The figure stepped forward into the light and I felt my blood freeze in my veins at the grinning face of Rassilon.

"After all." He smirked. "How can he, when he can't even find his own planet?"

* * *

"No!" I gasped, shooting up in bed and jumping out of my skin at the screeching black Kantrofarri squirming beside my pillow for a moment longer before turning to dust.

I scrambled of the bed, hitting my elbow, hip, and shoulder painfully on the ground as I got tangled in the sheets, before I finally managed to rip them away from me and bolt from the room in a blind panic.

"Doctor! Doctor!" I cried out, desperately searching for him. "Theta!"

I ran into the man just outside of Clara's room and stared up at him from the floor where I'd fallen with tears in my eyes. He looked down at me in worry and shock, unsure what to do before reaching down to help me up.

"Alex? What is it? What's wrong? Well, other than the Dream Crab thing. Should've known you'd get out of that without my help."

I ignored his rambling, grabbing his face and gently tracing his features with my hands as I searched frantically for something to tell me that this was real. I wasn't dreaming anymore. Then, I pressed my forehead to his and closed my eyes, feeling utter relief when his mind wrapped around my own comfortingly and I finally sagged into his arms and let out a quiet sob.

"I-I was scared. I was so scared." I breathed out, clinging to him like a life-support while he held me back, still very confused.

"But you were fine. You _are_ fine, are you not?" He questioned and I took a second before nodding.

"Yes. Yes, with you here, yes I am." I answered him, though not wanting to let go for a long while. "Oh, I've never been so scared."

He held me tighter, muttering something to Clara behind him, before scooping me up into his arms and carrying me downstairs.

"The Tardis is outside." He said softly. "I'll make the next trip your choice."

I shook my head. "I-I… I just want to stay inside for a while. Please. T-Take Clara somewhere if you must, but… I-I'll need a day or two."

He paused, but nodded, kissing the side of my head. "If that's what you want."

"I'm sorry." I said quietly, tightening my grip around his neck slightly. "I-I'm just… I'm scared."

"And that's okay." He told me, nuzzling my head with his nose as we headed out into the snow. "You'll tell me when you're ready?"

I nodded, not wanting to say the words out loud. _Yes. Yes, and… thank you, for being here for me._


	81. The Time of the Doctor

**Sorry this is a little late! I had a weird shift at work today and woke up late too. But here it is! It's nice and long and has all sorts of fun stuff. ^^ hope you all enjoy it, and please let me know what you think! i'm curious to see your responses.**

_**Warning!: nudity in beginning, slight suicide triggers, and slightly graphic descriptions (nothing too bad, but warning all the same)**_

* * *

"Oh, no, no, no! Not again!" I complained, a towel around my waist and another draped over my damp shoulders as I'd popped off yet _again_ in the nude after a rather nice shower. "Oh, why can't I just show up with clothes on for once?"

I went towards the stairs, only to bump into the Eleventh Doctor, also rather… well, nude.

"Alex!" He cheered, kissing me pleasantly and looking up and down at me with a grin on his face. "I see you've got the message. Excellent!"

"M-Message? What message? How do you think it's possible to send me a message?!" I blurted out, reluctantly allowing him to tug me away from the stairs.

"Good point. I thought Handles might have been able to do it, but it must have slipped my mind."

"Handles? Who the hell is—" I cut myself off, remembering the name and knowing that nothing good came from it. "Better yet, don't tell me. I don't want to know. I've got a feeling it can't mean anything good."

"Oh, nonsense." The Doctor drawled, bounding around in all his glory.

"And could you please put some clothes on?" I groaned, making for the stairs again. "As much as I enjoy the fact that we're both alone and naked in the console room—not for the first time, unfortunately—but the last thing we need is Clara walking in while we're like this and causing a fuss."

The Doctor grabbed my arm and tugged me back down the stairs, making me frown at him in annoyance.

"No, no, no. No time. We've got Christmas dinner and then church, hence the nakedness, though I'm sure we could arrange something else for our enjoyment later." He smirked with a wiggle of his brows and a quick kiss, but I pushed him back.

"Now, hold on. Christmas dinner?"

"Doctor, I so need you to—"

The Doctor and I both turned to see Clara, though our reactions were very different.

"Clara!" The Doctor chirped, arms up and a grin on his face, whereas mine had turned a deep violet as he headed towards her.

"No, stop. Stop. Don't move. Don't do anything." Clara demanded, turning her back to us and either close to tears or to laughing.

"Why? What is it? What's wrong?" The Doctor asked and I smacked him.

"You moron! I told you to let me get dressed! And you should be too!"

"Ow!" He complained. "And I _told _you, we're going to church!"

"Not for Christmas dinner, you dolt!"

"Um." Clara's voice made us both turn again. "You're naked."

"Yes, we are naked." The Doctor grinned, looking down at himself and then me, making me smack him again.

"Doctor, why are you and Alex naked?"

"Because we're going to church." He replied and I groaned.

"No, no. That's not why _I'm_ naked. Don't go thinking dirty things either, Clara." I chided her, having seen her turn slightly towards me. "I popped up after getting out of the shower with a future Doctor and—no. No, that sounded wrong. Not taking a shower _with_ him. Or well, not this time anyway, but—"

"No, shut up. I don't want to know."

"Right…" I mumbled, pulling a hand through my wet hair as the Doctor messed with something on the console and clothes appeared on me, making me suspicious.

"Better?" He asked Clara, who turned back around cautiously.

"Oh, that was quick."

"Hologram clothes. Projected directly onto your visual cortex." He explained and I sighed.

"So, you're still naked underneath."

"Everybody's naked underneath." He quipped and she made a face.

"Ugh, don't say things like that. It's Christmas." She said, before smiling and patting his cheeks. "Come meet my family, though I've changed my mind a bit, since Alex is here." She bounded over to me as I finished fixing my hair into a more Tenth-like fashion, looping her arm through mine. "She'll be my fake boyfriend."

"What?" I questioned, blinking in surprise, but before the Doctor or I could retort, she was already pulling me out of the Tardis doors. "N-Now hold on a second, Clara. Give me a moment to catch up. I'm your, _what_, now?"

"Boyfriend. Long story. Sort of. I told my family I had a boyfriend. Well, a fake one at this point. Hence, you." She spouted quickly, pulling me through the back door of her home and into the dining room.

"Wait, Clara, I don't think—"

The words died in my throat as Clara's parents and grandmother turned to look at me, quickly averting their gazes.

"Hello, so, uh, here he is." She smiled, just as the Doctor rushed in cheerfully.

"Hello, the Oswalds! Hello! Merry Christmas." He smiled, shaking hands with Clara's father as I leaned down and whispered harshly into Clara's ear.

"Hologram clothes, Clara. _Directly_ onto _your_ visual cortex."

She paled too. "Oh no."

I winced. "You, uh… did say that you had a thing with women once before, yeah?"

She scowled at me as the Doctor stood there and grinned, attempting to slide a hand around my waist before I pinched him for it and gave the group a pointed look as Clara continued to smile uneasily; introducing me as her boyfriend despite obvious feminine features that the group could plainly see. She then promptly shoved us into the kitchen and poked her head out again for a second before returning and pulling a hand through her hair as the Doctor looked at her turkey.

"Doctor, please."

He opened the oven. "Oh, that's never going to work, is it?"

Clara ignored the people in the other room and turned her head to the turkey. "What's wrong? Do you think it's not done yet?"

"I think a decent vet would give it an even chance."

I looked in as well. "Hm, actually, I think you're oven's a bit like my gran's. It's only working at half speed, you know?"

"Okay, well, use an app." She told the Doctor, who gave her a look.

"An app?"

"On your screwdriver. App it."

"Most certainly not. It doesn't do turkey."

"Or wood."

He pointed at me. "Or wood. Nothing does _turkey_ though. You'd need a time machine."

Clara gave him a look and I groaned, the Doctor looking between us.

"What?"

"Oh, just grab the bird and let's go." I drawled, pulling the Doctor to the back door as Clara grinned and went about pulling the bird from the oven while we headed to the Tardis.

The Doctor quickly caught on, complaining once Clara had caught up with us and we headed into the ship.

"You can't keep using the Tardis like this."

"Like what?" Clara asked innocently.

"Missed birthdays, restaurant bookings. And please, just learn how to use iPlayer."

"Says you." I drawled, following the two into the lower decks. "We use it for that all the time, though the birthdays are usually those of famous people and infamous aliens, which we tend to ruin."

"Ooh, vortex cooking?" Clara chirped, seeing the argument forming and not giving it a chance as the Doctor opened up a panel for her to put the turkey in.

"Yup. Exposure to the time winds. It'll either come up a treat, or just possibly lay some eggs."

"Information available." A voice spoke up and I blinked.

"Um, do I want to know what that is? Doesn't sound like the interface."

"Oh, just a bit of Cyberman. Handles, remember?" He smiled at me, though I gave Clara a worried look. "He'll get us to the church on time."

"I have developed a f-f-fault." The head of a Cyberman replied once we returned to the upper decks, making me wonder how I hadn't noticed it before.

"The organics are all gone, but there's still a full set of data banks. Found it at the Maldovar market." The Doctor explained, setting off the Tardis as the head spoke again.

"Planet identified from analysis of message."

"Right, cool. Go on then. Okay, tell us, what is the planet?" He asked the head. "Go on."

"Processing official designation… Processing."

"Okay, in your own time, mate. Don't rush." He said, obviously wishing the machine would hurry it up.

"So why haven't you just gone down there and had a look?" Clara asked, smiling at the robot head and wandering around.

"It's shielded. Even the Tardis can't break through it."

"Have you seen my coat?" I asked, having looked at the usual places in the control room for it.

"Aren't you wearing it?" Clara said, though I gave her a deadpan expression. "Oh, right. Hologram."

"Did you check the coat rack?" The Doctor called out and I rolled my eyes.

"Oh yes. The coat rack, how could I…" I trailed off, thinking back to all the places I'd checked and realizing that no, I hadn't checked the coat rack.

"Hm?" The Doctor pressed, smirking mischievously at me as I turned red in embarrassment.

"Shut up."

Him and Clara chuckled as I went to the coat rack and dug through the pockets of my coat, pulling out my notebook and looking up Handles, before realizing what this was and what was going to happen. _Oh, no… No, no, no… Not this. Not… Not Christmas…_ I turned to the Doctor, who looked so happy in that moment, chatting with Clara about her family's reactions to our nude arrival, and it crushed me to know what the next nine hundred years had in store for him. When he turned my way and caught sight of me, his smile faltered and he grew concerned.

"Alex?"

I opened my mouth, searching for something to say, not expecting what flew out. "I'm sorry."

His brows furrowed, concern and suspicion radiating off of him, until he heard Handles speak.

"Gallifrey."

He turned to Handles. "What did you say?"

It took a second, but Handles repeated himself.

"Gallifrey."

The Doctor headed over as I took a hesitant step as well. "What are you talking about? Gallifrey? What do you mean?"

"Confirmed. Planet designation, Gallifrey."

The Doctor grabbed Handles and shoved the head towards a monitor showing the planet. "You see that? Gallifrey is my home. I know it when I see it. _That_ is not Gallifrey." He snarled, shoving the head back down and walking away; shoving harshly past my shoulder towards the door.

"Doctor, are you okay?" Clara asked, upon realizing that I couldn't.

"It's not Gallifrey. Gallifrey is gone."

"Unless… Unless you saved it. You thought you might have." Clara pressed, turning to me. "Alex, can't you tell him?"

I grit my teeth, shaking my head as the Doctor stared out the door.

"Even if it survived, it's gone from this universe. That is not my home. It can't be." He snipped, shutting the door behind him, leaning against the console and I bit my lip.

"It's not."

His head snapped to me with a frown as I pulled my hand through my hair.

"That planet is not Gallifrey, but Handles isn't wrong. That's… That's all I can tell you."

He opened his mouth, but quickly closed it, letting out a sigh and heading back over towards me. I stiffened, expecting him to get upset and scold me, but his hands wrapped around my waist in a tight hug from behind and he gently kissed my neck.

"Sorry." He whispered, allowing me to relax in his hold as a loud fog horn went off outside.

"What's that?" Clara asked and the Doctor headed over with me in tow, opening the door to a large ship outside.

"Papal Mainframe. It's like a great big flying church. The first ship to arrive. They are the ones who shielded the planet. They can get us down there."

A large hologram of a face appeared and the Doctor bowed with me.

"Friend of yours?" Clara asked.

"Tasha Lem. The Mother Superious." He said as the hologram beckoned to us. "Oh, she's inviting us aboard."

"Why?"

"Because I asked her." He said, passing Clara a pill. "Swallow this."

"What is it?"

"Your hologram projector. You can't go to church with your clothes on." The Doctor said, missing the look Clara gave him before we flew the Tardis in and the Doctor gave me another kiss on my jaw; attempting to make up for the rudeness earlier, no doubt.

Not that I minded. And once Clara was… _changed_, we entered the ship and talked.

"I don't feel like I'm wearing anything." Clara said, curled up in on herself a bit and I hummed, knowing the feeling but resisting the urge to squirm; trying to trick myself into assuming I was fine.

"I know. Relaxing, isn't it?" The Doctor chirped, amusement dancing in his eyes as he squeezed my shoulders at the glare I was giving him.

"What is this place?" Clara asked, distracting herself—I'm sure—from the armed men on either side of us.

"The Church of the Papal Mainframe, security hub of the known universe."

"A security church?"

"Yup. Keeping you safe in this world and the next." The Doctor said, stopping before Tasha and bowing. "I venerate the exaltation of the Mother Superious."

"Welcome to the Church of the Papal Mainframe. Your nudity is appreciated." A man behind her said as Clara fidgeted.

"Hey, babes."

"Loving the frock." The Doctor smiled, grimacing when I elbowed him.

"Is that a new body? Give us a twirl."

The Doctor went to say something, but cleared his throat awkwardly with a slight chuckle. "Ah, I would, but… the wife."

He wiggled his fingers to show the wedding ring and she hummed.

"Ah." She turned to me with a smile. "Apologies."

"Hm." I hummed, not pleased with the woman, but knowing better than to pick fights here.

"So, uh, hello." Clara piped in. "Also here."

"Clara, this is Tasha Lem." The Doctor introduced. "The Head of the Church of Papal Mainframe. Tash, ho, ho, ho, ho. This is my… my associate, Clara Oswald. Miss Clara Oswald, and my wife, Alexander Holmes. Or Alex, as she prefers."

"We'll go to my chapel. All honors in place, no sacrifices required." Tasha announced, before leading us away down another corridor.

"It was Tasha who shielded the planet." The Doctor repeated, turning to the woman. "But you could sneak me down there, couldn't you, Tash?"

I frowned and he cleared his throat.

"Us, I mean. Sneak _us_ down there." He corrected, earning me a smirk from Tasha.

"I would have conditions." She replied to him, turning to Clara. "I have confidential matter to discuss with the Doctor. Would you excuse us?"

Clara hesitated, glancing at me as I shrugged, both of us wondering why I wasn't included in the 'Stay Outside Brigade'.

"As his wife, Alex is permitted to indulge in any of her husband's business, under martial law." Tasha explained at our unasked question.

"Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Clara. Well, quite a lot of it. Probably about half. Maybe a smidge under. Actually, Clara, would you mind waiting out here, please?" The Doctor said, having started off trying to defend her only to realize he had some things he _really_ didn't want her to know.

He glanced my way then, but I gave him a stern glare, making him shut his mouth before he could attempt to weasel his way into Tasha's chambers without me.

"No worries. You three get yourselves a room and, uh… try not to kill anyone, Alex."

I smiled innocently at her. "Oh, come now, Clara. I wouldn't do that in a church."

She winced, knowing better than to trust that smile and for good reason. _Oh, but the things I would do if outside these walls. Especially to Miss Tasha. She and the Doctor definitely have a past and I'd rather not like to know the depths of it. _I then remembered the Silence and felt a shiver down my spine as I turned to Clara, all serious.

"And if you remember even for a moment, burst in. And that may not make sense now, but trust me, it will."

"Okay…" She said, eyeing me, but I smiled again and waved as the Doctor and I followed after Tasha to see the bed.

"That altar looks like a bed." The Doctor said, sending me nervous glances as I looked at the object with a blank look.

"That bed looks like an altar." Tasha responded, making the Doctor clear his throat awkwardly.

"Yup."

The Doctor pressed on the mattress and sat, making sure I put myself between him and where Tasha would sit. If either of them noticed, they said nothing, and Tasha handed us a goblet of blue liquid. The Doctor sipped it and then spit it back into the cup, setting it aside as I sighed and tasted mine as well; grimacing, but forcing myself to swallow before passing him my cup as well. _Apple-like. Gross._

"Excuse me." Tasha said, reaching over myself and the Doctor with a smirk as I scowled and resisted the urge to push her as she touched a panel nearby, making the signal ring out.

"That message is transmitting through all of space and time. What did it make you feel?" She asked us.

"Feel?"

"Every sentient being in the universe who detected that signal felt something. Something overpowering." Tasha said and I felt a chill go down my spine.

"What?" The Doctor asked, tugging me slightly closer to him at the feeling of my shiver.

"Fear. Pure, unadulterated dread."

"Right." The Doctor said, getting up and tugging me along with him as I noticed just how close Tasha had gotten. "What's the signal? Where's it coming from?"

"It's a settlement." Tasha said, looking unamused. "Human colony, level two. A farm, basically."

"Right. Anyone been for a look?"

"Any one ship lands, the rest will follow. There will be bloodshed. Fortunately we got here first, shielded the planet. We maintain the truce by blocking all of them."

"Daleks, Cybermen, one of that lot could break through your defenses." The Doctor replied, making me stiffen at the sound of who exactly was floating around us this very moment.

"Perhaps. But they're afraid, remember? Nobody wants to go first."

"We do." The Doctor smiled, giving me another squeeze and ignoring how Tasha was half over the bed in an attempt to get closer. "Don't we dear?"

"Hm." I hummed, brows furrowed as I listened to the signal and wondered why I felt no fear, but this overwhelming protectiveness towards the Doctor instead.

_I know what the signal is, where it's from, who's sending it, etcetera. But this feeling is odd. I've always felt a bit protective over the Doctor, but this is just… insane. Just Tasha hovering around is making me tense, so who knows what will happen down on Christmas when things take a turn for the worse._ I rubbed at my arm, feeling slightly itchy with the onslaught of the new, almost artificial feeling that was overwhelming me. _I don't like this. _I jumped when the doors crashed open and Clara hurried in, causing everyone to look her way as she stood there in panic for a second before suddenly calming.

"You okay?" The Doctor asked.

"Fine. Yeah, fine. Sorry."

"Right." Tasha said, heading over towards a teleport and drawing our attention back to the matter at hand. "This is my personal teleport. I can put you down just outside the town. Find the source of the message and report back to me in one hour. And on your _life_, Doctor, you will cause no trouble down there."

The Doctor entered the teleport, tucking me in close with a mischievous smirk when I rolled my eyes at his forwardness, and smiled innocently at Tasha. "When do I?" He closed the curtain, then pulled it back. "Don't answer that."

I snorted, giving the woman a look. "I'll keep him out of trouble."

He drew the curtain closed again, immediately looking down at me and leaning in, only for Tasha to pull it back, making him pout.

"What?"

"I'm not an idiot. Everyone in this church is trained to see straight through holograms." She said, holding out her hand as Clara groaned.

"Ah, great."

"Give now." Tasha said, ignoring her. "You are taking no technology of any kind down there."

"What can I do with a key?" The Doctor argued, waving at Clara and closing it again only to open it a moment later. "You, in, now."

"You could summon your Tardis." Tasha said and I snorted.

"Doesn't work that way. I told him to make a key fob to do that, but he _insists_ that he doesn't need it."

The Doctor wrinkled his nose, but handed the key over. "Fine. If it makes you feel any better, there we are."

Tasha took it as Clara went into the other cubicle and Tasha moved to the controls.

"Remember, I want you back in one hour."

* * *

"Whoa, cold. Very cold." Clara shivered, Alex shaking as well as the Doctor rubbed at both of their arms and tried to get some heat flowing.

"Okay, don't worry. There's a heat loss filter in your hologram shell. It'll kick in, just give it a moment. So!" He spun Alex around and hugged her with a cheeky grin. "Sweet little town covered in snow, half the universe in terror. Why? Why?"

He tugged her away, but she pulled him to a stop, making him frown.

"What?"

"We need to leave. _Now_."

"What? Whatever for? We just got here." He complained as Clara spoke.

"Oh my God. There's something under the snow, it's… cold."

"Clara, do as I say. Back up and leave it, but don't take your eyes off it." Alex ordered, tugging the Doctor back. "And I didn't mean leave the planet, I meant leave this forest. Preferably _now._"

Clara laughed though. "It's stone. It's just stone. It's only a statue."

The Doctor turned then, understanding dawning on him as Alex groaned and bolted back towards Clara; grabbing her and yanking her away just as the stone hand attempted to grab her ankle.

"O-Oh my God. Did it… Did it just move?"

"Yes. It's a Weeping Angel. I hate the damn things, but they can't move when you're looking, so just keep looking at it. And Doctor, you should know, it's not the only one!" Alex called out and the trio ended up with their backs to one another in a circle.

"What's it doing here?!" Clara demanded to know.

"Same as everyone else." The Doctor explained, the group spinning in the hopes of keeping all of the emerging Angels within sight. "Must've got past Tasha's shield. Keep looking!"

"I can't. I can't see. The snow's in my eyes." Clara said, squinting.

"Doctor, please tell me you have a way out of this and if you do, might I suggest using it?!" Alex complained.

The Doctor turned. "What? You don't know?"

"I'm _old_, dammit! My memory's been failing for years! I tried to read up on this in the Tardis, but I didn't exactly put in all the details and I was only able to skim it before we needed to be elsewhere." Alex said, shame lacing her tone, but the Doctor didn't have time to address it now.

Not in this situation.

"Okay, I just need to bring the Tardis down."

"You can't fly it remotely." Clara argued.

"No, but it can home in on the key."

"But she took your key!"

"She took one of them!" He called back, undoing a zip on the back of his head as Alex rounded on him.

"Oh, dear God, you didn't!"

He spun to her with a nervous smile as the Tardis materialized around them. "Unfortunately, yes. I did. Old key in the quaff routine. Classic."

"You insufferable arse!" Alex shouted, smacking him repeatedly on the shoulder. "I loved your hair! Why'd you have to go and shave it off?!"

"Clever plan to get us past the shield." He chirped, but even Clara saw through that.

"You got bored one night, didn't you?"

"Yeah, tiny bit bored. Okay, homing in on the mysterious message. Ooh, yes. I like that. The mysterious message."

"Don't change the subject!" Alex scolded him as Clara smirked and gestured to the Doctor.

"Is that what happened to your eyebrows?"

"No, they're just delicate." The Doctor pouted, toughing them. "Right, setting us down near the signal source. I'm going to turn the engines on silent. Don't want to make a fuss."

"You moron! You giant buffoon!" Alex shouted some more, thoroughly upset. "I swear, if your hair doesn't grow back in a few days thanks to some Time Lordy whatever, then you're sleeping on the couch by yourself until it does!"

"But Alex!"

"No 'but's!" She snipped. "I am _not_ sleeping with Baldy McBig Ears!"

She threw his wig back at him as he pouted like a child who'd just gotten scolded about taking a cookie without asking.

"They're not big."

"Your ears are like rocket fins." Clara piped in, thoroughly amused by the situation, though the Doctor grinned at the remark.

"I know."

That is, until Alex smacked him again and he grumbled under his breath as he replaced his wig; Alex and Clara heading off to go put on some clothes that _weren't_ holograms before they headed out into whatever town was giving off the mysterious signal.

"Oh, it's good to be wearing clothes again. That's so much better, don't you think?" Clara chirped happily, better dressed for the weather as Alex tugged her hood up on the grey hoodie under her coat and digging through its pockets to find her black book and catch up on some reading.

"I hope his head is freezing and his ears fall off." She grumbled; the Doctor pouting at the comment, turning to the town and sonicking everything to try and take his mind off things.

"Now, what do we make of this place? It's two o'clock in the afternoon. Must be very short days here. The message is coming from _that_ tower."

A couple were walking in their direction and the Doctor called out to them.

"Hello! Hello there!" He turned to Clara as he walked, lowering his voice. "Right, Alex and I are a couple from the next town and you're a friend of ours. My name's probably Hank or Rock. Something like that."

"Or Daisy." Clara quipped, making Alex smile a little and the Doctor frown.

"Shut up." He smiled at the couple then. "Hello, good to meet you. Nice snow."

"Most pleasant to meet you too." The woman smiled, followed by the man.

"Most pleasant. Most pleasant."

"I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. I stole a time machine and ran away and I've been flouting the principal law of my own people ever since." The Doctor blurted out, covering his mouth quickly. "That wasn't quite what I meant to say."

Clara chuckled, attempting to fix things. "I'm an English teacher from planet Earth, and I've run off with a man from space and his half-human wife because I really—" She too, covered her mouth in shock as Alex rolled her eyes.

"Ignore them. They're idiots when they want to be. I'm Alexander Holmes; Alex is fine. And we're here to check out your tower."

Clara's hand slipped. "Bubbly personality masking bossy control freak."

Alex slapped her hand over her mouth instead, smiling innocently. "As I said, ignore them."

"I'm wearing a wig!" The Doctor chirped, wincing before attempting to get back on track. "No, ah, I see. Yes, of course. It's a truth field. Oh, that is so quaint. I haven't seen a truth field in years. I'm wearing a wig."

"No one can lie in this town. Especially this close to the tower." The woman said, giving Alex a pleasant smile before her and her husband walked off.

"Doesn't that make life a bit difficult?" The Doctor asked, making them turn.

"Not at all." The wife replied, whereas the husband had a different answer.

"Yes."

They said nothing about their contradicting responses.

"This town, what's it called?" The Doctor questioned, just curious.

"It's Christmas."

He furrowed his brows, looking at his watch. "It's July."

Alex sighed. "The _town_, Doctor. The town is called Christmas."

"She's right." The husband replied as the wife smiled again.

"Be happy here. Be well."

The couple walked off and the trio of time travelers turned to the clock tower.

"How can a town be called Christmas?" Clara asked.

"I don't know. How can an island be called Easter?" The Doctor rebutted. "Maybe it's just nice here. I almost hate to find out what's wrong."

Alex's expression fell at that, but she remained silent and walked in the back of the group as they entered the tower and headed downstairs to look around. It didn't take long for the Doctor to notice the glowing crack in the wall though, and he set Handles down.

"There you are… What took you so long?" He spoke softly, Clara moving towards him and Alex hovering by some boxes nearby; half covered in shadows.

"What's wrong?" Clara asked. "It's only a crack in the wall."

"I knew. I always knew it wasn't over." The Doctor said, ignoring her question for now and removing his coat.

"What is it?"

The Doctor lightly ran his fingers over the edges of the crack. "A split in the skin of reality. A tiny sliver of the 26th of June, 2010. The day the universe blew up."

"Missed that." Clara replied.

"I rebooted it, put I all back together."

"That's good."

"Well, it was my Tardis that blew it up in the first place. I felt a degree of responsibility. But the scar tissue remains. A structural weakness in the whole universe. Whoa! And someone's trying to get through it from outside our universe, from somewhere else. Of course. Of course. It makes sense."

"It does?"

"Yes. If you were trying to break through a wall, you'd choose the weakest spot. If you were trying to break into this universe, you'd choose this crack, because. No. If you were trying to break back into this universe." He turned to Alex then, frowning slightly at the sight of her expression. "What was it you said before?"

"Handles isn't wrong, but this planet isn't Gallifrey." She said and he turned to the robot.

"You said Gallifrey. Why did you say Gallifrey?"

"Analysis of message composition indicates Gallifreyan origin, according to Tardis databanks."

"You said Gallifrey was gone." Clara pressed, growing more confused.

"No. I said it was in another universe. The message is coming through here. The truth field is too, at a guess. If it's the Time Lords… If it's the Time Lords…" He couldn't finish that sentence, taking out an object from his pocket and placing it on Handles. "Seal of the High Council of Gallifrey. Nicked it off the Master in the Death Zone. There is an algorithm imprinted in the atomic structure. Use it to decode the message."

"Message decoding. Message analysis proceeding. Information available. The message is a request for information."

"It's a question. Why can't you just say it's a question?" The Doctor complained, growing frustrated with the machine in his hands and everything else about this situation.

"It is being projected through all of time and space on a repeating cycle."

"The oldest question in the universe, hidden in plain sight."

"Silence will fall when the question is asked." Alex said as well, drawing his eyes to hers in a moment, before he turned his gaze back to Handles as he declared a warning.

"Warning. Translation will be available to all lifeforms in range. Translation follows. Doctor who? Doctor who? Doctor who? Doctor who? Doctor who? Doctor who? Doctor who?" It repeated, until the voice was no longer mechanical, but the voice of an elder man.

"A question only Alex and I could answer. A truth field to make sure I'm not lying. If I give my name, they'll know they've found the right place and that it's safe to come through."

"The Time Lords? Okay, so what then? If you answer the question and they come back, what happens?" Clara asked, still very much lost and the Doctor handed her something.

"Uh, you need to take this to the Tardis and put it in the charger slot for the sonic."

"Why?"

"Hell. All hell, that's what happens if the Time Lords come back. There's half a universe up there already, waiting to open fire. Now please, go to the Tardis and just do as I say."

Clara ran off, but Alex stayed and the Doctor turned to her.

"Alex, you need to go too."

"Absolutely not." She said sharply. "I promised you all those years ago, Doctor, and I meant it. I will _never_ leave you alone. _Never_. So I'm not leaving. Especially not now."

The Doctor reached up and brushed a hand over her cheeks, bringing her in for a kiss and pulling away a few centimeters as he whispered. "I'm sorry."

Before she could even ask, something was jabbed into her neck and her eyes widened in shock before fluttering closed and collapsing into the Doctor's arms. He sighed softly, brushing some hair from her face and wincing when he realized she'd probably kill him later for that, if he wasn't already dead. And he kissed her again.

"I love you, Alexander. And I'm so, so sorry, but I can't let you waste your life like this. I won't allow it." He told her, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a leather bracelet that he'd snatched off a certain time jumper in case of emergencies.

And now was as good a time as any to use it. He strapped it to Alex's wrist, set in the right coordinates and time, before sending Alex away.

"Goodbye, Alexander."

* * *

In the time that followed, the Papal Mainframe strove to maintain the peace between the Doctor and his enemies. As the days passed, and the years, the Doctor stayed true to his word. On the fields of Trenzalore, he stood as protector both of his own people and his new home. Over the years, his foes would find new, stranger ways to enter the town called Christmas. With every victory, the town celebrated. In time, the Doctor seemed to forget he'd lived any other life. He even seemed to have forgotten about his own wife whom he had sent away for her safety. To live out her life not chained to the way he was being forced to live his. But he had forgotten something important. Alexander Holmes was not one to be separated from him for long.

* * *

I groaned, head pounding as I sat up and grimaced at the headache I had, and then I remembered. I remembered the crack, the Doctor, the prick in my neck and the goodbye. And I was _pissed_. More than pissed, I was furious! How dare he! How _dare_ the Doctor choose how I should live my life! And I was hurt. Oh, how my hearts cried out in pain. He left me. He had abandoned me again and it crushed me. Cut me to the very core, but this time I wouldn't wallow in pity and grief. No, I was different now. Headache or no, I would find a way back to him. I would force my way through the universe, tearing it apart to get back to him. So I pushed myself out of the bed I was in, very nearly falling to the hard ground if Clara hadn't wandered in at that moment and caught me with a grunt.

"God, Alex, you've gained some weight." She said, hefting me back onto the bed. "You probably shouldn't be walking around just yet. I found you collapsed out in the snow with a note saying you'd wake up in a few hours."

I tried to shove past her and get up again. "I need to get to him. I need to find him, Clara. I can't just sit around and do nothing! Not this time!"

She shoved me back down rather harshly, making me look up at her slightly in surprise.

"And what are you going to do? Huh?" She snapped. "You find him and, and then what? In the condition you're in, you'll be useless to him!"

"But at least he won't be alone!" I shouted back, the two of us glaring at each other before we slowly calmed down and the overwhelming sadness took over, making me bow my head. "Sorry… I'm sorry, I just…"

"No, I know. And you're probably feeling it a hundred times worse. I shouldn't have said that."

I shook my head at her words. "No, you're right. I couldn't help him like this. I'd probably just end up getting him killed… but we can't leave him there."

"No. No, we can't." She agreed before a thought came to mind and I looked at her with furrowed brows.

"Wait… Weren't you supposed to be clinging to the Tardis?"

Now _she_ looked confused. "That… That already happened. You were there. You were—Oh."

Realization dawned on her, but before I could ask, she held her hands up.

"No. I can't tell you. Spoilers, as you would say."

I begrudgingly bit my tongue and went quiet, before looking at her. "How's Christmas dinner?"

"Oh, well…" She glanced at the door. "It was… tense."

I sighed. "Oh, Clara. I'm sorry. If the damn Doctor hadn't drugged me, I would've at least joined you."

"Alex, you were completely unconscious for _hours_ and you're still unsteady on your feet." Clara grumbled. "I can only imagine what my parents would think. My gran might get a kick out of it though."

I chuckled a little. "Love your gran, by the way. Even if she was looking the Doctor up and down like a piece of meat."

Clara chuckled then and I did too, until I felt my shoulder ache and my eyes widened.

"No."

"What?"

"No, no, no!" I said, grabbing at my shoulder as Clara's expression fell in realization. "No! Not now! I promised! I promised I'd be with him!" I turned to Clara. "I'm sorry, Clara! I'm so so—"

I was cut off as I popped away, though where I popped away to, made my hearts stop. Or more, who I appeared next to. The humongous man turned towards me on the ground and furrowed his brows, reaching down and holding out a hand to me.

"Now what are you doing down there, sir? Surely being on your feet would prove better to gap open mouthed at me." He said with a small smile, the top hat on his head making him look far taller and the hint of a beard on his chin adding to the mental image in my head of the 16th President of the United States of America.

"Y-You're Abraham Lincoln."

The man's grin twitched slightly in amusement as he easily hefted me to my feet and I quickly realized that with no Doctor around, I was definitely going to have a problem on my hands.

* * *

Years passed. _Years_, with no Doctor, no companions, nothing but me popping to random times, left to deal with problems better solved with more than just the coat on my back. Lincoln's assignation after we'd grown to be good friends, hurt. Helping build the most amazing blimp, only to watch it fall and burst into flames, ached. Fighting alongside Napoleon and later (or earlier) in the Seven Year's war, helped destroy me. Then, again, in the American Revolution, my hearts were broken. I pushed tea overboard alongside a man who could have only been the Doctor at one point, but the years had made me bitter. He'd left me behind again, only for me to get sent away to fight in wars and watch my friends fall with no opportunities to save them because it was _history_. He'd taught me that. You can't interfere. You can't save those close to you. You have to watch them go. Turn a blind eye to destruction, because it was what? _Necessary_?

I was disguised as a man, fighting in wars I had no business being in, and all I could think about was him for the first few years. The war _he_ was fighting back on Trenzalore. But then I ignored it. Pushed it to the back of my mind not long after Abe passed, because I had my own wars to worry about. And what should I care about a man who left me? Left me for the umpteenth time. Hell, I married a rather nice French woman during the Napoleonic Wars. A novelist named George Sand who claimed to have been on the search for love outside of her marriage with a Baron. Wonderful woman, quite the mind, and she didn't care when I revealed my gender to her. But then I was forced to leave, popping up during the Revolution while she was away searching for another love once we'd split apart and became simple friends.

The Revolution was what did it. What caused my regeneration. A simple musket to the leg. They couldn't fix it, had to have it amputated and it wasn't easy. It was painful. More painful than I could ever imagine. Then I spent months learning to live without it, only to fall ill and not be able to come back from it. I died choking, a hand wrapped around my friend's; one Frances Marion. We fought in the war together, hiding in the swamps to surprise the British soldiers and scare them into an ambush. And he witnessed my change. He saw me turn into the person I was now, and damn, was I tall. Reaching six feet in a vain attempt to catch up with old Abe's six foot four. I scared my old friend half to death, him rushing off and me forcing myself to go on the run and ignore the pain that came from his fear of me.

Then I popped away that winter, ending up in the deserts of Egypt with a band of Bedouin nomads and their mules and goat-skin tents. I walked with them for another couple of years, learning their ways and earning their trust. I became their brother as they became mine, and then I left them. Made my own way for a little while because I knew it would happen again soon. I would pop off, and I did, not two years later. I was nearing my mid to late nineties, looking perhaps thirty, when I landed in a forest covered in snow. I scowled, but took it as it was and settled in for the night. Time was different, I'd noticed, labeling the spread of green, brown, and white as possibly being on another planet or nearer to the poles where nights lasted longer. I'd yet to end up on another planet in my years of popping off, but it wouldn't surprise me. Nothing would at this point.

This body was like that. Blank, hard to make expressions, bitter, easy to scowl and get angry, but patient and easy to hide in. It was a mask, created by my frustration to the universe and the annoyances it had caused me by dropping me into war after war, death after death. I knew first hand now, how the Doctor felt after the Time War fiasco. Not to that exact scale, but close enough. And this body made it hard to feel much of anything other than a deep burning hatred for what I'd been put through. But it also filled me with a passion so deep that I could never escape it. The passion that made me fight hard, push harder, protect people fiercer. A passion that kept me going even after what had happened, and I wasn't about to let a bit of snow stop me now.

It wasn't more than a day or two before I had to deal with the first alien attack of many to come. A Sontaran caught in one of my traps to catch game. He was rather… funny. It'd been a while since I'd let out even a chuckle, but he managed with his complaints. It was easy enough to knock him out, though it took a while to remember how to set a teleport, much less the one on his armor. I managed though, and when the attacks continued, I fought, just as I always had. There was one place with this sort of invasion, with this variety of creatures, and it was the one place I'd wished to come to for years and years. But now was different. Now I hated to be here. I _despised_ Trenzalore and the people on it. But I would hardly stand back and watch it burn.

So I fought, silently in the shadows of Christmas, giving them peace for a year before someone noticed. Before someone sought me out, and it was the one person I didn't wish to see, because he would make me care. Make me care when I wanted anything but.

"Well now, I was wondering why it's been so quiet."

I glanced up briefly from my whittling of a small block of wood, ignoring the pile of busted parts of Cybermen, Daleks, Sontaran blasters and other bits behind me. I then turned back to what I was doing as the Doctor stepped over cautiously.

"Who are you?" He asked. "Why are you doing this? _How _are you doing this?"

"How would anyone?" I replied, not turning my gaze from my work. "I fought them, and I won. Simple."

"No, no, no." He sat down on a stump by my fire. "No. Impossible. There is nothing simple about fighting an army like this on your own!"

"You have." I countered, looking up with my cold, blue eyes and seeing him frown.

He was older now, as I expected. Not as old as I knew he would get, but still needing the wooden cane at his side. But to me, he was still as young as he'd always been. Still that bumbling idiot who flirted with me constantly. But I pushed back the feeling and set down my block, reaching behind me and grabbing a stick of wood that I tossed to him. He caught it as easily as he always would have and gave the ornately carved cane a look over.

"What's this?"

"A cane. For you." I said quietly, standing and heading to my tent to grab a large pan and a bag of coffee beans. "Coffee?"

He furrowed his brows, confused, but accepting the cane and shaking his head. "No, no. Explain this to me. Who are you and why are you doing this?"

"I got bored." I answered, going through the long process of making Turkish coffee that I'd learned from my Bedouin brothers. "And I can't leave. Might as well make myself useful."

"Can't leave? How did you get here?"

"Same way I always do." I shrugged, before a thought came to mind. "You don't recognize me?"

"No. Should I?"

I frowned, struggling to figure out why the Doctor wouldn't recognize me, but pushing it aside after a moment of thought.

"You've forgotten." I mused, grinding the coffee beans. "Understandable. Would have been nice if I could have, for a moment."

"I never forget a face." He argued, but we went quiet for a bit while I finished and began pouring the coffee into a chipped cup for myself.

_He won't like the taste. It's bitter._ I thought idly, sipping the coffee and finishing three cups before I spoke again.

"You should go back to the town. They'll be wondering where you went."

"No. Not until I know who you are."

I scowled. "Were you always so stubborn?"

"Well, how would I know?" He argued back and we frowned at one another for a while before he got up. "Come with me."

"No."

His frown deepened. "Why not? Surely you'd rather a decent meal other than the poor fowl you trapped earlier this morning. And a bath as well, I'm sure."

I glared at him, annoyed that he'd insult me, though knowing that he was probably right about my state of uncleanliness.

"We could even find you someplace to stay. Better than that ratty old tent, anyway."

I stood at that, anger showing clearly on my face. "This tent is my home and it has protected me for _years_. Do _not_ insult it."

He stiffened at the sudden fury, but slowly nodded, looking sheepish. "Sorry."

I let out a sharp breath from my nose, but went about snuffing out the fire. "I will join you for a little while, but no more than that."

He hesitated, but nodded, waiting for me to pack up my things and roll up my goat-skin tent, hefting the objects on my back and giving him the lead. We walked into town and my scowl slowly returned. It hurt seeing him here with the townsfolk. Everyone so cheerful, him smiling away without a care in the world. They were all so happy, celebrating and cheering. He had a life here, making him happier than I'd seen him in a long while, but it made me question if he looked up at the stars at night and wished to go back. Wished that this mess hadn't been started and he could return to doing what he'd done for all his lives. Because I did. Every night under my goat-skin tent, or when gunshots echoed over trenches, or the late nights working on blueprints or brushing a hand through George's hair as she slept under the covers beside me. _Abe always did wonder why I never left him. Always said I had this forlorn look in my eyes like I was waiting for someone to just whisk me away._

The Doctor led me to the clock tower where he was staying and let me in, myself ignoring the murmurs and stares of the townsfolk. I glanced at the children's drawings on the walls and the toys on the worktable nearby, and then the wall where the crack sat; spouting out that never ending question. _Doctor who?_

"The bath is through that door there, you can leave your things wherever." The Doctor said, gesturing off to a door on our left. "And I'm sure I can convince the nice couple next door to fix us both a little something."

My eyes stayed locked on the crack as I spoke. "Are you happy here?"

He went quiet and I turned, eyes serious as I looked at the man before me.

"Of course I am." He replied, but I stepped towards him and narrowed my eyes.

"You've sent everyone important to you away. You live here in this tower alone; fighting, _alone. _You have the townsfolk, sure, but is this really what you wanted, Doctor?"

Now his eyes narrowed. "Who _are_ you?"

I shook my head, stepping away and moving towards the door. "If you cannot remember, then I must not be important to you."

I reached for the door, but froze on the spot, something catching my attention in the corner of my eyes. I turned slowly towards it, finding a dirty mirror hanging on the wall and the unfamiliar face peering back at me making me hesitate. I stood there before it, not moving as I looked my new face over.

"I forgot." I murmured, lifting a hand to touch the mirror lightly, tracing the angry tilt of my eyebrows and my sharp jawline.

The Doctor stepped up next to me and looked between me and the mirror. "You forgot your own face?"

I flashed back to that moment I regenerated, being forced to run for my life, collapsing in the forest, then awakening in a tent with the Bedouins. Never once seeing my own refection clearly enough to catch my attention. I reached up and removed the cloth turban I'd been wearing, revealing the short, curly brown hair I'd yet to see that just touched the tips of my ears. I wiped some of the grime from my face to see pale white skin, no longer tan from my time in Egypt. My icy blue-grey eyes stared back coldly as I took in my facial features, baring my teeth to reveal rather prominent canines that bordered animalistic. And then I frowned, spotting a small scar that brushed over the corner of my top lip from dealing with bandits while traveling with the Bedouins. _I look so… angry._ _More so than Twelve, which is… odd._ I focused on the Doctor in the mirror then, the man having stood there and watched my actions with furrowed brows as his eyes looked over me himself and he tried to figure something out; the clogs in his head moving as fast as they could. Our eyes locked in the mirror then and, for a split instant, I saw Eleven as he was. Young, childish, smiling, loving Eleven. And he must have seen something in me, because his eyes widened and his mouth opened to say something, but he was cut off when there was a commotion outside and someone shouted through the door.

"Doctor! Doctor, there's another one!"

The Doctor's eyes hardened for a moment, him turning with a flourish of his coat and grabbing some things from off his worktable, before moving past me outside; myself following to see the townsfolk staring at a wooden Cyberman. _That's new._ The Doctor tossed the cane I'd given him to a young child nearby, popping the cork gun he'd nabbed and passing it to a boy.

"There you go, Barnable."

"Thanks." The boy said, catching the gun when the Doctor tossed it.

"Working fine, nice action. Don't leave it out in the rain again." The Doctor rattled on, passing a toy train to a little girl next and taking back his cane.

"Fixed the wheels and the antigrav."

"The anti-what?"

"Yeah, may have gone a bit far." The Doctor admitted with that grin that made him look so much younger in my eyes as he headed down the front steps; my feet following automatically. "Now then, what do we have today? Don't you move one step further." He ordered the Cyberman, pointing at it with his cane. "Wooden Cyberman. Nice. Like it. Low tech, doesn't set off the alarms upstairs."

The Cyberman moved its arm, making the Doctor stop and myself to narrow my eyes and take a step in front of the man at my side. The Doctor's hand snapped up then, same as mine, his holding his sonic that whirred to life and mine on my flintlock pistol, armed and ready to go.

"Only bit of tech allowed in. Got in before the truce. Now, I just sent an instruction to your firearm to reverse the polarity and fire out the back end." The Doctor flipped his sonic and spun in a slow circle. "Now, as we're standing in a truth field, you will understand I cannot be lying. If you like, you can scan my screwdriver, verify that's the signal I sent."

I frowned at the Doctor, wondering what he was thinking. _His sonic doesn't work on wood. So he technically _did_ send out the signal, but that doesn't mean it did anything. So he's not lying, clever. But how does that defeat the Cyberman?_

"Signal verified." The Cyberman said, turning its weapon around as it clicked in my head what he'd done.

_Reverse psychology._ The Cyberman fired off its shot, blasting a hole right through its chest. The Doctor smirked at that, hobbling towards the Cyberman as I lowered my weapon, but kept close on his heels.

"Yes. I probably should have mentioned this doesn't work on wood. You send your friends up there a message from the Doctor. You tell them the Doctor stays." He pushed over the Cyberman with his cane and grinned as he blew on his sonic like a smoking gun. "Next."

I heard a sound then, a single stick breaking and my head swiveled to see a second Cyberman in the forest, arm raised. I reacted in an instant, unconsciously giving in to that ever growing protective need towards the Doctor as I moved in front of him the moment the Cyberman's gun went off and I lifted my pistol and fired off my own. Pain erupted in my shoulder and upper arm, but the wooden Cyberman toppled to the ground without a half of its head as screams rang out from the townsfolk behind us. I grimaced in pain, lowering my gun and grabbing my injury with a grunt as the Doctor gaped and spun me around.

"What were you thinking?! You idiot! You've been shot!"

I snarled at him though, anger reaching its boiling point quickly as sweat collected on my brow and I bit back the pain as best I could.

"What was _I_ thinking? What were _you_ thinking, you moron?! Standing out here in the open thinking there's only one of them?! You should be damn lucky that I'm always sticking my neck out for you, or you would've been dead ages ago!"

I doubled over then, grunting in pain before the Doctor grabbed my good arm and spoke loudly to the people there, giving out orders for medical supplies to be brought to his tower as he led me there, carefully keeping an eye on me as I grit my teeth and struggled to keep my vision from tilting. The Doctor got me inside and accepted the medical supplies from the people before wiping a hand over his work table and tossing everything on the floor.

"Sit there and take off your shirt. I need to see how bad it is."

"I'm _fine_." I snipped, sitting on the table nonetheless. "To only clipped me."

"And yet you're swaying on the spot and have already soaked your shirt in blood." He argued, digging through the medical supplies. "You're as bad as my wife."

I snorted at the irony of that and removing my shirt as carefully as I could; bandages underneath hiding my chest. He turned and very nearly dropped the bottle of antiseptic as his cheeks flushed.

"Y-You're a woman."

"And you're rather slow for a genius Doctor." I quipped back, breath hitching when I shifted my shoulder.

The Doctor shook off his shock at my expression of pain and hurried over. "This will hurt."

I grit my teeth and let out a hiss and a muttered curse in Arabic as he cleaned the wound, closing my eyes and pushing back the flashbacks of what happened in my last body; my left leg aching painfully at the thought. _This is nothing. This is nothing compared to that. So just push through it, Alex. This pain is _nothing_._

"It's not good, but it's not bad either." The Doctor replied. "Give it a month and it should be completely healed, but I can't do much about the scaring. Keep it clean and the least amount you'll have is probably from your collar bone to about halfway down your upper arm."

"That's fine." I grumbled, not pleased about the sheer amount of damage this body has taken, but knowing I'd rather this than the Doctor lying dead because of some measly Cyberman. "Just patch it up."

He nodded and did so, myself staying quiet until I felt his fingers pause. I turned to him, looking down at his hand as he flattened it over the bandages. It was then that I realized what he was doing and I glanced up to see his expression shift as he moved that hand over to the other side of my body.

"Two hearts." He breathed out and I stood, pulling away from him and carefully putting my shirt back on. "You have two hearts… You're a Time Lord."

"No. I'm not." I answered him, heading back outside as the townspeople set up for a celebration; a few nodding at me in respect for what I'd done to save their protector.

But I was angry with them still. I protected them, sure, but they took him from me. From Clara, from the universe. These people of Christmas took the Doctor, made him old, made him fight relentlessly. They made him _happy_. Happy without me or anyone else. They made me live on my own. He had them. I had no one. And as I sat on a bench, watching them play and cheer and dance with the Doctor, I felt that bitterness rise up in me once more. And I got up and walked away, found a tall building, away from the hustle and bustle of celebration, and I climbed up to the roof to look at the stars. At the places I've yet to be, the places I may never go. And I sat up there and longed for them, mourning for the universe that may never know the Doctor. And crying for the wife of the man, long forgotten.

* * *

The Doctor couldn't think. His mind clouded with the fact that this mysterious person who showed up seemed so familiar, yet so foreign at the same time. The two hearts made him worry and slightly hopeful, but during the celebration she'd disappeared. He wouldn't look for her just yet. Clara and the Tardis had shown up again and he needed to deal with that first. The woman had left her pack too. Her tent, her home. She wouldn't leave without it, that was certain, so he assumed she was still in the town somewhere. Something else worried him though. Clara had shown up alone. Without Alex. She hadn't even seen her. He _had_ put in the right coordinates, hadn't he? Or perhaps he'd gotten the time wrong? He wasn't sure. His mind wasn't as sharp as it had been. The second wooden Cyberman that tried to ambush him—and had nearly succeeded, if not for that woman—was proof of that. Hopefully she would show up soon, though. As pleased as he was to see Clara after three hundred years, the sight of his wife would be wondrous.

As it was, he was just happy to have someone there with him for the first time in a long while. Someone who knew him as more than the savior of Christmas. Someone who saw him as the Doctor and not the protector. One could live with a disconnected Cyberman head for only so long before craving attention from a friend. And showing Clara the sunrise would be a sight for her to see. _Oh, Alex would love it._ He mused silently, adjusting Handles on a pillow on the roof and cleaning him with a handkerchief.

"Well, it's a standoff. They can't attack in case I unleash the Time Lords, and I can't run away, because they'll burn this planet to stop the Time Lords. Hey, after all these years, I've finally found somewhere that needs me to stick around. A town called Christmas. Could've been worse. Right, there you go, buddy. Comfy?"

"Comfort i-is irrelevant." The head replied and the Doctor smiled slightly, adjusting him again.

"How's that? Better?"

"Af-f-firmative."

"You just take it easy, buddy." He told the head, turning to Clara. "He's getting old. I do my best for him, but I just can't get the parts, you know. Hey, I know the feeling." The Doctor said, grunting as he grabbed another marshmallow for himself; Clara roasting one over their small fire.

"Where'd you get these?"

"I have a supplier. The pink ones are the best, though I'm sure Alex would be jealous of me. Sitting back eating marshmallows and looking at the new dawn without her."

"Where is she, Doctor?" Clara asked, worried.

His smile faltered. "I sent her off. Couldn't make her waste her life here with an old man like me. Maybe she popped off to one of my younger selves."

Clara frowned. "You moron."

"What?"

"You big, bumbling idiot." She insulted, making him frown as well. "She _loved_ you. Old or not, she's always loved you and she wouldn't have care about any of this. She was _happy_ by your side. And you just went and left her?"

"I had to, Clara. You don't understand." He said, looking down at his half-eaten marshmallow with a scowl.

"And what if she didn't end up with another you, huh? What if she's out there on her own?" Clara pressed. "What then, Doctor? Don't you think she'd rather be here? Wouldn't you rather her here with you than alone?"

"Of course I would." He argued. "I would never want her to be on her own, but I had no _choice_."

He wiped a hand down his face tiredly and before Clara could argue with him further, Handles spoke up.

"I-I have developed a f-f-fault."

"Hey, don't you worry, Handles. You're just dreaming. The sun's coming up very soon. You just hang on in there."

"I have developed a fault. I-I, I have developed a fault."

The Doctor picked him up, shaking him a little. "Hey, Handles. Come on. Come on. One more dawn, you can do it. You've got it in you. Come on, just hang on in there." The Doctor begged the head, hearts breaking as one of his last companions struggled to go on.

"Attention. Emergency. Attention."

"Handles, what is it? What's wrong?"

"Urgent action required. You must patch the telephone device back through the console unit." The head said, voice warping and slowing, before his lights went out and Handles ceased to work.

"Come back. Handles? Handles." He called out, shaking the head and barely speaking at more than just a whisper, before understanding dawned on him and he tried to push back the pain in his hearts. "Thank you, Handles, and well done. Well done, mate."

He placed the head back and stood as the sun rose over the town.

"What do you think of my new place?" He asked Clara as she joined him. "I come up here once a day for a few minutes, to remind myself of what it is I'm protecting."

"It's beautiful." She said softly and the Doctor chuckled as he spotted a lone figure sitting on the roof of a barn nearby.

"Ah, and there she is." He hummed, pointing out the woman watching the sunset from some distance away. "That woman there just showed up in the forest. Don't know when, but she's been fighting the army all on her lonesome for a whole year. I was wondering why it had been so quiet and then I find her, just sitting out there camping and making coffee over a fire. Made me this cane." He showed Clara the cane and she frowned, thinking about this woman as he went on. "Oh, but she's a stubborn one. Fierce. Jumped in front of a Cyberman shooting at me just moments before you showed up. And then she called me a moron! Oh, I haven't met anyone like that since… since…"

"Since Alex." Clara said, the dots connecting in her head. "Doctor, do you think—"

"No." He shook his head, denying it. "No, no, no. Impossible."

And yet it made sense if he thought about it. She appeared out of nowhere, had decent fighting skills, was clever. She protected him and brushed off her own injury only to scold him. Then there was the two hearts. She was a Time Lord. But if she was Alex, why hadn't he ever seen this body before? He'd seen the first and the second, even the fourth and fifth one on occasion, but never this one. How old was this one, if it was her? And the more he thought about that lone figure on the roof being her, the more his hearts broke as he thought about what she'd been saying to him. What he'd been saying to her. And how much she's changed since he'd last seen her.

"Why did you send me away?" Clara asked suddenly, pulling him back from his thoughts and tearing his eyes away from the woman on the roof.

"…Because if I hadn't, I'd have buried you a long time ago." He admitted with a sad smile.

"No, you wouldn't. I would never have let you get stuck here." Clara countered.

"Ha. Everyone gets stuck somewhere eventually, Clara. Everything ends."

"Except you."

He smiled softly, looking back down at the rooves only for his smile to fall upon seeing no sign of the woman on the roof anymore.

"Have you been paying attention? I'm an old man now."

"But you don't die. You change. You pop right back up with a new face."

"No, not for ever. I can change twelve times. Thirteen versions of me. Thirteen silly Doctors." He explained.

"Okay, so you're number eleven, so…"

"Ha. Are we forgetting Captain Grumpy, huh? I didn't call myself the Doctor during the Time War, but it was still a regeneration."

"Okay, so you're number twelve."

"Well, number ten once regenerated and kept the same face. I had vanity issues at the time." He rattled, turning to her with a serious expression. "Twelve regenerations, Clara. I can't ever do it again. This is where I end up. This face, this version of me. We saw this planet in the future, remember? All those graves, one of them mine."

"Change the future."

"I can't."

"You've got your Tardis back."

"Ha." He chuckled. "You think I'm just going to fly away, abandon everyone?"

"Of course not. But you've been protecting this town for over three hundred years. Do you not think it's anybody else's go yet?" She argued, upset that he was wasting away like this.

"There is no one else to protect it."

"It's not going to be you forever. It'll end the same way, whatever you do."

"Every life I save is a victory. Every single one."

"What about your life? Just for once, after all this time, have you not earned the right to think about that?" She said, seeing the hurt in the Doctor's face and turning away. "Sorry. Wrong thing to say. We shouldn't be having an argument."

"Clara, I've been having that argument for the last three hundred years, all by myself."

"But you didn't have your Tardis."

"Ah. Yes, well, that made it easier to stay. True."

"And Alex? What about her?"

"Well, I gave her the chance to live how _she_ wanted."

Clara shook her head. "No. No, you didn't. Because she would have wanted to spend it with you. She hasn't got anybody else."

The Doctor didn't say anything and soon the sun set and the sky darkened with thunder clouds; a loud voice echoing through the sky.

"Doctor!"

"Ah, look who's woken up." The Doctor said, planting a smile on his face as Tasha's hologram appeared.

"The Church of the Silence requests parlay. Your rights and safety are sanctified."

"I'll be right up." He responded.

"I'm sending a transporter."

"Nah, don't bother. I've got me motor back."

The hologram went away and Clara finally noticed that it was dark once more.

"It's gone dark."

"Yeah, well, the sun's gone down."

"Already?"

"Everything ends, Clara. And sooner than you think." He said ominously.

* * *

The moment I heard the wheezing, grinding of the Tardis, I made a mad dash for the sound. I got to the center of town where she'd be just in time to see her slowly fade from sight and my hearts felt like they were ripped from my chest all over again. _He left me. He left me again._ I swallowed past the lump in my throat and shook my head. _No. No, I'm forgetting something. I can't remember, but… doesn't he come back? Dammit, I hate this body. I can't remember a darn thing._ I growled quietly to myself, turning around and storming from the area as I tried to think about what it was that I was forgetting in this mess of an adventure. _This is all because of that stupid coat. I can't believe I left it in 1782, though I would probably be too short to wear now._ I frowned at the thought, my lanky frame nearly causing me to hit my head on the door when I entered the Doctor's tower. _His doors are too small. Doesn't he know that his doors are too small?_

I grimaced, realizing I'd gotten distracted and tried to will my mind to remember what it was I was forgetting, but I sat in front of that crack for _hours_ with not even the slightest hint. Begrudgingly, I gave up for now and instead got up and went back to my things, scooping them up and preparing to head back out into the snowy forest out of the town._ If he's gone, there's no reason to stay here. _I stepped out of the tower and walked through the town, nearing where the Tardis had been only to hear its grinding sound echo off the houses once more. My hearts picked up and I very nearly dropped my things in my rush to get back there, only to see the Doctor standing with Barnable and no Clara in sight. I'd seen her show up with the Tardis earlier, though I'd kept my distance. I frowned then, feeling angry if the Doctor had done what I believed him to have done and I stood there as I attempted to convince myself I was wrong.

The Doctor turned and spotted me then, looking rather happy that I was there and he headed my way before I spoke.

"Where is she?"

He paused, blinking. "Who?"

"Clara. What have you done with her?" I asked, taking a step forwards. "You left her, didn't you? You left her again."

His eyes narrowed. "I had to. I needed to keep her safe. I'm not about to bury her here because of my selfishness. And how do you know about her?" He spotted my things on my back then and looked surprised. "You… You're leaving?"

I grit my teeth angrily, feeling my temper beginning to snap. "Yes. I told you I was only going to stay for a while and you…" I took a deep breath, shaking my head as I tried to rein in my anger. "I can't stay here."

_I can't watch you leave me again._ I continued on my way, turning to head past the tower instead of straight through, hearing him call after me.

"Wait! Please, wait! _Alex_!"

I stiffened, freezing in place when he called that name. My breath hitched and I couldn't move. _I haven't heard that name in so long…_ And I hadn't. I used various pseudonyms ever since I'd popped up with Abe. I didn't want anyone to use my name. No one but the Doctor. And I hadn't realized that until just now. And when he said it, it was like the blood in my veins turned to liquid _fire_. It just… It felt so right, coming from him. That was my _name_. He called my _name_.

"You… You _are_ Alex." He said, though it sounded more like a question. "Please. Please don't leave."

I turned my head slightly, speaking to him from over my shoulder, though not much louder than a harsh whisper.

"But you _left_ me."

"I know. I-I'm… I'm sorry, Alex, but I just wanted you safe." He pressed, but his words only made me angry.

"Safe?" I snapped, turning to face him fully. "You thought I was _safe_?"

"Anywhere was better than here, Alex. You have to understand that." He said, before I growled, grabbing him by his collar and dragging him into the tower angrily; away from the wandering eyes of the townspeople.

I shoved him into the main room as I slammed the door shut behind us, rounding on him furiously.

"You think I've been _safe_? Scan me." I demanded.

"What?"

"Scan me with your sonic right now." I snapped, dropping my things to the ground. "Tell me how old I am."

He hesitated, but did so, taking one look at his sonic before his eyes widened.

"You…"

"Tell me." I growled. "Tell me how long it's been since you left me to be _safe_."

"Fifty seven years." He breathed out, looking up at me. "This is… This is your second regeneration. Your third body."

"You sent me away to keep me safe." I growled angrily. "But all you did was send me away to _die_. To die _alone_."

"No!" He shouted, taking a step forward. "No, I would never—"

"But you did!" I shouted back, shoving an angry finger into his chest. "You sent me away because you're selfish! You wanted me safe for you, but you just sent me away to die! I died _choking_, Doctor! I died after being sick for _months_ in 1782 because you thought you knew what was best for me!"

"I-I sent you to be with Clara!"

"And I popped off after five minutes! I showed up at Abraham Lincoln's feet only to watch him die! Then I popped off to war after war after war, never _once_ meeting you! You left me alone for over fifty years! And you still have the gall to think you kept me _safe_?! You don't even know me anymore!" I shouted, all that pent up anger and frustration leaving me in one burst of shouting; tears springing forth now.

"A-Alex, I… I never meant for that to happen." He breathed out. "Please, Alexander."

"Don't you _dare_ call me that." I bit out, teeth bared threateningly. "You _promised_ me. You promised you would never leave me again and you did. You've proved that you can't keep the one promise I wanted from you. You've just abandoned Clara _twice_. How am I supposed to believe you? How am I supposed to believe anything you say when all you do is lie to me? I _loved_ you and I've never _once _broken a promise to you, so why is it you insist on doing it to me time and time again?"

"Alex, I never meant to hurt you. I-I was just trying to keep you safe. I wanted you to live your life without being tied to me. If I had known—"

"I have _no one_." I said, voice cracking with my fists clenched at my sides. "_No one_ but you, and you thought that taking that away from me would make me happy?"

He opened his mouth, but closed it again, looking down shamefully and I shook my head and dragged a hand down my tear-stained face, turning away with a shake of my head.

"I can't stay here."

"Alex, please." He begged, but I grabbed my things.

"No. You wanted me gone, then I'll stay gone. I don't know why I came here in the first place."

And I left him there, walking for miles away from the town before I dropped my bags and let out a choked sob. Because I wasn't sure how much longer I could stand this before I did something stupid.

* * *

The Doctor dropped his face into his hands as he slumped back into his chair. He hated what he'd done. That he'd hurt Alex this badly. What made him think that she'd be okay with his decision? He knew she'd be upset, but to have her this furious with him was something he never wanted. Oh, if only he'd just kept her by his side like he wanted. He didn't know what happened to her the near sixty years she was gone, but it was obvious it had changed her, and not for the better. Her eyes is what hurt him the most. He'd seen those eyes on only one other person and that was himself. That haunted look, the bitterness, and anger. His ninth self had eyes like that. Something that stuck with him through that life after the Time War when he believed to have killed off his race. And for Alex to have eyes like that… it killed him. It killed him to know he caused that to happen to her.

She was still so _young_. Older now to most, but to the thousand year old Time Lord, she was barely reaching an elementary level. But she now had the eyes of a war-torn veteran and it was all his fault. He thought he was helping keep her safe, giving her a life away from this mess that he himself had caused, but instead he threw her into another one. He had taken away her only support, her only companion, and left her to fend for herself in a situation that she should never have had to deal with. And that was part of the reason why he hadn't recognized her. She had always been a bit rough around the edges, but this was completely different. This regeneration of hers was cold, closed off, beaten and stitched back together again by thin threads. And she was completely right to hate him. He'd made her become like that. He'd sent her away from one war and into a number of others. She'd seen people she'd come to know, killed and she had killed others.

She would never forgive him for this. He knew it. He'd broken the promise he made, more than once. He left her as Nine, then again after Amy and Rory, and now once more. And every time, something in her chipped away and broke, but this was the last straw. He shouldn't have done it. He _knew_ he shouldn't have done it. The three hundred years he'd been here, all he did was miss her; using the celebrations and the townsfolk to distract him long enough to keep him from thinking about her. Imagining her ocean blue eyes and her smile, which he might never see again at this rate. And how could he have forgotten? How could he have believed for a second that she would have someone there for her when he sent her off? He knew how unpredictable her popping off was. He should have known that she wouldn't always end up with another version of himself. She'd been on her own before and it usually wasn't good. She did okay if it wasn't for more than a few months, but even _with_ companions, she always got angry with him. So being on her own for sixty _years_? He would be furious too. Furious and heartbroken.

And to think… To think he had been so happy to know that it was her. That he'd finally seen his Alex after three hundred years, only to realize how crushed she was because of him. He wanted nothing more than to grab her and hold her in his arms, show her how much he missed her and just lather her with affection. But now look what he'd done. He'd be lucky if he ever saw her again. She could pop off again at any moment. She could get attacked out there and used as a hostage in an attempt to beat him. She could _die_ out there and he'd never know. And at that thought, he grabbed his coat and the cane she'd made for him and hobbled out into the snow. He couldn't do it. He couldn't leave her behind again, not like this. He would do whatever it took to find her. To make it up to her. He would become an angry old man before he'd ever do anything like this to her again.

So he stomped through the snow, ignoring the ache that started up in his leg as he searched for her, sonic buzzing in the air. It took forever and the Doctor worried he'd have to return to the town should another attack start, but then he remember that that was what had got him into this mess in the first place. So he pressed on in his fruitless search, growing more exhausted by the minute. Eventually, he had to stop and rest, cursing under his breath at how old his body had gotten and then another thought came to mind. Maybe he shouldn't chase after her. He was old, she wasn't. Maybe she didn't want to be with him anymore. Who would? Who would want to be stuck with an old man like him, who couldn't even chase after the woman he loved without needing to stop to catch his breath? And the whole point of this endeavor was to make her happy, but she'd run away. Would letting her go make her more happy? But he'd done that before and she'd just gotten angry for it and left him anyway. So what was it she wanted?

He didn't even know anymore, growing more and more confused as his mind overanalyzed things to the point of turning his thoughts into senseless mush. As a headache began to form, the Doctor closed his eyes, attempting to figure out what he was going to do now. Chase after her, or not? And soon, his mind drifted away into sleep, forgetting that he was sitting outside on a stump in the snow. And a few hours or so passed while he slept before there was a quiet crunching of snow underfoot and someone began to approach him, only to pause. The Doctor didn't notice, still asleep despite a slightly uncomfortable chill running up his spine. Time Lord body or not, he could still get cold, and it only took a moment longer before the figure sighed and grumbled under their breath.

"Idiot. Just… how stupid can he get?... Falling asleep in the snow… I'm supposed to be furious with him."

Alex scowled, shaking his shoulder in an attempt to rouse him, but there was no response. _He always was a heavy sleeper._ She mused before begrudgingly turning and crouching down before him and pulling him onto her back. She grunted and winced as his weight pulled on her injured shoulder a bit, but pushed past the pain and began the walk back to the town. The Doctor was clueless, only shifting once to tighten his grip on Alex's neck and murmur an apology under his breath in his sleep, missing the way Alex stiffened slightly before relaxing once more; cheeks tinged a little pink. She couldn't help it. She still loved him. Even with this situation of him leaving her, how could she not? She was furious, don't get her wrong, but she knew what he was like. He would do everything in his power—short of killing, of course—to get her to forgive him. And, to be honest, she knew she wouldn't be able to hold this anger against him for long.

Earlier was a fluke, really. She'd held back all of those feelings for so long that she just let it all spill out in one go. The rest of this problem was just trying to get the Doctor to understand that her trust in him had dwindled down to nothing. He needed to regain that trust or their relationship would suffer. Her running off was just her needing to cool her head and seeing if he'd still come after her. She was a bit surprised he had so quickly. He usually waited a bit before confronting her after an argument. Claimed that he always wanted her to calm down before facing her wrath. This time though, he hesitated for only a moment before coming after her. And yes, once she'd released her earlier tension she'd headed back to see what he'd do, hence why she was so quickly able to find him and why he was undoubtedly confused by his sonic screwdriver's directions. She'd been following not too far away the whole time, though a part of her did want to just walk away and leave him to it on his own. The part of her mind that said, 'He left you alone, so shouldn't he suffer alone too?'. If there was one thing she learned in those sixty years away from him though, it was that running away from your problems won't fix them. So if the Doctor was desperate enough to chase after her in his condition through the snow, then she supposed she deserved to give him a chance to fix things between them; anger aside.

She reached the tower just as the next dawn approached, exhausted herself after carrying his weight on top of her own and her pack of things; her leg throbbing underneath her and her shoulder sending fresh waves of pain across her chest and back. She grunted and laid the Doctor down on the bed he had, tucking the blankets in around him and going back outside to grab some wood for the fire; feeling rather chilly herself. Once that was done, she went about making some stew from what little she could barter from the neighbors, returning to the Doctor's side and grimacing as she went about cleaning her shoulder wound and rebandaging it, as well as pulling up her pant leg and holding a hot coal-filled towel to her aching appendage. Once a bit more settled in with clean bandages and a full stomach, she occupied herself with some of the broken toys on the Doctor's table, waiting for him to wake up.

And he did, a few hours later, groggy and confused. Even more so when he caught sight of Alex sitting backwards in his work table chair reading a book with a lazy expression on her face.

"A-Alex."

She cut him off by holding up a finger, eyes not moving from the text in front of her and making him shut his mouth with an audible snap. She remained quiet for a moment longer before closing the book and turning her icy gaze to him.

"First off, yes." She said, the tone of her voice forcing him to remain quiet as she spoke. "I do forgive you for what you did, however, you have lost any and all trust I have in you. Something you will have to earn back if you want whatever this is to continue to work."

He nodded vigorously and her lips turned down into a frown.

"Secondly, you should know better than to just go walking out into the snow with no thought or plan in mind. Time Lord biology or not, if you catch some sort of alien cold, I am _not_ going to be responsible for caring for you nor taking care of this town."

"Point taken." He mumbled, biting back the retort that he was out looking for her.

"Third, you will not force me to get involved with _any_ of the people here." She said, voice colder than the snow he'd just been sleeping in. "While I forgave you for what you did, I do not care for any of the people living here. And don't you go giving me some speech about how they're good people, because to me, they are the ones that made you do what you did and I am not pleased in the slightest with them _or_ you."

He flinched, bowing his head and nodding once more.

"But."

He looked up hopefully.

"I… suppose I'm willing to stay here with you, if you'll have me. I won't sleep _with_ you, but I'm willing to compromise and at least stay in the same building as you. I would, however, like a separate room for the time being. You'll have to work for anything more than that."

He smiled, filled with hope that Alex wasn't giving up on him yet and was more than happy to agree to her terms. He even got a small hint of a smile from her! And sure, there wouldn't be any snuggling or kissing or hand-holding like before, but he was willing to work up to that again. He would do anything to gain back her trust and now, he had a proper life. They could get jobs, maybe adopt a kid or two, take a break from traveling thanks to the situation here, and still be allowed to have adventures. Not the most ideal of situations, but he couldn't be happier that she was back with him. Even if she was only in the same building as him for now. It meant everything in the world that she was giving him another chance. He just hoped that he wouldn't screw it up again.

* * *

And so, to the fields of Trenzalore came all the Time Lords's enemies. For this was the winter of the Doctor and the Seer. In time, when all other races had retreated or burned, only the Church of the Mainframe remained in the path of the Daleks. And so those ancient enemies, the Doctor and the Silence and the Seer, stood back to back on the fields of Trenzalore. The Doctor and the Seer wouldn't be the same though. They still fought, bickered, stayed in the forests and returned with more rules and agreements about their relationship. It took near one hundred years and a heavy injury to befall the Doctor before they returned to how they had been. Tension still remained, but instead of heated arguments, they traded stories of when they were apart. Alex told the Doctor of her time in the wars and he, in turn, told her about his leg injury and how it came to be that he needed a cane. She spoke of her nightmares and the scars of her amputation, and he consoled her at night and told tales of his adventures on other planets when she hadn't been around.

The stories kept them from fighting, kept them from dealing with past pains on their own, and they grew closer than before. And when five hundred years passed, both of them having grown older, it became harder of them to keep up with the fighting outside the tower walls. The Doctor was simply too old to be dodging blasts from Cybermen and Daleks, and it took Alex a long while to convince him to stop; her breaking her wrist to protect him again, being the last straw that made him give in. And for Alex, she did what she could. She mobilized the townspeople as best she could, came up with plans that used the enemies attacks against them before she began to have trouble with her mind and remembering things became even more difficult to do than before.

It was this regeneration that did it, the Doctor was certain. It happened on occasion with Time Lords, though he suspected that her popping around so often in those previous sixty years with no Tardis around had affected her in some way. That, and it appeared that she _needed_ mental contact, though not what she'd been receiving while away from him. He didn't doubt for a moment that her senses had been brutally attacked by the overwhelming emotions she'd felt while fighting in wars and dealing with as many deaths as she had. Not that she hadn't felt similar things before, but she had someone she could help her at the time, whereas this time she was on her own and most likely suppressed everything to the point that she was emotionally stinted.

He attempted to help her as much as he could, speaking with her mentally more than verbally every day now, though it pained him to see how she winced sometimes even when he whispered to her. And while his mind might have been working slower than usual, Alex was having trouble remembering the simplest of things and was often seen just staring into space or at the crack in his wall for hours on end. He wasn't sure what more he could do for her, and as the screams and other destructive sounds came in from outside, he realized there wasn't much he could do for anyone at this point.

"I brought tea." Alex said from beside him, making him pause in his crafting of a wooden dog and raise his eyes to her, and then back to his full cup of tea on the table beside him.

"You've already brought tea, Alex."

Her brows furrowed, looking at the cup in confusion before turning back to her seat beside him and sitting.

"I… guess I did."

The Doctor looked at her sadly and reached over, tugging on her sleeve until she dropped her head on his shoulder and stared idly at the crack in the wall across from them. They heard the door open and someone step into the room, the Doctor assuming it was the ever faithful Barnable, though even he had forgotten that Barnable had long since died and only his great (times seven) grandson remained.

"Barnable?"

"Clara." A familiar voice replied, the dog toy falling from his hands and startling Alex into a standing position; gun drawn and pupils dilated.

The Doctor reached up and lowered her arm, knowing the gun was empty, but not wanting Clara to worry.

"Alex, it's Clara. You remember Clara."

She frowned at him, struggling. "Clara…"

"The Impossible Girl." He pushed, searching for that bit of recognition as he tugged the woman back down into her chair.

"Oswin?" Alex attempted, making him smile a little.

"Os_wald_."

"Mm." Alex grunted, eyes drawn once more to the crack as the Doctor sighed softly and removed his glasses as he turned to get a better look at Clara.

"Hello, Doctor." Clara smiled, giving Alex a brief glance.

"Have you always been so young?"

"Nah. That was you." Clara insisted, making the Doctor smile and wave her over.

He took her hand in his, brushing a kiss on her knuckles and making Alex frown slightly, letting him know she was paying attention. He then gave Alex a brief kiss on the cheek, reassuring her that he wasn't leaving her out and Clara sat across from them; holding a Christmas cracker wrapped in gold paper.

"Merry Christmas." She smiled.

"Merry Christmas." The Doctor repeated, Alex making another hum.

Clara presented the cracker to him and he grabbed one end, the two attempting to pull it apart, but the Doctor didn't have quite enough strength.

"Hey, it's okay. It's alright. Don't worry." She consoled him, seeing he was a bit upset and she took Alex's hand and placed it over his; the three of them together opening the cracker with a pop.

"Ah." The Doctor smiled, clapping his hands and grabbing Alex's as they both looked to see what the paper Clara had taken out said. "Is there a joke? Huh?"

"'Extract from Thoughts on a Clock, by Eric Ritchie Jr.'." Clara read, the Doctor getting excited.

"Is it a knock knock one? Those are the best."

Alex frowned slightly. "What are crackers? We didn't have those, I don't think."

The Doctor pat her arm, shushing her for now as Clara sat between them on the ground and read.

"'And now it's time for one last bow, like all your other selves. Eleven's hour is over now. The clock is striking twelve's'."

The Doctor frowned, disappointed. "I don't get it."

Something dropped onto his hand though and he looked at Alex to find her in tears.

"Alex? Alexander, what's wrong?"

"I-I don't… I don't know." She said with a sniff, rubbing her eyes. "I-I'm sad. W-Why am I sad? I-I can't remember. Why can't I remember?"

"Sh, sh. It's alright. I'm sure you'll figure it out, dear." He hummed, pulling her to him as she cried quietly and Clara gave him a worried look.

"What's wrong with her?"

"I…I don't know, honestly. Her memory is failing horrendously. Something to do with this body of hers, though I can't figure it out. And I've tried. Oh, believe me, I've tried." He said quietly and after a moment of silence, a call echoed through the night.

"Doctor! The Doctor and Seer will be brought!" A Dalek shouted. "The Daleks demand the Doctor and Seer!"

A young man ran in then. "They're here. The Daleks. We can't stop them. They want you both."

"Oh, alright, Barnable." The Doctor frowned, the person before him not looking right. "Are you Barnable?"

"No, Doctor."

The Doctor waved his response off. "It's okay, Barnable. Don't worry." He tapped his nose with a smirk. "I have got a plan. Off you pop."

Not-Barnable nodded and hurried off, the Doctor losing his smile as he turned to a stunned Clara.

"I haven't got a plan, but people love it when I say that."

He reached over and got his cane, giving Alex's arm a pat and she stood, before helping him up.

"Doctor, what are you going to do?" Clara asked.

"Oh, I don't know. Talk very fast, hope something good happens, take the credit. That's generally how it works. Maybe Alex will even come up with something clever." He said with a small smile at his wife.

"Doctor—"

"Not this time." He cut her off. "This is it."

"No!" Clara argued.

"Yes. We saw the future, Clara. This is how it ends."

"Change it." She pressed, making the Doctor let out a sad laugh. "Like Tasha said, change the future."

"I could have once. When there were Time Lords. Not anymore." He told her, heading for the stairs up to the roof, only to pause and look at Alex trailing behind him. "Alex—"

"No." She said bluntly and he couldn't help but smile at the defiant look in her eyes.

"You can't even remember the name of the Tardis, but you always have enough in you to know what I'm going to say." He hummed, gesturing up the stairs. "Come on then. I promised, after all."

He heard Clara following him and paused, turning towards her. "No. You're going to stay here. Promise me you will. An Alexander Holmes promise."

"Why?" Clara asked, tears in her eyes.

"I'll be keeping you safe. One last victory. Allow me that. Give me that, my impossible girl." He begged her, hugging her and kissing her temple. "Thank you… and goodbye."

Alex came up beside him, him taking her own wrinkled hand in his and making his way up the stairs and he looked her over and wished he could have done better for her. Even now, she still looked so young to him. This body of hers was a tricky one and it aged rather quickly, though he knew that was partially through her own actions. She didn't want him to feel like the only one. Didn't want him to feel ashamed of his age, so she attempted to keep up with him as best she could. To him though, she always looked like she had when he'd first bumped into her here. Young as can be with brilliant blue eyes—though they weren't the same ocean blue as before, he still found them beautiful to look at—and a smile that could melt his hearts. She would always be his Alexander and as much as he would regret her dying up at the top of this tower with him, if it made her happy, then he wouldn't deny her that honor. Not this time.

"The trouble with Daleks is, they take so long to say anything. Probably die of boredom before they shoot me, eh, Alex?" He quipped with a small smile, Alex managing a small one in return, though he wondered if she even heard what he'd said.

"The Doctor and Seer are required! Doctor!" The Dalek up above in the mothership shouted and the Doctor rolled his eyes at their impatience; him and Alex finally reaching the top.

"Sorry I'm a bit slow. I may not be at my best right now and Alex can only do so much."

"You are dying, Doctor." The Dalek said.

"Yes, I'm dying. You've been trying to kill me for centuries, and here I am, dying of old age. If you want something done, do it yourself." The Doctor rambled, Alex's snort making him slightly more cheerful despite the situation.

Seemed she was going to be more herself for their final moments.

"You will both die and the Time Lords will never return."

The Doctor stared up at the ship in annoyance. "You still can't work up the courage to shoot me, can you? You're still worried I've got something up my sleeve!" The Doctor called out, waving his cane at the ship. "Well, you knock yourselves out, boys. I've got nothing this time." He said in defeat, and the Daleks rained down on the town, him turning to Alex as he gripped her hand tighter.

"You have grey hair." She said suddenly, making him turn to her in confusion and slight pain.

"Yes. Yes, Alex, I do." He replied, wishing he could at least help her with this before they were both gone, but what could he do?

"No." She said, looking at him with a small smile. "I remembered. You'll have grey hair and grumpy eyebrows. You'll be a bit cranky, but that's okay. We'll keep you in line."

He frowned, even more confused. "What are you talking about, you daft old woman?"

She scowled at that. "Who are you calling old?"

The Doctor gave her a scowl in return, but for a split moment, the younger Alex looked back at him through those annoyed blue eyes and he couldn't help the laugh that escaped him; making her more lost than he'd just been.

"Oh, you wonderful amazing woman you." He smiled, reaching up and placing his hands on her face; bringing their foreheads together. _Giving me one last glimpse of your old self right before we go. Forgive this old man for wanting to kiss you._

She was the one who leaned in though, surprising him as she pulled away with a bright grin that made his hearts skip a beat before something appeared in the sky behind her. The crack split open the night sky, spilling out gold regeneration energy that rode on the winds straight to them both. The Doctor looked at his hands, stunned as they glowed gold and Alex's eyes flashed a brilliant yellow as well; the Daleks calling out from above them.

"You will die now, Doctor, Seer. This is the end of you both!" The said as the crack disappeared. "The rules of regeneration are known. You have expended all your lives, Doctor, and you, Seer, will not last long without him."

"Sorry, what did you say? Did you mention the rules?" The Doctor asked, standing up and taking Alex's hand in his. "Now, listen. Bit of advice. Tell me the truth if you think you know it. Lay down the law if you're feeling brave. But, Daleks, never, ever tell me the rules!" He said with a twirl of his cane. "And _never _threaten my Alexander!"

"Emergency! Emergency! The Doctor is regenerating! The Doctor is regenerating!" The Daleks shouted and Alex gave the man a quick kiss.

"I'll meet you downstairs." She smiled. "I've got some Daleks to take care of, so I'll leave you to the big saucer."

"Of course, dear." He smiled back and Alex descended from the tower while he danced along the rooftop, laughing and calling up to the Daleks. "Oh, look at this. Regeneration number thirteen. We're breaking some serious science here, boys. I tell you what, it's going to be a whopper!"

"Exterminate! Exterminate the Doctor!" The Daleks shouted, a few attempting to take shots only for one to fall out of the sky from a blast down below.

"You think you can stop me now, Daleks?!" The Doctor shouted. "If you want my life, haha! Come and get it, if Alex will let you close enough!"

Alex cocked the make-shift blaster she'd acquired, giving a shocked Clara a smirk and nodding towards the church. Taking the hint, Clara quickly gathered the townsfolk into the building and the Doctor threw up his arms to fire the regeneration energy at passing Daleks and finally at the ship itself.

"Love from Gallifrey, boys!"

The ship exploded, sending debris everywhere just as Alex ducked into the tower. The group waited for the dust to settle before exiting and attempting to make heads or tails of the mess; Alex following Clara out.

"Doctor?!" Clara called out, having not seen the man anywhere, though Alex rested a hand on her shoulder with a small, sad smile.

"Don't worry, Clara. He'll be fine."

Clara turned to her, slightly angry. "But he won't be him. He won't be the Doctor anymore, right?"

Alex shook her head. "He will _always_ be the Doctor, no matter his face or personality, and I need you to always remember that. Especially in the next few moments, because he'll need you."

Clara looked at her suspiciously, but Alex gave nothing away with the sad look on her face. The two looked around a bit more, before Clara headed for the Tardis; noticing the hanging phone and replacing it back in the box before reaching for the door.

"E-E-Ext-terminate." A weak voice called out and there was a shout as Clara turned and spotted the half-ripped open Dalek turning her way.

She clenched her eyes shut, awaiting the pain of its blaster, but when the shot went off, she was fine.

"D-Dammit, Clara." A voice said right beside her ear, and she looked up to see Alex hovering over her with a grimace of pain on her face. "F-Five hundred years was not _nearly_ as long as I was hoping to have this body."

"O-Oh my God. Alex? A-Alex, it hit you?" Clara said, voice cracking as she turned and gripped Alex's clothing; but the woman just smiled.

"L-Let's just say we're even." She replied, voice tight with pain. "Now go. He needs you right now. Give me a second to catch up."

She hesitated, but Alex gave her a nudge and she went into the ship; the door closing behind her so she wouldn't have to see Alex falling to her knees in pain. Clara looked around the ship, seeing the Doctor's still smoking clothes lying haphazardly around the floor, but the man nowhere in sight. On the console lay a bowl of fish fingers lying half covered in custard, which made her wrinkle her nose in disgust, but just as she was heading to the lower level, she heard footsteps on the stairs and turned to see the man himself show up in his suit and bow-tie; looking like his old self.

"Doctor!"

"Hello." He smiled at her, eyes skimming the room for a moment in search of Alex, though coming right back to her.

"You're young again. You're okay. You didn't even change your face." Clara breathed out excitedly.

"Ha." The Doctor let out sharply, rubbing his hands together. "It's started. I can't stop it now. This is just the reset. A whole knew regeneration cycle. Ooh."

He had caught sight of the fish fingers and custard on the console and drank some, trying to ignore how Clara's face fell, until she laughed at his enjoyment of the food.

"Taking a bit longer. Just breaking it in." He said, spotting Alex come in through the door and staring up the Tardis engines; though not noticing that she too had returned to her younger self and was attempting to hold back a grimace of pain. "It all just disappears, doesn't it? Everything you are, gone in a moment, like… breath on a mirror. Any moment now, he's a-coming."

"Who's coming?" Clara asked, trying to understand and hoping he wasn't saying what she thought he was.

"The Doctor." The man answered.

"But you… you _are_ the Doctor."

"Yup, and I always will be." He said, looking down at his hands which started to glow, voice tight with pain. "But times change and so must I." He turned to Alex then, smiling as he then noticed she was young once more; though chalking it up to his regeneration cycle. "I hope you won't mind."

She shook her head, smiling sadly. "Only if you don't mind."

He tilted hid head in confusion before she raised her own glowing hands, wincing as she forced the glow to recede and his expression fell.

"I can hold it back a bit longer." She said with a sad smile, Clara looking between them both, hurt. "I-I can at least keep the ship going should you change partway through. Someone's got to look after Clara, after all."

The Doctor approached her and grabbed her face, rubbing his thumbs across her cheeks. "Oh, Alexander. I'm so sorry."

"Hey, maybe I won't be as grumpy this time. And the memory problems won't be missed." She teased, the Doctor brushing his lips across hers before pulling away.

_What happened?_ He mentally asked her and her smile faltered slightly.

_Dalek to the back. It would have hit Clara and I wouldn't have had time to pull her out of the way. _She told him, making him cringe slightly, before taking her hands in his.

"Right…" He saw something out of the corner of his eyes then, turning to see little Amelia Pond running up the stairs of the Tardis, which were now covered in children's drawings. "Amelia."

Clara looked around, but saw no one. "Who's Amelia?"

"The first face this face saw." He breathed out, before explaining things to Clara as best he could. "We all change, when you think about it. We're all different people all through our lives. And that's okay, that's good, you've got to keep moving, so long as you remember all the people that you used to be. I will not forget one line of this. Not one day. I swear. I will always remember when the Doctor was me." He smiled and turned to Alex, who had a tear slip down her face, him reaching out and brushing it away. "And you knew, didn't you? Even when you couldn't remember, you still cried for me."

"S-Shut up." She whispered, leaning into his touch as he chuckled.

"_Never_." He breathed back, kissing her again more passionately, because he knew it would be his last in this body.

For both of them. And he just wanted to love her one last time. Not as whoever he will be, but as he was now. The Raggedy Man and his Alexander. And as he pulled away, he sucked in a sharp breath at her voice going through his mind. _I love you, Theta. I will _always_ love you._ And he smiled, that brilliant boyish smile that he knew she loved before turning to see Amy Pond in all her glory step down the stairs with a smiling auburn haired Alex at her side.

"Raggedy Man." Amy said with a smile, the young Alex stepping up to him once she'd moved and placing a hand on his cheek as he did the same in return; him having been her first Doctor on that dinosaur filled spaceship.

"Theta." She grinned back, before they both spoke in unison.

"Goodnight."

They disappeared and the Doctor reached up and removed his bow-tie, holding it up and turning to Alex. He walked over slowly, carefully and took her hand, placing the limp bow-tie in it and bring up her closed fist to his lips as he kissed her knuckles. _Take care of it for me._

_Always._ She mentally replied, before he took a few steps back and grimaced.

"No, no!" Clara cried, stopping just short of him. "Please don't change."

The Doctor smiled sadly, before whipping his head back and changing abruptly into Twelve; angry brows and all. Clara jumped back with a gasp as the Doctor stalked closer to her, before suddenly grabbing his side.

"Kidneys!" He gasped out. "I've got new kidneys! I don't like the color." He complained, confusing Clara.

"Of your kidneys?"

"Of course not." Alex drawled, making Twelve turn to her. "You don't like much of anything, if I remember right."

"Hey!" The man retorted, before the Tardis lurched and Alex grunted, doubling over and glowing gold for a moment.

"What's happening?!" Clara asked, panicking.

"We're probably crashing." The Doctor replied.

"Into what?!" Clara persisted, trying to keep him focused.

The man ignored her and went to the console, pushing buttons randomly and making the Tardis grind and Alex wince.

"Stay calm." The man said. "Just one question. Do you happen to know how to fly this thing?"

"Oh, dear God, Doctor! You've become a complete idiot!" Alex shouted, pushing herself from the railing and working around the console as best she could with the lurching and her own pained grimaces.

"I resent that!" The older man shouted, before a lurch sent him to the ground and he was knocked out cold.

"Alex!" Clara shouted, but the woman continued to grit her teeth and jump from button to button.

"Another time, thanks! Bit busy!"

"But h-he's unconscious!"

Alex groaned. "Of course he is. Just keep him from rolling off the end, please! I'm in the middle of something and—Oh dear."

"What?!" Clara called out, struggling to hold onto the Doctor and the railing.

"Do you want bad news or worse news?!"

"What's going on?!" Clara shouted instead and Alex grimaced.

"I think we're crashing in the late Cretaceous Period!"

"What'd the bad news?!"

"That _was_ the bad news!"

"Well, what's the worse news?!"

"I've got about five seconds left!"

"_What_?!"

Alex stopped, turning around in front of her and grinning, before bursting into gold. It was more violent than the Doctor's, throwing up sparks from the console and smoke, before she was thrown to one side and slammed gut-first into the railing with a groan.

"Oh, dear God the damage that just did to my poor stomach." She grunted, before being tossed to the other side of the room and giving Clara a good look at her.

She was still rather on the tall side, though not quite the six foot she just was. Her eyes were a startling shade of near electric blue and she had retained her prominent canines from the last body. She was much more fit than in her other bodies and Clara could see the energy in her bubbling to the surface. And when a strand of floppy brown hair fell into her sight, Clara very nearly groaned as she went off speaking a mile a minute.

"Dear God, I'm a girl! No, wait, I've always been a girl. Am I still a girl?" She pulled away her shirt and looked down. "Oh, yes. Odd, I thought I'd hit male this time around. Is that even possible? I don't even know." She spotted the hair again and immediately tugged at it. "What is this? Why is it in my way? It shouldn't be in my way. I always have short hair. I need to cut it then, but… no. I won't cut it. Are the sides cut?" she brushed her hands across the side of her buzzed head and grinned, just as the Tardis lurched and she was tossed behind the console.

"Alex!" Clara called out in worry.

She wasn't sure she could hold onto _two_ Time Lords in a falling Tardis. Thankfully, Alex poked her head back up over the console.

"That was amazing! Can I do it again?"

"Just land us already!" Clara shouted and Alex popped up like a jack-in-the-box with a salute.

"On it!"

She quickly and easily bounced around the console, flipping levers here and there, before she suddenly stopped.

"Oh."

"'Oh', what?!" Clara yelled shrilly and Alex turned and rubbed the back of her neck.

"I think we've been eaten."

"_What_?!"

Alex suddenly disappeared in a flash of gold and Clara screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Alex!"


	82. Victory of the Daleks

**Well, here you go everyone! You finally get to see the new Alex! :D I hope you like her. She's tons of fun to write and i love how her and the Doctor get along. Let me know what you think though! I'm curious to see what you all think about her. And i've already started on the next chapter, so you do get a sneak peak this time ^^ thanks to everyone who's liked/favorited/reviewed/followed thus far and please review!**

* * *

I landed in the Tardis console room, promptly tripping and falling on my face. A chuckle escaped my lips, face still firmly planted in the ground, before I began to full on laugh.

"Uh, Doctor?" A voice called out nervously. "Some laughing weirdo just popped up on your floor."

"Another one?" Another familiar voice called back. "Just give me a minute! Bit busy!"

I lifted my head then, a broad grin stretched across my face as I caught sight of the young Amy Pond; bolting up to my feet and stumbling a little.

"Whoa-ho! I forgot I had legs!" I chuckled, sticking one out and wiggling the foot around a bit. "Much better than my last ones. Amelia!"

I launched myself at Amy for a hug, only to immediately get punched in the face and knocked back to the floor with a groan. Amy looked at her fist, stunned at her own actions as the Eleventh Doctor bounded up the stairs from the lower decks.

"Right. Fixed it. Had a shorted out fuse, is all. Well, it's a bit more complicated than that, but that's the simplified version." He shrugged, tossing the busted part over his shoulder to the lower decks and brushing his hands off. "Now, what's that you said about a laughing person?... Oh dear."

"I-I didn't mean to!" Amy said loudly, looking between the Doctor and I. "He came at me and I just sort of… reacted!"

I couldn't help but start laughing again, drawing their attention to me as I pushed myself up on my elbows.

"Blimey! I haven't been hit by you in ages, Pond!" I grinned, pointing at her. "Remind me to enlist you in my apocalyptic army."

Amy opened her mouth, but closed it with furrowed brows, turning to the Doctor, who dragged a hand down his face and sighed.

"Alex, I've already told you, there will be _no_ apocalypse."

"_Alex_?!" Amy shouted in shock as I frowned and pushed myself to my feet, ignoring her.

"Will to. What with you running the universe and all." I drawled, before grinning again and bounding over to the Tardis controls excitedly. "So where we off to? The Gamma Forests? The oceans of Ursulonamex? Proxima City?"

The Doctor sighed again and went over to me, grabbing my arm and tugging me away from the controls. "_You_, Alex, are going straight to bed. I've _told_ you what caffeine does to this body of yours, which is why I limited you to one soda every three days."

"What? You made up a rule about my soda consumption?!" I blurted out unhappily and he frowned.

"Ages ago… Wait, Alex? How long have you had this body?"

"Twenty six minutes, thirty four seconds." I said, so quickly even I had a hard time hearing the numbers.

"Well, that explains things." The Doctor grumbled, starting to tug me to the stairs as Amy called out from behind us.

"Doctor, you said that's Alex? But she doesn't look like Alex. Alex was all—"

"Amy, it's a bit complicated. I'll explain after I put her to bed."

"But I'm not tired!" I argued, pouting childishly.

"Perhaps not, but you will be in a minute." He hummed, leaving Amy in the console room as he tugged me to my bedroom. "You're a bit… _high_ on the regeneration fumes. They haven't had a chance to settle down just yet, so you're feeling giddy, maybe a tad light-headed as well. Hm?"

I frowned, scuffing my foot on the floor. "So? I feel fine."

"And you'll feel _better_ once you've rested for a bit, okay?" He replied, lightly tugging me into my room and pushing me back on the bed before digging through my closet for something for me to change into.

I grumbled in annoyance under my breath in Arabic, that seeming to be my language of choice in this body, and begrudgingly let the Doctor help me tug on some sweats and an oversized t-shirt. He then pushed me back so I was lying down and made sure I was comfortable with a soft smile.

"Better?"

I let out a nonsensical grumble and frowned off to the side, making him chuckle and turn my head back so he could kiss me softly.

"I'll be right in the console room with Amy, if you need me for anything. And I _promise_ we won't go anywhere without you."

I stiffened at the word 'promise', starting to sit up, but he pushed me back down.

"I swear, Alex. An Alexander Holmes promise. We won't leave you." He insisted and I begrudgingly relaxed, turning onto my side and gripping the blankets to me, still a little unsure, but eventually giving in to sleep as he sat there and brushed back my hair.

When I woke up, it wasn't abruptly due to a nightmare or anything. It was nice and slow with no Doctor in sight. Blinking in the dimmed light of my room and eventually convincing myself that I needed to sit up and shower. My clothes stank of smoke and dirt and they hung off my frame; obviously meant for someone of taller height despite my recent regeneration. I _did_ feel better though. Still a little giddy, but I assumed that was just how this body was, and I got up with a wide-mouthed yawn; showing off my enlarged canines. Muttering nonsense under my breath as I reached a hand under my shirt and scratched my stomach, I went to the bathroom and showered, feeling slightly more rejuvenated as I stepped out in a black robe to search the wardrobe in the other room for something more this body's style. After a while of looking, one could find me throwing shoes up and over my shoulders, the Tardis humming out complaints.

"Yes, I _know_ you're supposed to look for shoes last, but I want to look for them _first_!" I argued with the ship, digging through the shoe racks in annoyance. "If you would just help me figure out what it is I'm looking for then _maybe_ I'll stop chucking shoes and—"

I was cut off as something hard dropped on my head, making me yelp and crouch on the ground with my hands on my injury. I frowned up at the ceiling with teary eyes of pain.

"You didn't have to hit me!"

The ship hummed innocently and I cussed her out in Arabic before bending down and picking up the brown combat boots with a grin. I then bounced around to the pants section and threw out a set of harem pants after trying them on and instead settling on a set of dark jeans. A quick trip to the shirts for a white v-neck and I stood before the coats; holding up my classic Belstaff coat with small frown.

"I don't know. What do you think?" I asked the ship. "I think it's about time to hang up the old coat and find something new."

She hummed out a shrug and I sighed, before hanging the coat back up and looking through my other options. The black leather jacket was out, as was the jean jacket. And finally I let out a cry of triumph as I pulled out a grey scarf and a brown bomber jacket.

"Perfect."

Once dressed, I skipped out of the room, feeling slightly better after getting a good look at myself in the full-sized mirror standing by. _Eleven influenced this body in more ways than one._ I'd noticed. _Between the floppy mop of brown hair and the childish excitement, I'm curious to see how Amy takes it._ I chuckled, catching the attention of the Doctor and Amy as I strolled into the console room and spread my arms, spinning around.

"What do you think?" I asked. "I ditched the coat this time 'round. Figured I needed a new start. New start, new coat."

The Doctor smiled, rushing over and scooping me up, spinning me around as well. "I love it."

He kissed me briefly and pulled away to work on flying the Tardis as I poked my head around Amy's shoulder to smile at her disgruntled face.

"Well? What do you think, grumpy ginger?"

Her head whipped around with a scowl. "Don't call me that."

"Ooh, kitty's got claws." I chirped, bouncing just out of her reach with a chuckle as her eyebrow twitched in annoyance and the Doctor let out a warning.

"_Alex_."

"Oh, come on, now. I just want her opinion." I whined, though usually it was the other way around with the Doctor and I; him being scolded and I doing the scolding.

"And there's no need to antagonize her in the process." He chided me.

"Yeah, well, I'll stop calling her a grumpy ginger when she stops being one."

Amy lunged for me then. "I'll show you grumpy."

I skirted away from her again, ducking behind the console as the Doctor tugged her away from me with an eye roll.

"Don't let her get to you, Amy. This regeneration of hers is like that. She likes to rile people up."

I grinned, bouncing back and forth on my heels. "All fun and games, that's me! No harm in a bit of teasing."

"Not unless I hit you." Amy grumbled and I tilted my head innocently.

"Now why would you do that?" I smiled again, suddenly. "You know I love you."

Her cheeks tinted pink at that, but she quickly turned away to cover it up. "S-Shut up. I barely know ya."

"Mm, but I know all about you." I hummed and the Doctor clapped his hands as Amy's blush darkened.

"Alright! Alex, no more teasing. Me _or_ Amy. We've got someplace we need to be."

I perked up at that and bounced happily over to the console. "Ooh! Can I drive?"

"Absolutely not!" The Doctor argued, starting up the Tardis and making me cross my arms and pout.

"Jerk. You're just jealous I fly better than you… and that I got Amy to blush." I smirked at that last bit, grabbing the railing as the Tardis lurched when the Doctor accidentally pressed the wrong button at my jibe.

He sent me a dirty look for it too, before we finally landed and he headed for the door.

"Just for that, I won't tell you where we are."

"Oh, come on!" I complained, following after him. "As much as I like surprises, it'd be nice to know if I'm going to possibly walk out to a line of guns."

Sure enough, the two of us stepped out to a row of soldiers aiming rifles at us, making the Doctor smirk smugly at me while I smacked him on the arm.

"Amy?" He called back to the ginger behind us, and she hesitantly came out. "Winston Churchill." He introduced the glasses-wearing man who broke through the group of soldiers.

The man removed his cigar as Amy gaped in shock and I reached back and closed the Tardis doors.

"Doctor. Is it you?"

"Oh, Winston, my old friend." The Doctor greeted, the two going in for a handshake, only for Churchill to make a gesture of wanting something. "Ah, every time."

"What's he after?" Amy asked, smiling with the Doctor.

"Tardis key, of course."

"Think of what I could achieve with your remarkable machine, Doctor." Churchill pressed. "The lives that could be saved."

"And those that could be lost in the process." I responded, frowning at the man before us, who turned to me with a slight scowl as well, though his was in thought.

"And you are?"

"Ah, my uh… girlfriend." The Doctor responded, not liking the odd term, but knowing what would happen if he claimed otherwise.

Our little tiff back with the 'Beast Below' made sure of that.

"Alexander Holmes." I responded, replacing the grin on my face upon deeming the man not a threat and holding out my hand, which he shook. "Alex is fine though."

"Hm." He hummed, releasing my hand quickly and turning his attention back to the soldiers around us. "At ease."

"You rang?" The Doctor teased, wrapping an arm around my waist and making me relax slightly.

This body still had issues with things that the last one did, though it was much better about it. After all, I'd retained my memories of what had happened as far as the sixty years of hopping around and a portion of the five hundred years spent in my third body. Guns unnerved me a little, wars even more, and the thought of actual _doctors_ sent a chill up my spine and a phantom ache through my leg. But I was _very_ protective of the Doctor, easily skimming the people around us and determining their level of threat to the man who would later be my husband. And as much as I cared for his life, it was also partially for me. I didn't want to be left alone again and protecting him to the best of my ability was the way to make sure that didn't happen again.

The room rumbled, dust falling from the ceiling; the Doctor squeezing my waist when I stiffened, as a form of comfort. _Seems he knows this body better than I do._ I mused silently, not appreciating the sounds of sirens and bombs going off outside.

"So you've changed your face again." Churchill commented over the noise.

"Yeah, well, had a bit of work done."

Amy though, was more excited about where we were. "Got it, got it, got it! Cabinet War Rooms, right?"

"Yup." The Doctor smiled. "Top secret heart of the War Office. Right under London."

"You're late, by the way." Churchill commented and I scoffed.

"He's always late."

A woman came up and passed him something as the Doctor pouted at me.

"Not always!"

"I rang you a month ago." Churchill responded, making the Doctor frown at my grin.

"Sorry. It's a Type Forty Tardis. I'm just running her in."

"Oh, don't blame the ship for your poor driving skills." I hummed. "If you would have let _me_ drive, we probably would have been here on time."

"She likes you better than me!" He argued as Churchill turned his attention to the woman beside him, who looked upset.

_In fact, it's nearly palpable. What happened to her again?..._ _Ah, wait. I know this feeling. Grief. She's mourning. _I frowned softly, before nearly jumping out of my skin when another rumble shook the room; though this time it wasn't a bomb, but the elevator starting up.

"You alright there, Alex?"

"Mm." I hummed, not liking the elevator as it jerked and quaked. "Not a fan of lifts."

"I can see that." He said with a grimace, making me quickly release his hand that I'd been crushing in my grip.

"Sorry." I mumbled, embarrassed, but he smiled and took my hand again, giving it a reassuring squeeze before waving away the cigar smoke Churchill was blowing in his face.

"We stand at a crossroads, Doctor, quite alone, with our backs to the wall." Churchill rattled on. "Invasion is expected daily. So I will grasp with both hands anything that will give us an advantage over the Nazi menace. "

"Such as?"

"Follow me." He replied, the lift having stopped the floor below the roof.

We trailed after him as he lead us up, myself pulling out my notebook and giving Amy a wink when she furrowed her brows at the large notebook coming out of my small appearing pockets. The moment I found the episode though, I paled and came to a stop; very nearly dragging the Doctor with me.

"Alex? What's wrong?" He asked, worried.

"Nothing." I chirped, a large smile on my face, though it was completely fake. "Just not the best episode to end up in after my last body, is all."

He frowned, not liking the sound of that, but I wasn't about to give anything away that could hurt the plot. As it was, this episode was a big turning point for him. This was when he discovered the Daleks were still alive, rediscovered his hatred towards the creatures, and learned to save someone instead of hunting them down like he wished. That, and if I changed anything here, the few deaths that happened could change very quickly into the death of a country. _Or the world._

"Doctor, this is Professor Edwin Bracewell. Head of our Ironsides Project." Churchill introduced us to the scientist looking man with binoculars.

The Doctor put up a 'V' for Victory sign with his hand as the man waved.

"How do you do?"

I could see the line of planes approaching, but the scene of the war-torn London and the barrage balloons ahead of us had my attention; my eyes narrowed as a bomb went off nearby and I remembered days best left forgotten.

"_We can't stay here, Michael! They'll be invading the trenches any minute!"_

"_I'm not leaving him, Clarence!" I shouted back, struggling to help the injured man beside me walk with the shrapnel torn leg and my own bleeding temple._

I sucked in a breath, closing my eyes and tightening my grip on the Doctor's hand, getting a worried wave of comfort from him; though I doubted he knew what the body before this had been through. _I probably haven't told any of his other selves. If I could, I would have forgotten that time the moment I regenerated._ Amy seemed to have similar feeling about the sight before us though.

"Oh. Oh, Doctor, it's…"

"History." He finished, not looking pleased either.

"Ready, Bracewell?" Churchill called out as the planes approached overhead.

"Aye, aye, sir! On my order… Fire!"

Energy beams came from one of the covers nearby, taking out the planes and shocking our group.

"What was that?" Amy gasped.

"That wasn't human. That was never human technology. That sounded like…" The Doctor took his hand from mine and bolted up the ladder. "You, show me! Show me what that was!"

"Advance." Bracewell called out and when the Dalek rolled the corner, it took everything in my being not to either run from it or attack it.

"Our new secret weapon! Ha!" Churchill cheered. "What do you think? Quite something, eh?"

I couldn't hear what the Doctor was saying to it, but I could hear its response. Its repetitive chants of 'I am your soldier' grinding down my nerves before the Doctor hurried down and demanded to see the blueprints that Bracewell had apparently come up with on his own. He ignored me for now, which I was almost grateful for. I knew he'd be upset about my not saying anything, but I'd only just looked over my notebook a few moments ago and my feelings about the Daleks were very nearly the same as his. The last thing I needed was for his temper to draw me into the temper I was hiding back behind this new persona of mine. I was still within the first fifteen hours of my regeneration, after all. My mind was still going haywire with all of the new sensory inputs and I was honestly surprised I was able to walk as straight as I was. That, and I felt like I had a cold almost. My sinuses felt clogged and I doubted my sense of taste was up to snuff, though I knew it had more to do with my regeneration than an actual cold. _Could Time Lords even get colds?_ I shook the thought from my head, taking in a deep breath and joining Amy, Churchill and the Doctor in the office with the blue prints.

"They're Daleks. They're _called_ Daleks." The Doctor pressed, slamming the plans down on the desk.

"They are Bracewell's Ironsides, Doctor. Look. Blueprints, statistics, field tests, photographs. He invented them."

"Invented them? Oh, no, no, _no_."

"Yes." Churchill argued. "He approached one of our brass hats a few months ago. Fellow's a genius."

"A Scottish genius too." Amy piped in. "Maybe you should listen to—"

"Sh." The Doctor quieted her, turning back to Churchill seriously. "He didn't invent them. They're alien."

"Alien."

A Dalek glided past the door and I shut it, giving us some sort of privacy.

"And totally hostile." The Doctor continued, but Churchill could care less about the danger they presented.

"Precisely. They will win me the war."

"You _know_." I drawled, dragging out the ending. "I read a lot about you, Churchill. Brilliant guy, you are and great attitude towards women in this day and age, I'll give you that. But you gave hope to this country during the war and none of that came from these so called 'Ironsides' of yours. What happened to that guy, hm?" I hummed, glancing at one of the blueprints before tossing it back onto the desk I'd plopped myself on top of it like it was a chair. "The great Churchill I knew listened well to the advice of others and didn't take the cheating way through things."

The man frowned at me, pulling out another cigar and lighting it before heading for the door. "I am _not_ taking the cheater's way out, Miss Holmes. I am simply making use of the resources given to me in order to win this war quicker and save more lives."

"Not the way I see it." I commented, smiling as Churchill glared at me and I hopped off his desk, slinking my way around Amy and the curious Doctor. "Nah, the way I see it, big ol' Churchill is being selfish. You want all the glory for ending the war and this is the quickest way to it, yeah? Never mind the thousands upon millions of people you're endangering by ignoring our warnings."

"You _insult_ me." The man growled, turning to the Doctor as I grinned innocently. "Doctor, control your companion."

"Yes, well…" The Doctor shuffled slightly, though I could plainly see his eyes sparking in amusement at my actions. "She _is_ a bit of a handful."

Churchill huffed, blowing cigar smoke my way and storming out of the office, making me chuckle as Amy scoffed.

"Oh, yeah. I see it now." She drawled sarcastically. "Definitely a fun and games sort of person."

"Don't get jealous, Pond." I chirped. "I'll play with you later."

She smacked me, face pink as I chuckled and followed her and the Doctor out after Churchill. I felt better after the little joking and pushing of Churchill's buttons, not as bothered by the rumblings of falling bombs outside or the occasional Dalek rolling by. Still a bit uncomfortable in the ongoing war setting, but nothing too noticeable. Just the occasional twitch towards the flint lock pistol that no longer rested on my hip.

"Why won't you listen to me?" The Doctor asked Churchill aggressively. "Why did you call me in if you won't listen to me?"

"When I rang you a month ago, I must admit, I had my doubts. The Ironsides seemed too good to be true."

"Yes. Right. So destroy them. Exterminate them."

"Doctor." I said shortly, making him turn to me and bow his head in apology.

The last thing either of us wanted was him beginning to act more Dalek than Doctor. And when it came to the Dalek wrench bashing, I was hoping to at least help him retain some dignity.

"But imagine what I could do with a hundred. A _thousand_."

"I am imagining." The Doctor said ominously to Churchill's proposal. "Amy, tell him."

"Tell him what?"

"About the Daleks."

"What would I know about the Daleks?" She questioned and he exchanged a glance with me, but I shook my head and shrugged.

"Everything. They invaded your world, remember? Planets in the sky. You don't forget that. _Amy_, tell me you remember the Daleks."

"No, sorry." She apologized, making the Doctor even more dumbfounded.

"That's not possible."

He eyed her for a moment longer before heading into the map room where Churchill overlooked a large map where people were answering phone calls and moving pieces across the board. The Doctor though, leaned up against a post as he watched the occasional Dalek roll past.

"So, they're up to something, but what is it? What are they after?"

He gave me a look, but I placed a finger to my lips.

"Sorry. Spoilers." I replied. "This may not look like too big of an event, but one wrong move here—one slip up—and I could possibly cause the destruction of the entire country, if not Earth itself."

"Good to know its high on the destructive level." The Doctor drawled, but I wrinkled my nose.

"Eh, this one's about a six, on the one to ten scale. Maybe a seven later on, but there's… four deaths? One big scare, but nothing too difficult. The deaths are easily avoidable too. All I need to do is make sure things go as planned and there shouldn't be too big of a problem. But like I said, too much information could lead to a level ten issue, if not a level twenty." I mused, giving the Doctor a serious look when he frowned. "Oh, don't give me that, spaceman. I'll give you what I can, but there's not much to say here. To be honest, I'm not sure why I popped up here to begin with. But I'm going to support you on this no matter what, so stop looking at me like I'm the enemy here when you know I'm not. I'm not hiding things from you because I want to. You know that."

He frowned for a moment longer before sighing and pulling a hand through his hair. "You're right. Sorry. You _know_ how I get when it comes to the Daleks… I thought they were gone."

"Yeah, well, you should know better." I replied bluntly. "They'll always show up, just as you will always show up to stop them. So do me a favor, yeah? Stop worrying about them being here and find a way to get rid of them. The last thing we need is your friend Churchill dying decades early because he thought his amazing Ironsides _wouldn't_ vaporize him to dust."

I brushed a kiss over the Doctor's cheek and he turned to me with a small smile.

"You're a pest."

"Hm, the biggest, live-sucking parasite you could ever get stuck with." I chirped back and Amy cleared her throat with a scowl.

"If you two are _done_, might we get back to dealing with these… Daleks? I mean, we can just ask them, right?" She headed towards one and the Doctor's eyes widened.

"Amy. Amelia!"

I grabbed his hand, making him turn to me as I smiled slightly in reassurance and he calmed down a smidge before turning his attention to Amy's questioning of the Dalek.

"Can I be of assistance?" The Dalek asked.

"Oh. Yes, yes. See, my friends reckon you're dangerous. That you're an alien. Is it true?"

"I am your soldier." It replied.

"Yeah. Got that bit. Love a squaddie. What else though?"

"Please excuse me. I have duties to perform." It said, rolling away and leaving Amy's question unanswered as the Doctor tore himself from me and went to attempt to change Churchill's mind.

"Winston. Winston, please." He begged, trying to get the man to see reason.

"We are waging total war, Doctor. Day after day, the Luftwaffe pound this great city like an iron fist."

"Wait till the Daleks get started."

"Men, women, children, slaughtered. Families torn apart. Wren's churches in flame."

"Yeah. Try the _Earth_ in flames." The Doctor pressed, trying to get the man to understand.

"I weep for my country. I weep for my empire. It is breaking my heart."

"You're resisting, Winston. The whole world knows you're resisting. You're a beacon of hope."

"But for how long?" The man argued moving around the map table and signing something. "Millions of innocent lives will be saved if I use these Ironsides now."

"Can I be of assistance?" A Dalek asked, the Doctor waving a finger at it, losing his temper slightly.

"Shut it."

I winced at the harshness of his emotions screaming at me from over everyone else's, but made no other obvious signs of my own distress.

"Listen to me. Just listen." The Doctor snapped. "The Daleks have no conscience, no mercy, no pity. They are my oldest and deadliest enemy. You cannot trust them."

"If Hitler invaded hell, I would give a favorable reference to the Devil. These machines are our salvation." Churchill said before a siren went off. "Oh, the 'All Clear'. We are safe, for now."

Amy came over then, looking worried. "Doctor, it's the 'All Clear'. You okay?"

"What does hate look like, Amy?"

"Hate?"

"It looks like a Dalek. And I'm going to prove it." The Doctor smiled tensely, flipping a hat and dropping it on a table before leaving the room.

I sighed though, drumming my fingers on the crook of my arm. "Him and his temper. I swear, the man gives me the biggest headaches and right now, my tender mind could do without his lashing out."

"Huh?" Amy questioned, but I waved her off.

"Nothing. Ask the Doctor later. I'm sure he'll explain." I hummed. "Though right now, I could use something to drink that's _not_ made by a Dalek."

* * *

The Doctor wasn't buying it. Not one bit. No one could just come up with the ideas Bracewell was thinking up _eons_ before their time. No, no. The Daleks had something to do with it. Everything to do with it, and he knew it. Perhaps Bracewell was a new kind of Dalek or one in disguise with a hologram or something. Maybe the Daleks were controlling him, using him to create these things and their 'perfect soldier' routine was just that; an act. Either way, he wasn't pleased with the obvious lack of information and the aliens rolling around right beside him like they were meant to be there. It _infuriated_ him, actually. He was trying his best to keep hold of his temper. Alex was still new in her regeneration, after all and would be sensitive to his overwhelming emotions for the next thirteen hours or so. He was trying, but the innocent act the Daleks were putting on were grating at his nerves, so it was only a matter of time before he snapped. And snap he did.

"Would you care for some tea?" A Dalek asked and that was it.

Those words finally cut the thin string holding back the Doctor's anger and he sent the tea tray flying off of the Dalek's plunger.

"Stop this! What are you doing here?! What do you _want_?!" He shouted at the creatures, making them roll back a bit and the other people in the room hesitantly move away as well.

"We seek only to help you." The Dalek answered as Alex entered the room, making her way towards the Doctor silently.

"To do what?"

"To win the war."

"Really? Which war?" The Doctor asked it.

"I do not understand."

"This war, against the Nazis, or your war? The war against the rest of the universe? The war against all life forms that are not Dalek?"

The Dalek paused. "I do not understand. I am your soldier."

"Oh, yeah? Okay. Okay, soldier. Defend yourself." The Doctor said, picking up a large metal wrench and proceeding to bash the Dalek upside the head with it.

"Doctor, what the devil—"

"You do not require tea?"

"Stop him! Prime Minister, please!"

"Doctor, what the devil? Please, these machines are precious." Churchill attempted

"Come on! Fight back! You want to, don't you? You know you do."

"I must protest!" Bracewell called out, Amy standing in shock and not knowing what to do as the Doctor continued his assault.

"What are you waiting for? Look, you hate me. You want to kill me. Well, go on. Kill me. Kill me!"

He swung the wrench again, but it didn't hit the Dalek this time. Alex had gotten between them and the wrench landed painfully against her braced forearms, making her cringe but not before she stepped forward and grabbed the Doctor by his tweed jacket and pushed him away from the Dalek he was still angrily glaring at; not even noticing the damage he'd done.

"Doctor, you stop it. You stop it now and you listen to me." Alex growled under her breath. "You are better than them. You have always _been_ better than them. So stop this nonsense now and look at what you're doing. Look at who you're hurting by acting like this childish idiot waving a wrench around. _Look_, dammit!" She hissed into his ear and the Doctor stood there, huffing and puffing and finally getting a good look around.

Amy stood there, eyes wide and shaking slightly, near fearful of his previous anger. Churchill looked stunned and completely dumbfounded at the sudden attack the Doctor had made and Bracewell appeared rather frightened himself, eyes flickering between the puffing man and his so-called creations.

"Now, calm down and stop this." Alex whispered into his ear, her grip slowly loosening on his coat. "Don't lose yourself to your anger towards them and _think_. You're the Doctor, not some lunatic."

She tugged the wrench out of his slackened grip and moved aside, lying it up against a pillar nearby as the Doctor faced the Dalek in a calmer manner; though his tone remained dark with anger.

"You are my enemy. And I am yours. You are everything I despise. The worst thing in all creation. I've defeated you time and time again. I've defeated you. I sent you back into the Void. I saved the whole of reality from you. I am the Doctor, and you are the Daleks." He growled and the Dalek made no move for a moment before finally responding.

"Correct. Review testimony." It hummed, a recording of the Doctor's voice replaying itself.

"_I am the Doctor, and you are the Daleks._"

"Testimony. What are you talking about, testimony?" The Doctor asked, suddenly very confused.

"Transmitting testimony now." Another Dalek responded.

"Transmit what, where?"

"Testimony accepted." The Dalek chirped and the Doctor pushed everyone back; Alex grabbing Churchill and growling something into his ear, preventing him from calling out to the marines outside and getting them killed.

"Stop it! Stop it, please! What are you doing?! You are my Ironsides!" Bracewell called out, the Daleks turning to him.

"We are the Daleks."

"But I created you."

"No." The Dalek shot off his arm, revealing the sparking wires within. "We created _you_."

With a few chants of 'victory' the Daleks transported themselves away and Amy spoke up.

"What just happened, Doctor?"

"I wanted to know what they wanted. What their plan was. _I_ was their plan." He breathed out, quickly dashing out of the room with the others following.

"Testimony accepted. That's what they said. My testimony." He ranted to himself as he hurried to the Tardis and opened the doors.

"Don't beat yourself up because you were right." Amy commented, making him stop. "So, what do we do? Is this what we do now? Chase after them?"

"This is what _I_ do. Yeah, and it's dangerous, so you and Alex wait here."

"What? So you mean I've got to stay safe down here in the middle of the London Blitz?" Amy quipped.

"Safe as it gets around me." He said, closing the door and Alex sighed in annoyance, giving Amy a look over her shoulder as she headed for the doors.

"You'll be fine. But don't stop thinking about ways to help the Doctor, alright? Even down here, you can help him."

She furrowed her brows. "What? Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I need to make sure this idiot doesn't do anything stupid." Alex said back with a grin and a wave. "Toodles~"

She shut the Tardis doors behind her and the ship disappeared, leaving Amy with Churchill.

"What's he expect us to do now?"

"You heard Alex. K.B.O. of course." Churchill hummed.

"What?"

"Keep buggering on."

* * *

I bounced up the steps, sneaking past the Doctor and helping him send the Tardis to the Dalek's ship on the other side of the console; the moron working easily in time with me, but not paying any attention to the fact that buttons he couldn't reach were somehow _magically_ being pressed. It wasn't until after we had landed that he paused and peered around the center column at me as I smiled and wiggled my fingers at him in a wave.

"Alex! I told you to stay with Amy!"

"Oh, now, hm. Let me think about that." I hummed, tapping my chin with my finger. "Nope. Not listening."

"Alexander Holmes!" He pressed, though I just grinned cheekily at him.

"Ah, you see? Now, that doesn't work unless you know my middle name, _which_ you don't."

He scowled, stomping his foot childishly. "I don't care! This is dangerous! You can't be here!"

"Why not?" I argued, raising a brow at him. "Last I checked, I know more about what's going to happen than you do _and_, as such, I know that this is less dangerous than staying down there. Unless there happens to be yet another oversized wrench up here you want to bash my arms with, of course."

The Doctor opened his mouth to retort, but then his eyes dropped and he winced at the sight of the large dark violet bruises on my forearms; no doubt hiding the possible fractures I'd gotten from his impressive wrench wielding. He stepped forward and I watched him, curious as to how he'd apologize for that as he took my arms and looked them over gently.

"Oh, Alex. I'm so sorry."

"Nah, you lost your temper, I get it." I replied nonchalantly, tugging my arms from his grip and waving a hand. "I could have found a better way to stop you than getting between you and your impressive wrench bashing too, so no harm done. Well, no harm other than whatever damage happened to my arms, but even that's no biggy." I grinned, holding said appendages up. "First fifteen hours of regeneration, yeah? They'll be all fine and dandy in another ten minutes or so. The swelling's already gone down and the pain's more of a dull ache at the moment. Not as quick as if I'd been full Time Lord, but decent enough."

He frowned though, grabbing my upper arms and looking at me seriously. "No, it's not okay. I should never have done that. Attacking them, losing my temper, scaring Amy and hurting you. None of that should have happened."

I smiled softly and gave his upper arms a squeeze. "And I said it's _fine_, Doctor. Everyone loses control once in a while and I think you've got more than enough reason to. Now, let's stop moping in here and stop some Daleks from whatever plan they have in mind, yeah? Got your Jammy Dodgers on you?"

He grinned at me, pulling one out of his pocket. "You know it."

He kissed me then, pulling away with a soft sigh and resting his forehead against mine briefly.

"Thank you."

I snorted, making him pout. "I'm your _girlfriend_, Theta. Scolding and supporting you is my job… Though you paying me with _hot_ make-out sessions when Amy's not looking is a good reason as well."

He smirked mischievously at that. "You sly fox."

"Don't you know it." I winked and he chuckled, giving me another brief kiss before looping my arm through his and bounding out of the Tardis happily.

Or, well, as happy as one can be after making up with a girlfriend only to head out and attempt to defend the planet from Daleks.

"How about that cuppa now, then?" The Doctor chimed, drawing attention to the two of us.

"It is the Doctor."

"Exterminate!"

"Wait, wait, wait. I wouldn't if I were you." The Doctor said quickly, pulling out the Jammy Dodger from earlier. "Tardis self-destruct, and you know what that means. My ship goes, you all go with it."

"You would not use such a device."

"Hm." I hummed. "Do you really think so? Because honestly, you have no idea what's up his sleeve, yeah? So do you _really_ want to take that risk?" I asked and the Daleks shuffled. "I thought not."

One began to roll forward, but the Doctor quickly turned towards it.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah. No scans. No nothing. One move and I'll destroy us all. You got that? Tardis bang bang. Daleks boom!" The Doctor said, earning an eye roll from me, but the Dalek retreated. "Good boy. This ship's pretty beaten up. Running on empty, I'd say, like you. When we last met, you were at the end of your rope. Finished."

"One ship survived." A Dalek explained.

"And you fell back through time, yes. Crippled, dying."

"We picked up a trace. One of the Progenitor devices."

"Progenitor? What's that when it's at home?" The Doctor questioned, giving me a look.

"It is our past and our future." A Dalek responded before I could.

"Oh? That's deep. That is deep for a Dalek. What does it mean though?"

"It contains pure Dalek DNA. Thousands were created. All were lost, save one."

"Okay, but there's still one thing I don't get, though. If you've got the Progenitor, why build Bracewell?" The Doctor asked.

"It was necessary."

"But why?" He pressed, the Daleks going quiet and him looking at me briefly as I picked at my fingers idly behind him, until it clicked. "I get it. Oh, I get it. I get it. Oh ho! This is rich! The Progenitor wouldn't recognize you, would it? It saw you as impure. Your DNA is unrecognizable as Dalek."

"A solution was devised."

"Yes, yes, yes. Me. My testimony. So you set a trap. You knew that the Progenitor would recognize me, the Daleks' greatest enemy. It would accept my word. My recognition of you." The Doctor rattled off, before catching sight of a Dalek moving to the controls nearby. "No. No, no. What are you doing?"

"Withdraw now, Doctor, or the city dies in flames." Another Dalek said.

"Who are you kidding? This ship is a wreck. You don't have the power to destroy London."

"Doctor, don't push it." I warned, but the Daleks continued.

"Watch as the humans destroy themselves."

I groaned, dragging a hand down my face as the Doctor turned to me for an explanation. "They've turned on all the lights in London. They're sitting ducks for incoming German planes."

The Doctor bristled and I placed a hand on his arm, calming him slightly. That last thing I needed was a headache on top of everything else.

"Turn those lights off now." He demanded from the Daleks. "Turn London off or I _swear_ I will use the Tardis self-destruct."

"Stalemate, Doctor. Leave us and return to Earth." A Dalek announced, making the Doctor angrier.

"Oh, that's it. That's your great victory? You leave?"

"Extinction is not an option. We shall return to our own time and begin again."

"No, no, no. I won't let you get away this time. I won't!"

"Doctor." I pressed, leaning in to his ear and whispering so the Daleks wouldn't overhear. "Trust me, it'd be best if we leave for now and deal with them later. Because if they find out about your Jammy Dodger trick, then you can be sure that they won't leave without causing _some_ damage. This way we at least have some sort of upper hand."

"I'm _not_ letting them get away." He growled at me and I bit my tongue to keep from revealing to him that they'd get away either way.

"We have succeeded. DNA reconstruction is complete. Observe, Doctor, a new Dalek paradigm." The Daleks announced as the Progenitor completed and five colored Daleks rolled out. "The Progenitor has fulfilled our new destiny. Behold, the restoration of the Daleks. The resurrection of the master race."

"All hail the new Daleks! All hail the new Daleks!" A Dalek chirped repeatedly, quivering in excitement.

"Yes, you are inferior." The deep voice of one of the newer Daleks announced.

"Oh, dear." I drawled apathetically.

"Yes." The excited Dalek answered.

"Then prepare."

"We are ready!"

"Cleanse the unclean. Total obliteration. Disintegrate." The Dalek droned, killing off the other Daleks and leaving behind only the five colored ones.

"Blimey. What do you do to the ones who mess up?" The Doctor questioned.

"Send them to a planet they turned into a prison full of other crazy, messed up Daleks." I answered, exchanging glances with him. "Ah, spoilers, that. You'll find out more about that later. Though I can't say it's entirely pleasant." I then remembered the passionate kiss we shared at the end of that and smiled a bit. "Nor entirely _un_pleasant."

"You are the Doctor. You must be exterminated." The White Dalek said, interrupting us and the Doctor held out the Jammy Dodger.

"Don't mess with me, sweetheart."

"We are the paradigm of the new Dalek race." It announced. "Scientist, Strategist, Drone, Eternal, and the Supreme."

"Which would be you, I'm guessing." The Doctor said and I hummed.

"Really? I thought the colors were just for the variety set of salt shakers. You know, you could make a good deal marketing that. Multi-colored Dalek salt shakers."

The Doctor smiled a little at that, but continued to keep his focus on the problem at hand. "Question is, what do we do now? Either you turn off your clever machine or I'll blow you and your new paradigm into eternity."

"And yourself and your companion."

"Occupational hazard."

"And I'm his girlfriend, thanks." I cut in. "Bet I can make you quiver in your little Dalek boots."

"We do not quiver!" It replied sounding offended, but I smirked devilishly.

"Oh really? Then I guess you don't know who I am yet, do you?" I spun around in a circle, arms out. "Scan me. I dare ya."

A Dalek rolled forward slightly before shuffling back and screeching. "The Seer! Subject identified as the Seer!"

The group of Daleks rolled back half a foot and I laughed.

"Ah-ha! See that? Quivered! Or, well, just about as close to a quiver as you lot can get, but good enough."

"Alex." The Doctor warned and I waved him off.

"Oh, shush you. I'm busy. Besides, they know all about your cookie by now." I plucked said Jammy Dodger from his fingers and took a bite out of it, stuffing the other half in his mouth before he could protest. "Now then, you listening in Danny Boy? This is the Doctor and the Seer! Do us a favor and take out that big dish in the side of this thing, yeah? Word of advice though! Wait until we knock out their shields first!"

"_Danny boy to the Doctor and Seer, we hear you loud and clear!_" A voice replied through the communications of the ship just as I kissed the Doctor and gave him a grin.

"Now, I think it's my turn to say this… _Run_."

I grabbed his hand and the two of us made a dash to the Tardis as the Daleks screeched behind them. We both ducked into the Tardis; myself with a loud laugh and the Doctor gabbing me with a frown.

"_What_ are you thinking?"

"Oh, come now. You were threatening to blow them up with a cookie. All I did was mock them a bit, give the people down on Earth a bit of advice that will save at least two pilots' lives, and scared those table condiments with the mere mention of my name. I don't see the problem, do you?"

"Only that you are the _second _most reckless person I've ever met." He grumbled as I grinned.

"And who's the first?"

"Myself, of course." He replied with a smile of his own, kissing me again before grabbing his radio. "The Doctor to Danny Boy. The Doctor to Danny boy. I can disrupt the Dalek shields, but not for long. Over."

"_Good show, Doctor. Go to it, over_."

The Doctor and I exchanged smiles before bouncing around the Tardis as quick as we could, disrupting the Dalek shields and giving Danny Boy and his team a chance to knock out the satellite.

"_Danny Boy to the Doctor. Going in for another attack._" He replied after destroying the satellite, though my enthusiasm dwindled as I remembered what happened next.

"The Doctor to Danny Boy. The Doctor to Danny Boy. Destroy this ship. Over." The Doctor replied.

"_What about you two, Doctor?_"

"We'll be okay." The Doctor said, locking eyes with me and furrowing his brows upon seeing that my expression had shifted.

Just then though, the White Dalek appeared on the monitor.

"_Doctor, Seer, call off your attack._"

"Ah, ha. What? And let you scuttle off back to the future? No fear? This is the end of you. The final end." The Doctor taunted.

"_Call off the attack or we will destroy the Earth_."

"I'm not stupid, mate. You've just played your last card."

"_Bracewell is a bomb._" It responded and the Doctor frowned.

"You're bluffing. Deception's second nature to you. There isn't a sincere bone in your body. There isn't a bone in your body."

"_His power is derived from an Oblivion Continuum. Call off your attack, or we will detonate the android._" The Dalek said. "_Ask the Seer if you still do not believe._"

The Doctor turned to me and I bowed my head.

"They're not lying. Sorry."

"No." He muttered. "This is my best chance ever. The last of the Daleks. I can rid the universe of you, once and for all."

"_Then do it. But we will shatter the planet below. The Earth will die screaming._" The Dalek continued.

"Yeah, and if I let you go, you'll be stronger than ever. A new race of Daleks."

"_Then choose, Doctor. Destroy the Daleks or save the Earth. Begin countdown of Oblivion Continuum. Choose, Doctor. Choose. Choose._"

The Doctor turned off the monitor for a moment and stalked towards me, only this time, I stood strong in front of him as he grabbed my coat and shook me.

"Tell me, Alex. Tell me now. How can I stop them? How can I stop the Daleks and save the Earth? You now there's a way, don't you? Tell me. _Tell me!_" He shouted and I brought my hands up to his, taking a deep breath and letting it out along with a wave of calm that ignited a headache along with the Doctor's anger and frustration.

"Doctor, you know I can't do that."

"Dammit, Alex! Just tell me! This could solve _every_ problem! Fix the future!"

I shook my head. "No, it won't. Nothing will be fixed if I tell you what to do here. The Daleks are right. You need to choose. Which is more important to you? Revenge? Or helping those people below us right now? Your friends, _Amy_."

"But if you tell me—"

I brought my hands up and placed them on either side of his head, looking him right in the eyes. "Then you'll just become the same person you were back then. Back when I was younger and you'd yell and shout at me for answers. You'll become someone who can't make their own decisions. And I'm sorry, but you'll become no better than the Daleks who want to use me for their own purposes. Is that what you want, Doctor? Is that all I am to you? A tool you can use to make sure everything goes well? Because it won't. If I change things here, you'll regret it later and I won't stay. I will leave you right here, right now. I will walk out of this Tardis and leave you, if you think I'm going to let you do this to me _and _yourself. Because I don't want to be the one responsible for making you choose revenge over the Earth. I'm not going to let you forget who you are because of me." I paused, then I smiled softly. "You are the Doctor. For better or for worse, you are the man who helps and heals people, not the warrior. Not the soldier or the killer the Daleks say you are. And I want you to prove that to them. Just like you always do, I want you to show them that you're the better man. Show them that the man I love isn't just some moron who thinks fighting and revenge is the answer, yeah?"

I leaned in and kissed him, pulling away with a big smile on my face as he stared at me in stunned silence.

"Be the Doctor, please."

He paused as I released him and took a step back, but cleared his throat and turned away with pink cheeks as he turned to the console and grabbed the radio.

"R-Right… T-The Doctor to Danny Boy. The Doctor to Danny Boy. Withdraw."

"_Say again, sir. Over._"

"Withdraw." He repeated, looking at me as I watched him with a hint of a smile still on my face. "Return to Earth. Over and out."

"_But sir_—"

"There's no time. You have to return to Earth now. Over."

The Doctor began sending the Tardis back to the war offices of Churchill's, but paused when we were beside each other. I continued to fiddle with one of the switches needed for flight, but he just stood there.

"You know, we're going to crash land if you don't pick up the slack, Doctor."

He flipped up a lever and the ship went still, making me stop and look at him with furrowed brows.

"You've changed." He muttered and I crossed my arms and leaned on the console.

"Yeah. Regeneration does that, though the sixty years before my last one did a number on me."

He shook his head, taking a step closer. "You never told me what happened. You don't even mention your third body."

"For good reason." I replied, watching him cautiously; for what, I wasn't sure. "Probably the same reasons you don't mention the War Doctor."

He winced at that and I sighed, knowing I touched a sore spot with that one.

"There are just some things better left forgotten." I said, attempting to take back my last statement. "You know that better than anyone, though I doubt now is the best time to speak of my changing when there's a bomb down on Earth ready to go off."

"We're in a time machine." He countered. "We'll be on time."

"Mm, yeah. Like you were on time picking up Amy the first two times? Or like you were on time for Churchill's mayday call?"

"You're helping me drive. We'll be on time." He said, sucking up to me, though my eyes narrowed.

"What are you getting at with all this, Doctor? As much as I enjoy our bantering—despite your hatred of said action—I'd really rather like to know the point behind your stopping us during a crisis situation."

"Because…" He looked down briefly before looking back up. "Because I'm sorry. For whatever happened to you before this. For whatever it was that made you able to connect with me on this deep a level, because no one should have to do that. No one should have to go through the things I have and… I get the feeling that you went through something similar. And you're still helping me through my own problems. You're still giving me the push I need to keep going even when I get angry and yell at you." He flushed and shuffled on his feet. "Which I _am_ sorry for. Again, I never meant to—"

"And again, I'll inform you that it's fine. If it helps, I snapped at you something fierce in the future for similar reasons." I replied with a small smile.

"Well, I just… I just wanted you to know. I love you, Alexander and everything you do for me is more amazing than anything I've ever done. You make me right and damn it all, if I don't propose to you in the near future."

It was _both_ our turns to flush red at that as the Doctor realized what he'd just said.

"A-Ah, I mean if you'd want to, anyway. I won't make you a-and I haven't planned it out or anything. Not that I wouldn't! I'd probably spend weeks figuring out the right time and place and things to say. Or maybe I-I'd only spend a few days! Not make you wait or—I-I'm just going to shut up now." He stuttered out, face getting redder with every word, much like mine was.

I finally let out a belt of laughter though, grabbing the Doctor's face in my hands and kissing him deeply; the two of us keeping it up for a minute before I pulled away slightly breathless but with a smile on my face.

"Amy will be upset we're kissing instead of saving the world." I muttered, our lips touching lightly.

"Hm, who says we have to tell her?" He replied back with that mischievous smirk that I loved so much before we pressed our lips together once more.

It wasn't until I felt a familiar ache in my shoulder that I groaned and pulled away with a complaint.

"Just when it was getting good."

"You're leaving?" He asked, sounding disappointed.

"Seems like it. You're lucky I got a warning this time. I usually pop off without even knowing nowadays." I hummed, kissing him briefly once more before flipping some of the switches that kept the Tardis stagnant; setting it off again with the Doctor looking at me forlornly.

"I really am sorry." He said quietly and I gave him a soft smile.

"And I forgive you. Time and time again, I will always forgive you. And don't worry about the Daleks. You'll see them again and you'll take care of them like you always do. One lost battle doesn't mean you lose the war, you know." I replied with a wink and he nodded his head with his own smile as the ship landed.

"I'll see you soon?"

"Next adventure." I responded. "And ooh, will it be a fun one. Take care of my younger self, yeah? Don't believe a word she says."

"Rule number one." He smirked and I gave him a salute before disappearing and popping up on my bed in the Tardis of another Doctor—or possibly the same one.

"Ah, who would've thought?" I hummed, leaning back into the pillows and lacing my fingers behind my head. "I always thought Eleven was the flirty one, but either he got that from this me, or I picked up yet another trait from the man. Regeneration is such a funny thing… though… I think I could get used to this."

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"Fun. What's the date?" I asked, ever curious, but he looked up with a frown and half spat out his next words._

_"_Christmas _5343."_

_I blinked at his apparent hatred of the holiday, but a slow grin spread over my features, immediately making him groan._

_"No."_

_"No, what?" I asked with a tilt of my head. "I haven't said anything yet."_

_"No, to whatever it is you're thinking about doing right now." He responded. "You _know _how I feel about these idiotic human festivities. Much less of a fat man in a suit. It's idiotic. He's rude."_

_"You're just upset that he got to save the day before you." I teased, shoving back the part of me that shivered in remembrance of the dream crabs from a few adventures ago. "Come on. Just a little bit of fun?"_

_I bounced to his side in excitement, practically vibrating in my boots as I looked up at him, being sure to move in close enough that our noses brushed together; making his breath hitch._

_"For me?" I begged and he groaned loudly before abruptly dropping his tools and reaching around me to pull me flush up against him, starting up a heated kiss that made me smile._

_ I'd got him._


	83. The Husbands of River Song

**Um... i totally meant to post this yesterday but sort of... forgot. sorry. i hope you like it though! i had fun messing with the doctor with Alex's new personality and River, but let me know what you think!**

* * *

I ended up avoiding whichever Doctor I was with for a while. Not because I was upset about… well, anything, but because I hoped to figure out a few of this body's quirks before I just went jumping headfirst into another adventure. As a safety precaution!... Though, mostly because I was desperately hungry and trying foods again with new taste buds had proven to be messy on more than one occasion. The Tardis was on my side though, seeing as I managed to make myself a little more at home in my body undisturbed for a decent number of hours. I got another nap in, learned that plums were my new favorite fruit and the sight of anything covered in whipped cream and caramel drizzle would drive me _mad_ with desire. I discovered that my love for romances and comedy had doubled, as did my enjoyment of a good pair of cargo shorts and the occasional vest—though not together, that was gross. Swimming, of all things, had become the most enjoyable exercise to me, though a bout of fencing got my heart pumping as well. And when I discovered that the scent of old books and vanilla that clung to the Doctor's jacket was the most amazing thing I'd ever smelled, I nearly sat in the jumpseat curled up in the thing, if the Tardis hadn't warned me he was returning.

It was Twelve, lucky me. Messing with Ten or Nine in this body wouldn't have been as much fun, I think, unless it was Donna-Tenth perhaps. However, I was still exploring with what my likes and dislikes were, so I continued to avoid Twelve until I felt I was ready and could sneak up on him. It happened to be at least a day later, but hey! He always has a chance to break his body in and I'm always thrown headfirst into some adventure first. I had the right to spend a day by myself to discover that the… dirty pleasure of this body was the occasional cigarette, shockingly enough. I'd never be able to keep up the habit around the Doctor, though the box that the Tardis dropped on me in the garden showed that she'd help me out sometimes. I knew it probably wasn't good for me—Time Lord body or not. I knew the damage it does to human lungs, hence why I never even considered it before until the Tardis did this. But I trusted her and tried one, only to discover myself still sitting on the bench in the gardens nearly two hours later, thoroughly relaxed. _Last resort stress reliever._ I determined then and hadn't touched them since.

Now, however, I felt about ready to bother my unknowing husband and proceeded to slip down the hall towards the control room. I stopped and poked my head around the corner, spotting the grouchy-looking man grumbling to himself about something or another with his back facing me—I swore I heard the word 'carolers', but I couldn't be certain—and with a big grin on my face, I stealthily creeped down the stairs. I held my breath the whole way, being careful of my footing and completely silent; knowing how sensitive those Time Lord ears of his could be. And just as I came up behind him and raised my arms above his shoulders in preparation of slamming them down and scaring him out of his trousers, he spoke.

"Hello, Alex."

I groaned loudly in disappointment as he continued to fiddle with his controls with a cocky smirk on his face. "You suck! I was _this_ close to sneaking up and scaring the crap out of you! Would it kill you to go along with it?"

"I know better than to play along with whatever antics you come up with in _that_ body of yours." He replied, still focused on his work. "They usually turn out to be rather destructive or embarrassing to one party or another."

"You're no fun." I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest and leaning back up against the console beside him, holding back the urge to wipe the grin off his face. "How'd you know I was there? I could have _sworn_ I was completely silent! I was _ninja_ worthy, so how?"

"Silent and stealthy on the outside, yes, but I could hear your mental cackling a mile away." He chirped and I threw up my hands.

"Ugh! I thought I'd fixed that! I can't hide anything from you in this body, can I?"

"Hm." He hummed, glancing at me briefly. "No. Certainly not the messes you make either. And might I ask you to _not_ attempt whatever concoction you were making in the kitchen again? Even the _Tardis_ had a difficult time getting the purple stain off the wall."

I flushed in embarrassment. "H-How long did you know I was here?"

He raised a brow at me in thorough amusement. "Since you showed up in your bedroom. Did you not stop to think I might have finished that Inner-Tardis alert system?"

"Last I checked, it was only an _Outer_-Tardis alert system." I grumbled, pouting. "You didn't know I'd shown up inside the Tardis for ages. When did you fix it?"

"Hm, a while back." He paused, looking up with furrowed brows. "Or perhaps it was yesterday…"

"You're working on it now, aren't you?" I drawled and he scowled at me.

"Take the fun out of everything, don't you?"

I grinned at that, glad I'd one-upped him in some form or fashion after my failed attempt at spooking him, kissing him on the cheek and bounding around the console. "Oh, I _add_ the fun, sweetheart. So! Where are we? Not in the Time Vortex, obviously, so we're 'docked' somewhere."

"Mendorax Dellora." He replied, returning to the alarm system that informed him I was popping up in the ship. "A human colony."

"Fun. What's the date?" I asked, ever curious, but he looked up with a frown and half spat out his next words.

"_Christmas_ 5343."

I blinked at his apparent hatred of the holiday, but a slow grin spread over my features, immediately making him groan.

"No."

"No, what?" I asked with a tilt of my head. "I haven't said anything yet."

"No, to whatever it is you're thinking about doing right now." He responded. "You _know_ how I feel about these idiotic human festivities. Much less of a fat man in a suit. It's idiotic. He's rude."

"You're just upset that he got to save the day before you." I teased, shoving back the part of me that shivered in remembrance of the dream crabs from a few adventures ago. "Come on. Just a little bit of fun?"

I bounced to his side in excitement, practically vibrating in my boots as I looked up at him, being sure to move in close enough that our noses brushed together; making his breath hitch.

"For me?" I begged and he groaned loudly before abruptly dropping his tools and reaching around me to pull me flush up against him, starting up a heated kiss that made me smile.

I'd got him.

He pulled away, knowing I'd done just that, but not arguing just yet. "Fine. Get dressed. For cold weather. Not this flimsy thing." He said, plucking at my bomber jacket that I tugged from his fingers with a fake look of insult on my face.

"How dare you! I love this jacket!"

He rolled his eyes at my dramatics. "Yes, and there's a much warmer, _sheepskin_ one in the wardrobe. Put it on and meet me back here. We will celebrate or whatever it is you humans do for the rest of the evening and then return here."

"Whoo!" I cheered, pecking him on the lips once more before half running, half stumbling out of my jacket to the wardrobe, hearing him sigh from down the hall.

When I returned, dawning the jacket and carrying my newest weapon against the Doctor, I forgoed the sneaking up on him and simply rushed right at him before slipping the red felt reindeer antlers on his head before he had a clue what I'd done. Well, that's a lie. He knew I'd done something, added a certain something to his sour look, but another kiss shut him up. That, and someone knocking on the door of the ship. We broke away and I frowned at whoever had ruined our little moment as the Doctor went to answer it and I trailed after him.

"It'd better not be those carolers. I put up a sign."

"If it was rude, I hope it _is_ carolers." I chirped, giving him a bright smile when he frowned my way before pulling off the antlers and opened the door.

My smile turned to a pout as I took the antlers from him, but it quickly returned when another set appeared on his head, thanks to the Tardis.

"Is there anything on my head?" He asked the man outside who stuttered a bit at the question, but nodded.

"Uh, well, yes."

"Describe it." He continued with a frown as I chuckled behind a fist just around the corner of the open door.

"Well, you've sort of got antlers."

"Antlers?" He questioned, looking at me and the red antlers I was still carrying in slight confusion.

"Yes, antlers."

"Antlers!" He exclaimed having realized what was going on, turning back around and leaning the door cracked open as he scolded the ship. "You are a time-space machine! You're a vehicle! I've never asked you to cheer me up with hologrammatic antlers!"

I continued to snicker, my mind not quite catching up to the 'cheering up' bit he'd mentioned, and he rounded on me with an annoyed expression.

"And you. _You _need to stop giving her ideas. No collaborating with the ship or there'll be no Christmas shopping for you."

"No!" I gasped and he waited before the Tardis hummed out a complaint and the hologram antlers vanished from his head.

"Thank you." He drawled, turning back to the door as I muttered under my breath.

"Fun-killer."

"I heard that!"

"Good." I replied, sticking out my tongue as he rolled his eyes at my childishness and returned to speaking with the man outside.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes. Are you the surgeon?" The man asked and the Doctor spared me a glance when I poked my head out as well and joined him in the doorway.

"Close enough. Why?"

"Well, you know." The man replied, giving me a brief look as well.

"I don't know." The Doctor answered as I shrugged; not knowing either.

"There's a medical emergency!" The man said loudly, walking away and leaving the Doctor and me to exchange confused looks before he turned and called out to the man.

"Will there be singing?"

"No."

"Fine, then. Alex?"

I pouted, but gave in. "_Fine_. We'll go see the medical whatever and forgo my Christmas for another time."

He quirked a smile and kissed me briefly as he closed the door to the Tardis behind us. "Thank you, my love."

"Yeah, well, I expect a present. And a good one, too." I demanded and he hummed as we followed the man in front of us, who appeared to be following a map on a piece of paper.

"We weren't sure where you'd come down." He said, drawing the Doctor out of his musing.

"Sorry?"

"In your capsule."

"I'm never sure. I don't like being sure about things. One minute you're sure, the next everybody turns into lizards and a piano falls on you." The Doctor responded.

"A piano?"

I was gapping though. "Oh, please tell me I'm there. I want to be a lizard!"

The Doctor groaned, wiping a hand down his face. "You _can't_ become a lizard, Alex. And its been a long day."

"Yeah. A long _exciting_ day." I grumbled, jealous of the missed adventure he got to go on while I was taste testing.

"So what's the medical emergency?" The Doctor asked, getting back on topic.

"Didn't you read the agreement?"

I snorted. "He doesn't read _any_ agreement. Just sort of wings it, half the time. Though, I suppose it usually turns out good."

The man gave me a worried glance, suddenly not looking too pleased by the Doctor, but he was soon distracted as we passed through a wood gate.

"There it is." He said, gesturing to a large red saucer that had landed in the snow.

"What?" The Doctor asked, confused and I elbowed him in the ribs.

"The _saucer_, you dolt."

He frowned. "You're rude. I forgot you got rude."

"Hm, taste of your own medicine then, _Doctor_?" I teased and he wrinkled his nose as the door to the saucer opened and a hooded figure stepped out.

"Well, you took your time." They said, voice familiar to my ears and making me perk up in curiosity.

The man bowed. "Sorry, ma'am. This is him. This is the surgeon and his… wife."

"Hello." The Doctor said, suspiciously, whereas I waved a hand with a big grin.

"Sup!"

"You don't look much like your pictures." They said, turning slightly towards me. "Nor did anyone mention a wife."

"Well, that's an ongoing problem for me." The Doctor shrugged, before tossing a thumb my way. "Her too, of course. Sometimes she's here, sometimes she's not. Gets a little confusing, honestly. No surprise people keep forgetting her."

"Oi!" I complained indignantly. "I'll have you know, I can draw attention to myself any time I want, mister."

He rolled his eyes with a groan. "Oh, don't remind me."

"Doesn't look very impressive, does he?" The figure drawled, but they flashed a grin my way. "Though she's a firecracker."

I smirked triumphantly at the Doctor who frowned as the person complained to the man beside her.

"Nardole, what _have_ you brought to my doorstep?"

_That_ insult caught the Doctor's attention and his scowl deepened.

"I've had a haircut. This is my best suit."

"It's not even a suit."

Something in the way they said that made the Doctor cock his head to the side.

"Do I know you?"

"You most certainly do not." They said sharply, pulling back the hood to reveal River making the Doctor and I grin brightly at our old friend. "And now that you've met me, you'll do your very best to forget me."

"River!" The Doctor and I practically cheered, making her furrow her brows in confusion. As Nardole complained.

"Oi! Doctor Song to you. Sometimes Professor, but mainly Doctor."

"Don't use my name. _Ever_." River ordered. "How do you know me?"

The Doctor and I exchanged glances before he responded.

"Well, it's a tiny bit complicated. People usually need a flowchart."

That made me grin, liking the explanation, though River quickly got back to the matter at hand.

"It doesn't matter. If either of you use my name again, I will remove your organs in alphabetical order. Any questions?"

"Which alphabet?" The Doctor asked, whereas I raised my hand.

"With what?"

I couldn't tell if she was shocked by our questions or offended, but the Doctor kept the ball rolling.

"Sorry, you really didn't want these questions, did you?"

I snapped my fingers in understanding. "Ah! Hypothetical question!"

The Doctor nodded, grinning my way, before River turned and headed towards the door of the saucer.

"This way. We don't have a lot of time."

We tailed after her, more curious than ever now.

"What seems to be the problem?" The Doctor asked.

"My husband."

"Your husband?" The Doctor looked at me, but I shrugged and he turned back to her. "I thought you were more of a gal person myself."

She turned to us with a confused look, before shaking her head. "Didn't you read my message? My husband, yes. My husband is dying."

The Doctor stopped and Nardole turn to him and me with an awkward expression.

"Something wrong?"

"I think we're going to need a bigger flowchart."

"No kidding." I grumbled. "I have a hard enough time figuring my own flowchart out, thanks."

"Husband, I return to you." River called out when we entered a room, though I stiffened at the sight of a number of monks drawing swords from their scabbards.

"Where is my queen?" Someone called out, and I only relaxed slightly when the swords were sheathed once more.

"Never far from you, my love." River responded and I pointed a finger down my throat in a gagging motion; earning a small smile from the Doctor up until we realize she was speaking to the large robotic man on the table.

"No, wait. _That's _your husband?"

River's smile dropped. "Listen. You are being watched by four billion people. You are surrounded by warrior monks with sentient laser swords, genetically engineered anger problems and not enough to do. Best just stay still and keep your hands by your side."

"No, wait. _T-That's_ your husband?" The Doctor pressed.

"My husband. Your patient. King Hydroflax." She introduced.

"Yes, that's who you're married to? Not… anybody else?"

I rolled my eyes, not entirely understanding what it was he wasn't getting other than the oddity of the whole situation.

"My love, attend me, woman!" The man on the table called out and I felt myself bristle.

_Oh, I would murder you if you said that to me._ I mentally snipped, not willing to risk a possible sword through the gullet should I have said it out loud.

"I fly to you!" River called out, before turning back to us and raising a brow. "Is there a problem?"

"Well, honestly, I think you could do much better than that." I blurted out, internally wincing at the blunt statement, but River smirked.

"Hm, perhaps next time, sweetie."

I smirked, nudging the Doctor repeatedly. "You hear that? She called me sweetie."

"And I'm beginning to remember why it was I'd disliked her so much when you were around."

I chuckled, but the Doctor gave River a look.

"So you don't recognize us then?"

"Why would I recognize you?"

"Oh, no reason."

River eyed us both for a moment longer, before returning to her supposed husband's side while the Doctor crossed his arms along with me.

"I don't like him. You like him?" He asked Nardole, who tapped him.

"Don't cross your arms."

We both dropped our arms and the Doctor continued on his rant. "He's a lying down person. I don't like lying down people. It's so untidy."

Our arms were crossed again, but Nardole insisted once more.

"Keep your arms by your side, like she said."

"My one true love." River called out, catching our attention briefly. "The only husband I will ever have."

Arms crossed once more, the Doctor rolled his eyes and I scowled.

"Demanding arse, that's what he is. She deserves a medal for putting up with him."

Nardole nudged us both and I groaned, dropping my arms a third time.

"My time with you has been too short." River ran on, making me grumble under my breath about the annoying dramatics.

"You have given me days of adventure and many nights of passion." Hydroflax responded and I stuck out my tongue in disgust.

"I don't even want to know how that works."

"Why do you both keep crossing your arms?" Nardole demanded to know, revealing that the Doctor and I had indeed folded our arms over our chests again.

"Because they cross. We've got cross arms." The Doctor blurted out as the dying man groaned.

"The end is near. I feel it."

"Forgive me, my lord." River apologized suddenly. "I have acted against your instructions."

"My love?"

"If you die this day, this galaxy will drown in tears. Oh, look at them, your people. They watch and hope and pray. With so much at stake, I followed my heart. I disobeyed your orders and sent for the finest surgeon in the galaxy!"

Cheers rang up from the screens at River's speech and the Doctor and I looked around in confusion for whom she was speaking of, only for Nardole to chuckle and playfully punch the Doctor's arm.

"This might be an alarming question under this circumstance, but you really do think I'm a surgeon, don't you?" The Doctor muttered to Nardole, who went pale.

"Oh."

"Okay, calm down. Keep it together. Don't make puddles." The Doctor whispered and Nardole whimpered.

"He means don't cry, snivel, sob, or potentially ruin your trousers." I clarified. "But most of all, don't let anyone onto us. We'll figure something out… maybe."

"_Maybe_?" He squeaked and I hummed.

"Hm, perhaps that was the wrong word…"

"Surgeon, attend your patient." River said with a large grin; the Doctor whispering questions to the quaking Nardole between us.

"Any tiny hint of what species he might be?"

Nardole shook his head.

"Okay, never mind. You just stay there." He leaned towards a monk nearby. "You're probably going to need a mop."

The Doctor took a step forward and River cut him off.

"Bow."

"Sorry, what?"

"You are in the presence of his Infinite Majesty Kind Hydroflax. You will bow."

I snorted, leaning towards the still panicked Nardole. "That I'd like to see."

"Oh, no. I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I can't do that." The Doctor responded as I dug through my jacket pockets in search of a possible bowl of popcorn for this potentially disastrous situation.

"You what?" River asked, dumbfounded.

"It's my back."

_More like your pride._ I hummed to him, earning a glare in response as I grinned and grinned in satisfaction at the licorice rope I'd discovered. It wasn't popcorn, but it was still delicious and made watching this whole thing that much more enjoyable.

"Your back?"

"Yeah, my back's playing up. It simply refuses to carry the weight of an entirely pointless stratum of society who contribute nothing of worth to the world and crush the hopes and dreams of working people." The Doctor rattled off, using syntax complicated enough that Hydroflax completely missed the insult; thought River obviously didn't.

"Can you save me, surgeon?" Hydroflax asked.

"Well, that depends upon what's wrong with you." The Doctor responded and River explained it.

"There's something in his brain."

"You could have fooled me." The Doctor quipped, myself mentally bursting into laughter as Hydroflax lunged. "Oh. Oh, sorry. Sorry. Just gallows humor. Probably the wrong word."

"Yeah, I would say it is." Nardole squeaked out as I held myself up with his shoulder; struggling not to let the bubble of rib-breaking laughter burst out of me.

"My love, you must rest. The surgeon and I will discuss the procedure. Prepare, master of my life, to live anew." River said while massaging, and then kissing, the man's forehead and then speaking to the screens around her. "Patience be with you all. Our King will rise again!"

The crowds repeated that last sentence as River glared at the Doctor and gestured for us to follow her out of the room and into another.

"Alright, enough of this. Joke's over." The Doctor said to River once we were in the clear and I could finally double over laughing.

"Ahaha! Oh my God, that was brilliant!"

"No, hold on. What joke?" River asked, turning to the Doctor as I continued to struggle holding myself up in my giddiness.

"Look at me." The Doctor said seriously, briefly turning my way. "Could you stop laughing for one minute?"

"S-Sorry." I chuckled, covering my mouth as River eyed him cautiously and he straightened.

"I'm the Doctor."

"You'd better be." River responded, moving to some controls. "You've got an operation to perform."

I burst out laughing again, earning an eye-roll from the Doctor and a confused look from River before she settled on ignoring me and pulling up a hologram of Hydroflax's head.

"Here's the entry wound, just below the hairline. And there's the projectile. It should have killed him straight off, but he's very strong."

I managed to control my laughter enough to stand properly and move to the Doctor's side, looking at what appeared to be a diamond in the king's head.

"It's not a bullet." The Doctor commented.

"Captain obvious." I muttered.

"It's a diamond." River clarified.

"How did it get in there?"

"Very carefully." I scoffed and River smirked.

"At speed."

The Doctor put on his sonic sunglasses, making me roll my eyes. I honestly preferred the screwdriver, but it was his toy, so I stayed out of his design decisions.

"Do you recognize it?" River asked him and he gasped.

"No."

"Yes."

"Nope." I chirped, not wanting to be left out, but I was ignore nonetheless.

"The Halassi Androvar."

"The very same." River grinned. "Hydroflax was leading a raid on the Halassi vaults. In the ensuing fire-fight, the whole thing blew up in his face, with the result that he now has the most valuable diamond in the universe lodged three inches inside his enormous head."

"Ooh, not married then?" I hummed as the Doctor played with the hologram.

River smirked at me. "No, dear. Though what gave that away?"

"You called his head enormous." I mused idly; more focused on the hologram. "Not a jab at his ego, or well, not entirely. More insult than joke. You don't like him much and he's _definitely_ the wrong type for you."

"And you know someone better?" She questioned, making me turn with a raised brow only for the Doctor to step between us.

"No, nope. No flirting." He complained, making me grin and grab onto his arm.

"Oh, come now. We're just having some innocent fun. Aren't we River?"

She smiled, turning her gaze back to the hologram. "So, can you remove it?"

"It's very small. It might be difficult to manoeuver it." The Doctor responded, but she shook her head.

"Not the diamond. His head."

"His head?" The Doctor removed his sunglasses and looked at her in shock, though she simply continued to look at the hologram.

"Yes. I think it would be easier just to remove the whole thing, don't you?"

"Wouldn't that kill him?"

I frowned though, thinking it over. "But isn't he just a head in a robot suit anyway?"

"It's more complicated than that." River responded, looking back to the Doctor. "But you're the medical expert. It might kill him."

"Your husband?" The Doctor questioned her.

"As I told your wife, sort of."

"Sort of?"

"I basically married the diamond." She said, moving around the hologram controls to pick up a bag off the ground and go through it. "The Halassi want their diamond back, so they came to me."

"Why?" The Doctor asked and I scoffed.

"Archaeologist." I said, the same time River said, "I'm an archaeologist."

She looked at me in surprise, but I just smiled; up until I spotted the fez. I made grabby hands for it and she tossed it my way, making me grin.

"Slash murderer, slash thief." The Doctor added to her profession as I slipped the hat on and held out my arms in a 'what do you think' motion.

He rolled his eyes, whereas River chuckled and returned to her bag; tossing out a plate of some kind.

"An archaeologist _is_ just a thief. With patience. Never had much of that."

I nodded adjusting my hat and looking at my reflection in one of the reflective metal panels by the controls. "Archaeologists were some of the first grave robbers. They just made a profession out of it."

"Whose side are you on?" The Doctor complained and I grinned at him, folding my arms over my chest and leaning back against the panels.

"No one's. I'm the neutral Switzerland."

He gave me a blank look, obviously not pleased with that answer, but River took that time to hold up her bag.

"It'll fit in here, don't you think? I've checked for leaks."

"Is this what you're like when I'm not…" The Doctor trailed off, giving me a look too, though I frowned at what it could mean.

_Around. He was going to say 'around', wasn't he? But then why look at me?... Does he think… Is he talking to me too?_ I continued to ponder the meaning of his look as River questioned him openly.

"Not what?"

"You're talking about murdering someone." The Doctor pressed, frowning.

"No, I'm not. I'm _actually_ murdering someone. Cheer up, get a saw, I'll kill the lights, you kill the patient." She frowned back at him when he sighed. "I _employed_ you. You agreed to this. Do you not know who that man is? King Hydroflax, the butcher of the Bone Meadows, who ends his battles by _eating_ his enemies, dead or alive. The murder of a creature like that wouldn't weigh heavily on my conscience, even if I had one." She stopped and glanced at me, though I was beginning to understand now where the Doctor was coming from; and what I'd been nearly agreeing to. "What's that face? Are you thinking? Stop it. You're a man, it looks weird."

She looked over at me, but said nothing, simply looking a little… _what?_ _Disappointed? Hurt? Ashamed?_

"I need more information." The Doctor said, having begun pacing slightly and keeping his eyes away from mine.

"For what?" River questioned.

"For my diagnosis."

"He's dying. We're about to steal his head and scoop out his brains. Aren't we _over_-thinking?" She argued and he scowled at her.

"I'll be the judge of that. I'm the Doctor."

"You know who you remind me of?" River said suddenly and the Doctor looked almost hopeful.

"Yes. Probably a chap with a big—"

"My second wife." She cut him off, making me smile slightly, though my mood wasn't its best anymore.

That being said, things only got worse when the hologram vanished and the _actual_ Hydroflax stood there in shock with his sword-wielding monks. I raised a brow at the dramatics of the ninja-like cries the monks gave out, mentally wondering if this entire adventure was going to be this cheesy. River though, focused on the giant robot man standing before us.

"Darling. You're up and about."

"False wife!" The man snapped, having overheard our conversation apparently.

"How much better you're looking." River continued as though he hadn't spoken.

"You plan to take my head."

"Never crossed my mind. Is this your bag?" She said, pushing the bag to the Doctor, but never taking her eyes off Hydroflax.

"Perhaps you should have just asked." Hydroflax offered, reaching up and easily removing his head and making me let out a low whistle.

"Well, then. If I knew it was going to be that easy, then maybe we should have." I mused as River stared in surprise at the head.

"Well, I wondered why we didn't share a bathroom." River said in offense.

"You married a cyborg and you didn't even know it?" The Doctor questioned before the head began to shout at us.

"I'll have you flogged and flayed and burnt. I will crush every last remnant of you from this universe."

"How dare you! I'm your wife!" River gaped.

"You planned to murder me!"

"Don't change the subject."

"Why are you doing this? Who _are_ you?"

"I'm Professor River Song. You have an ancient artifact of great value to good people, and whatever it takes, I'm going to bring it home to them. You have stolen so much from so many, King Hydroflax, and I'm the woman who's going to steal it all back."

"What are you?!"

"I'm an archaeologist. Look. I've got a trowel."

And sure enough, River pulled out a small trowel from her belt, using it to easily incapacitate the monks and attack Hydroflax's body as I leaned towards the Doctor a bit; rather amused.

"Well, then. She's changed."

"Apparently." He muttered, watching the exchange as well, while River cackled.

"She acts more like you than I do." I continued. "I mean, she has the speech, sonic doohickey, and everything."

"Yes, well, she's also facing a rather large cyborg body and may need some help."

I smirked, adjusting the fez on my head. "On it."

I ducked around the center table and easily snatched up Hydroflax's head, tossing it to the Doctor, who caught it and spoke up to catch the cyborg body's attention.

"Do not harm her! If you know what's good for you, do not lay a finger on that woman."

"Ignore him. Attack!" Hydroflax shouted and the body continued up until I took the head from the Doctor and held it over an open chute.

"Garbage disposal, yeah? Shame, I think I'm getting too tired to hold up your big head." I drawled.

"Put me down!" Hydroflax ordered and I hummed.

"Oh, I don't know. See, unless you give the order for your robotic legs to stop attacking River, I think you might just end up saying 'whee' on the slide of your life."

Hydroflax gave me a look, before glancing at the Doctor, who shrugged while fighting a smile.

"Oh, don't look at me. She might just do it. You never know what she's thinking with that ridiculous hat on."

"Hey!" I argued with a pout holding Hydroflax's head with only one hand as I adjusted the fez. "I'll have you know, you looked just as ridiculous when you were wearing it! _Especially_ as Ten!"

I shifted my grip a bit more and Hydroflax finally called out.

"Do not attack the female! And _please_ hold me with two hands!"

I grinned down at the head, using both hands to pull him up slightly out of the chute. "That's better." I turned to the Doctor then. "He even used 'please'. I wish _you'd_ use 'please' every once in a while."

"Yes, well, I'll think about it." He drawled, taking the head from me before I could accidentally drop it in the garbage disposal and River joined the two of us with her bag, and her trowel aimed at Hydroflax's head.

"Nobody move or the head gets it." She threatened and the Doctor gave her tool a glance.

"Do you really have a shooty trowel?"

"It's sonic." River argued.

"Sonic trowel. You realize how ridiculous that sounds?"

_Just as ridiculous as sonic screwdriver. Or—oh, I don't know—sonic _sunglasses_?_ I mentally accused him, earning a frown as Hydroflax spoke up once more.

"Their threats are empty. Destroy them!"

Or so he said, but the body didn't move.

"Negative. Seventy-eight percent chance of significant tissue damage." It responded, making the head angry.

"Do as you're told!"

"Decision overruled. Recommendation, chill."

I snorted. "Did it really just tell you to chill?"

"Look at that. Your body's got a mind of its own." The Doctor teased as well.

"More like an onboard computer for the cybernetic component."

"Plus in-built flash drive and vernacular friendly interface."

"Cyber co-pilot."

"Mobile life support."

"And you two are going to stop now, or I'm going to sit down on this spot and make you both have to carry me out." I threatened the two of them, already making to plop down onto the floor, if River hadn't stopped me.

"Yes, alright. Childish antics aside, you're still rather sexy." She winked at me and I couldn't help but wink back.

"You know it."

The Doctor groaned. "Oh, dear God. Is this what I'm going to have to deal with whenever you two are around? I didn't sign up for this."

"Actually, you did." I chirped, a big grin on my face. "_Married_."

"Absolutely sexy." River smirked and I returned it, before she turned back to our situation. "Speaking of which. Ramone, prep for emergency extraction. Three to go."

I missed what Ramone responded with, and instead grinned mischeviously at what River said next.

"Put it in the bag."

"Sorry?" The Doctor questioned and I took the bag and held it open.

"She's talking about the head."

"Do not put me in the bag." Hydroflax demanded, but we ignored him.

"Quickly, do it." River insisted, speaking to Ramone again. "Ramone, twenty seconds to jump."

"I will not be placed into a bag!"

"Stop shouting a minute if you want to go face-up." The Doctor snipped at the head, putting it in the bag as it continued to shout at us.

"You will be crushed! You will be destroyed! You will beg my infinite mercy!"

"Oh, zip it!" River snapped and I groaned, zipping up the bag.

"Gladly."

"Try to follow me, and I'll put him in a blender." River threatened the body, before giving the order and the three of us were teleported away.

Only to end up a few feet off the ground and come tumbling to the ground in the snow. Or, well, _they_ were in the snow. I happened to land on a very comfy Doctor and gave him a flirty grin as I pushed the fez back up on my head.

"Well, hello there."

"Yes, hello. Your elbow happens to be pressed rather painfully into my stomach." He grunted out and I pouted, making to get up.

"You're no fun."

He rolled his eyes and tugged me back down, kissing me hard and deep before pulling away with a raised brow and a smirk.

"Better?"

"Dunno. Did we just take the head of a king with River Song, teleport out of a saucer full of warrior ninja monks, and land in a pile of snow while possibly being followed by a killer cyborg headless body?"

"Yes." He replied bluntly and I chuckled, bumping noses with him as I leaned into for another peck.

"Then, yes. I think I'm in love all over again."

The Doctor began laughing then and I too, began to chuckle; his laugh being contagious despite the fact I hadn't the slightest idea why he was laughing. River though, was about as amused by our laughter as Hydroflax's head in the bag; who continued to threaten us.

"Is something funny?" River asked.

"Who dares laugh at Hydroflax? You shall be crushed! You shall scream in fear! Let me out of this bag!" Hydroflax interrupted.

"This is a serious mission in a critical phase. There is nothing to laugh about here."

"We're being threatened by a bag! By a-a head in a bag!" He cackled, sitting up as I clung to him and laughed as well; harder now that I understood what was so funny.

"I-It even moves when he talks!" I chuckled, pointing at the rustling bag.

"I shall make dust of you! My enemies are meat for the devouring!" Hydroflax called out from the bag, only making me laugh harder and even getting River to chuckle a bit.

"I can't approve of any of this, you know, but I haven't laughed in a long time."

"Well, good for you." River smiled, only to join us once more in laughter as Hydroflax went on.

"Prepare to die in agony and submit to my supremacy! Unzip this bag!"

"You know, don't you?" The Doctor said suddenly as I rolled off him and flopped back in the snow; eyes closed and a grin on my face.

"Know what?" River asked.

"Stop pretending. You know who we are."

River frowned and I pushed myself up on my elbows, looking between the two in concern. I'd seen this before, after all. When _the Doctor_ first met River.

"Who are you?" She laughed out and the Doctor pressed on.

"You know who we are. It's, it's, it's us."

"Great." She said, but still not knowingly. "Who _are_ you?"

The both chuckled for a second longer before a voice called out and a man headed our way.

"Professor Song! Sorry, Professor. Sorry about the height thing."

"Prove it." She smirked, getting up and kissing him long and hard; making the Doctor and I both wrinkle our noses.

"Ugh! Doesn't it get dull after a while? As an activity, it's not hugely varied, is it?"

"Is that what people think when they look at us?" I questioned the Doctor who winced at the thought as River and the man finally broke apart.

"I'm so sorry. This is my husband, Ramone."

"Another one?" The Doctor frowned. "Are you going to kill him too?"

"We're not actually married." Ramone said, but River quickly countered that.

"Ah, we are, in fact. I wiped it from your memory."

"Why?"

"Well, you were being annoying."

I snorted. "If _I_ did that he wouldn't have a memory at all." I said with a teasing smile, a thumb aimed at the frowning Doctor.

River smiled at the remark, before turning to Ramone. "The Damsel and Ginger Snap. Do we have a fix?"

"Found the capsule just over in the village, but I can't locate either of them. I've looked everywhere." Ramone replied; the Doctor and I just sort of listening in in slight confusion.

"Who's Damsel and Ginger Snap?" The Doctor asked, though I knew the answer to the second and was already turning a nice shade of pink at knowing that I'd told River about that name at some point.

_Dear God, that's going to bring up a lot of awkward questions._ I mentally winced, already looking for a way out of this mess and not finding much. _Oh, I'm going to be teased by that name for the rest of my life once the Doctor finds out. And he _will_ find out._

"Have you been thorough?" River pressed on Ramone, ignoring the Doctor's question. "It's not easy, you know. He does have twelve faces and she has at least two."

Ramone flipped out a wallet full of pictures. Pictures of the Doctor and twelve of his thirteen faces.

"None of these men are here. Are you sure it's one of these?"

"Yes! He only has these twelve faces. He'll be around here somewhere. This is the closest intersection with the Doctor's timeline." River said as the Doctor took the wallet and looked for more pictures to no avail. "That's why I crashed Hydroflax's ship here."

"Damsel and Ginger Snap." The Doctor frowned, pressing the wallet into my hands; though I nearly dropped it since I was looking for the quickest way out of there.

"Codename, Damsel in Distress." Ramone answered him. "Apparently he needs a lot of rescuing."

"And Ginger Snap is his wife." River smirked. "She _was_ always rather frisky."

The Doctor grabbed the back of my shirt collar before I could dash off and went on with his questioning.

"What if he has a face that you don't know yet?"

"He has limits and I doubt his wife would let him get away with changing again." River responded, making me mentally wince. "Well then, let's go find them."

We trailed after River, myself frowning at the foul moods I kept ending up in and doing my best to push aside River's hurtful comment.

"_It wasn't your fault."_ The Doctor told me mentally, tucking me into his side and kissing my temple. _"Though I am curious about that codename of yours."_

_I know it wasn't my fault, but that doesn't mean I'm not upset about it._ I replied with a quiet sigh as we marched through the snow. _And my sister gave me that name. Said something about everyone needing a stripper name and said that would be mine._ The Doctor stumbled, nearly tripping into the snow and giving me a stunned look at that explanation. _Apparently I must have told River the story at some point… probably one of the times she got me drunk into oblivion when she was Mels._ I mused, remembering those times fondly before I turned to him quickly. _How am I when I get drunk in this body, by the way?_ He groaned out loud, making River raise an eyebrow at us as he responded.

"A nightmare."

I chuckled a bit and Ramone spoke as we rounded a corner.

"What if we can't find them? We need to get you off-world now."

"Off-world." The Doctor laughed, myself mouthing the hyphened word in distaste. "People never say that. Are you new?"

River ignored him. "We can't hang around waiting. He could be ages and she might not even be with him. She's the only thing that makes him tolerable sometimes."

I nudged the Doctor and grinned at him, earning a scowl as he turned it towards River's back.

"Yes. He's probably off rebuilding a civilization or defeating giant robot fish—"

"We'll just have to steal it." River interrupted as she eyed the Tardis we were now standing before.

"—from the ninth division. I'm sorry, what?" The Doctor exclaimed, finally cluing in to what she'd said.

"The hopper is really close." Ramone offered instead. "We would be out of here in less than ten minutes."

"I need time travel. I need this Tardis." River insisted and the Doctor stepped up and released my waist to interrupt them.

"I'm sorry. The word 'steal'. Somebody said 'steal'."

"Yes. We're going to steal this box." River answered him in a drawl. "Hush, you wouldn't understand."

"You can't." The Doctor insisted.

"Why can't I?"

"Oh, here we go." I groaned softly. "You'd think he'd just let the women win, but _no_. Always has to argue."

"You can't just steal a Tar—a box."

"Why not?"

"Look. It says police." He pointed out and I smacked myself in the face, dragging it slowly down to my chin as River pulled out a key.

"I have a key."

"Okay. The, uh, Damsel person. He sounds… He sounds pretty dangerous… ish." The Doctor said, keeping up appearances as a clueless man for who knows _what_ reason.

"It's a _time machine_. I can take it, do whatever I want for as long as I like and pop it back a second later. He'll never know it was gone."

"Yes, he will." The Doctor grumbled.

"How?"

"…He'll just know."

River made a face. "Well, he's never noticed before."

"Maybe he'll notice now." The Doctor snapped his fingers. "Maybe Ginger Snap will notice."

_God, he'll be using thing name against me for centuries._ I mentally groaned, cursing whatever version of myself that told River about that name.

Said woman laughed. "She's helped me take it a few times."

_And I'm back in the doghouse._ I sighed as River said her goodbyes to Ramone and the Doctor turned a none-too-happy look my way. _If it helps, she probably threatened me?_ I attempted lamely to please him and he rolled his eyes as River gestured to us.

"You two, with me. Bring the head." She said, heading in—as Ramone said something to the Doctor that I missed—only to poke her head out as I picked up the noisy bag. "Oh, before you come in, you'd better prepare yourself for a shock. It's not as… snug as it looks."

I turned to the Doctor to see what he wanted to do about this and he breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Finally."

"Finally?" Ramone questioned.

"It's my go." The Doctor grinned, giving me a mischievous look as well.

"_Follow my lead."_

I raised a brow at that, but allowed him to enter the Tardis first and nearly began laughing hysterically at the ridiculous act he put on.

"Oh. Oh my God! Oh, it's bigger!" He gasped out dramatically.

"Well, yes."

"On the inside!"

"We need to concentrate." River pressed, messing with the controls as the Doctor continued on with his charade and I just pretended to look stunned while trying desperately not to burst out laughing.

"Than it is—"

"I know where you're going with this, but I need you to calm down."

"—on the outside!"

"You've certainly grasped the essentials." River sighed and I turned away from her and let out the briefest choke of laughter that I covered with a hacking cough. "You alright?"

"S-Sorry. Just a bit of a shock." I grimaced at her, turning away and trying to control myself, though it was hard with the Doctor mentally cackling away in my own head.

"My entire understanding of physical space has been _transformed_! Three-dimensional Euclidean geometry has been torn up, thrown in the air and snogged to death! My grasp of the universal constants of physical reality has been changed… forever." He rattled on as River headed down the stairs and turned to me. "Sorry. I've always wanted to see that done properly."

"Pft." I sputtered out, still attempting to keep from laughing as River spoke up from below deck.

"Would either of you like a drink? Aldebaran brandy. Help yourself, but don't tell Dad." She smiled as I greedily accepted the drink she passed my way and the Doctor wrinkled his nose and took it from me before I could take a sip; a beeping going off. "What's that noise?"

The Doctor rushed to the bag with Hydroflax in it that I'd set down, and he placed my drink down, giving me a chance to sneak over to take it, only for him to snatch it up again just as my fingers brushed the glass.

"It seems to have powered down, conserving batteries. It's an in-built life-support system. I'm not sure what powers it, but—"

"I really don't care." River cut him off. "What's that noise?"

I glanced at a monitor nearby as I attempted to reach for the drink the Doctor was holding just out of my reach. "Uh, looks like it's the robot suit trying to find his missing head."

"Time we were off then." River said, putting away her drink and beginning to start up the Tardis.

I cringed, grabbing my shoulder in a wince and abandoning my drink retrevel as the Tardis grinded and the Doctor steadied me; speaking to her.

"You're doing it wrong."

"I am certainly not." River argued, though I grimaced again at the pain in my shoulder.

"Oh, I'd like to think you are." I hissed under my breath as the Doctor moved us over closer and began correcting her.

"Not those levers."

"Hush!" She shushed him, but he gestured to a button now.

"You probably want to press that button."

"Why? That evacuates the waste tank on deck seven."

"Does it?"

_Yes._ I frowned at him as River gave him a frown.

"What is wrong with you?"

"Many things." I snipped, cutting the Doctor off and pushing him aside before heading for the controls. "System report."

A number of things ran across the monitor and I frowned, pushing it aside and flipping some levers that I couldn't remember for the life of me what they did, but that I somehow instinctively knew to mess with. _Must be the Tardis helping me out._ I headed to the other side of the console and checked a few more things before speaking up, having found the problem.

"Something's interfering with the engines."

"Not possible." River countered, coming over as I continued to mash a few buttons and grimace at the pain in my shoulder.

"Not unless it's the engines themselves, which I'm starting to think it is." I replied as the Doctor nodded.

"Wild theory, but what if this machine had certain safeguards. For instance, maybe it _can't_ take off when a life form registers as being both inside and outside at the same time?"

"Head and body." River responded with a gaping mouth.

"Which would mean, and again, I'm just, I'm just wildly theorizing here, that's the door would not engage properly."

"Of course. It can't seal the real-time envelope."

"Hence it can't take off. Not when someone is in and out at the same time. I mean, that just wouldn't be good manners, would it?" He concluded and she looked at him and then turned her eyes to me.

"You're both very quick."

"Yes, for a Doctor." The Doctor replied, emphasizing his moniker, though I just rolled my eyes and River smacked him playfully on the chest before returning to the console as I slunk to the jump-seat and massaged my shoulder.

"Yes!"

"_Seriously?"_ The Doctor questioned mentally and I shrugged, wincing and he sighed softly before heading over and attempting to sooth my aching shoulder with a massage.

It helped slightly, but I'd really rather the ship just get shut off or something. Didn't seem like that was going to happen soon though. Not with the more important question of what were we going to do about the incoming robot body homing in on the sleeping head's signal. The Doctor picked up Hydroflax's head and gestured to it as he spoke with River.

"We have to assume the body is homing in on this."

"So how do we stop it?"

"Well, we could chop its head off. Oh, look." The Doctor drawled and River gave him a look.

"Does sarcasm help?"

"Wouldn't it be a great universe if it did?"

"Yeah, as much as I'm enjoying this whole bantering thing—" I was cut off by the Doctor.

"We're not bantering."

I ignored him and continued. "—could we please just figure out what we're going to do?"

"We can just kill the head, right?"

"You can't shoot the head in the face!" The Doctor quickly argued with River.

"Why not?"

Hydroflax suddenly opened his eyes and cried out; causing the surprised Doctor to drop him and me to snort with a little chuckle as he joked.

"Go on then. Tell him to put his hands up."

"Do not fire if you value your lives." Hydroflax's muffled voice called out.

"Why? What are you going to do?" The Doctor asked and I hummed in agreement.

I mean, what good was a severed head?

"Kill me, and my body will burn."

"Burn what?"

"This world!"

"You know, I think I could take him more seriously if he didn't sound so hilarious while pressed to the ground." I smirked, earning a small smile from the others before the Doctor picked the frowning head up and placed him on the console.

"Suppose we believe you. How?" River asked the head, taking another look at our options.

"My body contains a split quantum actualizer."

"A perpetually stabilized black hole." The Doctor explained when I raised a brow in confusion. "That's your power source."

"And people just put those in cyborg bodies?" I questioned dubiously. "Why not just use batteries? Lot safer, I think."

I was ignored, making me cross my arms in a pout as River questioned the Doctor.

"What sort of medical school did you go to?"

"A really good one for doctors."

"He means none." I quipped, earning a frown from the man as I stuck my tongue out at him.

"More than a power source. If necessary, a bomb." Hydroflax went on, just as annoyed as I was about the constant interrupting.

My shoulder was really starting to hurt.

"So you could wipe out this solar system." The Doctor concluded.

"It wouldn't be the first."

"It would be your last." River added on, but Hydroflax was hardly bothered.

"A fitting end for the glory of Hydroflax."

The Doctor thought, was still curious. "So, why haven't you threatened this before?"

"A king does not endanger his people for no reason."

"You're endangering them now."

"I'm cross."

"What is it with you people?" I questioned, mocking River and Hydroflax. "Oh, I'm cross, I'm blowing up the solar system! Oh, you made me angry, I'm erasing your memory!" I sighed. "You know, most people just talk about their issues or find a good relaxing hobby."

Before River could come up with something clever to say, there was a knock at the door and Ramone's voice came through it.

"Doctor Song, are you there? I have a message for you."

"Ramone! Get in here!"

I was hesitant about that though, something feeling off with whatever emotions I was picking up through the Tardis door. Which is a hard thing to do, mind you. The Tardis did good, keeping out all the extra emotions and such from outside sources getting in. But with her rather stuck and causing me pain, it seemed some of her defenses were down. Especially since it was the cyborg body who kicked the door open with Ramone's head.

"You're gonna die!"

The robot stomped forward and grabbed River, lifting her up in the air as Ramone cried out apologies and I hurried towards them.

"River!"

"Kill her!" Hydroflax demanded and I glared at the head before turning my focus back to River and attempting to work out a way to help her as the Doctor shouted behind me.

"Put her down!"

"Kill her now!"

"Death initiating."

A thought came to mind, more the Tardis trying to help than my own conclusion and I smacked myself in the face.

"The door!"

The Doctor caught on and nodded, rushing past River and the cyborg to close the door; immediately letting my tense shoulders relax as I dashed over and caught the falling River.

"Oh!"

I smirked down at her and winked. "Hello."

She smirked back and the Doctor shouted from where he was.

"That's _my_ wife!"

We were both a bit distracted though, when the robot regained its footing and we backed away from it.

"Where are we going?!" The Doctor called out. "You set the coordinates. Where for?!"

"Wherever it is, I hope they have defenses against cyborg bodies with black holes inside them!" I shouted back, keeping River behind me as she yelled as well.

"Just get the damn head!"

River grabbed the bag and the Doctor quickly scooped Hydroflax, throwing him into the bag as River hurried to the door.

"With me!"

The Doctor grabbed my arm and tugged me out after her. "Where are we?"

"This way, come on." She said, the doors closing behind us as she tugged us both away from the Tardis.

"What about the box?"

"Oh, she'll get upset with you for calling her that." I grumbled quietly enough or only the Doctor to hear.

He either didn't hear me, or ignored me again. _Which is happening a lot lately. I really need to fix that._

"Stop holding my hand." The Doctor then complained. "People don't do that to me. Only my wife can."

"Hush now." River shushed him.

"Don't hush me. I'm not a hushing person."

"Shush." I demanded as well and he pouted, but went silent, making me grin and kiss his cheek before we hurried out into a rather fancy room with various aliens and others in tuxes and dresses.

Even I was a bit confused at the odd change of scenery—River having gone back to close the doors to the baggage area we'd been in—and I silently wondered how a snazzy place like this could somehow have good enough security to hold back the cyborg that was undoubtedly preparing to leave the room we'd just left. The Doctor squeezed my hand as we stared at the large planetary map before us, indicating where we were and the supernova we were approaching, just before a blue bug-like alien approached us.

"Ah, Doctor Song. Your table is ready."

"Flemming." River smiled at the butler-esque man. "How are the twins?"

"Still digesting their mother, thank you for asking." He responded happily and I held back the grimace.

"I'm sure it was a lovely ceremony."

"Oh, there were tears. And just a hint of screaming."

They both chuckled at the apparent joke and I leaned over to the Doctor.

"Remind me that I ought to start looking into the anthropological aspects of studying other alien cultures. Preferably _before_ I meet someone whose children happen to _eat_ their parental figures."

He grunted, looking rather suspicious himself and I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze this time, letting some of my unease show. This Flemming person seemed a bit off to me. Just something about his said he would be the type into something potentially unlawful and with us being chased by a cyborg and attempting to somewhat prevent River from killing a head, I got the feeling that wherever we were wasn't going to be the meeting place of whoever she claimed to be getting the diamond back for.

"Uh, Flemming. I wonder, could you deadlock seal the baggage hold for me?" River asked the man.

"It's a little irregular. The other passengers might want access." He lightly countered.

"Do you remember that time I was transporting dragon eggs?" River countered and he quickly changed his tune.

"Consider it done." He replied, pulling out a pen and clicking the back of it, before turning to the rest of us. "Are these gentlemen here for dinner?"

"Yes, we are." The Doctor said, looping my arm through his. "And this is my _wife_."

Flemming immediately bowed. "My apologies, ma'am. However I'll have the chef prepare them immediately."

"No, you won't." The Doctor scowled, taking a step forward threateningly and tucking me slightly behind him.

I was tempted to pipe in with something silly to ease the sudden tension, but I rather enjoyed the Doctor's abrupt protectiveness over me and River stepped in instead.

"Uh, they will in fact be joining _me_ to eat."

"I was about to suggest that force-feeding might be required. This way. Oh, may I take your bag?" Flemming offered, but River quickly shook her head.

"Oh, no, no, no, no. That's fine, thanks."

Hydroflax apparently wasn't pleased and his muffle shouting came from the bag, but the Doctor stepped forward the get Flemming's attention.

"Sorry. It was my stomach. I have an irritable bowel."

_And his name is Hydroflax._ I mentally snorted. _Sounds like the name of a laxative already._ And between my quip and the angry shouts of Hydroflax, I was stunned the Doctor could keep a straight face as we were led to our table.

"My revenge will be merciless! I will rip you open and devour you!" The muffles exclaimed and the Doctor spoke slightly louder to cover them up.

"It's have a day."

"You cannot escape!"

Flemming decided that our strangeness wasn't that shocking and simply turned abck around.

"This way."

"You actions will not go unpunished!"

"Here." River tossed the bag to the Doctor who caught it, making Hydroflax cry out as she smiled and pulled out a bottle from her jacket. "I don't suppose you'd mind if I freshen up."

She sprayed herself and her entire outfit changed into that of a more formal dress, hair tied up nicely and a grin on her face.

"Not bad for two hundred, eh?"

"Two hundred?"

"I have an augmented lifespan." She replied, taking the Doctor's surprise for something else. "Long story."

"So, what's the occasion?" The Doctor asked her as I looked around in curiosity at the number of new aliens I'd yet to see in our travels.

"I've got the diamond. Now it's time to sell it." She responded, making me abruptly turn to her.

"What? But I thought you were giving it back to those people."

"The Halassi." The Doctor corrected me, but I waved him off, staring straight at River in disappointment and shock.

"Tell me, were you born boring or did you have to work at it?" She quipped, and the Doctor frowned.

"Where did you find a buyer?"

"Look around you. The starship Harmony and Redemption, minimum ticket price one billion credits, plus the provable murder of multiple innocent life forms. Suites are reserved for planet-burners." She rattled off, looking pleased with herself as she snatched a drink from a passing waiter. "Thank you. Even the staff are required to have a verifiable history of indiscriminate slaughter. This is where genocide come to kick back and relax. Do try the fish."

We were finally at our table, but the Doctor and I weren't too pleased at the change of circumstances, and River noticed.

"Why are you both frowning?"

"How did you know?" The Doctor questioned her, seeing as she hadn't looked up from the menu.

"It's audible."

"Deadlock seals can be broken." The Doctor replied, changing the subject.

"By geniuses. Hydroflax has a brain the size of a pea and it's currently under the table." River responded nonchalantly, kicking the bag. "He's gone back to sleep, I think."

"You married him though." The Doctor pressed as I silently watched the two argue.

"I told you, I married the diamond."

"How?"

"I posed as his nurse. Took me a week."

"To fall in love?"

She laughed, revealing that she wasn't reading the menu, but a familiar blue Tardis journal.

"It's the easiest lie you can tell a man. They'll automatically believe any story they're the hero of."

The Doctor and I both watched the book, but my hearts sank as I saw how old it was. _Oh dear… This is why I hate not knowing Twelve's adventures. If this is one of the last moments for River, I wouldn't be able to tell. The only clue is how old her book is, and if so then…_ I swallowed thickly, feeling my hands twitch towards my pocket in the sudden need for a cigarette, but I instead reached out and downed the glass of champagne sitting on the table.

"River, there's, uh… something we should probably tell you." The Doctor started, making me glance at him and wonder if we were going to finally give up the charade.

We'd had our fun, but things were getting serious. Unfortunately, a waitress dropped by before he could finish.

"Doctor Song, your guest has docked. He should be with you in a very few minutes."

"Thank you. Whenever he's ready."

"Of course."

The Doctor glanced at me and I nodded pointedly at River, but he went and changed the subject again.

"What's the book?"

I mentally groaned as River smiled. "Oh, it's my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on a spaceship."

"Is it sad?" The Doctor asked suddenly and I kicked him under the table, earning a frown from the man as her smile dropped into a sad one.

"Why would a diary be sad?"

"I don't know. It's just that… you look sad."

Her smiled faded and she looked down at the book in her hands. "It's nearly full."

"So?"

Her words though, made me turn my eyes down to my plate. _So it _is_ one of her last adventures…_

"The man who gave me this was the sort of man who'd know exactly how long a diary you were going to need." River responded sorrowfully.

"He sounds awful."

"I suppose he is." She agreed as I thanked a waitress for refilling my glass. "I've never really thought about it. His wife is spectacular though."

I sank down a bit in my chair when the Doctor frowned, sipping at my drink once more and wishing I could disappear.

"He's not somebody special then?"

"No. But terribly useful every now and then." She responded as she put the book away and smiled. "His wife, on the other hand was brilliant, but he'd hardly hand her over and she rather loved him so completely that just taking her from him would do nothing but make us both unhappy."

"She sounds nice." I muttered, hoping to keep the Doctor from getting steadily angrier.

"Oh, yes. You'd probably like her. She's really into the more masculine appearance such as yourself. Excellent taste on both your figures."

"Hm." I hummed, avoiding the Doctor's eyes as he continued to disapprove of our little flirtatious banter.

"So, who is this buyer?" The Doctor asked, changing the subject.

"No idea. He just responded to the advert." River shrugged before someone did approach our table; a pale bald man with a large scar across his face.

"Which of you is Song?" He asked, voice a hoarse breath that sent a chill down my spine.

"Who wants to know?" The Doctor challenged, his confidence making me straighten and grow more confident as well.

"I am Scratch."

I bit my tongue to make a quip about the scar on his face and River responded.

"Don't need your name. Are you empowered to purchase?"

"I represent the Shoal of the Winter Harmony."

"Don't care." River quickly snipped. "Don't want to know. I'll need immediate payment. Can you do that?"

"And could you either sit down or fetch us the wine list or something?" The Doctor drawled as I nodded, not liking the man hovering.

He sat down in the empty seat between River and I, and continued with preparing the agreement for the diamond.

"You have the diamond?"

"Of course I have the diamond. Show me the money." River spouted out and the man reached up and ran his fingers over the scar, before promptly pulling his head apart.

I could feel myself turning a little green and finished off my drink for the second time. _Well, there goes any thoughts about actually eating at this place._ The Doctor must have heard my thoughts as he spoke to the man across from us.

"Just a thought, you probably shouldn't do that in a restaurant."

Scratch ignored him and pulled out a globe from his head, placing it on the napkin River held out as he closed his head.

"Once instructed, this will transfer the necessary funds to whatever account you choose." Scratch explained.

"Thank you."

"The diamond." He demanded and River put the bag on the table.

"You're going to have to dig for it a bit, but somehow, I don't think that's going to be a problem for you."

Scratch stood and suddenly scowled. "Is this a deception?"

"No. The diamond is in there. This is a public place. There won't be any tricks."

"This is not a public place." He said and I looked around as I realized that everyone in the room was identical to Scratch.

"Block booking. That's clever." The Doctor responded, attempting to keep me calm as I reached for the dagger that still wasn't at my side.

I disliked being surrounded, it seems.

"You needn't have bothered. I've brought what you want. Please do assume that I have also taken precautions, and don't do anything that might make me cross and kill you." River responded calmly and Scratch paused briefly.

"Statement accepted. The diamond is here." He said and the people around us hissed, reminding me all too clearly of my previous fear of snakes.

_Thank God _that_ didn't carry over into this body._

"The payment then."

River handed him the small ball and he opened it and pressed some buttons inside.

"One hundred billion credits, as we agreed." He said, handing it back to River, who also did something to it. "This accesses all the banks in the galaxy."

"Thank you. Here you go then. You may need to use a spoon or knitting needle or something."

"Be it known, we do not do this for ourselves." Scratch told us, though something about this whole thing sat wrong with me.

"I really don't care." River drawled in annoyance and I tugged on the Doctor's sleeve.

"I think we should just go, Doctor."

He raised a brow, but looked at me in concern, knowing that my sudden reluctance to be in this place was rightly justified.

"We do it in honor of our distant and loving King, who once visited our world in blood and joy." Scratch continued with his speech.

"Well, isn't that lovely." River said, opening the bag.

"We honor thee, we prostate ourselves in your name, Hydroflax." He called out, the others chanting Hydroflax's name as I went a far too pale shade of white. "For love of thee, we do this thing today, Hydroflax."

I reached over and zipped the bag back up as River's eyes widened in shock and Scracth turned to us.

"Give it. Give us the treasure." He said, but we all hesitated. "What is wrong?"

"Uh, well, uh… awkward." The Doctor muttered.

"Why do you delay? We have paid. We will receive."

"Yes, you will. B-By jingo, you will. Yes, of course. But obviously, we have to, you know, uh…" The Doctor said, attempting to stall as he came up with a plan and picked up the bag.

I stood too, trying to help him out. "We just need to check and make sure it wasn't damaged on the way over here. You know how space travel can get. Bit bumpy and all that. It might be chipped or something and you would hate to have it chipped and the chip missing, yeah?"

"Right!" The Doctor agreed, but Scratch didn't look like he was having it.

"We will receive!"

"Yes, you will receive and here it is. Now, on its way, over this small distance." The doctor said, slowly bringing the bag over t him as we exchanged worried looks.

"_See if there's a quick way out of here."_

_Yeah, how? The Tardis is deadlock sealed in the baggage compartment with a killer cyborg, whose head you're handing to a group of homicidal followers of said man!_

"_Well, help me come up with something! You're clever!"_

I rolled my eyes, knowing he was complimenting me in the hopes my unabashed love towards him would somehow assist my thinking process.

"Here you go. And you can have the bag as well." The Doctor said, giving the man the bag as River joined us both.

"You know, it's been lovely, but uh… we don't want to intrude on this special moment, so why don't we just leave you with the new baby?"

"You will remain." Scratch growled.

"Is that strictly necessary?"

"I do not like… surprises."

"Who says we're surprising you?" I countered, still looking for a way out. "Last I checked, no one said anything about surprises. Or is it your birthday and we're missing out?"

The Doctor tugged me away from the scowling man. "Ah, yes, don't mind her. Though she's right. No surprises here."

The man began to unzip the bag and the Doctor quickly released me, having some up with some sort of plan as he took the bag back from Scratch.

"You know what? I just can't stand idly by and let this continue." He said, standing up on a chair as I anxiously shuffled and got a good look at the room.

_We'd need Flemming to open the deadlock on the baggage area, or at least that stupid pen of his. Not to mention getting past the cyborg and fifty other Scratches… heh, scratches. I'm funny. No! Shut up! Think of escaping!_ I mentally shouted at myself as the Doctor went into a speech.

"Death has been done this day! Noble blood has been spilled, and our tears will surely follow. The sky shall crack, the ground shall heave, and even the rocks and the stones shall weep their rage. Behold! The head of Hydroflax!"

_Dear God, I'm married to an idiot._ I groaned as the Doctor pulled Hydroflax's head out of the bag to reveal to the hissing people around us; him now off the chair.

"Rest now, sweet prince. Walk amongst us nevermore. Shall we start the bidding at two hundred billion? I'm sorry, Professor Song, but we really couldn't keep this treasure from the truly devout."

River went along with the ploy. "Oh, my apologies to the truly devout."

"And shall we find out who is the most truly devout?"

"This is heresy!" Scratch hissed at us before River pointed at a man in the very back of the room.

"Two hundred over there."

"Two hundred and fifty by the sweet trolley." The Doctor said, gesturing to a woman now who River gestured to call her.

_And now we're an auction house._

"Silence!" Scratch shouted. "This is not our way."

"Well, it doesn't say much for your king if you can't put a price on his head. Let us see what the king himself has to say." The Doctor said, jabbing a knife into the head and making him cry out.

"Quick!" River called out as the Scratches bowed and I grabbed them both, helping them dodge between the people as I quickly spouted out what small plan I'd come up with.

"We need to find Flemming and get that pen off him to get into the baggage area. Then the cyborg will come out, we duck just under it and should be able to get out of here." I rattled off, just as we reached the door and Flemming blocked our way.

"Professor Song! Has the food disappointed you?"

The cyborg stomped in then as well and I groaned, stomping forward and jabbing a finger into Flemming's chest.

"I _knew_ I didn't like you."

Of course, this was to cover up the fact that I picked his pocket and stole the pen device, just in case the baggage area was still deadlocked. I was yanked back by the Doctor as we made our way around the room and the fleeing people, but we were all grabbed by security men as the cyborg went for Hydroflax's head.

"At last, I am hole again." Hydroflax said happily. "Come to me, my body."

Oddly enough, the body didn't pick the head up.

"Well? Put me back."

"Scan in progress." It said.

"You don't need to scan me, just put me back." Hydroflax snapped.

"Tissue deterioration now irreversible."

"Well, what are you going to do about that?"

"Additional, the projectile inside your brain continues to move. Prognosis, death in seven minutes." The body replied.

"Well, I refuse. King Hydroflax does not accept death."

"Yeah, death has a way of ignoring refusals." I drawled, earning a groan from the Doctor.

"Orders requested." The cyborg replied to Hydroflax.

"Whatever I need to survive, do it. Now."

"Orders accepted. You need a new head."

"No. No! Not a new head!" Hydroflax shouted, but was ignored.

"Orders implementing."

"No. No!"

The body shot the head, turning it to dust with the diamond resting on top; River leaning towards the man who held her captive.

"I don't suppose you could fetch that over for me, could you?"

He gave her a disbelieving look, but our attention was soon returned to Flemming as the cyborg turned around.

"As I was saying, your Majesty… Well, your remaining Majesty." He took River's diary and lifted it up. "If it's a new head you're after, this is the guide to two of the very best."

"Don't touch that." River snapped. "Give that back to me."

He ignored her. "The diary of River Song. The ultimate guide to the Time Lord known as the Doctor and his wife, the ever infamous Seer."

_Note to self. I'm infamous. Don't go throwing out the name 'Seer' unless I'm trying to stall for time._ I mentally told myself with a wince as River shouted angrily, having to be held back by the guard holding her.

"Don't you dare touch that!"

"Long live the king." Flemming remarked, before opening the book and rattling off some of the stories.

I tapped my foot anxiously, having the means of a way out, but no way to attempt them without possibly risking my life and my companions. _Ooh, that's different. It's usually the other way around. Focus!_

"The Pandorica Opens." Flemming hummed. "Ooh, that sounds exciting. And goodness me, a picnic on Asgard. Some people really know how to snack, don't they?"

"You should know I have a significant history of escaping." River growled.

"The Crash of the Byzantium. Didn't they make a movie of that?"

"And when I do, I'm going to kill you." River continued.

"Oh, Jim the Fish!" He laughed. "Well, we all know Jim the Fish."

"And the longer you spend reading my diary, the longer I'm going to take."

"And you've just been to Manhattan. What planet is that?"

I cringed at the thought that she'd just watched her parents get trapped in 1969, but she wasn't entirely bothered with the circumstances now.

"So do, please, keep going."

I was about ready to interject now, a little annoyed at the standing around, but the cyborg did that for me.

"This is irrelevant."

"If I may intrude, your Majesty." Scratch spoke up. "The Doctor is a legendary being of remarkable power and infinite number of faces. His head, I assure you, would be your crowning achievement. And the Seer is known throughout the galaxies as a woman who could very well tear apart the fabric of time with her foreknowledge of events. To have her head as well, would be an amazing feat!"

Flemming tapped the cyborg to get its attention. "Besides which, many of us on this ship would be happy to see their careers cut off, as it were, at the neck."

The robot wasn't having it. "Proceed faster, or _your_ head will be taken."

"I would give my head with gladness." Scratch offered, though Scratch didn't seem to agree.

"This woman is the known consort of the Doctor and his wife."

"Confirmation required. Uploading."

Surprisingly, Nardole's head came up to fill the empty space on the cyborg's shoulders.

"Is River Song the consort of the Time Lord known as the Doctor and his wife the Seer?"

"Huh? I think so, yeah." Nardole said. "Here, can I stay up for a bit? It's really very whiffy down there."

The body didn't care and back down he went, complaining the whole way.

"So, where are the Doctor and Seer now?" Flemming questioned River.

"I haven't the faintest idea."

"Is that credible?"

"It's true."

"You're the woman he loves."

"No, I'm not." She argued, almost smiling at the thought.

"She's lying."

"The Doctor does not and has never loved me. I'm not lying."

The cyborg scanned her. "Confirmed. The life form is not lying."

"Impossible. This is a trick."

"No, it isn't."

"My information is correct. You are the woman who loves the Doctor."

"No. I'm in love with his wife." She corrected. "I've never denied that. But whoever said she loved me back? She's the Seer and he's the Doctor. They don't around falling in love with people. And if you think either of them are anything that small and ordinary, then you haven't the first _idea_ of what you're dealing with." River said confidently and I could tell whether to be flattered or upset.

"Your Majesty, I assure you. She is the _perfect_ bait. When this woman is in danger, the Doctor will always come with his wife."

"Oh, you are a moron. No, they won't."

I winced, exchanging a sorrowful look with the man beside me, who looked just as crushed by her words as I was.

"They're probably already here."

"No, they aren't. Of course they aren't!"

"Possibly on this ship."

"Well, go on. Scan it then. Go on, why don't you?" River challenged and I leaned over.

"Um, River?"

"They've both got two hearts. He wears stupid clothes. She's got short hair and is rather hot in a vest. You can't miss them." She kept going and the Doctor leaned over this time.

"River."

"Go on, scan the whole parsec! They're not here. God knows where they are right now, but I promise you, they're doing whatever the hell he wants and not giving a damn about me! And I'm just fine with that."

"River."

"When you love the Seer, it's like loving the stars themselves. You don't expect a sunset to admire you back, much less when it's already exchanging glances with the moon. And if I happen to find myself in danger—let me tell you—the Doctor and his wife are not stupid enough, or sentimental enough, and the Seer is _certainly_ not in love enough to find herself standing in it with me!"

She turned and looked at us both, the Doctor smiling slightly and myself rather pink in embarrassment as realization dawned on her and the Doctor said those fated words.

"Hello, sweetie."

She took a few breaths, turning away and trying to calm down after her little shouting match. "You are _so_ doing those roots as soon as I convince her to make you."

"What? The roots of the moon?" He quipped.

"Don't you dare."

"I'll have to check the stars themselves and the sunset, which might not agree."

"Oh, shut up. I was just keeping them talking till it kicks off." She complained, then she turned to me. "And you're in trouble too. I expect a damn good date after this."

"Y-Yes, well, we do have a bit of an immediate problem at hand and not a lot of time to fix it."

"What is this conversation? Explain." The cyborg demanded, but River snapped at it.

"You, keep out of it."

"We need to get to work." The Doctor continued.

"Okay, what have you two got?"

"Four exits. Two concealed, one in the ceiling."

"There's also one in the floor." River added and I hummed.

"And I've got the key to the deadlock."

"No, I don't like the floor one." The Doctor frowned.

"Too close to the engine ducts?"

"Too small for his shoulders." I countered with a grin at the pouting Doctor.

"Excuse me, what are you talking about?" Flemming asked and River shushed him.

"Hush. Mummy, Aunty, and Daddy are busy."

"Who's the daddy?" I asked and she winked at me, making the Doctor's scowl deepen as he realized _he_ was the Aunty.

The clock chimed then and River hummed.

"There we are. Two o'clock. Here we go."

"Cease this conversation." The cyborg demanded, but River kept talking.

"Darling, in the event of a sudden meteor strike on the lower starboard decks, where would you say is the safest place to stand?"

"Meteor strikes?" Flemming questioned, being ignored as I face-palmed.

"Duh. How did I miss that?"

"Oh, don't beat yourself up about it, sweetie. You can't know everything."

The Doctor tugged me closer to him and away from River as we chuckled at his possessiveness.

"Here, is the safest, I should think."

"Do you know what that isn't? She quipped. "A coincidence."

There was a rumble and the Doctor grinned. "Your escape plan."

"It's cheaper than a taxi."

"What meteor strike?" Scratch interrupted as a computer spoke over the intercom.

"_Alert. Meteor storm imminent._"

"_That_ meteor strike." River grinned.

"How could you know?!"

"I'm an archaeologist from the future. I dug you up." She smirked, seeing him pale as the ship shuddered and a loud boom was heard. "See you in four hundred years."

The floor gave way underneath us and the three of us fell to the next level, grinning as we grabbed onto one another and River explained.

"I had this book. 'History's Finest Exploding Restaurants'. The best food for free. Skip the coffee." She turned to me. "Best birthday gift ever."

I smiled, glad I'd gotten something she'd enjoyed before the Doctor took his turn.

"What do you think, by the way?"

"Of what?"

"My new body."

"You honestly look rather grumpy." She replied, making me chuckle.

"It's the eyebrows." I said, wiggling my own in emphasis and she grinned, giving me a once over as well.

"And _you_ look rather fabulous, but then I've only seen the face." She looked back to the Doctor as a dark red blush spread to the tops of my ears. "And how have you got a new one, by the way? Aren't there rules?"

"A thing happened." He shrugged off, though tugged me closer to him protectively.

"I bet it probably did." She smiled in response before the computer chimed again.

"_Starboard decks compromised. Please abandon ship._"

There was another crash and River spotted the diamond falling, catching it in her bodice.

"The diamond?"

"Good, aren't I?" She smirked.

"Mm, good?" I grinned in return. "I think brilliant covers it better."

"Oh, it does." She flirted back, before the ship jolted again and we grabbed onto each other to keep standing.

"We need to get this ship stabilized. Where's the bridge?"

"This way."

Before she could lead us, the ship rocked again and the cyborg came down.

"We need to stop that."

"Toss for it." River offered.

"I'll take the robot, you drive."

"Okay."

"Hold on, what do I do?" I argued.

"See if you can get to the Tardis. Meet us in the bridge."

I grinned, saluting. "On it, captain!"

"Don't call me that!" He complained as I ducked around the cyborg and made for the Tardis in the baggage room. _This ought to be fun._

* * *

The Doctor hurried into the bridge where River was struggling to keep the ship going; him having defeated the cyborg rather easily with the little globe that River used earlier.

"Where's everyone else?"

"They ran for it. So should we." She responded.

"We need to get the navcom back online. And reroute the thrusters."

"I'm trying."

The console sparked and the Doctor changed the subject.

"So, Kind Hydroflax?"

"Oh, how many times… I married the _diamond_." River pressed.

"So you say."

"Elizabeth the first." She countered and the Doctor winced.

"Low blow. You know how Alex gets with her. Ramone."

"Marilyn Monroe."

"Stephen Fry."

"Cleopatra!"

"Same thing." He countered, then groaned. "Right probably best I sent Alex to get the Tardis. Something tells me I'll still have to make it up to her though."

"You'll be making it up to her for _years_."

The Doctor sat in the captain's chair and River stared out at the planet they were approaching.

"Hang on a minute. I recognize that planet."

"Well, that's nice. Maybe they'll name the crater after us." The Doctor drawled, not pleased about the fact he had some major apologizing to do to Alex later.

"That's Darillium."

"Always good to know where we're going. Could you concentrate on your work please?"

She didn't. "You know. The Singing Towers."

"Yes. I'll be sure to give them a wave as we zoom past."

"You two always say you're going to take me there for dinner and then you always cancel at the last minute."

"I'd quite like to cancel this time too, if at all possible." He grumbled, before there was another crash and he aimed his sonic at the console.

"What are you doing? That's the internal teleport."

"Yes. I can use the power cell to boost the thrusters." He said, handing her some wires.

"How?"

"Hold this, quickly."

"Well, I don't see what good this will do." She grumbled.

"Sorry, River. Crashing spaceships, that's my job." He said and her eyes widened in realization.

"You—"

She was cut off as she teleported into the Tardis, where Alex jumped, blinking in surprise.

"River."

"Oh, no he doesn't." River growled, heading for the console and barking at Alex. "Don't just stand there! He's planning something stupid again!"

"Right! On it!" Alex replied, helping her fly the Tardis and landing it in the bridge around the Doctor.

River hurried out to the console and Alex looked between her and the Doctor in a panic, confused as to why they were trying so hard to save a ship that was pretty much empty and would crash anyway.

"Get back in the Tardis!" The Doctor ordered. "This is my job!"

"This is _my_ job!" River argued.

"I've been doing it longer."

"I do it better."

"Oh, will you both shut up!" Alex shouted, making them turn to her. "You're both being stupid! There's no one on this ship but us, so why don't we stop attempting to save a ship that will crash no matter what, and just get into the Tardis _before_ we hit the ground?!"

"There's no one here?"

"No! Don't be daft." She complained. "Did you honestly think it took me this long to get the Tardis going? I got everyone off! Well, the cyborg body was trashed, but he's malfunctioning in the med bay if you want to have a look. What did you do to it anyway?"

The Doctor grinned, about to say something, but the computer chimed in.

"_Surface impact in ten._"

It began to count down and the windows cracked, making everyone exchange looks before River spoke.

"Teensy bit close."

"Yeah, sort of."

"Darlings, shall we pop back indoors?"

"Yeah, good idea."

Alex scoffed as the Doctor pushed her back into the Tardis with River at her side. "Idiots. Honestly, you two think you know everything, but you really are a couple of idiots, aren't you?"

The doors were shut just as the countdown ended and the explosion sent the trio halfway across the room; knocking everyone unconscious as the ship sparked and groaned in pain. The Doctor recovered first, getting up and checking on Alex with a relieved sigh at nothing appearing physically wrong. _Though she'll have a hell of a migraine and it looks like she'll be a bit stiff with that shoulder and the nasty bruise and scrape on her forehead._ He then checked up on River and relaxed.

"Indestructible as ever." He muttered, spotting the diamond on the ground and picking it up with a scowl. "Married the diamond."

He scoffed and stepped out of the Tardis, looking out over the damage before closing the doors and starting up the ship again; moving forward in time slightly just so the majority of the flames would have died down and he could see properly in the daylight.

"Hello? Sir?" A voice called out and the Doctor turned to see the approaching man in a hard hat. "The ship. It came down. Did you see it?"

"Yes, I did."

"I've been searching for survivors."

"I doubt if you'd find any. And I don't think any of them would be worth it, if that's a comfort. Brave of you to try though. Well done." The Doctor drawled.

"Thank you, sir."

The Doctor turned to the two stones standing high above them a bit further away. "Those are the Singing Towers, aren't they?"

"Yes, sir, but it's just the wind."

"The Singing Towers of Darillium. Here we are at last."

"Sir?" The man questioned, not understanding his words nor his smile.

"You know what? They should build a restaurant right here. With a view of those towers. You could make a lot of money that way. You should do that." The Doctor encouraged the man, who shuffled slightly.

"You'd need a lot of money to begin with, sir."

The Doctor showed him the diamond and pressed it into his hands. "The Halassi Androvar. I think you'll find that the reward is pretty substantial."

"W-Why would you give me this, sir?" The man asked, stunned.

The Doctor moved back towards the Tardis, but stopped and whispered to him. "_Restaurant_."

He headed in, seeing River and Alex both still out of it and sighed softly, leaning over to check on Alex. _She should have woken up already, but it seems the Tardis and the knock about the head put her under for a bit longer than usual._ He sighed, but picked her up off the floor and set her down on the jumpseat; draping his coat over her before setting the Tardis off again and landing in a fancy restaurant this time. Being sure to drop off the repaired cyborg Ramone and Nardole in a trip just before that.

"Excuse me." He said, speaking to the receptionist. "I'd like a table for three on the balcony with a view of the towers."

"I'm sorry, sir. The first available slot I have is Christmas Day in four years' time." She said and the Doctor just smiled.

"Not a problem."

He then headed back into the Tardis, hearing a groan as he sent the ship into flight once more, feeling relieved that it was Alex who woke up and not River.

"Oh, my head." She grumbled, words slightly slurred. "I knew that last glass of champagne was a bad idea."

The Doctor smiled, heading over and helping her sit up as he looked her over carefully. "It wasn't the drinking that gave you the headache, Alex, though I still highly disapprove of your alcohol consumption."

He touched the scrape on her forehead and she let out a hiss of pain, swiping at his hand with a small glare.

"Why is it you always have to find what hurt and _poke it_?"

"I was simply seeing if it needed stitches, but it appears your head is thicker than I thought." He teased. "A plaster should do."

He pulled one from his pocket and dabbed a handkerchief over the small bleeding wound, before placing the patch on it.

"How are you feeling?"

She frowned. "How do you think I'm feeling? We were supposed to be enjoying Christmas, but ended up being chased by a cyborg, accosted by a blue bug alien, and blown up."

The Doctor smiled. "I know. Isn't it great?"

Alex struggled to keep the frown on her face and finally gave in with a begrudging chuckle. "Yeah. Yeah, it was."

He kissed her briefly, before lightly pulling her up from the jumpseat, making sure she could stand on her own and then taking her hand in his as he led the way to the wardrobe.

"Come on. We need to change."

Alex tugged at him though, eyes sad. "But Doctor, this is it, isn't it? This is the last time River sees us before the Library."

He nodded. "Yes. Which is why we'll make it her best."

Alex bowed her head and squeezed his hand, before looking up with a determined look on her face. "Right. In that case, you'll be needing a suit."

The Doctor pouted. "I'm wearing a suit."

"A _proper_ suit." Alex smiled, pulling _him_ along this time. "And I know just the thing."

* * *

River was extremely confused when she awoke to find no Doctor or Alex in sight, so she did the logical thing and stepped outside the Tardis. Finding herself in a rather nice restaurant was even more of a shock, and a woman approached her with a smile.

"Professor Song, the Doctor and Alex are waiting for you on the balcony."

"Oh… Excellent." River said, not wanting to be rude, but having no idea what they were up to.

"This way, ma'am."

"Do we have a good table?" River blurted out, only half hearing what she was saying.

"The finest in all the galaxy, ma'am."

"Ah… Um, one moment." River smiled, pulling out that little bottle and changing into a beautiful red sequin dress.

She rounded the corner where the receptionist said her table was and she was stunned to see Ramone in the large cyborg body.

"Ramone?"

"Professor Song." The man smiled. "The Doctor and Alex will be with you in a moment."

"What are you doing here?" River questioned.

"The Doctor fixed us up after Alex pulled us from the ship. I've been working here ever since. Don't worry. The nasty part's all gone. Got deleted in the merger."

"What about Nardole?"

"Oh, Merry Christmas, ma'am." Nardole called out from within the suit. "Yeah, good to see you again."

River smiled, happy that her acquaintances were alright. "Merry Christmas, Nardole."

"Sorry, I'm off duty. I'm just having some me time." Nardole apologized.

"I imagine that must be quite the challenge."

"Yes, ma'am." Nardole laughed, seeming happy despite the circumstances.

River though, ran a hand over the cyborg chest with a smirk at Ramone.

"So, Ramone, you have a metal body now."

"Down, girl." A voice said from behind her and she turned as the cyborg left, revealing the Doctor and Alex; both smiling as River got a good look at them.

The Doctor wore a crisp black suit and tie with shiny dress shoes and black slacks, holding a gift box wrapped in gold paper and a red bow atop it. Alex though, is who caught her eye. She was wearing River's favorite outfit with a dark blue vest and white button up shirt, her black coat draped over her arm, a black tie peeking out from her collar, and the dark jeans she was wearing with her boots making her look absolutely stunning in River's eyes. And she too, was holding a box. This one much smaller and in dark red paper with a black bow on top. They both approached and River nodded appreciatively.

"Now _that_, my dear is a suit."

"Happy Christmas." The Doctor said, handing her his gift. "And Alex picked it out for me. Said you deserved the best of my repertoire of suits."

"He means 'suit'." Alex interjected, passing River her gift and stunning the curly haired woman when she brushed her lips across her cheek with a smile. "Merry Christmas, Mels."

River smiled, a bit of pink on her cheeks as she went about opening her gifts. She opened the Doctor's first, looking at the sonic screwdriver held within.

"Oh, it's a sonic screwdriver. How lovely."

"When I saw the sonic trowel, I thought it was just embarrassing, but look." He picked up the screwdriver and pressed the button, messing with it a bit as they all chuckled and River kissed the Doctor's cheeks.

"Thank you."

She then went and opened Alex's gift, pulling out a small silver flashdrive and giving Alex a curious look.

"You finished it?"

Alex nodded. "Took a lot of doing, but yeah."

"But you never told me what it was for."

Alex's smile turned sorrowful, making River worried as she spoke. "It's for the Library. You'll know when to use it."

"But what is it for?"

Alex took her hand and closed it around the flashdrive. "It's a drive full of memories and dreams and could-have-beens. Of everything you've ever dreamed of or wanted, tucked away in this little drive. And I want you to save it. Save it until the very end."

River wanted to ask what she'd meant, but then remembered that this was Alex. This was the Seer who knew what was coming. And with her diary very nearly full and Alex's expression struggling to keep a smile, River slowly accepted the gift and bowed her head; saying nothing because it would crush all of them if she were to ask. Alex though, tried to ease things up a bit and smiled at River.

"You look lovely, by the way."

The Doctor nodded. "Oh yes. Uh, amazing."

River rolled her eyes. "Doctor, you have no idea whether I look amazing or not."

"Well, you've moved your hair about, haven't you?"

"Well done. It's very sweet of you to try." She chuckled, before turning to Alex. "And you are quite the handsome devil yourself, sweetie."

"Only the best for my Mels."Alex smiled, just as a song began to echo through the air and the three of them turned to the stone pillars.

"So, what do you think?" The Doctor asked River. "The Singing Towers."

"Oh… the music… Listen to it." River breathed out, looking over at the two to see the Doctor's eyes tearing up and a stray one slipping down Alex's face as they both looked out at the stones. "Are you crying?"

"No. Just the wind." The Doctor croaked out and Alex gave River a small smile of reassurance, though it wobbled uncertainly.

"Nothing's ever just the wind." River countered.

"No? It blow through the cave systems and harmonizes with the crystal layer." The Doctor rattled off, attempting to change the subject to the stone rather than the two emotional people.

"Why are you sad?" River asked them both, though in her heart, she knew the answer.

"Why are _you_ sad?"

"I told you, my diary's nearly full. I worry."

"Please, don't." Alex muttered quietly and River glanced briefly at her before continuing.

"There are stories about us, you know."

"Oh, I dread to think." The Doctor said quietly.

"I look them up sometimes."

"You really shouldn't do that."

"Some of them suggest that the very last night we spend together is at the Singing Towers of Darillium. That wouldn't be true, would it?" She asked, watching their reactions carefully, and the two Time Lords were rather failing at giving nothing away.

"Spoilers." The Doctor breathed out, tucking Alex close and rubbing an arm up her arm.

"Oh. Well, that would explain why you kept cancelling coming here. Do you remember that time—"

The Doctor attempted to stop her, knowing that she was going to try and convince him to stop this.

"River stop."

"—when there were two of you—"

"Don't."

"—because I want you both to know that if this is the last night, I expect you to find a way round it."

"Not everything can be avoided… Not forever." The Doctor pressed and Alex stayed quiet, simply looking out at the stones and holding back tears.

"But you're you. There's always a loophole. You wait until the last minute and then you spring it on me."

"Every night is the list night for something. Every Christmas is the last Christmas—"

"But you will." She interrupted the Doctor. "You'll wait until I've given up hope. All will be lost and you'll do that smug little smile and then you'll save the day. You always do. Or Alex will jump in and do something amazing that none of us would have ever thought of and prevent it."

"Times end, River, because they have to. Because there's no such thing as happy ever after. It's just a lie we tell ourselves because the truth is so hard."

"No, Doctor, you're wrong. Happy ever after doesn't mean forever. It just means time. A little time. But that's not the sort of thing you could ever understand, is it?"

"River."

The Doctor took a step back and River turned her gaze to Alex, who smiled softly at her.

"You shouldn't be so hard on him."

River frowned slightly. "Hard not to."

Alex let out a little chuckle. "Yes, I would know that better than anyone, but… he's trying to help. In his own way."

The Doctor scoffed, turning away with crossed arms and looking out at the stone himself while the two women talked.

"He just wants you to understand that all things end. And sometimes, you just can't avoid them. Even he…" Alex glanced at the Doctor briefly. "He died so many times, River. And as Eleven, he died twice. And he avoided it for as long as he could, but sooner or later, you'll always end up where you're supposed to be, even if it's where you never wanted to end up."

"But I don't want to go."

Those words cut into Alex like a knife, ringing hauntingly in her ears in the voice of the Tenth Doctor, before she turned to River.

"I know." She said, voice cracking. "No one ever does and I'm so, so sorry, but you have to. And when you do, you'll be so much better than the Doctor, River. You'll help save so many people and you'll be absolutely brilliant. And you're right. There is a happily ever after. You _will_ be happy, I promise you that. So please don't cry."

River hardly realized she was crying as Alex brushed away a tear from her face, thought a tear trailed down her own cheek as she smiled at River.

"Smile until the end for me, would you?"

River chuckled, wiping at Alex's face now and kissing her on the cheek; breathing her words into the woman's ear. "Thank you, Alexander."

"Of course." Alex said softly, and the two turned to the Doctor who had an unamused pout, making them chuckle.

"Why are you ignoring the towers? Isn't that what we're here for?" He grumbled. "And you never told me what you think of them."

"I love them." River smiled. "And I'm ignoring them, because I've got something more precious next to me. And you can't expect a monolith to love you back."

"No, you can't." The Doctor agreed, tugging Alex slightly closer to him and causing Alex to roll her eyes at his possessiveness. "They've been there for millions of years, through storms and floods and wars and time. Nobody really understands where the music comes from. It's probably something to do with the precise positions, the distance between both towers." He rattled on. "Even the locals aren't sure. All anyone will ever tell you is that when the wind stands fair and the night is perfect, when you least expect it… but always when you need it the most… there is a song."

"So, assuming tonight is all we have left…" River muttered.

"We didn't say that."

"How long is a night on Daillium?"

Alex and the Doctor exchanged glances, River recognizing the twinkle in their eyes before they both turned to her and smiled.

"Twenty-four years."

River let out a half-sob, half laugh of relief. "I hate you both."

"No you don't." Alex smiled and River chuckled and leaned into her, taking her arm in hers and resting her head on Alex's shoulder as the trio listened to the two Singing Towers.

* * *

**_Sneak Peak:_**

_"You really know how to ruin a mood, don't you?"_

_I chuckled lightly, rolled up on the floor with my knees up and over my head. "Thank you, River~"_

_"Oh, shut up and get over here. You owe me dinner."_

_I untangled myself and bounced up to trail after her, poking my head around her shoulders with a cheesy grin on my face. "And by dinner, I hope you mean desert?"_

_She rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the small smile on her face. "If you keep teasing me, Alex, we're going to have a problem when your husband shows up."_

_"Who said he has to know?"_

_She laughed at that, and the two of us walked off in the hopes of finding an open ice cream parlor in the middle of New York, 1938._


	84. The Angels Take Manhattan

**Am I late again? Dang it. I've been trying to keep on schedule, but I have been taking other people's shifts at work lately because they're short handed at the moment and I'm one of the few people with way too much time on my hands. I'm hitting another rough patch again too, but hopefully it will smooth out before things get too bad.**

**IN OTHER NEWS! I need your guys' help! Other than some of the more recent episodes with Twelve (most of which i will get around to doing), I am out of episodes with the other Doctors. The only ones I haven't done are those that I can't seem to fit Alex in properly or episodes that were too soon for the companions or Doctors to meet her (I'm trying to keep things in order and not have another incident like her showing up in a new body before the Doctor met her new regeneration, or having say Donna or Martha or even the Doctor meet her before they first met... if that makes sense). So, basically, i'm going to ask that you review on this chapter (or PM me) with episodes you want to see with Alex in them. And i mean _anything._ If you've got a Classic Who episode you think Alex would have fun in with an earlier Doctor, then tell me! I've already gotten a few suggestions (thank you again grapejuice101) and I am trying to look into other Doctors that Alex could bump into with a fake name or different appearance or whatever.**

**I'm just trying to keep this going until the next season comes out where i may find a point that will be a good place to end this, though i hate to even think about ending it, but i feel it is beginning to drag on. So if you have a favorite Doctor, a favorite episode, a favorite companion or whatever that you think Alex would enjoy meeting or getting involved in, please let me know! As it is, the next chapter of this is with the Third Doctor, who i find is a nice personality that meshes with Alex's pretty well at the moment. I am also willing to do one-shots/drabbles (like what i did with the separate chapter with Alex's family)! So fresh ideas on situations you want to see with Alex and any of the Doctors, be it a discussion about something you're curious on between her and the Doctor or maybe a snippet of an episode i skipped over. Like i said, anything you guys might find interesting, i'm up for options at the moment.**

**And PLEASE, before the next chapter is out, watch "The Invasion of the Dinosaurs" episode of Classic Who. I will put up a link on my profile for it (though you will have to remove any spaces and copy/paste it) and if you don't like it, that's fine. Classic Who is something new to me and i'm trying to push past the-honestly hilarious-'_special effects_' and get more chapters out, but if you watch it, then you'll at least have some idea of the plot that i may skip over.**

**Thank you all though, for reviewing this and favoriting/following. For any messages and suggestions you may have sent me or will send me! You all are amazing and it makes me so happy to find out that so many people enjoy this story and my character(s). I never thought that this one would make it this far. I mean, 84 chapters? Wow. So thank you so, so much! And tell me what you think about this chapter too! Sorry for writing such a big author's note... :3**

* * *

"Well then, this is new." I hummed, staring at the view around me from a rather odd angle. "Either I had _far_ too much to drink those twenty-four years and I've permanently damaged the way I view the world, or I'm on the most amazing, confusingly disorienting planet ever and I'm really hoping it's the second, because that would be _awesome_."

The sound of footsteps approaching me made me turn as much as I could to see the very same person I'd left not a moment before.

"Unfortunately, sweetie, neither of those is true." She smiled, looking as pleased as I was; though not because she somehow recognized me with my new Tardis blue dyed hair—older River's idea.

"River!" I grinned brightly. "You wouldn't believe this! The whole world is upside down! It's brilliant!" I paused then, frowning. "Hold on, how come you're right-side up with the rest of the world?"

"I believe you'll find that _you're_ the one who is upside down, Alex."

A leaf drifted down between us then and that brought my gaze up—or down, in my case—to the tree I was dangling from.

"Oh…" I swung a bit as I straightened out again, giving River a nervous chuckle. "Seems my landing skills have once again proven quite entertaining. However, would you mind helping me down? I seem to be in a predicament and I've just noticed that thing appear to be getting a bit fuzzy with all the blood rushing to my head."

She sauntered forward and leaned down slightly to grin at me seductively. "Now, why would I do that when I have _quite_ the view of you in a rather vulnerable position?"

I shivered when her fingers brushed across my bare navel—my shirt having bunched up around my chest—turning an even darker red at what she was insinuating, before I couldn't help it. I laughed.

"R-R-River! Stop it! I-I-It tickles!" I blurted out, wriggling and attempting to get away from her, and she dropped her hands with a sigh before shooting the branch that had caught my ankle; causing me to fall and hit the ground harshly.

"You really know how to ruin a mood, don't you?"

I chuckled lightly, rolled up on the floor with my knees up and over my head. "Thank you, River~"

"Oh, shut up and get over here. You owe me dinner."

I untangled myself and bounced up to trail after her, poking my head around her shoulders with a cheesy grin on my face. "And by dinner, I hope you mean desert?"

She rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the small smile on her face. "If you keep teasing me, Alex, we're going to have a problem when your husband shows up."

"Who said he has to know?"

She laughed at that, and the two of us walked off in the hopes of finding an open ice cream parlor in the middle of New York, 1938.

* * *

"'New York growled at my window, but we were ready for it. My stocking seams were straight, my lipstick was combat ready, and I was packing cleavage that could fell an ox at twenty feet; my partner, dressed as handsomely as the best of men, eyeing me appreciatively with a spark of excitement in their eyes'." The Doctor quoted from the book he was reading in a husky voice, though not all were appreciative of it.

"Doctor, you're doing it again." Amy complained.

"I'm reading!"

"Aloud. Please, could you not?"

The Doctor looked over his shoulder and frowned, before noticing something about her, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. "There's something different about you, isn't there?"

"What's the book?" Rory asked.

"Melody Malone. She's a private detective in old town New York with her live-in partner Zander."

"She's got ice in her heart and a kiss on her lips, and a vulnerable side she keeps well-hidden only for her partner to swoop in and expose it like two lovers revealing their inner most secrets." Amy drawled, making the Doctor get excited.

"Oh, you've read it?"

"_You_ read it. Aloud." She corrected him. "And then went 'yowzah'!"

"Only you could fancy someone in a book." Rory remarked.

"I doubt Alex would be happy if she found out about your little crush." Amy teased, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"I'm just reading it. I just like the cover."

"Ooh, can we see the over?" Amy asked turning around and leaning in to make him uncomfortable, though she already knew it had a picture of a rather well-endowed woman on the front back-to-back with another smirking genderless figure.

"No, no. I'm busy." The Doctor lied, before quickly changing the subject to something else before Amy could snatch the book from him. "It's your hair." He leaned in and sniffed, before pulling back. "Is it your hair?"

"Oh, shut up. It's the glasses." Amy finally gave in, pushing up the round spectacles. "I'm wearing reading glasses now. On my nose, see? There you go."

"I don't like them. They make your eyes look all liney." The Doctor said, lifting them up before quickly backtracking at the look on Amy's face and the imaginary smack from Alex he could practically feel on the back of his head. "No, actually, sorry. They're fine. Carry on."

Rory saw that he was in danger now too and quickly stood. "Okay, I'm going to go and get us some more coffee. Who wants coffee? Me too. I'll go."

Before he could get more than a few steps away though, Amy called out to him.

"Rory, do I have noticeable lines on my eyes now?"

"Yes." The Doctor said bluntly, before wincing as Rory replied as well; not turning around.

"No."

"You didn't look." Amy said in her annoyed motherly tone.

Rory took a deep breath and turned around. "I noticed them earlier." He cringed. "Didn't notice them. I specifically remember not noticing them."

"You walk among fire pits, Centurion." Amy hummed.

"Do I, uh, have to come over there?" Rory asked with a smirk, already heading over and making Amy smile with his flirting.

"You can if you like."

"Well, we have company."

"I'll get a baby sitter."

The two kissed and the Doctor put down his book with a groan.

"Uh, do you know, it is so humiliating when you do that."

The two pulled apart and Amy gave him a look.

"Now you know how we feel when you and Alex are together."

"We're not that bad." He said, pausing before shaking his hand dismissively. "Oh, yes. Alright. We are, but we don't do it when there's only one of you. Just makes me feel out of place." He grumbled with a pout and Rory stood up once more.

"Coffee?"

"Coffee." Amy readily agreed, letting him head off as the Doctor turned back to her and reached for her glasses.

"Can I have a go?" He put them on himself and looked at his book, pulling it away and closer again. "Oh, actually, that is much better. That _is_ exciting." He grinned and Amy smiled, leaning against his back feeling slightly better now that the Doctor wasn't pouting over the absent Alex.

"Read to me."

"I thought you didn't like my reading aloud." He argued playfully.

"Shut up and read me a story. Just don't go 'yowzah'." She replied, before spotting the Doctor tearing out the last page of the book and placing it in their picnic basket.

"Why did you do that?"

"I always rip out the last page of a book. Then it doesn't have to end. I _hate_ endings." He frowned lightly then. "Though Alex has scolded me more than once about that. Always has to check and see if she guessed who the murderer was in her mystery novels correctly. _Tiny_ bit obsessive, but still rather hot when she's got it right."

"Ew, Doctor. Read. Please."

"Yes, yes. Alright." He said with a wrinkle of his nose before starting up again. "'As we crossed the street, I saw the thin guy, but he didn't see me and Zander was more interested in the dairy dessert we'd ordered to share. I guess that's how it began. I caught Zander's attention and we followed the skinny guy for two more blocks before he turned and I could ask exactly what he was doing here. He looked a little scared, so I gave him my best smile and my bluest eyes…"

"Beware the 'yowzah'. Do not, at this point, yowz." Amy drawled, before seeing that the Doctor had actually stopped and was staring at his book in shock. "Doctor? What did the skinny guy say?"

"He said,' I just went to get coffee for the Doctor and Amy. Hello, River. Hi, Alex."

* * *

"Hello, dad." River smiled as I waved with a big grin.

"Hi! Welcome to 1938!"

"Where am I? How the hell did I get here?"

"I haven't the faintest idea." River hummed, giving me a look. "Though Alex probably as a clue." She turned back to him then, smiling despite what we both saw from over his shoulders. "But you'll probably want to put your hands up."

He turned around and did so at the sight of a gun, as a man walked up behind us.

"Melody Malone? Zanders?"

"_You're_ Melody and Zanders?" Rory cut in in surprise as a limo pulled up and the man behind us told us to get in.

The three of us got in the back of the car and Rory turned to us; hands still raised.

"What is going on?"

"You didn't come here in the Tardis, obviously." River hummed and I snorted.

"Why?" Rory asked.

"He couldn't have. This city's full of time distortions. It'd be impossible to land the Tardis here. Like trying to land a plane in a blizzard. Even Alex and I couldn't do it."

"Though, I'll have you know, if I look rather tense later, it's probably because the moron's going to try it." I complained with a sigh. "Being connected to the Tardis has its downsides." I grimaced then as a spike of pain went through my shoulder. "Ooh, scratch that. I'm in pain now and that idiot is _so_ going to get smacked later."

I cringed and doubled over, River doing what she could to comfort me by rubbing my back, but after a few moments, the pain passed and I let out a relieved sigh.

"You alright?"

"Been better, but that was just him bouncing off. Wait till he tries to actually get in." I said with a pain smile and Rory gave me a sympathetic look before looking at River.

"So how did you get here?"

"Vortex manipulator. Less bulky than a Tardis. A motorbike through traffic. You?"

"I'm not sure." Rory said, before turning to me. "And you just popped up again, I'm guessing?"

"Oh yeah. In a tree!" I beamed, earning a sigh from the man.

"I'll never understand this version of you."

* * *

"The Weeping Angels?" Amy questioned the Doctor as he put out fires in the Tardis that had started up the moment he'd attempted to fly into 1938.

"It makes sense." He called out over the sound of the fire extinguisher. "Oh, Alex is going to kill me…"

"You bet she is." Amy smiled, pleased to know that the Doctor would get punished for tossing her about in the Tardis like that. "And how does it make sense?"

"It's what happened to Rory. That's what Weeping Angels do. It's their preferred form of attack. They zap you back in time. Let you live to death."

"Well, we've got a time machine." Amy replied. "We can just go and get him."

"Well, tried that, if you've noticed." The Doctor drawled, none too pleased about how this was ending up and worried about the future. "And we are back where we started in 2012."

"We didn't start in a graveyard." Amy countered, still skimming through the book in her hands. "What are we doing here?"

"I don't know. Probably causally linked somehow. Doesn't matter. Extractor fans on!" He called out to the Tardis, who started to get rid of the smoke.

"Well, we're going to get there somehow. We're in the rest of the book." Amy mused, flipping pages, though the Doctor wasn't paying attention.

"Doing what?"

"Page forty-three. You're going to break something." Amy hummed.

"I'm what?"

"''Why do you have to break mine', she asked the Doctor. He frowned and said, 'Because Amy read it in a book and now I have no choice'.'"

The Doctor paid attention to that and hurried over to her in a panic. "Stop! No! No! Stop! You can't read ahead. You mustn't. A-A-And you can't do that."

"But we've already been reading it."

"Just the stuff that's happening now, in parallel with us. That's as far as we go." The Doctor pressed, hoping that what she'd just told him wouldn't come back to haunt him later on.

"But it could help us find Rory. Find Alex."

"And if you read ahead and find out Rory dies?" The Doctor said, mentally wincing when he imagined the same about Alex. "This isn't any old future, Amy. It's _ours_. Once we know what's coming, it's fixed. I'm going to break something, because you told me that I'm going to do it. No choice now."

"Time can be rewritten." Amy insisted, but the Doctor shook his head seriously.

"Not once you've read it. Once we know what's coming, it's written in stone."

Not too far from them, a gravestone sat, the name Rory Arthur Williams carved into it.

* * *

The limo pulled up to an elaborate building and the three of us were walked in, passing a number of blue and white vases.

"Ooh, those are expensive." I hummed as River nodded.

"Early Qin dynasty, I'd say."

"Correct." A deep voice answered us and a man walked down the stairs. "Are you archaeologists as well as detectives? Early Qin just as you say." He continued when we didn't give him an answer. "You're very well informed."

"And you're very afraid. That's an awful lot of locks for one door." River quipped, walking around.

"Somebody's got some demons hiding in their closet~" I chirped, glancing around as well, as Rory looked at one of the vases.

"River, Alex, I'm translating."

"Tardis." I responded as River explained a bit more.

"It hangs around."

"These two." The man said, gesturing to Rory and I. "Put them somewhere uncomfortable."

Rory sighed, annoyed and I continued to smile innocently.

"With the babies, sir?"

"Yes. Why not? Give them to the babies."

The man approached us, grabbing Rory and then turning to me, but I grinned and rocked back and forth on my heels.

"Touch me, and I'll break your arm."

He smirked, as though finding the idea amusing and went to reach for me again when River spoke up.

"I wouldn't. She very well might, you know."

The man barely touched my arm before I had him pinned to the ground and hi own arm twisted at an extremely painful angle; enticing a cry from him as I smiled sweetly over at the man who'd ordered me taken away.

"Now then, would you mind retracting that order? I plan on staying with River and if you come between us, well, we just might have to get better acquainted like your friend here."

The large man paled and reluctantly nodded. "V-Very well. Just take the other one then."

I released the man and got up off him, smiling away as though I hadn't just threatened to maim someone, and River and I were led away from the main room and into another. She took off her coat, which the man hung up just as we caught sight of a Qin vase with the word 'yowzah' on it.

"Hello, sweetie." River smiled as I chuckled.

"That man."

River though, turned her attention elsewhere, wandering the room. "Let's see. Crime boss with a collecting fetish. Whatever you don't let anyone else see has got to be your favorite. Or possibly your girlfriend."

River pulled away a set of curtains to reveal a chained up, angry Weeping Angel and I hummed as I moved to her side.

"Oh, quite the demon in the closet indeed."

"So, girlfriend then." River chirped, tapping away at her vortex manipulator.

"What are you doing?" The man across from us asked.

"Oh, you know. Texting a boy." River turned to me. "Anything you want to say, sweetie?"

"Ooh, tell him to bring one of those fizzy drinks. The electric green one!"

River chuckle, up until I hissed in pain and grabbed my shoulder.

"What's going on with her?"

"Oh, you know." I grimaced. "Bit of engine trouble. Nothing to be worried about. Please, continue."

He hesitated, but did so, gesturing to the Weeping Angel behind us.

"These things are all over, but people don't seem to notice. It never moves while you're looking."

"Oh, we know how they work." River commented, taking my hand in hers and only wincing slightly when I squeezed it a bit harder than I wanted to.

"So I understand. Melody Malone, Zanders, the detectives who investigate Angels."

"Badly damaged." River commented, the two of us facing it.

"I wanted to know if it could feel pain."

I growled lowly in my throat, attempting to keep my temper in check with River's reassuring hand squeezing mine keeping me where I was and _not_ punching the man in the face.

"You realizing it's screaming?" Rivers mentioned to him, releasing my hand and turning away from the stone statue as I looked up at it with a softness I didn't know I was capable of towards these creatures. "The others can hear. Is that why you need all the locks?"

The man scowled and reached out, flicking the lights off and then on again to reveal my wrist caught in the Angel's grip.

"Well, damn." I grumbled, drawing River's attention to me as her eyes widened and the man threatened us.

"You're going to tell me all about these creatures, and you're going to do it quickly."

And then he flicked the lights out once more. I grit my teeth as the angel tightened its grip and the light was flicked back on, doing my best to deal with the pain in my shoulder while in a staring contest with the Angel's nose.

"The Angels are predators." River rattled off, coming over and checking for any way to get my wrist out of the Angel's hold as she spoke. "They're deadly. What do you want with them?"

"I'm a collector. What collector could resist these?" He chuckled. "I'm only human."

"Oh, you're the _stupidest _man I've ever met." I snipped shortly, quickly losing my temper with the pain I was in at the moment.

River agreed, glaring heatedly at the man. "That's exactly what they're thinking."

I let out a cry of pain then, legs crumpling underneath me as River grabbed my waist and tried to hold me up; the lights flickering and bringing the man's attention to the ceiling.

"What's that? What's happening? Is it an earthquake? What is it?"

"Oh, you bad boy. You could burn New York." River said with a smile, whereas I wasn't in the best mood.

"Burn New York? He could rip my shoulder off!"

"What does that mean?!" The man shouted.

"It means, Mister Grayle, just you wait until her husband gets home." River grinned as the Tardis finally landed and I sank to my knees in relief; the Angel's hand on my wrist keeping me hovering just up from off the ground.

"Oh, he is _so_ dead."

* * *

"Come on!" Amy called out to the Doctor; more than eager to get her husband back.

"Just a moment. Final checks."

"Since when?" She scoffed, heading out without him and not seeing him fixing his hair and checking his breath and bow-tie in the reflection of a metal plate on the console.

He soon joined her though, and the two exited the Tardis, Amy calling out for Rory and heading off in search of him as the Doctor turned his attention to the unconscious man at his feet and the two women awaiting his arrival in the next room.

"Sorry I'm late, honey. Traffic was hell." The Doctor smirked and River raised a brow before moving aside to reveal Alex half crumpled on the ground with a furious look on her face that made him wince.

"Yeah? Tell me about it. You don't have to _feel_ it, spaceman, so don't you go getting all flirty now. Flirty Alex is taking a break."

He rubbed the back of his neck and instead checked on the man on the ground. "Shock. He'll be fine."

"Not if I can help it." River mused as the Doctor headed over and gave her a once-over.

"So, where are we now, Doctor Song? How's prison?" He asked, purposely poking at her soft spots.

He knew how she could get around this version of Alex—who was more than flirty herself, in the usual circumstances—so why not make her angry?

"Oh, I was pardoned ages ago. And it's _Professor_ Song to you."

"Pardoned?" The Doctor asked and she hummed.

"Turns out, the person I killed never existed in the first place. Apparently, there's no record of him. It's almost as if someone's gone around deleting himself from every database in the universe. Alex just got lucky. Seemed no one really minded, unfortunately."

"Good to know I'm loved." Alex grumbled, slowly standing again with a roll of her shoulders.

"Hm, _I_ love you, dear." The Doctor hummed, pacing a kiss on Alex's neck and making her roll her eyes along with River, who poked fun back at him.

"And now no one's ever heard of you. Didn't you used to _be_ somebody?"

"Weren't you the woman who killed the Doctor?" The Doctor quipped and Alex groaned.

"Oh, will you two stop glaring daggers at one another and help me get out of this?"

The two begrudgingly stopped and the Doctor scanned the Angel's hand holding Alex's wrist.

"She's holding you very tight."

"_No_." Alex scoffed sarcastically.

"At least she didn't send you back in time." River added.

"I doubt she's strong enough."

"Yeah, fine and dandy, but I need my hand back. So you breaking mine or hers?" Alex asked, before catching sight of the Doctor's expression and grimacing. "Ooh, I walked right into that one, didn't I?"

River looked between them in shock. "No, really?"

"Why do you have to break mine?" Alex pouted and the Doctor glanced down briefly.

"Because Amy read it in a book, and now I have no choice."

He turned to Amy, but Alex smacked him with her free hand.

"None of that, spaceman." She snipped. "This isn't her fault and I won't have you go and making her feel guilty because some fat man in a suit decided to turn the lights out while I was standing too close to a Weeping Angel. You got that, Amy?" She called out to her, smiling at her surprised face. "Not your fault. Not one bit."

The Doctor relaxed somewhat, giving Alex a soft smile before River spoke up.

"What book?"

"Your book." The Doctor replied, pulling out the book to show her. "Which you haven't written yet, so we can't read."

"I see. I don't like the cover much." She commented, giving Alex a wiggle of her brows. "Alex is _much_ better than that."

"Mm, love you too, sweetie." Alex hummed, though her expression was a bit tight.

"But if River's going to write that book, she'd make it useful, yeah?" Amy brought up, attempting to help.

"I'll certainly try." River responded. "But we can't read ahead. It's too dangerous."

"I know, but there must be something we can look at."

"What? A page of handy hints? Previews? Spoiler free?" The Doctor scoffed and Alex reached into her pocket and chucked a piece of hard candy at his head. "Ow!"

"Be nice!" She scolded, making him pout as Amy smirked.

"Chapter titles."

The Doctor pointed, giving her that one and skimmed the chapter titles. "He's in the cellar."

Amy made grabby hands at him. "Gimmie."

He tossed her the sonic and off she went to get the Doctor as Alex called out to her.

"See if you can turn on some lights before you go down there! Watch out for the babies too!"

If Amy heard her, she didn't respond and Alex sighed softly as the Doctor got up to rush out after her, only to pause.

"Doctor?" River called out, confused as to why he stopped. "Doctor, what is it? What's wrong?"

The Doctor turned, grabbing a hold of the chair nearby to keep him upright as he stared at the book in his hands in shock.

"River, don't." Alex muttered and River looked between them for a moment, before frowning.

"Okay, I know that face. _Both_ those faces." She said, just as the Doctor shouted and angrily threw the book down. "Talk to me! Doctor!"

"No!" He snapped, heading over and getting in Alex's face angrily. "Get your wrist out. You get your wrist out without breaking it and then you find me and you make this stop. I don't _care_ what you have to do, but it this… if that happened I _swear_ it's on your head." He growled out, storming away and leaving Alex and River in that room.

Alex let out a sigh, closing her eyes and resting her head on the fingers of the Angel's wrist with a soft smile.

"Oh, that man. That… stupid man." She breathed out and River went over to her in shock.

"I don't understand. What's going on? What is it?"

"The title of the last chapter." Alex explained, lifting her head and twisting her wrist back and forth slowly in search of a weak point. "It's 'Amelia's Farewell'. He's angry at me because I haven't said anything and he knows I _won't_ say anything."

"But your wrist—"

"Amy read a section of the book ahead of time, saying that he was going to break something. Once you read it, it's set in stone. So he's assuming that if I can get my wrist out without breaking it, then he has a chance of making the last chapter wrong. He has a chance at saving Amelia from whatever happens." Alex explained.

"Can you?" River asked, voice tight in pain as well.

Alex turned to her and smiled sadly. "I'll do my damned best."

River headed over though, making the smile falter. "Then tell me. Is this how it goes? In your foreknowledge. Do you get out alright?"

"River… I am never included in my foreknowledge." Alex said softly. "I was never the one who was supposed to get caught by the Angel."

River's eyes widened. "No… You… You did this for me?"

Alex gave her a small grin. "I would do _anything_ to keep my family happy. You included, River. I couldn't just stand there and watch the Doctor get angry with you over this."

"But now he's angry at _you_." She pressed.

"Oh, he's always angry at me for something." Alex chuckled, though the smile on her face was obviously fake. "This is just another to add to the list."

"How?" River asked suddenly. "How can you still smile like this?"

"Honestly? Because I know him. I know the Doctor and I know he'll be angry now, but he'll always love me in the end." Alex said, gesturing to the door with her head. "Now you better go. Catch up with him and I'll be there as soon as I get out of this."

River moved towards her instead though, kissing her cheek. "Please, don't break your wrist. Promise me."

"I'm sorry, River, but I can't do that." Alex said softly, and Rive bowed her head before nodding and leaving the room.

Alex sighed softly and looked up at the Angel with a small smile. "Now then, sweetheart, do you think you could quite possibly loosen your grip?"

* * *

I headed downstairs to where Amy, River, and the Doctor were quietly, hearing them talk from the other room.

"So, is this what's going to happen? We just keep chasing him and they keep pulling him further back?" Amy asked, River sitting on the stairs beside her and working her vortex manipulator as I walked in.

"He's not back in time. He's actually a few blocks from here." I said, catching their attention.

"You got out." The Doctor breathed out in relief.

Amy though, had more important things on her mind. "So? Where is he?"

"Few blocks that way." I said, gesturing with the book I'd brought with me. "A place called Winter Quay. Something which—if you'd read the chapter titles properly—you would have known."

"You take the fun out of everything, dear." River complained, though she was smiling at my being free.

"Oh, you know how it is. Just saving time." I smiled in return as the Doctor waved a hand at me.

"How did you get your wrist out without breaking it?"

"Please." I scoffed. "With all the martial arts I know? Getting my wrist out was no problem. I'm flexible."

His smirk widened as he sauntered closer, tapping my nose with a finger. "Oh, yes you are."

Amy cleared her throat and the Doctor chuckled as River stood.

"There's a car out front. Shall we steal it?"

I recognized the words and turned away from the Doctor a bit as he reached out and grabbed my hand.

"Let's go!"

I grit my teeth and ignored the pain from my other wrist, doing what I could to not bump it as the Doctor pulled me out to the car with the others trailing behind us. A quote came to me then, something this very Doctor would have said at Christmas.

"_Because every time you see them happy, you remember how sad they're going to be. And it breaks your heat. Because what's the point in them being happy now, if they're going to be sad later. The answer is, of course, because they are going to be sad later."_

I was hiding my broken wrist from the Doctor. I was giving him hope that he could change the ending to all of this mess. I wanted him happy for as long as I could, but was it right of me to make that choice for him? Would he rather know that the ending will be bad now, or should I stay quiet and have him find out later? How long before he found out himself? Could I keep hiding my wrist? What if he finds out at a bad moment? Or a good one? What if he finds out right before Amy finds Rory's gone? But I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill the hope he had now. He needed to believe that he _could_ change the future, if only for a moment. Because without that hope, it would crush him. So I said nothing. I hid my wrist from him, from Amy, from River. Even as we arrived at Winter Quay.

"Rory!" Amy called out as we walked down the hall, spotting him and hurrying into a room as I trailed behind River and the Doctor; who both abruptly stopped; forcing me to bite my lip to keep from crying out in pain when my wrist bumped my hip.

"Doctor, look at this. Why is it smiling?"

In front of us was an Angel, hands down and smiling at us as the Doctor spotted the name plate on the door Amy had just rushed into with Rory.

"Amy, Rory!" He called out, grabbing my good wrist—when I moved my injured one back just in time—and tugging River and I into the room. "Get out of there. Don't look at anything. Don't touch anything."

But it was too late. River closed the door behind us to keep us safe from the Weeping Angels, but everyone's eyes were locked on the old man reaching towards us in the bedroom.

"Who is that?"

"Amy." The old man called out and I winced, taking a slight step back and missing the concerned look River shot me. "Amy, please. Amy, please, please."

River turned to stare in shock as the old man coughed and Amy approached him; the Doctor closing his eyes and turning away with a pained look on his face as Amy called out.

"Rory… he's you."

The old man breathed Amy's name with his last breath as Rory turned around.

"Someone, please. Tell me what is going on?"

"I'm sorry, Rory, but you just died." The Doctor said quietly, remembering the chapter title in the book and trying to explain as he walked over to the window. "This place is policed by Angels. Every time you try to escape, you get zapped back in time."

"So this place belongs to the Angels? They built it?" Amy said in disbelief.

"Displacing someone back in time creates time energy, and that is what the Angels feed on. But normally, it's a one off, a hit and run. If they could keep hold of their victims, feed off their time energy over and over again. This place is a farm. A battery farm. How many Angels in New York?" He asked, pointing at River as I stayed by the door silently.

"It's like they've taken over every statue in the city."

"The Angels take Manhattan because they can, because they've never had a food source like this one. The city that never sleeps."

There were loud crashes outside and Rory gave the window a worried look.

"What was that?"

"I don't know, but I think they're coming for you." The Doctor responded.

"What does that mean? What is going to happen to me? What is physically going to happen?"

The Doctor sat down, wringing his hands. "The Angels come for you. They'll zap you back in time to this very spot, thirty, forty years ago. And you'll live out the rest of your life in that room, until you die in that bed."

"And will Amy be there?" Rory asked, more concerned about that than he let on, I was sure.

"No."

"How do you know?" Amy challenged.

"Because he was so pleased to see you again."

"Okay. Well, they haven't taken me yet." Rory said, grabbing at straws now. "What if I just run? What if I just get the hell out of here? Then that never happens."

"It's already happened. Rory, you've just witnessed your own future." The Doctor pressed, but River's eyes widened.

"Doctor, he's right."

"No, he isn't."

She ignored him, stepping around me. "If Rory got out, it would create a paradox."

The heavy crashes outside started up again and Amy made a comment about them, but was ignored as River went on.

"This is the Angel's food source. The paradox poisons the well. It could kill them all. This whole place would literally unhappen."

"It would be almost impossible."

"Loving the almost." River smiled.

"But to create a paradox like that takes almost unimaginable power. What have we got, eh? Tell me. Come on, what?"

"I won't let them take him. That's what we've got." Amy said, taking Rory's hand confidently.

Rory though, was worried about the noises outside. "Whatever that thing is, it's getting closer."

"We _are_ in New York." I said quietly, making him turn to me. "What's the biggest statue they've got?... Old Lady Liberty."

Rory swallowed thickly, but the Doctor drew his attention back to him.

"Rory, even if you got out, you'd have to keep running for the rest of your life. They would be chasing you forever."

"Well then, better get started." Amy said, making me move so she could open the apartment door, only for an Angel to be standing outside. "Husband, run!"

She kept an eye on the Angel up until Rory grabbed her and they both darted past. The Doctor grabbed my hand—good one again, I was on a roll—but the moment we tried to step out, the lights flickered and two Angels blocked the doorway.

"River, I'm not sure this can work."

"Husband, shut up." I said softly, eyes locked on the Angels' noses. "I'll have you know, it does."

_For a while._ I thought with a cringe as the lights went out and on again, allowing the Angels into the room. This happened a number of times, surrounding us with Angels as we went back to back to keep an eye on them and the Doctor sonicked the light to keep it on.

"We can't keep doing this."

"Then let's _run_!" I called out, us making a bolt for it and just barely dodging the Angel's grasps as we ran.

The Doctor went to turn towards the stairs, but I grabbed him and turned towards the fire escape.

"This way! They've got the stairs covered!"

We all finally reached the roof just in time for the Doctor to see Amy and Rory standing on the ledge.

"What the _hell_ are you doing?!" The Doctor demanded, rushing towards them as River helped me up onto the roof with a suspicious look.

I smiled the pain off my face, doing what I could to convince her I was fine even thought my wrist felt like it was on fire, and we turned to see Amy and Rory as well.

"Changing the future. It's called marriage." Amy said quietly, before her and Rory stepped off the roof and fell.

"Amy! Amy!" The Doctor called out, rushing for the side of the roof, but I grabbed him and stopped him. "Let me go! Amy!"

"Doctor! Stop it and look!" I shouted back, preventing him from watching Amy and Rory fall to their deaths and showing him the lights that began to form all around us.

"What's happening?!" River called out.

"The paradox. It's working! The paradox is working!" He shouted, before everything whited out and we all ended up back at the Tardis in a graveyard.

"Where are we?" Rory asked, him and Amy sitting up not too far from where we were and the Doctor rushed over to them, before River grabbed my arm and tugged me aside.

"Alright, what's going on?"

"Hm?" I hummed innocently, but she glared.

"Don't do this, Alex. I know you. _He _knows you. Do you really think you can hide something from us? Now tell me."

I hesitated, turning to look over my shoulder as the Doctor spoke excitedly with Amy and Rory. "He's happy, Mels. That's all I wanted."

"But you're not." She pressed. "And I want to know why."

I looked back at her with sad eyes and shifted my gaze down to my injured hand; a few drops of blood dripping off the end of my fingers. She followed my gaze and gasped quietly, carefully reaching down and bringing the hand up to look at with wide eyes.

"But you said—"

"I lied, Mels. Because I wanted him to be happy and to have that bit of hope. Look at him." I turned back to see the Doctor smiling away and hugging the two Ponds. "How could I take that away from him?"

"He'll find out."

I nodded. "Yes, but why ruin a good moment with something like this? This was always going to happen, Mels. He was always going to get angry. I would know."

Her eyes latched onto mine sadly. "You… You've been through this already."

"I've been through him being angry many times, but I know what happens after this. After this exact moment, I will pop up again with him. A younger me, a newly regenerated me. I will pop up after you've gone and he will be… he will be more furious than I've seen him in a long while."

She grabbed my upper arms, shaking me slightly. "Then change it. Please, tell me you can change it."

I shook my head. "I'm so sorry, River. But they'll be happy. I promise you that. At the end of the day, everyone will be happy. Even the Doctor."

"And you?" She asked me. "Will _you_ be happy?"

I couldn't answer that. Not really, anyway. Yes, I would always love the Doctor. But would I be happy that I allowed Amy and Rory to get sent to the past to die? No. I will carry that with me, just as I have all of his other companions' deaths that I've been a witness to. I won't be happy at the end of the day, but at the end of the week? The end of the year? Who knows? I had no idea where I'd pop off to next, but I hoped it would be with a Doctor who loved me despite what I did here. Or what I didn't do, in any case.

"Oi, you two. What are you doing hiding back here?" The Doctor called out, frowning slightly and River reluctantly smiled as though we hadn't just been talking about her parents dying.

"Well, when you leave your wife all alone, what else am I supposed to do?" She chirped, before looking over the Tardis as he wiped at a stain from a fire extinguisher. "It could do with a repaint."

"I've been busy." He replied, though I caught him glancing at me.

"Does the bulb on top need changing?"

"I just changed it."

"So, Amy and Rory then." She hummed, changing the subject as he helped him wipe it down.

"Yes, I know, I _know_." He said, threatening her with his sponge.

"I'm just saying. They're going to get terribly bored hanging round here all day."

"Doctor." Rory called out and the Doctor turned around and thrust his arms up in the air.

"Ha!"

"Look, next time, could we just go to the pub?"

"I want to go to the pub right now. Are there video games there? I love video games."

"Right. Family outing then." River commented and the three of us headed into the Tardis, though I took another long look at Amy and Rory before I did so.

I sighed quietly, looking down at the ground before stepping into the Tardis, not expecting the hand to shoot out and grab my arm; tugging me off to another room. I grimaced when my back hit the wall and the door closed, turning my scowl to the man standing nose-to-nose with me in the small closet and the string from the bulb above us dangling just to my left.

"You could have just _asked_, you know." I grumbled, gritting my teeth against the pain traveling up my arm as he frowned down at me.

"You're hiding something from me, Alex." He said though, making me swallow thickly.

"What else was I supposed to do?" I said, so softly _I_ could barely hear it, and the words made his eyes search mine desperately for answers. "You were just so happy. How was I supposed to take that away from you?"

"What is it?" He asked, worry thickening his voice. "Alex, what's wrong? Tell me, please."

He grabbed my hand then, giving me no time to stop him and I let out a quiet cry of pain, making him stop and look down at my wrist.

"No…" He breathed out, lifting it up as gently as he could and taking in the damage before looking at my heartbroken expression.

"I-I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do. I've tried to think of everything, but this way they're happy."

"Alex. Alex, what are you talking about?" He demanded, getting more frantic and unconsciously tightening his grip on my hand, making me wince. "Alex, what's going to happen? What is it?"

I felt the ache in my shoulder then and I grimaced, hating that I was going to leave him in the next few moments, dealing with this alone. _I'd rather be there and have him angry at me._

"They'll be happy. I can promise you that, Doctor, so please… please don't be too angry with me. Understand that I did everything I could. And I stayed quiet because I just wanted you to be happy in those few last moments with them."

He opened his mouth to say something, but Amy's shout came from outside and his eyes widened. "No…"

"I'm sorry, but I wouldn't change what I did." I repeated and his previously worried eyes narrowed into a ferocious expression as he dropped my hand harshly and snarled at me.

"I _hate_ you."

The worst part was, as he walked out those doors, I smiled.

"No. No, you don't."

And he looked back at me angrily just before I popped off, ending up someplace I'd never expected.

* * *

_**Sneak Peak:**_

_"Name." The sergeant called out and I grinned._

_"Justin Noble."_

He always did say I looked like a Justin, and how could I _not _use Donna's last name?

_"Age?"_

_"Ooh, that's a tough one." I hummed, not seeing the Doctor give me a curious look as I tapped my chin. "We talking how I look? Or how I act?"_


	85. The Invasion of the Dinosaurs (3rd Doc)

**Hey guys! Thanks so much for all the helpful ideas! This one, as mentioned before, is with the 3rd Doctor so please have watched "The Invasion of the Dinosaurs" before reading this (or don't. i'm not your boss)! but i hope you all enjoy it and i will be doing more classic who adventures later (i've got one with the 5th doctor in planning already). but PLEASE review and let me know what you think. i'm hoping i kept the doctor in character-he was fun to write-and i hope you all like how he and alex get along, but your feedback would be appreciated. and let me know if there's any classic who adventures that you like and i'll see about doing them as well ^^ ****and sorry if her "fake name" causes some confusion. i ran out of Alex alternatives...**

**Also! I've been deleting Author Note chapters, so sorry if that makes reviewing on this one a bit more difficult. you can PM me if you want instead, or simply log out and write one then log in again. doesn't matter to me :)**

* * *

"Put your hands up!"

I turned, blinking at the military men and their semi-automatics. "Hm? Am I under arrest again?"

The man fired a few shots up in the air and glared at me. "That will be your only warning."

"Oh, well now. You really shouldn't do that. Who knows where those falling bullets will end up. You could kill someone." I mused out loud as I raised my hands.

"Turn around and place your hands on the wall."

"Yes, yes." I sighed, doing as he said and wondering what I'd done by showing up in an alleyway and shifting through a duffle bag on the ground beside me. "Tough be careful. My wrist is broken."

_And here I thought a future self had left me some things. The bag's only full of clothes and a handful of jewelry, which I haven't the slightest idea how they got there._ I hummed to myself as I was searched and the bag searched as well, singing quietly under my breath.

"I got that sunshine in my pocket, got that good soul in my feet."

My head was shoved harshly as the guard snarled at me. "Knock it off."

"Oh, come now. I'm not allowed to sing a catchy tune?" I whined as I was handcuffed and led away from the alleyway and to a waiting old-styled car; attempting to keep my wrist still. "Golly, you lot have got some antique stuff. How old's your car?"

He turned a nice shade of angry, fire engine red. "It's the second best model!"

"Ooh, only second best?" I teased and he growled as he shoved me into the back of the vehicle; his partner attempting to comfort him and telling him to take no notice of me as I chuckled.

I looked out the windows though, during our short trip to wherever we were headed, taking notice of _all_ the old-style cars parked along the curbs and the older buildings. _London, which is a plus, though it's an older London at that. Doctor would probably be around here somewhere, especially if there's literally no one around and the military has control. Must be quite the problem situation. _I mused idly, before noticing my reflection and pouting. _Aw, the blue dye is already gone. Stupid body. River said something like this would happen. Otherwise I wouldn't have agreed to dye my hair that color. But to only have it for a day seems a bit of a waste._ The car was soon pulled to a stop and I was let out, led by the none-too-pleased man from before into another building where a desk sat and three others stood before it; two of which looked familiar, though I couldn't place where I might know them from.

The cuffs were removed from my wrists and I grinned as I was pushed forward to join the small que, a sergeant at the desk reading something out to the man before him.

"Right. You were arrested today, found looting in possession of two tape recorders, one radio and a color television set. You will be held for military trial. Photographs. Next."

A man pushed him to the side and the older gentleman in a cape and the young woman at his side stepped forward.

"Names?" The sergeant asked, but the older man could care less, it seemed.

"Now, if I can have a word with someone in authority."

"Names." The sergeant pressed and the woman gave in first, surprising me when she responded.

"Sarah Jane Smith."

"Name."

"Doctor John Smith." The other man replied, making the grin on my face widen. "No relation."

_Oh, this is new! A Doctor I've never met. A _young_ Doctor, and Sarah Jane Smith too! Oh, but they don't know me. They're not supposed to know who I am until Big Ears and the bat creeps. Hm, best use a different name then. Something… fun._ The Doctor and Sarah Jane were sent to get their photographs done, making me chuckle with the Doctor's goofing around, reminding me of Eleven, though I was more than certain this was one of the single-digit Doctors. _Now if only I could remember which one. Not the scarf one, not the question mark jumper one, nor the ridiculous colored coat or Mr. Grumpy Jerk Face—also known as the _First_ Doctor._

"Name." The sergeant called out and I grinned.

"Justin Noble."

_He always did say I looked like a Justin, and how could I _not_ use Donna's last name?_

"Age?"

"Ooh, that's a tough one." I hummed, not seeing the Doctor give me a curious look as I tapped my chin. "We talking how I look? Or how I act?"

The sergeant gave me an annoyed look and went on to ask the soldier what I'd done.

"Looting clothing and jewels."

"Right. You'll be held for military trial. Over there for photographs." The sergeant waved me off and I happily bounced over to get my photo taken, making faces at the camera until the solder holding the card for my mug shot got angry with me and I finally just smiled and got them taken before heading over to join the Doctor and Sarah Jane in a corner with our other friend and the soldier told to watch us.

"Sit down." The soldier told me and I looked around, seeing no third chair and instead hopping up on the edge of the small stage beside them.

He looked annoyed, but said nothing and went back to whatever he was doing. I locked eyes with the Doctor once he'd gone and thrust out my hand with a grin.

"Hello! I'm Justin Noble, suspect caught in the unlucky circumstances of finding a bag in an alleyway that happened to have jewels and clothing in it. You?"

He smiled, shaking my hand. "I'm the Doctor and this is Sarah Jane. Two suspects in the unfortunate circumstances of borrowing a car to get away from thieves that attacked us, and being pulled over by armed guards to find their loot in the car as well."

"Sounds fun and it's nice to meet you both. Now, two things. Would you mind telling me the date?"

He raised a brow. "The date?"

I nodded. "Year, preferably. The day and month don't matter to me as much. Unless it's Christmas. Then it matters."

He smiled. "Just after Christmas, actually. It is January 12, 1974."

_The seventies, huh? He's quite young then, though I can hardly ask 'which one are you'._

"Right, and my second question. Have either of you got a clue what's going on? Military running things, abandoned streets. Must be quite the catastrophe out there, but I've yet to see anything worthwhile. You?"

He blinked, looking surprised. "Well, I was hoping you might know. We've certainly no idea." He glanced at the other man on the ground. "Maybe this gentleman here can enlighten us. How do you do, sir? I'm the Doctor."

"You've got nothing to be cheerful about." The man snipped. "There's no judge and jury now, mate. Military law."

"But why?" Sarah Jane asked, having been listening quietly up until now.

"Where you been? Because of the monsters!"

The three of us glanced at one another, but the man wouldn't give us much more than that, much less a description, so we settled down and waited. Myself mostly to see what'd happen next. The Doctor was hardly one for sitting still for long—at least the later one—so I was curious to see how this Doctor would handle things. Presently, he was napping as I scribbled on a Sudoku page from my jacket pocket; something Sarah Jane caught me at and curiously gave me a look.

"What's that then?"

"Hm? Oh, It's a Sudoku puzzle." I chirped happily, only to catch the Doctor's attention and rise him from his nap, making me wonder when Sudoku had been invented and if I'd just given myself away.

"A su-what?"

"It's like a crossword puzzle, but with numbers… sort of. Here, I'll show you." I said, glancing at the soldier reading a magazine before hopping down from my perch and sitting on the ground beside Sarah Jane. "See, there's these 3x3 boxes and each one has to be filled with the numbers one through nine, _but_ each row and column has to have one through nine also, and you can't have doubles of any number in the same row, column, or box."

She blinked curiously, pointing at the oddly shaped intertwined boxes on the page. "But you have two threes in the same row here. And three ones in that column."

"Well, this one's a bit tougher. See, the bottom right square of this puzzle box is the top left square of this one. So it's special. You have to use the numbers from both puzzle boxes to fill it out, but the numbers from this puzzle box have no effect on the numbers in this one." I explained, though I could see her getting more confused by the second. "Ah, it's a bit complicated, sorry. I've tried explaining a normal Sudoku box to most people and they don't really get it, so trying to explain two inter-connected boxes is a bit tougher on the mind if you don't know what you're doing."

"Seems simple enough." The Doctor said suddenly, tapping at a small box on the page. "That one would be a four then, yes?"

I looked and nodded, giving him a grin. "Right you are, Doctor. Quite the clever clogs, aren't ya?"

He smiled, preening himself smugly at having figured it out when the other man on the ground beside us, got our attention.

"Yes?"

"There's only him." The man whispered. "We could make a break for it."

"And get ourselves shot?" Sarah Jane whispered back harshly.

"You know what they'll do with us?"

I hummed. "Probably shut us in a detention camp for a bit until they get around to us. Why?"

"Look, with a bit of luck, we could get out of here. What do you reckon?" The man asked and the Doctor made a face.

"No, thank you very much."

_That's different. _I mused silently. _The later Doctor's weren't into violence, sure, but they weren't content to just sit around and wait for rescue either. Hm._ Someone walked in then, a soldier shouting and making me wince as he demanded we stand and approach the desk behind which another higher-ranking officer had just sat behind.

"Prisoners numbers 1700780, 1700781, 1700782, and 1700783, sir."

"We do have names, you know." The Doctor quipped, but was ignored as I snickered.

"Just these four, sergeant?" The officer asked the man who nodded.

"Yes, sir."

"Alright, let's get on with it. I have to be back at HQ in ten minutes' time. Evidence?"

The sergeant opened a file and gestured to the rather rude prisoner from earlier. "780, Lodge, sir. Caught in possession of two tape recorders, one radio and a color television set."

"Anything to say?" The captain—I was assuming—asked him.

"Well, yes. I, uh, found the stuff, see. I was going to hand it in." Lodge replied and the captain didn't even spare him a glance as he stamped his paperwork.

"You've been found guilty of looting. Under the authority vested in me by the Emergency Powers Act, I'm issuing an order that you be held in a military detention center for the duration of the emergency. You'll be handed over to the civil authorities for trial and sentence when time permits. Next."

Lodge was pushed aside and the Doctor and Sarah Jane stepped up as the sergeant rattled off their offenses.

"781 and 782 were caught together, sir, in possession of furs, jewels, and stolen money."

"Were they now?" The man said, as though that information interested him/

"Yes, sir."

"Anything to say?"

"We found those things after someone else had stolen them." Sarah Jane said, but even I was dubious, had I not heard those words from the Doctor's mouth earlier, or knew who they were.

"And you were going to have them in?"

"Yes."

"Very original." The captain drawled. "You've been found guilty of looting."

"Now, just one moment." The Doctor interrupted and I groaned quietly, hoping he wasn't about to do what I thought he was.

_If I remember right, the younger Doctors had connections in UNIT, but if he asks for a higher up, I doubt they'll believe it. Maybe if by name, but I doubt it. It's about as believable as Sarah Jane's story._ Sure enough though he did ask for someone, though I didn't expect it to be _the_ Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart.

"I suppose he's an old friend of yours?" The captain said, the doubt in his expression obvious.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, he is." The Doctor said.

"How very interesting. You've been found guilty of looting. Under the authority vested in me by the Emergency Powers Act, I'm issuing an order that you'll be held in a military detention center for the duration of the emergency. You will be handed over to the civil authorities for trial and sentence when time permits. Next."

I stepped forward then and quickly spoke before the sergeant could. "Now, come on, mate. You really think some old man like that and some girl could really steal all that stuff? Cut them some slack, yeah?"

The man gave me a bored look and gestured for the sergeant to rattle off my charges as I mouthed an apology over my shoulder to the Doctor and Sarah Jane. I did _try_, after all.

"783, Justin Noble. Caught in possession of stolen clothing and jewelery."

"Anything to say?"

"Oh, well, see. I've got a good reason for all that. My gran just died. Had this nasty cough." I rattled off, leaning forward with a grimace. "We think it might have been some bird flu or something. But she went and passed. Bless her soul. And she done gone and left me those things. So I figured, I needed some money. I best go into town and sell them. Then I was caught by you lot."

His eyes narrowed. "And your gran's name?"

"Justine Noble." I grinned, pointing to my chest. "I was named after her. Lovely lady. Made the best blueberry scones."

"And you expect us to believe that?"

I laughed. "Oh no! It's complete rubbish! I just wanted to see how long I could keep ya going."

The man glared at me and bit out his next words as he stood and gathered his things. "Put them on the next transport for detention center, will you?"

"Sir."

I chuckled still as I was brought back over to the Doctor, who was smiling alongside Sarah Jane at my antics, as the captain left and we were sent back to our corner where Lodge could scold us.

"See? I told you. Stuck in a detention camp for months. In prison."

"So what are we going to do, Doctor?" Sarah Jane asked once my giggles had died down. "Nobody will listen to us."

The Doctor leaned down to Lodge, whispering as he watched our guard. "Tell me, my friend. What was that idea that you had about escaping?"

"Well, there's three of us. We could jump him."

"Oh, I think we can be a bit more original than that, can't we?" The Doctor smiled, making me smile as well.

_Ooh, that sounds like the man I love. Can't settle for easy, has to have some fun too._

"So what so we do then?"

"We have a fight."

"Eh?" Lodge questioned, not whispering anymore as the Doctor raised his voice.

"You're the nark, aren't ya? It was you wot grassed on us!"

The man hesitated, but quickly caught on. "I never grassed in my life!"

"Yes you did. Come on! On your feet! Come on, up!" The Doctor shouted, pulling Lodge to his feet as the man attempted to fight him.

"Alright then, you dressed up twit! You asked for it!"

The Doctor easily blocked a punch that I whistled in appreciation at, and the two began wrestling until the guard came over and tried to split them up, only for the Doctor to pinch a nerve and knock him out.

"What did you do?"

"Vulcan nerve pinch?" I asked, bouncing in place in excitement, and forgetting the year we were in. "Ooh, you've got to teach me that one."

He gave me a suspicious look, but we had more important things to worry about as Lodge grabbed the gun off the soldier.

"Never mind that. Come on, let's get out of here." The Doctor said, but Lodge blocked our way with his weapon.

"Ah, no. Not you. You go that way."

"But we'll run straight into the soldiers." Sarah Jane argued.

"Yeah, and while they're busy with you, I'll get away."

"Oh, so much for honor amongst thieves." The Doctor drawled and I rolled my eyes before swiftly and easily grabbing the gun out of the man's grip, slamming my elbow into the crook of his arm and then proceeding to flip him onto the ground unconscious.

Sarah Jane stared, slack jawed as I smiled and tossed the weapon aside.

"Shall we?"

The Doctor grinned along with me and grabbed Sarah Jane's hand, tugging her along as we hurried outside to where a car was awaiting. The Doctor and Sarah Jane climbed in up front with myself in the back and I leaned over the seats as he started looking around.

"What are you looking for?" Sarah Jane asked.

"A piece of wire to jump the ignition."

"Did you check the panel under the dash?" I offered and he nodded.

"I'll try in the back."

He got out, but it wasn't long before the door opened and we were all ordered out by a couple of soldiers who'd discovered us. Apparently, the vehicle we were attempting to take was the transport vehicle to the detention center. Lucky us.

* * *

The Doctor watched this Justin Noble curiously now that everyone was handcuffed in the back of the detention vehicle. He seemed rather amused by the whole thing, really, and this made the Doctor very curious to learn more about him. Or her, as he suspected might be the case. The femininity was there, but hidden easily, however it wasn't anything that bothered him. It only made him happier to see that she was someone willing to be on their side. It was odd though. The Sudoku book she had—despite being searched thoroughly—was perhaps five years ahead of its time, and her asking for the date was odd as well. Making him wonder if she was perhaps not in her right time, though the thought of that had him concerned in and of itself. No one should have the ability to time travel without knowing the proper responsibilities it held. He couldn't help but feel that this woman was dangerous, but at the same time, as harmless as a fly.

There were things about her though, that made him more curious than cautioned. For one, she'd already helped them by disarming Lodge—though he was perfectly capable himself and with a possibly broken wrist at that—and she'd attempted to get them off their charges as well; unsuccessfully, but she did try. She was clever too. Sudoku puzzles, the partially believable story she made up about a sick grandmother in an instant, and her knowledge of where the inner workings of a car proved as much. But there was this look in her eyes. Something that told him her goofy nature was just a mask covering what she really held inside. Yet she looked so young. He feared she might have been older than she appeared, but even then, the look she held in her eyes made him wonder just what sorts of things she'd been through in her lifetime. Possible alien or not. His musings on their newest addition were interrupted though, when Sarah Jane spoke up.

"I can see us being locked up for months. Sewing mail bags probably. I mean, let's face it. Nobody's listened to us so far."

The Doctor went to say something, but the car suddenly drove to a halt and there was a loud roar, making him stand and peer out from the back of the car with Justin to see something unbelievable.

"You're kidding." Justin breathed out, though a grin began to form on her face. "Oh, this is bloody brilliant."

The soldiers got out and began shooting at the T-rex, moving away from the vehicle as the Doctor went about getting the back open and helping Sarah Jane out. Justin hopped out on her own—her handcuffs being around both of her own wrists and not attached to the Doctor like Sarah Jane's were—and they high tailed it out of there. Justin stopped though, looking back at the T-rex with a look that the Doctor would have considered sad or sorrowful, though he wasn't sure why she felt this way.

"Come on, then!" He called out and she reluctantly turned and hurried after them, catching up easily and not even out of breath when they finally came to a stop in a small workshop.

"That thing. What was it?" Sarah Jane asked and Justin spoke up before the Doctor could.

"A Tyrannosaurus Rex. Poor thing's terrified."

The Doctor gave her a look at that as she went about digging through some of the things nearby.

"But… But those things died out millions of years ago." Sarah jane said in shock, not taking notice of what Justin had said about it being frightened.

"Yes, sixty-five million years ago, to be precise." The Doctor rattled on. "Now what are you doing, Justin? And what did you mean by the creature being terrified? How do you know?"

"Oh, come now, Doctor. Do a bit of thinking." She hummed, grinning when she held up a couple of small screwdrivers. "I can't give you all the answers and I think I've given you enough hints. Use that big brain of yours to figure it out."

She grabbed them both by the handcuffs and brought them to a workbench nearby where she passed him the screwdrivers to begin working on picking the locks; her wrist preventing her from doing it herself.

"You're not human." The Doctor said first.

"What?!" Sarah Jane exclaimed as Justin's brows furrowed.

"Hm, not what I expected you to figure out right off the bat, but partially right. I'm only part human, though I can't tell you what else. Talking about the T-Rex gave that away though, yes?"

He nodded. "Telepathic and empathic."

"Yup to both, though don't worry. Your thoughts are safe. I don't pry." She said, smiling when the Doctor got his hand free and he began working on Sarah Jane's. "What else?"

"You're older than you appear and not from this time."

"Again, right on both accounts. I believe I'm nearing 616 now, age wise…" She paused, looking up with a frown. "Ooh, I'm old."

The Doctor snorted at that, but Sarah Jane was still gaping in shock as she resumed.

"And as for not from this time, try not from this universe."

"Impossible!" The Doctor exclaimed and Sarah Jane was freed before we went to release her.

"Not quite, spaceman, but I can't tell you any more, unfortunately. I don't even know why I'm here. I honestly shouldn't have met either of you yet."

He stared in shock, twisting the screwdriver and making her wince.

"Oi, watch it, that hurts."

"Ah, sorry." He muttered, adjusting the tools a few more times before finally releasing her. "You're from our future."

"Far future, really." Justine mused, cradling the broken and poorly splinted one to her chest. "As I said, I don't know how I ended up here. I usually stick around your later self. Luck of the draw, I guess. Ah, but don't go asking me anything else. I've already given up more than I should. And you know how it can get. Don't want to ruin timelines or anything. Which reminds me, none of this mess is my fault, so don't go pointing fingers. Alright?"

He narrowed his eyes, but soon nodded; seeing no threat from the woman now. "Right. Now, let's review the situation." He said, changing the subject for now.

"You're just going to let this go?!" Sarah Jane exclaimed in shock.

"Well, she's not harming anyone." The Doctor mused as Justin grinned.

"I'll be good. Scout's honor." She said, doing the salute, but Sarah Jane was even more stunned.

"A woman as well?! What else are you hiding from us?!"

"My name. But like I said, I'm not supposed to have met you yet. If I give myself away to you two too early, I might very well change the entire universe, and we can't have that." Justin replied, before there was a roar from outside and she turned her head to the door. "Well, not much more than it's already changed. Dinosaurs in London. Can't say that's new."

"_Central_ London, actually." The Doctor corrected and Justin raised a brow at him as Sarah Jane frowned.

"Well, how do you know it's only central London?"

"Because those soldiers were talking about the central zone, weren't they?" He replied.

"But where did that monster come from?"

"Oi, not a monster." Justin corrected. "Just because it's different, doesn't mean it's any different from any of the other creatures on Earth now. And I'd honestly say she probably came from sixty-five million years ago."

"But couldn't there have been an egg, buried in the ground somewhere, and somehow or other it hatched out?" Sarah Jane offered, but the Doctor scoffed.

"What? Producing a sweet little baby creature?" He said, being sure to use the word 'creature' and not 'monster'.

Justine seemed to have issues with unjustified discrimination towards _any_ creature, and she was, technically, correct. The animal was hardly a monster.

"Yes. Ah, no." She said, seeing the no logic in her previous theory. "No, how would it grow to that size without anyone noticing."

"Perhaps somebody kept it as a pet and turned it out when it got too big to feed." The Doctor offered next. "Anyway, aren't you forgetting that pterodactyl that attacked us in the warehouse?"

Sarah Jane waltzed over and crossed her arms, giving him an amused look. "I suppose you've got the explanation then?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I think I have."

Justin waved. "I've got an idea too, if anyone's wondering."

Someone rushed to the door then, startling the group and the Doctor quickly turned to the man; though not without taking notice that Justin had reached towards her waist as though reaching for a weapon that wasn't there.

"Hello? Who are you?"

"Back! Back, accursed wizard!" The man shouted at them and the trio exchanged befuddled looks.

"Wizard? I'm no wizard, I assure you. You've got no need to be frightened of me."

Or so the Doctor said, but the man drew a blade that made Justin tug the Doctor back as Sarah Jane told him to be careful.

"How did you get here?" The Doctor asked him and the scruffy man frowned.

"The witch. She's cast a spell on me. I'll tell the priest and have her burned!" He threatened, though who he was threatening was up in the air.

"Yes, yes, of course. Look, do you know what year it is?"

The man hesitated and Sarah Jane pressed forward.

"What's the name of the king?"

"Well, Richard, of course." The man finally responded. "But he's in the Holy Land. John rules now."

The trio looked between themselves again.

"Look. Take the curse off me, wizard. Send me home." The man begged.

"I only wish I could."

"Send me home. Send me home to you die!"

Justin shook her head at the man returning to threats.

"I'm afraid I don't have that power." The Doctor apologized, but the man lunged for him.

Needless to say, the Doctor was caught off guard, however, Justin was on top of things and rather quick; getting between the two and earning a small cut on her cheek for the stunt as she attempted to wrestle the knife from the man.

"Ooh, stronger than you look, eh?" She smirked, bent over backwards on a table before a mischievous twinkle came to her eyes. "Though you're not the only one."

She shifted her weight and managed to hook her foot behind the man's ankle, taking him down in one swift movement. Suddenly though, the man went in reverse and stood, retracing his steps back to where he'd been at the door, before suddenly disappearing. The Doctor and her stared in shock, though she had a bit of a pained expression on her face, and Sarah Jane turned around to them both in shock.

"W-What happened? He was going to kill you."

"Fascinating." The Doctor said instead of answering her question. "Absolutely fascinating. That was a time eddy. For a moment there, time went backwards."

"What, like a time pocket moving in the wrong direction?" Justin offered and the Doctor blinked in surprise at her knowledge of such a thing, before shaking his head.

"Oh, no. Bit more complicated than that. Focuses less on the space around the object and more on the object in question itself."

"Headache makes sense then." Justin muttered, making the Doctor frown suddenly before there was the sound of squealing brakes outside.

Sarah Jane rushed to the door and peaked around the corner, poking her head back in. "Soldiers. They're searching… They're coming nearer!"

"Can you bolt that door?" The Doctor asked as Justin began searching for a second exit.

"No!"

"Hide!" He ordered, grabbing Justin and pulling her around the corner next to the door with him as Sarah Jane hid on the other side.

The door opened and a soldier walked in, but just as the Doctor went to knock them out, he stopped.

"Brigadier!"

The soldier eyed his almost attack with an annoyed look. "What do you think you're doing, Doctor?"

Justin poked her head around the Doctor and smirked as she pointed at him. "Who's this? Your babysitter?"

* * *

"It all started just after you, Doctor. And as we later discovered, Miss Smith." The Brigadier drawled as I accepted a cup of tea from the solider handing them out.

"We were helping you, and if you knew what we'd been through—"

"Yes, some other time, Miss Smith, if you don't mind." He cut her off, making me frown slightly into my cup as I sipped it; only to grimace.

_Ugh, I don't know what's more bitter. This tea or the fact that this time period seems to completely write off women. Though if I know Sarah Jane, then I know she won't put up with it for much longer._ I snatched some sugar from the bag the Doctor was taking it from and plopped some in my own tea; grateful that my broken wrist was properly splinted now and dulling aching instead of the painful throbbing he had been doing. _I can only hope I get back to a more modern Doctor who can set the bones properly and get me a cast. It's getting harder to hide the pain, especially with this headache. Stupid not-time pockets._

"A variety of prehistoric reptiles began to appear in the central London area." The Brigadier rambled on as I only half listened. "There was, as you can imagine, considerable panic and some loss of life."

"How many of these thing have been seen up to now?" The Doctor asked.

"Well, the pins record the sighting—"

He was cut off as the excited tea soldier explained how the pins were color coded for each species of dinosaur; myself taking interest in the blue pins and wondering how Tricy in Siluria was doing.

"We soon realized that these creatures only appear in central London." The Brigadier went on upon taking back the reins of the conversation. "We therefore evacuated the entire area and set up this temporary HQ, which—as you can see from the map—is on the periphery of the zone."

"You've evacuated everybody?"

I let out a low whistle. "That couldn't have been easy."

He hummed, though puffed out his chest proudly. "Eight million people. I'm happy to say the evacuation was carried out without a hitch. Of course, the criminal element has been taking advantage of the situation."

"Looters, you mean. Like those people we met."

"There's been quite a bit of that, I'm afraid. But we're keeping them under control. However, I believe you've yet to introduce me to your new… _companion_." He said, narrowing his eyes at me as I smiled.

"Justin Noble, Brigadier. Old friend of his, or, well… new friend, in this case. I'll work with him in the future."

He raised a brow at that, but the Doctor waved him off.

"It's complicated. Question is, what're you doing about the real problem?"

"Well, as soon as these creatures appear, we make sure that they're contained within the evacuated zone and don't wander off into populated areas."

"Well, having contained them, what do you do then?" He pressed, making me watch the Brigadier in curiosity.

_The Doctor obviously expects him to have figured things out to a point, but the man isn't quite as clever as he thinks he is. These two make an odd match for certain._

"Ah, well, that's where you come in, Doctor. So far, we've absolutely no idea where they're coming from—or come to that—where they go."

"Where they go?" Sarah Jane asked, taking the words from my mouth.

"Yes, that's one of the few good things about the entire situation. According to my patrols, they seem to vanish. Just disappear. No one sees them come, no one sees them go."

_Ah, I get it._

"But things that size, where could they go?" Sarah Jane questioned, not quite understanding, though the Doctor had figured it out.

"Well, that's pretty obvious, isn't it, Sarah?"

"Hm?"

"Back to the past." I piped in, trying my tea again after having added and ungodly amount of sugar in a vain attempt to improve the taste. "Something or someone is pulling them here and then having them walk about for a while before sending them back. Distraction maybe?"

The Doctor went to comment on that, but two soldiers entered.

"Alright, Brigadier, you can have your extra patrols, but I warn you, I shall expect results." The grumpy looking scrooge said; his attitude immediately putting me off.

_Must be a higher up then._ I mused as the Doctor got up and shook hands with the other one.

"Mike, my dear fellow. How are you? Good to see you again."

"Doctor." The man nodded back as the other scowled.

"Who's this?"

"Sir, this is the Doctor, our scientific adviser." The Brigadier responded.

"Oh. We've been waiting for you, you know. May I ask where you've been?"

"Certainly." The Doctor said, but not answering him as he turned away; making me smile.

"Well?"

"You can ask, but I don't guarantee that you'll get a reply."

I snorted, ditching the tea for now and checking my pockets to see if I had anything to drink or snack on; ignoring the grumpier man's glare aimed my way.

"Doctor, this is General Finch. He's in overall charge of the entire situation." The Brigadier introduced, calming the Doctor's suddenly snappish temper.

"Oh, is he indeed. How do you do, General?" The Doctor said, mellower now than a moment ago, though the General refused to shake his hand and he sat on the corner of the table with an exasperated look aimed at me.

I hummed, closing my eyes in understanding. _What a jerk._ _And_ he's _in charge? Must be doing a crappy job, seeing as there's nothing being done to stop this whole mess. Make me wonder what they've been doing this whole time. Other than running away, of course. I'll bet they haven't even started to look into it. Either because they're rather thick, or they're somehow involved. Military and the looters are the only ones left here anyhow. Can't be that hard to pin point the source of the problem._

"The Doctor's already come up with a most interesting theory, sir. He believes these creatures are coming to us from the past." The Brigadier said, though I frowned at him saying it was the Doctor who came up with the idea.

"Huh. Very interesting. How?" The General questioned and the Brigadier briefly looked at my annoyed expression before quickly turning his gaze to the Doctor.

"Yes, um, Doctor?"

"Somebody or something is operating a temporal displacement on a very vast scale."

"Never mind your scientific gobbledygook." The man complained and I let out a scoff through my nose.

_Scientific gobbledygook? Please. A chimpanzee could understand what he just said._ The Doctor, nonetheless, explained in simpler terms.

"The creatures are being brought from the past into the present, General, staying here for a while and then returning to their own time."

"Rubbish."

"You've got dinosaurs stomping around on your door step, but the idea that someone brought them around for a bit is impossible? Please. Did you lose your mind when you were promoted, General of desk work?"

He glared heatedly at me. "Who is this?"

"Ah, this is Justin Noble, my assistant." The Doctor said, covering my mouth before I could come up with another snarky retort.

And yes. I totally licked his hand, though he didn't remove it from over my mouth. Simply gave me a disgusted look.

"She's telling the truth, sir, if you think about it—" Sarah Jane spoke up, making the General's eyes narrow further at me in disapproval as he cut her off.

"And who are you?"

"Oh, Sarah Jane Smith. How do you do?"

Finch ignored her introduction and turned to Yates; the other soldier. "Civilians are not allowed in this zone. Have her evacuated immediately."

"Uh, Miss Smith and Noble are presently acting as my assistants, General." The Doctor pressed, turning back to her. "You were saying, my dear?"

"We have just met a man from the past. A peasant from the age of King John." She insisted, but the General looked disbelieving. "No, honestly, General. It's true."

"I'm not staying here to listen to this rubbish."

Yates though, bless him, attempted to convince him. "I think you'll find it worth listening to the Doctor, sir. He's given us a great deal of help in the past."

"Sergeant? Another sighting." A man sitting on the radio announced and Benton—a decent soldier, if I'd ever seen one—took it and went to pin it up as the Brigadier watched.

"Where is it, Benton?"

"Section five, sir. Somewhere here."

"Send for the artillery right away. We shall need field guns." Finch said and I immediately stood.

"We will _not_! They're harmless is you give them space! Why go and attack them?!"

"I'll thank you to stop interfering." Finch snapped at me and I glared, but the Doctor placed a hand on my shoulder and interrupted the two of us.

"General, we need to study this creature, not shoot at it. How much do you think we'll learn from a dead dinosaur?" He didn't bother to give the man a chance to answer and lightly tugged me towards the door. "Come on, Brigadier. I want you to take Justin and I down there right away."

We were in the back of a military car soon enough and I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, attempting to ignore the phantom smells of the trenches and sounds of artillery echoing in the back of my mind. _Focus on something else. Think about the Doctor. His silly bow tie, his spiky hair, his leather jacket, his angry eyebrows, his amused smirk and fluffy cravat._ The last one conjured up an image of the current Doctor before me and I felt myself relax slightly; only to be pulled out of my reverie by said man.

"You really should be careful of what you say, Justin. You could very well get yourself into trouble."

"General or not, he was being rude. I don't take kindly to rude people. And besides, I can get myself out of most trouble, Doctor."

"Oh? Then how did you come about that injury to your wrist then, hm?" He pressed, teasing but with a hint of suspicion and something else. "It's broken, is it not?"

I leaned my head back so that it was nearer to his—him being in the passenger seat while I sat in the bed of the vehicle. "For your information, Mr. Smarty-Pants, I got it preventing someone else from getting hurt. Your… rival, as it were."

"Rival? In what, exactly?"

I fluttered my eyes at him teasingly. "My affections, of course. And I must say, _she's_ starting to pull ahead."

His eyes widened as the Brigadier choked with a red tint to his own cheeks and I laughed; glad I was able to stump _both_ men with that. Neither had any questions for me after that, but I didn't mind. The teasing was so worth it to see this younger Doctor speechless and pink as a strawberry. _And to think, he's only perhaps one hundred years younger than me right now. Oh, I wonder what the later Doctor's will have to say when they remember this._ The car soon pulled to a stop and the three of us got out before being led to where a few other soldiers were; one calling out.

"It's coming this way, sir!"

Sure enough, a dino walked around the corner of a building and my eyes lit up.

"A Stegosaurus! Not nearly as cute as Tricy, but still."

The Doctor raised a brow. "Tricy?"

"A Triceratops I befriended. They really like apple hard candies." I responded easily, shoving down the soldier's gun before he could think about shooting at it. "Don't shoot, you idiot. That'll only scare it."

The Doctor nodded. "She's right. I want to take a good look at it."

"Be careful, Doctor." The Brigadier said and he waved him off as I followed behind him.

"Don't worry, Brigadier, it's a vegetarian. Justin, you should stand back."

"Please. I'd like to see you make me." I scoffed, earning a small smile from him as we approached, but didn't get too close. "Oh, she's a real sweetheart. Doesn't mind the change of scenery too much. Just wishes there was more green and less grey."

"Does she now… How far, exactly, do your abilities function and to what degree?"

"This is stretching it, to be honest." I replied honestly. "If I was touching her at all though, they'd be clear as day. Though a group of people in sheer panic has the same effect."

He hummed, before turning and heading back towards the group of soldiers with me trailing along behind him.

"Right, we'll need some rope and a strong net." The Doctor said, though I intended to wait this out and see how things would turn out before mentioning I could probably coerce the creature along with us without the need for trapping.

"You intend to catch it?" The Brigadier gaped in shock.

"Yes, of course. I want to observe it under laboratory conditions. Have you got any rope?"

"We've got some towing rope, sir." Another soldier offered, but the Brigadier was still rather stunned about the whole thing.

"You're going to tie it up?"

"That's my intention, yes."

The man glanced at me and I smiled innocently, knowing better than to question the ridiculousness of the Doctor, so he begrudgingly gave in.

"Alright, Corporal, carry on."

"Right, sir."

The Doctor must have felt further need to convince the man though and glanced back at the stegosaurus with a smile. "That creature has an amiable disposition, Brigadier, and a brain about the size of a walnut. I think we should be able to deal with it, don't you?"

I nodded. "Better than trying to wrangle a T-rex."

The Corporal returned with the rope and the Brigadier sighed.

"Well, of all the lunatic schemes. Alright then, let's give him a hand."

The men gathered together with the Doctor and I in the front, but just as we approached the creature, I cringed; a sharp pain going through my head. _Damn. That Tardis bit of me is _far_ too sensitive to these time pockets appearing and disappearing. It's like Craig's house all over again._

"Justin? You alright?" The Doctor questioned, placing a hand on my back as I gripped my head partially doubled over.

Seems he and I were the only ones capable of moving and witnessing the Stegosaurus disappearing though, because once the pain faded and the creature was gone, the Brigadier and his men looked around in confusion.

"It's gone!"

"It must have gone round the corner, sir. Should we go after it?"

"It's alright, Corporal. Don't bother." The Doctor told him, eyeing the spot where the dinosaur had disappeared and turning back to me. "And I want an explanation for these headaches of yours."

"Yes, well, remember when I told you I was only part human?"

His brows furrowed as we walked back to the car. "Yes."

"Well, another part of me is rather time sensitive. Hence, the headaches."

"Hm, perhaps I should study you instead. You seem to be chalk full of oddities."

I winced, placing a hand on my stomach. "Yeah, no. I've been dissected once and would rather that didn't happen again, thank you."

"Dissected?!" He exclaimed and I wondered how I could explain without giving away some large detail of his future.

"Ah, yes. In your future, mind you. Prevented a companion of yours from having it done to her, but as you can imagine, not entirely pain free. Couldn't look at pasta the same way for a while afterwards."

"But what for?"

"Scientific reasons. Same as any other scientist out there. He apologized afterwards, if that helps."

"Oh yes, cause an apology makes up for ripping you open." He said sarcastically and I raised a brow, surprised that this younger Doctor appeared to care enough for me in the past hour or so, to get upset on my behalf.

We were soon on our way back to the headquarters for the military—though in complete silence—and once there, had to explain the situation to Finch, who wasn't pleased.

"Disappeared? You mean _you_ disappeared when it got too close."

"No, sir." The Doctor replied, and I wondered if he ever got annoyed with people like Finch, who never heard things as they were properly explained to him.

"Then what happened? How did you lose it?"

"I've no idea, sir." The Brigadier explained. "One moment we were discussing the possibility of capturing it and the next, it had gone."

"Vanished into thin air, I suppose?" Finch mocked and I folded my arms over my chest.

"Is that really so hard to believe? Again, there's dinosaurs showing up in central London _out of thin air_, but them disappearing the same way is a shock to you? I'm sure this isn't the only case of this out there, and perhaps you haven't come out from behind your desk long enough to witness it first hand, but we've got five people who saw it vanish and you're still doubting?"

Finch turned to the Brigadier. "Did you see this happen?"

"Well, not exactly…" The man muttered and I rolled my eyes.

"Right, well two of us saw it go. They were effected by the time distortion."

"Time eddy." The Doctor corrected and I waved off his new made-up word as I pulled out a cigarette from my pocket and moved towards the window.

Yes, I'd reached that point in my annoyance. _And perhaps this Doctor could care less whether I smoked or not. Twelve certainly didn't appreciate it while we were with River._

"Whenever a creature appears or disappears, the temporal displacement causes a localized distortion in time. Now as far as the people in the immediate vicinity were concerned, time literally runs backwards, so naturally, they'd have no recollection of what had occurred." The Doctor explained to Finch the meaning of his word.

"These two are mad. Temporal displacement. Time travel is impossible. We all know that."

"I've traveled through time, General. The Doctor knows what he's talking about." Sarah Jane added on and I chuckled.

"Please, how do you lot think I got here? I thought my clothes would at least give me away. I pop around time near constantly. Half the kings and queens of England know that, though most don't approve of my presence. Ah, nor yours, Doctor. Keep an eye out for that. Queen Lizzy's out to take your head… and mine."

I earned odd looks for that as I took another drag and the Brigadier got things back on topic.

"Sir, suppose we accept the Doctor's theory, for the purposes of discussion. What happens next?"

"Well, we must capture one of the creatures." The Doctor repeated.

"And what good will that do?"

"Well, I think a study of one of these dinosaurs, General, might lead me to the source."

"It couldn't be a natural phenomenon, could it, Doctor?" The other soldier, Yates, offered. "Something going wrong with time?"

"Then why are they contained to this one area? These giant reptiles existed all over the planet, Mike. They'd be popping up everywhere."

I was grateful the Doctor didn't mention my time sensitivity in front of the General. The man already thought I was nuts, so we didn't need him believing that further.

"Doctor, what about that man we saw in the garage?" Sarah Jane asked.

"Either an accident or a test." I offered and the Doctor nodded.

"Accident, most likely. Whoever's responsible for these apparitions, General, is operating from somewhere in this area."

"You're overlooking one thing." Yates said. "This whole zone has been evacuated."

I grinned, hopping down from the window sill and bounding over towards the group. "Ooh, but see? Isn't that the best part? It's a locked room mystery, except the room is a deserted central London. So, who's the culprit? Someone still here. Could be the looters. Could be someone hidden away from the evacuation. Could be the military."

"Us?!" Finch exclaimed, looking ticked, but with something else that caught my attention.

_Guilt? Suspicion? Fear?_ "Why not? Military's running everything here. If they teamed up with some smart guy who knows his time travel theories, then who's to say?" I shrugged. "Military assistance could explain them being able to hide from the evacuation and could explain how they're able to use enough power to do this whole thing."

"But all the power's been cut off in central London." The Brigadier argued. "Just minimal emergency supplies."

"Then someone, Brigadier, is making their own." The Doctor concluded.

* * *

The Doctor welded away in the make-shift lab that he was using, attempting to make a device that would knock out one of the dinosaurs. Problem was, he kept getting interrupted. First it was Yates, questioning his ability to make something that would work, then it was Sarah Jane coming in to complain about General Finch and just as he managed to lock the door behind her, Justin entered the room. He fumed silently in his seat, working away and waiting for her to say something, but the woman remained quiet; simply watching. Finally, he got fed up and tossed down his tools.

"What? What is it? Here to complain about the General mistreating you? To question my abilities to create a device capable of knocking out a dinosaur? What is it? Out with it!"

She just blinked at him, confused. "No. None of that, really. The General may be rude, but some people just are. And I know full well what you're capable off and a knock out device is hardly difficult for someone like you. I simply wanted to watch. Problem?"

He stopped, feeling himself suddenly lose all of that pent up anger towards the interruptions as he stared at the woman across from him in blatant surprise.

"Really? Just to watch?"

"Well, yeah…" She looked at him curiously with a hint of amusement at his outburst. "For one thing, one learns more from observing than simply asking questions, I think. And I know you rather well. Or, not this you exactly, but the future you. And you are still the same person, so it's expected that you act similar now and later on. I know you don't care much for interruptions and like to work in peace, so that's what I'll give you. It's actually nice to just watch you work." She smiled and the Doctor shuffled awkwardly, wondering what it was about this woman that just made him feel at home; comfortable.

"Thank you." He finally said and she shrugged, settling back down in the chair across from him as he hesitantly glanced at her once more and went back to work.

Of course, it wasn't a moment later that the Brigadier entered with another man.

"Ah, there you are, Doctor. Now, what are you up to?"

"Oh, no." The Doctor complained, grabbing at his hair in annoyance and the Brigadier fidgeted uncertainly before turning to the man behind him.

"This is the Doctor, sir, our scientific adviser. Doctor, this is the Right Honorable Charles Grover. Minister with special powers." The Brigadier introduced.

"I do apologize for the interruption, Doctor. I realize how busy you are." The man apologized.

"Well, I'm glad somebody does." The Doctor drawled, not lifting his eyes from his work.

"I understand you may be able to help us find a solution to this crisis."

"Yes, I sincerely hope so." The Doctor finally looked up and put down his things. "Aren't you the chap who started the 'Save Planet Earth' society?"

"I had something to do with it."

"You also wrote that book, 'Last Chance For Man', didn't you?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Oh, my dear Grover. I'm delighted to meet you. This planet needs people like you." The Doctor said, getting up and shaking the man's hand.

"Yes, of course. You two have a great deal in common. The Doctor's very keen on this anti-pollution business." The Brigadier said.

"And so should you be, Brigadier. It affects all our lives."

"Oh, quite, sir. Quite."

"Now, I mustn't keep you, Doctor. I just wanted to make your acquaintance."

"Oh, nonsense, nonsense. No need to rush away. Come over here. Let me explain to you what I'm doing. Now then, in the first place…"

And off he went, repeating what he'd already told a number of others, but with more enthusiasm than before. He caught Justin's gaze on him a few times, not exactly pleased with how she gave him an amused look and a small shake of her head. He soon finished though, allowing Grover to hold the double barreled stun gun.

"Well, I admire your courage, Doctor. I only hope it works."

"I think it will. All we need now is a dinosaur to try it out on." The Doctor replied with a grin.

"We're doing our best to get you one, Doctor. All my spotter patrols are on maximum alert."

Grover though was more curious about something else. "Tell me, Doctor, have you any theories as to why this is happening?"

"Yes. I believe these dinosaurs are being used purely as a terror weapon in order to clear out central London. A distraction, as Justin had mentioned some time earlier."

The woman waved nonchalantly at Grover, who quickly turned his attention back to the Doctor.

"But why?"

"Well, presumably, so that some vast project can be carried out. Something for which people will get in the way."

"Yes, but why London? Why not the Yorkshire Moors or the Highlands of Scotland?"

"Why indeed. Well, there must be some overriding reason. There must be something that they need that's only available to them here. Any ideas, Justin?"

"Hm?" Justin glanced over, having been preoccupied with something on her mind that made the Doctor a little worried. "Oh, probably a place hidden and vast enough to work in. And if they have their own power source, then that is most likely a contributing factor as well. A secret lair, if you will." Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Ooh, I'll need one for my apocalyptic army."

That got her some strange looks, but before anyone could comment on it, someone entered the room.

"Sir, they've spotted one. Section twelve, power station. The Chief Engineer said if we don't remove it quickly, he'll have to switch off."

"Any idea what kind it is?" The Doctor asked the man.

"Uh, a pato-something."

"Apatosaurus, commonly known as the brontosaurus. Large, placid and stupid." The Doctor commented, wincing when Justin smacked him.

"Be nice. You're going to need that dinosaur and calling it stupid is just plain rude."

The Doctor pouted, rubbing where she'd his him and silently questioning how much strength this woman had hidden behind her masculine appearance, when the Brigadier spoke up.

"Transport standing by, Doctor."

He nodded and turned to Grover as he picked up his stun gun. "Will you excuse us, minister? I'll let you know as soon as we've captured it. Come on, Brigadier, Justin."

* * *

When we arrived, we were shown the dinosaur and I stared at the creature with a smile.

"Oh, he's brilliant." I said quietly, earning a smile from the Doctor as well.

"He's just what we need."

"Are you sure this is the kind you want, Doctor? It's rather large."

"The bigger, the better, Brigadier."

"Really? Why is that?"

"The larger the mass, the greater the temporal displacement for my instruments to measure."

I rolled my eyes. "What he means is, the bigger the creature you need to move, the more energy needed to do it and the bigger gap it leaves behind. He can trace the gap and energy back to the source."

"Ah." The Brigadier nodded, silently thanking me for explaining in layman's terms.

"Doctor, suppose this gadget of yours doesn't work?" Yates questioned.

"Then I shall simply turn 'round and come back, feeling rather foolish."

"But isn't that thing dangerous?"

"Hardly." I scoffed. "Brontosaurus is a plant eater. Think of it like an extra-large elephant. For the most part, they're kind and gentle. Just don't make it angry."

The Doctor nodded. "Yes, however, I wouldn't like to try this on a Tyrannosaurus Rex."

The Brigadier sent Yates off to go get the stun gun and I leaned over to the man.

"If something goes wrong, I can hold it off for a bit, if need be."

He raised a brow, silently questioning my abilities, but I gave him a look in return. _I_ hadn't questioned his, after all. He could at least do the same in return. And thankfully, he did, nodding and willing to trust me with his life should anything occur. Of course, the Brigadier had other plans.

"We'll be ready with covering fire."

"That won't be necessary." The Doctor said as I frowned.

"Absolutely not. We have a backup plan should anything go wrong, so just keep your weapons to yourself. Not like they'll do anything other than possibly anger the creature more. The bullets aren't capable of piercing their skin and the noises startle them. You shooting at the creature is more likely to cause it to charge than scare it off. So don't."

The Brigadier hesitated, but begrudgingly nodded as Yates brought over the stun gun and the Doctor moved out towards the Brontosaurus. I kept a bit more distance between us; remaining between him and the soldiers, but close enough to interfere in either direction should something occur. The Doctor aimed, but the gun didn't fire, so he tried again, but still nothing. It was then that my head ached and I cursed under my breath as I gripped my head and discovered that the Brontosaurus disappeared just as a T-rex _appeared_. I cursed, moving to stand before the Brigadier's soldiers and preventing them from hurting the creature as the Doctor struggled with his weapon.

"What are you doing?! We need to help the Doctor!" The Brigadier shouted at me and I glared at him.

"Then don't shoot at it! You'll make it angrier and you might hit the Doctor!"

The Doctor searched for an escape, but I was finally able to move away from the soldiers and headed for the dinosaur.

"Hey! Hey!" I shouted at it, hearing the Brigadier panicking behind me, but I kept an arm out and gave him one last glare that made him stop. "Hey, come on now, sweet-heart! I can help you!"

The angered animal turned towards me slightly and I held out my arms.

"Look! No weapons! I'm not a threat! I'm not even bigger than your toe! But I can help you!"

The creature roared, making my ears ring, but I pressed on, slowly approaching it.

"Yes, I know! I know you're a bit upset! I'm sorry this happened! But we can get you back home! I promise!"

It moved a step closer and growled, having calmed down slightly, but it's response had my hearts clenching.

"What? What, no. No, I can get you back to them! Really! I know it's hard to believe, but you have to trust me!" I pleaded with it, knowing how frightened and angry it must be for having been taken from its _children_, of all things.

I spotted Yates then, making for the stun gun and I glared at the man.

"Yates, if you _touch_ that weapon, I will _personally_ make sure this creature eats you!" I snapped at the man, who paused as the T-rex turned slightly toward him with a low growl.

His eyes widened and he looked at me, but my glare made sure that he understood I wouldn't hesitate to endanger him if he tried anything.

"Back away from it, _now_."

He looked scared out of his mind, but did so slowly and I moved towards the T-rex ever so cautiously once more.

"Now, I know you want to go back. And I will make sure that happens, but to do that, I need you to come with me. I won't hurt you, I promise. I'll make sure they won't either, but you can't hurt anyone. You just need to stay calm and move to a building so we can find out who's doing this and stop them. Send you back to your nest. But I need you to show them that you're no threat. Please. Help me show them."

I slowly reached out, fear pounding away in my chest, because if this creature decided that I wouldn't listen, then I doubted even regeneration would save me. And I stopped, perhaps a yard or two away from the creature as everyone held their breath and waited; my arm outstretched and eyes searching the poor, upset mother for some sign that she would agree or disagree to help. Then, ever so slowly, she lowered her head and I swallowed thickly. This was it. All it would take is a simple touch of her head to my hand or for me to be enveloped by sharp teeth, but I could feel it. She was just so frightened for her children, so desperate to get back to them, and I knew that she wouldn't harm me. Her nose touched my outstretched hand and I let out a sigh of relief, just a second too soon. Yates had grabbed the stun gun despite my protests and hit the dinosaur with it, making me turn to him in shock as the creature roared in anger before very nearly crushing me if I hadn't jumped out of the way in time. The moment I was back on my feet though, I was furious and heatedly stomped over to the man.

"You idiot! She was going to listen! She was willing to help! Why did you shoot her!?"

A pair of soldiers held me back as the man stumbled over his words.

"W-We couldn't have been certain of that. There was no way of knowing—"

"Shut up! Because of you, she'll be furious! You better hope that stupid stun gun lasts! And you better stay the hell away from me!" I shouted, pulling free of the two men who'd grabbed me and stormed off to the car; hiding the tears that trailed down my cheeks in frustration, anger, and the deep sadness I'd picked up from the T-rex who just wanted to return to her kids.

* * *

Sarah was a bit worried after the Doctor and Justin had returned. The woman was very quiet and had this look about her that made Sarah Jane worry. The Doctor told her privately not to worry about it, but as Justin pulled out her third cigarette and sat silently watching the T-rex they had chained up in the other room despondently, she couldn't help but head over and attempt to comfort the woman who they'd only met hours earlier. She couldn't explain it, but there was just this curious aspect about the woman that made Sarah Jane want to get to know her. She seemed to know the Doctor pretty well, which wasn't too surprising since she'd come from their future, but she also had this aspect of the Doctor around her. As it was, Sarah Jane couldn't help but feel a little jealous, seeing as the Doctor was already taking Justin along with him on things he had yet to allow Sarah Jane to take part in, but at the same time, the two of them meshed together so perfectly, that she wondered whether the woman was another Time Lord like the Doctor or a long lost friend that he'd forgotten he had.

Being the journalist she was, she desperately wanted to dig around for answers as to their future and who exactly Justin was, but with how the woman was acting now, Sarah Jane was more concerned for the woman's well-being than the future or even the dinosaur she wanted to photograph now that she'd gotten her camera. And with the Doctor off researching this Whitaker scientist she discovered who might be behind all of this, what better chance was there for a nice woman-to-woman talk? That being said, she was still hesitant about approaching the woman. She had this feeling about her sometimes that made Sarah Jane want to instinctively run, but she pushed past the feeling and came up beside the woman with a small smile.

"You know, those things aren't very good for the lungs." She commented about the woman's cigarette and Justin blinked down at her briefly before turning her gaze back to the window.

"I know."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a second before Sarah Jane spoke up again.

"Are you alright? Not to pry or anything, but you seem a little…" She trailed off and it took a moment before Justin replied.

"Did you know, that Tyrannosaurus' were thought to have been very protective over their young? Willing to risk their lives to protect their nests and newly hatched children to the death, if need be. It's just a hypothesis, but…" Justin smiled softly, glancing at Sarah Jane. "I'd like to think it's true."

Sarah Jane wasn't sure what to say, but the look in Justin's eyes made her wonder just what kind of mother she would be. "I-I… I didn't know."

"Most don't. But this one… She was so worried. She was pulled away from her nest to be brought here." Justin said, eyes sad and angry, some deep anger than sent a chill down Sarah Jane's spine despite the look not being aimed at her.

"How… That is, how do you know?"

"The Doctor didn't tell you?" She said suddenly, before rolling her eyes. "That man. Honestly, he isn't very involved with his companions nowadays. I'm telepathic and empathic. So I can easily feel what another creature is feeling if I want to, and sometimes when I don't. Usually if I have physical contact, I'm able to get a better feeling on it, but if I open myself up, then it works that way as well."

"So you can read my mind?"

"Only if I really want to, which I don't. I'm not one for invading people's privacy and for the most part, I can't force my way in. It'd give me an awful headache." She said with a small grimace, as though the idea of doing something like that was not the most pleasant.

"And with the dinosaur?"

"Ah, sorry, I can speak dinosaur." She replied, grinning suddenly.

"W-What?"

"Yeah. I had the Doctor teach me. Took forever, but we had twenty-four years to spend with a good friend of ours, so why not? Rode an Ankylosaurs once and befriended a Triceratops too. They act rather like puppies, if you can imagine that. They like these hard apple flavored candies that I used to carry around for my…" She paused, smile slipping. "…my siblings… God, it's been almost a century since I thought of them…"

"You… have siblings?" Sarah Jane pressed and Justin reached up to tug at her hair; snuffing out her cigarette.

"Had, yes. Six of them, if you can believe that."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Justin waved it off. "Nah, it was my choice to leave them. I couldn't very well leave him on his own."

She smiled softly again, looking down at a ring she'd pulled out of her shirt and Sarah Jane's eyes widened.

"Oh, you're married?!"

"For centuries." Justin chuckled as though the thought of it was ridiculous. "We both have a hard time believing it, sometimes. We need each other though, so it all worked out. He's quite the adventurer too. Keep each other on our toes."

Sarah Jane smiled in return. "He sounds wonderful."

"You know he is." She replied, though something told Sarah Jane there was more behind that sentence than she knew. "Anyway, I'm assuming you want to take pictures of the T-rex?"

Sarah Jane barely remembered the camera around her neck and nodded. "Oh, yes! I nearly forgot… That's alright, isn't it?"

Justin shrugged, hopping down from her perch and leading the way. "Fine by me. Doesn't hurt the sleeping giant, so it's nothing to worry about."

Sarah nodded excitedly and followed her out into the hanger, taking some pictures as she brought up the question she had wanted to ask earlier.

"What happened while you and the Doctor were getting her? You were upset."

Justin frowned, something that made Sarah Jane very nearly regret asking. "That idiot Yates, is what happened. The Doctor's stun gun wasn't working so I was talking with the dinosaur. Got her calmed down and willing to help us without all the struggle. Even got to touch her snout, but Yates ignored me when I told him to leave the stun gun alone and shot her with it instead." Justin sighed softly. "She'll be furious when she wakes up. I was hoping she'd have popped away by now. To have her home safely with her children when she awoke, but with him attacking her, I've lost any trust she had in me. If she wakes up, I won't be able to stop her from causing all sorts of destruction."

"Oh… I'm sorry. And when you touched her, you probably…"

Justin nodded. "Yeah. And believe me, she's _dying_ inside without being there for her kids."

Sarah Jane stopped taking pictures of the creature at her feet, having a whole new understanding for it and for the woman standing beside her. _What it must be like to have to feel that pain first hand._ Sarah Jane knelt down and began changing the film in her camera when she heard the rattling of chains and Justin suddenly grabbed her arm.

"Sarah Jane! Hurry!"

The T-rex was waking and standing up as they hurried back into the enclosed portion of the hanger, only to discover the door leading out was locked.

"You've got to be kidding!" Justin snapped, ramming her shoulder into it a few times for good measure. "It's no use! It won't budge!"

Sarah Jane began banging on it and calling for help as the Dinosaur turned and swung it's tail repeatedly at the window. Justin attempted to calm the animal down, but her shouts went unheard in the animal's rage and when the tail finally broke through the glass, a beam came down and hit Sarah Jane upside the head; knocking her out cold.

"Sarah Jane!" Justin attempted to hurry over and help, but the tail swung through the window again and hit her hard in the ribs; sending her into the wall gasping for air.

The Doctor rushed in then, very nearly tripping over Sarah Jane before helping her up and grabbing Justin's arm as well. They hurried from the building as fast as they could go with a concussed Sarah Jane and Justin, who couldn't breathe; barely making it to the Doctor's borrowed car as the T-rex burst through the hanger wall and they drove to safety.

"Justin, how are you doing?!" The Doctor called back to the woman who was lying in the bed of the vehicle.

A wheezing gasp answered him and he grimaced, picking up speed as he rushed to the headquarters. Once there, he wasted no time in getting out and climbing into the back to check on the woman, who had her arms up above her head in an attempt to open up her airways.

"I'm sorry, my dear, but I'm going to need to lift your shirt up a bit." The Doctor replied, lifting up the side of her shirt and very nearly losing breath himself.

His eyes trailed along the scars on her abdomen and the swelling and dark bruise forming along the left side of her ribcage. He took a deep breath and focused his attention on the more immediate problem though, and apologized as he checked for broken ribs. Then, almost immediately, she gasped in a lungful of air and started to curl up as she breathed in and out with a pained expression.

"Justin, you need to lie flat. Curling up will constrict your airways and if your ribs are broken, it could cause a punctured lung."

She barely managed a nod and forced herself to lie flat, giving him access to her ribs once more. After another minute or two, he relaxed with a sigh of relief.

"You should be alright. I believe you may have fractured ribs, but nothing too serious. You'll need to be careful and move slowly. We'll get you some ice once we're inside." He instructed, helping her up and out of the vehicle and leading them into the headquarters where he sat them down and began tending to Sarah Jane once Justin had received her ice.

"It's a nasty bump. Nothing serious. How do you feel?"

"Scared. Do you realize somebody tried to kill us?" Sarah Jane snipped as the Brigadier spoke up.

"I don't want to seem unsympathetic, Miss Smith, but you have only got yourself to blame."

"Oi, Brigadier or whatever. Why don't I lock _you_ in with an angry T-rex and see how you like it?" Justin snapped at the man as Sarah Jane nodded in agreement.

"Somebody locked that door so we couldn't get out."

The Doctor frowned as well. "She's right, you know, Brigadier. That door was bolted on the outside."

"Maybe one of the soldiers didn't realize she was in there."

"So then _you're_ at fault." Justin huffed, making the Brigadier frown, but he was stopped before he could retort by a couple of soldiers entering with the Doctor's equipment from the hanger.

"Here we are, Doctor. Hasn't been knocked about too much." Brenton—the friendlier soldier—said as the other set the device down on the desk.

"When the creature vanished, it was still in the electrical field, Brigadier, so we should learn something." The Doctor said as Benton brought over some of the chains that had been holding the dinosaur.

"We found this, sir. They were all like that cut clean through."

"And this machine's been sabotaged." The Doctor complained, dropping the paper he'd been looking at. "There's not a single reading."

Brigadier dismissed the other lingering soldier as he understood what that meant.

"Well, it seems Justin was right on the mark." The Doctor said once the man was gone. "Somebody inside this organization is working against us."

"Yes, but what I can't understand, sir, is why anyone would want to cut those chains."

"It was a deliberate attempt on Sarah and Justin's life."

"Why should anybody want to kill them?"

Brenton spoke up. "They were probably after you, Doctor. I mean, they expected you to go back there."

"_Or_ it was a threat." Justin countered, drawing attention to her as she shifted gingerly in her seat. "One of those, 'you're getting too close so you best stop or I'll hurt those you care about' things."

The Brigadier shuffled. "Well, either way, what are we to do now, Doctor?"

"I shall build another detector."

"We haven't got to capture another dinosaur…"

"No, no. No, this time I'm going to try something different. I'm going to build a portable device to detect that power source."

"Well, why didn't you do that in the first place?"

"Because, Brigadier, it cannot be as accurate or as powerful as this would have been, but it could give us the general direction."

"In other words, he hadn't thought of it until now." Justin piped in with a smirk, making the Doctor flustered.

"T-That is _not_ true!" He insisted, though Justin simply chuckled before Sarah Jane brought up something else.

"Doctor, exactly how much energy would be needed to make these things appear?"

"Oh, something like a small nuclear generator."

"Then why don't we look for one?"

The Brigadier answered her. "Miss Smith, that was one of the first things that occurred to me. I made a thorough check and I can assure you, that there are no unaccounted for nuclear generators in the central London area."

"Well, what about the other ones?" Justin piped in, making the man frown.

"What other ones?"

"The ones that wouldn't have been accounted for in the first place." She said, pushed herself into a standing position with a cringe. "R-Really now. These are people who've hidden from an evacuation order, created a time distortion device, and have fingers in the military; probably high up, at that. Do you honestly think they would allow you to find them just by looking for the _known_ generators or the stolen ones? You should be looking at those generators that were set up but never used, or just searching for a place that could house a generator of that size. And if you're going through the 'proper channels' to get your information, who's to say it's not tampered with by whoever's on the inside? Think a little harder, would you, Brigadier?"

The man scowled. "You know, I've had just about enough of you and your comments, Miss Noble. You're a woman. And as such, you should properly act like one!"

_That_ was about the worst thing the Brigadier could have said and Justin stood up straight; eyes sharp with no sign of the pain she was in and only a deep, dark look that would make most men quiver in their boots.

"Brigadier, I think you'll find that as a woman, I am perfectly capable of making my own choices and speaking my own opinions as freely as I wish. And if you have a problem with that, then I _dare_ you, _sir_, to even try and keep me silent. If you could even manage to lay a finger on me—even in the state I'm in right now—I will _gladly_ shut my mouth. So go on then. _Try it_."

The Brigadier hesitated, but made no move, eventually bowing his head. "Apologies."

Justin huffed out her nose and returned back to her seat, having settled a dispute that left even the Doctor speechless. Sarah Jane, however, was positively beaming.

"Right… I'll be getting on with it." The Doctor finally muttered, before the Brigadier mentioned a conference with Finch and told Benton to keep an eye on the other two.

Once Sarah Jane, Benton, and Justin were left on their own, Justin let out a sigh and sank back in her chair.

"I'll never understand you men sometimes. You wouldn't believe all the rights women have in the future, yet here you are, stunting their growth just as they're getting started. I'll have you know, I've seen braver women in the army than men. They deserve more credit."

"Well, I think you just about gave them that and more with how you stood up to the Brigadier." Brenton smiled. "Would you really have beaten him? In your shape?"

"Please." Justin scoffed, smirking in return. "I'd have beaten him and the rest of his men within the hour." She grimaced then, doubling over slightly. "Ngh, but I think I'll stick to resting at the moment. A T-rex tail to the ribs isn't the best injury to deal with."

"I wouldn't think so. Would either of you like a cup of tea?"

"Oh, I would, thanks." Justin accepted and as Benton went to go get it, Sarah Jane leaned over towards the woman curiously.

"So? What do you think about the generator? Do you agree with me?"

"Of course!" Justin told her. "And believe me, if I felt like I could get up and sneak around with this injury, I'd be out there looking. But I haven't the slightest idea on where to start, much less if I can manage to stay quiet and conscious the whole way. I haven't slept in a while either, I'll have you know. That, and I'm not super familiar with this part of London. Or most of London, for that matter. I usually have a few days on my own to scope things out and get familiar with the place before I go romping about. Or the Doctor makes sure he's there to lead me about."

"Well, what if I go and look?" Sarah Jane offered. "Benton can stay here with you and you can let the Doctor know I've… gone out to play. Hm? I can go speak with the minister and see if he has the files of someplace a nuclear generator could be stored."

"Hey, who am I to stop you?" Justin smiled, waving her off. "Go for it. Just keep an eye out. We don't know who is one of our enemies in all of this. Could be anyone from Finch to Yates to Benton to Grover himself. Don't get caught because you trusted someone too soon, alright? I'm not the Doctor, but I'll be damn worried if I don't hear from you in a little while."

Sarah Jane nodded, hugging Justin around the neck briefly. "Oh, thank you! I'll definitely bring back good news!"

"Yeah, yeah. Go on. I think I hear Benton coming back." Justin drawled with a fond smile and Sarah Jane hurried out just as the soldier returned and looked around.

"Where's Miss Smith?"

"Out to play." Justin hummed with a smile, not knowing what sort of trouble Sarah Jane was about to get in.

* * *

I was woken up by arguing and scowled to see the Brigadier and the Doctor arguing with a needlessly loud General Finch. What was worse, was this feeling that I was getting mixing in with the annoyance and anger quickly spreading through the room. I just couldn't pinpoint what it was, though it did make me suspicious of the men in the room. _Is it guilt? I don't know. I can't' get a proper fix on it and my aching ribs don't help._

"Ah, good. You're awake. Come along, Justin. We've got a signal to track down. I hope you're up for it?"

I nodded, grunting in pain as I stood, briefly nodding at the Brigadier when he helped me up. "I should be good. In pain, but nothing I can't deal with."

He frowned, but nodded and we headed out; the Brigadier tossing something over his shoulder at the General upon being asked what we were doing. Once we were outside and at the garage though, I couldn't help but coo at the vehicle hovering there.

"Oh, no way! When did you make this?!"

The Doctor smiled proudly at the sleek hovercraft. "Oh, this old thing? It's hardly anything to gawk at."

"No, it's brilliant! Absolutely stunning!"

"Why thank you." He replied, climbing in after helping me in as well as I gaped and looked at all of the controls in admiration.

"You'll never get it off the ground, Doctor." The Brigadier teased. "Wouldn't you rather have a jeep?"

"Not a bit of it, Brigadier. This new car of mine is exactly what we need. Speed is of the essence, you know."

"Well, take care then. Call in as soon as you have any information."

"Right." The Doctor responded, before setting the craft off and making me grin in excitement.

"Oh, and it's so smooth!"

"Well, we _are_ driving on air."

"So do planes, but they still get turbulence." I argued back. "Never know what to expect with your inventions and your driving skills."

"My driving skills are perfectly fine, thank you." He quipped, making me roll my eyes _knowing_ that even now, he probably couldn't drive the Tardis properly. "I have a question for you, if I may."

I hummed and he went on.

"Might I ask where you got those scars? You mentioned the dissection one, but there were a number of others… Though I won't pressure you into telling me."

"No, it's alright. I don't mind it. They're… stories, I suppose. Make me who I am, and remind me of who I had been, you know?"

"That's a curious way of looking at it."

I shrugged. "Well, I've got most of them from adventures helping you and your companions out. You've got plenty of fun to look forward to, I'll give you that. Dinosaurs, werewolves, vampires, ghosts, you name it."

He smiled. "Good to know that I'll still be kicking for a while longer."

"Oh, a _long_ while. And trust me, you'll love every second of it." I grinned, keeping quiet of the war I knew was yet to come for him. "But the one you probably saw on my stomach was from a Dalek, if you must know."

He immediately frowned. "Daleks…"

"Mm, not my favorite bad guys either, trust me. They're afraid of me though, so something like being shocked by them to that extent wasn't entirely unforeseeable. I was still young then, however, so I suppose it came as a bit of a surprise to me. It's not every day something like the Daleks say they're afraid of you, after all. Gives me a nice distraction though. I've got a nickname that usually stuns them into silence long enough to buy you some time to get us out of the tight situation; if not buy myself some time."

The Doctor glanced at me and I frowned, recognizing and not liking the expression he had.

"What?"

"Nothing… I was just wondering why you stay around me if my adventures put you in so much danger."

_Because I love you._ I nearly said, barely biting back the words, though I desperately wished I could say them and have them returned. But this Doctor wouldn't say that. Not until a thousand years from now.

"Because you gave me a reason to live." I finally said. "You changed the way I look at things, at myself. You made me confident in who I was and what I could become, and I left everything to make sure that the man who helped me out so much in the little time I knew him, would never be alone. And yeah, there's danger and I have a tendency to get hurt—if you haven't noticed—but you know what? Almost all of my injuries were sacrifices I made in order to save somebody else from a worse fate than mine. Be they human, alien, Doctor, companion, or otherwise. And I wouldn't change that for the universe."

He was quiet for some time, before he finally said something. "Your husband must be a very lucky man."

I looked down and realized I hadn't put away my wedding ring from when I showed Sarah Jane, and I smiled fondly down at it. "Oh, yes. We are _both_ very lucky."

The Doctor stopped here and there, checking his device until we finally found a place that seemed to be our likely target. We had to pick the lock on a gate to get in—making me wonder what happened to the Doctor's sonic screwdriver—but we soon headed down into the abandoned underground station. I offered to carry the torch or his device, but he insisted I keep myself unhindered. He went to check a vent nearby, but then we heard something and he quickly grabbed me, making me bite back a cry of pain as we squeezed together underneath a bench in the shadows. _Ooh boy. I really hope the later Doctor's don't remember this or I'm going to get it later._

We waited silently though as someone came by and messed with a janitor's cupboard that appeared to be disguised as an elevator. The Doctor and I exchanged looks, grinning at one another before rolling out from our hiding place and soon climbing into the elevator ourselves. The Doctor was taking too long to find the switch and I rolled my eyes before pointing out the hat-hook and turning it upside down. When we walked out, we were both hesitant; though myself even more so. The Doctor may have missed it, but I didn't dare overlook the security camera watching our exit. _There's no point in messing with it either. They probably already saw us and if they didn't, then tampering with it will only alert them that we're here. Best let the Doctor know._

"Doctor." I whispered quietly. "There was a security camera by the lift. They most likely know we're here."

"Best make our search quick then."

We walked for a little while, just poking our heads into rooms here and there, but then doors began to close in front of us. The Doctor and I exchanged looks an I frowned as another closed behind us.

"They're either trapping us here, making sure we avoid places they don't want us to see, or leading us somewhere." I replied and he rubbed his chin as another door closed and the elevator we'd just come out of opened up behind us.

"Well, no point in searching when they can control our moves. We'll need reinforcements."

I nodded and we headed back down to the underground station. We had just gotten there and the Doctor had just grabbed his device when my head ached and a loud squawk came from a Pterodactyl that swiped down at us. The Doctor tugged me back into the closet and swiped at the creature to push it out.

"Can't you convince it to leave?!"

"Oh, like it's so easy?!" I argued, handing him a broom that had been propped up in the corner behind me. "The larger ones at least have minds complicated enough to speak with! They're like dogs or decently intelligent kids! Birds don't listen to reason!"

He managed to fight the bird back with the mop long enough for us to escape and I offered to wait there while he got the Brigadier. I even managed to head back down and retrieve his equipment, once I felt the headache informing me the Pterodactyl had gone. Unfortunately, once the Brigadier had shown up, they had somehow managed to disguise the lift as an actual broom closet and we were forced to go and get the minister's help. Thing was, I'd still heard no response from Sarah Jane and when we didn't find her there, I immediately confronted Grover—interrupting their conversation about the underground building we'd found.

"Where's Sarah Jane? She came here to talk to you about this sort of thing hours go."

"Back to UNIT HQ." The man said confidently. "I sent her in my own car."

"Are you quite certain?" The Doctor countered, agreeing with me silently that something was up and someone was hiding things from us.

"I can check for you."

"Thank you, sir." The Doctor said, probably knowing that I would say nothing until I saw Sarah Jane.

The minister had called up his driver who came in and insisted he'd driven her to the headquarters, but even the Doctor was suspicious. _If she had been brought back to there, we'd have seen her and she would have immediately sent off to find myself or the Doctor. This settles it though. Grover and his driver are involved in this mess, if not someone from the headquarters._ The Doctor and I told the Brigadier as much once we were alone with him back at said headquarters.

"And what possible reason could the minister have for being involved in the apparition of these creatures?" The Brigadier pressed.

"The monsters are a side-issue, Brigadier. A device to clear London. No, some vast scheme is underway. I'm sure of it. And it's rapidly moving towards its climax."

"Something we are undoubtedly speeding along with our meddling." I added on. "An if the minister's involved, then my best guess is whatever this big plot is, it will have something to do with what he supports. He's all into saving the planet, right? Maybe it's some extreme form of that. Not that we're trying to stop him from helping save the planet, Brigadier, but that he's attempting to save it in a way that may seem beneficial to him but potentially detrimental to a number of others. One of those 'for the greater good' ideas perhaps." I suggested, before sighing and rubbing my temples. "Or I could be entirely wrong and the man's innocent, but someone here is pulling the strings. Or perhaps it's both of those ideas. I'm beginning to lose track of things now between my various injuries and the on and off headaches. Do you have anything strong to drink?"

The Brigadier sighed, moving towards a cupboard and pulling out a couple of glasses for myself and him. "Brandy alright?"

"Anything. Please."

"That's not any good for your liver, you know." The Doctor chided and I rolled my eyes.

"Believe me, you've told me that speech a thousand times, but if it helps me think straight, then down the hatch."

I took a long swig of the drink, immediately wincing with watery eyes.

"Gah, I forgot how strong it is in this century."

The Brigadier made no comment, sipping at his own drink without as much vigor and turning to the Doctor.

"Well, what do you think we should do?"

"You need to get to that underground station with explosives."

"I can't do that without authority. I need permission from General Finch."

"Then get it." The Doctor snipped.

"Alright, Doctor, I'll do my best, but he'll probably insist on referring it to the minister. And if your theory's true, that's not going to work."

I hummed, making the Brigadier pause before he walked out. "Gives you something to think about, doesn't it, Brigadier? Is authority really worth listening to, if it's coming from someone not worthy of having it?"

The man frowned, staring at me for a moment, before heading out just as the other door opened and the Doctor rubbed his face tiredly.

"There's a call for you, Doctor." Benton said as he came in.

"Who is it?"

"He wouldn't give his name. Said he'd only talk to you." Benton picked up a phone and spoke into it. "Hello, would you put the Doctor's call through to here, please? Oh, thank you. Doctor."

He handed the phone over and I watched with one eye open as I refilled my glass and sipped lightly at the alcohol in it. The call was apparently from this Whitaker fellow who's been mentioned earlier as being possibly behind this whole mess and I wondered what he said that convinced the Doctor to get up and hurry me onto my feet before driving us both to the hanger where the T-rex had been housed.

"Doctor, you do know that this is almost one hundred percent a trap, right?" I asked him and he frowned.

"Yes, well, there is a small chance that it's not and I'd hate to have been wrong and not come at all."

"Good point." I muttered, though very much unconvinced by his theory.

I suddenly cringed though, doubling over once more as my head exploded in pain; catching the Doctor's attention and making him rush to my side as we both spotted the Stegosaurus that appeared in the hanger; just moments before Finch hurried in with the Brigadier and two other soldiers.

"There's your monster makers, Brigadier. Caught in the act."

"Doctor, Miss Noble, you're under arrest." The Brigadier said and I groaned, forcing myself to straighten up despite the pain slowly fading.

"You've _got _to be kidding me."

* * *

The Doctor could understand Justin's frustration. Arrested over circumstantial evidence was one thing, but Finch appeared to be yet another behind this whole dinosaur fiasco with how he wasn't even allowing them both to attempt to speak up about their innocence. Not only that, but Yates—someone he'd worked with before—was also teamed up with them. Thankfully, Benton was at least on their side and with some cunning on his part, the two escaped and snag a jeep. He was worried though. As well as she hid it, it was obvious that between the running about and the bumpiness of the dirt road they were on after evading the soldiers once, Justin was dealing with some serious pain. Which was why he was hesitant about pulling over in the forest and ditching the vehicle once he saw the helicopter and the jeep of soldiers catching up to them. Once hidden in the brush though, Justin leaned over and spoke softly to him.

"If we're quiet, once they all leave their jeep, we can take it. I have a knife in my pocket that I can slash the tires of the other jeep with. That will at least keep them from following right away."

He nodded and carefully helped her along; stopping so she could slash the tires of their previous car, before helping her into the jeep just in time for the helicopter pilot to come on over the radio.

"_Tango one to patrol. Any luck? Over._"

The Doctor smirked at Justin who smiled a little back as he picked up the radio and adopted an accent. "Hello, Tango one. Patrol here. It's alright, we've got them. Yeah, we're bringing them in now. Listen, inform all the other units, will you? Over."

"_Rodger, patrol. Congratulations. We'll inform HQ. Get them to call off the search. Out._"

The helicopter drove off and the Doctor's grin widened, before someone shouted and he quickly shifted the car into gear and drove away from the bullets aimed their way. They'd managed to get back into town, when suddenly Justin doubled over with a cry of pain.

"Justin? Justin, what's wrong?!" He called out, not having to wait long before he saw what it was.

A Brontosaurus appeared in front of them, and just as he turned around, a T-rex appeared. Trapped between the two, he quickly assisted Justin out of the car and away from the two creatures as they fought. Seeing his chance, they hurried away as quickly as they were able, only for another jeep to pull up and the Doctor groaned at seeing Finch and a soldier with a gun aimed their way. Then, from behind, another jeep pulled up and the Doctor was almost relieved to see the Brigadier. Especially with his first words.

"My prisoners."

"Get out of the way, Brigadier!" Finch ordered.

"I'm sorry, General, these two are UNIT prisoners. I'm taking them into custody."

"Get out of my way!"

"Benton." The Brigadier said and the man stood, leveling his own weapon at the General who stared in furious shock.

"You realize this is mutiny?"

"There's no question of mutiny, sir. I'm only doing my job." The Brigadier countered with a smile.

"You'll place these two under close arrest. I'm holding you responsible for them." Finch finally gave in; knowing that he was out numbered in this situation and driving off.

"Coming, Doctor?" The Brigadier offered and the Doctor smiled, passing Justin to the man to help into the bed of the car as they returned to headquarters.

"Alright then, down you go." The Doctor murmured quietly, easing Justin into a chair as the Brigadier spoke with him urgently about this plan he'd devised.

"Doctor, I can get away with holding you both here, keeping you out of General Finch's hands, but what you're suggesting is mutiny." He said, up until he spotted one of the soldiers disconnecting the radio. "What the blazes are you doing?"

"Orders, sir. We're evacuating. All the others have gone."

"Whose orders?"

"General Finch, sir. I thought you knew all about it."

"This is ridiculous." The Brigadier complained. "The whole of London crawling with monsters and he decides… What about the spotter patrols?"

"They've all gone, sir. Everyone's out of the area."

"Good grief!"

"Look, face up to it, Brigadier. General Finch is involved just like Grover."

"Is everybody in this conspiracy?"

"Yates." Justin breathed out, wincing as she grit her teeth and clenched her injured side carefully.

The Brigadier frowned. "Now that, I can't believe."

Benton supported the Doctor and Justin though. "Well, he's been pretty odd lately, sir. And he was very keen on locking the Doctor and Miss Noble up."

"He was merely obeying orders." The Brigadier pressed as the Doctor found something on a desk nearby.

"There's a note from Sarah. There you are. Yes, she says she's got positive proof of Grover's involvement and the existence of the underground base. Here. See for yourself." He handed the man the note and he frowned.

"Where the blazes is she?"

"Her being here means… she got away from Grover." Justin pointed out and the Doctor turned to the only remaining man left.

"Private? When was this note left?"

"Very early this morning, sir. She went off with General Finch."

Justin shook her head, stopping as she grimaced. "Out of one villain's hands and into another."

"Benton, I want a call to Geneva." The Brigadier ordered. "I'll get on to International UNIT HQ. They must put pressure on the government."

"There's no time for that."

"Well, can you suggest anything else we can do?"

"Yes. Attack that underground base now." The Doctor insisted.

"Sir?" The Private spoke up. "Excuse me, sir but, uh, are we evacuating or not?"

"No."

"Oh, well, i-in that case, sir, what should I do?"

"Oh, go and make us all a cup of tea. And bring some ice for Miss Noble's injury."

The young man smiled and nodded, hurrying out just as Benton connected the call and passed the phone to the Brigadier; only for Yates to have shown up and aim a gun at him and Benton.

"Put it down, sir. Over there, Sergeant." He ordered and Benton moved back to join the others, picking up the line. "Yes, would you cancel that call, please? We won't be needing it now."

"And what do you think you're doing, Captain Yates?" The Brigadier demanded.

"I'm really sorry, sir." He apologized, though kept his gun aimed their way.

"Just what are they going to do, Mike?" The Doctor questioned.

"They're going to roll back time. The world used to be a cleaner, simpler place. It's all become too complicated and corrupt."

Justin scoffed. "Please. This is corrupt? You're worried about smog? Twenty-twelve is much better than this. You guys advance far enough to bring emissions down and start saving rainforests. Why tear it all apart before it's even begun?"

"If Whitaker succeeds, we'll find ourselves in the golden age." Yates insisted.

"There never was a golden age, Mike. It's all an illusion." The Doctor persisted, but Yates wasn't hearing it.

"Not this time. We're going to make it come true."

"Really? How?" The Brigadier asked, but the Doctor explained.

"Whitaker's machine creates a protective field and anyone within in that field will be unaffected. Anybody outside it will just cease to exist."

"Quite right, Doctor."

"And let me guess… you've got your own little batch of perfect people… hiding away and waiting to pop out… and procreate to repopulate the planet?" Justin asked and Yates nodded.

"Yes."

"Are we inside this protective field?" The Brigadier asked.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. We're on the very edge of the zone here, but it doesn't matter." Yate said, not seeing Justin slowly using the table to stand.

"You mean it doesn't matter to you not existing?"

"I'm not important. The others'll get there."

"Now listen to me, Mike. I—" The Doctor hesitated when the gun was aimed his way; just spotting Justin having moved to Yate's left side while sitting on the table as though she'd been there the whole time. "Look, I understand your ideals. In many ways, I sympathize with them. But this is not the way to go about it, you know? You've got no right to take away the existence of generations of people."

"There's no alternative."

"Yes, there is." The Doctor continued, attempting to buy time for the predictable teaboy who was undoubtedly heading this way. "Take the world that you've got and try and make something of it. It's not too late."

The soldier entered with the tea then, speaking up and startling Yates before dropping the tea set and giving Justin enough time to jump up from the desk before the man turned around; twisting the gun sharply out of the man's grip. He let out a yell—displaying that she might have very well _broken_ said wrist—before hooking her good arm around the man's throat and holding him there until he was unconscious and promptly dropping him to the ground as Benton had to grab her before she could fall as well.

"B-Bet you're… glad you didn't… try to fight me back then… eh, Brigadier?" Justin said with a smile as Benton helped her into a chair and the Brigadier swallowed thickly.

The Doctor rushed to her side and lifted that portion of her shirt again, checking her ribs and frowning at the woman once he'd pulled the fabric back down over her navel.

"That was very reckless, Justin! You're only putting yourself in more pain and if Mike had swung his elbow back and hit you in the ribs, they would surely be broken!"

"Lucky me then, eh?" She smiled, before the Doctor frowned; seeing her start to glow a golden yellow.

"Justin?"

She looked down at herself as well and immediately whined. "Damn. Leaving already. I won't be able to say bye to Sarah Jane!"

"Leaving? What do you mean, leaving? And why are you… glowing?" The Brigadier questioned.

"Oh, didn't I tell you? No, wait, guess not. Only told the Doctor and Sarah Jane. I'll have to be quick then." Justin said, grimacing as she breathed in as deeply as she could. "Basically, I travel around the Doctor's timeline, popping up with different versions of himself in the past and future. It was just luck I ended up this far back. Hasn't happened until now, but I have this energy inside me that pulls me from one point in time to another. Hence the glowing, and my leaving." She said, turning to the Doctor with a small smile. "Sorry about all the trouble. Say bye to Sarah Jane for me and someone, _please_ punch General Finch or I will find a way to come back here and do it myself."

"It was lovely to meet you, Justin." The Doctor gave in, wishing he could have had more of a chance to get to know this woman and she rolled her eyes before reaching up and pulling him down to abruptly kiss her.

When she pulled away, he stood there stock still, unsure exactly what to do or say as she smiled.

"It's _Alex_, Doctor. And you'll definitely be seeing much more of me."

And with that, Justin—no. _Alex_ vanished. Jumping away into yet another adventure with the man she loved. _Young or old, he will _always_ be my Doctor._


	86. The Girl Who Waited

**Here's the next chapter! Sorry it's late. My sleeping schedule is all over the place and i had work today too. i've surviving on Mountain Dew and four hour ignore my complaining, please review and let me know what you guys think! I had a hard time figuring this one out and big apologies ahead of time for... well, if you cry, i'm sorry.**

* * *

I landed with ease, upright and on my feet for once in my life, a bright grin on my face after having spent a nice month and a half recuperating in the Edo period of Japan sometime around 1690. My ribs were all fixed and my wrist—though painful at times—had healed rather nicely and I got to learn a new style of sword fighting. _That, and eating rice, fish, and tea every day was really enjoyable in this body. Seems those flavors appealed to this strange new tongue of mine. I'll have to eat more of that type of food. And those geishas were fabulous. Shame everyone there thought I was a player. I was just talking, after all. _Nevertheless, popping up in the Tardis was a nice change. _Also means I can finally take off these wooden geta. They're harder to walk in than they look._ I hummed, moving to the wardrobe and begrudgingly changing out of my yukata and haori, hanging them up for another time, and then pulling on my old bomber jacket, jeans, and a white shirt. _And some old fashion combat boots, of course. _Much_ comfier to walk in._ Once out of the wardrobe though, there was no sign of the Doctor or any one of his companions and I frowned.

"They're already having fun outside without me, aren't they?" I grumbled, moving towards the door only for the Tardis to suddenly drop a book.

I paused, raised a brow at the ceiling before stepping around the book, only for an apple to fall in front of me next.

"Alright. What's going on, Sexy? You don't want me to go outside? Is that it?"

The ship let out a worried hum and I sighed.

"I'll be fine. The Doctor's already out there and if anything _does_ happen, we'll figure things out. And by 'we' I mean you and me. He's a bit daft sometimes." I joked, but she was still worried, but I couldn't just leave the Doctor on his own, so I pat the railing fondly. "I'll be careful."

I walked out and spotted Amy heading into a room, grinning and bouncing after her.

"Amy! Oi, Amy! Wait up!" I called out, hearing her groan as she turned and I bounced into the room.

"Oh, _great_. This one."

I gasped dramatically, placing a hand over my chest. "My dear, Amelia, I'm shocked! I thought we had something special!"

She rolled her eyes. "Stop being dramatic."

I smirked, winking at her. "Never."

The door shut behind us then and we both turned around.

"Great." Amy complained, before turning to me. "Alright. Where are we?"

"I was sort of hoping you could tell me." I muttered, looking around the bland white room with a couple of red symbols on the wall and a large magnifying glass in the center of a table.

"The Doctor said Apalapucia." She replied, moving towards the white chairs and plopping down before the magnifying glass, missing how my face paled.

_W-Why? Why does that name send a chill down my spine? Something… I'm missing something important. Something _dangerously_ important about this planet._ I quickly dove my hands into my pockets, pulling out item after item as Amy got a hold of the Doctor on the opposite side of the magnifying glass.

"_What do you mean, you've found her? Whoa._" Rory's voice echoed in the room, but I was biting my lip as I pulled out the _third_ celery stick from my pocket.

_God, did the 5__th__ Doctor use this coat or something?! Where' my notebook?!_

"_She's not here… I can see her, but she's not here._"

"Where are we? In fact, where are you?" Amy questioned as the Doctor raised a brow.

"_We?_"

I cursed in Arabic. "I swear, if your stupid ship is giving me spoilers about where I'm going next, now is _really_ not the time!" I snapped, coming into view of the screen as I pulled foot after foot of a multicolored scarf out of my pocket.

"_Alex! Nice of you to join us._" The Doctor chirped, but I barely waved.

"Yeah, bit busy, dear. Something's nagging at that danger alarm in my head and I can't find my notebook to remember what it is." I complained.

"_Try your left pocket._" He offered and I scowled.

"Why would it be in my left—" I cut myself off upon reaching in and pulling out the very thing I'd been looking for. "Well, never mind then."

"_Tardis does that when she's messing with you or trying to get you to avoid something._" The Doctor replied before there was a noise from Rory and he stepped away from the glass.

"_Hands. Hello, hands. Robot with hands, Rory._" The Doctor's ridiculous voice said as the robot answered him, but I wasn't listening anymore, even as the screen fizzled and went out.

No, my eyes were locked on the words I'd written down years ago.

_Chen-7 deadly virus to Time Lords (two hearts)_

_1 week, then 36 years_

"_The Girl Who Waited"_

My hearts skipped a beat as my throat made it difficult to swallow. _Che-7… A deadly one-day virus that affects only two hearted beings… I'm going to die._

* * *

The Doctor worked quickly, sonicking the magnifying glass in front of him until the quickly flashing image stopped and he grinned.

"It's okay. I've got you. You're both fine." He reassured Amy as the robot behind him took a step forward.

"Will you be visiting long?"

"Doctor?" Rory spoke up afterwards, worried, though the Doctor knew he needn't be. "A little help, Doctor."

"_And where have you been?_" Amy snapped at him from the other side of the screen. "_We've been here a week!_"

"What do I tell it?" Rory interrupted, but the Doctor ignored him.

"A week?! A week?! I'm so sorry. Ah-ha. Same room, different times. Two different time streams running parallel but at different speeds. Amy, Alex, you're in a faster time stream."

"_Doctor, it's going again_."

"Doctor!"

"Amy!"

"_Doctor!_"

The Doctor frantically sonicked it again, hoping this time to get it fixed.

"Come on. Gotcha. There. Stabilized, settled, sh."

"Why has it got hands?" Rory asked about the robot and the Doctor headed over.

"Organic skin. Ultimate universal interface, groan and grafted, not born. I mean, t's actually seeing with its fingers, scanning the room. But why not just give it eyes?"

"Will you be visiting long?" The robot repeated as the Doctor moved back to the magnifying glass.

"As long as it takes. Amy, what exactly did you do? And when did Alex get there?"

"_I just… I came in and I pressed the door button. Alex followed after me from the Tardis. Must have just shown up_."

"Oh." Rory said, realizing what happened. "Amy, there are two buttons. The green anchor and the red waterfall. Which one did you push?"

"_I pushed the red waterfall_." She said, sitting back and sounding like a scolded child who got caught doing something wrong.

Rory sighed and moved towards the door, but the Doctor shifted slightly, trying to see behind Amy.

"Amy, where's Alex?"

Amy glanced off to her right with a concerned look. "_Um, here. Over in the corner, sleeping, I think._" Amy leaned in then, speaking softer. "_Doctor, I don't know what's going on, but she… she looked up something in her book then went all quiet like_."

The Doctor immediately grimaced. "Ooh, not good. Means she read something she didn't like, but then why would she be sleeping? No, no, no. Something's wrong. This Alex. This one in particular wouldn't just be sitting around. And you've been there a week you said? How long has she been asleep?"

"_The first few days she was just pacing, muttering under her breath and I tried to ask her what was going on, but she just made that face. You know, the smiley one to reassure me but just screams that something's going on that she's not telling us. Then said I won't like the wait, but that was it. After that, she looked a little pale and sat down, dropped her head in her hands and told me not to bug her for a bit._"

"Meditating then." The Doctor concluded. "She does that when there's something big she's got to work her mind through and she's safe enough to leave herself exposed. Though it doesn't exactly mean well for the rest of us."

Rory stormed in then, speaking loudly. "I pressed the red waterfall and she wasn't there!"

The Doctor groaned. "Okay, so you can't follow her directly. You know, it's _never_ simple. Did you hear that, Handbot? She pressed the wrong button, that's all. We're aliens, we didn't know." The Doctor explained to the creature, giving his seat up to Rory as he confronted the robot.

"Statement… rejected. Apalapucia is under planet-wide quarantine. This is a kindness facility for those infected with Chen-7."

The Doctor immediately covered his mouth and nose with his coat lapels.

"What's Chen-7, hm?" Rory said, his own face covered.

"The one-day plague."

"What? You get it for a day?"

"No, you get it and you die in a day." The Doctor corrected.

"There are forty thousand residents in the Twostreams Facility. Please remain in the sterile areas. Visiting hours are now." The robot said, before beaming away and the Doctor relaxed.

"Sterile area. I'm safe."

Amy smacked the magnifying glass as he sat back down. "_What about me? Alex?_"

"Chen-7 only affects two-hearted races like Apalapucians." The Doctor said, but his words made Rory pale.

"A-And Time Lords…"

"Yeah, like me and…" The Doctor paused, his eyes going wide as he too, caught on. "…Alex…"

"Oh, my God…" Rory breathed out and the Doctor frantically grabbed the magnifying glass.

"Amy! Amy, you've got to wake her up! Wake her up, _now_!" He shouted and Amy was scooted over as Alex sat in the empty chair beside her with an annoyed frown at the Doctor.

"_No need to shout, spaceman._" She grumbled in annoyance, though the Doctor could already see she was paler than usual.

"Alex…" He breathed out, hearts aching and crying out in pain as he realized what this meant. "Alex, you… you've been infected—"

"_With Chen-7, the one-day plague. Yes, I know_." She said, voice quiet and serious as compared to her usual jokes and teasing. "_Believe me, if I'd have known, I would have figured out another way to do all this._"

"Do all what? What do you mean?" The Doctor asked, before shaking his head. "No, no. That's not important. Alex, you're _dying_."

She smiled softly, but Amy looked more than concerned.

"_But… can't she regenerate? Like before?_"

"Not with Chen-7." The Doctor said, voice tight as he desperately tried to figure out what to say.

Alex, _his_ Alexander was dying and there was nothing they could do. Nothing to save her, to stop the incurable virus. He couldn't even be by her side. And he was so scared, so upset. It was killing him to sit there and know that he could do nothing to help her, comfort her. There was no doubt that she was scared, but oh, how she must have been feeling. How she must have felt to realize she'd just walked into the room that would carry her death. She had a day, no, more than a day. She was only part Time Lord, so she would have been able to last perhaps two. _Or would it be less?_ The Doctor's mind questioned, but he quickly shook the thought from his mind as another pressed forward_. They'd been there for a week?_ Then it hit the Doctor. _Two different time streams._ She would live out her life, her full life, while he would have to watch her deteriorate in a day, maybe less. But what could he do? How could he save his Alexander from a disease that was incurable?

"_Doctor._" _Theta_. Her voice rang, both in his mind and through the glass between them. "_You need to focus._"

"B-But _how_?" He asked, tears already filling his eyes as his voice cracked. "Y-You're…"

"_I'm not dead yet, Doctor._" She argued, making him let out a short broken chuckle at how strong his Alexander was compared to him; the man who was already fighting back tears. "_But I need you to focus on getting Amy out. Getting her safe._"

"But what about you?" Rory asked, even his voice tight with emotion. "We can't just leave you."

"_Well, then I hope you figure something out along the way. Maybe the Tardis will even help you. I should have probably listened when she was trying to keep me from leaving._"

"Alex…"

Alex looked at him sternly through the glass, leaning in close and allowing him to take in every feature, every crease and contour of her face. "_Enough, Doctor. I'm not giving up on you and you shouldn't either. So stop thinking about what's going to happen to me and start thinking about how to get us safe._"

The Doctor leaned forward, pressing his forehead to the glass as Alex did the same. "I love you, Alexander."

"_I love you too._"_ Theta…_

* * *

Amy watched the two silently, something in her feeling privileged to see something so heartbreaking and heartwarming as the love between the two Time Lords. Alex pulled away though, turning from the magnifying glass and giving Amy a small smile.

"All yours."

Amy was hesitant, but nodded and moved back into the space she'd been occupying as Alex let out a sigh and sat back down behind her. Closing her eyes to… meditate, if that's what she was doing. As she turned back to the Doctor though, Amy could tell that what Alex had said hit home with him and he looked more determined than ever to get them out of there.

"_Amy, you said you'd been here a week. What did you eat?_"

"Nothing. I wasn't hungry."

"_No, because that red waterfall time is compressed. That's the point. The Time Glass syncs up the two time streams for visits. You could be in here for a day and watch them live out their entire lives._" The Doctor rattled on, Alex chuckling.

"Time Glass. You just made that up now, didn't you?" She teased and Amy caught the smile the Doctor made at that, before Rory spoke.

"_And watch them grow old in front of your eyes? That's horrible._"

"_No, Rory. It's kind. You've got a choice. Sit by their bedside for twenty-four hours and watch them die, or sit in here for twenty-four hours and watch them live. Which would you choose?_"

"_You?_" He pressed, though Amy winced as the Doctor looked past her to Alex.

"_I would choose to be at her side every moment._"

Alex snorted softly. "Clingy."

The Doctor though, smirked. "_Don't you know it, sweetheart._"

The Doctor picked up the Time Glass and the one in their room disappeared, making Amy panic and drop her head into her hands.

"Doctor… no, don't leave me."

Alex said nothing, watching Amy with a slight frown on her face before the Doctor's voice rang out again.

"_I'm here, Amy. I'm right here._"

"Where are you? Am I looking at you?" Amy asked.

"_Turn left just a fraction._" The Doctor said and she did. "_Bit more. Stop. That's it._"

"Eye to eye?" Amy questioned.

"_Eye to eye to eye._"

"_Hello_." Rory piped in, feeling a little left out.

"_Amy, Alex. I'm taking the Time Glass back to the Tardis. Like satnav. I'll use it to get a lock, then smash through using the Tardis to get you both out. Until then, you're on your own._"

"Wouldn't be the first time." Alex said with a small grunt as she pushed herself up from off the floor. "You tend to be late anyways. I just got back from being on my own in feudal Japan for a month and a half. You and I will have to go sword fighting again. I might be able to beat you now."

"_Not a chance._" The Doctor joked as the sound of the sonic buzzed through the air and Rory's voice spoke up.

"_What are you doing?_"

"Locking it on to Amy and Alex. Small act of vandalism. No one'll mind." He said, before an alarm sounded. "Ah, that will be the small act of vandalism alarm. Amy, Alex, I need you to go into the facility just for a bit. Find somewhere safe and give me a sign. Remember, Amy, you're immune to Chen-7, but don't let them give you anything. They don't know you're alien. Their kindness will kill you. Goes for you too, Alex. Though not immune to Chen-7, your biology is complicated enough that you could die from their medication as well. Now go."

Amy pressed the 'check-in' button, but paused to look back at them. "Rory, I love you. Now save me. Go on."

Alex started to head in after her, waving over her shoulder. "I'll see you later, spaceman. May not end up in the best shape, but keep that big ol' chin of yours up." She turned and smiled softly at him. "I'll keep Amy safe for you, centurion. And a hint for you both… we'll be waiting longer than you think, so…"

She paused, looking away and taking a deep breath that made the Doctor worry as she stiffened her shoulders and took a stance that reminded him of a time long ago. A time when a young man had to go to war. A brave man. A soldier. The way he straightened himself, preparing himself for what would be beyond those doors. Turning away so those he cared about didn't have to see his face. That mixture of bravery, growing courage, and fear. Fear of the unknown, of the known, of what he would have to face. And it brought up something that the Eleventh Doctor had worried about ever since he met this version of Alex. She wasn't the same. She wasn't that scared, nervous, self-conscious and doubtful woman he'd first met. She wasn't the woman who clung to him and tried to put on a brace face for him after regenerating for the first time. No, she was hardened. She was _him_.

This version of Alex was the Ninth him. The him after the War. And yet still goofy and childish like the him right now. She was like Eleven and Nine put together. A mixture of pain, and wars, and flirty, teasing Jack Harkness like attitude stuffed into someone who'd seen too much for so long that she needed to hide it from everyone. And a part of the Doctor said that he didn't quite know her as well as he used to. Whatever had happened between this regeneration of hers and the last, hadn't happened yet. A future him would have to deal with it and the current versions of himself and his younger selves would _rarely_ see this version of her. She reminded him of someone. Someone he'd met long ago that he couldn't quite pull up the image of after regenerating into his ninth self. They were a part of his past that he didn't want to remember, but as he stood there, watching his dying—he didn't want to think of that—wife walk out into the unknown, diseased world of Apalapucia, he was reminded of that person. He was reminded of himself and the numerous soldiers he'd seen heading off into battle. And he wished he could take her from that. Take her away and hold her tight and never, _ever_ let her go.

But he couldn't. So instead, he pressed his forehead against the Time Glass, closed his eyes, prayed to the universe and any other power out there, that his Alexander would come back to him; safe, unhurt, _healthy_. And her voice rang through his head as those doors closed behind her. _Don't be late, Theta… I'll always love you and… I forgive you._

* * *

I rubbed at my chest with a grimace, hoping that Chen-7 would be one of those near symptom-less diseases before a swift end. _If it ends at all. I might get lucky and the Doctor will figure out a way to save Amy and myself. Though I don't know how. Bringing my past self here, in any case, will kill me. Agh! I need to focus. The Doctor can worry about saving me and I'll have some time to myself to worry about that as well, but right now, I need to focus on the problem at hand._ I looked at the red-headed woman walking in front of me. _I need to keep Amy safe. Need to teach her how to keep herself safe in case Chen-7 proves to be too much for me to keep on the move. And if I'm lucky, I can prevent her from becoming bitter about this whole mess. I don't want to think about it, but if I die before the Doctor shows up, I won't be there to convince her—the older her—that she can't go with them. So she needs to understand this herself. And I've already changed things by joining her in this mess. Hopefully that will help me and not make things worse._

A bright light shown down on us from a panel in the ceiling and I sighed.

"_Welcome to the Twostreams Facility._" The interface announced, the light going out.

"Uh, who are you and why can't I see you?" Amy asked.

"It's an interface, Amy. Like on the Tardis." I replied, not liking the minute ache in my chest.

"_Correct._" The interface responded. "_I am the interface between yourselves and the systems of the Twostreams Facility. I will be your guide, your teacher, your friend._"

A hologram image of a woman at the front desk nearby spoke up as the light went out. "_Welcome to Twostreams. What are your names, please?_"

"Amy. Amy Pond."

"Alexander Holmes." I responded as well. "Alex, for short."

"_Welcome, Amy Pond. Alexander Holmes. As residents, you will now have access to all of the entertainment zones inside. For a taste of adventure, why not try the mountain zone, and explore Apalapucia's famous Glasmir Mountains. Or try our roller-coaster zone, authentically modelled on the famous Warpspeed Death Ride at Disneyland, Clom. All that you could wish for and more is through the Departure Gate, provided for you with kindness._"

I couldn't help the bit of excitement and nudged Amy in the side with a grin. "Hear that, Amy? I've always wanted to go to Disneyland, Clom."

She couldn't help but smile back, pushing me playfully as well. "Shut it, you dork."

We both went off to look around then, leaving that room and walking along a path with electric signs designating it as the arrival area, where we spotted a Handbot. I reach for Amy to stop her, but she'd already evaded my grasp and approached it.

"Hello? Hey. Oi, wait."

The robot stopped and turned as I came up behind her and grabbed her hand.

"Amy, we should go. They're not safe."

The robot—having been scanning us—spoke. "You are carrying unregistered bacteria. Please, let me help you." It said, opening a compartment and pulling out a needle.

"No. We're not from this world. Your medicine will kill us." Amy insisted as my eyes narrowed.

"Statement rejected. Do not be alarmed. This is a kindness."

"Let's go!" I called out, grabbing her arm and tugging her along, as the robot's head opened up to reveal more needles.

"Secondary delivery system engaged."

We ducked behind a box of some kind, making the needle it shot at us miss as two more robots appeared.

"Unauthorized infection on check-in; version 223."

Two more appeared and I sighed. "Up we go."

I picked Amy up and shoved her over the counter behind us, before we both made a dash through a doorway into the service area.

"Up or down?" Amy asked, panicked.

"Down."

We hurried down the stairs, alarms blaring around us as we entered a near empty parking structure type area.

"Great. There's no place to hide here." Amy complained, but I smirked.

"Oh, you'd think so, yeah? But you forget. I know all sorts of stuff. Come on."

I grabbed her hand and pulled her along, ignoring the steps of the robots behind us and tugging her into the smoke filled caged vent.

"How's this going to stop them?!"

"Oh, shut up and trust me, Amelia!" I snipped at her, shoving her in and squishing into the smoke with her.

The robots—now having multiplied—scanned around and then turned. "No residents detected. No resident detected."

Amy blinked, looking up at me in confusion. "They didn't see us. How could they not see us?"

I grinned down at her. "Smoke. Don't know if it's all smoke or just this exhaust from the generators. I've got some packs in my pocket, if you'd like to find out."

"Uh, no. Thanks."

I chuckled, tugging her from the cage. "Alright then, Pond. Let's go exploring."

"But the robots—"

"Have more than just one weakness, which I happen to know. Besides—" I pat my pocket with a devilish smirk. "I've packed my sword."

The hilt of a katana and my old scimitar poked out from my pocket, making Amy sigh as we headed off. _Like I'm going to just part with a sword made by _the_ Masamune. I was damn lucky to have gotten my hands on it. I'll definitely need to return it to the Tokugawa's later. If I remember right, the Honjo was supposed to become a Japanese National Treasure. Meh, I'll return it later… hopefully._ I pushed the thought from my head, ignoring the pain the thought of leaving the Doctor sent to my hearts and soon enough tugged Amy through a door that happened to lead where I wanted it to.

"Ah, perfect." I smiled, though the smile itself was a vain attempt to push away my depressing thoughts.

The white room was littered with empty doorways and Amy raised a brow.

"Where are we?"

"Well, I told you I wanted to visit Disneyland, Clom." I hummed, moving to the control panel. "Interface?"

The light went on. "_I am here, Alexander Holmes, Amy Pond._"

"First, turn that light off." I grumbled, not appreciating the headache it gave me. "Second, It's _Alex_. Just Alex, please, though if you want to call me Sexy, I'm sure the Tardis—Ow!"

I rubbed at my arm where Amy had hit me. "Fine. Sheesh. Interface, would you mind explaining to Amy where we are and how this works?"

"_This is the Gate. From here you may depart to any of Twostreams' entertainment zones._"

"_Cinema._" A voice rattled on as I pressed some of the buttons. "_Aquarium. Disneyla—_"

Amy abruptly pushed another button as my lips turned down into a pout.

"_Garden._"

She huffed through her nose at me and I stuck my tongue out at her from behind her back as she selected the garden. A doorway near us flashed and eventually opened up and allowed us to go through into a beautiful garden with towering spiral hedges.

"That is… beautiful." Amy muttered out and I smiled at the scene.

"Isn't it just? And to think, some of those hedges there grow that way naturally. Makes you wonder how many gardeners are needed for upkeep."

"_The perfect replica of a Shill Governor's Mansion on Shallanna._" The interface rattled off.

"You really could spend a lifetime here. Not that we're going to." Amy replied, turning to me. "And what did you mean when you told the Doctor that we have to wait longer than he thinks?"

I rubbed the back of my neck, avoiding eye contact as I tried to think up a way to tell Amy without completely crushing her.

"Alex, how long are we going to be stuck here?" She growled.

"Amy, let me ask you a question." I said instead. "You accidentally broke something of Rory's and you know he'll find out about it eventually, but it was very dear to him and you're worried that telling him might hurt him. Do you still tell him?"

She paused, hesitating. "…Yes."

I raised a brow, challenging her. "Really, Amy, you're a horrible liar."

"Well, I don't want him to get hurt."

"And I don't want you to get hurt by my answer. So, I will tell you now. It won't be long. And I will continue to tell you that as long as it takes for the Doctor to show up because I want you to be happy and know that it won't be long before he comes and saves us. Alright?"

She looked at me, but finally bowed her head. "Yeah. Yeah, alright. Like you said, he's usually late, right?"

"Hm." I hummed, wincing slightly and rubbing my chest.

"You alright?" She asked, concerned. "This Chen-7 thing, is it… painful?"

I shrugged, dropping my hand. "Dunno. Never had Chen-7. Never felt the need to look it up since no one in this adventure was supposed to get it. All I know is that it's probably incurable, takes a day to kill in most cases, infects the bivascular respiratory system—i.e. The heart and lungs—and won't even allow a Time Lord to regenerate. So I'm going to need to teach you a few things if we're going to make it out of here. I don't know how quickly this disease works, so we'll have to be on our toes."

Amy's eyes locked desperately onto mine. "But you're fine, right? You can keep us safe and I'll learn from you that way. Yeah?"

"Amy." I took her by her shoulders and made her look right at me; eyes deadly serious. "I need you to think about the worst thing possible. Alright? Think about us being here for decades. Think about my dying before the Doctor shows up. Think about those robots getting clever and finding a way past the vents and listen to me. This could turn out to be the _worst_ possible scenario and I won't be able to fix that. _If_ I do die, Amy, I need you to be safe. I need you to be able to protect yourself on your own."

"But you—"

"Amy, _no_." I pressed, insistent on her understanding. "Right now, I can't predict our future. I've never been able to predict the future, just one possible outcome of it. And my part in this future never comes up. I don't know what to do other than prepare you for the worst of it. I don't know what happens while we're here. I don't know if I'll make it out of this and I'm sorry if I don't. I'll be _damn_ sorry if you're forced to bury me here in this beautiful garden because the Doctor was too late or the disease was too quick. But there's one thing I can do, and that's protect you and give you the means to protect yourself. And if you die, then what the hell have I been doing my whole life?"

I reached down and took her hand, squeezing it as she struggled to hold back tears.

"So, Amelia Pond, I hope you're ready to deal with one hell of a Spartan teacher because I've been through a lot and if I know anything, it's that sword fighting isn't easy. And dealing with death is even harder. You ready?"

She sniffed deeply, wiping at her face and nodded; eyes sharp and determined. "Y-You bet I am."

"Good."

* * *

Rory stepped out and looked around, confused by the lack of people who should have been infected with the Chen-7 virus.

"Where is everyone?"

"Right, Rory, switch the Time Glass on and sonic it. I'm sending a command signal to the screwdriver. Amy and Alex are here somewhere, if I can just get a lock on them. I wonder what happens if we mix the filters?" The Doctor rattled on, trying to distract himself from thoughts of his dying wife and the fact that he couldn't even look for her due to the risk of infection.

It took a moment of fiddling, but he soon got a view of the fogged blurs of people who were supposed to be there.

"And there they are. Forty thousand time streams overlapping. Red waterfall isn't one-time stream, it's _thousands_."

"Are they happy?" Rory asked and the Doctor smiled a little.

"Oh, Rory. Trust you to think of that. Alex would probably wonder the same thing." The Doctor paused briefly, before skittering on. "I think they're happy to be alive. Better than the alternative."

Rory lowered the Time Glass then and panicked at the figure rushing at him. A warrior of some sort with a helmet and everything.

"I come in peace." Rory blurted out, unsure what else to say as they pointed a sword at his figure on the ground. "Peace, peace, peace, peace."

"We waited." The warrior said, voice disguised and making Rory pause in his cowering.

"Sorry, what?"

"We waited for you." They said, sheathing the sword and lifting the helmet. "We waited."

"Amy…" Rory breathed out, stunned by the _much_ older woman standing before him. "Doctor, what's going on?"

"Uh… I think the time stream lock might be a bit wobbly." The Doctor said, slightly panicked as Alex's words rang out in his head.

"…_we'll wait longer than you think…"_

He swallowed thickly, silently questioning what sort of shape Alex would be in. _If she's still…_ He slammed a fist on the console angrily, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. _No! No, we can't think of that. Just get her out and get them both safe. Focus._

Amy lifted her sword again and Rory waved his hands frantically. "No, please, please—"

"Duck." Amy ordered and he did just as Amy's sword stabbed into the Handbot behind him and then explained. "Handbots carry a black box in case they go offline. I've changed the cause of termination from hostile to accidental. Easy to re-program. Used my sonic probe."

"Amy…"

"Rory." She said blandly, working with her sonic and the robot.

"Why?" Rory questioned, not knowing how to put his scrambled thoughts into a question.

"Because I've survived this long by making the Handbots think I don't exist. Don't touch the hands." She then warned. "There's anesthetic transfer on the skin. If they touch you, you go to sleep."

"But you're still here…"

"You didn't save me." Amy said sharply and the Doctor finally realized what was wrong.

'_Me', 'my', 'I'. She's using singular pronouns._ The Doctor felt his legs go weak and gripped the console tightly. _Amy's smart, Amy's clever, but creating a sonic probe? Reprogramming? Sword fighting? That's… That's all… No, it can't be. Alex, she… she can't be…_

"But this is the saving!" Rory cried out, following the Amy who was walking away. "This is the us saving you! The Doctor just got the times a bit out!" Rory snapped the last part, but the Doctor couldn't even get the 'sorry' out of his mouth.

"I've been on my own her a long, long time. I've had decades to think nice thoughts about him. She…" Amy paused, closing her eyes. "Got a bit harder to stay cheerful once I entered decade four."

"Forty years? Alone?"

"Thirty-six years, thanks." She paused, hesitating again. "Only the last five on my own."

That made the Doctor choke on a sob, him desperately crying out to Alex in his mind in the hopes that Amy was lying. That Amy was wrong. _She couldn't be gone. She _can't_ be gone! Not Alex! Not my Alexander!_ He leaned over his console trying, trying, and trying again. Each unsuccessful attempt bringing his hearts that much closer to shattering. He couldn't lose her. He just _couldn't_. What would he do? What possible thing could he do without her there with him?

"—Raggedy Man?"

His breath came out in gasps, not even caring that he'd blanked for an unknown amount of time. He automatically clicked on the speaker phone.

"You told us to wait, and we did. A lifetime."

"A-Alex…" He gasped out and Amy's eyes softened minutely.

"I'm sorry." She said, eyes hardening once more before turning around and passing Rory her sword before touching the two robots' hands together; shorting them out.

"Feedback. Knocks them out. She taught me that one our first day." She said, leaving with Rory trailing after her.

"Okay, so we just take the Tardis back to the right time stream, yeah? We can stop any of this = happening—" Rory attempted, but the Doctor bit out his next words.

"We locked on to a time stream, Rory. This is it."

"This is so wrong." Rory muttered, looking Amy over even as he felt the grief of losing Alex.

"I got old, Rory and she was… she was very sick. What did you think was going to happen?"

"Hey, I don't care that you got old." Rory argued, grabbing her and making her turn and see his seriousness. "I care that we didn't grow old together. That we couldn't be there for Alex. Amy, come on, please."

"Don't touch me." Amy told him, before lowering her voice. "Don't do that."

"It's like you're not even her."

"Thirty-six years, three months, four days of solitary confinement. This facility was built to give people the chance to live. I walked in here and I died. We… We both did." She rounded on the Doctor then. "Do you have anything to say, Doctor?"

He struggled, but finally spoke without malice. "W-Where did you get a sonic screwdriver?"

"It's a sonic probe." Amy corrected, turning away. "And she made it."

Amy moved towards the white control panel in the center of a room full of doors and opened up one.

"_Garden._" A voice announced as she walked through with Rory looking around in shock.

"She taught me everything. Sword fighting, electronics, computer hacking and programming. She made the probe, worked hard for thirty-one years to keep me safe and to teach me how to save myself." Amy said, moving through the garden and towards a bench with a bundle of flowers near the center of the small clearing; a single tree sitting in the middle. It's silver leaves floated down lightly, making the light flash off them to reveal a shiny metal plaque screwed into the trunk.

"She told me that very first day to expect the worst. Never once telling me anything more about how long we were going to be here. Just repeating the phrase, 'it won't be long'. For thirty on years, I listened to her every word. Believed every bit of it." Amy said, moving slowly towards the tree. "She made it so I didn't hate you, Raggedy Man. I'm bitter, yes, but she's told me stories. Such… heartfelt adventures. I watched her _die_, Doctor, but she made me forgive you those last moments. She made me _promise_ to never blame you for this and I won't. Not ever. Because she was right. It's not your fault. It never was. This couldn't have been avoided. 'We make the decisions we make, because we do. There's nothing logical about decision making. It just happens'."

Amy turned to Rory, looking at the glasses with tears in her eyes as she stepped aside to reveal the writing on the plaque.

_Alexander Holmes_

_The Seer who will always forgive_

"And she loved you for every second."

* * *

The group sat in Amy's little hideaway, her having explained her robot friend and their ensured safety in this area before the Doctor had finally composed himself enough to speak.

"Was she… Did she die painfully?" He asked, every horror story he'd heard about Chen-7 running through his mind.

"I wouldn't know." Amy muttered softly. "She appeared fine to me for decades. Then one day, I woke up in the middle of the night to find her curled over the toilet vomiting blood."

The group shivered, but she went on.

"And she looked at me after I helped her clean herself up, and she smiled, like nothing was wrong. Said she was sorry for hiding it from me, but didn't want me to worry and that she'd be fine. Said she wouldn't leave me until you got here, but…" Amy took in a breath. "She slept. Fever for weeks and then just gone. I suppose it was the best way she could have gone. Small smile on her face and all that. She whined for months when she had found her first grey hair. Said 647 was much too young for a grey hair, but slipping away like that after decades of hiding how ill and in pain she was, was nothing. Sorry, Raggedy Man."

He shook his head, though he was struggling to press things to the back of his mind. "No, it's… it's alright. thirty-one years is… she was fighting so hard…" his voice shook and Amy spoke up again.

"Don't blame yourself." She said, making him look up as she glanced at Rory. "She told me to tell you that. 'Don't blame yourself and focus on what you need to do'."

"_I'm not giving up on you and you shouldn't either. So stop thinking about what's going to happen to me and start thinking about how to get us safe._"

He closed his eyes, running every image of Alex through his head as he straightened his back, much like he'd seen her do as she walked through the door into the Twostreams Facility, before shutting every memory of her into a tightly bound box in the back of his mind. Because she was right. He needed to focus on finding a way to save Amy. To get her home, whether it be this Amy or the younger Amy. He deserved to give Alex that much and perhaps…_ Perhaps I can find a way to go back and save her too._

"Amy, you said you learned from an interface as well, yes? Can I speak with it?"

"Doesn't work in here." She replied, looking a little surprised by the sudden confidence in his voice, checking her watch. "Two twenty-three. The garden will be clear for a little while more." She said, before approaching Rory. "Stay or go?"

"Sorry, me? No, I'm coming with you." He insisted.

"Then try not to get killed." She said, before changing her mind. "Or do. Whatever."

The Rory-bot behind him spoke up then the moment Amy was out of earshot, surprising Rory.

"She d-d-doesn't mean it." It said in broken speech, making Rory blink.

"What?"

"S-She doesn't m-m-m-mean it." It attempted a second time, tilting its head. "She's s-s-scared."

"But you… you can talk?"

"I have been r-reprogrammed." I replied, tipping its head the opposite direction. "T-The Seer was f-fixing my speech systems a-and attempting m-minor AI c-c-capabilities."

"Oh, that clever girl." The Doctor breathed out.

"You coming?" Amy questioned, briefly poking her head back in, though she'd mentioned before that he could stay.

"Ah, yeah. Sorry." Rory replied, glancing back at the Handbot who waved. "You never said it could talk?"

"What?"

"The, uh, other Rory."

She raised a brow. "He can't talk."

Rory blinked in surprise, but didn't argue and followed after her, silently making the Doctor wonder why Alex had kept that a secret. _Unless it was a surprise she didn't get around to finishing._ He smiled fondly and turned his attention back to Amy.

She led the way back to the white room and into the garden, briefly glancing down the path they'd taken to reach Alex's grave before speaking.

"When we first came here, Alex had to trick the interface into giving information, but we've reprogrammed it now. It'll tell us anything except how to escape."

"The temporal engines like that have a regulator valve." The Doctor said, speaking to the interface now. "Has to be kept at a distance from the main reactor or there'd be feedback. Interface, where's the regulator?"

"_The regulator valve is held within._" The interface said, revealing a map of where to find it that had the Doctor smirking.

"Oh, very, very, ah. Interface, I need to run through some technical specifications." The Doctor said. "Rory, give me to Amy a minute."

Rory passed the glasses over, managing to get Amy to laugh for the first time in years, before moving away to keep a look out while the two of them spoke.

"There's still time, Amy. There's still time to fix everything."

Amy heard something then and frowned. "Hold that thought."

She hurried in the direction Rory had gone and spotted him on the ground and the Handbot nearby, anger flowing in her veins as she removed the robot's head with her sword before it could potentially harm him.

"Rory?"

Rory lifted his head briefly. "Glasses."

"You stupid!" She snapped, turning away from him as he sat up and realized what had happened.

"Oh. You saved me."

"Don't get used to it." She snipped, turning back to him as he realized her eyes were a little red.

"You've been crying, a little bit."

"Shut up, Rory."

"You have, haven't you?" He pressed, standing.

"Woman with a sword." She threatened. "Don't push it."

The Doctor smiled a bit, thinking of Alexander and how that's exactly how she would have responded, before getting back to the task at hand; his hope for her now restored.

"Okay, So here's the plan. Time is always a bit wibbly-wobbly, but in Twostreams it's extra wobbly." He said as Amy gave Rory back the glasses. "I've worked out how to hijack the Temporal Engines and use them to fold two points of Amy's timeline together. We're bringing her out of the then and into the now. Alex too, if I can configure things properly Amy, I just need to borrow your brain a minute. It won't hurt, probably. Almost probably. And then Amy Pond, I'm going to save you both."

"No." Amy said, though she sounded almost unsure before she mentioned that the Handbots would be returning and she turned away.

Rory chased after her and she shut the door to her hideout in his face, making him notice the smeared lipstick on the wall. Hesitantly, he lifted the Time Glass to get a look at it from back then.

"You told them to leave us a sign and they did. And they waited. Oh, Amy." He muttered, but hurried in after her.

"Why won't you help yourself?" He questioned.

"He wants to rescue past me from thirty-six years back, which means I'll cease to exist. Everything I've seen and done dissolves. Time is rewritten."

"That's… That's good, isn't it?"

"I will die. Another Amy will take my place. An Amy who never got trapped at Twostreams, an Amy who grew old with you, and she, in thirty-six years, won't be me." Amy argued with him.

"But you'll die in here!"

"Not if you take me with you. You came to rescue me, so rescue me."

"Leave her and take you?" He questioned.

"We could take this Amy with us, easy, but if we do, our Amy has to wait thirty-six years to be rescued." The Doctor said and Amy smiled softly.

"She told me you'd say that." She said quietly, surprising the Doctor.

"W-What?"

"She told me that I would have to make a choice. Told me that you would give me a choice. This me or that one and she… she made me promise that I would let go and give the young Amy that chance."

"So why aren't you?" Rory asked, confused and hurt.

"S-She is s-scared." The Rory-bot said, tottering over as Amy looked at it in shock.

"R-Rory…"

The robot tilted its head. "Are y-you scared, A-Amelia?"

Tears formed in Amy's eyes, though they didn't fall. "B-But how?"

Rory spoke up, stepping to her side. "It said that… That Alex was fixing its speech systems and working on some kind of AI system."

The Doctor hesitated but cleared his throat. "I… I believe she was trying to surprise you but didn't quite finish. There's still some bugs interrupting its speech, but… I think she just didn't want you to be alone once she was…"

He still couldn't bring himself to say the word 'dead'.

The Handbot held a hand out towards Rory, slowly closing and pointed its arm at the Time Glass.

"You want this?" He asked and the robot nodded ever so slowly before it gestured to another area.

Rory hesitated, but brought the Time Glass over there to reveal a quietly sobbing younger Amy.

The Handbot turned to Amy then. "Will you help h-her?"

Amy looked at her past self and hesitated. "I-I…"

The Handbot then hobbled to another area and the two exchanged looks before following. The robot gestured to another area and Rory hesitantly moved the Time Glass to reveal Alex, doubled over and coughing violently; struggling to keep her noise down and not bother Amy.

The current Amy though, took a step back, shaking her head. "No, stop it. Why are you doing this?"

The Handbot turned away and teetered back to where the younger Amy had been.

"T-The Seer came s-so you wouldn't be l-l-lonely." It said, gesturing to the younger Amy as Rory held up the glass again. "S-She apologizes f-for you coming here to s-suffer so long. So long." It stuttered, twitching as it repeated those words twice. "S-She forgives you. F-Forgives you. Forgives you f-for your c-choice. E-Either way. Way. Way. Way."

It stuttered and shook before slowly it's voice changed into a recording of Alex's.

"_Oh, Amelia. I'm so sorry it had to be like this._" She said, interrupted by a hacking cough and a groan. "_I don't have much longer, though I'll try my best to hang on until he gets here. He'll figure something out, I'm sure. He always does._"

The Doctor swallowed back tears once more. _Oh, Alexander…_

She chuckled a bit then. "_A-And I expect to see that old grin on his face too. No tears. None from any of you or I-I'll haunt you._" She lightly threatened. "_Oh, but Amelia, I know it will be hard. And I'm sorry, if I'm not there to help you, but… it's your choice and no one can make it for you. The Doctor lies, remember? Though only when necessary, so don't you go blaming him, Rory. You know better. This wasn't his fault._"

The voice fizzled and there was a whacking sound before it cleared again and Alex huffed.

"_Stupid thing. I'll fix that bug yet. But as I was saying… Amelia. Oh, Amelia Pond. You wonderful woman you. I doubt anyone could have put up with me for that long in close quarters, but you did. And I'm so, _so_ proud of you. I will always be proud of you. And imagine. Imagine how much you could learn. How this Amy will grow up. So loved. None of that bitterness that you and I are feeling now and later on… Remember that question I asked you? All those years ago? What did you tell me when I asked you what you would do—_"

"—if we were stuck here forever, bitter and old?" Amy finished, looking down.

"_Do you remember what you said?_" Alex pressed and she nodded. "_Do you remember what I said?_"

"Never give up, never give in." Amy said along with the recording; the words making the Doctor very nearly lose control of his emotions at those familiar words.

"_Because the Doctor will come._"

"And the centurion will fight through hell and back to save me." She said and one could hear Alex's smile as she said those last recorded words.

"_So press on, Amy Pond. And show them how brave you can be by facing death head on… I love you, Amelia. And you too Rory… And especially you, my Doctor._"

And with that, the Handbot, slumped over; power gone with Alex's last remaining message and Amy took in a shaky breath before turning to Rory with teary eyes and a determined look on her face.

"I am going to pull apart time for you and for her." She said, moving in and suddenly kissing Rory.

* * *

The Doctor was worried. More than worried, actually. He had a theory and so far, it had worked. He'd managed to get both Amy's together in the same time stream, but he had another problem.

"Right. So we're fine, but what about Alex?" Younger Amy asked.

The older one nodded as well. "There's not an older on here to share a connection with."

Having explained that to younger Amy, she managed to just wince, but the remnants of tears running down her face as still there as Rory took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"And the glasses broke." Rory added on and the Doctor was growing annoyed with the constant interruption to his thinking process.

"I _know_! Now just… Just give me a second!" He shouted over the noise of his panicking Tardis. "And I'm sorry, but you've got eight minutes and you're on your own now!" He called out as the glasses finally sparked and went dead. "Alright now, Doctor, think. It worked for Amy and if we're lucky, we can do the same for Alex. But how? We can't take the version of herself that walked into that room! This will never work! No matter what I do, she'll already be infected and…"

He slammed an already bruised fist against the Tardis console angrily.

"What can I _do_?!" He shouted before slumping back into the jump seat and dropping his head in his hands.

The Tardis even calmed, without him noticing, before it beeped. He ignored it even as the noise grew louder and a light flashed on screen. It wasn't until the Tardis dropped a shoe on his head that he angrily looked up.

"What?!" He snapped, and the Tardis swung it's monitor around.

On the screen was a recording of Alex wandering the wardrobe and heading out the door where it switched to the outside camera showing her trailing after Amy. He got up and frowned at the screen, shoving it away.

"That doesn't help." He said angrily, but it swiveled around again, this time on repeat of her popping up in the Tardis.

He scowled, prepared to give the Tardis a number of rather harsh words before pausing. The glow had caught his attention. That same golden glow that appeared every time she showed up. Her words before she left about the Tardis helping him. _Alex… Tardis… Her popping around… Time streams, no… time _lines_. _His eyes suddenly went wide as a grin stretched across his face and he abruptly kissed the screen.

"Oh, I _love_ you, you Sexy thing, you!"

The ship hummed appreciatively and he went about changing the calibrations that merged Amy's time streams together.

"Come on, come one. I need to right sequence. Sexy, help me out. I need the _exact_ sequence of the Artron energy signature for her current age just as she popped up here."

She gave him that and he had it all figured out, begging the universe that it would work as Amy and Rory entered the ship. _One_ Amy, the younger.

"Ah, perfect. Get ready for a bumpy ride!" He called out, but Rory paused; Amy in his arms unconscious due to a sedative.

"But what about Alex?"

"And here I thought you'd be worried about the other Amy." The Doctor muttered, but Rory heard him.

"I am, but she chose to stay. She… she chose to be brave. For all of us."

The Doctor paused in what he was doing and nodded. "Good. Yes. Good. Now, hold on tight. If I'm right, this should do the trick!"

He pulled on the lever to send the Tardis off, the ride _much_ bumpier than it would have been, had they not been trying to pull a certain someone on board as well.

"Come on, come on, come _on_!" He shouted over the noise and the sparks and groans of the Tardis that was doing its best as well.

Then, a glow popped up in the console room and a stunned Alex was practically _thrown_ into the room; very nearly tumbling over the railing that caught her harshly in the gut. Coughing and hacking and attempting to get her breath back, she hung on the railing as the Doctor settled the Tardis into the time vortex and dashed her way.

"W-What—"

She not only couldn't breathe properly enough to get a full sentence out, but the Doctor tackled her and pinned her back to the railing before smothering her in a desperate kiss that took what little breath she had, away. She grunted a few times in annoyance as he hands began to roam; him doing what he could to memorize the slim figure of hers that he thought he'd lost forever, before she finally began to sink to the floor and he realized that she wasn't _quite_ weak at the knees because of him.

"Alex!" He helped her to the ground as she desperately tried to catch her breath and held up a shaking finger to keep him quiet as she tried to get enough air for words.

"F-First off, my _God_ was that hot."

The Doctor smiled at that, glad he'd pleased her with the impromptu attack, but the slap to his cheek made him cringe.

"O-Ow." He muttered, rubbing the area as she glared at him.

"_Two_, I don't know what the hell happened, but when I'm attempting to _breathe_ you don't go making it impossible. Got it? Breathing good, suffocating not." She scolded, before sighing and rubbing her stomach with a wince. "Geeze. That's another landing to add to my worst and most painful."

The Doctor though, could care less, not seeing Rory quietly heading off to give them some room. As happy as he was that Alex was alright, he had some things to sort out himself and he knew it would be a while before he could get in-between the two lovebirds.

The Doctor leaned in again, nuzzling his nose in her neck with a soft kiss as he held her close once more. "I'm so glad… I'm so glad you're alright."

"Yeah, as much as I enjoy this, mind explaining what I missed? Last I checked, I just popped up and you're _rarely_ this clingy unless something bad happened." She paused, before narrowing her eyes as she pulled away from him. "Something bad happened, didn't it?"

The Doctor just reached up and kissed her, still as desperate and relieved as ever. "I don't care. You're here. You're safe and I _love_ you so, _so_ much, Alexander."

"Mm, you too, but I _still_ want an explanation." She muttered between kisses. "Though… I suppose it can wait a bit, if this continues." She paused, smirking at him as they kept their foreheads together. "It _is_ going to continue, isn't it?"

"Oh, yes."


	87. Heaven Sent & Hell Bent

**Right, um, that author's note was a misprint... The _next_ chapter will be the Classic Who episode of 'The King's Demons'. I sort of accidentally lost track of the order of episodes i was writing out. Sorry! But anyway, i hope you enjoy this one! It was something i had in mind for a while, but never got around to figuring it out how to make it work. So hopefully this is okay and not too complicated or anything. It definitely answers some questions you guys have been having about the Doctor's treatment of Alex, but i won't spoil it much more than that ;) Please review and let me know what you think though! I love hearing from you all ^^**

**And that quote further down is a Chinese Proverb I found. Oh! And if anyone's wondering about how I get the words for the episodes so accurate, i found a lovely person who has _ALL_ the scripts for Doctor Who and Classic Who typed out to look at. i usually look at those and make sure they're accurate with the episodes before using them. The site is as follows, minus the spaces...**

**chakoteya . net**

* * *

_Screaming, crying, fighting. Every sound rang in my ears. Every explosion, every collapse, every feeling. All of it shook me to the core. The Daleks rolling across the ground, flying through the skies killing mercilessly. The Time Lords and Ladies, doing everything they could to fight, to escape. The city in flames, matching the red ground around them. All of it screamed at me. Igniting something in me and making it burn, making it cry out._

"_Stop… Stop it, please! Stop this!"_

_My throat closed with the smoke and the smell of lives being extinguished. Tears sprung up but didn't fall. A voice in the back of my head told me it was necessary. This had to be done. All of it had to happen. _

There's nothing you can do.

* * *

I took a breath, gasping for air as I sat up. I pat myself down, surprisingly enough, finding myself clothed, though they weren't mine. Nor were they familiar. I ached all over and cringed slightly at the abrasions on my hands, which were wrapped in bandages. _What… What happened? Where am I?_ I looked around, but the wooden structure I was in didn't seem familiar to me. The scent of hay tickled my nose and I wrinkled it in annoyance. _Hay… Hay never means anything good._ I pushed myself up and off of the small bed, glancing at it with a frown as I stood shakily. _Was it really that bad of a landing? Or am I missing something? It's bad enough my memory's failing, the last thing I need is to be losing bits and pieces of it entirely._ I cautiously climbed down the ladder to the lower area, the space reminding me of something, though I couldn't entirely be certain I'd seen it before. I shrugged the feeling off and moved towards the door, opening it and feeling all the blood drain from my face as I stared out in blatant shock.

_No…_ Red desert sands spread out before me, barren except for the few scattered silver spires, but what caught my attention was the large sphere housing a populated city peeking over the hills. _N-No, but this is…_ I stumbled back, the door shutting in front of me as I bumped into a box and leaned heavily upon it. _But how?! I can't… I can't be here! It's impossible!_

There's nothing you can do.

I flinched, bringing a hand to my head in pain and closing my eyes against the headache as the door opened and a woman walked in with a concerned, yet stern expression.

"You shouldn't be up and moving about, dear." She lightly chided me with an accent that I couldn't place as she reached out to take my elbow. "Please, go lay back down."

I pulled away before she could touch me, my eyes sharp as they looked her over and she hesitated, barley hiding the fear she felt towards me.

"W-Where did you find me?" I asked, making her frown slightly in confusion.

"Just over the hill there." She said, pointing in a direction vaguely. "I saw a light and when I sent a boy out, he returned saying there was a woman."

I frowned, confused and wishing desperately that I could ask her why I was here, but known she didn't have the answer for me. _And do I dare ask about the Doctor? _I swallowed thickly and hesitantly spoke.

"A-And the war?"

She looked even more concerned now, if that was possible. "Dear, the war has been over for ages. Are you sure you're alright? Can I get you anything? Some water perhaps?"

"Y-Yes, please." I muttered, watching as she turned to leave, before adding one more thing. "A-And my clothes?"

She nodded. "I had them washed for you. Though, they're very strange and your Gallifreyian isn't exactly great either. Where are you from?"

I leaned back, putting more of my weight on the box at those words, hearts racing as she panicked slightly.

"I-I'll get you some water. And some food as well. You're looking a little pale. Oh, dear." She said quickly, scurrying off as I sank to the ground and brought a shaky hand to my mouth.

_G-Gallifreyian? I-I'm speaking Gallifreyian?! But how?! T-The Tardis—_I stopped. _The Tardis. The Doctor. I-I don't even know if he's here. God, I hope he's _not_ here. But if I'm here, doesn't that mean…_ I cringed as another headache shot through my mind, making me grimace in pain once more.

"And these damn headaches. What the hell happened?!"

* * *

The Doctor stepped out of a teleport chamber, eyes sharp and angry as he remembered what had happened just moments ago. _Clara._ Furious anger pumped through his veins as he spoke to whatever entity might hear in him the stone room he was in after scooping up some sand on the ground and watching it slip through his fingers.

"If you think because she is dead, I am weak, then you understand very little. If you were any part of killing her, and you're not afraid, then you understand nothing at all. So, for your own sake, understand this. I am the Doctor. I'm coming to find you, and I will never, ever stop."

* * *

I sipped at the soup placed before me, still very, very confused. I was on Gallifrey, eating soup, speaking the language, with no Tardis and no Doctor in sight. Yes, I'd had the woman bring my clothes. No, I wasn't wearing them. I felt oddly at home in the clothes given to me; a muddy brown pair of pants, slightly dirty tan shirt, and a dark maroon nomad cowl to keep around my neck to prevent sunburn from the two suns along with a dark brown cloak. The woman watched me eat, cautiously, almost and I felt bad for frightening her before. So, I hesitantly lifted my head with a smile.

"This is delicious. Thank you."

She paused, but soon nodded. "You're welcome. Are… Are you feeling better?"

I nodded, gesturing to my hands. "Yes, and thank you for tending to my hands. I must have scraped them when I fell."

_Yeah, fell from the sky. Stupid popping up must have dropped me a few feet off the ground._

"Um, how far from the Citadel are we?"

She stiffened. "A ways."

I nodded, judging the Citadel to be a bad topic for now. "Things are going well then? Since the war ended?"

"Better than during the war, yes." She replied, though her eyes narrowed suspiciously and I decided to play the fool and leaned back with a long sigh and a smile.

"Ah, that's good. Good. My memory's been a bit off lately. Keep too many things crammed in there at once, see? And when you get to be over six hundred, well, one starts to feel old, you know?"

She said nothing and I stood, bowing my head slightly.

"Thank you again, for treating me so kindly, but I should probably be going." I said softly, not wanting to burden this woman any more than I already had.

_And if it's after the war, then I probably ended up here on accident. No doubt Rassilon's still upset about our little disagreement before, so I best stay off his radar as best I can._ I mused, gathering my clothes and folding them carefully before digging out a knapsack from my jacket pockets to put them in. I caught some odd glances from the woman at that, but paid them no mind as I headed towards the door; pulling up the cloak's hood on the way.

"Wait." She called out, making me pause. "Who are you?"

"Do you know the Doctor?" I asked instead, making her look at me in shock as I turned and smiled. "I'm not him, but if you find him around here at all, let him know Alex is looking for him."

And leaving the stunned woman with that, I walked out towards the Citadel, hoping that I might bump into the Doctor along the way.

* * *

The Doctor rushed into the Tardis, his mind-palace as it were, in an attempt to escape yet again from the Veil.

"Well, that was another close one. Or it will have been, once I've been gone and got myself out of it. So, how am I going to do that? Come on, teacher, ask me questions!"

The Doctor looked to see Clara's back move to reveal words on a black board.

_Tell no lies._

He remembered the Veil hesitating when he'd admitted he was scared of dying and new words were written on the chalkboard.

_Question 2: What did you say that made the creature stop?_

"The truth, yes. But not any old truth, Clara. This whole place is designed to terrify me. I'm being interrogated. It's not just truth it wants. That's not enough. It's confession. I have to tell truths I've never told before. Not to anyone except Alex. That's the only thing that stops it. You see, the problem is, Clara… there are truths that I can never tell. Not for anything. Not even for Alex. But I'm scared and I'm alone. Alone, and very, very scared." He said softly, looking up the steps and imagining a shy red-head, then a stoic woman with a sharp look in her eyes, then a blonde, and then a brown-haired grinning beauty. "I confess."

* * *

I cursed minutely under my breath, ducking around the building with a ridiculous grin on my face despite the situation I was in. A few alarms blared in the city, guards and soldiers rushing past my hiding place as I chuckled quietly to myself and fingered the small stone in my pocket. _Oh, you'd think I'd robbed them. Honestly, I just thought I'd scare them for a bit. Broken window to make them look, pretty rock just up and disappearing to catch their attention, then a little message. 'Seek me out, if you can'. If the Doctor were here, ooh, he'd be so upset. Or, he'd want to be involved too. Can never tell with him._ I ducked and skittered around the dark slums of the Citadel—something every city has, no matter how gaudy—and finally reached the border. I snuck past security easily enough and took to the deserts once more; dropping off the treasured rock at the gate without anyone noticing until I'd be long gone. After all, I'd heard a rumor floating about.

The High Council wanted something from the Doctor. Word was, there was someone they imprisoned out in the desert for questioning. Something about a hybrid. I was curious, of course. This was either an adventure with Twelve or one in between episodes on the show that I'd missed out on, so everything was up to chance. _Now all I have to do is find the man. How hard can it be to find something out in the middle of nowhere? I wonder if that nice woman would mind if I dropped by to ask._ Smiling to myself, I began walking, whistling to myself as I went along.

* * *

The Doctor stood in the teleport chamber room once more, a stern frown on his face as he searched for answers. "There are two events in everybody's life that nobody remembers. Two moments experienced by every living thing, yet no one remembers anything about them. Nobody remembers being born and nobody remembers dying." He said as he reached down and picked up a skull on the ground. "Is that why we always stare into the eye sockets of the skull? Because we're asking, 'What was it like? Does it hurt? Are you still scared'?"

The Doctor paused, smiling slightly as a thought came to mind.

"What does Alex see when she looks at a skull? Does she find the answers she's looking for? She never told me. Rarely talks about what happened in that old job of hers. Maybe I should ask. Maybe… Maybe she has the answers I'm looking for."

* * *

I sat, sipping my soup happily, ignoring the curious stares of the few children who'd wandered over to check me out while the woman—still haven't gotten her name—worked on laundry in the back. They were cute, I had to admit. Reminded me again, of that family I used to have, but not unpleasantly. They simply reminded me of the innocence that still laid here. Despite Rassilon's rule over the planet. Despite the Time War poisoning the minds and souls of the older generations. _Though I wonder how old they are to still be in childish bodies. Pretty young, I'd think. Time Lord biology's are weird._ I peered out of one eye at one of the kids and smirked, making the little boy grow flustered before I looked around and leaned towards him.

"Hey, you want to see something neat? If you can keep a secret and not tell the older lady, I'll let you keep it."

Immediately, his eyes lit up and he nodded enthusiastically. My grin widened and I reached into my pack, digging deep into the pocket of my folded up jacket inside and pulling out a colored handkerchief with a frown.

"No, that's not it." I grumbled, pulling it out and looking surprised as a dozen other colored handkerchiefs followed in its wake; making the boys around me chuckle.

I got to the end of it and looked more than stunned to find a bouquet of flowers; making the boys turn to one another with matching looks of uncertainty.

"Meh, you don't want these." I muttered, tossing them behind me and making the boys gasp in surprise as they disappeared in a poof of smoke and confetti. "Ah! I found it!"

I pulled out a black top hat and the boys all frowned, unsure what a ridiculous hat could do, but I grinned and winked. I showed them the hat, flattened it and popped it back up again before reaching into it. They looked stunned to see how far into it my hand went into the hat and I pulled out a small rabbit, making them all gap in surprise before I tucked the creature back inside and flipped the hat over to plop on the first boy's head.

"It's all yours."

He quickly took the hat from his head, reaching in it to try and find the rabbit, but to no success. I smiled with a small chuckle as the group bounded off with the hat, before I felt something and my gaze turned to the soup in front of me. My smile faded as I spotted the ripples in the liquid and sighed as the sound of engines came closer. _Well, it's been a few weeks. If the Doctor hasn't shown up by now, then I'll have to go for the next best thing._

"Go to where the trouble is." I muttered, pausing once I'd stood and allowing that grin to stretch across my face once more. "I best not keep them waiting then."

I headed for the door and stepped out, much to the surprise of the young boys who were huddled with the woman again as I approached the hovering ship in front of me. I waved at the shocked group, smiling all the while though.

"Thanks for the soup!" I called out. "Oh, and if the Doctor drops by, tell him he's _late_. I've got a meeting with the High Council."

* * *

The Doctor stepped out of the tower, watching the portal close and a disk fall to the ground. He picked up his confession dial, the island of torture disappearing behind clogs and closing up as a small boy hurried up to him in surprise. He turned to the child as he stood on the red desert sands, speaking to him slowly and carefully in a tongue he hadn't used in ages.

"Go to the city. Find somebody important. Tell them I'm back. Tell them, I know what they did and I'm on my way. And if they ask you who I am, tell them I came the long way round."

The boy hurried off and the Doctor turned to the Citadel with an angry scowl on his face as he lifted up his confession dial and spoke harshly.

"You can probably still hear me, so just between ourselves, you've got the prophecy wrong. The Hybrid is not half Dalek. Nothing is half Dalek. The Daleks would never allow that. The Hybrid destined to conquer Gallifrey and stand in its ruins…" He put on his sunglasses. "…is me."

He stood there for a moment, looking over the Citadel before sighing and deflating a bit. _Alex would tease me for the rest of my regenerations if she heard that._ He begrudgingly admitted to himself before removing his coat due to the heat and making his way for a small sanctuary out on the desert. He found the lone barn from oh so long ago and entered unnoticed, taking his time to look it over and climb up the ladder to the bed he used to sleep in as a young Time Tot. Someone entered then, but he knew the woman and simply stood there as she rattled on.

"Why are they ringing all the bells? Never heard so many. What's gone wrong this time? All the fuss they're always making." She complained, before spotting the Doctor and frowning at him. "You, up there! You're not supposed to be there! I've just put all that back. It's for the boys, if any of them ever want to come—" She cut herself off upon seeing those eyes of his; a small pressure in the back of her mind ringing him as the very same little boy from all those years ago, and her hearts broke for him. "They'll kill you."

The Doctor paid no attention to her warning and slowly came down from the ladder. "Do you have anything to eat?"

She hesitated, but nodded. "I have some soup. I'll have the boys move the table outside for you. I won't have you eating in here. Not like that other young woman."

The Doctor blinked. "Who?"

The woman frowned, pointing a finger at him. "Your friend. Just collapsed out there in the desert in the most _ridiculous_ uniform I've seen and walked out like nothing was wrong. Next thing I know, she's back asking for more food and brings all sorts of trouble with her. These boys have never been so excited about such a strange hat." She shook her head and the Doctor hurried towards her.

"Did she give her name? This woman, did she say anything to you about who she was?"

"All she told me was to tell you that you're late. Though I do believe she said her name was Alex. Odd name for a woman and very bland for a Time Lady."

The Doctor grinned, suddenly placing a kiss on the woman's cheek in his joy that his Alexander was here waiting for him. _Not here, as in this barn, but no doubt she's causing Rassilon some trouble._ He smiled at the thought as the flustered mother-figure went to get some food for the man, but his smile soon faltered as he remembered why he was here and what had happened to their beloved companion. _She'll be crushed… And she certainly won't like what I have planned. Convincing her will be a big step. Otherwise…_ He frowned, growing stern and serious once more. This was just something he had to do, and not even his wife could get in the way.

* * *

"Um, sir?" A guard questioned hesitantly as he entered the room where Rassilon and the general were watching someone attempt to get the Doctor to come in for questioning.

"What is it?" The general asked, stepping away from the screen for a moment.

"She's doing it again, sir." The guard said, looking worse for wear like many of the other guards who'd been stuck with the duty of watching over the Seer. "The guard on duty said he can't take much more. She's tried to count to a trillion _sixteen_ times."

"It's just counting." The general pressed, but the guard shook his head.

"It's not just that. She loses count. A _lot_. And every time she starts from the very beginning. It's driving him mad, sir."

The general groaned, dragging a hand down his face. The Seer. The partial Time Lady that everyone was fearful of, had been driving every one of his guards and soldiers away from their jobs by doing nothing but cheap mind games. _And not even that. She's just steadily wearing them down bit by bit. This time it's counting, but before it was singing every Earth song she could remember from 800 BCE and onward. And before that, it was repetitive questioning. And then just plain rambling whatever came to her mind. And the staring one got them good. Practically made three men just up and quit entirely._

"What is his plan?" Rassilon snarled angrily, drawing the General's attention away from the pain in the butt prisoner he'd been stuck dealing with.

"I think he's finishing his soup." Ohila, the leader of the Sisterhood of Karns, mused with a small smirk. "Or perhaps you should ask the Seer. She _is_, after all, his wife."

Rassilon scowled as he remembered that tidbit of information, unsurprised of the development, but none too pleased about it.

"_Fine_." He snapped. "Bring her in."

"Sir." The guard saluted, hurrying out to get her as Rassilon glanced back at the General with a frown.

"I take it none of the usual methods have worked on convincing her to predict things?"

The General shook his head, somewhat nervous—though more towards the Seer and the Doctor, than the man in front of him. "No, Lord President. The Doctor has trailed her well to protect her mind and anything physical she just… laughs off."

His scowl deepened. "Of course she does."

"Suggestion, sir?" The General offered, wishing to do anything but bring the Doctor's very wife into this mess in fear of what the man would do once he found out she was there and how she'd been treated. "We could talk to him."

"Words are his weapons." Rassilon argued and the General couldn't help but mutter quietly.

"When did they stop being ours?"

Rassilon glared at the man and pointed at the screen. "You go. Get him here, _now_." He snapped and the General hesitantly grabbed a few men and went to get him.

When that proved unsuccessful, he sent the High Council themselves to greet the Doctor, but even then, the door was slammed in their faces and he'd had enough.

"What is he doing?!" Rassilon shouted, slamming his hand on the table before leaning towards Ohila. "What does he want? Revenge?"

A snort came from the doorway and he turned around quickly, with a heated glare at the handcuffed woman who sauntered in like she owned the place.

"Really? That's the best you can come up with, _Lord of Time_? My, you have gotten old." She mocked with a teasing smirk. "You got a bit grey between the ears too?"

Rassilon raised his gauntlet, but did not attack her, threatening her instead. "Do not _mock_ me, Seer."

"Or what? You zap me with your little sparky glove?" She chuckled, hands in front of her now as she idly spun an apple on the tip of her finger; where she'd gotten it from and how she'd managed to move her hands from behind her to in front of her, he hadn't the slightest idea.

This regeneration of hers was far more annoying and tricky than the last one they'd had to deal with.

"I'm not stupid, Rassilon." She said, forgoing any formal title he had as she took a bite from the apple. "You can't kill me because you need me. To predict the future of the Time Lords or whatever the Doctor has planned. Either way, killing me would be a waste."

"It would also take care of many future headaches." He growled, but Alex was hardly phased, smirking with a mischievous look despite the bruises peeking through her clothing and the split lip.

"Please. I'm an asset. Any decent war hardened General or officer would know that. I have more information that I know what to do with, honestly."

"Then tell us!" He snapped at her and she laughed.

_Laughed_ in the very face of Time itself.

"Tell you? _Tell_ you? Why the hell would I tell you anything? I mean, really." She tilted her head a bit to look at Ohila. "The Doctor at least asks nicely."

Ohila, thoroughly amused by the woman, shrugged as if to say 'what can you do'?

Angered beyond belief and thoroughly embarrassed by the audacity of the woman lounging in front of him, Rassilon let out a shout and picked up the nearest weapon; throwing the letter opener like a throwing blade at Alex. Said woman didn't flinch or even tip her head to the side to avoid the blade barely nicking her cheek; a bead of blood slipping down to her chin.

"'He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever'." Alex quoted with a raised brow at him, unfazed by his attack. "So which are you, Rassilon?"

"What does the Doctor _want_?" The man snapped after gritting his teeth in anger and Alex raised a brow, forcing him to bow further to her. "_Please_."

A smile formed on her face; surprising him at how genuine it was compared to her cocky smirks. She clapped her hands then smiling away.

"See! Not so hard, was it? Your tone could use a bit of work, but I'll let it slide." She said, making his eye twitch in annoyance. "And if you really want to know, I haven't the slightest idea."

Rassilon very nearly vaporized her on the spot at that, but she continued.

"I mean, he certainly looks pretty upset about something you did. The Time War perhaps? I know he blames you _quite_ a bit for that, though I'm sure there's something else he's here for. I haven't seen him that angry in a long time." She said then, her eyes narrowing and a small frown taking place of the joking smile from before; as though she were remembering something she'd much rather forget.

And then the smile was back as she shrugged.

"Eh, but right now, he's just waiting for you to show up. He could care less about the small fry. No offence, General."

The General bobbed his head in acknowledgement and Rassilon snarled.

"Very well. If he wishes to see me, then see me he will. Prepare my shuttle and gather some of your finest men." He snipped sharply at the General, tossing a thumb back at Alex. "And keep _her_ here and don't let her touch anything."

Alex chuckled, exchanging an amused glance with Ohila as the Lord President went to confront the Doctor; the Savior of Gallifrey.

* * *

The Doctor sat, holding his confession dial and waiting for the man himself to show up. Silently, he wondered what Alex could have been doing? He'd seen the top hat the young boys had been trying to reach into and nearly chuckled to himself at her antics. _She always loved children._ He mused, before another knock came and the woman opened the door looking frantically speechless. He stood, knowing what that meant, and walked out to face Rassilon, the General, and the guards brought with them. Slowly, he walked to the line that separated them in the dirt and Rassilon held out his hand. The Doctor glanced at it, amused, reached into his pocket and dropped his confession dial in the dirt.

"Get off my planet."

Rassilon didn't move. "We needed to know. You have information about the Hybrid. A danger to all of us. If you told us what you knew, you could have walked out of there!"

"Get off my planet." The Doctor repeated, voice cold, and Rassilon forced himself to hold back his temper.

"You have nothing, Doctor. _Nothing_! Do you know what I have out here? In the dry lands where there's nobody who matters?" Rassilon leaned forward. "No witnesses."

The Doctor didn't care. "Me too."

Rassilon felt his anger boil. Between dealing with the Seer and then the ridiculousness of this man, he could handle no more. He stormed back to where the line of soldiers was, heatedly shouting orders.

"Take aim! Aim at the Doctor. Fire on my command."

"Sir?" The General questioned hesitantly; the soldiers exchanging looks and shuffling reluctantly.

"Step forward and take aim! What's the matter with you?"

"Lord President, he's a war hero. Some of these men served with him." The General persisted.

"These men serve _me_." Rassilon snapped, not knowing the effect those greedy words had on the men who stood beside him. "All of you, on my command!"

Guns were aimed and the Doctor closed his eyes as Rassilon turned away.

"Fire!"

All of the weapons discharged and Rassilon let out a breath of relief, only to turn around and find the Doctor completely unharmed and the burn marks from the bullets having made a near outline of his form on the wood of the barn behind him.

"You missed. All of you. Every single one of you! How is that possible? What is it? Is the firing squad afraid of the unarmed man?!" Rassilon bellowed, grabbing one of the men and dragging him forward. "You, explain."

"There was a saying, sir, in the Time War." The man started off, hesitant and quiet at first.

"A saying?"

The soldier nodded, standing tall as his confidence grew. "The first thing you will notice about the Doctor of War is he's unarmed. For many, it's also the last."

He moved away from Rassilon and dropped his weapon in the dirt, crossing the dirt line at their feet and standing beside the Doctor.

"I was at Skull Moon, sir." He informed the man, and his actions made four other men start to drop their own weapons.

They joined the Doctor as well and Rassilon faced the rest angrily.

"Not one more of you moves! That is an order."

Two more exchanged looks before dropping their weapons and moving to the other side.

"A direct order of your President!" He shouted and he raised his gauntlet. "You leave me no choice. How many regenerations did we grant you? I've got all night."

The rumble of engines came then and Rassilon grinned as four more ships arrived.

"Excellent, General. You sent for reinforcements."

"No, he didn't." The Doctor said, putting on his sonic sunglasses again. "I did."

Any soldiers left on Rassilon's side dropped their weapons and moved away as the man raised his hands.

"I am Rassilon, the redeemer! Rassilon, the resurrected! Gallifrey is mine!" He insisted, but the General moved between him and the Doctor defiantly.

"Lord President, with respect, get off his planet."

The General pressed Rassilon's arm down, threw his gun away and stood by the Doctor, ready to shield the man if Rassilon attempted anything, but he was outnumbered, and very much outgunned as two more gunships joined the group. He had no choice. The Doctor had won.

* * *

I sighed, a small smile on my face as I spun around in Rassilon's chair idly, ignoring the fidgeting stares of the High Council still in the room and the amused one of Ohila. I stretched my handcuffed hands up above me, feeling my tense muscles stretch and my spine pop as I spoke.

"How mad do you think Rassilon is?"

"Undoubtedly very." Ohila humored me and I shrugged.

"It's his own fault. One shouldn't allow one's self to be consumed in greed and power. Thinking the Time Lords are above rule was his mistake." I hummed, drumming my fingers on the table before reaching for the spoon to a bowl of soup I'd been offered. "Bet he was surprised by the reinforcements I sent over. I'd say I was surprised they listened to me, but meh. I'm good at impressions in this body. Want to hear me do Alan Rickman?"

"No, thank you." She declined and I chuckled, moving to sip at my soup just as the door opened and the Doctor himself walked in.

He probably wouldn't have noticed I was there if I hadn't spoken up; Ohila slipping away silently along with the rest in the room.

"You're late, you know."

He stopped immediately, frozen in place as he looked at me in shock and I kept my gaze at the spoon I was using to continue eating.

"Imagine my surprise when I wake up in a barn, having been found unconscious in the middle of a desert on _Gallifrey_ of all places. And then you sit there and send me a message via those _ridiculous _sonic shades about sending reinforcements. No 'Hey, how are you?' 'How you holding up?' 'Having fun in the Citadel?' Though I will admit, the giant billboard was a nice touch. _Very_ inconspicuous."

"Alex…"

I finally lifted my gaze, setting my spoon down and standing up from my place gingerly. My ribs were still rather sore after the beating I'd gotten.

"What? You act like you didn't think I'd be here. Really." I scoffed, seeing in his eyes that he had no idea I'd be a prisoner of Rassilon's. "Three, four weeks here looking for you with no sign, and you thought I'd just keep sneaking about? Please. I knew you'd come here sooner or later and what better way to mess with Rassilon than to get captured and work from the inside?" I smiled then, standing in front of him and brushing some dirt off his coat. "I had fun, if you must know. Made the guards quit one by one by annoying them to death."

The Doctor finally moved, lifting a hand and lightly touching a bruise on my face, making me wince as his thumb brushed the split in my lip.

"Alexander…" He muttered, closing his eyes and frowning deeply before I smacked him upside the back of the head.

"Oi, none of that." I scolded him, ignoring the glare he returned. "If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be here." I slid my handcuffed hands around to the back of his neck with a cheeky smile. "But how could I miss seeing you walk in here like a bad ass?"

I pulled him down for a kiss, him pulling away after a moment to chide me.

"Language."

I snorted, kissing him heatedly once more as one of his hands cupped my face and the other gripped my waist desperately, but gently enough to avoid causing me any more pain than I was already in. We pulled apart, just looking in each other's eyes for a moment before I grinned.

"Was his face hilarious?"

The Doctor couldn't help but crack a smile at that and I felt relief at the action; something in the tenseness of his embrace ringing alarm bells in my mind that something was terribly wrong and the Doctor was here to do something about it. Something possibly just as wrong.

"I recorded it with the sonic sunglasses. I'll play it back to you later." He promised and I continued to smile as I lifted my arms up and over his head; him quickly frowning at the cuffs and pulling out said shades to sonic my wrists free.

I rubbed at the raw marks on my wrists before the Doctor gently reached out and took over; his stormy grey eyes making me frown and finally address the elephant in the room that he didn't want me knowing about.

"What is it?" I asked him, all seriousness and none of my playful attitude from before. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He insisted and my frown deepened.

_Theta, you can't hide this from me. I'll find out. You know I will, so why not just tell me?_ I asked him silently and his eyes locked on to mine and I got the response without him having to speak; physically or mentally.

_Because it will break your hearts._

I stiffened, but he pulled away, aiming a stern glare to a soldier in the room.

"Make sure she has any injuries treated. Give her anything she requests. Food, clothing, weapons, paperwork or information. Anything. Do you understand?"

"Sir." The man saluted and I went to question the Doctor, but he silenced me quickly with a kiss.

"I have something I need to do." He told me. "Please, stay here. Don't ask what I'm doing or where I'm going. Just…" He paused, looking me over and seeing my suspicion. "Trust me, please."

I nodded. "I trust you."

He returned the nod and briefly kissed me again before walking out; my eyes trailing after him as the soldier approached me.

"I just don't trust what you're about to do." I muttered under my breath, before adopting my usual smiling mask and turning to the soldier with a clap of my hands. "Let's get started then, shall we?"

* * *

The Doctor sat, frowning at the people across the table; the General and Ohila and her lot of followers. He could feel a headache coming on and pressed his fingers to his temple.

"If you wanted to know about the Hybrid, why didn't you just ask me?" He questioned and the General answered.

"If the Hybrid is a threat to the people of this world, why don't you just tell us?" He countered, sitting down.

The Doctor sighed and glanced at a soldier nearby. "How is she? My wife?"

"Fine, sir. Her injuries weren't fatal, though they will take some time to heal."

"Has she been fed? Clothed?" He asked and the man shuffled.

"She has, though she prefers her own clothing despite its condition."

"Typical." The Doctor scoffed, though he smiled a bit; only to frown. "She hasn't been asking about me? About what I'm doing?"

"No, sir."

His frown deepened, himself growing suspicious. "What's she up to…" He shook the thought from his head and turned back to the General. "What do you know about the Hybrid already?"

"The Hybrid is a legendary—"

"No." The Doctor cut him off and the General hesitated before rephrasing.

"The Hybrid is a creature thought to be crossbred from two warrior races."

"Which races?"

"The Daleks and the Time Lords, it is supposed."

"Oh, must be well hard, then."

"Unstoppable. According to the stories." The General agreed.

"If they're just stories, why are you so worried?"

"Some Matrix prophecies suggest—"

"No."

He hesitated and tried again. "Many prophesies suggest—"

"No." The Doctor repeated and the General thought for a moment before correcting himself.

"_All_ Matrix prophecies concur that this creature will one day stand in the ruins of Gallifrey. It will unravel the Web of Time and destroy a billion billion hearts to heal its own."

The Doctor had a very unsettling image then of Alex, standing in the middle of the Time War, tears down her face as she watched children run screaming. Amy Pond's old nickname for her ringing in his ears.

"_Alexander Holmes, the _Changer_ of Time. How about that?"_

He immediately thrust the thought from his head and spouted out the first thing that came to mind.

"What color is it?"

The General hesitated. "I-I don't know."

"Prophecies, they never tell you anything useful, do they?" The Doctor spat out and Ohila scolded him.

"This is no time to play the fool."

"It's the end of the universe. It's the only time I've got." He argued and turned back to the General. "And you want me to keep you all safe."

"Can you?"

"I don't know. Why'd you take my wife?"

The General stiffened, seeing the Oncoming Storm raging in the man's eyes. "Rassilon, that is, he ordered she be taken in for questioning concerning the Hybrid and… and your actions, sir."

"And did anyone think to check her age?" The Doctor snapped angrily, doing what he could to keep from strangling the man before him in his rage. "She's too young to even know what the Hybrid _is_!"

"She wouldn't tell us, sir." The General pressed. "And her mental capabilities are off the charts. We couldn't gain any information from her other than an occasional cartoon television show she watched as a child, much less her current age."

The Doctor groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes and bowed his head; shoulders slumped. "She's learned. Oh, I forgot how much she's learned. Forgot how easily it was for her to be clever. To use that mind of hers to take what I taught her and multiply it ten-fold and in such creative ways as well."

He sighed deeply as Ohila smiled a little.

"What a wife you've found, Doctor." She mused. "Causes herself just as much trouble as you did at that age, even now."

"Tell me about it." The Doctor grumbled, standing and speaking to the general as he moved towards the door. "I'll need help, if you want me to keep you safe, obviously."

"Gallifrey is at your command." The General bowed.

"Oh, not from you lot. No, you'd cramp my style. Look at your _hats_." The Doctor scoffed. "I'm going to need the use of an extraction chamber to talk to an old friend."

* * *

Clara stood before the crow, her heart thumping wildly in her chest as she realized this was it. She had to do this. For her friend. For his family, and for herself. He run with the Doctor was great. Better than anything she could have asked for. And this was the end. And she was going out with a bang. She'd see Danny again, perhaps. But she couldn't help that fear. The fear every human had when they knew the end was coming. The fear of the unknown. The fear of what happens next. And she whispered quietly to herself as the crow flew from its perch towards her.

"Let me be brave. Let me be brave."

She closed her eyes and spread her arms out, hearing Alex behind her sniff back the tears and feeling—more than seeing—her stand up straight for Clara. For the Impossible Girl that she'd seen die more times than she wished. And then a second passed. Then two. And suddenly, Clara realized nothing had happened. She slowly opened her eyes and found the world stopped. Put on pause like an interrupted television show. She let out a breath of relief, though she felt slightly guilty for doing so. She had been ready. So ready for the end, and as much as she was relieved, something felt wrong.

She hadn't noticed her heart had stopped beating.

"This way." A voice called out. "I can save you."

A familiar one that made her turn her head in confusion. The Doctor stood there, bathed in a bright light that made Clara hesitate as he held out his hand. She turned around and looked back, seeing the same man standing in the doorway of a home in shock beside Alex; who's chin was raised up and her expression strong despite the tears pooling in her eyes. Clara turned back though and forced herself to move forward; away from the raven, away from death and into a white room.

She looked around in confusion at the people standing there and the 'round things' on the wall, coming to a conclusion.

"Doctor?"

"Yeah?"

"Where am I? Is this the Tardis?"

"No. This is a planet." The Doctor corrected, unable to help feeling joy at seeing and hearing Clara once more.

"What planet?"

"Basically, my place."

Another thought came to her mind then. "I was about to die. I should be dead."

"Forget about it. It doesn't matter." The Doctor pressed as she looked back into the doorway where she'd come from.

"Hang on, your place?" Clara rounded back.

"Yeah."

"What do you mean, your place?"

"My place." He repeated.

"You don't mean…"

"Yeah."

"Gallifrey?"

"Gallifrey."

She looked around once more. "Hold on, where's Alex? Is she with you?"

"Yes. She's round here somewhere." He answered her, mentally wincing. _And she won't be pleased with me._

Clara then spun around, hands on her head as she tried to sort things out. "Okay, yeah, hold on. Wait. What?" She quickly turned to the Doctor. "What? Did I miss something?"

"Well, we're several billion years in the future and the universe is pretty much over, so yeah. Quite a lot."

"Young lady. Miss Oswald." The General corrected, making Clara turn towards him. "I'm afraid we only have a very few minutes with you."

"Who's he?" Clara paled then. "Oh, please don't tell me he's Alex. You told me once that she did that. The whole gender change thing."

The Doctor wrinkled his nose. "Don't remind me, but no. That's not her."

The General spoke again. "According to the Doctor, you can tell us something about the creature known as the Hybrid."

"Oh, ooh." Clara frowned, touching her ear. "What's wrong with my ears?"

"Nothing." The Doctor insisted.

"Oh, it's weird. Everything sounds wrong."

"It's a side effect."

"I can hear you. I can hear you fine. It's like… I don't know, it's like… um. It's like something's missing."

"Doctor, we have to tell her. We always tell them."

That sent a wave of fear through Clara. "Tell me what? What's he talking about? Doctor?... Doctor, what's going on?"

"Clara, there's a sound you've been living with every day of your life, but you've learned not to hear." The Doctor explained.

"What sound? What's wrong? Just tell me. Doctor, what sound?"

"Your heartbeat. Your physical processes have been time looped. Frozen between one heartbeat and the next. Even your breathing is just a habit. You don't need it." The Doctor explained with an even tone, trying not to spook her.

"If I'm frozen, how can I… How can I be walking about?" She asked, checking her pulse.

"Because the Time Lords are very clever. It doesn't matter." He pressed, stepping closer to hug her, but she snapped at him.

"Yes, it matters to me!"

The General took a step forward. "Doctor, we have to explain."

"Doctor, what is going on?" Clara pressed. "Where's Alex? Why isn't she here?"

The General though, went on to explain, seeing as the Doctor wouldn't. "Although you are currently conscious and aware, in fact, you died billions of years ago."

"Doctor?" Clara asked, not liking what the General was saying.

"We have extracted you at the very end of your time stream to request your help. Once we're finished here, you will be returned to your final moments. Your death is an established historical event and cannot be altered. I'm sorry."

"Doctor, will you just talk to me!"

The Doctor stepped forward, staring down at her. "I'll try not to break your jaw."

"My jaw?" She questioned.

"I wasn't talking to you." The Doctor said, before suddenly spinning around and punching the General before taking his gun.

"Doctor, you can't do this. You know you can't." The General insisted.

"No, General, I don't know that." The Doctor said sharply, swinging the gun around. "Everybody, stay exactly where you are! No moving about. On pain of death, no one take a selfie."

"These people are unarmed."

"So are you."

"Doctor, I will not let you leave here. T-That's the sidearm of the President's personal security. There isn't a stun setting." The General said, stuttering slightly.

"I will not let Clara die."

"She's been dead for half the lifetime of the universe. If you tried to change that, you could fracture Time itself. Doctor, Lord President, are you really going to take that risk?"

"Alex takes that risk every time. How come nobody's giving her a lecture?" He snipped hotly as Clara begged him; slowly taking his hand.

"Doctor, please. I don't want this. Put it down. Please."

He ignored her, eyes still locked on the General. "Regeneration?"

"Tenth."

"Good luck."

"You too, sir." The General said, preparing for the shot that the Doctor would take to end his life and send him into his next one.

His gun went off, hitting the General in the chest and before anyone could react, he spun around and pointed the gun at one of the men near the controls.

"I want a neural block. Human compatible. Quickly! Come on! Come on, quick!"

The man tossed him something and he squeezed Clara's hand, pulling her out of the room swiftly.

"Y-You killed that man. You shot him. He's dead!" Clara breathed out in a panic as they ran and entered an elevator.

"It was him or you."

"I don't care!"

"Yeah? Well, the difference is, when you die, you stay dead."

"So does he!" She argued, wondering what happened to turn the Doctor into this man standing before him and where Alex was.

"We're on Gallifrey. Death is Time Lord for man flu." The Doctor grumbled and Clara turned to him sharply.

"Where is Alex?"

"I told you. She's here."

"But she's not _here._" Clara persisted. "You didn't want her to see this, did you? That's why she's not here. Does she even know what you're doing?"

The Doctor scowled. "She's not my keeper."

"No, but she's your _wife_." Clara pressed and the Doctor went silent, jaw clenched as the elevator made its way down to the Cloister. The hell of the Time Lords.

* * *

A gold light enveloped the extraction chamber control room, one of the guards requesting a med team to assist in any lasting problems with the General regenerating on the floor. Then, the light stopped and he hesitantly approach.

"Are you alright, sir?" He asked, only for the General to sit up and reveal the _woman_ that she was. "Oh, uh, sorry, ma'am."

"Oh, back to normal, am I?" She mused, standing up and finding herself; quite literally. "The only time I've been a man, that last body." She said, before sneering. "Dear Lord, how do you cope with all that ego?"

Ohila walked in then as the soldier faced the General.

"Ma'am, where's the Doctor?"

"The Cloisters." Ohila responded. "Where else would he run, except into the greatest danger on Gallifrey. The hell of the Time Lords."

The General frowned, turning to the soldier. "Bring me the Seer."

He bowed. "Yes, ma'am."

Said woman was walked in, looking none-too-pleased, and the eye-glasses on her face making her features sharper and more threatening.

"What's he gone and done now?" She snipped, her previous playful attitude gone.

"Do you know what an extraction chamber is?" The General questioned and the woman rolled her eyes.

"Yes, of course I do. What did you think I've been doing all this time? Enjoying a Gallifreyian cocktail? The only thing of interest here on this damn planet is the Tardises and that thing. Well, and the occasional strange cigarettes and alcoholic drinks that the Doctor would chide me for." She rattled on, but Ohila regained her focus.

"He's gone and taken his companion from the end of her time stream in the hopes of keeping her."

Alex's eyes immediately narrowed. "Which companion?"

"A Miss Oswald."

Alex stiffened, before forcing a tense breath out and rubbing at her eyes from under the glasses. "God, again. How many times must I be witness to that?"

The group shuffled a bit at the broken tone of voice they hadn't expected from someone known to them as the Seer, but Alex quickly regained control of herself.

"Explain it to me. There's not much time, I'm guessing, so keep it short and simple."

"The Doctor has gone back in time to the moment when Miss Oswald dies and extracted her a moment before the actual death occurred. He has taken with him a human compatible neural block to erase some of her memories to keep her safe and has fled to the Cloisters down below in the hopes of escaping with her." The General rattled off and Alex scowled.

"He went and left me. That idiot man." She complained, before sending the General an inquisitive look. "And who are you?"

The General blinked in surprise. "I-I'm General—"

"Right, yeah, sorry. The General. Don't need a name. The title's fine, though I should have realized sooner. There's just too many buzzing minds on this planet." She grumbled, rubbing her head. "You lot are already giving me a headache. And don't bother telling me about the Hybrid. I've read up enough on that already and I have to say…" She turned a heated glare on everyone in the room, sending chills down their spines and making even the General take a half step back in fear. "You lot are _idiots_ for doing what you've done to us over this mess. And if it weren't for what was going on right now and the shortness of time, I would punish you myself right this very moment."

She let that threat hang in the air a moment, making perspiration slip down the General's neck like ice water; everyone's muscles so tightly wound up that a pin drop would have sent them all diving for the floor in cowardly fear. But instead, Alex relaxed and let out a deep breath, turning from the group and walking towards the doors.

"It will take a moment before I can say those words to you." She muttered quietly. "Forgiveness can be hard to earn at times and I'm going to make you all work for it. Though, General?"

"Ma'am." The General said quickly, snapping to attention as Alex turned and gave her a look that confused the General greatly.

"You alone have my forgiveness. After what the Doctor has done to you, you deserve that much." She said, turning back as the doors opened and she stepped out. "I'll be heading to the Cloisters."

"B-But ma'am! Navigation is—"

"Surprisingly my strong suit in this body." She cut her off, smiling cheerfully over her shoulder at the General. "I'll be fine. It's you lot I'm worried about." The smile fell. "Clara's going to be right pissed."

The door closed behind her and everyone let out a breath of relief; the General turning to Ohila in concern.

"W-What was that?"

"_That_, was the wrath of the Seer." She replied, looking somewhat worried, which was surprising in and of itself. "And the anger of a wife with an idiot for a husband."

* * *

"I thought you said Gallifrey was frozen in another dimension?" Clara asked the Doctor as they stepped out of the lift.

"Well, they must have unfrozen it and come back." The Doctor replied.

"How?"

"I didn't ask. It would make them feel clever." He said, taking the weapon he hand and tossing it into the room. "Happy?" He asked Clara, who frowned.

"No. Tell me what a neural block is."

"Never mind. This way."

"What did you mean, human compatible?"

The Doctor refused to tell her, pretending to ignore her as they walked and the fog around them thickened. They heard a noise and turned to see a figure dressed like one of the High Council drift past some ways back.

"The Cloister Wraiths." The Doctor informed Clara. "Sliders, we used to call them. They guard the Matrix. We're safe in here."

"Why?"

"They only attack if you make any attempt to leave."

"How long are we planning to stay?" Clara questioned and the Doctor corrected himself.

"Or, actually, if you try to stay."

Clara raised a brow. "You realize how well that conversation went, right?"

"I'm starting to, yeah, a bit." He said, moving once more.

"And Alex? Why is she not here?"

The Doctor winced, having hoped to keep Clara's mind off his—undoubtedly cross—wife. "She's going to be rather cross with me."

"Oh, you think?" Clara scoffed.

"Yes, well, you know how she gets."

"So you're running away? Just like that?" Clara challenged. "Won't that just make her angrier?"

"Only if we leave her behind, which we won't." He grumbled, trying not to think about what would happen when they _did_ go pick the irate woman up.

_You never know what's hiding behind that smile, especially in this regeneration of hers._

"This way, I'm fairly sure." He said, distracting Clara for now. "According to the stories, there's a secret way out. If you find it, the Sliders let you go."

They had a few run-ins with some old enemies of theirs. Everything from Daleks to Weeping Angels, to Cybermen, but as he explained that they were ways for the Matrix to defend itself, he was forced to double back because Clara had stopped in her confusion.

"Database? What do you mean, database?" She asked, but the Doctor was more concerned about what was under her feet.

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"Oh." He repeated, making her do the same.

"Oh?" She looked down and understood. "Oh."

She moved and the Doctor used his feet began brushing the dirt off from the Gallifreyian.

"Looks like the primary service hatch. Just have to work out the key." He said, explaining more about the Matrix to Clara. "When Time Lords die, their minds are uploaded to a thing called the Matrix. This structure, it's like a living computer. It can predict the future, generate prophecies out of algorithms, ring the Cloister bells in the event of impending catastrophe. The Sliders, they're just like the guard dogs, the firewall. Projections from inside the Matrix itself. The dead, manning the battlements."

"Was I supposed to understand any of that?" Clara asked and he rolled his eyes.

"Alex would have understood."

"Yeah, but you left her behind." She said bluntly, making him wince while she smirked. "So?"

He scowled at her in annoyance. "The Time Lords have got a big computer made of ghosts, in a crypt, guarded by more ghosts."

"Didn't hurt, did it?"

"Tiny bit." He argued as he knelt down and began using his hands to work out the key and brush more dirt out of the cracks; Clara squatting down as well.

"Why would a computer need to protect itself from the people who made it?"

"All computers do that in the end. You wait until the internet starts. Oh, that was a war." He joked idly, before remembering something he thought he'd long forgotten. "A long time ago, there was a student at the Academy. He got in here, disappeared for _four_ days. Showed up in a completely different part of the city. Said the Sliders talked to him, they showed him the secret passage out. And we just need the code."

"What, and the kid told you the secret?" Clara asked, knowing that this 'kid' sounded like someone very familiar.

"Ah, no. He didn't tell anyone anything. He went completely mad. Never right in the head again, so they say." The Doctor said.

"Okay, that's encouraging."

"The last I heard, he stole the moon and the President's wife." The Doctor rattled on and Clara held back a smirk, having the proof she needed; especially since Alex had told her a story once before about the Doctor's other escapades.

"Was she… uh, was she nice? The President's wife?"

"Ah, well, that was a lie put about by the Shabogan. It was the President's daughter. I didn't steal the moon, I lost..." The Doctor paused, looking up upon realizing his mistake.

"I'd know you anywhere." Clara smiled. "That, and Alex has told me before of a story like that. Though she made it sound more like a rogue hero went to save the day."

The Doctor looked away. "I was a completely different person in those days. Eccentric, a bit mad, rude to people… Alex always saw me as the roguish hero." He frowned then, thinking.

_Though she reminds me of someone. Someone from years and years ago. A companion maybe? I've had plenty of those. They all sort of blur together now._ He paused suddenly though, the whiff of something familiar catching him off guard. _Cigarette smoke? Earth brand too. Nothing you'd find here on Gallifrey unless…_ He looked around, but one wouldn't be able to tell smoke from fog in the space they were in. _No, she wouldn't be here. Couldn't. How would she find us anyway? This place is a maze and with the Sliders…_ He cut himself off there, not wanting to think about it as he returned to what he was doing. Clara though, spoke up, stopping him once more.

"Look at me again."

"Sorry, what?" He asked, avoiding her gaze.

"In the eye. Look at me." She insisted. "Just do it."

"What? What is it?" He asked, looking at her.

"How long has it been for you since you last saw me?"

"Oh, I'm not sure." He lied, but Clara saw through that in an instant.

"How long?"

"I was stuck in a place. They—" He stopped before he could reveal too much.

"They what? Who? Who are we talking about?"

"They wanted something from me. Information… It really doesn't matter." He grumbled, hoping she'd drop it, and she did.

Sort of.

"What happened to your coat? The velvety coat? I liked that one. Alex too. It was very Doctor-y."

"I changed it."

"Why?"

"Well, I can't be the Doctor all the time." He said, a bit sharper than he wanted as he shifted some of the pieces on the ground. "I think I've almost got it. I think this is it."

"Tell me what they did to you." Clara pressed. "Tell me what happened to the Doctor."

The Doctor knew she wouldn't give in, so he begrudgingly sighed and summarized his time in his confession dial for her just as the General and his entourage arrived from the lift a few yards behind them.

"Miss Oswald—" The general was cut off as Clara turned and glared at them angrily.

"Stay back."

"I'm sorry, but we have to find a way to extract you—"

"I said, stay back!" She shouted and the General looked behind her and spotted something, before reluctantly bowing her head as Ohila did the same; both taking a step back.

Clara missed the figure ducking back behind a pillar as she turned around to face the Doctor once more; speaking quietly.

"The Hybrid, what is it? What's so important you would fight so long?"

"it doesn't matter what the Hybrid is. It only matters that I convinced them that I knew. Otherwise they'd have kicked me out. I'd have had nothing left to bargain with."

"What were you bargaining for?"

"What do you think?" He asked her, looking at her pointedly before saying it out loud. "_You_. I had to find a way to save _you_. I knew it had to be the Time Lords. They cost you your life on Trap Street, Clara. Alex couldn't even do anything to save you, but I was going to make them bring you back. I just had to hang on in there for a bit."

"How long?" Clara repeated.

"It was fine."

Seeing that she'd get no answer from him, she stood and faced the Time Lords behind her.

"One question. And you _will_ answer. How long was the Doctor trapped inside the confession dial?"

"We think…" Ohila said, pondering the question like it was a simple math problem, but mentally feeling the rage pressing down on her from the silent figure hidden away behind a pillar. "…four and a half billion years."

"He could have left any time he wanted." The General persisted, wincing as she too felt the anger and sadness from the figure. "He just had to say what he knew. The dial would have released him."

Clara turned back to the Doctor, who had a frown on his face and was looking around; for what, she didn't know. All she knew, was how angry she was with the Doctor for giving up that much time—that much _life_—for someone who was already dead.

"Four and a half billion years?" She questioned him, voice tight.

"If she says so."

Clara went back down onto her knees. "No. Why would you even do that? I was _dead_. I was dead and gone. Why?" She shoved at him, upset. "Why would you even do that to yourself?! Alex, she… She wasn't even there with you, was she?!"

The Doctor bowed his head. "No…"

"So why?"

He lifted his head and stared at her; serious and yet acting confused as to why she would expect anything different from him. "I had a duty of care."

Oh, how Clara wished to smack the man as he continued.

"Listen, I'm nearly through here. If I'm right, there should be a service duct under here. We'll be able to get to the old workshops. They'll have Tardises there."

"Okay. Listen. I have something I need to say."

"We do not have time." The Doctor pressed, but that made her angrier.

"No! My time… My time is up. Doctor, between one heartbeat and the last is all the time I have. People like me and you, we should say things to one another. And I'm going to say them now."

And she did. She told him exactly what she thought of his little stunt, barely surprising the tears that wanted to drown her and clinging to the sense of comfort that drifted from who knows where. She told him everything she felt about him, how stupid he was, how funny, how much she cared and hated that he did this for her. And she told him all of that in only a few words, before giving him one last thing to think about and standing to face the group of Time Lords.

Her expression went stone cold as she spoke; only emphasized by the figure that loomed not far from her shoulder.

"You're monsters. Here you are, hiding away at the end of Time. Do you even know why? Because you are hated. You are… hated by everybody. But by nobody more than me."

"What did you say to him?" Ohila asked, forcing herself to speak through the lump of fear in her throat as she hesitantly looked at the imposing figure behind her.

"Oh, nothing I'm going to tell you or anybody else. Perhaps I'll tell Alex one day, but that's it. Except maybe this one part. I said…" She smirked. "'Don't worry, Doctor. They'll all be looking at me'."

All eyes immediately went to the now opened hatch in the ground where the Doctor had been and the General took a step towards Clara in shock.

"You need to tell us what the Doctor is going to do now."

Clara opened her mouth, but snapped it shut as a hand landed on her shoulder and a sweetly grinning Alex walked up from behind her; tossing a cigarette butt to the ground and stomping it out.

"Why should she? Anyone with a brain can guess what he's going to do next. Ah, but that's right. You lot are more weapons and brawn now, aren't you?" She quipped, smile falling and her expression shifting into a blank one that sent chills up the group's spine; the General stepping back slightly once more. "By the way, you remember before? And how angry I was with you lot?" She asked, lightly pushing Clara behind her as she turned her gaze onto the General. "And you, General. How I forgave you for what you'd done because the Doctor made you regenerate?"

The General hesitantly nodded and Alex stood there, tucking her hands into her pockets as she stared down the group with a glare so cold, anyone with the mental capacity higher than a human's, could literally feel the temperature in the room drop and the heavy weight of anger and sadness and fury that look expressed dropped onto their shoulders. Clara looked rather surprised to see them take another step back and double over slightly with shortened breaths.

"Well, guess what, General? Everything that was said right here, right now, has accomplished something no one has ever done before. And do you know what that is?" Alex asked, some of the younger Time Lords wheezing now. "You made me rethink my forgiveness. You made me want to take that apology, that pride at knowing you were safe, and tear it from you. Rip it from your hands and smear it in the dirt at your feet for what you've done. Not only to the Doctor, but to all of the people on Gallifrey. For the fighting and the wars. The needless death that you stood by and watched on the orders of a greedy man who thought he could bypass the rules of time. And it was going to spread. Through the universe, through time itself that _you people_. The Time Lords of old and new. All of you idiotic figureheads with your so-called 'wise words' and 'orders'. _You _made me take _back_ my gift to you. You became far worse than the Daleks. The Cybermen. The Sontarans and all of the other hateful creatures in the world, because even _they_ were forgiven, wholeheartedly. And you lot? You just threw it away."

"B-But the Doctor—"

She cut the General off sharply. "Is _my_ problem. Just as you, are now my problem. And I'm thinking about what it is I could do to you. What I could do to you right now, or maybe in the future, or even in your past. What could I do to show you just how angry you've made me?"

Ohila dared to speak then. "Haven't you already done so? You took back your forgiveness."

Alex scoffed. "Weren't you listening? I said you made me _think_ about taking it back. And I did. I thought long and hard about it, but you know what? Some creatures would want that. You lot, probably would like that, because you _know_ you're guilty and having me forgive you is like rubbing salt in the wound. So no, I won't take it back. Instead…" She grinned then, a smile so pure and pleased that one of the soldiers in the back wondered if the devil had been standing before them all along. "Instead, I'll make you guess."

"W-What?"

"I'll come back to Gallifrey. At some point in time. At my own choosing. Might be tomorrow. Might be last century. But I'll come back and I'll punish you. _All_ of you for what you've done. Maybe something happened that I could have prevented, but I just stood aside. Maybe I purposely caused something to happen. Or maybe I did nothing at all. But I will come back and I will come after you."

The mechanical wheezing of a Tardis started up then and Alex waved cheerfully at the group.

"See you _later_." She teased as a metal, silver cylinder of a basic Tardis appeared around her and Clara.

Clara blinked, rather shocked at how the Time Lords had treated Alex and how she'd acted towards them in return, but suddenly said woman fell to her knees with a deep breath of air rushing into her lungs and her hands immediately gripping her head.

"Doctor!" Clara called out in concern and the man rushed over, gently making Alex lift her head so he could take a quick scan of her mind, and even he winced.

"Ooh, not good. What were you _doing_?!" He snapped at her. "Your mind is a delicate instrument. You can't just go around—"

He was abruptly cut off as his head snapped to the side; a cheek turning pink quickly after Alex slapped him.

"_That_." She growled. "Was for killing the General."

The Doctor, having automatically released her, sucked in a slow breath through his teeth. Alex had slapped him. Alex had _slapped_ him. Not punched. Not kicked or beaten or thrown him over her shoulder. No, she hit him with an open hand and _that_ sent a chill down his own spine; making him go dead quiet as Alex forced herself onto her feet. She was _furious._ He'd only ever been slapped by her once before, a future version of her who'd gotten so angry over something he'd done—he couldn't quite remember what it was now—that she'd slapped him and proceeded to punish him by not speaking or looking at him for _months_. He'd attempted to do the same; going off to live with otters for a while, but this was different. She was tense, in pain, emotionally unstable, and undergoing extreme mental duress. And while it may have been aimed at those outside just before his arrival, it was now aimed thoroughly at him, and he was _not_ looking forward to whatever she was going to say or do next. Oddly enough, he was saved by an unlikely ally.

"_Doctor! Doctor, face me!_" Ohila shouted; her voice ringing clear through the monitors as Alex slumped over in the jump seat with Clara worriedly at her side. "_Get out of that Tardis and face me, boy!_"

Clara managed a small smirk. "Boy?"

Alex said nothing though, making the Doctor wince before he headed to the door and poked his head out.

"You have gone too far. You have broken every code you ever lived by." Ohila snapped at him, but he wasn't in the mood.

"After all this time, after everything I've done, don't you think the universe owes me this?"

"Owes you what? All you're doing is giving her hope."

"Since when is hope a bad thing?" He countered, but she had expected such an answer.

"Hope is a terrible thing on the scaffold. Just ask your _wife_."

The Doctor's scowl deepened and he slammed the doors shut, sending the Tardis off angrily and forcing himself to keep his temper as he tried to distract the two other women in the vehicle. Himself as well.

"What do you think of the new wheels?"

"Basic." Clara muttered, rubbing circles on Alex's back. "Is there anything you can do about Alex?"

The Doctor glanced at the woman briefly, worry eating away at him, but he knew better what that slap had meant. She would rather suffer right now than have him help her, so he went on about the Tardis.

"Classic. Look at the color scheme."

Clara raised a brow, knowing something was up, but playing along for now. "It's all white."

"Genius!" He said, before the ship jolted slightly. "Check your heartbeat again. I think that you'll find you have one."

"Yeah?" Clara asked, smiling slightly.

"It should have restarted when we broke free of Gallifrey's time zone. You're alive! Now we just have to shake off the Time Lords. There's only one place we can do that. What do you say to lunch, followed by breakfast? Because we're time travelers and that's how we roll. Then cocktails with Moses. Then I'm going to invent a flying submarine. Why? Because no one ever has and it's annoying. And maybe we should use this Tardis to find my proper one. I need to change my shirt." He rattled on, bouncing around the Tardis excitedly as Clara checked for a pulse.

"Doctor…" She said solemnly. "I still don't have a pulse."

"Oh, you just haven't found it yet. Try again." He pressed, though there was a bit of bite to his tone.

"I know how to take my pulse. Look, I know how to do it." She argued as he headed over to do it for her. "See? No pulse, right?"

He put on his sunglasses and checked the back of her neck where the tattooed zeros from her encounter with the raven still remained. He spotted Alex wearily glancing up to see as well, but he hid them from her view as best he could; knowing that technically, Alex knew too much already about this trip that would be in her future.

"Is it still there? Don't lie to me." Clara said sharply as he removed the glasses and dropped them haphazardly on the console.

"Uh, maybe we have to fly a little bit further, give it a bit more welly." He attempted, but Clara could still sense that he was worried.

"They said, your lot, that if you saved me, time would fracture. What does that mean?"

"Ah, they're exaggerating. They exaggerate all the time. History will be fine. Time will heal, it always does."

Alex stiffened out of the corner of his eye, but he ignored her as Clara continued to press the issue.

"Always?"

"Yeah. It'll sort itself out. It'll be alright. You'll have a heartbeat. Or don't you trust me anymore?" He snapped, half shouting now as his frustration with the situation reached the end of its reins.

"No, not when you're shouting." She said and suddenly, Alex spoke up.

"A time fracture is what happens when there's a paradox. When something that should have happened doesn't, or gets changed in a way that shouldn't have happened. It's what happens when people meddle with history."

"Alex." The Doctor growled threateningly, but Alex easily threw a glare his way.

"She deserves to know. So shut up and let me tell her."

The Doctor ground his teeth, but returned to the controls in silence as Alex cringed and rubbed at her temples.

"What happens then?" Clara asks. "What happens when time fractures?"

"Anything, really. I've heard of a time fracture where creatures come out from a tear in the universe to erase that mistake out of existence. I've seen what can happen when a paradox is committed inside of another paradox and rips that portion of time apart as well as make any attempt to reenter that space nearly impossible. I've also personally seen what happens when someone tries to outrun death when it's a fixed point."

"What… What happened in the last one?" She asked hesitantly.

"All of time collapsed and then happened again all at once. It would have lasted maybe a few hours, days even, before time itself was destroyed and the universe fell apart." Alex answered honestly.

"Is that what will happen to time if I go?"

"No." The Doctor interrupted, voice cold and sharp. "Your death wasn't a fixed point. One possible outcome is everything that happened in that moment will be erased from time."

"And the other?"

"Don't know." Alex shrugged. "Each moment of time is different. A fingerprint on the universe it resides in. The outcome of removing it is different for each one, though there are chances of the same thing occurring as what happened elsewhere. No one can be sure."

"Well, what about you?" Clara pressed. "You save people all the time, don't you? How come you don't cause a… a time fracture?"

Alex opened her mouth, but then closed it, attempting to think up a way to put things. "I… don't save people who are… a big piece in the universe. As much as I hate to say that. Everyone is important, but some are more important than others when it comes to big events in time. That, and I can't stop the inevitable. I can't pause time the very last second and pull someone away from their incoming death like the extraction chamber could. I have to change little events leading up to it. A suggestion here, a warning there. Sometimes it's their own choice whether to listen to me and save themselves. Other times… Other times I'm simply too late or there's nothing I can do. I'm not all-powerful or anything."

"But… they looked at you like you were." Clara said then, making the Doctor turn to Alex with a frown. "When you threatened them, they looked genuinely afraid."

Alex managed a small smile. "Prophecies and rumors do that to people. They make them afraid of things they don't know. And since I'm from another universe and my capabilities are unknown to most people, they like to make things up."

"But what you said—"

Alex waved her off. "Lies. Mostly, anyway. I've met a future version of myself who had been to Gallifrey before we met, so I knew I'd end up back there. The rest was just empty threats disguised to sound real."

"And prolonged use of your mental and empathic capabilities over a group of strong-minded individuals to make them feel certain emotions more powerfully." The Doctor added. "Nothing you should be capable of even doing without prolonged training, and even then, it tears away at your mind."

"What?!" Clara shouted, making Alex cringe and bring her head back down into her hands as the Doctor went on and approached her cautiously.

"How did you keep Clara out of it?" He grumbled, still angry with her and her with him, but not enough so that he wouldn't at least _attempt_ in relieving some of her pain. "Trying to control it onto specific people makes the progressive deterioration worse. Even Rassilon had difficulty."

Alex frowned as he lightly tugged her hands away from her head and moved his hands into place before silently asking permission for him to help. Something he hadn't had to ask for in centuries.

"I kept her behind me and only limited it to the area in front of me. I was trying not to control it more than that." She complained, wincing as the Doctor prowled around her mind and alleviated some of the pain that she wouldn't have been able to reach on her own.

"Impressive, but don't do it again." He complained, pulling away from her with a scowl that she matched.

Clara looked between the two in worry, having not seen any sort of anger like this between the two of them _ever_, but also concerned about what was going to happen now. The fact that she was very much dead bothered her more than she'd like to admit.

"Um, not to intrude on your glaring, but where are we going?" She questioned and the Doctor moved back towards the console as Alex leaned back on the jump seat and pulled her jacket off.

Clara watched as she rolled carefully onto her side with her back facing them and draped the jacket over herself like a blanket, but said nothing as the Doctor explained.

"Nowhere in space, forward in time. We're going to the last hours of the universe. We're going long past where the Time Lords were hiding. Literally, to the end. They won't be able to track us there. We'll just be there for a minute. I just need to… I need to make an adjustment."

"To what?"

"It's nothing, really. It's this." The Doctor pulled out the neural block and Alex briefly caught a glance from over her shoulder as well.

"The neural block. Human compatible, that's what you said."

The time rotor of the Tardis stopped and the Doctor moved away from her. "We don't have to stay here long. Uh, check your heartbeat again. Your timeline must have started by now. A pulse, yeah?" He asked, but Clara remained silent. "You have a pulse, yes? Pulse? Let me do it."

"I am checking it properly!" Clara argued, wondering why he thought she wouldn't be.

A part of her wanted desperately to live, after all.

"This should work. This has got to…" He said loudly in frustration; Alex getting up again as she watched him with narrowed eyes.

"What is one last heartbeat is all I've got? What if time isn't healing?" Clara asked, desperately trying to get him to wrap his head around this and see what the inevitable conclusion might be. "What if the universe needs me to die?"

"The universe is over! It doesn't have a say anymore! We're standing on the last ember, the last fragment of everything that ever was. As of this moment, I'm answerable to no-one!" He shouted, finally losing his temper and Alex stood up then.

"And do you remember the last time you said that?"

The Doctor glared at her, but she looked at him with those eyes. Those eyes of hers that he usually loved to see, but the sadness, the empathy, the heart brokenness within them now made him so _angry_.

"What are you talking about?" He snapped and she stepped forward, slowly moving around the console.

"Did you really forget? Back when you were the Tenth Doctor. All skinny and stripped with those ridiculous sandshoes and messy hair. After Donna, before the Master, just moments before Eleven appeared with his silly grin and bow-tie. Doctor, did you forget what happened on Mars?"

Just the name of the planet sent chills down his spine as broken fragments of memories drifted to mind. Shouting, four knocks, panic, fury at being able to do nothing, happiness for one brief moment, then anger, sorrow, _rage_. And water. So much water.

"Did you forget the Time Lord Victorious?"

"This is different." He snapped and her glare intensified.

"How the _hell_ is this different?!" She shouted, startling Clara, who hadn't expected the outburst, nor the wave of anger that washed over the room and made Clara move back fearfully. "This is not your decision! It's Clara's! Clara gets to choose whether she's ready to go or not and because you thought you were the Lord President or whatever, you sent me off and went and did what I told you to _never_ do! You took away her decision, her _choice_ to die with honor! With grace! She was happy with her decision! And for what?! So you can use the neural block?! You're taking away the only thing that made her happy! She'll _die_, Doctor! And she'll die heartbroken instead of the way she wanted to because you thought you could make the choice for her! Just like Captain Adelaide! Except I wasn't there to stop you! I walked away _trusting_ you to not make a stupid decision like this!" She shook him by his coat and shirt; hot angry tears running down her face. "I _trusted_ you!"

"She's my companion!" He shouted back, shoving her off him.

"And she's mine too! But you're supposed to be my husband! We're supposed to be able to _trust_ each other! And how can I do that when you can't see what's going on?! It's happening again, and you're turning a blind eye to that! And I'm sorry, but I can't let you do this! I can't let you take this away from her because of me!"

Alex stood there, half-sobbing and half trying to catch her breath, and the Doctor stood there in shock; hearts aching for what she'd just said. _I can't let you take away Clara's decision to die because I trusted you to not make the same mistake twice._ He hesitated, but stepped forward, reaching out and carefully bringing his hands to cup Alex's face as he finally spoke.

"I'm sorry."

Her eyes widened, because the look in his eyes was cold, and before she could react, her eyes rolled up and she passed out.

"Doctor! W-What did you do?!" Clara shouted at him as he tugged Alex over to the Tardis console and pulled out a set of handcuffs from his pocket before cuffing her hands to the take-off lever. "Doctor!"

"I can't have her getting in the way of this." He said, voice cold and distant and four knocks echoed in the room, making him groan as Clara looked stunned.

"How can there be anybody there? And how could you do this to Alex? Doctor, this isn't right!"

"Four knocks. It's always four knocks." The Doctor grumbled, ignoring Clara's complaining and fighting to ignore Alex's previous shouts as the knocking came again. "This one I do alone."

"What's out there?"

"Me." The Doctor said simply, before walking out and leaving Clara with an unconscious Alex.

* * *

Ashildr sat in a chair, waiting for the Doctor to emerge as she sipped at a drink and eyed her chess board; a few pieces having been moved and waiting for an invisible player's next turn. When he did walk out, she smiled, though did look a little disappointed at not seeing Alex with him.

"I told you once, so long ago, that the universe would become a very small place when I'm angry with you. Small enough for you yet?" The Doctor mocked her. "Hello, Me."

"You don't seem surprised to see me."

"At the end of everything, we should expect the company of immortals, so I've been told."

"Even the other immortals are gone. It's just me." Ashildr replied, giving him a small smile. "Though Alex does pop in once and a while." She gestured to the chess board. "We have an ongoing game. Surprised she's not with you. Have you had a spat?"

The Doctor glared, ignoring the jab and continuing to mock the woman in front of him. "The one and only Me. Finally, you earn the title, sitting here in a reality bubble at the end of time itself. How are you sustaining it, by the way?"

"Brilliantly, with Alex's help, of course. Soft heart, that one." Ashildr turned her gaze to the small amount of sky they could see. "We've been watching the stars die. It was beautiful."

"No. It was sad." He argued.

"No, it was both." She corrected him, eyebrows furrowed and silently wondering if he'd already heard this from the other woman in his life. "But that's not something you would understand, is it? Alex knows, but you don't like endings. She died, Doctor." Ashildr stated bluntly. "Clara died _billions_ of years ago."

"You killed her." The Doctor snarled.

"No."

"You let it happen. Alex did as well."

Ashildr's eyes narrowed. "Your wife is the _last_ person I would attempt to put blame on Doctor, but none of us did this. She died for who she was and who she loved. She fell where she stood. It was sad and it was _beautiful_. And it is over. We have no right to change who she was."

"Ashildr—"

"Me." She corrected him and he growled.

"_Me_. Go to hell. By my calculations, you've got about five minutes."

"You know why we run, Doctor?"

"Because it's fun." He lied.

"Because we know summer can't last forever."

"Of course it can." He said, though he had to repeat himself in order to even slightly feel that what he was saying was true. "Of _course_ it can. You just have to steal a time machine."

He went to leave, but she spoke up again, gaining his attention with two words.

"The Hybrid. Five minutes to hell. I think it's time to tell the truth." She said with a smirk. "You were barely more than a child. You broke in here and the Wraiths spoke to you about the Hybrid. Why did that story make you so scared?"

"I don't know. I don't remember it." He claimed.

"Sometimes you do. It's always the way with things we'd rather forget. You remember now, though, don't you? Tell me, Doctor, who is the Hybrid? Who threatens all of time and space?"

"Oh, but that's easy. That's very, very easy. The Hybrid… is _you_."

Ashildr looked almost amused. "I'm human with a little bit of Mire inside me. The Hybrid is supposed to be half Time Lord, half Dalek."

"No, it isn't. The actual prophecy specifies only two warrior races. The Daleks and the Time Lords have made assumptions, of course. And they would. Humans and the Mire, both warrior races. It fits perfectly."

"It's an interesting theory." She mused.

"Do you have a better one?" He challenged in return.

"By your own reasoning, why couldn't the Hybrid be half Time Lord, half human? Tell me, Doctor, I've always wondered. You're a Time Lord, you're a high-born Gallifreyan. Why is it you spend so much time on Earth?" She asked and he paused before speaking, frustrated with her response.

"That's your best theory? I'm the Hybrid? I ran away from Gallifrey because I was afraid of myself? That doesn't make any sense."

"It makes _perfect_ sense, and you know it." She said smugly, standing. "Am I right? Is it true?"

"Does it matter?"

"No, because I have two better theories."

"Really?"

"For starters, what if the Hybris wasn't one person, but two?"

The Doctor considered it, hesitantly. "Two?"

"A dangerous combination of a passionate and powerful Time Lord and a young woman so very similar to him. Companions who are willing to push each other to extremes."

"She's my friend. I have a wife."

"How did you meet her?"

"Missy."

"Missy. The Master. The lover of chaos, who wants you to love it too and take Alex for herself. She's quite the matchmaker. The homewrecker."

"Clara's my friend." The Doctor insisted.

"I know. And you're willing to risk all of time and space because you miss her." Ashildr mocked him. "Probably had quite the fight with Alex too, so there goes that problem. One wonders what the pair of you will get up to next."

"Nothing. Nothing at all. I know I went too far, I get it. That's why I'm doing what I'm doing." He snipped, annoyed at how Alex kept getting brought up.

"And what would that be?"

"I'm taking her back to Earth. Somewhere safe. Somewhere out of the way. I'm going to wipe her memory of every last detail of me. It'll be like our friendship never happened."

"That may not be what she wants." Ashildr pressed.

"I've done it before. Usually, I do it telepathically, but this time, I've got something better. It's quite painless."

"Will you tell her what you're going to do?"

"Of course, if Alex hasn't already done so."

"When?"

"Now."

Ashildr gestured to the Tardis, but the Doctor paused, frowning at her.

"And your other theory?"

Ashildr raised a brow. "You still want to hear it?"

"Yes."

"Alright then… Do you consider the Tardis a species?"

He frowned, confused. "No. A sentient being, yes, but not a species."

"Then, suppose my first theory was true. The Hybrid is part Time Lord, part Human. Only this time, it's part sentient Tardis as well."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed. "Alex."

"I mean, just look at her." Ashildr hummed. "One woman, burst into a universe not her own _twice_. Not only that, but managed to survive her entire biology changing and became one of the most feared beings in the universe. The Seer. The Forgiver. The Changer of Time. The one who makes even the most wicked of creatures feel something. Oh, if you think she's something now Doctor, what about when she's as old as you are? Older, even? She's not losing her memory as quickly as I am and even so, she's easily able to compensate for gaps. And with her heart. Or _hearts,_ as it were. How much would it take before she ripped the universe apart to heal herself? And you and I both know how easy it would be for her to fall if something happened to you."

"_Never_." He spat.

Ashildr smiled, gesturing to the Tardis once more. "Just a theory, Doctor."

He sneered at her before stomping back into the Tardis with her on his heels. He softened though upon seeing Clara's startled expression and the light chime of metal on metal made him wince as he caught sight of Alex; still handcuffed and not meeting his gaze despite being somewhat lucid now.

"You okay?" He asked them both, though Clara was the only one who responded.

"Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Just, you know, no pulse."

"Yeah, we'll fix that somehow, I promise." He spat out very quickly, turning towards the woman who had followed him in and was currently assisting in getting Alex out of the Doctor's cuffs. "You remember Ashildr, of course."

"Yeah, sure." Clara muttered, half-heartedly and helping her get Alex up onto her feet.

The Doctor winced at everyone's cold shoulder, but continued talking. "I thought you'd be more surprised to see her."

"I was watching. On the monitor." She said, picking up the sonic sunglasses on her way to help deposit a half conscious Alex to the jump seat.

The Doctor picked up the neural block though and she stopped; leaving Alex's slumped figure to Ashildr for now.

"No, Doctor. Whatever you're about to do, don't do it."

He approached her with it. "It won't hurt. It'll be nothing. You'll just pass out for a moment."

"And then?"

"When you wake, you'll be fine."

"But—"

"Clara, just listen to me—"

Alex cut in though, shouting angrily. "Just shut up and give her a chance!"

She cringed then, doubling over in pain as Ashildr held her upright as best she could as the woman cradled her head. The Doctor's forceful knocking her out did nothing to help her already torn up mind.

"You said…" Clara started off. "You said that it would erase all my memories of you. Why would I want that?"

"Because it's the only way. That stuff in your head, the image of me, they could use it to find you."

He tried to approach her again, but she stepped out of his reach and held out the sunglasses.

"I, uh… I used these."

"On what?"

"That."

He frowned. "What did you do?"

"What do you think? Ashildr's right, you see? We're too alike."

"Tell me what you did." The Doctor demanded.

"What else? What else do you think I did? I reverse the polarity. Push that button, Doctor, it will go off in your own face!"

"You were trying to trick me?"

"What were you doing to me?" She countered.

"I'm trying to keep you safe."

"Why?" She asked, and the Doctor stared at her, stumped suddenly as that question hit home better than Alex asking him and more than Ashildr. "Nobody's ever safe. I've never asked you for that, ever. These have been the best years of my life, and they are mine. Tomorrow is promised to no one, Doctor, but I _insist_ upon my past. I am entitled to that. It's mine."

The Doctor moved away from her, standing there and staring at a wall before looking over at Alex. His wife. The woman he _attacked_ and handcuffed to his ship and why? Because she was right? He just hadn't wanted to admit it, is that it? Ashildr told him what she had. The same thing, but with different wording. And yet, it was Clara Oswald to needed to say those words to him before he got the hint. He had to hear it from her own mouth.

"_This is not your decision! It's Clara's!"_

"We have no right to change who she was."

"_I am entitled to that. It's mine."_

"Oh, Clara Oswald. What am I doing? You're right. You're always, always right." He muttered, turning and slowly walking towards Alex, who leaned heavily on Ashildr. "And you…"

Alex stiffened, eyes cautious of him in a way that made the Doctor's hearts ache terribly for what he'd done.

"No amount of apologies are going to fix what I've just done." He said quietly, lowering himself to his knees and clasping her hand in his; pressing it to his forehead. "And you have every right to leave me right now and if that's what you want, I will let you."

Clara looked visibly started at this confession of the Doctor's but remained silent. This was between the two of them.

"I only ask that you don't punish my younger self for the actions I've committed now and that you don't base your decision on what I need, but on your _own_ needs." He took a deep breath and looked up into those eyes that stared down at him still with a cold expression. "I am _so_ sorry that you've lost your trust in me, Alex." He stood then. "And I hope that whatever you choose, makes you happy."

He turned his back to her and moved towards the console; the others waiting to see what would happen. And slowly, Alex stood up as well, moving away from Ashildr on her own—albeit shaky—legs, and the Doctor closed his eyes. And he waited for her to make her choice. Would he feel her arms wrap around him in a forgiving embrace? Or would he hear her footsteps walk away? He hoped, _prayed_, for the former. But he'd seen those eyes before. All those years ago on Trenzalore. Icy blue eyes that looked at him so coldly. Eyes that reflected every hardship she'd had thrown at her those years alone. Those years she spent fighting and hating him for leaving her. And he'd _sworn_ he'd never do that again to her. And yet, in a way, he had.

She had trusted him and he'd thrown that away like it was worthless, but to her, it was all she had. _He_ was all she had, and he'd taken that from her. If she couldn't trust him, then who _could_ she trust? He'd left her alone again. Chained her up, even. What made him better than the so-called Hybrid or the Time Lords or even the Daleks? He constantly hurt her and this him, this older version of him was supposed to be different. He was supposed to be mature, clever, serious. He was this way because he wanted to impress her. To show her he wasn't that same goofy idiot who'd hurt her before. He'd grown up. He _knew better_. So why? Why couldn't things have gone his way? Why couldn't he just _listen_?

"Alex? A-Alex, wait! Alex, you can't—"

The Doctor clenched his eyes shut, gritting his teeth and taking in a long breath through them as he held back the flood of emotions that begged for him to go after her. To chase her down like he'd done so many times before. But he promised. He told her that if she chose that, he would let her go. And she needed to trust that he would keep that promise.

"Stop." He managed to get out, making Clara pause in her going after the woman who'd just headed down a hallway. "Let her go."

"But Doctor, she—"

"Today's all about choices, isn't it?" He said, expression torn and broken as he chuckled bitterly. "I have to let her make her own choice, isn't that right?"

Clara didn't know what to say. She looked at Ashildr for help, but even she shook her head in a silent 'leave it'. Clara struggled, digging her fingers into her palm to keep herself from going after Alex as she spoke.

"S-So, what happens now? Me and you and…" She paused, glancing at the hallway opening once more before correcting herself. "Me and you. What do we do now?"

"I'm not sure you managed to reverse the polarity. I'm not even sure that you can." The Doctor informed her. "It'll do something to one of us. Better than flipping a coin."

"Doctor?" Clara muttered, confused as to what he was suggesting.

"You and me together. Look how far I went, for fear of losing you." He said, voice cracking with those unsaid words.

_I lost Alex for you…_

"This has to stop. One of us has to go."

Clara went over, handing him back his sunglasses, which he tucked away. "You really don't know which?"

"Let's find out." He said quietly; the two of them taking either end of the neural block.

"How about we just don't?" She offered, silently questioning which would be worse; forgetting the Doctor or him forgetting her. "Why don't we just fly away somewhere?"

"Oh, that'd be great, wouldn't it?" He smiled.

"God, yeah." She returned, smiling sadly as well.

"Good luck, Clara."

She shook her head. "No, good luck to you, Doctor. With everything."

They pressed the button and the device made a noise, but nothing happened, making Clara hopeful for just a moment.

"So? What happens now?" She asked, letting it go.

"I suppose we just, um… we just wait a minute, I suppose."

"And one of us… One of us will…" Her voice cracked. "I don't think I could ever forget you." She said then, and the Doctor smiled sadly.

"Clara, I don't think you're ever going to have to." He said then, dropping the device and swaying before grabbing onto the console to help lower himself to the ground.

"No." Clara breathed out, immediately at his side.

"Run like hell."

"What?"

"Run like hell, because you always need to." He muttered, kneeling. "Laugh at everything, because it's funny."

"No. Stop it. You're saying goodbye. Don't say goodbye!"

"Never be cruel and never be cowardly. And if you ever are, always make amends."

"Stop it! Stop this. Stop it!" She shouted as he fell back and she caught him.

"Never eat pears. They're too squishy and they always make your chin wet. That one's quite important. Write it down." He joked.

"I didn't mean to do this. I'm sorry." Clara cried.

"It's okay. It's okay. I went too far. I broke all my own rules. I became the Hybrid. This is right. I accept it." He closed his eyes for a minute. "Oh, Alexander…"

"I can't. There has to be something I can do. S-Something Alex can do."

"Smile for me." The Doctor asked her. "Go on, Clara Oswald, one last time."

"How could I smile?" She cried.

"It's okay. Don't you worry. I'll remember it and please. Please tell her how sorry I am."

"I-I will. I will, so please… please, Doctor."

But he fell back and his eyes closed and Clara knew that all was lost. And she sobbed, because she couldn't do that one last thing for him. She couldn't give the Doctor that one last smile to remember. But there was one thing. And as those footsteps reentered the room, she stood up and faced Alex; furious.

"You idiot!" She shouted, tears streaming down her face. "W-Why did you do that?! Why didn't you stay for him?!"

She hit Alex hard in the chest, pounding at the woman with her fists, but Alex stood still and took the abuse until she trapped Clara in her arms and held her close.

"H-He wanted to apologize! He wanted to say he was sorry! He didn't mean it! You could have stopped it! Tell me you could have stopped it!"

"I'm sorry." Alex muttered and Clara pulled away from her.

"Don't apologize to me! Don't you _dare_ apologize to me! Do something! Fix this!"

Suddenly, Alex grabbed Clara by the arms and held her still in a tight grip that made Clara suddenly worried.

"Stop this. Stop it now. What did he want from you? Before he passed out, what was it he wanted from you?"

"T-To smile."

"And you call this smiling? Listen. I will take all the blame you want. Whatever you want to throw at me, I will take it no questions asked, but when he accepted his decision that was it. You saw what happens when you try to take that from someone. That was his choice and in those last moments, he wanted _you_, Clara. He didn't want me. He wanted you. And he wanted you to smile and be happy. He wanted you to laugh and never eat pears. But most of all, he wanted you to be yourself. And the woman sobbing and screaming at me isn't Clara Oswald. Clara Oswald is the Impossible Girl. She is the Doctor's and my companion. She is beautiful and amazing and clever and a sly trickster. She is a teacher and an adventurer. And even if the Doctor forgot her, she will _never_ forget the Doctor. So please. Do me a favor…" Alex looked at her seriously and kindly. "Be amazing."

"A-Alex…"

Alex grimaced then, her grip on Clara tightening briefly. "And might I suggest getting me a chair. I can't feel my legs and the room might be spinning."

Clara grunted under Alex's sudden weight, but between her and Ashildr, they managed to tug the woman over to the jump seat and lay her down. Ashildr looked her over as best she could while Clara placed a coat under the Doctor's head speaking to her.

"I thought you walked out on him."

"Idiot needed to be taught a lesson." She grumbled, letting out a sharp yelp and half sitting up when Ashildr placed a hand on her right thigh. "The hell! That _really_ hurts!"

Ashildr rolled her eyes. "Stop whining. You're the one who decided to keep quiet that you had a fractured femur."

"What?!" Clara exclaimed and Alex gave Ashildr a glare as the woman smirked and went back to checking her for other long-term injuries.

"You try being stuck as Rassilon's prisoner for a week. If baldy over there had shown up sooner, I wouldn't be in this sort of shape."

"H-Hold on." Clara said, getting up and heading over. "So you were on Gallifrey for a week—"

"Three weeks, thanks. Ow!"

Ashildr smiled innocently as she had prodded a sprained muscle.

"Right, so three weeks on Gallifrey. One week of that being tortured I'm guessing for info on the Hybrid?"

"And the Doctor, though the torture was hardly anything, really, so don't go giving me that look, Clara. And the other two weeks I wandered about, pulling a few pranks here and there. To get some attention and spread some rumors about. The rumors making getting info on the Doctor easier to find out."

"Right, then the Doctor showed up."

"Ditched me."

"Ditched you, but you went willingly?"

Alex sighed, Ashildr moving off to find a med kit. "I knew he was up to something and he wasn't telling me what, but I… I trusted him not to do anything too stupid."

"But he did."

"Obviously. Though not for the reason you probably think."

"What do you mean?"

Alex glanced at her as she settled back in her little perch for a bit. "Think about it. He goes to rip time apart and save you from dying, only to turn around and get rid of you? Makes no sense. No, no, no. He was punishing himself, see? He messed up in his… what'd he call it? Duty of care? Right, well, he messed up by allowing you to 'get hurt' so to speak, and he wanted to save you, yeah. Problem was, just doing that was a reward. It was a pat on the back going 'Yeah! You did something they thought was impossible and you got your friend back! Good job'." Alex said, grimacing when Ashildr returned with ice and a med kit. "But the Doctor knows that he can't watch you anymore. One mistake means it's easier to make a second. So you can't stay and it's his punishment, but it's not enough. He knows you're clever. You'll come looking for him. Better yet, he might just come looking for you. Hence his idea of the neural block. Makes his punishment more severe, prevents him from having to make the same mistake twice, and keeps you from getting to him and vice versa. Make sense?"

Clara nodded, but still frowned over at the Doctor; ignoring Alex's hisses of pain as Ashildr worked on some lacerations and scrapes she had. "But there's one thing I still don't understand. You said you were teaching him a lesson, but… you were serious, Alex. Like… dead serious."

Alex went quiet for a second before speaking. "Clara, do you remember the body I had before this one? Back on Trenzalore?"

She nodded, wrinkling her nose. "Yeah, the scary one."

Alex made no comment on that. "That was my War Doctor. The Alex that I don't like to talk about. The Alex that I would like to forget but will always be a part of me. And she was like that, because she was forced through war after war after war. On her own with no support. She grew cold to the world and towards the Doctor, because he'd promised centuries before that, that he would _never_ leave her behind again. And do you know how many time I've heard him say that?"

Alex looked over at her with those same cold eyes as before.

"I've lost count, Clara. His Tenth self has said it many times after his Ninth self abandoned me alone on a space station out of anger for not doing something about his companion. His Eleventh self has said it dozens of times after leaving me in the snow after just regenerating, because his companions ended up trapped someplace and I did nothing to prevent it. I was left by his Tenth self in Manhattan sewers with Daleks and pig slaves because I didn't mention the Daleks and his companion was kidnapped by them. I was left behind by his Ninth self again when Siltheen threatened the world and his companions and he deemed me as a problem instead of help. Twelve himself has left me on my own when he first regenerated _and_ on the Orient express. And have you spotted the common factor in all of these?"

Clara did, and she suddenly understood why Alex had been so cold to the Doctor before. "H-His companions."

Alex nodded, turning away. "His companions are in danger, are hurt, are trapped and that trust I'd placed in him is broken time and time again. And today, I had enough. He is over two thousand years old. And I'm over six hundred. He should have learned to keep a promise by now, and I have spent far too long giving him leeway. He handcuffed me, Clara, and he attacked my mind while I was already dealing with some potentially damaging mental difficulties. And raw wrists are the least of my problems with that. If he'd been any rougher than he already was, I might very well have had permanent damage." Alex grit her teeth tightly. "As it is, I have the migraine of the century, will sleep for a week at least to recover, and probably need him anyway just to make sure I'm healing properly.

"But to answer your question, am I angry with him? Yes. Absolutely furious. Will I leave him because of this? I don't know. Right now, I'm on the verge of saying yes. But I also have a severe headache, numerous other injuries and am desperately in need of a decent rest and good meal. In a few days? A week, maybe? I don't know. He needs to convince me that I can trust him again. Even his younger selves. Because I have turned a blind eye on this for far too long and if it keeps happening, this regeneration of mine is going to lose its happy-go-lucky demeanor entirely and I will scare companions and future grandchildren alike."

"G-Grandchildren?" Clara stuttered out and Alex sighed.

"Not like that. It was an adventure. The Doctor and I had clones made from us. Jenny is technically his daughter and I technically have a son. They got married and are expecting. Or _were_ expecting. We were supposed to go visit them while I was with Eleven, but he just _had_ to make a stop at some stupid alien taco stand and—"

"Y-You know what? I don't think I want to know." Clara muttered, giving me a worried look. "Though you're right about the scary face bit. I'm kind of freaked out right now."

Alex glared at her tiredly. "Shut up."

* * *

I waited for him. I waited in the Tardis patiently as Clara tested the Doctor's memory and made sure he was alright. She had wanted me to join him. To be with him when she did, but I told her no. They both needed to see the truth and my being there would only distract him and hurt her. She was my companion, after all. Before the Doctor picked her up, she was mine. And much like the Doctor, I'd give up anything to see her happy. So I smiled at her as she walked out to meet with him, willing to wait until the next time we bumped into each other. _I highly doubt she'll just return to accept death so easily. She's more like the Doctor than she knows. She'll probably take the long way 'round._ I mused idly, coloring in squares of a Japanese crossword as I lounged up on the second level with the Doctor's books.

The door opened eventually, giving me plenty of time to think of how I'd respond to the Doctor, but I'd give him a short break first. It had been a while since he'd been in his own Tardis, after all. She missed him. Her dimmed and darkened lights turned on with a flourish as he stepped in, moving towards the stairs and staring at the blackboard Clara had written on before she'd left me here.

_Run_

_You clever boy_

_And be a Doctor_

He stared at them silently for a moment before reaching out and pulling on his velvet coat; Clara's favorite. He looked over at the Tardis console then, mildly surprised as she launched a new sonic screwdriver towards him; him catching it out of the air and looking it over appreciatively. He then reached an arm out and snapped his fingers, shutting the Tardis doors before bounding down the stairs and sending us off. And still I waited, waited until we were adrift in the Time Vortex for him to speak, because he knew I was there. Hard not to, with my mind as scrambled as it was. I was still struggling to repair the damage he and I had caused, barriers mostly down to conserve energy and to keep focus. My mind was wide open to him, so he could feel my annoyance and anger still steaming towards him.

"I thought you left." He muttered finally as I made another cross in a box of my puzzle.

"I'm still thinking about it." I grumbled in return. "You've made this mistake too many times for me to just ignore it any longer."

He bowed his head, fiddling with a switch on the console. "I know."

"I've been tolerant of you up until now. Patient. I honestly should have left you ages ago with how you've treated me, but your other selves usually kept me from dwelling on it too long. Unlike you, I can't really get angry with someone who has _yet_ to do something I disagree with." I snipped, the migraine making me feel worse than I already did. "What I don't understand is why?" I dropped the puzzle and turned to face him, eyes sharp. "Why is it that you constantly feel the need to drop me like a rock when your companion is in danger?"

"W-What?" He looked at me, confused and I grit my teeth.

"Don't play stupid, Doctor. Amy and Rory. Clara. _Rose_. Every time they're in a life or death situation, you kick me to the curb. And it's only _afterwards_ that you think and see that you'd overreacted. That you did something wrong. Then you go back to living your life until the next time, and the cycle starts all over again. So tell me. What is it? What is it about me that makes you so angry?"

"No." He said, frowning. "No, it's nothing about you, Alex."

"I highly doubt that. You could have blamed anyone. The Cybermen, the Daleks, the Time Lords, the Weeping Angels. You could have blamed the _universe_ for all I cared, but you constantly turned your anger towards me. Yelling and shouting, kicking me out, leaving me behind, inhibiting me so I couldn't follow you or stop you. So what is it? I doubt it's the foreknowledge. I don't have any with this version of you and I'm forgetting it all half the time anyway."

"No, it's not—"

I stood furiously, glaring down at him heatedly. "Don't you _dare_ tell me it's nothing. Don't you lie to me, Doctor, because I've had enough. I've been with you for nearly 600 years and I put up with your shouting and your anger. I've stared you down and fought with you hundreds of times only to come back to you and pretend it didn't happen. But I'm _done_. You broke my trust. And with _Clara_. With our Impossible Girl. And you _knew_ I wouldn't want that. You tried to hide it from me because you knew you were doing wrong. So _why_?!"

"Because I knew her death would break your hearts!" He shouted back, turning away quickly and dragging a hand down his face as I frowned at his back; having descended the stairs during my rant. "You were always so close with Clara. Together the two of you were just… unbelievable. You were so happy and when she died… You tried to keep it together. I watched you try so, _so_ hard to just tuck it all away like you always did. But it didn't work. It just… You were so broken, Alexander. What was I supposed to do?"

I swallowed thickly, struggling in vain to hold back the lump of tears clogging my throat. "But… But before. With Amy a-and—"

"The others… The others were different. I was young, stupid. I would get so angry over circumstance neither of us could control and take it out on the nearest person. And with you so close. You were always there, so I just… I vented. I shouldn't have. I _never_ should have and if I could go back and change every one of those arguments, I would. Because I don't want to lose you over my own stupidity." He muttered, still not facing me. "And I know that my apologies don't mean anything. Not after how many times I've disappointed you and… and broken your trust, but I truly am sorry, Alexander."

I didn't move, still angry with him, but the fury having ebbed away. "Ohila said you were in your confession dial for over four billion years."

I could feel his confusion at the sudden topic change, but he nodded silently.

"Do you remember anything from then? All four billion years?"

He shook his head. "No. I only remember the last few days when I escaped… but… I do remember one thing." He finally turned around and looked at me; keeping his eyes locked with my stern ones. "I remember thinking about you."

I almost took a step back, a small part of me thinking he was lying. That he was just saying this to make me stay with him.

"Four and a half billion years, but the only thing I remember is thinking about what you'd do if you found out what I'd done. When you found out that… that Clara was gone. And I couldn't let that happen. I just want you to be happy."

"But you were… You were hurting yourself." I muttered softly.

"I'd do _anything_ to make you happy, Alexander." He said honestly. "Even if you hated me, even if I got hurt, because I owe you so much for everything you've done. For coming back to me time and time again even after I'd hurt you for so long. Which is why…" He took a few steps back away from me. "I will let you leave. If that's what makes you happy, I will let you go. Drop you off wherever and with whomever you wish." He turned away and went over to the console. "Just tell me the coordinates."

I was still angry with him, for what he'd done. For killing the General—Time Lord or no—and for taking Clara's choice away from her. But I was angrier about the fact that he'd hurt himself to this extent for _me_. The he'd suffer for four and a half billion years because he didn't want me to be upset about Clara. So I stormed up to him and I punched him; knocking him back to the ground before launching myself at him and kissing him hard as tears slipped past my defenses.

"You _ass_." I cried, grabbing the back of his head and harshly bonking his forehead against mine. "You stupid, stubborn, idiotic moron. I hate you. I hate you so much, but damn it all to hell because you make it utterly _impossible_ to stay angry at you." I took a deep breath and looked at him seriously. "Alright, this is it. This is your _last_ chance. If you keep pulling this sort of stunt, I will drop you like a hot rock, got it? No more 'I'm angry at you because my companion's in trouble', no more ditching me, and no more hurting yourself like that for me again. I'm seriously getting too old for this."

He snorted, smirking at me and making me frown. "You? Old? _Never._"

I was startled as he initiated the next kiss; Twelve usually too… 'timid' to make a move. _But _man, _if this is how he starts things, then I'm willing to take a backseat._ I grunted as he flipped me; my aching body protesting the movement and the cold impact of the floor and I had to stop him.

"Yeah, sorry. If we're doing _anything_, could we avoid the ground? I was tortured for a week, remember?"

I winced as I sat up and he stood, only to give out a yelp as he scooped me up and carried me with a smug smirk; myself scrambling to wrap my arms around his neck and prevent possibly falling.

"Pick up for Alexander Holmes?"

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes, alright. Mush!"

And mush he did; carrying me up the stairs and straight to our bedroom.


	88. The King's Demons (5th Doc)

**Here's the next chapter! Sorry it's a bit late, i got asked to work today even though i was supposed to have it off. oh well. And please, please review! i'm a little unsure about this chapter, is all. As for the next one though, please watch "Dragonfire" with the Seventh Doctor. :) I'll put links on my profile again, if you need them. And i know people have been begging me to continue this, so i'll go for as long as i can. i definitely want to get the next season of doctor who in since the companion seems fun and i'll keep adding in Classic Who and maybe some Torchwood or Sarah Jane episodes, so keep sending me your favorite episodes that you might want to see Alex in, and i'll do what i can. i might even do some earlier ones with the Ninth Doctor if i can figure out a way for him to forget Alex until he "technically" meets her for the first time back in 'The Long Game'. And thanks to everyone who's stuck with this so far! it always surprises me to see dozens of people still reviewing and reading when i've gotten to chapter 88. i never expected it to go on for this long, but i'm glad it has ^^**

**PS: those insults Alex spouts out later on are medieval insults i googled ;) i'll put definitions at the bottom**

* * *

A king sat upon his throne as people feasted around him and a lute player idly strummed his instrument.

"Enough!" He called out and the man stopped and bowed, briefly being glanced at by the jester in dark red and black clothing. "This is a poor welcome, my lord."

"But sire—"

"Hear us. We have come to ask but a pittance. Three marks per knight's fee. You obstruct the Crusade, my lord, with your parsimony." The man complained, attempting to negotiate more money for his men.

"But your Majesty already has my whole fortune willingly given but six month's since. There is no more. My coffers are empty." The lord beside him argued.

"Your words are more generous than your purse, Lord Ranulf. If you speak the truth, if we have your whole fortune, you insult us."

The red-bearded man at the king's side stood angrily at those words. "You insult the king." He snapped, throwing his gauntlet to the ground.

"Your Majesty, I—"

"You insult the king." The guard repeated, but a young man rushed over and grabbed the gauntlet from off the ground. "Are you so craven?"

"My father is of ill-health, Sir Gilles." The young man stated, more than willing to fight in his father's stead.

"Hugh!" His mother cried out, but the boy ignored her.

"I pick up your gage." He said, attempting to slap the man with the gauntlet as per custom, but his hand was grabbed as his father began to beg.

"I beg your Majesty. Take my lands, my goods, my chattels, even the robes I stand in, but spare me my surviving son."

"Father, do not dishonor me." Hugh argued.

"My _son_, your Majesty!"

The jester then poked his head in with a grin. "Actually, if I may so bother you all. Might I make a suggestion?"

"And what suggestion could _you_ possibly suggest, _jester_?" Ranulf snipped, but the jester ignored the jab.

"Well, if your Majesty so pleases, I would be willing to take the young lord's place."

"_You_?" The king laughed, but the jester continued.

"Think of it this way, your Majesty, there are dozens of jesters you can hire for more entertainment, but only one son of Lord Ranulf. And it is a jester's job to entertain, is it not? I don't believe any other king or lord of any land has been witness to a jousting jester."

The king smirked. "Very well. And if you do not succeed, then you will be killed."

"If that's what you wish." The jester grinned, not at all bothered by the obvious threat to their life as they bounced away to juggle for some of the guests.

The king turned to Ranulf then. "We shall retire and dream sweet dreams. We bid you goodnight."

"Goodnight, sire." Ranulf muttered, eyeing the jester in uncertainty.

_Why would he do this?_

* * *

The next morning, the jester's red and black outfit was switched for a proper chainmail shirt and tunic, gloves and helmet on, and a shield across one arm while a lance was held firmly in the other. The black horse underneath them shuffled anxiously as they awaited the signal to charge at Gilles and once the sword was swung down, the horse launched into a gallop. The lance of Gilles glanced harshly off of the jester's shield and the two went to prepare for another go. Again they charged, but a blue police box suddenly appeared and the horses reared up in protest at the noise and it popping up; halting the tournament. The crowd gasped and shuffled away fearfully, but the jester rolled their eyes in the darkness of their helmet and the kind calmed them all.

"Ah, friends, friends. Calm yourselves. There's no cause for alarm."

The 5th Doctor walked out then, making the crowd gasp once more and shuffled away as Tegan and Turlough followed; Gilles removing his helmet.

"My liege, I have no need of aid from Lucifer."

"Lucifer?" The Doctor questioned.

"Is that the king?" Tegan questioned.

"Without a doubt."

The king though, hardly seemed bothered by the newcomers. "Come you cringing caitiffs. We tell you there's naught to fear." The king attempted to calm the fearful crowd once more. "Do our demons come to visit us? Bid them attendance."

"Demons? Very odd indeed."

"_Says the man with a vegetable stick in his pocket."_ A voice rang out in the Doctor's mind and he frowned, searching briefly for the source but Tegan distracted him.

"Makes a nice change for you not to take everything in your stride, I must say."

"Must you?" he complained, still looking around, but seeing no alien in sight.

"Too right."

Instead, he focused again on the strange king. "He even seems pleased to see us. A king welcoming demons."

"Which king?"

"Oh, Tegan. 1215? King John, of course." The Doctor replied, closing the Tardis. "The one who lost something in the wash?"

"Well, you could put it like that." The Doctor hummed. "This particular shirt turned out to be the Crown Jewels, but that's next year. We're still three months away from Magna Carta."

A couple of guards brought them over to stand before the king; the jester patting her horse lightly and keeping their helmet on for whatever reason.

"Welcome, our demons. Name yourselves. Can this be Lilith?" The king asked.

"Her name is Tegan, your Majesty. This is Turlough, and I am the Doctor. We are not demons."

"You're too modest, Lord Doctor. Come, rejoice with us in a trial by combat. Come, make way for our demons. Let them be seated by us."

The group sat beside the king and Gilles returned his helmet to his head as the duo went and jousted once more. This time, the jester's lance hit home on Gilles's shield and they went one more round, only for the jester's foot to slip from the stirrup. Gilles's lance slammed into their shield and the jester was knocked off the horse; helmet falling off to reveal the gasping, cursing, dark haired figure. A figure that the Doctor recognized in surprise. Gilles climbed down off his horse and drew his sword, preparing to slay the jester only for the Doctor to quickly speak up.

"Your Majesty, if I may be so bold."

"Hold!" The king called out, stopping Gilles. "Lord Doctor?"

"If this is trial by combat, your Majesty, there's clearly a victor and a vanquished. Must blood be shed?"

The king raised a brow. "Spare a mere jester? How absurd."

The Doctor panicked. "W-What I mean, sir, is that… That _jester_, as you put it, is actually a companion of mine. We were separated earlier, so she put on an act, as it were. Please, spare her."

The king hesitated, but eventually nodded. "We take your counsel, o demon. Spare her!"

Murmurs went up at the new pronoun, but the jester let out a sigh of relief before the group all returned to the castle.

* * *

"You have dishonored me!" Hugh shouted angrily at the jester, who rolled her eyes.

"You are alive, my friend." The Doctor told him as he walked in.

"No friend to you." The boy snapped before storming from the room.

Ranulf turned to the jester. "Heed him not, whoever you are. I am grateful. You are welcome at Fitzwilliam Castle and will be treated properly in return for taking my son's place."

"Perfect. Could I possibly get some clothes then?" The jester requested. "I'm not a fan of the bells."

She flicked a bell on the hem of her shirt and he nodded. "Soon we shall sit at meat. Betimes you may wish to withdraw." He waved a man over. "Conduct my guests to their chamber and find the jester something proper to wear."

The group of four followed after the man and Tegan complained from between the Doctor and the jester.

"How can they live in such cold?"

"By eating lots of food."

"Hm, and keeping active." The jester mused idly as Turlough stopped and the rest went on without him.

They were brought into a nice room and the jester was handed a set of clothing as the Doctor realized his companion had wandered off.

"Where's Turlough?"

"Stopped to look at something." Tegan said before exclaiming. "Look at the size of that bed!"

"Hm. Another way of keeping warm." The Doctors mused, gathering up one of the thick furs and wrapping her in it as the jester stretched with a grunt and Tegan frowned.

"What are we doing here anyway? Why did you save him?" She asked, turning to the jester. "No offense."

"None taken. I've been a court jester and magician the past three weeks, believe me, your offense is mild." The jester smiled, moving to remove her shirt as the Doctor made a face.

"Yes, well, we're old friends, actually. Alex tends to pop up in the strangest of places on my travels and has yet to inform me of how she manages to do so."

"_She_?!" Tegan exclaimed and the Doctor lifted a finger.

"See for yourself."

She turned and gasped at the jester, who'd since placed on some proper pants, but was still in the process of putting on the tunic; revealing her gender rather openly.

"My word! I'm so sorry for the mistake, however…" She shyly turned away and smacked the Doctor. "You should give her some privacy!"

The jester chuckled. "The Doctor? Give me privacy? Oh, he'd never do that."

"Come on, Alex! You don't really mean that!"

"Oh, but I do. You've yet to turn around, after all." She laughed as he turned a bit pink and she pulled the tunic over herself. "See something you like?"

"I-I was merely curious as to the scars, is all." He grumbled and Alex raised a brow. "And the mark on your shoulder."

"Ignore the mark. Bit annoying, that, though great to look at." She smiled. "Part of what helps me pop up here and there, if you must know."

"But all those scars…" Tegan breathed out. "How did you come by them? Oh, it must have been horrible."

"Well, they certainly weren't pleasant moments." She hummed, flopping back onto the fur-covered bed and rubbing at her bruised arm from the jousting earlier. "You'll find I tend to attract trouble and any injuries they include. That, and not many people like me. I have a nickname that tends to get me into rather tight situations with people and aliens who are always trying to get answers from me. And let me tell you, I'd rather not deal with the Rack again, so I think I'll do my best to keep my head down for a bit here."

"The Rack?" The Doctor gapped. "That is… I'm so sorry."

Alex though waved it off. "Nah, it's fine. Not your fault. Just me and my big mouth and you got there before my limbs could take too much damage, so it's fine."

"Rack?" Tegan questioned.

"It's a mediaeval torture device where you are laid on a table and bound by your wrists and ankles as someone turn a crank to stretch your body in either direction." The Doctor begrudgingly explained.

"I regret I asked." She muttered.

"Yes, well, enough about me. What are you lot doing here?" Alex hummed. "Just picked a random button and stayed when something caught your attention?"

"Hm, something like that." He hummed.

"How long are you planning to stay?" Tegan questioned him.

"Do you know, it's just sunk in. March the fourth, 1215."

"So?"

"There's something very wrong here." He muttered, moving to the window, but soon turning back around. "The King takes the oath today."

"What oath?" Tegan asked and Alex raised a brow as well.

"To take the cross as a Crusader. But he did that in London."

"Who says?" His companion pressed as Alex's brows furrowed in thought.

"Your history books."

"Perhaps they got that bit wrong."

"Or maybe we've got a copy-cat." Alex piped in and the Doctor grinned.

"Exactly. The oath was too well documented. The books were right. Something _here_ is wrong."

"Oh, who cares?" Tegan complained and Alex propped herself up onto her elbows in surprise.

"_**I**_** care**." Her and the Doctor said together, but Tegan wasn't as amused.

"All I care about is getting back to the Tardis where it's nice and warm. No wonder they forced him to sign Magna Carta. Bet there was something in it about under heated housing."

"Do all of your companions complain this much? At least Sarah Jane had a good reason to complain." Alex said, making the Doctor hum in agreement before she tossed something at Tegan. "Here. It's not really this century, but it's thermos-regulated. It'll keep you at a nice seventy-five degrees even in the artic."

"Oh, thank heavens." She said in relief, pulling on the aviator jacket and ditching the furs.

"Honestly." The Doctor complained. "Do you _know_ your history? You should care a bit more than this."

"I know plenty of history." Tegan complained and Alex groaned.

"Oh, I hear a lecture coming on. Excuse me while I take a nap. Juggling swords, telling jokes, and performing sleight of hand and card trick is _far_ more tiring than one would expect. And that king has been running me ragged." She sighed. "I ran out of smokes ages ago too, though, the free drinks help."

"You're going to destroy your lungs and liver like that." The Doctor chided and Alex lazily lifted a hand and waved it at him.

"Yes, yes. You've told me this before. Get on with your lecture, _professor_."

He rolled his eyes, but sat on the edge of the bed and began to tell the tale of King John; his voice unknowingly soothing Alex into a light sleep.

Tegan though, saw the woman sleeping and interrupted the Doctor. "Doctor, is this the _same_ Alex as before? She certainly doesn't seem the same."

"I'll have to explain regeneration later, but yes. She's the same." He answered with a small frown. "Very nearly."

* * *

I jolted upright when the door was loudly shoved open and Ranulf stormed in angrily with his sword drawn.

"Lord Ranulf. What's going on?" I asked, confused from the sudden intrusion.

His sword swiveled to me and I held my hands up in surrender as he glared angrily. "What have you demons made of the King? He is bewitched! First he takes my whole fortune and down he has made my lady a hostage. How can he question my loyalty? There is none more loyal than I!"

"He's taken Lady Isabella?" I asked in surprise, but the Doctor was more focused on the sword being pointed at my person.

"We are not demons and we've done no harm to the King. Or to anyone. Nor do we intend any."

"Whence come you?" Ranulf demanded, turning to sword to him.

"From an outer province."

"And this strange attire?"

"Yes, well… please believe that we are friends. If you're in trouble, I would like to help, if I can."

Ranulf turned to me suspiciously and I nodded.

"A fool I may pretend to be, but I'm quite capable of protecting myself and others if need be." I offered, before grinning. "Jousting just isn't my strong suit."

He hardly looked comforted by that, but sheathed his weapon and turned to the guards behind him. "Leave us and fetch warm vestments." He said, before turning back to us. "You were three and a fool."

_Note to self: calling myself a fool is a sure way to earn a new, less than pleasant, nickname._ I thought with a small sigh as the Doctor responded.

"Yes, yes. We seem to have mislaid Turlough… How long has the King been here?"

"Yesterday." I answered for Ranulf, who nodded.

"He is not himself. He's not as I know him."

"Well, could he be ill?" The Doctor offered, probably hoping that we didn't have an alien copycat in our midst.

"In rude health. He rode from London yesterday and then to a stag hunt to bring down the only kill."

_So more than healthy._ I hummed, my inner medieval translator having little trouble now that I'd been here a while.

"This Sir Gilles—"

"I like not this man." Ranulf cut him off and I had to nod in agreement to that.

"I can't get a read on him _or_ the King. And emotions are the bare minimum. But plenty of… _people_ are capable of that."

The Doctor nodded, appreciating the input as Ranulf sat on the small table at the end of the bed. "Well, I can't say I care for him much myself. A French knight… Is he the only Frenchman with the King?"

"I know not. He has never favored Frenchmen before this, even renegades from the King of France."

"Could Sir Gilles be bringing some pressure? Some influence on the King?"

Ranulf immediately straightened. "The King is influenced by none. The King I know is resolute and firm of purpose."

"When does the King return to London?" The Doctor tried, giving me a glance to let me know this was his test to find out if the King was actually a copycat or not.

"I know not and no word from the city." Ranulf told us, making the Doctor huff and turn away from him as I pulled a hand through my hair. "My cousin was summoned there by the King a week since, and he's not returned. Why? And why no word concerning him?"

"Your cousin was summoned to London?"

"Aye, to take the Crusader's oath."

"Today, March the fourth."

"What say you, my Lord Doctor?"

"What if your guest was not the King?"

Ranulf scoffed, standing and facing us. "Not the King? Then who?"

"A fool pretending to be the king." I cut in. "Able to mimic him and his actions."

"You _are_ sorcerers." Ranulf accused and I grimaced.

"Ah, no. No. My form of magic is all sleight of hand tricks. Nothing more."

The Doctor placed a hand on my shoulder, tugging me back lightly as Ranulf stepped back and placed a hand on his weapon.

"I ask you to trust us. Please!"

"You can trust us." Tegan insisted as well and he reluctantly bowed his head.

"You will join my household at meat."

The Doctor smiled, clasping his hands behind his back and teetering a bit. "Thank you. We would be delighted."

"When it pleases you."

A thick fur was brought in then, being offered to Tegan who took it, only to hand it to me.

"Here. You look a little chilled."

"Thanks." I said with a curious tilt of my head as I took it from her and wrapped it around my own shoulders for warmth. _She's not all bad. A bit on the slow side, but eager to learn. Though she _is_ a bit rude. Then again, so is the Doctor, so technically there's no harm in that._

"Shouldn't we find out what's happened to Turlough?" Tegan asked, but surprisingly, the Doctor waved it off.

"We will."

"I don't feel safe here." Tegan pressed, but again, he shrugged it off.

"A while longer, then we'll go."

* * *

I sighed as I was once again dubbed the 'jester' for the day, not having to don my joke of an outfit, but still having to juggle and do magic tricks for the guests. It wasn't long though, before the Doctor walked in and attention was taken off me as I snatched one man's jug of alcohol. _I'll need as much as I can get with how this is turning out. Never thought I'd end up with celery-stick man. Though, he is kind of charming. _I paused and smirked behind my drink. _I'm _so_ rubbing this in the Doctor's face later. 'Hey, Doctor, I met this really handsome blonde man and I think I've fallen in love. Oh, no. You'd love him too. He had this strange habit of keeping a celery stick pinned to his lapel and—_

"Our demons. Welcome." The King's greeting towards said man cut my thoughts to a halt. "Come join us."

They sat beside Ranulf and ate and drank for a bit as I continued with my act and pulled a chicken egg out from behind Tegan's ear; much to her surprise. Of course, when I broke it open and out popped a handful of confetti, claps of amusement rang up from the others and even her. I winked at the Doctor who raised a curious brow, but smiled nonetheless, until the King called out for a lute to play. Having long since grown bored and annoyed by lute music, I tuned out the king's singing, ready to drink another goblet of whatever unidentifiable alcohol was being drunk, until I felt eyes on me. I turned, meeting the Doctor's glare as he gestured a stern finger at the table.

"Put it _down_." He mouthed at me and I pouted childishly, doing as he said until he looked away.

Seeing my chance, I reached for it again, but the 'thwack' of half a potato bounced off my head and I stuck my tongue out at the cheeky Doctor; grumbling under my breath about idiot Time Lords and their healthy habits.

"And now, sire, for some… uh… additional entertainment." Gilles announced and an Iron Maiden was brought in, making me swallow thickly at remembrance of my last medieval torture.

"Bravo, our champion!" The King called out, excited. "And who is to delight in her embrace?"

A man was brought in and Ranulf immediately went up in arms about his _cousin_ being brought to death after having apparently been sent to see the King in London. The King ignored his cries of innocence and Gilles demanded the man condemned. I questioned as to what I should do to possibly help the man, but the Doctor stood up then.

"What? Our demon, you too would beg for mercy?" The King accused, but surprisingly, the Doctor didn't.

"Oh, indeed no, sire. But surely such a fate is too mild. Would not boiling in oil be a more fitting end?"

_Oh, I hope you know what you're doing._ I thought, searching for the nearest sword should things come down to it.

"Ha! It must be a decade, our champion, since we boiled in oil. We accept your counsel, O demon." The King readily agreed, but the Doctor wasn't finished yet, moving around the table.

"I thank your Majesty, but I was not suggesting alternative retribution. My interruption was provoked by shock."

"Shock?"

"Yes. I was quite shocked at Sir Gilles' monstrous lack of good taste."

Gilles didn't look too pleased about that, but I knew a good distraction when I saw one. "Who dares to question my good taste?"

"In my view, it is the worst possible taste to even think about following the King's quite remarkable performance. One just can't follow that."

"I am insulted!" Gilles slapped the Doctor across the chest with his glove and in response, the Doctor began to remove his coat; passing it to Tegan who looked at him in shock.

"Are you mad?"

Ranulf agreed, standing. "He is said to be the best swordsman in France."

"Fortunately, we are in England. May I?" He asked, reaching out for Ranulf's weapon and the stunned man went to hand it to him; only for me to reach over and take it instead. "Alex! What are you doing?!"

I promptly punched him hard in the arm, earning a loud complaint.

"Ow!"

"Ow is right, you big-headed idiot." I snipped. "When was the last time you properly fought with a sword, hm? Honestly, you're scaring Tegan."

Gilles didn't look very happy at this change as I passed the sword from hand to hand to get used to the weight. "You're interfering again, jester? It is the demon who has offended me, not you."

I raised a brow. "You want me to offend you? That's easy enough."

"_Alex_." The Doctor scolded from behind me and I gave him a look.

"Oh, shut up. I've been treated like a stupid idiot since I signed up for this job and have been bored out of my mind for ages. I was about ready to punch someone weeks ago, if it got me a swordfight. And you." I leveled my sword at Gilles. "You're a rotten, crooked-nose knave. A smell-feast, skellpie-limmer, saddle-goose, fopdoodle, cumberworld. And your mother's a draggle-draggle, tallowcatch, fustylugs!"

"Why you—"

Gilles, riled up like I expected, charged in. I easily parried his blows, dodging like an expert and dancing around the man.

"Sit _still_!" He shouted in anger, but I laughed.

"Only a fool would do that!"

Laughter went out at that joke and I smirked devilishly at Gilles.

"But if you insist."

I stopped moving, my left foot in front of the other and a hand tucked behind my back; sword at the ready. Gilles fought hard, but not once did I budge from my place, deflecting his sword this way and that, before finally growing bored and taking a lunge in myself. I cut it close, ignoring the slight sting from my cheek as his weapon cut across it when I dove in, but my own sword was soon aimed at his throat and he was on the ground with a swift sweep of my leg. He looked positively stunned as I grinned like an idiot.

"Bravo, our demon jester!" The King applauded as I pulled my sword away from his throat.

"Demon jester. I like that." I hummed, before Gilles suddenly stood with some object in his hand.

When his face morphed into someone else, I raised a brow. _Huh, he's not bad looking. In a mischievous, evil villain sort of way. He's got the goatee and everything._

"You escaped from Xeriphas." The Doctor breathed out in shock and I raised a brow.

"I take it you two know each other?"

I was ignored as the goatee-man went on.

"Oh, my dear Doctor, you have been naïve."

"Not at all." The Doctor pressed. "You may disguise your features, but you can never disguise your intent."

"Yeah, still lost here." I chimed, idly.

"And you can't approve." The man went on.

"You know I can't."

"You've always been my greatest stimulation, my dear Doctor, but now you inspire me."

Tegan threw a knife—_with pretty good accuracy, I might add_—but the man caught it with a grin.

"Your first slip, my dear Doctor. Would you care to make a second?"

He held out the hilt of the small blade and the device used to change his features, taunting the Doctor, but he grabbed the device. _Now, who do I know who taunts him like that? It's very familiar, but I can't place it._

"And now a third." The man said sharply. "This is useless in your hands. You have moral scruples."

"Come, what is this discourse?" The King called out. "Consummate the victory."

The man dropped the knife and held out his hands, looking at me. "Come. Kill me. Thwart my little game."

"Kill him." The King pressed, but I raised a brow in confusion at the Doctor, who spoke.

"It is sufficient, your Majesty, that your champion is disarmed."

"Not for us." The King continued to insist. "In sooth, this is but a puny demon that has no stomach for it. So be it. Let the Maiden embrace the vanquished."

"Your Majesty, no! Have mercy! I beg you!" The man cried out and I dropped my weapon.

"Your Majesty, wait! Surely there's an agreement we can come to!"

The Doctor agreed. "Sire, I must intercede! I beg you, be merciful!"

"We are not merciful, our demon." The King announced.

"Your Majesty!"

"Hold!" He finally said, stopping the guards we had grabbed the man and brought him into the torture device. "We give you choice, our demon. The Maiden shall embrace this sniveling wretch, or Sig Geoffrey. Choose, our demon." He said, but even I wasn't sure what we could do with that dilemma. "Come, the lady waits, impatient to lavish her warm favors. Come, our demon."

The Doctor reluctantly turned to me, taking the sword from my hands and handing it back to Ranulf with a defeated expression on his face.

"Then I won't go alone!" The goatee -man shouted and my eyes widened as I was grabbed from behind and yanked back into the device as well.

"Wha—"

"Alex!"

The spiked doors closed without warning then and I awaited the pain that came with it, but found myself being yanked back further and tumbling onto my behind as a familiar sound came to my ears and I found myself in a room of white.

"W-What?" I looked around and spotted the man at the controls of what looked to be a Tardis. "N-Now hold on a minute. Alex lost. Alex very lost. What's going on? Who are you? A-And the Iron Maiden is a _Tardis_?!"

The ship landed with a small shudder—a much better ride than the Doctor's—and the man leaned against the console with a smirk.

"Alex, Alex, Alex. Shame on you. Do you really not remember me?"

"Uh, let's pretend this is the first time I—a person who jumps around time—has met you." I offered, getting to my feet and looking around. "And what _are_ those round things?"

"I'm the Master."

"No, seriously. Those round things. What are they? The Doctor's always whining about where he put them and can't even tell me what they are." I went on, missing the annoyed twitch of the Master's eyebrow.

"Are you even listening to me?"

I turned to him, looking rather amused myself. "Should I be? The way I see it, you're the guy who's going to tie me to the railroad tracks in front of an oncoming train, wait for the Doctor to show up to save me, and somehow defeat him. Am I right?" I questioned, not giving him a chance to answer. "So why bother with listening to the ravings of a man with a fancy goatee? And that's really working for you, by the way. Gives you the whole 'I'm evil' vibe."

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I forgot how annoying you could be when you want to."

I snorted. "Oh, sweetheart, I'm annoying _all_ the time. Just look at who I hang out with! I have to be annoying—and a bit crazy—to deal with the Doctor."

I grimaced then, a spike of pain going through my shoulder and making me grip it tightly; catching the Master's attention.

"Oh, what _now_?"

"Wish I knew." I bit out, rubbing the aching appendage as the Tardis around us groaned.

The Master frowned, moving to the control panel and working through some things, ordering someone (or some_thing_) to stop Geoffrey.

"There's nothing wrong with the controls. The system's just going haywire." He complained and a thought came to my mind.

"_You were her chance. She used you to save her, making you absorb a part of her to keep her alive and get here."_

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to know what would happen if a Tardis appeared inside of another Tardis, would you?" I asked, fingers digging into my shoulder tensely.

"It's impossible." He grumbled. "No Tardis would be capable of such a thing with all the protections in place and even _if_ it could happen, they would most likely tear each other apart."

"That's what I thought." I cringed again. "We need to land. _Now._"

He eyed me for a moment, but went back to his controls. "I was planning on it. However, some _arrangements_ are going to need to be made."

I frowned. "What?"

I should have known something was up when he reached under the console, but then a weapon was being aimed at me and I groaned.

"Of _course_."

He smirked. "Can't have you going out and ruining my work, now can I?" He walked over and nudged me with the gun. "Turn around."

I begrudgingly did as he said, being perfectly able to disarm him physically, but I wasn't about to test the Master's mental strength.

"Hands."

I placed my hands behind my back as he bound them together with something a bit more technologically advanced than simple rope or handcuffs, before he walked around to face me.

"And as much as I _enjoy_ your annoying wit…" He said sarcastically, as he lifted his hands. "…I'd rather you didn't say anything that could potentially throw my plans into disarrangement."

"W-What are you doing?" I demanded, taking a hesitant step back away from his hands aimed for my temples.

"Silencing you."

* * *

"Would you very much mind—"

"What?" The Doctor cut Tegan off sharply, angry about the turn of events.

"Telling me what's going on?"

"In the interest of security, where is the Master most likely to house his Tardis?"

"In a dungeon."

"Quite so."

"But why did he take that woman?"

The Doctor's eyes sharpened. "Because she is of value to him. He would easily be able to use her for his own benefits."

"Use her how?" Tegan asked, confused.

"She has a gift. Abilities to predict the far future, especially in areas concerning me." He explained. "Something that has gotten her into trouble many times before, though she's proven more than capable of keeping her secrets from everyone. I've yet to get more than hints and the very few slip-ups. However, the Master is far more ruthless than I and could potentially force his way into getting answers from her. If we're lucky, he will have left her behind in order to prevent her from interfering with his plan."

The Doctor, Geoffrey, Tegan and the guard entered the dungeon to find Turlough chained up beside an unconscious Alex.

"Doctor, you won't believe this, but—"

"You've seen another Tardis." The Doctor finished for Turlough, gesturing at him and Alex as he spoke to the guard. "Release them."

"The Maiden!" Geoffrey called out in shock and the Doctor rolled his eyes, kneeling to check on Alex.

"Quite so."

"Is Sir Gilles…"

"There is no Sir Gilles." The Doctor corrected him. "He is the Master in disguise. Now, you could call him a demon… Sir Geoffrey, you are no longer a prisoner. Release him."

He was released from his chains as well and the Doctor frowned, patting Alex's cheek to try and rouse her.

"Who are you?" Geoffrey asked, confused by this whole thing.

"A friend, who wants to help. The Master has set up an impostor as King John of England."

"What for?"

"To change the course of history." He said, muttering under his breath as he tried to wake Alex. "Come on, Alex. Wake up."

"What possible satisfaction can that give him?"

"He wants to rob the world of Magna Carta. Small time villainy by his standards, but nevertheless something I intend to stop if at all possible." The Doctor smiled as Alex shifted.

"But why do you serve this impostor king?" Geoffrey questioned and the Doctor got up and moved towards the Iron Maiden.

"To gain time, and access to this." He took the device he'd gained from the Master, activated it, and placed it inside the disguised ship. "You know the true king?" He asked Geoffrey.

"Aye. Did we not take the Crusader's oath together but yesterday?"

"Then we must get you to London so you can warn him."

"Tis but four hours ride."

"Oh, I can get you there much quicker than that."

"Your engine?"

"Yes, but first we must bring it here, into the castle."

"Look." Tegan pressed, not agreeing with this idea. "Let's all get out of here while we've still got the chance."

"No. We must bring the impostor with us."

"Why?"

"To expose the Master's plan." The Doctor insisted, kneeling back in front of Alex. "Alex, how are you feeling?"

She grimaced and gripped her shoulder, but made no sound, which was a little surprising to the Doctor; who was used to hearing her talk quite a bit.

"What's wrong? What is it?"

She opened her mouth, but her eyes widened and she closed it. The Doctor looked her over, trying to figure out what was wrong, but as she opened her mouth again with no vocal response, he realized what happened.

"You can't speak."

She nodded with a slightly nervous smile and the Doctor frowned, trying to think of a way to fix it, but being hesitant about entering Alex's mind. He had no idea what her head was like, much less how she'd react to the invasion or even handle it. He didn't hesitate long though, before making a decision and reaching for her temples slowly. She eyed him, equally unsure and stiffened just before he touched her head. He paused there, looking at her and waiting for permission and it was only when her blue eyes locked onto his that he felt something stir in his chest. The amount of sheer trust she had for him in that moment was astounding and she took in a deep breath and let it out before closing her eyes in silent permission. He waited only a second longer before placing his fingers onto her temples and entering her mind.

He couldn't help but wince as he realized the sort of damage her mind had been through. The scars were everywhere, some running deeper than others and making him feel that tightness in his chest again at the thought of someone doing this to her. She'd quickly wormed her way into becoming a good friend of his; a companion. And seeing the remains of what she'd been to up to this point made him furious at whoever attacked her. He relaxed though, a wave of calm washing over him from Alex—who'd undoubtedly felt his anger—and he went about repairing what the Master had done to silence her. It took him a moment to find what he'd done, but he was able to undo the block and get her on her way to recovery. It would still take a few moments before she'd be able to fully access her speech again, but he'd done what he could. And he'd been about to pull out of her mind when he heard something.

_Dun, dun, dun, dun._

He curiously went towards it and was stunned to find the deepest, most damaging scar yet. His hearts ached painfully to see something like this, but the moment the sound rang out again and he reached towards the scarred area, he was abruptly kicked out of Alex's head with a gasp. Both of them winced at the headache the action caused, but Alex looked pale and far more panicked than him. He realized then that he'd done something he shouldn't have and immediately went to apologize.

"A-Alex, I didn't mean—"

She flinched back away from him, looking more frightened and hurt than he'd seen her before. And it wasn't until she'd forced herself up and bolted from the room that understanding had dawned on him. He shouldn't have found that scar. She could have easily hidden it and everything else he'd seen. He had even passed by the mental blocks hiding other information and memories from him. Yet she _allowed_ him to see those scars. She trusted him enough to believe that he wouldn't mess with anything other than what he'd gone into her head to fix. And his curiosity ruined that. He couldn't control himself long enough to see that she'd trusted him to leave her personal scars alone. The first time he'd been inside her mind, and he'd completely ruined any chance he had of bringing them closer together. _Closer? Why? Why do I want to be closer to her? Surely being friends is enough._ He shook the thought from his head, standing with a soft sigh and waving off Tegan's concern; though he himself was concerned.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure she'll be fine. We best be going though. Before the Master does something to the Tardis."

* * *

_Gah, what am I doing?!_ I mentally shouted, tugging at my hair in frustration. _We've been over this! He's too young to know any better. It was your fault for leaving that scar out in the open for him to find. You know how stupidly curious he is!_ I groaned quietly, glad I could at least make _some_ sound now. _The Master can be strong when he wants to be. That, and I underestimated him. Didn't strengthen my mental barriers beforehand. Thanks to the Doctor though, I should be speaking again within the hour._ I grimaced, pulling a hand through my hair. _I shouldn't have run though. Is that really all it takes? A split moment of panic, a memory of so long ago when the Master forced himself mentally _and_ almost physically?_ I sighed and continued my walk down the hall with my hands already missing the conveniences of modern day pockets. _I'll need to speak with the later Doctor about this. It's been a while since my memories have interfered with our relationship. Younger Doctor or not. We need to properly discuss some of the thing that have happened to me and work through them, or this is going to become a normal thing and I doubt that's good for _any_ relationship, much less our bouncing around, in and out marriage._

I rounded a corner then and blinked upon locking eyes with the Master and a guard. I grinned at him nervously, wiggling my fingers in a wave before attempting to bolt for it.

"Get her!"

I was grabbed by the guard though and brought back to him as he smirked.

"Perfect. _You_ can do this then. I take it your archery skills are proficient?"

I shrugged, but he shoved the bow in my hands and forced me to look out the window. Geoffrey was riding off on a horse and as soon as I realized what the Master wanted me to do, I pulled away and frowned, shaking my head. He seemed to expect this though and continued to smirk mischievously.

"Do it, or I'll have the guard do it and he will surely die."

_Damn my future self for letting him know my weakness for helping others. _I mentally complained, turning back to the window and begrudgingly arming the bow and aiming. _Thankfully, the Master doesn't know just _how_ proficient I am at archery. And, if worse comes to worst, then the Doctor can make sure he doesn't die from infection or anything like that. Thank you human anatomy class. As horrible as you were to deal with, I'm glad I know one of the best places for someone to get hit—or shot—without much damage. Let's just hope I can hit it from here._ I slowed my breathing, aiming carefully before pulling back and letting out my breath as I released the arrow. It flew and hit Geoffrey in the back of his left shoulder, making me hope I hadn't missed and possibly fatally injured the man—the point I was aiming for rather small, even from a close distance—and he fell off his horse harshly as I winced and silently wished I hadn't had to do that in the first place. The Master was pleased though, laughing and mocking me.

"Excellent shot."

I glared at him and shoved the weapon back at the guard, making to leave, but the Master wasn't too keen about that. I'd run short on my temper though, and as soon as the guard grabbed my arm I twisted, turning back around, slamming an elbow harshly against the man's temple and easily pinning him up against the wall. I turned my glare on the Master though, who looked rather amused at the show of my strength.

"Surely, you want to meet with the King." He hummed. "I'm sure the Doctor will be joining us soon as well. I'll even treat you as a guest and not a prisoner, if you wish. Irons rather ruin the pleasant image I have of you."

I was a bit surprised at that last comment but, having remembered how fond of me the later Master was, I realized it shouldn't be _that_ shocking. Of course, he ruined that thought by continuing to speak as he turned his back to me and started walking off.

"A fierce warrior, the Seer." He hummed. "Has the Time Lords scrambling to come up with some idea on how to deal with you. And your eyes obviously show the great trails of many wars fought and lives lost." He stopped; myself having begrudgingly trailed after him and abandoning the—now unconscious—guard behind.

Tilting his head slightly with a smirk at my narrowed eyes, he reached up towards my face with a hand. _One hand._ I reassured myself before I could flinch away. _He's not aiming to attack or reach into my mind again._ The Master brushed his fingers over my cheek, cupping one side of my face.

"Yes, the sharp eyes of a soldier. A woman's who's killed many, watched many die by her own hands and the hands of others. Cold, dark eyes."

I grit my teeth as he pulled his hand away and went back to walking; myself hesitating to follow as my hands clenched at my sides, knuckles going white with the force. He held open a door and gestured inside.

"After you."

It was a test. To see if I found myself capable of turning my back on him even for a moment. _Like hell. I'm not going to let him get to me. It's been far too long to lose control over my past fears now._ I walked past him into the room, slightly surprised by the lute-playing android sitting in the King's chair, but paying it no mind once the Master held out a goblet.

"Drink?"

I frowned at him. "The Doctor doesn't like me drinking."

He smirked. "Wasn't stopping you earlier, _jester_."

I stuck my tongue out at him and took it, moving to sit in a chair and sipping at it. "What now? What do you want?"

"Oh, nothing much. We're waiting for the Doctor to show up. Shouldn't be long now."

I scowled. "I hate waiting. Don't you have anything to do? Chess. Let's play chess. No! Checkers. Do you have checkers?"

He rolled his eyes, moving over to a chest nearby and pulling out a small box. "Chess, not checkers."

"Fine. Anything to keep me entertained. I've been stuck entertaining people much longer than I'd like." I complained. "I want black."

He raised a brow as he set up the set on a table between us. "Hm, and here I thought you'd pick white."

I smirked, hearing the challenge in his voice. "Please. Reading people's movements and motives is easier if you let them make the first move. I like to focus on counter attacks."

"Giving yourself away already?" He teased, making the first move and my grin widened.

"Oh, believe me. You'll need the handicap."

Or so I said, but the Master plays a damn good game of chess. We weren't even fifteen moves in before the Doctor walked in; the android playing background music for us turning to greet him.

"Welcome, my demon."

The Doctor quickly connected the dots. "You Majesty seems in need of a doctor."

My eyes remained locked on the chess board though—it was my move, after all—but the Master stood.

"Allow me to introduce Kamelion."

"Your work." The Doctor mused, catching sight of me with what appeared to be relief.

"Alas, modesty forbids such a claim." The Master hummed, returning the Doctor's attention to him. "Kamelion is a tool of an earlier invader of Xeriphas, and instrumental in my escape from that benighted planet."

"This is your King John?"

"Look again."

I glanced at the android briefly, watching it change into the image of King John, before returning to scowling at the chess board before me._ If I move my knight over here, it will put one of his pieces in danger of being taken next turn, _but_ he'd still take out one of my pawns and be in the position of easily taking my bishop next turn as well without much I can do. Hm, should I risk giving my bishop an escape route?_

"Impressive." The Doctor hummed, making me frown at him for interrupting my thinking process.

"A weapon used by the invaders of Xeriphas. A decoy, capable of infinite form or personality."

"Interesting."

_The Doctor's not pleased. One worded sentences are rare for him unless he's unhappy about something or another. Though, with the Master involved, it's no wonder._

"Well said, my demon. We are a complex mass of artificial neurons." The King mused.

"And controlled by?"

"Nothing more than simple concentration and psychokinetics."

"No wonder he gives me a headache." I grumbled, making my move and leaning back in my chair to look over at the two idly. "Your move."

The Master's lips twitched in amusement, but he didn't come over, gesturing to the King. "Look again."

The King changed into the Doctor's form then, making the Doctor grow curious.

"Can anyone play?"

"Please." The Master offered and it changed into the Master then, who smirked.

"Quite masterly." It joked.

"You flatter me." The actual Master hummed. "I prefer bad King John."

"So Kamelion here is bad King John." The Doctor concluded.

"Aided and abetted by you, his demon, and your blue engine." The Master played along as I stood, realizing that our game of chess was on hold.

"It's cunning of you to confirm the superstitions put about by the monks."

"Irresistible. Your arrival here was most timely."

"A gift."

I snorted at that. "More like a gift for trouble."

"Hey!" He complained, but I smiled innocently and sipped at my drink, while he returned to the task at hand, begrudgingly. "The King turns the Barons solidly against him, he is killed in battle or deposed, possibly in favor of King Phillip of France. He cannot therefore offer Magna Carta. What do you think of it so far?"

"I think you're worse than the evil villain who spouts out his plan." I drawled. "We _know_ what he's doing, so stop telling us and do something about it already. I'm _bored_."

"You're always bored." He groaned.

"Well, go on. Get on with it, Mister Clever."

"How do you two propose to stop me?" The Master asked.

"I shall have to give it some thought." The Doctor countered and I sighed.

_This is going to go on forever. It's two kids trying to one-up the other. Fighting over a toy. Dear universe, why haven't I popped off yet? You know I hate these two and their squabbles. At least make it more interesting. What happened to the classic aliens falling out of the sky?_

"You would do well, my dear Doctor, to ponder that you played directly into my hand."

"And into ours." The Kamelion said, making me tilt my head slightly.

_He corrected him. Included himself. The Master sees him as a tool, but… he's got personality, doesn't he?_ Even the Doctor seemed surprised.

"He has a mind of his own?"

"Indeed. But highly susceptible."

"Dominated by our demons." The Kamelion replied, making me feel bad for the android.

_I doubt he wanted to be used like this._

"You will know that the King and his dead brothers are believed to be the devil's work. Your interference here with your dreary Tardis has only confirmed this. You are, dare I say so, discredited demons, and as such you make a unique contribution to altering the course of history. Hoist on your own petard."

"And where will you take your toy next?" The Doctor asked, making me frown at him for calling the android a 'toy'.

"Does it matter? You'll not be there to greet me."

"I may not need to. You forget, Kamelion does have a mind of his own."

The Master shook his head. "He obeys only my will."

"Yes, but for how much longer?"

"For as long as I command it. Kamelion will not turn on me."

"No?"

The Doctor looked at the Kamelion, but nothing happened and I wondered what he'd been trying to do. _What good would changing its form do?_ The Master chuckled.

"You're getting old, Doctor. Your will is weak. It's time you regenerated."

"Hold on, if he's old, then what am I?!" I complained, being ignored.

"You won't win. Not ultimately."

"You're mistaken!" He snapped. "With Kamelion's unique ability at my command, it's only a matter of time before I undermine the key civilizations of the universe. Chaos will reign, and I shall be its emperor. With the Seer at my side."

"Oi, who said I was going with you? Just because I complimented your goatee, doesn't mean I'm interested." I scoffed and he turned to me.

"And you believe the Doctor will accept you? You, who killed Sir Geoffrey with your own hands?"

"What?" The Doctor questioned and I scowled.

"Don't you pin that on me. You forced me to."

"I hardly did more than put the bow in your hands and give you a choice. You do it or the guard does. The blood is your own."

"Well, that was your mistake." I said sharply, soon smirking. "I was taught archery from the finest archer. I'll bet you everything I own that he's still alive, though a bot sore in the shoulder."

The Master gave me a bland look and turned away, though I caught the Doctor's relieved smile aimed my way.

"Either way, I will win and I will bring you with me by force, if need be."

"Like to see you try." I muttered and the Doctor readily agreed.

"Earth is a primitive planet. You won't succeed so easily elsewhere. With or without Alex."

"Where I cannot win by stealth, shall destroy. That way I cannot fail to win." He countered.

"You'll never succeed."

"Unfortunately, you will not be alive to find out. Which reminds me. My compressor." The Master said, holding out a hand for the device.

"Safely in my Tardis." The Doctor said, though I was able to sense the lie in his words, making me wonder just what he was up to.

The door was being pounded on then and I winced, knowing that time had run out and whatever the Master had done to trick the people outside those doors, was undoubtedly going to end up incriminating us all.

"Your Majesty!" Ranulf called out and the Kamelion transformed into King John.

"Enter."

"Sire, you have him."

"We have him." The Kamelion corrected as I looked over the situation.

_The Doctor, the Master, myself and a captured Turlough with Ranulf and his son. Pleasant._

"Sire, they have injured my kinsman!" Ranulf accused and I smirked at the Master who gave me an annoyed look.

"Such perfidy must not go unpunished. We would have boiling oil. See to it."

Ranulf and his son left easily enough, though Turlough was still being held by two guards and looked a bit uneasy.

"Doctor?"

"Yes, yes. I'm not a demon for nothing."

"Very well, my dear Doctor. Your will against mine? So be it." The Master snapped and the two looked at the Kamelion.

I grimaced at the headache that started up with the two powerful minds fighting with changing the android into their respective person, finally beginning to lose my temper as it became blurred. Ranulf and his son returned, confused about the King's image and the Master managed to get out the order to kill the Doctor. Ranulf moved in, but I grabbed the sword off a guard and parried his blade as the sound of the Tardis echoed in the room.

"Come now, Ranulf. You seem awfully eager to obey the orders of a man whom you hated this morning and who has changed his own face, much like an actual demon." I countered, giving the man a look as I swung my sword around expertly. "And surely I've proven my skills in swordsmanship enough so that you wouldn't think you could defeat me."

I grimaced again as the two behind me battled it out and I finally grew fed up and—once Ranulf was distracted by the Tardis appearing again, I turned towards them. _I_ entered the fight easily enough and was able to change the Kamelion into a form all too familiar to me. Ten stood there, blinking in shock and rather drowsy-looking, but I grabbed his arm and tugged him behind me towards the _actual_ Doctor.

"Take him and stop this childish nonsense. You two are ridiculous." I scolded him as he ducked his head slightly and hurried Turlough and the Kamelion into the ship.

I too, backed up, giving the Master a sharp look.

"And you. Really, taking over the world? You've got a _Tardis_! You should enjoy the universe you have in your hands right now, instead of trying to take it all for yourself. You'll live a damn lonely life if you keep it up."

"Alex." The Doctor called out and I backed up into the Tardis with a final grin and wave at the Master.

"Toodles~"

"No!"

The doors closed and the Doctor sent the ship off. I rolled my eyes and set the sword aside, stretching my arms up above my head in a stretch as the Doctor glanced at the Kamelion with a frown.

"Who's that then? Your… _companion_?" He asked and I gave him an amused look.

"Ooh, somebody's jealous."

"I am _not_ jealous." He argued and I snorted.

"Really?" I asked, wandering over to the android and wrapping my arms around its neck. "How about now?"

He turned a little pink, but stubbornly crossed his arms. "Not in the slightest."

I ran my hands through the fake Tenth's hair, feeling the android's subtle amusement at the ploy I was having it keep up in order to mess with the Doctor.

"Right. Not jealous at all then. What if I told you I married him?"

"W-What?!" He sputtered out and I chuckled.

"Oh, my husband was quite funny. Was a right pain when I first met him and then became quite the fool himself." I hummed in amusement. "He has _amazing_ memory problems if he can't remember me meeting him so long ago. I'll definitely have to ask him about that. If you're jealous now, I wonder how he'll be in a thousand years." I released the android and leaned on its shoulder with a big grin. "Ooh, I'll really have to do that. I can't wait to see him getting all jealous towards his younger self."

"You're talking in circles." The Doctor snapped, storming over and tugging me away from the Kamelion as I allowed it to return to its more robotic form. "And you've yet to let me speak!"

I raised a brow in amusement, leaning in close. "You've been talking this whole time. I'm hardly stopping you."

His cheeks flushed pink, making my grin widen despite him taking a step back to put some small amount of distance between us. "Stop it. I'm trying to apologize."

"Words I hardly expected to come from _your_ mouth this early." I teased.

"I mean it!" He argued, grabbing my upper arms to stop me from continuing my little act; his expression softening. "I shouldn't have intruded in your mind like that, after you trusted me enough to not hide it. It was wrong of me and I hope you'll forgive me for it."

I rolled my eyes. "You idiot. I forgave you for it already. Believe me, you'd know if I hadn't. And the only reason I ran off, was because I needed some privacy to work through some troublesome memories your curiosity brought up, is all." I lightly tugged my arms from his grip and pat his shoulder. "Honestly, I wish your future selves were this proactive and sincere about apologizing. They could learn something from you."

He puffed up proudly at my compliment, but I couldn't let him get a big head.

"Though that ridiculous celery stick _has_ to go."

"What?!" He questioned, sounding offended.

"I found half a dozen in my coat pocket the other day! I could _die_ searching for something important, if I'm stuck sorting through your questionable veggie fashion statements!"

Tegan cleared her throat and we both looked at her as she gave us odd looks. "Are you two going to continue to fight like some old married couple or explain what that thing is?"

The Doctor blushed, embarrassed, but I didn't get a chance to respond to her comment before I was suddenly somewhere else.

"Well, isn't this quaint, if a bit chilly." I mused, looking around the grocery store with a shiver as people wandered about in thick coats to counter the icy breeze that shifted through the whole building. "And me without my coat."

* * *

_**MEDIEVAL INSULT DEFINITIONS:**_

_**crooked nosed knave: classless**_

_**smell-feast: expects to be fed**_

_**skellpie limmer: badly behaved child**_

_**saddle goose: imbecile**_

_**fopdoodle: foolish man**_

_**cumberworld: useless, takes up space**_

_**driggle draggle: untidy woman**_

_**tallowcatch: barrel of fat**_

_**fustylugs: woman of gross habits**_


	89. Dragonfire (7th Doc)

**Hello, everyone! Sorry this is late. My work schedule has changed because the other over-nighter is on vacation so i'll be doing overnight shifts from this Tuesday until Saturday... hopefully, I won't die. Last night I got to scrub mop buckets with a toothbrush for two hours. Fun. But hopefully things stay calm until later on in the week. Oh! And i'll be starting college again on the 22nd so my update schedule _might_ have to change, but i don't know. i'll be juggling four classes, work, and this, so who knows.**

**Enough of my blabbering. In case you missed it in my last author's note, this chapter is "Dragonfire" with the Seventh Doctor. The link for the episodes are on my profile. And thanks to everyone who's reviewed! i love hearing from all of you and i'm curious to see what you think about Alex and the Seventh Doctor ;)**

* * *

**To the guest who reviewed in chapter 87 about the Doctor remembering Clara's death as a continuity error: Thanks for pointing that out, however, I think it still works, because the Doctor _should_ remember her dying, but he wouldn't remember saving her. Otherwise, there'd be a plot hole with him not knowing why she wasn't with him. He _has_ to remember she died. Wouldn't he? There'd be a big gaping hole from his late Eleventh self onward, otherwise, i would think. I could be wrong, but that's what I figured, anyway. Thanks for the review though! glad you're liking it so far ^^**

* * *

I rubbed the back of my neck, looking around uncertainly. _I know the Doctor has mentioned a few places that are frozen over like this and I've read up on some as well, but I haven't the slightest idea where I am. And nobody here looks friendly. They actually all look rather rushed._ I eyed a little girl in a blue dress being pulled around by her mother and sighed softly, shivering as my breath fogged up before me. _Oh, definitely need my coat. Should have grabbed it from Tegan once we got on the Tardis. _I sneezed, sniffing and giving the little girl a small waved and a bright grin when she looked over at me; waving with a tiny smile in return before her mother tugged her over to another freezer. _Well, better do the smart thing. I grabbed my wallet at least and if the Tardis is in a good mood, she put some money for this planet inside. I think there's a restaurant over there. I can get something warm to drink and decide on a new coat as well, seeing as I don't know how long I'll be here._ I smiled, bounding away with a skip in my steps and hands tucked into my pockets; nose pink from cold.

"This will be fun."

* * *

"Where is it?"

"Iceworld." The Seventh Doctor hummed, chin resting in his palm as he leaned on the control panel. "A space trading colony on the dark side of the planet Svartos. Space travelers stop there for supplies. I've been picking up a faint tracking signal for some time. I think there's something interesting going on there, Mel." He smiled and Mel raised a brow in amusement as he piloted the Tardis and had her land in the middle of a supply center.

"A freezer center? How boring." Mel complained once they'd stepped out.

"Oh, trust not appearances, Mel." The Doctor chimed, tipping his hat to some women passing by. "You never know what might be lurking in the freezer chests. Think gothic."

He peered into one as a little girl spooked Mel briefly with her mask, before he gestured to another area.

"This way."

They entered a restaurant and the Doctor smiled, turning to the owner behind the bar.

"Ah, two of your best strawberry milkshakes, if you please."

"Certainly, sir."

The Doctor and Mel scanned around, before the Doctor headed over to a table that was empty save for a single figure with a fur lined hooded coat, earbuds peeking out from under the darken hood.

"Excuse me, might we sit here? There doesn't seem to be any other open tables." The Doctor asked them after getting their attention so they could remove their earbuds.

"Fine by me." They shrugged, tapping a cigarette out of a box; only the lower half of their face visible from under the hood. "So long as you don't mind me smoking. I'll blow the smoke away, if you want, but I've been a bit stressed and the strawberry shake isn't doing it for me."

The Doctor sat, but sighed. "I never understood why people become smokers. Ruins the lungs."

The figure snorted. "You sound like my husband. He's always nagging me about it. That and the drinking."

"Both nasty things."

"Only in excessive amounts." The figure pointed out, lighting the cigarette. "I only turn to them when I have the time and have a decent amount of stress to deal with. With all the running around I'm stuck doing, it's rare I get time to settle back and indulge. Much less without my husband around to scold me for it."

"Sounds interesting. Say, you haven't noticed anything strange happening around here by chance, have you?" The Doctor asked curiously.

"Hm? Oh, well, I wouldn't know. I only just popped up not too long ago. I haven't heard anything, anyway. Why?" They smirked, leaning in slightly. "Something fun going on that I'm missing out on? I could do with a bit of adventure."

The Doctor's brows furrowed, something about the figure before them sounding vaguely familiar, but then he overheard the person sitting at the next table over and his attention was quickly shifted.

"Glitz!"

Mel recognized him as well. "Glitz!"

"Glitz!" The figure joined in with a grin, only to quickly frown. "Wait, what?"

"Sorry, not you." The Doctor apologized with a small apologetic smile, pointing the figure to the man sitting behind her. "Him."

"What?" Said man questioned. "Never heard of him."

"It's us! Mel and the Doctor." Mel said, moving over to Glitz's table as the Doctor turned in his seat and the figure followed. "You haven't forgotten us, have you Glitz?"

"Sh. Keep your voice down." He shushed her. "No, of course I haven't forgotten you. Mel and the Doc—"

The Doctor grinned and lifted his cap, but Gllitz frowned.

"Here. You're not the Doctor."

Said man immediately pouted. "I've regenerated. The difference is purely perceptual."

"Doctor!"

Said man raised a brow at the figure who had joined them. "Yes?"

"Well, why didn't you say so? And here I was thinking you'd be dozens of years late again."

The Doctor was about to question them, when they tugged their hood back and his eyes widened instead.

"Alex!"

Alex grinned, wiggling her fingers in a wave. "Hello, handsome."

The Doctor smiled, but couldn't help the sheepish look that overcame his features. "Oh, come now. I'm hardly handsome."

"Please! I think you look brilliant. I love the hat and I'm _very_ glad that celery stick is gone. Though your younger self was rather handsome as well."

Mel rolled her eyes. "Flirty as always, you two."

"Always am, sweetheart." Alex winked at her.

"Now, who's this then?" Glitz questioned and the Doctor happily grinned.

"This is Alex. She's another companion of mine who shows up from time to time."

"Hello! Glitz was it?" She smiled, shaking his offered hand, but his smile fell as hers turned sickly sweet and her grip tightened dangerously close to painful. "You're a horrible liar."

He yanked his hand out of hers and turned his pale face to the Doctor. "S-She your body guard or something?"

The Doctor hummed. "Well, I'd say no, but she does tend to get me out of some sticky situations."

"Don't you know it." Alex hummed, accepting the drink brought over from the waitress and snuffing out her cigarette on an ashtray. "Wish your other selves would admit that."

He chuckled lightly and Glitz looked between the two suspicious of their relationship, but decided to get down to the heart of the matter he was hoping the Doctor might be able to help him with.

"Here, you couldn't do us a favor, could you? You see, I'm in a spot of bother." He said, patting the Doctor's shoulder.

"What's this, Glitz? Not another one of your dodgy deals backfired?"

Alex snorted. "Good to know I got his character right."

The Doctor gave her a small smile at that, but Glitz tried to fix their already broken image of him. _Or at least improve it marginally._

"No, no. Nothing like that, straight up. Fact is, I'm on a mission of highly philanthropic nature."

"What's that?" Mel asked.

"It means it's beneficial to mankind."

She rolled her eyes. "We _know_ what philanthropic means. What's the mission?"

"I have been entrusted to deliver certain secret documents which nefarious unnamed parties would stop at nothing to grasp within their own grubby digits."

"You mean…"

"They'd kill you." Mel finished the Doctor's thought and Alex raised a brow.

"Why are you having a drink here if it's so important that you get these documents delivered, then?"

Before he could respond though, a hand rested on his shoulder and brought everyone's attention to the group of soldier-esque people behind him.

"Sabalom Glitz, we've been looking for you." The woman leader of the group said, making Mel stand up.

"Leave him alone. If you kill him, you kill us too."

"Uh, steady on there, Mel!" The Doctor tried to calm her.

"What are you talking about?" The woman questioned and Alex sat quietly, watching in amusement.

"Oh, he's told us everything about how you tried to stop him delivering secret documents."

"Sh!" Glitz attempted, but the woman hovering smirked.

"Becoming quite a story-teller, aren't we, Glitz?" She mused, speaking to us all. "I'm afraid you also seem to be a victim of Mr. Glitz's cavalier attitude toward facts."

"_Glitz_." The Doctor frowned at the man, as the woman continued.

"I'm not interested in any secret documents which Mr. Glitz may or may not possess. I am more concerned with the hundred crowns he took from my employer, Mr. Kane, under false pretenses."

"That was highest quality merchandise!" Glitz defended.

"A space freighter full of deep frozen fruit which turned out to be rotten."

"Oh, a bit on the ripe side, maybe."

"They were _putrefying_, Glitz." She argued.

"A little past their prime, perhaps."

"And Mr. Kane does not run Iceworld to subsidize crooks like yourself. The hundred crowns, please."

The Doctor rested his chin on his cane. "I think you'd better pay back the money, Glitz."

"I can't." He muttered.

"Why not?"

"Well, you see, there was this game of cards. I got well damaged."

Alex rolled her eyes at that, considering offering to pay his debt, but feeling he deserved to be taught a lesson first.

"What about the hundred and two crowns you sold your crew for?" The woman said and Alex's eyes immediately hardened, making Glitz gulp and the Doctor turn away to read; not wanting to get involved in this.

"Sold your crew?" Mel gaped.

"Well, the mutinous rabble. They tried to take command of my spacecraft. I relieved myself of them for seventeen crowns a piece. Rather more than they were worth, I think." Glitz said, wincing when Alex's glare intensified.

"The money." The other woman demanded.

"Gone the way of all organic matter, I'm afraid. Down the tubes."

"In that case, we're confiscating your spacecraft."

"The Nosferatu? You can't do that!" Glitz argued, panicked.

"You have seventy-two hours to find one hundred crowns or you lose your spacecraft."

"But it's my livelihood!" He called after her as she and her group left, before quickly turning to the Doctor. "Doctor, you've got to help me."

"You've only got yourself to blame."

* * *

I was happily leaning over beside the Doctor, glad he didn't mind my intimate proximity while he was reading, seeing as I simply wanted to read with him. _Though I can't say I'm not happy that a younger Doctor is comfortable enough to let me practically lean on him while we read. I wonder what happened to make Nine and the later Doctors forget about me… Could it be he just forgot? I know Twelve has some memory issues, but I doubt he'd just completely forget me. That makes me sound pompous, doesn't it?_ I thought briefly before my mind returned to its previous line of thought._ Or maybe because of what happened with the war, he just sort of pushed it all to the back of his mind and suppressed everything before it? Then again, I still haven't figured out how the War Doctor forgot everything that happened with the whole 'button pressing to destroy Gallifrey' thing. Eleven said he remembered bits of it though, so maybe it's the same as this?_ My thoughts continued to drift between possibilities, before someone spoke up nearby in a rather loud, scolding tone.

"Hope the dragon gets you in the night." The waitress snapped bitterly at her employer, but her comment dragged up my and Mel's attention.

"Dragon? What dragon?" Mel asked as I shifted away from the Doctor and felt excitement already beginning to race through my veins.

"Ooh, I sense adventure already."

"Heel." The Doctor ordered jokingly, smiling a bit at me as I grinned brightly back.

"It's just a legend." The waitress explained, taking a seat in a nearby empty chair. "There's supposed to be a terrifying dragon living in the ice passages underneath Iceworld."

Mel immediately turned to the Doctor with a knowing look. "I _knew_ there must be a reason why you brought us here. You want to see the dragon, don't you?"

"Without me?" I gaped, grabbing at my heart dramatically. "Doctor, how could you even think of such a thing! I'm shocked! Stunned!"

"An exceedingly overdramatic." He agreed, making me stick my tongue out at him playfully before he looked back at Mel. "And really, Mal. It's fascinating. Travelers claim to have seen it throughout the centuries, but there's never been any proof."

"Like the Lock Ness Monster." She concluded, but the Doctor needed to correct her pronunciation.

"Loch."

"Och."

"You're going to go looking for the dragon?" The waitress questioned in surprise.

"Absolutely." The Doctor quickly responded.

"Of course!" I chimed in as well.

"Oh, cool. Can I come too?" She asked.

"Won't you get into trouble with your boss?"

"Oh, I'm fed up with being a waitress. Oh, go on, Professor. Let me come too." She practically begged, and I smiled at the nickname.

"Professor. I like that. Can I start calling you that? Or how about 'Doc'? Always wanted to call you that."

He made a face. "No. Don't. There are plenty of much better things you can call me than… _Doc_."

I chuckled at the disgusted expression he made before he gave in to the waitress's begging.

"Well, I don't see why not."

"Ace!" She chirped and my grin quickly sank.

_Dear God, she has a catch phrase. That's going to drive me completely mad. Please, _please_, don't say that often._

"And can we search for the treasure too?" She added and that tidbit was swift to capture my attention once more.

"Treasure?" The Doctor and I both chimed in curiously.

"Yeah. The dragon's supposed to be guarding a fabulous treasure."

"Glitz laughed from his table, having apparently overheard. "Treasure? What treasure? You don't want to go believing in myths and legends, Doctor."

"Who asked you? We're not talking to you." Mel scoffed and I nodded in agreement.

"Besides, nearly all myths are based on some sort of fact. You never know with these sorts of things."

"No." Glitz told us. "If you want my opinion, all this talk of treasure and dragons, it's a load of old spacedust."

"Well, if you're so convinced it's all rubbish, why have you been burning holes in this treasure map for two days?" The waitress demanded and I couldn't help but smirk as she walked over and snatched the paper from him, passing it over to us and the Doctor and I quickly spread it out to look it over in curiosity.

"Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating." The Doctor murmured as I nodded.

"Oh yeah. Love this old stuff."

"Looks like something from a jumble sale to me." Mel said as the Doctor flipped it over and back again.

"Oi! There's nothing snide about this document." Glitz insisted and I hummed.

"Well, then again, seeing as it's coming from you, I _do_ doubt its authenticity."

"You don't even know me." He grumbled and I grinned.

"Nope! But I trust the Doctor and his judgement on you."

The Doctor smiled proudly at that and Glitz rolled his eyes as the waitress nodded in agreement.

"You don't want to believe nothing you get from him, Professor. He probably bought two hundred of them in a job lot."

"Anything." I corrected.

"What?"

"'You don't want to believe _anything_ you get from him.'" I hummed and she too, rolled her eyes.

"Do you mind?" Glitz questioned us. "This is the real McCoy, this is. It comes from an unimpeachable source."

"What's that then?" The waitress asked.

"That means it is beyond reproach or question."

"I know what unimpeachable means, bird bath." The waitress scoffed. "But what makes you so certain this map's pedigree is twenty-four carat?"

"Because I acquired it from a man of character and distinction." He said proudly and I raised a brow.

"So, you won it gambling." I concluded and he immediately became sheepish.

"Not gambling, per say. I won it in, uh, a chess match."

"Lies." I chimed and Mel agreed.

"You won it playing cards. Doctor, it's a waste of time. He won it in a _card_ game."

"An honest transaction."

"I'll bet you cheated too." I muttered and he shot me a glare.

"The man was desperate not to lose this map, so I know it's something very, very tasty."

I lifted up an edge of the paper. "Doesn't look tasty to me. I've seen hairdos that look more delicious than this."

"It's a figure of speech." He grumbled, but the Doctor did point out one thing in his favor.

"It shows the lower levels of Iceworld."

"No one goes down there anymore." The waitress mused. "Too dangerous."

"The Ice Garden, the Singing Trees." The Doctor went on and I looked at where he was pointing with a small smile.

"Ooh, I'd love to see that. Wonder what makes them sing?"

He nodded in agreement, glad he was convincing me, at least, to look into the treasure map.

"But like the girl says, Doctor, it's too dangerous." Glitz pressed.

"Where's your sense of adventure, Glitz?"

"Yeah!" I agreed and he pointed at me.

"But you sounded like you were against it!"

"No, I doubted the credibility of the map, doesn't mean I wouldn't like to look into it." I corrected with an innocent smile. "Besides, it sounds fun, don't you think?"

"What? D-Do you want to go here? The Lake of Oblivion?"

"Where?" The Doctor questioned as we both looked closer.

"Depth of Eternal Darkness? Dragonfire? I should stop at home, if I were you, Doctor."

"Are you kidding? This sounds great!" I said, excitedly. "I would love to do a bit of repelling into the Depth of Eternal Darkness. See the bottom of a chasm no one's seen yet. Or better yet, see what this Dragonfire is. Is it a plant that gives off flames? A rock in the shape of a dragon that breathes a steady stream of misty ice that burns like fire? Oh, Doctor, you can count me in."

The Doctor grinned at that. "Anybody else?"

"Cor, this sounds brill!" The waitress agreed.

"My sentiments precisely. What's your name, incidentally?"

"Everyone calls me Ace."

"Oh, how do you do." The Doctor lifted his hat and shook her hand. "I'm the Doctor and this is my friend Mel and my longtime companion Alex."

I wiggled my fingers in a wave with a grin as she too, looked excited.

"And we're really going to go looking for dragons?"

"Too risky if you ask me." Glitz complained and the Doctor pressed the issue.

"Nonsense, Glitz. Time for a quick adventure then back for tea."

"Ace!" Ace cheered.

"That's the spirit, Doctor." Mel agreed, surprisingly, seeing as she'd been pretty against going as well.

I snatched up the map then, knowing Glitz would undoubtedly try to stop us otherwise and he frowned immediately.

"Hang about. You can't go without me. That's my map. And I don't want these girls coming along either."

"What?" Ace complained and I quickly bristled.

"It's too dangerous."

"Professor!"

"And since it's my map—"

Glitz didn't get to finish before Ace cut him off.

"Right, you male chauvinist bilge bag. Just you wait." She snapped, before storming off.

"Oh, nice."

"And I was so looking forward to meeting a dragon." The Doctor pouted and I was two seconds away from getting angry at Glitz for what he said, but Mel spoke up.

"Oh, it's alright, Doctor. You go on ahead. Alex and I will wait here. And if Glitz burns his fingers in the dragon's fire, then it serves him right."

"Oh, hold on now. I'm not leaving." I said with a frown, turning a glare on Glitz. "I'd like to see you try and stop me."

"I'm sure that can be arranged." Glitz said with a smirk, but the Doctor looked a bit nervous.

"Ah, actually, Glitz. I really wouldn't do that. See, Alex has a-a thing about feminism and equality and happens to be skilled in a number of—" He cut himself off, seeing that he wasn't getting through to Glitz and groaned. "Ah, yes. Right. Could you attempt not to cause too much damage then, Alex?"

"I'll try." I grumbled and the moment Glitz grabbed a hold of my wrist, I smirked.

All it took was a step. One step in, a swivel, and next thing he knew, Glitz was lying on the ground and I was looking down at him with a raised brow.

"Anything else? Because I can handle myself and if you think differently, then I'm more than willing to tie you up here and the Doctor and I can find this dragon ourselves. Got it?"

It took a minute for the words to sink in before he nodded and I smiled innocently.

"Good! Now then, shall we go?"

I turned and left him there; leaving the Doctor to help him up and the two of them trail after me as we left the restaurant.

* * *

"Have you seen any Singing Trees or Ice Gardens, Glitz? Alex?"

"Nope." Alex pouted as they walked along the paths ahead of them. "Nothing but ice walls and metal floors."

"We're still too close to the upper levels, Doctor." Glitz said as he shuffled with the map. "Let's cast me eyes over the map."

"Well, since we've come from that direction…" The Doctor pointed with his umbrella one way. "…I think we should go in _that_ direction." He then swiveled it around to the opposite direction as Glitz dropped his map and bent to retrieve it. "Then again…" He turned, narrowly missing Glitz with his umbrella as he pointed in a third possible direction. "…perhaps that direction."

Alex smiled in amusement, rather liking the Doctor she'd ended up with as he came to a decision.

"Yes. And keep your eyes peeled for any Singing Trees or Ice Gardens, Glitz, Alex."

"Will do!" Alex happily chirped.

It took them a while of searching and wandering, but they soon stumbled upon a cavern of ice that trailed up to the ceiling of the cave like branches; stalactites hanging down to form canopies of ice that seemed to sing even without a strong breeze.

"Wow, it's amazing…" Alex breathed out, looking around in awe as the Doctor came to the inevitable conclusion.

"Singing Trees."

"But these aren't trees." Glitz replied and Alex rolled her eyes, leaning towards a stalagmite poking up from the ground.

"Use your imagination, Glitz. Willow trees, something like that."

"Well, where's the singing coming from?"

"Air currents." Alex piped in, still looking at the ice before her. "Like playing a sax where your breath causes the reed to vibrate and make sound. It's the same but with ice."

The Doctor nodded as Glitz picked up a fallen icicle.

"I bet this is worth a few grotzits."

"Do you only ever this about profits?" Alex complained, leaning back around to look at the ice from another angle.

The Doctor though, took the icicle from Glitz and narrowed his eyes. "Yes, what's it do?"

"Do?"

"Yes. Some sort of opto-electric circuit. But why? I mean, what's it doing here?"

"You mean someone made all this? Dragons?" Glitz asked, laughing nervously and attempting to head back the way they came.

"Possibly. Come on, Glitz. Tempus fugit. I want to be back in time for tea." The Doctor chirped, not even turning around as he started to walk off; hooking his umbrella's handle around Glitz's arm to tug him along as well. "And Alex, _please _don't lick that. You don't know where it's been and I'd rather not have to scrape your tongue off of it."

Alex froze, tongue sticking out and a few inches from the icicle she'd been eyeing, eyes slowly shifting towards the Doctor and starting to lean in again.

"_Alex._"

She wrinkled her nose, but obliged; pulling her tongue in and trotting back up over towards him and an amused looking Glitz. "I was just wondering if it was actual ice or something else. You lick things all the time."

The Doctor looked offended. "I do not!"

"Do so." She grumbled. "Future you does. He always says he's analyzing it. Licked a door once. In front of the Queen, even."

The Doctor made a face. "I'll remember not to. It's most definitely not sanitary."

Alex snorted. "Good luck with that."

The trio moved along and while Glitz followed the map, the Doctor sort of just wandered in a vague direction along with Alex; who wandered in her own vague direction. They reached a slippery corridor and Glitz and Alex spotted some vines with ice flowers on it; heading that way. The Doctor, though, didn't notice until they'd already wandered off and he went to point them in the direction of another route, only to find them gone.

"Glitz? Alex?"

There was no response and he sighed quietly to himself before heading his way. He ended up on the path along the side of a glacier. He looked over the railing and spotted a lower path, but no actual way to get down to it. So, he decided to take a risk and hooked his umbrella over the railing before climbing over it himself. It took some doing, but soon he was dangling over the side of the path. Problem was, he discovered that he couldn't quite get his footing on the slick ice. He struggled for a moment, trying to figure out a way to even get back up onto the path, but once he grabbed a hold of his umbrella, he slowly slid down the smooth cloth and hoped he could hang on until Alex or Glitz noticed he wasn't still there behind them.

_Alex! Alex! I could use a bit of help, if you please!_ He called out in his mind, hoping she'd caught it, but worried that she hadn't. He knew she was psychic and could speak well enough in his mind, but the other way around was still a mystery to him. She herself, still proved to be rather mysterious. He had dozens of questions for her that he never really got straight answers for. He knew she was close to him though; her actions proving that already with how friendly she acted towards him. And she'd already helped him and his companions numerous times before, so he didn't mind her hanging about. He believed her to be a good friend, someone he could talk to openly if something was bothering him and her age and experience—being a Time Lord of her own, apparently—proved to be valuable many a times.

He couldn't help but worry about her though. The scars he'd seen on her concerned him, as did the haunted and icy looks she got in her eyes sometimes. She'd been through a lot in her years and when he'd first met another one of her other regenerations, he wondered what had happened to cause it and why his future self hadn't attempted to prevent it. He enjoyed her company though and had thought more than once of potentially courting her, but thought better of it later with her popping about and his lack of information about her. He couldn't help but be curious about her though. Despite how dangerous he knew she was.

"Well, hello, handsome." Her smooth voice chimed from the railing above him. "How's it hangin'?"

Glitz sauntered up beside her, also grinning down at the Doctor. "It's no use, Doctor. We've located the Ice Garden, but there's a distinct absence of dragon or treasure."

"Glitz, I sympathize with your disappointment, but I'm about to plummet to my death!" The Doctor replied shortly.

"Oh, I suppose you want me to risk my neck and come help you."

"I don't know, I rather like this view of you, Doctor." Alex hummed, looking greatly amused by the Doctor's predicament.

"Glitz! Alex!"

"Alright, alright. Don't get your delicates in a twist." Glitz complained, before holding out an arm to Alex. "After you."

"Chicken."

Alex easily hopped over the railing and began skillfully climbing down the ice face, winking at the Doctor as she went past him and landed nicely on the small path below.

"Alright, Glitz! Your turn! Doctor, go ahead and slide down to the end of your umbrella and use my shoulders to get down!"

"Yes, yes!"

The Doctor slide down and stepped onto Alex's shoulders, her grabbing his leg and helping him only for the Doctor to slip and slide over her back. She held on, complaining as Glitz clambered down to the path behind her and she struggled to get the Doctor onto the snow at her feet.

"Why'd you make this difficult?! If you had just brought your other leg forward instead of over my shoulder, you wouldn't have ended up like this!"

The Doctor's head poked out from between her legs as she grabbed his arm and pulled him through them and up off the snowy ground.

"A-Apologies. This body of mine in a bit of a klutz."

She snorted. "That's an understatement."

She pat the snow off his shoulders and back as he picked up his hat and plopped it back onto his head.

"I say, thank you." He said and she nodded in appreciation before Glitz headed over.

"It's no use, Doctor. Even if we did find the treasure, it'd take us longer than seventy-two hours, and Belazs said if I didn't return Kane's money within seventy-two hours they'd confiscate my spacecraft."

"Why don't you explain the problem to him?"

"Oh, right, Doctor." Alex snorted. "I lost your money gambling and can't find the treasure of a mythical dragon to pay you back. My bad."

Glitz agreed. "She's right, Doctor. And He'd slice his own mother up to make a point. If he was a mortician, the corpses would keep their eyes open."

"Ah." The Doctor hummed in understanding.

"In fact, if Kane knew we were after the dragon's treasure, your life expectancy wouldn't be looking too clever at the moment. He's a cold man, Doctor. Cut him open and you won't find a heart. Just a lump of ice."

"You're cold as ice.~" Alex sang, making the Doctor shake his head in amusement before he spoke.

"These types never have any sense of fair play."

"Exactly. Which is why I've come to the conclusion that play it by the rules is a mug's game. I have decided to hijack the Nosferatu. Which is where you come in, Doctor, Alex."

"Ah, hang on there a minute, Glitz. I'm engaged in a project of scientific curiosity. I mean, that dragon, or whatever it may turn out to be, could be an undiscovered species."

"And I could care less about your money problems. I'm in it for the dragon too." Alex mused.

"Look, I'll do you a good deal. You help me get the Nosferatu back, and I'll give you the treasure map so's you two and Mel can go looking for this dragon. I can't say fairer than that, can I?"

"You have me there, Glitz. Without the map, I'll never find the creature."

_How's having a map going to help you find a creature?_ Alex thought curiously, but shrugged in willingness to follow the two around.

"You're a man of insight and logic, Doctor." Glitz complimented, handing him the map.

"Alright then. Where's the Nosferatu berthed?"

"In the lower docking bay."

"Let's head 'em out then." Alex said, grunting as she stretched her arms up above her head. "Is it anywhere near that market or restaurant? I'm starving."

"I'm sure we can grab something on the way, Alex." The Doctor chirped, happily looping his arm through hers as they walked; earning a surprised look and then a grin that he couldn't help but feel pleased about.

"I'll hold you up to that."

* * *

The three of us hurried to the lower docking bay, pulling up behind a corner as Glitz looked out and turned back to us both.

"There's only one guard. Do you think you can occupy him while I slip on board?"

"And by occupy, you mean—" I was cut off as the Doctor gave me a scolding look.

"No violence. I'll take care of things here and if it doesn't work out, _then_ you can knock him out."

"Take the fun out of everything." I grumbled under my breath and Glitz nodded.

"Go on then. Away you go."

The Doctor wandered up to the guard with me following in his wake; hands in my pockets.

"Excuse me." The Doctor started, attempting to get the man's attention. "What's your attitude towards the nature of existence? For example, do you hold any strong theological opinions?"

_Dear God, this will never work._ I thought, but surprisingly, the guard blinked.

"I think you'll find most educated people regard mythical convictions as fundamentally animistic." He replied and my mouth dropped open in shock.

Even the Doctor looked surprised.

"I see. That's a very interesting concept."

"Personally, I find most experiences border on the existential."

"Well, how do you reconcile that with the empirical critical belief that experience is at the root of all phenomena?" The Doctor and guard continued as I just listened in disbelief.

"I think you'll find that a concept can be philosophically valid even if theologically meaningless."

"So, what you're saying is that before Plato existed, someone had to have the idea of Plato."

"Oh, you've no idea what a relief it is for me to have such a stimulating philosophical discussion. There are so few intellectuals about these days. Tell me, what do you think of the assertion that the semiotic thickness of a performed text varies according to the redundancy of auxiliary performance codes?"

"Yes." The Doctor said and I realized now that he was a bit stuck talking to the man who probably hadn't anyone to talk to in ages. _"Alex? A bit of help?"_

I snorted. _Yeah, no. You didn't want to knock him out, so you get to deal with the consequences, mister. I'll settle for watching, thanks._ I mused, smiling innocently as he shot a dirty look in my direction.

"_Fine. Next time, we'll do things your way. Now _please_ assist in getting me out of this mess."_

_Hm, I don't know._

"_Alex!"_

_How about this. You take me out for a nice dinner and desert, and I'll help you._ I couldn't help but internally chuckle as the Doctor's eyes widened and a blush went over his cheeks.

"_Y-You're married!"_

_And my husband's been a bit neglectful lately. He won't mind, trust me. And I never said it had to be a date. Just two good friends enjoying some time together. _Or_ I could leave you in the clutches of your new philosophical friend._

He grimaced, before sighing softly. _"Very well. Dinner it is."_

I smiled brightly, glad I was getting a date out of my future husband, and bounced over to the guard and gestured over to a corridor. "What's that over there?"

"Hm?" He turned and I easily clonked him over the head; knocking him out with an amused look.

"I'm surprised he fell for that one. Intellectual my as—"

A hand covered my mouth and I raised a brow at the Doctor.

"Language, _please_." He chided me and I closed my eyes in a smile as he removed his hand and turned to head after Glitz.

"Ass." I finished, making him turn back in annoyance as I bounced happily past him, only to discover Glitz being held at gunpoint by the soldier woman from before. "Oh, dear."

"Hello." The Doctor chimed, also looking between the two in slight concern. "We're not interrupting anything, are we?"

"What are you doing here?" The woman questioned.

"That's a very difficult question. Why is everyone round here so preoccupied with metaphysics?" He complained, though Glitz gave him a look.

"I think she's going to kill us, Doctor."

"Ah. An existentialist. He concluded in some round about manner that made me roll his eyes.

"Quiet! Only one of us can leave Iceworld aboard the Nosferatu, and one way or the other, it's going to be me."

I raised a hand. "Um, quick question? Why can only one of you go? There _is_ more than one seat. Why not join forces until the next docking area where one of you can grab a new ship?"

They both scowled at me. **"I'm not traveling with her/him!"**

I held my hands up in surrender. "Alright. Forget I asked."

_Although, I honestly think they'd make a good couple if they got over their differences, but who am I to say?_ I mused before glitz brought up another point.

"What about the boss, Mr. Kane? Does he know of your little enterprise?"

"Kane doesn't own me." She snapped, but the Doctor cut in then.

"Oh, I think he does. I think he bought you like he buys everything in Iceworld."

"What would you know about it?" She questioned.

"I think he bought you a long time ago. He paid seventeen crowns for each of Glitz's crew. How much did he pay for you? Was it worth it? Were _you_ worth it?"

I smacked the Doctor with an un-amused frown, but she paid me no mind as she showed us her burnt palm.

"That's what I sold myself for, Kane's mark. I ought to cut my hand off for doing it."

Glitz grabbed her gun while she was distracted and aimed it at her.

"Go on, then. Kill me." She demanded.

"Oh, come on, Doctor. We've got the Nosferatu back. Let's get out of here." Glitz said, but the Doctor disagreed.

"No, Glitz. You can't go on stealing everything you want, like this Stradivarius and that Dutch master. Pay Kane back his debt, even if it costs a thousand crowns, ten thousand crowns. Pay back the debt. And as for you, your debt to Kane, I don't think you'll be able to pay it off. Ever."

"Well, aren't you Mr. Positive?" I drawled, shoving him away from her. "Look. If you want out of this Kane fellow's grasp, then all you have to do is fight your way out. Not _physically_, per say, but just… metaphorically. Some stupid mark isn't a set of handcuffs tying you to him. What's he going to do to stop you from leaving if you have the means of doing so? The only thing is, don't go escaping in a manner that makes you no better than him, or else you'll just end up right back here where you started. Okay? Make a living for yourself, but do it the right way. Leave here, get a job, earn your own money and do whatever you want with it without him hovering over you. _That's_ what it means to escape. Not just leaving the planet where he is, but changing yourself into something better. Yeah?"

She didn't any anything, but I hoped I had gotten through to her and rubbed the back of my neck at Glitz's expression after my words; cheeks tinted lightly in embarrassment.

"Now, uh, I do believe we've got someplace we need to be, is anyone's still willing."

The Doctor smiled at me, making me even more embarrassed as he turned to Glitz. "You heard her, Glitz. Come on."

He nodded, pressing something on the controls and giving the soldier woman a look. "I've locked the controls, so there's no leaving in _my_ ship. You heard the woman. Find your own way."

_That's not exactly what I meant, but oh well._ I mentally sighed, before we all left the Nosferatu and headed back out in search of the dragon and treasure once more. The Doctor led the way this time, map at the ready, and we hefted open an old steel door as he took a glance at it again.

"I think we go straight on." He said before there was a distant sound that echoed off the walls; sounding vaguely like a roar. "Either that, or we don't."

We crept slowly out of the doorway and cautiously hugged the wall before something shot at us and we dove back through the door and closed it.

"Well, now that we've found the Dragonfire, what's next on your list of tourist attractions, Doctor?" Glitz questioned us accusingly.

"Well, I'm not absolutely certain this one's over yet!" The Doctor called out, dashing away from the steel door to see that the dragon on the other side was cutting through it. "It must be generating a spot temperature in excess of fifteen hundred Celsius." He gasped in surprise, batting at the sparks with his hat and moving us further away, and I stared in shock at the half-foot thick steel door being cut through like butter.

It only took it a few moments to cut through and knock the door down and Glitz tried to push us behind him.

"Get back, you two." He said, raising his gun, but I grabbed it and threw it over the side of the railing. "What'd you go and do that for?!"

"I don't like guns and we're not trying to hurt it! We want to communicate with it! It was probably only shooting at us because you had the gun anyway. It felt threatened!"

The dragon turned away then, surprising us as it walked away.

"Why didn't it kill us?" Glitz asked and I huffed.

"Like I said, it felt threatened. Now that we have no weapons to hurt it, it probably decided to leave us be."

"You're getting feelings off it then?" The Doctor questioned and I shook my head.

"Surprisingly, no. Or, well, it's complicated." I muttered, pulling a hand through my hair. "I'm not really getting anything from it other than the vague sense that it's attempting to protect something."

"Hm, interesting. The treasure, perhaps?" He mused idly, before waving a hand at me. "Never mind that. Let's head on after it."

We ducked back through the door it had come from and ran off in what direction we believed it to have gone, skidding back into that slippery hallway from before only to spot two familiar faces.

"Ah, Mel, you've brought my umbrella!" The Doctor chimed happily, hurrying over to his companion's side and taking it from her.

"Oh, Doctor."

"Professor!" Ace chirped happily, before dropping her smile. "Bilge bag."

"What's that?"

I made a face. "Oh, no 'hello' to me then?"

"Sorry." Ace apologized, ignoring Glitz. "Hello, um Alex, yeah?"

I nodded, a smile returning. "That's me!"

"Now, now, we're trying to undergo a serious scientific undertaking!" The Doctor interrupted.

"Do you mean the dragon?"

"Well, it's not so much a dragon as more of a semi-organic vertebrate with a highly developed cerebral cortex." The Doctor piped up.

"One that might be less creature and more mechanical." I added on. "I get almost nothing as far as emotions go. That usually doesn't happen unless it's an android or robot of some kind. Biomechanical, maybe?"

"And it's got laser beams in its eyes!" Ace called out, Mel chiming in an agreement.

"Yes."

"Really? Well, I wonder what you did to annoy it." The Doctor accused.

"It just came at us, Professor. No warning."

"Really. Well, let's see what this vertebrate with laser beams has got to say for itself. Shall we?" We stepped forward to go find it, up a rather tall man stood in front of us and dragged us to a halt. I stiffened, not liking the blank, emptiness I felt from the man as I lightly tugged Ace and Mel back a step.

"Hello. Where might you have popped up from then?" The Doctor questioned as I tugged him back as well.

"I'm not feeling _anything_ from him, Doctor."

"He's been sent by Kane, Doctor, Alex." Mel told us.

"He's got masses of them frozen in his deep freeze." Ace said in concern.

"**Cryogenesis?"** The Doctor and I both questioned, glancing at one another with small smiles.

"Hang about. I'd recognize that mutinous expression anywhere." Glitz mused.

"Friend of yours, is he?"

I raised a brow. "Um, didn't you say you sold your crew to Kane?"

"Yeah. He's one of 'em." Glitz muttered, before plastering on a smile. "Pudovkin, old son, you've no idea how pleased I am to see you again."

"Yeah, we better go, Glitz." I said, keeping an eye on Pudovkin.

The Doctor nodded. "It's no good, Glitz. Ace says he's been cryogenically frozen. Deep cryogenics freezes the neural pathways. It's completely impossible for him to recall any events prior to cryogenesis." The Doctor pressed as Glitz attempted to get the man to remember him.

Problem was, I'd read up on cryogenesis, and the Doctor was right about the remembering bit, up to a point. One that made itself clear in a second.

"I remember…" Pudovkin grumbled as I winced, quoting what I'd read.

"'Except in cases over overwhelming hatred or anger.'"

"I remember how you always had the best of our pickings." Pudovkin snarled.

"I-I don't recall."

"I remember. I remember how you sold our entire crew to Kane to be frozen as mercenaries.

"Oh, now, come on, old son. Don't go jumping to conclusions."

"I thought he was a friend of yours." Ace muttered as Pudovkin lifted up a gun.

"More of an acquaintance, actually."

I went to say something, but felt a presence at the back of my mind and turned to see the dragon behind us. It took me a split second to realize what it was going to do and I grabbed the group and shoved everyone's heads down.

"Duck!"

The dragon shot Pudovkin and I glanced briefly at the downed man with a soft sigh before giving the dragon a small smile.

"Thanks for that."

The Doctor too, raised his hat to the creature, who copied the action. "We don't mean you any harm. Do you understand?"

"It's friendly…" Mel said in surprise as the creature moved past us.

I felt eh Doctor grab my hand tightly in concern, but I gave him a small squeeze back and smiled.

"Don't worry so much. He's harmless unless you're armed."

"Are you quite certain?" He breathed out as the creature moved towards the gardens.

"No, it's just a feeling I get, but I'm a pretty good judge of character. I'm not getting much from him mentally, but he's protecting something, not actively going out of his way to kill people. I'm willing to give him a shot."

"Well, if you think so."

I grinned, patting his back. "Trust me."

* * *

The Doctor followed after the dragon with the others, keeping an eye on the back of Alex's head or glancing at his hand. He'd felt strange after she'd comforted him earlier about the dragon. Perhaps it was the fact that his role of protecting others had been given to her in that moment, or maybe it was how easily he chose to trust her when she asked. He hadn't known when it had happened. He'd thought he was still dubious of her actions. He barely knew her, after all. Even now, there wasn't much he could tell anyone about her other than her being a friend of his who knew more about him than he, her. That fact, in and of itself, should have been a big reason for him to not trust her but again, she'd proven to be more than useful and a definite ally in his troubles as opposed to some other people he'd met. but when had he been able to admit that he'd trusted her?

_Not till now._ He supposed, looking away from his cold hand and back to Alex, who chatted happily away with the dragon despite it's not answering her. She'd saved his life before, but she'd also stood back and watched his and other lives end. Her actions had contradictions that he usually wasn't too comfortable with and he understood that she couldn't change the future, but there were times that he wondered if she felt guilty about her actions. She never showed it, from what he saw. _Then again, how much _do_ I see? She's lived for near seven hundred years and sometimes the look in her eyes shows that. She's been through a lot. That much is obvious. But return her trust in me? The trust that she seems to have had since the very beginning? I'm not her Doctor, and yet she gives me the same trust and respect she gives him; future me or not._ His brows furrowed. _Without knowing how she truly is, can I really trust her?... I can… for now, anyway. I'll have to speak with her later about herself though. It's about time I learned more about who she is._

The group entered the Singing Trees then and everyone looked around in stunned shock as the tunes played out around them. Even now, Alex continued to look awed despite having been there not too long ago.

"This is beautiful, Doctor." Mel murmured.

"I can hear singing. Where's it coming from, Professor?" Ace questioned, but the Doctor gestured to the dragon who was attempting to get their attention.

"I think he wants us to watch."

The dragon began firing short lasers at one of the ice crystals and a hologram appeared.

"Ah, so that's what this is all about. A polydimensional scanning imager." The Doctor explained after Ace questioned what the dragon was doing. "And I be the creature's using itself as the energy source."

The hologram went on to explain the circumstances behind Kane's arrival on Svartos and his past crimes as a part of a gang that caused him to end up in that area.

"Well, that explains about Kane, but where does the creature come from?" Mel questioned once the hologram had gone.

"And what about the fabulous treasure? Is this it?" Glitz asked.

"Oh, no, no. We might be deep beneath Iceworld, but Kane could find his way here easily enough. No, the treasure's got to be somewhere else. Somewhere beyond Kane's reach... What does he fear most?"

"Heat." Ace responded, one of the few in the group that would know. "It'll kill him."

"Precisely. And what better way of protecting the real treasure than to leave a fire-breathing dragon to guard it?" The Doctor concluded. "What better protection than if the dragon _is_ the treasure."

"The creature? The treasure?" Mel questioned and Alex nodded.

"I told you. I can't feel much emotion off it. So it's mechanical in some way. Probably so that it has the capability to house the treasure inside of itself."

"Are we right?" The Doctor asked the creature. "Are you the one that everyone's looking for, treasure?"

The dragon's head opened up, surprisingly, revealing a sparking crystal that appeared among it's circuits.

"It must be worth a fortune." Glitz gasped out.

"No, look past the gold and the gemstone, Glitz." The Doctor told him. "Look at the fire inside. A source of intense optical energy. Look at it through Kane's eyes. See it as an evil mind would see it. With that much power, he could accomplish just about anything."

"He could leave." Alex murmured. "Leave this prison and go off and ruin who knows how many other lives."

Glitz wasn't listening though. "I'm beginning to feel a rather cozy warm sensation in my money pouch." He smirked and Ace leaned towards him threateningly.

"Lay one finger on the dragon, bilge bag, and I'll rivet your kneecaps together."

"We've got to stop Kane from finding the creature." Mel said and Alex nodded.

"Or protect it if he already knows about it."

"You think he does?" The Doctor asked and Alex shrugged.

"He's building an army of cryogenic people, isn't he? He must have some clue."

The Doctor frowned. "Yes, good point. It is possible he knows already… There's something not right. Can't put my finger on it. Proamon. Proamon." He muttered, making Alex furrow her brows as well. "Can you think of it, Alex?"

She shook her head. "The name's familiar, but I've looks over enough star charts full of names to lose track of dozens of them."

"Well, the hologram said that Proamon was Kane's home planet." Mel pointed out.

"Yes, but where have I heard of it before? I mean, where was it? Was it in the past? Or is it in the future?"

Alex growled in frustration, messing up her hair. "Ugh, I've jumped around so often, I wouldn't have the slightest idea either, even if I _did_ know the planet. I can't even keep track of what time I end up in most of the time."

"Is any of this important, Doctor?" Glitz questioned.

"Is a grain of sand important, Glitz?" The Doctor snapped, before a wave of comfort went over him from Alex and calmed him down slightly. "I must go back and consult my star charts on the Tardis."

"Your spacecraft?" Ace questioned, excited. "Brill!"

"But there isn't time, Doctor." Mel argued, making Ace complain as the Doctors pulled out the map.

"Donuts!"

"No need to perambulate back to Iceworld, Doctor. These passages have their own star charts." Glitz said, catching the Doctor's attention. "The Ice Garden. Alex and I found it, remember?"

"A primitive star chart. Missing constellations, orbital calculations, I imagine. Ah yes, I would like to see this."

"Ice garden?" Ace said, getting eager once more, but the Doctor moved towards the dragon and waved her off.

"Ah, you stay here. I shan't be long."

"The Doctor's right. You three stay here until the Doctor and I get back."

Alex bristled as Ace snapped at him.

"Bilge bag."

"Now, now, now, now, now." The Doctor chided, waving at Glitz. "You stay here with them. They can look after you so you don't get into any trouble, Glitz."

"Do what? Behave, Doctor."

"Don't argue!" The Doctor scolded him, having gotten a bit annoyed with the man's constant bickering with everyone. "The three of you are safer together."

"Three?" He questioned and the Doctor nodded.

"Yes, Alex will come with me to keep _me_ out of trouble. Lord knows she does it best." H complained slightly, but Alex smiled in amusement as Mel rolled her eyes.

"No kidding." She muttered, before the Doctor trailed after the dragon and Alex waved her farewell to the group as she went off with them as well.

* * *

"They always mark north and south on these things, never backwards and forwards." The Doctor complained, looking around the hallway we were in in confusion as he struggled with the map directions and I rolled my eyes.

"That's because they don't know which way you're going or coming from." I informed him, taking the map from him and flipping it right-side up. "You were holding it upside-down to begin with."

He pouted before catching sight of the dragon gesturing down the hall. "Tell you what. You seem to know where you're going. Why don't we just trust to your sense of direction?"

The Doctor handed the creature the map and I snorted in amusement, giving the Doctor a fond pat on the shoulder as we trailed after the creature once more. The Doctor spoke up again as we walked though, surprising me.

"Alex, there's some things I want to talk to you about."

I raised a brow at him, hands tucked away in my warm pockets. "I'll tell you what I can, but nothing about you or your future."

"Yes, yes. I know. Which was why I wanted to ask about you, if I may." He said cautiously and my brows furrowed.

"Me? What for? You'll learn about me eventually."

"Well, yes, however you know myself better than I know you. Building trust would be easier if we were on semi-even ground."

_Trust… I did ask him to trust me, didn't I? _I thought with a mental wince. _God, this could get me into a pickle._

"Alright. Fire away." I hummed, pretending to not care though inside I was struggling to hide the fear of what he'd ask.

"What's your favorite color?"

I turned to him in stunned confusion. "W-What?"

"Your favorite color." He repeated. "I tend to lean towards a nice reddish orange."

_Like Gallifrey._ My mind supplied, though I was still a bit confused by the surprisingly not-so-intimate question.

"Um, well, I like the color grey."

"Grey? Hm."

I flushed a bit, embarrassed. "Yeah, I know. Not very interesting, but it's neither black nor white. It's in the middle, you know? Metaphorically speaking, anyway."

"Ah." He mused, before asking his next question. "What happened to your family?"

_God, right for the jugular with that one._ I grimaced. "They're… fine. But I can't see them anymore." I responded truthfully. "It's physically impossible, even for you."_ So don't ask, please…_

He gave me an empathetic look and cleared his throat. "How old were you when you first joined me?"

I furrowed my brows in thought. "That's a tough one… I believe I was… twenty-five?"

He turned to me in shock. "You were so young?"

"Yeah, tell me about it." I snorted. "You used to scold me all the time, saying I didn't know anything back then. I suppose you were a little right though, but I could have done with a bit less yelling."

"Me?" He said in surprise and I shrugged half-heartedly.

"Some of your other regenerations don't care for me too much. With your younger selves, I can deal with it better, since I don't know anything about these adventures of yours." My expression saddened. "But I know far more than you think, Doctor. Especially about future adventures. And at times, that brought a sharp wedge between us. If companions got involved, if Daleks showed up…" I trailed off briefly. "I can't tell you the future and you tended to not like that fact when there were lives at stake. I did what I could to help everyone, but sometimes I was just too late and you would be so upset… Not at me, but at the situation. I understood that. And I allowed you to take out your anger on me. I was your soundboard and… it hurt, of course. The shouting, the threats, the words. But you know what?" I turned to his solemn expression and grinned. "I knew, deep down, you cared. In the past, in the future, I always had a Doctor I could count on. It was just a little hard to remind you sometimes that I was there to help, not hinder."

"I'm sorry." He apologized and I waved him off.

"Don't. It's not your fault. Your future selves caused the problems and I took care of them eventually. So don't go apologizing for something that hasn't happened yet. Believe me, your later selves apologize for past events often enough to cover it. Just keep being the Doctor and don't worry so much about me."

"Not worry about you?" He said in slight annoyance, which surprised me. "I will _always_ worry about you, Alexander."

Him saying my full name this early in his life sent a shiver down my spine, making me swallow thickly before forcing myself to tear my eyes off him and mutter a soft 'thanks' over my shoulder as we finally reached the Ice Gardens.

"Silver bells and cockle shells, and ice gardens all in a row." The Doctor hummed, looking around the room with me before turning his attention to the star chart in one of the walls nearby. "Extraordinary. This must be a solar system. There's a large red star with small orbiting planets. Constellations, yes, but that one's too high up. They're all slightly out of position. This star chart's no use any more. How long have you been on this planet? Two thousand years? Longer?" The Doctor questioned the dragon, who made no outward response.

"Poor thing." I murmured. "Must've been lonely… well, if it can feel lonely. It's only partially organic, yeah?"

The Doctor nodded. "Biomechanical organism. Robot in the fact that it follows orders and lives to carry them out. It probably only feels the most basic of emotions and even then, only those pertaining to its purpose."

"Shame."

The Doctor looked over the chart some more, before the dragon turned and started to leave.

"Oh, you want to be leaving." The Doctor commented with a hum as we headed off after it.

The creature let out a blast as we left the ice garden and the Doctor bolted past him and down the slippery corridor. I hesitated though and realized a moment too late that, but not following the Doctor, I was now stuck with the dragon being chased by two people with guns. _Just what I've always wanted._ I thought sarcastically.

* * *

"Alex, are you al—" The Doctor trailed off upon looking behind him and groaned. "Vanished. Goodness, I wish she'd at least give me a little warning."

It wouldn't have been the first time she'd wandered off and he wasn't new to the concept of her going off on her own. She typically took care of herself rather well, so he wasn't too worried other than the fact that her opponents had guns and she, herself, was unarmed. He tried to convince himself not to worry, but—as he'd told her a few moments before—he would _always_ worry, and couldn't help but look over his shoulder and consider going after her for a split second. He decided against it though, knowing that Ace and Mel were probably still waiting. He wasn't sure about Glitz—the man was flightier than a bird, sometimes—and, sure enough, said man was missing when he returned to the Singing Trees.

"Where's Glitz?" He questioned, unable to help the annoyed tone of voice.

"He's gone back to his spacecraft." Mal informed him and he scowled.

"We've got to hurry. We might be able to stop Kane and save the creature."

* * *

"Oi, are you sure about this?" I whispered to the dragon who wanted to creep up towards where the two soldiers were. "Just don't kill anyone, yeah?"

It seemed to nod at me and I let out a soft sigh of relief as it came out from behind a pillar and approached the two from behind. I noticed a little girl then, dressed in blue, standing before the confused soldiers, and once the dragon had injured one of the dangerous, gun-wielding people, it approached the girl; who smiled. I came out from behind the dragon and tilted my head at the girl.

"Well, hello there. What's your name?"

"Stellar." She said with a shy bow of her head.

I smiled, unable to help the quick softening of my heart as I knelt down to her level. "Well, then, Stellar. Where's your mum? It can get a bit dangerous down here all on your own."

She shrugged and I sighed quietly. _As cute as she is, taking her with us could prove dangerous for us all. We can't just leave her though._

"Tell you what, Stellar. Would you like a piggy-back ride?"

Her eyes lit up and she nodded, holding out her arms to me as I picked her up and placed her on my shoulders.

"Now, we'll help you look for your mum, but if I need to put you down and tell you to run, you have to promise me that you'll go somewhere safe, okay?"

"Okay." She chirped, clinging to my head as she looked all around.

"Where did you see your mum last?" I asked.

"In the shopping center." She hummed and I gave the dragon a look.

"Think you can lead us back there? It's probably safer there than it is to stick with us while Kane it on the lookout for you."

The dragon nodded and led the way. We soon deposited the girl in that area, her waving goodbye before bouncing off to find her mother as we turned and went back to the underground.

"I hope you have a plan, big fella." I muttered, uncertainly. "The way I see it, we're just biding our time until the Doctor finds a way to stop Kane. And if we're lucky, we won't get killed in the process."

* * *

"Where is everyone?" The Doctor questioned, looking around the shopping center in confusion. "Must be half day closing. I don't think we've got much time."

"What are we doing here?" Ace asked instead. "I thought we were going to see your spacecraft."

"This _is_ our spacecraft." Mel said, gesturing to the Tardis.

"I'm not stupid." Ace scoffed.

"Just come on." Mel said, heading in as Ace followed.

"Squeeze up then." Ace said, expecting the ship to be just as small inside as it was outside. "Hang about. Hey, how'd you do that then?" She exclaimed as the Doctor looked at his scanned and Mel turned to her.

"Well, it's bigger on the inside than the outside. It's transcendentally dimensional."

"There _is_ no planet Proamon…" The Doctor complained, running a hand through his hair and scratching his face.

"Don't come all clever dick with me. What's going on?" Ace pressed and Mell rolled her eyes.

"It's difficult to explain."

"Quiet!" He shouted, shushing their loud talking. "There are things to be done."

He hurried back out, only to return to retrieve his hat and umbrella; very nearly running into an annoyed Mel before they were back outside once more.

"Ah, wait, I know this path." Ace grinned, taking the lead. "Here. This is a shortcut to my quarters."

"Later, Ace. We're in a hurry." The Doctor complained.

"No, it's alright. You go on ahead. It's just I don't feel properly dressed without a couple of cans of Nitro. I'll catch you up."

The Doctor accepted that and turned away. "Come on, Mel. We're wasting valuable time." He quipped, more rushed to help keep Alex safe than the dragon at this point.

_If she's still with the creature, she's in just as much danger as it is from Kane. Especially if he finds out about her foreknowledge of things. Whether she knows the future now or not, he'll want her for his own uses unless we managed to get to him first._ An image of Alex's many scars came to mind and he forced back the angry fury it sent through him at the thought of where they'd come from and how many times she'd _already_ been threatened and hurt for what she knew. It also made him feel guilty though, silently questioning why his future self apparently couldn't be bothered to help keep her safe during those times after she'd helped him so much and for so long. _And the way she talks about me sometimes too. It's as though I don't know who she is, in the future. It's strange. How could I possibly forget someone such as her?_ He flushed in embarrassment at that thought, remembering the moments he'd shared with Alex on numerous occasions—usually prompted by her, though he did aim for her affections at times as well. _Ah, now is not the time to think about this! I can worry about my apparent feelings for the woman _after_ I've saved her and the dragon._

* * *

The dragon and I walked around for a bit more, before we were heading down a corridor and I spotted an ambush.

"Look out!" I shouted, pushing at the creature and barely managing to shove it out of the way of the soldier's shot.

The shot itself clipped my arm and I winced in pain as I stood up and kept between the soldier and the dragon.

"The hell's your problem!" I shouted at her. "Why the hell are you trying to hurt this creature anyway? Because some guy says you have to? The dragon's harmless if you get rid of your weapons! And he could have killed your friend, but he didn't! God, what is it with you power hungry idiots and guns?!"

I grumbled under my breath, grimacing at the sharp stinging of my upper arm and checking on the dragon. It had stood again, but thankfully wasn't trying to come out from behind the wall, so I turned my attention to the soldier. And it was a good thing I did. The woman had charged forward to attack me and I dodged easily enough. The dragon appeared to want to help me, but I didn't think it would shoot when I could easily get in the way.

"You know…" I said between dodging. "…I really don't get you people…. Don't you have… better things to do than, whoa… attacking innocent creatures? Honestly… I could seriously hurt you, but… I'm not going to if I… don't have to. So can't… you take that… into consideration?"

"We have orders!" The woman shouted and I rolled my eyes.

"From a power hungry maniac who will toss you aside the moment he has the opportunity!" I argued, dodging a kick. "Ooh, nice round kick. But really! What do you get out of this? It's not like the man praises you lot! You're just tools to him!"

"What do you know?!" She snapped and I hummed, tilting my head slightly.

"Apparently more than you."

She smirked then and I raised a brow. "Apparently not."

It was then that I took notice of my surroundings and realized that we'd moved away from the dragon and that she had a partner.

"No!" I shouted, but it was too late.

Multiple shots rang out and the dragon fell as the man with the gun looked suddenly conflicted at what he'd done. I completely ignored the woman and went to shove past her if she hadn't jabbed a taser into my side. I grunted and fell to the ground as well, cursing in Arabic under my breath as she pinned me down and proceeded to cuff my hands behind my back.

"Y-You idiots." I snipped out. "He was harmless. Completely harmless and y-you killed him. You _killed_ him."

* * *

Mel and the Doctor skidded around a corner and came upon a grizzly sight.

"The creature. It's dead! They've killed it!" Mel said in shock as they came upon the beheaded dragon and a single dead soldier.

"Yes, and it had a final surprise for anyone who wanted to try and interfere with it. A huge energy surge when its head was disconnected." The Doctor murmured, frowning as he spotted blood on the floor nearby. "And someone took Alex. There's blood on the floor here."

Mel looked concerned. "What shall we do now?"

"We'll finish its job for it, and put an end to all this death and destruction. As well as get Alex out of whatever pickle she's currently in." The Doctor said, picking up the crystal and handing it over to Mel to carry.

"We have to go get Ace too."

"Very well. But we better make it quick. Alex tends to only get herself into more trouble when left with our enemies." The Doctor said, though his hearts ached in worry for his friend.

The duo rushed back to Ace's room only to find Glitz snooping around and no Ace in sight.

"Hey, you nicked it!" Glitz exclaimed as he pointed to the crystal in Mel's arms.

"Where's Ace?"

"I don't know."

"This is not good enough." The Doctor snapped, not pleased.

"Well, she wasn't with me."

"Come on. We've got to find her."

"You lost her." Glitz muttered as they hurried out; the Doctor giving him a scalding look before hurrying out as well.

"_Doctor, Glitz. I know you can hear me._" Kane's voice called out over the intercom once they'd entered the refrigeration room. "_I'd like to propose a transaction. My very final transaction before I leave Svartos. The Dragonfire for your two companions. Bring me the Dragonfire and you can have them. A special closing down sale, you might call it. But hurry, while stocks last._" Kane teased them with a cackle, and Glitz turned to the Doctor in concern.

"I think he means it, Doctor."

"No doubt." The man muttered, struggling to keep the heated anger from his voice.

"But we can't give him the treasure." Mel opposed.

"We've no choice!" The Doctor snapped, losing his patience. "The creature's already dead. Ace and Alex are still alive."

* * *

I sighed as I allowed this Kane fellow to hold me captive alongside Ace. I'd managed to convince him that I was worth more to the Doctor than Ace, thus keeping her out of immediate harm's way, but this also meant that I was in a rather uncomfortable arm lock, with an injury, _and_ would undoubtedly have sparked the Doctor's anger by placing myself in danger. _Though really, he should be used to it by now. This may be a younger version of the Doctor I know, but still. I doubt that I _haven't_ gotten myself into trouble with him before now. _I was wrong though, and as soon as the Doctor entered the room with the others, I rolled my eyes at the fury radiating off him.

"At last, after three thousand years." Kane cooed from behind me, his eyes locked onto the crystal in Mel's arms. "Bring it here."

"Three thousand years, eh?" The Doctor piped up, giving me a concerned glance that I brushed off for now. "Long enough for an entire civilization to have come and gone."

"Are you some kind of idiot?"

"Depends on the day." I muttered, earning a roll of the eyes from the Doctor; him having gotten the message that I was okay, despite the circumstances.

"You know, for someone who's had the patience to wait around for three thousand years, you seem to be in rather a hurry suddenly." The Doctor commented.

"What's all this three thousand years?" Glitz questioned, just as confused as everyone else in the room, though I had an idea of what he was talking about.

_It was his wording. Why did he mention civilizations coming and going if that wasn't important? Did something happen to Kane's home planet?_

"Three thousand years since you were exiled here from Proamon, along with the creature." The Doctor explained and Kane narrowed his eyes.

"Who are you?"

"Just a traveler."

"What do you know about Proamon?"

"We all know." Mel said. "The creature showed us on the hologram."

Kane shook his head. "Oh, the archives. I should have destroyed them."

"No, no, no. You should keep them for souvenir value, along with the Ice Garden."

I agreed. "And the Singing Trees. Could make a mint selling tickets to travelers"

"Why was the creature doing time as well?" Glitz asked and Kane explained.

"The biomechanoid was my jailor. Look around you. The controls lying dead, waiting for an energy source. The Dragonfire _is_ that energy source."

"And without it, you are powerless." The Doctor concluded.

"They thought they could imprison me on this wretched planet by implanting the power source inside the creature. They shall learn of their folly."

The Doctor kept him talking. "And a living creature was created to keep you prisoner."

"There were times when I ached for death. I considered journeying round from the cold dark side of Svartos to the sun blistered surface on the other side, where I would quickly die. Now, with the Dragonfire, I have the power to return to Proamon and exact my revenge. You, girl. Bring me the Dragonfire."

"No. I'm not going to lift a finger to help you." Mel snapped, making Ace worry.

"Melanie? Don't listen to her. She doesn't mean it. Donut, give him the treasure. I'm sixteen! I'm too young to be freeze dried!"

"You're not the one being held by the Ice man, sweetheart." I drawled. "And I can't use the whole 'I'm too young to die' bit."

"Come on, Mel. This is no time to be fastidious." Glitz pressed and Mel looked at the Doctor.

"Doctor?"

He hesitated, I saw, making me frown at him in annoyance that he would second guess himself to keep me safe, but thankfully, he didn't give in. "Look, let me explain."

I was suddenly released then, but froze on the spot as Kane held out his bare hands towards me.

"O-Oh dear." I muttered, having seen what those hands could do to skin.

_And as much as I appreciate the fact that my arm's not bleeding anymore, it wasn't exactly painless._

"You're wasting my time. The Dragonfire is mine now. You can either give it to me alive, or I shall take it from your dead bodies."

"The logic is inescapable." The Doctor begrudgingly said and Kane gestured to the control panel behind him.

"Place it in the circuit."

Kane wasn't looking as the crystal was set into place and I ducked out of his reach, storming over to the soldier holding Ace and glaring at her until she released the girl. _Being threatening and empathic _does_ have its positive side._

"Doctor, what's happening?" Mel asked, clinging to Ace as the walls lit up and the stand holding the crystal rose and lowered.

"It sounds like a starflight drive." He replied.

"Starflight drive? It can't be." Glitz said in shock. "This is a spacecraft! The whole colony's a spacecraft!"

"My hour of vengeance—" Kane started, but the Doctor cut him off.

"Vengeance on whom, Kane? You're too late."

"All your mercenaries are dead or having fled." Mel said.

"I can soon find more." Kane declared, but I grew more uneasy.

"But where will you find another home planet?" He said and I winced.

_I was right. Kane's planet must be…_

"You're talking riddles, Doctor." Kane said sternly. "Proamon is my home planet."

"_Was_ your home planet." The Doctor corrected, myself taking his hand and giving him a brief stern look at his blunt attitude. "Take a look at your navigation equipment. It's fully operative now."

Kane did so and I flinched at the amount of emotion that suddenly came from the man after he'd been so… dead, for lack of a better word.

"There must be something wrong." He muttered.

"Sadly not. Your planet, your people, your entire race were destroyed one thousand years after you were exiled." The Doctor informed him and I grit my teeth, knowing that he would have to go through something similar himself soon.

"No. No, it's not possible."

"Look at the sun of Proamon. When you left, it was a cold red giant surrounded by freezing planets."

"There's nothing left but a neutron star." Kane breathed out in shock.

"Your sun turned supernova two thousand years ago, and all its planets were engulfed in the explosion. Your people were annihilated, your planet obliterated. You're too late, Kane, for your revenge. You have no home. Time has flowed by."

"_Doctor_." I chided him, his voice having an edge to it that I felt was wrong for the situation and what he'd just told Kane.

"No… No! It shall not be!" Kane suddenly shouted and my eyes widened as I realized what he was about to do.

"No, Kane, don't!" I shouted, but I was too late and he'd already opened a shutter and stormed over to the window, melting away and screaming all the while until he was nothing but a pile of clothes on the ground.

I sighed softly once the Doctor had closed the shutters, having hated to witness yet another life fade before my eyes. Glitz offered to take control of the spaceship for now and I remained silent as the Doctor, Mel, and I returned to the Tardis. The two of them settled to remain in the console room, but I went ahead and excused myself to take a nice hot shower to warm myself up and get my arm treated properly before heading for the Tardis gym for a few rounds of letting out frustration on the punching bag. I'd been at it for an unknown amount of time before I felt a presence at the back of my mind and I stopped; grabbing the swinging bag to stop its momentum and speaking to the Doctor from over my shoulder.

"What's up?" I asked idly, hearing him wander over and pass me my water bottle.

"I forgot I had this room here." He mused, rolling the 'r' in 'room' and making me crack a small smile.

"The Tardis likes to keep it around for me." I informed him. "I'm probably the only one who uses it and even then, only on occasion."

"Ah…" He paused as I turned to face him, looking conflicted. "I, um, apologize for how I was acting earlier. Though Kane wasn't exactly a very nice man."

I shrugged lightly. "Loneliness can do some crazy things to people. You should have seen my last regeneration. That one was a mess I don't like to talk about."

The Doctor hummed, before looking at me, almost searching me for something.

"What?"

"Nothing. I was simply wondering if you were alright. You were quiet the way back here, which is rare."

"Hm." I grunted, ignoring the pain in my side from where I'd been tasered and the memories it brought back from ages ago. "Death is nothing to enjoy, much less when it happens in front of you and you're unable to stop it."

"Ah, I see." He mused, surprising me when he took my hand and gave it a squeeze of comfort. "When you wish to discuss it, I'm willing to listen."

I gave him a small, soft smile, before my grin became a bit more wicked. "Well, now. If I do remember right, you owe me dinner."

Watching his eyes go wide and his cheeks to flush in embarrassment in that moment certainly lifted my mood.

"A-Ah, yes. I-I… I did say that, didn't I?" He stuttered out, before straightening his spine and getting more confident as he grinned up at me and lifted his hat briefly. "We best get going then. I know just the place and if we're quick, we can enjoy it and be back before Ace realizes we've gone."

"Well, then, I better hurry and shower then, huh?" I smiled at him, leaning slightly to kiss his cheek and embarrass him further. "Don't want to be sweaty on my _date_."

He sputtered, not knowing what to say about the 'd' word and I cackled loudly as I separated from him and made my way towards my room; enjoying messing with this Doctor far more than I'd expected.


	90. Under the Lake

**Hello, my wonderful readers! :) Here's the next chapter, as promised, though I do have something I need your guys' help with! I want to do some of the earlier adventures with the Ninth Doctor, _but_ because he's technically supposed to have first met her in 'The Long Game', I can't have him recognize her. So, I was wondering if you all would hate it terribly if i had her regenerate sometime in the near future... possibly into a guy... with amnesia, so she doesn't accidentally give away who she really is... I wouldn't be for long. The Doctor would jump out this story and kill me if I left her a guy for too long, but just long enough to get some of those episodes with Nine out of the way.**

**I'm leaving it up to you though! Let me know in a review or PM me about it. If you think it's too cheesy, or you have another idea that might work or if you simply don't like the thought of her regenerating into a guy for a bit (though i did mention in 'Heaven Sent/Hell Bent' that it happens to her at some point). Anything you want to mention is welcome. ^^  
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**Hope you all enjoy this though! I had fun writing it and I'm not sure about what the next chapter after 'Before the Flood', but I'm looking into something with the Fourth Doctor, so I'll let you know when it comes out, what I've decided.**

_**(PS. If you're reading my Ouran fanfic (Amber Leaves) as well, I am still alive and had the next chapter finished, but upon rereading it, I decided I didn't care for how I did it, so I'm rewriting half of it. It'll be a little while more before I post it, unfortunately. I've started up school again yesterday so I have to juggle writing, work, and that now. I'll do my best though and write between classes and on Sundays. Though I know you all will love it. Lots of fun things going on in it.)**_

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I woke up with a start, covered in a cold sweat and a chill in my bones. I had a night mare. I couldn't remember what about other than the drums and the cackle of the Master and something else. _Something with black eyes. Mouthing words of some kind._ I shivered, getting up and stretching my arms above me before moving to shower. Even after I'd gotten dressed though, I could still feel a chill. I wasn't sure why. It was strange. The Tardis too, was grumbling and I looked up at the ceiling in concern. _What's going on, Sexy? Why are you so uneasy?_ I headed out and was pleasantly surprised by the not-so-blindingly-white interior, informing me that I'd popped off sometime while sleeping after my date with the Seventh Doctor. I smiled a little at the thought. _And he was such a gentleman. With a better sense of humor than most of his other selves. I'll definitely have to ask the Doctor about why he doesn't seem to remember any of our previous adventures. And rub the date in his face._ I strolled out of the hallway on the upper story of the console room, spotting the bookshelves and Clara making for the door down below in a leather jacket. _I'm with Twelve then. Oh, all the better to tease him about my date.~_

Still though, I was only mentally distracting myself from the growing unease the Tardis was passing on to me. She wasn't happy about something and I could feel deep down, that she desperately wanted us to leave here. _Wherever 'here' is. Wish you could talk. Then at least your warning would make a bit more sense. I'm sure we'll find out sooner or later. _ I mused, heading downstairs and towards the doors. _Although, Sexy being this upset about something never means anything good._ I strolled out, barely making a sound as I looked over the base we were apparently parked in.

"Here being?" Clara questioned; neither her nor the Doctor noticing me.

"Underwater base?" I piped in, making her spin around with a grin.

"Alex!"

I smiled back. "Hello. Been a while since I saw you. Well, not a long while. Your future, of course. Can't tell you much other than Big Brows over there making me rather angry with him."

The Doctor grumbled, barely listening, more focused on our surroundings. "The technology's twenty-second century. Maybe military, maybe scientific."

"Sounds like UNIT." I mused. "Military _and_ scientific."

He grunted in acknowledgement as Clara spoke up.

"Is there a crew?"

"Must be, somewhere, if there's oxygen." The Doctor said as I rolled my eyes.

"Well, if you're going to rightly ignore me, then perhaps I should just head back into the Tardis and—"

"**No!**" Both he and Clara exclaimed, making me raise a brow at them.

The Doctor looked sheepish, but said nothing other than scratching his cheek, so Clara stepped forward and grabbed my hand, tugging me away from the ship.

"He didn't mean it. You know how he is. He sees a problem and nothing else catches his attention until it's solved."

"That's not true." The Doctor complied and both Clara and I fixed him with suspicious looks that made him cave. "Yes, alright. That's _partially_ true. However—" He tugged me out of Clara's grip, growing possessive. "—_nothing _distracts me from my Alexander."

"Which reminds me." I hummed, ignoring Clara's roll of her eyes as the Doctor kissed my temple and kept his hands on my waist. "I just had a _wonderful_ date with a young man who wears a panama hat and has a sense of humor. Care to tell me why it is you never seem to remember?"

He frowned, confused. "Remember what? Are you cheating on me?"

It was my turn to roll my eyes.

"Well, now, between the cane and the ridiculous question mark jumper, it's hard to believe I just went on a date with my husband, now isn't it? What _was_ your fascination with question marks anyhow?"

The Doctor groaned. "My younger self. Which one? Five? I recall you telling me you thought he was… _handsome_."

Clara smiled. "Jealous of your younger selves then, Doctor?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." He grumbled and I laughed.

"Seventh, but he gets jealous of his younger _and_ older selves all the time." I replied. "Now back to my question. How do you not remember my interactions with your younger selves? When you first met me as Big Ears, you had no clue who I was."

The Doctor winced. "Suppression. When I regenerated from the War Doctor, I suppressed most of my life from before that. Regeneration can cause deep scaring memory loss depending on how Time Lords die and their thoughts and regrets while regenerating."

"So, you just forgot."

"In simple terms, yes. Though I do recall snippets of someone what I can't place a face on every so often in my memories of my younger years." He mused, going quiet for a moment before his head snapped down to mine. "And what do you feel right now?"

I was confused now. "Um, I love you? Your Fifth and Seventh selves were handsome and humorous, but I care for you all equally?"

"No, no, no. Not that. Right now. Currently. Our situation, where we ended up. Do you feel oddly at all? The Tardis is acting strangely, so I was wondering."

"_Oh_." I said, looking back at the blue box in concern. "I feel uneasy. I woke up from a nightmare, which has been rare, as of late. One of the typical ones, except…" My brows furrowed and I turned to him. "There was something else that I can't remember clearly. Not anything I'd seen before, but something that still upset me."

"Possibly the Tardis projecting her concerns through the one source closely connected to her." The Doctor replied. "Can you remember anything about it? Or give me a description on this… feeling of yours?"

I frowned in thought. "All I remember is something mouthing words and black eyes. Not like black _eyes_, eyes. But a pitch black shading around the eyes. Like a zombie or something, but it felt more sinister. And I honestly have this unnerving feeling of wanting to run. Like away from here or something in here. Like I said, I feel uneasy."

He nodded, hugging my waist momentarily. "Do what you can to separate your feelings from those of the Tardis like I've taught you."

I lightly pat his chest as I moved over towards Clara so he could walk ahead of us. "Already on it. I'm not thick, moron."

We started walking down the corridors and Clara sighed.

"I want another adventure. Come on. You two feel the same. You're itching to save a planet, I know it." She said, taking the lead now as the Doctor smiled behind her back.

I was suspicious of this Clara though. Something about her was setting off warning bells in my mind and I gave the Doctor a quick glance._ What happened last trip? She's acting weird._ I mentally asked him, catching his look from the corner of my eye as we both trailed after Clara and attempted to pretend we _weren't_ having a mental conversation about our unsuspecting companion.

"_You're old enough, so I suppose you've been there already. On Skaro."_

I nodded, some part of me shivering at the thought of the snakes, but this body had no adverse reactions to those creatures, so I personally, was fine. _Her loss of Danny is catching up to her then._

"_Possibly. She's been constantly wanting to go from one adventure to the next."_

_Distracting herself from thinking about it. Has she been sleeping alright?_

"_Don't know. She still goes off to her room at night and the Tardis doesn't allow me to peek into companion's rooms. She might be sleeping."_

_Or she might not._ I concluded, our combined worry for our companion growing before she called out to us.

"Doctor, Alex, look at this."

The two of us followed her into a cafeteria of some sort, looking around to see half eaten food on the tables and chairs knocked about.

"Looks like someone left here in a hurry." I muttered, picking up one chair and righting it.

"Well, looks like you got your wish." The Doctor told Clara, making her grin.

"Food fight?" She questioned, making a knife in the wall twang.

"I think there was more to it than that. Whatever it was, it happened pretty recently." He said, sticking his finger into someone's drink as I wrinkled my nose. "Seven or eight hours ago. No bodies though."

"That's a plus." I muttered, very serious now despite this body's usual cheerful demeanor. "Looks to me like something interrupted their meal and they bolted."

"And they took provisions. Okay. So something or someone forced the crew to abandon the base. Maybe they went for a swim in the creepy flooded village outside." Clara concluded and I remembered something.

"Oh, that's right. You're afraid of ghosts."

She flushed and turned to me. "I am not!"

"I do recall you screaming like a girl back when I spooked you and Eleven in that supposedly haunted mansion." I said with a wriggle of my brows.

"First off, I _am_ a girl. And I only screamed because you came out of nowhere! We were supposed to be alone." She said, before grinning. "Although, this is more like it." She held up her hand for a high-five, but the Doctor just glanced at it and walked away. "Oh, come on. Don't leave me hanging."

He continued to leave and I chuckled, high-fiving her as I followed after him.

"Come on then, adrenaline junkie."

We wandered through a few more corridors, before the Doctor spotted some people crouched on the ground.

"Look. Told you. Crew." The Doctor pointed out, the three of us walking out into the open to get their attention, though I felt that uneasy feeling return and hesitated before forcing myself to return to their sides. "Hello, sailors!"

The two figures stood and I leaned towards the Doctor, taking his hand in mine cautiously.

"Doctor, I don't think they're crew. One of them's wearing a top hat."

And when the two turned around, I very nearly turned and ran right there. _I-It's them. That's who I saw in my nightmare. The black eyes, their moving mouths. O-Oh, and the Tardis does not like them._ The Doctor's grip tightened on my hand, preventing me from bolting though I hadn't even noticed I'd taken a step back until he tugged lightly on my arm. He gave me a look and I got the message, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath to try and put aside the Tardis's unease and separate it from my own. Harder than it sounds, mind you. The Doctor too, was a bit unnerved.

"Right. I did not expect that. Hands up, who expected that?" He rambled as they headed for us and even Clara looked hesitant about not running. "Wait, wait. I don't think they're going to hurt us. I think that they're just curious."

The two came far too close for my liking and I winced, closing my eyes so I didn't have to stare at the man in front of me who was mere inches from my face. _They're not your feelings. Don't panic. It's the Tardis. She's not you. You don't need to run. Believe in the Doctor when he says you don't need to run._

"Are you sure?" Clara's voice said quietly from my right and I cursed her timing with my thoughts.

"Well, I mean, define 'sure'."

"_Thanks_." I bit out, him squeezing my hand in slight apology, but he went on.

"Look at you lovely chaps. What's happened to you, then?"

The ghosts turned away, heading down the hall and the Doctor tugged me with him.

"Come on."

"Do we have to?" I questioned, not liking the uneasy feeling that had plagued me since we showed up here.

The Doctor gave me a look, moving to stand in front of me and placing his hands on my temples. "How bad is it?"

"See for yourself." I muttered, lowering my mental walls so he could and I felt slightly relieved as he helped me push back the Tardis's feelings and lowered his hands.

"That should help for a while, but let me know if it gets worse."

I let out a soft sigh of relief, silently wishing I was slightly more skilled with my own head than I was now. _I didn't even notice the growing pressure until the Doctor managed to shove it all back._

"What are they?" Clara questioned, apparently used to seeing us dealing with my mind problems.

"I haven't a clue. Isn't that exciting?" The Doctor grinned and I snorted, tugging _him_ this time.

"Well, come on then, Mr. Exciting. Let's go see what the ghostly ghouls want to show us."

We followed them a little way before they went through a door and we lost sight of them. What they led us to though, was more than a little curious.

"What is it? Some kind of submarine?"

I shook my head, the Doctor responding for her as we all approached the ship.

"No, it's alien."

"They probably found it in the village and pulled it on board to check it out." I replied, roaming around with them to the back of the ship; though I kept looking over the outside as they climbed aboard.

"Why's it black?" I called out to them, eyeing the jet-like engines on the side before trailing back to the front. "Aren't spaceships usually some other color? Like a silvery grey or something?"

"Camouflage?" Clara chimed in. "Space _is_ rather dark."

"Hm, you think? Different cultures have different meanings for the color black. Bad luck, mourning, death, unhappiness, wealth, power, that sort of thing." I mused, my anthropological side coming out in the sight of this new find. "Could this be a part of whatever's happening here?" I questioned, coming back around the outside of the ship to see Clara and the Doctor looking up at something inside the white interior. "What'd you find?"

"Words of some kind. The Tardis isn't translating it."

"Huh, that's odd." I mused, glancing at the white interior with a frown. "And the white color on the inside? Could this have been like an ambulance or something?"

Clara raised a brow. "What makes you say that?"

"The outside's black and the inside's white. Darkness and light. Clean and unclean. Both can mean death though, depending on the culture. But keeping the purity inside and keeping the outside dark? For what? Camouflage? Maybe it's a war ambulance. Dark to avoid being shot at and light on the inside to symbolically keep the purity inside and the unclean out?"

Clara was still looking at me blankly and I waved a hand with a sigh, not bothering to enter the ship, knowing they would have found anything interesting while I was wandering around.

"Never mind. I've been cooped up too long. Anthropological thinking pops in at the strangest times. You should have seen me in the catacombs of Paris."

"Like taking her to an ice cream parlor." The Doctor drawled, before Clara pointed past me.

"Hey, look. They're back."

I stiffened, turning around and taking a few steps back, but out of caution this time, not the Tardis's unease.

"Hello!" The Doctor chirped. "Did you want to show us this? It's very nice."

"Wait, are they saying something?" Clara asked after a moment's pause and, sure enough, the two were mouthing something.

_I noticed it earlier, but the Tardis had me frazzled and I practically forgot._ I watched then as the larger of the two went and turned, grabbing an axe off the wall.

"Uh, Doctor?" I called out, not liking the fact that the ghost was handling a weapon, though silently glad it didn't reach for the harpoon gun.

"Okay, they now appear to be arming themselves." Clara muttered.

"Yeah, we spotted that too."

"Well, what changed?!" I questioned loudly, wincing as the Tivolian ghost grabbed the harpoon gun. "They were fine ignoring us a second ago!"

"Was it something she said?" The Doctor questioned, aiming a finger at me. "She does that. She once had an argument with Gandhi!"

"I _did_?!"

"I'm starting to see why the crew did a runner." Clara breathed out and I pushed her aside as the Tivolian launched a harpoon.

"Look out!"

We bolted out of the room and around the corner, hiding and waiting for the two ghosts to come after us, before Clara spoke.

"Alex, you're bleeding."

I glanced at my arm, seeing that I'd had a run in with the harpoon and it had managed to nick my upper arm decently.

"Oh, whoops."

"Whoops?!" She exclaimed, before letting out a startled yelp as one of the ghosts materialized through the wall.

We all stepped back away from it, but I spotted the Tivolian coming up from the floor behind us.

"Doctor? We can't go backwards!"

"Run!" Clara called out, tugging on the Doctor and I and bolting down another corridor.

At the end of it, a door opened and a group of people ushered us inside.

"In here! Quick!"

We hurried in and the door closed behind us, everyone taking a step away from the round window in the door as the ghosts looked in and then, thankfully, turned away and left.

"What are you?" The Doctor questioned, having gone to the window to look at them.

"I don't know, but the Tardis doesn't like them." I muttered, rubbing my aching shoulder as Clara tugged off my coat to look at my arm. "I'm _fine_, Clara."

"Just let me see it." She snipped back sternly and I sighed.

"Yes, mother. Ow!" I complained once she'd smacked me.

"Don't call me mother, or I'll start acting like one."

"Meanie." I muttered instead and she rolled her eyes at my childishness before one of the people spoke up.

"Who the hell are you, and what are you doing here?"

"This is Clara, Alex, my wife, and I'm the Doctor." He replied, showing off his psychic paper.

One of the men gapped. "You're from UNIT!

"Well, if that's what it says." The Doctor muttered and said man stepped forward.

"I'm Prichard, this is Bennett."

"O'Donnell!" Another young woman chirped, hurrying up and grinning at the Doctor. "Are you really the Doctor? I'm a huge fan. Uh, I mean, um, you know. Nice work." She tried to cover up, the Doctor and I exchanging amused looks.

"Tim Lunn. I sign for Cass." The youngest of the group said, gesturing to 'Cass'.

I smiled, signing a 'Nice to meet you' to her and earning a small nod back before the Doctor spoke up.

"Tell me, what about those things out there? What are they? Why are they trying to kill us?"

"Well, they're, uh, they're ghosts." Bennett said.

"They're not ghosts." The Doctor denied and Lunn spoke up.

"Cass is saying—"

"Thank you, but I actually don't need your help. I can speak sign." The Doctor grinned, though I raised a brow as he signed for her to 'go ahead'.

She started off, going through the signs, but the Doctor's smile quickly faltered.

"No, no. Actually, I can't. It's been deleted for semaphore. Someone get me a selection of flags."

I sighed, allowing Lunn to speak and translate.

"'One of the ghosts is our previous commanding officer. The other, um, moley guy, we don't know what he is.'"

"He's a Tivolian." I answered. "One of the most conquered and oppressed species of the planet Tivoli."

"See? I told you he was an alien. Didn't I say that?" Bennet announced as the Doctor went on to explain a little further.

"Weird thing is, they're not violent. They're too cowardly. They wouldn't say boo to a goose. They're more likely to give the goose their car keys and bank details. When did they first appear?"

O'Donnell spoke up then. "Oh, did you see that spaceship in the hangar? Yeah, we found that on the lake bed and we'd just got it on board and one of the engines started up and then Moran got… Moran was killed."

Cass started signing again. "'Then they appeared and pretty much straight away started trying to kill us. So we grabbed what we could and we were looking for somewhere to hide, and that's when we realized the ghosts couldn't come in here.'"

"What is this place?" Clara questioned.

"It's a Faraday Cage. Completely impenetrable to radio waves and, apparently, whatever those things are out there."

"Could _they_ be radio waves?" I questioned and the Doctor made a face.

"Eh… possibly. I don't know. I'd need more information." He replied, before looking over the crew. "So, who's in charge now? I need to know who to ignore."

I got out of Clara's grip, taking back my coat from her and smacking the Doctor on the back of the head. "Rude."

Some of the crew smiled at that, but the Doctor scowled at me as I stuck my tongue out at him.

"'That would be me.'" Lunn said, before correcting himself and pointing to Cass. "Her."

"Actually, that would be me." Pritchard announced, passing the Doctor a card. "I represent Vector Petroleum. We've obtained the mining rights to the oil."

"The oil?" The Doctor raised brow, tossing the card away despite the annoyed look I gave him as Pritchard went to pick it up and he spoke to the rest. "Where are we?"

"This used to be a military training site." Bennett responded. "There was a dam overlooking it, but the dam burst and the valley was submerged."

"Then, twenty years ago, we discovered a massive oil reservoir underneath it." Pritchard said, looking a bit peeved at the Doctor's previous actions, before the computer sounded out around us.

"_Good morning. Entering day mode_."

The lights came on and the crew began to gather their things.

"Okay, it's morning. We can go outside now." O'Donnell announced.

"Thank God for that."

"At last, we can get out of here." The crew complained.

"Morning?" Clara questioned and Bennett nodded as he grabbed his coat. "Yeah. We're too far below the surface for daylight, so we have to demarcate artificial days and nights."

"I'd like to have a further look at that spaceship, but what about those things that aren't ghosts?" The Doctor questioned.

"Oh, it's alright. They only come out at night." O'Donnell replied cheerfully, though Clara and I shuffled slightly.

"Weird how that is not comforting." Clara muttered as I hummed.

"You're telling me. _You're_ not having to fight back the urge to run that's not even yours."

"How's your arm?" The Doctor asked, coming up beside me and looking it over.

"Hurts, as it should." I replied, glancing at it myself. "Might need stitches, but I could probably bandage it to keep bleeding down to a minimum. You got anything in that coat of yours?"

He nodded. "Probably."

He started digging through the pockets before he procured a roll and stopped me so he could bind the wound. He was frowning the whole time though, and I sighed, waiting until he was finished before giving him a quick kiss.

"Stop pouting, old man. You'll get more wrinkles."

He made a face at me. "No thanks to you, trouble-maker."

"_I'm_ not the one who climbed down a glacier only to end up hanging by an umbrella awaiting rescue. Though your seventh self had an amazing sense of humor."

"Hm." He smirked, before Clara cleared her throat and nodded down the corridor.

"If you two are _done_ flirting, might we keep going?"

I grinned, bounding towards her. "Ooh, am I making Clara jealous?"

Clara rolled her eyes. "I'm not falling for that one again. You two can keep the lovey-dovey to yourselves, thanks."

"Fun killer."

We soon entered the main hangar again where the spaceship was, but I felt that I should stay away from the ship. _Everything here has happened because of that ship and the longer I can avoid it, the better I'll feel. The Tardis rather dislikes it as well._ I mused as the Doctor cut off Pritchard about the whole ghost/not ghost thing.

"—They're not ghosts—" He snapped, continuing on from whatever he'd said when we'd entered. "—have been trying to kill you, why haven't you abandoned the base?"

"That was my call." Pritchard announced. "We've got about a trillion dollars' worth of mining equipment here. We're not just going to abandon it."

The Doctor and I both gave the man disgusted looks.

"What?" He questioned. "If it all goes pear-shaped, it's not _them_ that loses a bonus."

"No, it's the stupid idiot who loses his life. Hard to worry about a bonus when you're dead, eh"" I said sharply with a sickly sweet grin. "Lives are worth more than some stupid equipment that can be replaced. Do you have a mother?" I questioned, getting a confused nod in return. "Good. I'll be sure to hunt down her address and let her know you said that. And before you ask, yes. I _can_ do that."

He paled as I wandered off a little further with the Doctor, who looked pleased along with a few of the crew.

"Come to mention it, why _is_ there a Faraday Cage on the base?"

"It's the mining equipment." Bennett explained. "It runs on nuclear fission. The Faraday cage has been lined with lead to act as a shelter in the event of a radiation leak."

"So, we are fighting an unknown homicidal force that has taken the form of your commanding officer and a cowardly alien, underwater, in a nuclear reactor. Anything else I should know? Someone got a peanut allergy, or something?" He grumbled and I chided him.

"Behave, Doctor. _I'm _the one who's supposed to be causing trouble here, remember?"

"Yes, you _are_ rather quiet today. How's the head?"

"What's wrong with her head?" Pritchard questioned, giving me a suspicious look like I was going to jump him, and I couldn't help grinning mischievously at him.

"Oh, I'm bat shit crazy, didn't you know? The last guy I met who ticked me off, I chewed off his arm and threw him out a window. Couldn't tell you how many times. I lost count." I said with a gnashing of my teeth, revealing sharpened canines that made the man take a hesitant step back.

"And troublesome you are." The Doctor droned, making me grin at him as he turned to the confused group. "She's harmless unless you make a quip about femininity. Believe me, she's more likely to _save_ your life than end it."

"Though I _do_ know multiple martial arts, archery, sword fighting and Dakaro and Venusian aikido." I pointed at the Doctor. "Your Seventh self, taught me some of that and I plan on more lessons from you." I then turned back to the group. "He's right though. I tend to be a bodyguard more than an active fighter. The head thing is because I'm empathic. I can feel emotions decently enough, but am having a little bit of trouble with his ship. It's sentient and apparently doesn't really like it here. Though why, I don't quite know yet. Might be the ghosts, but eh." I shrugged, doubting slightly that I convinced any one of them I wasn't completely bonkers as I waved the Doctor off. "Go on then. Go explore your alien ship."

He raised a brow. "You're not coming?"

"Nah, I'll wait out here. If whatever it is that's causing this is _inside_ that thing, I'd rather not get involved with it. I'll check the outside to see if there's anything." I replied, lifting a hand up in a wave as I trolled around the ship idly.

I could only half hear things coming from them the further away I got from the back of the ship, but the Doctor was relaying the important bits mentally so I stayed caught up.

"_The suspended animation chamber for the pilot is missing as is the second power cell."_

_Think the ship was left open outside and their bringing it aboard dropped the suspended animation chamber out?_

"_Possibly. Though they claim to have no knowledge of the power cell and it wouldn't have just popped out on its own."_

"What's the matter?" I heard Clara call out as I came back around the opposite side, seeing Lunn and Cass in a sort of silent argument.

"She won't let me look inside the spaceship." Lunn complained. "She says it's not safe. I'm saying it's not safe out here."

"You're safer out here with me than with Bushy Brows up there." I chimed in with a small smile. "They're in a small enclosed space where, if blocked from the door, they'd be trapped. Whereas we could run."

"Glad to see you're willing to leave us behind." Clara drawled sarcastically.

"Oh, I'd never do that dear. I was speaking hypothetically!" I grinned, making her roll her eyes as they went back to talking about the power cell and I turned to Lunn. "So, Lunn, what do you think about the colors?"

He turned to me in confusion. "What?"

"The _colors_! Of the spaceship. Bit odd, don't you think? The whole black on the outside, white on the inside. What do you think it was used for? Doctor said long distance travel, but for what? There's no weapons, so that rules out a war ship. And it being black on the outside _could_ be for hiding in the blackness of space, but I'm not convinced."

He frowned, confused, but before he could respond, the Doctor and the others trailed out of the ship.

"Moran dies, and then those things appear. They can walk through walls. They only come out at night and they're sort of see through." The Doctor rambled on and I raised a brow as Clara questioned him.

"Doctor, wait. You're not saying…" She trailed off as we hurried after him to the bridge; her turning to me. "What is he thinking?"

"You expect me to know?" I questioned and she sighed.

"That's right, you care more about the _color_ of the ship."

"Ah! The meaning _behind_ the color of the ship." I corrected. "And it could have some significance. To its purpose at least. Sure, it could be black just for the sake of the pilot wanting it to be black, but there are other cars that are black for a reason. Black and white police cars or black hearses, black swat cars or advertisement trucks. The back exterior _could_ have an alternate meaning. That's all."

"Uh, huh. Seems a bit of a stretch to me."

"Just covering all my bases." I shrugged.

* * *

"They're ghosts! Yeah, ghosts." The Doctor said excitedly, a large grin on his face despite what he'd been saying before.

Clara and Alex both exchanged looks.

"You said there was no such thing. You actually poo-pooed the ghost theory." Clara said, speaking what was on everyone's mind.

"Yes, well, well, there was no such thing as, as socks or smartphones and badgers until there suddenly were. Besides, what else could they be? They're not holograms, they're not Flesh Avatars, they're not Autons, they're not digital copies bouncing around the Nethersphere. No, these people are literally, _actually_, dead! Wow. This is, it's amazing! I've never actually met a proper ghost."

Alex sighed as Cass angrily signed away and Lunn translated solemnly.

"'Moran was our friend.'"

The Doctor looked a little lost and turned to Clara and Alex for assistance.

"_The cards_." Clara whispered and he nodded, digging through his pockets and pulling out a number of index cards that he fumbled with.

"_Oh, come here._" Clara muttered as Alex leaned over while she flipped through them for the right one.

"_Cards?_" Alex whispered back.

"_To help him deal with more… emotional situations when you're not around._"

"_Ah._" Alex said, before pointing at one that said 'I didn't mean to imply I don't care.' "_What about that one?_"

Clara shook her head. "_Nah, I have a better one._"

She cleared her throat and handed it to the Doctor who picked it up and began reading it.

"I'm very sorry for your loss. I'll do all I can to solve the death of your friend slash family member slash—" He cringed, abruptly cut off as Alex stepped harshly on his foot to keep him from making the already bad situation, worse.

"Sorry. He's not good with the whole 'emotional' bit yet." She explained sympathetically. "He's still in training."

The couple got odd looks from the crew, but they thankfully didn't comment and the Doctor—big moron that he was—quickly went off on a ramble.

"But don't you see what this means? _Death_. It was the one thing that unified every single living creature in the universe, and now it's gone. How can you just sit there?! Don't you want to go out there right now, wrestle them to the ground and ask them questions until your throat falls out?! What's death like?! Does it hurt?! Do you still get hungry? Do you miss being alive? Why can you only handle metal objects? Oh, I didn't know I'd noticed that. Okay, so they'll try to kill you, blah, blah, blah. What does that matter? You come back. A bit murder-y, sure, but even so!"

Alex cleared her throat and gave him a sharp, pointed look. _"Need I remind you of when you met Shirley Bassey?"_ She mentally asked him and he grimaced, not liking the reminder of how he'd completely embarrassed himself and ended up with wine all over his new tux and his furious wife.

"Calm, Doctor. Calm." He muttered to himself and turned back to everyone; who'd all grown suspicious with him. "Okay. Question one: what is a ghost? Question two: what do they want?"

Suddenly, the lights went out and everyone looked around in concern.

"Whoa. Whoa, what's happening?"

"_Good evening. Entering night mode._"

"That's not right! We're switching back into night mode again. This can't happen! No, no, no!" O'Donnell called out, rushing to a terminal to attempt and figure out what was going on, when the Doctor caught sight of Alex's pale face and frantic expression.

"Alex? Alex, what is it?" He asked her, grabbing her arm and finding the usually strong woman, practically shaking like a leaf.

"Um, what's doing that?" Bennett questioned then and the Doctor's ears picked up the Tardis's panicked cloister bell.

"Doctor?" Clara said cautiously, but Alex suddenly bolted from the room with the Doctor hot on her heels.

"Alex! Alex, you can't!"

Clara hurried after them and found the Doctor attempting to stop Alex from messing with the controls.

"Alex! Alex, get a hold of yourself!" He shouted and Clara looked between them in shock and confusion.

"Doctor, what's wrong?!"

"It must be the ghosts. That's why the Tardis was upset when we got here."

"Why? I don't understand! Why's Alex acting like this?"

"It's just what I was saying!" The Doctor called out, managing to grab Alex in a better hold and strap her into the jump seat. "You live and you die. That's it. The ghosts are aberrations. A splinter of time in the skin. They're unnatural. The Tardis wants to get away from them and Alex is acting as a catalyst for her. Alex can fly the Tardis away if she gets to the controls."

"So what do we do?" Clara questioned and the Doctor rushed over to the console before Alex could manage to get out of her restraints.

He reached out and turned a knob, the Tardis turning blue once more, as opposed to the dangerous red lights that had lit the interior when they'd entered.

"Put the handbrake on." The Doctor replied with a soft sigh of relief as he caught sight of Alex having calmed down slightly as well. "Alex, are you alright?"

Alex said nothing, just panting with wide eyes, looking frazzled with her tousled hair and clammy skin. The Doctor frowned and went over towards her, grabbing her head in his hands and kneeling in front of her to get her attention.

"Alexander, are you alright?" He repeated, slowly with more emphasis on the words as he pressed some of his calming presence onto her still panicked mind.

Finally, her eyes began to focus again and she turned to him in stunned confusion.

"W-What… What was I…" I brought a hand to her forehead, brows furrowed as the Doctor sighed softly and explained.

"The Tardis overwhelmed you, made you come back here and try to send us all off in her need to get away from these ghosts." He frowned then. "I thought you said you had control over it?"

She glared at him, letting him know that he _probably_ hadn't asked that question in the caring way he should have. "I _thought_ I did. I was fine and then the lights went out and…" She looked down at her hands that were still shaking slightly. "…and then everything was just screaming for me to run. Overpoweringly so. I don't even remember moving from the bridge."

The Doctor stood, dragging a hand down his face. "Her connection with you is deeper than what I thought then. You should be fine now though, but we'll need to keep an eye on her _and_ you." He said sternly and Alex twitched her lip up in an annoyed snarl, but stood with a nod.

"Fine."

"First we best take care of that arm of your while we're here."

Alex rolled her eyes, but begrudgingly allowed the Doctor to retrieve to things needed to stitch up the wound in her arm and bandage it with clean bandages; both missing the concerned look Clara gave the bickering couple. _Those two… Did something happen?_

* * *

"Stupid Doctor. What the hell's his problem anyhow?" I grumbled, rubbing at my shoulder as it ached and waiting for the Doctor and Clara to come back out.

'_I need to talk to Clara,' he says. 'Alone,' he says. And all he does is ignore me and yell at me this adventure. Seriously, I know I'm angry with him, but I'm doing my best to not be upset with his younger self. So why's he got to make that so difficult? It's not like I did anything wrong._ I scowled at the Tardis, more than displeased with her at the moment.

"This is _your_ fault." I grumbled to the ship. "I know you're upset, but a little 'Hey, I wanna leave' would have been nice. Now you've dragged me into it and Grumpy Brows is probably going to put me on house arrest. I won't be able to do _anything_ fun now."

The ship groaned out a complaint and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, try telling _him_ that." I replied, before a thought came to mind. "Hey, I never went into that ship that seems to be causing all the problems, right? So… technically, I shouldn't be bothered by the ghosts, yeah?"

The Tardis hummed uncertainly.

"I won't go _testing_ that theory, but anything's better than being watched twenty-four seven by the Doctor." I complained, digging through my pockets with a growing grin as I pulled out a notepad, pen, and tape. "I'll even leave him a note, so make sure he gets it, alright?"

She hummed again in worry, but I waved her off as I taped the note to the door handle.

"I'll be _fine._ I know how to take care of myself and if I even _see_ the ghosts, I'll go some other way, okay? So stop you're worrying."

She sounded more stern this time and I frowned.

"The Doctor? Why would I care if he gets a little angry?"

_She_ got angry then and I winced.

"Yes, yes, alright. I know he'll just worry, but I won't be away long. And if he really needs to, he can yell at me through our mental link. But seriously, it's his own fault." I pouted. "He's always yelling at me. I deserve to be a little adventurous too. Besides, he always ends up in danger and ignores _me_ when I scold him. He deserves a taste of his own medicine."

She hummed out a sigh and I grinned, patting her frame.

"Be back soon, sweetheart. So no more of that panic you keep pressing onto me, okay? If the Doctor's going to yell at me, it'll because I'm having more fun than him, not running away because you're upset."

The Tardis grumbled at that, but I just lifted a hand in a wave over my shoulder as I headed off with a bounce in my step and on the search for some adventure._ And won't he be upset if I find out something before him~_

* * *

The Doctor glanced back at the interior of the Tardis in slight concern as the ship let out another groan; wanting to leave, but unable to now that he'd put on the handbrake. When he went to close the door behind him though, he didn't expect to grab a handful of paper and peeled the note off the door handle with a frown.

"I'm going to strangle her." He snipped sharply, making Clara raise a brow and look over to take a glance at the note.

_**Yo! Went off **__**seeking adventure... I mean**__** to the restroom.**_

_**Won't be long, so no worries.**_

_**I'll avoid the ghostly ghouls.**_

_**Grab me some food too.**_

_**I desperately want some chips…**_

Clara raised a brow as she looked up at the greatly annoyed Doctor. "Did she really just write off 'seeking adventure' like we wouldn't notice?"

"She's doing this on purpose." The Doctor grumbled, not bothering to respond to Clara's question.

Clara went along with it. "Alright, and why would she do that? I mean, I _know_ she's a danger magnet, but I doubt she'd be willingly throwing herself out there just to spite you."

The Doctor went on though, as though he hadn't even heard her. "It's because I got angry earlier. Because I blamed her for running off."

"I really don't think—"

"Or is this because I said we were going to keep an eye on her now?" He questioned, cutting Clara off and beginning to pace as he scowled down at the note in his hand.

"Doctor—"

"This version of her is always hard to read."

"Doctor, I think—"

"Always wanting her freedom. Don't I give her freedom? She's the one who pops in and out all the time."

"_Doctor_."

"And she always complains when I'm not there! 'You're late', she says. 'It's been months!' And now she's run off to the restroom? Doesn't she know there's dangerous things wandering around here?"

"Doctor!" Clara shouted, and he turned, looking almost confused.

"What? Why are you yelling?" His eyes narrowed as he lowered the note. "You're angry too."

Clara sighed. "No, you just weren't listening. I was going to say that maybe Alex went off because she needed a break."

He frowned. "A break."

Clara nodded. "You know, some time by herself to think things over about this whole thing."

The Doctor stared at her for a moment, before shaking his head and walking away with her hot on his heels. "No, that's not it. Perhaps it was what she had for breakfast."

"Doctor! She didn't _actually_ go to the restroom!"

He rolled his eyes as she came up beside him. "Well, of course she did. It says right here in her note."

Clara took the note and pointed out the rewritten part. "Yeah, _after_ where she wrote 'seeking adventure'."

"So you're telling me that she purposely went off on her own, despite the obvious dangers around us, because she felt stifled by my presence due to me—her _husband_—informing her that I was concerned for her mental well-being and suggested she stay close by in case something else were to occur? She ran away because she didn't want me being worried over her?"

Clara opened her mouth to argue, but then closed it, suddenly very confused by the Doctor's round-about way of speaking that was correct, yet incorrect at the same time. Before she could decipher what he said and her response though, he nodded and resumed walking.

"That's what I thought. Therefore, we're just going to have to wait for her to return from the restroom, where I can properly scold her for acting so recklessly." He concluded and Clara let out a long, tired sigh; begrudgingly giving in to the Doctor's denial for now.

Though she still wondered whether the Doctor truly believe his own words and what Alex was up to that made her wander off on her own in a haunted underwater base.

* * *

I hummed as I walked, idly looking around in case I should run into any of the ghosts, but also in search of something that might give us an idea of what was going on. _Not that I'll actually find anything. The most I got was that it has to do with that ship in the hangar, but I'd rather not go in it to find out and accidentally join the others in being chased by the ghosts. Although… I might be wrong in assuming the ghost only started chasing us _after_ the Doctor went into the ship and they'll still chase me, but the only way of testing that theory would be to run into them on my own._ I struggled to hold back a smile. _Oh, look, I'm on my own._

"Oh, ghostly ghouls~" I chimed, not too loudly; what with the Tardis still making me slightly afraid of the see-through creatures.

I heard something then, stopping and tilting my head to try and hear it better. _Is someone talking? It sounds muffled._ The voice turned to shouting though and my eyes widened, realizing someone might be in trouble, and I dashed towards the noise. I skid to a halt, seeing the two ghosts standing before a door, but when the soldier one messed with the controls and I spotted Pritchard inside of whatever room in a helmet-less suit, I shouted in an attempt to stop the ghost.

"O-Oi! Stop that! What are you doing?!"

The ghost turned, stared at me with those black rimmed empty sockets, before turning back and pressing the controls. I cursed, giving caution to the wind and hurried over, passing right through the soldier as I heard water rushing into the compartment where Pritchard was. I scrambled to override the draining sequence, but I wasn't sure if I made it or not as the water began to leave the compartment. When I turned to the door though, I froze, mere centimeters from the soldier who was watching me. He just stared at me as I held my breath and hoped I was right about them not wanting me since I never went _into_ the ship, and when he and the other walked away without harming me, I let it out with a shudder of relief.

"That's one theory down." I muttered, grabbing the door handle and yanking it open, pulling Pritchard out of the room and into the corridor. "Come on, come on. Tell me I wasn't too late."

I checked for a pulse, discovered he wasn't breathing and cursed, beginning to do chest compressions. When he still wasn't responsive, I looked around in the hopes that someone was nearby, but he was alone and I winced. _The suit makes him too heavy to carry. And he's still unresponsive, though I think I felt a faint pulse. I'll need help, but do I risk leaving him here? The ghosts won't attack a half dead guy, will they?_

"Oh, this is _not_ the best situation." I grumbled, checking for a pulse once more and barely finding it there. "Pritchard, you better hang on. I'm going to go get help and if I find out you're dead before I get back, I'm going to be very cross with you." I murmured, giving him one last worried glance before bolting down the corridor.

_They're getting provisions to head back to the Faraway Cage, so they should be in the cafeteria area we were in earlier. Let's hope I remember which way to go._ I silently thought, skidding around a corner and bolting to the end of the hall as someone called over the intercom.

"_Pritchard, you are unaccounted for. Contact the bridge or get to the Faraday cage immediately. Pritchard, contact the bridge or get to the Faraday cage!_"

I grimaced, nearly to the cafeteria, before I heard O'Donnell a second time. Only this time, what she said had me confused.

"_Pritchard, you moron. Grab your stuff, we're locking down early._"

_How can she be speaking with him if I just left him… Oh no. Oh, please, no._ I picked up the pace, very nearly running _past_ the cafeteria before I stood in the doorway with my hands on my knees, panting.

"Alex! Where have you been? The Doctor's been—" Clara cut herself off. "Wait. What's wrong? What happened?"

"P-Pritchard." I panted out and she raised a brow.

"What about him? Do you need to talk to him? Pritchard, I think Alex wants to tell you something."

I looked up and paled at the sight of Pritchard's back; the man supposedly standing and facing away from us.

"C-Clara, that's not him."

"What do you mean, 'that's not him?'" She frowned and I stood upright with a tight expression.

"Because I just pulled Pritchard out of an airlock chamber after the ghosts tried to drown him."

Her and Bennett's eyes widened in shock as the Pritchard in front of us turned around to reveal his own black eye sockets and Clara took a hesitant step back.

"He's a ghost. He's another ghost." She murmured as the others rushed into the room, before looking at me. "But you said you just left him."

I winced. "I pulled him out and tried to resuscitate him. When I ran here for help, he still had a pulse, though it was weak. I would have carried him, but that wet suit weighed a ton. I could barely pull him from the airlock and moving him further could risk more damage. Staying with him would have left us both sitting ducks and there was nothing more I could do without help. One can only do chest compressions by themselves for so long before their strength gives out. Even me… His heart must have given out after I ran here."

The ghost of Pritchard picked up a plastic chair then, raising it above his head as he advanced towards us. Before he could reach us, thankfully, the lights went out and came back on brighter; making him vanish and the chair fall to the ground.

"_Good morning. Entering day mode._" The computer announced and the group let out sighs of relief.

I rubbed the back of my neck though, turning to the group beside me. "Does anyone want to help me go get Pritchard? The least we can do is put his body somewhere safe so we can return it to his family later."

"I'll help." Bennett offered and Lunn joined me as well as we went to retrieve him.

We had to strip him from the wet suit filled with water in order to move him, but we then brought him to his old room and laid him down; covering him with a sheet solemnly before returning to the others in the bridge as they watched video footage of what had happened.

"That's about where I heard him." I said, gesturing to the screen as Pritchard started shouting at the ghost and the Doctor frowned as the footage revealed me charging straight through the soldier ghost on screen.

"And you just rushed in?"

I held back the cringe at the angry tone of his voice, knowing he wasn't pleased about my running off on my own to begin with. "Well, I had a theory that needed testing, and them not attacking me proved it."

"And what theory was worth risking your life?" He snapped harshly.

"The theory on whether the ghosts were aiming for people who entered that ship in the hangar." I replied, fighting to keep the bite out of my own tone. "Which is true, by the way. They didn't do anything. And it wasn't like there was anything they could have used as weapons in that area anyway. They're harmless unless their armed, so I was fine. I wasn't _completely_ reckless."

"Oh ho." He laughed sarcastically. "Not completely reckless. Is that right? No, course not. Why would running off on your own in an underwater base full of killer ghosts be reckless?"

I grit my teeth, feeling a fight brewing like hot coals in my stomach, barely managing to stuff it down as I went over to a chair and sat in it; crossing my arms and glaring at him.

"Fine. You want me to sit around and do nothing, then that's what I'll do. Have fun figuring this out on your own. I'll be sure to just sit here and stay out of trouble." I said sharply, pulling out a book and moving to sit sideways in the chair as I slipped on my reading glasses and promptly ignored him and the rest. _I'm sick and tired of him acting like he's the only one who can go into danger and not have to listen to those scolding him. If he wants me to do nothing, then that's what I'll do. If he regrets it, that's his own problem._ I thought bitterly, though a part of me was upset that this was how things turned out. _Who would have thought that it would be Twelve that I would have relationship issues with?_ I internally sighed, slouching into my chair now that things had calmed slightly and the Doctor turned his attention to dealing with the crew of the base. _What I wouldn't give to just have a nice peaceful adventure… for a Doctor who would just make me happy right now…_

* * *

"What did you do that for?!" Bennet questioned the Doctor, who'd just told the rescue group that had been on their way to them, to return.

"Well, none of us sent the message, did we?" He said, sharper than he wanted to, but Alex had him frustrated. "So that means that the ghosts sent it, which means they want that crew down here."

"Why would they do that?" Lunn asked, confused.

"Well, I don't know, but I'm pretty certain it's not so they can all form a boy band." The Doctor complained, before turning to Alex. "Any ideas?"

She briefly glanced at him from behind her glasses, before turning them back to her book. The Doctor was surprised for a moment, before he understood and quickly scowled. _Of course. She's angry and now she's throwing a tantrum like a child and giving me the silent treatment because I wouldn't let her have her way._ _Very well. If that's how she wants it._

"Okay. W-We solve this on our own." He said, turning away from her. "The ghosts can only come out at night so they change the base's time settings. Why? What's different at night?"

He winced as he realized he'd begun to turn towards Alex in the hopes of a clever response. _This… may be harder than I thought._

"It's mainly atmospheric." O'Donnell explained. "The lights are dim, the noise from the engines is muffled."

"No. Something, something else."

"'The diagnostic sweep.'" Lunn translated from Cass. "'When the systems are checked, that stops at night to save power.'"

The Doctor's eyes narrowed. "What systems specifically?"

"Life support, the locks. They're electromagnetic. They have to be secured in case of flooding, so throughout the day, they're checked—one by one—every few seconds."

The Doctor noticed Alex's hands tighten on her novel, informing him that she had an idea of what was going on, but he stubbornly bit his tongue to keep from asking her; instead muttering to himself.

"The answer is in there somewhere; I can smell it."

"Doctor, what do we do?" Clara asked, though the Doctor could tell in the reflection of the glass in front of him that she'd wanted to ask Alex something similar.

He abruptly turned around and looked at O'Donnell. "O'Donnell. Excellent work, returning the base to day mode."

"Shut up. It was nothing." She said, looking embarrassed—the Doctor taking slight amusement in ruffling Alex's feathers. "You really think so?"

"Now put it back into night mode." The Doctor demanded and O'Donnell gave him a disbelieving look.

"What?!"

"We know nothing. We don't know what they want. That's what's getting us killed. Well, I won't run. Not anymore. So, O'Donnell, _kindly_ put the base back into night mode. We want to know what these ghosts are after? We ask them. We're going to do the impossible. We're going to capture a ghost."

* * *

The Doctor's plan to capture the ghosts went without a hitch, though it helped that he didn't use Lunn due to my previous information that by not having gone into the ship in the hangar, him and I were safe from the ghosts. Upon discovering what the ghosts were saying, however, we weren't pleased to find out that whatever was causing these ghosts was purposely killing people in order to make some signal stronger. I fought to keep from acting like I was interested, but I was _extremely_ intrigued by this whole thing and was immediately thinking about how to keep every person here safe. _Because at this point, everyone's a target. The Doctor and I more so. If I'm lucky, I can convince the crew to leave and that'll just leave keeping the three of us safe._ Bennett seemed to have had the same line of thought, giving the Doctor a look like he was nuts for suggesting investigating further despite the ghosts being secured.

"But we're safe now. The ghosts are in the cage. We can get out of here."

"You should." I spoke up, glancing at the crew. "Everyone here's a target now. You guys leave, you live longer and won't risk becoming one of those ghosts and hunting down the rest of the crew."

The Doctor though, seemed dead set on being against me in _everything_ today though, and immediately came up with a counter argument.

"But, you know…" He gestured to Cass, Lunn, and O'Donnell. "…_you_ have chosen to protect and serve." Then he pointed to Bennett. "_You _have given yourself to science and the pursuit of knowledge. None of you have chosen anonymous or selfish lives. Go, and a part of you will always wonder, 'What would have happened if I'd stayed? How could I have helped? What would I have learned'. I want you to go." He insisted, though I was frowning at his words. "But you should know what it is that you're leaving."

Cass didn't hesitate long before giving her answer with Lunn translating.

"Cass says we should go, but everything that happens here is her responsibility now, so she's going to stay." He fidgeted for a moment before giving in as well. "So I, uh, guess I should too."

"Well, count me in." O'Donnell grinned. "Who wants to live forever, anyway?"

"Sorry, um, have you gone insane? We can go home." Bennet questioned, seeming like the sane one of the group, but, of course, he too gave in. "They're ghosts though. How can they be ghosts? Well, at least if I die, you know I really will come back and haunt you all." He joked after a teasing grin of O'Donnell.

I stood up then, nodding towards the door at the Doctor. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

He raised a brow. "Oh, _now_ you want to talk?"

"Oh, sod this." I snipped, storming over and grabbing him by his ear; pulling him out of the room while he complained.

I finally released him once we were out of earshot of the others and rounded on him with a glare. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?! Telling them to stay, when you _know_ how any one of them could get killed."

"_You_ were the one just lounging around reading instead of helping." He countered.

"Because _you_ insisted that I was incapable of doing anything other than causing trouble because the _Tardis_ decided to use me to express her sudden need to run!"

"You told me you had control over it!"

"Well, sorry I'm not some genius Time Lord who can put up barriers against everything! Including memories of their own damn wife!"

"It's this regeneration!"

"And whose fault is that?! If you hadn't sent me away, then you might have still been Eleven!"

"Sorry that I've gotten old!"

"I don't _care_ that you're old! All I care about is the fact that you think you can recklessly throw yourself into danger and get away with it, but the moment anyone else does, they're banned from doing anything!"

"I just don't want anyone to get hurt!"

"Neither do I!" I shouted back, before taking in a deep shuddering breath and lowering my voice as I gave him a stern look. "And that includes you, you moron."

He frowned, lowering his voice as well. "That's different."

I scowled again. "How is my concern for you any different? All those feelings of panic and worry that you feel for me every time I end up in danger is exactly the same as what I feel when you're in the same danger."

He went quiet and I took a step towards him, still frowning; though less in anger and more in confusion.

"You don't honestly believe that I don't feel worried about you? My whole being in this universe was because I was worried about you. Seeing you run off headfirst into danger, seeing you hurt, threatened. You think I don't care?"

He had his head turned away from me, stubbornly refusing to look at me and reveal whatever it was that was going through his mind.

"Doctor, I've been through a lot up until now, but you know the one thing that hurts me the most? It's none of the nightmares or the phantom aches or the scars or anything more than the thought of you getting into danger."

"And you constantly put yourself in the same danger." He grumbled and I sighed.

"Yes, incidentally, but not always on purpose. And when I _do_ do it on purpose, it's usually because I'm chasing after you to make sure you don't end up in trouble that you can't get yourself out of. Either that, or I'm trying to help keep people safe." I frowned then, remembering what this conversation had initially been about. "So way did you encourage them to stay?"

"I didn't encourage them." He grumbled, myself about to retort if he hadn't continued. "I was just informing them of their choices." He turned back to me then, looking at me with a small frown. "Isn't that what you told me to do?"

"_You shut the hell up, because this is not your decision to make! It's not your life, it's hers and I won't ever let you take that choice from anyone. Got it?!"_ My voice from 'The Water's of Mars' echoed in my own ears, mixing with the shouts from our more recent dealing with Clara's death that he _hadn't even been through yet._ I wasn't sure what to do though, now that I had this revelation. _He was just doing what I said. He was just giving them a choice on how they wanted to die or not die. This damn infuriating man, just threw my argument out the window. W-What am I supposed to say? He was only doing what I'd told him, so… so what was _I_ doing?_ I brought a hand to my head in confusion and guilt, lowering my eyes to his feet.

"S-Sorry. I don't… I don't know why I was so… I just wanted to help." My brows furrowed as a frown formed on my face. "I've always been so focused on saving people, but… when did I stop giving them the choice?"

The Doctor sighed heavily and brought his hands to my head, tipping my face back up to meet his as he pressed his forehead to mine and I immediately felt myself relax. My tense muscles loosened like tense coils unraveling, and I realized then, just how tense I'd gotten. _The Tardis…_ I thought, my mind trailing languidly after the Doctor's in my head as he pushed back the pressure the Tardis had snuck through my barriers, putting up one of his own to make _sure_, this time, that they stayed away from my own emotions. I felt a bit sheepish now, knowing that a good majority of my anger, frustration, and shouting earlier had been because of my inability to keep the invading Tardis out of my system and—with the Doctor freely roaming my head—he felt this as well. He pulled out of my mind, but kept his hands and head where they were, brushing one hand over the side of my head.

"It's not your fault, Alex."

"Sure doesn't feel that way." I muttered, not meeting his eyes.

"As you said, you're not a _genius_ Time Lord." He teased with a smirk, making me flush like a little school girl with a crush.

"S-Shut up." I complained lightly, pushing against his head with my own like a small shove.

He chuckled though, feeling pleased that our little altercation was nothing more than interference from the Tardis accentuating my own hidden self-doubt.

"I'll be sure to teach you some more tricks after this, Alexander." He told me, kissing my temple. "And you're always trying your hardest for everyone, and that's all anyone can ask of you. Rather than questioning whether you're giving them the choice or not, wonder about what they will be able to do thanks to you."

He moved away and started to head back to the room, but I took the extra bounds forward to grab his hand in mine. He glanced down at me briefly, but simply squeezed my hand in his as I walked beside him.

"Thanks." I said quietly, still feeling a bit guilty, but having more confidence in myself now than I had a few moments ago.

He hummed his acknowledgement and once we re-entered the bridge, I grinned brightly over at the worried looking Clara, who immediately relaxed with a soft sigh of relief and returned a small smile.

"Well then!" I chirped, getting the crew's attention. "How are we getting to the church?"

* * *

The Doctor felt significantly better after he and Alex had made up, though he did feel guilty that it had taken him so long to realize that she wasn't acting like herself due to the Tardis once again. _It's always hard to tell with this version of hers. Though she says much the same about this version of me. Quite the pair, we are._ He mused, watching her fondly as she gapped at Bennett working with the underwater sub to retrieve the white casket-like object they'd discovered upon searching the church outside their little base. _Whether she's more excite about the casket or the submarine, I haven't the slightest._ He thought with a small smile, earning a nudge from Clara that made him frown down at her in slight annoyance.

"What?" He grumbled.

"Just glad you two made up." She replied, making him shuffle awkwardly.

"We weren't fighting."

"That's not what it sounded like from here." She argued. "We could hear you guys yelling for a little while there."

"It was mostly the Tardis." He informed her, not wanting her to place the entire blame on their foul moods on Alex and himself. "The ship is stubborn and slipped through some small gaps in her mental barriers. She was willing to let me place my own mental block in her mind though, so she'll be fine now. I'll get rid of it later."

Clara raised a brow, but said nothing more as Alex excitedly bounded over, practically bouncing on her toes.

"Can I help get it? Can I?" She asked the Doctor, who rolled his eyes at her childishness.

"Why are you asking me?"

"Whoo!" She cheered, dashing off with a vaguely confused Bennett and O'Donnell.

The Doctor shook his head in amusement, before Lunn spoke up; translating for Cass.

"Um, Cass is wondering how you two ended up together." He told the Doctor, looking a little awkward translating the sort of rude sounding question. "'She seems rather happy-go-lucky, whereas you're rude.' Ah… That's what she says, anyway."

The Doctor gave the unapologetic woman an amused look. "I sometimes wonder the same, but she keeps me right, and that's what matters."

Clara grinned then, leaning forward like she was sharing a secret. "You wouldn't know it, but she was _super_ shy when she was younger. She's much more childish and outgoing now."

"Just don't make her angry." The Doctor said seriously, though the comment sounded rather offhanded. "She's made _armies_ turn tail and run when she's angry."

Cass looked surprised, silently questioning Lunn if she'd read that right and the man grimaced, informing her that, yeah. Alex could apparently scare armies away. The group relocated to the hangar where the casket was then brought back in, Bennett and O'Donnell carrying one end with Alex happily carrying the other. They placed it down before everyone and Alex turned to the Doctor.

"Looks like we found the missing suspended animation chamber from the spaceship."

He hummed in agreement as he looked it over and Clara circled the device as well.

"So the pilot could be in there." She said, but Alex scratched her head.

"Or, it's a casket. Shaped like one, anyway, but what do I know about suspended-animation chambers?" She shrugged.

"Either way, there's something inside there." The Doctor replied. "But it's deadlock sealed. I can't open it. It should be the pilot. It should be. So why do Alex and I think it isn't? More questions. Everything I solve, just more questions. I have to go back to the beginning." He said, standing and quickly trying to piece everything together. "We arrive, we see the ghosts. They don't kill us. They lead us here, they show us the spaceship. _Then_ they try to kill us."

"_But_—" Alex added in, taking a step forward. "—I was safe earlier. As was Lunn. Neither of us went into the ship, therefore—"

"It has to do with what's in the ship." The Doctor concluded, heading inside said ship and brushing his hands over the symbols carved into the side of the ship. "not translated by the Tardis, but why?" He questioned quietly, putting on his sonic shades before removing them and heading back out into the hangar. "Lunn, translate for me." He said, looking directly at Cass. "Whenever I step outside, you are the smartest person in the room other than my wife, who's been a little cross lately. So, tell me, what's weird about this? I know that it's all bonkers but, you know, when _you_ think about it, one thing keeps snagging in your mind. What is it?"

Cass began to sign back as Lunn spoke for her. "'The markings on the inside of the spaceship.'"

"The markings on the inside of the spaceship. Yes! Why?"

"'I don't think they're just words.'"

"They're not. Alex was right."

"Hm, not words I hear from you often enough." Alex hummed as the Doctor bounded over and kissed her on the cheek.

"Hold on. Right about what?" Clara questioned, earning a pout from Alex as the Doctor explained.

"The words are magnets. A localized manufactured electromagnetic field, to be precise. And what did Alex ask me earlier when I informed her that a Faraday Cage blocked radio waves?"

"'Are _they_ radio waves'." Clara realized as Alex grinned, chest puffed up in pride at her early catch.

"Exactly. Radio waves, which are also electromagnetic waves." He smiled, turning back to the crew. "The dark. The sword. The forsaken. The temple. When we heard the coordinates for the first time, did anyone expect them not to be that; other than Alex and Lunn? No, exactly. Me neither. It's like we already knew, somehow. Like the words were already in us."

"So that writing _is_ the coordinates?" O'Donnell asked, attempting to wrap her head around things as well.

"Everything we see or experience shapes us in some way. But these words actually rewrite the synaptic connections in your brain. They literally change the way you are wired. Clara, why don't I have a radio in the Tardis?"

Alex gapped. "You got rid of the radio?!"

Clara nodded apologetically. "He took it apart when you were gone and used the pieces to make a clockwork squirrel."

Alex frowned in confusion, mouthing the words 'clockwork squirrel' silently as Clara shrugged and the Doctor groaned.

"_And_ because whatever song I heard first thing in the morning, I was stuck with. Two weeks of 'Mysterious Girl' by Peter Andre. I was begging for the brush of Death's merciful hand. Don't you see? These words are an earworm. A song you can't stop humming, even after you die."

Clara seemed to understand then. "Okay, so, the spaceship lands here. The pilot leaves the writing on the wall so whoever sees it, when they die, they become a beacon of the coordinates, while he slash she slash it snoozes in the suspended-animation chamber—"

"—waiting for his slash her slash its mates to pick the message up." The Doctor finished, getting more and more excited. "My God. Every time I think it couldn't get more extraordinary, it surprises me. It's impossible. I hate it. It's evil. It's astonishing. I want to kiss it to death."

He abruptly turned to Alex and dipped her back in a passionate kiss, before pulling her upright and smirking at her very confused—but not displeased—expression.

"Kissing. Kissing is good." She rattled out, probably only half-conscious that she said it out loud.

"_Attention all crew._" The computer rang out then, making everyone stop and stare at the intercom in confusion. "_Evacuate base immediately. Emergency protocols have been initiated. This safety message was brought to you by Vector Petroleum. Fuel for our futures._"

O'Donnell rushed to a computer panel nearby with Cass on her heels.

"Oh, no. The ghosts tampering with the day-night settings caused a computer malfunction. I-It's its first priority is to keep the reactor cool, so it's opening the hull doors and it's flooding the base." She told us as we began to hear the flood of water and Cass rapidly began to sign.

"Cass says, 'Close the internal flood doors. That'll contain the water in the central corridor.'"

"Where's the Tardis?" The Doctor asked.

"On the other side."

"We need to get there. It's our only way out."

"Okay. We've got thirty second before the flood doors close."

The group immediately bolted down the corridors, the Doctor, Bennett and O'Donnell in the lead with Alex, Clara, Cass, and Lunn not far behind. Running became harder as the water flooded in further and began to rise, but then Alex's group got closed off behind the floodgate.

"Doctor!" Clara called out and the Doctor looked back and barely managed to dive through the last floodgate.

He and Alex turned on the intercom on either side so that he could speak to their group.

"I'll get you and the others out. Sit tight. I'll come back for you."

"Just come over here in the Tardis now." Clara asked, but Alex shook her head.

"There's no way the Tardis would allow it. You saw how badly she wants to stay away from the ghosts. The only way he could actually land here again is if they're gone."

Clara's eyes widened and she turned back to the window in the door. "You can't just leave us!"

"Listen to me. I'm going back in time to when this spaceship landed. If I can understand why this is happening, I can stop them killing anyone else. I can save you and Alex. You trust me, don't you, Clara?"

Clara hesitated, but once the water levels had rose so that the Doctor could see her, she nodded. The Doctor though, locked eyes with Alex, who smiled and gave him a small nod back.

"_I'll keep her safe, Doctor. But that means you better work hard as hell to do the same for them. Lock them in the Tardis if you have to. Not to be mean, but O'Donnell is rather headstrong. You'll be lucky if you can convince her to stay put. And if you can manage to come back with the both of them intact, then perhaps you and I can arrange a date better than the one I had with your Sixth self."_ She told him with a wink and he smirked back, nodding his head in agreement before turning around and walking to the Tardis; determined as all hell.

Alex, equally as determined, smiled to the small group behind her. "Well, come on then. I'm hungry."

Clara frowned at her as she led the way. "Alex, we're trapped in here with ghosts trying to kill us and all you can think about is your stomach?"

"We'll be _fine_." Alex waved off as they entered the cafeteria, though the others weren't as convinced.

"You're sure they're not going to hurt us?" Lunn questioned.

"They can't get out of the Faraday cage, so we're safe." Alex hummed, moving to dig through provisions. "And even if they did find a way out, we can just trick them back in or sneak around them and get into the room ourselves."

"'And you're sure the Doctor won't just leave us here'?" Lunn translated for Cass, but Clara responded this time.

"Guys, look. This is how we roll. He's going to go away, come back and we'll have to listen to how he did it." She said, though she noticed Lunn and Cass staring out the window. "Alex?"

"Hm?" Alex hummed, a bar of some sort hanging out of her mouth as she came out from under a counter.

The group gathered around the window, seeing a ghost beginning to form, and Lunn asked the question on everyone's mind.

"Is it Moran, or Pritchard, or the mole guy? H-How did they get out?"

"No, I don't think that's any of them. I think it's… a new ghost." Clara said, brows furrowed in concern.

"What does that mean?" Lunn asked.

"It means that something happened in that past." Clara said. "It means that somebody else must have… Oh, no. Oh no, no, no, no." Clara breathed out as the black eye sockets of the Doctor stared blankly back at them and Alex's food bar dropped to the floor.

"I'm going to kill him."


	91. Before the Flood

**Here's the next chapter, everyone! I was at a convention this weekend and had a blast, as well as catching up on writing chapters for this, so I _might_ post the next one next week instead of the week after :) Hope you all like this one and I will post links for the episode I'm using for the next chapter on my profile! So please watch "Destiny of the Daleks" with the Fourth Doctor so you have an idea of the plot! I had lots of fun writing this weekend and got to meet my all time favorite voice actor J. Michael Tatum, who was as kind as can be :3 But ignore my rambling.  
Again though, please watch "Destiny of the Daleks" with the Fourth Doctor before i post the next chapter and review if you can! i'm always curious to see what you all have to think on my chapters ^^**

* * *

"Where's Bennett?" The Doctor questioned O'Donnell as he got a quick look around where they'd ended up. "We need to get going."

"Oh, he's still throwing up. One small step for man, one giant hulgh." She said, mimicking Bennett's possible vomiting noise. "I doubt Rose or Martha or Amy lost their breakfast on their first trip."

"Oh, time travel does that sometimes. Alex had a problem with that not too long ago. Didn't happen because of the Tardis. Vortex manipulators are a far nastier ride."

O'Donnell gave him a look. "So you two really are married then? Never saw you as the settling down type."

"I'm not, and neither is she. She pops around my timeline due to a part of the Tardis's soul trapped in her shoulder."

"You're kidding. She's got like, a mini time machine in her shoulder?" O'Donnell gapped and the Doctor hummed. "That's amazing… Or, well, that's pretty cool, but she _is_ the Seer though, right?"

The Doctor looked back at her, eyes slightly narrowed in suspicion. "You seem to know an awful lot about my wife and I."

"I used to be military intelligence. I was demoted for dangling a colleague out of a window."

"Hm, you sound like my wife." The Doctor grumbled, knowing that Alex would very much do the same thing sometimes, if she had the opportunity.

"What year are we in?" O'Donnell questioned then and the Doctor wet his finger and held it up to test the air.

"1980."

"So, Pre-Harold Saxon—"

The Doctor stiffened at the faux name of the Master, pushing back painful memories of what had happened to him, his companions, and Alex.

"—Pre-Minister of War, Pre-moon exploding and a big bat coming out."

"The Minister of War?" The Doctor questioned, silently wondering if Alex might have a clue of what she was talking about. "No, never mind. I expect I'll find out soon enough."

Bennett finally decided to join them then, looking better, but still a little green around the gills. "Sorry about that. Had a prawn sandwich. Might have been off."

"Ah, ha. Don't worry." The Doctor mused, silently wondering if he should make them stay in the Tardis now or later. _There's no danger yet. The moment I feel there is, I'll shut them in there. _"Shall we go?"

"Just one sec. I've just got something in my boot." O'Donnell said and the Doctor rolled his eyes before heading off, smiling slightly to himself as his prefect hearing heard the woman bouncing up and down exclaiming about the Tardis being bigger on the inside.

_I've still got it._ He thought, before the two joined him and his schooled his expression once more; attempting to focus on the current situation.

"Why have we gone to Russia?" Bennett questioned, taking in the Russian signs and such for what they appeared to be, instead of seeing the fake police guard and people dummies scattered about.

"Uh, we haven't. We're still in Scotland. This is the town before it flooded. The Tardis has brought us to when the spaceship first touched down. But here and now, it's the height of the Cold War. The military were being trained for offensives on Soviet soil."

They came upon the open spaceship then and headed towards it. Upon spotting the, rather large, mummy inside, the Doctor let out a long sigh and pulled a hand through his hair.

"Right again." He muttered under his breath, but Bennett heard him.

"What's that?"

"My wife. I haven't been listening to her again. Her gut instinct and anthropological training tend to usually lead down the right path." He explained, waving a hand around the ship. "She was questioning the color of the outside and inside of the ship. Black outside, white inside. How the suspended-animation chamber looked like a casket. This isn't just any spaceship. It's a hearse, and that's the body."

Bennett checked the flooring where the power cell had gone missing in the future and pointed it out to the Doctor.

"The power cells for the engine is still here."

"And there are no markings on the wall." O'Donnell said next, gesturing to the blank white wall of the interior.

"Yet." The Doctor tacked on, the three of them heading back out of the ship to see the Tivolian heading for them. "And right as to the pilot as well." He caught the two giving him a strange look and rolled his eyes. "Alex mentioned how it was odd that he was out of place with the ghosts. Knew he wasn't one of your crew, which made him the crew of the spaceship. All because of his hat." He scowled as the Tivolian waved his handkerchief at them.

"Greetings!" The Tivolian called, hurrying up to them with a grin and getting in their faces. "Remarkable. Oh, and humans too. Albar Prentis, Funeral Director." He said, passing out his business card to them.

"You're from Tivoli, aren't you?" Bennett questioned, remembering the planet name the Doctor gave them.

"The most invaded planet in the galaxy!" The mole-man practically cheered, missing the fact that the Doctor had tossed his business card over his shoulder and to the ground. "Our capital city has a sign saying, 'If you occupied us, you'd be home by now.'"

"Yes, my wife and I have had dealings with your lot before. I can't say I'm a fan." The Doctor grumbled.

"No, we do tend to antagonize." Prentis chuckled; none of them hearing the noise from nearby aside from O'Donnell who looked around in confusion for a moment.

"What are you doing here?" The Doctor questioned the mole-man, getting things back on track.

"Ah, yes. Of course. This…" Prentis bounded up the ramp and bowed his head slightly as he gestured to the mummy in his ship. "…is the Fisher King. He and his armies invaded Tivoli and enslaved us for ten glorious years! Until we were liberated by the Arcateenians. But, thank the Gods, soon we'd irritated them so much, they enslaved us, too!" he chuckled again as Bennett complained quietly.

"My first proper alien, and he's an idiot."

"And now, in accordance with Arcateenian custom, I've come to bury him on a barren, savage outpost." Prentis continued, unbothered.

"You mean, this town?" O'Donnell asked and the Doctor corrected her.

"He means the planet."

Prentis couldn't help but be excited, knowing that the Doctor himself wasn't human and was easily capable of liberating his species of the Arcateenians.

"Although, at the risk of starting a bidding war, _you_ could enslave me. In the ship I have directions to my planet and a selection of items that you can oppress me with."

The Doctor grimaced in annoyance and discuss. "My wife wouldn't approve. Now listen. We've come from the future. You're about to send some sort of signal. How do you do it? Is it a special pen?"

Prentis looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"The technology you use. The thing that wrenches the soul out of the body and makes it repeat your coordinates for eternity. Give it to me now, I'm going to take the batteries out."

"We don't have anything like that." Prentis laughed awkwardly. "Even this belongs to the glorious Arcateenians."

"So who sends the message?" The Doctor asked out loud, not really expecting an answer from the clueless mole-man in front of him, and looking at the mummy on the slab. _No, it couldn't be…_ "Back to the Tardis." He ordered O'Donnell and Bennett. "I need to talk to Alex."

* * *

I paced back and forth not far from the window that held our view of the ghost Doctor. _Why? Why would the Doctor have died? Something either happened because he didn't have back up—thanks to me telling him to shut those two away should they have the potential to possibly get killed—or this is a lie. One possibility of an easily changeable time-stream. But that can't be right. We're seeing this now, which means it _will_ happen. This is an unchangeable event. Unless the Doctor can somehow come up with a plan that will prevent this. Prevent his death. He's done it before. Lake Silencio was an excellent example._ I grimaced, bringing a hand up to my shoulder that had ached at the thought of what had happened to _me_ at that time. _In order for him to do that though, he has to know that his ghost is here. We have to talk to him somehow, but how? Call the Tardis? But he might not even be in it to answer the phone._ I stopped pacing, glaring at the ghost of the Doctor standing out in the ocean mouthing words; my arms crossed defiantly over my chest. _No, we have to wait for _him_ to get into contact with _us_. There's no other way and even then, he better damn well have a plan. If not, then I need to help him think of something. Something that can show me how he dies, what he dies from, anything, because I can't talk to him mentally. Not through time. So I need to have something ready for when he calls us._

I narrowed my eyes, looking over every inch of the Doctor before us. _Okay, Pritchard had his suit on when he died and so did his ghost. So however the Doctor is killed, there would be evidence of that. A hole in his suit from a gunshot or blaster. Smears of dirt or mud if he'd fallen or skid or had been crushed by rubble or something. Scorch marks, residue, scars, anything._ My eyes caught sight of something then and I moved to the left slightly for a better look. _There. His shoulder sleeve is torn, but that's it? Just a torn sleeve? It's possible he could have drowned or been burned to death like Pritchard and Moran, who have no evidence of that on their ghosts, but the Doctor wouldn't die from something meager like that. Strangulation? No, that's not right either. Something's wrong here, but what?_ I was startled out of my thoughts by a rapid tapping on the back of one of the plastic chairs, turning to Cass as she began signing and Lunn translated, though I hardly needed it.

"Cass thinks the Doctor's saying something different to the others." Lunn explained and I turned back to the ghost, mouthing the words the other ghosts had been saying and finding out myself that it didn't match.

"She's right. The words from the others aren't matching his mouth movements." I agreed. "But I'm rusty on lip-reading, so I'll leave that to her."

Lunn nodded, his translation continued as Cass told us what she was seeing. "He's saying 'Moran, Pritchard, Apprentice—No, Prentis, O'Donnell, Alex, Clara, Doctor, Bennett, Cass.' It's a list of all our names and when he finishes, he just goes back to the beginning again, over and over. That's it."

"Who's Prentis?" Clara asked and I frowned.

"The only one here who hasn't been named: the dead Tivoli." I stared long and hard at the Doctor's ghost. "But why is he saying something different? And why everyone's names? Helping perhaps? But I don't understand. This is all wrong. I don't know how, but it's wrong. Why is only his ghost different from the others?"

A phone went off then and I didn't bother turning my gaze away from the ghost as Clara answered her cell phone.

"It's the Doctor."

"He's alive?" Lunn questioned and I answered without shifting my gaze.

"Different time stream. This ghost is the outcome of a past event that hasn't happened for the Doctor yet."

Lunn nodded and translated for Cass the news as Clara spoke to the Doctor.

"Doctor? Doctor, are you alright?"

"_Yeah, fine. So listen, the spaceship, it's a hearse. Alex, you were right._"

"Again, thanks for listening." I chimed in, though still frowning at the ghost.

The Doctor could probably tell I was distracted and, being able to see Clara's face, undoubtedly knew something was wrong.

"_Clara, what's wrong?_"

"Another ghost appeared." Clara said, pausing and unsure how to keep going, was my guess.

"_What? Who? Has someone died?_"

"Doctor, it's you." She told him and there was silence. "Are you okay?"

"_Yeah... Well, currently._" He said, though didn't sound too pleased, making me silently wish I was there to help him.

_No one likes being told about their impeding death._

"What does it mean?" Clara questioned.

"_It means I die._"

I closed my eyes briefly, taking in a deep breath and letting it out as Clara argued with him.

"No, not necessarily. We can change the sequence of events so—"

"_This isn't a potential future. This is the future now. It's already happened. The proof is right there in front of you. I have to die._"

"No. You can change things."

"_I can't. Even the tiniest change, the ramifications could be catastrophic. It could spread carnage and chaos across the universe like ripple on a pond._" The Doctor replied, attempting to sound not so bothered by this turn of events, but I couldn't quite tell if he was serious or just joking to ease his own tense emotions when it was over the phone. "_Oh, well. I've had a good innings. This regeneration, it's a bit of a clerical error anyway. I've got to go sometime._"

"Not with me!" Clara snapped at him, making me finally turn away from the ghost with a small frown. "Die with whoever comes after me. You do _not _leave _me_." She turned to me then, angrily glaring at me. "And why aren't you saying anything?! He's your husband and you're just standing there like you don't even care!"

"_Clara._" The Doctor said sharply, getting her attention once more as I turned back to the ghost with a strained expression. "_I need to talk to you just on your own._"

I closed my eyes as Clara took the phone off of speaker and moved to a corner to speak with him. _It's alright. You can do this, Alex. Just try to find a way to help. He'll come up with something and if he doesn't then… then you're in charge. You need to keep your head on your shoulders. Stay calm. You can get upset and mourn later. Right now, you need to be brave, Be the Doctor's wife. _Help him_. Help him by helping yourself and figuring out what to do next._ I let out the breath I'd been holding, pushing back the urge to want to break down and give in to the torrent of emotions attempting to boil over, and I opened my eyes to stare at the ghost once more. _Find out what it is about this ghost that's wrong._ My brows furrowed then, thinking back to what the Doctor had said about chaos and ripples. _It's a reference to Utah, isn't it? Is he trying to tell me something? Is this going to be like that? But this ghost… How does the ghost play into all this if it _is_ a plan?_

"_So, ghost me. You've got a better view than me. How do I look?_" the Doctor asked, apparently done speaking alone with Clara and back on speakerphone. "_Any signs of trauma, any scars? Any clues as to how I die?_"

"Um, well, I haven't really looked close enough." Clara hesitantly admitted and I put my hand out behind me.

"Give me the phone."

She nodded and passed it over.

"Alright, first thing's first. Next time I see you if you're alive, I'm going to hit you." I said sharply. "Second, if you're dead, I'm going to endlessly torture your ghost, so you better be fucking prepared."

"_Language._" He chided me and I narrowed my eyes.

"You don't get to scold me on my language. You're dead."

"Alex!" Clara protested, but the Doctor let out a small chuckle.

"_Yes, alright. So what do you have for me, Alexander?_"

I huffed, but stared back at the ghost. "You have a tear in your coat on the right shoulder where the seam is. No outward trauma of any kind, but Moran was burned to death and Pritchard drowned and neither of them show signs either."

"_Trust you to be blunt about something like death._" He teased lightly and I rolled my eyes.

"It was my job and I did it well. Don't patronize me."

"_Yes, yes. Of course…_" He lowered his voice a bit. "_I know you're doing your best, Alexander._"

I stiffened at those words, having to take a breath to control myself once more for fear I would reveal to Clara—who was panicked and upset enough already—that I wasn't exactly pleased about this scenario either.

"And you're saying something different and I don't like it."

"_Different from the other ghosts?_"

"Yes. A list of our names. Moran, Pritchard, Prentis—who I'm assuming is the Tivoli—O'Donnell, Alex, Clara, Doctor, Bennett, Cass." I scowled down at the phone then, eyes narrowed. "And you better do what I told you before you left, or the date is off."

"_Right…_" He muttered and I glared further.

"And if this is Silencio all over again I will sure as hell make _sure_ you're dead by the end of this."

"_She doesn't mean it, honest._" He chimed as I shoved the phone back to Clara, just in time for her to gasp and drop it.

I turned to see what she'd gasped about and found the ghost Doctor having entered the room. "Oh, now what?" I complained, the Doctor calling out in concern.

"_What's the matter? Clara, Alex? What's happening?_"

"You've moved inside." Clara told him, grabbing the phone as she and I took cautious steps back. "You're inside here now."

"_What am I doing?_"

"Nothing. Y-You're just standing there."

"_I'm not trying to kill you? Why am I not trying to kill you?_" The Doctor questioned and I spoke up.

"Doctor, there's something off about this ghost. I don't know what it is, but from the start, it's been different from the others. Acting differently, saying different things, not trying to kill us, not even moving up until now. I don't know what's going on, but this ghost isn't right to me."

"_Gut instinct. I told you two, I've really got listen to her gut instinct._" The Doctor said, speaking to Bennet and O'Donnell most likely.

Then, the ghost began to move.

"No, wait, you're moving. Going towards the control panel." Clara said as I moved towards the ghost.

"No, no, no! Don't mess with that!"

"_Alex! Stay away from it!_" The Doctor demanded and I grimaced, but stopped a few feet away.

"But the ghosts mess with the controls. It actually _could _be trying to kill us now, you know." I said as I saw the screen of the control panel change and I groaned. "Oh, he's opened the Faraday Cage! See what you did? Dead, and you're _still_ causing trouble!"

"_Yes, yes, well, I need to talk to me now._" The Doctor said, and Clara gave the phone a disbelieving look.

"Didn't you hear her? You opened the Faraday Cage. The other ghosts are outside. Shouldn't we be hiding?"

"_In a minute. I need to talk to the ghost me._" He demanded and Clara looked at me, but I shrugged.

"Do what he says. Maybe he can convince _himself_ to be less idiotic."

She begrudgingly propped the phone up on a cabinet and stepped away from it so the Doctor could converse with his ghostly self.

"Okay, Doctor. You're on."

"_Doctor!_" He called out, making me slap my hand to my face with a groan as the ghost turned towards the phone. "_Such an honor. I've always been a huge admirer. This is really a delight. Finally, someone worth talking to other than my lovely wife, who will hopefully not be the one who turns me into you._"

"Don't get your hopes up." I grumbled as he went on.

"_So, firstly, why are you here?_"

The ghost turned away though and the Doctor called out in slight concern.

"_Clara, Alex, what's happening_?"

"Um, uh, y-you've just stopped." Clara told the phone, picking it back up. "Oh, no wait. You've started again."

Lunn chimed in then, translating for Cass. "'His message has changed. He's saying something different. He's saying…'"

"What?"

"_What?_"

Even Lunn looked at Cass in a panic. "What?"

Cass repeated the motions and Lunn cautiously repeated it.

"'He's saying, 'The chamber will open tonight.''"

"Chamber?" I questioned, but the Doctor interrupted.

"_Clara, now that the ghosts are out, go to the Faraday Cage. They won't be able to get you in there. Oh, there's a problem._" He realized and I rolled my eyes as I lightly pushed Clara back towards the door as she snapped at him.

"Problem? What problem? Oh, really? Because everything else is going so smoothly." She said sarcastically and he cut her off before she could continue with her rant.

"_The phone signal won't be able to get through. What you'll have to do, Clara, put the phone outside, and you can watch it through the little round porthole. And when you see it ringing, if it's safe to do so, go out and answer it_."

"Okay, how long are you going to—"

Again, he cut her off. "_Clara, listen to me. Don't let that phone out of your sight. I need to be able to reach you, I need to know _everything_ my ghost does. Do you understand? I'll come back for you all. I swear._"

* * *

The Doctor winced as the phone connection cut off and then he took a deep breath, knowing that now was the time to listen to Alex. He turned and headed for the door, O'Donnell and Bennet on his heels, but he stopped as he reached the door and turned to them.

"Hold on. Wait here for a second. I need to check the circuits on the outside of the Tardis real quick. I'll be right back."

He walked out, closing the door behind him and closed his eyes with a tired sigh as he grabbed the key from his pocket and turned it in the lock.

"Sorry." He muttered. "But I made a promise and I intend to keep it. I'm not taking any chances this time 'round."

He hurried away from the Tardis then, heading for the spaceship in the hopes that he wasn't too late, but upon being able to spot the interior, he saw Prentis lying instead of the large mummy that had been there.

"Prentis!" He hurried inside and checked for a pulse, but bowed his head. _I shouldn't have left him._

He knew he couldn't dwell on this though and he glanced up to find that the writing _was _there now and the suspended-animation chamber was missing.

"The Fisher King." He muttered, heading outside and finding large drag marks from where the box had been, eyeing them in concern as a loud roar went out.

"I need to get back to the Tardis." He said to himself, bolting back towards it, only to hear the roar once more and mentally curse. "He's cut me off."

He hurried into a building, ducking down the hallway and closing a door before propping a chair up against the handle. He tucked himself as far away from the window as he could, staying silent and making use of his respiratory bypass system to hold his breath as the Fisher King stomped past. He didn't dare move until he was certain the creature was gone and then he bolted from the room, silently glad he hadn't brought Bennet and O'Donnell around and risked either of them getting caught by the creature. He heard the roar once more, but it was far enough away that he knew he could make it to the Tardis. He hurriedly pulled out his key and ducked inside, slamming the door shut and making sure it was locked as O'Donnell and Bennett immediately confronted him.

"You weren't checking anything! You locked us in here!"

"And it's a good thing I listened to my wife and did." He snapped back, losing his temper slightly with adrenaline rushing through his body. "Either one of you could have been killed just now by the Fisher King and even _I'm_ lucky to have gotten back here in once piece."

He hurried over to the console and Bennett wandered over.

"Thank you."

The Doctor frowned. "For what? I didn't do anything."

Bennett glanced over at O'Donnell, who was scowling over by the door. "Then thank your wife for telling you _not_ to do nothing. It was a list, wasn't it? The names. Moran, Pritchard, Prentis. He was dead outside, wasn't he? And O'Donnell was next."

The Doctor remained silent, not wanting to admit that he'd known that, but Bennett had already figured it out.

"Like I said, thank her for me. I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to her."

"Then you best tell her that." The Doctor muttered, begrudgingly. "If I know anything about stubborn, strong-headed women, they don't take a hint unless you tell them bluntly."

Bennett couldn't quite hold back a small smile. "Yes, you're right. I-I think I might just do that."

O'Donnell, of course, headed over then. "Alright, so what happened? Where are we going now?"

"Prentis was dead in the ship." The Doctor explained quickly, eager to get away from the mushy stuff that his wife would have been better dealing with. "The King Fisher wasn't and he's the one who put the writing there. The names were a list and you were next, but I've altered that now, so I don't know who might die next or anything past this point; as it should be."

O'Donnell stared, stunned. "You saved me then?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Don't know. Possibly. It all depends on whether time was going to try and alter events to match up with that timeline or not. If you were supposed to die then, you might not die until later. Or, you might still die sometime in the future and I might have only postponed it. I have no way of telling. You simply got lucky that my wife threatened me and made me promise to watch over you both."

"Cause she's the Seer, yeah?" O'Donnell smiled. "She knows what's going to happen and that was her giving you a hint, wasn't it?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No. Despite her nickname, she doesn't hold all the foreknowledge of the universe. Only about me and only up to a point. Up until the end of my last body, to be exact. She knows nothing about the adventures I'm currently going on or in the future. As I said, her gut instinct is usually correct in cases like these. She may not have foreknowledge now, but the Tardis is a sentient and time sensitive being. Having a part of its soul in her may account for her lucky guesses, but that's just a theory. I like to think she's just clever. Now then. Big day for you two. Time travel. _Twice_."

He sent them off again, though Bennett didn't look pleased.

"W-Whoa, really? When are we going to?"

"Off the map. Out of the rule book. What if I don't die? What if I refuse? I'm going to go back to the base and I'm going to save Alex and Clara and the others, because that's what I do. And I don't see anyone here who's going to stop me."

Or so he said, but—like he'd cursed himself—the Tardis cloister bells went off and he hurried back downstairs to the door, looking out and seeing that they had only moved a few feet from where they had been.

"Why are we still here?" He questioned as the other two followed him out, before he walked past the corner only to see himself and the others walk out of the Tardis not far from him. "No. No, no, no, no, no."

"What?" Bennett asked.

"We've moved half an hour backwards. I'm locked in my own time stream. The Tardis won't let me leave."

"Well, what do we do?"

"Now we have to keep out of sight, until time catches up." He said, leading the group away from their past selves.

"Oh man. This is just trippy." O'Donnell said. "It's like déjà vu."

"Yes, exactly like that, except we cannot interfere or we will cause a paradox and you _really_ don't want to experience big bat creatures ripping apart time on top of all this." The Doctor complained, leading them to another area.

"Prentis." Bennet said, making the Doctor turn to see the mole-man not too far away. "He's alive."

"Can't we stop it? His death?" O'Donnell asked and the Doctor pulled Bennett away before the man could think of heading over there and pulling them both behind a wall and out of sight.

"No. His death has become a fixed point in this sequence of events. Saving him could unravel the very fabric of time. You can't cheat time, I just tried. You can't just go back and cut off tragedy at the room, because you find yourself talking to someone you just saw dead on a slab. Because then you really _do_ see ghosts. We don't tell him, understand? Not a word. We don't have that right."

"But you saved me, didn't you?" O'Donnell questioned as they moved behind some barrels.

"That was different. You hadn't died. No one ever saw you dead or witnessed your ghost hanging about. Your death was still an event that could be changed. Prentis, Moran, Pritchard, and my own can't. Our death has already become something that _must_ happen in order for events to unfold properly."

"You can't be serious."

"Oh, I'm very serious. Ask my wife. She can give you plenty a lecture on what interfering with events in time can do."

"No kidding? Whoops!" O'Donnell slipped forward slightly, bumping into a barrel and barely being tugged back before anyone could notice; her giving the Doctor an apologetic look. "Sorry."

The Doctor simply rolled his eyes and once their past selves walked away, the Doctor relaxed, only for Bennet to gesture to him.

"Your coat."

The Doctor looked at the sleeve and immediately felt panicked. "Oh, I need more time. I haven't saved them yet. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock. I've got no choice now. I have to face the Fisher King. You two, back to the Tardis."

"You're kidding."

The Doctor frowned sternly at O'Donnell. "Remember what I said. I may have only prevented your death. You being with me when I confront him will not only but us both at risk, but also the lives of everyone still back on that base. So do me a favor, and listen to me this once. Bennett, take her and go."

Bennett nodded, helping O'Donnell up from off the ground. "Come on. Let's go. You know he's right."

She scowled, but followed, muttering under her breath. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

* * *

Clara stood by the porthole, seeming to be avoiding me now for some reason. _Either because the Doctor said something and she's feeling guilty about what she said to be earlier, or she's angry with me._ I mused, though a majority of my mind was on the Doctor's ghost still. I couldn't figure out if it was a part of the Doctor's plan or not, or if the Doctor even had a plan or if I was overthinking things. As it was, I felt unsure about whether the ghost was important or not, with its differences. _For all I know, because the Doctor's a Time Lord, that could change how the ghost works and he could be saying different things because he actually _did_ die and still wanted to help us. Not to sound rude or anything, but I honestly don't believe that's possible. Ghosts in and of itself aren't even considered really real in this universe anyhow. The Doctor's explained away most of them. The ghost with Eleven was a woman trapped in a pocket universe. The ghosts with Nine were a group of aliens on another planet. And even these are just radio waves made into the form of what the mind imprinted them to be; bodies of the deceased. So to think that the Doctor really did die and somehow his ghost was able to slip out of this system of repeating an electromagnetic sequence and have a quote-on-quote 'mind of its own' is extremely unlikely._

I sighed, wincing at the headache beginning to form from overthinking and the slight sting from my arm that I had all but forgotten about with the constant stream of adrenaline that I'd been dealing with since we showed up here. I flinched though, when Clara suddenly jumped away from the porthole.

"Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no, no. Don't you dare." She said, hurrying back to the door desperately. "Don't you dare."

The rest of us hurried over and watched as Moran took the phone from where Clara had placed it and began walking away. Clara sighed deeply, hitting a fist against the door in frustration as Lunn looked worried.

"What now?"

Even I wasn't really sure what to do, but I suddenly felt hot white pain flare through my shoulder and I doubled over in pain, catching their attention.

"Whoa, Alex? Alex, what's wrong?" Clara asked, her hands on my shoulders should I begin to topple over.

"Oh, the Tardis does _not_ like whatever it is the Doctor's trying to make her do." I bit out through clenched teeth. "And something tells me that he's trying to get back here. The idiot. I _told_ him she won't come back while the ghosts are still here."

"What's she talking about?" Lunn asked and Clara explained as she helped me sit down while I battled the pain for a few moments longer.

"Um, Alex is sort of connected to the Doctor's ship. So if the ship is damaged or anything, well…"

"I feel it too." I finished, letting out a sigh of relief as the pain soon passed. "That's why the Doctor was asking about my head before. His ship is sentient and apparently doesn't like the ghosts here, for whatever reason. She was projecting her dislike for being here onto me in order to get through to him how badly she didn't wish to be here. He put up a mental block in my mind though, so no worries there, but if she doesn't want to go anywhere, she will _not _move and will put herself in pain in order to keep it that way. Like trying to drive a car with the parking brake still on."

Clara looked me over in concern as I rubbed at my shoulder. "Better already?"

"She got her point across." I replied. "The Doctor's going to _have_ to do something about the ghosts now. She won't let him come back otherwise. Not without tearing her and myself to pieces."

"Great." Clara complained, going to lean up against a wall.

She wasn't there long though, before she spoke and turned back to us.

"The dark. The sword. The forsaken. The temple. When we found out what the ghosts were saying, we weren't surprised because the words, they were already inside us."

"Yup." I muttered, not sure where she was going with this.

"But _you_…" She turned to Lunn, who looked surprised. "…you were, weren't you? You didn't know what the words were going to be."

"Uh, no. I didn't."

"Alex explained it too." Clara went on. You didn't see the writing in the spaceship. That's why the ghosts don't harm you. The message isn't inside you."

"Can't kill you to get the message out if you don't have the message to send." I simplified.

"Yes, I suppose that makes sense."

"So you can get the phone back." Clara said with hope, though I raised a brow.

"What?"

Cass stood up beside him as I did the same, her questioning him.

"She's saying I should go get the phone back." He said, signing to her and she immediately shook her head.

"Listen." Clara persisted and I looked between the group, seeing tension building. "Listen, I need—_we_ need to be able to contact the Doctor and you are the only one who can do this."

_And she forgot about me. Maybe she is mad…_

"Okay." Lunn agreed and Clara went to the porthole to check if the coast was clear as Cass violently shook Lunn and he argued with her signing.

"No, she's right. You can't go get it back."

Cass went off signing again, aiming them at Clara, who watched in confusion, though I winced at the words the woman was tossing her way.

"What?" Clara asked. "What is it? What did she say?"

"It doesn't matter." Lunn said, not wanting to cause more tension, but Clara was insistent.

"Please."

He sighed, but translated. "She said to ask you whether travelling with the Doctor changed you, or were you always happy to put other people's lives at risk."

"He taught me to do what has to be done." Clara said and I finally had enough, loudly clapping my hands and getting their attention.

"Yes, yes. Alright, enough's enough." I turned to Cass, signing to her. "I'll go."

Clara turned to me in shock. "No, you can't!"

I raised a brow at her, suddenly feeling much like the Doctor in the fact that the people here in this room suddenly felt like children to me.

"I think you forgot, Clara, but _I_ was freely able to get past the ghosts in my attempt to save Pritchard. I haven't stepped foot in that ship at all since we showed up here. I don't know what that writing looks like—though I _really_ would like to study it, if the Tardis can't even translate it." I shook my head from the thought, getting back on point. "Thing is, I'm perfectly capable of getting the phone back too. And I'm more than capable of defending myself should the ghosts change their mind and decide to throw something at me or attack me with anything." I turned to Cass again, with a small smile and repeated my signing. "I'll go."

The woman hesitated, but bobbed her head in agreement, though before I could open the door, Clara grabbed my arm.

"But the Doctor—"

"Isn't here right now." I pressed, lightly taking her hand off me with a small smile. "And you forget, Clara. I'm over six hundred years old now and that makes me the most experienced person in this room. But the Doctor not being here also means that it's up to me to keep you guys safe. He trusts me to do that for you and for them. And I'm not about to sit here and watch allies become enemies over something like this. Don't fight with some of the few people that are left here, Clara. You'd be surprised how nice it is to have people on your side in a tense situation like this."

"But _you're_ on my side." She pressed. "If something happens to you the Doctor and I, we—"

I cut her off, pulling her in for a hug, surprising her. "You know, the Doctor has said he doesn't like hugs because they hide your face from the person you're hugging. And I used to hate them too, but I found out, that sometimes a hug is just what you need, because it makes you feel safe. And I want you to feel safe right now, Clara, but most of all, I want you to trust the Doctor and I. We'll both be fine. We'll come back to you safely. And I _promise_, I will never leave you alone in something like this if I have the choice."

She nodded, clinging to me for a moment before taking a deep breath and letting me go with a slightly more disheveled, but confident look.

"Okay. I trust you."

I grinned. "Good, because if you said something stupid like the Doctor, I would have smacked you."

Clara snorted, unable to help a small chuckle escaping her lips as I turned to Cass and began to sign to her silently.

_Try not to be too harsh. She's lost someone extremely close to her recently and the Doctor and I are all she has left. She's only scared and just as desperate as you, to keep those closest to her safe._

Cass glanced at Clara briefly, but nodded, signing a short apology that I nodded back to, before heading out with a wave over my shoulder.

"See you in a bit." I chimed, closing the door behind me and heading out to search for the phone.

I wandered for a bit, heading down to the cafeteria and smiling when I discovered the phone sitting on one of the tables. I paused though, stopping in the doorway.

"Ooh, this feels too easy. Too simple. Phone taken and then left out in the open? Hm, smells like a trap to me." I mused out loud, crossing my arms and drumming my fingers on the crook of my elbow. "What to do, what to do. Question is, am I clever enough to hack into the security mainframe should they use the system against me? Meh, possibly. Can I properly defend myself should the ghosts change their mind and come in to try and kill me anyway? In a room full of foodstuffs and easy to throw plastic chairs and knives? Yeah, probably. Only downside is, if I take too much longer, something tells me the trio I just left will try to come find me. Won't take long for Clara to get over my 'I'll be fine' speech and Cass doesn't seem like the time to get left behind. So, it all comes down to the big decision. Walk in to get the phone and potentially end up trapped, attacked, or having those three lured into a trap too, _or_ leave the phone and thus any contact I'd have with the Doctor that could potentially save everyone's life. Goodness, I always get left with the bad decisions, don't I?" I sighed, before begrudgingly walking in and picking up the phone.

The door slid shut the moment I turned around and I sighed heavily, slouching where I stood.

"Option one it is. Time to find out how long it'll take to hack the system."

* * *

The Doctor walked slowly down the steps into the basement of the church, attempting to calm his racing hearts. _It's fine. I'll be fine. Alex will kill me if I'm not._ He smiled a little at the thought. _She's too clever for her own good. She already knows I have a trick up my sleeve and if she doesn't, well… it makes me wonder how I could forget how strong she is. Shame she didn't make it over here with me. She would have sent the King Fisher running in an instant._ He finally reached the bottom and cautiously crept forwards, calling out to the empty space before him with as confident a voice as he could muster.

"I've come from the future. I've seen the chaos you cause. The bloodshed."

"Tell me what you have seen." The King Fisher called out from the shadows, unseen by the Doctor.

"Ghosts."

"Ghosts?"

"Souls wrenched from the dead. Repeating directions here, to this spot, over and over." The Doctor clarified, knowing that 'ghosts' was a term more relative to humans than some species.

"How many ghosts do I create? _How many_?!" The creature demanded and the Doctor's composure shook.

"Four that I know of. Maybe five now. Probably more since I left."

"My ghosts will make more ghosts. Enough to bring an armada. Enough to wake me from my sleep." The creature said, moving now, around the suspended-animation chamber that rested not too far from the Doctor.

"What will happen when your people arrive?"

"We will drain the oceans and put humans in chains."

"This world is protected. By me." The Doctor pressed, unsure just how the creature would take that information. _But it's worth a shot._

"Yes. One man, lost in time. The seed of their destruction is already sown. They will die. The message will be sent. My people will come, and you will do nothing to stop it, Time Lord." The Fisher King said, finally stepping out into the light and revealing himself as the giant insect-like creature he was. "Time Lords. Cowardly, vain curators who suddenly remembered they had teeth and became the most warlike race in the galaxy. But you, _you_…"

The Doctor stumbled back, as it approached and towered over him.

"You are curious. You have seen the words, too. I can hear them _tick_ inside you. But you are still locked in your history. Still slavishly protecting Time. Willing to die rather than change a word of the future. You will be a strong beacon. How many ghosts can I make of you?" It questioned, making to walk away, but the Doctor couldn't let it leave. Not yet.

"You know, you've got a lot in common with the Tivoleans. You'll both do anything to survive. They'll surrender to anyone. _You_ will hijack other people's souls and turn them into electromagnetic projections. That will to endure. That refusal to ever cease. It's extraordinary. And it makes a fella think. Because you know what?" The Doctor rushed over and around the creature, almost mockingly. "If all I have to do to survive is tweak the future a bit, what's stopping me? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The ripple effect. Maybe it will mean that t-the universe will be ruled by cats or something, in the future. But the way I see it, even a ghastly future is better than no future at all." He boldly declared, his confidence returned ashe imagined what Alex would be doing if she could face this thing.

This creature who dared to make the mistake the Doctor had back on Mars. Not only dared to, but was _proud_ about it. Oh, Alex would be furious. And right now, the Doctor was as well.

"You robbed those people of their deaths, made them nothing more than a message in a bottle. You violated something more important than Time. You bent the rules of life and death. So I am putting things straight. Here, now, this is where your story ends."

"There is nothing you can do." The Fisher King declared, aiming his weapon at the Doctor's chest, but the Time Lord was not afraid any longer.

Not when Clara and Alex were waiting for him.

"I've already done it. The words have gone. I got rid of them. The future I saw, none of that will happen now. The message will never contaminate my friends. No one will die. No one is coming to save you. That's the thing about knowing you're going to die. You've got nothing left to lose."

The Fisher King angrily shoved him aside, storming out to check the spaceship to repair what the Doctor had done, but when he got out there, everything was still the same. The words were still inside the ship, the Tivolian still laid dead on the slab where he'd previously rested. The Doctor had lied. Not only that, but he'd rested the power cell—primed to explode—at the base of the dam wall. A torrent of water rushed into the small town, flooding it as the Fisher King cried out before he too, was nothing more than debris in the waves. And with the Tardis flying itself back to the base, the Doctor had won.

* * *

The doors suddenly opened and I pouted with a loud whine as Clara and Cass stood there staring at me in confusion at the numerous wires I had scattered about from one of the control panels.

"Oh, go away! I was nearly finished hacking into the system!" I complained and Clara let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, no, no. Don't be relieved." I countered, standing and waving a finger at her. "You should know better than to feel relieved. Especially since this is most definitely a trap."

The moment I said that, the ghosts floated out of the walls and Clara smacked me on the arm.

"Ow!"

"Shut up! Faraday Cage. Now!"

"Well, you didn't have to hit me!"

"_You're_ the one who said 'trap'!" She argued and I rolled my eyes as we ran.

"And _you're_ the one who sighed in relief! Who does that? It's as bad as saying 'Oh, I hope nothing bad happens.'" I replied sarcastically, only to skid to a stop as we entered the main hangar. "Whoops. Wrong turn."

"Alex!"

"Don't blame me! You're the one who put me in the front! You know how bad my direction ability is in this body." I grumbled, before the ghosts entered and Clara, Lunn, and Cass all moved behind me. "Ooh boy. We're in a pickle."

Our backs bumped into the suspended-animation chamber and after a moment, I paused, head tilted.

"Does anyone hear beeping?"

Clara looked behind her and we all backed away from the casket as it opened and the big idiot himself sat up and took his sonic sunglasses of.

"Don't kiss me. Morning breath." He said, pointing a finger at me and I shoved the digit out of my face.

"Like I'd kiss you right now anyway. I'm leaning more towards smacking you silly, at the moment."

He scowled at that, but climbed up and out of the casket, calling out behind him. "Follow me!"

Clara gave me a look, but I shrugged and we hurried off after him back into the bridge where he shoved the end of his sonic sunglasses into a port on the console. A loud roar echoed through the building and everyone looked around in confusion.

"What's that noise?" Clara asked.

"It's the call of the Fisher King. The call of their master." The Doctor replied and Clara and I moved to the window to watch as the ghosts turned and walked off.

"Where are they going?"

"Tea break?" I quipped, but we turned to the video screens to find them all entering the Faraday Cage where the Doctor's ghost was there making the noise. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me." I complained and the Doctor gave me a wink as he shut the ghosts into the room and the ghost Doctor vanished. "A hologram? That damn ghost of you was a hologram? Oh, I _knew_ something was wrong with it. Why didn't I think of a hologram?"

"I'll explain later. Now, chop, chop. You two." He said, gesturing to Clara and Cass as he pulled his sonic sunglasses out of the port. "I've got a system that should wipe the memory of the words out of your head. You just need to wear these for a few minutes."

He plopped them on Clara, who smiled a bit and didn't wait long before questioning the Doctor herself.

"So, what was it? Your ghost."

"A hologram, like Alex said. Similar to the one we made of you to lure the ghosts into the Faraday Cage. With a soupçon of artificial intelligence, and a few pre-recorded phrases thrown in. Ah!" He said, swatting her hand away when she tried to remove the sonic sunglasses a little too early.

He double checked them, before removing them himself and she got up as Cass went and sat down in her place.

"All beamed from the sonic sunglasses. As soon as you brought me and the chamber on board, it connected with the base's wi-fi and Bob's your uncle. You've got a ghost Doctor." He finished his explanation.

"You twat. We thought you were going to die." I complained, doing rather well not sounding upset about that, but my worry must have drifted past my mental block and the Doctor headed over and tugged me to him with a hum.

"You did well, Alexander."

I lightly smacked his arm, not pulling out of the embrace. "Shut up. Course I did. I'm your wife."

"Why did they only come out at night?" Clara asked then, not seeming too bothered at all by ruining our little moment.

"Because they're electromagnetic projections that were out of phase with the base's day mode." He replied, releasing me as I pouted and going over to remove the sunglasses from Cass. "Right. That's it. I've erased the memories of the writing. Though you might find you've lost a couple of other memories too. You know, like people you went to school with, or previous addresses or how to drink liquids."

"He's joking." I said and signed back to Cass, who looked a bit unsure about the Doctor at his words.

"That's you two done, now where's the lovebirds?"

I raised a brow. "Lovebirds?"

He hummed. "Bennet and O'Donnell. Something must have happened when they were brought back here in the Tardis, because they were being all gooey when I found them."

"Gooey…" I muttered, giving him a raised brow, knowing that he and I do all sorts of 'gooey' things.

He seemed to catch on then, and rolled his eyes as he grabbed me by the waist. "What we do isn't gooey though. Decidedly not gooey, actually."

I snorted, patting his chest lightly. "Yes, yes. Don't hurt yourself."

The group of us went off to find Bennett and O'Donnell, who were standing outside the Faraday Cage, looking at the ghosts wandering around inside; Bennett's arm around O'Donnell's shoulders.

"What will happen to them?" Bennett asked once we'd come over.

"UNIT will cut out the Faraday Cage with them inside and take it away." The Doctor answered. "Then the space-hearse will be destroyed, so the writing doesn't infect anyone else."

I frowned slightly at that. Still having not seen the writing nor been able to study it; the itch to learn a new alien language more tantalizing than I feared.

"I need to erase that message from your minds." The Doctor told him and he nodded, allowing O'Donnell to go first as he turned to Lunn.

"Lunn, will you translate something to Cass for me?"

"Of course." Lunn said, though I caught the mischievous twinkle in Bennett's eyes.

_Ooh, he and O'Donnell aren't the only lovebirds here._

"Tell her you're in love with her and that you always have been."

"What?" Lunn said in surprise.

"Tell her there is no point in wasting time, because things happen and then it's too late. We've nearly experienced that ourselves." Bennet continued and Cass tried to get Lunn to repeat what was said in sign and he begrudgingly did so.

Cass looked at him in surprise once he did, and he immediately panicked.

"Oh, God, no. I was just passing on what he said. Please, don't feel—"

He was cut off though when she grabbed his lapels and tugged him into a deep kiss. I let out a wolf whistle, earning an embarrassed look from the both of them as O'Donnell chuckled and the Doctor waved Bennet on over for his memory erasing. It wasn't long after that, that we said our goodbyes and headed on back to the Tardis; myself childishly swinging the Doctor's hand in mine as I happily bounded alongside him.

"What _will_ UNIT do with the ghosts?" Clara asked once we were inside.

"Drag the cage into space, away from the Earth's magnetic field. With nothing to sustain them, the ghosts will eventually fade away." The Doctor replied easily enough.

"Here's what I don't understand. You _did_ change the future. You stopped the Fisher King from returning."

"Silencio." I chirped back, releasing the Doctor and moving over to the jump seat.

"Pretty much." He told me, though Clara—having not been in that adventure—looked confused, so the Doctor explained.

"The Fisher King had been dead for a hundred and fifty years before we even got here. But once I went back, I became part of events. But here's the thing. The messages my ghost gave, they weren't for you. They were for me. That list. Everyone after Alex was random, but her being the next name, _that's_ what made me confront the Fisher King. Her and you."

"And saying 'the chamber will open'?" Clara questioned.

"Telling himself to get into the casket." I replied, stretching out and lying back on the seat with a jaw-cracking yawn.

"And when to set it for." He added on.

"Smart."

"Except, that's not why I said them." He continued, making her even more lost.

"How do you mean?"

"I programmed my ghost to say them because that's what my ghosts had said. And the only reason I created my ghost hologram in the first place was because I saw it here. I was reverse engineering the narrative."

"Okay, that's still pretty smart." Clara replied.

"Paradox." I chirped. "It's what happened when his Eleventh self faked his death. He saw himself die, knew it was going to happen and how. He just had to plan a fail-safe and happened to get to know a shape-changing robot controlled by miniature people. Still saw his death, but it was the death of a robot that looked identical. Though he _did_ completely blow up time in the universe getting there."

"Unintentionally. That was River's fault."

"Mm-hm." I hummed sarcastically.

"Question is, Clara, when did I first have those ideas?" The Doctor asked her.

"Well, it must have been…" Her eyes widened as she realized what had happened and just how far back it had started. "Wow."

"Exactly. Who composed Beethoven's Fifth?"

She looked confused again and I sighed. "Oh, go look it up. Bootstrap Paradox. I'm sure the Tardis has a book on it somewhere."

"Moody." She teased and I stuck out my tongue as she headed up the stairs to who knows where.

The Tardis was sent off into the vortex then and I sighed softly, glad that the ship was far less moody now that the whole ghost thing was taken care of. Of course, this left me alone with the _other_ moody time-sensitive being in the area.

"If you keep glaring at the console, she's going to get upset, you know." I lightly chided the Doctor, who turned to me.

"How's your arm?"

I blinked, lifting my arm and looking at the bandage. "Fine. Or, well, fine as it can be, anyway. I keep forgetting about it, so it can't be that bad."

He hummed and wandered over, lifting his hands and placing them on my temples. "And the barrier held up fine?"

"Yup." I replied as he removed it, now that it was no longer needed.

He finished and kissed me on the forehead, making me giving him a worried look.

"You're being awfully clingy today." I muttered, the hidden question of what was wrong aimed at him.

"Hm, yes, well your mental barriers have been a little iffy this whole trip. You're upset." He informed me and my brows furrowed in confusion.

"I am?"

He hummed again, sitting beside me now and tugging me onto his lap as he held me fondly. "I apologize for making you believe I had died."

I stiffened slightly, frowning as I looked at him. "Well, it _was_ rather rude."

"Alexander." He lightly scolded me and I relaxed, sinking back into his embrace with a sad expression.

"I was worried." I admitted, remembering that we had promised to at least _attempt_ to tell each other things like that. "Though it wouldn't be the first time."

"Still, I was impressed." He said, surprising me. "You were catching on to something being off about my ghost from the start. And if you hadn't made me promise to keep those two safe when we were separate, one of them might have very well had been killed by the Fisher King. Though locking them in the Tardis might have been a bit much."

I snorted. "Oh, I bet they were pleased."

"Less than." He informed me, giving me a small squeeze as he kissed the back of my ear and spoke quietly. "You did good though, Alexander. Thank you for that and for trusting me."

"I've always trusted you." I hummed, turning to kiss him lightly. "Even when you're a pain in the—"

He groaned, not letting me finish that thought, making me chuckle until I was interrupted with a yawn. He raised a brow at me for that, adjusting me on his lap.

"Well, now. That's surprising. Alexander tired?"

"Mm, shut up. I haven't slept since I was with your Fifth self, and even then, it was on a straw bed in the Middle Ages a few days ago."

He scooped me up and I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Off to bed with you then. Being only a partial Time Lord means you still need more sleep than a normal one. Though less than a human would."

"Good to know." I murmured against his neck, snuggling into him as he carried me to our room. "I love you."

He grunted in acknowledgement, kissing my head to return the affection, before the two of us headed off for some much needed rest.


	92. Destiny of the Daleks (4th Doc)

**As promised, I updated early!~ However, I _am_ running low on episodes, so despite the fact that I've finished a few chapters past this, i will keep to my usual schedule of one chapter every other week in order to keep it from becoming all chapters for the Classic Who. I also apologize, because i know some of you were looking forward to Alex's reaction as to Clara's death in "Face the Raven", but I pretty much went over her reaction in "Hell Bent/Heaven Sent", so i... skipped it... sorry. I couldn't find a good place to stick alex in that episode and trying to write it would have been like pulling teeth, so i didn't.**

**However! here is the next chapter. I have already written up to chapter 95, thanks to me being sick, but i'm alright now so no worries about me being late updating for a while, because i have everything ready ^^ i hope you all enjoy this and the wonderful change alex is about to go through at the end of this. i'm having a blast writing her new male self. And, since you've all requested it, she (or he, in this case) _will_ be meeting the other Doctors (10 and 11), so you will get their reactions along with Twelve's ;) enough of my chatter though. Please review and let me know what you think of this (especially her and romana's relationship). And any idea you may want to see in upcoming chapters with her new self! i'm open to any and all suggestions, so long as i can find a way to get them to work.**

* * *

I let out a long breath, leaning against the side of a cliff face with a hand pressed to my face as I shuddered. _I've seen Clara die far too many times to be comfortable._ I thought silently to myself, having just popped away after her facing the raven. _There was nothing I could do anyway. I popped in after the tattoo had been placed on the back of that kid's neck and after Ashildr got involved. And even though I knew Clara would, at some point, take it from him, I didn't know when and stopping it would have made a bigger mess than what we were already dealing with. I felt bad that there wasn't anything I could do for her and the Doctor, but… She's safe. I know that. I was there. I saw the Doctor save her and I saw her leave in that other Tardis with Ashildr. _Yet another part of me knew that she _did_ actually die there. That at some point, she would head back to that moment after being with Ashildr, and she would be killed by the raven. That, either way, I _had_ watched her die in that moment. And it was that part that made pushing it back harder than I wanted it to be.

"I'll see her again though. It will be fine. She's still alive right now. That's what matters." I told myself quietly, taking a deep breath and letting it out as I tipped my head to look up at the sky. "Right now, I need to figure out where I am and why the air smells funny."

I looked around, not seeing anything more than dirt, rocks, and cliff faces and hills. There wasn't any animals and minimal plants, which was concerning, but it wouldn't be the first time I ended up on a desert planet with little to nothing around. Begrudgingly, I checked the pockets of my jacket and nodded to myself, glad that I could feel a bottle of water and some snacks in their depths. _At least I won't die before I find either food or civilization._ I mused to myself, pushing off the rock face and beginning my walk. I walked a decent amount, finding nothing as far as people, food, or buildings, before I finally spotted something in the distance. I grinned, picking up my pace and bounding towards the structure I'd seen, only to be rather disappointed in the half-destroyed building.

"Well, poo." I complained, pushing aside some scrap metal from some device that had been in here before whatever destroyed it. "I suppose I should look around for something useful. Or set up a camp of some sort."

I sighed, wishing I'd just ended up in another one of the Doctor's adventures on time and one that I relatively knew, but the universe seemed intent on testing my survival skills and I was once again, stuck on my own in the middle of nowhere. Or so I thought, but as I was scavenging the ruins, my ears picked up the sound of something and I froze, stopping any movement in order to try and hear the noise should it happen again. And it did. I even felt it this time. A tremor in the ground nearby. One that grew to the point of me having to grab hold of something to stabilize myself, before it stopped. The noise seemed familiar though, like something I'd heard before, and I drummed my fingers on my chin. _Hm, rumbling, earthquake-like, not entirely consistent… underground, maybe? So, what? A drill?_ A chill went down my spine, remembering the other times I'd dealt with drills and what it typically meant for me. _Ooh, there was the drill to the center of the asteroid with the devil_ and_ the drill to the center of the Earth with the Silurians. Neither of which turned out good for me._

I rested a hand on my stomach where the scar from my near dissection lay, still unsettled, but only growing more unnerved when I heard something not far from where I was. I couldn't make it out—it was still too far—but the distorted voice was getting closer and something told me that it wasn't from a pleasant creature. In fact, I noticed, everything in my body told me that I didn't like this planet. It was almost like how the Tardis had pressed its fear of the ghosts on me with Twelve, except these were my _own_ feelings. My own instincts telling me to get off this planet, that it wasn't safe. And over the years, I've found that my instincts typically weren't wrong.

Not wanting to take a chance here, I gathered what few useful items I found and stuffed them into my pockets before attempting to get out of the only exit before whoever, or whatever, was speaking got close enough to cut me off. That being said, I barely made it out and immediately had to duck behind a large boulder a something rounded the corner and the voices became distinctly clear. Clear enough to inform me that my gut was once again, right, and I _really_ did not want to be here.

"Unidentified life form sensed in sector four. Commencing scans. Locate. Locate."

_Oh, God. Daleks? Why Daleks? Of all the things to stick me with on my own, why them?_ I mentally cried, searching for a way out of the small area I was in where the building was situated. I didn't like my odds though, seeing that the nearest object that could provide me cover was a good fifteen feet away. _I can try and bolt for it, but they're like predators. If they catch me running, there's nothing to say they'll tell me to stop instead of shooting me in that moment. And the last thing I need is to be killed and regenerate in front of them. If they'd even let me do that. The moment they find out I'm Time Lord—partial or not—I'm dead. I can't have them do scans on me either then. I don't know how early I am or how late, but if they scan me and find two hearts or realize that I'm the Seer, I could be in a lot more trouble than I'm equipped for._ Taking all this into consideration, I grimaced, realizing that I only had two options. Stay hidden behind the rock in the hopes that they'll skip over me, and later go off in search of the Doctor. _Or give in now, figure out what they're planning, and give the Doctor an inside man for when he comes around. Though I could also just end up a liability too, depending on how things go._

I grimaced, gritting my teeth and debating with myself for a few moments on the pros and cons of each situation, before begrudgingly groaning. _Oh, he better be one of the nice Doctors, because if this doesn't turn out great, I am _not_ going to want to deal with a jerk._ I slowly and carefully stood, keeping my hands up and calling out to the two Daleks as calmly as I could manage with my panicked hearts screaming for me to make a run for it.

"Don't shoot! I'm unarmed, so please don't shoot!"

"Human located. Do not move! Do not move!" One of the Daleks called out and I continued to stand there, facing them both as they rolled over with their weapons aimed at me. "You will follow. You are our prisoner. You are our prisoner. Obey! Obey!"

"Yeah, yeah. Calm your eyestalks. I'm going. I'm going." I complained lightly, not wanting to tick them off just yet, and coming out from behind the boulder to follow them; a part of me wondering just what it was the Daleks were up to if they didn't shoot me right off the bat and decided to take me prisoner.

_And I doubt it's anything good._

* * *

The Fourth Doctor stepped out of the Tardis, very nearly tripping over his long scarf and tumbling off the boulder the ship had rested on, but he caught himself and got a good look around as Romana stepped out beside him.

"Not the most inviting planet." She commented, looking at the barren landscape as well, before catching the Doctor slapping himself in the head. "What is it?"

"I don't know. A feeling I've been here before."

"Déjà vu?"

"Oui." He responded automatically, hopping off the boulder and another as he got closer to ground level.

"There's something you recognize?" She questioned, wondering if that might help.

"Nothing tangible. I just have a sensation. A pervading air of…" He barely paused, looking at her. "Can you feel it too?"

"Shall we go back inside?" She offered and he practically scoffed.

"What? And never know where I've been until the end of time? I wouldn't sleep at night. Come on."

She followed him as they navigated the rocks, but paused briefly. "Hold on. I do think I'm feeling something, but it's faint."

The Doctor stopped as well. "Hm, it's not the atmosphere. Perhaps there's someone trying to reach us telepathically. Hm, even more of a reason to check things out, then."

They walked out of their little cave and the Doctor headed over to a rock face, testing to see if there was anything worth noticing, before he spotted something odd on the ground. He went and picked up the small stones curiously.

"Interesting."

"Precious stones?" Romana asked and he felt a bit of humor sinking in.

"Very precious. In a geological sense, more precious than diamonds, but I'd need a bigger bit." He spotted one and hurried over to it with a laugh as he confirmed his suspicions. "I was right."

"How modest." Romana said with a roll of her eyes and the Doctor groaned.

"You sound like Alex."

"So you keep telling me and yet I will continue to insist that I am nothing like her."

"Oh, you two are more alike than you think. Now, see what you make of it." He showed her the stone and she wiped her finger over it before licking the digit.

"A composite material. Gravel in a binding of possibly limestone and clay."

"Limestone and clay, making?" He pressed, testing her.

"Add water, cement."

"Add gravel?"

"Concrete."

"You know something? You've got all the makings of a first class navy." He teased. "Concrete. Manufactured." He dropped the stone and the two of them moved on until he spotted a tower. "Look. The remains of a city? Come on."

The ground shook briefly and Romana stopped him.

"Doctor, those tremors. Could they have destroyed it? Seems to be coming from over there." She said, pointing in one direction, but the Doctor gestured to the building.

"Let's go this way."

They approached the building, or what was left of it and Romana looked around curiously.

"I wonder what could have caused it."

"Don't know. Something very serious by the look of it." He replied, the two of them hearing the noise in the air grow louder.

The ground shook more violently then and the Doctor and Romana glanced at their feet where the stones rattled on the ground. The Doctor went back a few feet and looked down again as the noise softened.

"It seems to be coming from right under our feet."

"It sounds like drilling." Romana added. "What do you think it was?"

"I don't know. Underworld dentist?" He joked. "Come on."

They soon discovered a few people carrying a corpse and burying it under a number of rocks. Once they'd left, the Doctor got a closer look and was even more curious about the man left there. _A combat pilot serving with the Third Galactic Fleet of the planet Kantra._ The planet they were on was making him more and more curious, and the persistent nagging of whoever was trying to contact him made him press forward as well. Even after they had been dodging explosions after discovering a landed ship, he was eager to find this person and figure out what was going on.

"These explosions, where are they coming from?" Romana questioned him as they ducked into a decrepit building to escape said explosions.

"I don't know." He said, before considering the question a bit harder. "Got it! Underground drilling."

"Why explosions?"

"High impact phason drills." He told her.

"Here?"

"Yes. Someone's imported some high technology."

They search around for a moment longer before there was another violent explosion and Romana ducked out of the way of falling debris. The Doctor wasn't so lucky though, and as the explosion rocked the building, it dislodged a support beam which came crashing down on top of him before he could move out of the way.

"Doctor!"

Romana hurried to his side, checking on him briefly before attempting to push the stone off him.

"Can't a fellow get any sleep around here?" He complained once he'd regained consciousness.

"Are you alright?" She asked, concerned.

"I don't know. I can't see all of me. My extremities seem unimpaired, but I'm being squashed. Can you take some of the weight?"

Romana attempted to shift the pillar, but it was far too heavy. "No, I can't move it. Without this block, you'd have been flattened." She said, gesturing to another rock that barely kept the pillar from completely crushing him. "You're lucky."

"We're not going to move this without help." The Doctor explained. "K9 could do it if he was in one piece. I've got my—"

"I'll be quick as I can." Romana interrupted him.

"Good."

"Will you be alright?" She asked and he shrugged slightly.

"Who knows?"

"Don't go away, will you."

"I'd rather hoped you'd resist the temptation to say that." He drawled, giving her one last bit about fixing K9, before she left and he pulled out a book to read.

* * *

Romana was rather frustrated. She'd returned to the Tardis only for the rocks around it to collapse from yet another tremor and now had no choice but to return to the Doctor in the hopes of finding another way to get his out from under the pillar. Upon returning though, she'd discovered the pillar to have already been shifted and the Doctor missing. An unsettling thought occurred to her that he might be in some sort of trouble, but she knew he could very well take care of himself and wondered if he had perhaps found a way out himself and was in the building still. So, she wandered around a bit, searching for any sign of him or someone having took him; she doubted he would just leave his book lying on the ground. She cringed when another blast went off, but then heard footsteps and turned to see someone enter the doorway. Fearing he was an enemy of some kind, she ran away from him, but he followed. She continued to back up, and then her foot suddenly slipped and she let out a scream as she fell down a shaft; knocking herself unconscious.

The man who'd followed her immediately began using the rope he had on him to try and get down to her, but before he could, Romana had woken up and found a wall. Said wall quaked from the tremors of the nearby drilling and she went to go find a way out of her predicament, only for Daleks to burst through the wall.

"Do not move! Do not move! Do not move! Do not move! Do not move!" They demanded, forcing her back against a wall. "You are our prisoner! Do not move! You are our prisoner!"

"Scan prisoner for concealed weapons."

A Dalek rolled forward and she scooted as far back as she could as it raised its plunger.

"The prisoner is unarmed."

"On my command you will move forward." A Dalek commanded Romana. "Any attempt to escape will be punished. No further warning will be given. Is that understood?"

Romana, paralyzed with fear couldn't answer.

"Is that understood? Speak! Speak!"

"Yes!" She finally screeched at it. "I understand."

"The prisoner will be taken to interrogation."

She was led away and interrogated, before being deemed unthreatening and sent to work in a mine of some kind. She was concerned, but saw this as a small opportunity to get some information and moved to where a couple of workers were.

"How long have the Daleks been guarding you?" She asked them and the young male of the group spoke.

"A long time." He sighed. "I'm from the planet Sirian. The Daleks raided our settlement one day, took more than fifty of us."

"I was a civilian passenger on a space shuttle." The woman told her next. "The Daleks attacked. I was the only survivor."

"They keep their captives in a prison ship in space. Once you're there, your life expectancy tends to be on the short side." The man explained.

"We thought we were lucky when we were picked to come on this mission." The woman scoffed.

"How many of you?"

"About fifty. I thought there might be a chance to escape."

"Why didn't you? The burial party I saw wasn't guarded."

"Anyone attempting to escape and the Daleks kill five of those remaining. Escape plans are not as popular as they were." The man told her, passing her a metal basket to help them.

"And the Daleks brought you here to do this?" She asked.

"They've got huge machines to do the drilling, but when it comes to clearing up there's nothing as adaptable as a humanoid."

"And nothing as expendable."

"The Daleks would be far better off with machines for this job." Romana complained.

"Perhaps they just enjoy subjugating humanoid races."

"They used to be humanoid themselves." She said, surprising the two, before a Dalek rolled over and began screeching at them.

"Silence. Silence. Silence. You will remain silent at all times."

"Oh, shut it, you big whining salt shaker!" A familiar voice piped it and the young man at Romana's side chuckled.

"There she goes again. She's always talking back to them."

The woman shook her head. "I'm surprised they haven't killed her yet."

"Who's that, then?" Romana asked.

The man shrugged. "Don't know. She was picked up not more than a week ago."

"They probably keep her around because she works harder than anyone else." The woman muttered.

"Probably. She's sort of the leader of our little group. Helps if anyone's feeling sick and takes the loads of those too exhausted. She's the only one who really stands up to the Daleks."

"She's either not afraid of them, or entirely stupid."

"Yeah, but the deaths have died down since she'd showed up. Before, people were dying day in and day out. Now, we're lucky if we lose one person. She takes care of us and stands up to them. I've even heard she's negotiated with them to get us more food and longer breaks between shifts."

"Negotiated? With the Daleks?" Romana said in surprise and the man nodded as the woman piped in.

"You heard what happened when she did though, didn't you?"

His face fell and he nodded, though Romana was curious and the woman turned to her.

"Word is, she convinced them by staying for longer down here. She works through our breaks by herself as hard as she can. And with her handing out her own food to others who are starving... well, her kindness will kill her one day."

There was a huff from nearby and their gazes turned as the woman herself turned the corner with a complaint; stacks of baskets full of rocks on her shoulder and under her arm.

"Honestly, I thought those tin cans were clever. You'd think they'd realize by now that oppression won't get nearly as much work done as support." She said with a click of her tongue, before turning and looking at the trio with a bob of her head. "You doing okay today, Jall? Veldan?"

The young man nodded as did the woman.

"I'm fine."

"As good as I can be, given the circumstances."

She smiled, though Romana just gaped in shock as the dirty, masculine woman turned to her. "Who's this then? You look new."

"Alex?" Romana breathed out in shock and her brows furrowed.

"Oh dear." Alex muttered. "I don't know you, but you know me. That's never good. We've never kissed, have we?"

"No!" Romana exclaimed and Alex tipped her head up with a sigh.

"Oh, thank God. You wouldn't believe how many times I've had to deal with bumping into women who've kissed me believing that we were 'soul mates' or something."

Romana wasn't really sure what to say to that, but Alex looked back at her with a grin.

"So! Me not knowing you means I'm in the Doctor's younger years then, right?" She paused then, smile faltering. "You _are_ with the Doctor, right?"

Romana nodded, thrusting a hand out with a small frown. "Romanadvoratrelundar."

Alex shook her hand after putting down a load of rocks, mouthing the name with a small frown of her own and Romana rolled her eyes.

"Romana is what the Doctor calls me."

"Ah! Romana!" Alex said with a grin. "Hello then. Glad I can call you something I can pronounce."

Romana sighed softly. "And you don't know me?"

"Nah. Sorry. I'm still early on, I suppose."

Romana hummed, looking her over. "Different body too."

"Really?" Alex questioned, looking down at herself with a slight frown. "And here I was liking this one. How'd you recognize me though?"

"Masculine woman, challenging Daleks, taking on other people's burdens at the risk of her own health?" Romana replied, making Alex chuckle nervously.

"Ah."

"That, and your mental blocks aren't very strong at the moment. I know your signature, as it were."

"Hm. Alright. Is the Doc with you then too?"

She shook her head. "No. He was trapped under a pillar, but when I returned, he was gone. Then I was being followed by someone and fell down a shaft where I was discovered by the Daleks."

"He's getting into trouble then. Fun."

"Says you." Romana quipped. "Why haven't _you_ escaped yet?"

"Info gathering." Alex replied, picking back up the basket she'd put down. "And keeping people safe, as you already know. It was either that or being exterminated for running from them. Figured I'd be more help with them than dead."

"And? Do you know what they're after?"

Alex shrugged. "No clue. They're not exactly free talkers, you know. The most I got is that they're digging down into the city in search of something for some war they're in right now. Everyone here is just collateral damage, unfortunately."

"Helpful." Romana said sarcastically and Alex raised a brow.

"I take it we're not the best of friends."

Romana spared her a glance. "The Doctor say's we're too similar to get along properly. I disagree. I simply don't care for you much."

Alex grinned though, lightly bumping her shoulder. "Aw, I knew you cared."

Romana scowled. "I believe I just informed you that I don't."

"Mm, but the way you said it indicates you do."

"No, it does not. This is why you infuriate me."

Alex chuckled, amused. "Well, let me know when you want out. I've got an idea that will probably work."

Romana huffed as Alex went on her way, before swaying.

"Are you alright?" Veldan asked in concern.

"It's the radiation. I've got to get out of here." Romana pressed, feeling slightly ill, but nothing too bad.

She simply needed to escape and didn't wish to rely on Alex's help unless she absolutely needed it.

* * *

I wasn't too surprised to discover another of the Doctor's companions, but I was a little worried that she'd seen yet another regeneration of mine. _That doesn't bode well of me. Especially right now._ I moved to a more shaded part of the mine, away from the others and coughed heavily, feeling my lungs ache and crackle in my chest. I hacked for a good few minutes, doubled over in pain and feeling nauseous as well before I finally stopped and tried to get my breathing under control. _Something's definitely wrong with the atmosphere here. I've been like this ever since I've shown up, and it's only gotten worse with how I'm pushing myself down here._ I glanced at my hand and grimaced as the dark spot of blood I'd coughed up, wiping it on my trousers and feeling horrible about having not mentioned this to anyone. _And I don't know if I will either. Something's going on here that we need to figure out and as long as I can still help, I will. The last thing I need is the Doctor showing up and changing prerogatives because I'm sick. Though the coughing up blood doesn't look good._ I came out from behind the rocks, returning to work, feeling significantly worse than a few moments ago. I needed to keep an eye on Romana though. She appeared to have a clever head on her shoulders, but she also seemed a bit dense in other aspects as well. _And rather hard headed. The last thing we need is her riling up the Daleks. It's alright for me, because I've proven myself useful to the Daleks, but I've yet to see her touch any of the mining equipment._ I glanced over at her and felt my hearts stop as she tumbled to the ground and Veldan and Jall rushed over to her. I dropped my load and hurried over as well, overhearing their argument with the Daleks as I neared.

"Don't you understand? She's dead!"

"Return to your work!" The Dalek ordered.

"You can't just leave her here like that." Jall pressed and I moved between them and the Dalek.

"Oi, bag of bolts, let us move her at least." I pressed, concern rippling off my form as I shifted a glance at Romana, searching for a sign that she was alright. "Leaving her here is bad morale for the other workers."

"She will be disposed of when the work cycle is complete. Return to your work. You will obey." The Dalek ordered, rolling forward threateningly and Veldan and Jall took hesitant steps back, but I stood my ground.

"Let me move her."

"Action denied."

I took a step towards the Dalek, a bit of satisfaction filling me when it rolled back slightly. "I said, let me move her. Leaving her here discourages people to work and it leave her in the way. If we don't move her, productivity will go down because she's an obstacle. People can hurt themselves tripping over her and then you're down more workers. So let me move her."

The Dalek hesitated, but finally relented. "You will move her."

I nodded with a huff and went over to her, Veldan following until the Dalek stopped him.

"Only she will move him. You will return to work." It ordered him and Veldan hesitated, giving me a look, but I replied with a reassuring smile.

"It's okay. I got it."

I reached down and lifted her up with apparent ease, though my body protested the movement and ached. I walked her carefully out of the way to a flat area where she wouldn't be disturbed until the work shift was over and spoke quietly as I set her down.

"You better not be dead, Romana. I don't know how I'll explain it to the Doctor if you are." I replied, looking over her in concern and moving her hands to a more restful position over her chest. "But if this is your plan out, I'll join you before the work shift is over. There's not much more I can do here anyway."

I got up and left her there, hoping that she wasn't dead, though I very nearly tripped over her foot. It took me a second to realize that it had moved on its own and I smiled to myself for a moment before returning to work. _She's alive. Thank God._

* * *

The Doctor smiled pleasantly to himself, having evaded the Daleks that had been chasing him, Tyssan, and the other silver haired Movellan group they'd been with in their attempt to help Romana. He was more curious about what the Daleks were drilling to though, no offense to her. He had an idea about what it could be, but he was also wondering what the Movellans' part in all of this was. As he thought this, they headed past where he and Romana had first shown up and spotted something concerning. Where there had been one grave, there was now three. Panic ran through his veins and he hurried over, seeing the name scratched into one of the tombstones being Romana, but the third tombstone sent ice through his hearts.

"Alex…" He breathed out, quickly kneeling down and digging through the stone in the hopes of finding their bodies, but before he could finish, someone walked over and he listed his head to feel relief. "Romana! Ha, ha! I thought you were dead." He grinned, standing and bounding over to where Alex was as well; grabbing her and spinning her in a circle. "And Alex! Oh, it's been too long!"

"U-Um, hello. As much as I enjoy the merry-go-round, I'm more than just a bit dizzy, so if you could…"

He set her down, looking over her with a frown, seeing the shape she was in as Romana piped in.

"The only way to escape the Daleks was to feign death. It's lucky they didn't know I was a Gallifreyan."

"Good girl." The Doctor told her, but bopped Alex on the nose with a finger. "You, on the other hand are far too slim."

Alex raised a brow in challenge. "And _you_ are a week late. So if anyone's to blame for my thinness, it's you, mister."

The Doctor pouted as Tyssan turned to Romana.

"Gallifreyan?"

"Yes, they taught me at school how to stop my hearts."

"Hearts? How many have you got?"

"One for casual, one for best." She replied and the Doctor chuckled as Alex snorted. "Though Alex here had a bit more difficulty."

Alex quickly pouted. "_I_ didn't have some fancy school to teach me, thanks. I had to figure it out through trial and error. And by that, I mean that I completely winged it."

"And couldn't get your hearts restarted without my help." Romana said haughtily, making Alex wince when the Doctor rounded on her.

"You couldn't restart your hearts?! Alex!"

"I thought it'd be the same as stopping them! Not my fault I'm only half-Gallifreyan and my system gets confused."

The Doctor rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around her waist, earning a slightly confused expression as he headed with her away from the group. The commander of the Movellans though, stopped him.

"Doctor."

"Yes?"

"Where are you going?"

"Dalek hunting." The Doctor said seriously, earning no reaction from the man as Alex raised a brow and they headed out.

"_Was that you calling to me in the back of my head earlier?"_ The Doctor mentally asked her and she hummed.

_I figured it wouldn't hurt. It was pretty weak though. I was underground and, as you can see, not in the best of shape._

"_I see… A week…"_

_Hey, you better not be beating yourself up over this. I was joking earlier, you know. It's hardly your fault I'm in this shape._

"_Just the fact that you're in it, is what I'm concerned about."_

Alex rolled her eyes. _It's not the first time, spaceman. I've been through much worse. This was a walk in the park. Especially since I was able to keep my identity from the Daleks. If they knew I was the Seer, then we'd have bigger problems._

The Doctor hummed, but there was a frown on his face as he tightened his grip around her slightly. _"I shouldn't have let you get into worse shape than this. What was my other regenerations doing?"_

_Saving the universe. Now stop the pity party. Romana's getting suspicious._ Alex chided him and Alex attempted to wriggle out of the Doctor's hold, but the man easily ignored her attempts and kept her where she was. _God, why are you so clingy?_

"_To keep you out of trouble."_ He replied, giving her a look to which she sighed and gave in, even leaning into him a bit, which was slightly surprising to him.

He was more friendly with her in this body, he'd noticed, though she was typically a bit more stand-offish. He knew it was because she knew him in her future and didn't wish to contort this reality, but he never really cared for how she shied away from him. Especially around his companions. And he wasn't sure why, but this body wanted to keep her close. Whether for safety reasons, suspicion, or something else, he couldn't be certain. Already, he was worried that his concern for her was growing to levels he wasn't entirely comfortable with, and between his current regeneration being 'clingy' and her being in this deteriorated state, his concern was only amplified. It was only now that he realized he feared the possibility of him having feelings for her. Her, a partial Time Lady that he knew little to nothing about, but who knew his future backwards and forwards. And he, a banished Time Lord who traveled in a stolen time machine disguised as a blue box with people he picked up like strays. They couldn't be more different, and yet he felt a connection with her. Something that drew him in and wouldn't let go. She was interesting, and what more could he want in a woman?

That thought alone embarrassed him and the moment he thought it, he quickly released Alex's captive waist and attempted to distract himself with searching the building they were now in and explaining to the others what he was looking for.

"Now, if I'm right, there's a shaft in here that the Daleks don't know about leading straight to the bottom level. If I'm right."

Everyone looked around, moving some of the large metal pipes and pieces before he found it.

"Ah, ha. I'm right. Now, if the Daleks are looking for what I think they're looking for, we've got to get there first." He turned to the Movellans. "We don't all need to go. Why don't you two go back to your ship and wait for us?"

"No, Doctor." The leader, Sharrel replied. "I will go back to the ship. Agella will go with you. We're as anxious to find what the Daleks are looking for as you are."

"Alright." The Doctor reluctantly gave in, knowing something was up about them, but having no physical proof; though he could see Alex furrow her brows, possibly catching on as well. "Come on, let's clear the entrance. Ah, not you, Alex. You need to rest."

Alex scowled. "What? I'm fine."

"No, you're not. I can hear your labored breathing from here. Just the walk over here has winded you and I'm not about to have you collapse if we're down there and the Daleks show up. Now sit."

"But—"

"_Sit._"

Alex pouted, crossing her arms over her chest, but plopped down on a boulder nearby as the rest got to work. She wasn't about to do nothing without a complaint though. _Why do _I_ have to sit out? I told you, I'm fine. I've been working in those mines for a week! Some metal parts wouldn't be an issue._

The Doctor mentally sighed. _"As I said, I can hear your breathing from here. And unless you're ill with the flu, then it's from overexertion. You'll be a danger to yourself and everyone else if you push yourself too hard. I'm only looking out for what's best of you."_

Alex sighed out loud, giving in reluctantly and turning away from the group. He gave her a glance as he put a large piece of pipe out of the way and felt a frown forming. She looked sad to him. Like something he'd said bothered her in some way, but he couldn't think of anything other than the fact he'd basically told her she was a burden to the group. He felt bad, but it was the truth and a part of him knew that she understood that and accepted that—in this state—she would and could endanger them all should physical exertion come into play. So what was it that was bothering her? He continued to ponder that even as they finished unblocking the shaft and headed down to the fourth level of the building; in search of what the Daleks were after.

"Just as I thought." He said quietly once they'd found the other room where the dusted, decaying Davros sat in his Dalek-esque chair.

"A humanoid?" Agella questioned and he nodded, taking in the stiffness of Alex's shoulders and how her eyes had locked on to the creature known as Davros with something akin to hatred.

"Yes. Davros, the evil genius who created the Daleks."

"He created the Daleks?"

"Yes." The Doctor replied, immediately remembering his past and feeling regret. "I could have stopped him."

_You shouldn't blame yourself._ Alex's voice chimed in his head and he grit his teeth, wanting to snap at her, but knowing better than that. _I could have stopped him too. Numerous times. But I didn't because he will play a big part in your life for centuries to come. They won't be pleasant, but he will give you the opportunity to learn more about yourself and others._

"_People will die." _He did snap, mentally.

_Yes, and people will live. Without the bad in your life, you won't become the man you're meant to be. So don't be too hard on yourself._

The Doctor wanted to get angry some more, but took a deep breath and let it go, knowing that she had a point, despite the guilt he felt still swirling in his gut.

"This creature looks as though he'd been dead for centuries." Tyssan spoke up, interrupting the Doctor's thoughts.

"Yes. Curious the tricks time plays on one, isn't it?"

"So that's what the Daleks have been looking for. Their creator." Agella said, Alex's eyes furrowing once more as she watched the silver-haired woman.

"Yes."

There was a bang then, and Tyssan and Agella went to investigate, only for an explosion to rock the building and the ceiling to collapse on Agella. The Doctor and others hurried over—him taking her pulse—but he turned to Romana and Alex.

"Romana, Alex, I was right." He told them with wide eyes.

Alex tilted her head, curious, but he said nothing more as Tyssan hurried over.

"They're breaking through."

"Yeah, we've got another problem too." Alex grumbled, tossing her thumb over her shoulder. "Sleeping beauty's awake. He's rattling on about his plan to take over the universe."

Sure enough, not a moment later, Davros rolled himself out with an angry shout.

"Where are my Daleks?!"

The Doctor grabbed his chair and he stopped.

"Doctor."

"Davros." The Doctor greeted back. "You don't look a day older and I'd hoped you were dead."

"Dead? I do not die. Mark this moment, Doctor. In the history of the universe, this moment is unique. Davros lives!"

"Yes, well, I can see your long rest hasn't done anything to cure your megalomania. Have a jelly baby."

"Oh, yeah. Give the lunatic sugar. That'll fix everything." Alex drawled, leaning over Davros's chair with a raised brow. "You know, I'd say you were almost better in the future. You talk too much now."

Davros scowled and the Doctor chuckled before grabbing his chair and pushing him along.

"Where are you taking me?" Davros demanded. "You will return me to the Daleks."

"Shut up, or I'll switch you off." The Doctor threatened, nearly running him into a Dalek if he hadn't turned at the last second. "Quick, back this way."

They stopped in a small area not much later and the Doctor quickly gave out orders.

"Tyssan, back down the corridor and check it. Romana, you give me a hand with this. Alex, keep Davros company."

"Yeah, yeah." She complained, leaning on Davros's chair with arms crossed over her chest. "I'll tell him Dalek jokes. Hey, old man, how does a Dalek keep his skin soft?"

"Daleks don't have skin."

"Er. Wrong." Alex buzzed, crossing her arms in an 'x'. "They exfoliate."

The Doctor snorted and Romana even smiled a bit as they began moving rubble aside and Alex went on.

"Ooh! How about this one? Why did the Dalek apply for a job in pest control?"

Davros continued to scowl. "Daleks have no need for human jobs! Why are you asking me these ridiculous questions?!"

"Because it bothers you." Alex chirped. "And the correct answer is, because he liked the job description. Exterminate! Exterminate!" She chuckled, earning a laugh from the Doctor and even Romana let out giggles.

"Ooh, ooh! What does a Dalek do when it's too lazy to do its homework?... Procrastinate!"

The Doctor continued to laugh, struggling to do his job as Romana held her side; attempting to keep her amusement hidden.

"W-What do you call an angry Dalek creator?" Alex asked, holding back laughter herself. "D-Davcross!"

The Doctor was doubled over now as Davros shouted angrily at Alex; who was also nearly doubled over with her own laughter.

"That is not my name! Stop laughing! Your human jokes are _not_ funny in any manner!"

Tyssan hurried back in then and raised a brow at the group; the Doctor forcing himself to stop laughing as best he could to hear what Tyssan had found.

"T-Tyssan."

"The corridor's full of Daleks." He told them, making the group sober up.

"What?" The Doctor grimaced. "Then we're effectively boxed in. We're too exposed here. Come on, get him. Let's get under cover."

Alex grinned, pushing Davros along. "Come on then, Davcross."

"I am _not_ Davcross!" Davros shouted at her, making her laughed again.

"You sure sound it!"

* * *

I grimaced, feeling a hard cough that I kept in, in order to not alert the Doctor and Romana that something was going on. The two were currently arguing about how good the metal sheet would be at deterring the Daleks, but now the Doctor was trying to get her, Tyssan and I to leave.

"Now listen to me carefully, you three. I want you to get out through… come over here." He led Tyssan and Romana over to an opening in the wall, but I stayed seated nearby. "Now, get back to the Movellan spaceship, tell them to mobilize a force and bring it here. It's vital we get Davros out of here before the Daleks find us. Off you go."

"We'll be as quick as we can." Romana replied, climbing up with Tyssan right behind.

"Don't take too many chances." The Doctor said, before turning to me and gesturing to the window. "Come on."

"No." I said bluntly, crossing my arms over my chest and smiling innocently at him.

He, of course, groaned. "Alex, I'm not having you stay down here in your condition."

"Well, the way I see it, if I go out there and take the long trek to the Movellan spaceship, I'll be in worse shape than before and will drag them down should they get stopped by Daleks on the surface. Whereas in here, I'd be relatively safe with you and the captive Davcross here, and will be able to rest until we have to leave. So which is it?"

The Doctor stared with a frown at me, while I just continued to smile, before he gave in. "Fine, you can stay. Though I'll have you know, I'm not pleased."

"Hm, you're Davcross too?" I joked, almost managing to get a smile from him before he cleared his throat and schooled his expression into a serious one.

"Stop it."

"Oh, you know you love me. And I've got Doctor jokes too, if you're interested."

"Later." He replied, peering through the hole Romana and Tyssan had gone through as I made myself comfortable. "Well, now that we've a little time to ourselves…" The Doctor said, hopping down and turning to Davros. "I'll fill you in on some of the events that have taken place during the centuries you've been, uh, dozing."

"Well?" Davros questioned, probably eager to hear about his Daleks' success.

"Well, Arcturus won the Galactic Olympic Games. Betelgeuse came a close second. The economy on Algo's in a terrible state due to irreversible inflation—"

"Doctor!" Davros snapped angrily, making me chuckle at the Doctor's teasing.

"What? Yes?"

"Do you believe your puny efforts can change the course of destiny?"

"Well, let's just say I might tamper with it." The Doctor replied sharply as he turned Davros around and I sat back and listened to the two.

"Destiny, Doctor."

"What?"

"Invincible necessity."

"Oh, that. That, yes."

"Power. My power. My invincibility. My supreme plan to control—"

I rolled my eyes as all three of us said in unison, **"—the universe."**

"Yes, yes. I've heard all that before." The Doctor complained and I sighed.

"I _still_ hear it from you. Honestly, you'd think you'd start with the short-term goals before trying to big ones. Do you still have no clue what you'll do when you succeed? You didn't the last few times I saw you, so probably not. You evil villain types never know what to do after you get what you wanted."

"Excellent point, Alex." The Doctor complimented, turning back to Davros as he pulled out something from his pocket. "Now do be a good chap, eh? Stay quiet. I've got to concentrate."

Davros hardly listened.

"Errors of the past will be rectified. I will add new design elements to the Dalek's circuitry. They will be armed with new weaponry. Weaponry so devastating that all matter will succumb to its power. I will equip them with all the knowledge of the universe—" He rambled.

"Yes, yes, yes, we've heard all that. The Daleks can do all that for themselves." The Doctor drawled.

"The Daleks need me."

"What?!" The Doctor shouted, dropping his things and moving back to Davros. "The Daleks left you for dead centuries ago. You've given them all you've got. What do they want you for now, eh? What's so special about the Movellans that they need your help again, eh?"

"The Movellans are who they're fighting, right?" I questioned, slightly uncomfortable with the amount of tension the Doctor was giving off; his own mental barriers not as strong as they would be when he's older.

The Doctor glanced at me and nodded. "That's what they told me."

I frowned. "But there's something off about them."

"Yes." He said, moving away from Davros and slightly towards me. "Have you figured it out yet?"

"Well, they don't give off anything emotionally, so I'm assuming they're—" I couldn't hold it back this time, feeling the cough bubbling its way up my throat, and myself unable to push it back.

So, I coughed, hacking deeply as I doubled over and the Doctor rushed to my side in concern.

"Alex? Alex, are you alright?"

I nodded, still coughing, though the worst of it was passing. "Y-Yeah. Sorry. I've b-been down in the mines too long. Dust, that's all." I told him, stealthily wiping my bloodied hand on my pants again. "But I've got an idea of what they are. The Movellans. Kind of silly that they're fighting against the Daleks."

The Doctor eyed me; suspicious, I was sure, about my coughing. It certainly didn't sound right to me and I knew it was the same for him too, but thankfully he didn't push it.

"Yes, quite, isn't it?" He replied, returning to where he'd left his device and working on it once more in relative silence.

I was concerned though. More about myself, than our situation, at this point. I felt horrid at this point, and our constant dashing about wasn't helping. Sure, I was out of the mines, but at this point I'd been exposed to whatever it is in this atmosphere for too long. And I was worried there wouldn't be much the Doctor could do once he did find out. _I just hope this is something small. But coughing up blood is never a small matter. I just… I don't want to die._ That thought depressed me and I sunk a little on the rock I was seated on, slouching as I frowned slightly down at my hands. They quivered, not of my own doing or of fear, but whatever was effecting me. I was beginning to feel nauseous too now, and if I smelt anything potentially strong, I was certain I would vomit. My head ached and my chest felt like someone was sitting on it. I could hear my breathing too, as the Doctor said, and I was out of breath after my coughing incident. My lungs crackled though, similar to the bronchitis I had back home when I was younger, and I knew it wasn't good. I was sick. _Very_ sick. And I needed to do something about it, but what could I do? We needed to solve this problem first. And I could only hope that by then, it wouldn't be too late.

"There. That should do it. Very good." The Doctor piped up, drawing me from my thoughts as he held up his device and gave Davros a glance. "Well, aren't you going to ask me what it is? Alright, I'll tell you anyway." He said, not giving Davros a chance to answer. "Life insurance. What were we talking about?"

"Your inevitable destruction." Davros replied and I tilted my head.

"I thought it was universal domination…"

"No, no, no." The Doctor said, shaking his head. "We had those conversations before. I'm more interested in your survival. I saw you destroyed. The Daleks blasted you at point blank range."

I snapped my fingers. "I've seen you killed too! You're really stubborn, aren't you? Survived an exploding spaceship in my time."

"I haven't the slightest notion as to what you are talking about." Davros told me, making me shrug, but he turned to the Doctor. "As for your enquiry, however, there was damage to my primary life support system. The secondary and back-up circuits switch in immediately. Synthetic tissue regeneration took place whilst bodily organs were held in long-term suspension."

"Blimey. Wasn't that outstaying your welcome in rather a big way?"

I snorted. "No kidding. You're like the stubborn in-law who doesn't want to let her baby go and moves in with the newlyweds."

"Until the Dalek's universal supremacy is accomplished, I cannot allow myself the luxury of death."

"Oh, poor Davros." The Doctor cooed.

"However, it is a luxury I shall delight in bestowing upon the both of you."

"Ooh, I'm being included?" I said with a small smile, though internally I was groaning. _Great._

"You're very generous." The Doctor drawled sarcastically and the two of them continued for a good while longer about the Daleks and universal dominations and as I watched, a thought came to mind.

_Hm, they kind of remind me of the Doctor and the Master. Like best friends who constantly get on each other's nerves._ I smiled a bit at that, imagining the two going to school together and arguing about who had better grades and such. _What would they do without each other, I wonder… _My thoughts were cut off as our little barricade was shot down by the Daleks and the Doctor hurried pulled me off my rock and behind him; him poking his head out at the Daleks.

"You will move into the open." A Dalek demanded. "If you fail to obey in five seconds, you will be exterminated. One, two, three, four—"

The Doctor stopped him there, having moved us back to stand behind Davros. "Hold it, hold it. Now, tell them what I've got here." He told Davros, who begrudgingly answered.

"He is holding a primed explosive device."

"And one false move, and it goes right down inside his chair. I'll turn Davros and his life-support system into scrap metal. Now back off!"

"We obey only Davros." A Dalek replied, but Davros was being surprisingly cooperative.

"He is simply buying time. Do as he says."

"Do as he says." The Doctor repeated and the Daleks slowly rolled back.

"We obey."

"I believe this is what's called a Mexican stand-off." The Doctor chirped, sounding rather amused despite the situation.

"Ha. How long do you think you can sustain your advantage, you two alone, and against such odds?"

"Haha, wouldn't you like to know, eh? Wouldn't you like to know…" He glanced at the window behind us and I muttered quietly.

"Wouldn't _we_ like to know?"

He grunted in agreement and I frowned.

"Doctor, shouldn't we be preparing for the worst possible scenario? The Daleks aren't just going to back off. And we don't know that the Movellans aren't going to turn on us."

"Good point." He grumbled, not pleased, but knowing I was right. "I'll try to come up with something."

"Better make it quick." I replied, having peeked out the doors. "They're coming back."

"Attention, attention. The action we are about to take is your responsibility. It will cease only when you agree to total surrender." A Dalek announced and I moved back over to see what was going on.

"Now what?" The Doctor complained as I peered my head out to see a Dalek raised its weapon.

"Exterminate!"

One of the mine workers fell to the ground, dead, and I quickly called out to the Doctor as another one was led forward.

"Doctor! They're executing the mine workers!"

"Extermi—"

"Stop!" I shouted, and the Doctor grabbed me before I could bolt out and pulled us both behind Davros's chair.

"You surrender?" The Dalek questioned.

"Alright, alright. You can have Davros, but only on my conditions." The Doctor said.

"State them."

"All slave workers to be released immediately and allowed to leave the city." He said, myself nodding.

"Continue."

"Nothing to come in here until Alex and I are out and in the clear."

"Conditions unacceptable. Exterminations will continue."

"Stop!" The Doctor shouted before I had the chance. "One more killing and I detonate the device. I'll destroy Davros."

"Logic unacceptable. Detonation would also destroy you."

"Yes, you hadn't foreseen that one, had you.

"Self-sacrifice illogical, therefore impossible. Exterminations will continue." The Dalek said, but Davros, surprisingly, stopped it.

"Agree. Agree to his terms. He will do what he says. His logic is impaired by irrational sentiment. Agree. I, Davros, command it."

"We obey." They reluctantly agreed and the mine workers began to head out.

I turned to the Doctor though. "I'll go with them. Make sure they're safe even if the Daleks decide to go back on their word."

He frowned. "Alex—"

"Please. Let me do this. I've already risked my life for some of these people. I'm not about to have it go to waste."

He obviously didn't want me to go, judging by his twisting expression, but he knew I wouldn't let up and reluctantly nodded.

"Alright. But be safe."

I smiled and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "I'll do my best, spaceman."

I couldn't' help but enjoy the stunned expression as I slipped past the Daleks and into the group of workers, showing them the shaft we'd gone up and making sure everyone made it. After all, the last thing we needed was to have someone lagging behind when the Daleks double-crossed us. _And there's no doubt that they will, so we have to keep moving._ Sure enough, it didn't take long for Daleks to come out from underground and begin searching the hills and rocks for people. I did everything I could to get all of the slave workers out of the mines. Thankfully, I spotted Tyssan outside and with his help I not only heard about the Movellans taking Romana, but we were able to find a decent hiding place for the slave workers. That, and with the help of him and I gathering a few parts from nearby buildings, I was even able to set up a shielding device that would keep them safe from the Daleks should they come upon the group.

Problem was, I was getting sicker. I could feel it now and just moving felt like a chore. My body ached for no apparent reason. I'd thrown up not too long after I'd gotten the slave workers settled in the cave and when I had been searching for parts. And I felt as though I might have a fever at this point, but with Romana in danger from the Movellans and the Daleks, there was no time to sit back and do nothing.

Tyssan returned not too much later, having gone out in search of information as to what was going on and he informed me that the Doctor too, had been caught by the Movellans. I groaned, dropping my head in my hands and Tyssan looked at me in worry, but I quickly waved his concern off.

"That moron. He probably expected it."

"We can't just sit here though."

I nodded. "He'll need an opening. Do you know of any way we can get a hold of one of the Movellans? Or one of their communication devices or something?"

Tyssan, surprisingly, nodded excitedly. "Yes! I saw the Doctor remove this thing on the side of their hips. It was a battery of some kind. They can still move for a moment, but it shuts them down."

My eyes widened as my mouth opened in understanding. "Oh… _Oh_! I was right! They're androids! Free moving androids all need a source of energy. And these are old styled ones, so it's kept on them. Gah! Why didn't I figure that out sooner?!" I said loudly, smacking myself in my head repeatedly, before stopping. "Tyssan, I've got a plan. Think you can pull it off with a few others?"

He tilted his head. "Only a few?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I'm trying to keep casualties down. I know how the Daleks work, so as long as there's only a few of you, you should be able to sneak past them without notice. If there is a close one, chuck a rock over it and they'll go after it. And if they are close, cover the eyestalk. They're blind without it and can't hit anything. And—"

"I got it." He cut me off, smiling softly. "Really. I'll grab a few guys and we'll go see what we can do. I should be able to reprogram one too."

I grinned. "Oh, Tyssan, you're brilliant. I'll take some men of my own and we'll meet up with you and your over by the Movellan base. That way, we can surround them and attack at once."

He nodded and off he went with a number of men as I turned to the others in the cave.

"Alright, everyone! Listen up! Women, children, and elderly please stay here unless you feel you are physically capable of assisting in an attack to take over the Movellan base! I will need a majority of the men to come with me, but if you do not feel confident or are feeling ill in any way, please feel free to stay here and protect the others should something happen! The shield I created should hold, but I'm not taking any chances! If you're coming with me, meet me just outside!" I called out, heading just outside the shield and waiting.

There were a number of men, but I recognized that a decent chunk had stayed behind. I knew that there were some too ill and some younger ones who were scared, so I didn't mind. I gathered the ones I had and off we went, ducking and hiding from the roaming Daleks until we were scattered around the Movellan base. When Tyssan came up and joined us, I called everyone over and began spilling out instructions.

"Alright. We ended up with two Movellans, so we have some element of surprise. Let them go in first. They'll start it and then we'll rush in from multiple entrances. Don't kill anyone if you can help it. Take their batteries or whatever they are, and they'll collapse on their own. They are androids though, so overcoming their strength could prove difficult. Use speed to get around them and their weapons. If you _have_ the strength though, try to keep their aim off target. Everyone got it? We're trying for no casualties here. I want all of you to get home safely, understood?"

The group nodded, some smiling and others laughing and patting one another on the shoulder; some even patting me.

"Alright then, let's go!"

Our makeshift group marched to the entrance of the Movellan ship, allowing the two we had under control to go in first as the rest of us followed and spread out around the first hall that wrapped out the control room. Immediately, the two robots began stunning people with their weapons and one of the larger men of our group grabbed a hold of another while we all hurried in. People were taken down left and right, and I was pleased to see no one on our side losing their lives. One man was knocked unconscious, but I'd checked and he wasn't dead. And then the Doctor did something to the controls and a dog whistle, knocking out the rest of the androids as Romana removed their battery packs. I stayed by the unconscious guy until one of his friends offered to take him back to the safety of the cave and I sent them off as the Doctor came over with a grin.

"Excellent job, Alex. Well done."

I smiled a bit, though my stomach churned with nausea threatening to reveal to the Doctor why I was so pale at the moment.

"Well, Tyssan helped quite a bit too."

"Yes, but I recognize an Alex plan when I see one." He said with a grin that made me blush.

_God, this one too? Why does the Doctor do this to me? I can't even do anything! Oh, he doesn't know how much I want to just grab that stupid scarf of his and just—_

"Are you alright? You look a bit pale." He commented then, reaching a hand up towards my forehead, but I chuckled nervously and lightly pushed his hand away.

"Tired, that's all. I've been rushing around collecting parts for a shielding mechanism for the other slave workers and then rushing down here to give _someone_ an opportunity out of a hostage situation."

"Oh, I would have come up with something." He waved off as I raised a brow, as Romana passed by.

"He's lying. He couldn't even get out of his seat with them hovering over us."

"I could so." He insisted with a pout, but Romana and I knew better, and exchanged dubious looks. "I could!"

"Sure, you could." I drawled sarcastically and it didn't take long before he came up with another plan to get everything settled with our little group of slave workers and the Daleks.

"You stay here, Tyssan. You'll need this ship to get home. Romana, Alex, you two help him."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll go grab the rest of the people from the cave. You go have another argument with your semi-robotic friend."

"He's not my friend."

"Oh, yeah, right. Mortal enemies, yeah? That's funny, because last I checked, so are you and the Master. And you're both friends. Seems to me you and Davros would be the same. You sure sound like it when you're arguing."

"We're _not_ friends." He pressed with a grumble, before leaving with a wave. "I will return!"

I rolled my eyes at his exit and turned to Romana and Tyssan. "I'm heading out too. I'll get everyone back here as quick as I can."

They nodded and I went back towards the cave, but didn't get very far before I had to stop. I ended up doubled over, gasping for breath and shaking violently as I cursed under my breath at the blood on my hand and the vomit off to the side. I could tell I wouldn't last much longer. I didn't want to die and regenerate again, but there was something in this atmosphere killing me. There was nothing I could do and at the rate I was deteriorating, I almost knew for certain that the Doctor wouldn't be able to do anything. And it crushed me. It hurt to know that I was going to die again. No one wanted to die, and especially not like this. There was only one thing I wanted out of this though. One thing to beg from the universe. _Please… Please don't make me die in front of him._

* * *

The Doctor could tell something was up with Alex when he returned back to the Movellan ship with Davros; shutting the man up in a cryogenic freezer. She was pale and her breathing was erratic. He could see her wringing her hands on her lap to try and hide their shaking. Her eyes were unfocused and he could tell she was worried about something. She hadn't spoken since he'd returned and usually she'd be joking about Davros, yet she was sitting off to the side. Something was _very_ wrong. And once he'd turned on the cryogenic freezer, he grabbed her and Romana, and they made a mad dash for the Tardis before Tyssan knew they were gone. Upon returning, he discovered why Romana had been late trying to get him out from under the pillar and they quickly went to work removing the rocks. He'd told Alex to rest, and what concerned him more, was that she readily agreed.

"Doctor, could you really have solved their problems and won the war for them?" Romana piped up, talking about the Movellans and their war against the Daleks.

"Of course I could. It's obvious."

"Was it?"

"Yes. Both sides were fighting with computers, perfectly logically. Each computer could predict the move of the other and counter it. Result, stalemate."

Alex sighed. "All they had to do was turn off the computers and do something to win. The other side wouldn't expect it."

"Brilliant." Romana breathed out.

"Yes."

"Is that why you always win?" She asked the Doctor.

"Yes. What?" He corrected, not having heard what he'd said 'yes' to until it was too late.

"Because you always make mistakes."

"Mistakes? Me? Well, perhaps once a century or so."

Alex smiled. "I like to think you just make creative decisions that don't always turn out the way you expected."

The Doctor snapped his finger at her. "Yes! Yes, exactly that. See, Romana? Alex understands."

Romana rolled her eyes as she shoved the last rock away from the Tardis and they headed in before attempting to send the ship off. The ship didn't leave though, until Alex sighed and went over to the console.

"You flipped the wrong switch."

"What?" He questioned, before seeing her flip one switch back and move to another. "Oh, yes."

The Tardis went into the Time Vortex and the Doctor turned to her as she moved to sit on the jump seat.

"I didn't know you knew how to properly fly her."

Alex shrugged, pulling a hand through her hair tiredly. "She kept dropping the manual on me when I was bored."

"Alex, are you alright?" He questioned then, more insistent than before and he actually managed to get his hand to her forehead this time, before sharply pulling back. "Why, you're positively boiling! Alex, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it's too late." She breathed out, looking up at him with a sorrowful expression and tears in her eyes. "I-I'm so sorry."

"No, no. Don't say that. I'm sure it's fine." He consoled her, but she shook her head with a bitter smile.

"I've been here a week, Doctor. I've been in this atmosphere for a week. I can already feel it."

His brows furrowed, trying to connect the dots, before everything clicked and his eyes widened. "The radiation."

"Is that what it was?" She questioned, looking down at her hands and flexing her fingers as they glowed a slight gold. "Radiation poisoning… not the best way to _go_."

Her last word was strained as she coughed heavily and very nearly toppled off the jump seat with the Doctor and Romana hadn't rushed over to catch her.

"Alex? Alex, you need to breathe." The Doctor told her, helping Romana lay her down on the floor.

"H-Harder than… you think." She choked out, rolling onto her side only to vomit and the Doctor cringed at the amount of blood in it

"Alex, you don't need to worry. I'll take care of this. I'll take care of you." The Doctor pressed, not knowing how many times Alex had regenerated, nor how well she dealt with it.

Some Time Lords treated it as nothing more than a cold, but others saw each life as something more precious. Alex seemed more of the later type.

"Oh, you should have seen… my other regenerations." She said with a weak chuckle. "Shot the first time… Second time… pneumonia… and then shot by a Dalek… heh, this should be easy." She said, forcing a smile that didn't reach her eyes, which quickly filled with tears as her expression crumbled. "S-So why is it… t-that this is so hard?... I-I-I don't want to die. N-Not again. Why did this have to happen to me?"

The Doctor wasn't sure what to tell her. He was typically alright with his regenerating and most of the Time Lords he knew, were the same. What do you tell someone dying who doesn't want to die? He opened his mouth, but closed it, the words of comfort stuck in his throat. Alex's condition took a turn for the worst though as she curled up and wheezed, gasping for air and clutching at her chest in pain as the glow around her grew.

"N-No." She breathed out, panicked. "I don't… want to go."

"It's alright. I'll be here." The Doctor finally got out, taking her hand, but her eyes shifted to his and even he could feel her panic.

"No, you won't."

And then she was gone.

* * *

Alex popped up in a room, struggling to calm her racing hearts and starved lungs as alarms rang out around her and hurried footsteps approached. She peered an eye open to see a large door open up and a number of armed guards enter the room with their weapons raised.

"Don't move! Stay where you are!" One shouted and if she could, Alex would have scoffed at the moron.

She could feel her hearts slowing now and her final breath left her as she watched the men begin to cautiously approach. _Stay back…_ She thought, her eyes slowly closing, before she burst into gold. The guards scrambled away from her in stunned shock, waiting for the bright light to go down before they raised their weapons once more at the figure who sat up with a groan.

"God, what happened? I feel like I've been chucked through a garbage disposal."

"S-Stay where you are! What happened to the woman that was here?!" The leader of the group of guards shouted and the figure turned to them and tilted their head with a frown.

The _male_ figure.

"Who?"


	93. Dalek

**Hey, I lied. But it's a good lie! I'm posting early again! :D You guys really wanted to know what happened next, so I'll go ahead and give it to you. This chapter's a bit shorter than most of mine (the next chapter is too) and apologies for the lack of Alex. I gave you all extra bits at the end with _him _(still getting used to calling her, him). BUT i have a big announcement!**

**I have just started a second account with fanfics that I've started but haven't gotten very far into. Most are just ideas and if you want more info on that, read the profile. But, I'm open to any and all criticism on those. Good, bad, hate, whatever. If the character's a Mary-Sue, go right out there and tell me. It'll help me improve this and other big fanfics that I've got ongoing. It's mostly Doctor Who for now (i come up with too many ideas) but once i get those all posted, i'll have other genres as well. The name for that account is Anubis Enfield. So go ahead and let me know what you think. ^^**

**But on with this story. This chapter and the next will both have the Ninth Doctor. Then Alex will end up with Twelve and then Ten and Eleven, to appease those of you looking for their reactions to the new male her ;) So please review and let me know what you think about her new personality!**

* * *

The young man looked around, brows furrowed in confusion and a hand being pulled through his slicked back brown hair. His clear blue eyes shifted from the guards to the guns to the room around him, beginning to look more confused with every passing moment. The guards themselves were a bit lost as well, wondering what had happened to the blonde woman who had been there a moment ago and where this scruffy looking man with too tight clothes had come from.

"W-What happened to the woman?" A guard repeated demanding to know and those blue eyes locked onto his before the man squinted.

"Huh? Woman? I don't know any woman."

"She was just here! Wearing those same exact clothes!"

The man glanced down and tugged at the shirt, lifting his lip in a disgusted grimace.

"Ew. Not my size and definitely not my style." He complained, glancing back up at the guards. "Do you have anything else?"

"W-Wha—No! Now get on your feet! You're trespassing in an unauthorized zone and how did you even get here?!" The guard ordered as the man got up and brushed off his jeans with another disgusted look.

"Now that's just silly. Who matches this sort of jacket with these trousers?"

"Answer me!" The guard shouted angrily, annoyed at the man before them.

"Huh?" The man tilted his head, raising a hand to scratch at the five-o-clock shadow along his jawline. "How did I get here… How did I get here… I've no idea. Do _you_ know?"

The man sputtered for a moment, before snapping at the guards next to him. "Take him. We'll bring him to Statten."

"Statten? Who's that? Sounds familiar. Do I know him?"

"Shut up." The guard snapped as he approached the man and handcuffs were placed on him. "Just keep your mouth shut, would you?"

"No." He said, making the guard's eyes widen at the sudden defiance, before the man frowned. "Or, wait. Was that right? Or was I supposed to say 'yes'?"

The guard's eyebrow twitched and he thrust his arm out towards the door. "Get him out of here."

"Yes, sir." The guards chorused and they began tugging along their latest catch.

Alex, as it were, was brought in to see Van Statten who looked at the—now regenerated—_man _in curiosity.

"Who are you, exactly?"

"Hm?" Alex tilted his head, looking a bit confused. "Who am I?... Who am I…" He trailed off, eyes getting slightly cloudy for a second, before he snapped his head back to Van Statten. "Who is anyone but a collection of mind, body, soul and the little bits thrown in-between?"

Van Statten frowned. "What's your name?"

Alex shrugged. "Dunno." His eyes widened as he spotted something on Van Statten's desk and suddenly rushed over; startling the guards and the man himself. "Ooh, is that a defabricator? Oh, I haven't seen one of those since…" Alex frowned, brows furrowed deep in thought as the guards pulled him away from the desk. "…since when, exactly? I can't remember."

"And you can't remember how you got in, either, I assume?" Van Statten questioned, eyes narrowed.

"Nah, but that's not important." Alex waved off. "…Where was it?"

"What were you doing down there?" Van Statten questioned, but Alex groaned in complaint; trying to pace, but the guards wouldn't let him.

"Oh, who cares? I was there, now I'm here. What difference does it make how I moved?"

"Because I found you close to the Cage, that's why. But that doesn't matter. How did you know what this was?" He asked, tapping the defabricator. "What does it do?"

"Gets rid of clothes. And you don't know anything, you stubborn, idiotic human moron. Why can't you just let me think?!" Alex snapped angrily, before suddenly relaxing. "Hm? Who's shouting? Was that me? Dear lord, this is going to be a rough one, isn't it?"

Van Statten raised a brow. "Rough one of what?"

Alex ignored him though, lost in thought and muttering to himself. "Fifteen hours. Fifteen hours, then it's permanent. No fixing me after that. Wasn't he supposed to be here? Who? Someone. He promised, didn't he? Oh, my head…" Alex sagged, being grabbed by a guard before he hit the ground; having fallen completely unconscious.

"Sir? He's out. What should we do with him?"

Van Statten hummed. "Put him in with the scanner. Something he said has me curious."

"Sir?"

"He called me human."

* * *

"So, what is it? What's wrong?" Rose asked the Ninth Doctor as he frowned at the place they'd ended up.

"Don't know. Some kind of signal drawing the Tardis off course."

"Where are we?"

"Earth. Utah, North America. About half a mile underground." He rattled off from what he'd read on the Tardis monitor earlier.

"And _when_ are we?"

"2012." He said, looking into a display case with a long alien creature propped up inside.

"God, that's so close. So I could be twenty-six." Rose muttered as the Doctor discovered a switch and flooded with room with light. "Blimey. It's a great big museum."

"An alien museum." The Doctor corrected. "Someone's got a hobby. They must have spent a fortune on this. Chunks of meteorite, moon dust. That's the milometer from the Roswell spaceship." He said, pointing out some of the boxes they passed.

"That's a bit of Slitheen!" Rose exclaimed, spotting the large three fingered arm in another box. "That's a Slitheen's arm. It's been stuffed."

"Oh, look at you." The Doctor breathed out, having spotted something familiar among the artifacts; a Cyberman head. "An old friend of mine." He explained to Rose. "Well, enemy. The stuff of nightmares reduced to an exhibit. I'm getting old."

"Is that where the signal's coming from?" She asked, but he shook his head.

"No, it's stone dead. The signal's alive. Something's reaching out, calling for help." He frowned slightly, feeling an itch in the back of his mind; an even weaker signal for help.

He discounted it though. Very few people could get their thoughts projected onto Time Lords. Extremely good telepaths, and Time Lords themselves. The latter of which he was the last of. So he shook the thought off and instead reached out towards the Cyberman's head; only for an alarm to blare loudly upon him touching it. Armed guards hurried into the room, cutting off their only path to the Tardis and surrounding them.

"If someone's collecting aliens, that makes you Exhibit A." Rose muttered under her breath as they raised their arms in surrender; sending a tendril of ice through the Doctor's veins.

He and Rose were brought into an office as a young man picked up something from off the table and passed it over to the 'boss' of the group.

"What does it do?" The man questioned, looking bored.

"Well, you see the tubes on the side?" The young man pointed out as the other waved the object about. "It's to channel something. I think maybe fuel."

"I really wouldn't hold it like that." The Doctor butted in, the woman behind him scolding him.

"Shut it."

The Doctor gave her a glance, but ignored her demand. "Really though, that's wrong."

"Is it dangerous?" The younger man questioned and the Doctor smiled, pleased to see some curiosity.

"No. Just looks silly." The Doctor replied, holding his hand out for the object.

The guards cocked their weapons, but the boss of the group raised a hand for them to stand down and passed the object over. The Doctor held it properly and then began to lightly pass his fingers over it.

"You just need to be…" He smiled as the instrument gave off soft sounds. "…delicate."

"It's a musical instrument." The boss said, leaning forward slightly.

"And it's a long way from home." The Doctor smiled fondly, before the man reached back out to take it.

"Here, let me."

"I did say, 'delicate'." The Doctor complained lightly at the man practically ripping it from his hands.

The man, Van Statten, attempted to play it too, but it let out jumbled notes instead.

"Reacts to the smallest fingerprint." The Doctor tried to help. "Needs precision."

Van Statten finally got it to work and the Doctor smiled.

"Very good. Quite the expert."

"As are you." Van Statten smiled, before chucking the instrument aside, making the Doctor frown. "Who exactly are you?"

"I'm the Doctor." He replied shortly, beginning to think that this man was less _human _than he appeared, to have chucked a delicate instrument like that. "And who are you?"

The Doctor listened with half an ear as Van Statten rambled on about his accomplishments, up until he mentioned something interesting.

"The Cage contains my two living specimens."

"And what's that?" The Doctor asked, immediately wondering if one of them could be what was giving off the signal to the Tardis.

And if one of them might be what's been trying to reach him.

"Like you don't know." Van Statten mocked him and he continued to press the issue; the two of them sizing each other up.

"Show me."

"You want to see it?"

"Blimey, you can smell the testosterone." Rose muttered, sensing the obvious tension as well.

"Goddard, inform the Cage we're heading down." Van Statten ordered. "You, English. Look after the girl. Go and canoodle or spoon or whatever it is you British do. And you, Doctor with no name… come and see my pets."

He and Van Statten headed back down to where the so called 'Cage' was, with the Doctor listening tensely as Van Statten rattled on about the two creatures he had down there.

"We've tried everything. The one creature has shielded itself, but there's definite signs of life inside."

"Inside? Inside what?" The Doctor questioned. "And what about the other one?"

"Amnesia, surprisingly. Showed up out of nowhere almost exactly where you were found too. Not human though, despite appearances. Thought it was just a disguise at first, but we've done some… tests and its body composition has proved useful in various ways. I'm already considering patenting its cardiovascular system."

"Welcome back, sir." A man in an orange suit greeted as Van Statten opened the metal door. "I've had to take the power down. The Metaltron is resting, though the other will be waking soon."

"Metaltron?" The Doctor questioned.

"Thought of it myself. Good, isn't it?" Van Statten grinned, proud of himself. "Though I can't figure out something for the other one. I'd much prefer to find out their real names."

The man with the orange suit passed a set of gloves to the Doctor. "Here. You'd better put these on. The last guy that touched it burst into flames."

"I won't touch it then." The Doctor smiled and Van Statten grinned.

"Go on then, Doctor. Impress me."

The Doctor stepped through the doors and they were quickly closed behind him. He rolled his eyes in annoyance, but turned to the table off to the side of the darkened room where a table was littered with obvious devices of torture. He grimaced in distaste, before turning to the one glowing blue light in the center of the room.

"Look, I'm sorry about this. Mr. Van Statten might think he's clever, but never mind him. I've come to help. I'm the Doctor."

A light slowly blinked alongside a distorted metallic voice spoke.

"Doc… tor?"

He recognized the voice immediately, eyes going wide. "Impossible…"

"_The_ Doctor?" It questioned, louder now, before the lights came on to reveal the Dalek attempting to roll towards him. "Exterminate! Exterminate!"

The Doctor immediately went to the doors, pounding on them in a panic as it raised its weapon.

"Let me out!"

"You are an enemy of the Daleks! You must be destroyed!" The Dalek shouted, attempting to shoot the Doctor, but the gun didn't work.

"It's not working…" The Doctor breathed out, before laughing at the Dalek in his relief. "Fantastic! Oh, fantastic! Powerless! Look at you. The great space dustbin. How does it feel?"

"Keep back!" The Dalek screeched in fear, but the Doctor didn't listen, getting within inches of the eyestalk.

"What for? What're you going to do to me? If you can't kill, then what are you good for, Dalek? What's the point of you? You're nothing. What're you here for?"

"I am waiting for orders." The Dalek told him and the Doctor's brows furrowed in confusion.

"What does that mean?"

"I am I soldier. I was breed to receive orders."

"Well, you're never gonna get any." The Doctor explained to it. "Not ever."

"I demand orders!" The Dalek shouted.

"They're never going to come! Your race is dead! You all burnt, all of you. Ten million ships on fire. The entire Dalek race wiped out in one second."

"You lie!" It screeched in denial.

"I watched it happen. I _made_ it happen."

"You destroyed us?"

"I had no choice." The Doctor said, turning away from it with a sorrowful expression.

"And what of the Time Lords?" The Dalek asked.

"Dead. They burnt with you. The end of the last great Time War. Everyone lost."

"And the coward survived."

The Doctor grinned sarcastically. "Oh, and I caught your little signal. 'Help me'. Poor little thing. But there's no one else coming 'cause there's no one else left."

"I am alone in the universe."

"Yep." The Doctor replied.

"So are you. We are the same."

He quickly rounded on the Dalek, furious. "We're not the same! I'm not…" He stopped, considering it for a second. "No, wait. Maybe we are. You're right. Yeah, okay. You've got a point. 'Cause I know what to do. I know what should happen. I know what you deserve. Exterminate."

The Doctor grinned before moving over to the control panel and reaching for the lever that would electrocute the Dalek. Its screams cried out, echoing through the room as it begged the Doctor for mercy.

"Have pity!"

"Why should I? You never did." The Doctor snapped, going to increase the voltage, only for his hand to stop right over it.

_Don't._ A voice called out quietly in his mind, one that was not his own and he did. He stopped, turning off the electricity and listening for more. _"Why?"_ He called out mentally, searching for the other living creature that Van Statten had somewhere in here. _Hasn't it… had enough? _The Doctor felt rage flow through him at that, angrily speaking with the other creature. _"Yeah? And what would you know? You don't know anything about the Daleks and what they've done." _There was silence at that, and the Doctor silently wondered if it was because of what he said, or if the creature had finally run out of strength. Then, it finally responded, voice weak. _But aren't you… a Doctor?_ And he had to pause at that; standing in front of another metal door in the back of the room. Wasn't he the Doctor? He sure hadn't been acting like it a second ago; the creature was right about that much. But who _was_ on the other side of this door? Van Statten had said it looked human, but wasn't. There were many aliens that that would describe, but a part of him hoped that perhaps the Dalek was wrong. Perhaps, behind the door, was a Time Lord.

He didn't get a chance to open the door though, before guards grabbed him and began to pull him out of the room. He kept shouting for Van Statten to destroy the Dalek and for the guards to let him go, but his demands were ignored as he was led out and Van Statten soon joined him in the lift.

"The metal's just battle armor. The real Dalek creature's inside." The Doctor rambled on.

"What does it look like?" Van Statten questioned.

"A nightmare. It's a mutation. The Dalek race was genetically engineered. Every single emotion was removed except hate."

"Genetically engineered… by whom?" Van Statten repeated in interest, making the Doctor look away in disbelief at the man's idiocy.

"By a genius, Van Statten. By a man who was king of his own little world. You'd like him."

"It's been on Earth for over fifty years. Sold at a private auction, moving from one collection to another. Why would it be a threat now?" Goddard, the secretary questioned.

"Because I'm here. How did it get to Earth? Does anyone know?"

"The records say it came from the sky like a meteorite. It fell to Earth on the Ascension Islands. Burnt in its crater for three days before anybody could get near it and all that time it was screaming. It must have gone insane." She replied.

"It must have fallen through time. The only survivor." The Doctor mused.

"You talked about a war?"

"The Time War. The final battle between my people and the Dalek race."

"But you survived, too." Van Statten added.

"Not by choice."

"This means that the Dalek isn't the only alien on Earth. Doctor, there's you. The only one of your kind in existence."

The Doctor felt the dread from before return and he scowled as he was stripped down to his trousers and chained up in front of a scanner.

"Now, smile!" Van Statten grinned and the Doctor thrashed as the scanner practically cut through him in a way, in order to examine what was inside.

Van Statten looked over at the display monitor though, and scowled.

"Two hearts? That's it? Well, hope you feel better then, Doctor. Seems you're not the last of your kind."

The Doctor's eyes widened. "What? Impossible."

"Hardly. What do you call this then?" He questioned, taking an IPad from Goddard and showing it to him, revealing the video feed from another room somewhere, where Alex was chained up; unconscious, and in horrible shape. "He was the other living creature we discovered near five years ago. He's got the same thing. Two hearts. Binary vascular system. He was brilliant when we first found him. We could slice off limbs and he'd just magically regrow them. Course, then he stopped his healing abilities somehow."

The Doctor's own hearts ached for the Time Lord he'd been shown. "He'd just regenerated… He only had fifteen hours. And you said he had amnesia?"

Van Statten shrugged, giving the woman back her device. "Has no clue who he is, how he got here, anything. Though, we haven't been able to get a word out of him since we shut him down there. _And_ we have to wear him out every day, or the guards are unable to keep an eye on him. We already had to thicken the walls. He has some sort of abilities to scramble the mind of people. Most can only stand to be within close proximity for an hour, at best."

_He must have excellent mental capabilities._ The Doctor thoughts, not wanting to just hand out information on his own species, especially with a Time Lord in Van Statten's custody. _I need to get him out of here. If that Dalek finds out he's there…_ The Doctor quickly began trying to get Van Statten to understand.

"Do you know what a Dalek is, Van Statten? A Dalek is honest. It does what it was born to do for the survival of its species. That creature in your dungeon is better than you."

"In that case, I will be true to myself and continue." Van Statten said, but he paused suddenly, furrowing his brows and bringing a hand to his head for a second; just long enough for the Doctor to press on.

"Listen to me! That thing downstairs is going to kill every last one of us!"

"Nothing can escape the Cage."

"But it's woken up. It knows I'm here. It's going to get out and if it finds that other Time Lord you have, he's as good as dead too! Van Statten, I swear, no one on this base is safe. No one on this planet!" The Doctor shouted and just as Van Statten went to use the laser scanner again, an alarm blared and the Doctor glared seriously at the man. "Release me if you want to live."

* * *

Rose wasn't able to just stand back and watch the Dalek being tortured and, not knowing what it was, she demanded that Adam take her to it. Even if all she could do was speak with it. Thing is, she wasn't stupid. Rose had seen what had been on the screen before Adam changed it to the Dalek. There was a person in her too. A real person, being tortured just as the Dalek was. And she was determined to at least attempt to help them if she could. Her and Adam entered the Cage, both glad that Simmons—who'd been torturing the Dalek—was done for now, and Adam quickly prevented Rose from just hurrying to the creature.

"Don't get too close." He said and she nodded, hesitantly approaching it.

"Hello." She called out, curious about the creature that sat in front of her. "Are you in pain? My name's Rose Tyler. I've got a friend, he can help. He's called the Doctor. What's your name?"

"Yes." The Dalek weakly said and she furrowed her brows.

"What?"

The Dalek lifted its eyestalk, speaking slowly. "I am in pain. They torture me, but still they fear me. Do you fear me?"

"No." Rose said honestly and the Dalek lowered its eyestalk.

"I am dying."

"No, we can help."

"I welcome death. But I am glad that before I die, I have met a human who was not afraid." The Dalek said sadly.

"Isn't there anything I can do?"

"My race is dead, and I shall die alone."

Rose felt bad for the creature and, despite Adam's warnings, she reached out and touched it.

"Rose, no!"

She sharply brought her hand back, palm lightly burned by its scorching metal casing as the Dalek suddenly began to speak, strengthening itself, surprisingly.

"Genetic material extrapolated. Initiate cellular reconstruction!" It screeched, breaking its chains as Rose and Adam moved quickly away and Simmons hurried into the room.

"What the hell have you done?!" He shouted at them and he went towards the Dalek with his drill.

The Dalek, in response, lifted its plunger and Simmons grinned.

"What are you going to do? Sucker me to death?"

Sure enough, the Dalek reached up and crushed Simmons as Rose and Adam hurried out of the room and to the guard outside. He sent out the alert, closing the doors quickly as Rose remembered the other person.

"Wait! What about the other person?! The one you've got trapped in the other room? They could get killed too!"

"There's a second entrance for that cell." Adam responded and Rose nodded.

"Show me!"

He was about to say she couldn't go in there, but he reluctantly bit his tongue and showed her the other entrance. Rose opened the door, letting light into the room, before rushing over to the beaten and battered unconscious man chained to the wall.

"Help me!" She called out and Adam hurried over and began helping her with the restraints and—once the man was down—helping her carry him out of the room and back into where the guards were. "Is he alright?"

Adam checked his pulse and nodded. "It's weak, but he's okay."

"_You've got to keep it in that cell!_" The Doctor's familiar voice rang out and Rose rushed to the monitor on the control panel nearby.

"Doctor, it's all my fault." She said, but the guard interrupted.

"I've sealed the compartment. It can't get out, that lock's got a billion combinations."

"_A Dalek's a genius. It can calculate a thousand billion combinations in one second flat._" The Doctor replied, before spotting Adam hovering over the young man on the ground. "_Is that the other prisoner?_"

Rose nodded. "Yeah. Adam and I got him out."

"_Good. Rose, I need you to keep him with you. He's… He's another Time Lord._"

Her eyes widened. "I thought you said they were all gone."

"_They were. Just got lucky, I guess._"

The guards moved back with Rose, Adam, and the unconscious Alex behind them as they prepared to attack the Dalek once it got through the door. It didn't take long and the Dalek was unharmed by the bullets bouncing off its outer shell. Van Statten, though, could care less.

"_Don't shoot it! I want it unharmed!_"

The Doctor sent him an incredulous look, before shouting at Rose. "_Rose, take that guy and get out of there!_"

The male guard ordered the other to keep them safe and they hurried off as quick as they could with the unconscious Alex draped over their shoulders. Guns constantly went off behind them as the guards tried desperately to hold off the seemingly invincible Dalek. Van Statten continuously attempted to get the guards to not shoot it, but even Goddard knew he was acting idiotic now and helped the Doctor out as best she could. Problem was, it was getting close to Rose and even though they'd found some stairs, Alex had slowed them down and when the Dalek revealed it could levitate, their guard was quick to send them off on their own while she held her position. Rose clenched her eyes shut as the guard's gunfire stopped and she was killed, but she soon picked up her pace and they hurried past another line of guards as the Dalek rounded the corner and seemed to look at Rose.

"It was looking at me." Rose muttered as her and Adam started to get moving again.

"Yeah, it wants to slaughter us."

"I know, but it was looking right at me." She pressed.

"So? It's just a sort of metal eye thing. It's looking all around."

"I don't know. It's like there's something inside, looking at me, like… like it knows me."

"Lonely…"

Rose stopped and turned her head slightly as Alex groaned. "You're awake!"

Alex though, was hardly that, only half conscious and pushing through the pain in his entire body that continued to plague him from the injuries he'd sustained. "It's… so lonely, but… it can't be… Can it? I-I don't… I don't remember… It's so sad… so alone… Doc… tor…"

"Hey!" Rose called, shaking him slightly as he passed out again, but Adam tugged him—and thus her—along.

"Come on! There's no time!"

Rose begrudgingly began moving again, back up the stairs when her phone rang.

"This isn't the best time." She said, panting and out of breath as they went as fast as they could.

"_Where are you?_" The Doctor asked, typing away madly with Van Statten to get the vault sealed off.

"Level forty-nine."

"_You've got to keep moving. The vault's being sealed off up at level fourty-six._"

"Can't you stop them closing?"

"_I'm the one who's closing them. I can't wait and I can't help you. Now, for God's sake, run!_"

"Your friend's not exactly light, you know!" Rose complained, but the Doctor said nothing.

It took them a little while, but they were going as fast as they could and Rose could finally see their exit.

"We're nearly there. Give us two seconds!"

The Doctor was caught in a tough place though, needing to close the bulkheads without knowing if Rose had made it or not. So, the second the bulkhead closed, the Doctor was on his feet and practically shouting into his mic.

"Rose, where are you? Rose, did you make it?"

There was a beat of silence, before Rose finally spoke.

"Sorry, we were a bit slow." She said quietly, sagging under the weight of Alex's unconscious body before lowering him to the ground in front of the bulkhead. "Your friend, or… whatever. We didn't make it. So, I guess I'll see you then, Doctor. It wasn't your fault. Remember that, okay? It wasn't your fault. And do you know what? I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

The Dalek rolled up then and the Doctor's hearts stopped as it shouted that final word.

"Exterminate!"

Rose waited for that final shot, but the Dalek didn't move. "Go on then, kill me. Why're you doing this?"

"I am armed. I will kill. It is my purpose." The Dalek said and Rose glared at it.

"They're all dead because of you."

"They are dead because of us." It almost repeated.

"And now what? What're you waiting for?"

"I feel your fear."

"What do you expect?"

"Daleks do not fear. Must not fear." The Dalek said, firing off a couple of shots and making Rose jump as it missed both times. "You gave me life. What else have you given me? I am contaminated!" It screeched in a sort of panic.

"Life." Alex muttered, breathing hard and clutching his side with a small grimace. "In every sense of the word."

"Are you alright?" Rose asked, worried he'd pass out again, but he gave her a small, pained smile.

"N-Not really, but I get the feeling… this wasn't the first time… I've been like this."

"Enough! You will stand! Stand!" The Dalek screeched and Alex, grunted in pain as he tried to get up; needing Rose's help and even then, he was leaning heavily against her as the Dalek turned to the camera in the corner; where the Doctor and others could now—after the short power outage—see them. "Open the bulkhead or Rose Tyler and this one die!"

"_You're alive!_" The Doctor shouted in relief, making Rose smile.

"Can't get rid of me."

Alex even looked up, brows furrowed. "Why is it I want to say, 'You're late'?"

The Dalek cut off the Doctor's response though. "Open the bulkhead!"

"Don't do it!" Rose shouted.

"Do it!" Alex said next, earning an incredulous look from Rose, before he blinked. "Oh, was I supposed to say, '_don't_ open it'?"

Again, he was ignored as the Dalek continued to look up at the camera.

"What use are emotions if you will not save the woman you love?"

The bulkhead opened and Rose and Alex were led through by the Dalek, into an elevator. Rose tried to talk the Dalek out of it, but—while she couldn't convince it not to kill anyone—she could tell that it was starting to question itself; and told Van Statten as much when the Dalek rolled out to confront him.

"Van Statten. You tortured me. Why?" The Dalek questioned.

"I wanted to help you. I just, I don't know. I was trying to help. I thought if we could get through to you, if we could mend you. I wanted you better. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! I swear, I just wanted you to talk!"

Even Rose could see that Alex didn't believe that, feeling anger at the man standing before them; though where said anger was coming from, she hadn't the slightest.

"Then hear me talk now. Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!" The Dalek screeched, backing Van Statten to the wall, but Rose reached out and stopped it.

"Don't do it! Don't kill him."

The Dalek turned to her and she struggled to think of something to say, before Alex spoke up instead, from her shoulder.

"I'm tired of this. Aren't you?"

The Dalek glanced at him before turning back to Rose as she nodded.

"You don't have to do this anymore. There must be something else, not just killing. What else is there? What do you want?"

"I want… freedom." The Dalek replied and they rolled and walked further through the building, finding a clear empty hall where the Dalek shot a blast up into the ceiling.

Light from the sun shone through into the hall and the Dalek turned its eyestalk to the blue sky as Alex lightly pushed out of Rose's hands and sunk to the ground. He leaned his beaten, bare back up against the Dalek and looked up, before closing his eyes with a soft sigh.

"Five years…" He breathed out and Rose looked at the Dalek.

"You're out. You made it. I never thought I'd feel the sunlight again…"

"How does it feel?" The Dalek questioned, before opening itself to reveal the slimy, mutant mop that rested weakly inside.

It slowly lifted its tentacle towards the light, not even caring when the Doctor scrambled around the corner with a large gun; shouting.

"Get out of the way! Rose, get out of the way now!"

"No." She argued, standing in front of the Dalek and Alex. "I won't let you do this."

"That thing killed hundreds of people." He countered and she frowned at him.

"It's not the one pointing the gun at me."

The Doctor didn't listen though. "I've got to do this. I've got to end it. The Daleks destroyed my home, my people. I've got nothing left."

"Nothing? We just _saved_ another Time Lord and look at him. Look at _them_!" She said, moving aside to reveal the two; back-to-back and relaxed in the first bit of sunlight they'd seen in ages.

"What're they doing?" The Doctor questioned quietly, confused.

"It's the sunlight. That's all the Dalek wants. And he…" She looked at the Time Lord, whose eyes were still closed; blind and deaf to the world. "He's a Time Lord too, isn't he? And he's just sittin' there up against it."

"But they can't—"

"It couldn't kill Van Statten. It couldn't kill me or him. It's changing. What about you, Doctor? What the hell are you changing into?"

The Doctor lowered the gun, the other Time Lords' previous message flitting through his mind.

_But aren't you… a Doctor?_

"I couldn't… I wasn't…" The Doctor couldn't get the words out; unable to find a way to fix what he'd almost done. "Oh, Rose… They're all dead."

"Why do we survive?" The Dalek asked then and the Doctor looked at it, sorrowfully.

"I don't know."

"I am the last of the Daleks."

"You're not even that." The Doctor explained. "Rose did more than regenerate you. You've absorbed her DNA. You're mutating."

"Into what?"

"Something new. I'm sorry."

"Isn't that better?" Rose asked, but Alex spoke up, surprisingly.

"Daleks are unable to comprehend emotions. Trying to, drives them insane." He said, making to stand and smiling a bit at Rose as she helped him.

"I can feel so many ideas." The Dalek said, voice slowly growing more panicked. "So much darkness. Rose, give me orders. Order me to die."

Alex, stood on hisown, leaving a hand on Rose's shoulder and helping her relax as a sense of calm came over the room and Rose knew immediately what she had to do. Tears filled her eyes as she bowed her head and nodded.

"Do it."

"Are you frightened, Rose Tyler?" The Dalek questioned and she had a hard time responding.

"Yeah."

"So am I. Exterminate."

Rose and Alex retreated as the Dalek closed its armor and hovered, before it self-destructed. Rose and the Doctor sighed quietly, only for Alex to suddenly crumble.

"Whoa, there." The Doctor said, grabbing the young man before he could completely hit the ground. "Looks like you could use a trip to the med-bay."

Alex could only grunt, before everything went dark.

* * *

I slowly woke up, blinking in the light of the white room I was in, in confusion. _What… What happened?_ I closed my eyes again, letting out a soft breath, before abruptly sitting up as my hearts raced in a panic and my screams echoing in my ears began to fade, from the memories of where I had been the last five years. I grimaced as my body still ached, wrapping a hand around my stomach as I clenched my eyes shut and attempted to get rid of the after-visions plaguing my closed eyelids of the torture I had to deal with. After a moment or two of calming myself though, I decided to get up and figure out where I was. The room I was in seemed oddly familiar, but I couldn't place it. Or anything, for that matter.

I had no idea who I was, where I came from, where I was now, or any other important piece of information relative to me before the five years I was stuck in Van Statten's little torture chamber. That, and I felt absolutely disgusting in what was left of my trousers. I needed a shower, a good pair of clothes, and—if available—someone to tell me what the hell was going on. So I walked out into a hall and began trying doors. Surprisingly, the only room I got every time I opened a door, was a bedroom. It looked hauntingly familiar, with little knickknacks on a shelf and a desk with scattered parts of something. And, after getting that room _again_ despite the seven doors I tried, I finally gave in and entered it.

"Hello?" I called out, but no one was in the room so I shrugged and went to borrow their shower.

It hurt, as expected. The hot water stung my more recent wounds, but relaxed some of the tension that had been building up in my shoulders. Once out, I wrapped a towel around my waist and went to leave the bathroom, only to stop at the full-sized mirror. My eyes caught on the man staring back at me. The blue eyes that were familiar, but completely unknown to me. The scars—new and old—littering my body, the shape of my body, the tattoo on the back of my shoulder. All of it scream 'stranger!' and I felt myself shiver, before I turned to the sink and searched the drawers for a razor to trim back the full beard and goatee I'd ended up growing in that cage.

Once finished, I tilted my head to make sure the scruffy, short hair looked alright, but my fogged vision wasn't helping things much. I ran an annoyed hand through my styled back brown hair with a grumbled complaint, before my hand brushed against something on the counter. I was relieved to find a pair of glasses there waiting for me, putting on the simple black frames and sighing with a small smile as my vision instantly cleared. I smiled a bit at my reflection, feeling more myself now, but the smile quickly dropped. Something was wrong. I wasn't sure what, but a part of me was screaming that this wasn't right. This wasn't me. Something had happened to make me this way and I wasn't happy. _Why? Why am I not happy about this? Isn't this me?_

I blinked, visibly startled when I swore I saw a grinning blonde woman smiling back at me in the mirror, but it must have been my imagination. I shook it off and went back out into the bedroom, glancing around for a closet of some kind, but finding nothing but an empty one. I frowned as I closed the door to the empty clothing space and went to leave, when my eyes caught sight of a picture frame nearby. I reached over and felt a chill go down my spine. There was a blonde woman, identical to the one I swore I saw in the mirror a moment ago, grinning away as she leaned on the shoulder of an angry looking older man who was scowling at the camera. She looked like she'd just told him something funny and was happy beyond belief at his annoyed reaction and I silently wondered what she saw in the grey-haired man, before I spotted it. His hand was wrapped firmly around her waist as she leaned into him with a laugh, and there was a slit tilt of amusement to his lips. He loved her.

I felt my own lips twitch up slightly, but I felt a deep sadness too. I wasn't sure why, but I felt as though… as though that was something I wouldn't be able to have like this. I shook my head and set the picture aside, leaving the room and wandering the halls until I came upon quite the sight.

"W-Whoa…" I breathed out, looking at the huge expanse of this room full of clothes and I felt a grin stretch upon my face as I hurried into it and began digging through the racks for something that worked for me.

I went through near twelve outfits before I found one that felt comfortable but still seemed to be missing something. I hummed, finishing rolling up the sleeves on my button down white shirt and giving the jeans and maroon converse a glance.

"I'm still missing something…" I muttered, diving back into the closet and tossing things over my shoulder as I went.

I pulled out a bomber jacket and frowned, tossing that too. I tried on a vest and a bow-tie. Neither of those worked for me, so off they went. Then I found a Belstaff coat. I stared at it for a moment, feeling something about it make me pause, but I shook my head and placed it back where I found it. I gave it one last look before looking around and then I spotted it. I rushed over to the other side of the room, very nearly tripping over the clothes I'd tossed about, before pulling out a long length of blue. I grinned as I wrapped it around my neck a few times and bounced back to the mirror.

"A long scarf. Perfect." I grinned, before rushing to the door only to bump right into someone and fall back; glasses askew.

"There you are!" The man shouted angrily. "What were you thinking running off like that?!"

I blinked, tilting my head slightly in confusion as I tried to figure out who this man was, when a smiling blonde woman poked her head around him.

"Sorry. He means to say we were worried when we didn't find you in the med bay."

Her, I recognized as the young woman who'd helped get me out of Van Statten's place and I smiled with a wave.

"Hello!"

The two of them exchanged glances of amusement before the man reached out to help me up. I accepted the hand and was easily pulled to my feet before I leaned forward into his face.

"Who're you? You don't look very nice."

The girl—Rose, I remembered—snorted at that as I circled the man in curiosity and plucked lightly at his leather jacket.

"Love the jacket though. Completes that bad-boy look you've got going, though I bet you're all gooey inside." I mused, not hearing Rose's giggles as I got back in his face and grinned. "Love that in a guy. I'd say you're handsome too, though the ears leave something to desire."

Rose burst out laughing as a pink hue overcame the man's cheeks and he clapped his hands over his ears.

"They're not _that_ big! Why does everyone say they're big?!"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. They're just slightly larger than average." I replied, earning a scowl in return. "Though perhaps if you grew out your hair, that might make them appear smaller."

"Ooh, _you_." The man pointed a finger at me. "You are going to drive me nuts."

I blinked. "I am?"

He sighed heavily and Rose lightly pushed between us, addressing me.

"So, what's your name then? What do we call you?"

I looked at her, confused. "My name?"

She began to look worried and the man explained.

"He has amnesia, Rose. Doesn't remember a thing." The man said, before introducing himself. "I'm the Doctor, and this is Rose."

"Rosa Rosaceae." I blurted out and Rose furrowed her brows.

"What?"

"It's the genus and family name of the flower." The Doctor replied, looking back at me as I rocked back and forth on my heels, glancing around the room. "Do you know where you're from? How you ended up on Earth?"

"Nope." I answered simply. "I just remember feeling like I got hit by a truck and turning to find guns aimed at me. The guards mentioned something about a woman, but I haven't' the slightest what they were talking about." I mused, before my eyes lit up and I turned to him excitedly; once more in his personal space. "Do you have a kitchen?"

He lightly used a finger to push me back. "Yes, but—"

"Perfect!" I cut him off, ducking around him and grabbing Rose's hand. "There's so many things in a kitchen. Lots of things! Blenders and bowls and spoons and bananas—I wonder if I like bananas?" I mused as I tugged Rose through the halls. "Do you like bananas, Rose?"

"Um, well, yeah, but do you even know where you're going?"

"Does anyone truly know where they're going?" I questioned back, pulling open the nearest door and bounding into the kitchen; releasing Rose's hand to begin digging through the fridge.

"Oi!" The Doctor called out, hurrying in and closing the fridge door as I emerged with an armful of fruit and vegetables; one of which he snatched from me. "Who said you could just come in here and start raiding the place?"

I ignored him, dropping off the food onto the counter and moving to the nearest cupboard to start digging through what's in there.

"Do you like macaroni? I haven't had that since I was a kid. Oh! I remembered something!" I said, pausing my search to grin at a smiling Rose, before grabbing another armful of boxes and cans. "Cheese is great; don't you think? I wouldn't know, of course. Haven't had a chance to try it, but I heard it's amazing! Especially the cheese from Alzarius. That's a planet!"

"Enough!" The Doctor shouted and I stopped, body stiff as I stared back at him.

I could feel my body getting ready to bolt for it if he so much as made a move in my direction. My eyes immediately sought out the nearest exit and anything I could use as a weapon to escape, before shifting back to him. I was calm though, oddly enough. Just waiting to see what would happen next. I wouldn't move a muscle until then.

"Doctor, give him a break!" Rose complained. "You know what kind of shape he's in. He's probably just hungry. And it's not like he's got any clue what's going on. He's just trying to cope, I'll bet. My mum does the same thing, chats for days with her friends when she's nervous. You don't need to yell at him for that."

The Doctor frowned at her, not looking entirely convinced, but I hardly wanted my presence to ruin whatever was going on between these too, so I set the boxes in my arms down and moved to the table.

"Sorry." I muttered as I sat down and began wringing my hands. "I'll be quiet."

A moment passed where I did nothing more than stare at the hard wood of the table silently, before a heavy sigh was let out and I flinched in alarm as a hand was placed on my shoulder. The Doctor stood there, letting me go, and looking apologetic.

"I'll… I'll go ahead and make you some stuff. Just…" He turned away and began taking off his jacket as he moved to the stove. "…_try_ to keep the rambling down to a minimum."

He began cooking and Rose quickly caught my attention.

"So, we've got to give you a name then, yeah? We can't just keep saying 'hey' to get your attention. Is there anything you want us to call you?"

I shrugged, not really having a preference and she hummed.

"Hm, alright. Then how about we just try some names and you pick one you like? James?"

I shook my head with a wrinkle of my nose and she nodded, continuing on.

"Michael? Jason? Billy? Chris? Nick? John? Sean?"

The list went on and even the Doctor piped in with a name or two before one caught my attention.

"Alex?"

I stiffened, the name echoing in my ears in someone else's voice. _Alex? Alexander, are you alright?... I love you, Alexander… Alex!..._ A set of fingers snapped in front of me and I blinked, turning to look at the Doctor as he frowned at me.

"You alright?"

I blinked, tipping my head slightly; having forgotten what had caused me to zone out. "Yeah. Why?"

He raised a brow for some reason, but shook his head, moving to place various types and styles of food onto the table. The smells were tantalizing and if my mouth had been open, I would have definitely drooled all over the table at the display before us. My stomach grumbled loudly and I quickly reached out a fork to jab it into a piece of fish, but the Doctor stopped me with a serious look.

"Don't eat too much too quickly. I don't know how much food they gave you while you were in there, but if you try to force too much into your stomach after not eating a lot, you could get sick."

I tilted my head back to look at him curiously, before grinning. "See? You're a big teddy bear."

He sputtered as Rose chuckled and he quickly jabbed a finger at the food.

"S-Shut it and eat."

* * *

The Doctor watched him eat, curiously watching this other Time Lord. He'd done scans on him while he was unconscious the last week healing up, and found nothing of interest, though the Tardis had been fiddling with his scans as well, for some reason. She'd gone out of her way to blur the Time Lord's shoulder to hide something from him, which was strange. He saw nothing odd about the physicality of it other than the Gallifreyan tattoo there with a set of numbers. He'd found it to be a date, but couldn't figure out what was so important about the date that was far into the future. And what good would come of asking him? A Time Lord with amnesia wasn't uncommon, especially after regeneration, but for it to have extended for five years after the initial change was definitely strange.

He could understand though, in a way. If the regeneration was traumatic at all, that could count for the amnesia and with him immediately getting stuck as Van Statten's little experiment wouldn't have exactly helped. He was surprised though at how easily the man could smile despite what he'd been through. The Doctor had been the one to patch him up and he was disgusted with the amount of damage that had been done to the Time Lord. Some of it was old sure; something strange in and of itself since Time Lords rarely carried over bodily imperfections, such as scars, when they regenerated. But the recent scars and wounds told a very dark story of what Van Statten's people had done to the Time Lord while in captivity. Internal damage, external damage, limbs removed and regenerated, and even a finger that must have been removed after the first fifteen hours only to have been hurriedly repaired. It sickened the Doctor and angered him that one of his own people were treated like this.

_And yet, he's still smiling away and laughing like he'd never been there. He's a moron. He must be._ The Doctor was convinced. And yet, there was a sliver of doubt. When he'd shouted at the man earlier for his rambling, the Doctor could see it. Those eyes were old. Those eyes that had calmly stared back at him had experienced more than their fair share of deaths. Deaths, torture, relationships made and lost, and the fear hidden in the very back, tucked away as the Time Lord relaxed himself into a stage of near frightening calmness. _I wonder…_

"How old are you?" He asked then and the Time Lord glanced at him before shifting his eyes upward in thought.

"Seven hundred and two?" He replied, though it was more of a question. "Or was it seven hundred and twelve…"

Both Rose and the Doctor stared in shock, but for different reasons.

"You're seven _hundred_?!" Rose exclaimed as the Doctor frowned.

_Over seven hundred and he already has that look._ "Elias." The Doctor suddenly blurted out and the man turned to him; mouth full of macaroni and cheese.

"Mm?"

"As a name. Elias."

The man blinked, swallowed, and then grinned. "Yeah, I like it."

And suddenly, he disappeared in a flash of light.


	94. The Empty Child & The Doctor Dances

**Here we go! still a bit short, but the next one will be longer with Twelve. hope you all enjoy it more than i'm enjoying a ridiculous class in school where a teacher thinks meditation has something to do with 'race in the media'...which it doesn't. but my other classes are great. work is alright. hope the same is for you all ^^ minus the horrible classes, of course. but ignore me. Please review and let me know what you think!**

* * *

I landed rather comfortably blinking in surprise at the breeze that brushed over my hair before a shout startled me.

"Elias!"

I turned and grinned. "Rose! Wow, did we move? Love the shirt."

She promptly stood and hit me in the chest. "You idiot! You just popped off out of nowhere! Where've you been?! It's been ages! We were worried!"

I blinked, tilting my head in confusion. "Ages? I reckon it was a couple seconds at most."

"What?" She questioned, before the seating was sitting in rumbled.

"As much as I enjoy this position with you, mind explaining how you just popped up in my lap?"

I turned and realized the seat I was in, was actually a person I'd popped up on top of. A very nice looking person. I stared for a moment as he grinned.

"Captain Jack Harkness." He introduced. "Elias, was it?"

"Hello." I replied as Rose tugged me up from his lap and explained.

"Sorry. He's with me. He's got amnesia. Elias is just what we call him until he remembers something."

"Ooh, nice ship. Chula?" I remarked, squatting down and running a hand over it as Jack raised a brow.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"I have no idea." I replied with a grin, before spotting his drink. "Can I have some?"

"Sure." He said, offering me a glass and I took it, sniffing it, before chugging it down.

He grimaced, as did I, and I handed him the empty glass back.

"No. Nope. Don't like that."

"Well, doesn't exactly taste it's best when you chug it down like that." Jack replied and Rose interrupted, tugging on my arm.

"You know, it's getting a bit late. We should really be getting back."

"We're discussing business!" Jack countered.

"This isn't business. This is champagne." She argued.

"I try never to discuss business with a clear head. Are you travelling alone? Other than your rather ditzy partner here. Are you authorized to negotiate with me?"

"What would we be negotiating?" Rose questioned and I looked at her before looking back at Jack; something about this ringing familiar in my mind.

"I have something for the Time Agency. Something they'd like to buy. Are you in power to make payment? Either of you?"

"Money?" I questioned, digging through my pockets and opening my hand to find a quarter. "Ooh, I've got a quarter. That's very American."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Well, we… we should talk to our companion."

"Companion?"

"We should really be getting back to him. He'll want to know about Elias."

"_Him_?" Jack questioned—talking about the gender of her companion, not Elias.

"Do you have the time?"

I tapped Rose and pointed at the big clock face just as Jack used a remote to light it up showing the time.

"Okay, that was flash. That was on the flash side."

I raised a brow. "Flash?"

She lightly smacked my arm to shut me up and I snapped my mouth closed.

"So, when you say your companion, just how disappointed should I be?" Jack questioned.

"Okay, we're standing in midair." Rose started as I lifted a hand to see how far out I could see.

"Mmhmm."

"On a spaceship, during a German air raid. Do you really think now's a good time to be coming on to me?"

"Perhaps not."

"It was just a suggestion."

"Do you like Glenn Miller?" He asked out of the blue, using his remote to turn on some music as I wandered back over to where the strange drink was. "It's 1941, the height of the London Blitz, the height of the German bombing campaign, and something else has fallen on London. A fully equipped Chula warship. The last one in existence, armed to the teeth. And I know where it is, because I parked it. If the Agency can name the right price, I can get it for you. But in two hours, a German bomb is going to fall on it and destroy it forever. That's your deadline. That's the deal. Now, shall we discuss payment?"

"Do you know what I think?" Rose asked, the two of them in each other's arms and swaying slightly.

"What?"

"I think you were talking just then."

The two of them went on—either flirting or discussing business, I couldn't tell, as I was busy attempting to try the wine again—before Jack came up behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, we're go—" He was abruptly cut off as he found himself flipped over onto the ship with me pressing a knee into his back and his arm pinned painfully behind him.

"Elias!" Rose shouted and I blinked, suddenly confused as to what had happened.

Jack groaned and I abruptly let him go, getting up and backing away, turning to Rose in fear as she went to help him up.

"I'm so, so sorry." She apologized, before rounding on me and making me flinch. "What were you thinking? Why'd you go and hurt him like that?"

"I-I-I don't—"

Jack waved it off though. "No, it's alright. I probably just spooked him, is all. And I don't mind a man with a bit of muscle."

I continued wringing my hands though, feeling very uncertain about everything now. _Was it because of what happened with Van Statten? Duh, of course it was. But this bothers me. This bothers me a lot. Why am I so jumpy? I feel like… like this isn't who I am. I shouldn't be this way. I've been through worse. I've seen the scars. Is it because I don't remember anything?_ I watched Jack brushing himself off and Rose's concerned look aimed at him, and I went quiet; remaining silent even as we went to go find the Doctor.

* * *

Rose felt bad for yelling at Elias as they walked and he remained dead silent. She understood that he'd been through something traumatizing back with Van Statten, but that had been ages ago. Surely, he should have gotten over it by now. _Unless what he said is true. If it's only been a few seconds for him since he disappeared, then… it hasn't been more than a few moments since he was in there being tortured._ She felt even more guilty after that thought occurred and she allowed Jack the lead as he tracked down the Doctor and she walked next to Elias.

"I'm sorry. For yelling. I was just worried, ya know?"

Elias looked up with a small smile. "It's fine."

She frowned. "How can you say that? After what you've been through and then I just… It's okay to not be fine, you know."

Elias blinked, giving her that look she was beginning to know all too well. "It is?"

"Of course, it is!" She replied, a bit shocked herself that he didn't think it was. "W-Why would you think it wouldn't be?"

Elias's brows furrowed and he tipped his head up to look at the sky. "I don't know." He brought a hand to his chest then, gripping his shirt. "It's like… Something feels wrong. Like… Like it's difficult to remember a time when it was fine."

Rose was confused. "Well, of course you wouldn't remember. You have amnesia."

He just hummed, still looking uncertain. Rose wasn't sure what to say to that and, thankfully, Jack called out from up ahead.

"Hey you two! I think he's in this building somewhere."

Rose glanced at the dark hospital and shivered. "Well, isn't that inviting?"

"It's just like him to go in there." Elias muttered and Rose quickly turned to him.

"What did you say?"

Elias tipped his head in confusion once more and Rose begrudgingly chalked it up to her imagination.

"Never mind… I'm hearing things."

Elias shrugged it off easily enough and the trio entered the building, calling out to find the Doctor. Surprisingly, it didn't take long before they bumped into each other in the hallway. Jack let out a sigh of relief and quickly held out his hand.

"Good evening. Hope we're not interrupting. Jack Harkness. I've been hearing all about you on the way over."

"He knows." Rose said, making the Doctor give her a glance. "I had to tell him about us being Time Agents."

"And it's a real pleasure to meet you, Mister Spock." Jack said, patting him on the shoulder and moving past.

The Doctor turned to Rose then with a raised brow. "Mister Spock?"

"What was I supposed to say? You don't have a name. Don't you ever get tired of Doctor? Doctor who?"

"Nine centuries in, I'm coping." The Doctor said, glancing at Elias as he wiggled his fingers in a wave with a smile; making the Doctor have to do a double take. "You! Where have you been? You just up and vanished! In _my_ ship! People can't just pop in and out of there!"

Elias blinked, taking a hesitant step back as the Doctor took one forward, before Rose got between them.

"He doesn't know. For him, it was only a few seconds, Doctor. He's still working on the whole not being scared by everyone thing. Already flipped Jack over his shoulder for touching him, so I suggest not."

The Doctor frowned at her, before glancing back at Elias, who was looking cautious, but also ready to bolt the moment anyone made a move towards him, so the Doctor relaxed.

"Sorry." He grumbled and Elias nodded slowly. "But you don't remember anything? Really?"

"I was eating macaroni, then I was with Rose."

The Doctor frowned at the lack of information; the Tardis having refused to scan for him when he initially popped off and denying an information search on possible causes. So, he turned back to Rose as they trailed after Jack.

"And you? Where've you been? We're in the middle of a London Blitz. It's not a good time for a stroll."

"Who's strolling? I went by barrage balloon. Only way to see an air raid." Rose sarcastically joked.

"What?!"

"Listen, what's a Chula warship?" She questioned then, distracting him.

"Chula?"

"Chula's an alien race. I can't remember who they're fighting at the moment, but anyone knows what a warship is. It's like a flying battleship, in most cases." Elias rattled off, then furrowed his brows. "Still don't know how I know that."

The Doctor rolled his eyes as Rose headed into the room after Jack, him cautiously reaching out before taking Elias's arm and tugging him along as well.

"Some amnesia typically work with major memories. No name, no home address, things like that. It's all the residual memories that stay intact. Things like maths, learned about knowledge, reflexes. You got it? You're just pulling up information that's packed away in the back of your head. Your mouth's just making the flaps with the brain spitting it out." He said, mimicking a mouth with his hand.

"Oh! That's neat." Elias replied happily grinning at the information.

The Doctor raised a brow, but shook his head. _I'll never understand this guy._

* * *

"This just isn't possible. How did this happen?" Jack questioned loudly after scanning some of the people in the room we were in.

"What kind of Chula ship landed here?" The Doctor asked instead, not bothering to answer Jack as the man paced in frustration.

"What?"

Rose responded instead. "He said it was a warship. He stole it, parked it somewhere out there, somewhere a bomb's going to fall on it unless we make him an offer."

"What kind of warship?" The Doctor pressed and Jack turned to him angrily.

"Does it matter? It's got nothing to do with this."

The Doctor, not pleased with his tone either, began shouting in return, making me look between the two nervously. "This started at the bomb site. It's got everything to do with it. What kind of warship?"

"An ambulance!" Jack finally responded, before spotting me having jumped and giving me an apologetic look before fiddling with his vortex manipulator.

_Yet another thing I didn't know I knew about. In fact, this whole situation just screams familiar, but I haven't the slightest idea what's going on. Amnesia is very vexing._

"Look." Jack gestured to a small hologram of a cylinder. "That's what you chased through the Time Vortex. It's space junk. I wanted to kid you it was valuable. It's empty. I made sure of it. Nothing but a shell. I threw it at you. Saw your time travel vehicle—love the retro look, by the way. Nice panels. Threw you the bait—"

"Bait?" Rose interrupted as it clicked in my head what Jack had been doing.

"I wanted to sell it to you and then destroy it before you found out it was junk."

"You said it was a warship." Rose pressed and Jack rolled his eyes as he turned around, very nearly bumping into me as I pointed at him with a grin.

"Con man!"

He looked a bit embarrassed at first, glancing back at Rose and the Doctor, but soon pushed my finger away from his chest. "Yes. I'm a con man. I thought you were Time Agents. You're not, are you?"

"Just a couple more freelancers." Rose smiled as I bounced around Jack and back over by her.

"Oh, should have known." Jack groaned. "The way you guys are blending in with the local color. I mean, Flag Girl was bad enough, but U-Boat Captain? At least Elias there, looks a bit more the part, if he wasn't so… him."

"I can be smart if I want to, but why be smart when there's other people already doing it? Being smart's boring." I said with a shrug as Jack sighed.

"Anyway, whatever's happening here has got nothing to do with that ship."

"What _is_ happening here, Doctor?" Rose asked, suddenly realizing the severity of the situation.

"Human DNA is being rewritten… by an idiot."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. Some kind of virus converting human beings into these things. But why? What's the point?"

"Maybe it's all they know." I mused out loud, earning a look from the Doctor. "Like alien stingrays that devoured planets for survival. They weren't doing anything wrong. In their eyes, it's what's right for them."

The Doctor watched me for a second. "You… You're a very optimistic one, aren't you?"

I grinned at him, when suddenly the patients in the hospital beds around us all sat up.

"Mummy? Mummy?" They all called out as Rose quickly moved away from the one she'd been looking at and joined us.

"What's happening?" Rose asked fearfully as they began to stand now too.

"I don't know." He said, backing me up with her as the patients moved closer. "Don't let them touch you."

"Why? What happens if they touch us?"

"You're looking at it." The Doctor replied, and I tipped my head.

"They sound like kids."

The Doctor looked at me for a split second, before his eyes lit up and he stepped forward towards the patients.

"Go to your room." He demanded and they stopped advancing. "Go to your room. I mean it. I'm very, very angry with you. I am very, very cross. Go to your room!"

The patients drooped, bowing their heads and they all shuffled back to their beds as the Doctor let out a relieved sigh.

"I'm really glad that worked. Those would have been _terrible_ last words." The Doctor then turned to me with a grin. "That was fantastic work, Elias."

I simply smiled away, glad at the praise, while everyone steadily relaxed and thought about what we could do in this situation.

"Why are they all wearing gas masks?" Rose questioned as Jack propped his feet up on a table.

"They're not. Those masks are flesh and bone."

Rose made a disgusted expression as the Doctor turned to him and I sensed another fight brewing.

"How was your con supposed to work?"

"Simple enough, really. Find some harmless piece of space junk, let the nearest Time Agent track it back to Earth, convince him it's valuable, name a price. When he's put fifty percent up front, oops! A German bomb falls on it, destroys it forever. He never gets to see what he's paid for. Never knows he's been had. I buy him a drink with his own money, and we discuss dumb luck. The perfect self-cleaning con."

"Yeah, perfect." The Doctor muttered sarcastically.

"The London Blitz is great for self-cleaners. Pompeii's nice if you want to make a vacation of it though, but you've got to set your alarm for volcano day." Jack said with a laugh, but no one in the room looked happy. "Getting a hint of disapproval."

"Take a look around the room." The Doctor said sharply. "This is what your harmless piece of space-junk did."

"It was a burnt-out medical transporter. It was empty." Jack persisted and I clapped my hands loudly; drawing their attention to me.

"One cannot place the blame on anyone when the problem is an accident." I announced, tipping my head with a smile. "Yes?"

The Doctor frowned, before turning away from Jack and I, pointing up at the ceiling. "Rose."

"Are we getting out of here?" She asked hesitantly.

"We're going upstairs."

Jack stood up though, persistent. "I even programmed the flight computer so it wouldn't land on anything living. I harmed no-one. I don't know what's happening here, but believe me, I had nothing to do with it."

"I'll tell you what's happening." The Doctor said, angrily as I sighed and held up my hands in a shrug. "You forgot to set your alarm clock. It's volcano day."

A siren went off then and Rose turned to the Doctor.

"What's that?"

"The 'all clear.'" Jack responded, but the Doctor had to get one last quip in.

"I wish."

* * *

The Doctor was quick to run out the door with Rose sparing Jack one last glance before chasing after him. Jack himself though, sighed heavily, pulling a hand through his hair.

"Why won't he believe me?"

"He can't help it."

Jack turned to Elias with a small frown, having forgotten the man hadn't left, but the expression he held now was almost like he was a completely different person. He held his back straight, his blue eyes were serious and yet somehow sad behind the lenses of his glasses, as he stared at the door the Doctor had gone through.

"What?"

"He has to place the blame on someone in order to keep from placing it on himself. Because if he stops for even a moment, that's what will happen. He'll think it over and go, 'why didn't _I_ stop this?' 'Isn't this _my_ fault?' 'I could have done something.' He's just scared. And he's tired of seeing the people around him die when there's something he could have possibly done to stop it. So he finds someone else. Someone who might have had even the smallest fault in the problem, and he places the blame on them, because if he doesn't, he'll become so overwhelmed with grief that he won't be able to move on and fix the problem… Isn't it sad?"

Jack hesitated, before finally taking a step forward. "Who _are_ you?"

A pair of clueless blue eyes turned back to him as Elias tipped his head curiously.

"Who am I? Well, that's a silly question to ask a person with amnesia."

Jack stared in shock, all images of the previous person he'd just witnessed gone from the man in front of him. "But you were just…"

"Just what?" Elias questioned, but Jack closed his mouth, shaking his head.

"N-Never mind. Come on. We better go catch up with the other two."

"Alright." Elias grinned, bounding after him with a skip in his step as Jack gave him one last confused look and led the way.

Jack caught up with Rose before he caught up with the Doctor and they began calling out for him, passing a nearby staircase where he poked his head up from the upper level.

"Have you got a blaster?"

"Sure!" Jack replied, but the Doctor then frowned.

"Where's Elias?"

"He was right…" Jack trailed off, looking around in confusion. "I could have sworn he was right behind me."

The Doctor groaned. "Great. He probably disappeared again. Come on."

* * *

I hummed to myself idly, wandering the halls after having somehow getting separated from Jack at some point. _Well, I know where they're headed, so it's no big deal…_ I paused, furrowing my brows, lost.

"Wait, how _do_ I know where they're going?" I asked myself out loud, and yet I had a clear picture in my mind that I needed to head upstairs to some observation area.

I scratched the back of my head, but shrugged and continued on, searching for some stairs to the upper levels. _Or better yet, an elevator._ _Did they have elevators in World War Two?_ _Duh, course they did. Goodness, Jack was right. I really am slow._ I frowned to myself, frustrated with this amnesia situation I was in. Everything kept telling me that it was familiar somehow, or completely strange to me when I felt it _should_ be familiar. I didn't know anything about who I was or how I should act, and there were times when I felt I was a bit closer, only for the feeling to fall through my fingers. And as comfortable as I was around Rose, this Doctor person almost felt like a long lost friend. Like there was just something about him that made me want to help him, to run with him, to…

A vibrant red blush ran over my face and I brought a hand up to cover my cheeks as I stopped and leaned up against a wall nearby. _W-What was that? W-Why did I suddenly think that I wanted to… wanted to _kiss_ the Doctor? T-T-That can't be right. I'm a guy, aren't I? A-And I hardly know him!... Right?_ I grimaced, grabbing my head in pain as a sudden headache sliced through my skull. Something, _something_, was trying to tell me something. Was trying to get me to understand something that I knew nothing about. And honestly, I was scared. I knew nothing about myself. I didn't know where the scars on my body came from or what kind of person earned those scars. I didn't know my own name, how I popped around from one place to another, if I had any family or where they were. What the hell was I doing before this anyway? All of my questions came up blank. I had no answers. I didn't know anyone who did. And suddenly, after five years of torture and a few hours of running around, I felt more lost than ever. More _scared_ than ever. I was alone. Alone with myself and I _didn't even know who I __**was**_.

"I-I'm scared." I muttered, voice barely a whisper as I looked around in a panic, searching for anything familiar, but there was nothing. "P-Please. Someone?"

There was nothing. No one was around and I nearly leapt out of my skin when there was a clatter somewhere in the building. So, I did what anyone would do. I ran.

* * *

The Doctor paced in the observation room, feeling the emotions radiating off the walls as they listened to the tape playing in the background of the boy's voice repeatedly asking for his mummy.

"Can you sense it?" He questioned, but Rose and Jack just stared at him like he was mad.

"Sense what?"

"Coming out of the walls. Can you feel it?" He pressed, but realized that no, they couldn't. "Funny little human brains. How do you get around in those things?"

"When he's stressed, he likes to insult species." Rose supplied Jack, making the Doctor frown.

"Rose, I'm thinking."

She ignored him. "He cuts himself shaving, he does half an hour on life forms he's cleverer than."

"Elias said something like that earlier." Jack replied and the Doctor scoffed.

"He'd understand. He'd be able to feel it too." The Doctor said, before rattling on. "There are these children living rough round the bomb sites. They come out during air-raids looking for food. Suppose they were there when this thing—whatever it was—landed."

"It was a med-ship." Jack insisted. "It was harmless."

"Yes, you keep saying harmless. Suppose one of them was affected. Altered."

"Altered how?" Rose asked, no one hearing the end of the tape flapping in the air as it spun uselessly; the boy's voice continuing.

"I'm here!"

"It's afraid. Terribly afraid and powerful. It doesn't know it yet, but it will do." The Doctor went on. "It's got the power of a God, and I just sent it to its room." He chuckled bitterly.

"I'm here. Can't you see me?" The child called and Rose looked at the Doctor nervously.

"Doctor, what's that noise?"

"End of the tape." He replied. "It ran out about thirty seconds ago."

"I'm here, now. Can't you see me?"

He turned to the broken window. "I sent it to its room. _This_ is its room."

The little boy stood there on the other side of the broken window, tipping its head. "Are you my mummy? Mummy?"

"Doctor?" Rose squeaked out in a panic.

"Okay, on my signal, make for the door." Jack said, reaching for his blaster. "Now!"

Except he pulled out a banana in confusion, and the Doctor grinned, pulling out Jack's blaster from his own pocket and shooting a hole in the wall.

"Go, now! Don't drop the banana!"

"Why not?!"

"Good source of potassium!"

They dove through the hole and Jack snatched his gun back, using it to replace the hole in the wall.

"Digital rewind." He said, tossing the Doctor the banana. "Nice switch."

"It's from the groves of Villengard. I thought it was appropriate."

"There's really a banana grove in the heart of the Villengard and you did that?" Jack questioned.

"Bananas are good."

There was a loud bang and the portion they'd just fixed in the wall, began to crack.

"Doctor!"

"Come on!"

They started running again, but were blocked by the patients, so they doubled back only to find that route blocked as well.

"It's keeping us here till it can get at us." The Doctor said.

"It's controlling them?"

"It _is_ them. It's every living thing in this hospital."

"Okay. This can function as a sonic blaster, a sonic cannon, and as a triple-enfold sonic disrupter. Doc, what you got?" Jack asked, waving around his blaster.

"I've got a sonic, uh… oh, never mind."

"What?"

"It's sonic, okay? Let's leave it at that." The Doctor said, attempting to drop the subject, but Jack was persistent.

"Disrupter? Cannon? What?"

"It's sonic! Totally sonic! I am sonicked up!"

"A sonic _what_?!"

"_Screwdriver!_" The Doctor shouted and Jack stared at him in disbelief before Rose rolled her eyes and took the gun from him, pointing it down.

"Going down!"

They fell through the floor and Jack was quick to replace the ceiling as Rose looked them over.

"Doctor, are you okay?"

"Could've used a warning."

"Oh, the gratitude." Rose drawled as Jack brought up the other topic of discussion.

"Who has a sonic screwdriver?"

"I do."

"Lights." Rose muttered, standing and searching the walls as they continued t argue.

"Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks, 'ooh, this could be a little more sonic'?"

"What? You've never been bored?"

"There's got to be a light switch." Rose continued to herself.

"Never had a long night? Never had a lot of cabinets to put up?" The Doctor complained as Rose finally found the lights and discovered them in another room full of patients, who all stood up.

"Door!" Jack called out, but his blaster didn't work. "Damn it! It's the special features. They really drain the battery."

"Battery?" Rose said in disbelief as the Doctor got the door open and they hurried through into a storeroom. "That's so lame!"

"I was going to send for another one, but somebody's got to blow up the factory." Jack complained and Rose smiled.

"Oh, I know. First day I met him, he blew up my job. That's practically how he communicates."

"Okay, that door should hold it for a bit." The Doctor replied, but Jack stared at him in disbelief.

"The door? The _wall_ didn't stop it!"

"Well, it's got to find us first!" The Doctor snapped back, tensions rolling high. "Come on, we're not done yet. Assets, assets!"

"Well, I've got a banana, and in a pinch, you could put up some shelves." Jack drawled.

"Window." The Doctor ignored him, hurrying up to the only window, but Jack had already checked it.

"Barred. Sheer drop outside. Seven stories."

"And no other exits." Rose muttered.

"Well, the assets conversation went in a flash, didn't it?" Jack complained.

"So where'd you pick this one up then?" The Doctor questioned Rose, annoyed as well, but she was frowning, looking around; distracted.

"Doctor."

Jack went on complaining though. "She was hanging from a barrage balloon. I had an invisible spaceship. I never stood a chance."

"Doctor." Rose interrupted, drawing his attention to her. "Doctor, do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Jack questioned, but the Doctor stopped, shushing them and listening.

Sure enough, there was a soft sound coming from inside the room somewhere.

"It sounds like someone sniffling." Rose commented and Jack nodded.

"Yeah, but it's in this room, isn't it? That doesn't bode well for us."

"You never know." The Doctor commented, following the sound until he spotted a large board propped up against a wall where it seemed to be coming from. "Could be someone useful."

He gestured to the board and Rose and Jack prepared themselves should they have to run, but the Doctor pulled the board aside and revealed a very shocked and scared Elias staring up at them in a panic. Elias quickly whipped an arm around, wielding a pipe of some kind, but the Doctor retreated a step and held up his hands in surrender.

"Elias? What are you doing here?" He questioned, seeing that the young man was bordering a panic attack and he knelt down cautiously. "Hey, there, buddy. It's the Doctor. Remember? No one's out to get ya here. You're safe."

Elias watched him for a moment, lowering the pipe before finally speaking. "I-I'm scared."

"I know. I know, but it's okay. We're here. We'll help keep you safe."

"I-I want my mummy."

Everyone in the room stiffened at that, Rose speaking up hesitantly.

"I-Is he one of them too?"

The Doctor frowned though, looking over Elias in concern, but only seeing a frightened young Time Lord, not a gas mask wearing creation.

"No. No, I don't think he is."

"Then why's he saying that?" Jack pressed.

Then something clicked in the Doctor's mind. "Oh. _Oh_."

"What? What is it?"

He turned to Rose and Jack. "He's empathic. Very sensitive to the emotions around him. I told you earlier, didn't I? I could feel it in the walls. It's the same for him. Time Lords are usually pretty sensitive to this sort of thing, but for him, it's more so. He probably had mental blocks before to help him cope, but with his amnesia, he's most likely forgot to upkeep them. This is the backlash of that."

"Can you help him?" Rose asked softly and the Doctor nodded.

"Sure, but the fact of the matter is, I've got to get him to come out and trust me enough to do so. Any resistance from him could potentially harm one, if not both of us. Rose, come over here."

She hesitated, but nodded, kneeling beside him.

"See if you can convince him to come out."

"Me?"

"Well, you're the one who got him out of Van Statten's place. He typically sticks around you, too. He's more comfortable with you than he is me. See what you can do."

She nodded, determined and the Doctor stepped back as she tried to convince Elias to calm down and come over.

"Elias? It's alright. It's Rose. Remember? You're okay now. You're safe and the Doctor can help you."

Elias turned his eyes to her, staring at her briefly before looking past her at the Doctor who gave a small hesitant smile back. Rose reached out a hand then, drawing Elias's attention back to her as she smiled reassuringly.

"Come on, Elias. No one's here to hurt you. Not anymore."

Elias set down the pipe and hesitantly took her hand, allowing her to pull him up, before he set his gaze back onto the Doctor.

"C-Can you make it stop?" Elias asked him, surprising the Doctor that he even understood what was going on.

"I can try, but I need you to trust me. Do you trust me?" The Doctor asked and Elias nodded immediately, again surprising the Doctor at how quickly the man he barely knew—and who barely knew him—so easily placed his trust in the Doctor's hands. "Just close your eyes and if there's anything you don't want me to see, pretend there's a door in front of it and close it." The Doctor instructed, lightly placing his fingers on Elias's temples.

Elias let out a soft sigh, closing his eyes and relaxing as the Doctor entered his mind. The Doctor though, winced. Literally every possible door in Elias's mind was locked tight, wrapped in thick layers of heavy chains. Not only that, but his head was impossibly noisy, with mutterings in his own voice as well as those from other people constantly chattering away in his mind. _It's no wonder he's so confused all the time. All his memories are locked tight and his mind is in a full on panic mode._ The Doctor stubbornly pushed on, attempting in vain to try and shift some of the chains, but with no success. So, he instead focused on the problem at hand and found the area where the little boy's fears were overwhelming Elias; beginning to build up bit by bit, a mental block in order to help Elias separate his own feelings from the scared boy's. As he did though, Elias's voice continued to whisper quietly around him.

"_I'm scared… Why am I here? Who am I? What do they want from me? Why can't I remember? I don't know anything. Who am I? I'm scared. Who am I? I-I'm all alone. I don't want to be alone. Where is he? H-He was supposed to be here. W-Who is he? Who am I looking for? Doctor?"_

"Doctor?"

The Doctor sucked in a sharp breath, snapping his eyes open and finding himself nearly a foot away from Elias, who was looking at him in confusion and worry as Rose hovered over the Doctor.

"Are you alright?"

The Doctor looked between her and Elias for a second, before clearing his throat and standing.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

_What _was_ that? _He wondered though, sparing Elias another look as Rose helped him up and he managed a small smile.

"Right, okay." The Doctor said, trying to get things back on track. "One we've got to get out of here. Two, we can't get out of here. Have I missed anything?"

"Yeah." Rose said, making the Doctor turn to her curiously. "Jack just disappeared."

Sure enough, the man had vanished. Rose and Elias looked around for a bit; the man growing more at ease now that he wasn't dealing the with panicked emotions of another person.

"Okay, so he's vanished into thin air. Why is it always the great looking ones who do that?"

"I'm making an effort not to be insulted." The Doctor complained.

"I mean… men."

"Okay, thanks. That really helped."

"It's okay. I like you." Elias grinned at the Doctor, who rolled his eyes when a radio nearby just started working.

"_Rose? Doctor? Elias? Can you hear me?_"Jack called out."_I'm back on my ship. Used the emergency teleport. Sorry I couldn't take you. It's security-keyed to my molecular structure. I'm working on it. Hang in there._"

"How're you speaking to us?" The Doctor questioned, holding up the shredded wires to said radio.

"_Om-Com. I can call anything with a speaker grill_."

"So can the boy!" Elias chirped making the Doctor nod.

"Righto, Elias."

"He can?" Rose questioned in shock.

"Anything with a speaker grill. Even the Tardis phone." The Doctor agreed.

"What? You mean the child can phone us?"

"_And I can hear you._" Came the boy's voice over the radio then, startling the group. "_Coming to find you. Coming to find you._"

"_Doctor, can you hear that?_" Jack asked.

"Loud and clear."

"_I'll try to block out the signal. Least I can do._ _Remember this one, Rose?_"

Music began playing over the radio and Rose turned to the confused Doctor.

"Our song." She replied and he nodded with a small smile of amusement.

Elias began humming to it as Rose took a seat and the Doctor went over to the barred windows and began to sonic them. Bored, Rose rolled her wheelchair around to face him.

"What're you doing?"

"Trying to set up a resignation pattern in the concrete, loosen the bars."

"Won't work. Takes too long." Elias hummed and the Doctor turned to him with a frown.

"Like you're doing much better."

Elias just grinned as Rose questioned the Doctor.

"You don't think he's coming back, do ya?"

"Wouldn't bet my life."

"Why don't you trust him?"

"Why do you?" The Doctor challenged.

"He saved my life. Block-wise, that's up there with flossing." She joked, before getting more serious. "I trust him because he'd like you. Except with dating and dancing." Rose said, before catching the frown on the Doctor's face. "What?"

"You just assume I'm…"

"What?"

"You just assume that I don't dance." He finished and she raised a brow.

"What? Are you telling me you _do_ dance?"

"Nine hundred years old, me. I've been around a bit. I think you can assume at some point I've danced."

"You?"

"Problem?"

"Doesn't the universe implode or something if you dance?"

"Well, I've got the moves, but I wouldn't want to boast."

Rose smirked, getting up and wandering over to the radio, turning it up. The Doctor gave her a look as Elias leaned on the back of the wheelchair with a grin on his face as Rose held out her hand.

"You've got the moves? Show me your moves."

"Rose, I'm trying to resonate concrete."

"Jack'll be back. He'll get us out. So, come on. The world doesn't end because the Doctor dances."

The Doctor hopped down, but instead of dancing, he took a look at Rose's hands.

"Barrage balloon?"

"What?"

"You were hanging from a barrage balloon."

Rose sighed, realizing she wouldn't get to dance at this point. The Doctor was distracted.

"Oh, yeah. About two minutes after you left me. Thousands of feet above London, middle of a German air-raid, Union Jack all over my chest—"

"Union Flag." Elias piped up, sitting in the wheelchair and spinning it around now. "We're not at sea."

They ignored him.

"Is this you dancing? Because I've got notes." Rose muttered, hoping that she might just squeeze in a dance now.

"Hanging from a rope thousands of feet above London. Not a cut, not a bruise."

"Yeah, I know. Captain Jack fixed me up."

"Oh, we're calling him _Captain_ Jack now, are we?"

"Well, his name's Jack and he's a Captain."

"He's not really a Captain, Rose." The Doctor drawled.

"Yes, he is." Elias replied, saluting the ceiling. "He's got the stripes for it."

Rose grinned at that. "See? Do you know what I think? I think you're experiencing Captain envy." She teased, before trying to get the Doctor to dance again. "You'll find your feet at the end of your legs. You may care to move them."

"If ever he was a Captain, he's been defrocked."

"Yeah? Shame I missed that." Rose replied, not noticing they'd moved until Jack spoke up.

"Actually, I quit. Nobody takes my frock."

Rose and the Doctor moved apart as Elias chuckled from the bunk beside them and Jack went on with a grin.

"Most people notice when they've been teleported. You guys are so sweet. Sorry about the delay. I had to take the nav-com offline to override the teleport security."

"You can spend ten minutes overriding your own protocols? Maybe you should remember whose ship it is."

"Oh, I do. She was gorgeous. Like I told her, be back in five minutes."

"This is a Chula ship." The Doctor realized then as Jack dove about under his console.

"Yeah. Just like that medical transporter. Only this one is dangerous."

The Doctor turned his eyes to Elias though, who was chuckling as he snapped his fingers and little glowing orbs flittered around his hands. Rose caught him looking and explained.

"They're what fixed my hands up. Jack called them, uh…"

"Nanobots? Nanogenes?" The Doctor offered and she nodded.

"Nanogenes, yeah."

"Sub-atomic robots. There's millions of them in here, see? Burned my hand on the console when we landed. All better now. They activate when the bulk head's sealed. Check you out for damage, fix any physical flaws." That thought light up a bulb in the Doctor's head and he immediately felt dread. "Take us to the crash site. I need to see your space junk."

"As soon as I get the nav-com back online. Make yourself comfortable. Carry on with whatever it was you were doing."

Elias chuckled. "They were dancing."

The Doctor scowled. "No, we were _talking_ about dancing."

"It didn't look like talking." Jack teased and Rose grumbled in return.

"It didn't feel like dancing."

* * *

I felt much better after the Doctor helped me get over that boy's overwhelming feelings, but a part of me felt that there was still something missing. When the Doctor had been close to Rose, there with this twisting in my stomach that made me uncomfortable, though I played it off well enough. _And yet I'm more than comfortable teasing Jack? I don't… I don't understand. Who am I? What am I supposed to do?_ Now though, I had more important things to worry about. Jack's friend had turned into one of the gas-masked people and the sirens had started going off announcing the incoming air-raid. The group of us had currently surrounded the supposed ambulance, having helped get Nancy safe as well. Jack had tried to open it, but that set off an alarm and I felt a chill go down my spine.

"Doctor? Doctor, that alarm, it's not good." I said in concern, unsure how I knew that, but it wasn't long before the gates to the fence were being rocked.

"Captain, secure those gates!" The Doctor shouted at Jack.

"Why?"

"Just do it! Nancy, how'd you get in here?"

"I cut the wire."

"Show Rose." The Doctor said, tossing his sonic towards Rose. "Setting two thousand four hundred and twenty-eight D."

"What?"

"Reattaches barbed wire. Go!"

"Me? What about me?" I asked, wanting to help, but the Doctor brushed me off.

"Just stand there. I'm busy."

I felt something in me snap at that, and I stormed over and pulled the Doctor off; surprising the man as I went to work on the ambulance.

"What're you doing?" He questioned as Jack returned, and I turned and glared at him.

"Don't discredit me because I pretend to be an idiot." I snapped, turning my eyes back to the outer panel and typing away; overhearing Jack let out a low whistle.

"Wow. Who would've thought? He's got some bite to him."

"Oh, don't start." The Doctor grumbled.

"What?"

Rose and Nancy soon returned and I grinned as the ambulance opened and I beamed at the Doctor.

"Told ya."

Jack grinned, hopping up onto the slope with me and patting me on the back. "Excellent job, Elias. See? It's empty. Look at it."

The Doctor though, frowned. "What do you expect in a Chula medical transporter? Bandages? Cough drops? Rose?"

Rose looked startled. "I don't know."

"Yes, you do."

She thought for a second, before it clicked. "Nanogenes!"

Jack's expression crumbled and I felt bad for him as the Doctor explained.

"It wasn't empty, Captain. There was enough nanogenes in there to rebuild a species."

"Oh, God."

"Getting it now, are we? When the ship crashes, the nanogenes escape. Billions upon billions of them, ready to fix all the cuts and bruises in the whole world. But what they find first is a dead child, probably killed earlier that night, and wearing a gasmask."

Rose could understand what happened now as well and gapped in shock. "And they brought him back to life? They can do that?"

"What's life? Life's easy. A quirk of matter. Nature's way of keeping meat fresh. Nothing to a nanogene. One problem, though. These nanogenes, they're not like the ones on your ship. This lot have never seen a human being before. Don't know what a human being's supposed to look like. All they've got to go on is one little body, and there's not a lot left. But they carry right on. They do what they're programmed to do. They patch it up. Can't tell what's gasmask and what's skull, but they do their best. Then off they fly, off they go, work to be done. Because, you see, now they think they know what people should look like, and it's time to fix all the rest. And they won't ever stop. They won't ever, ever stop. The entire human race is going to be torn down and rebuilt in the form of one terrified child looking for its mother, and nothing in the world can stop it!"

"I didn't know." Jack insisted as the Doctor and everyone separated in their grief.

I felt bad, wanting to do something, but what? I had this niggling feeling in the back of my mind, screaming at me that there was something I could do. Something I knew, but when I reached for it, it kept slipping, like grains of sand through my fingers.

"Rose!"

Everyone turned to see the patients had entered the area, but were standing a bit away from us.

"It's bringing the gas mask people here, isn't it?" Rose asked and the Doctor nodded.

"The ship thinks it's under attack. It's calling the troops. Standard protocol."

"But the gas mask people aren't troops."

"They are now. This is a battle-field ambulance. The nanogenes don't just fix you up, they get you ready for the front line. Equip you, program you."

"That's why the child is so strong. Why it could do that phoning thing."

"It's a fully equipped Chula warrior, yes. All that weapons tech in the hands of a hysterical four-year-old looking for his mummy. And now there's an army of them."

"Mummy!" I exclaimed, making the Doctor look at me in confusion.

"What?"

"His mummy! He wants his mummy!"

Jack looked over at the Doctor, taking a cautious step away from me. "Doctor, has he got it now too?"

"No!" I shouted, wincing at the headache forming. "There's something. Something about his mummy. Something important. Oh, what was it?!"

"Elias, it's fine. There's nothing we can do."

"No!" I snapped, rounding on the Doctor and poking a stern finger into his chest. "No. You don't give up. You're the Doctor you find a way. You _always_ find a way."

"How do you…"

It clicked then in my mind and I cut him off.

"Ah! His mummy! Give him his mummy!"

"What?!" Rose exclaimed and I nodded, bouncing away from the confused Doctor and over to her, spinning her around.

"Yes! Yes! Give him his mummy and he'll stop! Everybody lives!" I grinned, tossing my arms up in the air as I let her go and she just looked at me confused.

Just like everyone else was.

"Um, Elias. No offence, but wouldn't his mother change too?"

I blinked, stopping my celebratory dance. "Oh…"

"No. No, wait. Maybe he's right." The Doctor said, a grin stretching across his face. "Oh, maybe he's right! Elias, you're fantastic!"

The Doctor grabbed me in a tight hug, spinning me around and I stiffened at first, but soon began grinning and laughing with him too.

"Whoo! I'm right! I'm right!"

"Now, hold on a second. I think the rest of us are missing something here." Jack interrupted as the Doctor set me down, but kept an arm across my shoulders. "Even if giving him his mother somehow stops him, we don't even know who his mother is. And how would handing her over to him save everyone?"

"Not to mention the bomb that will fall any second now." Rose said anxiously.

"Oh, the saving bit is easy." The Doctor explained. "See, every child is a copy of their parent's DNA. So, if given the parent's DNA to work with, the nanogenes should recognize it as such and, upon realizing they made a mistake, will fix it and send along the new patch to the other nanogenes."

"Nanogenes two point oh!" I piped in.

"But his mother! We don't know who she is or if she's even around here!"

"Doctor, that bomb. We've got seconds."

"You can teleport us out." Rose said, concerned.

"Not you guys. The nav-com's back online. Going to take too long to override the protocols." Jack apologized.

"So it's volcano day. Do what you've got to do." The Doctor told him and he sighed softly as Rose called out to him.

"Jack?"

But he teleported away.

"Well, what now?!"

"Wait." Nancy said, all eyes turning to her, but she placed her gaze solely on the Doctor. "Is it true? I-If he gets his mother, then… then everything will turn back the way it was?"

"Well, I don't know for certain, but the probability of it is—"

"Yes!" I interrupted.

"Elias!" The Doctor snapped, but I shook my head.

"No, the answer is yes! I know it. I don't know how, but I promise, everybody lives! Everybody! Jamie too!"

Nancy's eyes widened at that as Rose muttered quietly behind me.

"Who's Jamie?"

"T-That's his name." Nancy breathed out, staring at me in disbelief. "H-How did you know his name?"

I just grinned though, and the gates to the yard opened, revealing Jamie standing there.

"Are you my mummy?" He asked. "Mummy?"

And Nancy, tears in her eyes, walked towards him.

"Nancy? Nancy, what are you—" Rose started but I cut her off with a smile.

"Don't worry."

She looked hesitant, but nodded passively as Nancy and Jamie stood before one another.

"Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy?" Jamie repeated and Nancy nodded.

"Yes. Yes, I am your mummy."

Rose gapped and the Doctor even turned to me in surprise, but my eyes were solely locked on the two as Nancy fell to her knees and held Jamie, sobbing.

"Mummy?"

"I'm here."

"Are you my mummy?"

"I'm here."

"Are you my mummy?"

"Yes."

"Are you my mummy?"

"He doesn't understand. There's not enough of him left." The Doctor said in anguish, but I reached out and took his hand, squeezing it.

"I promised. Everybody lives."

He looked down at me, but squeezed my hand in return as Nancy began to be surrounded by glowing nanogenes.

"I am your mummy. I will always be your mummy. I'm so sorry. I am so, so sorry."

"What's happening? Doctor, it's changing her, we should—" Rose tried again, but the Doctor shushed her.

"Sh! Come on, please. Come on, you clever little nanogenes. Figure it out! The mother, she's the mother. It's got to be enough information. Figure it out."

"What's happening?"

"Exactly what Elias said earlier. See? Recognizing the same DNA." The Doctor replied as Jamie let Nancy go and he hurriedly rushed over and scooped the boy up. "Oh, come on. Give me a day like this. Give me this one."

He reached out and pulled off the gas mask, revealing a little boy. He cheered as Nancy stared is joy and disbelief as the Doctor swung the boy around.

"Ah-ha! Welcome back! Twenty years till pop music. You're going to love it."

"What happened?" Nancy questioned.

"The nanogenes recognized the superior information, the parent DNA. They didn't change you because you changed them! Ha-ha! Mother knows best!"

"Oh, Jamie." Nancy breathed out in relief, turning to me. "Thank you."

I just smiled, ruffling the boy's hair.

"Doctor, that bomb." Rose said then, but the Doctor was at ease.

"Taken care of."

"How?"

"Psychology."

The bomb rushed towards them, but was suddenly stopped; Jack sitting atop it.

"Doctor!"

"Good lad!" The Doctor grinned at him.

"The bomb's already commenced detonation. I've put it in stasis, but it won't last long." Jack said solemnly.

"Change of plan. Don't need the bomb. Can you get rid of it? Safely as you can?" The Doctor asked.

"Rose!" Jack called out.

"Yeah?"

"Goodbye." He vanished, only to reappear a second later. "By the way, love the t-shirt. And Elias?"

I tipped my head, looking up at him.

"Perhaps I'll show you how to drink properly some other time." He said with a wink and I grinned.

"I'll hold you to it!"

The ship flew off with the bomb and Rose turned to the Doctor as he messed with a handful of nanogenes.

"What are you doing?"

"Software patch. Going to email the upgrade. You want moves, Rose? I'll give you moves." The Doctor smiled, throwing the nanogenes at the patients who fell to the ground, getting back up completely fine.

"Everybody lives, Rose. Just this once, everybody lives! All thanks to you, Elias." He said, turning around, but I had already vanished and his face fell.


	95. Time Heist

**Welp, you guys demanded it, so here it is! The next few chapters will be the various Doctors (10, 11, and 12) with the new male Alex ;) hope you guys like it. a review would be nice. i feel like crap right now. but no pressure. let me know what you think of twelve's interactions with this Alex.**

* * *

I blinked as a scream rang out and I spotted these worms being thrown about by the two people sitting next to me.

"Doctor?!" A young woman shouted.

"Don't touch it!" An older man responded.

"Where are we? How did we get here?"

"Who are you?" Another man spoke up, robotic parts in the side of his head. "Sorry, what's going on? I don't understand."

A woman next to him grimaced as her face bulged, forming suckers momentarily before returning to normal.

"Agh! What is that thing?"

"It's a memory worm." The older man replied, though something about him looked oddly familiar.

_Is it the eyes? Hm._

"What happened to your face?" The younger woman exclaimed, looking at the older woman who immediately shied away.

"Deletes your memories." The man continued before she interrupted.

"Did you see her face?"

"How did I get here?" The older woman questioned, ignoring the other.

"The same way we all did, but we've all forgotten."

_Well, that's not new._

"And who are you?"

The man opened his mouth, but a speaker in the room replied for him.

"_I am the Doctor. A Time Lord from Gallifrey. I have agreed to this memory wipe of my own free will._" It said, before continuing on in the younger woman's voice.

"_I am Clara Oswald, human. I have agreed to this memory wipe of my own free will… Do I really have to touch that worm thing?_"

"_Yes, you do. And change your shoes. You're next, Psi._"

The voice changed again, to that of the robotic-man's. "_I am Psi; augmented-human. I have agreed to this memory wipe of my own free will._"

Psi reached up and checked a chip from his hardware in shock, before replacing it as the older woman's voice started up.

"_I am Saibra, mutant human. I have agreed to this memory wipe of my own free will._"

And then it was another voice, one I actually recognized as my own. "_I am Elias—_"

"_No, it's Alex. I told you. It's Alexander Holmes._" The supposed-Doctor's voice spoke up and I turned to him in confusion.

"_Um, right then. I suppose I'm Alexander Holmes. A, uh, partial Time Lord? And seeing as I have no memories anyway, I suppose I agree to this memory wipe… thing._"

There was the Doctor's groan from over the speaker, before it cut off and a metal case in front of us on the table opened up. I though, pointed at the older man.

"You're the Doctor? But you were all…" I gestured to my ears and he scowled.

"Yes, I'll explain that later. Now, shush."

In the metal case, were two video screens for either side of the table with a hooded man on it.

"_This is a recorded message. I am the Architect. Your last memory is of receiving a contact from an unknown agency. Me. Everything since has been erased from your minds. Now, pay close attention to this briefing._" He said, the image changing to that of a building. "_This is the Bank of Karabraxos, the most secure bank in the galaxy. A fortress for the super-rich. If you can afford your own star system, this is where you keep it. No one sets foot on the planet without protocols. All movement is monitored, all air consumption regulated. DNA is authenticated at every stage. Intruders will be incinerated._" It showed a couple breathing into a tube, before being burned to death and I grimaced. "_Each vault, buried deep in the earth, is accessed by a drop-slot at the planet's surface. It's atomically sealed, an unbreakable lock. The atoms have all been scrambled. Your presence on this planet is unauthorized. A team will have been dispatched to terminate you._"

As it said that, I jumped as someone banged on the walls and a man shouted into the room.

"This is bank security. Open up."

"_Your survival depends on following my instructions._" The Architect announced; the Doctor and I on our feet already.

"Open up and you shall be humanely disposed of." The guard continued, but Saibra stood and pointed out something.

"There's another exit."

"_All the information you need is in this case._"

Psi took a chip from his head and plugged it into said case, drawing the Doctor's attention.

"What are you doing?"

"Downloading."

"Ah, Augmented. Nice." The Doctor commented.

"_The Bank of Karabraxos is impregnable._"

The Doctor reached into the case and pulled out something himself as my head whipped around at the guard's voice.

"Please stand away from the door. We do not wish to hurt you before incineration."

"Bit silly announcing that." I muttered.

"_The Bank of Karabraxos has never been breached. You will rob the Bank of Karabraxos._"

"Oh, you're kidding." I grumbled, before the Doctor grabbed my arm and off we went just as the glass shattered behind us and the guards stormed the rooms; myself chuckling a memory worm at the first man in, using my scarf as protection.

"Ah, still clever, I see." The Doctor chirped in amusement, though I blinked in confusion.

"Are you _really_ him?"

"Oh, I forgot how difficult it is to deal with this version of you before you get your memories back. _Yes_, yes! It's me. The Doctor. I've regenerated. Different body, same person, mostly. Maybe you'll get back your memories today, if I'm lucky. Now, shush please. Stop, stop, stop!" He called out, getting out of breath now as he pulled me to a halt and the others slowed as well. "Far enough. Augmented human. Computer augmented, yes? Mainframe in your head?"

Psi eyed him. "I'm a gamer. Sorry, who put you in charge?"

"You're a liar." The Doctor argued with him and I felt the urge to smack him and promptly did so, making him frown at me.

"Sorry. Don't know why I did that."

"Course you didn't." He drawled, returning to talking to Psi. "That's a prison code on your neck."

"I'm a hacker slash bank robber." Psi reluctantly admitted.

"And we're supposed to be robbing a bank!" I announced, making the Doctor nod.

"Yes. This is a good day to be a bank robber. Mutant human." He turned to Saibra. "What kind of mutant?"

"Like he says, why are you in charge now?"

"It's my special power. What's yours?"

She sighed, took off a glove, and took Clara's hand, transforming into Clara before letting her go and changing back.

"Ooh, replication." I mused and she nodded.

"Your face, when we first saw you…" Clara breathed out.

"I touched the worm."

"You can replicate their clothes too?"

"I wear a hologram shell." She explained and the Doctor held out whatever he took from the other case.

"Human cells. DNA from a customer, maybe? A disguise to get us in?"

Clara looked at him in disbelief. "We're actually going to do it? Rob the bank?"

I shrugged. "Already stuck trying to get out, why not take something in the process."

Clara groaned. "Oh, you're really into this, aren't you? That's why we're doing this? Because Alex wants to?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Part of the reason, I'll admit."

I blinked. "Who's Alex again?"

The Doctor groaned once more, taking my hand and pulling me along. "Come on. Saibra, get into your disguise."

Saibra rolled her eyes, but changed as we all headed out and looked at the bank we were about to be robbing. Saibra walked up, an older gentleman in a pinstriped suit, and the Doctor turned to her.

"How long can you maintain the image for?"

"For as long as I like."

We walked into the building easily enough, the Doctor leaning towards Clara.

"Question one. Robbing banks is easy if you've got a Tardis. So why am I not using it?"

"Question two, where _is_ the Tardis?" Clara replied and I hummed.

"Maybe that's what we're stealing?" I offered, making the Doctor hum, until I went on. "And what's a Tardis?"

"My ship. And as soon as I can, I'm going to help you get back those memories, because without them, you're going to drive me insane."

"Thanks?" I questioned, tipping my head as Clara chuckled.

"I don't know. I kind of like this clueless Alex. Makes me feel like a genius."

The Doctor let out a scoff. "Wait until he gets serious. Then he'll make you feel like an idiot."

The lights flickered then and steel doors closed off our exits, making me look around somewhat nervously. I was, after all, not a fan of being trapped. Already, I was fidgeting and shuffling from one foot to the other, stopping when the Doctor suddenly took my hand in his. I could feel my body unconsciously relaxing somewhat, though I was confused as to why. That, and it felt weird, holding hands with him. _Does it have to do because of my memory loss? And why is he so… clingy?_

"They know we're here." Saibra muttered, before a couple of guards went near one man out on the floor and a woman in high heels walked out.

Something about her made me frown, though I wasn't sure what. _She just gives me a weird vibe._ And then, I stiffened. Something, something was coming. Something that made my breath hitch and bring a hand to my head.

"Alex?" The Doctor muttered, but I wasn't paying attention.

A creature was brought out in a red straight jacket, armed guards behind him, and I knew immediately, that _he_ was what was messing with my head. _He's so sad and angry, but why?_ I hadn't even noticed I'd tried to walk towards the creature, until the Doctor tugged me back and hissed in my ear.

"_What are you doing?_"

"I don't… I don't know." I muttered, eyes still locked on the creature as Saibra spoke up quietly.

"What is that?"

"I don't know." The Doctor admitted. "Hate not knowing."

We turned our attention to the woman, though, who'd approached the man by the guards.

"Excuse me, sir. I regret to say your guilt has been detected."

"What? T-That's totally ridiculous." He argued.

"Is it, sir? Well then, we will certainly double-check. The Teller will now scan your thoughts for any criminal intent. Good luck, sir." She smiled, moving away as the creature was walked forward and the man shakily put down his briefcase.

"Interesting." The Doctor murmured.

"What is?"

"The latest thing in sniffer dogs. Telepathic. It hunts guilt."

I winced at the noise the creature gave off and at the man's apparent pain, but the Doctor tugged me close and held me with my face pressed into his chest.

"_Don't listen to it."_ He told me quietly. _"I know you can hear it clearer than I can, so try to focus on something else, or you'll only end up in more pain."_

I grimaced again, hearing the man crying out louder and the noise increasing, but Clara brought up a good point.

"What about _our_ guilt?"

"Currently being drowned out."

"What's he doing?" Clara asked, though with my face pressed into the Doctor's chest, I couldn't be sure what she was talking about.

"If he has a plan, he's trying not to think of it." The Doctor replied, and I swallowed a lump in my throat.

"Ever tried not thinking about something?" Psi questioned her.

"No."

"You may have to."

_The more you try not to think of it, the more you end up thinking of it._ Popped up in my head, before there was a loud roar and the woman in the heels spoke again.

"Ah, criminal intent detected. How naughty. What was your plan? Counterfeit currency in your briefcase perhaps?"

"No, not at all. For God's sake."

"It doesn't really matter." The woman continued, ignoring him. "We'll establish the details later. The Teller is never wrong when it comes to guilt. Your account will now be deleted, and obviously your mind. Suppertime."

I cringed again at the high pitched ringing that echoed in my ears, feeling the Doctor hug me tighter to his chest.

"It's wiping his mind. Turning his brain into soup."

_N-Not helping._ I complained mentally, feeling a sense of comfort come off the Doctor that eased the pain somewhat.

"Your next of kin will be informed and incarcerated, as further inducement to honest financial transactions." The woman drawled as Clara spoke up.

"We've got to help him."

"He's gone already." The Doctor said ominously. "It's over."

"He's in agony, look at him." Clara argued, but the Doctor was insistent.

"Those aren't tears, Clara. That's soup."

I sagged slightly as the ringing finally stopped, feeling the Doctor doing his best to give me what comfort he could, but he was also rather sickened by the whole thing as the woman went on speaking.

"Account closed. Take him away. He's ready for his close-up." She said, before her voice came over the intercom. "Apologies for the disturbance. Everyone have a lovely day."

She left then and the Doctor lightly tugged me away from him once the Teller was gone as well.

"Are you alright?"

"What's wrong with him?" Psi asked and the Doctor sighed heavily.

"He's a very sensitive telepathic and empathic. Usually he has a good hold on blocking things out, but he's got a bit of amnesia which has caused him to forget how to uphold mental barriers to keep things from effecting him too much."

"Like the Teller." Clara breathed out, looking concerned.

"Yes. He gets a bit more than a headache, though not nearly as bad as if the Teller was actually attempting to do something to him." The Doctor explained, patting my cheek lightly and snapping me out of the trance I was in; having been watching the door the Teller had left through. "Alex, you need to stop thinking about it. The last thing we need is you accidentally connecting to it."

"R-Right." I mumbled, more for the purpose of distracting myself than actually knowing what he meant.

Again his hand took mine, squeezing it in reassurance and I gave a small squeeze back, actually glad for the friendly contact even though my mind was struggling to wrap around this whole mess I was suddenly thrown into.

* * *

The Doctor watched Alex cautiously as they entered the safety deposit room and Saibra went about getting them a bit closer to their goal. He wasn't only watching her (_him, _he kept having to remind himself) because of what he went through with the Teller, but also because of what was going on. Alex had no memories. Alex was more lost than any of the people he was with in this room, and none of them had any clue what they were doing. But they at least knew who they were. They knew their skills, their names, family, friends. They _knew_ things, whereas Alex was all alone. In Alex's point of view, anyway. He and Clara knew who Alex was, what he was capable of, and a multitude of other things. But the Doctor was concerned, because this version of Alex was a bit more… _sensitive_ than the others.

Already he was fidgeting, looking at the door that was their only exit, nervously. _Claustrophobic._ He remembered from the few times this version of Alex had popped up with his younger selves. _Undoubtedly caused by what happened right after she regenerated into him. And with the amnesia, he doesn't even know how to protect himself. Reflexively, yes. He could probably still take down a number of armed guards barehanded, but mentally, he's exposed. He's scared and worried and I can't do anything about it because he doesn't even remember who I am._ The Doctor scowled at the thought; not only because of Alex's amnesia, but also because of his feeling of uselessness and inability to help him. To help the woman—_man_—that he loved, even now. And it was very frustrating for him to have to sit back and watch Alex remain uncomfortable even when he, himself, attempted to comfort him.

"If he can break in here and plant this thing, then why does he need our help?" Psi spoke up then, making the Doctor pull his eyes away from Alex and head over to open the case that had been brought in.

"Depends what the thing is." The Doctor replied, opening the case and frowning at what was inside. "Okay, well, I'm no expert, but fuses. Timer. I'm going to stick my neck out and say bomb." He turned to Psi then, mind running rampant at what this meant. "Bank schematic. Now."

Psi scowled at him, not being pleased about being ordered about, but did as he was told, bringing up a hologram of the bank on a column.

The Doctor looked them over, checking surroundings of the room as well as below and above it.

"The floor below is all service corridors. The veins and arteries of the bank." The Doctor said, wandering around and tapping on the floor with his foot. "He wants us to blow through the floor."

"Well, we'll die if we do that."

"Well, not necessarily. There must be a plan." The Doctor pressed.

"What if the plan is, we're blowing up the floor for someone else?" Clara offered, giving him a look. "What if we're not supposed to make it out alive?"

"Oh, don't be so pessimistic. It'll affect team morale, and Alex already has enough problems as it is, sorting through this mess of flying emotions."

He turned to glance at Alex, but instead of being where he'd been before, he was now looking over the bomb curiously.

"Alex, don't mess with that!" The Doctor scolded, heading over to take it from him, but the young man that Alex was now, held it away with a frown.

"Why?"

The Doctor sighed heavily in frustration. "The last thing we need is you blowing us all up by messing with things."

That was apparently the wrong thing to say, because when the Doctor reached for the bomb a second time, Alex quickly ducked under his arm and skirted around his from, attaching the bomb to the ground in the center of the room; much to everyone's shock.

"A-Alex?"

"Oi, what's he doing?!"

"Alex, stop!" The Doctor ordered, but Alex looked up and glared heatedly at him, making the _Doctor_ stop.

He then turned on the device, making Psi and Saibra panic as it started charging and the Doctor grabbed Alex and harshly pulled him away from the bomb. He didn't see any other choice than to cover Alex and face the wall as the others were doing, but he hated to see the defiant glare Alex continued to give him as he kept him there. Then, there was a small flash of light and everyone turned in confusion to see nothing but a charred hole in the floor; no explosion needed. The Doctor stared in shock, Alex quickly knocking him out of it when he bumped into him on the way around him to pick up the bomb. He shoved it into the Doctor's hands with only two words.

"Squareness gun."

Then Alex began climbing down the ladder, leaving the rest there in confusion.

"What did he say? 'Squareness gun'?" Clara questioned and the Doctor groaned.

"I messed up. Oh, he's never going to trust me now."

Clara looked at the Doctor in concern. "Doctor? What did he mean?"

"When he first regenerated, he was with my younger self and there was someone there who had a sonic blaster. Said blaster could put holes in the wall and replace them. Alex must have recognized some of the parts for that on this bomb." The Doctor explained, waving said bomb. "It's a dimensional shift bomb. Does the same thing as the 'Squareness gun' and sends the particles to a different plane. And I treated him like a clueless child."

"Ah." Clara said, finally noticing what had happened.

Even _she_ knew better than to treat Alex like he was clueless. The Doctor though, was more concerned about this as the rest of the group hurriedly descended and he replaced the flooring just before the guards entered the deposit room. Alex knew no one here. Alex had no one he could trust and the Doctor had been trying to be that person to help ease his mind. To Alex, the Doctor was familiar. Somewhat, anyway. So for the Doctor to have done what he did, meant that Alex would think twice now before doing anything concerning him. One mistake had cost the Doctor Alex's trust, and in this situation, that wasn't the best thing in the world.

"Well, so, what are we supposed to do now? What's the plan?" Saibra asked as they hurried along; the Doctor only half listening as he tried to think up a way to regain Alex's trust.

"I don't know. The Architect set all this up. It should make sense. My personal plan is that a thing will probably happen quite soon." He rattled off, not paying much attention to his own words as Alex stumbled a bit up ahead. _Ah, he's still weak from when he was at Van Statten's. not surprising considering how long he was there and that for him, it wasn't that long ago. I'll need to look him over in the Tardis later._

"Ah, so that's it? That's your plan?"

"Yup." _Maybe he'll forgive me if I give him one of those yellow cakes he likes so much. I might have one in my coat somewhere…_

"A thing will happen?"

"A thing. Probably." He replied, stuffing a hand into his coat and searching for it, before they descended a ladder and Clara called out to him; having found another case.

"There you go. Thing time."

Alex furrowed his brows, making the Doctor raise one curiously, but Alex turned away with a small frown.

"How does he get the cases here?" Clara asked, trying to help ease the tense atmosphere.

"By breaking into the bank in advance of breaking into the bank." The Doctor replied easily, waiting for Saibra to come down and join the rest of them.

"Well, how did he do that? And if he can do that, why does he need us?"

"Not our problem."

"Well, what is our prob-prob-prob-prob—" Psi shook his head and cleared his throat, the others looking at him in concern.

"Are you okay?" Clara asked.

"Drive glitch. It's fine."

The Doctor brushed off the incident, choosing instead to answer the question Psi had been trying to present.

"Guilt is our problem. Guilt, in this bank, is fatal. The Teller can hear it. Ever since that first case was opened, we've been targets. The more we know about why we're here, the louder our guilt screams. That's why we wiped our memories. For our own safety. Now, once I open this, I can't close it again."

"Would it be safer if only one of us learned it?"

"I'm waiting for you to volunteer." The Doctor said, surprising Psi.

"Uh, why me?"

"Because you didn't need that memory worm, did you? You're half-computer. You can perform a manual delete. You _can_ clear your thoughts."

Psi gave in. "Okay." He opened the case, only to frown in confusion. "I don't know what it is. You may as well have a look."

He showed them the case and inside it was seven syringes.

"Well, what are they?"

"Not a clue." The Doctor replied, picking one up.

"Hm, interesting." Saibra hummed, as the Doctor picked up the tubes.

"What is?"

"You're lying."

"Uh, why would he be ly-ly-ly-lying? Ugh." Psi groaned. "Sorry. Stress. Drains the batteries."

"Interface with this." The Doctor said, pointing out a wall console.

"Do we have time for this?" Saibra questioned and he shrugged.

"Well, why not? There's no immediate threat."

Alex groaned and the Doctor turned to him to complain, when an alarm sounded and the Doctor realized what he'd done.

"I should stop saying things like that."

"Duh." Alex muttered.

"Clara, Alex, you two stay with Psi. Saibra, let's go investigate."

* * *

I was a bit miffed with the Doctor for what had happened, but I'd soon pushed the feelings aside when I was forced to focus on remaining calm once we'd entered an air duct. _Oh, I hate this. I hate having no escape. Please don't be long. Be a short air duct. I won't last much longer._ Thankfully, it was short and we came out into a dark room that immediately sent chills down my spine. The Doctor grabbed my hand, despite my not wanting him to, but he made sure I kept moving as we walked around the large tank holding the Teller.

"Where are we?" Saibra asked, the Doctor keeping me behind him as he leaned in to see through the misted glass.

He jolted back as the Teller let out a hiss.

"Nobody move. Nobody say a word. It's cocooned. Forced hibernation. Its power is probably dormant."

I vaguely heard people running outside the room and voices as well, when the Teller suddenly moved; it's gaze shifting to mine. I stiffened, still as a board as the Doctor cursed under his breath.

"Alex, it's locked on to you. It may still be asleep. Don't wake it. Keep your mind blank. Block everything. Once it locks onto your thoughts, it won't let go." He whispered as I stared at the creature, doing what I could to not think, but Psi's previous words came to mind.

"_Ever tried not thinking about something?"_

So, I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath in and letting it out, but it let out a low growl and the Doctor spoke up once more.

"It's waking up. Keep blocking your thoughts, Alex. Don't think."

I tried again, but the Doctor had thrown me off and I winced, feeling the overwhelming sadness from the creature in front of me return, along with its anger. And all it took, was one thought. _Why are you so sad?_ I jumped when the Teller roared, the group of us making a bolt for it. We hurried back into the vent, but Saibra collapsed and the Doctor called out to her.

"Saibra!"

"She's still in there. How do we get her out?" Clara asked, concerned and even I felt more than a bit panicked.

"It's scanning her brain."

"Then what?"

"_Soup_." The Doctor bit out angrily.

"Then help her."

I grimaced, the ringing returning as I curled up in the vent with my hands over my ears in vain. The Doctor rolled out though, attempting to help Saibra. I couldn't hear over the ringing in my ears, but it wasn't long before I was able to sag against the wall in relief from the noise. Upon not seeing Saibra though, I felt this deep ache. Like there might have been something I could have done, had I not been who I was right now. If I didn't have amnesia, if I wasn't this scared, chicken of a man. _I'm useless like this._ I thought as we exited another vent, where a large locked vault waited at the end of the hall.

"Right, vault. That's clear. What's not clear is what we do now."

"Hey, you okay?" Clara asked him then, and he raised a brow.

"No, I'm an amnesiac robbing a bank. Why would I be okay?"

"Because Saibra—"

"What? Saibra is dead. We are alive. Prioritize if you want to stay that way." The Doctor said pointedly.

"Oh, is _that_ why you call yourself the Doctor?" Psi mocked. "The professional detachment."

I felt a sharp pain in my chest, like nothing I'd felt before, but it hurt. I wanted to hit someone. Psi, preferably, but why? Why was I upset about what he said to the Doctor? Said Doctor, turned my way and I looked at him, confused and a little worried. He seemed disappointed, almost, and he turned away, before doubling back and getting angry with Psi.

"Listen. When we're done here, by all means, you go and find yourself a shoulder to cry on. You'll probably need that. 'Til then, what you need is _me_." He snapped, not bothering to wait for a response as he headed for the vault.

Clara stood over my Psi, giving him a nervous smile. "Underneath it all, he isn't really like that. His wife's a bit… busy, otherwise she'd help."

Psi looked at her with an annoyed look. "It's very obvious that you've been with him for a while."

"Why?"

"Because you are really good at excuses."

Something in me snapped then. A thin string that I didn't even know about until Psi was on the floor in shock, holding his bruising cheek and I hovered over him dangerously, teeth bared.

"Don't you talk about them like that. What the hell do you know?" I snarled. "You don't know what he's been through. What he's dealing with. He is hurting right now and hiding it so that he can save the rest of us, and you're just sitting there mocking him like _he's_ the bad guy! He's just trying to get us out of here in one piece and if you think you can do better than go right the fuck ahead!" I shouted, reaching down and lifting him partially up by the front of his shirt. "But don't you _dare_ talk like that to them while I'm around, or I'll rip your mind apart myself."

I dropped him back to the floor and stormed over to where the Doctor was. I was just so angry, and I didn't know why. I didn't even know the Doctor or Clara, and yet I'd just gone and defended them like they were the most precious people in the universe. And I was confused and tense and panicked and angry, and I just wasn't sure what to do with myself until a pair of arms wrapped around me and stopped my frantic pacing. I found myself relaxing unconsciously as the Doctor held me, his chin resting on top of my head as he spoke quietly.

"Thank you."

I nodded and was released, turning away to hide the redness in my cheeks. _D-Dammit. Why does he keep doing that? And why am I fine with it?!_ The Doctor spoke up then, announcing to Psi and Clara that he'd found another case.

"Another gift from the Architect. Shall we unwrap it?"

The case was opened and Psi hurried to plug himself into it as Clara took something as well. I didn't get to see what it was, watching Psi hurry to the controls for the vault instead.

"Right, the system looks like it's time-delated. There are twenty-four lock codes I need to break." Psi said, before we heard growling and Clara looked over in worry.

"Doctor, it's coming. We're trapped."

"Psi, how long?" The Doctor asked him and he gave us all a serious look.

"As long as it takes."

"It's locked onto one of our thought trails. We have to split up, minimize the brain signals." The Doctor said and Psi glanced at me briefly before holding out his hand.

"If I may."

The Doctor looked at his hand, before reaching into his coat and passing him one of the tubes from the case.

"No, no." Clara breathed out and I realized then, that this is what had killed Saibra, not the Teller.

It was another way of dying.

"In case it finds me. It's my choice." Psi told Clara as I looked at the syringe in sorrow.

"You don't use that, okay? Promise me." Clara begged him, but he just smiled.

"Time to run."

* * *

Splitting up was terrifying. It had been not all that long ago, that I felt this afraid. Only it hadn't been the Teller who I was fearfully listening for, but the steps of Van Statten's torturer. So when I ducked behind a pillar and closed my eyes to listen, I froze at the sound of footsteps. Fight or flight kicked in and when the steps grew near, I immediately swung a fist, only for the Doctor to grab it and prevent me from potentially breaking his nose. My fist shook in his hand. My ragged breathing was quick, short, and rushed, making the Doctor sigh softly, before tugging me up against his side.

"Deep breaths, Alexander." He whispered, lightly pulling me along with him as we navigated the corridors, handing me something in a plastic wrapper. "Twinkie. You like them."

I was confused, but took it. I struggled, but soon began to stop the proceeding panic attack with help of the—rather delicious—comfort food, only for us to both hear Clara cry out. My blood went ice cold and as we ran, I silently wondered what it was about the Doctor and Clara that seemed to affect me in these ways. Why did the Doctor make me feel safe? Why did Psi's words to him and Clara make me so angry? Why did Clara's cry of pain make me so afraid? All of the answers evaded me and made me afraid. Afraid of what it meant for me and who I really was.

"Come on! Come and find me!" Psi's voice echoed through the hall, being projected over the intercom. "Every thief and villain in one big cocktail. I am so guilty! Every famous burglar in history is hiding in this bank right now in one body. Come and feast!" He called out to the Teller and a part of me was hoping it'd work.

Another part was very, _very_ upset. With me, with him, with whatever was going on now. My entire body seemed to scream in protest every time someone died and I felt sick, knowing that if I wasn't so useless, I might have been able to help these people.

"Clara? For what it's worth, and it might not be worth much, when your whole life flashes in front of you, you see people you love and people missing you. Well, I see no one." Psi finished, before there was a roar from the Teller and we picked up the pace.

We skidded around to where the vault was, seeing Clara attempting to open it and slamming her palms against the door in anger and frustration.

"It's not opening! Psi… He died for nothing."

I opened my mouth, wanting to say something, give her some sort of comfort, but what could I say? I didn't know her. I didn't know anything. What meaning could my words possibly have?

"Multiple locks." The Doctor said then, making me turn my attention to him as he scanned the controls for the vault with his sonic screwdriver. "Last one still in place. Atomic seal. Unbreakable, even for me. The Architect would know that. He wouldn't bring us all this way for nothing."

"And get two people killed." Clara reminded him and I winced.

"Exactly. There must be some logic."

"Some logic?"

"Come on, Architect. What else have you got?"

There was a crack of thunder then and all our eyes went up.

"A storm." The Doctor said, getting up and moving towards where I stood by the vault door. "The storm's tripping the system. That's what he's got. A storm."

"How would he know _when_ a storm would hit?" Clara questioned.

"Time traveler?" I offered and the Doctor glanced at me, before laughing, confusing me.

"Of course. Stupid, stupid Doctor. Of course, of course."

"Of course, what? Is Alex right?"

"Whoever planned all this, they're in the future. This isn't just a bank heist. It's a time travel heist. Alex is right on the money. Pun intended. We've been sent back in time to the exact moment of the storm, to be in exactly the right place when it hits, because that's the only time the bank is vulnerable."

Sure enough, the vault door swung open and the Doctor grinned.

"The bank is now open. Come on."

We headed in and stared at the hundreds upon millions of deposit boxes.

"It explains why we're not here in the Tardis." The Doctor murmured as he looked around.

"Sorry, what?"

"The solar disruption would have made navigation impossible. The one time the bank is vulnerable is the one time we can't just land."

"Doctor, Alex. The code." Clara said then, pulling out a slip of paper. "The code that was in the last case. Look. 'Tech'."

"Technology 251. Find it."

"Shouldn't we each take one?" I questioned. "Then just holler if we find any of them?"

"Splitting up. Yes. We'll cover more ground. Clara, you take Tech 251. I'll take ORG 339. Alex, you search for either of those, since I'm assuming PV is the private vault and we'll want to take that one together."

I nodded and we split up, wandering the rows until Clara spotted it.

"Tech."

We headed over and joined her, the Doctor opening the box and pulling out a case.

"It's a neophyte circuit." He said, taking the device out of the case as it lit up blue. "I've only ever seen one once before. It can reboot any system, replace any lost data."

"Psi." Clara said then. "That's what he came for. His reward."

"So what did Saibra come for?"

We soon found the next box and inside that was a small bottle

"Gene suppressant."

"She wanted to be normal."

"Everyone has a weakness. So the big question is this. What did we come for? Private vault. Karabraxos's own fortune?"

I fidgeted, something nagging me in the back of my mind, making me look around cautiously.

"Alex, what's wrong? What is it?" He asked and I grinded my teeth back and forth for a moment.

"I-I don't know. I've got this tingling in the back of my mind like I forgot something."

His eyes widened though. "No, you didn't forget anything. You're sensing something. Something close. The Teller must be—"

He was cut off after having started to walk around the deposit boxes, very nearly running right into said Teller. Thankfully, we weren't subjected to its mind prowess, however, we were confiscated of the items we'd just found and escorted by armed guards to the main office, where the woman from before sat smugly.

"Intruders are most welcome. They remind us that the bank is impregnable. It's good for morale to have a few of you scattered about the place, preferably on view." She rattled on, though my gaze was locked on the Teller's. "Are you ready for _your_ close-up? If you're thinking of ways to escape, the Teller will know before you've even made a move. You'll never be bothered by all that thinking again."

"Useful species." The Doctor muttered.

"Last of its kind, and we've signed an exclusive deal."

"Must be noisy inside its head. Painful to listen to so much chatter, so many secrets. Must drive it wild. How can you force it to obey?" The Doctor questioned.

"Oh, everything has a price tag, I think you'll find."

"Why's he so sad?" I said then, making her eyes turn to me, and I faced her as well, a scowl on my face. "What are you doing that's upsetting him so much? This isn't just 'I'm stuck serving an idiot' sad. This is 'I'm going to die or lose a loved one' sad."

"Well then, aren't you precious? Better be careful or he'll lock onto your thoughts and gobble you right up." She smirked and the Doctor moved a step in front of me, before she turned her gaze to the ceiling as another rumble of thunder echoed through the building. "The storm's getting worse. The customers are leaving. Director Karabraxos will be concerned. Our jobs will be on the line."

"You're scared." The Doctor said then and she readily agreed.

"Oh, I'm terrified. I have the disadvantage of knowing Karabraxos personally."

"If you don't like your boss, why stay?"

"My face fits." She replied, making me tilt my head in confusion. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must take the Teller to its hibernation. You two, dispose of our guests."

She moved towards a door, the Teller trailing behind her as she left us to the two guards, though I wasn't worried. The two guards pushed us back towards the wall, but I raised a brow at the one pushing me and his hand twitched, making me smile as the Doctor spoke up.

"Don't do this. I'm having a very bad day, and I do not want to be pushed around. Alex, even less so."

"You're wrong." His guard said, making the Doctor confused.

"Wrong?"

"It's not that bad a day, and you're very slow. Alex has figured it out."

"I'm telepathic apparently. It's kind of cheating." I replied as the guard in front of me began undoing my handcuffs and the other did the same with the lost Doctor.

"Why are you undoing my handcuffs?"

The guard transformed then into Saibra, making the Doctor gape, before the other guard spoke.

"It looked like death." He said, removing his helmet. "It was actually a teleporter."

Clara hugged him in relief and he smirked.

"Good, eh? You think we're dead, so the Teller thinks we're dead, and we play the creature at his own mind games."

"No, no. Wait, wait, wait, wait. What?" The Doctor questioned. "Sorry, sorry, what? You, you, y-y-you're alive?"

"Yeah, we're alive. Look at us. We're all alive."

"No, no, no, no. Not dead. Alive."

"There's an escape ship in orbit. Takes you right there." Psi said, passing the Doctor something. "Oh, and there's this big blue box. Is that yours?"

I blinked, beginning to get a bit confused myself now as the Doctor attempted to regain his lost dignity.

"Well, this is good, I suppose. You'll be able to resume the mission." He passed Saibra the bottle we'd found in the vault. "Gene suppressant. Antidote for your condition." He then passed Psi his. "Memory giver. All your yesterdays. There you go. Job done, paid in full. Clever old Architect."

"Very clever." Saibra replied.

"I still hate him."

"Me too."

"How were you paid?" Psi asked us.

"I don't know. There's something in the private vault. How'd you get in?"

They led us back through the way they came, down into the basement of the bank once more and the Doctor pointed out a large pipe.

"What's that?"

"Supply line." Psi answered. "It's the only oxygen down to the private vault. There's another one for water, for basic life support."

"What? For a private vault?"

"Someone likes to hang out with their wealth." The Doctor commented, but I had this stirring in my stomach.

"Doctor, I don't like this."

He glanced at me as we began to climb into the air duct leading to the vault. "What? You were fine before. I know they're a bit cramped, but—"

"No, not the air duct." I said, wringing my hands anxiously. "The private vault. The life support. I-I don't think it's for the people who go into the vault."

He paused, brows furrowed. "You think it's for something already in there."

"Maybe?"

His frown deepened. "If that's the case, then it makes sense why we'd be after it. You've always been a bit too soft hearted for your own good."

He kissed my temple then, sending a red flush across my cheeks, before he tugged me down towards the air duct and off we went. We came out the other end surrounded by priceless artifacts and listening to classical music.

"Motzart?" I questioned idly, before the Doctor turned to the chair at the head of the room.

"Director Karabraxos? Excuse us, but we've come to rob you. So if you want to put your hands above your head, or—"

He stopped as we all stared in surprise as the very same woman from before turned around her in seat, hands in the air.

"Or? You didn't bring any weapons." She chuckled, lowering her hands and calling up security. "Security, Karabraxos here."

"_You're_ Karabraxos?" The Doctor questioned, and I tugged on his sleeve.

"She's different. I don't know how, but she's different from the other lady."

"Intruders in the private vault." She told the head of security; the _other_ Karabraxos woman. "Send me the Teller. I want to find out how they got in, and then I want to wipe their memories."

"She's a clone." The Doctor muttered.

"It's the only way to control my own security." Karabraxos explained. "I have a clone in every facility." She then ordered the other woman to hurry up. "And then hand in your credentials. You're fired, with immediate effect." She didn't even bother to listen to the other woman tell her how long she'd been in service. "Ever since the last one let me down and I was forced to kill it. I can't quite believe that you're putting me through this again." She hung up on the other woman and turned to us. "My clone. And yet she doesn't even protest. Pale imitation, really. Ha! I should sue."

"You're killing her?" Clara questioned. "You just said—"

"Fired? I put all of the used clones into the incinerator. Can't have too many of moi scattered around."

"Sorry, you don't get on with your own clone?" Psi questioned and I spoke up.

"Who can get along with someone who's exactly the same as you? Eventually you'll start seeing the flaws and will be forced to realize that they're your own. Everyone hates themselves for something or another. Makes it hard to believe yourself too. You start questioning everything and trust goes right out the window."

"She hates her own clones. She burns her own clones. Frankly, you're a career break for the right therapist." The Doctor said, pausing and looking at her in a way that made me wonder what it was he was thinking as he lifted a finger. "Shut up. Everybody just, just shut up."

"And what is this display, now?" Karabraxos asked him. "As amusing as you are—"

"Shut up. Just shut up, shut up, shutetty up up up. What… What did you say? What did you say? What did you say about your own eyes? De-shut up. Say it again." He said, gesturing at Saibra.

"How can you trust someone if they look back at you out of your own eyes?"

"Yes, and Alex. You said the same thing. Say it again."

I furrowed my brows. "Who can get along with someone who's exactly the same as you?"

"And the trust bit." He encouraged and I repeated that as well.

"You start questioning everything and trust goes right out the window."

"I know one thing about the Architect. What is it that I know about the Architect? I know one thing. Something that I've known from the very start."

"What?" Clara questioned, but realization dawned on me and the Doctor waved a hand with a grin, encouraging me to speak up.

"You hate him."

"Yes! I hate him. He's overbearing. He's manipulative. He likes to think that he's very clever. I hate him! Clara, don't you see?" The Doctor grinned and hit a gong nearby. "I hate the Architect."

"What in the name of sanity is going on in this room now?" Karabraxos muttered, standing, and the Doctor hurried over.

"We're getting sanity judgement from the self-burner. Do you mind if I borrow a little bit of paper?"

She raised a brow as the Doctor scribbled on a piece of paper. "And what are you doing now?"

"I'm giving you my telephone number."

"Why?"

"Well, I thought you might like to call me someday." He said, though I was once again very lost. "Sorry, I thought we were getting along famously. Am I, like, misreading the signals or something?"

I bristled for some reason, and the man winced, before turning my way.

"Though I'm happily married and only meant it in the sort of friendly manner that a married man would use to invite friends over for chatting."

I couldn't help a snort at that, though I wondered why he looked relieved at my reaction. Much less, why I had reacted that way to begin with. There was a loud rumble then and our eyes scanned the ceiling of the rumbling building.

"Oh, that was a big one, wasn't it? I think that your bank is about to close for good, Karabraxos. If I was you, I'd get going. Don't mind us. We'll just stay here and burn." The Doctor said just before a loud alarm went off and Karabraxos began scrambling to pack a bag of gold. "Hard to know what to take. The greatest treasures of the universe in just one suitcase." He mocked her as the building quaked.

"Doctor, what's the plan?" Clara asked, looking just as worried as I was now. "_Is_ there a plan?"

"We can use the shredders and get us back to the ship." Saibra offered.

"They're not shredders, they're teleports, and that's not the most interesting thing about them." The Doctor replied.

"So what is?"

I blinked. "There was seven. There's only five of us, so why seven?"

"Clever clogs today, Alex. Excellent job." The Doctor chirped, turning to Karabraxos. "Hey, give me a call sometime."

"You'll be dead." She said, suspicious as she got into her personal lift.

"Yeah, you'll be old. We'll get on famously. You'll be old and full of regret for the things that you can't change." The Doctor said, waving his hand by his head in a 'call me' gesture as Psi spoke up, confused.

"Doctor, what the hell is going on?"

"Are you remembering?" Clara asked, hopeful.

"No, not a thing. But I'm understanding. Alex is too."

"What? What is it? What are you understanding?"

"I'm not sure yet. I need my memory back, as does Alex, though she needs a bit more than the rest of us. And I think there's only one way to get our back."

"Which would be?"

"Soup."

"Soup?" She questioned, before the lift opened and the Teller stood there.

"Hello, big man." The Doctor said, turning around with a tight smile. "Peckish?"

"Doctor!" Clara shouted and I hurried towards him as well as the Teller grabbed his mind, but he stopped us.

"No, no. Let it take me. Let it read me. It's the only way." He said, but despite the pain I was in from the noise of the Teller, I felt the desperate need to do something.

"It will kill you." Clara breathed out, looking at me. "Alex, do something!"

I looked between the Doctor and the Teller, quickly growing more panicked. I placed a hand on my head, a pounding behind my eyes making things difficult to think through, before I felt it. Something clicked in the back of my mind when I saw the Doctor cry out in pain, and my breath hitched.

"A-Alex? Alex, what's wrong?" Clara asked, tears suddenly slipping down my face.

"I-I'm sad." I replied, looking at the Doctor, who struggled to look at me. "I-I'm very, terribly sad a-and I don't know why. I'm scared, Doctor. I'm scared for you, but I can't remember why. I-I want to do something, but how can I when I don't even know who I am? I wanted to help. I-I only want to help, but what can I do? I can't do anything. I couldn't stop the Teller from attacking anyone. I couldn't save anyone. I could only stand in a corner and close my eyes and ears to everything around me. And I-I-I just feel so…"

"A-Alex, don't!" He said, eyes widening as he realized what was going on.

"…guilty." I breathed out, closing my eyes with a choked sob.

Then came the pain. The Teller had sensed my guilt and decided that mine was worth more to it than the Doctor's. I could feel it tearing into my mind as I tumbled to my knees with a small whimper of pain. But then, I remembered. I remembered showing up in a flat where Clara and the Doctor were. I remembered his complaint about me being 'one of the more difficult ones to deal with'. I remembered the phone call. I had been close enough to the Doctor to overhear Karabraxos asking him to do this. To rob her own bank. And I heard why. I remembered being dragged along into the Tardis by the Doctor who attempted to explain who he was and who I was. Then there were the memory worms and the setting up of the robbery; everyone losing their memories with me watching the beginnings of the Doctor pretending to be the Architect before I too, lost memories of what we were there for. I knew now though, and I chuckled a bit, earning odd looks all around as I looked up at the Teller.

"I-It's okay now, see? Everyone's gone. You can do what you want. You can finally help her like you've been wanting all this time. We just wanted you safe."

I winced then, cringing in pain as more thoughts flooded my mind. A scared, lonely auburn haired young woman lost in a universe not her own. Meeting the Doctor. Being shot, dissected, tortured. The Master, the drums, the pain, the deaths, the fights; then blonde hair, then brown, then black. Tenth, Ninth, Eleventh, Twelfth; younger years with Third, Fourth, Fifth and Seventh. Rose, Martha, Donna, Sarah Jane, Romana, Amy and Rory, Clara, Turlough, Mel, Ace. I remembered light touches, tentative kisses, a night sky, a mashed up proposal, the ring that hung around my neck that I hadn't noticed until now. And I remembered something. Something important. _Alexander Holmes, the Seer and Changer of Time._

And then I was released. I stumbled back, a set of hands stopping me from falling on the cold ground and sitting me upright on the floor as I breathed heavily. A voice rang in my ears as the Doctor behind me spoke to the Teller.

"Did you see why we came? Why we're here? They've all gone. They have no power over you now. You can do exactly what you want to do now. Exactly what you've always wanted to do."

A lock turned on a door nearby, the Teller easily bypassing the lock, much to Psi's shock.

"It knows the combination."

"Of course it does. It was linked to Karabraxos." The Doctor said, squeezing my shoulder as I tried to get my scrambled thoughts in order and focus on what was going on around me.

"What exactly are we doing here? That thing killed people." Clara said in shock, and I managed to speak up.

"I-It only wanted to help her."

"Help who?"

The door swung open then, revealing a _second_ Teller-like creature in a straight jacket, who cried at the sight of the Teller.

"Not the last of its species… The last _two_." The Doctor breathed out, hurrying in with Psi.

Psi began to unchain the creature as the Doctor checked up on her, coming back out with a reassuring smile at the Teller.

"It's okay. It's alright."

"Exit strategy." Saibra said with a small smile. "We've got seven shredders."

"Exactly. This wasn't a bank heist. It never was. It was a rescue mission for a whole species. Flesh and blood, the last currency." The Doctor grinned, the lights flickering and making him turn to the Teller. "Time to go home. What do you think of that, big man?"

He roared, before turning to me. I stiffened, still a bit unsure, but felt my mind relax as a sort of 'thank you' from the creature. Of course, this meant that I nearly toppled over again, if the Doctor hadn't rushed over and hefted me up onto my feet.

"Whoa, there. Are you alright?" He asked, looking me over as I leaned against him, before frowning. "That was a very reckless thing you did, Alexander. If it wanted to, it could have scrambled your brain right then and there. You are _very_ lucky that you have lived long enough to occupy it before found the memory it needed to. And if you so much as _think_ about doing something like that again, I'll—"

"Oh, shut _up_, you moronic, time travelling twat." I complained, a hand on my head. "I have the _biggest_ headache in the world and you scolding me for the same exact thing you were about to do, is going to make me want to hit you instead of what I was planning on doing."

He brows furrowed. "Oh, it really _has_ scrambled your head. Come on. Hold this and we'll be back by the Tardis where I can check you out properly."

"Oh, yeah? What, this little thing?" I questioned, holding up the shredder, before turning to Clara. "Here. Hold this for a second."

She blinked, but took it, before I turned back around to face the Doctor. He eyed me in slight concern and slight confusion, and I returned the look.

"Oh, this will definitely be new." I murmured, before reaching up and pressing my lips to his.

I pulled away after a short while to see him gaping at me in shock as I blinked and let go.

"Oh, yeah. That was weird. Very weird. My God, I'm a man kissing a man." I paused. "Does that mean I'm gay? But I was a woman, so I'm straight?" I turned to the Doctor. "How does Time Lord sexuality work if people are always changing like this?"

"Alex?"

I turned to Clara—who looked unsure whether to be confused or laughing. "Yes? What? I'm questioning my sexuality at the moment."

"Y-You're you."

I raised a brow. "Yes, I'm me. And you're you. And he's him and she's her." I said, pointing at Psi and Saibra. "Now that we've clarified our pronoun usage, I do believe we have somewhere we need to be? Preferably before the building gets burned to the ground."

I took the shredder I'd given her a moment ago and used it, popping up in the escape ship and moving towards the Tardis with a small smile as the others showed up.

"Oh, you Sexy thing. I feel like it's been ages." I hummed, leaning up against the box and wrapping my arms around the corner in a hug. "Shush, no. It's not weird for a man to be hugging a box. Eleven did it all the time."

She flashed her light with a sort of snicker of a hum, before the Doctor hurried over and tugged me away from it.

"You, inside. Now."

I tipped my head. "What for? Are we leaving again? Oh! Can I have food? Something amazing! I have no clue what I like, maybe macaroni or more of those Twinkie things!"

"Fine, yes. Later." He said with a roll of his eyes as we headed into the ship and the Doctor began to pilot it. "First, to drop off our telepathic friends."

"Can I drive?" I asked, curiously, before pausing. "Wait, do I know how to drive?"

"You forgot?!" Clara questioned, but a smile quickly appeared on my face.

"Nope! There it is! Just lost it for a moment." I said, reaching out for a lever, but the Doctor moved between me and the console.

"No touching. Not until I can make sure your memories are back in order properly and not just flying around all willy-nilly."

"Hm?" I leaned in towards him, making him stiffen. "I think you're just mad that I stole your scarf."

"What?" Clara questioned and the Doctor frowned.

"I am _not_ jealous. And my scarf wasn't a solid color like yours is."

"It wasn't?" I questioned, before shrugging. "Ah, well. Least _I_ won't trip over it."

"I never tripped over it!" He argued, as Psi spoke up in the background.

"Is it just me, or have they gone a bit _more _insane than before?"

* * *

The Doctor and Clara walked out with the two creatures, allowing them to head out on an isolated planet where they wouldn't be disturbed, while I waited impatiently for their return. They didn't take long, thankfully, and the Doctor turned to the group.

"Alright, I'm just going to check him out in the med bay. You lot decide on what we're having. I reckon we _all_ deserve something to eat after that experience."

The Doctor took me out and we headed to the med bay, only for me to stiffen at the sight of the bed. The Doctor frowned softly, waiting patiently for me to take in a breath and let it out, pushing past the memories of what I went through at Van Statten's and entering the room of my own free will.

"Should we move to your room?" He offered, but I shook my head, beginning to unloop my long scarf from my neck.

"No, it's fine. I'll get over it in a second."

Or so I said, but my hands were shaking and I grit my teeth in annoyance, only for the Doctor to come up behind me and place his hand over mine. I couldn't help but frown though, looking at the two of our hands together.

"It's not the same, is it?" I murmured, looking at the two large manly hands placed over one another, comparing them to when his large hand used to cover my smaller one.

"You regenerated. It's not supposed to be the same." He argued lightly, gently pushing me towards the bed.

"But it's not supposed to be like this." I pressed, annoyed now with how I'd ended up. "How are we supposed to do this? I don't know the first thing about this body. About being _male_. And being together with you just seems so much more complicated. It just doesn't feel right. None of this feels right."

I pulled a hand through my hair once I was seated on the edge of the bed, removing my glasses and shirt, and the Doctor sighed softly.

"You'll get used to it."

"What if I don't _want_ to get used to it?" I snapped, only to groaned and drag a hand down my face. "I'm sorry. I'm _sorry_, but I'm at a serious loss of what to do and my head _really _hurts."

"You're thinking too hard." The Doctor replied, making me frown at him; squinting to see a blurry version of him without my glasses. "Stop worrying about how you should act and just be you. That's how every regeneration works. You pop up, realize you're not the same person you were before, and you adapt. And I apologize for not being with you sooner, for you having to go through this." He said lightly brushing his fingers over my chest, where a particularly large new scar lay from my time with Van Statten, before his stormy grey eyes locked with my blue ones. "But I'm here now and I will do everything that I can to help you through this. And in order to do that, I need you to _relax_."

My body sagged slightly, making me scowl as he helped me lie back onto the bed. "Hypnotizing is cheating." I mumbled, knowing I could easily fight back, but not actually wanting to.

"Your blood pressure was through the roof." He countered, pushing a monitor over to show me and I scoffed, closing my eyes as he began to set up a full body scan to check for other internal injuries.

"…You don't care that I'm a guy now?" I asked him then.

"Though it is slightly vexing at times, no. I don't care. You're still my Alexander."

"Vexing how?" I asked, teasing him as the scan started up.

"Your forgetfulness proves to be of slight consequence. On more than one occasion, you just happened to remember something a few second late. Or you spout it out so early that no one understands its importance until it is very nearly too late. And when confronted about it, you forget having even said it."

"So… you _don't_ like this version of me."

He pushed away the scanning device and gave me a frown as I peeked open an eye at him.

"I _love_ you, Alexander." He insisted, before shifting his eyes away slightly with pink cheeks. "And you look… nice with your glasses on."

I snorted at that, but grinned, appreciating his attempt at a compliment as he helped me sit up. "And I think your angry eyebrows are cute."

He quickly frowned at that, pouting, almost. "They're not _cute_."

I chuckled, feeling still slightly weighted down by his hypnotism, but he'd lightened it up mostly as he looked over the monitor. I could tell from his expression and the emotions lightly flitting off him that he wasn't pleased with what damage this body had been through and he turned around with a hand out.

"Let me see your left arm."

I raised a brow lazily, before lifting said appendage and allowing him to look it over. A shiver went down my spine when he traced a long scar that went around my upper bicep and again, when he trailed his hands down to hold my left palm in both of his; examining a crooked pinky finger that was also scarred. His hands tightened on mine, and I sighed softly.

"It wasn't your fault, Doctor."

"No, it was that idiot Van Statten's." He snarled.

"If it makes you feel better, he was dropped off in Sacramento with no memories after we left." I hummed, rubbing my thumbs over the Doctor's hands.

"That doesn't make up for this."

"No, but you wouldn't have this version of me otherwise. And you wouldn't have become this person in front of me if you hadn't shown up there. Everything has a purpose and, though it wasn't pleasant, I was able to get along with the Doctor who hated my other self."

"I didn't hate you." He grumbled, and I nodded with a smile.

"I know, but you sure did an awful lot of yelling."

He groaned in annoyance as I let his hands go and reached for my shirt.

"Am I all clear then, Doc?"

"I just need to check your mental processes." He said, reaching his hands up for my temples and I relaxed as he entered my mind.

_Bit chaotic in here, sorry. I'm still trying to sort things back into their proper place._ I informed him as he walked through my mind in search of extensive damage that I might need help repairing.

"_The Teller was a bit rough."_ He replied, making me wince when he lightly brushed up against a sensitive spot. _"Sorry."_

While he searched, I attempted to get some of my thoughts back into order, but was growing frustrated with some of the ones that kept slipping right by me.

"_Don't worry about it."_ The Doctor said, lightly brushing up against my mind in comfort. _"Some of them won't fall into place until later. Don't try to force them."_

I grumbled, but gave in as he let me go and I sighed. I suddenly felt rather exhausted, having not stopped the insane running detail with the Doctor since I'd regenerated, and only feeling the effects now that the adrenaline had worn off. The Doctor, seeing this, helped me replace my shirt and scarf; myself slipping my glasses back onto my nose.

"Do you want to sleep now? I can save you something to eat, or make you something when you wake up."

"Mm." I hummed, nodding in agreement to that last plan, getting up and heading with him to our room. "You'll come when you're finished?" I asked and he kissed my temple lightly.

"I'll be there as soon as we're done. Don't worry."

"Thanks." I muttered. "For taking care of me this whole time."

He smiled, ruffling my hair and causing my glasses to skew as I pouted at him. "Consider it repayment for all the times you've taken care of me."


	96. The Fires of Pompeii

**So sorry this is so late! I had school, work and an eight page paper all packed into one week. But here it is! You get to see some fun with Alex and Ten now. Eleven will be the next chapter. ^^ Don't be afraid to let me know what you think too! I love me some reviews.  
And here's some great fanart of Alex's regenerations done by helenrenee! **** www. deviantart art/Alexander-Holmes-Seer-and-Changer-of-Time-645074383**

* * *

The Doctor grinned, him and Donna wandering Rome happily in all the hustle and bustle. He was glad Donna was enjoying herself after the whole mishap with the Adipose, though he was a bit upset that Alex had popped off before she could come along. Her older self mentioned before how she enjoyed Akhaten, and with all the culture roaming around here, he thought she'd love it too. Not that he wasn't having a good time with Donna, just that he'd have liked to see Alex's grinning face as well.

"Don't our clothes look a bit odd?" Donna asked as they walked through the market place.

"Nah. Ancient Rome. Anything goes. It's like Soho, but bigger." He said, before pausing as he spotted something odd. "Now, hold on. That's not right."

Donna followed his gaze to a young man in a white dress shirt and long blue scarf apparently bargaining with a vendor.

"It can't be." The Doctor murmured, making his way over as Donna questioned him.

"What? He someone you know? He's not exactly dressed Roman."

The Doctor nodded. "I haven't seen him in ages. One of my other companions and I found him being used as an experiment in Utah. Got him out alright, but he just disappeared. Then we found him again in London during the German bombings. After that, just poof! Nothing."

"So he's like Alex then?" Donna questioned, making the Doctor pause. "She just pops up out of nowhere too, yeah?"

"Huh, good point. Never thought of it like that." The Doctor mused, before he spotted the young man turning away from the vendor and heading around a corner. "Ah! Wait! Elias!"

The Doctor picked up his pace and hurried around the corner with Donna just in time to grab the man, who turned to him curiously; a banana held in his hand.

"Oh, hello. You're actually rather on time, for once." He said, making the Doctor blink in confusion.

"On time? On time for what? And where have you been? You just disappeared after—Ah, wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm the Doctor." He introduced himself, not sure if Elias would recognize him as such with his different appearance. "I regenerated. It's this process where—"

"I know." He cut the Doctor off, leaning past him to wave at Donna. "Hello, Donna. Haven't seen you in ages."

The Doctor let him go, confused himself now. "But… you've never met Donna."

He tipped his head. "I haven't? Swore I did…" He paused, thinking, before nodding. "Yup. Definitely did. Though I haven't seen you since… ooh, that was a long way away."

"Elias, what are you talking about?" The Doctor repeated.

"Oh. _Oh_!" He said then, pointing at himself. "You think I'm… Oh, that explains it. Would have thought you figured it out by now, but then again, your Ninth self wasn't very pleasant. Probably forgot."

"Elias!" The Doctor snapped, only to shrink back when the man glared at him.

"Don't yell at me." He said harshly, before relaxing. "I'm still dealing with what happened with Statten, so it's not a good idea to be all snappy. And my head's still a bit scrambled. Hard to organize my thoughts and emotions too, apparently. I'll get there in a minute… What were we talking about?"

The Doctor smacked himself in the face with a groan before Donna spoke up, just as confused as the rest of them.

"Doctor, what's going on? I've never met him before."

"Ah! Yes, I remember now. We're in Rome, yes?"

The Doctor nodded and he chuckled, pointing at Donna.

"You kicked me in the face last time you met me."

Donna blinked. "What? No. I didn't. I hit—" Her eyes widened and the Doctor even stared in shock.

"Alex? Y-You're _Alex_?"

"Yes!" Alex grinned, holding out his arms. "I've regenerated! Not my favorite body, but still fun."

"B-But you're… you're _actually_ a guy." Donna said, stunned.

"Strange, isn't it?" Alex said with a tip of her head. "Don't know how that happened."

"Alex… You're really Alex?" The Doctor breathed out and Alex turned to him in concern.

"Is that… bad?" He questioned and the Doctor quickly shook his head.

"No! No, no, it's not bad. I-I just… I don't know what to think. You were… Back in Utah, you were… And I didn't think…" He covered him mouth, realizing now just what had happened to Alex—_his_ Alexander—and how he hadn't even known. "I didn't know it was you."

"I didn't know it was me either, so I'd say we're even." Alex replied, trying to reassure him with a small smile. "I had amnesia the moment I regenerated and as much as I could have done without the torture, I was glad I was able to get along with your younger self."

The Doctor looked at him, still feeling horrible, but seeing the small smile on Alex's face was eye-opening for him. Alex had continued to smile all throughout this regeneration, despite what had happened, and now he was only worried for the Doctor. _He's still my Alexander. Through and through._ The Doctor reached out and clung to Alex in a tight hug, surprising him, but he returned said hug as the Doctor spoke quietly to him.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It happened, now it's done. Statten's been punished for it, and you did nothing wrong. You got me out of there. If anything, I should be thanking you. Now stop it. People are staring."

The Doctor chuckled slightly, releasing Alex who returned his smile. "Yes, alright. You're here now, and that's what matters, right?"

"Is it?" Alex asked with a tip of his head and the Doctor sighed.

"Now _that_ will take some getting used to."

"Hold on a minute, spaceman." Donna said then, still a bit lost. "So this is Alex. The same Alex as before?"

"Yup."

"And you had amnesia?"

Alex bobbed his head.

"And now you don't."

"Affirmative."

"But you still forget things?" The Doctor tacked on.

"Occasionally. I remember eventually. My head's just a bit mixed up in this body. Between the amnesia and the mind scrambling alien that gave me my memories back, I've got a number of thoughts and memories just floating about in my head that refuse to return to their proper place. Makes things more fun, in my opinion." Alex chirped with a smile and Donna shook her head.

"I will never understand you lot."

The Doctor and Alex exchanged grins at that, and the trio walked further along together.

"Have you two been here before?" Donna asked and Alex hummed.

"Hm, I distinctly remember being a Roman… Gotta say, I love their Mohawk helmets. Couldn't tell you who we were fighting against. And I think Cleopatra was there."

The Doctor raised a brow. "Cleopatra in Rome? Your thoughts are definitely mixed up."

Alex shrugged with a grin and the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"I was here ages ago. And before you ask, that fire had nothing to do with me. Well, a little bit. But I haven't got the chance to look around properly. Coliseum, Pantheon, Circus Maximus. You'd expect them to be looming by now. Where is everything?" The Doctor grumbled, having seen none of the Roman attractions yet. "Try this way."

The group ended up in a plaza and looked around, Donna speaking up and getting the Doctor's attention.

"I'm not an expert, but there's seven hills of Rome, aren't there?" She asked, looking at the single mountain in the distance. "How come they've only got one?"

The ground shook then; the Doctor grabbing Alex as he toppled slightly and the vendors began trying to stabilize their goods.

"Wait a minute. One mountain, with smoke." Donna said once the shaking had subsided. "Which makes this—"

"Pompeii." The Doctor breathed out, suddenly feeling very much worried. "We're in Pompeii. And it's volcano day. Come on. We need to leave. _Now._"

He grabbed Alex's hand and off they ran, hurrying back to where he parked the Tardis, only to stare in open shock at the empty space behind the curtain where he left it.

"You're kidding." Donna muttered. "You're not telling me the Tardis has gone."

"Okay." The Doctor murmured as Alex hummed.

"Our ship's been commandeered, captain."

He raised an amused brow at Alex for that comment, but Donna was less than amused.

"Where is it then?"

"You told me not to tell you."

"Oi. Don't get clever in Latin."

"Hold on." The Doctor said, rushing out to the fruit seller Donna had spoken with earlier. "Excuse me, excuse me. There was a box. Big blue box. Big blue wooden box, just over there. Where's it gone?"

"Sold it, didn't I?" The man grinned.

"B-But it wasn't yours to sell." The Doctor argued.

"It was on my patch, weren't it? I got fifteen sesterces for it. Lovely jubbly."

"Who'd you sell it to?"

"Oh! He sold it to Twelve!" Alex blurted out then, making the Doctor turn to him in confusion.

"_What?_"

"Ah, well, not Twelve. Or is it Twelve? I can't remember now. All I can see is the angry brows." He replied, frowning slightly in confusion as the Doctor groaned, but the fruit seller pointed at Alex with a nod.

"That's him. Old Caecilius. Look, if you want to argue, why don't you take it out with him? He's on Foss Street. Big villa. Can't miss it."

"Thanks." The Doctor said, making to hurry off, only to double back. "What'd he buy a big blue box for?"

The fruit seller shrugged. "Dunno. He's a strange one, going on about art this and stone that."

"Great, an art critic." The Doctor grumbled, leading the way once more. "Come on then. Allons-y!"

"You don't know where you're going, do you?" Alex piped in.

"Not a clue!"

"That makes two of us!"

* * *

We spit up for a bit, not straying too far from a small portion of the market square in search of Foss Street. I'd gotten a bit lost on the way back, not finding it, but the Doctor and Donna were having a rather intense conversation when I returned.

"Not this time. Pompeii is a fixed point in history. What happens, happens. There is no stopping it."

Donna pulled him back to keep him from dashing off as I hesitantly approached the two; looking between them in confusion.

"Says who?"

"Says me." The Doctor replied sternly, but Donna wasn't having it.

"What? And you're in charge?"

"Tardis, Time Lord, yeah."

I winced, knowing that that wasn't quite the best thing to say to Donna, of all people.

"Donna, human, no. I don't need your permission. I'll tell them myself."

"You stand in the market place announcing the end of the world, they'll just think you're a mad old soothsayer. Now, come on. Tardis. We are getting out of here."

"Well, I might just have something to say about that, spaceman."

"Oh, I bet you will." The Doctor groaned and Donna rounded to me then.

"Alright then. Alex will settle it."

"**What?"** The Doctor and I chorused.

"Well, Time Lord Doctor with his Tardis says no. Human Donna with the idea says yes. Alex who's part human, part Time Lord with psychic abilities should have the best of both worlds, yeah?"

"Yeah. No, wait, hold on. Alex is confused. I'm doing what?" I questioned.

"Tell us who's right." Donna explained. "Help us make the decision. Evacuate the people or leave."

"I-I don't…" I glanced over at the Doctor, hoping he'd help me out somehow, but I was rather stunned to find him looking almost expectant as well.

_Oh, that's not good. He's a younger Doctor. Yes, he's the friendlier Donna-Ten, but was I wrong in assuming he'd be on my side for this? I can't remember. And with this situation not being one of the Doctor's best, how could I respond? Someone's got to blow up Pompeii and the Doctor needs to save that family. So technically they're both right, but they're both wrong too. It's a fixed point, so we can't change it. Hundreds of people are going to die. Warning them would go against that. Leaving though, means end of the universe._

"B-Both? Neither? I-I don't…" I brought a hand up to my head, practically feeling my mind running in circles and on the quick path to short circuiting. "It's a fixed point, so we can't warn them, but we can't leave either and it's just… It's complicated. I-I don't know what to say." I looked at them both in worry, not wanting to see the disappointment, but needing to somehow tell them that I couldn't make this decision. "I can't choose what we do."

"Well, what bloody help are you then?" Donna scoffed, storming off and I felt a sharp pain go through my chest.

Donna was always rather nice to me, aside from when I was being scolded for something I did to upset her, but this was different. I hadn't had her legitimately telling me off like that before. So her writing me off as useless suddenly really hurt. A part of it was this new body. It didn't seem to handle some criticisms well and tended to get upset easily, and when I looked to the Doctor for help, he turned his gaze away and gestured towards the road she went down.

"Come on. The Tardis awaits." He said, lacking his usual enthusiasm and I couldn't help the feeling that I'd done something wrong.

I followed him and Donna silently as we reached the villa where Caecilius would be at. Once we snuck in past the servants, the ground began to quake again and the Doctor dove for a falling bust.

"Whoa! There you go." He smiled, patting the bust as the quaking stopped and he faced Caecilius.

"Thank you, kind sir. I'm afraid business is closed for the day. I'm expecting a visitor." Caecilius informed us, though I felt a bit unnerved speaking to someone with the same face as my future husband.

"But that's me. I'm a visitor. Hello." The Doctor blew him off with a handshake and Caecilius gave us all a cautious look.

"Who are you?"

"I am Spartacus."

"And so am I." Donna said, making Caecilius frown slightly.

"Mr. and Mrs. Spartacus."

"Oh, no, no, no. We're not… We're not married. I have a, uh, different kind of partner." The Doctor said, making me stiffen slightly when he looped an arm around my waist.

"Oh, then you two must be brother and sister. Yes, of course. You look very much alike." Caecilius accepted rather easily.

"**Really?"** The Doctor and Donna exchanged dubious looks, though I couldn't help a small smile.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not open for trade." Caecilius repeated, not wanting us hanging around.

"And what trade would that be?"

_Way to be smooth, Doctor._ I thought with a sigh.

"Marble." Caecilius answered proudly, nonetheless. "Lopus Caecilius. Mining, polishing and design thereof. If you want marble, I'm your man."

"That's good. That's good." The Doctor hummed, taking out his psychic paper. "Because I'm the marble inspector."

Caecilius's wife gasped. "By the gods of commerce, an inspection. I'm sorry, sir. I do apologize for my son." She said, tossing her son's glass of wine.

"Oi!"

"And this is my good wife, Metella." Caecilius introduced as we moved over towards a large indoor pond. "I must confess, we're not prepared for a—"

The Doctor cut him off. "Nothing to worry about. I'm sure you've nothing to hide. Although, frankly, _that_ object looks rather like wood to me." The Doctor pointed out, having found the Tardis; though my eyes shifted to the smoky grate nearby.

_That's important… Why? God, what a thing to forget. It's always the important bits. Talk about malfunction. This body really _is_ useless._

"I told you to get rid of it." Metella hissed to Caecilius, making me almost chuckle at how the man panicked slightly at the anger in his wife.

"I only bought it today."

"Ah, well, caveat emptor." The Doctor clicked his tongue, speaking in Latin.

"Oh, you're Celtic." Caecilius concluded. "There's lovely."

"I'm sure it's fine." The Doctor said, attempting to get his ship back without a big issue. "But I might have to take it off your hands for a proper inspection."

"Although while we're here, wouldn't you recommend a holiday, Spartacus?" Donna said, attempting herself, to do something.

"I don't know what you mean, Spartacus." The Doctor replied, giving her a stern look that said 'shut up'.

"Oh, this lovely family. Mother and father and son. Don't you think they should get out of town?" Donna pressed and I winced, knowing that her pulling the 'family' card with the Doctor wasn't very nice.

"Why should we do that?" Caecilius asked.

"Well, the volcano, for starters." She said bluntly and Caecilius raised a brow in confusion.

"What?"

"Volcano."

"What-ano?"

"That great big volcano right on your doorstep." She pressed, getting angry now, before the Doctor grabbed her arm.

"Oh, Spartacus, for shame. We haven't even greeted the household gods yet." He said, tugging me along with them before explaining out of earshot to Donna. "They don't know what it is. Vesuvius is just a mountain to them. The top hasn't blown off yet. The Romans haven't even got a word for volcano. Not until tomorrow."

"Oh, great. They can learn a new word as they die." She scoffed.

"Donna, stop it." The Doctor pressed, holding back his temper himself.

"Listen, I don't know what sort of kids you've been lying round with in outer space, but you're not telling me to shut up." She snapped back. "That boy. How old is he? Sixteen? And tomorrow he burns to death."

"And that's my fault?"

"Right now, yes."

"Alright, enough." I snapped, getting fed up with their arguing. "This stupid blaming game is getting us nowhere. It's not the Doctor's fault this is a fixed point in time and it can't be changed, Donna. People _will_ die, no matter what. And Doctor, that doesn't mean that there's absolutely nothing we can do to help in some way, so don't go writing Donna off."

"Like you've got room to talk." Donna argued and the Doctor bristled.

"_Donna_."

She ignored him and continued to scowl at me. "You know what's going to happen even more than he does, and here you are, standing by and watching it happen while scolding us like we're idiot children. You could be doing something too, you know."

"Donna, you don't—"

"No." She cut the Doctor off. "I don't know anything about her—him—_it_, other than the fact that he's got plenty of time to save a criminal making people into fat alien babies, but when it comes to doing something worthwhile, he chickens out! And then has the nerve to scold us? He's done nothing but follow us around like a lost puppy this whole time!" She hissed at us. "You talk about him like he's something amazing, but he's worse than you. And I'm not about to listen to somebody who's willing to sit back and watch people die while knowing they can save them."

Donna's words cut through me like a knife, but neither the Doctor nor I were able to give her some sort of response before someone announced Caecilius's visitor.

"Announcing Lucius Petrus Dextrus, Chief Augur of the City Government."

"Lucius, my pleasure, as always." Caecilius greeted the man, Metella scolding her son, Quintus, to get him to stand in respect.

"A rare and great honor, sir, for you to come to my house." Caecilius continued, holding out his hand, but Lucius ignored it.

"The birds are flying north, and the wind is in the west."

"Quite. Absolutely. That's good, is it?" Caecilius replied, having no clue what the man was saying.

"Only the grain of wheat knows where it will grow."

"There now, Metella. Have you ever heard such wisdom?" Caecilius said to his wife, hoping to have someone support him while dealing with an important government figure who spoke in tongues.

"Never. It's an honor."

Caecilius then remembered we were here. "Pardon me, sir. I have guests. This is the Spartacus's."

"A name is but a cloud upon a summer wind." Lucius said and I stiffened when his gaze landed on me and narrowed.

_W-Why is he looking at me like that?_

"But the wind is felt most keenly in the dark." The Doctor said, making Lucius turn to him.

"Ah." He said, stepping over and I felt the air shift with the tension of the two man challenging one another. "But what is the dark, other than an omen of the sun?"

"I concede that every sun must set."

"Ha."

"And yet the son of the father must also rise." The Doctor continued and Lucius finally made an expression other than his stony one.

"Damn, very clever, sir. Evidently, a man of learning."

"Oh, yes. But don't mind me. Don't want to disturb the status quo." The Doctor replied and Caecilius attempted to explain off the Doctor's Latin.

"He's Celtic."

"We'll be off."

"I'm not going." Donna argued as the Doctor tugged her along and I followed, not missing the way Lucius's eyes followed me suspiciously.

"You've got to." The Doctor grumbled to her.

"Well, I'm not."

He ignored her protesting and went to the Tardis, digging for his key, only for me to stop him and tug his coat. He turned to me with a frown, but I gestured with a nod of my head, over at what Caecilius was revealing to Lucius. Seeing the circuit board-like stone, the Doctor stopped his retreat and headed over.

"Oh, well now, that's different. Who designed that, then?"

Caecilius responded. "My Lord Lucius was very specific."

"Where'd you get that pattern?" The Doctor questioned Lucius now.

"On the rain and mist and wind."

The Doctor made a face as I muttered under my breath.

"More like the stone and fire."

I stiffened though, when Lucius's gaze abruptly shifted to mine, making me fear that the man heard me. Not that he scared me, but just in the fact that I didn't care for him as a person. The man was cold with eyes like a reptile, eyeing everyone like they were dirt under his shoes. It was degrading and I hated it, but it was the type of stare you'd expect to see from a cold blooded murderer, not an apparent seer.

"But that looks like a circuit." Donna brought up, though I kept my gaze stiffly on Lucius.

"Made of stone." The Doctor added on, bumping me slightly in a silent asking of what was wrong.

"Do you mean you just dreamt that thing up?" Donna asked Lucius instead, who finally turned away from me.

"That is my job as the City Augur."

"Augur, meaning Seer." I replied before Donna could ask. "He is paid by the town to see the future of things like crop success and family matters."

"They're laughing at us." A voice said then, making us all turn to see the weak-looking Evelina enter the room. "Those three, they use words like tricksters. They're mocking us."

"No, no, no. I meant no offense." The Doctor replied, trying to keep from appearing too suspicious as Metella hurried over to her daughter's side.

"I'm sorry. My daughter's been consuming the vapors."

"Oh, for gods, Mother. What have you been doing to her?" Quintus demanded, looking very concerned for his ill sister.

"Not now, Quintus." Caecilius scolded him.

"Yeah, but she's sick. Just look at her!"

Lucius though, stepped forward. "I gather I have a rival in this household. Another with the gift."

"Oh, she's been promised to the Sibylline Sisterhood." Metella said proudly. "They say she has remarkable visions."

"The prophecies of woman are limited and dull. Only the menfolk have the capacity for true perception."

I bristled and would have told him off, but his gaze had shifted once more to mine, as though he knew. And suddenly I realized, that he did. That's what all his looks were for. He knew I could see the future. What was going to happen. And he was suspicious, because I wasn't from here. I didn't get my powers from inhaling the vapors as he and Evelina did. Not only that, but I knew everything about what he was planning. What the Pyrovile were planning and what it would mean for the people of Pompeii and the man beside me who would have to make that decision. And I realized now, just why people were so afraid of me in the universe. How it felt to have your entire past and future read by some stranger, and have them know everything about you. And it _was_ frightening.

The Doctor didn't notice our little staring contest—or if he did, he said nothing—and a tremor finally made our eyes shift; Lucius chiding Donna for her mocking words. The Doctor though, was more interested in something else.

"Consuming the vapors, you say?"

"They give me strength." Evelina replied.

"It doesn't look like it to me."

"Is that your opinion as a doctor?" She countered, and the Doctor himself, grew stiff.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Doctor. That's your name."

"How did you know that?" He pressed, suspicious himself now, but Evelina turned to Donna.

"And you. You call yourself Noble."

"Now then, Evelina, don't be rude." Metella chided her, but the Doctor insisted; not seeing how her eyes strayed to mine and she'd straightened slightly.

In fear or something else, I couldn't tell.

"No, no, no, no. Let her talk."

"You two come from so far away, and you…" She looked at me. "…from even farther."

"The female soothsayer is inclined to invent all sorts of vagaries." Lucius scoffed, but the Doctor frowned at him.

"Oh, not this time, Lucius. No, I reckon you've been out-soothsayed."

"Is that so? Man from Gallifrey." He said, making the Doctor round on him.

"What?"

"The strangest of images. Your home is lost in fire, is it not?"

"Doctor, what are they doing?" Donna questioned in concern.

"And you, daughter of London." Lucius continued, turning his attention to her.

"How does he know that?"

"This is the gift of Pompeii. Every single oracle tells the truth."

"That's impossible."

Lucius shifted back to the Doctor. "Doctor, she is returning."

"Who is? Who's she?" He asked, but Lucius turned away to Donna.

"And you, daughter of London. There is something on your back."

"What's that mean?"

Evelina spoke then. "Even the word Doctor is false. Your real name is hidden. It burns in the stars, in the Cascade of Medusa herself. You are a Lord, sir. A Lord of Time."

I expected her to faint then, but—of course—my own 'visions' were never so accurate and both her and Lucius turned to me.

"And you do not belong here. You who belong nowhere, yet you call yourself an augur." Lucius snipped shortly and Evelina continued from that.

"And so dark. So dirty. A mutt with death on its heels. All the stars fearful of the Seer. The God who plays with time. _Destroys_ time. How many will fall at your hands this time?"

She then collapsed and I'd forgotten how to breathe. Time faltered, clogs slowed, the turning of the Earth was suddenly lost on me. I never saw Lucius leave. Didn't realize when Donna went to assist Metella in looking after the unconscious Evelina. Nor when Quintus went for another drink or Caecilius showed the Doctor the hypocaust grill where the vapors were coming from. I didn't realize when I walked outside. When I climbed the wall and went to the edge of the roof; the tips of my shoes sticking out over the edge as I stared up at the night sky.

"_How many will fall at your hands this time?"_

"Roughly two thousand." I muttered, frowning at the thought. "Didn't need to reminder though, thanks."

I huffed and sat on the edge of the roof in annoyance, watching my long scarf sway slightly in the breeze. I flinched though, when there was a clatter behind me and—surprisingly—Caecilius came up and joined me on the roof with a groan.

"Don't know how you're so nimble to get up here. Even with a ladder, my bones are creaking."

I tipped my head back to see him as he shuffled over. "You'd be surprised. Keep active long enough, anything's possible." I blinked. "Or was it eating properly? Both?"

Caecilius smiled a bit, making me smile in return. His face was still Twelve's, after all. Getting that man to smile was a task in and of itself, seeing him smile so easily was pleasant, even if it wasn't exactly him.

"Is it true though? You're an augur as well?"

My smile faltered and I turned away, looking out over the roofs of Pompeii once more.

"Unfortunately."

"Oh, now, don't say that." He replied, coming to sit beside me. "It's a gift."

"You might think so, but waking up knowing what's going to happen isn't always pleasant. It's not so much that death follows me around like so many think. It's just that… I'm always stuck knowing good people are going to die and sometimes there's nothing I can do about it. Change the future too much, and knowing what's going to happen doesn't matter anymore, because it's all wrong. Even the smallest fleck of dirt can create a ripple in a pond."

"But… you try, don't you? You don't just give up right off the bat." He pressed, watching me with big curious eyes that didn't match the typically stern face I was used to seeing. "Not to be disrespectful to Lucius, but you do not seem the type to outright hurt someone. You look rather fragile to me."

I couldn't help the small snort that escaped me. "You'd be surprised. I'm easily capable of incapacitating up to five armed men with my bare hands, if I really wanted to."

He stared in open shock. "While that is quite a feat for someone of your stature, I was intending to imply your mental strength."

I turned to him in a bit of shock as well. "What?"

"There _is_ a darkness to you, as Evelina and Lucius said. There is… something about how you look at things. How do I put it?" He mused, looking up at the stars in thought. "Like a father watching his son, but with a sort of sadness, as though the father knows he'll be gone soon and wonders about the son he leaves behind. A look, beyond your years."

"With understanding." I murmured. "I'm an augur. I see who lives and who dies, but what can I do? Some deaths are necessary."

"But not all deaths. Some are avoidable, yes?"

"Of course, of course, but… for the ones that aren't, there's a sort of… guilt. Not just for me, but for the Doctor too. He's always placing the blame on himself and other people blame him too. Trying to make him see it's not, is… difficult."

"How are you to convince him when you are just as fragile?" He asked and I opened my mouth to respond, but closed it soon after, unable to really answer him. "I have found, while running my business and my home, that one cannot blame the faults of others onto themselves. And if one piles up enough stone, they will all fall; creating a bigger mess than if you handled them one at a time. So, perhaps, instead of taking on another's burdens, you and the Doctor should handle your own and then put your heads together for a better solution." He stood back up with a slight grunt of complaint, before offering me a hand up myself. "The world will fall from the sky at some point, but together perhaps you and the Doctor can lift it back again."

I smiled a bit. "You remind me of my husband. Always knows exactly what to say, though likes to act clueless. _You_ should be an augur."

He chuckled. "Oh, no, no. Visions are not my strong suit."

"Maybe not, but giving advice sure is."

The roof shook a bit then and we both shot to our feet and made for the ladder.

"Go check on Metella. I'll find Don—Spartacus and Evelina." I offered and he nodded, the two of us hurrying into the villa just as Metella and the others walked out of their rooms in confusion.

"What is it? What's that noise?" Metella questioned.

"Doesn't sound like Vesuvius." Caecilius said and I blinked.

"Who's that?"

Donna smacked me. "The mountain, you dumbo."

The Doctor and Quintus rushed in then, panicked. "Caecilius! All of you, get out!"

"Doctor, what is it?" Donna asked.

"I think we're being followed." He said, grabbing her shoulders as the grating flew off vent nearby. "Just get out!"

No one really moved, too stunned by the rock creature that had burst forth from the ground where the vent had been and I began digging through my pockets. _Oh, I know it's in here somewhere._

"The gods are with us." Evelina murmured in shock as the Doctor finally knocked himself out of it.

"Water. We need water. Quintus. All of you, get water! Donna!"

Quintus and Donna rushed off with one of the servants, but another stepped forward.

"Blessed are we to see the gods."

"Oh, I nearly forgot." I said then, catching the Doctor's panicked expression as I bopped myself in the forehead and stepped forward.

"Alex, what are you—"

"'xcuse me." I said, grabbing the servant's shirt and abruptly yanking him back; tossing him to the ground behind me as the Pyrovile launched a blast of fire where he had been.

I squinted at the heat of the flames not a few feet in front of me, sneezing when ash got up my nose and moving away as I waved at the Doctor.

"All yours."

He shook his head at my antics as I moved back behind the group with another sneeze. I knew he could handle it, so I moved off into the hallway a bit further away, attempting to clear my sinuses.

"Ugh, ash." I sneezed. "I would be allergic to ash." And again, when I heard a yelp being muffled. "Hm? Oh, now who was it who was being taken? Human… Human who?" I turned and spotted a red head in a cloak around the corner and tipped my head. "Amy? No, wait. Wrong human. Well, not wrong. That was still Karen Gillan. Wow, I'm meeting all sorts of familiar faces today… What was I doing? Oh! Donna!" I bounded towards where they escaped and paused. "Ooh, better leave the Doctor a note."

I whipped out a stack of sticky notes and began scribbling away with a sharpie, sticking them up as the space on one filled.

**Gone to get…**

**Donna back…**

**Don't be late…**

**Crazy sister…**

**Priest ladies' temple.**

I shrugged, taking off towards the temple where I knew Donna would be. Where said temple was, I hadn't the slightest idea.

* * *

"You have _got_ to be kidding me." Donna complained, strapped down to a table with a woman standing over her wielding a blade.

"The false prophet will surrender both her blood and her breath." The woman announced, making Donna angrier.

"I'll surrender _you_ in a minute. Don't you dare."

"You will be silent." The woman threatened.

"Listen, sister, you might have eyes on the back of your hands, but you'll have eyes in the back of your head by the time I've finished with you. Let me go!" Donna retaliated.

"This prattling voice will cease forever." The woman said, raising the blade, only for a voice to interrupt.

"Yes, hi. Sorry. I seem to be interrupting, but I think I might have the wrong directions. Is this the, uh… Temple of Sibyl? All the heat's making my glasses foggy."

All eyes turned to Alex, who blinked in confusion at the gaggle of women in cloaks around Donna, who gapped at him like he was an idiot.

"Is that a yes?"

"No man is allowed to enter the Temple of Sibyl." Spurrina, the woman with the blade, snapped at Alex.

"Hm? Well, that's nice. Might want to put up a sign and let them know."

"I'm speaking to _you_!"

Alex looked confused, pointing a finger at himself. "Me? Well, I may look this way, but I am one hundred percent—Oh wait. That changed, didn't it? How do I keep forgetting that? A whole 'nother set of parts and facial hair, and I keep losing hold of that memory…" He snapped his fingers then. "You haven't seen a skinny guy have you? Decently tall, hair you can run your hands through for days. Brown coat, pinstripe suit? I left him notes, but I think he might have gotten lost. And I came here for a reason, but I've suddenly forgot."

"Alex!" Donna snapped and Alex turned to her with a grin, bounding over.

"Donna! I forgot about you. Love the stola. Not quite a toga, but close enough. The purple is nice with your hair."

"Thank you. And the ropes?"

"Meh. Not really working it. Though I suppose it's better than this dreadful maroon color this place has going on about it."

Alex easily disarmed Spurrina and caught the blade before it could hit anything or anyone, spinning it around and using it to cut the ropes tying Donna to the table.

"Nice moves."

"Eh." Alex shrugged as Donna sat up. "Better with a sword or a scimitar, but I've always been handy with a blade."

"Donna! Alex! There you are!" The Doctor complained, rushing in and waving a bundle of sticky notes at Alex as he stormed over. "What's with these, eh? Couldn't just tell me? I had to fight a goat off to get one of them."

"Whoops." Alex shrugged with a smile, palms up. "Gotta admit though, you were a bit late. Donna would've been skewered by now. Look. I even got her out of the ropes!"

"Yeah, after trying to remember what you were even here for." Donna grumbled, making Alex pout, before the Doctor stopped them.

"Yes, yes. Alright now. Let's take care of this situation first before we start poking eachothers' buttons, yes?" He said and Donna and Alex went silent so he could address the Sisters of the Sibyl Temple. "Do you know, I met Sibyl once. Yeah, hell of a woman. Blimey, she could dance the Tarantella. Nice—" He stopped, turning to Alex and immediately cringing at the man's frown. "Right yes. Point is. She'd be ashamed of you lot. All her wisdom and insight turned sour. Is that how you spread the word, hey? On the blade of a knife?"

"Yes." Spurrina said, but before she could continue—Alex already holding the knife far out of her reach, the High Priestess spoke.

"Show me this man."

All of the woman turned around and went to their knees before the woman behind her veiled bed, except Spurrina.

"High Priestess, the stranger would defile us."

"Let me see. These two are different. He carries starlight in his wake and the other is an augur himself."

"Oh, very perceptive." The Doctor hummed, wrapping an arm around Alex's waist in comfort, as he had stiffened when the woman had mentioned him. "Where do these words of wisdom come from?"

"The gods whisper to me."

"They've done far more than that. Might I beg audience? Look upon the High Priestess?" He asked, double-checking that Alex was alright before heading forward as a couple of the women pulled back the veil on the bed to reveal a stone creature vaguely representing a human being.

"Oh my god. What's happened to you?" Donna breathed out in shock.

"The heavens have blessed me." The High Priestess replied as the Doctor held out his hand.

"If I might…"

She held out her own for him and he knelt to look at it in curiosity.

"Does it hurt?"

"It is necessary."

"Who told you that?"

"The voices."

Donna stared in disbelief. "Is that what's going to happen to Evelina? Is that what's going to happen to all of you?"

Spurrina revealed her own stone arm. "The blessings are manifold."

"They're stone."

"Exactly. The people of Pompeii are turning to stone before the volcano erupts. But why?" The Doctor questioned.

"Wrong." Alex spouted out, pacing now. "What is it? I can't remember what they're doing. Bad things in the volcano. A rocket? No… something else. Ah, but that's not the right question. Not _why_ are they doing it. But _how_ can we stop it?"

"Yes, excellent point." The Doctor smiled, but the High Priestess was confused.

"This word. This image in your mind. This volcano. What is that?"

"More important, why don't you know about it?" The Doctor mused. "Who are you?"

"High Priestess of the Sibylline."

"No, no, no, no. I'm talking to the creature inside you. The thing that's seeding itself into a human body. In the dust, in the lungs, taking over the flesh and turning it into, what?"

"Your knowledge is impossible." She breathed out.

"Oh, but you can read my mind. You know it's not. You can't with Alex though, can you?"

The High Priestess seemed to fidget as Alex stopped his pacing and blinked.

"Hm?"

"You've noticed it too, haven't you?" The Doctor asked him. "They obviously don't like you, but everything they said was common knowledge. They didn't announce your name or where you lived or anything. They can't read you. You're too well protected in that head of yours. That's why Lucius was always glaring at you. He was frustrated. And I'll bet…" He wandered over and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, kissing my temple affectionately. "…if you tried, you might even be able to give that creature a bit of a nudge to come out. What do you say, hm?"

* * *

_I've never done that before. Is it even possible?_ I mentally asked the Doctor upon realizing what he'd suggested, and he responded with a shrug.

"_Shouldn't be too hard. Gaining access to their mind is easy enough with your skills; two minds melded together or not. You've just got to make sure you latch on and tug it forward when you're leaving. Bring the other one to the forefront."_

_Well, if you say so._ I responded, sighing before closing my eyes and attempting to do as he said. It was a bit harder than I thought. As he'd said, gaining access to the Pyrovile mind wasn't too bad. They may have been good telepaths, but their defenses against other telepathic attacks was shoddy. It was the 'latching on' bit that was difficult. With the angry Pyrovile attempting to get me out of its mind and the _heat_ coming off it, I was having trouble focusing long enough to attach anything before I pulled out. And once out of its head, I grimaced and was silently grateful for the Doctor's arm around me, because I felt wobbly on my feet.

"Geeze, and I thought it was hot out here. Even its bloody _head_ is boiling."

"Well then, now that I have the true inhabitant of that body, I demand you tell me who you are!"

"We are awakening." The creature said, it's voice morphed now.

"The voice of the gods!" Spurrina said, going to her knees as well as the other women began chanting.

"Name yourself. Planet of origin. Galactic coordinates. Species designation according to the universal ratification of the Shadow Proclamation." The Doctor demanded.

"We are rising!"

"Tell me your name!" He shouted.

"Pyrovile!" It finally replied and the women around us began to chant it as he frowned.

"What's a Pyrovile?" Donna asked us as the Doctor tightened his grip on me; myself still trying to shake the aching heat in my head from messing with the Pyrovile's mind.

"Well, that's a Pyrovile, growing inside her. She's a halfway stage."

"What? And that turns into—"

"Big ol' rock creature that attacked the villa." I responded, leaning into the Doctor. "You got any ice cream in that pocket of yours? I could do with a brain freeze right about now."

"The breath of a Pyrovile will incinerate you, Doctor, Augur!"

"Oh, I haven't been called that in ages. Though, I suppose I'll _be_ called that after a while too." I mused out loud, before reaching into the Doctor's pocket and pulling out a squirt gun. "Here. This'll be handy. I'm too lazy to get mine at the moment."

He took it and passed me off to Donna. "Alright. Then you two get that grill open." He said and I dragged Donna off as he held the water pistol like and _actual_ gun. "I warn you. I'm armed."

"Come on, Donna. Let the Doctor play. I'd deal with the grate myself, but it's _far_ too hot in here."

"Are you serious?" She questioned, the two of us ignoring the Doctor's chatting with the Pyrovile before she placed a hand on my forehead. "Blimey! You're burning up!"

"Tell me about it. Remind me not to mess with a magma rock creatures' head. Just as toasty as they are."

The two of us worked at the grate and soon got it off.

"Got it!" Donna chimed and the Doctor shifted towards us slightly.

"Now get down!"

"What? Down there?"

"Yes, down there." The Doctor complained and Donna turned to me and I rolled my eyes.

"It's fine. Go. I'll grab the idiot."

She nodded and headed down as the Doctor continued to ask questions.

"Why can't this lot predict a volcano? Why is it being hidden?"

"Oh, shut up. I'll tell you in a bit." I drawled, just as Spurrina spoke up.

"Sisters, I see into his mind. The weapon is harmless."

"Yeah, but it's got to sting."

I groaned, pulling out my own water pistol, except it wasn't just a pistol, but a Super Soaker.

"Sorry. It's pre-pumped." I chirped, letting out a larger stream of water than what the Doctor would have done, and the High Priestess wailed loudly as hot steam came off her.

The Doctor gapped as I grabbed his arm and tugged him to the grating. "That's no fair. Your's is bigger than mine."

"Well, I didn't want to tell you, but since the word is out…" I paused at the grate. "Wait, we _are_ talking about the guns, aren't we?"

He shook his head. "Ooh, don't you start getting cheeky with me, Mister."

I chuckled, starting to climb into the shaft and kissing him briefly. "Couldn't help it. Geronimo!"

"Oh, I hope I never end up saying that." I heard the Doctor grumble before he landed down where Donna and I were.

_You'd be surprised. _Donna stood there in shock once we'd gathered ourselves together.

"You fought her off with a water pistol." She gasped out. "I bloody love you."

I lifted my Super Soaker. "Yeah, well. Mine's bigger."

"Not now, Alex!" The Doctor chided me, finding a path. "This way!"

"Where are we going now?" Donna asked.

"Into the volcano."

"No way."

"Yes, way. Appian way."

"Ha, ha. Very punny." I replied with a roll of my eyes as we followed him into the cavern.

"But if it's aliens setting off the volcano, doesn't that make it alright for you to stop it?" Donna asked and I went quiet, knowing that she was very close to the dot on all of this and there was nothing I could really do with the choice that was to be made here.

"Still part of history." The Doctor replied, but he must have sensed my change in attitude and sent he a short confused glance.

"But I'm history to you. You saved me in 2008. You saved us all. Why is that different?" Donna asked.

"Some things are fixed, some things are in flux. Pompeii is fixed."

"How do you know which is which?" She pressed and I winced, preparing for the flood of pain and frustration and sadness the Doctor was about to give off in responding to her.

"Because that's how I see the universe. Every waking second, I can see what is, what was, what could be, what must not. That's the burden of a Time Lord, Donna. And I'm the only one left." He said, myself shifting from behind Donna and inadvertently catching his attention.

He looked at me, wincing and attempting to say something, but looking unable to. I smiled hesitantly, knowing he didn't mean it in that way, but unable to help but feel a bit hurt.

"How many people died?" Donna blurted out then and the Doctor snapped at her.

"Stop it."

"Doctor, how many people died?"

"Twenty thousand." I replied, startling her and reminding her I was there. "Approximately twenty thousand people died, Donna. And the Doctor has to live with seeing that happen over and over again, knowing that those lives may have just been his fault because there was nothing he could do. So stop this. Stop torturing him with this. None of this is his fault."

She frowned at me, her anger almost brushing away the gratefulness I could feel from the Doctor for intervening. "And what about you then, huh? Mr. Seer? Mr. I-Know-Everything? You've known about this since we've shown up and you haven't done anything! He might not be able to do anything now, but what was stopping you from doing something yesterday? Last week? Last _year_? What's stopping you?! If this is what you can see, all twenty thousand, how do you just sit back and think that's all right?"

"It's not. It will never be 'alright', Donna." I told her. "But sometimes you have to make a choice. Sometimes you're stuck standing at the railroad switch and you've got your best friend standing on a track with a train heading for them, but switching the train to the other track means running over twenty strangers. And I have to make that choice. The _Doctor_ has to make that choice. And we can't always make the right choice for everyone. We can't upend the train or shut it down. And whatever choice we make, the consequences will haunt us for a very long time. So don't go trying to pin things on us, because things are going to get very difficult in a minute. A big choice is going to have to be made and instead of fighting about whose fault it is, I want us to make the choice collectively and understand that _no one_ is to blame. Because there _is_ no right choice."

She said nothing and I felt bad for arguing with her, especially since I knew that she was going to be a big part in helping the Doctor change by attempting to save Caecilius and his family, but I couldn't just stand back and have the Doctor get attacked by her words when she wasn't understanding the whole situation. There was a roar and we all flinched; the Doctor pulling me and then Donna up the slope.

"They know we're here. Come on."

We soon reached another, more open area where we lowered our voices and hid behind some boulders to stay out of sight of the Pyrovile.

"It's the heart of Vesuvius. We're right inside the mountain."

"There's tons of them." Donna gasped.

"What's that thing?" The Doctor wondered and I squinted in the ash and dust, trying to see myself as the Doctor pulled out an eyeglass to help him.

"Oh, you better hurry up and think of something." Donna said in concern. "Rocky Fall's on its way."

"That's how they arrived. Or what's left of it. Escape pod?" The Doctor muttered to himself, before turning to me. "Prison ship? Gene bank?"

I shrugged, not remembering and Donna interrupted us.

"But why do they need a volcano? Maybe it erupts and they launch themselves back into space or something?"

"It's worse." I muttered and the Doctor glanced at me in concern as Donna did the same.

"How could it be worse?" She questioned, a roar coming from behind us. "Doctor, it's getting closer."

I felt a sneeze coming on then and couldn't hold it back, unfortunately catching the attention of Lucius across the way as I went into a sneezing fit.

"Heathens defile us!" He shouted as the Doctor grabbed my hand and tugged me along with Donna on our tail. "They would desecrate your temple, my lord gods! Crush them! Burn them!"

"Ah! Pistol at the ready, Doctor!" I called out, just moments before a Pyrovile rose up between us.

He was quick to squirt it, buying us enough time to get to the escape pod—_Oh _now_ I remember_—as Lucius mocked us from afar.

"There's nowhere to run, Doctor, daughter of London, mutant Augur!"

"Oh, enough with the name calling! Don't you have something better to do?" I complained as the Doctor called out to try and get some answers.

"Now then, Lucius. My lords Pyrovillian, don't get yourselves in a lather." He turned to Donna and I. "In a lava? No?"

We both shook our heads at his pun and he wrinkled his nose.

"No. But if I might beg the wisdom of the gods before we perish. Once this new race of creatures is complete, then what?"

"My masters will follow the example of Rome itself. A mighty empire, bestriding the whole of civilization."

"Which _does_ fall in the future, might I add." I mumbled, letting out another sneeze.

"But if you've crashed, and you've got all this technology, why don't you just go home?" Donna questioned them.

"The Heaven Pyrovillia is gone."

"What do you mean, gone? Where's it gone?" The Doctor asked next.

"It was taken. Pyrovillia is lost. But there is heat enough in this world for a new species to rise." Lucius informed him and I knew that the Doctor had figured out what I meant earlier during my talk with Donna about difficult choices.

"Yeah, I should warn you. It's seventy percent water out there." He said, gambling on one last hope of his.

"Water can boil and everything will burn, Doctor." Lucius snapped and I grabbed the Doctor's hand as he put away his water pistol.

He exchanged a glance with me, squeezing my hand briefly before nodding to the man standing far across the way.

"Then the whole planet is at stake. Thank you. That's all I needed to know. Donna."

He lightly pushed Donna into the escape pod and closed the door behind us with his sonic screwdriver.

"Can we be any more trapped?" Donna asked, the Pyrovile outside beginning to try and burn us out. "Getting a bit hot."

"S-Speak for yourself." I muttered, leaning heavily against the Doctor, who knew I was dealing with a fever _and_ the outside heat.

"See? The energy converter takes the lava, uses the power to create a fusion matrix, which welds Pyrovile to human. Now it's complete, they can convert millions." The Doctor informed us, already moving controls about with one hand; the other firmly holding me upright.

"But can't you change it with these controls?"

"Of course I can, but don't you see? That's why the soothsayers can't see the volcano. There is no volcano. Vesuvius is never going to erupt. The Pyrovile are stealing all its power. They're going to use it to take over the world."

"But you can change it back?"

"I can invert the system, set off the volcano, and blow them up, yes. But, that's the choice, Donna. It's Pompeii or the world."

"Oh, my God."

"If Pompeii is destroyed then it's not just history, it's me. I make it happen."

"You idiot." I mumbled. "You're not alone here. Or anywhere. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

He smiled a bit, kissing the top of my head as Donna looked at me in guilt.

"You were trying to tell me. That whole talk about choices, that was you trying to tell me about this."

I said nothing, but every one of us knew she was right.

"Doctor, the Pyrovile are made of rocks. Maybe they can't be blown up." Donna stated then, concerned.

"Vesuvius explodes with the force of twenty-four nuclear bombs. Nothing can survive it. Certainly not us."

"Never mind us." She said solemnly.

"Anything's better than this heat." I said, voice a breathy whisper now as I fought against the inky blackness trying to come over me.

"Push this lever and it's over… Twenty thousand people." He gasped out, his hand on the lever, but him being incapable of doing it.

Slowly, I placed my hand over his, closing my eyes with a soft sigh. "I'm not leaving you to make a choice like this on your own. I promised you that."

Donna too, joined us and her hands covered both of ours, before we pushed the lever. We were thrown about, Donna's scream ringing in my ears as the Doctor protected us as best he could.

"I-I should mention!" I called out over the noise, slamming my back harshly into the wall with the Doctor facing me. "This _is_ an escape pod!"

"Oh, _now_ you tell us?!" He complained, grunting when his back hit the opposite wall; myself falling into his chest.

"I only just remembered!"

We finally landed and clambered out of the pod, bolting down the roads and paths as a dark cloud of ash chased us. We reached town where people ran frantically, Donna screaming for them not to go to the beach and even attempting to calm a child before his mother snatched him away. Tears streamed down her face and my own mind was being harshly attacked by the panicked emotions flying around us; myself having a hard time keeping barriers up with the fever making me dazed. The Doctor didn't let us stop for long though, keeping a hand on my wrist to pull me along as Donna ran on our heels until we reached the villa. Caecilius and his family huddled in a corner, him turning to us.

"Gods save us, Doctor." He begged and I felt both my hearts ached for the man with my husband's face, begging us to save him.

I was pulled away though, Donna screaming at us before the Doctor released my wrist in the Tardis and she hurried in to shout.

"You can't just leave them!" She yelled at him, and he growled back.

"Don't you think I've done enough? History's back in place and everyone dies."

"You've got to go back. Doctor, I am telling you, take this thing back!" She screamed, but he just sent the ship further; her lowering her voice into a croaky whisper. "It's not fair."

"No, it's not."

"But your own planet. It burned."

"That's just it. Don't you see, Donna? Can't you understand? If I could go back and save them, then I would." He snarled. "But I can't. I can never go back. I can't. I just can't. I can't." He said, turning away and trying to distract himself.

"Just someone. Please. Not the whole town. Just save someone." Donna cried.

"I _can't_." He pressed and I felt something in me ache terribly.

_I'd_ done this. I realized. I had told Donna off for scolding him and now he wasn't listening to her. Caecilius and his family would die because I interfered too much due to how I felt towards the Doctor. And I wasn't going to let that happen. Doctor or not, Seer or not, I wasn't about to let a person die who wasn't supposed to. Not if I could help it.

I grit my teeth and bolted for the Tardis controls, working them faster than I've ever worked. The Doctor realized what I was doing and began trying to stop me.

"Alex! Alex, stop this! What are you doing?!"

"One family." I said sharply. "_One_ family. I'm not going to let them die."

"You can't!" He shouted, grabbing my hand and stopping me from pulling the lever to take us back. "You can't change history, Alex! You know this better than anyone!"

"And you should know that not everyone in Pompeii dies. It was an _estimate_. There are eyewitness accounts from survivors describing what happened in Pompeii. Who's to say we can't have saved one of those people?"

"But we don't know that for cert—"

"He has your face!" I finally shouted at him, facing him head on with tears streaming down my face. "Caecilius. That man out there… H-He has your face, Doctor. You _choose_ that face. You choose it to remind you who you are, what you're meant to do. Doctor. That's your name. That has been the name you chose for _centuries_. And today is the day that you earn that name. This might be an adventure where not everybody lives, but it doesn't have to be one where everybody dies. So please. _Please_ help them." I begged, bowing my head with a choked sob, before I felt the Doctor push my hand down; starting up the Tardis.

My hand was pried off the lever and I was enveloped in a tight hug, my arms wrapping around his lanky frame as he whispered into my hair.

"I'll be right back."

I nodded, letting him go and reaching up to kiss him. I pulled away with a watery smile and he smiled slightly back, before walking out and bringing in Caecilius and his family. They were brought in in stunned amazement at the Tardis, but I didn't get to see their faces for long, before I finally gave in and sank to the floor as darkness clouded my mind.


	97. The Bells of Saint John

**Well, here's Eleven's reaction! Hope you all enjoy it and please make sure to watch "Remembrance of the Daleks" with the Seventh Doctor next. I'll put links to the episodes on my profile, but watch out for part two. It was hard to find and the one place i did find it isn't exactly a secure and safe site. so don't use it unless you have a good pop-up blocker and virus protector. I honestly suggest skipping that part entirely if you want, but you know. it's up to you.**

**And yes, unfortunately, this is the last you'll be seeing of Male-Alex. As much fun as it was to write him, I feel it makes the relationship between Alex and the Doctor a bit strained, so he will once again become a she in the next chapter. Let me know what you think about this one though! I love reviews :3**

* * *

I sighed softly, feeling a gentle breeze brush across my face and opening my eyes to stare at the white puffy cloud slowly drifting across the sky. Then, my brows furrowed, confusion settling in.

"Now, hold on. Wasn't I doing something?"

My mind went back to Pompeii, retracing my steps; missing a few here and there when I spotted a bee float by.

"…_today is the day that you earn that name."_

"_I'll be right back."_

I hummed. "Hm, wasn't doing anything important then. Passing out to restart my mind. Fun." I mused, fingers interlinked as my hands rested peacefully on my stomach; watching a fly as it zoomed around.

The fly soon bolted for it though, as a large man stormed over and stood over me.

"The bloody hell are you doing on my lawn?!"

I tipped my head back to get a better look at him, brows furrowing. "Do I know you?"

"Well, I sure as hell don't know you, mate! Now get off my property!"

I spotted the young boy at his side then and recognition finally hit me. I bolted up onto my feet and grinned.

"Right! Yes! Getting off the property." I chirped, taking a step back off the lawn and onto the sidewalk. "And you've reminded me! I'm looking for, ah… oh dear. I seemed to have forgotten her name. We were in school together, see? I'm working on my A-levels and figured 'oh, she was a great student. She could help me study.' But that was ages ago and I'm terrible at names. Started with a 'C'… Chloe? Christy? Clod?"

"Clara?" The boy offered and I snapped my fingers.

"That's it! Yes! I was looking for Clara. Miss Oswald, as it were. I was told this was where I could find her this… evening? Afternoon? Oh dear. Is it morning still? I'm terrible at keeping track of time."

The father looked suspicious, but upon checking his watch, remembered he was in a hurry and brushed me off.

"She's inside. Now if you'll excuse me, I really need to get going."

"Of course! Don't let me hold you up. Have a good day, Artie." I waved and the boy blinked, before hesitantly waving back.

He had _not_, after all, given me his name. They soon drove off though and I bounded to the front door of the home, ringing the doorbell repeatedly. Angie opened the door and frowned at me, but I smiled nonetheless.

"Hello, Angie! I'm looking for Clara. She's going to help me on my A-levels! We're old friends from school, see and I—"

"Yeah, alright." She cut me off, not caring too much for my rambling lie; turning to call upstairs. "Clara! Some friend of yours is here!"

She gave me another glance then, but walked off, allowing me into the home. I closed the door behind me, hearing Clara heading downstairs.

"Friend? What friend? I don't—"

We locked eyes and I smiled with a wave.

"Hello!"

She hesitated. "Who are you? I don't know you."

"Well, not yet, no. I lied, by the way. Told them you were helping me study for my A-levels. Needed to get in, after all. Just spouted out the first thing that came to mind. Although… I can't remember what I was going to tell you."

"You… You get out right now, or I'm calling the police."

I blinked. "But aren't you trying to fix the internet?"

She looked shocked by that. "How did you… Hold on. Did you say 'yet'? I don't know you 'yet'?"

My grin returned. "Ooh, you always were clever. Is that the Doctor on the phone? Can I talk to him? Maybe he can help me remember what I was going to tell you."

"You need a doctor, alright, mate." She muttered, before her eyes widened. "Ah, wait! Angie, don't—"

I turned and hardly realized that Angie was bringing a cricket bat down onto my head, until I was knocked unconscious on the hardwood floor.

* * *

"—lex… Alex… Are you alright, Alex?"

I bolted upright. "Two-headed robot soul stealers!"

My head ached terribly then and I groaned, bringing a hand up to my face with a grimace as someone steadied me.

"While I would _love_ to question what exactly that was about, I believe finding out if you're alright comes first. How's the head?" The Eleventh Doctor asked.

"Oh… I know what you felt like when Amy knocked you out now… Not pleasant."

"Yes, well, getting hit upside the head with a cricket bat isn't _supposed_ to be pleasant." He replied, finding the large knot on the side of my head, making me cringe. "Yowzah. That's quite the bump."

"You're telling me. I have memory problems as it is in this body. Getting hit doesn't help. Where are we again?"

"Currently, in your room on the Tardis."

"Right. Wrong question. _When_ am I?"

"Well, that's a bit of a story." He said, leaning back to rest in his seat and glance at some scans on the monitor nearby. "I was meditating in Cumbria 1207 and got a call on the Tardis phone from a young woman unable to find her wifi."

"Meditating." I scoffed. "You mean pouting."

He frowned. "I wasn't pouting."

"_Pouting_ because you couldn't figure out why you've met Clara Oswald twice. Ooh." I paused, feeling pleased with myself as a smile flickered over my face. "I remembered something important. I've been forgetting those bits lately."

He sighed. "So I've noticed. Anyway, she said something that had me curious, so I hurried over only to find her unconscious on the ground and a walking wifi base station trying to upload her. Well, that, and you sitting tied up with a jump-rope in her kitchen beside a threatening cricket bat. Might I ask what got you into that situation?"

"Sure." I said, going silent, before his expectant look clued me in. "Oh! You want me to explain. Right. Um… Let's see… I was… Ah! I was at Pompeii with Ten and Donna, fainted, and ended up on the lawn. Had a pleasant conversation with the homeowner about my being a young student searching for my old school buddy to help me with my A-levels; namely Clara. Then she came down, realized I was lying and… well, I think I may have phrased things a bit wrong. I suppose people wouldn't be too keen on someone just walking in their house. But the younger girl who was here must have overheard and knocked me out. I _may_ have mentioned the internet bit, so Clara was probably going to do her own questioning before she called the police. It was nice of her to postpone that." I smiled, flinching a bit at the sharp ache that went through my head at the action as I stood up. "By the way, you're _awfully_ blurry."

He sighed and lightly placed my glasses on my face, allowing me to see the frown he had on.

"Ah, I'm getting a hint of disapproval…" I muttered, stealing Jack's line from 'The Doctor Dances'.

"Bit more than that, unfortunately." He said, going into scolding mode. "Do you _know_ the kind of damage that hit could have done? Your mind is very fragile, Alex. And as much as you'd like the believe that you're invincible, you need to stop being so reckless!"

I flinched, wanting to argue, but a part of me knew he was right. Unfortunately, the part that was angry with him is the one that spoke up; though it wasn't louder than a murmur at first.

"It's not _my_ fault."

"_Yes_, it is, Alex. Nobody _forced_ you to go in there and do that. That was _your_ choice!"

I bristled at that, the anger taking over my words. "What would you know?! You've been yelling at me since I got this stupid body! I've been trying to ignore it and get used to the fact that 'hey, guess what? I've got to relearn how to function as someone not even the same gender as before!' But I can't even keep my damn thoughts in order long enough to know what I'm doing in the first place!"

"Alex, I—"

"No! No, I hate this body! The poor eyesight, the allergies, the memory problems, the lack of control over everything! I…" I choked on my words for a moment, tears clogging up my throat. "I-I can't even love my own husband without feeling something's wrong."

"Oh, Alex." He murmured. "I didn't know." He shook his head then. "No, I _should_ have known. You smiled far too much."

I smacked his shoulder hard, not appreciating the joke, but knowing that he was just trying to lighten my mood.

"What I mean is, well… I'm sorry, Alexander. I need to pay more attention to how you're feeling after you've regenerated. Especially in situations like this one. But I promise you, I don't feel any different about you. Male or not. You're still my Alexander." He reached over and kissed me lightly, resting his forehead against mine with a soft smile. "And I think you look cute in your glasses."

"_And you look… nice with your glasses on."_ Twelve's voice rang in my mind and I suddenly felt rather embarrassed as I remembered how hard Twelve and even Ten had tried to make me feel comfortable with our relationship in this new body.

"'m sorry." I muttered quietly. "I'm overreacting. You're trying to help. I know you are. I'm just…"

"You're stressed. I understand." The Doctor replied, kissing me again. "And that's alright. Compared to how I am when I'm stressed, you're a cake-walk. Always quick to forgive this big idiot's mishaps, and always ready to help even if you're trying to deal with other things." His soft smile fell though. "Oh, your regenerations are always so hectic. Always popping around. No time to deal with anything, much less the fact your whole biology tore itself apart and put itself back together differently. But you were always helping me, weren't you? Oh, how hard it must have been. I'm so sorry, Alexander."

"Me too." I replied softly, glancing down at myself. "For ending up like this."

"Hey now. Enough of that." He chided me lightly, placing his hands on my waist and making me blush when he pulled me close with a flirtatious smirk. "You'll find Time Lords are rather flexible when it comes to sex-change regenerations and relationships. Jack's not the only one who can dance."

I couldn't help but give him a look. "But… you dance like a giraffe…"

He groaned loudly. "Alex! That's not what I meant, and you know it!"

That finally broke the tension that had eased into the room and I laughed.

"Alright, alright. But we better dance later, spaceman. We need to… to…" I trailed off, brows furrowed in confusion and frustration. "Dammit."

"Language." He scolded me, kissing my cheek. "And patience. It'll come. Don't force it."

I took a breath and let it out, trying to relax, before it clicked. "Ah! Clara! We've got to look after Clara!"

He grinned. "See? It's easy once you get the hang of it. And I've already got a couple of chairs set up outside. Will you join me?"

I nodded, accepting his offered hand and allowing him to tug me out of my room and outside where he'd set up a couple of lawn chairs side-by-side for us to lounge in. Beside it though, is what made me smile. A small fold-up table held a package of Twinkies and a bowl of still hot macaroni.

"Best husband ever." I murmured, kissing him and earning a proud grin from the man as we settled down and began working.

I chewed on my food happily as I leaned over on the arm of his chair to try and assist with his hacking into the disassembled robot that had attempted to download Clara. There wasn't much I could help with. The Doctor was surprisingly more well versed in hacking and computers than I was, but he was very helpful in explaining what he was doing and trying to do. It wasn't until my bowl was empty and my Twinkies were nearly gone beside a glass of some tart alien lemonade-type drink, that the window upstairs was opened and Clara poked her head out.

"Hello?" She called down and the Doctor immediately stood up, tugging me along with him.

"Hello! Are you alright?"

"I'm in bed." She replied.

"Yes."

"Don't remember going."

"Well, I don't remember a lot of things." I countered, pouting as I rubbed the still aching knot on my head. "And being hit with a cricket bat doesn't help."

"Yes." The Doctor frowned, wagging a finger at her. "That wasn't very nice. My husband was only trying to help."

I blinked, turning to him. "I get called husband too? That's weird. Aren't I still the wife?"

"Well, I can still call you that, if you want, but people are going to get confused."

"Partner?" I offered and he wrinkled his nose.

"No. it's too impersonal."

"Well, there's no way you're calling me your lover."

Clara cleared her throat and we both turned back to her. "Right, yeah. Sorry about that. The whole…" She waved her hand at me. "Head thing. But you _did_ break in."

"Correction. I _walked_ in. I had permission and _walked in_. Not my fault you didn't let me explain."

She sighed. "Okay, what did I miss?"

"Oh, quite a lot, actually." The Doctor replied, making grabby hands at me until I passed over the notepad he'd used earlier. "Angie called. She's going to stay over at Nina's. Apparently that's all completely fine and you shouldn't worry like you always do. For God's sake get off her back. Also, your dad phoned, mainly about the government. He seems very cross with them. I've got several pages on that. I said I'd look into it. I fixed that rattling noise in the washing machine, indexed the kitchen cupboards, optimized photosynthesis in the main flower bed and assembled a quadricycle."

"Assembled a what?"

"I found a dissembled quadricycle in the garage."

"I don't think you did."

"No, really. He did." I pointed out. "He found a broken bicycle and some parts for it and combined them to make a four-wheeled cycle; also known as a quadricycle. Invented _far_ too early. I tried to go fix it, but he wanted me relaxing after you went and tried to give me brain-damage. 'No extensive thinking', he said."

"You were unconscious for too long." He argued with a pout and I sighed, moving back to the lawn chair.

"Yes, yes. As you've said sixteen times already."

"What happened to me?" Clara asked then and our attention was once again redirected back to her.

"Don't you remember?" The Doctor asked.

"I was scared, really scared. Didn't know where I was."

"Do you know now?" He pressed.

"Yes."

"Well then, you should go to sleep. Because you're safe now. We promise. Goodnight, Clara." He moved back to his own chair, kissing the top of my head as I handed him back the laptop and Clara closed her window, only to open it again.

"Are you guarding me?"

"Well, yes." He said, turning to me as I nodded. "Yes! I am. _We_ are." He smiled and I gave him one in return for including me as Clara chuckled slightly.

"Are you two seriously going to sit down there all night?"

"Yes. We promise. We won't budge from these spots." He said, flipping his sonic and tucking it into his coat. "Well, other than to grab a blanket for Alex when it starts to get chilly. He's still not quite good with the colder weather."

"Oi." I grumbled in complaint and Clara smiled down at us.

"Well, then. I'll have to come to you."

The Doctor stood up, confused. "Eh?"

He turned to me in confusion and I sighed, standing up once more and tossing him a wrench from the toolbox he'd brought out earlier.

"She said she's joining us. Just keep doing what you're doing. She's curious."

He hesitated and I went on.

"It'll be fine. I promise. We've got the Tardis."

"Is that a hint?" He questioned, his smirk back in full force.

"Perhaps."

He chuckled, kissing me again—in the mood for lots of affection, it seems—before waving the wrench at me and moving to work on the robot. Clara soon came out with her own chair and a handful of mugs. I quickly hurried over and took two of the mugs from her so she'd have her hands free to set up her chair.

"Thanks." She said with a small smile. "Sorry about the… head."

"Not at all. I tend to get knocked about a lot. Especially now that I've got a big mouth and no real filter."

"Ah." She muttered, looking confused, but more at ease with me than before.

"Ah, watch out for him." The Doctor warned her, waving his wrench at me. "Looks all cute and cuddly with that easy-going smile and dorky look, but he's quite clever and has taken down men three times his size."

"Doctor!" I complained, passing him a mug. "I'm trying to have her like me! Can't exactly make friends after a screw up, when you're sitting there spouting out my secrets."

He mouthed a 'sorry' to me and quickly looked around for something to change the subject. "I, uh, I like your house."

I face-palmed with a groan, flopping back into my chair as Clara smiled in amusement and set up her own.

"It isn't mine. I'm a friend of the family."

"But you look after the kids. Oh, yes. You're a governess, aren't you? Just like—" He cut himself off and Clara raised a brow.

"Just like what?"

"Just like… I thought you probably would be." He bluffed, looking at me for help, but I ignored him as Clara went on asking questions.

"Are you going to explain what happened to me?"

"There's something in the wifi." The Doctor replied simply enough, glad for the distraction and sitting beside me; acting all secretive.

"Okay."

"This whole world is swimming in wifi. We're living in a wifi soup. Suppose something got inside it. Suppose there was something living in the wifi, harvesting human minds. Extracting them. Imagine that. Human souls trapped like flies in the world-wide web. Stuck forever, crying out for help."

"Isn't that basically Twitter?" She joked and I snorted, leaning over the Doctor's arm and gesturing to the wifi symbol.

He glanced at me, but clicked on it, finding a number of strange symbols popping up one after the other. He gave Clara a look as something clicked in his mind then, and she immediately caught sight of it.

"What's that face for?"

"A computer can hack another computer. A living, sentient computer, maybe that could hack people. Edit them. Rewrite them."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because a few hours ago, you knew nothing about the internet and you just made a joke about Twitter."

"Ah, I forgot that bit." I frowned, rubbing my head with a wince.

"Minor detail." The Doctor reassured me.

"Oh." Clara breathed out, realizing now that she _had_ changed. "Oh, that's weird. I know all about computers now in my head. Where did all that come from?"

"You were uploaded." I replied with a shrug and the Doctor nodded, continuing.

"Uploaded for a while. Wherever you were, you brought something extra back, which I very much doubt you'll be allowed to keep."

I spotted the man before he did and I stood, gaining his attention. He caught sight of him too and turned to Clara.

"You, Alex, and I inside that box, now."

"I'm sorry?" Clara gaped and I grumbled.

"Not the best choice of words there, Doctor."

"Look, just get inside." He said shortly.

"All three of us?"

"Oh, trust me. You'll understand once we're in there."

"I bet I will." She argued, not sounding pleased. "What is that box anyway? Why have you got a box? Is it like a snogging booth?"

"Clara—" He stopped, brows furrowed. "A what?"

"Only for me and him." I hummed, stopping and turning back to them as I realized something. "Ooh, I said that out loud, didn't I?"

Clara smirked. "Oh, definitely."

"Right. Ignore that bit. In the box." I pressed, lightly pushing her towards it as she dug in her heels.

"Now hold on a minute. I'm not about to just walk into a box with two complete—"

"Clara, look around you." The Doctor said and she did, frowning as house lights began turning on one-by-one.

"What's going on? What's happening? Is the wifi switching on the lights?"

"No, people are switching on the lights. The wifi is switching on the people."

"Yeah, might want to move quicker." I replied. "The man just turned his head around."

"What is that thing?" Clara asked upon catching sight of it.

"A walking base station." The Doctor quickly answered. "You saw one earlier."

"I saw a little girl."

"It must have taken an image from your subconscious, thrown it back at you. Ah! Active camouflage." The Doctor groaned, smacking himself in the head, before he made my blood chill with the hint of fear that flickered through him; and hence, me. "They could be everywhere."

"Doctor? Doctor." Clara pulled us both over to where we could see past the houses and I felt that urge of fear get stronger as lights began to go out in the distance.

"Our lights are on and everyone else's off. Why?"

"A target." I breathed out, bringing a hand up to my head. "We're the big bright spot on a map of dark, but why can't I remember what's so important about that?"

"Some planes have wifi." The Doctor said, grabbing me and kissing me hard. "_You_ are brilliant."

"T-Thanks?"

He turned to Clara then, my hand in his as he caught sight of the approaching plane. "You, us, box. Right now."

He grabbed her hand too, pulling her in with us as we were both released and I scrambled around the console to help him pilot; knowing he was going to need all the hands he could get with a short-distance hop.

"Yes, it's a spaceship. Yes, it's bigger on the inside." The Doctor replied, hurrying around me to reach a set of levers just out of my reach. "Now, I don't have time to talk about it."

"But, but, but, but it's—"

"Shut up—"

"_Doctor_." I grumbled, looking at the monitor to make sure we were heading for the right coordinates.

"_Please_." He tacked on. "Short hops are difficult."

"Bigger on the inside. Actually bigger." Clara muttered, still in shock.

"Right. Come on." The Doctor said, trying to urge her back to the doors, but she resisted.

"We're going to go back out there?"

"We've moved. It's a spaceship. We flew away."

"Away from the plane?"

"Not exactly."

"In it, actually." I added, pushing her along.

"What?!"

We tumbled into the descending plane, trying our best to get to the cockpit.

"How did we get here?!" Clara asked over the noise of the engines.

"It's a ship. I told you. It's all very sciency!"

"This is the plane? The actual plane?" She then noticed the slumped over people. "Are they all dead?"

"Asleep. Switched off by the wifi. Never mind them." He called out, sonicking open the door and very nearly landing in the laps of the flight attendants had I not grabbed him and balanced him out with my own stumbling.

We pushed our way into the cockpit, the Doctor sonicking _something_, though I hadn't the slightest idea what, and Clara began asking questions again.

"What is going on? Is this real? Please tell me what is happening!"

"I'm the Doctor and this is Alex. We're married! I'm an alien from outer space. He used to be a human from another universe where my life was a television show. He was also a woman! Now he's part alien, part of my ship, and part human, and also very male at the moment. I'm a thousand years old, he's…" He trailed off, looking at me for confirmation.

"Six hundred and twelve!"

"Right! We've both got two hearts a piece and I can't fly a plane! Can you?!"

"No!"

"Oh, move over!" I complained, pushing into his spot as he stood in worry.

"_You_ know how to fly a plane?!"

"Dunno!" I replied. "Can't remember! I remember flying something, but it could have been a helicopter or a hovercraft! We're about to find out though!"

I smiled nervously, but grabbed the control sticks and pulled. Thankfully, that was the right move and the plane slowly began to gain altitude. Once we were back in the sky at the right altitude, I flipped some of the switches, setting the plane into auto-pilot somehow, just as the captain woke up.

"What the hell's going on?"

The Doctor sonicked the ceiling, a hand on my shoulder as he grinned away. "Well, I'm blocking your wifi, so you're waking up, for a start."

I raised my hand. "And I've set the plane into auto-pilot, but you're rather off course from your route. You might want to straighten things out there and actually drive. And _please_ don't ask me how I know that. Come on, Clara."

I tugged Clara along—the woman unsure about whether or not she'd be capable of drinking her mug of tea—and we entered the Tardis, where I released her and grinned at the Doctor.

"I can fly a plane!"

"You can fly a plane!" He repeated, kissing me and then lifting me off the ground to spin around. "Ah-ha! Excellent!"

Clara took a moment to finish her drink and set it down as the Doctor and I worked on the Tardis a bit.

"Okay." She said, having regained her bearings. "When are you two going to explain to me what the hell is going on?"

The Doctor opened his mouth, but my stomach grumbled and cut him off.

"Ah… sorry. Bit peckish and is there any chance I could change? I don't remember the last time I had the chance, unfortunately…"

The Doctor nodded and I headed towards the stairs as he pointed at me to make a point.

"Breakfast."

"What? I ain't waiting till breakfast. And does he seriously have time to change?"

"And shower, if he's quick." The Doctor said, loud enough that I could hear him, and I gave him a thumbs up. "It's a time machine. You never have to wait for breakfast."

* * *

"Thank you. Thank you. Yes, magic blue box." The Doctor chimed to the applause that greeted him when he waltzed out of the Tardis; pulling a fez out and collecting change. "All donations gratefully accepted. Roll up, give us your dosh. Pennies, pounds, anything you've got." He then passed it to Clara. "Keep collecting. We need enough for breakfast. Just popping back to the garage and to check up on Alex."

"Garage?" She questioned in disbelief, but he ignored her as he bounced into the ship.

He snatched up Clara's laptop from off the console and snapped his fingers before heading up the stairs to call into the hallway.

"Nearly done there, Alex?"

"Hold your horses!" He called back. "My body's being picky on clothes again and the Tardis dropped a rather adorable slithering friend into the pocket of the last set of trousers I tried on. You want me to move faster, then tell her to stop picking on me!"

The Doctor sighed. "She likes you! She's not going to stop. I'll be in the garage picking our ride. It'll be a bit hard with three of us, but be ready when I roll out."

"Dammit!" Alex shouted, making the Doctor pause as there was a crash and a rather strange screeching sound. "Where did the Capuchins come from?!"

The Doctor couldn't help but chuckle, but pat the wall nearest him. "Come on now. Don't tease him too much."

"I _hate_ monkeys!" Alex's annoyed shout came from upstairs and the Doctor grinned as he bounded down to the garage to pick out their ride for the day.

He was quick to find something maneuverable that could hold all three of them and brought it out triumphantly. The motorcycle and side-car easily rolled up the ramp that the Tardis had moved so he could drive the vehicle out of the garage easily. He then revved the engine a bit and Alex hurried to the stairs, hopping up to slide down the rail and smiling at the motorcycle.

"Oh, _please_ tell me I get to sit in the side-car."

The Doctor chuckled, tossing him a helmet. "It's all yours. Did you find what you were looking for in the wardrobe?"

Alex nodded, spinning around once to show the Doctor. "I wanted a coat because it was chilly, but couldn't find quite the right one until I found this dark brown peacoat. What do you think?"

The Doctor leaned over as Alex climbed into the side-car, kissing his cheek. "I think it's dashing."

"'Dashing.' Who says that anymore?" Alex snorted, trying to hide his embarrassment as he shifted his eyes away. "You sound like Donna. 'Spiffing! Top hole and whatnot!'"

"Yes, yes." The Doctor hummed in amusement, revving the engine once more.

"Hold on. We can't get through the door."

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" The Doctor replied to Alex's question, smirking, before launching the motorcycle towards the door.

Alex yelped, ducking down in the side-car, but they surprisingly fit easily through the door to where Clara was with the crowd.

"So this is tomorrow, then. Tomorrow's come early." Clara muttered.

"No, it came at the usual time. We just took a short cut." The Doctor answered her, turning to the clapping crowd. "Thank you, thank you. Tomorrow, a camel."

Clara pointed at them. "Where am I supposed to go?"

The Doctor turned to Alex. "Alex, if you would?"

He pouted, but got up, gesturing to the side-car for Clara as he climbed onto the back of the motorcycle with the Doctor. "I get to ride in the side-car back though! I call dibs!"

"Alright. Fine by me." Clara replied, accepting the helmet passed her way and passing the fez to the Doctor; who promptly placed it on the nearest child's head before driving off.

"If you've got a flying time machine, why are we on a motorbike?"

"What's a motorbike?" Alex questioned and Clara stared at him in confusion before the Doctor replied.

"_Motorcycle_, Alex." He said, the man letting out an 'oh' as the Doctor responded to Clara's question. "I don't take the Tardis into battle."

"Because it's made of wood?"

"Because it's the most powerful ship in the universe and I don't want it falling into the wrong hands." He lifted his hands, but quickly put them back on the handle bars as Alex laughed.

"He can't do an explanation without using his hands! Ha!"

"Oi! Rude!"

"I used to be ginger! I'm allowed to be rude!"

* * *

"So, if we can travel anywhere in time and space, why did we travel to the morning? What's the point in that?" Clara asked as I chewed idly on the macaroni I'd ordered.

"Whoever's after us spent the whole night looking for us. Are you tired?" The Doctor asked, his eyes locked onto her laptop.

"Yes."

"What? Then imagine how they feel. They came the long way round." He said, before muttering to himself. "They've got to be close. Definitely London going by the signal distribution. I can hack the lowest level of their operating system but I can't establish a physical location. The security's too good."

"Are you an alien?" Clara asked before I could hint at something for the Doctor; thus knocking my mental train right off its tracks to wander aimlessly in my head.

"I am. Yes. Okay with that?"

"Oh, yeah. Think I'm fine. What about him?"

"Hm?" I turned to her with my fork hanging from my mouth.

The Doctor pulled a hand through his hair. "Well, he's a bit harder to explain. See, he used to be human, but then there's this energy in his shoulder that send him off to different points in my life. That energy thought it'd be handy to give him attributes of my species."

Clara looked a bit lost, so I swallowed and explained in simpler terms.

"I'm part human, part alien." _And part Tardis, but let's not mention that bit just yet... Though I think the Doctor mentioned that and all of this earlier. Did Clara just forget?_

"Oh, okay." She said, accepting things rather easily, but then again, it _was_ Clara.

While she acted totally fine, I knew she was rather panicked on the inside. I could feel it, actually, though I was trying not to. With how Rose first reacted to the Doctor explaining about the Tardis translation matrix, I never really wanted to be nosy and get into the companions' deep feelings about things without permission. _Doesn't mean I won't do what I can to help her out, but I'd rather she didn't find out I can feel emotions until later._

"So what happens if you find them? What happens then?" Clara asked the Doctor and he grumbled slightly.

"I don't know. I can't tell the future; I just work there. Alex, however…"

"Oi, don't go dragging me into this. You lot are doing just fine without my meddling."

Clara looked between us in surprise. "Hold on. So you're saying he can tell the future too?"

I frowned at the Doctor and smacked his shoulder.

"Ow! I didn't know it was a secret! When did that become a thing?!"

"You go around telling every human that, and they'll be asking me for lotto numbers and locking me up. I think I've been through that enough already."

His expression immediately softened and I groaned.

"Oh, stop it. It's fine. Just stop with that look. It's like I kicked a puppy." I complained, before explaining things to the very confused Clara. "Alright, it's like this. I'm from another universe where his life is a sci-fi television show. So I'm not psychic. I just know a bit more than I should about some of the adventures involving him."

"Uh… huh." She replied, not looking convinced, but I waved my hand.

"Eh, you'll get it sooner or later. And before you ask, no. We don't have a plan."

"What?" She questioned in surprise as the Doctor nodded. "People always have plans."

"Yes, yes. I suppose they do. So tell me, how long have you been looking after those kids?" He asked out of the blue, though I caught the look he gave me and pointedly avoided it.

"About a year, since their mum died." Clara replied, none-the-wiser.

"Okay. Why you? Family friend, I get that, but there must have been others. Why did it have to be you? I mean, you don't really seem like a nanny."

I smacked him upside the head, earning an amused look from Clara. "He's rude. You get used to it, or correct it like I do."

She smiled, turning back to the Doctor and grabbed her laptop. "Gimme."

He grabbed it back from her though, giving it a pat. "Sorry, what?"

"You need to know where they physically are. Their exact location."

"Yes."

"I can do it." She replied, taking it and holding it out of his reach.

"Oi, I need that."

"You've hacked the lower operating system, yeah? I'll have their physical location in under five minutes. Pop off and get us a coffee."

"Ooh, extra cream." I smiled at the Doctor, who frowned; not liking how he'd suddenly been deemed the coffee boy.

"If I can't find them, you definitely can't." He argued.

"They uploaded me, remember? I've got computer stuff in my head."

"So do I."

"I have insane hacking skills." She countered; them tugging the laptop back and forth.

"I'm from space and the future with two hearts and… twenty-seven brains."

"And I can find them in under five minutes plus photographs." She said, before furrowing her brows. "Twenty-seven?"

"Okay, slight exaggeration."

I whacked the back of their hands with my fork, making both of them release the laptop and turn to me.

"You two are like children, honestly. Doctor, go fetch the coffee."

"But Alex—"

"No, stop it. You know how my body likes it's coffee better than I do and with how forgetful I am, I'd probably walk up there and forget what I was doing. That, and Clara's got this; believe it or not. And could you get me a cheesecake?" I asked, wiggling my finger. "The one with the raspberry sauce all drizzled on it?"

He groaned, begrudgingly giving in. "_Fine._"

He got up, but paused, looking back at Clara briefly, but long enough to get her attention.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

"Sorry, no. It's nothing. It's just… you're a nanny. Isn't that a bit, well, Victorian?"

"Victorian?"

"You're young. Shouldn't you be doing, you know, young things? W-W-With young people?" He questioned, doing a little jig.

"You mean like you, for instance?" She waved a hand at me. "You and _your_ young person? Please."

"No, no. I didn't…" He looked at me, growing pink in the cheeks as I blinked, confused, before he turned back to her with a frown. "S-Shut up."

He gasped then, stunned that she'd gotten him to the point of telling her to 'shut up', but I chucked and waved at him; mouthing 'raspberry sauce', to which he nodded.

"Honestly." I snorted, returning to my food. "I'm surprised we got this far, when I see him act like that."

"An old man in a child's body?" Clara offered and I nodded with a hum, pointing my fork at her in agreement. "How'd you end up with him anyway? Not that I'm against whatever it is you two have, it's just… you seem more level-headed, in a way."

"I actually used to be a woman. Our species… or rather his species and most of mine, have this thing where we change bodies when we die. It's complicated and you'll find out about it later, but I ended up here; young, lost, having no idea what I was going to do. And I met him. I knew about him, of course, but it was…" I paused, trying to think of a good way to say it. "Like finding your favorite celebrity. You've watched everything they were in. You've seen their talk-shows and know how they act, but then you meet them and realize you don't know anything. He helped me through a lot of rough patches and I felt he needed someone to do that for him, so when I had a chance to return to my life and stay there, I couldn't. I came back for him."

"But… didn't you have family and stuff back there? In your universe?"

I nodded, trying to remember my family and feeling a bit sad that I couldn't really remember their faces anymore. "Family, friends, a job and a flat. I wasn't happy though. I mean, when I first ended up here, I wasn't either, but then I stayed and grew to love it. Returning was just a hard blow. Nothing seemed to matter as much. The world wasn't as brilliant as it was here, sort of thing. Hell, Earth hadn't even had contact with aliens in my universe."

"So you came back to help him."

I hummed, placing my fork down on my empty plate. "He needed someone to stick with him and who understood some of what he was going through. I was that person. The relationship thing happened along the way, of course."

"Well, for what it's worth, I think you two are great." She smiled. "You know, in the whole 'behave, I'm not your mother' kind of way."

I laughed at that, nodding. "Oh, yes. Most definitely."

* * *

Clara was rather curious about the duo she'd met during the whole mess with the wifi. She had no idea why the Doctor had rushed back to check on her and Alex a few minute ago, but she was busy trying to hack into the web cams of the group they were after.

"Ooh, try there." Alex said, pointing out a section of coding on the screen. "Might make things easier."

"Right. On it." Clara replied.

Though she was still confused about the whole 'I'm an alien who used to be a human woman' bit, she rather liked Alex and his handling of the strange man called the Doctor. Sure, they acted ridiculous together, but she could tell that they really loved each other. She was happy for them, being only slightly jealous. The Doctor—though more than his share of weird—was a little cute. She wouldn't meddle however. These two just seemed made for each other, in a way. She was glad for the distraction with hacking into the web cams though. She may have acted fine on the outside, but things were getting a bit difficult to wrap her head around, what with the insane wifi robots taking over peoples' minds via the internet. She let out a chuckle as photos of the workers began to pop up on her screen as she typed away. Alex even looked impressed.

"Why didn't I think of that?" He questioned as Clara went about matching pictures to the employees' Twitter and Facebook. "Social media. Ooh, I'm getting too old for this, if I've forgotten about social media."

Every one of the social media pages listed 'The Shard' as where they worked and Clara looked over her shoulder at the building. She finished up as quickly as she could and spotted the Doctor heading over; making her smile.

"I did it. I really did. I did it. I did it. I found them."

"You found them." He replied as she continued.

"The Shard. They're in the Shard. Floor sixty-five."

"Floor sixty-five." He repeated and Alex stood.

"Clara, something's wrong."

"What?" She looked up at him, seeing his serious, yet confused expression. "What is it?" She looked back at the Doctor. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" The man rattled on.

"He's repeating." Alex said, grabbing Clara's arm and tugging her up as well. "That's not the Doctor. Oh!" He looked surprised then, confusing Clara further. "That's not the Doctor. How could I forget that? You'd think I'd remember when my own husband wasn't my own husband."

"Alex, what's going on?"

"Alex, what's going on?" The Not-Doctor repeated, before his head began to turn around to reveal a walking wifi station.

Alex simply lifted a finger. "It's a robot. A robot that repeats things. Bit of a dead giveaway, that. Sure, it should respond, but at least give it an AI or something instead of repeating peoples' words. Talk about dull."

"Alex!" Clara shouted then, snapping Alex out of his thoughts, just as the wifi station shot a beam out at her.

She collapsed immediately and Alex quickly turned to the laptop on the table. He tried to save her from being downloaded, but his fingers kept fumbling as his addled mind tried to keep up with his demands on hacking information. He realized almost immediately that hacking wouldn't work for him and he growled low in his throat before facing the wifi.

"If computer tech doesn't work, then the next best thing is getting her back the hard way." He grumbled, closing his eyes and focusing on Clara's mind in the machine.

He grimaced in pain, fighting to grab a hold of Clara's consciousness and pull it back, but there was something else in the machine struggling to keep hold of it. Alex's legs wobbled, forcing him to grab a chair as the machine twitched with a dangerous spark. Alex could feel Clara's mind slipping and he went to fight back harder, only to feel something latching onto his own mind to try and take it as well. He fell to his knees, breathing heavily as he tried to not only pull Clara back, but keep his own mind safe, before he realized he had no other choice. Begrudgingly, he let go of Clara's mind and focused solely on saving his own. With the machine more focused on downloading Clara's mind over his, he was barely able to break free. Problem was, the machine was beginning to smoke with a red 'overload' flashing across its screen.

"No… No, give her back." Alex grimaced, attempting to stand only for his legs to finally give out and his mind to go blank as he slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Clara? Alex?" The Doctor called out, rushing back out onto the terrace in panic and worry.

"_Doctor? Doctor, help me_." Clara's voice rang out, and the Doctor pulled to a stop; seeing her and Alex unconscious behind a wifi base station made up to look like his exact image. "_I-I don't know where I am. I don't understand. Doctor, help me. Please. I don't know where I am. I don't know where I am! I don't know where I am. Doctor, please. Please help me. Please help me. I don't know where I am. I don't know where I am_."

The Doctor pulled out his sonic, prepared to fry the thing himself, only for Clara's image to fizzle out and an 'overload' to take her place. For a split second, he thought he saw Alex on the screen. A much younger, auburn haired woman calling out to him, but it was gone the moment he blinked; as though it never happened. He still felt panicked though, and hurried to Alex in concern.

"Alex? Alex? Oh, please tell me you didn't." He muttered, concerned that Alex might have done something ridiculously stupid to try and save Clara.

The wifi base station didn't overload the last time, and he feared that Alex may have been the cause. _If Alex tried to take her place, it's very possible that the expanse of his own mind fried the circuits and overloaded the base station. But if each of these human minds is being harvested for someone's evening meal… then Alex may have just gave them a buffet. _He quickly took Alex's pulse and upon finding it, began to lightly pat Alex's face, in the hopes that he'd be roused.

"Come on, Alex. Tell me you're still in there."

He very nearly cried for joy when Alex shifted and groaned, blinking open his eyes and squinting with a cringe as he brought a hand up to his head.

"Taxi?"

The Doctor snorted, helping him sit up. "Not quite. You didn't try and take Clara's place, did you?"

"What? No, course not." Alex replied, cradling his head in his hand. "I… What did I do again? You were there and then… I remembered something and Clara got caught by the light beam or whatever. I tried to…" He looked around, before spotting the laptop on the table. "Right. I tried to hack, but my brain couldn't remember how to hack fast enough."

"So you did what?"

"I… I think I tried to pull her back?" Alex frowned as the Doctor tried to stay patient; knowing that this version of Alex needed that, especially with whatever damaged he'd done to himself with his last stunt. "Mentally, I mean. I grabbed hold, but there was something else in there tugging her further. Then it tried to grab me too, so I…"

Alex's face fell and he turned his gaze to the ground, returning his hand to his forehead and looking guilty, something that worried the Doctor.

"Alex?"

"I let her go." He mumbled. "I left Clara on her own and pulled myself back. I-I thought she'd be safe, but what if something happens? What if I forgot something?"

Seeing the downward spiral Alex was throwing himself into, the Doctor grabbed him and had him face him.

"Alexander, everything will be fine. I promise. We'll make sure of it. The both of us together, so don't blame yourself. I'm _glad_ you're safe. These minds are being used to feed some creature and as devastated as I am that Clara was taken, her mind has a much higher chance of being saved by blending in with the swarm of other minds. If it had gotten you…" The Doctor paused, swallowing past the lump of anger welling up in his chest at the thought and brushing a strand of hair out of Alex's face. "Alex, if it had gotten you, it wouldn't have bothered with any of the other minds. You would have been devoured in an instant."

"Because I'm old?" Alex concluded and the Doctor shook his head, kissing Alex briefly.

"Because you're unique." He replied, catching sight of the light pink dusting Alex's cheek and smiling a bit before helping him up. "Now come on. We've got a young woman to save."

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" The Doctor asked Alex as they sped through the streets towards the Shard; him safely seated in the side-car of the motorcycle with the helmet on to match his.

He nodded. "I want to save her." He pouted then. "We haven't even had our first girl's night out yet."

He rolled his eyes as they pulled to a halt near the base of the Shard; a pedestrian turning to them and being spoken through by the woman leading this whole operation, Miss Kizlet.

"Really, Doctor. A motorbike? Hardly seems like you."

"We rode this in the antigrav Olympics, 2074. Came in last. Well, _I_ came in last. We spun out the last few feet to the finish line and because the side-car passed the finish line first, Alex got second to last.

"Whoo!" Alex cheered with a fist bump. "Who are we racing?"

The Doctor sighed, ignoring his forgetfulness for now as the pedestrian ignored his words.

"The building is in lock-down. I'm afraid you're not coming in."

"Lock-down, smock-down." Alex waved off and the Doctor too, grinned.

"Did you even hear the word 'antigrav'?" He questioned, hitting a red button on the fuel tank and accelerating towards the building.

He could only imagine the look on Miss Kizlet's face as Alex and him raced up the side of the building; the latter cheering as though he was on a rollercoaster.

"Alex! Your turn!" He called out, and he nodded, whipping out the sonic and aiming it at the window not far above them.

The glass shattered before they reached it, giving them easy access into Miss Kizlet's office.

"Now, we wait." The Doctor hummed, parking the bike and assisting Alex out of the side-car, before taking him over to Miss Kizlet's desk.

The Doctor plopped into her desk chair while Alex simply sat on her desk-top and removed his helmet just as the woman herself entered and eyed the duo and the motorcycle parked in her office.

"Do come in." She joked as the Doctor waved.

"Download her." The Doctor said sternly, neither he nor Alex up for playing games anymore.

Not with Clara in danger.

"Sorry about the draft." Miss Kizlet continued, with no reaction from the waiting duo.

"Download her back into her body right now." Alex said with an eerily sort of calm that even sent a chill down the Doctor's spine.

"I can't."

"Yes, you can." The Doctor pressed.

"She's a fully integrated part of the entire cloud now. She can't be separated."

"Then download the whole thing." Alex said lowly, standing and moving around the desk.

"You realize what would happen."

"Yes, those with bodies to go home to would be free." The Doctor replied, standing now too and giving Alex a small glance.

He wasn't liking the serious mood change with him. In this body, his mood changes could be a serious—and potentially dangerous—issue.

"A tiny number. Most would simply die."

"They'd be released from a living hell. It's the best you can do for them, so give the order." The Doctor demanded, flicking her on the nose.

"And why would I do that?"

The Doctor went to respond, but Alex said something then. Something confusing.

"What happened to your mother?"

"What?" Miss Kizlet questioned with a frown.

Alex stepped forward, tipping his head curiously, almost; though with a look that the Doctor worried about. "Your mother. Don't you remember? Your father too. Where did they go?"

The woman frowned in confusion and fear, taking a step back. "I-I don't know what you mean."

"Oh, but I think you do, subconsciously, anyway." Alex hummed, stepping forward and getting into her person space as he looked the woman over as though she was an insect being toyed with by a child. "The stutter proved that much."

"Alex." The Doctor tried to interrupt, but Alex didn't seem to hear him.

"What are you going to do when he's gone?"

"S-Stop it." The woman pleaded.

"When that voice in your head leaves you here to pick up the pieces? Hm?" He questioned, tilting his head to the side and watching her every move like a dangerous predator.

"Stop it!" The woman nearly shouted now.

"What are you going to do when you return to the scared little girl whose mummy and daddy didn't return home? What then?"

"_Alex_!" The Doctor snapped this time and Alex stopped, turning to face him with that familiar blank and confused look on his face.

"Hm? What?"

This was why the Doctor hadn't wanted Alex to go. He knew how this body of his worked and when someone close to them was in danger, he knew better than anyone how Alex would stop at nothing to save them, Clara especially. He wasn't sure what it was, but he feared that it may have been similar to _his_ stance on her. She'd died in front of him. In front of _them_. And this was a later Alex. The Doctor only had a partial idea as to how much he'd seen; him being just as forthcoming with the darker part of his life as the Doctor himself. And companions took a big toll on those reserves. He'd seen how bad Alex could get after a companion was forced to part ways with them and with his foreknowledge, he knew ahead of time and was forced to stay silent and do nothing about it. He helped when he could, but this was still hard for Alex. The Doctor wasn't stupid enough to think otherwise. Problem was, this body.

This body of Alex's had very big memory gaps. Memory gaps that tended to leave the residual emotions of important information in Alex's mind, but failed to reveal what it was that caused said emotions. It was information without context. Alex felt scared or sad or angry, but had no idea why until the thought finally decided to present itself to him properly. Not only that, but the Doctor knew that this body didn't last long. It hurt to think so, but it was the truth. He could count how many times he'd bumped into this form of Alex's on one hand and a part of that was because of the sheer explosiveness of this body. It was fragile. Tortured the first five years of regeneration, amnesia impeding any development with mental capabilities, and then all the usual craziness with the Doctor on top of that. In this body, Alex's emotions ran on thin ice. And this was proof of that.

Alex was overwhelmed. His desire to help Clara and make up for the guilt he was feeling for leaving her on her own, on top of what emotions he was picking up _and_ Miss Kizlet's comment about numerous deaths, sent him straight into fight and protect mode. And the Doctor snapping the man out of it released all of the tension in one swift go, thankfully. Sure, it set Alex's mental clock a few seconds behind—_before_ he began to poke at Miss Kizlet's sensitive past—thus leaving him rather confused as to what was going on, but that was better than the alternative. He loved Alex, no matter which body. But even _he_ knew better than to get on the wrong side of a sleeping dragon.

He turned back to Miss Kizlet, attempting one last time to get her to listen to him. "Give the order." He said, stepping up to her and reaching up to unstrap his helmet. "Because if you don't, I'm going to motivate you, any second now."

"You ridiculous man. Why did you even come here? Whatever for?" The woman scoffed, though she still looked slightly shaken by Alex's words a moment ago.

"I didn't." He replied cheekily and the woman looked at him, lost.

"What?"

"He's still at the café." Alex replied then, the _Not_-Doctor smiling as the real Doctor lifted up his mug to sip his drink.

"I'm finishing my coffee. Lovely spot." He hummed.

"What are you talking about?"

"You hack people, but me? I'm old-fashioned. I hack technology. Alex just wanted to ride in the side-car."

"Hey!" Alex complained, but was ignored for now as the robot Doctor straightened.

"Here's your motivation."

Its head rotated, revealing the man to have been the wifi base station the whole time, sending Miss Kizlet into a panic.

"No! No! Not me! Not me!"

The woman collapsed once downloaded, and the robot snapped its head back around as Alex went over and picked up a tablet.

"And for some added motivation…" He hummed, swiping his finger across the screen and boosting the next head of command's confidence.

"All done then, Alex." The Doctor replied, via the wifi base station. "Bring back the bike?"

"Will do." Alex saluted, climbing into the main seat and putting back on his helmet. "Meet you at the garage."

* * *

I felt something was wrong when I came out of the garage to find the Doctor hovering over the Tardis control panel. He wasn't upset with me. Not quite. However, there was definitely some tension in the air and he was blocking his emotions from me, which was definitely a big tip off.

"Doctor? What's wrong?" I asked, confused. "Did something happen?"

"No, it's nothing." He replied, forcing a smile on his face, though I frowned.

"It's not nothing. You're hiding your thoughts from me and this room feels thick with tension. I don't understand. Has Clara come by yet? Did something happen with her?"

"No, no. She's not been by yet. We're still in the vortex. I…" He paused, looking conflicted. "I wanted to speak with you about something."

"Alright… I take it, it's not a good something, either. Was it because I tried to save Clara? Because I thought we talked about that already."

He pulled a hand through his hair. "No, this is… Do you remember speaking with Miss Kizlet? Before I had the base station reveal itself to her."

I furrowed my brows, thinking. "Um, not sure. You know how this head is with remembering things."

"Just… try and remember something."

"Let's see… We were telling her to download Clara. She said no. Then said to do that would be to save everyone, though she then mentioned that most would die. After that…" I paused, feeling something like an itch in the back of my mind for a moment. "After that, you went and motivated her with the base station."

"Nothing before that?"

"No…" I frowned then, feeling nervousness creep in. "Did I say something and forget again? Not a spoiler or anything, I hope. But… But then why would I be talking to Miss Kizlet?"

"Alex, I want you to listen to me very carefully, alright?" The Doctor said seriously and I stiffened, unsure about what was going on.

"Um, okay."

"You need to be careful while you're in this body. And I'm not talking about what you did with Clara." He said, before I could question him. "Mental-wise. Because you're very susceptible to emotions right now and with how this body of yours was first brought into play, your mind is even more extremely fragile than usual. That's why you're so forgetful, but it's also why you seem to be blacking out momentarily."

"I blacked out?" I questioned in shock.

"Well, not blacked out, per say. It's more of an uncontrollable personality disorder."

"What?"

"Oh, how to explain…" He muttered, but I cut him off before he could get even more technical on me.

"H-Hold on a second. Why don't you start with whatever happened with Miss Kizlet, since I seemed to have done something, but don't remember a lick of it."

"Okay, then. What do you know about her parents?"

"Parents? Nothing. I don't know her and the show didn't mention anything about her, other than the fact that she was serving someone—spoilers, by the way, on who that someone is—but I don't know anything about her background."

He looked at me, deadly serious as he spoke his next words. "Because you told her that when that 'someone' leaves her, she'll return to being some little girl whose mummy and daddy never returned. Alex, you emotionally attacked her."

"W-Wha—I didn't…"

I stopped trying to argue for myself, knowing from the hurt look on the Doctor's face that he wasn't lying. Not about this.

"But… But I don't know anything…" I murmured, guilt welling up in me as that itch returned, begging me to scratch at it mentally and find out what the hell I was missing.

"I know, Alex. I know you weren't trying to, but I saw it happen. And it's not the first time I've seen this, with this version of you. I'm just trying to help you and get you to understand that there's times when you need to disconnect yourself from the situation to prevent this from happening. I don't know if I'll always be there to stop you from going too far." He said, rubbing my arm as I tried to wrap my head around this.

"Yeah…" I grumbled, pulling a hand through my hair before giving him an apologetic look. "Um, listen. I know Clara's supposed to pop by and you're supposed to invite her onboard or whatever, but would it be alright if I just…" I winced, feeling stupid now that I was asking.

"Oi, none of that." He chided lightly, tipping my chin back up so ours eyes met and he smiled softly. "What is it?"

"I-I just… need to think about this, among other things, and I've sort of been running about since I regenerated. So a, um, nap… would be nice?"

"Is that all?" He chuckled, grabbing my arms and spinning me around a bit before suddenly pressing me up against the console with his nose right up against mine, and a dark feral look in his eyes. "My dear, you are welcome to do whatever you like."

I swallowed thickly, trying to get words to come to my mouth and ignore the fact that I was undoubtedly a bright cherry red and my glasses were somewhat skewed on my face from his spin.

"D-D-Did I accidentally mention s-some code word of ours or something t-that I don't know about?" I asked, hating my stutter, but unable to help it with his sudden attack. "Y-You got very… um…" I swallowed again as he shifted closer, despite there being no more room between us and nowhere for me to go. "…fun?" My eyes immediately widened and I frantically tried to backtrack. "I-I-I meant clingy! Definitely meant clingy, not that other word, whatever it was. Ha, ha, ha!" I laughed nervously, but the Doctor could care less, judging by the cocky smirk on his face.

"Have I ever told you how sexy you are in those glasses?" He hummed, deepening the blush on my face.

"W-What is it with the glasses? Is that what did this?" I questioned, mouth running at a million miles an hour to try and quell the nervousness and excitement fighting each other in my gullet. "Dear God, Clara was right. Though something tells me this is going to end up being a bit more than just a snog-box in a minute… Oh, it's going to be so weird…" I wrinkled my nose and the Doctor hummed.

"Well, there's a first time for everything, dear. Shall we?" He smirked, kissing me feverishly before attempting to tug me up the stairs as I tried to regain my lost breath.

"B-But… Clara!" I argued lightly, not really resisting, but still nervous about the Doctor's sudden plans.

"She can wait. Call it revenge for calling the Tardis a snog-box." He teased and I sighed, smiling despite it all, because at least now I knew for certain that the Doctor still loved me in every way, no matter who I was.


	98. Remembrance of the Daleks (7th Doc)

**Been a busy few weeks for me, but finals are over and i'm out of school. work will double up on me for the holiday season, but i've got more time to write than before. :) here's the next chapter though. gives you a look at the new Alex. Let me know what you think about her. she's a bit rough around the edges.**

**and for those of you who read my Ouran fanfic Amber Leaves, I have _finished_ the next chapter. i just need to type it up. be warned though, it will take a while. it's at least 50 hand written pages, but i'll try to have it done as soon as i can.**

**the next chapter for this will be with the 5th Doctor though. i'll post links on my profile to the episode, but please watch "The Black Orchid" when you get a chance. i'll do my best to update this again by the 27th, but my work packs my schedule around christmas, so i'm not sure if it will be done by then. i'll try though ^^**

* * *

I groaned with a muttered curse under my breath as I sat up, rubbing my lower back. I'd popped off at some point—my mind not remembering where I'd been, other than with Eleven—and I hadn't landed as comfortably as I'd hoped. I got up and stretched though, hearing my spine pop in several places before I picked up my cracked lenses from off the ground with a scowl. I begrudgingly replaced them on the bridge of my nose and took a look around. I didn't recognize the area other than the yard being full of junk. I blinked at the old car parts, having not seen anything _that_ old in a long while, but I shrugged it off and began searching for some sign of the Doctor. _He tends to show up in places like this anyway… At least, I think so. Didn't his Second self practically live in a junkyard for a bit? Wait, no… It was his First self, wasn't it? I don't know much of anything concerning the Classic Who Doctors, but I swore there was a junkyard involved at some point._

I continued to ponder this as I squinted through my glasses in search of something familiar, despite the large crack in one of the lenses from my popping up here. Of course, this meant that I was having difficulty seeing other objects, like the large object steadily heading my way and the armed soldier doing the same from the opposite direction.

"Stop there! Hands in the air!" He called out and I froze, spotting the weapon after a squint and holding up my hands in surrender.

"Now, hold on. W-Why don't you put the gun down and we can talk like civilized animals." I said, before frowning slightly. "People. I meant to say 'people' there. Sorry. Tongue gets away from me."

The soldier didn't budge and another, higher ranked man joined him; adding more weapons to the hold-up.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"Hm? Ah, right. Well, about that, I don't really remember." I smiled innocently, but the man was obviously not convinced.

"Do not test me, sir. Explain your presence in this area immediately. How did you get past the guards?"

"Oh, there were guards? Well, they need to work on the whole, 'no intruders' thing." I replied, not seeing the visibly tick in the man's expression.

"Sir, you are under arrest for trespassing on military—"

I stopped listening after that, something making me turn to look over my shoulder. I hadn't heard anything, but I could feel it. I could feel this sick feeling in my stomach. Something was coming. Something dangerous and very, _very_ familiar. Unfortunately, I realized it a moment too late and I saw the energy beam come out of the rubble nearby, only to hit the first soldier who found me. The other one panicked, raising his own weapon and pointing it right at me.

"Get back! Stay back and keep your hands up!" He shouted, assuming that _I_ had been the one to have killed his comrade.

"No, it wasn't me! I haven't moved!" I argued, attempting to get closer to the man without potentially getting shot. "Look. I know what shot that a-and if we could just move somewhere safer and calm down for a moment I might be able to remember what it is!"

"Calm down? My man is dead!"

"And we will be too, if you don't get a move on it! So put down your weapon, grab your man, and let's just—"

A millisecond. That's all I had to react. And even then, someone was going to die. It was up to me to choose who. There was no other option. It was moving too fast. _Can't push him out of the way._ It was too powerful. _Can't deflect it._ And just as the shot rang out, I felt as though everything slipped into slow motion. _Man._ I sighed mentally as I slowly moved one large step to the left and towards the commander. _Just when I was beginning to get used to it… this body._ I cringed, doubling over as the blast hit, everything picking up speed as I shoved the stunned commander.

"Run!" I snapped and he did; pulling his deceased soldier back with him to a safer distance.

I fell to my knees, coughing up blood with a bitter grimace. _The Doctor always told me I get shot too many times for my own good… oh… I remembered what it is._ I toppled the rest of the way to the ground with the name on my lips. _Dalek._

* * *

The Seventh Doctor climbed out of the black van he'd hopped into out of curiosity along with Ace and Professor Rachel Jensen; the owner of said van. They'd just been called to a scene by Captain Gilmore, who'd been attacked by something and the Doctor was eager to discover what it was that these people were so curious about.

"What's the situation?"

Gilmore looked at him in annoyance. "Who the devil are you?"

"I'm the Doctor and this is Ace. You must be with the military." The Doctor grumbled, none-too-pleased either.

"Well, how do you know?"

"I'm very perceptive." The Doctor hummed, taking a long hard look at the man's obvious military hat.

"Is he with you, Professor?" Gilmore asked Rachel, who agreed.

"Yes."

"Smith."

The other young man who'd joined them, snapped to attention. "Sir?"

"Take the girl and set up a position by Red Six."

"Yes, sir. Come on, Ace." The man smiled, happy to take her along as Gilmore turned his gaze back to the Professor and the Doctor.

"You'd better come and take a look."

The Doctor headed over to where two tarps lay over a couple of bodies, something feeling off, to him. He'd had this strange feeling in the van on the way there as well. Like he'd sensed something familiar, but hadn't come across anything of the sort. He shook the thought out of his mind and lifted the tarp off one of the bodies, to examine the corpse of a young man.

"No evidence of tissue damage." He muttered, pressing lightly on the man's chest. "Ah, massive internal displacement."

"What?" Gilmore questioned.

"His insides were scrambled. Very nasty." The Doctor replied, wrinkling his nose, though there with a bell of familiarity ringing in the back of his mind.

"The effect of the blast?"

"No. A projected energy weapon." He explained to the Professor.

"Projected what?" Gilmore said in disbelief.

"A death ray?" Rachel questioned, equally unsure about this.

"No such thing." The Doctor mused, pulling the tarp off the next body, only for Gilmore to exclaim in surprise.

"What the devil… Anderson!" He called out and a man hurried over.

"Yes, sir."

"Who moved the body that was here?"

The man blinked in confusion. "No on, sir. No one's been over here since you left to call up the professor."

"What is it?" The Doctor questioned and Gilmore scowled, pointing at the body.

"It's a woman!"

"Well, I'm glad you know your anatomy." The Doctor joked, but Gilmore wasn't having it.

"No, you don't understand. This was a man. There was a man in the yard that my men came across. We thought he was shooting the energy whatever, but he dove in front of me and saved my life. I know for certain that it was a man. This… This _woman_ was never on the premises!"

"Are you sure you're not just mistaken?" The Doctor questioned further. "Mind often gets confused while in a panic, and you were being shot at, I assume."

"No. I'm certain. It was a male, tall, a young age, wearing a blue scarf and—Now, hold on a minute. She's wearing the same things! The blue scarf, the coat, the glasses. Even the lenses are cracked the same!"

That peeked the Doctor's curiosity, and as he got another good look at the woman, he caught sight of something else.

"And she's breathing."

"What?" Rachel breathed as Gilmore threw his hands up.

"What the devil is going on?!"

The Doctor patted the woman's cheek and her calm expression slipped into a scowl as she batted away his hand lazily and rolled onto her side. Gilmore gapped in blatant shock, still very much confused as to what had happened to the strange man who'd saved him from being killed, and where this woman had come from.

"Come on then, miss. You can't sleep here." The Doctor hummed, amused at the woman as he tried to rouse her.

Finally, she peered an annoyed eye open and the Doctor blinked; the blue-green irises looking very familiar.

"Alex?" He questioned cautiously and the woman groaned, closing her eyes and turning away from him.

"What? What do you want? I was _busy_." She complained, attempting to pull the tarp back up over her head.

"Now, hold on a minute, Alex." The Doctor stopped her. "I didn't recognize you with long hair. What are you doing here?"

"You _know_ her?!" Gilmore exclaimed and the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Yes, well, bit obvious now. She's a friend of mine. Long standing companion. She typically pops in and out, so I didn't exactly expect her here." He explained quickly, tugging the tarp back off Alex. "Alex, would you mind explaining what's going on?"

Alex grumbled a complaint under her breath, but sat up with a hand to her forehead. "Like I'd know what's going on. Ask Mr. Military. I was sleeping."

She suddenly stopped and frowned as she held a long piece of curly auburn hair in front of her face.

"W-Why's my hair long? I don't like it." She turned to the Doctor and scowled. "What's going on?"

"That's what I'd like to know." He replied, giving her a concerned look. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Peachy." She stood and paused, looking down at herself and lifting the end of the long blue scarf. "That's impractical. Look at it. I could trip on this."

"Yes, but Alex, you really don't seem like you're alright." The Doctor pressed, reaching out and placing a steading hand on her shoulder; the woman teetering a bit as she stood there.

She turned to him with a frown. "I was sleeping. You interrupted."

The Doctor sighed, knowing how this Alex was about being interrupted. "Yes, but you _were _asleep under a tarp where the corpse of a young man should have been."

"Huh." She mused, turning then and walking off abruptly, very nearly running right into a van if the Doctor hadn't hurried after her and lightly tugged her away from the vehicle.

"Alex, you are most certainly _not_ okay if you're stumbling around like this." He argued with her. "Come sit down, at least."

"No. I was going to do something. Or I was doing something." She frowned in confusion. "What was it again—"

She suddenly went a little green and doubled over in apparent pain, before wisps of golden energy escaped her mouth. The Doctor stared in shock, understanding dawning on him now.

"Alex, you… Did you regenerate?"

She stood upright, eyes wide as she turned to him in shock. "Dear lord, I remember. I was a man. _I_ was the corpse under that tarp."

* * *

I was rather confused and had a very large headache. The Doctor had sent me over to where Ace was—who I had to convince I was the same Alex she'd already met—and was currently standing by with a somewhat worried look as I removed my broken glasses and frowned at the cracked lenses. They were a bit too strong and not in a style that I cared for, but I was more focused on trying to figure out what had happened to get me here. Much less what had happened in my other body. _It's all sort of jumbled around. I remember being with the Doctor. Twelve, Ten, and Eleven. Four too, I think, and maybe Nine? But the events themselves are blurry. _I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose to combat the sharp pain pounding around in my skull. _Something's been poking around in my head, that's for sure. The barriers are a mess and those still standing are haphazard or are something Twelve set up but have degraded. I honestly just need a few hours to shut everything down and redo it all. That's what regeneration's for, but the Doctor woke me up too early._ I opened my eyes and glanced at Seven as he spoke rather heatedly with Captain Gilmore. _Though, I suppose he had every right to, considering whatever this situation is. Can't be good, seeing as the military is involved._

"Ace." I said, turning to her as I replaced my glasses. "Do you have any clue as to what's going on? I'm out of sorts at the moment."

"Sure, um, let's see." She mused, thinking for a moment. "The Doctor and I just sort of picked a place, yeah? Then I went to go get some food and bumped into Mike; that bloke there." She said, pointing out a man who went with a couple of soldiers to retrieve the body of the one who I had been napping beside. "The Doctor though, saw this van and told me to hop in. Said it was some people searching for something."

"We found a source of magnetic fluctuation." The woman nearby explained, introducing herself briefly. "Sorry. I'm Allison. It's just that we picked up this strange signature and thought it was worth checking out."

I nodded in understanding. "Right. Then the Doctor found out and had to get nosey. Typical."

Ace gave me a look then. "But you've been here, yeah? Don't you know what it is?"

I shook my head. "I've been unconscious up until moments ago and I don't remember seeing what shot at us. Although…" I paused, puzzled as I thought everything through. "That blast was definitely a high powered energy weapon. What did the Doctor say about the body of that soldier?"

"Um, something about his insides." Ace responded and I snapped my fingers.

"Right! Massive internal displacement!" I said as it began to come together. "Oh, and I remember the feeling… When it hit me, I remember that. I've been hit by that before."

Allison looked confused. "Hold on. Are you saying you were shot too? How come you survived when Mathew died?"

I ignored her question as I stood, a hand on my head as I tried to remember the last time I'd felt that feeling. I grimaced—remembering one's death wasn't exactly pleasant, especially considering I'd died quite a few times at this point—before I found it and paled.

"Oh, dear." I murmured, turning to look at Mike and his companions heading for where the corpse was. "O-Oh, dear."

"Alex?"

I immediately began hurrying over towards them, as quick as I could on my uncoordinated legs; hearing Ace and the Doctor calling after me.

"Alex?"

"Alex, what are you doing?"

I unraveled my scarf quickly and tossed it aside as I hurried over and grabbed the backpacks of both soldiers.

"Hold on—"

"What are you—"

"Duck!" I shouted, yanking hard and dropping my bodyweight to throw them off balance; just in time for another energy blast to shoot over our heads.

"Covering fire now!" Captain Gilmore called out as the two stunned soldiers and I crawled to safety behind some vans and metal sheets; gunfire ringing out around us.

Once near the van where the Doctor was, he grabbed my coat and pulled me around to safety, beginning to scold me for my recklessness. Problem was, I was clutching my shirt with short panicked breaths. My scrambled mind was putting together pieces of my past in a quick and frightening fashion. Gun shots did not bring back the most pleasant memories, nor did the knowing of what was awaiting us behind the metal shed.

"Alex? Alex! Alex, focus!" The Doctor shouted, shaking me and finally getting my wide eyes to meet his. "Alex, I need you to listen to me right now. Listen, because if you allow your mind to consume you like this so early on in your regeneration, there is a higher possibility of permanent damage. Now focus on me."

I nodded shakily.

"Tell me what's happening. What's going on in your mind right now?"

"B-But—"

"Saying it will help your mind process the images slower and more completely. It will help. Trust me."

And I did. More than anyone, I trusted the Doctor.

"Fighting." I muttered, swallowing thickly as my eyes flickered briefly over at the shooting soldiers nearby. "I-I fought in the Civil War in America a-and World War II, I think. I remember dragging comrades from the mud. M-My leg was… I'd been shot, but I couldn't leave him."

My hand fisted around my pants leg from a phantom ache, but my grip lightened when the Doctor placed his hand over mine; eyes locked with me.

"I won't let that happen to you Alex." He said, so sincerely that my mind automatically trusting his word and I nodded; feeling much better, as he'd said I would.

He leaned in, kissing my forehead as the cease fire was called, and I blinked; not missing the pink that trailed up the Seventh Doctor's cheeks at the action. _Such an early Doctor giving me affection is… odd. Then again, this _is_ the Doctor I dated. Hm. Wonder what went wrong with Nine._ The Doctor got up and hurried over towards the van Gilmore was standing behind and I did the same; not wanting to miss out on what was going on as another woman was pushed in our direction.

"What was it?"

"That was your death ray." The Doctor replied.

"I know that, but how? To transmit focused energy at that level, it's incredible. It's…" She trailed off and the Doctor and I both watched her curiously, waiting to see what she came up with.

"Yes?"

"It's beyond the realm of current technology."

I couldn't help the small smile on my face at that, but before the Doctor or I could respond, Gilmore interrupted.

"_If_ we could save the science lecture for a less precipitous moment. Now perhaps, Doctor, you could tell me what is going on?"

"Alex would have a better idea, but for now, you must pull your men back. It's their only chance." The Doctor replied seriously.

"It's preposterous. We can't disengage now. Whoever is in there, my men can handle it."

"I doubt it." I grumbled, pushing up my glasses and ignoring the dirty look the Captain sent me.

"Sergeant!" He called out and the Doctor attempted again to convince him.

"Listen to me Brigadier—"

"Group Captain." Gilmore corrected, looking miffed. "Group Captain Gilmore!"

"Nothing you possess will be effective against what's in there!" The Doctor snapped, myself sighing.

"Sir?" The Sergeant questioned, looking between us in slight concern.

"Three men, rifle grenades, even spread left, right, and center. Fire on my command."

"Yes, sir."

"Captain, you're not dealing with human beings here." The Doctor continued once the Sergeant left.

"What am I dealing with? Little green men?" He scoffed and I raised a brow.

"You saw me come back from the dead, changed from a man to a woman, and you can't believe that there's a bonded-polycarbide armored alien behind that metal shed?"

He scowled at me. "I'm still not convinced you haven't simply disposed of the corpse and trespassed."

I rolled my eyes, muttering under my breath. "Butt-hurt, wanna-be-Brigadier prick."

He glared, having heard me apparently, but I winced.

"Ooh, I'm rather rude myself now, aren't I?"

The Doctor sighed. "You'd be surprised."

The Sergeant returned then. "Grenades are ready, sir."

"Group Captain Gilmore." The Doctor tried, but was thoroughly ignored as the man gave the order to fire.

"Humans." The Doctor sighed, resigned and I snorted.

"Military bigots."

The explosions went off and Ace rushed around the corner in excitement.

"That's some serious hardware. Did you see that, Professor? Unsophisticated, but impressive."

Gilmore called Mike over and gave orders to call up reinforcements, but the Doctor turned to him in annoyance.

"It doesn't matter how many men you get here. It isn't going to make any difference."

"Doctor, my men have just put three high-explosive grenades into a confined area. Nothing even remotely human could have survived that."

"That's the point, Group Captain. It isn't _even_ remotely human."

"And don't expect me to go saving people every time I get a hunch that it's going to fire then." I complained to the Captain, who frowned. "Do you even know what bonded-polycarbide is?"

Before the Captain could answer, another shot went off and the soldiers nearby began firing away until Gilmore demanded yet another cease fire.

"Cease firing! Cease firing! Wait for a target!" He said, a Dalek slowly rolling out of the shed. "Fire!"

"The eyestalk, you numbskulls!" I shouted over the noise, ducking behind the van before an energy beam could hit me. "Aim for the eyestalk! That's its weak point! Blimey, these morons don't know anything."

The Doctor agreed, turning to Ace. "Ace, give me some of that Nitro Nine that you're not carrying. Quickly."

Ace handed him a can and then a second. "It's my last can."

"I should hope so, too." He replied. "Uh, how long? The fuse?"

"Ten seconds."

"That's long enough."

"Hold on." I pressed, stopping the Doctor. "Who says you get to go?"

"You've only just regenerated! I'm not letting you out there!"

"That's exactly _why_ I should go! If I lose an arm, I'll just get it back!" I argued.

"And if you get hit straight on, you'll die! For good this time! Absolutely not! You can't even walk straight yet. I'm not risking losing you, Alexander!"

I stopped at that, stunned, and he took his chance to hurry off before I could continue to argue.

"Alex?" Ace questioned in concern and I turned to her in surprise.

"That's only the second time he's called me that." I turned back to where the Doctor had run off. "He's still so young, and he's calling me that…"

"Young?" Ace questioned and I remained silent, watching the Doctor with worry.

Gilmore attempted to get the woman beside us to take Ace and I away, but I glared.

"Like hell you're getting me to leave him. I'd like to see you make me."

Gilmore growled. "I don't have time for this. Professor, go!"

The woman hesitantly glanced at me, but took Ace and bolted for it not long before a loud explosion went off. The shots stopped and I didn't bother waiting for a cease fire before I bolted past Gilmore and over to where the Doctor had been knocked off his feet.

"Doctor!"

Ace wasn't far behind me and I pulled the Doctor up out of the dirt as he shook himself off.

"Are you alright?" I asked frowning then. "You're a moron for not starting to run from the scene sooner than the last four seconds. Calculating the exact time for a fuse isn't always accurate."

"Sorry." Ace said sheepishly. "Nobody's perfect. Are you alright, Professor?"

"Yes, of course I am." He said, the three of us standing and him whacking Ace to get the dust off his hat. "Can you drive? I know Alex can, but I'd rather not test that out with how uncoordinated she is at the moment."

"Thanks. It's the hair, if you ask me." I grumbled, blowing a puff of air to get a long strand of my bangs out of my face. "Next moment I get, I'm chopping this mane off. It's a pain and I can't see half the time."

"Yeah, I can drive, but why are you asking me?" Ace questioned the Doctor and he gestured to the van nearby.

"Good. I thought so. Get in there."

We all dove into the van just in time for Gilmore and his team to round the corner towards where the destroyed Dalek was.

"A Dalek." The Doctor complained, brushing off his hat and apparently overhearing the conversation Gilmore and the other Professor were having over by said alien. "Only trouble is, it's the wrong Dalek."

"Wrong?" I questioned, confused and feeling my headache return with a vengeance; rubbing at my forehead.

"Would the right one be better or worse?" Ace asked.

"Yes." The Doctor said, not really answering, and assisting Ace as she tried to start the van. "Choke."

"No, thanks."

He sighed through his nose and pulled the choke, assisting in starting up the van just as Mike noticed us.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Borrowing your van." The Doctor replied easily as we swiftly drove out of the yard.

* * *

"These Dayleks…" Ace started as the Doctor continued to brush off the dirt from his coat.

"Daleks." He corrected her.

"Oh, Daleks. Where are they from?"

"From Skaro. At least, originally. They're the mutated remains of a species called the Kaleds." He explained, before giving her directions. "Left here."

"When were they left here?" She asked, confused.

"No. Turn left here."

"Oh, right."

"No, left!" The Doctor shouted, but Ace, in her confusion drive right past, making him sigh. "You've missed the turning."

"What turn? Where?"

"Why don't you concentrate on where you're going?"

"Look. I'm doing the best I can. If you don't like it, you or Alex can drive."

Alex groaned, a hand to her head as she waved the other. "No thanks. Headaches and driving don't pair up very well."

"Fine. Move." The Doctor complained, not even allowing Ace to pull over before they were climbing over one another to switch places. "The Kaleds were at war with the Thals." The Doctor continued to explain to Ace, glancing at Alex with a concerned frown as she clenched her eyes shut tightly with another grumbled complaint. "They had a dirty nuclear war. The resulting mutations were then accelerated by their chief scientist, Davros. What he created them he then placed them in a metal war machine, and that's how the Daleks came about."

"So that metal thing had a creature inside controlling it?"

"Exactly. And ever since the Daleks were created, they've tried to conquer and enslave as much of the universe as they can get their grubby protuberances on."

Ace looked at Alex in confusion, who explained briefly.

"They're mushy blobs with tentacles. Think angry octopi with guns."

"_Oh_." She mused, making the Doctor roll his eyes. "And now they want to conquer Earth."

"Nothing so mundane. They conquer the Earth in the twenty second century. No. They want the Hand of Omega."

"What's that?"

"One thing at a time, Ace. Alex has enough on her plate already. How the head then?" He asked, turning to Alex who glared.

"How do you think? I had a bad regeneration last go. Amnesia, torture from the moment I popped up, and a mind scrambling alien attempting to turn my brain into soup until it helped me get back my memories. My head was scrambled _before_ I regenerated this time. Now it's just trying to figure things out and you _interrupted_ my nap. I need to reset everything and start over from scratch, but can't because of this mess with the Daleks. That clue you in a bit?"

He stared at her with a deep sadness, despite her snappy tone. He'd known about her scars and such, but to find out that he hadn't been there for her yet again and she'd gone through something similar, tore at his hearts. And if he didn't know it before, he knew it now. He fancied her. This woman who was strong in so many ways and so weak in others. She could have just gone back to sleep and left him to figure this out alone, but she was fighting all the pains from her regeneration—from her _past_—in order to stay there with him and help him. And he didn't know what he did in the future to get her to stick with him after all of this, but he really hoped that what he did now would count for something. He leaned over and kissed her cheek, making her turn to him in surprise and slight embarrassment, as he forced himself to keep eye contact with her this time.

"Thank you."

She nodded, still looking a bit confused, but Ace's smug grin ruined the moment.

"Blimey, Professor. I didn't know you and Alex had a thing for each other."

The Doctor's cheeks went bright red as he turned his eyes back to the road. "Oh, be quiet, Ace."

She snickered as Alex too, looked away with pink cheeks.

* * *

I pinched the bridge of my nose, grimacing painfully at the headache that continued to run rampant in my head as we entered into a school. It looked vaguely familiar, but with the headache I had, I knew I wouldn't be of much use to the Doctor at the moment. He seemed to be moving along just fine though, but as my thoughts drifted back to what happened in the van, I began to wonder. _That was a pretty bold move for him at this point. I mean, on the forehead was one thing. Eleven did that all the time with Amy and I. Rory too, oddly enough. But this is before he even hits the big 1000. This is before the Ninth Doctor and _way_ before he's supposed to actually begin to like me. So what the hell happened to make him act like this—like he _does_ love me—and what really made him forget all about me between his Eighth and Ninth self? _I groaned softly. _No, stop thinking about this. Not now. Not with your head trying to rearrange itself. Focus on what's going on and find a way to fix it quickly, so that you can sleep._ I felt eyes on me and lightly waved off the Doctor's concerned glance.

"I'm fine."

"You certainly don't look fine, however, as you said before, this isn't quite the time for you to rearrange your synapses. Did you witness what just happened?"

I frowned, realizing that I had apparently been dealing with my headache longer than I thought. We were now in the school and leaving a man behind us as we headed down the corridor.

"No… No, sorry. I was…"

"No, no. That's quite alright, Alex. Difficult regeneration. I can understand. To put it simply, that man back there, denied us entry into his school, but then suddenly changed his mind."

"What? Just like that?"

The Doctor nodded with a hum. "Just like that. Though, he _did_ reach up towards his left ear when his mind was changed."

"'Was changed'? So you think someone changed it for him."

He nodded as I hummed.

"An earpiece then? Mind control?"

"Bit of both, I would think." He replied, before we entered a science lab of some kind and he released his gentle hold on my arm that I hadn't noticed until that moment.

He had a large smile on his face as he overlooked the Bunsen burners and the beakers lying out on the tables; very much enjoying the sight of the scientific instruments. _He always was a big science nerd._ I mused, feeling my headache ease up a bit as I sat on a nearby stool.

"You were expecting these Daleks, weren't you?" Ace questioned him and he turned around.

"Yes. They're following me."

"I wouldn't be so pleased if I had a bunch of Daleks on my case." She said, regarding his smile.

I snorted. "Tell me about it."

"What? They following you too?" She questioned and I removed my cracked lenses with a raised brow.

"Well, I tend to end up with the Doctor one way or another, and if they're following him, you can expect they're technically following me too. However…" I smiled down at my glasses. "…they typically are not very happy upon finding out I'm around. They hate following me."

"They're afraid of you?" Ace gapped in shock and I replaced my glasses and leaned back against the table behind me with a soft sigh.

"I've acquired a… reputation with them in the future. Them, and a number of other—rather dangerous—species in the universe. Can't really say much more than that though. Spoilers and all. Sorry, Doctor."

The Doctor waved me off though. "It's of no consequence to me. You've mentioned bits and pieces before. I _would_ like to mention though…" He smirked at me. "You can always judge someone by the quality of their enemies."

I smiled in return. "And the quantity, in my case."

He went over to the window then as Ace hopped up onto a table and began looking over a book.

"Come and have a look at this." He called out to us and we headed over as he opened the window and gestured to something down below. "What do you make of that?"

I squinted, frowning before removing my glasses and allowing my vision to focus on the large circular markings out in the middle of the courtyard. "Is that…"

Ace looked back at us, confused. "It's a playground."

"The _burn_ marks." The Doctor drawled and I lightly nudged him.

"Rude."

He wrinkled his nose, but lost a bit of the annoyance in his tone. "See them? Well?"

"A landing pattern for some kind of spacecraft, isn't it?" She concluded and I nodded with a hum, slightly impressed that she immediately came to that conclusion.

"Very good." The Doctor mused, also looking a little smug.

"But this is Earth, 1963. Well, someone would have noticed. I'd have heard about it." She argued and I snorted as the Doctor explained.

"Do you remember the Zygon gambit with the Lock Ness Monster? Or the Yetis in the Underground?"

"The what?"

"Your species has the most amazing capacity for self-deception, matched only by its ingenuity when trying to destroy itself."

She blinked, turning to me again, for a much simpler explanation.

I sighed, turning to lean my back against the window sill. "Basically, humans tend to purposely forget things that spook them and remember things only how they wanted to see them. It's selective remembrance. It's why you might remember an event in kindergarten where you were the hero and beat your bully single-handedly, but in reality, he tripped before he could even reach you and skinned his knee before crying. It's a defensive mechanism, I suppose."

"You take the fun out of everything." The Doctor grumbled and I raised an amused brow at him.

"_You're_ the one who makes things too hard for your companions to follow."

Before we could continue, Ace interrupted, closing the window.

"If the Daleks are following you, what are they after?"

The Doctor begrudgingly went back to explaining. "When I was here before, I left something behind."

"You mean the Hand of Omega?" Ace questioned and he nodded as I furrowed my brows.

"The what now?"

"The Hand of Omega." The Doctor repeated as we left the science lab.

"What is it?" Ace questioned; having known the name, apparently, but nothing more.

"Something very dangerous."

I scoffed. "And you went and thought, 'oh, let's just leave it here'? That's not very clever."

"I wasn't exactly expecting the Daleks to come after it here, Alex. They would have expected me to take it with me, not leave it behind. So, in a way, it _was_ clever."

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, sure. Whatever you say."

"What are we looking for?" Ace questioned as we headed downstairs, but the Doctor shushed her; acting more like he was sneaking around now.

"Whoever it was, landed the spaceship in the playground."

"And that would be?"

"More Daleks, probably." I concluded, making the Doctor hum.

"Oh, great." Ace said sarcastically. "I thought it might be something really nasty."

The Doctor came up to a green door then and smirked. "Ah, the cellar. It could be down in there."

"Why the cellar?"

"Good place to put things, cellars." The Doctor responded as I agreed.

"Yeah. Bigger than a storage closet, but still someplace that no one would really head into without a darn good reason."

The Doctor unlatched the door and we headed down into the cellar, Ace muttering nervously behind me.

"I wish I had some Nitro Nine."

"So do I." The Doctor mumbled back.

"What are you expecting to find down here, anyway?"

"The Daleks showed up in that playground for a reason. They're using the school for something too. Where better to hide it than in a school cellar?" I offered.

"So… you have no clue."

"Not really, no." I replied with the hint of a smirk; the Doctor mirroring my action.

"The unknown."

"Oh. Isn't that a bit dangerous?"

"Probably. But then if we knew what was down here, we wouldn't have to look."

Better safe than sorry, Ace pulled a bat out of her backpack and held it steadily, should we encounter anything needing a good whacking. Further down the stairs, we reached the bottom to find a platform; fully operational.

"This is some severe technology." Ace commented in astonishment, standing on it until the Doctor tugged her off.

"Yes. Very elegant. Very advanced. Flux circuitry elements." He mused to himself as he opened up the operating panel.

"What is it?" She questioned as I winced and rubbed at my head; headache returning once more.

"It's a transmat. A matter transmitter. But transmitting from where?" He fiddled with something inside it. "Within about three hundred kilometers."

"Professor?" Ace said, looking concerned and I turned to see what she was looking at and stiffened.

"Doctor, we've got trouble."

"Something's activating it." Ace spoke up and he hummed.

"Very likely. It has an automatic activator." He rambled on, not really listening before he realized what we'd said. "What?" He turned and spotted the semi-translucent being that was beginning to form on the transport. "You're right. Something is beginning to come through."

"No, we were joking." I grumbled and he shot me a look as Ace spoke.

"It's another Dalek."

"Excellent."

"Will this one be friendly?"

I replied this time. "No. I've only met four friendly Daleks. All of which were completely crazy, malformed versions of the Dalek mutations."

The Doctor hummed in acknowledgement, but quickly went back to the open panel. "If I can just get the transmitter to de-phase at the critical point…"

"Doctor!" Ace shouted, getting nervous and I lightly tucked her behind me as I frowned at the quickly forming Dalek in front of us.

"Any moment now." He said, before his eyes widened. "Quick, down!"

We all ducked down as the Dalek was quickly absorbed into a colorful ball of light, disappearing completely.

"The controls have gone dead." Ace muttered, once we were back on our feet, but I frowned, turning to the Doctor.

"What did you do?"

He looked a little nervous, surprisingly, rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding eye contact with me. "Well, I persuaded one half of the Dalek to materialize where its other half was materializing. The two halves tried to co-exist at the same point. The resulting reaction destroyed it. Dangerous things, transmats. The de-phase must have caused an overload."

_But why is he acting nervous? Do I look angry?_ I didn't exactly have a mirror on me, but I got the feeling that I did. I didn't exactly feel great about how easily the Doctor just went and killed something like that. Dalek or not. _But this is the Doctor before the Time War… Or during it? I'm not sure. Either way, he's not the future Doctor. He's yet to understand giving second chances. It bothers me a bit, but at least he's conscious of that. I don't think I physically _looked_ angry though. Maybe this body takes after Twelve more. Dear God. Do I have angry brows?! _It was then that I realized I'd yet to get a good and proper look at this new body and I suddenly felt very uncomfortable and anxious. Like some child dumped a bucket of ants down my trousers. _Now I really want to know…_

"So no more Daleks can be transported through here?" Ace chimed hopefully, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Well, it'll slow them down a bit until the operator can repair the systems."

"The operator?"

"Oh no…" I muttered, going unheard by the Doctor, though Ace heard me.

"The operator?"

"Yes. The Daleks usually leave an operator on station in case of any malfunctions."

"God, do you listen to yourself when you speak? Or does it just come out in a stream of intellectual madness?"

He pouted at me. "And you're calling _me_ rude?"

"On station! On station, as in _here_, Doctor!" I argued and his mouth dropped open.

"Oh."

"Stay where you are!" A mechanical voice screeched at us and I shot the Doctor an annoyed look, glad that he had the decency to look a bit sheepish as the Dalek rolled up. "Do not move!"

"The stairs!" The Doctor shouted and we all scrambled up them.

The Doctor tripped though and I paused briefly to help him to his feet, but when we reached the door, it was slammed shut with Ace on one side and the Doctor and I on the other.

"Ace! Ace, open the door! Ace!" The Doctor shouted, slamming his fists against the wall in a panic as I groaned.

"I'm _so_ tired of being shot by these things."

* * *

The Doctor and Alex fell through the door, Ace thankfully managing to get them through after hitting the headmaster in the stomach. Though Alex landed on top of the Doctor, who glanced at her with bright pink cheeks as she pushed herself up slightly from his chest.

"Sorry." She muttered, looking a little embarrassed at their position herself, before she got back up on her feet and the Doctor tried to find something to distract him.

"W-What's the matter with him?" He stuttered out, glancing at the headmaster on the ground beside him.

"Stomach ache." Ace lied with a smile as Alex helped the Doctor up onto his feet.

"School dinners." He commented, before grabbing the man under his arms. "Give me a hand."

Alex went ahead and started to help the Doctor pull him along, but Ace stared in shock.

"Professor, he tried to lock you in."

"Under the influence of something else, is my guess." Alex commented. "But better safe than sorry. Don't need an innocent getting shot by an angry Dalek."

Once the man was slightly further away from the door, the group hurried out of the school only to spot an army vehicle waiting for them.

"What are you doing here?" The Doctor asked the man waiting outside. "Oh, never mind. Get this thing out of here."

"I was ordered to deliver the ATRs to this position, sir." The man replied.

"Anti-tank rockets?" Alex questioned.

"Yes, ma'am."

The trio hurried to the back of the vehicle and lifted the canvas to see the rockets lying in the back. Alex let out a low whistle as Ace stared in eager surprise.

"Will these things be any good against the Daleks?"

"It's not the Daleks we're after. It's the transmat."

"Though they might be of some use defensively, if we get into a pickle and aim for the eyestalk." Alex hummed. "However, Daleks tend to show up directly in front of you and the rockets would be useless then."

"Good point." The Doctor nodded as the soldier returned to their side as they examined the rockets.

"You'll have to sign for them, sir."

The Doctor scowled, but passed the launcher to Alex, who took it so he could sign the documents. He then very nearly pocketed the pen—should the soldier have not cleared his throat—before taking the launcher back from Alex and returning to the school with Ace and her on his heels.

"What about the Dalek? Won't he try and stop us?" Ace questioned as the Doctor cautiously peeked around the corner of a doorway, only to flinch at the sound of her loud voice.

"Quite possibly. Stay close behind."

"Hey!" Ace exclaimed, making the Doctor stiffen along with Alex, who pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh. "It must have gone back down to the cellar."

Alex gave the Doctor a dirty look. "You always pick the noisy ones, don't you?" She commented about his companion, just before a Dalek rounded the corner.

"You will be exterminated!"

It let off a shot, missing the group and the Doctor quickly dove behind a table with the other two; overturning it to hide behind.

"Ace, get down!" He shouted when she'd stood.

"Exterminate!" The Dalek screeched, destroying a nearby trophy case, but only seconds before Ace fired off a rocket and destroyed it.

"Ace!" She exclaimed in triumph, and the Doctor stared in shock.

"You destroyed it…"

"I aimed for the eyepiece. Like Alex said."

"Good to know you listen, at least." Alex muttered, pushing up her glasses and scowling at a hair in her face before blowing it away. "I really need to just cut this all off."

"You and your hair." The Doctor grumbled just as soldiers hurried in with Mike in the lead.

"Anymore?" He questioned as the trio got out from behind the table.

"No." The Doctor said, not really listening as he approached the Dalek with Alex by his side.

"What is it?" She asked, making him turn to her.

"What makes you think something's wrong?"

She snorted. "Because I know that expression anywhere. Though bringing your hand to your mouth with a stern frown is sort of a dead giveaway. So, what is it you're thinking?"

"Well—" The Doctor was cut off as Gilmore hurried over and interrupted.

"You've destroyed it. Good."

"It is not good." The Doctor responded, a little annoyed. "Nothing about this is good. I've made a grave error of judgement. Oh, I'm going to wish I'd never started all this." He said to himself, before turning to Gilmore. "Group Captain, I must ask you to evacuate the immediate area."

"That's an absurd idea."

Alex scoffed. "So is alien Daleks and a not-dead man-woman. You just don't learn, do you?"

"Alex." The Doctor chided and she huffed as Rachel came over as well.

"Why do we need to evacuate, Doctor?" She asked.

"I've reason to believe a major Dalek Task Force could soon be operating here."

"Great." Allison grumbled, joining the group as well and matching Alex's sentiments exactly.

"And where will this Task Force arrive from?"

"One certainly is in place hidden somewhere in this vicinity. The other probably from a mothership in geostationary orbit."

"Be reasonable, Doctor." Gilmore scoffed in disbelief and Alex bristled, finally having had enough of the ignorance of the man before her, but the Doctor held her back and faced the man sternly himself.

"Do you doubt the non-terrestrial nature of the Daleks? I mean, examine this one. Or better still, ask your Scientific Advisor." He snapped, taking Alex's hand. "Come on, Alex."

They moved over to where Ace was with Mike, the Doctor giving Alex a look over.

"How's the head? Any better?"

She frowned. "Not really, no. It's on and off. The migraine, that is, but it will be until I can get a day or so to reset my synapses. I'll be alright for a while more, though don't press it."

"Of course." He responded, giving her hand a squeeze, before Gilmore rejoined the group.

"Very well, Doctor. I'll have to get a decision about this evacuation from my superiors."

"Splendid." He replied, releasing Alex's hand for now.

"I should know either way by tomorrow morning. I'll see you all then." Gilmore mused, taking his leave as the Doctor pointed back over to the Dalek where Allison and Rachel were looking it over.

"I shouldn't touch it if I were you. It may not be completely dormant yet."

Alex hummed. "I've heard they can set people aflame just by them touching the outer shell, though that might be a more advanced Dalek than this one."

The two women immediately moved their hands away from the Dalek; Allison wrinkling her nose.

"That stench."

Rachel headed over though. "Now, Doctor and, um…"

"Alex. Alexander Holmes, but just Alex is fine." Alex introduced herself, having not had the chance until now.

"Professor Rachel Jensen." The woman nodded back, continuing on what she had been about to say. "I have questioned I would like answered."

"So have I. I'll return in the morning."

"Doctor, where are you going?" Ace questioned and Alex frowned at the man.

"To bury the past."

"I'm coming with you."

He immediately stopped her. "It's not your past. You haven't been born yet. Would someone look after Ace for me?"

"Yes, of course." Rachel nodded and the Doctor took Ace's baseball bat.

"I'll borrow this."

He went to leave, but Alex stopped him. He sighed.

"Alex, it'd be best if you stayed here. With Ace. Get some rest, even."

"You know I can't." She argued. "The moment I try to sleep, I'll be out for days."

"But Alex—"

"Don't interrupt." She snipped, making him sigh with a roll of his eyes. "And wouldn't you rather I deal with a few minutes of this headache rather than try to deal with it over a night?"

The Doctor grimaced, having not thought about that. "Right, that's… that's a very good point. Fine. You can come with me." He gave in, earning a small smile from Alex. "But! Stay in the Tardis. Have some tea or something. It'll help."

"Alright. I'll finally be able to change and do something about this mess of hair." Alex readily agreed and the Doctor and her headed out while Ace got settled with Mike and the others; taking the long way round.

* * *

I was relieved to be back in the Tardis, even if it wasn't the one I was used to, I touched the console fondly.

"Hello, old girl." I hummed and the ship hummed back, as though she was welcoming me home.

The Doctor raised a brow though. "You and her get along fairly well."

I snorted. "Please. She tends to leave me surprises in my closet. I've been chased by chickens, attacked by shoes, and pinched by lobsters. You always tell me she likes me, but she sure has a funny way of showing it." I chuckled, patting the console before heading for the door with a hand waving over my shoulder. "Enjoy your meddling."

I walked the unfamiliar halls, not really aiming for a direction, but knowing the Tardis would lead me to where I needed to be. The bathroom was first and I grinned at the sight of a pair of scissors.

"Oh, you know me too well, Sexy." I hummed, grabbing them and quickly butchering the long locks of curly auburn hair.

When I felt that it was significantly shortened, I looked for a mirror, but frowned.

"Oh, what now? I can't even look?"

The door opened behind me and I sighed, doing as the Tardis wanted and leaving the bathroom without knowing what I looked like. I ruffled my hands through my hair, getting rid of any loose strands still hanging around in it, before stepping into the wardrobe. I frowned up at the ceiling though, not exactly pleased.

"And how do you expect me to pick out some decent clothes when I don't know what I even look like?"

A light flickered on and I snorted, heading over and picking up the one pair of clothes that waited on a table for me.

"You should have just brought me to my room, if you were only going to choose for me."

A shoe fell on my head and I scowled up at the ceiling.

"Yes, yes! Alright! I'll put it on! Keep your rotors on!" I huffed, grumbling under my breath about overly protective Tardises before a second shoe was dropped on my head as I entered the changing room. "Ugh!"

The Tardis hummed a chuckle in amusement at my complaints, but I put on the clothes anyway and soon stepped out; giving myself a look over. I couldn't help but turn around with a hint of a smile on my face. I loved the white button up shirt and suspender combo—my inner Eleven popping up—and also enjoyed the more relaxed jeans and maroon Converse, but it was the leather fingerless gloves that I liked the most.

"Sexy, you've outdone yourself. Remind me again why I bother questioning the taste of a sentient time machine?"

The Tardis hummed proudly as I went back towards the console room.

"And am I to assume you know exactly how I like my tea?"

I swore I heard her scoff and a steaming cup and saucer awaited me on the jump-seat in the main console room. I pat the console fondly as I passed, settling down with my tea. _Mm, Earl Grey, milk, no sugar. I question how I could tell that just by tasting it, but regeneration is strange._ I spotted an Agatha Christie novel lying nearby and scooped that up as well, getting ingrained in '_The A.B.C. Murders_' and not lifting my gaze even as the Doctor wandered back in and began sending us off.

"How did they not figure this one out sooner, do you think?" I piped up, making him turn to me in confusion.

"What?"

I waved the book idly. "The _murder_, Doctor. Surely they could have figured out who it was after the second murder. I've already got a pretty good idea, but they're still running around in circles."

"Yes, well, glad to see you're enjoying yourself. I'll just be a minute more, then we can return to Ace and the others."

"Right. Yes. Course…" I paused, lifting my gaze and frowning as I realized something. "Oh, you sneaky ship. You never gave me a mirror!" I accused, pointing up at the ceiling as the Doctor rolled his eyes and headed out once more; myself leaving the console room in search of a mirror.

Upon finding one—after a while of searching and threatening the ship—I furrowed my brows. My face was a little rounder, though not by much and thankfully there was no big issues with my ears or chin like the Doctor had experienced. My eyes were a dark shade of blue and my hair had returned to its old shade of auburn, though significantly curly now. The thing was, I couldn't really make fun of Twelve for his angry brows anymore. My whole _face_ looked angry. Even when I relaxed my facial features, my brows still seemed to furrow in the middle. It was different, though surprisingly not entirely unwanted. I'd regenerated. That was it. I thought more logically now and knew some things would take some getting used to—such as my sensitive taste and angry expression—but I didn't mind this new body. I did wish it wasn't so slim, nearing the Tenth Doctor's lanky figure. I was of decently tall height, however—probably nearing the Twelfth Doctor's own height—and I actually felt rather comfortable with this body. If, that is, I didn't have the nasty headache slowly winding up in my head.

I took off my glasses with a sigh, glad when the Tardis switched them out with a different, weaker set when I replaced them. I was also grateful when I spotted a bottle of migraine medication on the counter of the sink.

"Thanks, Sexy, though I doubt it will help much. The sooner this mess is over and done with, the sooner I can just pass out on my bed for a day or so. Let's see how lucky I am."

I downed the pills dry and went back into the console room to await the Doctor's return and our inevitable trip back to Ace and the others.

* * *

_Not lucky. Definitely not lucky at all. I don't know why I keep thinking I might be. The universe hates me._ I sighed heavily, lifting my glasses to pinch the bridge of my nose as the Doctor, Mike and I walked into the control room where Group Captain Gilmore would be waiting; Ace having been ordered to stay behind this time. _The Doctor gave her some sparky bat too. How come I don't have a sparky bat? Hm, maybe I should start carrying one around with me. A sparky cricket bat. That sounds nice…_

"Group Captain, the evacuation?" The Doctor called out, pulling me from my daydreams about an electric cricket bat.

"I've been in direct contact with High Command and they've agreed to stage a quiet withdrawal under the peace time nuclear accident provisions. They felt that given the sensitive stage of the current government—"

"Just for a change." Allison piped in, making Gilmore frown at her interruption.

"They felt, Miss Williams, that the initial stages could be carried out under the aegis of the Counter-Intrusion Measures, United Kingdom. The D-notice office has of course been informed and a cover story prepared."

"What is it?" Rachel asked curiously as I yawned.

"I have no idea. Not my department. Now, Doctor, since you hold my career in your hands, I trust you can justify my faith." He spotted me then, frowning. "And who is this?"

I snorted. "Amazing that a set of proper clothes and a haircut can fool Group Captain Annoying."

"_With respect_, Group Captain, your career's magnificently irrelevant and you've already met Alex. Do keep up." The Doctor interrupted before we could fight some more; missing the man's stunned expression at our words and my snort of amusement. "Now, let's see. Any more transmission sites?"

"No, just at the school."

"Good. I want a direct line to Jodrell Bank. Let's see. 1963. The Fylingdale installations and the Royal Observatory. Order them to search these localities for any signs of high orbital activity." The Doctor took a pencil from Mike writing them down and handing him the note; keeping the writing utensil as he moving the light above a number of maps spread out on a pool table. "Now, I want the detector vans moved so they can cover this area here and here. Order all air and ground forces to avoid engaging the enemy at all costs. We must act with extreme caution."

"And if we don't?" Allison questioned, but I answered before the Doctor could.

"Then you can stop worrying about Britain falling, because the whole world would probably be blown up." I shrugged, the Doctor lightly smacking me on the back of the head.

"Rude." He chided and I raised a brow, slightly amused that I was now at the other end of my own personal scolding technique. "Go look through those maps and see if there's anywhere you think they would aim for, then check the data sheets for any errors."

"Yes, yes. On it." I drawled, moving to do as he said, while he waited for news from the teleprinter.

It wasn't long before he got a sheet and tore it out, looking at it with a frown.

"26x001. A big mothership of some kind, with maybe as many as four hundred Daleks on board. Well, at least we know where it is."

"Much good that does us." Rachel complained as Gilmore spoke up.

"It would be foolish of me, I suppose, to hope that this mothership was not nuclear capable?"

I scoffed, razing my gaze from the forms I held. "Please. Dalek weapons could tear _suns_ apart, let alone a puny planet like this one."

"_Alex_." The Doctor chided and I sighed.

"Yes, sorry. Migraine makes me irritable and boring data sheets aren't helping matters."

"We've got the parts you wanted, Doctor. Where do you want them?" Allison questioned as her and Mike entered, making me ditch the data sheets and head over to help as the Doctor cleared the maps from the pool table to make room.

"Now, _this_, I can help with." I smirked, eyes skimming the parts eagerly.

"Which was my intention." The Doctor replied with a smile of his own while Rachel informed the newcomers about the mothership being located.

"Is that their main base, Doctor?" Gilmore asked as I went about helping the Doctor with his making of… something.

"For one group, at least." He said, making me pause and narrow my eyes. "I believe we're dealing with two antagonistic Dalek factions."

"Lovely." I grumbled.

"Two?" Rachel gapped.

"And do they both come from outer space?"

I rolled my eyes at Gilmore's ridiculous question as the Doctor answered.

"From another planet in the distant future. We must try and contain them, let them destroy each other."

"Shouldn't we send for reinforcements? Armored units?"

"Are you stupid?" I snipped. "You obviously don't listen very well. What good would your armored vehicles be against a species who are easily capable of blowing the planet up the moment they see the army gathering? I can certainly see why you're _not_ a Brigadier."

The Doctor placed a heavy hand on my head, making me wince at the mental scolding I was receiving as he apologized.

"Sorry. She's bitter and has a migraine as she said, though she's correct. The spaceship up there has surveillance equipment capable of spotting a sparrow fall at fifteen thousand kilometers. Any sign of military build-up and they may simply decide to sterilize the area."

"And we have no defense."

"Frightening, isn't it, to find there are others better versed in death than human beings." The Doctor quipped heatedly, before turning to me with a slightly softer frown. "And you, need to keep a hold on that mouth of yours. We don't need our few allies against us because you've got a bit of a headache."

I clicked my tongue in annoyance, but knew he was right. My tongue was getting away from me and I needed to work on my filter. It would probably get better once I'd gotten some decent rest, but for now, I just needed to keep the antagonistic insults to a minimum. _Not that this regeneration's helping._ The Doctor and I worked quickly and in relative silence. Not because of anger or annoyance, but because we were too focused on the task in front of us to speak to one another until it was finished; which took far less time than I thought.

"What does it do?" Rachel asked as the Doctor added the finishing touches.

"Well, at best, it will interfere with the Dalek's control systems. I rigged something like it on Spiridon. Alex is just clever and good with her hands."

"Yeah, tell me about it." I commented, looking at my stretched digits as I curled and uncurled them. "I'm usually far clumsier with those small parts."

I got raised brows for that, but Rachel was quick to get back on topic.

"And at worst?"

"It'll do absolutely nothing." The Doctor shrugged, before Allison called out from across the room.

"Doctor? Red Nine reports an increase in modulated signaling."

"Where?"

"Just a minute." She said, getting into contact with the group as the Doctor turned to Mike.

"Mike, phone up Ace and tell her someone will come and collect her."

I snorted. "If she's not already gone."

The Doctor turned to me with a puzzled frown. "Now, why would you think that?"

"Last I checked, very few of your companions actually stay put when you tell them to." I hummed, looking at him with a raised brow of amusement as he thought that over. "Even in the future."

He made to say something, but Allison interrupted.

"The signal emanates from Coal Hill School. Multiple sources in close proximity."

"Multiple?" He questioned, frowning alongside me. "They've got the transmat working again."

_Coal Hill School… Now, where have I heard that name before?_

"Transmat?" Rachel spoke up. "What does that mean?"

"Simply?" I replied absentmindedly; my mind more occupied on figuring out where I'd heard the school's name before. "It transfers matter from one place to another. Think of it as a short range teleport that—"

"How is that simple?" The Doctor grumbled, cutting me off and making me scowl at him; him wincing. "Right, yes. Interrupted. I apologize. Do continue."

I huffed, scoffing out my nose and turning back to Rachel. "Simply speaking, it means more Daleks."

Gilmore suddenly burst in, looking panicked. "Doctor, there's no reply from my men at the school."

"Get the vehicle ready." The Doctor instructed, passing me the device we'd made. "Load it up with plastic explosives and integral detonators."

"Right." He nodded, scurrying out as Rachel gave the Doctor an unsure look.

He _had_, after all, just asked for weapons after adamantly saying no to all previous attempts of attacking the Daleks.

"Why explosives?"

"Well, that thing merely disorients and weakens them." The Doctor said, tossing a thus at the device I was holding. "What do you expect me to do then, talk to them sternly?"

"Trust me. I've tried. It never works with Daleks. Or Sontarans… Hm, I don't even think it works on Cybermen."

"Cyber-what?"

I waved Rachel's comment off just as Mike returned.

"Doctor, mum says that Ace left ages ago."

The Doctor turned to me with a groan and a roll of his eyes as I smirked slightly.

"Told you."

"You always do." He complained, nodding to the door. "Come on."

"Oh, you can't tell me you didn't have _some_ clue. You gave her an electric bat!"

"It was not an electric—Oh, never mind."

We were actually rather quick to arrive, what with the streets being emptied of the usual traffic, and I handed the Doctor the device just in time for us to round a corner and spot Ace trapped between three Daleks. The Doctor reacted swiftly, using the device to disorient the Daleks as I ducked down past the creatures and grabbed Ace's hand.

"Run!"

Mike hurried over and placed something on the Dalek, ordering everyone to move back, but the Doctor was gapping at the device he'd used in shock.

"It works… It works!"

I rolled my eyes with a sigh, shoving Ace towards Mike and hurrying back to grab him. "Come on, you giddy dunce."

I pulled him along, and dove on top of him as Mike counted down and the explosion went off behind us. Once the three Daleks were destroyed, I winced and lifted my head to give the Doctor an amused look.

"I feel we keep ending up in this position lately. Something you trying to tell me?"

He looked a bit surprised at first at my blunt flirting, before his eyes grew serious. "Perhaps later, Alex."

Now, it was my turn to look a bit surprised, having not expected him to _actually_ have something to tell me. But he was right and I got up off him and brushed myself off as he did the same and hurried into the dust. I honestly didn't want to follow. The younger Doctors always seemed a bit… stiff when it came to Daleks. Or enemy aliens, to begin with. The fact that they seemed to be alright with just picking up weapons and blowing up living creatures bothered me. _The fact that I feel so used to it enough to not argue is a bit disturbing as well._ I sighed and kneaded my temples again—the Tardis's migraine remedy not really working—before trailing after the Doctor despite my misgivings. In a way, I was glad I did. The military bigots had left to go through the rest of the building, no doubt, but the Doctor, Rachel, Allison and Ace remained behind; rather close to one of the Daleks.

"Doctor?"

"Hm?"

I realized what she was about to say, a split second before she said it; the hateful presence at the back of my mind making itself known despite its weakened state.

"This one's still active."

"Oh? Let's see, Professor."

"Don't!" I shouted, but a moment too late.

A clawed hand reached up and grabbed the Doctor's throat as Rachel screamed. I hurried over just before Allison picked up Ace's bat and began to swing it; hitting the creature a few times as it screeched in pain.

"Stop! Stop it!" I shouted, getting between her and the creature as she took another swing, unable to block the hit as the powered bat slammed into my wrist and collar bone.

I grimace in pain, feeling more than one bone break between the force of her hit and the overpowered object she was wielding, but she stopped in shock as I glared heatedly at her.

"_Enough_."

She paled and stepped back as I turned to the creature I'd helped, only to grab its clawed appendage in a vice grip with my uninjured wrist.

"Let _go._"

The creature didn't even attempt to fight or squirm against my hold, releasing the Doctor immediately with a scared squeak of a noise, before the damage caused by the bat on its gelatinous form caught up with it and it died. I very quickly didn't care for this regeneration. I'd felt the feeling before, but never to the extent I just felt now, and I could only hope it was because I was still within the first fifteen hours of my regeneration. The feeling though, made my gaze sadden. The feeling of that small consciousness fading from existence in the back of my mind. A life being snuffed out. Hateful or not, it was never pleasant to _feel_ something die like that.

I slowly released the claw and laid it back in the shell of the Dalek, feeling eyes on me and doing what I could to shut down the barriers I'd accidentally opened up by allowing my thoughts to focus on the Dalek's mind. The humans in the room were terrified. Allison, Ace, Rachel. The Doctor though, watched me in concern and caution. He wasn't afraid, but he… had an idea of what had happened. He knew I had a darker side to me, the humans didn't. Ace had a small idea, but nothing to this extent. What I'd just shown them was frightening. What I'd just used my mental abilities for was frightening. The last time I could even remember doing something similar, was back when Twelve was trying to save Clara and I used it to punish the Time Lords. This wasn't even a fraction of that, but it was enough to effect the humans and the young, barely formed Dalek. The Doctor probably got some of it too, unintentionally. Regeneration made limiting the field of the mental abilities rough. More than anything though, I was disappointed. In the Doctor, in the humans around us right now, in myself. The confusion and self-image issues brought on by regeneration were suddenly floating to the top of my mind now, but dealing with them would have to wait.

"Sorry." I murmured, glancing at all the gazes in the room and attempting to ease their minds with some comforting feelings.

I wanted to say more, to explain to them why I had acted the way I did, but I knew how it would turn out. Confusion, arguments on whether it was right to even help an evil creature like the Daleks, the splitting up between factions of for and against. So I left it at that. Sorry I got angry. Sorry I didn't do anything before. Sorry I allowed another creature to die. Sorry I couldn't explain properly. Sorry I couldn't be the best there was. The apologies rushed around in my head, adding on top of the extra pain my little trick caused, before I took a deep breath and let it out; putting a mute on all the noise of my thoughts. It took a little doing, but shutting off the noise of one's mind completely was much simpler than closing off certain bits of information and pain with barriers. With that, I went over to sit by Ace—not too close, since she seemed a little uncertain about me as well now—but close enough that, should anyone decide to go anywhere, I would be close at hand.

The Doctor and the two scientists turned their attention back to the deceased Dalek, but I kept my attention on figuring out what injuries I had. _Broken wrist and snapped collarbone. Go figure. I can already feel the regeneration energy getting ready to fix it, but I need to make sure it's not going to fix anything crooked… Does it even do that? Or does it readjust accordingly? Hm…_

"Don't anyone give me a hand." Ace complained loudly, gaining the others' attention.

"Ace, you're hurt!" Allison and Rachel headed over, sparing me a worried glance before kneeling beside her.

The Doctor looked at me longer, but I simply turned my gaze away, waiting for some sort of plan as to what we were going to do next and where we should go. _Regeneration energy is fixing the collarbone first._ I mused with a wince, listening to the Doctor send the scientists away before he knelt down and looked Ace over.

"When I say stay put, I mean stay put. Not take on an entire Dalek assault squad single-handed. What were you doing here, anyway?" He questioned her with a frown.

"I came to get my tape deck."

"Where is it?"

"It's in little bits."

"Good."

"Good? Ow!" She complained as he flexed her leg a bit. "What do you mean, 'good'? Where am I going to get another one?"

"That tape deck was a dangerous anachronism. If someone had found it and discovered the principles of its function, the whole microchip revolution would take place now, twenty years too early, with incalculable damage to the time line."

"So?"

"So? Ace, the Daleks have a mothership up there capable of eradicating this planet from space, but even they, ruthless though they are, would think twice before making such a radical alteration to the time line." He chided her and she frowned, not looking pleased, but understanding his point.

The Doctor got up and headed my way then, undoubtedly having seen my cringes of pain. "You alright, Alex?"

I scowled at him, displaying on my face how _alright_ I was. He reached out to my injured wrist, making me grimace despite how gently he shifted it.

"It's broken."

"Obviously. Let me hit you with a powered-up baseball bat and see how you fare."

"You're still within your first fifteen hours. Why hasn't your residual energy—"

"It's a bit busy fixing my shattered collar bone at the moment." I said with a wince. "None too quickly either."

The Doctor reached up and felt along where the injured bone lay, making me want to smack him, but knowing he was only trying to get a read on something.

"Hm, perhaps another minute, then it will switch to the wrist. Sometimes I forget you're not a complete Time Lady. Makes things complicated when it comes to things like this."

"Tell me about it." I grumbled. "Your arm gets chopped off, fully regenerated within a minute. Break a couple of bones and I'm stuck in pain for half an hour. Ace, get over here."

"Huh?"

I rolled my eyes. "Get over here. I can help your leg, but only if you scooch over."

She hesitated, but nodded and began doing so, as the Doctor gave me a look.

"Alex, what are you doing?"

"Oh, shut up." I snipped. "Call it payback for something you did in the future."

I reached over and carefully placed my injured hand over her leg, ignoring her shock as my hand glowed gold from the regeneration energy. Sure, lending her some of the excess would probably make healing my wrist take slightly longer, but at this point, I could care less. I didn't want Ace to be afraid of me because of what happened earlier. This was the easiest way of doing that. I pulled away from her after a moment, already feeling as though I was hitting the limit between the regeneration, injuries, and frustration I was currently feeling.

"Better?" I asked, though it sounded more like a grumble.

"Oh, yeah. Loads! How'd you do that, anyway?"

"Complicated." I muttered, bringing my good hand to my aching head. "I'll tell you later."

A heavy hand landed on my newly repaired shoulder.

"Alex, everything okay?"

I half-heartedly glared at him from the corner of my eyes. "You know, every time you say that, I want to smack you and ask the same thing."

He grimaced, giving my shoulder a small squeeze. "Sorry. Really. Just hold on for a bit longer, if you can."

I scoffed, forcing myself up onto my feet, though I could feel the blood rush to my head at the movement and I swayed slightly. "Please. If I can deal with five years of torture and a messed up regeneration on my own, what makes you think I can't deal with a headache and a healing broken wrist? Don't insult me."

I heard him sigh as I walked off, but he was quick to catch up and start leading the way to the cellar. I followed behind him, not really listening when he spoke with the scientists, and jumping out of my skin when he suddenly began beating at the transmat with Ace's bat.

"Oh, knock it off!" I snapped sharply as he dealt one last final blow, which broke the bat clean in half before I took the remaining bit from him. "I already have a headache and your beating the transmat to death is _not_ helping! You've even got the scientists petrified, so quit it. If anyone has a right to beat something until it's dead, it's me."

"Right. Apologies, again." He said with a small nervous smile, quickly turning to the other two and distracting himself as he shut their gapping mouths. "You look hungry and Alex gets a little tense without a good meal. How about lunch?"

* * *

The Doctor frowned, hands tucked under his chin as he stared seriously across from him, where Alex sat eating away at the spread before her. Ace was beside him, watching the exchange as she too, ate, but paused; leaning in to speak quietly to the Doctor.

"You're not going to get her to like ya by just starin' at her, you know."

He shot her a look. "Unfortunately for your narrow-minded delusions, I am _not_ staring at her. I am simply _concentrating_ on the task at hand. Her happening to be in my line of sight has nothing to do with it."

Ace got the hint, understanding that the Doctor was in one of his moods and headed over to join Mike and his friends at the next table instead. He couldn't say he hadn't lied to Ace just then though. While he was focusing mostly on a plan, he was only doing so because of the desperate need to get Alex back to the Tardis so she could properly finish her regeneration. Her head was obviously paining her, despite how hard she was attempting to keep any pain off her face, and with how slowly she was healing—he could tell she was stiff in the shoulders and was struggling with her injured wrist—he knew that she was running out of time before the effects of this postponing could become dangerous. He had to put a stop to this mess, as quickly as possible.

"Group Captain." He called out to Gilmore as the man paid for their meal. "We need to establish a forward base at the school. Can it be done?"

"Of course."

"Thank you for your cooperation."

"Only a fool argues with his doctor." He joked, before getting Mike's attention and heading out with everyone but the Doctor, Ace, and Alex.

"What's so important about the school?" Ace questioned, after attempting to get her toast again.

"Well, now that I've disabled the transmat, absolutely nothing." The Doctor shrugged off, pulling away Alex's plate as she frowned at him; the both of them knowing that she needed to eat slower. "As long as the renegade Daleks have got the Hand of Omega, then the Imperial Daleks' attention will be focused on that."

"So there are two sets of Daleks."

"Yes."

Alex pointed her fork at him. "You've got them set up to go after each other while we just wait for the dust to clear." She smirked a bit, scoffing. "Honestly, I'm surprise you even _have_ a plan."

"Hey, now. I am usually on top of things such as planning."

She raised a brow and he felt his cheeks turn red in embarrassment.

"Mostly…"

"Mm-hm. That's what I thought." She mused, standing up as the other two got ready to go as well. "Past, present, or future, you're still the Doctor."

"Now, what's that supposed to mean?" He questioned, feeling that he should be slightly offended.

"It _means_, that you almost _never_ have an actual plan and I'm the one stuck bailing you out."

"Yes, well… Oh, be quiet." He grumbled, making her laugh, which brought a small smile to his face.

She'd yet to laugh since she regenerated, after all, and he knew how this body of hers was better than she did. Making her laugh wasn't exactly easy and the most he could get as far as smiling was her usual half-smirk. He was making progress, and right now, that was probably the best he could hope for. The trio got a lift to the school and as they headed in, Ace asked the question that was stuck on her mind.

"Professor?"

"Yes?"

"If this place is so out of the way of the action, what are we doing here?"

"Keeping an eye on Group Captain Chunky Gilmore. Although, why his men call him 'Chunky' I've no idea."

Alex snorted. "Did you see him eating? I wouldn't be surprised if he was hiding a beer gut under that uniform of his."

They passed a few soldiers setting up sandbags out front, entering the school to find more preparing for battle.

"They're really going for it." Ace commented.

"That's the general idea." The Doctor said, half-whispering. "I want to keep the military fully occupied and out of the way."

"Out of the way of what?" She questioned, but the Doctor ignored her and began walking off. "Oh, Professor. You promised me, remember? Alex, tell him!"

Alex hummed. "I still haven't the slightest idea what this Hand of Omega thing is, nor why they want it. Shedding some light on the situation _would_ be helpful."

The Doctor sighed, tugging them both towards the stairs; dodging a rushing soldier on the way as he explained. "A long time ago, on my home planet of Gallifrey, there lived a stellar engineer called Omega."

"Stellar? As in stars?" Ace questioned. "You mean he engineered stars?"

"Ace!" The Doctor scolded, not appreciating her constant interruptions; though handling it slightly better than Alex would have if she'd been speaking.

"Sorry. Go on." Ace apologized, sitting on the steps.

"It was Omega who created the supernova that was the initial power source for Gallifreyan time travel experiments. He left behind him the basis on which Rassilon founded Time Lord society, and he left behind the Hand of Omega."

"His hand? What good was that?"

Alex spoke this time. "Not literally his hand, Ace. If Omega made stars, then one could assume that his hand was responsible. The Hand of Omega is just a fancy way of saying a device that does what Omega did; make stars."

"Oh."

The Doctor nodded sitting down beside her. "Time Lords have an infinite capacity for pretension."

"I've noticed that." Ace replied as Alex snorted.

"The Hand of Omega is a mythical name for Omega's remote stellar manipulator, a device used to customize stars with. And didn't we have trouble with the prototype."

"We?"

"They." He corrected the slip up, not missing the slightly amused look Alex sent him.

"And the Daleks want it so they can recreate the time travel experiments?" Ace concluded. "But you said that both Dalek factions can already travel in time."

"Time travel comes in many forms." Alex hummed, taking her glasses off and cleaning them with the edge of her shirt. "While some ways it's just like walking out of one time and into another, there's other ways that painfully rip you apart molecule by molecule and put you back together again in a different time."

"Daleks have got time corridor technology, but it's very crude and nasty, as Alex said." The Doctor agreed. "What they want is the power that Time Lords have, and they'll get that with the Hand of Omega. Or so they think."

"And you have to try and stop them."

"Nope. Weren't you listening to what I said earlier?" Alex questioned her. "He's keeping the idiot military out of the way so they don't get killed while the two Dalek factions attempt to blow each other up trying to get it."

"Oh, well devious." Ace grinned. "So the Daleks grab the Hand of Omega and go, and no one gets hurt. Brilliant."

"Just one thing." The Doctor frowned.

"What?"

"I didn't expect two Dalek factions, and now I've got to make sure the wrong ones don't get their grubby little protuberances on it." He said, standing as Ace did too.

"Shouldn't we take Mike?"

"No."

The Doctor and Ace were both surprised that Alex had been the one to speak, and the woman replaced her glasses with a serious look.

"I don't like him." She said simply, heading down the stairs and leaving Ace to turn to the Doctor in question.

"What was that about?"

"Don't know." He shrugged. "Though she's got good instinct. I wouldn't be surprised if we find out that Mike isn't all he's cracked up to be. Not that he's bad in any way or anything." The Doctor attempted to comfort Ace, who looked a bit upset about his words. "Simply…" He frowned, brows furrowed deeply. "Alex hasn't been wrong before." He shook his head, heading down the stairs after Alex. "And it'd be best if he remains here. Dalek hunting is a terminal pastime."

"So what are we doing?" She questioned and he smiled a bit.

"Dalek hunting."

* * *

The Doctor, Ace and I soon reached where the Doctor assumed the Dalek's hideout would be and we snuck towards the building without being caught by the roaming black and grey Dalek nearby. A number of men lay collapsed on the ground and I reached a hand out to check the pulse of one of them, though the lack of mental signs didn't give me much hope.

"Dead." I muttered, checking his abdomen. "Massive internal displacement. Daleks."

The Doctor clicked his tongue, before I felt something and turned to the strange box nearby. The Doctor caught the action and gave me a small smile, heading over to it and lightly placing a hand on the casket.

"Quiet." He soothed it.

"Is that it?" Ace questioned as I headed over as well and frowned curious at the object.

"The Hand of Omega's inside this box. The most powerful and sophisticated remote stellar control manipulator device ever constructed."

"Are you sure you want the Daleks to have it?" Ace questioned him and even I wondered that for a moment.

_Perhaps it's _too_ powerful? The Daleks having it would just short circuit them or something?_

"Absolutely." The Doctor informed us, turning back to the box. "You know what you've got to do, don't you?"

It chirped, making me tip my head as the Doctor smiled.

"Yes, of course you do."

"Is it alive?" Ace asked.

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

He hurried off to the next room and Ace and I spared the box another look, before following after him. The room was thankfully empty other than some sort of half-Dalek chair with a helmet and Ace ran her hands along the edge of it.

"What is it?"

"Some kind of biomechanoid control system… for a small human." He concluded and I frowned, trying to think of what child we'd seen recently, but coming up empty. "Of course, it's a battle computer!"

"But why would a human need to sit in it?" Ace questioned, making to sit in it herself if I hadn't grabbed her and stopped her.

"Best not. The last thing we need is it latching onto you."

The Doctor agreed. "The Dalek's major drawback is their dependency on rationality and logic. The solution? Get a human, preferably young, imaginative. Plug the child into the system, and their ingenuity and creativity are slaved to the battle computer."

"In simpler terms, it's mind control for dummies." I hummed, looking around the room and spotting an electrostatic globe. "Doctor?"

He headed over to look at it with me and smacked Ace's hands away from it with his hat.

"What is it?" She asked as the Doctor lightly placed his fingers onto the globe.

"It's a device the renegade Daleks use to travel through time. They've come a long way." He mused, switching the globe off.

"Have you busted it?"

"No, no, no. I don't want to lumber Earth with a load of desperate Daleks. I've merely put it out of phase. They'll be able to fix it, but it'll slow them down." The Doctor replied, pulling a card out of thin air and placing it on the globe with a kiss.

"A calling card? Really?"

He smiled at me, looking smug, before we heard voices; one human and one Dalek. Taking no chances, we ran to a rack in the spare room nearby and hid. We saw a black Dalek lead a young girl and an older man into the room we were just in, before we made a break for it out the way we came. We ran down the street before I spotted a Dalek and I grabbed Ace and the Doctor, tugging them behind a tan hut as it rolled past. I winced though, headache flaring up once more as Ace started asking questions again. _That, and my wrist is hurting still. Stupid regeneration energy needs to pick up the pace._

"Why didn't you just run off with the Hand of Omega and give it to the other Daleks?"

"_Again_, we want the Imperial Daleks to wipe them out." I replied, rather shortly.

The Doctor nodded. "Besides, we can't just roll up and give it to them. They get suspicious."

"Suspicious of what? You still haven't told me w—"

"Sh!" The Doctor shushed her, pulling us into the hut now as the Dalek returned for another search.

The Doctor's nose twitched and I shoved my finger under it to prevent him sneezing and giving away our position. Thankfully it worked and once cleared, we bolted for it yet again. We passed the Tardis—a part of me groaning and wishing I could just head in and sleep for a few days—but we ran past it; until Ace stopped.

"Hey, Doctor!"

"Yes?"

"Couldn't we just get in—"

"No, no, no." The Doctor shook his head. "We've got work to do. Anyway, here come the military."

Mike and his group of soldiers hurried up and he frowned at us like we were children.

"Where've you been?"

"Nowhere, mum." I mocked him, but the Doctor lightly smacked my arm and replied.

"Dalek hunting. Now, it's the other way around. Is Gilmore back at the school?"

"Yes."

"Good. We'll go back and smooth his troubled brow." The Doctor replied, tugging me along with him as Ace spoke with Mike for a bit. "You said you don't like him. Why?"

I looked at the Doctor for a moment, realizing he as talking about my comment earlier about Mike. "I get the feeling he's either lying or not telling us something. As much as I don't like dwelling on other people's thoughts, my mental barriers are in a bit of a wreck and there's not much control for me at the moment."

"Apologies, Alex. I'm trying to keep this brief."

"I know. Don't apologize. Why are your younger selves always so nice to me?" I muttered, a bit embarrassed.

"Well, don't get your hopes up. You are rather tense with my first and second self, and don't get me started on my sixth self. I fear if I hadn't regenerated into this form when I did, you would have surely been the cause when the time came round. You have _quite_ the right hook."

"Hm." I hummed, smirking, before we head Dalek shots behind us and picked up the pace into the school where Gilmore was.

"Well, Doctor. I trust your little jaunt was successful?" He said sharply, once we'd entered.

"Moderately so. I'm afraid we've brought back some Daleks with us." The Doctor responded, Ace catching up and him ushering her off to the side with him just as Mike entered.

"I don't get it." He complained. "They've got the Hand of Omega. Why don't they just leave?"

Immediately, both my attention and the Doctor's went to him.

"How did you know that, Sergeant?"

He looked panicked for a moment. "Ace told me."

"Ooh, that is _not_ how you get the girl, mate." I murmured heatedly as Ace practically spat at him.

"You toe rag. You lying dirty scumbag!"

"It can wait—" The Doctor tried, seeing where this was going, but Ace wasn't done.

"You're finished. He's a grass, a dirty stinking grass! He's selling us out to the Daleks! Alex was right!" She shouted as the Doctor tugged her back and up the stairs.

I stayed a little, frowning at the man and feeling that anger from before make him shrink back slightly. "You'll regret that, Mike. You'll find I don't appreciate my companions getting hurt by lying snakes like you."

He winced as I finally turned away and trailed up after the Doctor and Ace, contemplating what I could do to punish the man as I battled my headache. The Doctor, thankfully, noticed my state and brought over a stool for me to sit at as I ground my knuckles into my temples.

"Is it getting worse?" He asked and I begrudgingly nodded.

"A bit, yeah. Nothing I can't handle, but not exactly something I _want_ to deal with either." I complained, lifting my eyes to his worried ones. "You have any decent tea?"

He smiled a bit. "This body of yours is famous for its constant need of said drink." He replied giving me a light clap on the shoulder. "I'll head downstairs and get some for you."

"Thanks." I replied, only for him to kiss my temple before he left; turning my cheeks red and making me groan as I buried my face in my arms at the table in front of me. "Oh, what am I going to do with him?"

"Just get with him already!" Ace complained, heading over with a frown. "Least he's not a stinkin' lying cheat."

I couldn't help but snort. "You really think so? Goodness, Ace. You'd be surprised what sorts of things the Doctor's put me through. Makes Mike look like a saint."

"No, really? But he's practically all over you!" Ace commented, taking a seat across from me.

"You should see his future selves. Don't tell him, but somewhere along the line, I think he forgets who I am. We kind of start over, in a sense, and he absolutely hates me for the first couple of regenerations. Threatened to feed me to a werewolf, throw me into space, and a number of other things. Didn't start lightening up until a few centuries later, and even then, I still got scolded for all sorts of things. Bit hard when you know more than he does about the future."

"So, you're like a psychic then, yeah? But how come you haven't predicted any of this?"

"Ah, well, it's a tad complicated. The short version is that I only have knowledge from his ninth regeneration to his eleventh. And even then, only some adventures, not all of them. Everything before Nine and the adventures I have with Twelve are completely new to me. I couldn't tell you anything other than future stuff about the Doctor and his adventures, if you can call them that. And even then, telling future stuff is forbidden because of the whole… could blow up the universe with paradoxes thing. By the way, how good are you at making stink bombs?"

Ace raised a brow, but couldn't help the smile on her face. "What for?"

"Well, can't just let Mike get away with being a jerk now, can we? I figure between the two of us, we could come up with something fun to do."

"Now you're talkin' my language." Ace grinned and we got to work.

This, of course, meant that when the Doctor returned with Gilmore, Allison, and my tea, we were getting a number of strange and slightly concerned looks. None of them said anything though, knowing better than to question what we were up to. Ace moved towards the window, saying something about the Daleks retreating, but that only made me worried. _Daleks don't retreat_. It wasn't a few minutes later that Rachel hurried in.

"Doctor, we've had a report of a radar contact."

"On a re-entry curve from low orbit?"

"Yes."

"Imperial Daleks then." I commented, feeling slightly better after having some tea, though not the best.

"What? They're not landing a spaceship here." Gilmore exclaimed, making me scowl at him.

"Here? No." The Doctor responded. "We're much too far from the main action."

There was a noise from outside though and I stood up.

"Yeah, Doctor? I think your logic is flawed. _Because_ this is far from the main action, it's exactly why they would pick here. Ace! Away from the window!"

She jumped onto the tables and hurried behind the one closest to us just as the glass shattered from the shuttle entering the atmosphere. The Doctor and I moved towards the window once the dust was cleared, but Gilmore ushered everyone else downstairs before joining us.

"Is that the mothership?"

"Hardly." I replied as the Doctor nodded.

"That's a shuttle. The mothership's much larger." He replied and then turned a stern face in his direction. "Are you willing to cooperate with me now?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Well, you could go down there and make a gloriously futile gesture, yes."

"What do we do?" Gilmore asked, not amused by the Doctor's quip, but giving in nonetheless.

"A little bit of piracy."

"Ooh, my favorite." I mused with a smirk, sipping my tea as I looked down at the shuttle below.

"Would you like to do the honors then?"

I turned to the Doctor in confusion, to find him handing me a length of rope.

"I need you to lasso the antenna on the shuttle."

I shrugged, setting down my tea. "Well, I don't know how good I am at lassoing, but I'll give it a shot."

I climbed out the window and hummed, eyeing the length I'd have to throw it as well as what little breeze I could feel. My head began to hurt though, trying to calculate the best way to throw the looped rope, before I simply sighed and just winged it. I got lucky and it caught on the first try, myself poking back in the window to find Gilmore tying off the other end as Ace, Rachel, Allison, and the Doctor made sure it was sturdy.

"Why are we doing this?" Ace questioned as I climbed back down and brushed off my shirt; the Doctor explaining.

"Elementary piracy, my dear Allison. Dalek shuttles have massive ground defenses and an unguarded service hatch on top. Now once I'm down there, I'll attempt to open that hatch. Ace, you come after Alex, then Gilmore, followed by Allison and Rachel. Any questions? No? Good."

He hurried out and used his umbrella to slide down the rope to the shuttle as I rolled my eyes.

"Somebody's in a hurry." I muttered, grabbing a slim piece of metal nearby that wouldn't bend under my weight. "See you all down there."

I went next, landing and hearing something screeching, before fading as the Doctor poked his head out and shouted.

"You can come down now!" He shouted, spotting me. "Alex, why didn't you wait?"

I raised a brow. "You never said to wait."

"Yes, I di—" He cut himself off, thinking back, before frowning. "No… No, you're right. I suppose I didn't. But it was implied!"

I snorted, climbing down the hatch. "Yeah, I don't listen to 'implied'."

"Of course you don't." He grumbled as the others made their way over and the Doctor began fiddling with the indisposed Dalek.

"What did you do to it?" Ace asked.

"I shorted it out. Daleks are such boring conversationalists." He mumbled back, pulling out the Dalek's plunger from the box he had been digging in.

"It's very functional." Rachel commented sarcastically.

"You'd be surprised." I muttered under my breath as the Doctor hummed.

"Yes. They're not known for their aesthetic sense. Let's see what they were up to." He said, using the plunger on the controls; a map lighting up. "Ah, the planet Skaro. So, the Daleks are returning to their ancestral seat. I think we've seen enough. Time to leave." He said quickly and I raised a brow as he shooed the group off the grill. "Um, get off the grill."

He opened it up to the underbelly as they moved.

"We'll go back through the playground."

"What about the massive ground defenses?" Allison wondered, but I answered.

"The Dalek on the controls is indisposed. Can't shoot the lasers if there's no one giving the order, can you? Come on."

I was the first to hop through with the rest following after and the Doctor coming last; fighting to free his stuck umbrella as he spoke.

"I rigged the communications relay to the shuttle control system. We can monitor the Daleks on the transmat in the cellar."

"You can't do that." Ace argued. "You mashed up the transmat, remember?"

"Just have to fix it then, huh?" I replied, turning to the umbrella and easily pulling it from the hatch before handing it to the Doctor. "Though more tea would be nice. Does wonders for the synapses."

He quirked a smile at me and we all headed back into the school, only to nearly run into a soldier holding his head.

"What happened?" Allison asked.

"Sergeant Smith." The man muttered as Allison looked over his head.

"Is he alright?" Rachel asked.

"No idea. I'm a physicist."

The Doctor leaned over and glanced at the man briefly. "He'll be fine. Rachel, Allison, I need your help. Alex, you're welcome to join in as well."

"Course."

We all headed after him—the scientists taking a moment longer before following after and the Doctor passed out orders. I couldn't help but smirk in amusement at the two womens' faces when he told them to grab the television upstairs, shaking my head at him as I went over to help him with the transmat.

"What?" He questioned, giving me a brief look.

"Nothing. You could be a bit nicer to them though. Make them feel at least a bit important."

"Isn't that what I just did?"

I chuckled slightly, connecting a few wires for him. "Hardly. Give them something proper to do. Really, you're just as bad as your later selves. Hard for some of us to remember that you're supposed to be the clever one when you're so clueless."

"Now, who said I was clueless?"

"I did. Just now. Weren't you listening?" I teased and he made a face at me.

"Oh, you—" He stopped when he heard the two women returning, calling to them. "Ah, you brought it. Um, put it down there." He said with a vague wave of his hand over my head as I worked on some more wires dangling off his shoulders.

"Now, Doctor." Rachel said, becoming stern. "Will you please answer one question?"

"Yes?"

"Why are two Dalek factions fighting each other?"

I snorted. "Why do two groups of humans fight each other?" I replied, giving her a brief look. "They're too different."

"Yes, but different how? I don't understand."

The Doctor sighed. "Ace?"

Ace grinned, excited to be the clever one in the room. "It's simple, isn't it?" She replied, drawing their attention to her. "Renegade Daleks are blobs."

"Blobs?" The Doctor questioned, but I smacked him on the arm.

_You wanted her to explain, so don't judge the way she does it._ I mentally chided him, wincing a bit at the headache that simple action caused. He begrudgingly gave in and nodded, whispering to me.

"You should stay away from telepathic communications for a while. Until this is taken care of. Less strain on the synapses."

"Yes, yes." I muttered back with a roll of my eyes as we returned to listening to Ace's explanation while working.

"Imperial Daleks are bionic blobs with bits added. You can tell that Daleks are into racial purity. So, one lot of Daleks reckon the other lot of blobs are too different. They're mutants. Not pure in their blobbiness."

"Result?" The Doctor chimed in.

"They hate each other's chromosomes. War to the death."

I helped the Doctor detangle himself from the wires as he spoke. "Well, um, Ace. Let's go and see which blobs are winning."

"Doctor, how do you do that? You and Alex?" Allison questioned as we paused on the stairs up.

"**Do what?"** We both asked.

"How do you just rewire a piece of alien machinery?"

"It's easy when you have nine hundred years' experience." The Doctor replied as I shrugged.

"And an extensive library."

We headed out and found ourselves sneaking by the gate outside the building from before; catching sight of a familiar face leaving the building.

"It's Mike." Ace said and the Doctor and I clicked our tongues.

"Moron."

The Doctor groaned. "He's got the time controller. Typical human. You can always count on them to mess things up. Ace, get after him. Stay with him and see where he's going."

"Right."

"Oh, Ace?" He said, stopping her.

"What?"

"No heroics. I've got enough problems already."

"Trust me." She smiled, heading off as I sighed.

"Why is it that I can't quite believe that just yet?"

"What? That she'll not do something heroic?"

"You just said it, didn't you? You can always count on them to mess things up. Your companions even more so. We just can't help it."

We reached the Tardis then, hearing the shuttle taking off and the Doctor lifted his hat to the ship with a smile. I sighed softly, hoping he knew what he was doing by letting the Imperial Daleks have the Hand of Omega, but I knew I trusted him and could only hope that this mess was very nearly over as we headed back into the cellar of the school; bumping into Gilmore along the way.

"Well, Doctor? Are we out of the woods?"

"Provided everything goes according to my plan."

"Plan?" Rachel questioned and I scoffed.

"Tell me about it. He rarely has a plan and when he does, you never know it until the end. Too clever for his own good, if you ask me. That, and his needless sense of having to always be mysterious. Question marks? Really?"

"Oi! You told me you liked the question marks."

"Oh dear. What do I become to have told you that…?" I murmured, giving the Doctor an amused look as he rolled his eyes.

"I, uh… I don't suppose you could let us know what your plan is?" Allison asked, making the Doctor smile a bit as he removed his hat.

"It's a surprise."

"Good. I love surprises." Rachel muttered sarcastically.

"Alex, if you would?" The Doctor said, handing me a wire.

I nodded and took it; hooking it up to the old camera as the Doctor took a mic and tapped his hat to try and get a better reception.

"Hello, hello, hello?" The Doctor called out. "Dalek mothership? Come in please." He nodded towards me and I sighed, adjusting some wires before grabbing an antenna from the tv and holding it up.

That did the trick, and the television flickered on.

"Ah, there you are. This is the Doctor, President Elect of the High Council of Time Lords, Keeper of the legacy of Rassilon, Defender of the Laws of Time, Protector of Gallifrey. I call upon you to surrender the Hand of Omega and return to your customary time and place." He demanded, making me wonder what he was up to know, demanding to have the Hand of omega returned.

He waved me to the left a bit and I shifted, clearing up the picture slightly better.

"_Ah, Doctor. You have changed again. Your appearance is as inconstant as your intelligence. You have confounded me for the last time!_"

I blinked, leaning over a bit to get a look at the screen. "Now, hold on. That sounds an awful lot like—"

"Alex! You're messing up the reception!" The Doctor chided and I rolled my eyes, but moved back as the Doctor scowled at the figure on screen who'd revealed himself. "Davros. I should have known. I see you've discarded the last vestige of your human form. Still no improvement."

"_Save your insults for the weak-minded, Doctor._"

"Will you return the Hand of Omega, or not?" The Doctor asked him, almost, making me question whether he was actually asking for it back or not.

"_Are you threatening me? If so, it is most unwise._"

"Every time our paths have crossed, I have defeated you."

Davros cackled, but I cut in, stretching my arm to keep the antenna in the right place as best I could as I got into the Doctor's shot.

"Oi! How's it going, droopy-face?" I chimed in. "You've got a lot more wires than I remember. Do you want some more puns? I've got some more since the last time I saw you."

"_Seer. I should have known you'd be there as well. Just as annoying as before, even with your new appearance._"

"You like it then? Love the hair, honestly, though the whole being shot by yet another Dalek is something I could have gone without. Why did you make them so trigger happy?"

"Alex." The Doctor groaned and I sighed.

"Yes, yes. Busy boys you are. Continue. I'll just hold up your antenna… Fun-killer." I mumbled, moving back to where I was as the Doctor cleared his throat and got back to the point.

"Davros, the Hand of Omega is not to be trifled with."

"_I think I am quite capable of handling the technology._" Davros argued.

"I sincerely doubt that."

"_Does it worry you, Doctor, that with it I will transform Skaro's sun into a source of unimaginable power? And with that power at my disposal, the Daleks shall sweep away Gallifrey and its impotent quorum of Time Lords!_" Davros called out and I sighed, seeing where this was going. "_The Daleks shall become Lords of Time! We shall become all—_"

"**Powerful."** The Doctor and I finished for him; the Doctor continuing. "Crush the lesser races. Conquer the galaxy. Unimaginable power. Unlimited rice pudding, et cetera, et cetera."

"_Do not anger me, Doctor, Seer. I can destroy you both and this miserable, insignificant planet._"

"Oh, wonderful. What power, what brilliance. You can wipe out the odd civilization, enslave the occasional culture, but it still won't detract from the basic fundamental truth of your own impotence!" The Doctor insulted and I smirked, seeing what he was trying to do, though Rachel was getting worried.

"Careful, Doctor."

The Doctor covered the mic. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

"_I will teach you the folly of your words, Doctor! I will destroy you and the Seer, and demonstrate the power of the Daleks!_"

"Davros, I beg of you. Don't use the Hand." The Doctor pleaded.

"_Ah, Doctor, now you begin to fear._"

"You're making a grave mistake."

"_Activate the Omega device!_" Davros ordered as the Daleks in the back responded, only to start screeching in panic. "_No, this cannot be correct! You have tricked me!_"

"Shouldn't be so cocky, Davros." I chirped. "Kind of tricked yourself there."

The Doctor nodded in agreement. "Do you think I would let you have control of the Hand of Omega?"

"_Do not do this. I beg of you._" Davros pleaded.

"Nothing can stop it now."

"_Have pity on me._"

"We do." I sighed softly, having never liked the man, but always having a soft spot for all life.

"Goodbye, Davros. It hasn't been pleasant." The Doctor said, turning off the transmission as I lowered my arm with a wince and rubbed at my shoulder.

_Held it up for too long. Kind of tingly with all the blood trying to flow back._

"What happened?" Rachel asked us then.

"I programmed the Hand of Omega to fly into Skaro's sun and turn it supernova." The Doctor replied simply.

"Super-what?" Gilmore questioned and Allison rolled her eyes at his ignorance.

"He blew it up."

"The resulting explosion destroyed Skaro and the feedback destroyed the mothership. The Hand of Omega is now returning to Gallifrey." The Doctor concluded, replacing his hat, but I frowned; something having caught in my mind.

"Doctor, what about the kid?"

"What kid?"

"The one who the Daleks were controlling. Is it possible they are still being used? I doubt the renegade Daleks were stupid enough to send out their head Dalek into battle. And if it's still around, it could cause problems. Especially if Mike has the time controller."

"You're right. It is possible that the main controller Dalek escaped. We need to find head to the base and shut down the controls. Come on!"

The group of us hurried up the stairs and Gilmore acquired a van that we hurriedly drove towards the building we'd seen the renegade Daleks using, only to have a Dalek rolling around outside it, looking rather lost. The Doctor stepped out and I followed after him, not about to let him go alone, and we slowly approached the Dalek.

"Dalek." The Doctor called out. "You have been defeated. Surrender. You have failed."

"Insufficient data." The Dalek screeched.

"Your forces are destroyed. Your home planet a burnt cinder circling a dead sun."

"There is no data." It continued, hardly listening.

"Even Davros, your creator, is dead." The Doctor went on, myself wincing at the panic coming off the creature in front of us. "You have no superiors, no inferiors, no reinforcement, no hope, no rescue."

"You are lying. There is insufficient data."

"You're trapped a trillion miles and a thousand years from a disintegrated home."

"Out of control!" The Dalek wailed, spinning slowly now.

"I have defeated you. You no longer serve any purpose."

"Cannot compute. Unstable. Unstable! Function impaired! Function impaired!" It shouted, before disintegrating.

The Doctor headed over as I rubbed at my head, him poking at the ashes of the Dalek with his umbrella, muttering something out of my ear shot before he returned to my side with a small smile.

"Well, all done then. Shall I escort you back to the Tardis?"

"Might have too. I'm about spent." I murmured; the relief of this whole mess being over already reaching my system and shutting my body down.

The Doctor was quick on his feet though and caught me. "Whoa, there. Hang on for a minute at least. Zero room or your room?"

"Mine…" I mumbled, voice slurred and he nodded, packing me into the back of the van and having Gilmore make a quick detour before they would head to check up on Ace and Mike.

The Doctor and Gilmore helped me to the Tardis door before Gilmore was shooed off and I was brought to my bedroom; the Tardis having moved it closer for convenience. The Doctor helped me onto the bed and removed my shoes and gloves, before lying me back and covering me with the blankets.

"Anything I can get you?"

I wearily looked up at him and gave him a small frown. "You had something important to tell me…"

He furrowed his brows, mouthing those words until it clicked and he turned a little pink, glancing away. "Yes, well, it can wait."

"I could pop off." I murmured, trying to stay awake through my exhaustion, but losing the battle.

"You're low on regeneration energy, so I highly doubt—"

"_Doctor_." I grumbled and he sighed.

"Oh, very well."

He leaned in and I was stunned to feel his lips gently press themselves to mine before he pulled away and brushed some hair off my forehead.

"I believe I very much fancy you, Alexander."

Needless to say, I had no response because my body chose that very moment to slip into unconsciousness, and I would not be pleased when I woke up. Especially if I woke up somewhere else.


	99. Voyage of the Damned

**Hello! And so _so_ sorry this is so late. I literally worked from the Thursday before Christmas until the day after New Years and spent any and all time in-between shifts catching up on lost sleep. That and... well, i got stuck on this chapter writing the classic who and decided to change my mind. So, this _isn't_ the Black Orchid (that will be the next chapter). This is Voyage of the Damned. You know, the Christmas special with the Titanic space cruise liner and... yeah. Don't know how i missed the Christmas specials, but figured it'd work out since Christmas ended not too long ago. It was easier to write too. So i hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think about it and sorry for grammar errors. i'll look it over later and fix them :)**

* * *

I woke up and frowned, feeling _much_ better than before, but also very frustrated. _God, that was like sleeping on an empty stomach. Why did the Doctor have to drop that bomb before I passed out? Kissing me? I _did_ insist, but honestly._ I groaned, draping a hand over my eyes before begrudgingly pulling myself out of bed. I showered quickly, not needing more than a few minutes, before pulling on similar clothes to what I'd been wearing, except exchanging my red suspenders for some dark maroon ones and grabbing a coat just in case. I slipped on my shoes and pulled on my gloves, heading to the door and walking out into the hall. The halls looked slightly different, but I paid it no mind until I entered the console room and grew very annoyed at the coral-like structures around the orange tinted room.

"I've popped off again." I muttered, brows furrowed. "Why do I always pop off when I find something important to stick around for? I told that idiot that I would pop off, but _no_. Couldn't have spared me the trouble despite my insistence. Instead, I'm stuck wanting to smack the man for telling me before I slipped into a healing coma. Doctor! You in here?" I called out, getting no response and looking up at the ceiling. "Alright, Sexy. You're the know-it-all sentient time machine. Am I appropriately dressed for whatever awaits me outside those doors?"

The ship hummed and flashed it's lights approvingly and I sighed.

"You better be right and if I find out I'm with the cranky younger Tenth Doctor, I'm going to probably kill him. I get the feeling that this body does not handle confrontations with stubborn, strong-headed morons very well."

The ship let out a chuckle as I walked out the door, waving behind me while I swung a coat over my shoulder.

"Wish me luck."

I walked out and frowned, immediately confused as to where I was other than a fancy dinner party. _Great. Multiple stubborn, strong-headed morons. A rich dinner party is _not_ something I appreciate, though perhaps this body has different ideas._ I only thought this, because I easily sashayed my way in and merged with the people around me; snatching up a champagne glass from a waiter and strolling the room in search of something interesting or something to jog my memory of where I might be. I stopped to study a painting of a ship, my back turned to the two angels across the room that went unnoticed. _What are these ships called? I can't remember… Is it a cruise ship? A passenger liner? Merchant ship? All the ships look the same with those smokestacks._ I hummed, sipping my drink and moving to a window and very nearly spitting my drink out.

"Oh, I should have known." I grumbled as I looked out into deep space.

I let out a soft sigh, downing the rest of my drink and moving to leave the room and enter another, only to finally spot the angels standing in a corner. _Angels. Why is it always angels? Weeping Angels, angel robots, baby angels. Ugh, and I remember what this episode is. This is going to be a pain._ I moved into the ballroom where people were dancing and playing poker and other such things. I assumed the Doctor would be in here somewhere, but with the number of people in the crowded room, it would be a while before I spotted him. I heard a crash then though and rolled my eyes. _Then again…_

"For Tov's sake, look where you're going. This jacket's a genuine Earth antique!" A man complained as a young woman knelt to pick up the tray she'd dropped.

"I'm sorry, sir."

_Astrid… don't know if I can save her. I can try, but it's the consequences I'm worried about. If the Doctor keeps her as a companion, then he won't meet his next companion at the right time. How complicated._

"You'll be sorry when it comes off your wages, sweetheart." The rich man scoffed as I headed over; grabbing a glass of red wine on my way. "Staffed by idiots. No wonder Max Capricorn's going down the drain."

He turned to leave, but I promptly stepped in his way and tipped the glass I had; dumping red wine down his shirt. I gave him a bland look.

"Oh dear." I muttered unapologetically. "Perhaps you should watch where you're going, sir, if you plan on wearing something so hideous and expensive to a party serving red wine."

"Why you—" He began to threaten, but I raised a brow.

"Is it really so wise to make a scene? You haven't the slightest idea who I am, but I know you, Mister Slade. And it would be a shame if those deals you planned on making suddenly went belly up due to an immature argument with one such as myself."

He was turning red with his held back anger, but I calmly smirked.

"You should go change before someone important sees you, _sir_."

He huffed and stormed off, shoving his way through the crowd as I dropped my smirk and scoffed.

"Rich, pig-headed moron." I muttered, before turning to look at Astrid. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, looking rather stunned, before the Doctor himself hurried over and began to help her pick up her tray and glasses.

"Careful. There we go."

"Thank you, sir. I can manage." Astrid replied as I knelt down as well, curious as to why the Doctor hadn't said anything to me yet.

"I never said you couldn't. I'm the Doctor, by the way." He turned to me and smiled. "Nice speech there."

_Ah, he doesn't know me in this body._ "I dislike those who don't see the value in being civil." I replied as Astrid smiled.

"I'm Astrid, sirs. Astrid Peth."

"Nice to meet you, Astrid Peth. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, sir."

"Just the Doctor, not sir." He smiled, before turning to me. "And you?"

I gave him an amused look. "Alex."

"Ah, I've got a friend named Alex." He smiled softly. "I bet she would have loved this."

_My God, he's the biggest idiot of them all._

"Are you both enjoying the cruise?" Astrid asked then, myself considering keeping silent about my regeneration until the Doctor figured it out.

"Um, yeah. I suppose. I don't know. It doesn't quite work, a cruise on your own."

"You're not with anyone?"

"No, no. Just me. Just, uh… used to be but, uh… no. What about you two? Long way from home, Planet Sto and wherever you're from, Alex."

"Much farther than Sto." I replied, having not thought about my own universe in some time.

Astrid hummed. "Doesn't feel that different. I spent three years working at a spaceport diner, travelled all the way here and I'm still waiting tables." She said, moving to go pick up a glass with the Doctor and I following.

"No shore leave?"

"We're not allowed. They can't afford insurance. I just wanted to try it, just once. I used to watch the ships heading out to the stars and I always dreamt of… it sounds daft."

"You dreamt of another sky." The Doctor finished for her, making my hearts ache as I knew that he was thinking of his own thoughts way back when he stole the Tardis. "New sun, new air, new life. A whole universe teeming with life. Why stand still when there's all that life out there?"

"S-So you travel a lot?"

"All the time. Just for fun. Well, that's the plan. Never quite works." The Doctor chuckled.

"Must be rich though, the both of you." Astrid nodded at us.

"Haven't got a penny. Stowaway." The Doctor replied and I hummed.

"Join the party." I said quietly, sipping my drink.

"Kidding." Astrid hoped.

"Seriously."

"No."

"Oh, yeah."

"How did you get on board?"

"Accident." The Doctor answered first, giving me time to come up with some excuse. "I've got this, sort of, ship thing. I was just rebuilding her. Left the defenses down. Bumped into the Titanic. Here I am. Bit of a party. I thought, why not?"

"I should report you."

"Go on then." The Doctor challenged and she smiled, before looking at me.

"What about you then, Alex? How did you get on board?"

"Hm? Oh, nothing special. Same as the Doctor, really. Popped up on a ship thing, walked out looking for a familiar face, then decided to have some fun with it." I shrugged, making to grab another glass of champagne, but the Doctor stopped me.

"You shouldn't drink so much."

"And you shouldn't interrupt someone when they're trying to do something." I argued with a hint of bite in my tone.

_I hate being interrupted. Must be this body's tick._

"And I'm starving." I replied, my stomach grumbling to prove my point.

Astrid smiled then. "I'll get you a drink and some food. On the house."

"Excellent." I mused, before spotting some people laughing at the familiar couple Morvin and Foon. "Oh, am I _never_ going to run out of rich bastards to piss off."

"Language." The Doctor chided me and I rolled my eyes at how he was treating me despite not knowing who I was. "Come on. Let's pay them a visit and grab you some nibbles."

"Just ignore them." We heart Morvin say as we sat down and the Doctor piped in.

"Something's tickled them."

"They told us it was fancy dress." Foon explained. "Very funny. I'm sure."

"They're just picking on us because we haven't paid." Morvin tacked on. "We won our tickets in a competition."

Foon smiled proudly. "I had to name the five husbands of Joofie Crystalle in 'By the Light of the Asteroid. Did you ever watch 'By the Light of the Asteroid'?"

"Is that the one with the twins?" The Doctor questioned, though my gaze was locked onto the delicious looking buffalo wings the couple had in front of them.

"That's it. Oh, it's marvelous."

"But we're not good enough for that lot." Morvin continued. "They think we should be in the steerage."

"Well, can't have that, can we?" The Doctor hummed, pulling his sonic out and managing to pop the cork on a bottle of champagne at the table with the gossiping rich folk; dousing them in alcohol.

"Did you do that?"

"Maybe." The Doctor smiled.

"We like you."

"We do." Morvin agreed. "I'm Morvin Van Hoff. This is my good woman, Foon."

"Foon." The Doctor tried out, shaking her hand. "Hello. I'm the Doctor."

"Alex." I greeted as well, pointing to some of the meat. "Could I have some? I'm absolutely starving."

"Oh, of course! I'm going to need a doctor, time I've finished with that buffet." She said, gesturing to the bowl for the Doctor as well. "Have a buffalo wing. They must be enormous, these buffalo. So many wings."

The Doctor exchanged an amused glance with me, but I was more focused on trying to eat as many buffalo wings as I could before they called for the people who were going to visit Earth.

"You alright?" The Doctor asked, looking concerned and I suddenly felt embarrassed by how I was stuffing my face.

I swallowed my mouthful of chicken and cleared my throat. "S-Sorry. I haven't eaten."

_For a few days, but let's not worry him further._

"_Attention please_!" Someone announced over the intercom, making me groan in frustration. "_Shore leave tickets Red Six Seven now activated. Red Six Seven_."

"Red Six Seven. That's us." Foon smiled. "Are you two Red Six Seven?"

"Might as well be." The Doctor replied, getting up as well, though I hesitated.

"Come on, then. We're going to Earth." Morvin said excitedly, heading over before the Doctor turned to me.

"You not coming?"

"Ah, well, I don't exactly have a pass. Stowaway, remember?"

"Nonsense. Come on. I'll help you get in." He grinned, reaching over and pulling me from my seat as I desperately grabbed a bowl of buffalo wings for the trip.

_God, I could actually eat a _whole_ buffalo at this rate. Stupid healing coma practically starved me._ I mused begrudgingly, not meaning to be eating like a mad man, but my body demanded the nutrients after the interrupted regeneration. A man holding a red sign led the way to where we needed to go, but Astrid hurried over to us then.

"I got you those drinks." She smiled, turning to me. "And a sandwich from the kitchens."

I took the sandwich eagerly, barely holding myself back from scarfing it down as the Doctor grabbed her hand to pull her along as well.

"And I got you a treat. Come on." He then showed his psychic paper to the man holding up the sign; Mr. Cooper. "Red Six Seven plus two."

Mr. Cooper didn't even notice. "Quickly, sir, please. And take three teleport bracelets if you would."

The Doctor grabbed three and headed back over to us; passing us both one.

"I'll get the sack." Astrid whispered.

"Brand new sky." The Doctor taunted and I nudged her lightly.

"Besides, it's easy enough to get a new job. When's the next time you'll get to see a new planet?"

She smiled and slipped the bracelet on and activated it as I did the same and went to grab another buffalo wing, only to find an empty bowl.

"Oh…" I muttered dejectedly, as the Doctor interrupted Mr. Cooper's speech on Earthly traditions and a little red alien hurried over.

"But, uh, hold on. Hold on…What was your name?" He asked the alien.

"Bannakaffalatta."

"Okay, Bannakaffalatta. But it's Christmas Eve down there. Late night shopping, tons of people. He's like a talking conker. No offence, but you'll cause a riot because the streets are going to be packed with shoppers and parties and—" He was cut off as the teleport was activated and we ended up on Earth. "Oh."

The streets were empty and Cooper offered credit cards to those who wanted them, but the Doctor was looking around in stunned shock.

"It should be full. It should be busy." He muttered to himself. "Something's wrong."

"But it's beautiful." Astrid murmured and the Doctor turned to her in shock.

"Really? Do you think so? It's just a street. The pyramids are beautiful and New Zealand—"

She didn't seem to care though and I couldn't help but smile a bit at her enthusiasm. "But it's a different planet. I'm standing on a different planet. There's concrete and shops. Alien shops. Real alien shops! Look, no stars in the sky. And it smells. It stinks! Oh, this is amazing. Thank you!"

She hugged the Doctor who smiled in return before looking at me.

"What do you think then, Alex?"

I frowned, holding up my empty bowl. "I'm out of food."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, grabbing my hand. "Come on. Worry about your food later. Let's have a look around, shall we?"

We bounded up to the first person we saw and I grinned at Wilfred as the Doctor spoke.

"Hello there. Sorry, obvious question, but where's everybody gone?"

"Oh, ho! Scared!" He replied.

"Right, yes. Scared of what?"

"Where've you been living?" He asked in return. "London at Christmas? Not safe, is it?"

"Why?"

"Well, it's them, up above. Look, Christmas before last we had that big bloody spaceship, everyone standing on a roof. And then last year, that Christmas Star electrocuting all over the place, draining the Thames."

"This place is amazing." Astrid breathed out, though I was barely holding back a laugh at the Doctor's suddenly understanding and sheepish expression.

"And this year, Lord knows what." Wilfred went on. "So, everybody's scarpered. Gone to the country. All except me and Her Majesty." He said, gesturing to the news playing on his small television and saluting. "God bless her. We stand vigil."

"Well, between you and me, I think her Majesty's got it right. Far as I know this year, nothing to worry about." The Doctor reassured him, but I hummed.

"Ooh, you've gone done and jinxed it." I said, before giving Wilfred a small smile and wave. "Nice to see you, Wilfred."

He blinked, confused and pointed at me. "Now, how did you know my—"'

The rest of his sentence was cut off as we were suddenly teleported back onto the ship and the Doctor turned to complain.

"We were mid-sentence."

"Yes, I'm sorry about that." Mr. Cooper said. "A bit of a problem. If I could have your bracelets."

Some other workers hurried over and I shifted to help hide Astrid behind the Doctor and I.

"Apologies, ladies and gentlemen, and Bannakaffalatta. We seem to have suffered a slight power fluctuation. If you'd like to return to the festivities. And on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruiseliners, free drinks will be provided."

"That was the best. The best!" Astrid told us before hurrying off as the Doctor shifted over to the stewards with his bracelet alongside me.

"What sort of power fluctuation?"

* * *

"You're going to get caught fiddling with things like that out in the open."

The Doctor jumped, frowning over at Alex as she leaned up against the wall next to the screen and controls he was fiddling with, chewing on buffalo wings once more.

"Yeah, well, you'll get fat at the rate you're eating those." He countered poorly, before the monitor he'd hooked up began beeping and he noticed the shields were offline.

He peered out a porthole to see meteors heading their way and immediately called up the captain of the ship.

"Is this the bridge? I need to talk to the Captain. You've got a meteoroid storm coming in west zero by north two."

"_Who is this?_" The Captain replied, though the Doctor spotted the frown on Alex's face.

_She knows something._ He shook the thought from his mind for now, trying to stay focused on the problem at hand and not another mystery stowaway.

"Never mind that. Your shields are down. Check your scanners, Captain. You've got meteoroids coming in and no shielding."

"_You have no authorization. You will clear the comms at once._" The Captain demanded.

"Yeah? Just look starboard!"

"Doctor." Alex piped in as a steward approached.

"If you could come with me, sir."

A guard came with him and began tugging him away, making the Doctor roll his eyes in annoyance, but locked his gaze with Alex. She nodded subtly and he felt some hope there, but continued to try and speak with the steward.

"You've got a rock storm heading for this ship and the shields are down."

Alex hurried past them and grabbed the mic from the singer. "Oi, you lot! Look out the windows! There's meteors heading right for us and the shielding is down!"

Murmurs started up as the people passed her off as a drunk and a few more guards went to grab her as well as one of the Hosts. The Doctor was stunned as she fought them off well enough, only to be forced to a stop when the Host managed to grab her arm and twist it painfully around her back.

"Look out the windows!" The Doctor pressed and a number of the guests did as he and Alex were being hauled out. "If you don't believe us, check the shields yourself!"

Astrid hurried over to help too. "Sir, I can vouch for him!"

"Look, steward, they've just had a bit too much to drink." Morvin tried to get the two released as Mr. Cooper hurried over.

"Sir, something seems to have gone wrong. All the teleports have gone down."

"Not now!" The steward snapped, his hands full, but Alex called out.

"It's a trap! The teleports are down to prevent people getting off the ship! The meteors are going to collide with us! You have to stop—Ah!"

She cut herself off with a cry of pain as the Host twisted her arm even more and the Doctor shouted at it.

"Stop it! Stop it, you're hurting her!"

Slade rushed in then, looking panicked as he shouted at the steward with the group following after the Doctor and Alex.

"Oi, steward!" He shouted, making them stop. "I'm telling you the shields are down!"

"Listen to him." The Doctor pressed. "Listen to him!"

The ship suddenly exploded and quaked, a crash sending the Host holding Alex into a pipe and making it drop her as everyone reached for something to hold. The Doctor grabbed Astrid as Alex harshly hit a pipe and crumpled to the ground as more meteors hit the ship, knocking everyone about. Then, it all stopped and the Doctor shushed everyone; listening.

"It's stopping." He turned to Astrid. "You alright?"

"I think so." She breathed out as he helped her up.

"Bad name for a ship." The Doctor murmured. "Either that, or this suit is really unlucky."

The steward, realizing now what had happened, attempted to fix things. "Uh, everyone. Ladies and gentlemen, Bannakaffalatta. I must apologize on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruiseliners. We seem to have had a small collision."

"Small?" Morvin gaped at the man.

"Do you know how much I paid for my ticket?" Slade snapped, focused on something else as the others shouted at the man.

"If I could have silence, ladies, gentlemen. Please." He said, then shouted. "Quiet! Thank you. I'm sure Max Capricorn Cruiseliners will be able to reimburse you for any inconvenience, but first I would point out that we're very much alive."

"Doctor?" Astrid called out and the Doctor hurried over to see Mr. Cooper with a cut on his head and Alex unconscious.

"She is, after all, a fine, sturdy ship. If you could all stay here while I ascertain the exact nature of the situation." The steward continued, moving towards a hatch, but the Doctor noticed a second too late.

"Don't open it!"

The hatch opened and sucked the man out into space as the Doctor and others grabbed ahold of something. The Doctor's eyes widened as Alex began to slip towards the hole as well, and he managed to barely pull out his sonic and turn the oxygen shield back on just as she neared the edge of the open gap.

"Everyone alright?" He called out, hurrying towards Alex. "Astrid?"

"Yeah." She gasped.

"Foon? Morvin? Mr. Cooper? Bannakaffalatta?"

"Yes." Bannakaffalatta responded as the Doctor knelt and glanced at Slade.

"You, what was your name?"

"Rickston Slade."

"You alright?"

"No thanks to that idiot."

"The steward just died." Astrid said, disbelieving of the man's comment.

"Then he's a dead idiot."

"Alright. Calm down. Just stay still, all of you." The Doctor instructed, seeing tensions rising and looking back down at Alex.

"Is he alright?" Astrid asked, looking concerned.

"She." The Doctor corrected, sonicking her to check the damages and wincing when he got the results. "Blimey. The Host did a number on her shoulder." He reached out and slowly turned her head to see a dark spot in her hair. "And she must have hit something when the ship was hit. Probably has a concussion."

He dabbed at the blood matting her hair with a frown, trying to get a look at the wound and being grateful that it wasn't as bad as he thought, and had already stopped bleeding. He looked up and gestured to the others.

"Keep an eye on her for a second."

Foon and Morvin nodded as Bannakaffalatta headed over to hold the handkerchief to Alex's head as the Doctor and Astrid moved over to a hallway where another large opening was.

"What happened? How come the shields were down?" She asked and the Doctor looked out into open space with a frown.

"It's like Alex said. It was a trap. This was no accident."

"How many dead?" Astrid murmured.

"We're alive. Just focus on that." He pressed, looking at her seriously. "I _will_ get you out of here, Astrid. I promise. Look at me." He urged, grabbing her shoulders. "I promise. Good. Now, if we can get to reception, I've got a spaceship tucked away. We can all get on board and… oh."

He'd looked back outside to see the Tardis floating away.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Astrid asked, concerned.

"That's my ship over there."

"Where?"

"There. That little blue box."

"That's a spaceship?"

"Oi, don't knock it." The Doctor complained.

"It's a bit small."

"A bit distant." He added. "Trouble is, once it's set adrift, it's programmed to lock onto the nearest center of gravity, and that would be the Earth."

"Doctor!"

The Doctor turned and hurried back to see Alex awake and groaning as she held her head, attempting to sit up.

"Whoa, there. Not quite yet."

She glared at him and sat up anyway, wincing in pain when her arm shifted.

"How are you feeling?" The Doctor asked, concerned.

"Like I want to hit something _really_ hard." She growled and he smiled a bit, her words reminding him of _his_ Alex.

"Well, looks like _you_ got hit hard. Look at me for a second." He said, using his sonic to check for concussion and frowning. "Definitely a concussion and your shoulder is going to be sore for a while."

"Just what I need. Another head injury. I haven't had this head for more than a week and I'm already trying to bash it to pieces."

"What did you say?" The Doctor questioned, but she wasn't listening.

"And it's always the bad trips after regeneration. First the Daleks, then the stupid Titanic ship blowing up. If I don't end up dead in the next few trips, I'll be stunned."

"Regeneration?" The Doctor grabbed her shoulders in shock. "Did you say regeneration?"

She glared at him again, not appreciating his rough attack on her injured shoulder. "And for a genius Time Lord, you sure can be dense. Honestly, girl dressed as a guy with the name Alex and you need me to spell it out for you?"

His eyes lit up in understanding and he grinned. "Alex! Oh, Alexander Holmes! You clever little trickster! When did you regenerate?"

She rubbed at her head, frowning in thought. "Day and a half ago. Was in a healing comma before I woke up in your ship and walked out into a rich idiot party. My synapses were in a mess and the headache now doesn't help."

He winced. "Ooh, getting used to everything then. Right. Explains the sudden need for nibbles."

"Shut _up_."

He held up his hands in surrender, but was grinning away, ignoring everyone else's confused expressions and bounding over to a comm.

"Deck 22 to the bridge. Deck 22 to the bridge. Is there anyone there?"

"_This is the bridge._" Someone responded and the Doctor felt some hope.

"Oh, hello, sailor. Good to hear you. What's the situation up there?"

"_We've got air. The oxygen field is holding, but the Captain, he's dead. He did it. I watched while he took down the shields. There was nothing I could do. I tried. I did try._" The man half sobbed.

"Alright. Just stay calm. Tell me your name. What's your name?"

"_Midshipman Frame._"

"Nice to meet you, sir. What's the state of the engines?" The Doctor continued, trying to keep the man calm and get some information.

"_They're uh, hold on_." The man cried out in pain and the Doctor turned to Alex in concern.

"Captain shot him." She muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose and he nodded as the man came back over the comm.

"_Oh, my Vot. They're cycling down_."

"That's a nuclear storm drive, yes?"

"_Yeah._"

"The moment they're gone we lose orbit."

"_The planet…_" Frame realized.

"Oh, yes. If we hit the planet, the nuclear storm explodes and wipes out life on Earth. Midshipman, I need you to fire up the engine containment field and feed it back into the core." The Doctor urged.

"_This is never going to work._"

"Trust me, it'll keep the engines going until I can get to the bridge."

The group behind the Doctor began to panic, but Alex surprisingly stood and snapped at them all.

"Hands on mouths!"

The group jumped and then did as she'd said, making the Doctor blink in surprise as she turned to him.

"Do something to shut them up, or I might very well lose my lunch and make things worse."

The Doctor hastily helped lower her back to the ground upon seeing her pale face and unfocused eyes.

"Right. Yes." He stood and turned to the group of panicked passengers. "First things first. One. We are going to climb through this ship. B. No. Two." He corrected. "We're going to reach the bridge. Three. Or C. We're going to save the Titanic. And, coming in a very low four, or D, or that little iv in brackets they use in footnotes, why. Right then, follow me."

"Hang on a minute." Slade complained as the Doctor wrapped Alex's arm around his shoulders and lifted her up. "Who put you in charge, and who the hell are you anyway?"

The Doctor faced him seriously. "I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm nine hundred and three years old and I'm the man who's going to save your lives and all six billion people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?"

Slade looked a little unsure, turning to Alex. "What about her?"

"She's my girlfriend." The Doctor declared, missing the slightly surprised look Alex spared him. "She's a psychic empath who's…" He turned to her and she sighed.

"Seven hundred and twenty-one."

"Seven hundred and twenty-one." He repeated. "With a nasty head injury and terribly cranky to boot. And if you're smart, you won't cross her if you want to keep what dignity you have left."

"That, and I don't exactly see _you_ coming up with any brilliant ideas, Snooty McMoney-Pants." Alex snapped. "And you're already on my short list, so you'll be lucky if you get more than one chance. _Impress me._"

Slade swallowed thickly and the Doctor nodded, turning them down the hall.

"Allons-y!"

* * *

The Doctor poked his head through a hatch and reached his hand out for me, now that I was slightly more steady on my feet.

"Careful. Follow me."

We worked our way through the debris in the stairwell as Cooper rambled on behind us about his beliefs of Christmas.

"Rather ironic, but this is very much in the spirit of Christmas. It's a festival of violence. They say that human beings only survive depending on whether they've been good or bad. It's barbaric."

"Actually, that's not true." The Doctor attempted to correct as I sighed. "Christmas is a time of, of peace and thanksgiving and…" He paused making a face. "What am I on about? My Christmases are always like this."

"Tell me about it." I grumbled, mine typically ending up very much the same.

He pulled up some metal then and smiled. "We've got a Host. Strength of ten. If we can mend it—"

"No." I cut him off, frowning at the broken host as he turned to me in confusion.

"Alex?"

"Don't fix it." I pressed, looking at him seriously. "If this ship was sabotaged and set up to crash, what makes you think the robots are going to be any better? Trust me, we _don't_ want to fix the Host."

"Well, if you're sure." The Doctor gave in, but Slade wasn't convinced.

"Please. You're just being paranoid."

I glared, but reached over and pulled off the halo from the Host and handed it over. "Feel the edges on that and tell me it's _not_ a blade."

Slade took it from her harshly, only to let out a yelp when he nicked his finger on the sharpened edge. He looked at it in shock and back at me.

"Now do me a favor and keep your mouth shut unless you have something valuable to say. I have a hard enough time keeping my temper and I don't need you adding to it."

I took the halo back from him and nudged the Doctor onward, tucking the blade carefully into my coat pocket.

"It's blocked." Astrid said once we reached the next area.

"So, what do we do?"

I rolled my eyes as Astrid gave him a look.

"We shift it."

He grinned. "That's the attitude. Rickston, Mister Copper, and you, Bannakaffalatta. Look, can I just call you Banna? It's going to save a lot of time."

"No." The red alien argued. "Bannakaffalatta."

"Alright then, Bannakaffalatta. There's a gap in the middle. See if you can get through."

"Easy. Good." He smiled, crawling through just as the ship shook and some of the debris moved.

"This whole thing could come crashing down any minute!" Slade commented and I reached into my coat and pulled out a roll of duct tape.

"Shut up, or I will use this!"

He looked worried and snapped his mouth shut as I grumbled under my breath.

"God, do people like him piss me off."

"Bannakaffalatta made it!" Came the red alien's call and Astrid volunteered to go next.

"Thing is—" Slade started, but I turned, stripping a piece of the duct tape loudly and he paled.

"Shut _up_, or I might just consider leaving you down here and I'm sure none of the others would mind with your snide comments."

"_Alex._" The Doctor chided and I frowned as he held out a hand; begrudgingly passing him the duct tape. "Though really, Slade, shut it and help us make the gap bigger."

We passed pieces of metal down and out of the way as Morvin and Foon laughing behind us as Astrid called out.

"I can clear it from this side, just tell me if it starts moving."

"There's a recharge station near there!" I chimed back. "You know, just in case!"

"In case of what?" She asked, but she went quiet and the Doctor looked up in worry.

"What's going on up there?"

"I think Bannakaffalatta and I just got engaged."

I snorted, passing another piece of metal down, before I remembered something and the cheery feeling I'd had a moment ago faltered.

"Ah, I forgot…"

The Doctor glanced down at me. "Alex? Forgot what?"

"Kitchen. I forgot to warn Frame in the bridge about the Hosts."

He frowned. "Alex, what are the Hosts doing?"

I looked back at him in all seriousness. "Picking off the survivors to finish the job."

His eyes widened and he hurriedly got the screen in front of him to work and called up the bridge.

"Mr. Frame, the Hosts are killing people off. Make sure that your doors are sealed."

"_R-Right, sir._" He replied, making me close my eyes and take in a slow breath, knowing that he was only accepting that response because he'd already heard the people in the kitchen die.

"We need to hurry." I told the Doctor. "They're all over the ship. It's only a matter of time before they find us too. And if they're connected to the ship, it won't be hard before they search for life signs and find us all bunched up."

"Right, everybody through! Quick as you like!"

Slade shoved his way to the front, but I didn't bother dealing with his rudeness as I ushered Mr. Cooper next and then Foon.

"Now I'm stuck!" She called out and I heard the debris shift before she managed to get through and Morvin went up, getting stuck as well and the Doctor and I shoved him through, before he pushed me in.

Mr. Cooper dropped the pipe he was using as a lever to keep the debris from collapsing once everyone was through and I pat him on the shoulder lightly, grimacing and rubbing at my own, which felt as though it were on fire. The Doctor turned to me then, looking worried.

"You said the Hosts are going berserk. Do you know where they come from?"

"Deck thirty-one." I muttered and Slade frowned.

"And how the hell do you know? You haven't explained anything!"

"Psychic." I grumbled. "And I believe I have a second roll of duct tape, if you want to keep trying my patience."

He ducked his head and wandered off with the others as I let out a long sigh and the Doctor lightly tugged me along.

"I take it he's like this the whole trip?"

I frowned, not in annoyance, but in sorrow. "Doctor, this isn't a good trip."

"Obviously." He teased, though I could sense his unease from my words. "Scale of one to ten?"

"Ten." I murmured and he let out a sigh himself as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Right."

"I'm sorry, but there's not much I can do here. I'll try with some of them, but others…" I paused looking over our group as we found the corridor with a trolley of sandwiches; the group helping themselves. "Believe it or not, but... one of them is going to die. _Has_ to die, because otherwise everything after this point will be tilted just slightly off. Just enough to possibly cause disasters much larger than this."

"I understand." He murmured. "It doesn't feel like a fixed point to me, but you're more sensitive to things involving my timeline."

"You need to get a hold of Frame."

He nodded and went to do so as I headed to the trolley and grabbed some for myself and for the Doctor, heading over and passing him the plate as he ended his talk with Frame.

"I'm fine, Alex. You take it."

I rolled my eyes, stomping harshly on his foot and shoving a sandwich in his mouth when he went to cry out. "Shut up and eat, or I'll have to do that a second time."

"Ooh, you're rude!" He said through a mouthful of food. "A right proper rude too. Now why'd you go and do that?"

I raised a brow. "I took after somebody."

He wrinkled his nose at that, begrudgingly eating as Astrid came over and joined us; myself leaning against the Doctor as I chewed my own sandwich.

"So you two, huh?" She asked with a smile, surprisingly enough. "I mean, I wouldn't have thought so what with you being all…"

She waved at me and I frowned a bit.

"What?"

"Grumpy." She finally said, and I groaned.

"I'm not _always_ grumpy. It's the face, mostly, though the headache and the rich idiots don't help."

She smiled again. "Well, you two got on right off, even when you _didn't_ recognize each other. I figure that counts for something. But nine hundred and three, and seven hundred and twenty-one. You two look good."

"You should see us in the mornings." The Doctor teased and she chuckled before Mr. Cooper came over and announced that it was Christmas down on Earth.

I yawned, closing my eyes and settling in for a short nap as the Doctor discussed things with him and Astrid as to the inability to get help from Earth and Mr. Cooper's life story of him being a traveling salesman with no _actual_ degree. I had _just_ started to drift off when there was a bang on some of the debris covering an entrance and I bolted upright. I immediately felt lightheaded, but the Doctor had stood as well and steadied me as he hurried our group along once more. He sonicked open a door, but when we walked out onto a catwalk, he gapped in shock. We were just above the engines with only a narrow beam to get us across, and I knew that this was where my foreknowledge of things would either help or be useless.

"Is that the only way across?" Slade asked, making me glad that he'd remained silent until now.

"On the other hand, it is a way across." The Doctor quipped.

"The engines are open." Astrid gasped though and the Doctor explained.

"Nuclear storm drive. As soon as it stops, the Titanic falls."

"But that thing, it'll never take our weight." Morvin breathed out and I shook my head.

"It will. Trust me. You'll have to be quick though, and only one at a time. So might I suggest we get a move on? Chatting about things is only giving the Hosts more time to catch up with us."

"Alex is right."

"And stay away from the edges." I cut in, holding a hand out to keep Morvin away from the railing. "The heat from the engine is warping and weakening certain parts. One wrong step and you'll be the one tumbling down there. And Slade, if you say one word about their weight, I'll pack enough rubbish down your throat you'll become the definition of overweight. Now go across, you pile of spineless chicken."

He glared at me, but went to go across, going to his knees when the ship shook.

"Careful! Take it slowly!" The Doctor called out. "You're okay, a step at a time. Come on, you can do it."

"They're getting nearer!" Mr. Cooper called out and I moved to the door, holding out my hand.

"Sonic!"

The Doctor passed it to me easily, without a second thought and I sealed the door.

"Door's sealed." I replied, handing it back to him as Mr. Cooper looked worried.

"You're leaving us trapped, wouldn't you say?"

"Never say trapped, just inconveniently circumstanced." The Doctor countered as Slade announced his safety on the other side of the gap. "Bannakaffalatta, you go next."

The red alien nodded. "Bannakaffalatta small."

"Slowly!" The Doctor urged and the little alien slowed his pace slightly as the Hosts began to pound on the door and I frowned.

"That should have bought us some time. Why didn't it buy us time?" I murmured, but there were more important things to worry about.

_I saved Morvin from falling, so getting him and Foon across should be easier and less time consuming because she's not morning a death that never happened._ Astrid was next going across and Mr. Cooper was about to go, but I stopped him.

"Wait for Bannakaffalatta to get all the way, then go."

"Alex, we don't have time." The Doctor pressed, but I glared and he groaned. "Fine. Fine! Do as she says."

"Doctor, the door's locked!" Slade called out as I turned to Foon and Morvin.

"You two are going to have to go across one at a time. Once Mr. Cooper is nearly across, Foon, you go. The when she's nearly across, you go, Morvin."

"What about you and the Doctor?"

"Don't worry about us. We can handle ourselves well enough."

Bannakaffalatta announced his crossing and I sighed, glad that I was at least a _little_ ahead of things as Mr. Cooper hurried on and began crossing too. I shifted Foon closer to the bridge, but made sure Morvin waited closer to the door in case the railing was weak where Foon was as well.

"Doctor, I can't open the door. We need the whirling key thing of yours!" Slade said and he frowned.

"I can't leave them!"

"They'll get us all killed if we can't get out!" Slade argued and I lightly pushed the Doctor towards the bridge.

"Go. I'll make sure they get across."

He hesitated and I sighed, reaching up and kissing him deeply. He did the same in return, grabbing my waist and pulling me close, but I broke it off.

"Go." I urged and he begrudgingly nodded.

"I'm coming back for you."

"Don't. Then we'll have to wait for you to get back across again and I don't think there's enough time." I pressed and gestured to the bridge before turning back to Foon as she grew nervous.

Astrid was across now and the bridge creaked as the Doctor joined Mr. Cooper on it. The ship quaked then and the bridge shifted as Astrid called out in worry, but the Doctor hurried everyone along as I got Foon to join him and Mr. Cooper.

"Slowly, Foon!" I repeated, unsure with there being three people on the bridge, but Mr. Cooper was nearly across.

It was then though, that the banging stopped and I cursed under my breath. _We're running out of time._

"They've stopped."

"Gone away?" Bannakaffalatta mused, but I shook my head before the Doctor could question it.

"Keep moving! They found another way in! They can fly!"

The Doctor's eyes widened in shock and they hurried once more. I didn't dare get Morvin on the bridge with the Doctor and Foon still on it, but I feared that if I didn't get him across soon, one or both of us weren't going to make it. The Hosts floated up then and the Doctor called for everyone to take arms; grabbing metal pipes and pieces to try and fight the incoming attack off.

"But keep moving!" I shouted. "We won't all make it if you don't all get across!"

They started fighting off the halos, edging slowly across as I simply grit my teeth and dodged as best I could, digging through my pockets desperately hoping that the Tardis transferred all my things from my other coats. _Come on, come on. I know I've got to have one left._ I hissed in pain as a halo sliced into my upper arm and another nicked my ear._ There!_ I grinned, pulling out the device and laughing out-loud for the first time since I'd regenerated.

"Ahaha! I knew I kept one handy." _And if it works on Daleks, then these things will be a piece of cake._ "Doctor!"

He turned as I tossed it, him catching it and grinning in return before activating it. The Hosts sparked and jolted as their halos stopped and they fell into the engine.

"Electromagnetic pulse took out the robotics. Oh, Alex, that was brilliant!"

"Don't thank me yet!" I said, urging Morvin across as the Doctor hopped to the other side as I moved to the one Host who'd fallen nearby me.

The Host began to shift and the Doctor looked at me with wide eyes as I pulled the halo from earlier out of my pocket and used it to counter a swipe from the Host.

"Alex!"

"Shut up for a minute, will you!" I snapped, cringing as the next swipe sent waves of pain up my arm. "I'm trying to remember the number!"

"Ten! Six, six, six! Uh, twenty-one, four, five, six, seven, eight. I don't know, forty-two?"

"One!" I shouted, just as I'd slipped and the Host went to swipe down at me. "Override loophole. Security protocol one!"

The Host stopped as I breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Information." The Host said. "State request."

"Good, right." The Doctor said, making it turn to him as I forced myself back onto my feet and moved towards the bridge myself; Foon having made it across now. "You've been ordered to kill the survivors, but why?"

"Information: no witnesses."

"But this ship's going to fall on the Earth and kill everyone. The human race have got nothing to do with the Titanic, so that contravenes your orders, yes?" The Doctor asked.

"Information: incorrect."

"But why do you want to destroy the Earth?" He questioned.

"Information: it is the plan."

_Not enough time. Dammit, Doctor! You talk too fast!_ I grimaced, only halfway across.

"What plan?"

"Information: protocol grants you only three questions. These three questions have been used."

"Well, you could have warned me." The Doctor complained.

"Information: now you will die."

I rolled over onto my back and blocked another hit as I crawled backwards.

"Doctor! It's on a timer! How much longer until it's recharged?!" I shouted, cringing as the Host slid it's halo dangerously close to cutting off my fingers.

"U-Uh, five, maybe ten seconds!" He replied; the two of us exchanging a look.

_Too long. Much too long. I need a different plan. Can't have Bannakaffalatta use his EMP. I just need more time._

"I need something to distract him!" I called out. "Throw things! Try to knock the halo out of his grip or something! And Bannakaffalatta, don't you dare think about using your EMP or I'll haunt you in the afterlife!"

I heard the alien yelp in fear and surprise, but then focused on protecting myself as best I could while the others threw things. Holding onto the halo was getting harder as time went on and my fingers were being cut into by the sharp edges, before I finally lost my grip and it flew out of my hands and into the engine core. I looked up at the Host in shock and fear as it raised its halo, only for the Doctor to shout out last minute.

"Done!"

The Host was shocked and tumbled onto the bridge before sliding off into the core. The bridge though, wasn't handling that extra jolt well and I barely had time to register the creaking of the bridge before someone looped their arms around mine and hauled me off it.

"Alex? Alex, are you alright? Hey!" The Doctor lightly pat my face and I turned my wide eyes to him. "Are you alright, Alexander?"

I blinked, looking back at the empty bridge briefly as I tried to get a hold of my voice. "Y-Y-Yeah. Yup. Yes. Sure. Fine. Beat up, but… fine, I think."

I was suddenly enveloped in a hug and couldn't help the shudder that went through my frame when I realized how close to dying I had been.

"Don't you _ever_ do something that risky again. Do you hear me?"

I nodded, unable to speak until he released me and brushed a finger over my cut ear; making me wince.

"You're going to have a notch in your ear." He murmured, looking over the rest of me and slipping off his bowtie to wrap around my bleeding arm.

"That's the least of our troubles." I said quietly as he helped me back up onto my shaky legs.

"No more." He said seriously then, eyes blazing as he squeezed my hand and pulled me to the next door out only to stop as everyone caught up. "Right. Get yourself up to Reception One. Once you're there, Mr. Copper, you've got staff access to the computer. Try to find a way of transmitting an SOS. Foon and Morvin help him with that and see about getting that place as secure as possible. Astrid, Bannakaffalatta, you're in charge of this." He passed Astrid my EMP. "Once it's powered up, it'll take out a Host within fifty yards but then it needs sixty seconds to recharge. Got it? Rickston, take this." He passed the man his sonic. "I've preset it. Just hold down that button, it'll open doors. Do not lose it! You got that? Now go and open the next door. Go on, go!"

"Alright!" Slade complained, hurrying off as the Doctor grabbed a first aid kit from nearby and looked at me, but I shook my head and he begrudgingly handed it off to Mr. Cooper.

"Mr. Cooper, you're going to need this. I need you fighting fit. Astrid, where's the power points?"

"Under the comms." She replied and they plugged in my EMP to help speed up the charge.

"See, when it's ready, that blue light comes on there."

"You're talking as if you're not coming with us." She concluded and he nodded.

"There's something down on deck thirty-one. Alex and I are going to find out what it is."

She spared me a look. "But Alex is hurt and what if you meet a Host?"

"Believe me when I say Alex is tougher than she looks, and if she's concerned about the safety of any of you lot, then she would have demanded to stay." He said, making me swallow thickly as I thought of how Astrid was going to die. "She knows more about this situation than I do, so having her there to back me up is best."

"You sound like you do this kind of thing all the time." Astrid commented.

"Not by choice. All we do is travel. That's what we are. Just travelers. Imagine it. No tax, no bills, no boss. Just the open sky." He mused, enticing her though I was concerned that I shouldn't be letting him get attached.

_No. It's better to have and lose it, than to never have at all. That goes for love and friends. It'll be hard, but there's nothing I can do._

"I'm sort of unemployed now. I was thinking the blue box is kind of small, but I could squeeze in it, like a stowaway." Astrid grinned.

"It's not always safe." The Doctor informed her seriously.

"So you need someone to take care of you. I've got no one back on Sto. No family, just me… So what do you think? Can I come with you?" She turned to me. "Both of you?"

"Yeah, I'd like that. Yes." The Doctor smiled, turning to me. "If Alex is alright with it, of course."

"Yeah, no, it's fine." I said, a bit too quickly.

The Doctor looked at me strangely as I cleared my throat and turned away, just as the ship jolted and the Doctor scrambled to the comm.

"Mr. Frame, you still with us?"

"_It's the engines, sir. Final phase. There's nothing more I can do. We've got only eight minutes left._"

"Don't worry. I'll get there." The Doctor encouraged.

"_But the bridge is sealed off._"

"Yeah, yeah, working on that. I'll get there, Mr. Frame, somehow." The Doctor said, cutting off and turning to Astrid. "All charged up?"

She nodded and he turned to Mr. Cooper.

"Mr. Cooper, look after her. Astrid, look after him. Rickson, um, look after yourself. And I'll see you again. I promise." He turned to me and grinned as he grabbed my hand. "Allons-y."

He pulled me along through the halls and we ran for our lives up until we encountered a number of Hosts in the kitchens. The Doctor grabbed a frying pan as he shouted and tucked me behind him.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Security protocol one. Do you hear me? One. One! Okay, that gives me three questions. Three questions to save our lives, am I right?"

"Information: correct." The Host said and I groaned.

"No, that wasn't one of them. I didn't mean it. That's not fair. Can I start again?"

"Doctor!"

"What?" He questioned as the Host replied.

"Information: no."

Realization dawned on him and his eyes widened. "No! No, no, no, no. That wasn't a question either. Blimey. One question left. One question. So, you've been given orders to kill the survivors but survivors must therefore be passengers or staff, but not us. We're not passengers. We're not staff. Go on, scan us. You must have bio-records. No such person on board. We don't exist, therefore you can't kill us. Therefore, we're stowaways, and stowaways should be arrested and taken to the nearest figure of authority. And I reckon the nearest figure of authority is on deck thirty-one. Final question. Am I right?" He spouted out almost too quickly for me to follow as he tossed his pan away.

"Information: correct."

He grinned at me. "Brilliant. Take me to your leader! I've always wanted to say that."

"You've said it more than once." I sighed, holding my hands up and allowing the Hosts to take the Doctor and I to deck thirty-one.

* * *

"Wow. Now that is what you call a fixer upper. Come on then, Host with the most, this ultimate authority of yours. Who is it?" The Doctor asked, giving Alex a brief glance.

He was starting to get worried about her silence. It might just be this new regeneration of hers, or a combination of the blood loss and concussion, but he was concerned that it had something to do with what she'd said about someone dying. _Then again, she also said this was a ten out of ten on the danger level, but no one in our group has died and she's the only one who's really hurt. She probably already did something to change the timelines, but a quiet Alex is very rarely a good sign._ He frowned lightly as the Hosts opened a pair of doors and he gaze looked at it in understanding.

"Oh, that's clever. That's an omnistate impact chamber. Indestructible. You can survive anything in there. Sit through a supernova. Or a shipwreck. Only one person can have the power and the money to hide themselves on board like this and I should know, because…"

He trailed off as a head rolled out on a machine; the familiar head of the cruise ship grinning as his tooth flashed.

"My name is Max."

"It really does that…" The Doctor muttered in surprise as Alex nudged him in the side.

"_Focus_."

"Who the hell are these two?" Max demanded then and the Doctor took the lead.

"I'm the Doctor and this is Alex. Hello."

"Information: stowaways." A Host replied.

"Well…"

"Kill them." Max said bluntly, but the Doctor stopped him.

"Oh, no, no, no. Wait, but you can't. Not now. Come on, Max. You've given me so much good material like, how to get ahead in business." The Doctor teased, hoping to lighten up the atmosphere and put a smile on Alex's face. "See? Head? Head in business? No?"

"No." Alex grumbled and he pouted as Max chuckled.

"Oh, ho, ho. The office joker. I like a funny man. No one's been funny with me for years."

"I can't think why." The Doctor said, sarcastically.

"A hundred and seventy-six years of running the company have taken their toll." Max replied, regarding his machine body.

"Yeah, but nice wheels."

"No, a life support system, in a society that despises cyborgs. I've had to hide away for years, running the company by hologram. Host, situation report." He demanded and the Host replied.

"Information: Titanic is still in orbit."

"Let me see. We should have crashed by now. What's gone wrong?" He complained, rolling over to the railing to look down at the engines. "The engines are still running! They should have stopped!"

"When they do, the Earth gets roasted. I don't understand. What's the Earth got to do with it?" The Doctor asked, missing Alex looking over and spotting Astrid.

"This interview is terminated."

"No. No, no, no, no, no. Hold on, hold on, hold on. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait." The Doctor stopped him. "I can work it out. It's like a task. I'm your apprentice. Just watch me. So, business is failing and you wreck the ship so that makes things even worse. Oh, yes! No… Yes. The business isn't failing, it's failed. Past tense."

"My own board voted me out. Stabbed me in the back." Max answered.

"If you had a back. So, you scupper the ship, wipe out any survivors just in case anyone's rumbled you and the board find their shares halved in value. Oh, but that's not enough. No. Because if a Max Capricorn ship hits the Earth, it destroys an entire planet. Outrage back home. Scandal! The business is wiped out."

Max smiled, rolling closer as Alex glared heatedly. "And the whole board thrown in jail for mass murder."

"While you sit there safe inside the impact chamber."

"I have men waiting to retrieve me from the ruins and enough off-world accounts to retire me to the beaches of Penhaxico Two, where the ladies, so I'm told, are very fond of… metal."

"So that's the plan. A retirement plan. Two thousand people on this ship, six _billion_ underneath us, all of them slaughtered, and why? Because Max Capricorn is a loser." The Doctor snapped.

"I _never_ lose."

"Doctor." Alex attempted, but he was too angry with the man in front of him.

"You can't even sink the Titanic."

"Oh, but I can, Doctor. I can cancel the engines from here." Max grinned as Alex sighed and an alarm went off.

"You can't do this!"

"Hosts, hold him!" Max snapped, spotting Alex and nodding towards her. "That one too."

The Hosts grabbed them both, making Alex cringe as her arm was once again twisted painfully behind her back.

"Not so clever now, Doctor. A shame we couldn't work together. You're rather good. All that banter yet not a word wasted. Time for me to retire. The Titanic is falling. The sky will burn. Let the Christmas inferno commence. Oh. Oh, Host. Kill them."

Alex's head drooped and the Doctor struggled, worried that this was it for them if Alex wasn't even resisting, but then came a familiar voice.

"Mr. Capricorn!" Astrid shouted from a forklift. "I resign."

She drove towards Max as the Doctor called out.

"Astrid, don't!"

She used the forklift to try and shove Max off the edge, but a Host cut through the brake line and Astrid sent the Doctor and Alex one last look before lifting Max and driving off the railing into the engine.

"Astrid!"

Alex bolted past the Doctor then, trying desperately to reach Astrid and pull her out from the driver's seat, but only grabbed a handful of the woman's sleeve before they fell off the edge and the Doctor collapsed by the railing beside Alex.

"Astrid!"

"Doctor!"

He looked over the wide with wide eyes, realizing that Alex was struggling to hang onto the woman. He too, hurriedly reached over and pulled her up, back onto safe ground as Alex released her and rolled onto her back.

"Astrid!" The Doctor gasped out, the two laughing and pulling each other into a hug, before the Doctor turned to Alex with a grin. "You saved her!"

Alex didn't respond though, face scrunched in pain as she held her shoulder and the Doctor hurried over and sat her up carefully.

"Your arm." He breathed out, looking it over carefully. "You dislocated your shoulder."

Alex glared at him as sweat dripped down her face. "And you owe me." She growled. "I've had far too many injuries in this body and I've only had it a-a day and a half."

He smiled a little, turning to Astrid. "Hold her steady for me."

Astrid nodded and did so, looking concerned as the Doctor kissed Alex's temple.

"Ready?" He murmured softly and she closed her eyes with a wince.

"Just do it alread—"

The Doctor swiftly snapped it back into place as Alex cried out in pain and quickly used her other hand to hit him lightly in the arm.

"D-Don't interrupt me! God, couldn't you have just let me finish my sentence?!"

The Doctor grinned, reaching over and cupping her face. "Absolutely not."

He kissed her deeply, so grateful that she'd stuck around and risked so much, but she pulled away rather quickly.

"Kissing later. Ship's falling _now_."

"Right. Promise?"

She rolled her eyes, allowing him and Astrid to help her up as she cradled her injured arm to her chest. "Shut up and save the Earth, you dolt."

"Hosts? Take us to the bridge." The Doctor grinned and a number of Hosts came over.

Two grabbed the Doctor by the arms, one took hold of Astrid and another grabbed Alex in a princess hold to prevent further injury, before the Hosts burst through the floor of the bridge. The Doctor pulled himself up and out, then helped Alex and Astrid, before bounding over to the controls.

"Ah, Midshipman Frame. At last."

"B-But the Hosts." He breathed out.

"Controller dead, they divert to the next highest authority, and that's me." The Doctor informed him as Astrid went over to help the injured man and Alex leaned heavily against some debris nearby.

"There's nothing we can do. There' no power. The ship's going to fall."

"What's your first name?" He asked the man and Alex groaned.

"I swear to God, I will hit you so hard if you get distracted."

The Doctor blinked at her. "Why?"

Frame answered his question though. "Alonso."

The Doctor turned to him with wide eyes. "You're kidding me."

"What?"

"_Doctor_." Alex pressed, grimacing when the ship shuddered.

"That's something else I've always wanted to say. Allons-y, Alonso. Astrid, keep hold of Alex!" The Doctor grinned, grabbing a hold of the ship's wheel. "Whoa!"

Astrid grabbed Alex as the Doctor attempted to steer the ship back up, only for an alarm to go off once they broke through the atmosphere. He groaned, realizing where he was going to hit and picked up the phone in front of him.

"Oh, hello, yes. Could you get me Buckingham Palace?" He shouted, being put through. "Listen to me. Security code seven, seven, one. Now get out of there!"

The Doctor pulled back on the wheel the moment the engines went active and just _barely_ missed the top of Buckingham Palace as Alex called out.

"The Queen says thanks and happy Christmas."

The Doctor grinned as Frame let out a breath of relief and the picture of Max burst into flames. Once they were stable again, the Doctor set the ship into auto pilot and fell back next to Alex, Astrid and Frame.

"Used the heat of re-entry to fire up the secondary storm drive. Unsinkable, that's me."

"We made it." Frame breathed and the Doctor looked over at Alex.

"Yeah, we did. How's the shoulder?"

Alex hit him across the arm with her good hand. "Idiot. I told you not to get distracted."

He chuckled. "You also said someone was going to die."

She rolled her eyes, turning away with pink cheeks. "Yeah, well, I'm not always right."

"You mean you changed your mind." He corrected and she looked over at him and then at Astrid.

"I'm sorry."

Astrid blinked. "For what?"

"I saved you from dying, but you… can't come with us." Alex explained, the Doctor beginning to understand. "As much as I would like it, if you came with us, everything would be thrown out of balance. Earth might have very well been hit by the Titanic with what disasters could unfold if the Doctor doesn't meet the right people at the right time."

"But… I'm alive." Astrid smiled. "And so is everyone else. You saved them too, didn't you?"

Alex sighed, closing her eyes. "Morvin was supposed to have fallen over the edge into the engine when the weakened railing gave way. Foon was supposed to have taken that Host that attacked me and thrown herself off the edge with it after mourning Morvin. And Bannakaffalatta was supposed to have used his cyborg body to throw out an EMP wave to fry the Hosts, but it would have drained him completely, killing him. And you were supposed to have fallen into the engine with Max, only for the Doctor to try and save you. He would have only gotten half-way though. You would have been atoms with an echo of consciousness that he would have sent out to join the star dust."

"But you saved us all." Astrid pressed, making Alex hum, before Astrid kissed her cheek. "Thank you.

Alex peered an eye open, a quirk of a smile on her lips. "Try things out with Bannakaffalatta. He would've died saving you from the Hosts. I'm sure you could convince him to take you travelling."

Astrid smiled as the Doctor helped Alex back up onto her feet.

"Come on, you. How about we join the others."

"It'll be a walk." Alex murmured, before yelping as the Doctor scooped her up off her feet.

"Not for you, it won't."

She glared half-heartedly at him, before the group headed down to join everyone. Hugs were exchanged and thanks given when Astrid spread the word on Alex helping keep everyone safe. Slade picked up his phone and began making sure his money was safely insured though, and Alex sighed softly, gaining the Doctor's attention as Mr. Cooper joined the two of them.

"Of all the people to survive, he's not the one you would have chosen, is he?" Mr. Copper murmured, rather depressed himself after learning that he was going to be exposed and sent to prison when they were saved. "But if you could choose, Doctor, if you could decide who lives and who dies, that would make you a monster."

The Doctor looked over at Alex, seeing the hint of dark, sadness in her that he'd seen only in himself and making to say something to reassure her, but she spoke up first.

"That might be true, Mr. Cooper." She said solemnly, sipping a drink she'd gotten from the bar to help ease some of the pain she was in. "But I find it's easier not to choose at all."

Mr. Cooper blinked, suddenly looking sheepish as he realized what he said may have insulted the one person who knew and had chosen to save them.

"Oh, I didn't mean—"

She smiled at him though, making the Doctor smile a bit in return at seeing her grin.

"Really, it's fine." She said simply, smile falling away as quickly as it'd come. "I think everyone is worthy to be saved, even some of the truly evil. So, I don't judge people's worth. I just try to save as many as I can."

Mr. Cooper smiled. "That is hardly a monster and you two are amazing people."

"Shut up and take a bracelet." She scoffed, reaching back and passing him one of the teleport bracelets as she passed another to the Doctor and grabbed one for herself. "I'm not done saving yet."

She waved at Astrid who waved back, holding hands with Bannakaffalatta, and again at Morvin and Foon who smiled and waved in return as they ate some of the buffalo wings still salvageable. She then called out to Slade.

"Oi, Slade!"

The man turned with a raised brow as she gave him a smirk.

"Do something nice for someone, or you'll end up a miserable old goat like Max Capricorn."

He grimaced at the thought, turning away to resume his phone call, before the Doctor saluted Frame and the trio landed on Earth.

"You know." Alex hummed, heading for the Tardis with the other two trailing behind. "I read up on Slade in the future. Back when I had some free time on the Tardis and I thought about the Titanic. Turns out, he donates a good portion of his riches to the families of those who lost people on the ship. Claims he did it after someone knocked some sense into him while the ship was hit by meteors."

"Sounds like you did some good after all then, eh?" The Doctor chirped and Alex shorted, putting a hand on the Tardis and opening the door.

"I'll see you inside, Doctor. And Merry Christmas, Mr. Cooper. Check your card."

The old man smiled. "Merry Christmas." He frowned then, looking over at the Doctor. "What did she mean, check my card?"

* * *

The Doctor headed into the Tardis with a smile, more than pleased at how things had gone and all thanks to his lovely Alexander. When she'd rattled off the list of people who were supposed to have died that she'd saved, he was amazed that she'd done so much, even when she had nearly been convinced that Astrid should have died to keep the timelines in check. He also felt rather terrible though. That had been a lot of pressure put on her, on top of the panic in the ship and her concussion. He doubted that she felt well at all, and her temper during the trip only proved that. However, she hadn't complained—other than the occasional shout at Slade—and had even been willing to dislocate her arm in order to go back on what she'd said and save Astrid; which was part of the reason he didn't have the heart to keep her away from the bar after that mess.

This new regeneration of hers was curious though. Rude, yes, but rather serious with a permanent scowl. She said she'd taken after him, but he also wondered what had happened for her to regenerate into something as dark as that. Her entire presence seemed to carry a heavy shadow or weight to it. Seven hundred and twenty-one and he already knew she'd seen, felt, and experienced far too much. She had the same look in her eyes as he did, and no one should have to carry a burden like that. The fact that she did and was going to continue to do so, for his sake, was what drew him to her in the first place. She had saved him so many times and he was never going to forget that. He just needed to remember that he had a part to play as well. He had to save _her_.

He sent the Tardis into the Vortex before locating Alex on the scanner and heading to her room. Once there, he sighed lightly with a small smile. She barely bothered to remove her shoes, socks, and gloves, then simply tugged her suspenders from off her shoulders and let them hang at her waist before flopping over the covers of her bed; asleep. He went ahead and went to her closet, grabbing some pajamas for her to change into before lightly nudging her awake; careful of her shoulder.

"Alex. Alexander. You should change into some pajamas before going to sleep."

She grumbled and he sighed, helping her sit up in her half-conscious state and undoing the buttons of her shirt. While slightly embarrassed about having to help her change, he didn't really mind as much as a human would. Time Lords were rather more open about their bodies in that way, but that didn't change the fact that one her shirt was off, he wasn't effected. A finger of his trailed across the half-moon scar on her stomach before she lightly frowned and swatted the hand away, grumbling something incoherent under her breath and threatening to lie back on the bed as she was. Her back was in worse shape as far as scars go, and the Doctor didn't miss the bruising and cuts on her body from the Titanic.

He thanked the Tardis when it dropped a first aid kit on the bed and went to work on the scratches, bruises and cuts; cleaning and bandaging them up properly before helping her into a pajama shirt. He then went and assisted in changing her trousers, only to pause when he saw the question mark boxer shorts she had on underneath. He opened his mouth, but closed it and shook his head, knowing he wouldn't get a straight answer from the woman already nodding off. _I don't think I _want_ to know why she's wearing my boxers._ Once she was changed though, he slipped a sling on for her arm and laid her back onto the bed, making to leave.

"Stay."

He stopped and turned back, seeing her make no move but knowing he hadn't imagined her asking him to stay. So he kicked off his shoes, tossed his coat over a chair and climbed into the bed with her; wrapping his arms around her waist and snuggling his nose into her neck.

"Thank you." He muttered softly, giving her a small squeeze. "Thank you for saving them."


	100. The Black Orchid (5th Doc)

**Wow. 100 chapters, 734 reviews, 453 favorites, and 476 followers. I _never_ thought that this would ever get this far. I've always thought that this was an old concept, it was unoriginal, it would get some fans, but you guys have absolutely shocked me with how great you all are. And i'm terribly sorry for how late this chapter is. I won't bother with my usual excuses. it's the 100th chapter, you all don't need that. But, i will give you this...**

**Due to this being the 100th chapter, i am fully open for suggestions as to another spin-off, one shot, whatever you choose. I will gladly take anything you want to see and write it up for you as something special for sticking with this for so long. Absolutely _anything_ (except smut. I've never been good with that) even if it would be completely impossible in this universe (she can meet Sherlock for all i care). so yeah. i'll take suggestions and write up a one-shot similar to how i did The Seer: Family Reunion. :) **

**But please enjoy this chapter! It _is_ 'The Black Orchid' with the Fifth Doctor (of which there are links on my profile if you haven't seen it). Sorry it's short-there was a lot of talking i skipped over-and late...**

* * *

I knew I'd popped off the moment I woke up without the Doctor's arms around me and I sighed, cringing as I sat up in bed and scowled at the sling holding my arm. _This is going to be a pain. _I got dressed with grimaces of pain as I slipped my sling off and back on. Now that it was past the first fifteen hours of regeneration, healing would take longer. I considered pulling an Eleven and forcefully healing it, but I didn't know how that would work while I was only _part_ Time Lord. The Tardis was kind enough to provide me with some supplements to speed things along and act as pain killers for the day, but I wondered how I would hold up depending on where I ended up.

I entered the console room and grew very confused at the number of people standing there. _One, two, Doctor, four. Four? Since when did the Doctor have three companions? Though I'm still mad about that kiss from earlier. A warning to this Doctor will probably be forgotten, knowing him, but that doesn't mean I won't let him get out of it._ The four turned to me then and I stared back at the two unfamiliar faces who seemed to recognize me, and the Fifth Doctor and Tegan.

"Alex! Didn't expect you to actually show up inside the Tardis this time round." The Doctor grinned, before spotting my arm. "God, what happened?"

"Fun with future you." I glanced over at the two I didn't know. "And they are?"

"Ah, you haven't met them yet. Sorry, that's Nyssa and Adric."

"But Doctor." Adric started. "We've already met Alex."

"But I haven't met you." I replied, pulling a hand through my hair as I moved towards the console. "Time travel bites. I hardly ever meet anyone in the right order and you." I poked the Fifth Doctor in the chest. "You are going to regret the last thing you said to me before I slipped into that healing coma. Your seventh self needs to learn the important aspect of _timing._"

"R-Right. Yes. I'll remember that." He stuttered out, looking surprised, though the others in the room looked more amused at our bantering than anything.

"No, you won't." I scoffed. "Otherwise I wouldn't have the overwhelming want to hit you right now."

"But you won't, yes?"

I shifted my eyes to his, before rolling them. "Course not. You've yet to do something stupid to annoy me after popping up. Some tea would help, however."

"Yes! Yes, tea. Of course. You and your tea. I'll just…" He searched around before pulling out a cup from his pocket. "Ah! Here we are. Now what's this about a healing coma?"

I took the tea he offered me and sipped at it before responding. "I've only just regenerated a day or two ago and was rudely awoken by your future self. I needed to reset my entire mind. My synapses were in a mess after the rough body I had before this one. Then I got a concussion and dislocated my shoulder the last trip I ended up on. Now, where are we headed?"

"Already there." The Doctor chimed, pushing the monitor towards me. "A railway station. Three o'clock, June the 11th, 1925. We were just about to head outside to take a look."

"Then let's go." I hummed, setting the tea down and walking right out the doors; missing the Fifth Doctor's sigh.

The group followed after me and I frowned in contemplation. _I've been rather rude since I've woken up, haven't I? This body reminds me too much of Twelve. I need to relax a bit. Things are fine. There's no Daleks yet. I haven't stepped into a mine field. The only thing I have to worry about is…_

"_I believe I very much fancy you, Alexander."_

I groaned quietly as the Doctor attempted to explain railway stations to Adric. _Dear Lord, what am I going to do with him? Younger him._

"Alex? Enough daydreaming. Off we go." The Doctor chimed, startling me when he looped and arm around mine and tugged me along.

"I was _thinking_ about why your future self had to go out of his way to bother me before I popped off."

"And you were therefore ignoring the me right in front of you." He countered with a smile and I grumbled back.

"Your future self being a pain was more important than you explaining trains to… whatever alien species they are."

"Adric is Alzarian and Nyssa is a Trakenite." He replied easily, before looking at me. "Can you believe they don't have chocolate?"

I furrowed my brows. "I don't even know if this body _likes_ chocolate."

"Yes." He replied. "More than you would think. I've had to lock a cupboard in the kitchen to deter your midnight snacking."

I wrinkled my nose. "I'm a midnight snacker? _That_ is my vice? Sweets and fatty foods?"

"Only when you cannot sleep, which is often for this body of yours."

"Pleasant." I muttered sarcastically as we rounded the railway house and a man stepped around a car with a smile.

"Good afternoon, sir. I'm Tanner, Lord Cranleigh's chauffeur."

"Lord Cranleigh?" The Doctor questioned, releasing my captive arm.

"Yes, sir."

"We're expected?"

"Oh, yes, sir. You are the Doctor?"

"Indeed."

I silently groaned, seeing where this was going. _Oh, all the medical practitioners who hate this man._

"May I ask what you're staring at?" Nyssa demanded after seeing that Tanner had his eyes locked on her for some time.

"I'm sorry, miss." He apologized, opening the car door. "Please, sir, if you don't mind. The game's already started. His lordship won the toss and decided to bat first to give you time to get here. That train's always late."

"That's very thoughtful of his Lordship." The Doctor smiled, making Tanner nod.

"Uh, yes, sir. But I do think we should hurry. His lordship is a first class bat, but I'm not quite sure how strong his support is this year."

"Come on, you lot." The Doctor chimed, climbing into the car after everyone else and tugging me up after him.

_Dear Lord, he's clingy today. Probably because I'm injured. Softy._ I mused as the car soon drove up alongside a large field where a number of men were playing cricket.

"Oh, I _hate_ cricket." I complained and the Doctor raised a brow.

"Whatever for?"

"I've been hit upside the head one too many times with a cricket bat. This body appears to have an aversion to the things."

"Right…" He mumbled, climbing out of the car as a man hurried over.

"Ah, there you are, man. Good. I'm Cranleigh." He said, shaking the Doctor's hand. "Didn't expect five of you."

"Neither did I." I grumbled under my breath, earning an elbow to the ribs courtesy of Tegan.

Cranleigh didn't seem to hear, as he was too busy staring at Nyssa. "Good Lord. Uh, I'm so sorry. Do forgive me for staring. You look exactly like my fiancée. It's quite uncanny."

"This is Nyssa." The Doctor introduced.

"You must meet her." Cranleigh pressed as the Doctor introduced the rest of us.

"And Adric, Tegan, and Alex."

"How do you do. Well, you'd better pad up, Doctor. Got your gear?"

"Ah, I regret I have none."

"No matter. I'll fix you up. We're taking a terrible thrashing. Fifty-four for eight. I made a duck." He explained as he led us down the grass. "Smutty said he'd send a useful bat."

"Smutty?"

"Smutty Thomas." The man said, giving the Doctor an odd look. "Oh, don't you call him Smutty at Guy's?"

"Uh, no. As a matter of fact."

"Oh, he was Smutty at school." Cranleigh hummed. "Now, the wicket's very green. The ball's keeping low. Any good with the ball?"

"Not bad."

"Good. Medium pace? Slow?"

"Fast." The Doctor said, eyes locked on the ongoing cricket match in eagerness.

"Top hole." Cranleigh grinned.

The Doctor was soon padded up and passed me his hat before Cranleigh pat his back and sent him off to play. I watched for a while, unable to help my eyes wandering the Doctor's form while he played; a million things going through my head until Cranleigh wandered over to introduce us to his mother.

"Mother, may I introduce Tegan, Adric, and Alex."

"How do you do?" The older woman replied. "What enchanting names."

I bowed my head politely, before excusing myself. I was starving again and needed something to eat. I snagged a platter of finger sandwiches and a glass of champagne and made quick work of them both while watching the Doctor play. Tegan cheered them on, but Nyssa and Adric looked greatly confused. I leaned over with a sigh.

"I don't get it either, if it makes you feel better. All I know is knocking a peg down scores for the team with the ball."

We watched for a while more, but my eyes began to droop. It was soon enough that I fell asleep, basking in the sunlight.

* * *

The Doctor grinned as he was given hearty pats on the back for doing so well during the cricket game, but upon searching for his companions, he was slightly disappointed to see Alex completely asleep. Cranleigh quickly invited him to join the man home, which the Doctor readily agreed to, if only to find some way to impress Alex. He wasn't sure why, but he missed her smile and this body of hers just didn't do it that often. So he was determined to see at least one smile off her today.

"Alex?" He called quietly, shaking her good shoulder lightly to rouse her slowly from sleep.

He knew how she was when her rest was interrupted. _Or when _anything_ she's doing is interrupted._ He mused, shaking her again.

"Alex, come on. Get up. We were invited to a Cranleigh's home and need to get in the car. You can continue your nap there."

The woman yawned and finally opened her eyes, looking at him in a half dazed expression that sent the Time Lord's hearts racing until her brows furrowed and a small scowl appeared.

"You interrupted my nap."

He sighed lightly, but nodded as he helped her to her feet. "Yes, well, we've got places to be. Didn't want to leave you here to awaken and find us all gone."

"Mm." She grumbled, still not fully awake as they headed to the car that was going to take them to Cranleigh's home.

When they arrived, Cranleigh immediately took the Doctor over to meet his mother, though the Doctor kept a firm hold on Alex's hand.

"Mother, may I present the Doctor."

"How do you do?"

The Doctor repeated the sentiment and the elder woman furrowed her brows.

"Doctor who?"

The Doctor heard a snort and spotted Alex attempting to hide the small quirk of her lips.

"I'm sorry, mother, but he'd like to remain incognito and I think we should respect that after what he's done today."

"They act like you've saved someone from choking to death on a biscuit." Alex murmured behind him quietly.

"Shush." He hushed her as another man was introduced to them.

"Sir Robert Muir. The Chief Constable."

"_And_ police? Oh, this is a disaster waiting to happen."

The Doctor stepped on her foot.

"A superb innings. Worthy of the master." Muir mused, alerting the Doctor and making Alex perk up.

"The Master?"

"Well, the other doctor." Muir replied, but the Doctor still looked confused, so he clarified. "W.G. Grace."

"Yes. Of course." He chuckled, realizing they were talking about a cricket master and not the man who was constantly causing problems for him.

Then the elder woman spoke up again.

"Are you able to stay for the ball, Doctor?"

"Yes, you must. I insist now, all of you." Cranleigh pressed.

"Thank you." The Doctor nodded, ignoring the glare he was receiving from Alex.

"We have one every year in aid of the Hospital for Sick Children."

"It's fancy dress, isn't it?" Tegan cut in and Cranleigh nodded.

"Yes."

"We haven't got any costumes."

"I was just thinking how charming yours was." Muir joked and Alex snorted again as the Doctor chuckled.

"Tell me about it. I keep telling him to get rid of that celery stick." She teased and the Doctor pat the vegetable in mock hurt.

"What if you get hungry?"

"Don't pin this on me, Doctor. I don't even know if I like celery."

"Doctor." Cranleigh interrupted and the Doctor covered Alex's mouth before she could complain about the intrusion. "How would you like to take a cocktail to your bath?"

"Well, certainly a cold drink, though I believe Alex would much rather enjoy a hot one."

"What do you do with a cocktail in a bath?" Adric questioned in confusion as the Doctor released an annoyed Alex with a sheepish smile.

"Drink it, old boy." Cranleigh answered, before spotting someone. "Ah, Ann, my dear. Come and meet the hero of the day and…" He trailed off as he showed the group a woman identical to Nyssa.

"Great Scott." The Doctor murmured, surprised as well.

"Great. Body doubles." Alex said as well.

"Ann Talbot. My fiancée. This is Nyssa."

The two exchanged pleasantries, looking the other over in shock as Cranleigh showed Ann the rest of us.

"And this is the Doctor and Alex, and Tegan and Adric."

The group around us began clarifying for Ann that her and Nyssa were not related, before Cranleigh turned back to the Doctor.

"Well, Doctor, what can I offer you? Brewster here can make absolutely anything quite superbly."

"Well, I do have a terrible thirst. Perhaps a lemonade with lots of ice and some Earl Grey for Alex with a dab of milk. No sugar."

"I can request my own drink, thanks." Alex grumbled, but begrudgingly let it drop when the Doctor squeezed her hand.

The others ordered their drinks, with a change for the clueless Nyssa and Adric. Once the drinks were passed around, the group got to discussing a flower nearby and attempting again to discover where exactly Nyssa was from, before turning to the Doctor as Alex yawned and leaned against his shoulder. A few questioning glances were shared, but Cranleigh said nothing before offering to escort the Doctor, Alex and Adric to their rooms. The Doctor wasn't too pleased about the clown-like costume he was given, but tried on the mask once Cranleigh left before moving to prepare a bath, only for the door to open.

"Alex!" He yelped, making sure his robe was properly tied, though Alex hardly minded when she entered.

"Doctor, look at this!" She complained, dressed in Turkish trousers, a cream shirt, red sash, and a vest to match her costume. "This veil is ridiculous and these shoes are worse than jester shoes!"

The Doctor was still a little pink in the cheeks and attempted to usher her out. "Alex, you're not supposed to enter another man's room. If someone saw you then—"

The woman scowled. "I'm not leaving. It's bad enough you thought it would be fun to hang around longer when the _real_ doctor is undoubtedly on his way. I know how things work around us, Doctor, and if any trouble goes down it's all going to be placed on you because _we're not supposed to be here._"

The Doctor was mildly surprised at how upset she was about this, before he saw her eyes widen in realization and she took a hesitant step back.

"A-Ah… That was… I mean…" She took a second to compose herself, pulling a hand through her hair and looking tired. "Sorry. I'm… I'm not really that upset about it, it's just this regeneration. It's… different. My temper seems to get away from me more easily."

The Doctor smiled a bit at her insecurities and confusion, heading over and giving her hand a squeeze. "It's fine, honestly. You'll get used to it and I don't mind a bit of flare. Although, you're probably just hungry."

As if on cue, her stomach growled and she turned away with an embarrassed tint to her cheeks.

"S-Shut up."

He smiled, tugging her towards the bathroom. "Come on. I think the butler left me something to snack on as well."

They headed in where a sandwich lied on a tray and he passed it to Alex, before they both heard a door slam. They exchanged looks before heading out into the room once more.

"Hello?" The Doctor called out. "Who's there?"

They walked out and paused, upon spotting a passageway in the wall lying open.

"I take it we're going in?" Ales mused and the Doctor grinned.

"A secret passageway? How could we resist?"

The two ducked inside curiously, only for the door to close behind them. The Doctor struggled with it, but it was sealed.

"Locked."

"So?" Alex questioned, grabbing his hand. "You wanted to investigate, so let's go."

"Why do we always let curiosity get the better of us?" The Doctor grumbled.

"Because it's entertaining."

"You were right though." He continued to complain. "We should have left after cricket."

"I told you." Alex grumbled as well, as the Doctor felt along the wall and pulled her behind him.

"Yes, well…" He paused, unable to see her in the dark, but getting the feeling that she was trying not to smile. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"What? No, course not." She said, a bit too quickly and the Doctor paused, turning to face her.

He brought his hands up, cupping her face and making her stiffen under his touch, but he leaned forward anyway and smirked himself.

"No, you _are_ enjoying this."

"A-A bit." She finally admitted, confusing him as to why she was stuttering, before he realized just how close they were.

He quickly released her, stepping back half a step, hoping that she couldn't see how red his cheeks were or hear how quickly his hearts were beating. _O-Oh dear. This is… No, it can't be. She's a friend. A good friend, that's all._

"Sorry." He blurted out, chuckling sheepishly before grabbing her hand again and turning away to pull her down the passage once more.

Surprisingly, she gave his hand a squeeze.

"I _am_ enjoying this." She muttered, barely audible, making him smile a little. "Although, supposed two men in a dark passageway. Tongues will wag."

"Don't remind me."

* * *

"At last!" The Doctor called out, having found something and patting along the wall for a moment before sighing.

A door opened and the two of us wandered through to a lit corridor.

"Wherever this is." He complained, opening a cupboard and drawing out a book.

I opened the next one to find men's outfits and we continued on in this fashion as we went further down the hall. "I take it that this isn't normal? A secret passage is one thing. Dozens of places like this have them, but secret passages leading to secret hallways with boring old cupboards and closets?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes as he rattled a locked door, spotting another area that could hide a secret passage and soon just leaning up against it to open in. I raised a brow in amusement, earning a set of pink cheeks as he held the door open and gestured me through it. This one had stairs going up and the Doctor called out ahead of me curiously.

"Hello?"

At the top was another room, open already to someone's bedroom.

"Hello? Hello?"

No one answered, so we wandered in and began looking around. I frowned, kneeling down and spotting torn ropes by the bed while the Doctor commented on a book he'd picked up off the desk.

"Portuguese."

"And ropes?" I commented, looking at the torn end as he set the book down and turned to look at it with me. "They weren't cut. More like… torn or ripped apart."

"But for what purpose?" He mused, both our minds running wild with the possibilities.

There wasn't anything else to really look at, so we returned to the corridor as the Doctor complained.

"Well, one of these must get us out of here." He grumbled, reaching for the nearest one and pulling it open as I opened the next, a man half hanging out.

"Doctor, we've got a problem." I called him over, kneeling down to check the man's vitals. "Dead. Has been for a little while, but not more than an hour or so. Body's still a bit warm."

He frowned as I stood. "It's rather frightening how easily you handle something like that."

A part of me ached, but I gave him a look.

"I have a doctorate in Forensic Anthropology. I'm used to dealing with corpses, though they're typically bones by the time they get to me." I paused, looking back at the crumpled man in the cupboard. "Though, don't get me wrong, I do feel something for the man. This body just doesn't express well."

The Doctor took my hand, tugging me along. "Come on. I don't know what's going on here, but the others could be in danger."

He brought me towards the passageway with the stairs, only for the door to close behind us and someone to call out.

"Doctor? Alex?"

We both rounded to see someone familiar and someone not so much.

"Lady Cranleigh."

"This is Dittar Latoni, an old friend from Brazil." She introduced the man beside her as I hummed.

_Portuguese, makes sense, though why she needs him is up in the air._

"How do you do?"

"Sir."

"I'm afraid we're lost." The Doctor explained.

"You are indeed."

"I should explain."

"Please, don't. There's no need."

"Oh, but there is. You see, in our meanderings, Alex here, has come across something rather unpleasant."

"Go on."

_I don't like this. She's too calm. She has to know something about what's going on._ I thought, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"There's a body." I said darkly.

"What?"

"A dead man in a cupboard." The Doctor explained further, giving me a look of question.

"Oh, really?"

"I'm afraid it's true. May I show you?"

"Please do."

The Doctor went to find the opening mechanism for the door, but she stepped forward instead.

"Allow me."

_I don't like this, Doctor._ I informed him silently as we moved back out into the hall and the Lady went on to explain the rooms. _Old, dusty passages I understand, but these are well stocked and taken care of. She knows how to get in and out, doesn't seem bothered by seeing a body, and has a Brazilian helper?_

"_I agree. Something is definitely not right."_ He replied to me, then speaking with Lady Cranleigh. "Are you sure you want to look?"

"It's alright, Doctor. I'm made of quite stern stuff."

"Yes, of course." He glanced briefly at me, before opening the cupboard door.

"Poor fellow. How unpleasant." She muttered upon seeing him.

"Do you know him?"

"Yes, he's one of the servants. Please." She asked and he closed the door. "I'm very sorry, Doctor, Alex, that you've had this dreadful experience. I wonder, would you be kind enough to help me keep it from my other guests? I wouldn't want to upset them."

"Well…"

_I don't like this, Doctor._ I mentally grumbled. _This makes it our word against hers should this get out in the open._

"There's no point in involving them, unless the police decide otherwise." She insisted and the Doctor gave in.

"Yes, of course."

"Thank you."

"Now, if you could tell us how to get back to our rooms, I think it's about time I got changed and Alex join the others."

"Yes, I'll show you."

I returned to the Doctor's room once he was finished dressing, giving his outfit a raised brow.

"You look like an idiot."

He scoffed. "Yes, well, that's the twenties for you. You look nice."

I swallowed, looking away to hide the flush to my cheeks. "I look like an organ grinder monkey."

"Hardly." He replied, grabbing my hand and giving it a squeeze. "You look like a very exotic woman."

_Dear Lord. If he flirts with me much longer I might just snog him silly._ I mentally groaned.

"How's your arm?" He questioned, lightly touching the sling I was still wearing over my outfit.

The fact that I was still wearing it, nearly being answer enough.

"Doesn't appreciate the movement needed to put on my costume." I replied. "Aches a bit."

"We can ask them for some ice downstairs." He offered as we headed out.

"Don't coddle me, Doctor. I said it aches. It's not exactly killing me. And the most I'll be doing is enjoying the buffet. You won't catch me dead dancing."

He chuckled, and we headed down the steps to find Charles waiting at the bottom with one of the butlers lying on the ground.

"There been an accident?" The Doctor asked.

"I'm afraid it's a little more serious than that, Doctor, Alex."

"That's him!" Someone shouted from behind us and we turned to see Ann—or Nyssa—alongside Lady Cranleigh pointing accusingly at the Doctor. "That's who attacked me!"

The Doctor took off his mask in shock. "It's me."

"Yes, you." The young woman declared, pointing at the butler. "And he did that. I saw him!"

"Doctor?" Charles questioned and I stepped forward.

"It's impossible. He was with me the entire time and what purpose would he have for killing a butler?"

The Doctor nodded in agreement. "I'm afraid Miss Talbot is mistaken. I've just this minute come down the stairs."

"I am not mistaken! He danced with me and then pulled me in here. I shouted for help, James came and he killed him." Ann—I now knew—shouted.

"I say, look here."

She wouldn't be swayed though, rushing over to the officer from before, who'd just entered the room. "Sir Robert! Arrest that man. He killed James. I saw him."

"Lady Cranleigh, please." The Doctor urged and she attempted to sway Charles, but Muir cut her off.

"Wait until the Sergeant gets here."

"But our guests!" She pressed.

"I suggest, Charles, that you call it a day. Tell your guests there's been an accident and ask them to go home." Muir suggested and Charles gestured to the Doctor beside me.

"What about him?"

"I'll deal with this"

"Righto." Charles gave in, leaving to send his guests off as Muir tried to calm the distressed woman.

"Now, Ann—"

"This man attacked me and then killed James!" She accused again, and I was starting to bristle, getting annoyed with the woman's whining.

"He did _not_." I said harshly.

"He did! He danced with me on the terrace, brought me in here and then he—"

The Doctor cut her off now. "Miss Talbot is quite mistaken. I have just come down these stairs. Before that, I was…" He paused then, a thought coming to him. "Wait a minute. Was I like this?"

He held up the mask in front of his face and she nodded.

"Yes."

"Well, that's it then." He declared as understanding dawned on me.

"What is it?" Muir questioned and I spoke up.

"She saw someone wearing the Doctor's costume." I informed him. "With a mask on, you can't recognize the figure underneath. Could have been anyone. And while the Doctor was with me, he was in his bathrobe."

"W-What?!"

I realized my mistake a little too late, but the Doctor interjected.

"He needed assistance in dressing because of his injury. He's more comfortable with myself than the servants." The Doctor explained, easing up some of the tension.

Ann began to consider what we'd said and the Doctor turned to her; myself not minding the pronoun he used for me since it _was_ the 1920s and being thought of as a male in this situation could prove beneficial.

"Miss Talbot?"

"Yes?" She murmured.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why would I attack you? Have you done me any harm?"

"No!"

"No, then I've no reason to harm you, and besides…"

"Besides what?" Muir asked.

"Well, it wouldn't be cricket."

I held back a groan, but Lady Cranleigh was attempting to assist as well; though I got the feeling that she wouldn't allow us to spout out her little secret from before if we needed to.

"I respect the sentiment, sir, but I have known Miss Talbot all her life. She has laid a complaint." He corrected himself when Lady Cranleigh cleared her throat. "Made an accusation. There's more to this than meets the eye. Is this the reason that you wish to remain incognito?"

"No, of course not."

"What is your name?" Muir questioned.

The Doctor opened his mouth, but I cut in, having expected the Doctor's plan to go awry at some point.

"John Smith."

Muir turned to me with a scoff. "A likely story."

"Here." I handed him the Doctor's psychic paper, that had found itself into my coat pocket earlier today. "Says right there. Doctor John Smith."

Muir looked it over with a frown, but handed it back. "Rightly so. But what are you doing here?"

"He was mistaken for whoever you were waiting for to replace your cricket player. He didn't realize it until he'd been brought here, but can never resist a game of cricket." I snipped, giving the Doctor himself an annoyed look, and he looked sheepish. "I had insisted we leave, but upon being offered a party as well… Well, you can see how he was tempted. Thousands of doctors in the world, and he happened to be the one called out to by your driver while on the same platform another doctor was supposed to have arrived. Your driver should have honestly gotten more accurate description of the man he was supposed to have been waiting for."

Muir bristled as I stared him down silently, before finally coming to a decision. "Either way, you will all need to wait in the other room until we get matters sorted. Someone has been murdered and anyone could be the culprit."

_Including the guests you sent home, but I'll keep my mouth shut for now._ I grabbed the Doctor's arm and tugged him along to the room where we were to be waiting for more authorities; hissing in his ear.

"You owe me for fixing this mess before you went and did something stupid."

"_Me_?" He gaped as we sat down on the sofa.

"Yes, you. I told you we should have left, but your curiosity got us into this mess."

"Lady Cranleigh has that dead man in a cupboard still! We could show them that!"

"She won't allow it." I grumbled, glaring briefly at the woman who was brought in as well. "She made us keep it secret for a reason. I told you she's suspicious with that Brazilian man and the secret passages. She's hiding something from everyone else and has no intention of letting it out. I wouldn't be surprised if she had that man hide the body by now. You and me trying to tell anyone won't help matters. Her word as lady of the house against ours, as freeloading imposters? You tell me who they'll believe."

He begrudgingly went quiet, understanding that I was right and soon Tegan, Nyssa, Ann, Charles, and all the others including the Sergeant were brought in to figure out what had happened.

"Bob, I've just received a telephone call from Smutty Thomas, apologizing for the fact that the replacement he arranged missed his train." Charles informed the group.

"Then this man is an imposter as well." Lady Cranleigh added.

"Indeed."

"I've already explained this to Sir Robert." I piped in, annoyed with this mess. "He was mistaken by your driver and got carried away. His enthusiasm towards cricket proved his downfall, but we now have four people here willing to vouch for him against the word of a single young woman whose emotions have been running wild since she came from upstairs."

"I have not!" Ann wailed and I raised a brow.

"Your constant whining, complaining and outbursts have proven me right already." I argued. "While we have continued to remain calm during this situation, you insist on placing the blame on the Doctor who happened to wear have left a masked costume in his room while he assisted me into my own costume due to my injury. Anyone could have gone into his room and worn it, only to replace it once they were finished, and before the Doctor returned. _Logic_ is the only way to get answers here, not the word of one woman who happens to be the wife of the head of house. If all cases were solved based on the privileges of the people involved, many innocent men would be in jail now."

Everyone looked between myself and Ann, who was turning very near purple in her anger, but I was finished and stood with a sigh.

"If you wish, we will leave. Sir Robert can escort us back to the station, if it will help soothe your panicked, feeble mind, but I've had about enough of this nonsense."

"But he killed someone!"

"And I will repeat myself yet again, he did _not_!" I snapped, watching as she paled and stepped back, before calming myself and the hint of anger I'd released on the room. "Gather facts and evidence before accusations are accounted for, _miss_. If you find proof that the Doctor was the one who did it, feel free to call and have us arrested at the station. Goodbye."

I walked to the door unopposed while the Doctor and others slowly trailed after, Muir bringing us to his vehicle and packing us in to take us to the station. The Doctor must have still felt my slow burning anger and squeezed my leg in comfort.

"Thank you for defending me."

I scoffed. "Childish woman piss me off. If they simply used their heads instead of their whiny mouths, things like this will never happen. Instead, they constantly act like they need to be protected, using their pretty faces to get whatever they want. It's ridiculous."

His lip twitched up in a small smile. "Still, thank you."

My tense shoulders loosened slightly and I winced, my injured one not taking too kindly to the pressure I'd been exerting on it. I was still slightly angry though, with myself. _I let my temper get away from me again. Stupid body of mine seems to do that far too often. Keeping a tight lid on my mental abilities is harder than I wish. I'll need to ask a later Doctor about better precautions. I'd rather not accidentally smother a human mind while I'm angry with them._ When we reached the station, we discovered that the Tardis had been moved and I groaned, turning to Muir.

"Our vehicle has been removed from the premises. Would you mind taking us to the police station to pick it up?"

He looked unnerved, but nodded and off we went. We were hardly surprised to bump into a constable at the police station who informed us of the Tardis in the back, but I wasn't too thrilled to have the officers join us as we unlocked it and even offered them in. I _was_, however, amused by their reactions. If it wasn't for the mess we were about to be thrown back into.

* * *

When the group returned to the home—via the Tardis this time—Ann rushed out and clung to Muir in tears. The Doctor glanced at Alex, briefly, seeing that she had her brows furrowed in annoyance at the young woman's display and he couldn't help but understand. There was a point when actual emotions turned into dramatics, but he feared that Alex might lose her temper again and did his best to keep her attention on the situation at hand as they headed inside. A disfigured man stood at the base of the stairs, looking frightened as smoke came from somewhere in the building. The man was quick to grab Nyssa, leaving the group no choice but to watch as he dragged her upstairs as his hostage. Charles demanded that the fire brigade get called in to stop the fire, but the Doctor, Charles, Adric and Alex rushed up after the man who had Nyssa. Unfortunately, the stairs were aflame and they had no choice but to rush back down in fear that they themselves end up burned.

"What was that thing?" Muir demanded, but Alex spoke quickly to the Doctor.

"I'm going to find another way up. He'll head to the roof."

The Doctor nodded and turned to Lady Cranleigh as Alex headed outside. "Tell him, Lady Cranleigh, and why the disfigured man was so interested in Ann."

"Well?" Muir pressed the woman when she hesitated.

"They were engaged to be married. That thing, as you call him, was my elder son George."

"How did you know?" Charles asked the Doctor.

"The black orchid, for one. Latoni for another."

"Explain!" Muir demanded, but the Doctor was more worried about Nyssa.

"I'll leave Lady Cranleigh to do that. I have to rescue Nyssa."

"He won't hurt her." Lady Cranleigh insisted. "He loves Ann."

"Really? And what will he do when he discovers he has the wrong girl?"

They all hurried outside and Charles spotted the man at the roof.

"There they are!"

"Try to hold his attention here." The Doctor insisted. "I'll find a way up through the house."

The Doctor hurried off and Charles removed his jacket to try finding an area to climb from outside; Muir holding Adric back. Lady Cranleigh then explained what the Doctor had meant by the black orchid and Latoni; the Brazilian man. Apparently, when George had left to bring back the black orchid, he had offended a native tribe who saw the flower as sacred. They cut out his tongue and addled his mind, before the chief of another tribe rescued and befriended him; Latoni.

The Doctor, Charles and Alex though, had reached the roof area where George had Nyssa. The Doctor vaguely noticed that Alex had lost her sling and was looking a bit pale, but Charles was doing his best to keep George occupied so the Doctor could make his way up onto the roof behind the man.

"George. Please, George. Now George, she's done you no harm. George, please. George."

George spotted the Doctor though and Charles tried to use that chance to grab George, but the startled man knocked him down.

"George, that isn't Ann." The Doctor said calmly, gesturing down below. "Ann is down there. Look."

He could see Alex moving closer to George silently; unnoticed by the frightened man as he glanced over the edge. Nyssa tried to get out of his grip, but before the Doctor could calm her, a heavy weight pressed down on the group. He winced, attempting to shake it off once he recognized that it was Alex trying to help maintain calmness and prevent George from doing anything reckless. The Doctor appreciated it, though he could tell it was straining her and himself as well. He got the feeling her body couldn't quite control her mental influences as accurately as she hoped, which was why _all_ of them were being effected and not just George.

"It's true, George. Please let me have her. Please." The Doctor begged and George slowly handed Nyssa over.

Charles began to move, but Alex stepped before him, stopping the man.

"Don't. He's unstable. Any move towards him could be seen as a threat, even if it's not meant to be. It could send him reeling back over the edge."

"Then what do we do?"

Alex spared him a brief glance, before looking back at George. "Let me."

"But he's my brother!"

"And if you interfere, you'll kill him. So I suggest you shut up, and let me do this, or I will knock you out right now."

The Doctor took Nyssa over to Charles as well, nodding. "Let him do this. I think he can actually help him."

Charles hesitated, but nodded as Alex carefully held her hands up in surrender and took a step towards George, who shuffled hesitantly.

"It's alright, George." She said quietly, something lacing her words that made the Doctor grimace again as he lightly tugged Nyssa and Charles further back.

_Narrow the field, Alex. You're effecting everyone up here._ He mentally whispered, hating how she cringed as though he was shouting at her, but her mind was already stretched thin. Communicating with him now was adding more pressure. She'd heard him though, and managed to focus more on George.

"George, I can help you. It's hard, isn't it?" She asked, voice softening. "Having to watch as everyone else gets to be who they want and you're treated like a prisoner. Locked away in that room and tied up because they're afraid. All you want is Ann, but how can you?"

Alex brought a hand to her head, hissing between her teeth as the Doctor grew more concerned.

"Alex—"

She held out a hand behind her back, silencing him as she turned back to George. "God, you're trapped in your own head too. Oh, how it hurts. You just want to be seen, to be _heard_."

She stepped closer still, though George didn't move; silently staring back.

"Let me help you, George." Alex muttered, holding her hands out towards him, but not moving forward while still a few feet away. "Come over here, and let me help them hear the you that's been locked up for so long."

George slowly, hesitantly moved forward and Alex placed her fingers on his temples and closed her eyes.

"What is he doing?" Charles questioned and the Doctor shushed him, making sure that he didn't move while Alex was in George's head.

"Just be quiet and wait." The Doctor said quietly. "If we're lucky, he'll bring back your brother."

"Bring him back? What do you mean? How?"

The Doctor didn't respond, keeping his gaze locked on Alex with the knowledge that what she was doing could very well harm herself as well as George. He needed to be prepared should Alex get the backlash and when he saw her legs start to buckle, he hurried over to catch her as she went to her knees. George brought a hand to his head with a groan, taking a small step back as he tried to shake himself off. The Doctor though, pat Alex's face to try and get her attention as she breathed heavily with her eyes clenched tight.

"Alex? Alex, please. Let me know you're alright, Alexander."

"I swear to God, if you keep screeching in my ears, I will very well knock you into your next regeneration early." She snarled quietly, bringing a hand to her head as the Doctor let out a sigh of relief and helped her to her feet.

"George?" Charles questioned softly, taking a step towards the man, who held out a hand to stop him.

"W-Wait."

Charles stopped, stunned to hear words—proper words—coming from the disfigured man, and Alex spoke up.

"Give him a minute." She breathed out, leaning heavily on the Doctor. "He'll need time before he can speak properly once more. Rest will help, but you best get him inside. He'll be a bit wobbly on his feet."

Charles hesitantly reached out and helped George, who accepted the offer as the group returned downstairs and the fire brigade came in to stop the fire raging in a passageway. Needless to say, once the group had gathered outside, everyone was shocked to find George acting more human than before.

"George?" Lady Cranleigh breathed out and the man managed a small smile.

"Mother."

She burst into tears and clung to him as Muir looked at the Doctor and Alex in shock.

"But how?"

"It was Alex." Charles explained. "I don't know what he did, but… he fixed him. He helped George return to who he once was."

"He was always there." Alex muttered, still trying to get over the pain she'd caused herself. "It was just like a broken telephone line. He wanted to say things and explain, but couldn't get the words out. And with his actions being seen as those of a barbarian, well, it only shoved back who he really was. You should have cared for him properly instead of locking him up. Much longer and no one would have been able to bring him back."

Lady Cranleigh let out a sob at that and George nodded his head to Alex in appreciation.

"I suggest you stay away from alcohol for a while." She commented. "And coffee… don't know why, but something tells me you should."

She was slurring a bit now and the Doctor tugged her closer before scooping her up into his arms.

"Right, I best get him to bed. That took a lot out of him."

"Thank you." Lady Cranleigh sobbed as Charles bowed his head in agreement.

"Yes, thank you."

The Doctor nodded and brought his group with him into the Tardis where he laid up Alex in her bedroom and gave her a look.

"You overexerted yourself."

She groaned, but didn't say anything, an arm draped over her eyes.

"And I'm assuming that you _climbed_ to get to the roof?"

She remained silent and he sighed, placing an ice pack on her shoulder that the Tardis dropped off for him on her nightstand.

"Thank you, Alex." He murmured, squeezing her hand. "I don't know what you do to put up with my other selves, but I'm glad you stick around for me. Makes getting out of tricky situations a bit easier with someone a little more level-headed."

She squeezed his hand in return and he smiled, bringing it up and kissing her knuckles.

"Go to sleep, Alex."


	101. Amy's Choice

**Hello! I'm a bit late, sorry. Things have gotten a little hectic with school, but i'm working through it. Thought this would be a fun chapter to do, especially after a great idea from** _**Girostritron**_**caught my eye. So thank you! Hope you all enjoy! Sorry it gets rather sad, but kind of hard not to with what i did...**

**Ah, and for the next chapter, please watch "_The Daemons_" with the 3rd Doctor. I'll post the links on my profile and it might be late getting posted. between work and school, my time to write has been shortened significantly, but i'll do my best ^^**

* * *

Something shifted on the bed, making my brows furrow as I tried to dive deeper into the inky darkness I'd been resting in. The bundle shifted closer, shaking my uninjured shoulder lightly. I didn't move, hoping that by feigning deep sleep, whoever it was would leave me be. They were persistent, however, and when the shaking got a little more insistent, I begrudgingly groaned.

"Mum? Mum, wake up."

"Who you calling 'mum'?" I grumbled out, sitting up and wincing at my still tender shoulder as I tried to focus my tired eyes on the brown-haired mop sitting on the edge of my bed.

The small figure sighed. "This is why dad should wake you up. You're always so grumpy when I do it."

My brows furrowed and I rubbed at my eyes before something tapped my hand, and I took my glasses from them. It clicked in my mind at that moment, who the figure was and I sighed loudly as I lightly nudged the boy from off my legs so I could get up.

"Sorry, Tyler." I murmured, standing and stretching as I put on the clothes waiting for me that the Doctor had left out. "I have a headache."

"Yeah, I know. Dad said so." He replied, hopping off the bed as I raised a brow; something tingling in the back of my mind.

_Headache? From what?_ I couldn't quite remember, but I brushed it off as I reached down and scooped the boy up with a smile as he squirmed.

"No! Stop! Mum, put me down!" He cried out, laughing as tickled him while he hung over my shoulder.

"Absolutely not." I countered, carrying him out of my room and through the Tardis. "Your father has some explaining to do as to why he sent you to wake me instead of coming himself."

I entered the console room where the Eleventh Doctor poked his head around the console with a grin.

"Alex! Good, you're up!" He chirped, before stopping and blinking at Tyler over my shoulder. "Um, I take it you're _not_ pleased?"

I gave him a look. "My husband should not send his son to wake me while _knowing_ I have a headache."

He winced, taking Tyler from me with a small chuckle as the boy complained, brushing his messy hair from in front of his blue eyes.

"I _told_ you she wouldn't be happy."

"Ah, yes. Well, I best fix that then." The Doctor replied, making me raise a brow, until he turned and pressed his lips to mine. "Good morning." He murmured once he pulled away, forehead pressed against mine and a smile on his face.

"Hm." I hummed, feeling as though it had been _far_ too long since he'd kissed me. "I suppose that helps."

"Ugh." Our son groaned, moving to the jump-seat and climbing up into it. "Can we just go now? At least Aunt Amy and Uncle Rory try to do that sort of stuff in the other room."

I snorted, shifting to the side to allow the Doctor to pilot the ship, knowing the opposite of that was true. "They never hid when _I_ was around."

"They liked teasing you." The Doctor chirped, landing us and holding out an arm to the door as he grabbed Tyler's hand. "Shall we?"

I waltzed right past his outstretched hand, earning a pout from the man as I spoke. "I hope you parked _outside_ this time. She didn't care for it when you parked in her living room, remember?"

"I parked outside!" He complained, racing for the door and beating me to it; pecking me on the lips again. "I'll prove it."

He leaned out the door and looked down, making me raise a brow as he stepped out with Tyler.

"Rory!" I heard him chime alongside Tyler.

"Uncle Rory!"

"Doctor! Tyler!" Rory replied as I walked out and gave the Doctor a look at the crushed flowers poking out from under the Tardis. "Alex!"

"You have permission to beat him." I grumbled as the Doctor winced.

"I've crushed your flowers."

"Oh, Amy will kill you." Rory replied, scooping up the eager Tyler with a grin. "You're getting big."

My son grinned. "You bet! Dad's already teaching me advanced physics too!"

Rory gave us a look, having nearly forgotten that Tyler _was_ mostly Time Lord. "A-Ah, right. Sounds… fun."

"Where is she? Amy?" The Doctor asked, earning a smack from me for his rudeness.

"She'll need a bit longer."

"Whenever you're ready, Amy!" He called out, and I rolled my eyes at his obliviousness as a _very_ pregnant Amy waddled out of the house. "Oh, way-hey! You've swallowed a planet!"

I pinched the bridge of my nose with a sigh as Rory set Tyler down and the Doctor went over with wide eyes.

"You're huge!"

"Yeah, I'm pregnant." Amy grinned.

"Look at you. When worlds collide." The Doctor continued as Amy tried to get it through his head.

"Doctor, I'm pregnant."

"Oh, look at you both. Five years later and you haven't changed a bit, apart from age and size."

She seemed to have given up then. "Oh, it's good to see you, Doctor."

_Then_, it clicked. "Are you pregnant?"

Amy laughed, but I turned to Tyler at my side as the boy looked up at me.

"Don't ever be as dense as your father, or we're going to have some issues."

"Oi!" The Doctor complained and I scoffed.

"Don't 'oi' me. Swallowed a planet? Really? _I_ was that big not so long ago, if you remember."

"That was nearly two hundred years ago!" He argued and I frowned.

"Which is like a year to a Time Lord, so don't argue with me. I have a headache and am two seconds from kicking you in the shin."

He winced. "R-Right. Yes, let's move on, shall we?"

The group agreed and it wasn't long before we were walking through Leadworth, but something continued to itch at the back of my mind. Something was wrong, terribly wrong, but I kept drifting away from it as though a part of me didn't want to know what it was. I was content, and I hated it. It didn't feel right and my headache was only getting worse the more I thought about it. The walk was helping, but only just. Tyler seemed to have figured out something was up as well, and kept his hand in mine despite having repeatedly told me on our previous trips that he wasn't a child and didn't need to hold hands.

"Ah, Leadworth. Vibrant as ever." The Doctor mused.

"It's Upper Leadworth, actually." Rory corrected. "We've gone slightly upmarket."

"Where is everyone?" The Doctor asked and Amy explained.

"This is busy."

The Doctor gave her a disappointed look.

"Okay, it's quiet, but it's really restful and healthy. Loads of people here live well into their nineties."

"Well, don't let that get you down."

"It's not getting me down." Amy argued as we moved to a bench and the Doctor tugged Tyler up onto his lap.

"Well, we wanted to see how you were. You know me, I don't just abandon people when they leave the Tardis. This Time Lord's for life. You don't get rid of your old pals the Doctor and Alex so easily. And Tyler, of course."

Amy gave him a look. "Hm, he convinced you to come, didn't he?" She accused, ruffling a smiling Tyler's hair.

"Yeah, he did." The Doctor admitted. "But look, what a result. Look at this bench. What a nice bench. What will they think of next? So. What do you do around here to stave off the, you know…"

"Boredom?" Amy offered.

"Self-harm."

I smacked the Doctor for that one. "Behave. They want a quiet and calm life, then you've got no reason to complain. Besides, we've been trying more relaxing trips too, with Tyler."

He and Tyler both pouted, both having been begging for more dangerous adventures, but not having been able to convince me either of them were ready for the possible consequences of having the young Time Tot brought along.

"We relax." Rory added on, making the Doctor mumble.

"_Relax_."

"We live." He continued. "We listen to the birds."

"Yeah, see?" Amy said, though I could hear a bit of hesitation in her voice as my head ached a bit more with the chirping of the birds. "Birds. Those are nice."

"We didn't get time to listen to the birdsong back in the Tardis days, did we?" Rory agreed as the birds suddenly seemed to pierce through my head; the Doctor and I both rubbing at our temples.

"Mum?"

"Oh, blimey. My head's a bit…" The Doctor complained. "Ooh. Uh, no. You're right. There wasn't a lot of time for birdsong back in the good… old…"

His voice drifted as my head soon felt heavy, and I fell asleep to Tyler's worried voice in my ear as he tried to shake my shoulder and wake me.

* * *

I snapped awake, hearing the Doctor saying something from nearby the console as I sat up in the jump-seat, feeling sick. It was wrong. Everything was wrong and felt wrong and my head was pounding as though someone was hammering a jackhammer into my barriers. I brought a hand to my head in pain as my thoughts came back to me and a brown haired, blue eyed little boy came to mind. My hearts ached terribly as Amy and Rory came in from the halls and the Doctor rambled on about his nightmare. _But it wasn't, r-right? I… _We_ had a son. Tyler. I-I… I remember being pregnant with him. I remember having him and teaching him and playing with him. It… It was real, wasn't it? It felt _real_._

"Blimey. Never dropped off like that before. Well, never, really. I'm getting on a bit, you see. Don't let the cool gear fool you." The Doctor said, looking over the Tardis as I tried to get a hold of my mind and what was going on. "Now, what's wrong with the console? Red flashing lights. I bet they mean something."

"Uh, Doctor?" Rory spoke up. "I also had a kind of dream thing."

"Yeah, so did I." Amy added, while I stayed quiet.

"Not a nightmare though. Just, uh… we were married." Rory continued.

"Yeah, in a little village."

"A sweet little village. And you were pregnant."

"Yes. I was huge. I was a boat." Amy nodded.

"So you had the same dream then? Exactly the same dream?" Rory asked and Amy frowned.

"Are you calling me a boat?"

Rory attempted to ignore that while the Doctor checked the back of his neck and Amy's missing stomach. "And Doctor. You and Alex were visiting"

"Yeah, yeah. You came to our cottage with… a son."

The Doctor paused at the console at those words while I held my head in my hands; staring at the ground in hurt and confusion.

"How can we have the same dream?" Rory questioned, oblivious to our turmoil. "It doesn't make any sense."

"And you had a nightmare about… us. What happened to us in the nightmare?" Amy asked the Doctor, who fidgeted and returned to messing with the controls.

"It was a bit similar in some aspects."

"Which aspects?" Rory asked, curious, but also suspicious.

"Well, all of them."

"You had the same dream." Amy concluded.

"Basically."

"You said it was a nightmare." Rory accused.

"Did I say nightmare? No, more of a really good… mare. Look, it doesn't matter. We all had some kind of psychic episode. We probably jumped a time track or something. Forget it. We're back to reality now."

"No." I muttered, drawing their attention to me as birds started chirping and a sharp pain went through my head. "No, something's wrong. Something's very, _very_ wrong."

"Doctor, if we're back to reality, how come I can still hear birds?" Amy asked and Rory nodded.

"Yeah. The same birds. The same ones we heard in the…"

Everyone drifted off again.

* * *

The group of us snapped awake, Tyler looking relieved as the Doctor passed him off to me and got up.

"You had the same dream, didn't you?" Rory asked Amy, seeing now that something was wrong.

"Weren't we just saying the same thing?" She added, confused as I hugged a worried Tyler to me; still feeling something wrong.

"But we thought this was the dream, didn't we?" Rory questioned, a little lost now too.

"I think so. Why do dreams have to fade so quickly?"

Rory got up with Amy and I as we approached the Doctor. "Doctor, what is going on?"

"Is this because of you? Is this some Time Lordy thing because you've shown up again?"

"Listen to me." The Doctor said sternly, rounding on all of us. "Trust nothing. From now on, trust nothing you see, hear, or feel."

"But we're awake now." Rory said.

"Yeah. You thought you were awake on the Tardis too."

"But we're home." Amy pressed.

"Yeah, you're home. You're also dreaming. Trouble is, Rory, Amy, which is which? Are we flashing forwards or backwards? Hold on tight. This is going be a tricky one."

"Mum? What's wrong?" Tyler asked, voice tight with worry and the Doctor turned towards me as I struggled to say something. "What's going on? What does dad mean, dreaming? And you just fell asleep. You wouldn't wake up. I was trying, but you didn't."

"I-I… I don't…" I slowly put Tyler down, looking at him and feeling my hearts ache as my head pounded.

_He's my son. I can't trust my son? But this isn't right. The other isn't right either. But I love him. Tyler… Tyler is the love of my life. My little boy._ I brought a hand to my head, the birdsong starting up again. _But it's wrong. He's wrong. All of this is… wrong._

* * *

The Doctor woke up on the Tardis, getting tossed towards the console and finding that he couldn't use the lever.

"Oh, this is bad. I don't like this." He muttered, kicking the ship and grimacing. "Ugh, never use force. You just embarrass yourself. Unless you're cross, in which case, always use force."

He cringed, realizing he'd been attempting to teach Tyler a lesson with those words, but knowing the boy wasn't here.

"Shall I run and get the manual?" Amy asked, concerned.

"I threw it in a supernova." The Doctor grumbled, moving downstairs.

"You threw the manual in a supernova? Why?"

"He didn't agree with it." Alex muttered, looking around the room with an expression that made the Doctor's hearts ache.

"Stop talking to me when I'm cross." The Doctor said sharply, trying to figure out what was going on with the Tardis and ignore Alex's wavering emotions that were floating about.

"Okay, but whatever's wrong with the Tardis, is that what caused us to dream about the future?" Rory asked.

"If we were dreaming of the future." The Doctor replied, confusing them as he went back up the stairs.

"Well, of course we were. We were in Leadworth." Amy said as Rory corrected her.

"Upper Leadworth."

"Yeah, and we could still be in Upper Leadworth, dreaming of this. Don't you get it?"

"No, okay?" Amy said. "No, this is real. I'm definitely awake now."

"And you thought you were definitely awake when you were all elephanty."

"Hey. Pregnant." Amy corrected, though she glanced over at Alex, who hadn't tried to scold the Doctor in any way. "No, hold on. Something's wrong. Alex isn't scolding you. What's going on?"

The Doctor glanced sorrowfully at his wife who had set her glasses aside to bury her head in her hands.

"We had a son." He murmured softly.

Amy gave him a look. "Yeah? So?"

He didn't answer her. Didn't _want_ to answer her. Because that would mean he would have to say out-loud something that he wished was never true. He and Alex couldn't have kids. He hadn't told the earlier Alex yet. He was fearing the day he did, but this was an older, future Alex. This was an Alex who already knew. A grumpier, more serious Alex who was now on the verge of a mental break because something had happened to give her a taste of what it would be like to have a little boy of their own. And a part of the Doctor wished that _this_ was the dream. The Tardis malfunctioning, the thrill of an unknown problem waiting to be solved. He wanted this to be real, but if that meant Alex being devastated, then he'd throw it away in an instant. Because nothing to the Doctor was worth more than her happiness, and her smiling and playing with their son gave him more joy than the entire universe. He didn't want to be the one to crush that hope and saying out-loud that it was near impossible for them to have children, would be doing just that.

So, he chose to distract Amy instead. "And you could be giving birth right now. This could be the dream. I told you. Trust nothing we see or hear or feel. Look around you. Examine everything. Look for all the details that don't ring true."

Rory gave him a look. "Okay, we're in a spaceship that's bigger on the inside than the outside."

"With a bow-tie wearing alien." Amy added on, showing him how ridiculous his previous statement was.

"Valid point." He muttered, before the Tardis suddenly went dark. "It's dead. We're in a dead time machine." He breathed out, his hearts aching as the birdsong started up again and he was forced to push the feelings aside. "Remember, this is real. But when we wake up in the other place, remember how real this feels."

"It is real. I know it's real." Amy slurred as they fell asleep.

* * *

"Okay, this is the real one." Amy replied once she woke up back on the bench in Leadworth. "Definitely this one. It's all solid."

"It felt solid in the Tardis too. You can't spot a dream while you're having it." The Doctor countered, forcing himself to look away from Tyler as the boy tugged on his dazed mother's hand.

The Doctor waved his own hand in front of his face.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Rory asked.

"Looking for motion blur, pixilation. It could be a computer simulation. I don't think so, though."

An older woman walked by, smiling at the group.

"Hello, doctor."

"Hi." The Doctor smiled, but Rory greeted her as well.

"Hello."

"You're a doctor." It clicked in the Doctor's mind.

"Yeah. And unlike you, I've actually passed some exams." Rory complained.

"A doctor. Not a nurse. Just like you've always dream. How interesting."

"What is?"

"Your dream wife, your dream job, probably your dream baby. Maybe this is your dream." The Doctor concluded.

"It's Amy's dream too. Isn't it, Amy?"

"Yes. Course it is, yeah." She said, not sounding entirely convinced.

Rory turned to the Doctor. "You and Alex too. You've both got a kid. It could be your dreams."

The Doctor didn't respond, simply pointing over his shoulder at the large building behind him.

"What's that?"

"Old people's home." Amy answered, giving Alex a concerned look.

"You said everyone here lives to their nineties. There's something here that doesn't make sense. Let's go and poke it with a stick."

He and Rory rushed off and Amy groaned.

"Oh. Can we _not_ do the running thing?" She complained, then spotting Alex not moving. "Alex? You coming?"

Alex shifted her eyes away from Tyler. "A-Ah, yeah. Sorry."

* * *

I woke up back in the Tardis, slightly chilled as the others woke as well and started to get worried.

"Okay, I hate this, Doctor. Stop it, because this is definitely real. It's definitely this one." Amy snapped, before pausing. "I keep saying that, don't I?"

"It's bloody cold." Rory chattered.

"The heating's off."

"The heating's off?" Rory repeated.

"Yeah. Put on a jumper. That's what I always do."

They began to talk about the elder woman we'd met in the Leadworth old people's home, but I was trying to get a hold of myself. _Okay. It's okay. Just try to remember. This is familiar. It's an adventure I know. I can feel it, but something's messing with my head._ I grimaced at the thought, bringing a hand up to my temple as I sat in the jump-seat. _Just don't think about any of this. Not the Tardis, not Tyler, not ponytail Rory or pregnant Amy. Stop… Stop thinking about your son. He's not your son. He can't be. It's impossible. We can't _have_ kids._ And yet, my heart ached, knowing that if something happened to Tyler in that other world—dream or not—I would be devastated. Tyler may not be real, but he was the creation of something I _wished_ was real. It had been so long since I'd thought about kids. Bouncing back and forth between two worlds with one having a child—_my_ child—in it? It was trying. Mentally, it was trying. My head ached, my hearts ached, every fiber of my being begged to go back to my son. To make sure he was safe, but my mind screamed that everything was illogical. That something was very wrong and that the impossible boy who awaited me in that other world, _wasn't real_.

"Well, that took a while. Honestly, I'd heard such good things. Last of the Time Lords, the Oncoming Storm. Him in the bow tie."

I jumped, flinching as someone appeared on the stairs behind the Doctor; startling me out of my thoughts.

"How did you get into my Tardis?" The Doctor demanded. "What are you?"

"What shall we call me? Well, if you're the Time Lord, let's call me the Dream Lord." The man grinned and that clicked something in my head.

"Dream Lord." I breathed out, making the man turn to me with a smirk.

"Ah, and there it is. Has it finally clicked for you then, Alex? Where you're at? What's going on? Oh, but you can't say a word, can you? It'd ruin everything." He mused, making me straighten my back and a scowl begin to form on my face. "Imagine how much that will annoy him. Oh, but you don't have to, do you? You've experienced first-hand what it's like dealing with a clueless, angry Doctor."

The image of the man flickered, the Doctor having thrown something through him. Our eyes locked and I nodded silently in thanks as the Dream Lord turned to him.

"Interesting. I'd love to be impressed, but Dream Lord. It's in the name, isn't it? Spooky. Not quite there." The man vanished and appeared again on the opposite side of the Doctor, Amy, and Rory. "And yet, very much here."

"I'll do the talking, thank you." The Doctor muttered. "Amy, want to take a guess at what that is?"

"Uh, Dream Lord. He creates dreams." She answered.

"Dreams, delusions, cheap tricks." The Doctor spat and I could feel his anger from where I was.

Something told me he was angry for my sake.

"And what about the gooseberry here. Does he get a guess?" The Dream Lord asked, gesturing to Rory.

"Uh, listen, mate. If anyone's the gooseberry round here, it's the Doctor."

"Well, now. There's a delusion I'm not responsible for." The Dream Lord chuckled.

"No, he is. Isn't he, Amy?"

Amy stayed silent and the Dream Lord hummed.

"Oh, Amy. Have to sort your men out. Choose, even."

"I have chosen. Of course I've chosen." She said, and there was a pause of uncertainty before she hit Rory. "It's you, stupid."

"Oh, good. Thanks." Rory breathed out, relieved.

The Dream Lord popped up by me then and I held back a wince. "You can't fool me. I've seen your dreams. Some of them twice. Amy. Blimey, I'd blush if I had a blood supply or a real face."

"Where did you pick up this cheap cabaret act?" The Doctor demanded and I felt it difficult to hold back a wince.

Knowing that the Dream Lord was actually a part of the Doctor did _not_ make things easy.

"Me? Oh, you're on shaky ground." The Dream Lord commented.

"Am I?"

"Just ask Alex." The Dream Lord smirked, making me grit my teeth. "If you had any more tawdry quirks you could open up a Tawdry Quirk Shop. The madcap vehicle, the cockamamie hair, the clothes designed by a first-year fashion student. I'm surprised you haven't got a little purple space dog just to ram home what an intergalactic wag you—"

"Knock it off." I snapped and the illusion turned towards me.

"Ooh, you awake now, guard dog?" He quipped. "It was the boy, wasn't it? Through you in for a loop, didn't he? Is he real? Not real? He can't be. No, but oh how great it would be if he was. Tyler Noble Holmes. Who picks a name like that? He's practically a walking reminder of the two people you didn't save."

"_Couldn't_ save." I argued, standing and growing annoyed with the little man before me.

"Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart." He chimed, nodding towards the Doctor. "Better yet, keep telling _him_ that. I'm sure he'll believe you one day… Maybe." The Dream Lord cackled, before calming. "Where was I?"

"You were—"

He cut Rory off sharply, popping upstairs. "I know where I was. So, here's your challenge. Two worlds. Here, in the time machine, and there, in the village that time forgot. One is real, the other's fake. And just to make it more interesting, you're going to face in both worlds a deadly danger, but only _one_ of the dangers is real. Tweet, tweet. Time to sleep." He said as the birdsong started and he flickered over to me. "Though I'll chat with you later. But are you sleeping? Or waking up?"

* * *

"Oh, this is bad. This is very, very bad." The Dream Lord said as we all woke up in the old people's home; sans the old people. "Your brain is completely see-through. But then, I've always been able to see through you, Doctor."

"Always? What do you mean, always?" Amy asked, getting ignored.

"Now then, the prognosis is this. If you die in the dream, you wake up in reality. Healthy recovery in next to no time. Ask me what happens if you die in reality?" The Dream Lord questioned as the Doctor sat and Rory asked.

"What happens?"

"You die, stupid. That's why it's called reality."

I held back a snap of annoyance at the man, but felt that something was wrong. Like I was forgetting something.

"Have you met the Doctor before?" Amy asked the Dream Lord. "Do you know him? Doctor, does he?"

"Now don't get jealous. He's been around, our boy. Alex could tell you. But never mind that. You've got a world to choose. One reality was always too much for you, Doctor. Take two and call me in the morning." His gaze shifted to mine and I straightened on reflex. "Multiple realities are your thing though, aren't they, Alex? Hm, best not get too distracted though. You might just forget something important."

He vanished as I ground my teeth, not appreciating the constant jabs at my old insecurities. The others didn't seem to care for him much either.

"Okay, I don't like him." Rory declared.

"Who is he?" Amy asked, looking at me, but I turned away; unable to answer.

"I don't know." The Doctor replied instead, getting the focus off me. "It's a big universe."

"Why is he doing this?" Amy questioned instead.

"Maybe because he has no physical form. That gets you down after a while, so he's taking it out on folk like us who can touch and eat and feel." The Doctor offered stripping himself of the nasty looking sweater he'd been put in; but a quick glance at me, and he could tell that wasn't it.

"What does he mean, deadly danger, though? Nothing deadly has happened here. I mean, a bit of natural wastage, obviously." Rory said, and I suddenly paled as I realized what I'd overlooked.

"They've all gone." The Doctor said, looking at the empty chairs where the elders had been sitting, but I brought up another problem.

"Doctor? Doctor, Tyler's gone."

My concern shot through the roof, motherly instincts taking over as I bolted from the old people's home and outside, calling for my son. _Who doesn't exist!_ My mind shouted, but I couldn't _not_ worry about him. Real or not, _imaginary_ or not; he was my son.

"Tyler?! Tyler!"

The Doctor was soon at my side and my eyes frantically scanned the nearby group of kids on the playground across the way, searching for the messy mop of brown hair of Tyler. A hand grabbed mine and a small whimper escaped my lips. I was desperate, and even the Doctor holding my hand didn't seem to comfort me much.

"Why would they leave?" Rory questioned as Amy waddled out behind us.

"And what did you mean about Mrs. Poggit's nice old lady act?"

"One of my tawdry quirks. Sniffing out things that aren't what they seem. So, come on, let's think. The mechanics of this reality split we're stuck in. Time asleep exactly matches time in our dream world, unlike in conventional dreams." The Doctor rattled as I stepped forward, wanting to rip the town apart in search of Tyler, but the Doctor held me back.

"And we're all dreaming the same dream at the same time." Rory added.

"Yes, sort of communal trance. Very rare, very complicated. I'm sure there's a dream giveaway, a tell, but my mind isn't working because this village is _so dull_! I'm slowing down, like you two have." He said, though I saw him wince before he gave my hand a squeeze.

My mental barriers were wavering.

Amy began crying out then, causing the Doctor and Rory to panic, but I didn't even turn. No, I was too busy making my way towards the run down castle that the kids were going to go see. By the time the Doctor noticed, he was a bit too far away to stop me.

"Alex! Alex, what are you doing?!"

I ignored him, rushing up the steps and skimming my eyes over the children again, hearts pounding in fear. I knew the danger here. The old people were aliens in skinsuits. Bu adding Tyler into the mix was not expected. Hell, this whole _mess _wasn't expected. I had changed '_Amy's Choice_' just by being here, but this was wrong. This wasn't a dream; it was a nightmare. And it was about to get worse.

"Tyler? Tyler!" I called, finally spotting the boy and rushing towards him, but he was stumbling; falling.

Then, I spotted Mrs. Poggit, standing behind him with a smirk. _No… No, no, no, no, no! Please no! Not my son! Not my baby!_ But my cries went unheard as Tyler turned to dust and the birdsong took over, as tears streamed down my face.

* * *

"It's really cold." Amy complained once they woke up in the Tardis. "Have you got any warm clothing?"

"What does it matter if we're cold? We have to know what she is up to." The Doctor snapped, but upon seeing the look on Amy's face, he calmed down. "Sorry, sorry. There should be some stuff down there. Have a look."

Amy and Rory went off and the Doctor dragged his hands down his face, turning to Alex.

"Any hints?"

She didn't move, didn't say a word and the Doctor stopped.

"Alex?"

Nothing. She kept her head down and her hands clasped tightly together, though the Doctor could see them shaking. Something had happened. Something he missed, but it takes a lot of get Alex this unnerved. The future Alex, anyway, and this regeneration of hers was one of the hardest to get expressive. So when she was acting like this? Something bad had happened. Hesitantly, the Doctor approached her.

"Alex? What is it? What's wrong?"

"Sorry." She murmured, barely audible as she pushed herself up from the jump-seat and moved towards the hall. "I-I just need a minute."

He wanted to reach out and stop her, figure out what was wrong, but he knew time was short too. There would be no point in asking her what was wrong if they all ended up dead. So he begrudgingly let her go and turned to find something to help figure out why it was colder than it should be in the Tardis. It didn't take long to find some parts he put together and once May and Rory were back upstairs with blankets, he handed his new device over.

"Ah, Rory, wind. Amy, could you attach this to the monitor please?"

"I was promised amazing worlds. Instead I get duff central heating and a weird, kitcheny wind-up device." Rory complained, looking over the device the Doctor handed him in confusion.

"It's a generator. Get winding." The Doctor said, eager to move on and find out what was wrong with Alex.

"Not enough." Amy said, making the Doctor push Rory harder.

"Rory, wind!"

"Hey, where's Alex?" Amy questioned and the Doctor bit his tongue as Rory brought up other questions.

"Why is the Dream Lord picking on you? Why us?"

A screen snapped to life then and the Doctor looked at it with a groan.

"Where are we?" Amy questioned, not liking the look on his face.

"We're in trouble." He replied, worried.

"What is that?" Rory asked as an image came onto the screen and the Doctor opened the Tardis doors for a better look.

"A star. A cold star. That's why we're freezing. It's not a heating malfunction. We're drifting towards a cold sun. There's our deadly danger for this version of reality."

"So this must be the dream. There's no such thing as a cold star. Stars burn." Amy said, shivering from the cold the Doctor let in, but he shook his head.

"So is this one. It's just burning cold."

Even he was shivering.

"Is that possible?"

He groaned. "I can't know everything. Why does everyone expect me to? Always?"

"Well, I'd argue Alex gets asked that more, but again. Where is she?"

"Busy." The Doctor murmured, earning a look from Amy as Rory went on questioning.

"Okay, this is something you haven't seen before. So does that mean this is the dream?"

"I don't know, but there it is, and I'd say we've got about fourteen minutes until we crash into it. But that's not a problem." The Doctor said.

"Because you know how to get us out of this?" Rory hoped.

"Because we'll have frozen to death by then." The Doctor corrected.

"Then what are we going to do?" Amy asked, not amused by his response.

"Stay calm. Don't get sucked in to it, because this just might be the battle that we have to lose."

"Oh, this is so you, isn't it?" Rory drawled, making the Doctor frown in confusion.

"What?"

"Huh, what? A weird new star, fourteen minutes left to live and only one man to save the day, huh? I just wanted a nice village and a family."

"Oh dear, Doctor." The Dream Lord said, popping in behind the man. "Dissent in the ranks. There was an old doctor from Gallifrey, who ended up throwing his life away. He let down his friends and—" He stopped as the birdsong started up. "Oh, no. We've run out of time. Don't spend too long there, or you'll catch your death here. Oh, and I think I'll be keeping Miss Alex for a while. The two of us have some things to discuss. Night, night."

* * *

I woke up, having expected myself to be lying on the grass of the run down castle where I'd last been, but groaned at the pounding in my head. I reached up to hold it in my hands, but the rattling of chains made me pause and abruptly realize that I wasn't with the Doctor.

"Oh, finally awake, now, are we?"

I shifted my gaze through the dim room to lock onto the Dream Lord.

"The hell is this?" I asked, not as much bite in my tone as I wanted; Tyler still drifting through my thoughts.

"It's exactly what it looks like." The man replied and I looked around the room again, understanding dawning on me.

It was a small room with a large mirror or window facing me and I was seated at a table with an empty chair across the way; my hands in cuffs attached to the table.

"Interrogation?" I questioned. "Why am I being interrogated? What do you want from me?"

He raised a brow. "What makes you think I want anything from you?"

"Other than the obvious?" I snapped, lifting my chained hands a bit.

He rolled his eyes. "Well, yes. Of course." He sat on the edge of the table. "Why do you think I want something from you?"

"Because that's what this whole mess is about." I declared. "You want something from everyone. You want Amy to admit she liked the Doctor more than Rory, and you're trying to get her to see her mistake. You want Rory to realize he's not an idiot and can stand up for himself. You want the Doctor to see that he's not fooling himself with his childish act, and that he still has a dark side haunting him. So, what do you want from me?"

"Ooh, don't you think you're clever?" He taunted, getting up and moving to the back corner of the room. "See, that's the problem with you. You're always on top of things. You know so much and you use that to stay ahead of the game, but you're so dense in other areas. After all, I never said _I_ wanted anything from you."

The door creaked open and a figure walked in, not even looking my way as she sat down across from me and dropped a manila envelope onto the table. I didn't recognize her and nothing about her screamed out at me as familiar, but the devilish smirk on the Dream Lord's face informed me I was missing something.

"Alexander Holmes." The woman said, her voice sharp and authoritative, drawing my eyes to her. "I assume you know why you're here."

"No. I don't." I said back in annoyance, but her eyes lifted to mine and an icy chill went down my spine.

The blank, expressionless blue eyes went back to the folder, which she opened and began to pull photos out of, placing them in front of me.

"You have been brought here under the suspicion of multiple charges." She said, the photos making me pale. "Stealing, fraud, aiding and abetting, assault, kidnapping, voluntary manslaughter, and multiple accounts of murder."

Sitting before me, were images of various people and creatures. Rose on Bad Wolf Bay, Donna with hands on her temples, Martha running from Toclafane, Amy and Rory being touched by an Angel, River sitting in the device that would send her into the Library, Jack being shot by a Dalek, the Face of Boe strapped up to machines in New New York. Then there was a ship full of Daleks in flames, a covered corpse of a Silurian, Sontarans falling at the hands of soldiers, a ship being blasted out of the sky by green lasers, a spider crying as her children drowned, and the Doctor. Nine writhing in pain while being scanned by Van Statten, him being eaten by a Reaper, his regeneration into Ten. Ten seeing Rose go, being touched by a witch, possessed by a sun, becoming human, dealing with the Master, losing Martha, fighting the creature on Midnight, losing Donna, regenerating while the Master was sucked back to Gallifrey. Eleven being forced back through time, being shot twice, losing Amy and Rory, losing Clara, being taken over by Cybermen, decades on Trenzalore, regenerating. Twelve fighting with Clara, nearly being killed by a mummy, discovering Missy, creating Me, losing Clara twice more, losing River.

"N-No." I murmured, lifting my gaze from the images as I stood and strained my hands against the cuffs biting into my wrists. "No! This wasn't me! None of this was me! I did what I could! I did _everything_ that I could to save them! You can't blame me for these!"

The woman said nothing, gathering the pictures and putting them back into the folder, as the Dream Lord pushed me by my shoulders back down into my seat.

"You'll have to excuse me, if I don't believe you." She said, making me bristle as I clenched my fists angrily.

"What do you want me to do to convince you?"

She stood, pausing to glance at me, before heading to the door with the Dream Lord behind her. "Convince them first."

"Who?!" I shouted as the door closed. "Who am I supposed to convince?! I didn't _kill_ them! I did everything I could!"

"Did you?"

I froze at the voice that came from the opening door, an old face walking into the room; her blonde hair pooling around her shoulders.

"Did you do everything to help me too?" She questioned, brown eyes sharp as my hearts ached.

"R-Rose…"

* * *

"Hello, peasant!" The Dream Lord chimed, walking out by the Doctor as he stormed forward with Alex in his arms. "What's this? Attack of the old people? Oh, that's ridiculous. This has got to be the dream, hasn't it? What do you think, Amy? Let's all jump under a bus and wake up in the Tardis. You first."

"Leave her alone." The Doctor snarled and the man smirked.

"Do that again. I love it when he does that. Tall dark hero. Leave her alone. Don't know who does it better. You or Alex."

Rory too, growled at the man. "Just leave her."

"Yes, you're not quite so impressive, but I know where your heart lies, don't I, Amy Pond?"

"Shut up. Just shut up and leave me alone." Amy replied.

"But listen. You're in there. Loves a redhead, our naughty Doctor. Has he told you about Elizabeth the First? Well, she _thought_ she was the first. And poor Alex started out as a red-head too. She wasn't too pleased about the Elizabeth thing either, if I remember right."

"Drop it. Drop all of it. I know who you are and I want to know what you did with Alex." The Doctor demanded.

"You don't know who I am." The Dream Lord argued. "And I told you before. Me and Alex are having a little chat. I'm just taking a break to check up on you lot."

"I _know_ who you are." The Doctor insisted. "No idea how you can be here, but there's only one person in the universe who hates me as much as you do."

"Never mind me. Maybe you _should_ worry about them." The Dream Lord said, vanishing as the old people moved closer.

"Hi."

"Hello." Amy and Rory greeted hesitantly.

"Hello, we were wondering where you went. To get reinforcements, by the look of it. Are you all right? You look a bit tense." The Doctor said, but Rory tried to approach one of them.

"Hello, Mr. Nainby."

"Rory." The Doctor cautioned, but Rory didn't listen.

"Mr. Nainby ran the sweet shop. He used to slip me the odd free toffee." Rory explained, before the elder man lifted him up by his collar. "Did I not say thank you?" Rory was thrown off his feet and into the mud by the man, getting up in shock. "How did he do that?!"

"I suspect he's not himself. Don't get comfortable here. You may have to run, fast."

"Can't we just talk to them?" Amy questioned, holding her stomach, until an eye popped out of their open mouths. "There is an eye in her mouth."

"There's a whole creature inside her. Inside all of them. They've been there for years, living and waiting." The Doctor clarified, scanning the woman with his sonic as the group backed away from them cautiously.

"That is disgusting. They're not going to be peeping out of anywhere else, are they?" Rory asked, and Mrs. Poggit breathed out green gas; startling them.

"Run!" The Doctor called out, Amy and Rory running as he spoke to the group of aliens. "Okay, leave them, leave them. Talk to me. Talk to me. You are Eknodines. A proud, ancient race. you're better than this. Why are you hiding away here? Why aren't you at home?"

Mrs. Poggit answered with a deep voice not her own. "We were driven from our planet by—"

"Planet by upstart neighbors." The Doctor finished for them.

"So we've—"

"Been living here inside the bodies of old humans for years." He cut them off again. "No wonder they live so long. You're keeping them alive."

"We were humbled and destroyed. Now, we will do the same to others."

"Okay. Makes sense, I suppose. Credible enough. Could be real." He muttered to himself as a man with a bike greeted them only to be turned to dust by Mrs. Poggit, angering the Doctor. "You need to leave this planet."

The woman tilted her head, spotting Alex in his arms. "We will take her from you. Just as we took the boy and as we will take you. _Die_!"

The Doctor—even more furious than before, now that he knew what had been upsetting Alex—dodged the green gas aimed his way and ran. He didn't get far though, before the birdsong started up. He fought desperately to stay awake, stumbling as he carried Alex into a butcher shop; only for the Dream Lord to be smirking behind the counter.

"Oh, I love a good butcher's, don't you? We've got to use these places or they'll shut down. Oh, but you're probably a vegetarian, aren't you, you big flop-haired wuss."

"Oh, pipe down. I'm busy." The Doctor snapped, trying to unlock the back room.

"Maybe you need a little sleep." The Dream Lord replied, making the birdsong louder and the Doctor sag to his knees. "Oh, wait a moment. If you fall asleep here, several dozen angry pensioners will destroy you and Alex with their horrible eye things."

The Doctor stood moving towards a different area as the Dream Lord greeted the old people entering the shop.

"Yes, we've got lots of steak here this week. Lots of steak, get it? Are these jokes wasted on you?" The Dream Lord questioned as the song grew louder.

The Doctor barely managed to get the freezer open and him and Alex inside before he was asleep.

* * *

I sat slumped in my chair, hair a mess from running my hand through it and wrists encircled with raw, angry red marks from fighting against the cuffs. Companion after companion, person after person had come in, demanding to know why I hadn't saved them and I could feel myself reaching a breaking point. _How many times do I have to say it? How many?_ I took in a shuddering breath, pulling my glasses off my face and setting them down as I dropped my head in my hands. I heard the door creak open again and my hearts clenched as I wondered who it was this time.

"I did everything I could." I repeated for the umpteenth time. "I'm sorry if I couldn't save you, but there was nothing more I could do. I _tried_. Really, I-I… I _tried_."

"So?"

I lifted my gaze to the 'officer' from before as she folded her arms over her chest and leaned up against the one-way mirror behind her.

"Trying doesn't accomplish anything." She continued. "They're still dead, or hurt, or lost and it's still your fault because you didn't save them."

I grit my teeth, reaching the end of my rope. "I did _everything_ I could. Some people _can't_ be saved. Time itself would unravel and—"

"And who put you in charge of making that decision for them?" She argued, eyes narrowing as she stormed forward and slammed her hands down onto the table. "Who the hell made you God for those people?!"

I stood up as well, straining against the cuffs. "It's better than the alternative!" I shouted angrily. "They could be dead! The whole damn universe could have been destroyed if any one of those companions stuck around for too long! I had a decision to make and I chose to make sure everything goes as it should around the Doctor! And if there was someone, even _one person_ that I could help, then I would do everything in my power to help them! But I am _not_ God! I can't perform miracles! I can't _save_ everyone! But I will try my damned hardest to, because I love the Doctor and I will do anything to make him happy! And that's what makes _me_ happy! So why the hell do I need to prove that to you or to anyone?! I'm not a hero, but if I can be one to him, then I will be. Now, let me out of here before I break my wrists to get back to him."

The woman snorted, turning away from me as I frowned in confusion. "Love struck moron."

With a snap of her fingers, the cuffs around my wrists unlocked and I glanced at them with a scowl as a semblance of understanding dawned on me.

"You… You're not the Dream Lord, so…"

She rolled her eyes with a sigh. "It's really not that hard to figure out. That idiot practically gave it away."

"I… had to prove myself to you… You're… me?"

The birds began to chirp and I felt my body grow heavier.

"You and the Doctor are a pain." Dream Alex grumbled as my eyes started to slip closed. "Screwing with you wouldn't be this easy if you just talked it out. For claiming you're both so clever, you're all so stupid."

* * *

I woke up on the Tardis floor in the hall, hearts racing and breath choking in my throat. Tears streamed down my face as the overwhelming emotions I'd dealt with while facing my dream self came to a boil. I shivered at the chill that had covered my body, and desperately felt the need to curl up in a ball and give in to everything. The cold, the sorrow, the heart-wrenching pain in my body at the mental turmoil I'd gone through. I needed something to pull me back. Something to hang on to, and only one name came to mind. _T-Theta… Theta. Theta, please._ Footsteps soon approached hurriedly, and the Doctor's comforting presence flooded my senses.

"Alex? Oh, Alexander. What's wrong? What did he do?"

His mind wrapped around mine, much like the physical hug he'd pulled me into as I choked back a sob and clung to his tweed jacket.

"Hey, now. It's alright. It'll be okay. I promise." He murmured in my ear as he pressed a kiss to my temple. "Come on. No more crying."

"I-I love you." I cried into the crook of his neck, undoubtedly confusing him. "I love you so much a-and I just want you to b-be happy."

"And I am!" He insisted, pulling me back and rubbing his thumbs under my eyes to wipe away my tears. "I am _always_ happy because of you and what you do for me. I am happy when _you're_ happy, Alexander. And I don't know what that idiot Dream Lord said or did, but know that that will always be true. I love you, Alexander."

He brought me close and kissed me deeply, reaffirming his declaration before pulling away with a small smile as he tapped my chin up with his knuckle.

"Now, buck up, and let's go back into the console room. I'm sure Amy and Rory are worried after I ran out on them like that."

"Okay…"

The console room was just as freezing cold as the hall, though it felt as though just the Doctor and I walking in dropped the temperature a few degrees.

"Right, sorry!" The Doctor called out, tugging me down the stairs with his hand tightly wrapped around mine. "Had to deal with some things. All sorted now."

Amy tossed something to the Doctor and I as she went to pull one over Rory's head. "Put these on. All of you."

The Doctor and I hastily did so, myself shivering in the cold even with the make-shift poncho on. My coat was missing from the console room, after all. I was stuck in my pants and shirt.

"Oh, a poncho." Rory muttered, looking over his own plaid fabric. "The biggest crime against fashion since lederhosen."

The Doctor spun around pleased, giving me a look, but I scowled.

"I'll have you know; my body rejects this."

"Really?" He questioned, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me close; much to my embarrassment. "I think you look cute. Like a grumpy cat in a sweater."

I gave him an annoyed look. "And you need to work on your compliments."

"Is now _really_ the time to be flirting?" Rory questioned and I shot him a frown as well.

"We're hurtling towards a cold star in ponchos. I can do whatever the hell I want."

Amy seemed to agree. "Our boys. Our poncho boys. If we're going to die, let's die looking like a Peruvian folk band."

"We're not going to die." Rory argued as the Doctor began to pace.

"No, we're not, but our time's running out. If we fall asleep here we're in trouble. If we could divide up, then we'd have an active presence in each world, but the Dream Lord is switching us between the worlds. Why? Why? What's the logic?"

"Good idea, veggie." The Dream Lord said, appearing beside the Doctor who didn't even flinch. "Let's divide you three up, so I can have a little chat with our lovely companion. Maybe I'll keep her, and you can have Pointy Nose to yourself for all eternity, should you manage to clamber aboard some sort of reality."

"And me?" I asked, stepping forward and the Dream Lord hummed.

"Well, you're no fun. You've already beat your little test and you know what's going to happen. Can't have you spoiling it for the rest of them, I suppose. Hm, what to do…"

"Leave her here."

All eyes went to the cop who was sitting on a rail; Dream Alex.

"Who—"

"Don't." She cut the Doctor off, getting up and moving over towards him, getting in his face as he stiffened. "Don't ask that. It's a stupid question."

They stared each other down like two dogs waiting to fight, before I cut in.

"Why here?"

Dream Alex looked at me, making my own back straighten out of reflex. "Why not? Freezing to death is slower and I can have more fun with you here than where others can interfere."

"Then take me from the other world." I demanded and she paused.

"What?"

I nodded to the Doctor, brows creased sternly. "He can't be carrying me all over the place and if you're keeping me here and I can't contribute to the decision of which world is real, then why bother wasting energy to bounce me from one world to the other?" I risked giving the Doctor a pointed look at that.

_Dreams can be manipulated._ I mentally informed him, trying to get him to see how neither of these could be the right dream.

"Fine. Whatever." Dream Alex shrugged, either not noticing our silent conversation or not caring. "Enjoy your nap, Nerd, Beaky."

Rory and the Doctor sagged as birdsong started up for them.

"Can you hear that?" Rory asked Amy.

"What? No." She said in concern as the Doctor tried to reassure her.

"Amy, don't be scared. We'll be back."

"Rory! Doctor! Don't leave us!" She said as they both fell asleep and the Dream Lord taunted her.

"Amy, we're going to have fun, aren't we?"

"Piss off, Stubby." I snapped, walking through the Dream Lord and grabbing Amy's hand. "Listen to me. Everything he says, all of it's true."

"But—"

I glared. "Don't interrupt me, Amelia Pond."

A snort sounded behind me as Dream Alex scoffed. "Still can't believe that. Interruptions? That's your pet peeve?"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before ignoring her. "The whole point of this is to teach you something important, Amy. I can't tell you what, but you need to listen to him, even if he is a jerk about it. I can't walk you through this, understand?" I turned to Dream Alex. "I've got my own problem to deal with."

"_Oh_." Dream Alex seemed to smirk. "Is that a challenge?"

Amy grabbed my sleeve, stopping me. "Please don't leave me alone."

"I'm sorry." I apologized, lightly removing her hand from my arm. "But sometimes you need to face things on your own. Not for the Doctor's sake, but for your own. Be strong for you, Amy Pond. Don't just let him push you around."

She looked hurt that I was abandoning her, but I knew she would be okay. So I stepped up to Dream Alex, the two of us glaring at one another.

"Where to?" I asked blankly.

"Where else?"

"Hm." I turned and climbed the stairs up to the hall, speaking over my shoulder. "Good luck, Amelia."

* * *

Rory pulled Amy's sleeping body up the steps as the elderly attempted to break in, apologizing every time he bumped her. He finally made it and winced when he sort of dropped her to the ground.

"Sorry." He murmured, closing the door and peering out the window to see the old people preparing to use a wood pillar as a battering ram and pushing at the Tardis in a vain attempt to get in.

Concern set in and he moved a chair over to block the door. After that, came the uncertainty. Not sure what else to do but wait, Rory sat on the chair and settled in begrudgingly to wait for the Doctor.

* * *

Alex slipped off her glasses and removed her gloves, shoes, and socks; setting them aside.

"We going until we can't?"

"Sounds good." Dream Alex hummed, already ready to go as she hopped from foot to foot.

Alex paused, brows furrowed as she started to tape up her hands. "Hold on. How can either of us do this if you're like a hologram?"

"It's a dream. I can make myself physical." Dream Alex hummed, poking Alex in the shoulder and making her step back at the touch.

"I hate dreams." Alex grumbled, moving onto the other hand.

"I'd say 'me too', but you already know that."

Alex snorted, finishing up and moving to her place. "Whenever you're ready."

"Count of three?"

"Sure."

"One, two… _three._"

* * *

"Poor Amy." The Dream Lord cooed to the woman shivering on the Tardis stairs. "He always leaves you, doesn't he, alone in the dark. Never apologizes. Alex does that, doesn't she? It's her fault."

"No, it's not." Amy argued. "And he doesn't have to apologize."

"That's good, because he never will. And now he's left you with me. Spooky old, not to be trusted me." The Dream Lord moved to follow her as she stood, wearing an open bath robe. "Anything could happen."

"Who are you, and what do you want? The Doctor knows you, but he's not telling me who you are. And he always does. Takes him a while sometimes, but he tells me. So you're something different." Amy challenged.

"Oh, is that who you think you are? The one he trust?" The Dream Lord seemed to scoff.

"Actually, yes."

"The only girl in the universe to whom the Doctor tells everything?"

"Yes." Amy pressed.

"So what's his name?"

Amy stopped, realizing that she had no idea on that and the Dream Lord knew.

"Alex knows. She's always known. Doesn't that just make you tick?" He smirked, seeing the uncomfortable look on Amy's face at mentioning the other woman. "Strong, tough Alex. You didn't stand a chance against that. Weird though, isn't it? With her being so gruff. What does the Doctor see in her, I wonder? And you do too. It's why you kissed him despite knowing her had her."

Amy swallowed thickly, glancing up at the stairs Alex had left through before the Dream Lord popped up by the unconscious Doctor and Rory.

"Now, which one of these men would you really choose? Look at them. You ran away with a handsome hero. Would you really give him up for a bumbling country doctor who thinks the only thing he needs to be interesting is a ponytail?"

"Stop it." Amy snapped defensively.

"But maybe it's better than loving and losing the Doctor. Pick a world, and this nightmare will all be over. They'll listen to you. It's _you_ they're waiting for. Amy's men. Amy's choice."

He vanished again, leaving Amy on her own and she knelt down to adjust the blankets on the Doctor and Rory, worrying about what choice she was going to make.

* * *

Fists flew as the duo fought tooth and nail, ducking and dodging and weaving under the onslaught of each other's throws. Bruises formed easily with the anger adding power behind each punch and kick and throw. Blood already dripped from one nose and a tooth had also been chipped; fractured knuckles not even being noticed in the fray.

"What's wrong, Alex?" Dream Alex questioned, spitting a dab of blood off to the side as they both paused, panting heavily. "Tired already?"

Alex smeared the blood under her nose, glaring heatedly at the apparition. "No, I'm _angry_."

She swung a fist around as Dream Alex ducked underneath it and landed a solid hit to Alex's ribs; knocking the air out of her for a moment.

"That's the problem with being angry. You make mistakes." Dream Alex commented, bouncing on her toes once more as she looked for an opening on the recovering woman across from her. "How many mistakes did you make while absorbed in your emotions, hm?"

"Shut _up_." Alex snarled, charging in again and desperately trying to ignore the pounding in her head and the pain of the memories being dragged up in this mess.

* * *

"How did I get up here?" Amy asked, waking up in the nursery in Rory's lap.

"I carried you." Rory replied, before growing sheepish. "I'm afraid you may experience some bruising."

"Where's the Doctor?"

"I don't know." He answered her, a bit depressed that _he_ was the first thing she wanted to know about, but determined. "But I want to do something for you."

He moved over and grabbed a pair of scissors, reaching back and cutting off his ponytail. Amy was stunned, but couldn't help saying what she did.

"I was starting to like it."

Rory gaped in disbelief, before the window opened and they both turned to it with a gasp, only for the Doctor to climb in.

"Sorry. Had to stop off at the butchers." He said, making no sense to the couple at all as he flopped onto the floor, panting.

"What are we going to do?" Rory asked him.

"I don't know. I thought the freezing Tardis was real, but now I'm not so sure."

"Oh." Amy gasped, hugging her stomach. "I think the baby's starting."

"Honestly?" Rory argued and she snapped at him.

"Would I make it up at a time like this?!"

"Well, you do have a history of…" Rory paused, seeing the look she was sending him and deciding that it might be better to change how he was going to end that sentence. "…being very lovely. Why are they so desperate to kill us?" He asked the Doctor, adding a distraction.

"They're scared. Fear generates savagery." The Doctor replied, brows furrowing. "Alex mentioned something earlier though. Mentally." He explained, waving a hand at his head. "'Dreams can be manipulated'…"

"What does that mean?" Amy asked.

"It's a hint." Rory said, looking hopeful. "Right?"

The Doctor hummed. "I hope so."

Something broke through the window then and Rory got up, only to be hit by Mrs. Poggit's green gas.

"Rory!"

The Doctor shoved the elder woman away from the window as Amy grabbed onto the pained Rory. Already though, he was starting to turn to dust.

"No. I'm not ready."

"Stay." Amy demanded, but Rory knew it was over.

"Look after our baby."

"No… No, come back." Amy breathed out as the Doctor's eyes teared up and she turned to him. "Save him. You save everyone. You always do. It's what you do."

"Not always. I'm sorry." The Doctor croaked out, wishing Alex was there to help.

"Then what is the point of you?" Amy snapped, touching the dust before standing. "This is the dream. Definitely this one. Now, if we die here, we wake up, yeah?"

"Unless we die." The Doctor murmured.

"Either way, this is my only chance of seeing him again. This is the dream." She declared.

"How do you know?" He asked cautiously.

"Because if this is real life, I don't want it." She cried. "I don't want it."

She stormed out with the Doctor on her heels, seeing that none of the elders had suddenly stopped attacking.

"Why aren't they attacking?!" She shouted at the Doctor.

"Either because this is just a dream or because they know what we're about to do." He said and Amy stopped, holding out her hand for the van key. "Be very sure. This could be the real world."

"It can't be. Rory isn't here. I didn't know. I d-didn't… I honestly didn't, till right now. I just want him." She said, barely holding back tears.

The Doctor handed her the keys, holding her hand. "Okay… Okay."

"What about you?" She asked then, making the Doctor pause.

"Me?"

"Alex isn't here." She said, looking down at the ground briefly. "Why aren't you worried about her?"

The Doctor stiffened, swallowing the lump that appeared in his throat when Alex was brought up, because he _was_ worried about her. When he woke up in the butcher's freezer without her, he'd nearly lost it until he remembered what had happened in the Tardis. Finding that Amy and Rory were both awake but still no Alex worried him further. He didn't know what was going on with her and the Dream Lord or that other woman. So yes, he was worried. Terribly so, but she had trusted him enough to leave him to deal with this on his own. He had to trust that she could help herself as well.

"I am." He murmured softly, reaching up and clenching the ring he had on around his neck. "I am _so_ worried, but she chose to stay in the other dream to help. She _demanded_ that they take her from here and…" He stopped, what he was saying echoing in his ears along with Alex's words.

"_Dreams can be manipulated."_

"They took her from here…" He murmured, looking at Amy. "Amy, this is the dream."

She looked surprised that he came to that conclusion, but didn't have a response and simply nodded as they ran to their sides of the car. The Doctor smirked down at the Dream Lord as the shorter man scowled and they climbed into the car.

"I love Rory, and I never told him." Amy said then, looking at the Doctor, heartbroken. "And now he's gone."

She started up the van and ran it through the gate to her home, slamming it into the house as everything stopped.

* * *

Alex panted heavily, unable to feel the frozen cold that was overtaking the entire Tardis with the exertion she'd gone through fighting Dream Alex. Said other Alex was in just as bad shape as the original. Both now sported bloody noses that had stopped bleeding with the chilly air passing through the room, and Dream Alex had an eye swollen shut from a well-placed hit. They were both thoroughly exhausted, barely able to put any force behind their hits as they continued on with their anger-infused fisticuffs.

"Y-You killed Tyler." Alex snapped.

"He wasn't real."

"I don't care… You gave me a child and then… you took him away." Alex landed a hit on the other woman's chin, hardly brushing her torn up knuckles over the woman's jaw.

"Yeah, well… you should just tell… the Doctor you want a kid still… moron."

"Then he'd… end up dying for real." Alex breathed out, stopping with an arm wrapped around her bruised ribs. "I couldn't put him… through that."

Dream Alex growled, storming forward and hitting Alex hard in the shoulder. "You _idiot_!... Worry about yourself!... You can't put _him_ through that?! What… about… _you_?!"

Dream Alex sank to her knees, as Alex stumbled back and fell to the ground; lying spread eagle on the floor.

"I-It's… my job… to worry about him." Alex breathed out, sweat sliding down her face and onto the frost covering the ground. "I'm his w-wife… He can worry about m-me all he wants."

"Y-You're… an idiot."

Alex chuckled. "M-Maybe."

Dream Alex rolled her eyes and pushed herself up, image shifting as she lost all of her injuries and went over to Alex, holding out a hand. "Come on, moron. You win. On your feet."

Alex took her hand and was pulled up, grimacing as a shiver went up her spine and rattled her injuries. "L-Lucky you… Get to fix yourself up."

"Yeah, I know. You look like a train wreck."

Alex glared half-heartedly at the woman, who handed her her glasses and nodded to the door. "Go on. Your nerd is waiting for you."

Alex's lip twitched up in a small smirk as she slowly stumbled her way to the door. "He's your nerd too."

* * *

I made it to the console room just as the lights were turned on and the Dream Lord vanished. My body ached terribly, but I pushed myself forward to the console and sagged on a lever the Doctor had been about to pull; starting the Tardis up.

"Alex!" He called out, moving over to me and reaching out a chilly hand to brush lightly against a dark bruise forming on my cheek. "Alexander, what happened?"

"S-Stress relief… with a friend." I replied, gritting my teeth and doubling over slightly in pain; causing the Doctor to rush me to the jump-seat.

"Where's your shoes?" He questioned then and I looked down in confusion, having forgotten I'd removed them.

"Oh… the gym… I think I left them in the Tardis gym."

I looked up and locked eyes with him and he immediately pulled me into a kiss, clinging to me desperately as I brought my hands up to cup his face. We enjoyed the moment for as long as we could, but his hand hit a tender spot on my side and I flinched, causing him to end the kiss.

"Sorry." He murmured, pressing his forehead to mine and closing his eyes tightly. "I was so worried."

So was I… but I knew you would figure it out." I replied, wincing when his thumb brushed against another bruise. "You _have_ figured it out, right?"

He chuckled. "Oh, yes."

He released me and hurried over to the console, getting to work as Amy noticed.

"What are we doing now?"

"Me? I'm going to blow up the Tardis." The Doctor replied, making her and Rory look at him in shock.

"What?!"

"Notice how helpful the Dream Lord was? Okay, there was misinformation, red herrings, malice, and I could have done without the limerick. But he was always very keen to make us choose between dream and reality." The Doctor rattled on, chuckling when the emergency lights came on and the Tardis shook.

"What are you doing?!"

"Doctor, the Dream Lord conceded. This isn't a dream!" The couple argued.

"Yes, it is!"

"Stop him! Alex, stop him!" Amy demanded and I raised a brow at her, silently questioning what she wanted me to do in my current condition.

"Star burning cold? Do me a favor." The Doctor scoffed, easily pushing Rory off him as he continued. "It's like Alex said, remember? Dreams can be manipulated. The Dream Lord has no power over the real world. He was offering us a choice between two dreams."

"How do you know?!" Amy asked.

"Because I know who he is, and because Alex would _never_ risk so much and let me make the wrong choice."

* * *

The Doctor leaned up against the console, looking over the specks in his palm, speaking up only when Amy and Rory entered the room.

"Any questions?"

"Um, what's that?" Amy asked the obvious as Rory scoffed.

"A speck of psychic pollen from the candle meadows of Karass don Slava. Must have been hanging around for ages. Fell in the time rotor, heated up and induced a dream state for all of us." The Doctor replied, bounding down the stairs and to the doors, releasing the pollen into space.

"So that was the Dream Lord and that other woman then? Those little specks?" Rory asked.

"No, no. _No_. Sorry, wasn't it obvious? The Dream Lord was me. Psychic pollen. It's a mind parasite. It feeds on everything dark in you, gives it a voice, turns it against you... I'm nine hundred and seven. It had a lot to go on." The Doctor corrected him as Amy frowned.

"But why didn't it feed on us too?"

"The darkness in you pair, it would've starved to death in an instant. I choose my friends with great care. Otherwise, I'm stuck with my own company, and you know how that works out."

"And the woman?" Rory asked. "If she's not one of us, then who—"

"Alex." The Doctor muttered, smiling bitterly. "She's getting on in years too. She's seen a lot of things, carried a lot of burdens… The dark she has is probably as black as mine."

"But those things they said about you two." Amy added, concerned. "You don't think any of that's true. Alex told me it was, but you really don't believe that, do you?"

The Doctor didn't say a word for a moment, glancing up at the hall doors that Alex had yet to emerge from, before distracting the Pond.

"Amy, right now a question is about to occur to Rory. And seeing as the answer is about to change his life, I think you should give him your full attention."

"Yeah. Actually, yeah." Rory nodded, a little surprised and the Doctor hummed.

"There it is."

"Because what I don't get is, you blew up the Tardis, that stopped that dream, but what stopped the Leadworth dream?"

"We crashed the camper van." Amy said slowly and the Doctor—seeing they were fully distracted with each other—snuck to the other side of the console and upstairs.

He moved through the hall and soon ended up at Alex's room, not bothering to knock as he walked in and closed the door behind him. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, back facing him and he went over and sat beside her as she stared down at a photo of her, him, Jenny and Lukas at their wedding. The Doctor felt unease grow in him as he mentally nudged her and shifted closer; though he was glad none of the injuries he'd seen in the dream were real.

"You okay?"

"No." She said bluntly, slowly putting the photo back and removing her glasses to place them on the nightstand.

She rolled back onto the bed, but the Doctor kicked off his shoes and climbed after her; pulling her back to his chest as he nestled his nose against her neck.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked her, feeling her fidget slightly, though her voice didn't betray her nervousness.

"I… don't know."

"Hm." He hummed. "How about you start, and if you feel uncomfortable, you can stop."

"…I'm angry."

The Doctor snuggled closer, just listening.

"They… waved everyone's deaths, their leaving, in front of my face. Like it was my fault. I told them it wasn't. I did everything I could to help. Really, I did. So why… why does it feel like I still lost to them?" She asked, rolling over to face the Doctor with tears in her eyes. "E-Even Tyler. I-I-I couldn't even save my son. Oh, my baby. My baby boy."

She clung to his chest, sobbing as the Doctor held her close as her cries tugged at his own hearts. Tyler may have been a dream—a figment of their own imaginations—but he had still been their son, and the pain of his death was very, _very_ real. For Alex, and for the Doctor, this adventure had hit far too close to home and they only had each other to mend their battered hearts.

"Oh, Alexander." He murmured into her ear. "I'm so sorry."

She shook her head against his chest, clenching her hands tighter around his shirt. "I just… I-I hadn't thought about it in so long." She said quietly. "And then he was there. _Our son._ I knew it wasn't real. I-I knew it was just a dream, but… for a moment… just for a moment, I wanted to believe it was true."

"I know." He whispered, kissing her temple. "I know."

He couldn't imagine how hard it must have been for her, with her mind and foreknowledge yelling at her that it wasn't real, but her hearts pleading for it to be true.

"I'm sorry." She said softly, burying her head into his chest. "I'm sorry I can't give that to you. That I… I'm afraid to give you…"

"No." He said, pulling her back a bit to see how worried and serious he was. "No, Alexander. Don't say that. It's okay. I understand. It would be dangerous. He could get hurt or…" He stopped, not wanting to remind her too much of what had happened to Tyler. "No. It's okay. I understand better than anyone how hard it would be to lose a child and…" He smiled bitterly. "It's not fun. Especially the fourth time around."

His own hearts ached as he remembered his previous children, his grandchildren, Jenny, and now Tyler being taken from him. Alex kissed his jaw lightly, drawing him from those dark thoughts as she apologized once more.

"I'm sorry."

"Stop." He sighed softly, cupping her face with tears in his own eyes. "Please. Don't apologize to me, Alexander, when you're hurting just as much."

She slowly nodded, tucking her head under his with her nose pressed up against the crook of his neck as the two Time Lords held each other in silent mourning for not only their lost son who never truly existed, but for all of those they'd lost. And when the night was over, they would move on. Because a night is long enough to dwell in sorrows when there's so many they saved. And are going to save.


	102. The Daemons (3rd Doc)

**Gah, i'm late. i know sorry. i've had a horrid couple of weeks. i wasn't feeling well and then had a professor basically tell me liking a job wasn't a good enough reason to want to do it, so i should find something else to do with my life, and homework as well as writing piled up. but i'm good now, i think. it's still a bit rough trying to write, work, and get through homework and college, but i'm working hard for you all! **

**i hope you enjoy this chapter. it _is _with the Third Doctor, and i skipped a bunch of dialogue to get this chapter out to you without it insetting too dull, so if you haven't watched the episode, i suggest you do, in case things get complicated (link's on my profile). but let me know what you think! i love hearing from you and i know a good number of you will be thrilled at the next chapter i'm doing ^^ **

**i finally have the motivation to do it, after arguing with myself that it would be impossible with alex. but i've figured it out, so look forward to that. feel free to guess what episode it is based on the last few sentences of this one. i may or may not tell you if you're right though ;) and i'll do my best to get this next chapter out in two weeks (ie. on time, this time... hopefully).**

* * *

I stayed with Eleven for a few days after that, giving me the chance to readjust to everything after the mess with the Dream Lord. The Doctor and I talked things over, which helped, and he continued to try and be subtle about his worry for me. Hand holding became the norm and he'd grown fond of nuzzling, for whatever reason. It was sweet, but at the same time, this body could only handle so much before it started to get annoyed with his clinging. Popping off while asleep didn't please me, but then again, it was an almost nice break away from the Doctor's excessive cuddling.

I'd ended up outside again, lying flat on my back and staring up at the sky with a soft sigh as a breeze brushed through my hair. I wasn't wearing my glasses, but the Tardis had started to leave extras in my coats, so once I sat up, I slipped on another pair. I was in a town of some sort, with a large building behind me. Figuring that I should probably get up and discover where I was and what Doctor I was with, I stood and brushed my pants off, just as I spotted a bright yellow car driving itself out in front of the building. I blinked, intrigued by the self-driving car and snuck in the back door of the building to find out what curious happenings were going on. It was a garage, apparently and the Third Doctor stood with a woman as he scolded the car and sent it away; a soldier coming up beside them as well.

"I know there's a good explanation for all this, but I just can't think of it for the moment." The soldier replied and I snorted, giving away my position as I came out from behind some parts.

"He's showing off, that's what."

"Alex, pleasure to see you." The Doctor hummed as I looked at him up and down; something clicking in my head.

"Now, that's curious, because when I bump into you later on you didn't recognize me…" I paused, thinking further with my brows furrowed. "Then again, I was going by a different name and wasn't in this body either. Hm, am I wrong? You look younger but… you haven't run into any dinosaurs lately, have you?"

He gave me an odd look. "Not as of late, no. Dinosaurs, you say?"

"Perhaps." I mused, knowing I'd spoiled something now, and instead turned my attention to the soldier with a frown. "You look familiar."

He blinked, surprised. "I do?"

"That's Captain Mike Yates, Alex." The Doctor replied and my frown deepened.

"I don't like him."

"E-Excuse me?!"

"I don't like _Mikes_." I continued, moving away from him. "Snakes in the grass. The lot of them."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Don't mind her. You'll find there are a number of things she dislikes."

"Mustaches." I added on, making them look at me in confusion. "Hate mustaches. Make you look older no matter what you do. You get food stuck on them and they serve no purpose other than to hide your upper lip."

"There. You see?" The Doctor gestured to me. "You'd be more hard-pressed to find what she _likes_."

"This one." I said, turning back to them with my elbow propped up on the Doctor's companion's head. "I like this one. She's nice."

The Doctor sighed, pulling the stupefied woman away from me. "She's yet to say a word since you've arrived. You can't just declare you like her based off nothing but her silence."

"Why not?" I argued. "She's quiet. What's not to like about quiet?"

"Now hold on!" The woman cut in. "Aren't we getting a bit off topic?"

"What? You mean the car?" I questioned. "That's boring."

"What do you think, Mike?" The Doctor asked and the man shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Would you believe magic?"

"Magic?" He questioned and the Doctor hummed. "No!"

"Well, Jo would."

"That's not fair!" Jo rounded on him as I caught up with the fact that I hadn't recognized the woman I'd met in the future.

_Then again, she didn't recognize me either, so I guess we're even._

"Well, you explain it then." The Doctor challenged her and she shuffled a bit uncomfortably.

"I don't know. I suppose you did it."

"Naturally." He smirked. "Or should I say scientifically. Solenoid and a solar mechanism in Bessie and…" He slipped his hand into the light blue lab coat he was wearing and pulled out a small controller. "…a radio control unit here. You see how easy it is to be a magician?"

"How infuriating can you get?" Jo complained. "Well, it doesn't prove anything."

"Would you like me to show you some more then?"

"No thanks. I've had enough of your knavish tricks." Jo chuckled, making me smile a bit.

"He's the same in the future. Met witches and he had to go about proving there was nothing 'magical' about them at all."

"Witches?" She questioned and I hummed.

"Aliens, really. Used power to keep them looking young, but could drop the image into that of an old, gnarled witch-like human. Used words wrapped into poetry to 'curse' people as it were." I nodded to the Doctor. "_He_ said it was similar to how we use maths and science to split the atom. Same concept, different power. Bit boring, but the Doctor enjoys being able to show off to his semi-clueless companions, even now, it seems."

"Hm, guilty." He said, agreeing.

"Anyway, I want to see that TV program." Jo said, making me tilt my head in confusion as she checked Mike's wrist watch. "Mike, would you give me a lift?"

"Sure."

"Thanks."

"You coming, Doctor? Alex?"

"Coming where?"

"To see some program." I answered the Doctor.

"Oh, not you too, Captain Yates." The Doctor groaned and I frowned at being left out of the loop as to whatever this program was.

"Oh, I wouldn't miss it for the world. Very exciting. Forecasts of doom and disaster if anyone disturbs the burial chamber."

My eyes widened at that, excitement growing in me for the first time in this body. "Burial chamber?"

"You as well, Alex? You both astound me." The Doctor sighed as he removed his coat and Yates hummed.

"Well, you never know. Devil's End has a funny reputation."

The Doctor suddenly grew serious, though I didn't notice, more excited about the prospect of a burial chamber than anything.

"What did you say?"

"Devil's end. The village near the dig."

"Devil's End? Devil's End?" He muttered to himself, a finger on his mouth, which worried Mike.

"Doctor, are you alright?"

"Yes. Yes, I'm fine. Alex?"

I turned to him, practically smothering him in my mental excitement and he chuckled.

"Yes, yes. Come on." He said, hanging up his lab coat and pulling his usual one from off the hook as I bounded to the yellow car out front with him.

"Now where are you going?" Mike called out.

"To see that TV program, of course. Can't help it if Alex is this excited." He said, gesturing to me as I jumped over the passenger door and planted myself in the seat of the car eagerly.

He got in and started her up, driving us along after Mike, before turning to me.

"What's got you all riled up then?"

"A burial chamber? What isn't exciting about a burial chamber?" I rattled off, wishing the car would go faster.

"A fascination of death? You are _quite_ odd, my dear."

I turned to him with furrowed brows. "I didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"My occupation before I ended up with you."

He glanced at me with a look that I was unsure about; a mix between curious and suspicious. "You very rarely discuss your past. It typically has to do with my future selves, though I know even less about the you without 'the Doctor', as it were."

I went quiet for a moment, understanding why I would keep things to myself, but also wondering why I did. This was the Doctor. A younger Doctor, sure, but the Doctor nonetheless. He would understand and probably even sympathize, if not get a little angry that I'd left everything for him.

"…Apologies." I muttered. "It is not something I like to dwell on and we _are_ typically in the middle of a dangerous situation when I pop up. Discussing my family and my past is something I avoid as—" I cut myself off from saying 'as much as you do', because the Doctor hadn't gone through that yet; the pains of the Time War. "Never mind. I simply tend to try and forget it. I have no way of getting back to that life and I would never take it if I did. I have a life here now, so I try to focus on that."

"I see." He said softly and I sighed, tipping my head back to rest against the seat.

"There was nothing wrong with it. It was peaceful enough despite my large family. Things were just… mundane. I loved them, but I had come to care for someone here and he needed my help. I wasn't about to leave him." I mused, feeling his eyes on me as we drive up to a building. "And I was a forensic anthropologist. I looked at the bones of people to determine legal significance, though I did dabble a bit in bioarchaeology, which was similar except that was old bones without the legal mess. I was working in a museum when I chose to return here, so I suppose you're right. I have a fascination with death. Bones, graves, burial chambers, tombs, you name it. You'd be surprised what you can tell from a nicely preserved corpse."

"Hm, I suppose it could have its merits, though I question how the person you care about deals with you." He mused, making me chuckle as we got out and headed inside.

"Oh, trust me. He questions it too."

* * *

The Doctor didn't like this, not at all. He could tell Alex had similar feelings on the matter of the dig now that they'd watched the beginnings of the program, but he wasn't sure she knew of the disasters that this could cause. He was frustrated that he couldn't quite figure out _why_ he felt unnerved, but he knew something needed to be done and he grabbed Alex's hand as he went to leave; calling Jo.

"Come on, Jo."

"Where to?"

"Devil's End, of course. That woman is perfectly right." He said, speaking of the woman trying to stop the dig on the television. "We've got to stop that lunatic before it's too late."

"What do you mean?" Jo argued as they got into the car.

"Something's wrong." Alex spoke up, catching her attention as the Doctor listened in curiously; wanting to know her thought process. "People give things names like 'Devil's End' to deter them from going there. Typically, there's a reason for it."

"So you think it's something supernatural?" Jo pressed and the Doctor resisted a groan as Alex frowned.

"Not at all. The supernatural is always the last thing to believe." Alex mused as the group reached an intersection and followed the sign down the road. "People have named things like that believing that the area makes people ill, only to discover in the future that there was a chemical rising up from underground that upset the stomachs of people in the area. People are always superstitious of something. Allowing that to push out logic before you even try is ridiculous."

"Oh, you're just like the Doctor." Jo complained.

"Hm." Alex huffed with a small smirk. "Perhaps, though I've seen many things you wouldn't believe, only to discover they're not supernatural, but alien."

Jo's eyes widened in curiosity. "Like what? Werewolves? Vampires?"

"Both. Again, you'd be surprised. I've met supposed Gods and the Devil himself too."

"What?!"

Even the Doctor was shocked by this information, listening intently as they drove on.

"The God was a living, alien sun that devoured human sacrifices and the energy from people's treasured belongings." Alex rattled on, speaking calmly as though discussing the weather. "The Devil, however… He was the one creature I never got an explanation for."

"You don't honestly believe it was actually the Devil." The Doctor scoffed, but was surprised by her response.

"You did." She said seriously, causing him to look at her in stunned silence. "For a moment, anyway. A vain attempt to explain the unexplainable." She shook her head then. "Nothing important. A small lapse in judgement, is all. For the both of us. However, are you certain we're going the right way? It's getting dark and we've yet to see anything more than that first sign we passed."

The Doctor frowned, knowing that she had a point and slightly bothered by her previous words about the Devil. He continued to drive on for a bit longer though, passing a map to Jo even, before he finally pulled over in defeat.

"It's not good. We're hopelessly lost."

"I can't understand it." Jo complained. "We followed the sign posts alright."

"Well, if we had, we would have been there by now." The Doctor argued and Alex chimed in.

"We've only seen one sign for Devil's End. If there _is_ something wrong with it, it wouldn't be impossible for someone to have found out and tried to stop us."

"But who?" Jo questioned. "It's only been us and Mike and the soldiers. They couldn't have beat us to the sign."

Alex pushed of her glasses with a small frown. "I was just giving you a possible explanation. I doubt the wind did it."

"Either way…" The Doctor reached over and turned the map Jo was holding. "…if you look at the map the right way up, we might eventually get there. Now, which way is it?"

"Um, that way."

"Thank you very much."

The group drove on, the Doctor getting more frustrated as more time went by, before Alex sighed.

"Pull over."

"What?"

She leaned forward from the back seat and thrust an arm out past him, pointing at an upcoming building. "There's a pub. Pull over and get directions."

"We don't need directions. We've got a map." He argued.

"Yeah, one that hasn't helped us up until now. Come on. I could do with a pint myself."

He frowned, but willingly pulled into the lot for the pub. "Very well, but no drinking. I have the feeling me _both_ need to be sober for this."

The trio was quick to head to the bar, where the bartender tried to shoo them off.

"Sorry, sir. It's well past time."

"That's quite alright." The Doctor said, though Alex pouted. "We don't want a drink, just the directions to the Devil's Hump."

"Where the dig is." Jo confirmed.

"Ah, you're going up there, are you? It's all on the telly, you know."

"Nothing like seeing the real thing, though." Alex piped in. "Love a good tomb."

The bartender gave her an odd look, but the Doctor tried to steer his attention back to the matter at hand.

"Yes, yes. I know, but would you please tell us the way? This is very urgent."

"Always in such a hurry, you towns folk. All be the same in a hundred years' time, sir."

"I can assure you, sir, it will be no such thing."

"You one of these television chaps then?" Another man asked us, having overheard our conversation.

"No. I am no sort of chap, sir."

"Well, forgive me, but I thought…" He gave the Doctor a once over. "Well, the costume and the wig, you know?"

"Wig?" The Doctor gaped, offended, though Alex snorted in amusement.

"Now, Doctor." Jo chided the man, before giving Alex a small frown. "Alex, you too."

"Me?"

"What do you want to go up the Hump for anyway?" A third man questioned, interrupting.

"Look, there is no time for all these unnecessary questions." The Doctor urged.

"All the time in the world, sir." Someone quipped, and the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"I want to go up to the Devil's Hump because I want to stop that lunatic Professor of yours from bringing devastation upon you all."

"Huh. One of Miss Hawthorne's brigade!"

"Is nobody here capable of answering a perfectly simple inquiry? What's the matter with you all?"

"Oh, here we go." Alex grumbled, beginning to get annoyed herself.

"You're making all the fuss, old man."

"Fuss? I've never heard such balderdash in all—"

"Alright!" Alex chimed in, clapping her hands and getting the attention of those in the vicinity. "Now then, I've got a tenner for the first person to silently raise their hand to give us directions to Devil's Hump, no questions asked. Takers?"

Half a dozen hands shot up and she lazily lifted a finger and pointed at one, pulling out the money.

"You, in the hat. Go."

The young man nodded hastily. "Right, see you go straight past the green outside, fork left, go up the rise and you can't miss it."

"Good man." She bobbed her head, handing him the money as the others groaned and went about their previous business, and she turned to the Doctor. "Just need the right kind of motivation."

He huffed and stomped back out the door as Alex rolled her eyes and trailed after him; Jo coming up beside her.

"Not even a 'thank you'." She grumbled. "How do you deal with him?"

"Well, he's prideful, for one thing." Alex mused. "Gets a bit touchy if you show him up. He'd rather do it himself and show off. You'll find though, that he _is_ thankful in most instances. He simply doesn't express it well. The few times he says it verbally are typically when he hadn't thought of that solution, or it was something amazing that you'd done. Cherish the moments he expresses himself, Jo. They're rare, but quite brilliant."

"Stop dilly-dallying!" The Doctor chimed back to them. "We're in a hurry, if you didn't remember!"

Alex rolled her eyes. "Very rare."

Jo chuckled and they once again climbed back into the car to go. They were soon stopped by a tree falling into the road and Alex frowned.

"I don't like this." She murmured as they got out and approached the fallen wood. "Trees falling out of nowhere?"

"Certainly seems like quite the coincidence." The Doctor grumbled, grabbing Jo's hand and tugging her along. "We're just wasting time. Come on. If we run, we'll just make it."

The chiming of the church made them pick up their pace; the Doctor shouting for someone to stop the dig. He and Alex were a bit lighter on their feet as they rushed into the entrance for the dig site, but the Doctor was the first to reach the man just as he tugged on the stone.

"Stop! Don't pull that stone! Don't!"

It was too late though. The stone fell, releasing a powerful and freezing cold wind. Jo and Alex pressed forward to try and reach the Doctor, but he was unconscious. Alex grabbed him under the arms and started to try and pull him out, but Jo yelled and the roof caved in; knocking Alex unconscious before she could escape.

* * *

I groaned, hearing voices around me as hands clutched at my coat.

"Alex! Alex! Oh, please, wake up!"

"Stop shouting." I grumbled, bringing a hand to my head and cringing, feeling a sharp pain. "God, what hit me?"

"Oh, thank goodness you're alright!" Jo cried out, clinging to me as I forced myself to sit up carefully; vision swirling.

"Careful." I muttered, attempting to comfort the woman as I shook off the pain in my head. "Jo, where's the Doctor? Is he alright?"

"Oh, Alex! Alex, I don't know!"

The pain in my head seemed to vanish instantly at those words, and I started to push myself up onto my feet.

"Where is he? Jo, where's the Doctor?"

I swayed a bit, grimacing when the pain returned and Jo tried to hold me upright.

"He's over here. W-We managed to get him out of there, but h-he… Alex, we can't find a pulse."

My hearts skipped a beat as she led me over to where he was laid out and I went to my knees, searching myself for a pulse and felling my throat constrict when I found none.

"Have you asked for a doctor?"

She nodded hastily. "Yes. They're bringing the car now. I wanted to make sure you were alright. Take you with us. You seem to know him better than anyone. Is he going to be okay?"

I looked the Doctor over, worried beyond belief, but trying to find something that I could tell Jo that might help; that might bring her—and myself—some hope.

"He's a Time Lord, so he might be alright, but I don't have the slightest idea what happened to him. He seems to have been frozen or something similar, but without knowing the temperature of whatever caused this and for how long he was exposed to it, I can't be certain. It couldn't have been more than a few seconds, but if it was cold enough…" I shook my head, immediately bringing a hand up and grimacing at the pain. "No, sorry. My head's a bit…"

"No, it's alright! You need to get looked at too." Jo said, lightly pressing a handkerchief to a gash in my forehead. "I just… I was hoping there was something we could do."

I looked at her through my cracked lenses as I lightly tugged her hand away from my head. "There is _always_ something we can do for the Doctor. Even in this state."

She nodded, looking a little hopeful at those words as I shrugged myself out of my coat and laid it on the Doctor.

"We can start by trying to warm him up a tad. My coat's capable of regulating its temperature, so that should be a good start."

The sound of a motor drifted closer and I stood slowly, with Jo's help.

"Best get him to a doctor though. A simple coat isn't going to save him."

We were soon back at the bar, of all places, where a doctor looked _our_ Doctor over as well as me. Other than the gash and a bad headache, I was lucky enough to have avoided a concussion, but the state of the Doctor was more concerning.

"Too late, I'm afraid. He's gone. Just like the professor."

"No. No, he can't be dead!" Jo exclaimed and I placed a hand on her shoulder, but she continued. "Oh, please! You must do something!"

"I can't work miracles, you know. He's very nearly a solid block of ice."

Jo turned to cry into my chest as the doctor looked the man over one last time, only for his eyes to go wide.

"I don't believe it."

"What?" Winstanley, the man from before who'd spoken with us about directions, asked.

"Get some blankets and some hot water bottles!" The doctor called out. "Lots of them!"

"He's alive then!" Jo said in shock, as I let out a sigh of relief myself.

"It's possible, but I think I felt a pulse."

"Oh, then there's a chance?"

"Maybe. He must have to constitution of an ox to be able to survive a reduction in temperature like that."

I couldn't help but smirk a bit.

"He doesn't look all that tough." Winstanley muttered.

"Neither do I, but I could take on the whole bar single-handedly, if I wanted." I quipped, amused when he paled and looked at me in shock.

"Hello…" The doctor murmured.

"What?" Jo asked.

"Silly, really. I swear it sounds as if he's…"

"What?" Winstanley pushed.

"It's quite ridiculous. It must be an echo off an atypical bone structure."

"Sounds as if what?"

"As if he has two hearts." I simplified for him, mischief sparkling in my eyes. "Curious, isn't it? I've often been told the same thing."

A man brought over a thick blanket as Jo released me and asked for a telephone.

"I'm going to let Mike know, if that's alright. He might be worried if he saw us on the tele." She informed me and I nodded.

"Of course. No need to ask me for permission though, Jo. I'm going to try and get him moved to a bedroom upstairs or something."

She nodded, but looked at me with a small smile. "Sorry. I just thought… well, you're rather like him. The Doctor, I mean. If he's like this, you're quite possibly our next best bet."

I blinked, rather surprised. "Well, if you believe so. I suppose I'll have to do my best."

She chuckled, hugging me briefly before heading off to the phone, making me tip my head at her retreating back in confusion. _Strange woman. It's weird for companions to like me immediately like this, though I suppose she might have known me longer than I do at this point in time. Wonder what I did to earn her trust so quickly._

* * *

Jo had been woken up by the sound of a helicopter, springing up from her bed in the other room to go down and meet up with Mike. Alex had sent her to bed hours ago, promising to keep an eye on the Doctor herself, despite Jo's protests. Once they'd caught up with one another, they headed up to the Doctor's room, pausing to find Alex sitting in a chair and dozing at the elder man's bedside. It had been a long night for her, constantly checking the hot water bottles and replacing them with fresh ones. Jo believed her only to have fallen asleep mere moments ago.

"Perhaps we should leave them." She offered, not wanting to wake Alex, though her concern for the Doctor fought against that.

"We can't. If there's something going on here, then we need the Doctor up." Mike said, reaching out to shake the an awake, but a strong hand gripped his wrist, stopping him.

"Leave him." Alex growled, eyes rimmed with dark bags telling of her lack of sleep, but also adding to her menacing glare. "Waking him up before he should could cause more harm than good."

She released his wrist and Mike pulled back with a small frown.

"Shouldn't he be in a hospital at least?"

"What for?" Alex questioned, stretching a bit and cracking her spine with a groan. "You lot don't know the first thing about his biology. Doctor Reeves nearly had a heart attack when he heard the Doctor's second heart."

"Then we'll just have to wait."

Alex perked up then, brows furrowed and just as Jo went to ask what was wrong, a hot wind went through the building, rocking the earth and causing the group to scramble to protect themselves. When it passed, Jo and Mike began to pick themselves up from off the ground, whereas Alex released her death grip on the headboard of the Doctor's bed. The man himself though, sat up, surprising the group.

"Eureka!"

Jo sagged in relief that the Doctor was awake, but Alex smacked the elder man on the shoulder with a scowl.

"You right twat. You really had us worried for a minute there."

The Doctor turned, going to complain about her mistreatment of him after he'd just woken up, but one look at her made him pause. A bandage with the slightest tint of red was taped to her forehead and she looked as though she hadn't slept a wink. Her cracked lenses had yet to be replaced with a more functional pair as well, and with her ruffled appearance, she made for quite the sight. And with how warm the bed still was, he concluded that she had stayed up the entire evening and up until now, taking care of him. Being a Time Lady herself, he assumed she would know the limits one's body could withstand, however it seemed that even still, she had been concerned over his wellbeing. _I'll let it go for now…_

"Apologies." He replied, reaching out and giving her hand a squeeze of comfort briefly and without meaning to. "Though I must admit, it was not something that I had planned on happening. I will do better to take more care in the future."

Alex snorted, surprising him. "That's all I can really ask for, what with you being… _you_."

He quirked a small smile. "Quite so."

* * *

We moved downstairs, myself letting out a loud yawn as Jo pestered the Doctor now that he was up and about.

"Now, you're sure you're alright? Look, you'd better come and sit in this chair over here. Come on."

"Jo. Jo, please stop fussing."

Yates was on her side as well. "She's right, you know better take it gently. You too, Alex."

I glared at the man through my _third_ pair of glasses as the Doctor continued to reassure them.

"Look, I tell you, I am perfectly alright. It was a bit parky up there for a while, I'll admit, but it soon warmed up."

"That wave of heat." Jo concluded.

"Yes; the final confirmation of my theory."

"Theory?" I questioned, earning a wink from the Doctor as Jo looked hopeful.

"You mean you know what caused it?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Tell us then." Yate replied, eagerly.

"No, not just yet. I want to wait until I'm absolutely sure. Right, I'm going back up to the dig."

"I'll come as well." I offered as Jo tried to stop us.

"Doctor, Alex, haven't you two had enough of that place?"

"I didn't even get a good look at it." I argued, pouting a bit at the missed opportunity as the bartender came out and gave the Doctor a surprised look.

"Hello? You better? I thought you'd had it."

"Fortunately no." The Doctor replied, turning back to Mike. "Captain Yates, you'd better wait here, alright?"

He didn't even make it to the door before it was opened and a woman came in with a man half hanging off her shoulder.

"If I drop him, he'll go with a most dreadful wallop!" She gasped out and I grabbed the man from her with Yates.

"He's out on his feet!"

"Get him over to that bench, quickly!" The Doctor demanded.

"Here, what's happened to your boy?" The bartender questioned.

"He's been beaten up. By an expert, I'd say." Yate informed him as we set the man down.

"Oh, you might say that. You might indeed."

"Oh, no."

"Oh dear, he's a very heavy young man."

"I'll get a doctor." The bartender offered, but the Doctor stopped him.

"Yes, it's alright. I am a Doctor." He said, looking the man over as I did the same. "Well, there are no bones broken or anything. Look, could you get me some hot water and some hot sweet tea, perhaps?"

"Yes, sure." The bartender said, hurrying off.

"Thank you very much. And thank you too, Miss Hawthorne."

"You know who I am?"

"You were on the tele." I answered her.

"It's a great pity they didn't listen to you in the first place." The Doctor nodded.

"If only they had. Oh, what a tale I'll have to tell them now." She murmured, starting to tell us of her being locked up and Benton helping her only for them to get attacked under the church.

"It was this fellow, Garvin, who did him over?" Yates questioned, but she shook her head.

"No, no, no. it was the elementals in the cavern."

"**Elementals?"** The Doctor and I both asked.

"Yes. Creatures of the devil."

"Did you say the devil?" Yates gapped as Jo looked at me and I avoided her curious gaze.

"Yes, dear boy. Satan, Lucifer, the Prince of Darkness, Beelzebub, the Horned Beast. Call him what you like, he was there." Miss Hawthorne said frantically.

"What did he look like?" I asked.

"Well, it was a glimpse, no more. Twenty, thirty feet high, but the horns were there, and that face."

I remembered the devil I'd dealt with back with the Tenth Doctor, and shivered at the thought, though this seemed a bit of a stretch. _He'd been trapped on that asteroid for millennia. There's no way he could be here, much less physically, when he could barely get about mentally in the future. No, it can't be the same creature._

"The devil?" Jo repeated, looking at me again as I shook my head subtly.

"Look, Miss Hawthorne, I agreed with you from the first about the danger, but now I think you're utterly mistaken. Whatever else you saw it certainly was not the Devil."

"I'll have to agree." I tacked on.

"But it was! There's a Satanist cult in this village and last night they held a sabbat."

"A sabbat?" Yates questioned and I sighed.

"A secret rendezvous of people who worship the devil and attempt to call him forth. A cult gathering, as it were."

"And it worked! The devil came!" Jo exclaimed.

"Nonsense, Jo." The Doctor chided her. "Miss Hawthorne, who is the leader of this cult?"

"The new vicar. He calls himself Magister."

I groaned. "Oh, not him again."

"Who?" Jo asked, but the Doctor answered for her.

"Magister. Jo, did you fail Latin as well as science? Magister is the Latin word for Master! We need to go. Yates, I suggest you catch up with your superiors."

"On it, sir."

"Right. Alex, Jo, come along. We need to go retrieve Bessie."

* * *

The trio reached the tomb area only to come across the body of a police officer buried under a fence. Alex was the one who looked for a pulse and shook her head when she found none.

"Poor fellow." The Doctor mourned.

"Do you know what killed him?" Jo asked as Alex stood and frowned over at the tomb entrance.

"Well, it certainly wasn't the devil." The Doctor mused. "At least, not exactly."

"What do you mean?"

He didn't answer. "Look, I'm going in. Would either of you prefer to wait outside?"

"Absolutely not." Alex hummed and Jo nodded.

"No. I'd rather stick with you, if I wouldn't be in the way."

Alex raised a brow at the woman, but the Doctor was used to her submissive behavior around him.

"Of course not. I'd be glad of the company. Come on."

Jo passed him a torch and down into the tomb they went.

"What are you looking for?" Jo asked.

"If my theory's right, we're all in mortal danger."

"Everyone in the village?"

"The world, most likely." Alex added. "If there is a thirty-foot creature stomping around, why would it stay in some tiny town like this one?"

The Doctor knelt down though, spotting something in the dirt and brushing it clear.

"What is it?"

"Metal."

"It looks like a model spaceship." Jo said as they looked over the disk and the Doctor stood.

"That's right. Except that isn't a model."

Alex looked up at him with a frown. "It's shrunk?"

He nodded. "Try picking it up."

Jo tried, but ultimately failed. "I can't. It's fixed down."

"The reason why you can't pick it up is that is weighs about seven hundred and fifty tons, at a rough guess."

"Oh, come on. Be serious."

"He is." Alex informed her as the Doctor tried to explain.

"About a hundred thousand years ago—" He was cut off when a loud screech rang through the cavern and a stone gargoyle rushed at them.

He pulled Alex up and back them up against a wall, passing over the torch and pulling out a spade and thrusting it towards the creature as he shouted.

"Clokleda partha mennin klatch!"

The gargoyle backed up fearfully before fleeing as the Doctor let out a sigh of relief.

"How did you do that?" Jo asked.

"Iron. It's an old magical defense."

Alex gave him a look. "Don't believe in magic?"

He smirked. "I don't, but he did. Luckily."

"Was that a spell you said?" Jo asked him then, but Alex, surprisingly enough, shook her head.

"Venusian. The language of Venus, which you apparently happen to frequent, if I've begun recognized it. Half your library is from there or about there."

He nodded, looking proud. "A very interesting planet. Those were the first line of an old Venusian lullaby, as a matter of fact. Roughly translated it goes, 'Close your eyes, my darling. Well, three of them, at least'."

Jo chuckled as she handed him back the torch. "Doctor."

"I must admit, that thing took me completely by surprise."

Alex snorted. "Not enough so that you weren't prepared to attempt to stop it."

"True."

"What was it?" Jo questioned.

"Reanimated stone, is my guess. A minion of sorts." Alex hummed.

"But that wasn't what Miss Hawthorne described, surely."

"No. The creature she saw must have been a hundred times more hideous." The Doctor mused.

"And twenty times as tall." Alex tacked on.

"And neither of them were the devil."

"No, not your mythical devil, Jo. No, but something far more real and far more dangerous."

"Alien, probably." Alex yawned with a stretch as the group headed back upstairs. "I could do with some tea."

The Doctor chuckled. "You always want tea. Well, I suppose we can grab you a cuppa back at the pub. I've got some materials I want to get from Miss Hawthorne."

The group was soon up to their arms in books from Miss Hawthorne's extensive library on the occult. Alex, now settled down with some tea, was going through them at break-neck speed alongside the Doctor in the hopes of uncovering something of importance regarding the ongoings in the town. The others weren't nearly as convinced as her and the Doctor that this wasn't the cause of something supernatural, however.

"There is only one possible explanation. This is the supernatural at work." Miss Hawthorne said confidently.

"You cannot eliminate the other factors so quickly, Miss Hawthorne." Alex muttered, setting a book aside and picking up another. "Only after you've eliminated everything else, will the truth be revealed. Be it supernatural or something else."

"Yes, well, what about that thing that got me?" Benton questioned, in far better shape now that he'd had some rest. "That was real enough."

"There's nothing more real than a forcefield, sergeant. Even a psionic one."

"You two are being deliberately obtuse." Miss Hawthorne accused. "We're dealing with the supernatural, the occult, magic."

"Science." The Doctor argued calmly.

"Magic!"

"Science, Miss Hawthorne." He repeated more sternly.

"Look, whatever it is, how do we stop it?" Yates cut in, not too pleased about the arguing, and seeing that Alex was beginning to bristle as well.

"And how can we stop it without knowing what it is?" Jo added.

"Well done, Jo. You're being logical at last. I'll turn you into a scientist yet. Right, if there are no more interruptions, I'll tell you what it is."

Before he could continue, Yates' communicator went off and he answered it. The Brigadier responded on the other end, speaking of a heat barrier surrounding the town. The Doctor took the comm to ask whether they were able to go over the barrier or not, but was informed that they were trapped in a literal heat bubble; surrounded on all sides and above.

"Have you tried digging under?" Alex offered, but the Doctor waved her off as he hung up on the Brigadier.

"Probably no use. It most likely goes all the way around."

"Just a suggestion."

"I can understand that part of it all right, but can't you explain the wider issues, Doctor?" Yates questioned.

"Yes, alright. Jo, Captain Yates, would you mind drawing the curtains?" He said, moving behind a slide projector, and slipping in a picture once the room was darkened and the group was paying attention. "Now then, tell me. Who's that?"

The image was an old one of a ram-like creature with a sun above its head.

"An Egyptian God, isn't it?" Jo replied.

"Top of the class, Jo, top of the class. That's right, that's the Egyptian god Khnum, with horns. There's another one, a Hindu demon." He said, switching the image as the group began to understand.

"**With horns."**

"Oh… Thank you very much. And our old friend the Horned Beast."

"I don't get it." Yates complained.

"Probably because he's not done yet." Alex grumbled.

"Oh, sorry, Doctor."

Miss Hawthorne though, was a little less patient. "Oh, you could go on all day and all night showing us pretty pictures. I mean, horns have been a symbol of power ever since—"

"—Ever since man began? Exactly. But why? All right, Captain Yates, the curtains… Now creatures like those have been seen over and over again throughout the history of man, and man has turned them into myths, gods or devils, but they're neither. They are, in fact, creatures from another world."

"You mean like the Axons and the Cybermen?" Benton asked and Alex hummed.

"Less plastic and metal and more flesh in bone, but older. Dangerous."

The Doctor nodded. "They're Daemons from the planet Daemos, which is?"

Jo easily picked up on that. "Sixty thousand light years away on the other side of the galaxy."

"And they first came to Earth nearly one hundred thousand years ago."

"In a spaceship fifteen inches long?" Jo questioned.

"It shrank." Alex yawned, refilling her tea and passing the Doctor a cup as well.

"That's right. Mind you, when it landed it was two hundred feet long and thirty feet across. But they diminished it, just as they diminished themselves, which accounts for the heat wave and the freeze-up."

"Hm? Sorry, could you say that again? I didn't quite follow you."

The Doctor sighed, but Alex spoke, used to explaining things for his confused companions.

"In order to change size from something that big to something that small, it requires a lot of energy. That energy has to go somewhere."

Yates understood that. "I see, so all we've got to deal with is something which is either too small to see or thirty feet tall, can incinerate you or freeze you to death, turns stone images into homicidal monsters and looks like the very devil."

"Exactly."

"Well, I still don't get it." Benton complained. "I mean, what's the creature doing here? I mean, why did they ever come?"

"They got bored and like playing Gods to measly human beings." Alex mused as the Doctor added on.

"They've been coming and going ever since. The Greek civilization, the Renaissance, the industrial revolution. They were all inspired by the Daemons."

"But this thing the Professor let loose is evil, you said so yourself and now you're trying to say they've been helping mankind for a hundred thousand years." Miss Hawthorne argued.

Jo agreed. "Yes, and you say they come from another planet. Well then, what's all this jazz about witchcraft and covens and so on?"

"Look, don't you see? All the magical traditions are just remnants of their advanced science, and that is what the Master is using." The Doctor tried to explain and Alex sighed.

"I told you before, Jo. I've known what people would assume were witches, but they were aliens using the power of their science; words."

"Then these creatures are linked with the black arts. They are evil." Miss Hawthorne said, convinced of something foul going on.

"Amoral, perhaps. They help Earth but on their own terms. It's a scientific experiment to them. Just another laboratory rat." The Doctor spat out and Alex scowled, shifting uncomfortably and catching the Doctor's gaze unknowingly.

"Then what's the Master up to?" Yates questioned.

"Typically, when given the option of having a creature thirty feet tall, one would either try to control it to take over the world, or try to appease it to gain some of its power." Alex mused and the Doctor nodded.

"What worries me is the choice. Domination by the Master or total annihilation."

"What? This Daemon could destroy the world?" Jo gapped.

"What does any scientist do with an experiment that fails? He chucks it in the rubbish bin."

"The end of the world…"

The Doctor frowned, but couldn't help but agree. "Now the Daemon will appear three times, and the third time he'll probably tell us what our fate is to be. Now he'll be in the cavern somewhere awaiting the Master's second call."

"Then, if we know where he is, why don't we go and find him?" Benton questioned.

Alex scoffed. "What? And ask the Daemon to go away? They won't exactly listen to things they consider only good enough to be experiments."

"That, and at the moment he's so small he's practically invisible."

"But Doctor—"

"Jo, would you get me a piece of paper and a pencil, please?" The Doctor cut her off and began working as the bartender offered to make food until Jo shooed him off.

Then the Brigadier called in to announce that the was going to blast his way into the town, making Alex sigh as the Doctor managed to come up with a more scientific alternative. When he got up to leave though, Alex waved him off.

"You go ahead. I'm rather hungry, so I'll hold down the fort with Mike."

"You sure?" He pressed.

"Hm. Figure I'll take a nap since _you_ were able to sleep last night, but I wasn't."

The Doctor smiled a little, bowing his head and leaving with Jo on his tail.

"So, Mike." Alex piped up, making the young soldier fidget. "Want to play some cards?"

* * *

I sighed, bored now that I chose to stay behind and having beaten Mike at cards numerous times. I couldn't seem to sleep either. I sat over by the window, though, looking out at the green area where Mike had 'parked' his helicopter and waiting for the Doctor to return. So I hardly expected someone to just rush out across the green towards the chopper.

"Not good." I murmured, getting up and rushing towards the door.

"What's going on?" Mike questioned, standing to follow me out.

"Someone's trying to steal the helicopter!"

I got there first, pulling open the door and dodging the helmet being thrust at me and pulling him from the chopper. Mike went and punched the man, but he didn't even seem to feel it and immediately, I knew what was going on.

"Mike! Keep hold of him!"

"Alright!"

Mike struggled, grabbing at the man and trying to hold him as I crept up behind the two. Mike was hit though, hard enough to knock him out and onto the ground and the man turned towards me. I dodged the first punch and was clipped in the jaw by the second. It was enough to daze me and he grabbed me around the throat, lifting me with almost inhuman strength as he tried to strangle me. Instead of trying to pry his hands off me, however, I reached forward and pressed my fingers to his temples. I grimaced at the feeling of his mind, able to tell immediately that he'd been hypnotized. I was losing consciousness though, making things harder to figure out before I decided to try another option. _If I can't work through the hypnotism, then I'll just have to shut it down. This guy's going to have a hell of a headache later._ I bundled up some strength and let it all out at once, overloading the man's mind and forcing him to lose consciousness and release me. He hit the ground hard, but I hardly cared as I coughed and gasped for air myself; mike finally rousing.

Mike hurried to my side and looked over at where the man was as he helped me to sit upright.

"Are you okay?"

"N-Not… particularly." I choked out with a wince.

"What did you do? Should I tie him up?"

I waved my hand as I was helped to my feet. "No need… He'll be out for a while… probably won't remember anything… He was hypnotized… T-The Master."

I coughed a bit more and he pushed me towards the pub.

"Go inside. Have some tea for your throat."

"F-Fine, but go let the Doctor know." I croaked. "If the Master's trying to stop him already… the next showing of that devil will happen soon."

He nodded, making for the motorbike nearby. "I'll go warn him. Stay in the pub."

"Oh, shut up." I complained. "Don't tell me what to do. I'm seven hundred years your senior."

"What? Really?"

"Oh, just get going!"

* * *

I had managed to rest for a bit once Yates had gone, but awoke to shouting down below and decided to head out to the church. I knew that the Master's little cult group had been in the basement there and—despite Yates' undoubtable protests, should he know what I was planning to do—I snuck out the window and headed out on my own. _That's what I hate about ending up with these younger Doctors. Everyone here is so sexist it's ridiculous. Honestly, a woman can hold her own if she wants. Myself especially. And if they're going to drag their wagons on finding out what the Master's up to, then I'll find out for them. Unlike the noisy Doctor, I can sneak around rather well._

Once outside the church, I searched for an open door or window. My search came to a quick standstill when yet another earthquake and wave of heat threatened to bash my head against the stone wall. I'd managed to remain in one piece, though gave myself a moment to calm my rapidly beating heart should the heat wave have startled the cult group from their little hideout. They must have not been there though—other than the Master, I was sure—so after a moment I continued on my way.

A side door was unlocked and I headed downstairs quietly. I very nearly bumped into our little gargoyle friend from before, but tapped the stone when it didn't move to find it completely stationary.

"Pesky thing." I murmured, before a hand wrapped around my mouth from behind me.

Annoyed at the interruption, I swung my elbow back into the chest of the person and whipped around to knee them in the face, should I not have seen who it was.

"Mike, you annoying pest!" I hissed out as he groaned from my hit. "What are you doing here?"

"_Me_?" He gapped. "Why didn't you stay at the pub?"

"I'm not some weakling. I can think and act for myself perfectly fine. And with the rest of you lot too busy messing with the heat barrier, I thought figuring out what the Master was up to would be smart. You lot are all too noisy anyway."

"You're an idiot. This place is alive with booby traps!"

"You think I don't know that?" I complained, looking around to make sure we hadn't been spotted or overheard yet. "I think I've been in enough wars, alien spaceships, and ancient ruins to know what a possible booby trap looks like, much less, how to avoid them." I gave him an annoyed look. "Again, I am seven hundred years older than you, at least."

He stared at me in open shock. "Y-You weren't joking?"

"Of course not, you imbecile. I'm the same species as the Doctor. Partially, at least. Now shush." I lifted my head and tugged him behind me. "Someone's coming."

We ducked behind a large wheel of some kind as a cloaked figure came into the room. The figure placed down an ornate gold dagger and I resisted a groan.

"Always sacrificing with these lot." I muttered under my breath, though Mike must have taken my scratchy voice for one of fear.

"It's alright. The Doc will be here soon and Benton knows we're here."

"Great. Just what we need. A noisy fool to come and interrupt. He might cause more problems than good, you know."

It didn't take long for the full group of black cloaked men to come in with the Master in his red ceremonial outfit and begin chanting what sounded like nonsense to summon the devil.

"Oh, he's still got that ridiculous mustache." I murmured, being elbowed by Yates, who shushed me as the ceremony began.

As it went on and on, I began to grow bored. Even the chicken he brought out to sacrifice wasn't a surprise to me.

"Oh, not the chicken." I complained, a bit too loudly this time. "What is it with supernatural people and chickens? What did they ever do to you?"

"Cease her! Quickly!" The Master called out, and I didn't bother fighting against the few cloaked men who came over to grab me; though Mike had been smart and hid a little better when they did. "You're too late, my dear!"

"Don't call me dear." I complained as the Master held up his arms.

"Eko, eko, Azal!" He crowed with his followers joining him in his final chant as I was brought to stand beside him.

"**Eko, eko, Azal!"**

The ground shook as a figure rose up and stomped forward, making me glance upwards with a raised brow at the Master cackled.

"Azal! Azal, welcome!"

"That's it?" I questioned, giving the Master a look. "That's your big scary devil? It's just a satyr with a kabuki demon mask for a face. Am I supposed to be scared?"

"You should be!" The Master snarled, before Mike suddenly appeared from his hiding place and pulled me back with him; his gun out. "Bok, stop them!"

The gargoyle headed towards them and Mike was forced to surrender as I rolled my eyes.

"Oh yeah, course. Lightning shooting gargoyle? What's next? Fire-breathing Mr. Tumnus over here going to toast us?" I quipped, for whatever reason, not fearing the half-goat devil as everyone else was.

_Then again, I've met something far more similar to the devil. This thing is hardly spooky._

"Prepare the girl in the ceremonial tabard. She will make a welcome addition to this sabbat." The Master snapped and I snorted as a couple of cloaked men grabbed me again.

"Oh, me? Well, I'd say I'm honored, but if you're trying to force me into some lame sacrificial white dress…" I paused, glaring heatedly at the Master. "…I'll rip off that stupid mustache of yours, make you eat it, and proceed to shove the dress up that gargoyle's—"

"_Fine_!" The Master shouted in complaint. "I'd forgot how annoyingly _insistent_ this regeneration of yours was."

"I'll accept that as a compliment." I hummed, as Yates spoke up behind me.

"What the hell are you doing, Alex?!"

I sighed loudly. "Honestly, haven't you dealt with the Doctor and I long enough to know that we don't really _know_ what we're doing?"

"But you—" He was cut off when he was knocked unconscious and I gave the Master a dull look.

"You know, I almost want to thank you for that."

The Master rolled his eyes. "Take her out of here until it's time."

I was brought out after a few minutes, surprisingly enough and _not_ wearing anything other than what I had been, as the Master gestured out towards me.

"Azal! Accept this offering as a token of our fealty. As my will, so mote it be!"

"**As thy will, so mote it be!"** The coven chanted afterwards.

"Eoh evotay, Azal!"

"**Eoh evotay! Eoh evotay!"**

"Oh, lucky me." I grumbled sarcastically. "Sacrificed to an over-sized Mr. Tumnus. Must be my lucky day."

* * *

Yates, who'd managed to escape the cavern unnoticed in the commotion, rushed out to the green where he spotted the Doctor gathered with Miss Hawthorne, Jo, and Benton.

"Doctor! Doctor!" He cried out, out of breath. "It's Alex!"

"Alex?" The Doctor questioned in concern as Benton got Yates out of his bindings. "I thought she was still in the pub."

"They've got her in the cavern."

"What?"

"That creature's in there. The Master calls him Azal."

"Azal? Of course!" Miss Hawthorne crowed. "Azael, the fallen angel."

The Doctor scowled, demanding the walkie-talkie. "Hello, Brigadier? Are you there?"

"_That you, Doctor? Over._"

"Look, they've got Alex. That machine must come through now. Now do you understand?! Now!" He snapped into the device, making Jo look anxious along with the others at the Doctor's tone.

"_We're on our way, Doctor._"

"Good. And put a watch up on that barrow, will you? Just in case the Daemon's ship reactivates."

"_Will do, Doctor. Over and out._"

The Doctor split up the group of villagers and he hurried to the church with Yates and Jo on his heels, only for them to stop when the gargoyle poked its head up at the gates. One of the men got away and was vaporized by the gargoyle, proving to the Doctor that the group had to wait on the Brigadier. He was their only hope of getting in and saving Alex before it was too late.

* * *

"O mighty Azal, in the name of Atame, I dedicate this offering!" The Master chanted as I sighed, though it seemed that the coven was beginning to feel anxious about sacrificing an actual person.

"No, Magister, it's not right!" The younger man holding me cried out, being ignored.

"To do my will shall be the whole of the law."  
**  
"To do thy will shall be the whole of the law."** The coven repeated, though lacking their previous enthusiasm as they too, began to worry.

"It's not right, I tell you!"

"Obey me!" The Master snapped.

"Ooh, not used to being told no, are you?" I cooed and the Master thrust a finger towards the altar, repeating his orders.

"Obey me."

They did, begrudgingly, shifting to push me onto the table, when Azal let out a groan and held his head.

"Oh dear." I hummed, not at all threatened by what was happening. "Looks like Mr. Tumnus has a headache. Did you screw up your ceremony, Master?"

"Nonsense!" He snapped, before footsteps were heard and the Master and I turned to the Doctor as he ran down the steps. "Ah, Doctor. I've been expecting you. You've saved me a lot of trouble by coming here. I'm most grateful to you."

The Doctor looked at Azal for a moment in shock, before spotting me sitting on the altar and swinging my feet back and forth.

"Hello, Alex. I cannot tell you how glad I am to see you."

"Someone's got to get into trouble while you were busy messing with that barrier. Figured I do it."

"How very touching." The Master drawled. "You realize, of course, you're both doomed."

"Oh, I'm a dead man. I knew that as soon as I came through that door, so you'd better watch out. You see, I've nothing to lose, have I?" The Doctor snapped and the Master scowled.

"Enough! Azal, destroy him!"

Azal didn't though. "Who is this?"

"My enemy and yours, Azal. Destroy him!"

Azal refused. "This is the one we spoke of. He too, is not of this planet."

"Now, hold on." I spoke up, a bit annoyed now. "What is this? Qualifications for a job? If you get to listen to them because they're not of this world, then why am I just an annoying sacrifice? I'm not even from this universe!"

Azal looked at me and I stared heatedly back, before it responded. "That is the smell of another universe?" It questioned. "But there is human scent mixed in."

"Yeah? So, what? I got a little mixed up on the landing. Bit of Time Lord, bit of human and whatnot. Doesn't mean I'm just an ant crawling around at your feet. I want a part of this too."

"_Alex._" The Doctor chided, whereas the Master complained loudly.

"They're both meddlers and fools!"

"They are not fools, yet he has done a foolish thing coming here and her a foolish thing of speaking up against me."

"Says the talking goat-man." I murmured under my breath.

"Why did you come here?" Azal demanded of the Doctor.

"I came to talk to you."

"Talk then."

"Certainly, but first, let Alex go."

I snorted. "I can go whenever I please, Doctor. A couple of kids aren't about to hold me back."

The Doctor sighed heavily. "You… What am I going to do with you?"

"You can start by getting me tea after this mess. My throat is sore."

I saw him frown as he managed to catch sight of the bruising on my neck in the candlelight, but Azal kept him on track.

"You wish to talk?"

He gave me a look that said we'd discuss things later, but faced Azal. "Yes. I want you to leave this planet while you still can."

"You are bold."

"Ah, see, _that's_ where you'd call him foolish." I cut in, but held up my hands I surrender when Azal seemed to glare at me.

"Why not be bold?" The Doctor questioned it. "I've got a machine outside that can annihilate you."

"You lie."

"You've already felt its power."

"It is destroyed." Azal declared as my head swiveled between the two in their verbal tennis match.

"One of them, yes. Not both."

"You lie. There was but one. You have a regard for truth. Why do you lie?"

"To try and make you listen to me." The Doctor said seriously.

"Why should I? I see no consequence of value."

"Then kill him. Kill him now!" The Master shouted.

"Very well."

I stood up though, placing myself between the two as Azal raised his hand against the Doctor.

"You better watch it, Azal. I've faced things far more powerful than you that have tried to harm the Doctor, and have won. You best not try what little patience I have."

The Doctor though, tried for a less threatening approach. "If you kill me now, you will wonder throughout eternity whether you should have listened to my words."

Azal hesitated and the Master scowled.

"Well? You waste time. I order you to kill him, Azal!"

"I command. I do not obey."

"Saw that coming." I muttered.

"But I call you here and you came." The Master said in astonishment.

"I answered your call because the time was come for my awakening. The time has come for the completion of the experiment or its destruction."

"The fulfill your mission by granting the ultimate power to me. Who else is there strong enough to give these humans the leadership they need?"

I sighed heavily, getting a little annoyed with the Master's childish way of thinking. "Don't you ever come up with better plans? It's always smother the world into submission with you. Get a life, really."

He glared at me as the Doctor added on to my teasing.

"I seem to remember somebody else speaking like that. What was the bounder's name? Hitler. Yes, that's right, Adolf Hitler. Or was it Genghis Khan?"

The Master chose that ignoring us would be best.

"Azal, I have the will. You yourself said so."

"I am still not convinced."

"I'm very pleased to hear it." The Doctor chirped as I snorted.

"You wish to see this planet destroyed?" Azal questioned him.

"By no means. You see, I have an alternative."

"State it."

"Leave humanity alone. Just go. You've done enough harm."

"We gave knowledge to man." Azal argued.

"Not all knowledge is good knowledge." I countered and the Doctor hummed in agreement.

"Thanks to you man can now blow up the world and he probably will. He can poison the water and the very air he breathes. He's already started. He can—"

"Enough!" Azal shouted, silencing him. "Is man such a failure then? Shall I destroy him?"

"No!" The Master cut in. "A strong leader can force him to learn."

"You can't force people to learn." I argued. "You can try, but what will stick is only what they want to learn."

"You are right." Azal declared, not addressing who exactly he was speaking to. "I have decided. I shall pass on my power."

"Oh, mighty Azal. I thank you!" The Master thanked.

"But not to you. To him." Azal said, turning to the Doctor, who's eyes widened in fear.

"No! No, I don't want it!"

"You refuse my gift?"

"Of course I do! Don't you understand? I want you to leave. I want you to go away and give man the chance to grow up." The Doctor tried to explain, but I stiffened, not liking where this was going.

"I cannot. My instructions are precise. I bequeath my power or I destroy all."

"Then will you give your power to me?" The Master asked, eager to take it for himself.

"I shall. Time is short."

"You're quite the nitwit for a scientist, aren't you?" I snapped, and the Doctor grabbed my arm to silence me as Azal glared at me and the Master gestured towards us.

"What about them?"

"He is not rational. He is disruptive and her more so."

"You're just mad that no one's shut you up till now, you big stupid goat!" I shouted angrily. "I will _definitely_ pay your stupid planet a visit and beat you all upside the head with that big stick up your a—"

"Enough!" Azal shouted. "You must be eliminated!"

Lightning came out of his hands and struck me, causing me to double over in pain as my body shook, until the Doctor moved before me.

"No! Stop it! leave her be! If you must kill someone, then kill me! Please! Kill me!"

Azal began to writhe in pain as the attack on my body stopped, grabbing at his head. "This action does not relate. There is no data. It does not relate. Go! Leave me, all of you!"

He stumbled about as the Doctor grabbed me and helped tug me out of the building with the rest of the fleeing people.

"Run for it, Brigadier!" The Doctor shouted as we ran away from the church, which soon went up in flames and knocked us all to the ground.

Benton was smart and got a gun aimed at the Master, whereas the Brigadier turned towards us.

"What happened in there, Doctor?"

"Are you alright?" Jo questioned in worry.

"Quite fine, my dear, though Alex may need some tending to."

"I'm fine." I grumbled, brushing dirt off me. "Sore throat, some bruising. Nothing more."

The Doctor wasn't convinced, but turned back to the Brigadier. "Azal couldn't face an act as irrational and as illogical as my being prepared to give up my life for Alex."

"You were willing to sacrifice yourself for Alex?" the Brigadier questioned and I scoffed.

"Thanks for that vote of confidence, Brigadier."

"Right, apologies."

"So what happened?" Yates asked.

"Well, all his power was turned against himself. You might say he blew a fuse."

I winced then, feeling my shoulder heat up in a way I hadn't felt for some time. "Drat."

"What is it, Alex?" The Doctor questioned.

"I believe I'm about to leave. I usually pop off at random lately, but it seems this time will be a tad diff—"

I vanished before I could finish my sentence, and ended up in one of the most unexpected places I've ever landed.

"Wah!"

"My God, do you have to shout?" I cringed, looking up from the heap of scrap metal I had been drop in and frowning in confusion. "Amy?"


	103. The Doctor's Wife

**sorry for the wait! but man, did you guys see the new trailer :O i wish the 15th would come faster. i'm curious as to who the doctor is. but anyway, i hope you all enjoy this and for those who guessed 'The Doctor's Wife' kudos to you !^^**

**ALSO**** i have a big question for you all. i'm stuck on what to do for the next chapter. i want to do something with 12, but all that's left is the superhero christmas special that i didn't care for (not a big fan of superheros, sorry). SO! should i take the time to search through the classic who for another episode _or_ would you all be willing to wait until after the 15th and let me try out the new series for the next chapter? Let me know through PM or a review which you would rather. i'm leaving it up to you on this one :)**

* * *

"Amy?"

"Alex?" Amy frowned then, hitting me in the arm with a spatula. "What's with you?! You popping up out of nowhere like that is terrifying! Just me standing in my kitchen making toast, then poof! Alex at the table!"

"Least I'm not going around _hitting_ people with spatulas!" I complained, pushing myself up and out of the scrap metal around me. "And you think it's bad popping _up_ out of nowhere? Try _disappearing_ at random intervals. You're lucky I wasn't in the shower before I showed up."

"Not that I haven't been subjected to _that_ before." She grumbled, before grinning and throwing her arms around me in a hug. "Nice to see you again."

"I would say the same, but you hit me with a spatula." I muttered, lightly returning the hug before she pulled away.

"You're not going to let go of that, are you?"

"Hm. Unlikely." I got a good look around then and frowned at the empty scrap-metal junkyard; an unpleasant tingle in my shoulder beginning to unnerve me. "Where are we?"

She shrugged, using the spatula to open a washer door on the heap beside her. "No idea. Doctor got some kind of cube thing that he believes to be from another Time Lord or something."

I groaned heavily, immediately realizing where I was and feeling stupid for not knowing it earlier. _The junkyard _really_ should have given it away. And no wonder my shoulder's been acting up. With the Tardis stuck in Idris, I'd be feeling some backlash too._

"Completely drained. Look at her." I heard the Eleventh Doctor then as he fondly patted the Tardis and I raised a brow at his petting of the box.

Amy, who had been paying more attention to their discussion than I was, caught his and Rory's attention.

"Wait. So, we're in a tiny bubble universe, sticking to the side of the bigger bubble universe?"

"Yeah." He looked over at us, but didn't seem to notice me for a second. "No, but if it helps."

Amy glanced at me, giving me an 'Is he serious?' look and I rolled my eyes, counting down from three with my fingers. _Three, two… one…_

The Doctor whipped back around and grinned brightly. "Alex! Blimey, when did you get here?"

"Not long before your Tardis fondling." I commented, earning a slightly sheepish look from him as I wandered over. "And, while this place is full of rift energy, I think you'll be rather surprised later. We're going to be here a while."

"Oh, _great_." Amy complained, whacking the Doctor with the spatula this time. "Always trouble, you are."

"Well, we might as well get to exploring." He mused with a rub of his arm as Amy tossed the tool away and he picked up a stone and tossed it. "What do we think, eh? Gravity's almost Earth normal, air's breathable, but it smells like…"

"Armpits." Amy offered and he repeated it as I wrinkled my nose.

"Armpits."

"What about all this stuff?" Rory asked as the Doctor jumped into a bathtub and he fiddled with a lamp fixture of a small campsite. "Where did this come from?"

"Well, there's a rift. Now and then stuff gets sucked through it. Not a bubble, a plughole. The universe has a plughole and we've just fallen down it." The Doctor rattled off and I hummed, brows furrowed in slight annoyance of what we were going to have to deal with in this one.

"Yeah, not quite where it's come from, but good guess."

The Doctor turned to me in confusion, seeing that something was wrong, but before he could say anything, a voice called out over the yard.

"Thief! Thief! You're my Thief!"

Idris rushed up towards the Doctor as Auntie in the back tried to warn us.

"She's dangerous! Guard yourselves!"

I scoffed. "She's as dangerous as a fly."

Then I remember what she was supposed to do after she kisses the Doctor and winced.

"Correction. As dangerous as a horse fly."

Amy raised a brow. "What's the difference?"

"One bites." I murmured, watching Idris as she grabbed at the Doctor's face and ignoring his pleading gaze.

_This will be too amusing to stop._

"Look at you. Goodbye. No, not goodbye. What's the other one?"

Surprisingly, instead of kissing the Doctor, she rounded on me with a grin and tackled me.

"Sweetheart!"

"S-Say what?" I stuttered out, a bit uncomfortable with how she was hugging me.

Her hands liked to roam.

"Sweetheart! Sweetie!" She repeated, looking at me joyously. "Oh, I never would have thought it would work, but it did! I don't give away bits of myself to just anyone, you know. But you! Oh, look at you! Even better than I expected! Perfect for my Thief! Oh, I could just—"

Her lips slammed into mine and my eyes went wide as she was pulled away and my mouth hung open in shock.

"T-That hasn't happened in a while." I breathed out, still coming to terms with the kiss.

"Keep back from her." Uncle called out over her laugh. "Welcome strangers. Lovely. Sorry about the mad person."

"Why am I a thief?" The Doctor questioned. "What have I stolen?"

"Me. You're going to steal me. No, you have stolen me. You are stealing me. Oh, tenses are difficult, aren't they?" Idris replied in her typical rushed fashion, before moving over to Amy and playing with her hair momentarily as Auntie panted beside Uncle.

"Oh. Oh, we are sorry, my dove. She's off her head. They call me Auntie."

"And I'm Uncle. I'm everybody's Uncle." The man replied, patting the Doctor's cheek as Idris stepped back over. "Just keep back from this one. She bites!"

"Do I?" Idris asked, and I was startled to find her beside me again, instead of by the Doctor. "Excellent."

Her hand reached around and pulled me towards her before she harshly bit down on my ear.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" I cried out before she was pulled off and I checked my ear for possible bleeding. "You bit me! W-Why did you bite me?!"

"Biting's excellent. It's like kissing, only there's a winner."

"While I'm not going to disagree with that, it's better if you're _gentle_ about it!" I argued as the Doctor headed over and began checking over my poor ear.

"So sorry. She's doolally." Uncle apologized.

"No, I'm not doolally." Idris argued. "I'm… I'm… It's on the tip of my tongue. I've just had a new idea about kissing. Come here, you."

The Doctor pulled me back as I called over his shoulder.

"Yeah, no! You only do that with significant others!"

Idris paused, tipping her head. "But you _are _my significant other. Look, I'll show you!"

She was quick and managed to get past the Doctor and grabbed my shirt. She tore at it, snapping the first couple of buttons before getting her hand on my bare shoulder; the one with the mark. My entire body felt as though it had been hit by a truck in that moment. My breath left me, my hearts gave one final 'thud', and I felt my legs buckle as everything seemed to turn off for a split second. It was a strange, almost out-of-body experience. I heard the Tardis hum loudly in my mind, saw flashes of the Doctor first taking the ship. I could _feel_ everything the Tardis felt in that moment. The curiosity, the joy, the excitement. For one second, I _was_ the Tardis. Everything about me was her. And then, I was shoved back into my body with a heave, doubled over on my knees and gasping for breath with the Doctor holding me in concern.

"Alex? Alex? What did you do to her?!" He snapped at Idris, but I kept hold of his sleeve to stop him.

He didn't look convinced that he shouldn't continue shouting at Idris, especially with my shaking hands. My struggle for air prevented me from talking him out of it as well, but I needed him to keep me grounded for the moment, because what had just happened _terrified_ me. In that moment, when she'd touched the mark on my shoulder, I realized what had happened. She'd called that part of herself back to her. Momentarily, and completely unintentionally, but without it my body shut down out of shock. The Tardis piece in my shoulder accounted for who—and what—I was now. It kept my human parts working together in harmony with the Time Lord bits. Prevented my body from attacking itself. Keeping me here in this universe _and_ keeping me alive. And just now, I had _died_.

And a part of me knew that it wouldn't have just been 'Oops, dead. I'll regenerate'. This would have been permanent. I wouldn't have woken up. I wouldn't have moved again. The Tardis bit of me would have merged with the Tardis in Idris, and the rest would have vanished completely without it there to keep me together. And _God_, was that terrifying. I shuddered and the Doctor helped me up to my feet, looking at me in deep concern.

"Are you alright?"

"N-Not… really." I breathed out, still in the process of reminding my body how to function; starting with breathing.

I heard a soft whine in the back of my head then and glanced over at Idris, who was watching me with obvious worry. I forced my lip to quirk up in a small smile.

"N-Not your fault… I'll be fine."

She smiled a little back, before looking at the Doctor. "Oh, but now you're angry. No, you're not. You will be angry. The little boxes will make you angry."

"Sorry? The little what? Boxes?" The Doctor questioned, glancing at me briefly, but I shook my head, remaining silent for now.

"Oh, hoho! Your chin is hilarious." Idris laughed, touching the Doctor's chin before turning abruptly to Rory, who leaned back. "It means the smell of dust after rain."

"What does?"

"Petrichor."

"But I didn't ask."

"Not yet, but you will." She looked at me now that I was more upright than before, though the Doctor attempted to tuck me behind him. "How do you deal with it?"

"Deal with what?" The Doctor questioned as Idris shifted closer.

"How do you deal with all that running through your head?" She asked me, tilting her head slightly. "Goodness, it must get noisy in there. All the shouting."

I frowned, stepping past the Doctor despite his hand on my arm. "Shouting? What shouting?"

"You try to block it out, but it haunts you at night. Their screams." She went on, beginning to scare me. "I try to help. I sing to you. Did you hear me?"

"I-I…"

I wasn't sure. I honestly didn't know what she meant. Idris spoke in riddles and jumbles of information. Of course, I wouldn't have any time to ask her until later. Nephew had already been summoned to take her off now that she 'turned herself off'.

"Oh, hello!" The Doctor chirped, though Amy was a bit more hesitant.

"Doctor, Alex, what's that?"

"An Ood." I replied, making sure my mental barriers were up properly.

The last thing I needed was House getting in my head through telepathic contact with the Ood.

"Oods are good. Love an Ood. Hello Ood." The Doctor chirped as Rory made tentacle gestures with his hand. "Can't you talk?"

The Ood remained silent and the Doctor gestured to its translator orb.

"Oh, I see. It's uh, damaged. May I?" He took the orb when it nodded and opened it up. "Must be on the wrong frequency.

"Nephew was broken when he came here." Auntie said, a hand on her hip. Why, he was half dead. House repaired him. House repaired all of us."

The translator orb lit up an eerie yellow-green and voices spoke from it, mixing over one another, though one was louder.

"_If you are receiving this message, please help me. Send a signal to the High Council of the Time Lords on Gallifrey. Tell them that I am still alive. I don't know where I am. I-I'm on some rock-like planet._"

"What was that?" Rory asked when they stopped. "Was that him?"

"No." I replied and something in my expression must have told him that this was serious.

"It's picking up something else. But that's… That's not possible. That's… That's…" He turned to Auntie and Uncle, storming forward. "Who else is here? Tell me. Show me. _Show me_."

I moved between them slightly and placed a hand on the Doctor's chest, trying to calm him down.

"Doctor, calm down."

"Calm _down_?" He gaped at me, but I narrowed my eyes seriously.

"I know you're worried and upset, but you need to keep a hold of yourself. When you panic, when you get angry, _that's _when things go wrong. So, keep your head, please. Because you're going to need to use it later."

I was glad when he did as I said and relaxed a little, so I turned to Auntie; watching Nephew make his way towards Idris.

"Would you mind showing us House?"

"House?" The Doctor questioned and Auntie looked at me with wide eyes.

"You know about House?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes. He's this asteroid or whatever this lump of rock is. And don't ask me to be polite. I'm rather not pleased with him at the moment. Or _any_ moment, for that matter."

"Hold on." Rory spoke up in confusion. "House is a planet?"

Auntie nodded as Uncle jumped up and down. "House is all around you, my sweets. You are standing on him. This is House. This world. You want to meet him?"

"Yes." I replied as the Doctor frowned with a small nod.

"I'd love to."

"This way." Uncle called, leading us. "Come, please. Come."

Amy—_clever Amy_—knew something was up though and called out to us.

"What's wrong? What were those voices?"

"Time Lords. It's not just the Corsair. Somewhere close by there are lots and lots of Time Lords." The Doctor replied, but I shook my head.

"I'm sorry, Doctor, but that's not true."

"What?"

I looked at his heartbroken features and resisted a wince as my hearts ached for him. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to lie to you about this and I'm not going to hide it from you. Right here, right now, on _this_ planet… there are no living Time Lords other than you and me. _That_ is why I dislike House. Not only for what it's going to do, but for what it's already done by waving your species in front of you face like this. So, if _anyone's _going to lose their temper today, it will be me, because I will not tolerate someone terrorizing the people close to me for their enjoyment."

Amy and Rory shuddered, and with a little mental nudge from the Doctor, I tried to lower how much of my emotions I was giving out. It helped, however, when the Doctor pressed his lips to mine with a wave of pride washing over me.

"Have I ever told you how beautiful you are when you're angry for me?"

"No, though I may have to be angry more often." I replied bluntly and he chuckled until Amy cleared her throat.

"Right, if you two are done?"

I scowled, but the Doctor kissed my cheek and took my hand, tugging me along beside him as we went to catch up with Uncle.

"So, how have you been, Alex?" The Doctor asked, curiously and Amy joined in.

"Yeah, we were just with a younger you."

I hummed, raising a brow. "Were you?"

Rory nodded. "We were on a pirate ship. Had black spots on our hands?"

"Ah." I mused, tipping my head up to look at the stars. "That was… That was a long time ago."

"How long?"

"Mm… seven hundred years? A little less?"

Rory's mouth dropped open in shock along with Amy's.

"Y-You're over seven hundred years old?!"

I felt my lips twitch into a frown. "Why is that so surprising? Everyone's bound to get old at some point."

"You're not old." The Doctor argued, bringing my hand up to kiss my knuckles.

"Tell that to _your_ seven-hundred-year-old self." I countered. "As for what I've been doing, I've been with your younger self mostly. Took down a satanic cult, saved people on a spaceship called the Titanic that was crashing, died via Dalek into this body, and more recently I was with younger you and the Dream Lord. Nothing too exciting."

Amy gaped at me. "'Nothing too exciting'? What is it with you and the Doctor that stopping the _Titanic_ from crashing is not exciting?!"

"It was more trying not to die and dealing with a rich snob that made it less exciting." I mused. "Though I suppose it would be exciting retelling it. Perhaps later. I believe we're here."

"Come. Come, come." Uncle said, gesturing us into a more covered area as we brought our conversation to a close. "You can see the House and he can look at you, and here…"

The Doctor leaned down to a grate that glowed the same eerie green as the Ood translator and hummed.

"I see. This asteroid is sentient."

"We walk on his back, breathe his air, eat his food." Auntie boasted.

"Smell its armpits." Amy muttered in return, before Auntie and Uncle suddenly stood upright and spoke.

Though it was House actually speaking.

"_**And do my will. You are most welcome, travelers**_."

I stiffened, not appreciating the small presence tickling the back of my mind.

"Doctor, that voice." Amy said quietly, unnerved herself. "That's the asteroid talking?"

"Yes." He answered her, before speaking up to the asteroid itself. "So, you're like a sea urchin. Hard outer surface; that's the planet we're walking on. Big squashy, oogly thing inside; that's you."

"_**That is correct, Time Lord**_."

"Ah, so you've met Time Lords before." The Doctor said, though I knew that he was more suspicious than he would have been should I have not mentioned anything earlier.

"_**Many travelers have come through the rift, like Auntie and Uncle and Nephew. I repair them when they break.**_"

"With what arms?" I murmured, trying to focus on something else other than the different body parts on Auntie and Uncle, and the fact that the asteroid can repair people without arms seemed to be the prime choice at the moment.

"There's no Time Lords here then." The Doctor stated, gripping my hand a bit.

"_**Not anymore, but there have been many Tardises on my back in days gone by.**_"

I resisted the urge to shut the Doctor up before he could say the words that ended up with House causing trouble, but I knew things had to go as they should in this one. House needed to be destroyed, despite how much admitting that to myself bothered me.

"Well, there won't be any more after us. Last Time Lords. Last Tardis." The Doctor said, making me wince slightly with how tightly his hand gripped mine.

_My uneasiness might be getting past my barriers…_

"_**A pity. Your people were so kind. Be here in safety, Doctor. Rest, feed, if you will.**_"

I grit my teeth, but remained silent even though his words made me seethe.

"We're not actually going to stay here, are we?" Rory asked hesitantly.

"Well, it _seems_ like a friendly planet. Literally." The Doctor commented, stressing the word 'seems' and trying to send some sort of calm over to me. "Mind if we poke around a bit?"

"You can look all you want." Auntie replied, out of House's control, for now. "Go. Look. House loves you." She cooed, touching Amy's face, much to her displeasure.

"Come on then, gang. We're just going to, uh, see the sights."

* * *

"Alex, how bad is this?" The Doctor asked once we'd moved further away from where Uncle and Auntie were.

"Depends on what you want to base the scale on." I snipped shortly, struggling with my temper at the moment.

"Hm, deaths?"

"Two, on a scale of one to ten."

"Alright. That's good, yes?"

I scowled and he held up his hands in surrender.

"Yes, yes. Sorry. How about…" He frowned. "Damage."

"Physical is at a one for us, a much higher number for others." I grumbled. "Emotionally is at a nine."

He winced. "Right. Due to the Time Lord bit?"

"Due to House in general." I grumbled, wincing slightly at the none-to-gentle prod at the back of my mind that made me angrier. "Oh, _piss off_."

"Alex?"

"Not you. House is getting curious and rather annoyed with me."

The Doctor immediately pulled me to a stop and placed his hands on my face. "Do I need to help?"

"No."

He frowned seriously. "I mean it, Alex. If House is even _attempting_ to mess with your mind, then I—"

I rolled my eyes and bat his hands away. "Doctor, believe it or not, but I've dealt with enough things trying to get into my head that I probably have a higher defense than _any_ Time Lord, much less some nosy sentient planet. I could even completely block you out, if need be; though I wouldn't dare. You're a headache as it is, sometimes, _without_ you trying to pry yourself into my head. I think the Tardis might be the only thing that _could_ break past all my barriers and even then, only because of my connection with her."

He opened his mouth, but I cut him off before he could even speak.

"And you'll find out all about that in the future, so don't ask me to clarify."

He closed his mouth with a pout and Amy looked over at me.

"You didn't say it."

"Say what?" I grumbled.

"Spoilers. You _always_ say 'spoilers' for future stuff. Why didn't you say it now?"

I sighed heavily. "I don't _always_ say that. River does. And you'll find this body of mine is more used to explaining things than simply saying 'spoilers'. It gets dull otherwise."

"So… you just do it to sound clever." She concluded and I bristled.

"_No_. I do it to give you more information."

"To look clever." She said with a wiggle of her brows before she smirked at the Doctor. "Two peas in a pod, you two."

I groaned, before the Doctor suddenly shushed us.

"Sh, sh, sh, sh, sh."

We went silent and caught Idris's voice drifting from down the hall we were in.

"Thief!"

Rory ignored his shushing. "So, as soon as the Tardis is refueled, we go, yeah?"

"If I say 'sure' will you stop asking?" I grumbled, listening as well.

"But if there _are_ Time Lords here—"

"Alex said there's not." The Doctor said, though I caught the upset tone to his voice and felt my temper ease up a bit. "And I trust her. But we need to stay here for a bit longer, yes?"

I nodded when he turned to me. "Yes. You'll understand why in a bit."

"Well, what do you need from me?" Amy asked, looking determined. "The sooner we're out of here, the better, yeah? I'll help."

I glanced at the Doctor. _Send her to the Tardis. Wild goose chase._ I mentally told him.

"_Why? Are they safer there?"_

I hesitated, but wasn't about to go back on what I said about staying honest with him. _No, but if they are doubting _anything_ in their relationship right now, this will help them through it. A… necessary evil, of a sort._ I winced at my wording, not liking it, but the Doctor sent a mental pat on my head in understanding.

"_If you think it's necessary, then alright. They won't be hurt though, will they?"_

_Not physically, though I suppose it's a bit… traumatizing? Nothing too bad, however._

He nodded and turned to Amy with a grin.

"My screwdriver. I left it in the Tardis. It's in my jacket."

"You're wearing your jacket." Rory pointed out.

"My other jacket."

"You have two of those?"

"Dozens." I replied. "As do I. We both tend to destroy ours."

"Okay, I'll get it. But Doctor, listen to me. Don't get emotional, because that's when you make mistakes." She glanced at me then as she passed him her phone. "Better yet, keep Alex happy. She's already iffy."

"Yes, boss." He chirped, giving me a smug grin as I scoffed.

"I'll call you from the Tardis. Rory, look after them." Amy said, heading off and the Doctor turned to Rory.

"Rory, look after her."

He didn't pause for long before chasing after her and I nudged the Doctor as we walked a bit further along.

"She's making fun of you, by the way."

"Who?"

"Amy. She said that just because you're called a Time Lord, it doesn't mean you actually know what you're doing."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Oh, you memorize _quotes_ now too? And here I thought it was just the important stuff."

"Only the good quotes; the funny ones or the inspirational. I've forgotten most of them though. Like that bit Idris said about the biting. Loved that, but it's been seven hundred years. I'm getting old. Can't remember things as well as I used to. Even the important stuff. Seems so human. Worrying about things like my age."

The Doctor snuggled in close and wrapped an arm around my waist as he nuzzled my neck. "But you _are_ human, and hardly old. And I love that human bit of you."

"Hm, you know, this is the one thing I missed about being with this you." I hummed and we paused in our walk.

"What's that?"

I turned my head and kissed him softly. "Haven't been able to do that in eons."

"Well, I can help make up for it, if you want." He smirked, that spark of mischievousness in his eyes up until Amy's phone rang; turning the smirk into a pout as he put it on speaker.

"_You two were kissing again, weren't you?_"

"Were not!" The Doctor whined back, making me snort at his failed attempt to hide what he _had_ been doing.

"_Sure. Anyway, we're here. Screwdriver's in your jacket, yeah?_"

"Yeah, it's around somewhere. Have a good look." The Doctor chirped, pulling out his sonic, flipping it once and shutting them in.

He put the phone back and we entered a clearer area.

"Come on. Where are you? Now, where are you?" He hummed, glancing around, but I stopped him.

"Promise to keep your temper?" I asked as I pulled away from his embrace.

"Depends." He said, narrowing his eyes. "What is it?"

I blinked slowly, watching him for a reaction from behind my glasses. "The boxes…"

He looked excited, curious.

"…'The boxes will make you angry'." I quoted, sighing heavily as I moved towards the curtains hiding the cupboard and pushed them aside. "Oh, how I wish I could prove her wrong."

I opened it, revealing the numerous Time Lord distress signal boxes; _feeling_ the Doctor's hearts drop as understanding dawned on him. Auntie and Uncle came in behind us then as I helped the Doctor cope with his anger as best I could.

"Just admiring your Time Lord distress signal collection. Nice job. Brilliant job. Almost thought I had some friends here, but this is what the Ood translator picked up. Cries for help from the _long_ dead." He turned to the couple. "How many Time Lords have you lured here the way you lured me, and what happened to them all?"

"House… House is kind and he is wise—"

The Doctor stepped threateningly towards Auntie. "House repairs you when you break. Yes, I know. But how does he mend you?"

I grabbed his arm, lightly tugging him back. "Doctor, calm down and think. _Look_."

He did, and his eyes narrowed at Uncle. "You've got the eyes of a twenty-year-old."

"Thank you." Uncle replied.

"No. Oh, no, I mean it literally. Your eyes are thirty years younger than the rest of you. Your ears don't match, your right arm is two inches longer than you're left, and how's your dancing? Because you've got two left feet. Patchwork people. You've been repaired and patched up so often, I doubt there's anything left of what used to be you. I had an umbrella like you once."

The Doctor grabbed Auntie's arm to see the ouroboros tattoo.

"Oh, now… It's been a great arm for me, this."

"Corsair." The Doctor breathed out.

"He was a strapping big bloke, wasn't he, Uncle?"

"Big fellow."

"I suggest you stop there if you don't want to _lose_ the arm." I snapped and they both went dead silent as the Doctor looked them over; myself quivering in anger from what the Doctor was giving off.

"You gave me hope and then you took it away. That's enough to make anyone dangerous. God knows what it will do to me. Basically, run!"

Auntie scurried off, but Uncle stayed to give one last message.

"Poor old Time Lord. Too late. House is too clever."

* * *

The Doctor grit his teeth tightly, struggling to overcome the anger and hurt from the discovery they'd just made, before a loud clatter made him jump. Alex had just kicked a pile of scrap metal nearby, cursing heatedly under her breath as she started to pace. The Doctor winced, knowing that this display of her anger was partially because of him not keeping a hold on his own emotions. Though she had been trying to help him, that also left her open to feel exactly what he was and adding it to what had her already upset.

"Alex. Alex, it's alright now. Just take a deep breath for a minute." He soothed her, tugging her to him to keep her from pacing. "There you go. Relax."

"Relax." She scoffed, actually sinking further into his embrace despite her tone. "You know, it takes a lot for me to hate someone, but House is _really_ teetering on that edge."

The Doctor was rather surprised at this. As she said, Alex does not '_hate'_; even creatures like the Daleks. So, for her to feel this strongly about a sentient planet made him worry about whether this was just about it baiting him into coming here, or something more. That being said, the fact that she was reacting so strongly also concerned him; though he was a bit pleased that she was so protective over him.

"Alex, have you been sleeping alright? Eating alright? Do you have a headache?" He turned her around to face him. "Is he still trying to get into your head?"

She scowled; not as angry as before, more annoyed. "No, he's not getting into my head. Yes, I have a headache thanks to you and your temper tantrum." She complained, poking him in the chest. "I'd be eating better if you weren't running around like a crazed monkey every few seconds, and it's been a few days since I slept because _somebody_ had to go and get himself in a short healing coma to recuperate after nearly freezing to death! So, sorry if I'm a bit cross because some stupid egotistical asteroid decided it'd be fun to mess with you when that's _my_ job."

The Doctor smiled a tad, making her scowl deepen in further annoyance, but he smothered her protest by hugging her close and whispering into her ear.

"Thank you, Alexander."

"Don't thank me, you idiot. I could have stopped this whole mess just now and we could have been well on our way."

"Well, yeah." He agreed, rocking her from side-to-side playfully. "But then House would still be around to mess with others, right? Can't have that. Besides!" He pulled away from her and beamed. "Means I get to make it up to some Time Lords by taking care of it."

Alex sighed, turning her head away and relaxing her tense shoulders; anger completely gone now. "You're such an idiot…"

"But I'm _your_ idiot." He cooed, kissing her cheek and making her wrinkle her nose before Amy's phone went off again.

"Amy, your timing is rather impeccable." He muttered, losing some of his cheer at the interruption.

"_I swear, if you were kissing again—_"

"Yes, yes. Get on with it, Amy." Alex drawled.

"_Tetchy. No sonic screwdriver. Also, the doors seemed to have locked behind us. Rory thinks there's a perfectly innocent explanation, but I think you lied to us._"

"My fault." Alex popped up. "There's _really_ nothing you can do here and… actually, I believe we really need you in the Tardis. Memory's a bit foggy on this one. Oh, but Amy, do me a favor?"

"_What?_"

Alex grew very serious then and even the Doctor stiffened at the look in her eyes. "Don't believe anything you see. Even if it's Rory. The moment you get separated, don't believe it's him. In fact, make up a code word right now. Just between the two of you. Don't say it out loud. Whisper it or write it on his hand or something. Because things are going to get rough for you two, but I need you to stick it out."

"_Oh, this thing's going to mess with our heads, isn't it?_"

"Clever girl." Alex smirked, though it looked a bit forced. "But entertain it for a bit until we can get to you, yeah? And _don't _ask me what that means. I'll even say 'spoilers', if I must."

The Doctor chuckled as Amy responded.

"_Alright. Gotcha, but you owe me, Holmes._"

"After this mess, anything's fine. I need a good meal and a nap myself, if you're up for it." She glanced at the Doctor. "Ice cream and movie night?"

"_Sounds good. But we'll be okay, right?_"

"Promise." Alex said, hanging up and the Doctor hummed.

"An Alexander Holmes promise. I don't think I've heard that from you in this body before."

"Can't make a habit of it, and as I've said, I've been with your other selves. They don't always _listen_."

He kissed her temple and held out an arm. "So? Where to?"

"Idris."

His smile fell as he let out a groan. "Oh, _her_. Do we have to?"

Alex rolled her eyes. "Yes. And trust me, you'll like her."

"But she kissed you." He pouted, reaching over and lightly touching her bruised ear and making her flinch. "And bit you."

"Be happy. It was supposed to have been you." Alex grumbled, swatting his hand away as they walked to where Idris would be.

"Well, how did she know about the boxes?" He questioned instead. "That they would make me angry?"

"Ask her yourself."

"Is she a time traveler like you?"

"In a way." Alex begrudgingly responded.

"Then is she—"

"_Doctor_."

He returned to pouting. "Fine. I'll ask her."

It didn't take long for them to reach her and, as impatient as the Doctor was, he hurried right up to her.

"How did you know about the boxes? You said they'd make me angry. How did you know?"

"Ah, it's my Thief and my Sweetheart." Idris breathed out and Alex smacked the Doctor's arm.

"Wrong question."

He frowned, contemplating for a moment before looking back at Idris. "Who are you?"

"It's about time." She smirked.

"I don't understand and Alex won't tell me. Who are you?"

"Do you not know me? Just because they put me in here?" Idris questioned sadly.

"They said you were dangerous."

"She's not talking about the cage, Doctor." Alex chided him and Idris nodded.

"Not the cage, stupid. In here." She gestured to her face before leaning against the bars of the cage. "They put me in here. I'm the…" She paused, getting frustrated. "Oh, what do you call me? We travel. I go…"

She made the exact noise the Tardis made when it takes off and the Doctor blinked in surprise as Alex snorted.

"Better than _your_ wheezy imitation."

"The Tardis?" He questioned in disbelief.

"Time And Relative Dimension In Space." Idris rattled off. "Yes, that's it. Names _are_ funny. It's me. I'm the Tardis."

"No, you're not. You're a bitey, mad lady. The Tardis is up and downy stuff in a big blue box." The Doctor argued as Alex sighed.

"Oh, look. The genius is using his big boy words."

He shot her a look that she ignored as Idris nodded.

"Yes, that's me. A Type Forty Tardis. I was already a museum piece when you were young, and the first time you touched my console you said—"

"—I said you were the most beautiful thing I had ever known." The Doctor finished for her, starting to believe what she was saying.

"And then you stole me and I stole you."

"I borrowed you." He countered, but she fought back.

"Borrowing implies the intention to return the thing that was taken. What makes you think I would ever give you back?"

"You're the Tardis."

"Yes."

He looked to Alex. "_My_ Tardis?"

Alex smirked. "Told you that you'd like her."

"My Doctor and my Sweetheart." Idris turned to Alex then, smiling. "I brought her to you, you know. You were so lonely. My lonely Thief always picking up strays only for them to leave. I thought, 'All he has is me and I can't fix him'. So, I found her. Bored and lonely and patient and kind. My Thief deserves the best. A bit of human, a dash of me, and understanding of you. How clever was that?"

The Doctor and Alex exchanged embarrassed glances.

"Oh! We have reached the point in the conversation where you open the lock." Idris announced, and the Doctor sonicked it open; still a bit dumbfounded as she walked out. "Are all people like this?"

"Like what?"

"So much bigger on the inside." Idris clarified, looking at him and Alex before moving past them in annoyance once more. "I'm… oh, what's the word? It's so big, so complicated. It's so sad."

"But why?" The Doctor interrupted her thinking "Why pull the living soul from a Tardis and pop it in a tiny human head? What does it want you for?"

"Oh, it doesn't want me."

"House eats Tardises." Alex piped in and Idris pointed at her and got in her face with a pout.

"You! That's the problem with you. Always beat me to it."

Alex blinked, taking a step back with her hands up. "R-Right. Sorry. Should I just shut up then?"

"No!" The Doctor exclaimed the same time Idris said,

"Yes!"

"Dear Lord, there's two people fighting over me and one's a ship crammed into a woman." Alex muttered before speaking up. "Um, perhaps we get back on topic?"

The Doctor was quick to do that. "Now, hold on a minute. House what? What do you both mean?"

"I don't know. It's something I heard you say." Idris pouted, her cheeks puffed up.

"When?" The Doctor asked next, glancing at Alex as she waved her hand, not wanting to upset Idris again.

"In the future."

"'House eats Tardises'?" He repeated and she nodded, clarifying where she'd heard it.

"There you go. What are fish fingers?"

"When do I say that?" He asked.

"Any second."

It clicked for him then and his mouth dropped open in understanding.

"Of course. House feeds on rift energy and Tardises are bursting with it. And not raw, all lovely and cooked. Processed food. Mm, fish fingers." He looked at Alex. "Could we—"

"It'll be movie night, you can eat whatever you want."

He grinned.

"Do fish have fingers?" Idris questioned and Alex sighed.

"Finger bones, yes. Actual _fingers_, probably not for millions of years. They're fish sticks in America. Just deep fried strips of fish that kind of look like pudgy fingers, I suppose. They're typically eaten with your hands as well; hence 'finger-food'."

The Doctor wasn't really listening to the ongoing discussion of food, though did catch the small gurgle of Alex's hungry stomach as he rattled on about House.

"But you can't eat a Tardis. It would destroy you. Unless… unless—"

"Unless you deleted the Tardis Matrix first." Idris finished for him.

"Or move it out of the way." Alex tacked on, making him turn to her. "You can eat the shell if the insides aren't there."

Idris nodded. "House can't just delete a Tardis' consciousness. That would blow a hole in the universe. So, he pulls out the Matrix, sticks it in a living receptacle and then it feeds off the remaining Artron energy. Oh. You were about to say all that. I don't suppose you have to now." She informed the Doctor, who sighed.

"Now I have two people stealing my thunder."

"Uh, probably just one for this adventure." Alex muttered. "As much as I enjoy spoiling tidbits, if it means more animals in my closets, then I'll gladly shut my mouth."

Idris smirked, puffing up proudly at having won the 'battle' they had apparently been having, but Alex adjusted her glasses.

"Although, I should mention that House _isn't_ eating the Tardis this time around."

"What?"

Even Idris looked a bit confused. "It's not?"

"Right, you're probably a bit too cramped in there to get immediate future bits without being all jumbled up. Um, basically… Do you remember when I said I could have prevented all this?"

The Doctor nodded. "Yes."

"Well, it would have been by shutting you up when you were talking to House earlier. I believe your words were something like… 'last Time Lords, last Tardis'?"

His eyes widened. "Oh… _Oh_, there's no more coming."

"Yeah, so it's taking yours to find more, basically."

"Amy and Rory are in there!"

He took off running and Alex sighed before rushing after him with Idris.

"He never lets me finish." Alex complained to the woman beside her. "He would save so much time if he just let me finish."

"Least he knows your instructions." Idris complained as well. "He threw mine in a supernova and _still_ doesn't use the door properly."

Alex ignored the bit about 'instructions'. "You should tell him about the door thing." She smirked. "I want to see the look on his face."

Idris grinned in return. "I can do that."

The group reached the Tardis just as it vanished and the Doctor fished out Amy's phone.

"Amy? Amy, can you hear me?"

There was no response.

"Okay. Right. I don't… I really don't know what to do. That's a new feeling."

"Doctor."

He dragged a hand down his face. "_What_?"

Alex bluntly ignored his temper. "I promised they would be safe and I meant it. As for what to do, well, get a look around, Doctor."

He did, though still frowning. "I don't understand."

"Course you don't. You're not _thinking_." Alex pressed.

"What about those two? That weird mashed-up couple?" He said with a snap of his fingers.

"Dead. House was keeping them going, but he's trying to fly the Tardis now. Needs all his energy in one spot." Alex rattled off idly, patiently waiting for him to get his head into gear.

"Dead? They can't just _die_?!"

Alex sighed, before trying again; this time with something more serious. "Doctor, the body the Tardis is in is also dying."

"What?" He breathed out, turning to Idris as she winced and whipping out his sonic to scan her. "You are… You're dying."

Idris, however, had been patient for long enough. "Yes, of course I'm dying. I don't belong in a flesh body. I could blow the casing in no time. No, stop it. Don't get emotional. Hmm. That's what the orangey girl says. You're the Doctor. Focus."

"On what? How?" The Doctor argued. "I'm a madman with a box, without a box. I'm stuck down the plughole at the end of the universe on a stupid old junkyard."

He looked at Alex then, pointing rudely with his mouth hanging open as she lifted a brow in a sort of 'oh, are you paying attention now?' manner."

"It's not a junkyard. Don't you see? It's not a junkyard!" He grinned, rushing up to Alex and dipping her as he pressed his lips to hers. "Brilliant, you are!"

Alex simply pat his arm as he stood her upright. "Finish with what you're doing before attacking me, you dunce."

Idris readily agreed. "If it's not a junkyard, then what is it?"

"It's a _Tardis_ junkyard. Come on!" He paused a bit when Idris got ready to follow. "Oh, sorry. Do you have a name?"

Idris sent Alex a look. "Seven hundred years, finally he asks."

"But what do I call you?"

"Same thing you've always called her." Alex chimed in and Idris smiled.

"I think you call me Sexy."

"Only when we're alone." He murmured, looking around. "And with the Mrs. around? I'm not sure."

"Please." Alex scoffed. "I call her Sexy too. It's no secret and the three of us _are_ alone. Now let's get going. This is going to take a while."

* * *

I was exhausted as I helped the Doctor get the parts he needed and carried them over to where his make-shift Tardis console was. Currently, the two of us were hefting along a large panel with some wires we were using as rope; already covered in grease and dirt.

"Bond the tube directly into the Tachyon Diverter." Idris called out.

"Yes, yes. I _have_ actually rebuilt a Tardis before, you know. I know what I'm doing." The Doctor complained, making me scoff and earn a dirty look from the man as I wiped some sweat from my face.

"You're like a nine-year-old trying to rebuild a motorbike in his bedroom. And you never read the instructions." Idris mocked him.

"I always read the instructions!" He argued.

"You _threw_ the Tardis manual into a supernova!" I countered now and he turned away sheepishly as she tacked on another bit.

"There's a sign on my front door. You have been walking past it for seven hundred years. What does it say?"

"That's not instructions." He pouted.

"You'll find, they _instruct_ you on how to open a door." I mocked him.

"There's an instruction at the bottom. What does it say?" Idris pressed, wanting him to say it.

"'Pull to open'."

"Yes, and what do you do?"

"I push."

"Every single time. Seven hundred years." She complained like a chiding mother. "Police Box doors open out the way."

"I think I have earned the right to open my front doors any way I want!" The Doctor shouted and tossed the wires to the ground.

"_Your_ front doors?" Idris scoffed. "Have you any idea how childish that sounds?"

"You are not my mother."

"And you are not my child. The closest thing that could _be _my child is at your side right now and even _she_ pulls the doors open at times!"

"You know, since we're talking with mouths, not really an opportunity that comes along very often, I just want to say, you know, you have never been very reliable." The Doctor complained as I sighed heavily.

"And you have?" Idris argued.

"You didn't always take me where I wanted to go!"

"No, but I always took you where you _needed _to go." She countered, silencing him, though I had something to say about that.

"Oh, so I should be blaming _you_ for the late pick-ups?"

She waved her hand. "Oh, you're different. It takes a bit to pick up where you are."

"You did." The Doctor breathed out then, finding his words and smiling. "Look at us, _talking_! Wouldn't it be amazing if we could always talk? Even when you're stuck inside the box?"

"You know I'm not constructed that way. I exist across all space and time, and you talk and run around and bring home strays." Idris replied, her legs collapsing under her and making the Doctor catch her.

"You okay?"

"One of the kidneys has already failed." She replied seriously, before seeing the Doctor's expression as my own hearts ached at the feeling of it. "It doesn't matter. We need to finish assembling the console."

"Using a console without a proper shell. It's not going to be safe."

"This body has about eighteen minutes left to live. The universe we're in will reach Absolute Zero in three hours. Safe is relative." She countered and I came up beside them and wiped some dirt off my cheek with a handkerchief.

"She's right. It'll be a very bumpy ride, but House hasn't gotten far. Amy and Rory are occupying him and keeping him from leaving right off. We'll make it, but only barely." I glanced at Idris who nodded subtly, understanding what I meant.

"Then we need to get a move on, eh, old girl?"

The Doctor moved back to the wires to pull the panel and I did the same without complaint despite my body's protests. He must have seen my struggling as we pulled it along though.

"Y-You can rest, if you want, Alex." He grunted out and I glared over at him.

"Don't patronize me, Doctor… I may be tired, but this is more important." I looked back ahead. "Plus, it helps me get rid of that anger I'm stuck dealing with because of House. I _hate_ that he did this to her. To her, and to you."

He smiled a bit before returning to pulling. After a few more minutes, the console actually begun to look like one and I was sent off to grab the Time Rotor piece as the Doctor fixed up some of the wiring.

"You need to install the Time Rotor!" Idris called out.

"Got it!" I replied as the Doctor grunted out a complaint as well and hurried to help me with the heavy piece.

"How is this going to make it through the rift? How? We're almost done." He said once we put the rotor in place and he began to make sure we had the switches and levers and buttons we needed. "Thrust diffuser? Uh, retroscope. Blue thingy."

"Do you ever wonder why I chose you all those years ago, Doctor?" Idris asked.

"I chose _you_." He argued. "You were unlocked."

"And who do you think unlocked her, moron." I grumbled, stripping some wires with my teeth and stringing them together.

"She's right." Idris mused, looking pleased. "I wanted to see the universe, so I stole a Time Lord and I ran away. And you were the only one mad enough."

"Right." He said, before I finished and he rushed to her. "Perfect. Look at that. What could possibly go wrong?"

"Jinxed it.~" I sang, just as a part fell off.

"That's fine. That always happens. No, hang on. Wait." He grabbed some red stanchion ropes and hurried back as I groaned loudly and began to help once more.

It only took a few more minutes, but even I knew that every minute, every _second_ counted in this one.

"Right. Okay, let's go." The Doctor smiled. "Follow that Tardis."

He tugged on a hanger that would have been the 'starter' of the ship, but the console let out a groan and sparked.

"Oh, no. Come on! There's rift energy everywhere. You can do it." He complained and I rubbed my temples.

"There's nothing to gather it and send it to the appropriate areas needed for getting the ship from one place to another, Doctor. What do you think the Tardis does? Just gives you a place to sleep and cleans up after you?"

"Then what do you suggest?" He snapped, reaching to try something else, but I grabbed his hands and stopped him.

"I suggest asking the people around you instead of trying to do it all yourself."

"But, I've got nothing. What could you possibly do?" He questioned softly.

"Not me." I said, nodding to Idris. "Her. It was always you and your box. Long before I showed up, Doctor. So, don't go giving up on her just yet."

Idris shook her head at him as she kissed the tips of her fingers. "Oh, my beautiful idiot."

Her fingers glowed a brilliant golden color that made my shoulder tingle, even as the console soaked it up and we took off into the Time Vortex. It was rougher than I expected—the television show did _not_ do it justice—and I struggled to keep my grip _and_ help steer.

"We've locked onto them!" Idris shouted over the noise. "They'll have to lower the shields when I'm close enough to phase inside!"

"Can you get a message to Amy?!" The Doctor asked. "The telepathic circuits are online!"

"I can give you a boost too, if need be!" I shouted.

"No, you need to save your energy!" She argued with me, making me wonder what I would need it for, if not to help her. "And which one's Amy? The pretty one? Hello, pretty!"

"_What the hell is that?_" I heard in my head, making me wince.

"Don't worry! Telepathic messaging!" The Doctor cut in, before understanding who it was Idris had gotten a hold of. "No, that's Rory."

Idris ignored him. "You have to go to the old control room. I'm putting the route in your head. When you get there use the purple slider on the nearest panel to lower the shields."

"Pretty one?" The Doctor complained then, but I smacked him on the arm to shut him up.

It was bad enough with two extra voices in my head, _three_ was not pleasant.

"You'll have about twelve seconds before the room goes into phase with the invading Matrix. I'll send you the pass key when you get there. Good luck."

The connection was cut off and I shook my head to try and shake off the feeling of it, though the Tardis resisted letting me go, seeing as I had a part of her in me. _Seems connecting with her at all is a bit of a risk. How unpleasant._

"How's he going to be able to take down the shields anyway?! The House is in the control room!" The Doctor asked.

"I directed him to one of the old control rooms!"

"There aren't any old control rooms! They were all deleted or remodeled!"

"Archives!" I called back. "Why do you think it's so easy for her to bring up old rooms you've used before?!"

"I've got about thirty now!" Idris smiled.

"But I've only changed the desktop, what?! A dozen times?!"

"So far, yes!"

"You can't archive something that hasn't happened yet!"

"_You_ can't!"

"God, she explained this already, Doctor!" I explained. "She exists across time and space all at once! Past, present, future! For her, it's all right now! She's here, she's in Victoria England with your Tenth self, and in Coal Hill School with your future self! Of _course_ she can archive stuff that hasn't happened for you yet!"

"Did you say Coal Hill School?"

"Gah, spoilers!"

He cackled at that, grinning away at Idris. "Keep going! You're doing it, you sexy thing!"

"See, you do call me that!" She smiled in return. "Is it my name?!"

"You bet it's your name!"

I laughed as she cheered before spouting out the password for Rory and grinning when they managed to get the shields down. I remembered something then.

"Ah! Can you go about a foot or so to the right? Your right!"

"I can try!" Idris called out, before we appeared in the control room and Idris sagged while the Doctor rushed to hug Amy and Rory.

I spotted the Ood, nephew, nearby and let out a sigh of relief. He was unconscious, but alive and I was glad for that. _I needed to help at least one more Ood, if I could. Glad I did._

"Not good. Not good at all." Idris breathed out and I turned to her and grabbed her alongside the Doctor. "How do you walk around in these things?"

"We're not quite there yet. Just hold on." The Doctor told her, helping me lower her to the ground and then turning to Amy and Rory to explain. "Ah, Amy, this is… Well, she's my Tardis. Except she's a woman. She's a woman and she's my Tardis."

"She's the Tardis?" Amy questioned.

"And she's a woman." The Doctor repeated with a stupid grin on his face. "She's a woman and she's the Tardis."

"Did you wish _really_ hard? Or did one of Alex's nightmares come true?" Amy accused.

"Shut up. Not like that."

"Hello." Idris greeted, standing. "I'm… Sexy."

"_Oh_." The Doctor groaned, seeing Amy's smirk and questioning, raised brow. "Still, shut up."

"_**The environment has been breached. Nephew, kill them all**_." House demanded and I turned as Nephew began to stand and everyone took a step back.

_Okay, I lied. Not good. Um, how to fix this? This didn't happen in the show. Think, brain! House is controlling Nephew, because House is sentient and Nephew is telepathic. So, I just need to… Oh…_ I looked over at Idris, who was watching me and nodded. _This is why she said I needed to save my energy. Dear God, I have to go against House… _

"I am _so_ going to regret this." I murmured, making the Doctor glance at me just a moment too late as I stepped forward and placed my fingers on the Ood's temples; everything going black.

* * *

"Alex! Alex!" The Doctor shouted when both Alex and the Ood fell to the ground. "Oh, please don't do this to me." He checked her pulse and grimaced. "It's thready. Oh, that is not good. Not good at all." He lifted his head and glared at the ceiling. "What have you done to her?"

"_**Hm? I have done nothing. A shame that Nephew is incapable of killing you, however, I did not expect you, Doctor.**_**"**

The Doctor stood, anger growing in him. "Well, that's me all over, isn't it? Lovely old, unexpected me."

"_**The big question is, now you're here, how to dispose of you? I could play with gravity.**_**"**

The group was pulled to the ground as though the air itself was crushing them.

"_**Or I could evacuate the air from this room and watch you choke.**_**"**

They gasped and coughed, before air was restored.

"_**Why shouldn't I just kill you now?**_**"**

"Because then I won't be able to help you. Listen to your engines. Just listen to them. You don't have the thrust and you know it. Right now, I'm your only hope for getting out of your little bubble through the rift, and into my universe. And mine's the one with the food in. You just have to promise not to kill us. That's all, just promise." The Doctor begged and Amy looked at him in disbelief as he cradled Alex's head in his lap.

"You can't be serious."

"I'm very serious. I'm sure it's an entity of its word."

"Doctor." Rory called out, hanging on to Idris. "She's burning up. She's asking for water."

The Doctor picked Alex up and brought her over as well, him laying her down and reaching out to Idris.

"Hey. Hang in there, old girl. Not long now. It'll be over soon."

"I always liked it when you call me… old girl." Idris gasped out, before the Doctor spotted something that he swore hadn't been there a moment ago.

"Where…"

A glass of water now rested on the floor by Idris and Rory looked at it in shock as well, but took it and helped Idris drink some as House spoke up once more.

"_**You want me to give my word? Easy. I promise.**_"

The Doctor nodded. "Fine. Okay. I trust you. Just delete—oh, uh—thirty percent of the Tardis rooms, you'll free up thrust enough to make it through. Activate subroutine Sigma nine."

"_**Why would you tell me this?**_" House questioned, suspicious.

"Because we want to get back to our universe as badly as you do, and I'm nice."

"_**Yes. I can delete rooms. And I can also rid myself of vermin if I delete this room first. Thank you, Doctor. Very helpful. Goodbye, Time Lord. Goodbye, little humans. Goodbye, Idris.**_"

There was a bright white light as the Tardis made it back into their universe, but the group was not deleted as House expected. Instead, they were dropped off in an green-glowing console room, much like the one they had just been in. The Doctor, having expected this, smiled a bit.

"Yes. I mean, you could do that, but it just won't work. Hardwired fail safe. Living things from rooms that are deleted are automatically deposited in the main control room. But thanks for the lift."

"_**We are in your universe now, Doctor.**_" House said confidently."_**Why should it matter to me in which room you die? I can kill you just as easily here as anywhere. Fear me. I've killed hundreds of Time Lords.**_"

"Fear me." He threatened in return. "I've killed all of them and my wife has made worse creatures run for their lives without lifting a finger. Just like she's going to do to you."

House scoffed. "_**Your precious wife lay there at your feet, Time Lord; dead to the world. What harm could she do?**_"

The Doctor grinned. "Ah, but see? That's something you don't know about Alex. She's determined and she's angry. Angry with you. And it takes a _lot_ to get her this mad. Mad enough to _hate_ you, House. You don't want to deal with the Seer when she's furious, but you've gone and done it. You've threatened her friends. You've hurt her family. You've mocked her husband. And I believe she's rather done putting up with you."

"_**What? What is this? What's happening?**_" House questioned, some of the green lights in the Tardis flickering back to their orange and blue color.

The Doctor smirked, gesturing to the Ood on the floor. "You'll find, she rather likes the Ood too. Do just about anything to help them out. So, when she finds you sitting here and actively controlling one? Well, that give something away about you, doesn't it?"

"_**No. No! Get out of there!**_"

"Means _you're_ telepathic and if there's one thing Alex is good at; it's getting into people's heads. And you practically gave her an open door."

"No way." Amy breathed out. "Alex's mind is _inside _House?!"

"Not quite. She's not inside House, but the Tardis shell, and she's fighting him back something fierce." The Doctor grinned proudly. "Oh, and did I mention? Alex has this neat little bit about her. Did you know, she's connected to the Tardis Matrix? I don't know the exact details, but they sort of call out to each other. Across time and space, the Tardis always meets back up with Alex sooner or later. And you've taken that Matrix, a living consciousness you ripped out of this very control room and locked it up into a human body. And look at her."

"Doctor, she's stopped breathing." Rory murmured, but was ignored as House cried out.

"_**Enough! That's enough!**_"

"No. It's never enough. You forced the Tardis into a body so she'd burn out safely a very long way away from this control room. A flesh body can't hold the Tardis Matrix and live. Look at her body, House. Better yet. Alex is in there with you. Look at _her_."

"_**What? What is this? Stop it! Stop!**_"

"I think you should be very, very careful about what you let back into this control room." The Doctor said, voice sharp. "You took her from her home, from her _daughter_. But now she's back in the box again, and she's free."

Gold dust came from Idris and swirled around the console as House cried out.

"_**No. Doctor, stop this. Agh! Stop this now!**_"

"Oh, look at my girl. Look at her go. Bigger on the inside. You see, House?"

"_**Make them stop!**_"

"That's your problem. Size of a planet, but inside, you are just so small."

"_**Make it stop!**_"

"Finish him off, girls!"

"_**Ow! Don't do this! Agh!**_"

The lights went dim and then a chime from the cloister bell brought them all on, a bright orange and blue once more.

"Doctor? Are you there? It's so very dark in here."

The Doctor turned to see a golden image of Idris at the stairs. "I'm here."

"I've been looking for a word. A big, complicated word, but so sad. I've found it now."

"What word?" He asked, voice sad.

"Alive. I'm alive."

"Alive isn't sad."

"It's sad when it's over. I'll always be here, but this is when we talked, and now even that has come to an end. There's something I didn't get to say to you."

"Goodbye?" The Doctor asked, throat getting tight with the onslaught of possible tears.

"No. I just wanted to say… hello. Hello, Doctor. It's so very, very nice to meet you and your wife." She smiled, but the Doctor's voice cracked.

"Please. I don't want you to… please."

"Take care of her, Doctor." She breathed out, reaching a hand up and cupping his cheek. "I picked her out special, just for my Thief. And she is so, very, very like you. So scared and lonely, but you have each other now, and it is my _pleasure_ to watch after you both…I love you."

* * *

The Doctor swayed lightly back and forth under the Tardis console as something sparked and the two Ponds descended in concern.

"How's it going under there?" Rory asked.

"Just putting a firewall around the Matrix. Almost done." He replied, acting normal.

"Are you going to make her talk again?" Amy questioned softly.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Spacey wacey, isn't it?" Amy joked, trying to cheer him up.

"Well, actually, it's because the Time Lords discovered that if you take an eleventh dimensional matrix and fold it into a mechanical then…" The Doctor sighed, wishing Alex was up to help explain it simply, before jumping as Rory messed with some wiring. "_Yes_, it's spacey wacey!"

"Sorry." Rory apologized. "Um, at the end, she was talking. She kept repeating something. I don't know what it meant."

"What did she say?"

"'The only water in the forest is the river'? She said we'd need to know that someday. It doesn't make sense, does it?" Rory muttered.

"Not yet. Alex might know." The Doctor looked at Rory. "You okay?"

"No. I watched her die. I shouldn't let it get to me, but it still does. I'm a nurse." Rory replied, admitting what was bothering him.

"Letting it get to you. You know what that's called? Being alive. Best thing there is. Being alive right now, that's all that counts." He smiled. "Nearly finished. Two more minutes, then we're off. The Eye of Orion's restful, if you like restful. I can never really get the hang of restful. What do you think, dear? Where shall we take the kids this time?" He asked the Tardis and Amy chuckled.

"Look at you pair. It's always you and her, isn't it, long after the rest of us have gone. A boy and his box, off to see the universe. And Alex, of course. How is she, by the way?"

"Resting. Bit rough this time round." The Doctor said, a fond smile on his lips as he spoke to the Tardis. "Oh, she put up a good fight, didn't she?"

The ship flickered its lights with a hum, agreeing with him, proudly.

"She was already lacking sleep and a bit malnourished, but nothing too bad. It was the connecting with House through the Ood that did her in."

"Yeah, how did she do that? You never really mentioned." Rory asked curiously.

"Oh, her mind's a bit of a mystery. My best assumption is that House was trying to get into her head for a moment earlier and when she went and tapped into the Ood's telepathic signature, she recognized House. She then overwhelmed the Ood and chased House out, giving him a little headache; though the Ood were more than appreciative when we dropped him off." He shook his head. "Anyway, she chased House out of the Ood and followed him into the empty shell of the Tardis. Took a little getting used to, which was why we didn't see any results until she made that glass of water appear."

"_She_ did that?!"

"Yup. Probably testing out what she could do under the radar." The Doctor explained. "But _then_, she was basically giving him one hell of a headache. She's rather good at that. Has had lots of practice. And because she and the Tardis are connected, she made it that much easier for the Tardis Matrix to get access through the tough outer paneling. Help from the inside, as it were."

"So, why is she knocked out if she won?" Amy asked.

"Hm, probably a bit of this, a bit of that. She was already physically exhausted and doing what she did would take a large amount of mental strength. The other issue is her connection with the Tardis. It would have been hard to separate herself from the ship. I believe that's what happened earlier. When Idris touched that mark on her shoulder, for an instant, they connected and—since Alex was more than unprepared for the result—Alex had a hard time getting that Tardis part of her back. I'm assuming it wasn't as bad this time around because she _knew_ it was going to happen, but you never know. She'll probably be out for another few hours, so… I guess the trip will have to wait until she's up. Oh! And House deleted all the bedrooms. I should probably make you two a new one. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"Okay." Amy said, muttering with Rory briefly. "Uh, Doctor? This time could we lose the bunk beds?"

"No. Bunk beds are cool. A bed with a ladder. You can't beat that." He argued.

"Do you and _Alex_ have bunk beds?" Amy countered and he begrudgingly pouted.

"It's your room. Out those stairs, keep walking till you find it. Off you pop."

Once they were gone, he headed up and spoke to the console.

"Are you there? Can you hear me?" He called, but the Tardis remained stubbornly silent. "Oh, I'm a silly old—"

"Could you _not_ mess with her wiring?"

He turned abruptly to see a grumpy looking Alex heading down the stairs; glasses askew and hair touseled as she glared at him tiredly.

"Alex, you shouldn't be up for half a dozen more hours!"

Alex moved over to him and allowed him to hold her in a light hug as he leaned up against the console.

"She woke me up. You were upsetting her." She looked up at him with a small frown. "And don't get all pouty either. She hates it when you do that."

The Doctor smiled. "You always know so much about her, don't you?"

Alex sighed, shifting her arms to wrap around the back of his neck instead of his back. "She may not speak with us in words, Theta, but she'll always tell you what you need to hear if you listen."

She leaned up and kissed him softly, him returning it with a small groan as she pulled back.

"Come on. I'm still tired and you're warm." She murmured, tugging him up the stairs as he chuckled.

"Yes, yes. I'm coming."


	104. The Shakespeare Code

**I know, I'm late. Sorry. Life was a little nuts, work even more so. But here's the next chapter! I hope you all enjoy and apologies ahead of time for that ending...That being said, I'm planning on doing 'The Pilot' for the next chapter, so if you haven't started the new season, then shame on you. Hop to it! That being said, I loved it and I think Bill is amazing. Don't know what the fandom had against her, but they did the same when Peter Capaldi first started too, so I've learned to ignore them :P**

**Anyway, ignore my rambling. Watch 'The Pilot' for the next chapter. And please let me know what you thought about this one! It took a lot of work to figure out how I was going to keep from causing a paradox, but-with some helpful ideas from my mother-I think this worked out. ^^**

* * *

I didn't wake up nearly as warm as I had been when I went to bed earlier. _Then again, I was curled up with Eleven. Ugh, I don't want to wake up now._ I shifted with a groan, the headache that had persisted the last few days while I'd stayed with the Doctor and the Ponds finally gone, though appearing in an alleyway without my glasses had me frustrated. _Least I'm wearing clothes. If this happened yesterday, I would have had a problem._ I glance down at my attire though and scowled. _That being said, I doubt _any_ time period or planet would be fine with the Doctor's blue Tardis boxers and his shirt._ I pulled a hand through my messed-up hair and patted at the pocket of the pink-tinted dress shirt in the hopes that _all_ the Doctor's pockets were bottomless.

I had gotten lucky and this one was, and with the Tardis in such a good mood lately, I was relieved to find a spare change of clothes. A quick change in a dark doorway, and I was good to go; unbuttoning the top couple buttons of my light cream dress shirt and allowing my suspenders to hang down around my legs for now. I stretched with a small grunt as my back popped and I headed down the road; wearing worn boots with my brown jeans this time. That being said, I was rather surprised to find myself on the cobblestones of an old English town as opposed to actual streets. I removed my glasses (a pair found alongside my outfit in the small pocket of the Doctor's shirt) and cleaned them, trying to make sure I wasn't seeing things, but lo and behold; old English town it was.

"Well then, that's curious." I murmured, heading down the road in search of pub that I might barter my way into some money for a stay at an inn. "Wonder if I'm any good at darts or poker." I frowned, stepping to the side of a man carrying a barrel over his shoulder. "When were those games invented, anyway?"

I soon found one and discovered I was more than good at Pitch Penny, being able to get enough money for almost a week at the nearby inn, buy a round of drinks for the house—getting rather pink in the cheeks myself—and gaining the admiration of a number of companions. Many of which were women themselves, though another rather interesting character appeared as well. I hadn't expected William Shakespeare the first time, nor the second. By the third time we'd bumped into one another, we had become decent comrades when it came to intellectual debates. I abandoned pitching pennies in the pub and accepted a job helping make and set up the background pieces for his plays. However, he found it far more entertaining to challenge me to verbal word-play while across a chess board at the inn we both stayed at. As someone who not only respected the man for his works, but was also able to keep up with his mentality—and he, mine—I began to grow fond of the man with that hint of mischief in his eyes.

He reminded me of the Doctor, however, and I began to wonder if I had ended up meeting Shakespeare after said man and Martha paid their visit. I had very highly doubted that I met him beforehand, because Martha had only first discovered who I was back in Manhattan. To meet her before that could cause a paradox, which I'd rather avoid, but when Shakespeare mentioned the plot to an upcoming play he was writing, my concerns were confirmed. He was writing _Love's Labour's Lost_, which meant the witches and the Doctor would show up. And with Martha in the Doctor's wake, I discovered a problem I had to take care of. _She obviously hadn't known me in Manhattan, so something must have happened to remove her memories of me. Either that, or I'll need to keep my identity a secret… which is a pain… I'll figure something out._

I let out a heavy sigh just as Dolly walked in and deposited some mugs.

"Oh, sighing again then, Alex? Here. Drink up." She said, pressing a hot cup of tea into my hands as opposed to the alcohol she passed to the four other men at the table. "There's enough beer and tea in this lodgings house to sink the Spanish."

"Dolly Bailey, you've saved my life." Shakespeare smirked, accepting his glass as I took my cup and sipped at the tea with an eye-roll. "Alex gets all sorts of barmy without his tea."

Dolly grinned in return. "I'll do more than that later tonight with you, Will." She then turned to the other maid that I briefly glanced at, knowing who—or _what_—she was. "And you, girl. Hurry up with your tasks. The talk of gentlemen is best not overheard."

"Yes, ma'am. Sorry, ma'am."

_She must hate the woman. She's what? Hundreds of years old and being treated like a child? Though, it is going into the 1600s. While I'm not quite sure Will realizes I'm a woman, I'm lucky the others don't, or I'd be getting similar treatment. _I glanced at said man beside me as Burbage ranted on and complained about Shakespeare's sudden decision to do a sequel to _Love's Labour's Lost_. _You never know with Will. He figured out the Doctor pretty quick. Or, _will_ figure him out, anyway. God, now I know how the Tardis felt. Tenses are horrific._

"What do you think then, Alex?" Kempe questioned me, drawing me out of my thoughts and making me hum in question around my cup.

"Hm?"

"Will's gone mad, yeah? We're not ready for this and he's not even finished it yet."

I set the cup down and adjusted my glasses as I leaned back in my chair and draped an arm over the back of it.

"Well, he's nearly done, from what I saw. Yes?"

Will nodded. "I've just got the final scene to go. You'll get it by morning."

The two men grimaced, but I held out a hand; palm up.

"See? Besides, if you do well getting it memorized and set up in time, then you can rant and rave about how quickly you were able to succeed. Makes you look impressive. 'Oh, we only had a few hours, but look how great it turned out'! People'll think you're brilliant. Might even nab a few lady fans. I've heard they like guys who prove themselves under pressure."

_That_ got their attention and the two exchanged looks before Burbage slapped my shoulder with a hearty laugh.

"Well, if _you_ say so, then it must be true, right?"

Even Kempe managed a grin. "Our two lady-killers must know a thing or two and you've yet to steer us wrong, Alex."

I shrugged, returning to my drink. "If all else fails, a successful play will at least pay for a round of drinks, right boys?"

"Here, here!" Will grinned, raising his mug with the other two and sending me a grateful look for easily diffusing the situation, before my headache arrived at the door to the room.

"Hello!" The Tenth Doctor grinned, playing polite and drawing attention of our group to him. "Excuse me, not interrupting, am I? Mister Shakespeare, isn't it?"

"Oh, no." Will groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "No, no, no. Who let you in? No autographs. No, you can't have yourself sketched with me. And please don't ask where I get my ideas from. Thanks for the interest. Now be a good boy and shove—" Shakespeare stopped upon caching sight of Martha timidly entering behind the Doctor. "Hey, nonny, nonny. Sit right down here next to me." He told her, shooing off Burbage and Kempe. "You two get sewing on them costumes. Off you go."

I started to shift as well, but Will grabbed my wrist.

"No, you stay, Alex. I'll need some tips for the final scene later."

"Alex?" The Doctor questioned, but I ignored him and sighed as I sat back down at Will's side.

"Alright, but I don't know how much help I'll be, Will."

He smirked. "Always helpful, you are, Alex. And not one to comment on my business, nor take my muses." He glanced at Martha with a cocky grin. "Sweet lady."

Martha took her seat on his other side with a smile as the Doctor placed himself between her and me; his eyes giving me a curious once-over as I settled for ignoring him for now. _It's the Doctor right after Rose too, so he'll be annoying. Could never tell if he was going to be nice with me or upset. Suppose we'll find out soon enough, though if he interrupts me, I'll beat him a new one._

"Such unusual clothes. So fitted." Will commented, glancing briefly at me. "Much like yours, Alex."

I snorted lightly. "Please. Keep your eyes on the one you're flattering, Will."

Martha searched for something to say at Will's charming smile, and I nearly choked on my tea with what she came up with.

"Um, verily, forsooth, egads."

"No, no. Don't do that. Don't." The Doctor stopped her, before thrusting out his psychic paper. "I'm Sir Doctor of Tardis and this is my companion, Miss Martha Jones."

Will barely glanced at the paper. "Interesting, that bit of paper, it's blank."

"Oh, that's very clever. That proves it. Absolute genius." He glanced at me then. "And you?"

"Don't bother, Doctor." I replied, looking a bit amused at his expression. "I'll save us all some trouble and inform you that, yes. I'm the same Alex. No, I'm not going to tell you anything unless I deem it important enough for you to know and _no_." I leaned forward with a sickly-sweet smile. "I will not put up with any of your stubbornness on the issue." I leaned back in my chair once more. "And I suggest not interrupting me. This body of mine doesn't take kindly to it."

"You know him, Alex?" Will questioned and I hummed.

"I know him, yes." I looked at the slightly annoyed Doctor beside me from over the rim of my glass. "Though it's up to him as to whether knowing him is a pleasure or not."

Martha looked confused now. "Wait. You _know_ each other?"

"I'll explain later." The Doctor grumbled and Martha reached out and grabbed his psychic paper.

"And it says right here, Sir Doctor and Martha Jones."

"And I say it's blank." Will repeated, his curious gaze searching all three of us now that he knew there was a connection between the Doctor and I.

"Psychic paper. Um, long story." The Doctor rattled off, before grimacing. "Oh, I hate starting from scratch."

"Liar." I commented. "You like showing off. You just don't like explaining it."

He wrinkled his nose as Will cut in.

"Psychic? Never heard that before and words are my trade."

"It's dull." I explained briefly. "Scientific. It involves matters of the mind. Basically, the paper says what the holder wants it to say. Only it doesn't work on the ridiculously clever, highly powerful telepathic beings—people with lots of mental power—or those trained to see past it. It's an illusion on paper, Will. Like my sleight of hand tricks."

I flicked up a coin between my knuckles, ran it over each finger before tucking it in and opening my hand to reveal it had vanished. Will hummed in slight understanding.

"A wizard then."

I rolled my eyes. "Use your words, Will. Less witch and wizard, more… eye-catching distraction."

He smirked. "I'm beginning to think _you_ are the one with a way with words, Alex."

"Only to give demonstrations and diffuse tensions, Will. Please." I waved my hand towards Martha and the Doctor; who was still scowling. "Feel free to continue your wooing. Don't let me stand between you both."

He nodded. "Quite right. Who are you?" He asked the Doctor, before shifting his gaze longingly to Martha. "More's the point, who is your delicious blackamoor lady?"

"What did you say?" Martha gaped and Will turned to me in concern.

"Isn't that a word we use nowadays? An Ethiop girl? A swarth? A Queen of Afric?"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this." Martha huffed as I rolled my eyes and allowed the Doctor to control this one.

"It's political-correctness gone mad." The Doctor muttered, attempting to explain to Will through other means. "Uh, Martha's from a far-off land. Freedonia."

I spotted the large man coming in quickly and scowled. "Incoming, Will. The Master of Revels is here."

Will looked up and groaned, grumbling to me under his breath. "Is it not your turn to deal with him, Alex?"

I ignored the looks being sent to us from the Doctor and Martha; who'd yet to notice the incoming man.

"Depends. I thought you wanted to impress a girl?"

Will scoffed, but had a playful tilt to his lips. "You _are_ the trickster."

I let out a short breath out my nose as the man stormed over.

"Excuse me! Hold hard a moment. This is abominable behavior. A new play with no warning? I demand to see a script, Mister Shakespeare. As Master of the Revels, every new script must be registered at my office and examined by me before it can be performed."

"Tomorrow morning, first thing. I'll send it round." Will replied easily, giving Martha an eyeroll that made her chuckle.

Lynley, of course, didn't appreciate the action. "I don't work to your schedule; you work to mine. The script. Now!"

"I ca—"

I stopped Will before he could deny the man the script; hoping to avoid at least one death in this mess.

"Sir, why don't you and I come up with some sort of arrangement?" I offered, slowly rising from my seat and shifting around the table to cut him off from the others as he seethed.

"Arrangement?!" He barked loudly, face blotchy and red. "The arrangement is, now or nev—"

I reached a hand up and appeared to pull a fine sovereign from his ear. "Surely, _something_ can be done, sir?" I rolled the coin along my knuckles and one fine sovereign became two. "Shall you and I discuss things in the other room?"

The heated anger in the man's face and neck eased as his beady grey eyes locked onto the two coins moving about my fingers before I flicked one in the air and he caught it.

"Very well. Perhaps an arrangement can be made."

"Good." I tilted my head to look at the others from over my shoulder. "I'll bring you news when I finish, Will. And watch out for him, Martha. He's a sly dog, if I've ever known one."

* * *

The Doctor frowned, still eyeing the doorway that Alex had walked out with Lynley long after they'd gone. Martha and Shakespeare were getting along well enough, after all, so he could focus his mind of her. _She's not the same as the others. Regenerated again, obviously, but those eyes…_

"Doctor, was it?" Shakespeare mused, pulling the Doctor from his thoughts. "How is it that you know Alex, then?"

"Well, I could ask you the same." He countered playfully. "We're old acquaintances that bump into each other on occasion."

"Acquaintances?" Shakespeare almost scoffed as he took a drink from his mug. "One Alex has not mentioned to me until now and one who he looks at with eyes of fire. I've yet to see anyone who can challenge his expressions so easily as you."

There was a knock at the door and Dolly stood there with a small smile.

"I got you a room, Sir Doctor. You and Miss Jones are just across the landing." She looked at Shakespeare then. "And the Master of Revels has left. Seems Alex got you out of some trouble again, Will."

Shakespeare lifted his mug. "My debt to him grows. Have some tea ready for him when he returns, Dolly."

She bowed and left, and Shakespeare turned back to the Doctor and Martha.

"Now then, this land of Freedonia. Miss Jones says it is a place where a woman can be a doctor?

"Where a woman can do what she likes." Martha corrected, looking a bit smug.

Shakespeare nodded and shifted his gaze to the Doctor. "And you, Sir Doctor. How can a man so young have eyes so old?"

"I do a lot of reading." He answered cautiously, making Shakespeare smirk.

"A trite reply. Yeah, that's what I'd do. Alex was much different when I asked him."

This caught the Doctor's attention.

"What did sh—_he_ reply with?"

Shakespeare smirked, looking down at the drink in his hand. "You're only as old as the experiences you've lived through." He shook his head and turned to Martha. "And you? You look at him like you're surprised he exists. He's as much of a puzzle to you as he is to me. And as _Alex_ is to me."

Startled, Martha searched for an escape. "I think we should say goodnight."

She left and the Doctor hesitated as Shakespeare got more settled at his desk.

"I must work. I have a play to complete, but I'll get my answers tomorrow, Doctor. And I'll discover more about you and why this constant performance of yours."

"'All the world's a stage'." The Doctor quoted.

"Hm, I might use that. Goodnight, Doctor. Send Alex my way when he's finished with you."

The Doctor's brows furrowed, but he headed out. "Nighty, night, Shakespeare."

"Not exactly five star, is it?" Martha commented the moment he entered their room.

"Oh, it'll do. I've seen worse."

"I haven't even got a toothbrush."

"Oh, uh…" He dug through his pockets before pulling one out. "Contains Venusian spearmint."

She took it with an amused look as he loosened his tie.

"So, who's going where? I mean, there's only one bed."

"We'll manage. Come on." He said, laying back on the bed himself, thinking.

"Budge up a bit then." Martha said, and he scooted over. "Sorry, there's not much room. Us two here, same bed. Tongues will wag."

A knock sounded on the door then and the Doctor bolted up out of the bed to get it, missing Martha's disappointed scowl. He yanked the door open and didn't even give Alex a chance to say anything before he pulled her inside and closed it. She looked hardly pleased as she readjusted her glasses, but he still didn't let her speak. He wanted to be the first.

"What are you doing here?"

She scoffed, turning away from him and strolling to the armchair nearby. "Are you going to ask that question every time I show up? I can't control it, you know, and you're asking all the wrong questions. If you want an honest answer though… I'm here in London, 1599 because I popped up here. I'm here at this inn because it was the closest to the pub where I earned some money with cheap tricks. I'm with Shakespeare because we hit it off with a half-drunk intellectual debate at said pub, and I needed a job. And I'm here in this room because I've just save Lynley's life and have therefore destroyed the first step to you lot figuring out that something's going on. Though, please." She waved a hand at him as she sat down. "Feel free to continue asking stupid questions."

His mouth hung open in blatant shock, but she wasn't done yet.

"Oh, and we're going to have to do something about you." She pointed at Martha, who looked surprised.

"Me?"

"You're not supposed to have met me this early. You had no clue who I was on your next trip. So, my being here now, can cause a paradox, if I'm not careful."

Martha shook her head, sitting up straighter. "N-Now, hold on a minute. I'm confused. You know me?"

Alex sighed. "Let's make this simple. I travel around the Doctor's time line, popping up in his past and his future at random. _So_, I know you later on. In the future. The Doctor and I go way back. Further than he seems to remember, apparently." She shot the Doctor a look at that, before closing her eyes and settling back in the chair. "Though, if he continues to gape in shock at me for much longer, we are going to get nowhere."

The Doctor finally closed his mouth with an audible 'snap' before moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

"You've changed." He murmured and Alex scoffed.

"I'm seven hundred and twenty-eight. Of course, I've changed. The oldest version of me that you've bumped into—knowingly—was what? In her thirties? Skittish, shy, red hair… I miss my red hair… it's a bit dull now..."

"Seven hundred?!" Martha exclaimed and Alex scowled.

"See? _I_ hate starting from scratch. You have it easy. 'Oh, I'm nine hundred years old and I live in a time and space machine, hop in!' I have far more explaining to do."

He was gaping again though, hardly listening to her rant. "You're… You're seven hundred and twenty-eight years old?"

Her blue eyes shifted to him, staring at him seriously from behind her lenses. "Yes. I am seven hundred and twenty-eight. I've traveled with you for seven hundred years and I've learned more about you and about myself than you could imagine. So, understand when I say that I will not put up with you and your stubbornness. I will fight your accusations tooth and nail, and will not allow you to treat me as you have treated my younger self. You think _you're_ scary? The mere mention of my name sends races running away in fear. Far more than the Oncoming Storm. I've even had Rassilon cowering in fear, so don't _test_ me, Doctor. This body of mine is far less tolerable for your idiocy."

At the mention of Rassilon, the Doctor had paled. The tension in the room was palpable and even Martha was struggling to breathe as a shiver went down her spine. This person was frightening. Terrifying, even. And both her and the Doctor could tell that Alex was not someone to mess with. Then, another knock came to the door and the pressure suddenly vanished as Dolly entered with a small smile and passed a cup of tea over to Alex and a tray with some food.

"Here you go, Alex. I brought some soup from the kitchen as well. I had forgotten you hadn't eaten dinner because Will had you running about."

Alex let out a soft sigh, taking the tea as Dolly set the tray down. "Dolly, you are a lifesaver."

The woman smiled. "Don't take too long. Will's already starting to groan in the other room."

Alex hummed and Dolly left, allowing the room to settle once more. All pressure was gone though and the Doctor swallowed thickly as realization dawned on him. That had only been a hint—a _taste_—of what Alex could do. She was in a foul mood because of hunger, but if she was truly furious, the Doctor feared what she claimed to be capable of. _I'd been cruel to her for so long… This is what she's become? Because of me? Just who is she? Just what have I been messing with?_

"Apologies." Alex said then, startling them from their silence. "While my temper is more volatile, Will has run me ragged. Eating is only done when there is a small reprieve and between the physical labor of doing the sets during the day and assisting him with his play at night, I've little chance for sleep as well. I need to get back to him soon though, so please, ask away."

A sense of calm fell over the room and the Doctor knew now, that it was coming from her. A 'go ahead, I won't attack' gesture of peace. He was still cautious though, now that he knew what she could do.

"You… You said something was going on."

She hummed, sipping some of her soup. "Hm. Picked the right question on the first try. Yes. Something is going on and because I've interfered, you won't know about it until it's too late. Hence, why I'm here to explain and get the plot going."

"How do you know something is happening?" Martha asked cautiously, still shaken from before. "Did you see something?"

"In a sense. I'm typically labeled as 'The Seer' by others. I have foreknowledge of much of the Doctor's adventures. This being one of them. Though, the Doctor usually has a temper about how I chose to use my talents. As long as we work together and towards the same means, however, I don't believe we'll have a problem here, yes?"

The Doctor resisted the urge to shiver as those eyes went back to him. "Yes."

"Good." She closed them briefly as she drank some tea and returned to her soup. "Now, do you want the long or the short of it? I can explain what I have changed and let you figure out the rest, or I could give you a quick summary of what's going on and we can work on fixing it. Neither will change much, though it's up to you as to whether you'd like me to just give you the whole picture or allow you the challenge of solving it yourself."

She was baiting him, he knew. Thus, proving how well she truly knew him. All it took was that challenge and she'd twisted him around her finger; a telltale twitch of her lips into a small smirk further proving that.

"What did you change?" He asked, not pleased about how she was messing with him.

"Simply put, I saved Lynley from dying."

"He was going to die?" Martha questioned and the Doctor held out a hand to silence her.

"How?"

Alex calmly took a piece of bread and dipped it in her soup. "He was supposed to have announced that he was never going to let _Love's Labour's Won_ be played. I prevented that. Should I have remained seated and allowed things to continue, he would have been overheard by a… less-desirable person, who would proceed to have him killed. The _way_ he was killed would have thrown up red flags."

"How do you mean?" Martha asked, curiously and Alex looked up, a spark of excitement in her eyes.

"Witchcraft."

Martha's mouth dropped open, but the Doctor cut in.

"There's no such thing."

Alex shrugged, finishing off the dregs of her soup and turning back to her tea. "Science, witchcraft. Whatever you wish to call it, that is what happened. Or, _would have_ happened, in this case. He would have drowned. Choking on water while standing just outside on dry cobble stone. Then the act would have been completed by an invisible blow to the heart. Call it what you will, but the man would have been dead. Simply put, someone is desperately trying to make sure Shakespeare gets this play out." She stood up then, taking her tea with her. "The rest, as you wished, is for you to figure out. Though I'll still be around assisting. Three people are supposed to die and I've only prevented one. Best we work together to prevent the other two."

The door closed softly behind her and the Doctor felt more worn down than he had in a long while.

"Doctor?"

He turned to Martha, who still looked a bit startled.

"What was that? She knew you, so I thought you were friends, but…"

"She is… It's…" The Doctor struggled to explain. "It's a long story and…" He ran a hand through his hair. "…When she was younger; before, I mean. I… I felt that she was doing more harm than good. It's only recently that I… realized she was only trying to help. That she had _always _just been trying to help. I never thought… She's gotten so _old_. I didn't think that she would… She keeps coming back and with how I treated her before, I… I don't know why. God, did _I_ turn her into that?"

Martha glanced at the door before speaking. "You know what I think?" She turned back to the Doctor, who looked more downtrodden than she'd ever seen. "I think she keeps coming back because… she's worried about you."

The Doctor frowned, confused. "But then, why did she—"

"Anyone would be a little miffed if you treated her as bad as you're making it sound." Martha cut him off, sitting on the edge of the bed beside him. "But why else would she come back? She didn't _have_ to tell us what was supposed to happen just now. She could have dealt with it herself. So, maybe… I mean, I don't know her or anything, but the way she looks at you…" Martha looked at him, struggling with what she was about to say because it hurt her as well. "It's like she's desperately trying to get you to look her way."

* * *

"God, what was I doing?" I complained, dragging a hand down my face as my glasses dangled at my side. "I was supposed to keep my temper, not throw it at him! He hasn't even done anything! Isn't this body supposed to act mature? I'm acting worse than him now!... I need to apologize." I glanced back at the door to his and Martha's room and felt a nervousness stirring in my gut. "Come on, Alex, just do it. Don't get prideful now."

Still, that twisting in my stomach made me scowl and grit my teeth as I replaced my glasses.

"Tomorrow. I'll do it tomorrow."

I turned away and walked to the end of the hall, glancing back once more and growling low in my throat before forcing myself again to turn away and head to Will's room.

"Will? How's the play coming? You need someone to bounce ideas off for those last few lines?" I called out, entering the room only to pause at the young blonde I saw standing there. "As always, my timing is impeccable." I muttered under my breath as Lilith turned to me with wrinkles hiding her once decent-looking face.

I sensed someone come up behind me and spotted Dolly out of the corner of my eye with her broom.

"Alex? Are you going to join us for Will's special treat tonight?" She smirked, eyeing me only to look past and spot Lilith with wide eyes. "What's going on here then?"

Lilith lifted her lip in a snarl. "I'll take that to aid my flight and neither of you shall speak any more this night."

She was quick, I'll admit, and managed to snatch the broom from Dolly before I could so much as blink. After that though, I shoved Dolly behind me just as Lilith reached out. I mentally cursed as her hand touched the left side of my chest and pain rushed through me. I bit back a cry of pain and felt my knees buckle as Dolly let out a scream and ran away. Lilith wasted no time in dashing to the window however, making me relieved that she wasn't pursuing Dolly as my vision darkened around the edges. Footsteps hurriedly approached as Lilith cackled off into the night and a set of hands shifted my body on the ground. _Huh, don't remember falling…_ _Hold on a minute, am I in shock or something? I have two hearts._ I sucked in a gasp, coughing and choking as I clutched my shirt in pain and let out a string of curses that would have made a sailor blush.

"Alex!" The Doctor exclaimed and I glared at him through blurred vision.

It apparently hadn't been darkening. My glasses had just fallen and death was still a long ways off. The human part of my body had simply registered the blow as death and it took a moment for my Time Lord bits to remind it that I had _two_ of the vital organs in my chest.

"Damn it all." I bit out through clenched teeth as the Doctor helped me sit up somewhat. "How the hell do you lot deal with it? How the hell did _I_ deal with it? One heart? One heart?! It's rubbish!"

"You're alive…" The Doctor breathed out and I sent a squinty-eyed glare his way.

"Of course, I'm alive, you bumbling nitwit. Dolly wouldn't have been, but again, I've got impeccable _timing_." My voice rose in pitch on the last word as my other heart begged me to ease its burden and restart the other. "God, somebody hit me."

"What?!"

I couldn't even roll my eyes with the pain gripping my chest. "My back, you moron! She stopped my heart and I'm perhaps ten seconds from becoming an unconscious heap on the floor if you don't restart it."

"Right… Right. Which side?" He questioned, sounding anxious.

"Left!"

A hard hit slammed into my back and I groaned.

"Your other left!"

"Sorry."

With his second hit, he got my heart going again and I let out a groan as I leaned back.

"Thank goodness. The other one had just about given up then."

I then realized that I hadn't been leaning up against the wall, but the Doctor himself, and I quickly sat back upright.

"Apologies."

"Ah, no! I-It's alright, but… what happened?"

I resisted the smile that the swelling in my chest threatened to have break out on my face at the sight of his lightly pink cheeks and nodded to Martha.

"Well, perhaps you should ask her what she spotted out the window and we'll go from there." I saw a confused Will looking around as well and sighed. "And we best explain everything before Will has an aneurism."

"Right… Right."

* * *

It had taken until the next morning for the group to all be caught up with one another as to what was happening. The connection between Shakespeare and the witches had been brief, but now that they were on the right track, Alex had gone quiet. The Doctor hadn't noticed at first, having been distracted with trying to figure out why the fourteen sides of the Globe seemed suspicious. It wasn't until they were making their way to Bedlam to speak with Peter Streete that he slowed down to speak with her.

"You alright?"

She was pale, he noticed, but had yet to complain.

"I'm as alright as I can be, given the situation." She answered, making him frown.

"You know, it's okay to say you're not."

She raised a brow at him for that. "Says the man who goes out of his way to force a smile on his face when _he's _not."

He bristled, prepared to argue with her, but she sighed and turned her eyes away.

"It hurts, if you really want to know." She muttered, rubbing the left side of her chest. "A tolerable ache, but an ache nonetheless. My body takes a little longer to process injuries than a full Time Lord, and with the lack of sleep and a proper meal, I'll possibly be better by the end of the day."

He relaxed slightly at the honest response.

"I… apologize though." She said then, turning to him. "For what happened earlier. I hadn't meant to lose my temper. Lack of comfort is hardly an excuse for what I did, especially with Martha around. My mental prowess has more of an effect on humans than I wished and I typically have better control over it. She didn't deserve to have that to deal with because of my inability to keep a hold of my emotions."

The Doctor frowned suddenly. "Why do you talk like that?" He asked, seemingly out of nowhere. "All proper. It's not just a tick, is it?"

"Why do I…" She frowned herself, looking a tad confused by the question herself before looking away with her brows furrowed in thought. "Part of it is. This body tends to lean more towards mature, proper, more complete thoughts."

"But?" He pressed.

She looked a little frustrated, but not at his question; at whatever answer she was going to give. "I… I don't know how to deal with this version of you."

"Seven hundred years popping up around, and you don't know how to handle me?" He questioned. "You were doing fine before. The whole 'what do you want me to tell you' bit."

She waved him off, scrunching her nose as she closed her eyes and shook her head. "No, no. I can do that with any version of you. That's something all of your regenerations can't stand; being one-upped with a challenge. Each regeneration of yours though, is different. There's little things that I pick up with each one. For example, a future version of you always has to stop and check his appearance when he passes a mirror."

The Doctor wrinkled his nose at that, but she continued.

"And another regeneration will purposely act ignorant and uncaring when he feels the complete opposite. And, just for kicks, your Ninth self had issues with his lack of hair as well as his ears. And let's not mention his intolerability for people who knew more than he did." She glanced at him though, those blue eyes narrowed in annoyance. "_This_ you, however is difficult to deal with."

"How so?" He questioned.

"My younger self was the only one who dealt with you while Rose was around." She commented, though the Doctor felt a hint of her sadness upon mentioning Rose that she let float between them for a moment. "Your older Tenth self is better, but this you is right in-between. You don't seem to hate me as much as your younger self did, but you don't li—_tolerate_ me as much as your future self. You bounce back and forth between the two at random intervals that I can never seem to predict until it's too late to fix."

"So, you speak properly because—"

"Because I'd rather think my thoughts through and convey them as best I can to avoid causing you to have mixed feelings about me and, therefore, verbally attacking me in some form or fashion."

The Doctor stared with wide eyes. "But I—"

"You will." She cut him off, keeping her eyes on the road ahead of them. "And that's the problem with having already gone through your future. I know that nothing I say here and now will change how you will treat my younger self later on." Her eyes flickered to his tense expression. "Deny it all you want, but I've already experienced it. The most I can do now, is try not to make you any more frustrated with me than you already are. I had enough to deal with as it was, without my older self making things worse."

The Doctor wanted to argue with her, to say something that would convince her that he would do better; that he was _trying_ _to be_ better. However, the conversation was over with. She hadn't moved away from him or anything like that, but there was a sense of finality to the last thing that she had said. Something that said, 'this is how it's going to be and nothing you say can convince me otherwise, so just leave it alone'. He wasn't about to let it go, though. He wanted to prove to her that she was wrong. He couldn't do that verbally, so he would drop his questioning for now, but he would show her. He would prove that she could trust him.

"Doctor."

"Hm?" He turned, spotting that Alex had stopped.

"Martha and Will aren't following."

He groaned, doubling back and spotting the two smirking at one another.

"Come on. We can all have a good flirt later."

"Is that a promise, Doctor?" Shakespeare smirked and Alex snorted as said man groaned.

"Oh, fifty-seven academics just punched the air… now move!"

The group got going again and soon reached Bedlam, though no one looked pleased about it.

"Does my Lord Doctor wish some entertainment while he waits?" The guard asked, smirking with rotten teeth. "I'd whip these madmen. They'll put on a good show for you. Mad dog in Bedlam."

"No, I don't." The Doctor answered, though he spotted Alex scowling and massaging her temples.

"Well, wait here, my lords, while I make him decent for the lady." The guard replied, heading off to get Peter Streete dressed as Martha turned her frown to Shakespeare.

"So this is what you call a hospital, yeah? Where the patients are whipped to entertain the gentry? And you put your friend in here?"

"Oh, it's all so different in Freedonia." He grumbled as Alex piped in.

"Martha, watch your tongue. Remember when you're are and who you are speaking with."

Martha hesitated at her cold tone, but soon spoke again to Shakespeare. "But you're clever. Do you honestly think this place is any good?"

"I've been mad. I've lost my mind. Fear of this place set me right again. It serves its purpose." The playwright said solemnly.

His tense shoulders relaxed slightly when Alex placed her hand on his shoulder, and he sent her a grateful look.

"Mad in what way?" Martha questioned cautiously, but the Doctor answered this one.

"You lost your son."

"My only boy." Shakespeare nodded. "The Black Death took him. I wasn't even there."

"I didn't know. I'm sorry." Martha apologized to him, and to Alex.

"It made me question everything. The futility of this fleeting existence. To be or not to be. Oh, that's quite good." He mused, the tense space around them lightening up.

"You should write that down." The Doctor commented, glancing at Alex, who was playing ignorant to the atmosphere change.

"Maybe not. A bit pretentious?"

"For a William Shakespeare play?" Alex scoffed, earning a small smile from the man as the guard returned.

"This way, my lord!"

They followed after him, but Alex nudged the Doctor.

"Might I borrow your psychic paper for a moment."

"Sure, but what for?"

"You'll see." She said shortly and the Doctor wasn't the only one who was surprised at how quiet Bedlam became as they walked through.

He could feel it though, the wave of calm that Alex spread out through the space they were walking past. Those supposed 'crazed madmen' were calming down at an alarming rate. They went from screaming and crying to quiet and relaxed as the group passed through. Martha, Shakespeare, and the guard looked around in concern and curiosity, but they soon reached Peter Streete's cell.

"They can be dangerous, my lord. Don't know their own strength."

The Doctor went to snap at the man, but Alex spoke instead.

"Perhaps, if you wouldn't whip them, _sir_, then you wouldn't have such a problem. Now, get out of here and give me your whip."

"Sir?"

She held out the psychic paper with a snarl. "Give me the whip and know that if I hear so much as a peep about you harming the people in your care, you will wish you got locked up in this place as opposed to where I'll send you."

"R-Right. Yes, sir. Sorry, sir." The man stuttered out, passing the whip over and bolting from the room after he shut it behind them.

"Pest." Alex hissed, snapping the thick-handled whip over her knee with inhuman strength and tossing it aside.

"What did you do?" Martha asked and Alex passed the Doctor back his psychic paper, as he read it.

"Chief of Staff for Bedlam Hospital?" The Doctor questioned with a small smile. "Well, now, aren't you clever?"

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Doctor." Alex replied. "These people have enough to deal with already, without having 'whipping' added to the list."

"And the silence?" Shakespeare questioned. "Was that you as well?"

Alex hesitated briefly. "Yes. I can… project emotions. Like the sense of calm that helped you relax while discussing your son. I did much the same for them."

Shakespeare looked at her hopefully. "Can you help him? Can you bring Peter back?"

The Doctor saw where this was going and took a step forward. "Now, hold on—"

Alex though, held out a hand and stopped him, looking at Shakespeare seriously. "I can make no promises, Will."

"Alex!"

She rounded on the Doctor with a fiery heat to her eyes. "_Don't_ interrupt me."

Reluctantly, he grit his teeth and went silent and she continued.

"I can't perform miracles, Will. I can't help just anyone that's stuck in here. Peter is a special case because of how he _became_ mad. I can try to reverse what happened." She gave the Doctor a pointed look at that, letting him know that Pete's insanity had been forced upon him. "However, I can only _start_ to help him. He needs to be able to do the rest. If he's willing to fight and gets support from those around him, only then, will what I do have any effect. If I'm able to do anything at all."

"But you'll try?" Shakespeare breathed out and Alex sighed.

"Yes, I will try."

The Doctor though, grabbed her arm, stopping her. "Hold on. What about you though? Won't this effect you in some way too?"

"I've done something similar before." She said, surprising him. "I was still new to this body though, but have gained more control than back then. I'm not trying to coax a man trapped in his own mind away from a rooftop." She said, making the Doctor's brows furrow.

_That sounds… familiar…_

"Instead, I am breaking a barrier that has been placed on his mind, addling his thoughts. It has been there long enough that it has put pressure on his mind. Hence, why he won't be back to normal right away." She looked at Shakespeare then. "His speech will improve as will his appearance once his thoughts begin to realign as they should." She frowned then. "Though, I suppose this is all rather confusing to you, Will. Martha."

Martha nodded, very much lost to everything other than the fact that Alex could apparently help Peter. Alex sighed though, waving it off.

"Never mind. It doesn't matter how I get there, as long as I accomplish my goal. That being said… Doctor?" She called out, making him straighten in eagerness to help. "Don't let anyone interrupt until I pull away and should it look as though I am weakening, I want you to promise me something."

"What?" He questioned, growing concerned as her blue eyes looked over her shoulder at him.

"Promise me that you'll pull Peter off the bed and behind you the moment there's even a hint of danger. Don't waste a second, or everything that I am about to do will be for not. Promise me that you'll save him."

The Doctor nodded. "Promise."

A small smile flickered across her face for a brief moment, sending the Doctor's hearts racing as pride swelled in his chest alongside something else. Something he didn't even think to consider at that moment, for Alex was kneeling down to Peter, speaking softly.

"Peter. Peter, look at me. I want to help you."

She placed a hand on the man's shoulder and his head snapped up to look at her.

"There you go, Peter." She placed her fingers on his temples and closed her eyes with a small wince. "It's so noisy in your head, isn't it, Peter? All those thoughts, those ideas floating around." She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Do you want me to help you?"

The man shakily nodded and Alex smiled softly, an action the Doctor hadn't thought possible in this body of hers.

"I need you to relax, Peter." She said softly and everyone in the room seemed to loosen up until she spoke next. "Doctor, if you can, try to keep yourself, Martha, and Will mentally protected for a moment. I may have better control than before, but I _will_ let some of it get away from me."

He nodded as Alex continued to soothe Peter and lay him down on his cot; the Doctor allowing a brush of his own mentality to creep over the trio a little ways away to help with the effects Alex was letting out. He knew immediately, that he wasn't nearly as mentally capable as she was, but he had enough power to keep them mostly safe.

"Peter, I'm going to get you to focus on something." Alex murmured, remaining soft spoken as her and Peter closed their eyes. "Tell us about the witches and let me help take away that pain."

"Witches spoke to Peter." The man said, speaking quietly as well. "In the night, they whispered. They whispered. Got Peter to build the Globe to their design. _Their_ design. The fourteen walls. Always fourteen. When the work was done… they snapped my wits."

The Doctor caught the change in point of view of Peter's tale, cutting in.

"Where did you see the witches, Peter? Where in the city?"

"All Hallow's Street." The man replied, when a new voice cackled nearby.

"Too many words."

The group whipped around to see a witch standing nearby and the Doctor's hearts skipped a beat. He hadn't heard her or even sensed her until she spoke, and a quick look at Alex said that she wasn't done with Peter yet. Her eyes were still closed, her face scrunched in concentration as Peter lay silent under her fingers and her words rang in the Doctor's head.

"_Don't let anyone interrupt until I pull away…"_

"_Promise me that you'll pull Peter off the bed and behind you the moment there's even a hint of danger. Don't waste a second, or everything that I am about to do will be for not. Promise me that you'll save him."_

He was stuck. Her words contradicted each other in this moment. Then, the witch moved.

"Just one touch of the heart."

"No!" The Doctor shouted as her hand shifted towards Peter.

He reached out, keeping to his promise and pulling Peter away from her hand and tucking the man behind him just as Alex whipped around and grabbed the witch's wrist.

"Witch! I'm seeing a witch!" Shakespeare said in amazement, but the Doctor was far more worried about Alex.

"Release me or you will be next!" The witch snarled, waving her other hand. "Just one touch. Oh, oh, I'll stop your frantic hearts. Poor, fragile mortals."

Martha panicked and began yanking on the cell bars to get let out as the Doctor tried to calm her, but even he was having trouble with the wave of fire that came off of Alex as she glared down at the witch.

"Fragile mortal? You honestly believe I'm fragile? Didn't Lilith tell you?" She questioned the witch in her grasp, that took a hesitant step back as Alex's grip tightened. "I survived her attack once already. Do you really think you can do better?"

"Release me!" The witch shouted, reaching for Alex's chest with her other hand.

"Alex!"

Alex though, easily dodged the finger in one fluid movement, shifting behind the witch and holding her captive wrist behind her back painfully.

"I think you'll find, _Doomfinger_, that I know more about your group than you'd care for. I've already said two of your names. I wonder what I could do with that power?"

The witch squirmed. "Who are you?! Release me at once! None on Earth have knowledge of us!"

"Who said I'm from Earth?" Alex whispered to the witch, who's eyes widened as she struggled further. "Care to take a guess, Doctor? Humanoid female, used words and shapes to channel energy? You were curious about the Globe before, weren't you?"

The Doctor frowned, hesitant about how Alex was acting, but also trying to think about what she meant just as Peter spoke up quietly from behind him.

"Fourteen."

It clicked in his head then and the Doctor's mouth dropped open in realization.

"Oh! Fourteen! That's it! Fourteen! The fourteen stars of the Rexel planetary configuration!" He exclaimed. "Creature, I name you, Carrionite!"

Doomfinger screamed before vanishing from Alex's grip and everyone let out a long breath of relief.

"What did you do?" Martha asked.

"I named her. The power of a name. That's old magic."

"But there's no such thing as magic." Martha argued from their conversation the previous night.

"Alex mentioned it though, didn't she? It's just a different sort of science. You lot, you chose mathematics. Given the right string of numbers, the right equation, you can split the atom. Carrionites use words instead."

"Use them for what?" Shakespeare asked.

"The end of the world."

Shakespeare turned to Peter then, looking hopeful. "Peter? Are you back then?"

Peter gave him a small smile. "I-I think so. It's still a bit…" He waved a finger at his head. "…but I think I'll be alright."

Shakespeare grinned. "Excellent! I'll get them to release you immediately and send a telegram to your daughter in the country. I think you deserve a good time off, yes?"

Peter gratefully nodded as Shakespeare slung an arm across his shoulders and called out for the guard, but the Doctor noticed something was off. It was quiet. Far _too_ quiet. Alex hadn't said a word other than what she said to the Carrionite.

"…_and should it look as though I am weakening…"_

"Alex?"

Alex glanced over at him, after having been staring at the hand that had held the witch. "Oh, sorry. We're going back to the inn, right?"

She took a step forward and the Doctor immediately saw the abrupt change. Her eyes went dark and she tipped a little, before he was rushing to her in concern as she collapsed.

"Alex? Alex!"

* * *

I woke up slowly, eyes taking a moment to adjust to the darkened room, before I remembered what happened and abruptly sat up. I grabbed my glasses off the nightstand and bolted to my feet, scrambling for the door before my vision shifted. I was forced to the wall, leaning heavily against it as I closed my eyes to stop my swirling vision and calm my nausea. _No, no, no. Don't do this. Not now. Don't do this to me now. _I pressed my forehead to the cool wood of the door and took in a deep breath as I put a block on the after effects of what I'd done to help Peter Streete. It would make the effects worse when I let the block off, but for now, it will allow me to keep going with nothing more than a small headache. _Twelve would be proud of my progress. I wonder if I've gotten better than him at this point?_

I shook the thought from my head and went to Will's room in the hopes that I wasn't too late and they hadn't all gone off to deal with the witches. Thankfully, the trio were standing over a map on Will's desk, making plans.

"All Hallows Street. There it is. Martha, we'll track them down. Will, you get to the Globe. Whatever you do, stop that play." The Doctor ordered and Will smirked a bit as they shook hands.

"I'll do it. All these years I've been the cleverest man around. Next to you and Alex, I know nothing."

"Oh, don't complain." Martha chided him and he grinned.

"I'm not. It's marvelous."

"You give him too much credit." I chimed in, drawing their attention to me as I entered the room. "Any more, and his ego may just implode."

Will headed over and gave me a large hug, surprising me as he pat my back heartily. "Thank you, Alex." He said as he pulled away. "Peter is much better now and it is all thanks to you."

I cleared my throat, a bit embarrassed. "Well, actually it was mostly his wanting to get better, but I'll accept your gratitude."

"You should be resting." The Doctor cut in with a frown and I raised a brow.

"I am fine, for now. I've got a minor headache, but the other symptoms are being postponed until after this mess is taken care of. My staying here may only cause my death, though if that's what you want—"

"Now, hold on." Martha cut in, making my eyebrow twitch in annoyance at the interruption. "Death? From what?"

"The witches." I said bluntly. "Normally, they would have been more keen on silencing the Doctor, but I've interfered too much and have proven that their little heart trick is rather ineffective. I'm the bigger threat, so even if I were to stay here, you two wouldn't bump into them, because they would come after me. That's why I've put a lock on my other symptoms, otherwise, I would be dealing with too much to handle them appropriately."

"Fine." The Doctor begrudgingly agreed. "Then Martha can—"

"Stay with us." I stated before he could try to send her with Will. "We may need her."

We locked eyes for a moment, his minorly frustrated and mine eerily calm, before he made for the door.

"You know, for someone who hates being interrupted, you sure do it a lot to others." He muttered and I shrugged, holding my palms up half-heartedly. "But I want an explanation for what happened with the witch."

I was a bit confused as to what he meant, but assumed he would explain later as we headed out. Sure enough, as we hurried to All Hallows Street, he spoke up.

"So, with the witch, you seemed awfully angry. More so than usual. It wasn't your typical temper, anyway. So, what gives?"

I thought back to that moment and frowned. "I'm… not entirely sure. This body has difficulty with its temper at times, but… I also don't care for how the witches used Peter."

It clicked then and I groaned as I brought a hand to my head.

"Oh…"

"Alex?" The Doctor looked at me in concern, probably assuming my headache had grown worse, but I went on.

"Oh, I'm an idiot. Of course, that was it."

"What was it?" Martha asked.

"Where we were, Bedlam. Hundreds of people are in there. I _feel_ emotions as well as being able to give out my own. I was in a mad house where people were constantly in a state of anger, frustration, pain and sorrow. Because I had been opening up my senses to deal with Peter, those emotions were able to get past my barriers. That's a problem with my capabilities. I have a hard time separating my emotions from those of others if they get past my defenses. That is probably what happened. My apologies."

"Oh, no need to apologize." The Doctor said as he looked around. "It was just… more intense than I expected."

I snorted. "You would hate to see me truly angry. It's less fiery temper and more… disturbingly calm."

"Remind me not to make you truly angry then." He murmured.

"I could never be truly angry with you." I blurted out, accidentally.

He glanced at me, but I kept my gaze turned away until he spotted the street we were looking for.

"All Hallows Street, but which house?"

"The thing is, though am I missing something here?" Martha cut in. "The world didn't end in 1599. It just didn't. Look at me. I'm living proof."

"Oh, how to explain the mechanics of the infinite temporal flux? I know. Back to the Future. It's like Back to the Future." The Doctor said quickly and I rolled my eyes.

"Sort of."

"The film?" Martha questioned.

"No, the novelization." The Doctor said sarcastically. "Yes, the film. Marty McFly goes back and changes history."

"And he starts fading away. Oh my God, am I going to fade?"

"You and the entire future of the human race. It ends right now in 1599 if we don't stop it. But which house?"

A door nearby opened and he glanced at us.

"Ah, make that _witch_ house." He said and we headed in to see Lilith. "I take it we're expected."

"Oh, I think Death has been waiting for you for a very long time." She replied and before Martha could embarrass herself, I stopped her.

"And naming your alien species won't work after the first go."

"What? Really?" Martha questioned, looking disappointed.

"The power of a name works only once." Lilith explained and my eyes narrowed.

"Do it, and you'll regret it, Lilith." I snarled, appreciating how she stiffened at my threat using her name.

"And why should I listen to you?" She asked, tipping her head and taking a step forward as I did the same.

"Because, she won't die. She's out of her time; the three of us are. And using our names won't work either."

She frowned, glancing at the Doctor before understanding dawned on her. "Ah, fascinating. There is no name. Why would a man hide his title in such despair?" She commented and I bristled.

"Leave him alone, Lilith. Your fight is with me, is it not?"

"_Alex_." The Doctor warned, but I ignored him as Lilith turned back to me, stepping ever closer.

"Yes, you're right, of course. Alexander Holmes. What a name." She hummed, not using the power over me just yet. "Oh, but there's another name for you, isn't there? So many names, but I wonder which will have more effect. Alex, Alexander, Holmes, the Destroyer of Worlds." She sucked in a gasp then, taking her first step back. "The Seer…"

I tilted my head. "So you know of me. That's always fun." I commented idly, ignoring the Doctor's gaze on my back. "You knowing me, brings up two options. One." I held up a finger. "You'll be terrified and will run back to your witch friends in the hopes that you can speed things up before I get to you, or two." I held up a second finger. "You'll be terrified, but think you stand a chance and desperately try to stop me. I hate to say that I know what you're going to pick, because I don't honestly know anything about my own timeline and, thus, what you're going to do. But, I think I can figure it out." I stepped forward, leaning down to smirk at her petrified expression. "Do you?"

Her expression twisted, just as I expected it to, and her hand whipped up to try and grab a hair from my head. I had expected this too, and grabbed her hand before she could, raising a brow at her, before she smirked and the palm of her free hand slammed heavily into the center of my chest. It felt like I'd been hit in the chest by a semi-truck. My entire system stuttered and I was forced to let her go as I fell to my knees; unable to draw in a breath, much less get my hearts in functional order. I felt, more than heard, the soft snip of Lilith taking some of my hair and desperately tried to stop her; the Doctor coming to my aide.

"What did you do?!" He shouted as I gasped and wheezed.

"Souvenir." Lilith smirked, holding up the bits of my hair and the Doctor lunged at her.

"Give it back!"

She flew out the window though, hovering nearby and the Doctor scowled.

"Well, that's just cheating."

"Behold, Doctor. Men to Carrionites are nothing but puppets." Lilith smirked at me as she placed my hair on a straw doll, myself struggling to get to my feet.

"Now, you might call that magic. I'd call that a DNA replication module." The Doctor muttered, looking worried.

"What use is your science now?" She questioned, stabbing the doll in the leg and making me cry out and fall back to the ground.

"Alex!"

Lilith cackled though. "If stopping your heart won't work, then crippling should do just as well."

She stabbed the doll again, in the chest and I cried out in pain with my forehead pressed to the ground as ringing started up in my ears. _Not good. I'm going into shock. I can't focus. I-I need to stop her, but how?_ My hand brushed up against something and, taking a chance, I forced the last of my energy into myself and threw it at her. The stone hit true, knocking the doll out of her grasp and making her scowl at me, but she flew off and left it behind as the Doctor held onto my gasping form.

"G-Get the doll." I wheezed, leaning heavily against him as my single running heart beat erratically and my leg throbbed.

I think Martha might have gone down to get it, though I wasn't sure. Something hit me hard on the back and I groaned as my other heart restarted itself for the second time in the last few hours. Fingers pressed themselves to my neck in search of my pulse and the Doctor's voice spoke in my ear. I couldn't really hear him well though. My body was still in a panic and whatever Lilith's initial hit did, it wasn't anything good. What I did know, was that the Doctor needed to leave.

"G-Go to the play. You and Martha need to go."

I could feel his protest as I opened up my senses a bit to try and get my hearing working again.

"Please, you… you need to go. Will was knocked out and… if you're not there—"

"I can't leave you here like this, Alex!" He said in concern, my hearing returning as another problem reared its ugly head.

"Y-You won't have to." I choked out with a small chuckle. "My shoulder… I-I'm popping off again."

"But Alex!"

I let out a heavy sigh and looked at him with tired eyes as I began to realize a problem. _He's so worried… He… He wasn't half this concerned in Manhattan. I've changed too much. With Martha and with him. God, why? Why did you do this? Why are you making me do this?_ A thumb brushed my cheek just under the rims of my glasses and I looked up at the Doctor through slightly blurred vision.

"Does it hurt?" He asked, wiping away tears from my face.

Tear that were falling because of what I was about to do.

"Yes." I breathed out, leaning forward and pressing my lips to his.

He stiffened, surprised at first, but soon melted into it. That is, up until I reached up and placed my fingers on his temples.

_I'm so sorry._

He tried to fight back, but I was too strong for him and I was able to reach in and remove his memories of me from this adventure. His lips fell from mine and he passed out just as Martha returned.

"I-I got it!" She called out, holding up the doll before spotting the Doctor. "Doctor! What happened?!"

"Dunno." I lied, getting up as best I could and taking the doll from her. "He just collapsed."

Martha rushed to his side and I winced as I reached down and touched her temples as well, doing the same that I did to the Doctor. She collapsed too, but I knew I hadn't done much more than to knock them out for a few moments and already, the Doctor was stirring. I wished I could have popped off then. Just vanished as I leaned heavily against a wooden pillar trying to calm my racing and aching hearts. But I was forced to watch as the Doctor sat up with a groan and shook Martha awake.

"What…What happened?" Martha questioned and the Doctor spotted me.

I hated seeing the lack of recognition in his gaze and put up a startled expression.

"T-There was this lady. S-S-She flew! You were just lyin' there, but t-that's black magic, it is!"

He bought the act and hastily gathered Martha up and rushed with her to the door, leaving me behind to question if the ache in my chest was from the doll I was holding tightly in my hands, or from having to erase my memories of myself from the Doctor.

"I-It's for the best…"


	105. The Pilot

**Is this late? i don't really know. I've been trying to keep track but i've got finals coming up and Chinese is ridiculously harder than it looked. :/ i don't know if the next chapter will be on time, but i'll do my best. and i don't know what episode i'll do next. i just figure i'll keep her with twelve for the next episode (Smile) since that one is a bit more exciting and will give you some good Alex versus Twelve action. hope you all like this one though! It's very fluffy~**

* * *

I appeared indoors and immediately sucked in a painful gasp of air as I doubled over; leaning heavily on a desk and accidentally knocking some papers off it. I cursed under my breath, feeling the barriers against my previous symptoms giving way as well as a sort of burning sensation started to swell up in my chest. Sweat slid down my temples as I cringed and tried to move forward to get some sort of help, but I only succeeded in knocking more books and papers off the desk as I fell to my knees. A door opened then and a surprisingly familiar face entered the room.

"Excuse me. Who are you? You're not supposed to be in here."

"N-Nardole." I breathed out, making the man tip his head in confusion. "Nardole, please… Get the Doctor."

"Do I know you?" He questioned and I groaned, both from pain and annoyance.

"It's Alex… A-Alexander Holmes. I've regenerate… a-a-at least twice. Might be a third… if you don't… _move_ _it_!"

The man straightened and scurried off, hopefully to do as I said. I spotted the Tardis nearby though and pushed myself back up a little in the hopes of being able to push off the edge of the desk and get to the blue box before my legs gave out again. That being said, I couldn't even pull myself into the chair behind me, much less shift from my bent over position on the edge of the desk. I clenched my eyes shut as another wave of pain threatened to drop me to the floor. _Doctor…_The door burst open then and I managed barely lift my head and open my eyes as a flash of black and grey rushed to my side and scooped me up as though I hardly weighed a thing.

"Nardole, cancel all my appointments and postpone my next class. I'm going to be late." A deep Scottish voice rumbled as the dim lights of the office gave way to the bright lights of the Tardis; a concerned hum echoing through the room. "Now then, where were you? It seems that every time you meet me, you're on Death's door."

"T-Ten… Martha… _Witches_." I replied, voice hiking upward in pitch on the last word as my hearts spasmed in my chest.

"The Carrionites?" He questioned. "I don't remember you being there."

"I-I couldn't… You had to…"

Sensing that I was struggling—for more than one reason—he shushed me and placed me down on a bed in the med bay.

"Yes, yes. You can explain later. For now, tell me what happened to you, _physically_ while I try to figure something out." He said, already grabbing various bits and pieces of machinery.

"My heart was stopped…" I breathed out as he removed my glasses and placed a small cuff on the end of my finger for the heart monitor. "Restarted… Happened twice within… few hours, but… the Carrionite… did something different… My foreknowledge didn't account for… other abilities."

"Different how?" He asked, patting the heart monitor as though it was a static television in need of a good beating.

"Wasn't a… finger to the heart…" I said, starting to wheeze now. "Palm… to chest."

"Less focused, wider area." He concluded, tipping my head up to get a breathing mask on, placing two fingers to my neck to double check the heart monitor with a frown. "Your heartbeats are both irregular and aren't syncing up like they should." He pulled away and ran a hand through his hair as he paced slightly. "Think. The Carrionites use science. A single finger to use as a focus point to stop a heart. Focus point for what?" He suddenly snapped his fingers. "Ah! The nervous system! The single finger narrows down the shock they give to shut down one specific organ! Her hitting you with her palm, sent the wave throughout your chest, which is why both your hearts were affected as well as your lungs! It's an extra electrical current that your body doesn't know what to do with! The hit put you out of sync, so we've just got to put it back _into_ sync."

I groaned as much as I could. "You're not saying—"

"A defibrillator!" He smirked, making me grimace as he rummaged around his drawers for said device, and soon setting it up. "Anything metal on you?"

I gave him a mild glare and he nodded.

"Right. On three. One, two—"

Needless to say, I did not care one _bit_ for getting hit with a defibrillator while conscious, nor did I care for the pain it caused my system. Thankfully though, by the time the Doctor pulled away, I was well on my way to slipping into peaceful unconsciousness. I wasn't going to be pleased when I woke up though. The Doctor and I had a long talk that needed to happen, and he wasn't about to get out of it anytime soon.

* * *

I rolled onto my side with a grunt as I curled around the blankets, begrudgingly opening my eyes with a frown. I wasn't sure how long I'd slept. My headache had completely gone and the ache in my chest had vanished as well. I felt as though I'd slept a long while, but was at the point where I was debating on whether to turn over and close my eyes once more. Begrudgingly, I got up and went to shower and change from the clothing the Doctor had changed me into before placing in my bedroom. It felt nice to finally have a break without running around or fighting with a Doctor. A good night's rest had done wonders and the hot water from the shower was working the knots from my tense shoulders with ease. Was I avoiding thinking about what had happened with Ten? Yes, but it was done and over with and despite the guilt still swirling in my stomach, I had a Doctor _here_ that I needed to deal with.

I let out a small sigh as I put on my glasses and slipped my suspenders over my grey button-up. My fingerless gloves were already slipped on and my dark maroon skinny jeans covered the top of my black high-top converse. I stretched though, hearing a grumble from my stomach that eagerly wished for food, and I headed out of my room only to very nearly run into the Doctor. I blinked in slight surprise as he seemed to fidget slightly and hold up a basket.

"I assumed you would be hungry." He muttered and I gave him a look.

"Yes, but how did you know I was awake? And how long were you standing out here?"

He made a face in return and I immediately recognized it as Twelve being embarrassed and _very_ unwilling to admit it.

"Not long. I had the Tardis inform me as to when you awoke."

"And by 'not long', you mean quite a while." I countered, stopping his fumbling about as I grabbed his arm and tugged him lightly down the hall. "No, don't argue. You wish to eat, then let us eat. You and I both have some explaining to do."

And we did. The two of us sat on a blanket out on the lawn of the university the Doctor was apparently now working at as a professor while guarding a safe. It must have been quite the sight to the students who knew him though, because we kept getting the occasional stare from those passing by. Most likely because I was leaning against the Doctor's chest occasionally feeding him a grape as he did the same in return, but I cared less what they thought than the Doctor; who sent them scrambling away with a glare. So, while he informed me of what he was up to, it was soon my turn to do the same and I gave him a quick run-down of what I'd done back with the witches. He must have sensed my guilt though, because my shoulders soon relaxed from the unconscious tense posture I'd put them in thanks to his calming presence overwhelming me.

"You did what was right." He hummed, examining a grape before placing it in his own mouth. "A paradox would have been most unwelcome, though it is unfortunate that I placed you in that position."

I huffed out my nose. "Unfortunate? I found out you had a soft spot for me. At that age, it came as more of a surprise than anything. As you should recall, my younger self had quite the issues with younger Ten."

"Mm." He hummed, placing a grape in my mouth. "I meant unfortunate that you had to be the one to erase my memories. You're guilty. I can feel it."

I frowned. "And here I thought I was finally better than you at the whole mental thing."

"We're connected, Alex." He mused, kissing my temple. "While you might have surpassed me, I will _always_ be able to read you. Just as you can read me."

"Then explain why you don't seem to remember me with your _way_ younger selves. I never expected to end up with the Third, much less continue to pop up with Four, Five, and Seven. _Who_, I am not pleased with. Why would you go and confess just as I was popping off?"

"You _told_ me to." He argued and I turned with a finger pointed at him.

"Ha! See? You _do_ remember!"

He rolled his eyes and pushed my hand away. "_I_ remember. My younger selves don't. Many things happened after I believed myself to have killed off the Time Lords. A part of that was the fact that I tried desperately to shove away everything before that point. Remembering things before then had proven to be… difficult."

"Painful." I concluded, turned and leaning back into him again. "No, I get it, but you remembered Sarah Jane, Jo Grant, Susan…"

He sighed heavily. "I think remembering _you_ was painful." He informed me, making me tip my head back to look at him better in my confusion. "While mostly a mystery to me, I knew you were a Time Lord; or _Lady_, as it were. I'd blown up my planet. Thinking of you and—as my Seventh self so openly displayed—my feelings for you, made me concerned. I pushed your memory back and tried to erase it from my mind, because even if you'd escaped what I'd done, then how would I explain to you what I did?"

I reached a hand up and placed it on his cheek, making him look down at me softly. "You're such a dramatic softie, even _with_ your angry eyebrows."

He scoffed, shifting and getting me to move off him as he started to stand. "Says the woman who threatened me with her name. Made Rassilon cower in fear, was it?"

"Well, I _did_." I argued, pleased that I'd been able to restore his memories of my time with him and the witches. "He wasn't exactly happy the few times I met him. Between trying to kill me back with your Tenth self and trying to torture me with your current younger self, I'd say I did a good job scaring him. What was it you said about enemies?"

"You can always judge someone by the quality of their enemies." He quoted his Seventh self, reaching down a hand and helping me up onto my feet as well. "And you are _far_ too popular with making enemies."

"Says you." I muttered, kissing his cheek and helping him clean up our picnic as we returned to his office. "So, how'd you manage to get your own office?"

"Would you like one?"

"Absolutely _not_."

* * *

Bill walked into the office a little confused, but sort of curious, all the same. She didn't know _why_ the professor wanted her, but went ahead and followed Nardole. The man rose an arm to gesture to a chair and she gave him a look at the strange noise the action caused, but Nardole played it off and she went to sit, only for something to clatter to the floor. She thought she saw a screw of some kind, but Nardole slid his foot to hide it and left; closing the door behind him. Bill looked around though, spotting a large blue telephone box nearby and got up to check it out, only to pause.

Sitting precariously in a chair tipped back against its doors, was someone with a book over their face; their boots propped up on an easel nearby. Bill couldn't make out who it was or what they looked like, other than the short, dull auburn hair poking out from under the book. She knew it wasn't her professor though, but was cautious all the same and didn't get too close to disturb the lightly snoozing figure as she looked at the box. An 'out of order' sign hung on one of the handles, but she didn't stay there long before moving to the desk. Three picture sat on it that caught her attention. One of a smirking, curly haired woman. Another, of a younger girl that was in black and white, and the third was of another woman; blonde with a teasing grin on her face as she hung onto someone's arm. The camera had zoomed in only to her face though, so the figure she clung to was unknown.

She went back to her seat and a bell chimed somewhere, but her attention was on the cup of strange-looking pens, before electric guitar music came out of nowhere and made her jump. The player jammed to the beginning of Beethoven's Fifth and Bill looked over at the sleeping figure, but they hadn't even flinched, so she loudly cleared her throat. The guitar cut off and the Doctor poked his head out, spotting her before leaning back into his side room and using his sonic to turn off his amp; removing his sunglasses before he came back out.

"Potts?"

"Yeah." Bill smiled and the Doctor came into the room completely with a record in his hands.

"Bill Potts."

"You wanted to see me." Bill clarified, silently wondering if he was confused.

She _was_, after all, just the dinner lady.

The Doctor moved around and placed the record down. "Uh, you're not a student at this university."

"Nah. I work in the canteen."

"Yeah, but you come to my lectures."

"No, I don't." Bill argued. "What? I-I'd never do that."

The Doctor waved the black record at her. "I've seen you."

Bill quickly changed her tone. "_Love_ your lectures. They're totally awesome."

"Why do you come to my lectures when you're not a student?" The Doctor continued to question, glancing briefly at the sleeping figure before returning to his checking of his records.

"Okay, so my first day here, in the canteen, I was on chips." Bill said, beginning an explanation of some sort. "There was this girl. Student. _Beautiful_. Like a model, only with talking and thinking. She looked at you and you perved. Every time, automatic, like physics. Eye contact, perversion. So, I gave her extra chips. Every time, extra chips. Like a reward for all the perversion. Every day, got myself on chips, rewarded her. Then finally, _finally_, she looked at me, like she'd noticed, actually noticed, all the extra chips. Do you know what I realized?"

The Doctor turned, slightly curious.

"She was fat. I'd fatted her." Bill said, sounding a little bitter as the Doctor turned away. "But that's life, isn't it? Beauty or chips. I like chips. So did she, so that's okay."

The Doctor headed to his chair. "And how does that, in any way, explain why you keep coming to my lectures?"

Bill made a face. "Yeah, it doesn't really, does it? I was hoping something would develop. What's that?" Bill turned to the Tardis. "A police telephone box?"

"Yeah." The Doctor replied, heading over to it.

"Did you build it from a kit?" Bill questioned. "And who's that sleepin' there?"

"No, I didn't build it. It came like that." The Doctor answered, before gesturing to the sleeping figure. "And this is my wife."

"How did you get it in here?" Bill asked about the Tardis. "The door's too small and so are the windows. And I didn't know you had a wife."

"I had the window and a part of the wall taken out and it was lifted in." The Doctor replied, gesturing to the wall and windows behind him. "And of course I have a wife. Why wouldn't I have a wife?"

"I dunno. You seem a bit grumpy. The whole 'get off my lawn, you nasty kids' thing." Bill commented, making the Doctor frown. "So, did you use a crane? For the box?"

"Yeah, a crane." The Doctor readily agreed, getting off the subject of Alex for now. "It's heavier than it looks. Why do you keep coming to my lectures?"

"Because I like them. Everybody likes them. They're amazing… Why me? And how come she hasn't woken up yet?"

"You should be _glad_ she hasn't woken up. She dislikes being interrupted with a passion." He grumbled. "She's been bored though. She tends to sleep when she's bored… 'Why you' what?"

"Well, plenty of people come to your lectures that aren't supposed to." Bill explained. "Why pick on me?"

"Well, I noticed you." He hummed, sitting back in his chair opposite of Bill. "Or, my wife did, anyway. She sneaks into my lectures as well."

"Alright, but why?"

"Well, most people when don' t understand something, they frown. My wife especially. _You_ smile."

They both smiled at each other, before Bill brought up something.

"I'll tell you what I don't understand. You've been lecturing here for a long time. Like, fifty years, some people say. Nabeela in the office says over seventy."

"Yeah, and you're thinking, 'Well, he doesn't look old enough'." The Doctor assumed.

"No. I'm wondering what you're supposed to be lecturing on." She said, surprising him. "It's like the university let you do whatever you like. One time, you were going to give a lecture on quantum physics. You talked about poetry."

"Poetry, physics, same thing."

"How is it the same?"

"Because of the rhymes." The Doctor made up. "What are you doing at this university?"

"I always wanted to come here." Bill said honestly and the Doctor raised a brow.

"Yeah, to serve chips?"

Bill paused for just a moment too long. "So, anyway, am I nearly done?"

"Do you want to be?" The Doctor asked, wincing at the mental jab sent his way from the supposedly 'sleeping' Alex.

"See ya." Bill said, getting up and the Doctor begrudgingly spoke before she reached the door.

"You ever get less than a first, then it's over."

"You what?" Bill asked, confused.

"A first. Every time, or I stop immediately." The Doctor repeated.

"Stop what?"

"Being your personal tutor."

Bill stared in stunned shock. "But I'm not a student. I'm not part of the university. I never even applied."

"We'll sort all that out later." The Doctor said, getting up and waving his hand.

Bill smiled a bit. "You kind of have to sort that out earlier."

"Leave it with me. I'm assuming that it's a 'yes'."

"Yes." She answered with a full-on grin.

"I'll see you at 6pm every weekday. I don't care who's dying, never, ever be late. I'm very particular about time."

She nodded and started to leave, but turned back. "Oh, um… People just call you the Doctor. What do I call you?"

"The Doctor." He replied.

"But Doctor's not a name. I can't just call you Doctor." She tried. "Doctor what?"

He made a face at that, ignoring the mental chuckle in his head. "Just 'the Doctor'. Now go on, shoo. I've got lessons to prepare for."

He closed the door behind her with a grin, before a voice spoke up from behind him.

"You like her."

He forced the smile off his face. "No, I don't. I think she's curious."

Alex snorted, lifting the edge of the book up and smirking at him. "No, you _like_ her."

"And you weren't really sleeping." He countered poorly, heading over to her as she stretched her arms over her head and kissing her temple. "Did you enjoy your nap?"

"Up until Beethoven's Fifth." She muttered. "So, are we going back to the safe, or can we get some dinner first?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes, but held his arm out for her to loop hers through. "I suppose we can grab something on the way."

* * *

"You want me to what?"

The Doctor shuffled through his papers for his lesson planned. "Keep an eye on Bill. You liked her, so you get to keep an eye on her."

"You like her too. I don't know why I have to." I grumbled, chomping down on a spoonful of cherry cordial ice cream.

The Doctor headed over though, and took the quart from me, making me scowl. "You've resorted to junk food binging and you obviously need something to do._ I_ can't, because of my lessons."

I scowled, standing and grabbing my scarf. "You just want me out of your office."

He let out a long sigh, coming up behind me and giving me a brief kiss. "I simply want you entertained. You're getting antsy."

"Nothing's _happening_." I complained as we headed out and walked to his lecture room. "I'm worse than you now; constantly needing to be running from something…"

He smirked. "Just how I like it."

I rolled my eyes, but gave him a peck on the cheek before we split ways. He went into the lecture hall in the front while I sat in the middle; not far from Bill and twiddling my pencil. It wasn't surprising that I easily fit in with the people around me, despite being _far_ older than any of them would believe. The thing was, I rather enjoyed the Doctor's lectures as well. While I knew that it was Moffat in the television series who wrote out a number of the Doctor's speeches, I was in Twelve's timeline and had no idea about this episode. Not only that, but I'd long since begun to forget that this was a television series to me to begin with. It was real. The Doctor's words were his own, and they were captivating.

"Time! Time doesn't pass. The passage of time is an illusion, and life is the magician. Because life only lets you see one day at a time. You remember being alive yesterday, you hope you're going to be alive tomorrow, so it feels like you're travelling from one to the other. But nobody's moving anywhere. Movies don't really move. They're just pictures, lots and lots of pictures. All of them still, none of them moving. Just frozen moments. But if you experience those pictures one after the other, then everything comes alive."

* * *

I glanced up at Bill as she served me a platter of chips and she smiled back in return, not knowing who I was.

* * *

"Am I on time?" Bill asked as she walked into the Doctor's office.

"That's a very big question." He answered, tossing her a book.

* * *

"Imagine if time all happened at once. Every moment of your life laid out around you like a city. Streets full of buildings made of days. The day you were born, the day you die. The day you fall in love, the day that love ends. A whole city built from triumph and heartbreak and boredom and laughter and cutting your toenails. It's the best place you will ever be."

* * *

I lounged at a bar, taking pleasure in the drink I had as I looked further down to watch Bill with her friends. She'd stopped though, looking at someone and I spotted another woman not faraway with a small smile on her face. _Isn't she in the Doctor's lectures?_I wondered, eyeing her blonde hair as she and Bill moved towards one another. _Is she…_

* * *

"Time is a structure relative to ourselves. Time is the space made by our lives where we stand together, forever. Time And Relative Dimension In Space. It means life."

* * *

"Please." I begged. "Please, take me with you. If I have to eat any more chips, I'm going to hurl all over your desk."

The Doctor groaned, but relented as he turned around and walked backwards with his arm open. "Come on, then. No time to waste."

Nardole hurried up as well and we walked quickly to the basement and Nardole began lecturing us.

"So, you're tutoring her then?"

"Yes, I am." The Doctor replied.

"Why?" Nardole asked, suspicious.

"You're not supposed to get involved. What are you teaching her anyway?"

"Everything." He grumbled and I sighed.

"Oh, just leave him be, Nardole."

He ignored me. "Well, how can you teach anyone everything?"

"Because everything rhymes." The Doctor said with a roll of his eyes. "Links apple and alpha, synchronous and diverging. Descending multiples."

The safe in front of us beeped.

"Yeah, you want to turn that." Nardole said as it beeped more. "You want to rotate it."

"Why don't _you_ just do this then?" I muttered under my breath, when there was suddenly a noise of a piece of metal nearby.

"The door upstairs, how did you set the security?" The Doctor asked Nardole as I spread my senses.

"Friends only."

The Doctor glanced at me, but I'd found who'd snuck in and relaxed, giving away that it wasn't a big deal to him, so he did the same. _Hm, Bill is far more curious than I expected. I'll have to keep an eye on her. She seems the type to find trouble._ I stood up, glancing briefly at the Doctor.

"I'm going to go."

He watched me for a second, but nodded and I took off after Bill. I kept a distance between me and her so she wouldn't get suspicious, but was surprised to find her stopping her retreat upon spotting the same blonde woman from the bar. The woman sat on a bench looking a bit depressed about something and I frowned; feeling the woman's unease.

"You okay?" Bill asked her and I leaned up against the wall around the corner, listening in.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

I glanced around the corner briefly to see Bill sitting.

"Sorry, can I ask? What's that in your eye?"

_Her eye?_

"It's just a defect in the iris."

Bill smiled. "Looks like a star."

"Well, it's a defect."

"At least it's a defect that looks like a star."

"I'm getting it fixed." The woman said shortly and I sighed, tipping my head back against the wall.

_She's been picked on for it. Sees it as a defect instead of something different._

"Okay." Bill replied, standing, but couldn't help her curiosity and doubled back. "Sorry, none of my business, but are you freaking out about something?"

There was a moment of silence before the woman stood.

"Please. You can say no. Would you come with me? Can I show you something?"

_Right, because that doesn't scream suspicious._ I mused. _Looks like I was right about Bill finding trouble._

"God, yes."

I begrudgingly followed Bill and her friend as they headed to another area of the school, being careful when I sharpened my senses to hear them better, due to the noise of the crowd.

"I love this place, don't you?" Bill smiled.

"I hate it." The woman said bitterly, making me frown.

"Why?"

"I don't know, I just do. Everywhere I go, I just want to leave."

I wasn't sure what _I_ would say in that situation, but Bill said something surprising.

"Can I come, too?"

"Maybe."

We ended up in an area that was still under construction and I had to keep my distance to stay hidden as they snuck in through a gate to look at a puddle, of all things.

"There's a puddle over there, but it hasn't rained for a week."

I frowned, glancing out from my place behind a pillar. _A puddle that doesn't evaporate?_

"Yeah, but, well, you know, half the students here are blokes." Bill joked, but the woman didn't seem amused.

"Go and look in it."

"You want me to look in a puddle?"

"Please."

_I really don't like this. I hate to say I'm bothered by a puddle, but the last thing I need is the Doctor's new favorite getting pulled _into_ said puddle by who knows what._ I came out from behind my hiding place and moved closer as quietly as I could, prepared to intervene if something were to happen.

"Okay, I'm looking. What am I looking at?"

"Your reflection."

"Yup, there it is." Bill mused, though I was still worried.

"Do you see what's wrong with it?"

Bill looked as I frowned, curious myself now, before she whipped around to the woman.

"My name's Bill, by the way."

"I'm Heather." She smiled a little, but looked back at the puddle. "Can you see what's wrong?"

"Nothing. It just looks like me." Bill said, before making a face at the puddle. "Oh! What is that? That's me, that's _my_ face, but it's wrong."

I didn't bother hiding again as Heather turned and flinched upon spotting me, but she soon ignored my presence and continued walking. Bill noticed then and called out after her.

"Hey!"

"Sorry. Some other time." Heather said and Bill called out.

"Promise?" She spotted me then as Heather left and she crawled back through the fence. "Hold on. I know you. I gave you chips. What are you doing here?"

I sighed, pushing up my glasses. "You should pay more attention, Bill."

She frowned. "How do you know my name?"

"You'll find, I know a lot of things."

* * *

Bill smiled as she headed up to the Doctor's office with a long bundle under her arms; Christmas carolers singing away. Once up there, the Doctor—eager as ever—ripped through the wrapping paper and pulled out the object.

"It's a rug." He declared. "Haven't got you anything."

"It's okay." Bill shrugged. "It was cheap. No wife today either?" Bill shot him a look. "You know, I'm beginning to think that wasn't really your wife. I haven't even seen her face."

"Yes, well, you see—"

There was a loud sniff then and Alex herself walked out of the Doctor's side room, nose a bright pink and a thick blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

"Doctor, have you seen the tea leav—" She cut herself off upon seeing Bill and groaned as the woman's mouth dropped open in shock.

"You! You're the one who was sneaking around before!"

Alex wrinkled her nose, voice croaky as she pointed at the Doctor. "It was _his_ idea."

"You two _know_ each other?"

The Doctor gave Bill a look. "She's my wife."

Alex sneezed loudly and glared at the Doctor as Bill gaped. "Tea."

"Bottom cupboard under the amp."

She groaned. "Who the hell puts a cupboard under an amp?"

She wobbled out of the room and Bill turned to the Doctor.

"_That's_ your wife?"

He frowned. "Something wrong?"

"Well, no, but… what did she mean it was your idea?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "We were both curious and she was bored, so I had her keep an eye on you. It was better than having her sit around gorging on junk food."

"Ah, stress eater then." Bill concluded and the Doctor shrugged with a hum as Alex came out with her tea and a tray of nibbles.

"I heard that." She grumbled, making Bill smile and the Doctor turn away sheepishly as she set the tray down. "Here."

The Doctor scooped up a nibble and fiddled with one of the three Christmas crackers, whereas Bill took a nibble and thanked her.

"Thanks, and sorry about before."

Alex shrugged, turning to the side and sneezing with a groan as she waved Bill off. "It's fine."

The Doctor rolled his eyes and reached out an arm to wrap around her waist and tug her into his lap.

"Thank you for the nibbles."

She huffed, relaxing in his hold. "You _always_ want nibbles."

Bill looked between the two with a grin. "Ah, I see it now."

Alex glanced her way as the Doctor raised a brow; Bill pointing.

"You two. I get it. You're like… the cheeky kid who gets into trouble and she's the friend who reins you in, yeah?"

"She's not my babysitter." The Doctor grumbled and Alex rolled her eyes, sipping her tea with a mutter.

"I so _am_."

He shot her a look, but Bill chuckled as they popped the crackers and each adorned a colorful Christmas hat.

"Going anywhere for Christmas?" She asked.

"I never go anywhere." The Doctor lied.

"That's not true. You go places, I can tell." Bill caught on immediately. "My mum always said, 'with some people you can smell the wind in their clothes."

"Oh, she sounds… nice."

Bill's smile faltered. "She died when I was a baby."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"If she died when you were a baby, when did she say that?"

Alex nudged the Doctor in the ribs for that question, but Bill didn't mind.

"In my head. Yeah, I'm supposed to look like her, but I don't really know. There's hardly any photographs. She hated having her picture taken. But if someone's gone, do pictures really help?"

The Doctor glanced at his photos of River and Susan, but Alex spoke softly.

"Photos hurt to look at sometimes, but they also remind you of amazing things. Better to keep the memory of the people in it alive, than to let them wither away and forget what they meant to you."

Bill was silent for a moment. "You've lost someone too, haven't you?"

Alex's gaze shifted her way, before she started to get up. "I've lost and I've gained. Just sometimes I wish I had pictures of what was lost. It's be nice to remember what they looked like." She leaned down and kissed the Doctor's cheek. "I think I'll turn in early."

"Take something for your cold." The Doctor murmured. "No aspirin."

She nodded, tugging her blanket closer around her as she walked out. _Goodnight, Theta._

* * *

"Did I upset her?" Bill asked, having joined the Doctor for her lesson the first Wednesday of the new term.

"What?"

"Your wife. With what I said back at Christmas."

"Hm? Oh. Nah." He waved off. "She's fine."

"Really? She _did_ sort of storm off afterwards and I haven't seen her since. Is she avoiding me?"

"No. No, she's actually rather fond of you, I believe." The Doctor said, surprising Bill.

"Fond?"

He grunted. "She likes you. Picked you out of a crowd of over a hundred students and got my attention. You should be pleased. She doesn't like just anyone."

Bill puffed up a bit proudly at that, but then turned to him with a frown. "Hold on. You're avoiding the question."

He rolled his eyes, silently wishing she hadn't caught him on that. "She's not avoiding you."

"Oh." Bill paused. "But she is mad though, yeah?"

"No. It takes quite a bit to make her angry. Far less, to make her annoyed."

"So I annoyed her."

"No." He repeated, giving her a look. "Can I finish?"

She waved him on and he nodded, continuing.

"As I said, it takes a lot to make her angry, but she's not upset with you in any way. Alex has a lot on her plate that she needs to deal with. She will share that with you in time, but I suggest avoiding subjects such as family, for now. She can get tender about that subject, even in this body."

"What?"

The Doctor winced, realizing his mistake. "I meant, at this time. She tends to reminisce when left to her thoughts."

"And she doesn't have good thoughts. Yeah, no. I get it. Where is she though?"

The Doctor scowled. "Out getting groceries."

Bill snorted and the Doctor shot her a look. "Sorry, just… she doesn't seem like the type to be out in a shop. All angry brows and glaring at a grocery list."

The Doctor though, let out a small chuckle. "She usually calls _me_ angry brows. I'll let her know that you said otherwise."

"What? No! Don't do that! I haven't even said sorry about the Christmas thing yet!"

"Not my problem."

* * *

I sat next to the Doctor, nose stuck in another book as he scribbled next to me. I wasn't sure what he was writing. _A report maybe? Is he doing his marking?_ But I couldn't focus between his doodles and the mystery in the novel I was hooked in. Eventually though, I was forced to come out of the world of murder and suspense when someone entered the office. Bill soon hovered by the desk and the Doctor looked up as I furrowed my brows in seriousness at what emotions I was getting from the young woman.

"What's wrong?" The Doctor asked, sensing it as well from her crooked, forced smile and Bill soon began to tell us about Heather; the girl I'd seen her with at the puddle.

"She said it was a defect, but what kind of defect puts a star in your eye? But that doesn't even matter because she was right. There _was_ something wrong when you looked in the puddle. That was definitely my face. I see my face all the time. I've never liked it, it's all over the place. It's always doing expressions when I'm trying to be enigmatic."

The Doctor grabbed my hand then and tugged me off, not even listening to the rest of what Bill was saying as we started running.

"O-Oi! Where are we going?!"

"To the puddle! You know where it's at. Lead the way! Quickly!" He called out and I groaned, shifting his grip on my hand and picking up speed to pull _him_.

"Why didn't you just say so?!"

"Doctor!" Bill called out from behind us. "Alex!"

She finally caught up to us as we stood over the puddle with equal, matching frowns on our face.

"Why did you two run like that?" Bill asked, slightly out of breath.

"Like what?"

"Like a penguin with its arse on fire."

I turned to her in confusion at the reference, but the Doctor was more curious about the puddle.

"Ergonomics. That's my face, yeah?"

"You seem a bit flexible on the subject." Bill muttered.

"Oh, you've no idea. Alex, have you looked in the puddle?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I was here when Heather took her to it. Once you left, Bill, I looked into it and couldn't figure it out. You're right though. There's something off about it."

"Maybe it's got to do with that thing in her eye." Bill offered and the Doctor and I frowned in curiosity.

"How?" He asked.

"Maybe she's like, affected by something."

"By what?"

"I don't know. Look. I know you know lots of stuff about… well, basically everything, but do you know any sci-fi?"

The Doctor and I glanced at one another.

"_Is she serious?"_

_You never told her anything about you. She thinks you're a professor, you nitwit. You haven't even showed her the Tardis._

"_I've been busy."_

_More like you're chicken. Nardole's like a guard dog who bites you if you step out of line._ I paused. _Or like a mother who scolds you when you try to steal cookies from the cookie jar._

"_I made a promise."_

_Yeah, a promise that kills any chance of having any fun._

The Doctor rolled his eyes at me and turned to Bill. "Go on."

"Well, what if she's… possessed? Something like that."

"Possessed by what?"

"I don't know." She brightened up then, looking excited. "I saw this thing on Netflix. Lizards in people's brains."

"Right. So, you meet a girl with a discolored iris and your first thought is she might have a lizard in her brain? I can see I'm going to have to up my game." He replied, before looking in the puddle and turning away. "Oh."

"What?"

"Oh!"

"What is it? What?"

"_Doctor_." I chided him and he doubled back to explain.

"Oh, I get it. I see it. It was easy for your friend because of her eye."

"What? Because it gives her special powers?" Bill questioned.

"No! Because her face isn't symmetrical."

I looked into the puddle and my eyes widened. "Oh!"

The Doctor nodded, enthusiastic and pointing it out to Bill. "Look! Look into the puddle. Your face looks wrong, because it looks right. What's the one thing you never see when you look at a reflection? Your face. You never see your face the right way round."

"Doctor, explain it a bit better." I urged, not wanting to steal his excitement by cutting in this time around.

"Right. Look for a, um, freckle or a funny tooth. Something that's not symmetrical."

"My badge!"

"See? Your friend saw it straight away because of her eye."

"But, it's moving like a reflection."

"It's not reflecting you. It's mimicking you. There's something in the water pretending to _be_ you."

A shiver went down my spine at that, memories of what had happened back on Midnight making me tense as I mentally begged the universe not to put me through another round of that again. The Doctor either didn't notice, or ignored my brief inner turmoil as he scooped a small test tube full of water.

"Of course. It isn't water. Now, what are these? Let's have a look." He said, standing and grabbing my hand as he tugged me away from the puddle and towards the scorch marks on the ground nearby.

_Perhaps he _did_ notice._ I gave his hand a small squeeze of reassurance as Bill moved to our sides.

"What are they?"

"Scorch marks." I muttered and the Doctor hummed.

"Interesting." He then let me go and rushed to Bill, pulling her away from the marks. "Right, you. Let's get you on the bus."

"The what? The bus?"

"Tutorial's over, take the night off. It's all cancelled. Go and be a proper student. Texts, snogging, a vegan wrap."

"But what about the puddle?" She questioned and even I frowned, a bit confused as to what got the Doctor all riled up.

"Oh, it's just some freak optical effect. I'm bored already." He lied, before pushing me along too. "If you want, Alex will go with you. In fact, I highly recommend it!"

"What?"

I frowned as well, not too sure what he was up to. "Doctor, what's going on?"

"Oh, nothing. Nothing. Go on then, Potts. Off you go."

Bill headed off, looking unsure and I narrowed my eyes at the Doctor.

"Are you going to explain now?"

"No. Can't. I need you to keep an eye on her."

My frown deepened. "Excuse me?"

He groaned and abruptly spun around and pulled me into a deep kiss. I lost my breath at the action and my train of thought that was about to lead us into an agreement, before he pulled back with a smile.

"I just need you to watch after her for tonight, that's all. I don't like the looks of that puddle and she's had the most contact with it other than her little girlfriend. So, I can't investigate it _and_ look after her. You've done well so far." He murmured, kissing me lightly again. "And I'm sure we can arrange something for this little favor of mine later."

I shot him a slightly annoyed look. "I hate it when you do that."

"Do what?" He questioned innocently and I rolled my eyes.

"The whole kissing me into silence and then using sex as leverage to get me to do what you want." I answered him bluntly, not caring that he winced slightly when I said the 's' word. "One day I'm not going to let you do it, you know."

He looked at me hopefully, one bushy eyebrow cocked. "'One day'?"

I leaned up and kissed him. "One day." I repeated. "I'll do what you said for today. I don't like the sound of that puddle either. Reminded me of the trip to Midnight."

His eyes softened as his lips turned down into a frown. "That's what upset you earlier then. Apologies. I didn't mean for my words to—"

"It was an accurate description." I cut him off. "I just didn't care for what it might entail." I took a step back out of his embrace. "I'll go catch up with Bill."

He stopped me though, holding me close and pressing his face to the top of my head. "Be careful please."

I hummed, tipping my head back and stealing one more kiss. "I'll do my best and if I'm out of my depth…"

"My office is open." He agreed and let me go to hurry after Bill.

* * *

Bill lead Alex to her flat and let the woman in, glad that she didn't do the typical roam around to look at everything and instead waited as she shut the door. Water was running in the bathroom though, and she had her gaze on the door.

"Sorry. That's my step-mum. I'll just let her know you're staying over. Make yourself at home, I guess." Bill smiled and Alex gave the door one last glance before nodding and walking into the kitchen as Bill knocked on the bathroom door. "Hey. I'll make you a cuppa for the bath and I've got a friend over, if you don't mind."

No response. Bill went after Alex though, watching the woman as she simply sat at the small kitchen table and keep her hands to herself. Bill half expected her to be rummaging the cupboards with how the Doctor talked about her appetite, but she was surprisingly quiet. Bill tossed her keys on the table and dropped off her purse as she went to make tea.

"Tea?"

Alex nodded, just as Bill's phone went off. Bill pulled it out and made a face at the number, answering it.

"Hey."

"_Sorry I'm not there, love, but I think we both know it's time I treated myself._" Her step-mother's voice rang out over the noise of music in the background and Bill frowned in confusion.

"Are you with Neville?"

"_Why would I be back with Neville after last time? Why do you think I'm such an idiot?_"

Bill double checked the caller ID. "Well, you're calling from his phone. Is there someone staying her in the flat?" Bill asked, glancing at the bathroom and seeing Alex frown suddenly as she stood.

"_Of course not, no. What are you on about?_"

"Uh, nothing. Never mind. I'll see you tomorrow." Bill said, hanging up abruptly and heading after Alex who had moved to the bathroom door and now had her hand on the doorknob. "Hey, what are you doing? What if someone's in there?" Bill stopped her with a hand on her wrist.

Alex turned to her with a frown. "You just spoke with an older woman on the phone who's out at a bar and very familiar with you. You asked her if there was someone else here. The lights are off. You've both been out, yet the bath is running. If you're not in the bath and your step-mom is not in the bath, nor is there anyone home, then—"

"Then who's in the bath." Bill cut her off and Alex scowled, making her smile hesitantly. "Sorry."

Alex turned away though, facing the bathroom. "There's something there, but…"

"How can you tell?" Bill questioned. "I mean, yeah. The baths running and stuff, but you said some_thing_. Not some_one_."

"I'll explain later. Do you have a bat or something?"

Bill looked around. "Um…" She grabbed the closest thing she could find and passed it over. "How about this?"

Alex raised a brow at the umbrella, but shook it off, pressing the object to her. "Hang onto it."

"What about you?"

"You'll be surprised what I can do without one." She muttered, confusing Bill before she reached for the doorknob again. "Whoever's in there, we're coming in!" She chimed and Bill readied her 'weapon' as Alex pushed the door open.

There was nothing there though. The bath wasn't even running. Alex frowned, seeing the water on the inside of the tub, before Bill called out behind her.

"Uh, Alex?"

Alex turned and they both stiffened at the shadow behind the curtain; wet footprints on the floor leading to it.

"What do we do?" Bill whispered, but Alex remained silent as she reached out towards the curtain and ripped it back.

"There's nothing there." Bill said, chuckling and looking down at the drain where the last of the water was sinking. "But where'd this water come from?"

An eye peered out from it and she screamed, falling back as Alex quickly pulled her onto her feet.

"We need to go. _Now_!"

"No need to tell me twice!" She yelped and they hurried out of her flat. "Where are we going?!"

"The Doctor! I don't know what we're dealing with, but I don't like it. He'll be quicker at picking up what it is. I don't have enough experience for that."

"Experience in _what_?!"

Alex groaned, slowing her pace as she glanced behind them now that they were a good distance away. "Look. I can't explain it. _He_ needs to be the one to do it. For now, just accept that there's a lot out there that you don't understand and right now is not exactly the best time to explain it."

Bill frowned, but reluctantly nodded. "Alright then. What about that bit before? How did you know who I was talking to on the phone?"

"I've got very good hearing." She muttered, though Bill was suspicious. "I heard the voice, assumed it was an older woman. Hear the background music, assumed it was a bar, rather than a club due to her age. Though… she reminds me of an old friend's mother. Always on the hunt."

Bill snorted. "Yeah, tell me about it."

They were soon on the grounds and just as they spotted the pacing Doctor up in his office, the sound of dripping came to their ears. Both of them turned and Alex stiffened at the figure standing under the tree.

"Is that…"

"Hello." Bill said, greeting Heather hesitantly as Alex lightly grabbed her shoulder to stop her.

"Don't get too close. I don't know what's going on, but this isn't right."

Bill nodded, glad that Alex wasn't _forcing_ her to hang back and released her shoulder.

"Hello." Heather repeated dryly.

"You scared me."

"You scared me." She repeated again, after Bill, causing Alex's jaw to tighten.

Bill stepped forward again, but then stopped; looking the young—dripping—woman who'd moved closer as she had. Realization dawned on her then and her heart sank as Alex spoke up from just behind her tone soft.

"She's dead."

"She's dead." Heather repeated, before Alex's eyes widened.

She abruptly yanked Bill back just as Heather launched herself forward.

"Run!"

They both rushed up the stairs and burst into the Doctor's office; Bill propping a chair up against the door handle as she panted.

"Hello, Bill. Alex." The Doctor said, sounding worried and confused.

"Problem." Alex murmured. "How do you stop water in 21st century Earth? Because that chair, isn't going to do it."

"_Oh_." Bill cried out quietly as water began to seep under the crack.

"What's that?" the Doctor asked, moving to their side as well.

"I'll tell you what it isn't." Bill said, shifting back as the puddle began to form on the floor. "It isn't a freak optical effect and it's following me."

"The puddle." Alex replied, giving a more descriptive answer as Heather began to form. "Don't ask me how, but it's killed Heather."

The Doctor started to reach for it and Bill stared in disbelief.

"W-What are you doing?"

He pulled back and moved behind Alex and Bill, grabbing the handle of the Tardis. "I'll tell you what, let's just pop into my box."

"Your box? What good is getting in your box going to do?" Bill questioned, but the Doctor didn't have to do much to get her in as Alex followed.

"What an extraordinarily long and involved answer this is going to be."

He closed the door, only to open it and remove the 'out of order' sign that had been hanging on it, though Bill was still worried.

"How do we stop it getting in? We're trapped in here!"

"Nothing gets through these doors." The Doctor replied with a grin, waiting for when she'd notice where she was.

"But they're made of wood. They're got windows!"

Alex snorted. "No one's ever commented on that before."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, but tugged Alex up the stairs with him as he practically bounced around in excitement at what he was going to surprise Bill with.

"Look, this is all mad, I know, but that's the girl I told you about. Heather? Only I… don't think it's really her." She rattled on, not moving from the doors as the Doctor flicked the lights on and changed from his black hoodie to a suit jacket. "I know this is hard to believe. I know you're not exactly a sci-fi person…"

She finally turned around then and stopped as she looked around and the Doctor adjusted his cuffs; Alex leaning against the console with her arms crossed over her chest as he spoke proudly.

"Time And Relative Dimension In Space. _Tardis_, for short." He said with a smug grin. "You're safe in here. You're safe in here and you always will be. Any questions?"

"Is this a knock-through?"

"A _what_?" Alex questioned, but the Doctor chuckled a bit.

"Well, in a way, yes."

He moved around the console, watching Bill as she grew more comfortable, though Alex mouthed to him 'knock-through' in confusion.

"Look at this place! It's like a—"

"Spaceship." The Doctor grinned, only for her to give a different response.

"—kitchen!"

"A what?"

Alex scoffed this time, grateful now that he knew what it was like to be confused about what Bill was saying.

"A really posh kitchen, all metal. What happened with the doors, though? Did you run out of money?"

The Doctor's mouth dropped open in slight offense. "What you are standing in is a technological marvel. It is science beyond magic. This is the gateway to everything that ever was, or ever can be."

"Can I use the toilet?" Bill asked and Alex choked before letting out a burst of laughter; the Doctor scowling.

"Pardon?"

"I've had a fright. I need the toilet." Bill explained and he lifted his lip in an annoyed snarl, but gave her directions as Alex continued to cackle at his expense.

"It's down there, first right, second left, past the macaroon dispenser."

"Thanks."

She went to go just as Nardole spotted her on his way up.

"Oh, human. Human alert. Do you want me to repel her?" Nardole asked, before seeing Alex doubled over and clutching her stomach as she continued to laugh. "And is she alright?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Miss Potts is just passing through. She wants to use the toilet and Alex is fine. Enjoying herself a bit _too_ much, if anything."

"Y-Your face!" Alex belted out. "My G-God, your face! You were all proud and getting all speech and then she was all 'where's the loo'? Gahaha! That's brilliant! That is absolutely brilliant!"

The Tardis suddenly jolted then, though Alex was hardly bothered as she struggled to reign in her laughter.

"What was that?!" Nardole asked in confusion and the Doctor pulled a monitor over to show Heather on the screen.

"We have an incursion on campus. Extra-terrestrial. We're under attack. Let's move."

The Doctor stared up the Tardis as everyone grabbed hold of something and Bill stared up in amazement.

"Oh, my God. This isn't just a room, is it?"

"No, it's not just a room." The Doctor repeated, waiting for the answer he wanted to hear most.

"This is a lift!"

Alex burst out laughing again just as she'd been regaining control of herself and the Doctor groaned and flipped the switch back to stop their travels; grabbing Alex as he went for the door.

"Control yourself, Alex. We've got things to deal with."

"A-A-A _lift_!"

"Ugh."

* * *

I had finally regained control over myself after the Doctor checked up on the vault and Bill began to realize that the Tardis was more than just a lift.

"So, your box can move? It can go anywhere it likes?"

"Mm. Good, isn't it?" Nardole responded as the Doctor continued to scan the door of the vault.

"Anywhere at all? In the whole university?"

"Is it my imagination, or is this taking longer than normal?" The Doctor grumbled and I snorted with a small smirk.

"I like it. It's different."

He rolled his eyes. "You like _anything_ that throws me for a loop."

"And now there's a walking, talking one." I said cheekily. "Can we keep her?"

"Hang on." Bill said, poking her head back into the Tardis. "The room's still inside the box. This isn't a knock-through."

"No."

"Doctor! It's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside!" She finally exclaimed and Nardole cheered.

"Ah-hey! We got there!"

He and the Doctor shook hands as Bill closed the door with an amazed smile.

"How is that possible? How do you do that?"

"Well, first you have to imagine a very big box fitting inside a very small box." Nardole started to explain, though I raised a brow.

"Okay."

"Then, you have to make one. It's the second part people normally get stuck on."

I sighed, stepping over to the confused woman. "Basically, it's a pocket universe wrapped up in smaller packaging, being powered by a dying sun. Said sun, keeps it in the box. And a bit of advice for you." I leaned over. "Don't ask the Doctor or Nardole to explain things. They're rubbish."

"I heard that." The Doctor complained. "Can we shut up, please? Busy, busy. I need to know if there's any interest in what's inside the vault."

"Why? What's inside it?" Bill asked.

"Something I don't want anyone being too curious about."

"So, you put it in the middle of a university?"

"Ooh, valid point. Yeah, nice." Nardole complimented as the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Either the creature came here specifically for what's in here, or it's just a coincidence."

"**It's just a coincidence."**Bill and I said simultaneously, making the Doctor look at us both hesitantly.

"Well, we can't know that for sure."

"Yeah, we can. It was here for ages before it did anything. If it had work to do, why would it lie around in a puddle?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's a student." The Doctor quipped and Nardole chuckled.

"Oh, heheh. Banter. It's good, this. Your go again."

I sighed. "Or, maybe we should consider the fact that instead of immediately coming here, it went to Bill's flat and has been following her. If it really wanted the vault, it would have followed me. I looked into the puddle around the same time she did, but I at least had more knowledge of the vault. That, and why bother with Heather? Could have taken either of us, but it picked her. You're really not thinking things through, Doctor. Not everything is going to have to do with your vault."

There was the sound of rushing water then and the Doctor moved slowly, speaking with Nardole.

"Nardole, we need to move away from the doors and towards the Tardis."

"What if it attacks us?" He asked as we slowly shifted to the blue box; water pouring down the stairs and Heather rising from the puddle.

"Well, that's the good news. It means it's not interested in what's inside the vault. It just wants to kill us."

"Oh."

"Run!"

The creature screeched at us and we hurried into the Tardis; the Doctor and I flipping switches to set her off.

"It's not interested in the vault, it's chasing us. Let's give it a proper challenge. Let's see how far she's prepared to go."

I grabbed Bill's hand and wrapped it around the railing as the ship took off.

"But what about my friend? What about Heather? Can you save her?"

The Doctor looked at me as we landed, but even I was hesitant about answering that.

"First thing's first. Let's see if we can _survive_ her."

The Doctor and I headed outside into the sunlight and leaned against a railing as I pulled a hand through my hair. We only had a moment.

"Is she alive?"

I shook my head at the Doctor's question. "No. The creature itself is barely sentient. It's goal oriented and has literally overwhelmed Heather in order to get what it wants. And before you ask, no. I don't know what that is." I glanced up at him. "If there's anything left of Heather in there, it's very small. Even if I tried to bring it up and force out the creature, it wouldn't—"

"It wouldn't end well" He finished for me, both our shoulders sagging under that pressure.

He tugged me to his side though, the two of us taking comfort in knowing that we weren't alone in this and we would tell Bill together once we were certain of Heather's fate. Said young woman was walking out of the Tardis in shock as we turned to face her.

"But…"

"Yes." The Doctor answered her unasked question with a proud smirk.

"We've moved again."

"We have."

"It was night."

"Yep."

"Now it's day."

"Definitely day."

"Oh my God! Have we traveled in time?!" She gaped.

"No, of course not." The Doctor scoffed and I raised a brow, spotting his plan to enthrall Bill from miles away. "We've traveled to Australia!"

I saw her pale and felt how she went from excited and curious to upset as realization dropped on her like a nuclear bomb. She took off running towards the restrooms and I sighed as the Doctor hummed.

"Culture shock."

"You think?" I chided him. "She's being chased by a liquefied version of her friend while you're trying to shove 'all of time and space' down her throat. I'm surprised she hasn't freaked out about this sooner. Most people would have done that the moment they discovered their friend became a killer puddle."

The Doctor placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze, easing the tension that had built up there from Bill's reaction.

"I'll look after her." He murmured, glancing at me. "Your barriers?"

"They're fine." I sighed. "I was just trying to keep an eye on her and see if I could get a better read on that creature."

"Hm. Come on. Best go check up on her."

We poked our heads into the room and the Doctor spoke up.

"How are you doing?"

She turned, face wet from splashing water on it. "How do you think?"

I nudged the Doctor and we entered the rest room as Bill pressed her hands to a wall, trying to calm herself.

"Right, um, how do we help?"

"Can I ask you both a personal question?" She said, turning back to us.

"No." The Doctor replied.

"Can I anyway?"

I shot him a look and he begrudgingly relented.

"Yes."

"Are you two from space?"

"No, of course not." He said, continuing as Bill almost began to get relieved. "Nobody's from space. I'm from a planet like everybody else."

"_This_ planet?"

He glanced at me, speaking slowly. "No, not specifically this one."

Bill, catching the action turned to me. "You too?"

"Ah, well…" I pushed up my glasses, feeling a need for my hands to do something. "Not exactly. My situation is a bit more complicated."

The Doctor nodded, throwing out a hand my way. "She's actually from another universe."

I smacked him on the chest with a small frown, earning a confused look from him and a steadily growing concerned one from Bill.

"I really don't think now's the time to be spilling my massive background." I grumbled, turning to Bill. "I'll explain it in more detail later, but I'm originally from Earth in a parallel universe. I'm part of his alien species and part human as well as part Tardis. As I said, it gets complicated, but I'd rather be sitting down having tea and explaining it than standing in a loo."

"Yeah, that!" She said, pointing. "Doesn't make sense then."

"What doesn't?" The Doctor asked, confused.

"Tardis. If you're from another planet, why would you name your box in English? Those initials wouldn't work in any other language."

Even I blinked, having never thought of that.

"People don't generally bring that up." The Doctor muttered.

Bill wasn't done though. "It looks like a phone box."

"Yes, uh, well… That's the cloaking device. It sort of hides itself."

"It's hidden itself as a box with 'pull to enter' on the front?"

"It got stuck." I informed her. "It usually picks something in the area you land in and changes into it in order to hide in plain sight. He got it stuck and never bothered to fix it."

Bill chuckled then, but I stiffened as a sound came to our ears and a small presence niggled at the back of my mind.

"Doctor?" I breathed out, turning to the mirror above the sink. "I do believe she's found us."

The condensation on it began to form into Heather and we burst from the restroom with the Doctor shouting to get everyone in the room to clear out. We rushed back into the Tardis and hung on as he sent it off.

"Where are we going?" Bill asked.

"As far as we can. She made Australia in a minute. Let's see what she can really do."

Nardole looked worried though. "Sir, we're leaving the Earth. What about the vault?"

"It'll be there when we get back, Nardole." I complained; understanding the need to be there should something happen, but getting rather annoyed with his insistent need to tie the Doctor—and consequently, myself—to it.

The Doctor seemed to agree. "We're fine. If there's any trouble, I'll get a message on this." He held up his psychic paper. "Let's see how long it takes her to get here."

He landed the Tardis and Bill glanced at the doors.

"Where are we?"

"Other end of the universe. Twenty-three million years in the future." He looked at Bill's open mouthed stare. "Oh, yes. It's a time machine too."

"Show off." I muttered, rolling my eyes and following him out.

I took in a deep breath and let it out as Nardole and Bill trailed after us. It was a nice and quiet planet with rock arches and spires accompanied by waving, long-leaved plants and floating crystals that shined like dust in moonbeams. The plants in particular had my attention, they being semi-sentient and whispering soothingly in the back of my mind. _He's spoiling me. Could have picked any old planet, but chose one that was pleasant to look at and feel with an open mind._

"So, this is somewhere else?" Bill asked, sounding slightly hesitant. "This is a different planet? Not Earth, a different one?"

"That's the general idea." The Doctor hummed, saddling up to my side and tucking me under his arm.

"That's different sky? Is it made of something different? What is sky made of?" Bill rambled on and the Doctor responded easily.

"Lemon drops."

"Really?"

"No, but wouldn't that be nice?"

I rolled my eyes as Nardole gave him a look.

"You can be very silly sometimes, you know that?" He then turned us back to the situation at hand. "So, how do we know this water thing is actually dangerous?"

"Ah, because most things are." The Doctor replied.

"Mm, that's true."

"It also took over Heather." I added on, not willing to just jump headfirst into the whole 'killer creature' thing without something to back it up.

"Is everything out here evil?" Bill asked and the Doctor thankfully picked this one up.

"Hardly anything is evil, but most things are hungry. Hunger looks very like evil from the wrong end of the cutlery. Or do you think that your bacon sandwich loves you back?"

"So, what is it and what was it doing on Earth?" Nardole asked; again, getting us back on topic.

"Well, there were scorch marks on the concrete where we found it. Could have been left by a shuttlecraft. The puddle, what did it look like? I mean, if that was a car, what would you say that was?"

"An oil leak?" Bill questioned. "So, it's space engine oil?"

"Semi-sentient space engine oil." I tacked on and the Doctor nodded.

"Intelligent oil. Super intelligent space oil. No! Part of the ship itself. Shape-shifting fluid that becomes anything it needs to be."

"Seriously?"

I frowned though. "But what made it suddenly decide to do something? Did someone looking into it change it somehow?"

"Possibly. Maybe it saw something it needed. What was she like, your friend? What did she want? What did she need?" He asked Bill, who suddenly felt rather solemn as she wandered around a bit.

"I think she wanted to leave."

"You see?"

Nardole did. "The puddle found a passenger."

"A left-behind droplet of a liquid spaceship. A single tear drop, alone in a strange world. Then, one day, it finds someone who wants to fly away. Not just a passenger. More than a passenger, it found a pilot, so it ate her."

I shifted away from the Doctor as he steadily grew more excited about the puddle, feeling Bill's conflicting emotions and heading over to her.

"You alright?" I asked quietly, making her turn away from the small pool of water at her feet. "He's a bit thick when it comes to noticing when people are upset. Tends to cause it too, albeit accidentally."

She smiled a little. "That's what he's got you for, yeah?"

"He needs someone to rein him in sometimes." I admitted. "And to take notice of things he overlooks. Unintentionally, of course. He gets a little carried away when he comes across something that interests him."

"I can see that." She glanced over at him as he and Nardole argued about something. "And, I think I'm alright. It's just… a bit much to wrap my head around."

I hummed, looking over at the Doctor as she turned back to the puddle; his voice drifting over to us in his excitement.

"What, in the end, are any of us looking for? We're looking for someone who's looking for us."

I heard water splash then and whipped around to see Bill kneeling to the puddle with Heather latched onto her face.

"Bill!"

The Doctor and Nardole hurried over as I yanked her away from the screeching creature, pulling her back to the Tardis. She coughed and choked as I pat her on the back and the Doctor started the ship up once more.

"Okay, it's fast. It time travels. It never gives up. Plan! Basic sterilization. We're going to run that thing through the deadliest fire in the universe."

Nardole nodded, though I grew concerned. "Yes, that sounds excellent. The deadliest fire in the universe! That's definitely good."

"How do we do that?" Bill questioned, regaining her voice.

"The only way we can. We run through it first."

"Less good now." Nardole muttered, before taking a look at the scanner as I did the same and the ship shook. "No, not there. I don't like it there!"

"Neither do I." I grumbled, annoyed at our destination.

"Nardole!" The Doctor called out, but the man was still complaining.

"I don't like there."

He caught the sonic screwdriver the Doctor tossed him though, making me furrow my brows.

"I want you running interference. Can you do that?"

"Can I say no, sir?"

"No."

"Yes, then." He begrudgingly gave in.

"Thank you."

"But no, really."

"Where are we?" Bill asked again, her unease growing.

"Well, we're basically in the middle of a war. No, but, well, it's a war zone, and this is just your basic skirmish. And it's not as bad as it sounds, I promise you. Come on, Alex and I've got friends here, old friends… I say friends."

I hurried out of the ship with him as a Dalek screeched out.

"The Doctor and Seer are detected. Seek. Locate. Destroy!"

We ignored it and the Doctor, Bill and I took off quickly down the halls; dodging sparks and mini explosions from destroyed equipment nearby.

"Are we still in the future?"

"No. This is the past."

"Doesn't… Doesn't look like the past." She said, hurrying along behind us. "Are we safe here?"

"Doubt it." I murmured and the Doctor hummed.

"Well, that's up to Nardole, so probably not."

"Put it this way." I said, explaining. "You're the safest out of the three of us. They'll take us out first before even considering you, and they've yet to succeed in actually getting rid of us."

"Oh, 'cause _that's_ reassuring." She complained. "Where are we going?"

"Into the fire. Come on."

We squeezed through a narrow area before poking out heads out to see a group of familiar people shooting away.

"Who are those guys?" Bill asked.

"Movellans." I answered the same time the Doctor said, "Never mind them. It's who they're firing at. Come on."

He grabbed Bill and pushed her along as we spotted Heather, ducking into another hallway where a Dalek quickly turned to face us.

"What's that?" Bill questioned yet again.

"The deadliest fire in the universe."

"Identify. Intruder. Identify." The Dalek screeched and I groaned.

"I swear, if I get shot by another one of these, you're coming down with me."

"Will do." He said, lifting his screwdriver and aiming it at the Dalek. "Scan this device and identify me!"

"You are the Doctor! And you, the Seer!" It wailed, shifting its eyestalk from him to me. "You are enemies of the Daleks!"

"Oh, yes we are."

"Exterminate!"

I ducked and the Doctor yanked Bill out of the way, allowing the shot to fly past us and into Heather, who repeated the Dalek's wail.

"Exterminate."

I slide across the floor to join the Doctor as the Dalek fired again at the puddle creature.

"Exterminate!"

"Exterminate."

"What was that thing?" Bill asked now that we moved away from where the two creatures were going at it.

"A Dalek."

"A what?"

"Dalek." I repeated, poking my head around the corner as the Doctor had done. "Angry, squishy octopi in deadly, metal salt shakers. Best not to question the logic of it, just know they're very, _very_ dangerous."

The Doctor rushed out and led the way, before we skidded to a halt yet again as another Dalek rolled up shooting right between the Doctor and Bill.

"E-E-Exter-r-rminate…"

The Doctor frowned, approaching it with us following. "That's wrong. I know my Daleks, and that's wrong."

"Doctor." I muttered, looking at it and feeling that same familiar tingling in the back of my mind. "Look at the eyestalk."

"Oh… I see."

"You see what?" Bill questioned, confused as Nardole hurried into our hallway.

"I've sealed the area. All the Daleks are quarantined. Except that one!"

"It's okay!" The Doctor shushed him. "This isn't a Dalek. Look. Look at the eye."

"Heather." Bill breathed out as she saw the same star-like pattern reflected in the center of the eyepiece.

The Dalek began to leak water, before shifting back into Heather's figure.

"Heather." It repeated; still managing to send a chill down my spine.

The Doctor though, circled the creature curiously as its gaze followed him. "Interesting. You had a gun but you didn't use it. Why? You've already taken one person from the Earth. I'm going to let that pass, because I have to, but we will not let you take another. Go. Just go now. Fly away. Why won't you just go?"

Heather turned back to Bill and I frowned.

"She wants something."

"What?" Bill questioned, but I went towards Heather and leaned closer cautiously.

"What is it? What is it you want?" I asked the creature, opening my senses a bit to try and get a read on it. "Something from Bill. I get that, but what? What could she give you, except…" I paused, understanding dawning on me as Heather watched silently. "Oh."

"Oh?" Bill asked, though she was beginning to think and it was obvious something was bugging her as well about this whole situation.

"When I followed you and Heather, you two said some things that I didn't really take into account in all of this." I explained. "She called her eye a defect; had probably been teased by it or had unwanted attention drawn to her because of it. She spoke of hating the university because everywhere she went, she just wanted to leave. She was depressed, _horribly_ depressed and the puddle wanted her because she wanted to leave, but it didn't see the other thing she desperately wanted. She'd gotten so used to pushing people away that when one showed up and stubbornly refused to let things be, she grew fond and didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to do about feeling lonely because she'd ignored it for so long. In the end, what are any of us looking for?" I turned to Bill. "She's looking for someone who's looking for her."

"Oh my God, I understand." Bill breathed out, explaining. "The last thing she said to me. She promised she wouldn't leave without me."

"Her last conscious thought, driving her across the universe. Never underestimate a crush."

"Oh-ho, you don't have to tell me." Nardole mused.

"What do we do?"

"I don't know." The Doctor said, but I cut in.

"She wants you, Bill. She promised to take you with her, so you need to let her know it's alright to leave you and go off on her own.

Bill squared her shoulders and I backed off a bit, allowing her to speak with Heather without my interfering.

"You have to let me go."

"You have to let me go." Heather repeated, though Bill took every word as Heather's and not just a simple mimic.

"I will."

"I will." Heather took a small step back.

"I really liked you."

"I really liked you." Heather's last few words drifted into more of a whisper and she held her hand out.

Bill began to reach out as well, but the Doctor tried to stop her.

"Bill, don't. Do—"

I placed a hand on the Doctor's arm and he turned to me in shock, but I gave him a small smile.

"Trust her."

He hesitated, looking at her again, before his lips thinned and he begrudgingly went silent. Bill took Heather's hand. I stepped away from the Doctor and placed a hand on Bill's shoulder, closing my eyes as I spoke softly to her.

_Bill, you have to know this. She's gone, Bill. If there's anything left of the Heather you knew, it's so small it's almost nonexistent. She's not human anymore. She might not even be alive… And I'm sure whatever she's showing you is magnificent. I'm sure it's beautiful and exciting, but remember the life you have here. Your stepmother, your friends, the Doctor even. And understand that sometimes… sometimes it's better to let things go._

I let go, stepping away with a minor headache—thanks to the creature—but reached out and took the Doctor's hand to give it a brief squeeze.

"The rest is up to her."

It took only a moment or two before Bill was suddenly thrust back, wide-eyed and gasping as the Doctor grabbed her and shook her shoulders in order to make sure she was all there. He released her as Heather dissolved and I watched the two carefully, curious as to what Twelve would do. He wasn't exactly the most outwardly caring of the Doctors, but he'd softened up a lot. Seeing him attempting to be more outgoing and civil was actually a great thing to see.

"Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah. I think so." Bill whispered.

The Doctor glanced at her, but walked away, moving towards me as Nardole went over to speak with her.

"You'll look after her?" He whispered and I sighed softly.

"I can't always handle upset companions for you. I'm not a psychiatrist."

"No, but you're very good at it." He hummed, kissing my temple. "Please?"

"Yes, yes." I nudged him along. "Now go on."

"Thank you, Alexander."

"Mm."

He walked off and Nardole soon joined him, before Bill brought up the rear; myself falling in step with her. I stayed silent though, waiting for her to speak first, and it didn't take long before she did.

"Here to do damage control or something?" She attempted to joke.

"As I said, he's not the best at handling certain types of situations." I answered. "Least of all, upset women."

She chuckled a little. "Even you?"

"_Especially_ me." I scoffed. "You should see him when I'm upset. It's like he doesn't know what to do with himself. He'll try everything too. My favorite food, special trips out, jokes and distractions. He got me a robot bird once, then proceeded to question why he'd thought I'd like it in the first place just after he showed it to me. He doesn't get that sometimes, people need to vent and he just needs to sit quiet and listen." I nodded towards him ahead of us. "He's finally understood the 'needing space' bit though. Had to explain that one to him a few times and I doubt he understands it, but he tends to use things that work for me on others. That's him trying though, if that helps."

"It does, actually." She replied, looking at me. "You and him have been together a long time, yeah?"

I nodded.

"Do you always do this sort of thing?"

"Trouble usually finds us, but typically, yes. Things tend to go poorly."

"Then…" She paused briefly, looking up ahead as we approached the Tardis. "How do you deal with this? Because you've lost people, yeah? How do you… Well, I'm not trying to pry or nothing, but… what do you do?"

I thought about it for a second. "Honestly… I'm not you, Bill. Me? I tend to bottle things up. I take those emotions and shove them in a dark corner of my mind until things have calmed down long enough for me to deal with them appropriately. Even then, I end up lashing out at people, cooping myself up in my room on the Tardis, spend a ridiculous amount of time punching things in the gym. Coping, as it were. The Doctor helps though. He finds me, recognizing that somethings bothering me and he tries to help. Even if it's something as small as cuddling with me on the couch. He gives me the opportunity to let it out. He lets me cry on him without asking questions until I'm good and ready, and that's all I need. Someone to talk to." I turned to her, seeing her understanding. "And you should do the same. Even if it's just giving pieces of it to someone like your step-mother. You'd be surprised what a comforting hug can do from someone you care about."

She looked up and gave me a small smile. "Yeah… Yeah, I think I'll do that."

I nodded and gestured with my head to the door of the Tardis we'd stopped outside of. "Come on. If we don't go in soon, he'll be poking his head out to check on us."

* * *

Alex passed Bill some tea back in the Doctor's office; him having gone into the Tardis to check up on the vault after he'd received an alarm on his psychic paper.

"The vault alarm went off, but it was nothing." He chimed upon having returned. "A student was sick outside and it registered as a biological attack."

He chuckled, but caught sight of Alex's raised brow and subtle gesture to a still slightly upset Bill. His laughter died off and he went quiet as Bill began to speak quietly, cradling the cup of tea.

"I saw it all for a moment. Everything out there." She explained, speaking of what Heather had shown her. "She was going to let me fly with her. She was inviting me. I was too scared."

"Scared is good. Scared is rational." The Doctor stated, but Alex cut in before he could mention Heather's inhumanity.

"Everyone gets a little scared when given an option like that." She mused, sitting down and crossing her ankle over her knee as she sipped her tea. "The universe is a big place. Much bigger than simply traveling to another country or such, and even that can be seen as daunting. Plus, it was a big decision. Leave everything you have here to go traveling? Anything could happen, good or bad, but your step-mother wouldn't know what happened. You had other things to take into consideration, Bill. As the Doctor said, scared was rational in that situation."

"Will we see her again?" Bill asked.

"I don't see how." The Doctor replied and Bill glanced at the Tardis.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. You have to forget about that."

"I don't see how I can." Bill argued as Alex silently watched what was going on, eyes narrowed in suspicion and tea being set aside for the time being.

"I do. Come here, Bill."

She stood up in front of him. "What's up?"

"I just want to fix something."

He reached up, but Alex grabbed his wrist just as Bill stepped back in shock.

"Whoa! What are you doing?!"

He shifted his eyes to Alex though, brows furrowed in annoyance at her interference. "Alex, this needs to happen."

"Does it?" She questioned simply as Bill looked between the two uneasily.

"Were you going to wipe my memory?" She asked, making the two Time Lords look at her. "You were, weren't you? I'm not stupid, you know. That's the trouble with you. You don't think anyone's ever seen a movie. I know what a mind-wipe looks like!"

"I have no choice. I'm here for a reason. I am in disguise. I have promises to keep. No one can know about me." The Doctor argued, trying to pull away from Alex, but she had a good grip.

_Been in the gym again. I really need to do something about that._

"This is the most exciting thing that's ever happened to me in my life. The _only_ exciting thing!" Bill cried out, tears gathering in her eyes.

"I'm sorry." He apologized, looking to Alex. "I _need_ to do this."

Her eyes sharpened, mental pressure leaking out slightly. "Then you need to decide how much of this is you _needing_ to and how much of it is you _wanting_ to, because the way I see it, this has nothing to do with your promise, Doctor, and you know that."

"Please, don't fight." Bill cut in. "I don't want you two to be fighting over me. Okay, let me remember just for a week. Just a week. Okay, well, just for tonight. Just one night. Come on, let me have some good dreams for once." She begged, making the harshness to Alex's mental presence lose its edge and lean towards sadness. "Okay. Do what you've got to do. Let him go, Alex."

She hesitated, but reluctantly did so, allowing the Doctor to approach Bill and lift his hands before Bill spoke again.

"But imagine, just imagine how it would feel if someone did this to you."

She closed her eyes and the Doctor hesitated, before slowly lowering his arms and giving Bill a small tap to the chin to get her to open her eyes.

"Get out."

"What?"

"You can keep your memories. Now get out before I change my mind! Don't speak, don't start, just run! Now. Go!" He demanded and she ran.

He turned around, glancing at the picture of Susan on his desk.

"Shut up." He then glared at River's. "You, shut up as well."

Even the Tardis grumbled and he rolled his eyes.

"Would you all please, just leave me alone? I can't do that anymore, I promised!"

"Do you want me to shut up too?" Alex asked, leaning against his desk and making him drop his face into his hand.

"You know my promise. You _know_ I can't do this. I can't take her with me travelling. I shouldn't have even left the planet a moment ago."

"And you and I both know it's tearing you up." Alex countered, pushing off the desk and moving in front of him. "And I'll tell you what…" She brought her hand up and brushed it along the side of his face. "I'm very proud of you for letting her go. I'm glad that I didn't have to be the one to stop you this time around, because, Doctor… Neither of us could take another Donna. Another Susan. Another River. Another you. I just had to erase your memories and I _still_ deal with how that felt and I knew it was for the best. I _knew_ I prevented a paradox and that was just how things had to go, but I know how it feels. And it doesn't feel good." She smiled bitterly. "I don't want you to have to constantly do that to yourself. Bill is…she's good for you. Nardole is alright, but he's the nagging parent no one wants to take with them to do anything fun."

"I don't need her." He muttered. "I have you."

"But you don't know when I'll pop off again, and then what? You'll get all depressed and fiddle with your vault with no one to cheer you up. You'll have to sit in your lectures and watch Bill watching you with awe _everyday_. Doctor, if you take her memories, you'll just be torturing yourself."

"But the vault—"

"This had _nothing_ to do with that, so stop acting like it is." She chided him, before sighing. "God, you're acting just like your Eleventh self after Amy and Rory."

"I am not!" He argued.

"_Yes_, you are." She countered. "You locked yourself up in a cloud and refused to take Clara as your companion even _after_ she hunted down your carriage simply because you thought that hiding away would keep more of your companions from ending up like them. Like Rose and Martha and Donna. You can't keep doing that to yourself. Hiding away isn't going to save anyone. And you make people's lives better."

"No, I don't." He frowned.

"_Yes,_ you do. You heard Bill. She's not had an easy life, Doctor, but you showed her things to live for. You've shown her the universe just as you've shown all your other companions and not one of them blames you for what happened to them in the end. They all _loved_ you for what you showed them. It was the best life they could have had, and you gave that to them. You handed them the opportunity and they took it. _That's_ why I tried to stop you. I told you I wouldn't let you do that again, and I meant it. Bill needed to be the one to make the choice. Not me and not you. I released you because she accepted what you were going to do. Wasn't happy about it, but accepted it. You need to recognize that and see that you didn't really want to do it either. _Accept_ it and understand that it won't make you any worse of a person, Doctor. Stop beating yourself up about the past. Please."

The Doctor heaved a sigh and wrapped Alex up in his arms, clinging to her almost desperately. "I love you."

She sighed in return. "I love you too, but it'd be nice if we stop repeating our conversations. What happened to speaking things out with one another, hm?"

He tucked his nose into the crook of her neck. "I've been busy."

"And I haven't been around. I understand." She pat his head. "Come on. Now that you've properly freaked her out, it's best we go show her you weren't actually upset with her."

He grumbled.

"We can have some alone time later. I know you want to go someplace fun to show off." She tapped his temple. "I can feel it, you know. You enjoyed our little bouncing around being chased by a puddle more than you let on. You're itching to take her somewhere."

"You promise?" He asked and she rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes. I promise some alone time, you needy puppy."

He smirked, kissing her and saying something that she smacked him in the arm for. "Woof."


	106. Smile

**Hello again, everybody ^^ am i on time? i hope so. here is 'Smile'! i hope you all enjoy it (i changed the ending rather dramatically) and i can't wait to see what you guys and girls think of it!**

**as for the next episode, i'm going to be doing 'The Sontaran Experiment' with the 4th Doctor. i'll post a link up on my profile, but please watch it, if you can. or, you know, just enjoy whatever mess i put up next ;) and thanks so much to grapejuice101 for helping me out with some planning for the next chapter!**

* * *

I bolted upright with a start, hearts pounding and sweat sliding down my back, sending a chill up my spine. I'd only gone to take a short nap and the Doctor had agreed after our 'alone time' that he'd go pick up Bill and wake me before they went anywhere. I was unnerved though. I'd had a nightmare, but I couldn't quite remember what it was. I dragged a hand down my face with a grimace, feeling more exhausted than I had been when I went to sleep. The movement sent a sharp pain down my back though and I hissed in pain as I rubbed at my shoulder. _What the hell… _The pain had already started to grow dull, but just the fact that there was pain at _all_, concerned me. _I'll have the Doctor check it out real quick. I haven't popped off either, I don't think, which is odd, but fine. That nightmare though…_

"_Bill!"_

"_No, Doctor, you can't! Let me—"_

"_Doctor? Are you alright?"_

"…_oxygen…"_

I doubled over with a grunt of pain as my shoulder flared again, the voices and images fading as quickly as they'd come, but the unsettling feeling remaining as I shivered. The Tardis let out a concerned whine then and the pain dulled slightly. _Could it be…_ The thought was brushed from my mind though as the Doctor gave me a small mental nudge to get up and I sighed. Begrudgingly, I got up and had a very quick shower before heading downstairs to see the Doctor and Bill engaged in conversation.

"So?"

"So?"

"What do we do? Do I have to sit somewhere? Are there any seatbelts? Like…"

"It's the Doctor." I piped in, taking the stairs down. "He doesn't know what safety regulations _are_."

He pouted slightly, but sauntered over and gave me a small peck. "Good morning."

"Mm." I grumbled, making him raise a brow, but I shot him a look that said we'd talk later, so he looked over at Bill; hand around my waist.

"Well, you've done this before. This isn't your first trip."

"Yeah, but it's proper this time." She smiled, taking a seat and immediately making a face. "Oh, that's a mistake."

"What is?" The Doctor asked, confused.

She reached out. "You can't reach the controls from the seat. What's the point in that? Or do you have stretchy arms like Mr. Fantastic?" She teased as the Doctor released me to sit and try reaching out as well.

Seeing the fault, he stood up and placed his hands on the console.

"Oh, I stand, like this."

"You never thought of bringing the seats a bit closer?"

"No, not so far, no." He said, pouting slightly, until I popped in.

"Why? He has to run around the console anyway. What's the point of putting the chairs closer other than to be in the way?"

Bill blinked. "I didn't think of that."

The Doctor though, puffed up proudly. "Course not. Alex thinks of everything."

I rolled my eyes, waving a hand at the two of them. "Please, continue with your questions though. I'd like the see the Doctor get his way out of one of them _without_ my help."

He pouted immediately and Bill grinned, gesturing to the console.

"Where's the steering wheel?"

The Doctor shot me a look, mentally telling me that this was my fault. "Well, you don't _steer_ the Tardis, you negotiate with it. The still point between where you want to go and where you need to be, that's where she takes you."

"How much did it cost?"

"Ah… no idea. Stole it."

She looked surprised. "Seriously?"

"Yup."

She looked at me and I nodded with a hum, gratefully accepting the tea the Tardis set on the seat beside me.

"Why?" She asked, returning her gaze to the Doctor.

"Well, actually, because I felt like it."

"Oh, what if I steal it from you?" She smirked.

"On you go then." He offered with a knowing smirk.

"I don't know how it works." She chuckled.

"Well, neither did I."

"Yeah, but she stole _you_, remember?" I tacked on. "You didn't need to know anything, because she was willing to do it herself."

Bill looked confused, but before she could question me, there was a knock on the door.

"Who's that?"

"Mum." The Doctor muttered the same time I replied. "His indoors."

Bill made a face as he went and opened the door, letting in a frustrated Nardole.

"Excuse me. Just what is the Tardis doing down here?"

Even Bill seemed to roll her eyes when she saw the fun-killer walk into the ship.

"I'm over two thousand years old." The Doctor complained. "I don't always want to take the stairs. And Alex was taking a nap."

"Oi, don't drag me into this." I chided him. "I'm surprised I'm still here."

"Your _oath_, sir." Nardole pressed before the Doctor could question me. "You're not supposed to go off-world unless it's an emergency."

"I'm not off-world."

"Are you _going_ off-world?"

"I'm going back to my office. Could you put the kettle on please?" The Doctor sassed back and Nardole narrowed his eyes before spotting Bill.

"Hm. Why's she here?"

"I invited her Nardole. Piss off." I said shortly, making the man straighten as the Doctor stepped in.

"Kettle. As you can see, one cuppa isn't enough to calm her temper."

I shot a glare at the Doctor, who ignored it as Nardole grumbled back towards the door.

"Well, I'm not making any for _her_. She can make her own. I'm not a slave for any human, I can assure you." Nardole said, before cringing as the spine of a book slammed against the back of his head. "Ow!"

I lifted my lip in a snarl at the man, who let out a little yelp at the sight. "Insult humans again, and I'll unscrew your head and drop it off in a children's nursery."

He quickly fled at that and I huffed, brows still furrowed in my annoyance as I sipped at my tea once more.

"I take it, humans are a touchy subject?" Bill asked hesitantly.

"Well, she's _part_ human." The Doctor shrugged, heading over and placing a calming hand on my shoulder. "She can get a little tense when her own species is insulted."

"And Nardole can get on my nerves. Why did you bring him again?" I asked, but the Doctor didn't answer as Bill spoke up dejectedly.

"So, back up to your office for a cuppa then?"

The Doctor and I exchanged a look before he bounded over to her with a cunning sparkle in his eyes.

"Between here and my office—before the kettle boils—is everything that ever happened or ever will. Make your choice."

I stood as well, leaving my empty cup behind as Bill tipped her head curiously.

"What choice?"

"Past or future." I answered, coming up beside the Doctor by the famous materialization lever. "First flyer's privilege."

She grinned. "Future."

The Doctor flipped the switch and then gave her a curious look. "Why?"

"Why do you think? I want to see if it's happy."

I was a bit unsure about that reasoning, knowing how the universe could be, but I remained silent before the Doctor grabbed my hand once we landed.

"We'll just be a minute, Bill. I need to ask Alex something in private."

She nodded, eagerly staring at the doors. "Yeah, sure."

We stepped out into the hall and the Doctor turned me around, as I looked at him in confusion as to the sudden 'talk' we were having.

"Something was bothering you when you walked in." He said, clearing up my impeding question before I could ask. "We have a moment."

I hesitated, before nodding. "I had a nightmare, but it wasn't the usual ones."

His brows furrowed. "How so?"

"I couldn't remember anything about it and… my shoulder was acting up. I thought it was because I hadn't popped off—I don't usually stick around for more than one adventure—but I think the Tardis was… trying to show me something."

He gestured to my shoulder, pulling out his sonic. "May I?"

I nodded and allowed him to pull back the collar of my shirt and get a scan of it. He hummed as he looked at the results.

"Anything interesting?" I questioned, readjusting my collar.

"Possibly. The Artron energy is… buzzing, almost."

"Buzzing?"

"Like an agitated bee hive." He replied, stowing the sonic back in his pocket. "Meaning that it _was_ active earlier, but not enough to send you off. Why do you think it was the Tardis?"

"Well, I caught flashes of the nightmare briefly and pain went through my shoulder, but she sounded worried and the pain faded. All I know is that whatever she showed me wasn't pleasant and I hadn't seen it before. It wasn't a typical nightmare and the fact that just the humming she made eased the pain makes me think she was worried about something and shared it with—"

"With someone who could potentially do something about it." He interrupted, making me scowl. "Apologies."

I lightened up a bit. "But why wouldn't I remember anything if she needed me to help?"

"Well, if she _was_ sharing the future, it might have been too much for your mind to handle all of it and she was forced to take it back. Especially if it was already hurting you. She had to resort to giving you a small glimpse after you woke."

"Hm." I hummed, brows furrowed in concern, but the Doctor gave my shoulders a brief squeeze, digging his thumbs into my back to ease some of the tenseness there.

"Just inform me if it happens again. We'll keep an eye on it."

I nodded and we returned to the console room where Bill whipped around to us eagerly.

"All set?"

We nodded and the Doctor tossed a hand towards the doors.

"You first."

She gave us a look. "Another 'first flyer privilege'?"

I managed a small smile and nodded, though she didn't argue as she rushed to the doors and out into a field of wheat.

"Wheat?" I questioned. "What is it with humans and w-w-achoo!"

I groaned, pulling out a handkerchief and scowling as the Doctor passed me a bandana to wrap around my face.

"Sorry." He apologized. "I'll park us closer next time."

"Allergies?" I asked, not looking pleased as he nodded. "Great. I'm allergic to one of human's greatest staples. Pesky plants."

I tied the bandana around my nose and mouth and felt marginally better as I tucked the end into my shirt and Bill finally spoke up from her wandering.

"Which way is Earth?"

"Ah, space is bent. Earth is any way you choose to look." The Doctor answered cryptically. "Why? You thinking about leaving?"

"Thinking? I'm not thinking. My brain's overloading." She muttered, looking back at the Tardis as we headed towards the large building ahead of us. "Why a phone box?"

"I told you."

"Yeah, well, I get that it's a cloaking device, but why keep it that shape?"

"He likes it." I piped up.

"Who said I like it?" The Doctor quickly argued, but even Bill smirked.

"You kept it."

He pouted childishly, attempting to distract her as he gestured again to the building. "Come along."

She shot me a look and I rolled my eyes with a small smile as we made for the city. I grew slightly unnerved though as we entered the building, for multiple reasons. _I can _feel_ the beings here, but where's all the people? What I'm sensing isn't human either. It's almost like… like the Doctor said. Buzzing._

"This is one of the Earth's first colonies. They say the settlers have cracked the secret of human happiness." The Doctor rambled, not noticing my unease just yet as I eyed the building around us.

_It's like it's everywhere at once…_

Bill took a selfie, before questioning him. "One question. Little fella said you made an oath? You're not supposed to leave the planet."

"…Okay, I suppose I owe you an explanation." He cleared his throat. "A long time ago, a thing happened. As a result of the thing, I made a promise. As a result of the promise, I have to stay on Earth."

"You and Alex?"

"Nope. Just me." He answered and I explained.

"I tend to pop off at random moments. It's a part of my genetics, apparently. So, if I suddenly vanish in a bit of light, that's just me bouncing off to somewhere else in the Doctor's timeline."

Bill looked a little lost, but nodded. "And you're guarding a vault."

The Doctor bobbed his head as well. "Guarding a vault."

"Well, you're not guarding a vault right now."

"Yes, I am. I have a time machine. I can be back before we left."

"Unless something goes wrong." I muttered and Bill pointed at me.

"Yeah. What happened if you get lost, or stuck, or something?"

"I've thought about that."

"And?"

"Well, it would be a worry, so best not to dwell on it. Look at this building. Look at it! You know what I like about humanity? Its optimism. Do you know what this building is made of? Pure, soaring optimism."

_Yeah, I'm beginning to get a little unsure about that._ I thought, eyeing a swarm of robots flying around above us. _Is the _building_ buzzing? Or is it those robots? What is it? And where's all the colonists? Not here yet? Gone? Left after accomplishing what they needed and leaving the robots behind? Or something else? Something… worse…_ I flinched when an arm wrapped around my waist and let out a long breath with my eyes closed as the Doctor grew concerned at my actions.

"_You alright?"_

_Yes. Something's just bothering me, is all._

"_You've noticed it too then?" _He asked and I hesitated, waiting for him to say it first. _"Where's all the people?"_

_Yeah, there's that, but… there's this buzzing too. You don't hear it?_

"_From the robots?"_

I shook my head. _No… Maybe? I'm not sure. It's odd. Something here is sentient—or barely sentient—but it feels like it's everywhere all at once. I don't know what to think about it. I don't like it though._

"_Is it hostile?"_

_No. Not that I feel, but… it's literally _everywhere_. It's unnerving._

He hummed, leaning down and kissing my temple as he whispered. "Keep an eye on it. Let me know if anything changes. It could just be backlash from whatever you were dealing with this morning. Might have put your senses on overload."

I hummed back, acknowledging that as a possible cause as Bill stopped and looked at us.

"What are you two doing? I always catch you like that. Like you're whispering to each other but none of your mouths are moving."

"Ah, well, we're telepathic." The Doctor explained. "Alex and I share a bond that allows us to speak with one another over a certain distance."

Bill's eyes lit up. "No way. So, can you like, read minds and stuff?"

"Not exactly." I clarified, glad for the distraction. "The Doctor needs to be in physical contact to speak with other species telepathically, but I can, if I wanted to, without touch. I just tend not to. I have a better respect for people's privacy than he does, and too much can give me a headache."

"Wicked." She grinned, before gesturing to the swarm overhead. "What are they? Alien birds?"

"Vardies. Tiny robots. Work in flocks. They're versatile, hard-working. Good at learning skills. The worker bees of the Third Industrial Revolution, probably just checking us out for security." The Doctor rattled on, taking over.

"These are robots? These are disappointing robots." Bill murmured.

"That's a very offensive remark. Don't make personal remarks like that."

"Uh, you can't offend a machine."

"Typical wet brain chauvinism." The Doctor grumbled.

"Sure you can." I cut in, making her surprised. "It's the future. _Everything_ has feelings. They could be AIs or even sentient machines. You never know, so it's best not to insult them and get on their bad side before anything's for certain."

I felt something then and stiffened as Bill spoke.

"Oh, what just happened?"

Her and I both winced as the Doctor's voice rang out through our heads louder than I wished.

"Your ear's on fire."

"Ow!" Bill complained while I smacked the Doctor on the shoulder.

"Inside voice."

He frowned, but lowered his voice as he touched his own ear. "We have been fitted with some kind of communication device that is using our own nervous system as hardware. We've just downloaded an upgrade for our ears."

Bill looked rather pleased about this. "I'll never lose my phone again. I'll never run out of battery again!"

"And I'll never get any privacy again." I grumbled. "Wish they'd asked first."

The Doctor looked around cautiously. "Welcome to paradise."

"Hang on, is there a mute button though? What if you're in the loo?"

"Who needs loos? There's probably an app for that." The Doctor joked.

"So, where is everyone? Don't tell me we've come halfway across the universe and they've all gone out. We should've texted first or something." Bill asked as I hummed.

"We've been wondering the same thing for a while now."

A section of the building opened up in front of us and a different kind of robot stood there with a smiling face on its screen; smiling faces for eyes as well.

"What's that? _That_ is a robot. That is _not_ a disappointing robot."

"Technically, this isn't a robot at all. The tiny little things, those are the robots. This is the interface with them."

I leaned to a confused Bill. "They basically act as the translators for the robot swarms."

"Does it speak? Will we understand it?" Bill asked curiously as the eyes on the robot changed to question marks as it tipped its head.

"Well, depends upon what aspect of your language have survived over so many thousands of years."

It changed back to smiling and Bill understood, happily.

"Emoji! It speaks emoji!"

"Of course it does." The Doctor grumbled, not exactly pleased and even I sighed.

"That's a shame. Some languages were really beautiful. Emoji is a bit… caveman-ish. Good for texting, but for active communication? Doesn't handle sarcasm well."

The robot had thumbs up on its screen for a bit, making Bill coo.

"Aw, it's cute."

It then held out its hands and offered three circular badges.

"What's that?"

"Blank badges."

They took them rather easily, though I hesitated before the robot turned to me almost hopefully; the buzzing in my head getting a little louder for a moment. I winced, not pleased with the interference and begrudgingly took the badge as the Doctor looked them over.

"Oh, yours isn't blank. It's got a face on the back." Bill said and the Doctor looked over.

"Yours too. Interesting."

Or so he said, but I could feel his slight uneasiness as well, now.

"It's never on the side you're looking at." Bill noticed as she flipped hers around a few times.

The Doctor held his up. "What's it doing now? What… What face is it making?"

"Sort of puzzled. Me?"

"The same." He glanced at mine and snorted. "Yours looked a little peeved though, Alex. Do you know what I think? I think that this is some kind of mood indicator."

"But you're never allowed to see your own mood." Bill argued.

"Makes sense."

"Does it?"

"If you can see that you're upset by something, you're going to want to change it so others don't notice." I explained. "You don't get an accurate response that way."

The Doctor nodded. "It's like a feedback loop, interfering with the information being collected. Like a scale weighing itself."

"So, who's collecting the data?"

"Is the big question." He muttered, giving me a look.

"So, what do we do then?"

"Well, if they're badges then—" He tried to put it on his lapel, but it suddenly vanished. "What? Where… Where's it gone?"

"Oh, it's on your back." Bill pointed out and she attempted the same, but got the same response; whereas I just let mine go and it slipped onto my back as well. "So, everyone you walk past can see what you're thinking. What if you really fancy someone?"

"Well, I suppose it means that you have to maintain eye contact with them."

"And have decent friends who keep their mouths shut around them." I added on. "Otherwise, it's like elementary school all over again. Janet likes John~ Janet likes John~" I mockingly sang before scoffing. "Whoever came up with this is sadistic."

"Welcome to the future." The Doctor muttered as the interface turned away.

The emoji on the back of Bill's smiling, the Doctor's puzzled, and mine? Blank faced and slightly flickering.

* * *

"Emojis. Wearable communications. We're in the utopia of vacuous teens." The Doctor grumbled as they were led into another room; him cautiously eyeing Alex as she frowned at the building around them.

Bill though, was more thrilled by the gelatin-looking cubes placed on a table for the three of them; one on her plate, two on the two other plates.

"Look at this. It knew I was starting! Food from another planet. You've got to, haven't you?" She sat down and leaned towards the plate to smell it. "It smells like fish."

"I'm not that fond of fish, except socially, which can complicate a meal like this." The Doctor rambled, still eyeing Alex.

"Should we eat it though? I mean, what if they're not like us?"

"Well, the cutlery's human cutlery. No other species in the universe uses emojis. Everything here is human except…"

"No humans." Bill answered, cutting off a piece of gelatin.

"This is a perfect colony for humans, so where are all the colonists?" He asked, not seeing the interface change to a slightly annoyed expression.

Alex's badge did something similar; flickering still.

"That's some sort of flavored algae. I haven't seen any livestock yet." The Doctor continued on.

"That's good, isn't it? In the future we don't eat living things, we eat algae."

"I met an emperor made of algae once. He fancied me… And Alex." He frowned.

"Why aren't you loving this?" Bill questioned, turning around in her seat to look over at Alex. "You too. You haven't said much of anything since we got our badge things."

"Hm?" Alex turned to them briefly before looking back up at the ceiling. "Sorry. I'm listening."

"Listening? To what?"

"Dunno." She shrugged, brows furrowed. "But there's only a few reasons why there wouldn't be any people here."

"What's that? They're all still in bed? It's like the Student Union first thing, before the actual students arrive. Two portions, though." Bill questioned, before looking at the other plates with a frown. "Two portions, one portion. Is there going to be food sexism even in the future? Is this bloke utopia?"

"I'm a woman." Alex added and Bill nodded.

"Yeah, I get that, but maybe you sort of confused them."

Alex simple snorted. "Wouldn't be the first time."

The Doctor though, answered more logically. "It's probably reading Alex and I as four people. Two heartbeats a piece. What options, Alex?"

"Sorry, two hearts?" Bill questioned, but was ignored as Alex explained.

"They could have not arrived yet; robots sent down first." She lifted a finger as she crossed her arms over her chest. "They could have abandoned the colony, leaving the robots behind. Or something could have gone wrong."

He nodded, still frowning. "If you're going to travel twenty light years, you're going to want to make sure you've got somewhere to sleep at the end of it, aren't you? So, what do you do? You send a rocketload of intelligent robots up ahead of you. They build you a place to live, so that, when you arrive, it's all waiting. This is brilliant!" He grinned, though Alex frowned at his choice of options.

"You… You've got two hearts? The both of you?" Bill breathed out, still being ignored.

"Robots, they don't breathe. They can fix the atmosphere for you, send data back, so you know whether to bring your waterproofs or not. Work in huge robot flocks. You just send them up ahead and you leave them to it."

"Yeah, Hearts though. Why two?" Bill pressed and the Doctor finally looked at her.

"Well, why one?"

"Does that mean you've got really high blood pressure?"

"Really high." He agreed, though looking a little peeved about it. "Alex's though, is more to help that extra energy that makes her pop around."

Alex headed over then and snatched one of her gelatin cubes off a plate; eating it in one go instead of using the silverware. "Can we go?"

The Doctor eyed her again, seeing her unease and holding out an arm. "After you."

She frowned at him, but walked off towards the door before the Doctor stopped her. "What?"

"Why's it doing that?" He asked and her frown deepened.

"Doing what?"

"Your badge." He said, pointing at it. "It's sort of… flickering."

"Is it broken?" Bill questioned, tapping it a few times before Alex swatted her hand away.

"It's probably confused. Just leave it."

"Oh, cause of your telepathic thing?" Bill grinned. "That's so cool."

Alex sighed. "Let's just go. This place makes me edgy."

The group ended up in a sort of greenhouse area after a bit of walking and Bill looked around with a grin as the Doctor picked up something out of the soil the large trees and bushes were in.

"So, if the people aren't here yet, what do we do? Put the kettle on? Or are we going to leave before they arrive? Is that what you two are worried about? I can see you're worried." She glanced at Alex. "Well, I can see _one_ of you is worried."

Alex's lip twitched up in a small smirk as the Doctor headed over, passing Alex and gesturing to the object in his hands behind his back to her discretely as he approached Bill.

"Well, you never know what's around the next corner." He rounded a corner then and hummed at the sight of the grow beds in front of him. "Ah, of course. Wheat fields outside, now something else to eat when they get here. This is their crops. Look. They're going to have orchards, olive groves. This is their nursery. Look. The little robots are doing pollination… work."

"Achoo!" Alex sneezed with another groan, pulling up the bandana back around her face. "I _hate_ pollen."

She gave the Doctor a look though, having heard his realization in his pause; whereas Bill went to look at a plant similar to one from the university.

"There's one of these growing outside the Student Union. It smells amazing."

"Rosemary." The Doctor answered her idly.

"Doctor?" Alex questioned quietly, coming up beside him as her badge flickered from blank-faced to concerned briefly.

"I'm smelling home twenty light years from home. Thanks for bringing me. This is a great day out. I mean, come on, admit it. You love it."

"Did I say I didn't love it? Yes, I do. It's very… lovable. You asked me where all the people were, and I theorized that they hadn't got here yet. Did I sound convincing?" He grinned and Bill hesitated at the way he was acting.

"Yeah."

"And did I convince myself?" He asked, turning around, but his badge didn't look pleased.

"No."

"No, no. And I'll tell you why. Because there should be somebody here. There should be some kind of set-up team, a skeleton crew."

"You're thinking." Bill deduced, pointing at his badge as it showed a little sweatdrop. "Tell me what you're thinking about."

"A magic haddock."

"Obviously." She muttered, before looking at the pipe beside her spraying down onto the plants. "What is this stuff? Is it snow?"

Alex grabbed her arm though, stopping her as she pulled the bandana down and leaned towards the 'snow', inhaling.

"Oh…" She breathed out, getting pale. "I know that smell."

"What? What smell?" Bill questioned and Alex tugged her towards the Doctor slowly.

"Did I ever tell you what I used to do, Bill? For a job?"

"Huh? I thought you were like a stay-at-home kind of person. Just you and the Doctor."

"No. Not really. I come from another universe, see? Another universe where this is all sort of a television show. Though, I'm a bit past the point I left off on, so I don't have a clue what's going to happen here, but that's not important." Alex shook her head, trying to right her off-track mind. "The point is, I was an Anthropologist. Dabbled in Archaeology too, but I dealt with a certain… _type_ of artifact. One that, if you knew what it was right now, you'd be a bit concerned as to how I recognize the smell coming from the dust in that pipe."

"Why? What is it? What did you smell?" She asked, starting to get a little worried.

"I'll tell you, if you promise not to worry and not to panic." Alex said, looking at her seriously and Bill hesitated before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, letting it out calmly.

"Right. Okay. Hit me."

"Bones."

Her eyes snapped open, wide. "W-What?!"

Alex spoke quickly as the Doctor whipped around.

"What did you say?"

"Bones. I worked with them. I catalogued them. I constantly had the smell of bone dust in my nose and filling up my lungs. I _know_ what they smell like and _that_." She pointed to the dust coming out of the pipe. "Smells like bone dust."

The Doctor turned to the large metal container for the fertilizer as he pulled out his sonic. "Where are all the people?"

It popped open easily and a number of skulls and other human bones tumbled out, making Bill gasp and bring a hand to her mouth.

"Here. Right here, in this garden."

"Oh my God…"

He picked up one of the skulls while Alex knelt and turned over a few others. He got a last telepathic image of the person he was holding, before he put it down.

"Despite appearances, they haven't been dead very long." He said, voice tight as Alex nodded.

"No obvious signs of trauma. Multiple individuals. Caucasian, Asian, admixtures, African. Various age ranges. No signs of anything other than them being turned to bone in one of the most efficient ways I've ever seen."

"W-What?"

Alex winced. "Apologies. It's just… there's no tool marks that would indicate how they got down to this point. If there is, anyway, it's microscopic."

"Are those the colonists?" Bill questioned.

"The colonists aren't here yet. This is the set-up team, the skeleton crew." The Doctor said, helping Alex up and wincing slightly at the chaos that was sitting just outside her mind.

_She's doing well to hold it back. She's much more sensitive to telepathy and I may have only got a hint from one skull, but she'd feel a lot more if she allowed it in._ He caught a glimpse of her face though and felt his hearts ache. _But she can still feel it. She must desperately _want_ to see the last memories of these people, but is restraining herself because of the situation. She knows she can't make herself a liability by letting it in. Oh, Alexander._ He nuzzled the side of her head and kissed her temple briefly as he wrapped an arm around her waist, giving her the comfort she needed in that moment while still trying to keep a hold of the situation at hand.

"Well, why did the robots feed them to the garden?" Bill asked, visibly upset.

"I don't know. Maybe they ran out of fertilizer. Let's not ask them." He said and the group turned to go, only to nearly bump into one of the robots that had a sad look on its screen. "Hello. We were just admiring your garden."

"Yes!" Bill tried as well.

"Moving on now because there's nothing of particular interest here. Cheerio."

They took off past it and hurried back outside, taking the stairs, but Alex voiced her concern.

"They're not following us!"

"Isn't that a good thing?!" Bill questioned, but the Doctor shook his head; hand tight around Alex's.

"No, because it means they don't _have_ to chase us."

They went into a corridor, but all four sides were soon blocked off by the interfaces; their expressions stuck on the sad one.

"Okay, they're slow, but the city is full of them, so they catch you in the end." The Doctor said quickly.

"What do we do?" Bill asked nervously.

"Question. We've been here for ages. Why are they attacking us now?"

"We've figured out something's wrong." Alex tacked on, glancing around cautiously, before it clicked and she turned to the Doctor. "We're unhappy."

His eyes widened and he quickly went behind Bill. "Smile for me."

"Smile?"

"Use your whole face. Right now. Do it."

She did and her badge changed to a smiling one. "What good's smiling?"

"Smiles aren't just smiles. Psychologically, they have a measurable effect on your mood states. Yes. These robots, they built this place, they grew those trees. Something went wrong, but they were designed to make you happy." The Doctor explained and Bill glanced at Alex, uncertainly.

"Basically, the badges monitor how happy you are. The building is here to make people happy. No happy, means they've got to do something. Apparently, that something is killing the unhappy people. Bad programming. They just want to make you happy."

"How would massacring hundreds of people make me happy?" Bill asked, a frown forming, but the Doctor was quick.

"How would massacring hundreds of people make me happy, smiley face."

Bill rolled her eyes, but grinned again. "Smiley face."

"The magic haddock." The Doctor repeated from earlier.

"What magic haddock? What's that all about?"

"The robots want you to be happy but they got the wrong end of the stick. I think we should give them what they want. Alex, you next." The Doctor said, coming to stand behind her as she rolled her eyes and begrudgingly grinned.

The Doctor frowned though, only getting a brief flicker of a smiling face on her badge before it was back to straight-faced and flickered back again.

"Is your badge defective? It keeps flickering between the smiling and the blank face." He muttered and Alex dropped the smile to furrow her brows as the Doctor scanned the badge with the sonic.

"So, no matter what, I won't have a happy face on my back?"

"Seems so." He checked the readings and frowned. "There's nothing wrong with it. It says it's functioning properly, but then, why haven't they attacked you either? The blank expression isn't yours. It's the basic setting. It hasn't once shown you as happy, so they should have taken you the moment they realized it."

"Does he always talk like you're not in the room?" Bill asked and Alex gave a sort of nod.

"Occasionally." She answered, but turned back to the Doctor. "Could it be that they don't see me as human?"

He frowned. "Explain."

"Well, I told you before about the feedback I was getting throughout the building, yeah? Perhaps it's that interfering with the badge to the point that it doesn't recognize that it's on a human being. Or on anything, for that matter. That's why it's sort of stuck on the factory setting of the blank expression. It only flickers to mine because it's catching bits from me. It probably just thinks I'm one of the robots or something."

"Yes… Yes, perhaps." The Doctor nodded. "Though I wouldn't want to test that theory, so smile."

Alex begrudgingly did as the Doctor said and the group moved towards the end of the corridor where the depressed robots stood; all three grinning.

"What a lovely place you have here. Thank you so much for your hospitality."

"We will come again." Bill added as the robots lifted their arms and their expressions shifted to the same blank-faced one as Alex's badge. "Doctor, I was thinking maybe next time we might go to Wiltshire, perhaps, or Aberdeen."

"Ah, yes. Two thumbs up for Wiltshire slash Aberdeen."

Then, they slipped right past the robots and bolted for it.

* * *

I pulled Bill after us, dodging a robot that attempted to grab her before spotting a swarm approaching.

"Where did they come from?!" Bill questioned in a panic.

"Once we're out of the city, we should be safe." The Doctor called back as I winced.

The buzzing had grown more agitated. Once we were out in the wheat field again—my bandana pulled back up over my face—the buzz went away. I didn't look back though, not wanting to find myself wrong about the lack of pursuers as we hurried back to the Tardis.

"Aren't they coming after us?" Bill asked as she hurried into the Tardis and stood in the doorway; the Doctor panting as I caught my breath as well; not nearly as out of shape as he was with all his lying about.

"I'm guessing that once we're out, we're not their problem. Right. You'll be perfectly safe in the Tardis. She'll look after you until we get back."

I mentally thanked the Doctor for including me, glad he was willing to work _with_ me a bit more in this regeneration than his others.

"Where are you going?"

"There's a giant smiley abattoir over there and I'm having this really childish impulse to blow it up. Be right back." He said, grabbing my hand and starting to run back, but Bill stopped us.

"What? You're going back in? We've only just escaped! I thought we were going home."

"Home? Why would we be going home? That place is a living deathtrap. We can't just leave it with its mouth wide open." The Doctor argued.

"But they're all dead. We saw them. It's too late."

"Bill, that was the start-up crew." I explained. "The actual colonists are on their way here. We can't let them end up in this mess."

The Doctor nodded. "What do you think's going to happen when all those people arrive? They're expecting the new garden of Eden. What they are not expecting is to be the fertilizer. There's broadband in there. Go! Go and watch some movies or something!"

"I get that someone has to do something but why is it you? Can't you phone the police? Isn't there a helpline or something?"

He ignored her question. "And stay away from our browser history!"

I though, gave her something more helpful. "Outside of the box, on the other door! Read it!"

The Doctor and I reentered the facility and he opened a pendant of some sort, revealing a hologram of a young boy.

"Where'd you get that?"

"Soil in the greenhouse."

I grimaced, knowing that that meant whoever was wearing the pendant as most likely turned to fertilizer.

"Ah, good morning." The Doctor said, making me turn and plant a smile on my face just as he had, as we faced an interface robot. "I'm happy! Good morning. Look at me, I'm happy, happy, happy, happy! What a lovely, beautiful morning, it makes me so happy. I'm happy. I hope that you are happy, too. See?" He turned around. "Happy."

The robot soon changed its screen to the usual smiling face and the Doctor and I relaxed as it moved along. He placed a hand on the wall then, before looking at me.

"Do you still hear the buzzing?"

I nodded, unsure why he was asking as he took my hand and placed it on the wall.

"How about now?"

My eyes widened. "It's louder. I'm hearing the building?"

"More than that. You were right before. I don't think the interfaces even see you. Human or otherwise."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll explain later. Come on."

We hurried towards the stairs again, before the Doctor pressed a finger to his ear.

"Hello? Is someone there? I can hear you breathing."

"Why are you Scottish?" Bill asked, making me flinch.

I'd been so focused on the buzzing, that I hadn't sensed her following us.

"I'm not Scottish. I'm just very cross." The Doctor grumbled as we continued on our way.

"Is there Scotland in space?"

"They're all over the place, demanding independence from every planet that they land on. Why are you here?"

"Because I figured out why you keep your box as a phone box. With Alex's help, of course."

"Here to please." I murmured, eyeing the wall cautiously.

The building didn't seem to care about us just yet.

"I told you, it's stuck." The Doctor grumbled to Bill's grin.

"'Advice and Assistance Obtainable Immediately'." She quoted from the sign on the outside of the Tardis door. "You like that."

"No, I don't."

"Yeah, you do." I countered, earning a frown from him for taking her side.

"See? This is the point. You don't call the helpline, because you _are_ the helpline!" Bill smiled.

"Don't sentimentalize me. I don't just fly around helping people out." The Doctor argued.

"What are you doing right now?"

"I happened to be passing by, so I'm mucking in."

"You've never passed by in your life. You couldn't even leave me serving chips, so I'm not going to leave you."

He frowned. "You've been around Alex too long. She's corrupting you with her stubbornness."

"Oi." I chiding him teasingly and he smirked as she glanced at me for a moment, before turning to Bill.

"Look at the wall."

"The wall?"

"Closely… Before, when the Vardy, the little microbots, were going to attack you, you asked me where they came from. Well, they didn't come from anywhere. They were here all the time." The Doctor explained and it clicked for me.

"I'm hearing the building." I muttered, placing a hand on the wall. "I'm hearing the Vardy and accidentally linking with them mentally, which is why the interface ignore me. They think I'm a swarm of Vardy."

"Hold on. What? The robots are in the wall?"

"No, not in the wall. They're not in the wall. They _are_ the wall." He sonicked a portion of the wall to show the swarm squirming as I winced and slapped at his arm to stop him. "They're all the walls. These little robots, they didn't build this place, they became it. They can be a part of a wall one minute, flying around the next. This whole structure is built from interlocking microbots. Smile. You're in the belly of the beast."

"So, what do we do?"

"Well, the obvious. We find a real wall. Oh, you really are smiling, aren't you?" He noticed and she continued to beam at him.

"Do you know why? You're an awesome tutor."

I managed a small smile at that, before grabbing the Doctor's hand and leading the way.

"Why are you doing that? _I'm_ the one who holds hands and pulls people along." He grumbled.

"Not when you don't know where you're going." I countered, tapping my temple with a finger. "The Vardy are the building, but there's a blank section. I assume that's where your little door is?"

He hummed, though not sounding pleased about my dragging him along behind me, but he'd get over it. And he did. Blabbering on about Vikings one we found the door.

"Bits of meteor damage. Flecks of rust. Rivets. Oh, I love rivets. A wall. A real, honest wall. Not made of tiny robots but made of any old iron."

Bill smiled. "Every spacecraft needs a door."

She tried to open it, but I cleared my throat and nodded my head to the Doctor as he pushed a button, making her look sheepish.

"Not even locked. They were expecting to live in peace." The Doctor muttered as we entered.

"Wicked." Bill breathed out at the sight and the Doctor went and closed the door behind us.

"We'll lock it after us, shall we?" He hummed and the instant he did, I turned; feeling the buzzing immediately vanish as the Doctor took his chance to tug _me_ along. "Its life support systems are starting up. It knows we're here."

"The ship does, the Vardy don't." I tacked on, earning a raised brow from him. "I can't feel them at all. The moment you closed the door, I lost connection, which means _they've_ lost connection. They'll be coming here to search for us. Life signs don't just go missing."

"Good point. We better hurry then." He murmured.

"Whoever did the interior decoration in here needs to take lessons from whoever did it out there." Bill commented about the steaming pipes.

"Ah, this was built by humans, that was build by Vardy. Wet brains, dry brains." The Doctor mused, before he spotted the map at the end of the hall. "Ah! Good, old, universally compatible, incorruptible maps. You are here. This is the engine room. That's the target. That's where I'm going."

"Where are _we_ going?" Bill questioned and I shot the Doctor a look that said I'd be going with him whether he wanted me to or not.

"You're staying here and you will be guiding Alex and I to here, using this map." He said, point on the map the engine room. "I'll hear you through the thingumabob." He said, waving at his ear before pulling me along with him and startling Bill out of her comments about the ship as we approached a juncture. "Left or right?"

* * *

"Beautiful." The Doctor hummed as he helped me down from the ladder and glanced at the engine before us. "Fleishman cold fusion engine. All we've got to do is back the flow into the calorimeter and run. It's like it _wants_ to get blown up."

We headed over as Bill realized something.

"_Hang on, I'm being thick. I _can_ come with you._"

"Took you that long to think of photographing it?" The Doctor commented with a smirk as I smacked his shoulder; mouthing the word 'rude'.

He simple rolled his eyes.

"_You'd already memorized it, hadn't you?_"

"Yup."

"_Stop trying to keep me out of trouble._" Bill complained and I scoffed.

"Took him this long just to allow _me_ to follow him, and I've been with him centuries. Your best bet is to just ignore him when he says 'stay put'. That's how all the other companions did things."

"_Noted._"

The Doctor didn't appreciate that and scowled, but I kissed his cheek and gestured to the engine.

"Shall we?"

The ship shook then and the Doctor grabbed the engine box as well as me, keeping us steady until it passed.

"Remember, it won't take the Vardy long until they get here." I muttered, helping the Doctor with the engine.

"It's fine. We locked the door."

I sighed. "They were a part of the ship. I'm _pretty_ sure they've got a key or access or something."

The noise of the engine picked up and the Doctor grimaced as he pulled out a cord that let out hot steam. He waved his hand about as Bill tried to say something.

"We can't hear you!" He called out over the noise. "This isn't as easy as it looks and Alex says we're on a time crunch."

I immediately straightened, turning towards the ladder we came in on. "Yeah, time crunch just got shorter. I can feel the Vardy again, which means the door's open. They're on their way here, and they're _not_ happy we're playing with the engine."

"Excellent." He grumbled sarcastically as we finally caught a bit of what Bill was saying; her voice tight with emotion.

"_The people who came here, were they the last people? Were they our last hope?_"

"Bill, you need to calm down and think a little." I commented carefully, feeling her struggling emotions from here. "If the people here were able to build a ship like this, don't you think there were whole bunches of them that bolted for it? This might be a new Earth kind of set up, but it doesn't mean they're the only ones. People left Earth earlier."

The Doctor agreed, passing me a grate that I tossed to the side. "Earth was evacuated. But there were a number of ships. I've bumped into a few of them over the years. Right, I've re-routed the flow." He said, but I heard grinding.

"Doctor, that's not right."

He got up. "No, no, no. That's not right. Bad noise. That's not right, no. No!" He grabbed the wheel that had started turning, but he struggled and released it. "No. When the calorimeter reaches its peak… I could do with a hand here, Alex!"

"On it!" I called out, grabbing the wheel and pulling it to a halt, though it was harder than he made it look. "Blimey, the pull on this thing is ridiculous!"

"_Doctor, Alex, there's something you need to know._" Bill chimed in and I grimaced as the wheel slipped slightly.

"We're busy!"

"Doctor, we need to jam it with something!" I shouted over the noise, releasing the wheel and then grabbing it again. "I can't just hang out here while it blows!"

"On it!"

He went and grabbed a wrench, just as I caught a not so great face in the reflection of the glass on the calorimeter.

"Doctor!"

He whipped around and hit the interface; knocking it off the platform we were on, but it grabbed his foot and tried to take him down too.

"Doctor!"

I let go of the wheel and grabbed him, cringing as his weight pulled painfully on my shoulder.

"God, you're heavy! Did you gain weight?!"

"Oh, well you sit around teaching pudding brains day after day and see how you fare!"

"We have a gym, you know!" I countered, trying to pull him up. "I've even jerry-rigged the treadmill to play a hologram of a Dalek chasing you!"

"Because that's _exactly_ the kind of motivation I need to go jogging!" He snapped sarcastically, swinging the wrench he still had and knocking the robot off his leg.

"You can change the settings! I sometimes chase after _you_!"

I heaved him up and he bowled right over me; ending up with us lying on top of one another in a rather compromising position.

"You do?" He asked, voice lowered as we both panted.

"Even _I_ get tired of running from Daleks." I muttered, eyeing him and beginning to feel a bit hot.

And it had _nothing_ to do with the growing temperature of the room we were in.

"Ahem."

Both our heads turned to see Bill standing nearby with a raised brow; a young boy behind her.

"Is this going to be a normal thing?"

"I would like to say 'no'." I answered, before the Doctor suddenly got up and headed for the boy.

"What? Where did you come from?"

I realized then, that it was the same boy from the necklace the Doctor had found and grimaced as I sat up.

"Where is everybody?"

"When you say everybody…"

"Oh, God." I breathed out, having opened up my senses briefly. "Doctor?"

He turned to me as I stood and held onto my aching arm. "What? What is it?"

"There's no colony ship. They're all here. They're already here."

He hurried over to me with wide eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I-I don't know, but I can feel people. _Actual_ human people. They're sort of blurred, like just waking up."

"Pods." He breathed out, understanding dawning on him and we hurried out to where the boy claimed to have come from.

Indeed, there were hundreds of thousands of pods that were beginning to activate.

"Pods."

"What is it? What's happening?" Bill asked in concern.

"We can't blow up the city." The Doctor answered as we rushed back to the engine room with Bill on our heels.

"Why? Those pods, what's in them?" Bill asked.

"You heard Alex. People!" The Doctor said quickly, undoing his earlier work with my help. "I got it wrong. I got it very, very wrong. The colony ship isn't on the way, it's right here. The colonists are all around us, cryogenically frozen. What's in those pods, Bill, is the surviving population of Earth. And I nearly killed all of them."

I kicked him in the shin, earning a pained glare. "_We_ nearly killed them all. With _nearly_ being the key word here."

He hesitated, but soon relaxed and eased up the blame on himself and nodded. "We must have triggered the process when we came in."

"So, what happens now?"

"Now? Now they're all going to leave this ship, and find their friends and family mulched in the garden. And if they don't smile about that, it's going to be the end of the human race."

Again, I kicked him and he whirled on me.

"_Ow_!"

"Stop being such a pessimistic jerk, would you? We can still stop this mess, so don't go giving up just yet."

"Oh, yeah?" He questioned, silencing the engine finally and glaring at me. "And _how_ exactly do you think we're going to do that?"

I stepped into his personal space just as he did mine and glared as well. "The same way we always do, you nitwit. We _talk_."

Silence passed between us tensely, before Bill again cut in.

"Yeah, so that's a 'yes' on the whole 'is this going to be a normal thing' question. Got it, but could you two possibly pick a better time to get in each other's pants? We've sort of got the human race to save."

I frowned. "We weren't flirting."

"Uh, yeah. You kind of were." She argued.

"We were no—" I was cut off by the Doctor kissing me and I turned to glare at him when he pulled back with a smirk.

"Yes, we _were_."

"Needy." I complained.

"Wanting." He countered.

"God, it's never going to stop, is it?" Bill drawled.

"Right then!" The Doctor announced, pink dusting both of our cheeks. "Talking. We can do that. Come on."

We hurried to the pods and caught one of the first up, who smiled.

"Oh! Oh, those pods, eh? Not much headroom. Oh, I thought I'd be first up. Steadfast, MedTech One. What day is this?"

"The end of the world." The Doctor said seriously and I slapped his arm.

"Don't be smart."

Steadfast though, looked a bit nervous. "Again? We've only just got here."

"Bill, come on." The Doctor said, walking off but Bill didn't follow as the man look more concerned.

"What's happening?"

The Doctor doubled back. "What's happening is nobody leaves this ship until I tell you otherwise. Clear? Nobody leaves."

We walked off then, though I could feel the man's growing unease.

"We're going to have to explain something to them later." I said quietly to the Doctor. "He's suspicious now. We won't be able to get away with 'oh, it's nothing'."

"Right."

"Where are we going?" Bill asked, confused.

"No idea." The Doctor answered. "But if I look purposeful, they'll think I've got a plan. If they think I've got a plan, at least they won't try to think of a plan themselves."

"But you don't have a plan."

"He never has a plan." I commented.

"I don't know how to stop it happening again because I can't figure out why it happened last time. What made them do this?" He attempted to explain, but I grabbed his attention before he could walk off and gestured to a stunned looking Bill. "What? What is it?"

"I think I need to show you two something."

She brought us to a corpse, of all things and I frowned as the Doctor looked her over and the booklet accompanying the older woman.

"The spacecraft landed. Most of the colonists were kept in cryogenic suspension. A few, the ones with skills."

"The best ones. The brave ones." Bill added, understanding.

"They were woke to shepherd the little flocks of Vardy robots."

"She came here. She was happy. It was all going well. Those are the shepherds, aren't they? And they're all dead." Bill murmured as the Doctor flipped through pictures in the book.

"If we rearrange this data to reflect the time of death, what do we get?" He muttered to himself as he did that to show a chart of who died and who followed.

"That's her." Bill noted.

"This woman died. There's no sign of violence. So, you know, she just died the way that humans do. Then a few more people died all at the same time, and then a lot more died just after, and then, the rest. Dozens."

"A virus? A virus that went… well, viral?"

I shook my head. "No. There'd be notes on that. Symptoms, trials to save people. Quarantine… Oh…" My breath slowly escaped me as I pulled a hand through my hair. "Oh, that makes so much sense."

"What?"

The Doctor understood. "Grief! Greif! Grief as plague!"

Bill looked between us, confused. "But how?"

"The Vardies." I muttered. "They measure how happy people are, keep track of it, keep the people happy. Grief is the opposite of that. It's not just sad, but a _deep _sadness. One that you can't just get rid of with a few jokes and happy pictures. The Vardy could try and do everything to make them happy again, but it would take ages. The Vardy wouldn't see it like that. They'd see it as a virus. It needed to be fixed _now_. They needed to stop it from spreading, so…"

"So they kill them?" Bill gaped and the Doctor tried to explain it a bit better.

"The Vardy are smart. They learn, try to be good servants, so they expand the definition of happiness until…"

"She dies." Bill finished.

"No one had ever died here before this lady. The Vardies, they'd never heard of grief before. This place is all about hope and the future, and happiness. No one ever thought about the opposite. The Vardies didn't know what to do with it. They identified grief as the enemy of happiness and everyone who was experiencing grief as a problem, as—"

"Compost." Bill breathed out.

"And all those dead people, well, you know. They had friends and family too. So—"

"Even more compost."

"And so on, and so on, and so on. And what you get is a whole grief tsunami." He explained as my hearts ached.

"They didn't mean it." I murmured. "They were just doing what they were told. Make people happy and get rid of what doesn't. They didn't want the virus to spread. Only way to do that is to get rid of the one experiencing it. They didn't understand it wasn't morally correct. God, what a mess."

"So, what will happen when the new people meet the robots?" Bill asked and the Doctor slowly handed her the pendant he had, showing her the boy she'd found. "That's the boy. The first to wake up. Where did you get this?"

"I think it's his mother's, don't you?"

"Yeah, or his Nan's. Well, he'll find her, when she wakes up in her pod."

"Bill, the Doctor _found_ that." I tried to ease her into it, whereas the Doctor took the direct approach.

"I found it in the fruit garden, when we first arrived."

"Oh…" She murmured, understanding dawning on her.

"I would say that a lot of the colonists had friends or family who were working here as shepherds. When they find out what happened…"

"They'll be grief stricken."

"And after that—"

"A massacre." Bill looked frightened.

"On both sides." I added. "Robots and humans alike, just snuffed out for a mistake that no one thought of."

A heavy sigh escaped my lips and the Doctor took my hand and gave it a squeeze, moving me towards the door before Bill stopped us.

"Okay, where are we going?"

"What's the opposite of a massacre?" He asked.

"Okay, what?"

"In my experience? A lecture."

"Better be a good one." I muttered and we were soon back to where the pods were.

I already eyed the weapons in the back and as soon as the Doctor began to explain what happened, I snuck away. _The last thing we need is for them to attack. If the robots are threatened, then we're going to have a big issue. Deaths on both sides is never good. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to _force_ them to talk._ I grimaced as I reached out and began pulling guns and grenades off the wall and out of the boxes; stuffing them in my never-ending pockets as quickly as I could. _Can't just leave them. They'd use them as clubs. _I mentally sighed. _God, where has my faith in humanity gone?_ Vaguely, I could hear the Doctor speaking and I tried my best to focus my attention on his speech and not the growing feelings of the people in the room.

"You brought the Vardy here, microbots to make your life so easy. But like every slave class in history, the Vardy are beginning to have ideas of their own. They wanted to eliminate unhappiness, but to a robot that meant eliminating unhappy people. They gave you monitors, badges, so they'd know when you were too unhappy to live."

_Not the best phrasing, Doctor._ I mused, feeling the weight of the weapons in my pockets grow as the angry feelings of the people did the same. Then, I felt the tension snap like a twig and I knew my time was up. I grabbed the last weapon and attempted to high-tail it out of there, but the moment I reached the door and pulled it aside, Steadfast stood there. _Great._

"You need to listen!" Bill tried and Steadfast whipped around to her.

"I _did_ listen! What did I miss? The Vardy have killed our families."

"But you need to understand why that happened." The Doctor added on, but Steadfast turned back.

"I don't care why." He then saw the empty weapon's vault and me standing there; his anger spiking. "What the hell… What did you do with all the weapons?!"

I narrowed my eyes at him, reining in my temper as best I could. "Got rid of them. We need to have a proper _discussion_. Not a slaughter."

"Like hell! They're robots!"

"And you're skinny pink weasels!" I shouted back, making him bristle. "Are you going to do this every time you bump into another species out there in space?! Shoot first and ask questions later because one of your people didn't follow the customs?! They aren't just robots anymore! Hell, they were just trying to be the best they could be for you lot! It's not their fault you didn't think about this! Who the hell makes robots to keep them happy?! People get sad sometimes and that sadness is what makes them better! It's what helps them grow! Trying to control that is like making a machine to train your dog! Sooner or later, the dog will only listen to the machine. It won't give a rat's ass about you."

Steadfast grabbed my clothes angrily. "Where are the weapons?!"

"Gone you blubbering moronic pudding brain!" I snapped, fed up with him and easily ripping his wrist off me and stepping past with his arm still in my grip to face the other people. "Now, I want you lot to listen to me, because the Doctor isn't the best with his words. First off, who—other than this idiot—is in charge?"

I tossed the man forward and another person stepped forward, a woman with long dark hair.

"T-That would be me. Professor Steel, Scientific Devision."

"Thank God, a woman." I sighed out, easing up on the tenseness I'd unknowingly spread through the group. "Did you work on the Vardy at all?"

"Yes. I helped with the installation systems and some of the protocols."

"Even better." I answered, spotting Steadfast trying to sneak away and grabbing the back of his collar; planting him firmly at my feet. "Stay."

"But—"

I cut him off with a glare. "_Stay_."

He snapped his mouth shut and I turned back to the woman.

"Now, I understand that many of you are upset about what happened, but the Doctor is right. You need to understand _why_ they did what they did. Professor Steel—God, you lot need to work on naming your kids—why did you lot choose to make robots that would regulate your happiness?"

"Well, we needed them in order to get the planet set up and to help us survive. If everything went well, then—"

"Then everyone would be happy. Got it. So why not make robots where their sole command was to help keep up survival rates? With the occasional exceptions of family being able to 'pull the plug' as it were in severe cases. Wouldn't that have been more intelligent?"

"Well, possibly, but with happiness in mind—"

"They can make each day enjoyable. Happy, happy, happy. Tell me, professor. Have you ever _not_ been happy."

She hesitated, but nodded.

"And I'm sure the rest of you lot have been unhappy too, yeah?"

The group nodded; some more hesitant than others.

"Now tell me, how many of you felt _worse_ after that? Hm? How many of you didn't grow to move past whatever that emotion was? Your neighbor smooshed your garden plants accidentally. You were angry, but talked it over and forgave them. Happy starts over, you feel better about yourself because you became a better person by not harboring that grudge and say, bashing your neighbor upside the head, yeah? So, does that or does that not make you lot responsible for the robots?"

Steadfast stirred. "But they're the ones that killed people!"

"On _your_ orders." I snapped back at him, silencing him. "They may have done the act, but they were only doing what they were told to do by your people. That makes you equally responsible for their committing the act. The same as a parent accidentally leaving out a weapon that their five-year-old used to hurt someone. The parents are responsible for not putting that away, and you're responsible for not thinking things through and having a fail-safe should your robot friends turn out to take 'make us happy' the wrong way." I looked back up at the group who—I could tell—were beginning to feel guilty. "Now than. We're here by happenstance." I said, gesturing to the Doctor and Bill behind me; who listened silently. "However, we can help. And I'm not saying that we'll magically bring back those people. No one can do that and I'm sorry that it came down to that for you all, but we can help stop this. We can stop the robots from hurting more of you, but we can't do that if you lot go running in with the intention of hurting them. You attack them, they retaliate, and the death number goes up. I'm sure there's people here who have families of their own, still here, still alive. So, unless you want to walk in on a death sentence, I suggest not even worrying about the weapons I took from you. Hell, you wanted to be happy, why bring weapons in the first place?"

I felt a small mental nudge from the Doctor and got back on track.

"What I'm trying to say is, let us help you talk with them. Let us find a way to get them to either understand that they're doing wrong, or simply forget their main protocol is making everyone happy. Because you lot are human beings, yeah? And as such, don't you think you should show the universe that you can be diplomatic? You're not just some maniacs who attack whatever they feel like. So, let's prove it. And you, Steadfast, are either going to get over yourself and negotiate, or I'll lock you right back up in that pod and you can sleep for another hundred years."

He, thankfully zipped his mouth shut and begrudgingly followed the rest of the group as we returned to the city. The Doctor came up behind me though, tucking me under his arm as he kissed my temple; my fingers pinching the bridge of my nose against the headache I had.

"You did excellent."

"Wish _I_ felt excellent about this. I think you pulled a muscle in my shoulder."

"What did you do with the weapons?"

I shot him a look. "Never-ending pockets, you nitwit. Though I'm going to need the Tardis to burn this coat later."

We entered a room where the boy from before stood with a couple of the robots. Immediately, my headache grew as I felt the people behind us struggle between anger, guilt, and a multitude of other emotions. I pushed it all out of my mind as best I could and walked up to the boy.

"Could you just step over there for a minute?"

"What's going on?" He asked, growing upset as well. "Where's my mum? Where's everyone?"

The interfaces changed expressions and I opened up my senses briefly; wincing at the pain of everyone else, but focusing as best I could on giving the boy a sense of calm as I took his hand.

"Please. Will you let me explain in a minute? What's your name?"

"Nate." He muttered, slowly allowing me to pull him away from the robots.

"Nate, then. Can I just pass you off to Bill for a moment? We need to do some negotiating with the Vardy because there's been a bit of a mix up. And I _promise_, I'll tell you _personally_ what happened as soon as were done."

"O-Okay." He agreed and I handed him off, speaking to the robots now.

"Hello again, good fellows." I hummed. "Now, I'd love to have a good chat with you, but there's something wrong with your systems. Do you mind if I take a look?"

They tilted their heads and Steadfast spoke up from behind me.

"What are you doing? They'll kill you. You lot said so. Anyone with the badge is at risk!"

I rolled my eyes. "And have you taken a look at my badge, Mr. Idiot? They don't register me as human. I'm telepathic and have been stuck listening to their chatter since we walked into this place. They've mistaken me for one of them, hence, why I can do negotiations with them better than you lot." I looked back at the robot. "I even have an engineer to help with the problem."

The Doctor stepped forward with a smile. "Hello!"

One of the interfaces finally stepped forward and slapped a fist against its chest plate; it's expression shifting to a crossed wrench and hammer to show it was under maintenance.

"If you would?" I hummed and the Doctor smirked.

"Gladly."

* * *

"Once, long ago, a fisherman caught a magic haddock. The haddock offered the fisherman three wishes in return for its life. The fisherman said, "I'd like my son to come home from the war, and a hundred pieces of gold." The problem is magic haddock, like robots, don't think like people. The fisherman's son came home from the war in a coffin and the King sent a hundred gold pieces in recognition of his heroic death. The fisherman had one wish left. What do you think he wished for?" The Doctor asked as the colonists began to wake up from being knocked unconscious by the blast that reset the Vardy. "Some people say he should have wished for an infinite series of wishes, but if _your_ city proves anything, it is that granting all your wishes is not a good idea."

Steadfast—one of the first to wake—panicked upon seeing one of the interfaces near him; bolting to his feet.

"It's okay." Bill reassured him. "It's not going to hurt you. Actually, it doesn't even know who you are."

"What happened? What have you done?" He demanded to know, and Alex scoffed.

"Not even a 'please'. Your mother would be disappointed, Mr. Dumb-fast."

"_Steadfast_." He corrected with a glare.

"Whatever."

The Doctor cut in, finishing his tale. "In the end, the fisherman wished that he hadn't wished the first two wishes. You see, in a way, he pressed the reset button."

"What the hell did you do?" Steadfast demanded again.

"Aren't you listening?" Alex said shortly.

"I pressed the reset button. Every computer has one, and anyone can find it, especially if they happen to be a scary, handsome genius from space. I re-initialized the entire command structure, retaining all programmed abilities but deleting the supplementary preference architecture" The Doctor cut in, though Bill simplified it.

"He turned it off and on again."

The Doctor didn't even seem to mind. "I turned it off and on again. Of course, I wiped their memories. They no longer have the faintest idea who you are and, in fact, they're wondering what you're doing in their very nice city."

"_Their_ city?"

Alex stepped back into the man's personal space, stare even. "Yeah, _their_ city. They built it. It's made up of them, and frankly, you're outnumbered with no weapons to attack them with, so please. Tell me how you're going to claim this as yours?"

He took a step back, hesitant. "They're our robots."

"They _were._" Bill corrected and the Doctor grinned, waving a hand at the robots.

"Welcome to your new world. Meet the Vardy. They are, as of now, the indigenous life form. You'd best make friends with them because there's loads of them, and they're the only ones who know how anything works."

"They killed our people."

"No."

The group turned to someone surprising, Professor Steel.

"_We_ killed our people. It's like she said, this whole thing is our fault. We should have done more tests and thought about things a bit more. We can't blame them for something we programmed them to do, even if they were the ones that carried out the end result." She said softly, an arm wrapped around young Nate's shoulders. "We owe the shepherds that much. We should admit to our mistakes and learn from them."

"_This_." Alex said, waving a hand at the professor. "This is why I like women. No offense, Doctor."

He waved it off. "None taken. In this scenario, I actually very highly agree with you, though, don't go wandering off."

"You can't be serious." Steadfast muttered in disbelief.

"Very." Alex replied. "And I'm willing to be a negotiator, along with the Doctor. Ah, in fact—"

She was abruptly cut off as she suddenly vanished and the Doctor sighed; whereas Bill and the others gaped in shock.

"W-What was that?" Bill questioned, looking stunned. "Did they do that?"

"No, no, no." The Doctor answered, pushing her arm down and away from the Vardy she was gesturing to. "She told you, she pops off. That was her, popping off."

"No way. Seriously?"

"Seriously." He mimicked her and she grinned, whipping back around.

"Will I see her again?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Who knows. Might not even be the same her."

"What?"

"I'll explain later. Right now, we've got negotiations to run." He turned to one of the interfaces with a grin. "Hello, I'm the Doctor."


	107. The Sontaran Experiment (4th Doc)

**Okay! So, i'm on time for this one. Whoo! Hope you all tried to look into this classic who episode, if not, well that's fine too. There's a, uh... special surprise at the end and i would love to hear your opinions on it ;) but i'll be doing 'Knock, Knock' next from the new season, so if you haven't watched that, then i suggest you do. Let me know what you all think of this one though! i'm excited to see your reactions about the end ^^**

* * *

The Fourth Doctor knelt by the transmat globe that was malfunctioning as Harry went over to assist Sarah; who'd landed upside-down in the dirt not too far off.

"Hm, I see the problem. Focus gone a bit fuzzy." He murmured to himself, before pausing and frowning as he looked up. "What's that then?"

"What's wrong?" Sarah asked, seeing him looking around.

"Nothing." He answered, looking back at the globe. "Though I felt something. It's going to take some time to do the whole lot. Why don't you two make the most of it?"

"Make the most of what?" Sarah asked.

"Glorious day. Beautiful, unspoilt countryside. No one's set foot here for thousands of years."

"What you're trying to say is that you're busy and you'd like us to push off."

"I'd phrase it more elegantly myself, of course. Yes." He answered and Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Oh well. Might as well have a recce while we're here. Coming, old thing?" Harry paused, remembering the scolding he'd gotten from her a minute ago and correcting himself. "Coming, Sarah?"

"Enjoy yourself. Trafalgar Square should be that way." The Doctor said, pointing randomly.

"Trafalgar Square?"

"If this is Piccadilly."

"You're joking, aren't you?"

"Mind the traffic." He continued to tease and the two wandered off.

Once they were out of sight though, he lifted his head, nudging at the itch in the back of his mind.

_Hello?_

Silence.

_If you're there, you can talk to me. I'm willing to help, if you're in trouble._

Still nothing, though the presence made itself a little more known to him; staying cautious.

_I'm the Doctor. Help me, help you._

Then, he finally got a response.

"_Don't trust Vural… Watch for the robot."_

_What robot? Who's Vural?_ The Doctor asked, standing now and trying to locate the source of the telepathic communication, but the connection had been cut and a frown marred his features. _No one's supposed to be here, yet I just connected with a telepathic being who mentioned someone else _and_ technology. They were weak too. Weak and cautious. Something's going on here, and I don't like it._ He hesitated, considering going after Sarah and Harry, but begrudgingly knelt down and went back to his work. If something _was_ happening, they'd be useless without some way to get out. He worked for a bit longer, before he thought he heard something. A scream this time.

"Harry?"

Concerned, he got up and rushed towards where he heard the scream, not realizing he'd left his sonic behind on the globe he'd been working on. He soon reached a small cliff and upon spotting someone lying on the side of the hill, he carefully made his way down. He checked the man's pulse, something in him twisting as he wondered if it was the person he'd been conversing with, but the man was dead.

"Hold it." Someone called out from above and the Doctor looked up at the two armed men.

"Is he a friend of yours?" He asked, but the men already had the wrong idea.

"He's killed Zake!"

"No, I—" He didn't get a chance to defend himself, before he was shot by the man's stun gun and collapsed beside the corpse.

* * *

"How long before the dope wears off?" Erak asked his companion, Krans, as he looked over at the tied-up Doctor, who shifted.

"He's coming 'round now. Cut him loose, Erak, but leave his hands tied."

"Alright." Erak said, kneeling down by the Doctor's feet and cutting off the rope with his machete.

He then pulled the Doctor upright as he blinked, looking curious to find two more people on a supposedly abandoned Earth.

"Alright. Now talk." Krans demanded.

"Certainly. What would you like me to talk about?" The Doctor smiled.

"What have you done with our crewmates?"

"I told you. I just got here." He shrugged, smiling away.

"How, eh? We've seen no ship."

"I didn't use one. I came by transmat beam."

"That's a lie." A third man said, stepping out.

"That's the truth. Who are you?"

"Vural. I'm the leader of this party."

"Vural, you say? Hm, that's curious. I heard you're not to be trusted. Any reason why I'd hear something like that?"

Vural glared, though the Doctor caught the slight fidget in the man's hand as he spoke with Erak and Krans.

"Where'd you find him?"

"First saw him creeping about that circle."

"Not creeping. I was repairing the—"

"Shut up!" Krans snapped. "By the time we caught up with him, he was bent over Zake. He killed him."

"I didn't kill him. I heard a cry and found him with his neck broken in a gully. An accident, I imagine."

"You say you came here by transmat beam?" Vural asked.

"That's right."

"There's no transmat system on this planet. The Earth's been junked."

"Temporarily abandoned, perhaps, but not junked. Oh no."

Vural bristled, not believing him. "It's worn out, useless, and too far from the freight routes. Nobody comes here so there's no transmat beam. Check?"

"Check." Krans answered as he went on, harshly nudging the Doctor.

"So, you better start telling the truth or you might find things getting a little _rough_."

"I'm sorry to keep contradicting you, but there is a transmat beam from Space Station Nerva."

"From where?" Krans questioned, the group looking a bit surprised now.

"Space Station Nerva." He repeated.

"Is he crazy?" Erak muttered.

"A joker." Krans concluded.

Vural scoffed. "You don't expect us to believe that."

"Nerva, transmat beam, Earth. It's as simple as that. Why don't you believe me?"

"Because Nerva doesn't _exist_, that's why. There's no such place."

"Fascinating. You don't believe it exists, yet you've obviously heard of it."

"Everybody's heard of the lost colony." Erak scoffed.

"Lost colony? Ah, you mean it's become a legend like lost Atlantis."

"Like what?"

"Lost Atlantis. It's a legendary city…" He saw no recollection and stood, curiously. "Ah, never mind. This is extremely interesting. Are you going to cut me lose?"

Vural grabbed him and yanked him back down. "No, we're going to get the truth out of you first."

"Too right." Krans growled, machete out.

The Doctor though, kept them talking; feeling that presence in the back of his head growing stronger once more. "Very colonial. You are from a colony, I take it?"

"GalSec." Vural admitted.

"Of course, on Nerva, they know that various colony ships left Earth. They'll be delighted to know that they're not the sole survivors of the human race. You _are_ human?"

"What do you mean?"

"Of course we are." Erak and Krans frowned.

"_The button… top button."_

The Doctor listened to the voice and caught sight of what the telepath wanted him to see.

"Oh, no offence, no offence. Do you mind if I take a close look at that?" He asked, leaning in to the button on Vural's spacesuit and smirking. "Hm, I'd say it's not a product of human technology, eh, Vural?"

"You're a freak!" Vural snapped and shoved at him.

"Oh, now that's not very nice. I'm curious though. Are any of you lot telepathic?" The Doctor questioned.

"No. Erak, go get something for us to eat. We'll question him later."

The Doctor was shoved back down with Krans and Vural there to guard him, but his mind was on something else. _So, if they're all human and not telepaths, who is it who's contacting me?_

* * *

I panted, exhausted after having contacted the Doctor. _This is what happens when the universe hates me. I get dropped off in the middle of the desert, _again_, and end up chained to a wall and tortured._ I cringed, feeling my body ache as I continued to fight with the small hairpin in the cuffs holding me up. The man beside me was regaining consciousness as well, though I knew it wouldn't last for long if I didn't get the device off his forehead. _He's having fear induced nightmares for right now, but he'll probably get that other 'treatment' soon if we don't get out of here. Even I…_ I tried not to think about it as one of my cuffs clicked open and I moved onto the other. _This body won't last much longer, if this continues. I'm pushing my limits already, but I can feel it. That tingling under my skin, like a threat._ The other cuff opened and I took a brief few seconds to breathe properly now that I could lower my aching arms. I looked over at the man then and pulled the device off his forehead as I worked on his cuffs.

"Don't worry. I'll try to get us all out of here." I muttered as his eyes shifted to me in hope, but I feared for the third chained up man.

_It won't be long before we're noticed… I hope I have time…_

* * *

"Doctor!" Sarah called out, rushing back to the transmat station in the hopes of getting some help to get Harry out of the pit he'd stumbled into, but the Doctor wasn't around. "Doctor?"

She spotted his sonic though and picked that up as she hurried back to Harry.

"Harry! Harry, I can't find hi—Harry?" She called down, leaning over to find Harry gone as well.

She huffed, a little annoyed that everyone seemed to be disappearing on her, but also a little cautious. People don't just disappear for no reason, after all. Something was going on. She knew she would need help though, and she was worried about Harry, so she grabbed the longest branch she could find and began lowering it into the hole in the hopes of climbing down herself. As she struggled with it though, someone came up behind her and covered her mouth. She screamed and struggled, but the man pulled her back and pressed her up against a rock just as a robot came over and searched where she had been. The man watched it cautiously, before it rolled off and he released Sarah.

"What on Earth—"

"Sh, sh, sh!" He shushed her, looking at the other figure who nodded and let him rush out to see if the robot was gone.

"What's going on?" Sarah Jane whispered to the person behind her, who managed a small smile as they pushed up their glasses.

"That is the question of the day, Sarah Jane."

Her eyes widened. "H-How do you know my name?"

The man though, hurried back and skid to a halt before Sarah.

"Who are you? Where are you from?"

"That's what I was going to ask you." She said and the person beside her let out a small snort, before Sarah begrudgingly gave in. "Okay, my name is Sarah. What's yours?"

"Sarah." The man breathed out and Sarah had to repeat herself.

"What's your name?"

"Roth."

Sarah turned to the other figure, who had removed their glasses to clean the cracked lenses. "And you? How do you know me?"

"We've met. Though I don't know how long ago and I believe I looked rather different before." They answered. "My name is Alex."

Sarah frowned. "Alex? I don't remember meeting an…" She paused then, remembering something from ages ago. "Wait. Alex? Isn't that… Hold on, are you Justin? You're the one who helped us with the dinosaurs?"

Alex hummed, replacing her glasses. "Was it that far back? Though, I don't quite recall how far back that was. The Doctor _did_ say goodbye for me, yes?"

"Not in those words, but he was more occupied with the fact that you called yourself Alex. We had a friend who—Oh, what does that matter? You're here, aren't you? You're the same Alex?"

Alex snorted. "Course. I'm a Time Lord. It happens, the whole changing face thing. It's just harder when you're always popping around the Doctor's time li—"

Alex was cut off as Sarah Jane grabbed her in a tight hug.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here!" She pulled back. "Something's wrong. I can't find the Doctor and Harry was down there, but he's vanished too!"

Roth moved to the edge of the pit, pointing with a frown. "I covered this, you understand, to catch the machine."

Sarah looked at Alex, who'd straightened as Roth spoke. "What does the machine do?"

"No!" Roth exclaimed, shaking and looking concerned, but Alex placed a hand on his shoulder and he calmed immediately.

"Why is he so frightened of it?" Sarah asked, though Roth was the one who answered.

"The machine serves him. Captures my crewmates."

"Serves who."

"The thing in the rocks. I'll not get caught. No, not again."

"No, wait. What thing in the rocks?" Sarah Jane pressed as Roth started to leave and Alex followed, uncharacteristically silent.

"The alien in the rocks. The machine captures us, takes us for torture. We got away. See?"

Roth pulled up his sleeve to show the scars on the inside of his arm covered in scars.

"Those are burns, aren't they? Did the alien do that? Is that what you're saying?"

"He killed Heath and Splier. We got away. Understand?" Roth pressed.

"I think I'm beginning to." Sarah Jane turned to Alex in concern. "And you? You weren't here with them, were you?"

Alex shook her head. "Popped up while in mid conversation with a future Doctor. Caught by the other people here, then captured late at night by the robot. It still thinks I'm human, thankfully." She said, placing a hand on the crook of her arm, making Sarah Jane's eyes soften.

"My God, I'm so sorry."

Alex shrugged though. "Wouldn't be the first time, unfortunately. I'm just clever enough to escape. Wish I could have helped more than just poor Roth here, but the robot was on our tail the moment I got him out. I think there's still one crew member there with four more out here."

"Can you take me to the rocks?"

"No!" Roth cried out, but Sarah turned to him desperately.

"Oh look, Roth, you've got to help me. I came here with two friends and they've both vanished, understa—" She cut herself off, calming down. "I mean, you understand?"

"I saw them." Roth announced and even Alex looked surprised.

"Then, it was you following us?"

He nodded, gesturing to Alex. "She was finding food. One of your friends is with Vural."

"Vural?"

"He was in the circle. I saw them take him."

Sarah looked hopeful. "Then, you know where the Doctor is."

"Yeah."

Roth led the way with Sarah in the middle and Alex in the back. Sarah let out a yelp when she tripped, but Alex grabbed her and prevented her from falling as Roth shushed her.

"It's just a ways down there."

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

"No, no." Roth shook his head and Sarah Jane frowned as Alex kept her gaze on the rocks around them.

"Look, Roth. If you're in Vural's crew, why are you so frightened of him?"

"He betrayed the crew." Alex answered. "Sold them out to keep himself safe."

"No."

Alex nodded. "I already sent warning to the Doctor, so if he's clever, he won't be an idiot." She frowned then. "Which Doctor is this? Describe him."

"Oh, well, he's rather tall, curly hair, and this long scarf that—"

Alex groaned. "Oh, great. Never mind. He's probably made a fool of himself."

"Well, that does sound like him, but what are we going to do? We can't just leave him there."

"Roth." Alex said, getting the man's attention. "Can you distract them? You're fast, so you'll be able to get away. Just run by, let them see you and run off so we can get the Doctor. Yeah?"

"Distract?"

Alex nodded and he straightened somewhat before nodding himself and hurrying off. "Come on Sarah Jane. Let's go get that moron out of trouble."

The two hurried towards where there were some rocks high enough to hide them from the group below and Alex pulled Sarah to a halt; pressing a finger to her lips so they could listen in.

"Horologist, actually." The Doctor hummed, making Alex raise a brow. "And chronometrist. I just love clocks. Atomic clocks, wall quartz clocks, grandfather clocks."

"He's still lying."

"Shut up, Erak."

"Cuckoo clocks." The Doctor went on and Alex resisted the urge to facepalm.

"You got any proof?" Vural asked him.

"Well, no, but then I didn't expect to meet anybody. I understand Earth wasn't inhabited."

"Yes, that's what we thought until we got a distress signal from around here." Krans snipped.

"A mayday?" The Doctor was curious now. "Then you're a military expedition, I take it."

"One of our GalSec freighters went missing. We, uh… We picked up a distress call and came down for a look-see. Soon as we stepped from the ship it was vaporized. _Nine_ of us were stuck here."

"Nine? Where are the rest?"

"Vanished."

"And we reckon that that circle of yours has got something to do with it." Erak said shortly and the Doctor waved it off.

"Oh, rubbish. That's just the reception point for the transmat beam."

Sarah poked her head up above the rocks before Alex pulled her back down out of sight.

"Let's kill him now and get it over with." Erak said shortly and Sarah tried to get up again, but Alex kept a firm hold on her arm and shook her head.

"No." Krans interjected, seeing as well, that there might be something more to the man they'd caught.

"That's wild talk, Erak. Far from killing me, you should treat me as an honored guest." The Doctor grinned; Alex resisting another groan.

"Why?"

"Well, you don't want to be stuck here forever, do you?"

"Go on." Vural coaxed, curious now.

"I might consider helping you."

"He needs to learn how to phrase things." Alex muttered under her breath. "Even his future self has issues."

"How do you reckon to help us?" Vural demanded.

"Simple. I finish refocusing the matter beam then we all pop up to Nerva, you get in touch with your headquarters and they send a ship for you."

"Listen, if you are one of the Old People, we're not taking orders from your lot. While you were dozing away, our people kept going and they made it. We've got bases all across the galaxy now. You've done nothing for ten thousand years while we made an Empire. You understand?" Vural snapped, pulling him up by his lapel.

"Oh, absolutely."

"We're not taking any of that Mother Earth rubbish!" Vural shouted, dropping him again, before Krans called out.

"Hey look! It's Roth!"

"Hey, Rothy! Hey! Hey, Rothy!" Erak called out and the trio hurried after him down the hill; leaving the Doctor alone.

Sarah and Alex clambered out from behind the rocks and Sarah sat the Doctor up as Alex picked up Erak's discarded machete and sliced the bonds on the Doctor's wrist.

"Good girl, Sarah. Who's your two friends?"

"Come on, Doctor. We'll explain later."

The group hiked up the side of the hill and were quickly out of sight of the trio they'd left behind. They met up with Roth who led the way, only for the Doctor to stop with Sarah.

"Doctor, the pit's this way."

"I've lost my sonic screwdriver. I feel completely lost without it." He gaped as Alex sighed.

"You _always_ misplace that thing. Get a beeper for it or something."

Sarah too, rolled her eyes. "I found your sonic screwdriver." She said, handing it over. "Doctor, the pit."

"What would I do without you?" The Doctor grinned, then looked over at Alex. "And who are you again? How do you know about the sonic?"

"I'm Alex."

"No." The Doctor breathed out as Sarah got them running again. "_You're_ Alex?"

"Yup." Alex answered, slightly out of breath. "Was 'Justin' when I last left you though, according to Sarah Jane. With the dinosaurs?"

"Yes! Yes, of course!" The Doctor grinned, looking thrilled. "It was you then? Sending me those messages about Vural?"

"Yeah. Sorry if they were a little… odd. I was a bit tied up."

"No, no! This is great! Excellent, even! I thought something was familiar about you back then, but I never could quite put my finger on it."

"Yeah, that's nice and all, but your friend is apparently down in a pit. Between the crew chasing us and the robot, we'll be lucky if we can spare a few moments to go down there and find him."

"What's this about a robot then?"

Alex sighed heavily. "_Later_, Doctor."

They came up to the pit and the Doctor looked down it curiously.

"He couldn't have climbed out."

"Not without help." Sarah agreed.

"That robot, Alex. Could it have lifted him?"

She shook her head, looking a little pale as she sat on a rock nearby. "No. He was gone by the time it showed up."

The Doctor spotted something under Sarah and lightly pushed her back. "Excuse me." He knelt down and sniffed it. "Terullian drive."

"What?"

"The machine. Now, that's very interesting, because there's no terullian to be found in this galaxy."

"Yeah, yeah." Roth spoke up, gesturing to his head. "Alien. Alien, you understand?"

"Yes, don't you worry about it, old chap." The Doctor said, looking over at Alex. "He's half demented with shock."

"I tried to help, but there's not much I can do without knocking him out, and that's a liability with the robot on the lose."

Sarah looked between her and the Doctor before spilling. "They've both been tortured. Badly, by the looks of it. He's terrified of everyone now, especially his old crewmates."

"Yes, well, I can't say I blame him for being wary of friend Vural, at any rate." The Doctor rattled on, before frowning over at Alex. "Hold on. _Both_ of you?"

Alex scowled at Sarah Jane who looked a little sheepish as the Doctor quickly grabbed Alex's wrist, making her flinch.

"Show me."

"Doctor—"

"Alexander Holmes, you show me right now or I will _make_ you show me." He snarled and Alex stiffened, but soon relented and rolled up her sleeve to show the marks on the inside of her arm.

The Doctor lightly took her arm and brushed his fingers over the wounds tenderly as Alex winced, looking up at her.

"Is this it?"

"No, but I'm not about to strip for you and we honestly don't have time right now. It still thought I was human, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed, but he begrudgingly released her and turned away. "You know, it's absolutely typical of Harry! How anyone in his proper mind could fall down a whacking great subsidence like—That's it!"

"What is?" Sarah asked, confused as to how quickly the mood changed as well as what the Doctor was talking about.

"Subsidence! A sewer or something. Maybe it's the Central Line."

"I'm not with you."

Alex explained. "This is probably where the main line of a sewer once was, before Earth was abandoned."

"I mean, there must be some way out at the bottom. Hang on, Sarah, Alex. I'll just go down and take a look."

Alex turned to see the Doctor already heading down as Sarah called out to him in concern.

"Hey you be careful, Doctor. If you break a leg or something, we'll never get you out."

"Ah, I'd actually say try to find a better way down." Alex added, turning to Roth. "Roth, go further down and see if there's a spot with less of an incline."

Roth nodded and rushed off just as the Doctor lost his footing.

"Doctor!" Sarah called out, and her and Alex hurried to the edge to peer down. "Doctor!"

"You moron!" Alex scolded the man, who was now lying at the bottom unconscious. "You should have just waited!"

There was a humming that came up behind them though and the two women turned to see a robot approaching.

"Shit." Alex cursed, making Sarah turn to her in confusion as the woman grew pale.

The both of them were wrapped up in wire by the machine that led them to an outcrop of rocks.

"Don't bother struggling, Sarah Jane." Alex muttered. "Trust me, I've tried."

"What's going on?"

Alex glanced at her. "I'll do everything I can to keep you safe, Sarah Jane. I promise."

"W-What do you mean? What's going on?"

They turned away though, when a sphere-shaped pod of some sort opened up and a short, stocky figure stepped out. It removed its helmet and stepped over, looking at Sarah Jane curiously.

"The female of the species."

"Oi, you potato spud." Alex snapped. "I told you I was female too. You just never listened."

The Sontaran didn't respond as it got the robot to release them; Sarah looking worried as she breathed out in shock.

"It's a Sontaran. Can't be. You were destroyed in the thirteenth century. You were blown to smithereens."

"You may have seen one of us." The Sontaran answered her.

"But you're identical. The same ugly—"

"Identical, yes. The same, no." It corrected. "I am Styre. Field Major Styre, as you will address me, of the Sontaran G3 Military Assessment Survey. And your opinion of my looks is of no interest to my program."

Alex leaned over to Sarah, rubbing at her wrists. "Basically, he's one of many of a species of clones. Sontarans are weird like that. I once met Commander Staal, the Undefeated, before… well, he became Staal the Not-Quite-So-Undefeated."

Styre spoke into his recorder then. "Female number one—"

"Two, you unsalted chip!" Alex cut in.

"—first assessment. Would appear to have no military justification. Offensive value therefore nil."

Styre then lifted his gun towards Alex, who stiffened, until he fired. Alex crumpled to the ground as Sarah let out a cry and Styre shouted at her.

"Why did you make that disagreeable noise?"

"You killed her!"

"That is my function. I am a warrior."

"Murderer! Murderer!" Sarah cried, tears streaming down her face.

"Silence! The moron was of no further use to me. I had already tested him. You, as a female, are far more interesting. And soon I will have the rest of your companions."

There was a groan then and they both turned to see Alex slowly pushing herself up from the ground.

"God, that hurts. I-I think one of my hearts stopped."

"Impossible." Styre gasped as Sarah cried out happily.

"Alex! You're alright!"

"N-Not exactly." Alex said, biting back a grimace and forcing a smile. "Actually, could you possibly hit my back on the right side."

"What?"

"Please?"

Alex cringed and turned, Sarah doing as she said and the woman let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank God. That poor heart has taken a beating. That's what? Three times now?"

Styre, tired of the conversation, drew his weapon again. "That is impossible! How are you alive?! Explain!"

"Ah, well, I would." Alex hummed. "But on one condition."

"I will _not_ make exceptions!"

"Then I won't tell you." Alex shrugged, cringing a bit. "You can kill me again, but then I'll either get back up or you'll never know. It's up to you."

Styre growled before gesturing the gun at her. "What is your condition?"

"Either let Sarah go, or leave her out of your little experiments."

"Fine. I will do the latter if what you have to offer is worth it."

Alex's eyes narrowed. "Swear on the blood of your species. On your honor as a true warrior of the Sontaran race that you will not harm Sarah Jane physically or mentally."

Styre stiffened, but bit out his promise. "I swear not to harm the human in any form."

Alex nodded. "Good. Now, if you really want to know, I'm not human."

"Not human? Identify yourself then!"

"I'm Alexander Holmes, also known as the Seer."

Styre took a step back, almost in fear. "T-The Seer?"

"That's me. Hello." Alex said, looking at her finger nails with a bland expression on her face. "Part Time Lord, part human, part mystery. Bouncing around the universe to make your lives miserable. The pleasure is yours."

"But the Seer was a female."

Alex's eye twitched. "I _am_ a female, you sour cream and cheese baked moron! Honestly, clone races can never seem to understand anything about genders."

"Very well. You will be escorted back while the female will be set aside." Styre smirked. "I will be praised for the capture and study of the Seer!"

"Alex?" Sarah said, hesitantly, before the robot grabbed her and began to pull her away. "Alex?! Alex!"

"I'm sorry, Sarah Jane, but I promised to keep you safe."

* * *

The Doctor felt bad for leaving the trio of men to the hands of the robot when they'd caught up to him, but he knew when he was outmatched and getting himself caught would do nothing to help Sarah Jane and Alex. He soon managed to find where Harry might have escaped though, ducking under some hanging branches and into a small tunnel that led out near an outcrop of rocks. He had just missed Harry, but when he got around to the other side of the rocks, he quickly found Sarah Jane tied up.

"Doctor!" She called out and he shushed her, finding that there was a forcefield around where she was. "Doctor, he took Alex!"

"That much was obvious, but we need to get you out of here first." He said, using his sonic to get rid of the shielding and hurrying over to get the ropes off, when someone spoke.

"Very touching."

"You unspeakable abomination!" The Doctor snapped, furious for what the Sontaran had done to Alex and for what he might have been about to do to Sarah.

He lunged at the Sontaran, but the alien easily threw him off.

"Words, Earthling, will never prevail against Sontaran might."

"Where is Alex? What have you done with her?"

"The Seer has made the mistake of caring too much for this weakling female. She is in my hands now and undergoing the more extensive program that I have prepared for her. And now, your turn." He turned and shot at the Doctor, who cried out and collapsed as well.

"Doctor!" Sarah cried, her heart aching once more as another one of her friends was shot down.

"Worm." Styre spat, leaving to go deal with the three crewmates who had been brought to him.

* * *

Harry hurried back to where Sarah was, but she was sobbing and he quickly saw why.

"Doctor!"

He hurried over to where the collapsed Doctor was, before fearing for the other two people he'd found and rushing back up the side of the rocks. Both hung from chains with their eyes shut and he hurried over to one of them and placed his head against their chest after checking for a pulse in the man's wrist.

"Murdering swine." He spat upon discovering the first man dead.

He went to the other then and felt relief at the steady thump of their heart, before hurrying off when he heard the Sontaran coming. Styre came down and moved the bearded man's head, before pulling out his recording device.

"Field Major Styre, Sontaran G3 Military Assessment Survey. Experiment five, human resistance to fluid deprivation. Data, subject died after nine days, seven hours. Impairment of mental faculties, motor reflexes and physical coordination noted after only three days. Conclusion, dependence on fluid is a significant weakness which should be exploited in our attack. As a rider to the above, we should also like to take into account the successful conclusion of experiment four, where immersion in the fluid H2O produced asphyxiation in less than three minutes."

Harry, infuriated, started to come up behind Styre to clobber him with the large stick he carried, but the Doctor grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Conclusion, this species has little resistance to immersion in liquids. Experiment ten, Seer's resistance to pain…"

* * *

"Doctor, I thought you were dead." Harry gasped out, relieved.

"Not me." The Doctor pulled out something from his coat. "Piece of the synestic locking mechanism from Nerva's rocket. Popped it in my pocket."

"Fortuitous." Harry admired.

"Foresight. You never know when these bits and pieces will come in handy." The Doctor smirked, tossing it away. "Never throw anything away, Harry. Where's my five-hundred-year diary? I remember jotting some notes on the Sontarans. It's a mistake to clutter one's pockets, Harry."

"Yes, Doctor."

"What's Styre doing here?" The Doctor questioned him, hoping that since he'd been around Styre a bit longer, he might have a clue.

"Well, he's killing people. He's on some kind of ghastly experiment."

"Harry, Sontarans never do anything without a military reason." The Doctor said seriously, mentally keeping track of the presence in the back of his mind. "You look to Sarah."

"And what are you going to do?"

"Find out what's behind all this."

He split up with Harry and climbed up a set of rock to see if he could spot what Styre landed in. It didn't take long for him to find the silver pod and the robot that came with it. Quickly, he tried to calm the robot and pulled out his sonic.

"Hello. Hello. Don't be alarmed, old thing. Not going to hurt you. Everything's going to be all right."

The robot collapsed and he smirked, until he heard a beeping from a smaller yellow pod.

"Oh, must be communicating with another group then." The Doctor searched and quickly found a place to hide and listened in as Styre headed over to answer the call.

"_Styre. Field Major Styre, I order you to report_."

"This is Field Major Styre, sir."

The Doctor poked his head over the rocks to get a better look.

"_Styre, your constant delays are causing alarm. We must have your report_."

"I am just completing my final experiment, the compressibility test of human tissue."

"_The entire invasion fleet is being held up. How much longer must we wait?_"

Styre looked excited almost, but stifled it. "My program was ordered by the Grand Strategic Council. The invasion cannot begin until all experiments are analyzed."

"_Then get a move on, Styre. The fleet is waiting for my signal._"

"Very good, Marshal."

The Doctor slunk away and Sarah and Harry soon hurried up.

"Doctor!" Sarah said in relief.

"Ah, Sarah, feeling better? No, don't tell me. No time. We've got an invasion on our hands, and it's getting harder to feel Alex's presence."

"Invasion?" Harry questioned. "Oh, you mean Styre?"

"Him and thousands exactly like him."

"They're going to invade Earth?" Sarah gaped. "And what about Alex?"

"The entire galaxy suddenly acquired some strategic importance in their endless war against the Rutans." The Doctor answered her first question. "And there's numerous reasons for her lacking presence. Unconscious, preoccupied, regeneration, and even death."

Sarah brought a hand to her mouth as Harry frowned.

"Why on Earth is Styre torturing people? And who is this Alex person?"

"Don't have time to explain the complicated thing that is Alexander Holmes. As for the torture, he's making an assessment of human physical limitations. Sontarans are very methodical people, and that might give us a slight advantage."

"Oh, I hadn't noticed, frankly." Harry mocked, but Sarah did her best to push back her concern and spoke.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to take him on in single combat." The Doctor answered, eyes dark as he took Harry's stick. "It's the only way."

"You're what?" Harry gaped.

"Sontarans never turn down the chance to kill someone."

"Well, you're not going to let him kill you."

"I hope not. I'm going to try and tire him out. He's pretty unwieldy, for all his strength, and he's not used to Earth's gravity. The thing is, if I can get him exhausted, he'll have to go back to his ship to reenergize. Are you with me?"

"Just about." Harry said, uncertain.

"While I keep him busy, I want you to get into his ship. Now, once you're inside, this is what I want you to do, Harry."

* * *

Sarah carefully maneuvered around the rocks, searching for the area where Harry said he'd seen someone that matched Alex's description. She didn't have the sonic—Harry needed it for what he was doing—but the Doctor confirmed that he would snatch Styre's controller and be able to set Alex free, should she be in chains. It was just up to Sarah to locate her and help her should something be going wrong. And something was going wrong indeed.

"Oh, no." Sarah breathed out, hurrying to the woman who was breathing heavily and sweating up in her chains. "Alex? Alex, don't worry. The Doctor's going to get Styre's controller a-and then we'll get you right out of here."

Alex lifted her head and grimaced, grunting in pain. "Y-You need to get back, S-Sarah."

"No! The Doctor told me to come help you. I'm not going to leave you."

"Oh, Sarah Jane." Alex breathed out with a small chuckle. "I never said to leave me… but y-you really should get back."

Alex lifted her head upwards and Sarah looked, only for her eyes to widen. Alex's hands were shimmering gold, a tell-tale sign of what was about to happen.

"No… Oh, Alex, no." Sarah breathed out, looking crushed.

"H-Hey now. A-At least I'm not dying. Not really."

"But the Doctor… The Doctor, he'll be…"

"He'll understand." Alex said softly, managing to reach down and brush a tear from Sarah Jane's face. "I don't think I've ever had someone cry for me regenerating before. Other than the Doctor o-of course."

She grunted then, pulled away from Sarah Jane.

"Y-You need to back up now. I can't hold it back any longer. A-And mine are not as… _kind_ as the Doctor's." She chuckled then, sagging in the chains. "H-Hey… least I wasn't shot by a Dalek this t-t-time." She smiled then at Sarah. "I'll see you in a mo."

Sarah covered her eyes and turned away with a sob, just as Alex burst into gold; breaking the chains on her wrists and falling to the ground. Sarah turned back and hurried over, but hesitated in helping the woman up as Alex panted and clenched her hands in the dirt.

"A-Alex?"

* * *

The Doctor fought with Styre, grappling with the Sontaran as he tried to retreat to his ship. Harry hadn't come out yet, and it was the Doctor's last ditch effort to stop the alien and keep Harry safe. The three crewmen had managed to hurry after him and try assisting, after the Doctor had snatched Styre's controller and free them from the heavy bar they were about to crush Vural with. He had also freed Alex, but felt his concern grow when his connection with her had completely faded for a moment. Harry had retreated though, so the Doctor allowed the Sontaran to return to its ship.

"I shall kill you all now, but first I have more important tasks to perform." Styre told them and Harry hurried to the Doctor with a contraption in his arms.

"Is this what you meant?"

"It had better be. Let's get out of here."

"Doctor." Sarah called out from higher up and the Doctor tugged on Harry.

"Everybody out, fast as you can. Come on!"

They hurried up higher and behind some rocks as Styre staggered out of his pod gasping in the smoke. He fell to the side, head collapsing in on itself just as the pod exploded. The group looked out from behind the rocks then and Sarah breathed out.

"What happened?"

"Ask Harry, he did it."

"What did I do?" Harry questioned, holding up the device. "What is this thing anyway?"

"It's a sort of terullian diode bypass transformer."

"Mm, I love it when you speak all technical."

"Thank you." The Doctor hummed, not really paying attention. "Sontarans, as I told you, sometimes need to feed on pure energy, and by removing that you altered things slightly, and the energy fed on him."

"That's taken care of one of them, but what about the rest of the invasion fleet waiting to blast us out of the galaxy?" Harry asked.

"Yes, well, I'll just attend to that and—" The Doctor stopped, cutting himself short as he whipped around. "Hold on. You love it when I what?"

Sarah waved her hands, cheeks pink when the Doctor looked to her. "I-It wasn't me! A-And I think I should mention that, um, Alex is a bit… Well, she…"

A figure draped their arms over Sarah's shoulders; their head resting beside hers as they smirked at the Doctor.

"Hello, handsome. Love the scarf."

"W-Who…" He took in the clothes the figure was wearing then and his eyes widened. "…Alex?"

"That's me, though _you_ can call me Alexander." She purred, blue eyes sparkling with mischief yet still managing to look somewhat dazed.

"You've… You've regenerated." The Doctor murmured, looking at Sarah. "What happened?"

Sarah shook her head. "I-I don't know. She was still chained up when I got there, but… she wasn't in good shape, Doctor."

"She's also right here." Alex mused. "If you must know, one of my hearts failed about the time your friend with the big stick came over." Alex glanced at Harry. "Don't know whether that was a metaphor or not and at the moment, I don't really care."

Harry flushed a vibrant red, making Alex chuckle and the Doctor groan.

"Right. Ignore her for now."

"Aw." She whined.

The Doctor ignored her though. "I'm going to attend to the impeding invasion fleet. Take her back to the transmat station. She should be collapsing soon."

"Oh, you'd be surprised." Alex hummed, standing and spinning around, her short dirty blonde hair waving in the breeze. "I've been able to put off collapsing after a regeneration for a good—"

She abruptly fell to the ground, unconscious and the Doctor sighed.

"Just, take her back there. I'll look after her when I return."

He stopped though, seeing her glow slightly and frowning sadly.

"Ah, never mind. It seems she's off to visit another version of myself." He muttered, watching as Alex vanished. "Hopefully, they will take better care of her than I have."

Harry though, turned to Sarah Jane. "Okay, could someone please explain who that was and why she disappeared?"

Sarah Jane sighed heavily. "It's a long story."

* * *

I woke up and stretched, feeling rather good, surprisingly. I grinned and rolled out of bed, pleasantly surprised to find myself in my room in the Tardis and still in the dirty, torn clothing I'd been tortured in. I grimaced and stripped, heading into the bathroom and taking a long shower. Once scrubbed clean, I wandered out and searched for a mirror, but the Tardis had again, hid it from me.

"Mm, teasing again Sexy?" I hummed, rubbing my jaw. "Ooh, that's… _husky_. Am I…"

I glanced down, having not noticed in the shower and tipped my head.

"Nope. Woman again, though, is that…" I twisted and contorted myself to try and get a look at my lower back, before I finally spotted it. "A birthmark! A little brown spot on my creamy white skin. Fantastic!"

I straightened and hurried to the closet, grinning all the while.

"Alright, you sexy thing. Hit me!"

The closet doors opened and I reached in and pulled out the articles of clothing that always seemed to fit perfectly. Once everything was on, my grin only grew as I looked myself over.

"Oh, that is _nice_. Sexy, you are absolutely brilliant! Give me a mirror!"

The ship hummed and a full-sized mirror appeared on the closet doors.

"Mm, who is that sexy thing?" I hummed, leaning forward and rubbing a hand down the side of my face. "Strong jaw, nice cheekbones, and look at that nose. Jack wouldn't know _what_ to do with me."

I arched my arms, admiring the lean stretches of muscle, before admiring the outfit the Tardis had picked out. Long-sleeved, button-up white shirt, dark jeans, calf-high boots and a coat that I let hang freely on my shoulders.

"Ooh, but it's missing something, Sexy. What do you think?"

The ship hummed again and I turned, seeing the most amazing hat I'd ever seen resting on my bed.

"Oh. _Oh_, you've outdone yourself this time. This is… This is…" I picked up the black cavalier hat with the assortment of feathers decorating the brim and placed it on my head. "Oh, look at me. I'm a sexy musketeer!"

I winked at my reflection and bounded towards the doors, only to pause. My old pair of glasses sat on my desk nearby and I reached out, picking them up with a fond smile. I carefully tucked them away in a drawer and ran my fingers over the wood in a small farewell to my past self, before I headed out of my room.

"Lead me to the Doctor!" I announced, putting a smile on my face and bounding down the halls; bursting through the door of the hall to see the Twelfth Doctor at the console. "Doctor! Look at me! Have I ever looked so brilliant?"

The Doctor looked up, startled, before a groan escaped his lips. "Dear god, it's you."

"Yes. Yes, it is." I beamed, jumping up and sliding down the railing of the stairs to land at his side. "I feel like pirates. Can we be pirates?"

"No. _No_, absolutely not." The Doctor grumbled, shooting me a look. "I have to help Bill with some moving."

"Oh! Bill! Love her. Brilliant hair."

"Don't. Don't you start that." The Doctor complained. "You're worse than Jack. How long have you been in this body?"

"No idea! Just regenerated with your sexy scarf self, woke up in my bedroom." I hummed, getting in his space and eyeing him as I used my hand to measure the height difference. "Few inches shorter. Not bad. You like my hat?"

He ripped it off my head. "No. I don't."

He threw it, but I easily ducked and rolled, snatching it out of the air and plopping it right back on my head.

"Well, I think it's sexy and I know you're just jealous. You've only got those sunglasses."

"I'm _not_ jealous of your hat and you _love _my sunglasses."

"Mhmm. Sure." I hummed sarcastically, touching the brim of my hat. "Everyone'll be jealous of my hat."

"_No_, no they won't."

"So… Bill?" I mused, lifting a brow with a smirk.

He sighed but flipped the switch to send the Tardis off. "Fine, but no flirting."

I sauntered over. "Course."

"No saying 'hi'."

"Debatable." I chirped, shifting closer.

"And absolutely _no_ random hugging, kissing, or cuddling with anyone but me." The Doctor frowned as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Clingy."

"I think you'll find _you're_ the one doing the clinging." He replied, but gladly kissed me back when I pressed my lips to his.


	108. Knock Knock

**Hey, look! I'm on time again :) i'm on a roll~ anyway, don't really know what episode i'm going to do after this one... I'm thinking another recent episode, maybe with Missy. Alex would have a blast with that woman right about now. Let me know what you think about her newest regeneration! I hope she's flirty enough for you all ^^**

* * *

"That's all you've got?" The Doctor questioned, poking his head out the Tardis doors and preventing Bill from being spotted by the woman bouncing around the console. "I thought you'd have loads."

"Thanks for helping, yeah?" Bill smiled, heading in and stopping as she spotted Alex.

Said woman had ceased her bouncing, only to be lying sprawled on her side on the jump-seat with a smirk.

"Hello, Bill. You like?" She asked smoothly, gesturing to herself and the Doctor slapped a hand to his face as Bill leaned back towards him.

"You didn't tell me the weird one was here." She muttered. "Tell me again why she's all… flirty now?"

"Regeneration." The Doctor grumbled as Alex rolled onto her back with a dramatic sigh; an arm over her eyes as another dangled down towards the floor. "We don't exactly _pick_ what sort of personality we'd end up with, though outside influences could affect it. You should be more concerned with her current state, however." He said, heading over towards Alex as Bill raised a questioning brow. "It happened recently. She'll have even less self-control than she normally would. Alex, do sit up."

"Oh, but I love these poses!" She complained, drawing a leg up over the top of the jump-seat and ignoring his scowl. "It just screams 'draw me like one of your French girls'~"

"Ugh, gag." Bill muttered. "Do your weird little pick-up lines ever work?"

Alex sat up at that and laid an arm over the back of the jump-seat with a smug grin. "Do they need to? I've got the Doctor, so one must have worked."

"Right." Bill looked over at the Doctor, who was fighting to look anywhere _but_ at the smug woman lounging behind him. "Good luck with her."

"I'm going to need more than just luck." He grumbled, moving towards her boxes and looking at a frame as Bill hopped up to sit on the console.

"You should hire this out, like a removal service."

"Removals? Bill, I'm a Time Lord." He said, lifting a stuffed bear now.

"Mm, say that again, but half a tone deeper." Alex hummed, lying on her stomach now with her hands propping up her chin and the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Time Lord? You've said that before about Alex when she… regenerated or whatever. What's that? Your jobs?"

"No. It's my, uh, my people. My species." The Doctor answered. "Not so much Alex's. She was human first and they don't really care for her."

"And I don't care for them." Alex hummed back.

"Doesn't sound like a species. Sounds posh like, 'yes, my lord'. Doff my cap." Bill mused, making a show of removing an invisible hat.

"That's because they act like pompous arses." Alex replied, getting up and bowing as she flourished her own hat. "Doff my cap."

Bill smiled at that as the Doctor cut in.

"That's why I gave it up. Ran away."

"Time Lords. That's hilarious. Do you wear robes and big hats?"

Alex snorted as the Doctor flushed a little.

"No, uh, big collars mostly."

"Ridiculously big." Alex added, gesturing with her hands from her neck outwards.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously." The Doctor grumbled, passing her the bear and Bill, seeing that he was beginning to get a bit grumpy, changed the topic.

"Do you want the postcode?"

"Sorry?"

"To find the house."

"Bill, the Tardis uses multi-dimensional space-time coordinates."

"So, you know where it is."

The Doctor hesitated as Alex sauntered around the console and called out.

"Not in the slightest!"

He shot her a glare, but pointed to a slot nearby. "Okay, right. Put the postcode in here."

Bill hopped down from the console and did as he said. "Saw the bedroom. Do you two sleep here?"

"If we need to."

"Amongst other things." Alex smirked, wiggling her brows as she leaned against the console from the other side of the Doctor.

"Yeah, didn't need to know that." Bill said. "Done."

The Doctor sent the Tardis off as she continued to question him.

"'If we need to'? What does that mean?"

"Sleep's for tortoises."

"Not for Time Lords?"

"No, unless we've regenerated or had a big lunch."

"Or me." Alex waved with a smile. "I'm only part Time Lord, so I require a bit more sleep than him."

"Huh. And this regeneration thing." Bill said, looking at the Doctor curiously. "You didn't really explain it, just said it's what make Alex look and act different. What is it, exactly?"

The Doctor hesitated and Alex shot him a curious look, before he avoided the question.

"Oh, the questions, the questions, the questions. Just remember Time Lords. That's enough for now." He said as the Tardis landed. "Oh, here we are."

Each of them grabbed a box and headed out, though the Doctor took one look at the walk to the front door of the large manor-like home and offered an alternative to carrying the boxes.

"Oh. I'll use the Tardis. Take it all to your room."

"Firstly, I don't know which one my room is." Bill said, setting her box down. "And secondly, that's weird and I want to make a good impression."

The Doctor put down his box then, staring at the large house with furrowed brows alongside Alex, as Bill kept going.

"It's cool, I'll just, um, get everything out of the Tardis and then you can go. Thanks for the lift, though. Bye." She said, moving toward the Tardis doors to grab another box.

The Doctor turned around as Alex continued to look though, tossing a thumb over his shoulder at the building.

"That's your house?"

"Sharing, yeah. Six of us, renting." She answered, leaving the Tardis to join him and Alex at the gate.

"I thought you were students."

"Yeah. I was like, what's the catch, but actually, it's fine. Just a bit drafty."

"Drafty?" The Doctor murmured, licking his finger as he stared at the swaying trees and holding it up to test the wind.

"I meant draft inside." Bill corrected him.

"Interesting." He said, giving Alex a glance. "We'll help you in!"

He rushed over to grab her other box and Bill quickly began to try and dissuade him.

"Oh. No, no, no. It's fine you really don't have to. It's not—"

"Really not a problem." The Doctor cut her off, rushing up the gravel drive.

"No, wait. Honestly. Um, if you just, uh…" The Doctor was already gone though, as she finished. "If you could just go and do history or whatever…" She turned to Alex, who hadn't moved. "Alex, talk to him! I can't have him following me around. They're my _friends_."

Alex wasn't listening however, head cocked slightly as she looked around the yard.

"Alex? You alright?"

Bill lightly tapped Alex's shoulder and she turned.

"Hm?"

"I was asking you to try and help me get the Doctor out. I'm trying to impress my friends and I can't do that with him running 'round following me." Bill repeated and Alex opened her mouth.

"_Oh_. Oh, I see."

"So, you'll do it?" Bill asked hopefully and Alex turned to her with a grin.

"Nope!"

"W-What?"

Alex started up the drive and Bill quickly grabbed another box and hurried after her.

"Why not? I mean, I thought you'd get it, me trying to impress my friends. Are you really that different?"

"Same Alex, different face, but haven't you noticed, Bill?"

Bill hesitated. "Noticed what?"

Alex shot her a look that made Bill hesitate at the gleam of excitement in her eyes. "The breeze."

* * *

"Hey. Where have you been?" One of Bill's friends asked as she rounded the corner and the Doctor roughly bumped into my back when I stopped to stare at her. "I thought—" She noticed us then. "Ah, you're the Doctor and his, um..."

"Wife. Yes." The Doctor answered. "Hi. Can we get past?"

Neither her nor Bill moved as Bill tried to explain.

"Uh, yes. They're just helping with the move."

"Helping?"

"They're just my—"

"Friends" The Doctor cut in, but Bill disagreed.

"Grandparents."

"Wait. I get him, but me?" I cut in, lightly offended. "I don't look old enough to—"

"To hold that box for very long." Bill cut me off, taking the box from me and the one from the Doctor and setting them on the table nearby.

"There." She said, patting her box as the Doctor shifted over towards the stairs. "Me."

"How exciting it this?!" Someone called out as the rest of Bill's friends bounded down the stairs and I moved to the Doctor's side.

"Oh, wow. Doctor? Legend." One grinned, holding up a hand for a high-five and receiving a blank stare from the Doctor as Bill explained.

"He's my grandad."

"Aw, come on. Father at least, please." The Doctor complained and Bill hastily tried to shut him up.

"Alright, grand_father_. You really can go now though. Thanks for the help." She held up her thumbs. "Job done."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

"Bye." I grinned as well and he shot me a look as Bill groaned.

"You too, Alex."

I pouted. "But I wanted to say hi to your friends!" I whined, giving one of the guys a wink before the Doctor reached over and grabbed my wrist.

"_Oh_, no. None of that. Come on. We have better things to do than you flirting with _children_."

"Oh, pull the 'you're seven hundred years too old for them' card, why don't you."

"Yes, yes. Now, come _on_."

He tugged me out, but we didn't go to the Tardis, which I sort of expected. He _did_, however, turn to me with furrowed brows after we took a nice long look around the house inside and out.

"You felt it then?"

"Depends what 'it' is." I countered. "Unless you mean the _lack_ of it."

He smirked. "Absolutely. Good. I'm glad you noticed."

I rolled my eyes. "Of _course_ I noticed. This body may make me _act_ like a bit of an idiot, but I'm hardly that. Question is, do _you_ feel it?"

He frowned now. "Feel what?"

"The walls." I muttered, glancing at the cupboard near us in the kitchen.

He looked as well, moving us to the center of the room cautiously. "There's something in the walls?"

"I don't know." I answered honestly. "It's weird. Fuzzy almost. Or, um… skittering."

"Skittering?" He questioned and I hummed as we moved into the pantry.

"I can't get a good read on it. Feels like it's there one minute then gone and moved the next, but then it's also all around us at once." I brought a hand to my head, removing my hat as a small ache formed behind my eyes. "Gives me a headache."

He brushed a few fingers across my temple and the pressure eased slightly as he kissed my forehead; tucking my over-sized hat into his coat pocket for safe keeping.

"Don't push yourself too hard, Alex. Remember, you're still new to this body."

I sighed softly. "What are we going to do then? I doubt we're just going to leave as Bill asked."

"No. Course not. We're going to look around, run a few scans. We need to know what we're dealing with here."

"Do you want me to keep an eye on Bill?" I offered. "I'm sure I can find a perception filter in the Tardis to keep watch on her and her companions."

He grunted and nodded. "Yes. That would be best. I don't wish to split up, but who knows what sort of trouble they'll get themselves into." He shot me a look then. "I trust you can control yourself?"

I leaned up and kissed him with a small smile. "I'll keep my hands to myself, though I love it when you're jealous."

He growled, ignoring the nose he made when he bumped into a few things while wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Don't tempt me, Alexander."

I smirked. "Or what?"

The door suddenly opened then and we both jumped, moving slightly away from one another as Bill and her friends looked at us rather frightened themselves. _Whoops_. My mind so idiotically supplied as the Doctor cleared his throat and tried to cover up the fact that we were possibly about to do something very naughty in the cupboard.

"There isn't any." He muttered, possibly answering a question he'd overheard just before the door opened.

"I thought—"

"They'd gone home. Me, too." Bill finished, raising a brow at me as I grinned innocently. "Isn't any what?"

"Central heating." The Doctor answered. "We've been looking around, inside and out. Very interesting. Lots of wood."

"Um, why are you two still here?" Bill questioned and the Doctor lifted up a large lamp-like object that I hadn't noticed he'd grabbed.

"Do you know what that is?" He questioned and, seeing the unknowing looks all around, he explained. "That's an oil-burning heater. You might need it. There's no washing machine either. The hob is from the thirties."

He handed the heater to Bill, who passed it back.

"Thanks very much."

The Doctor wasn't finished though. "Power sockets will not take your devices."

"Oh, I thought it was just my room." The young woman I'd seen earlier commented.

"No, no, no. They're out of date. What's that smell?" he suddenly asked and I inhaled as well.

"Chinese?"

"I love Chinese." The Doctor hummed, taking my hand. "As do you."

"Sounds good." I mused. "Haven't tried out any food yet."

"Stay away from fish." He commented and I made a mental note on that as Bill came over and stopped us; glancing back to make sure her friends weren't listening.

"Doctor, there might be a few old things, but it just needs updating. It's not like there's some massive mystery going on."

The Doctor glanced at me briefly before explaining a bit. "Did you hear the trees creaking outside when we arrived?"

"Yeah. It was the wind."

I hummed. "Remember what I mentioned, Bill?"

Her brows furrowed. "The breeze thing?"

I nodded. "There was no breeze outside."

Her eyes went wide as the Doctor raised his voice so everyone could hear.

"You should find another house."

The girl from before hummed. "Mm, I don't think so."

"The rooms are really big." One of the guys agreed.

"Exactly. And it's still the best place for the money." The boy I winked at before added, patting the Doctor's shoulder as he moved into the lounge area. "I'll just call the landlord, sort it out."

"You can't. No reception."

He was hardly dissuaded. "Okay. So, I'll go down the hill—Oh, hi."

The rest of us who had followed him, stared uncertainly at the sudden appearance of the landlord; an older gentleman with a smile that made my skin crawl.

"Didn't hear _you_ come in." The other girl commented, softly.

"For a man such as myself, discretion is second nature." The landlord commented, seeing everyone was in the room now. "So, a gathering. You're all here. No, except one."

"Pavel's upstairs."

I shifted my gaze upwards and frowned lightly, getting another mixed reading on my mental senses.

"And two in addition."

My eyes shifted back to the landlord as the Doctor came up behind me and lightly placed a hand on the small of my back. He'd sensed my unease.

"They're the Doctor and, um…"

"Alex." I grinned. "His wife."

"Doctor?"

Said man picked up a prawn cracker and passed me one as Bill—again—used her grandparent's excuse.

"You're assisting with the relocation?" The landlord questioned.

"That's right. Yeah."

"It's a heart-breaking experience, to leave one's charge behind; all alone in the big wide world."

I didn't like the phrasing of that, but the Doctor spoke calmly as the landlord caressed the wall fondly. _Even more of a reason to not like him. If there's something in the wall, he knows. He _cares_ for it._

"Indeed, yes. You got children?"

"I—Yes, a daughter." The landlord said, correcting himself, almost. "But I'm most fortunate, she's still under my protection. So long as that's the case, I'm most content. So, I was calling to see if everything' s satisfactory?"

"Actually, there are a few things." The young Asian woman piped in.

_I really need names…_

"Yes, I see. Go on." The landlord smiled, pulling something out of his pocket as the group of students sort of talked over one another.

"No central heating?"

"The power sockets are wrong."

"And a landline."

"Some new furniture."

"I need some curtains, carpets."

"Have you got a cat?" Bill added, making the man turn to her as the Doctor crunched down on a cracker rather loudly.

"A cat?" The landlord questioned.

"Uh, uh, yeah. Um, Harry said that he heard some… some noise upstairs. Like walking around?" She clarified, waving a finger at the ceiling.

"No cats. No pets. You understand I won't be able to do any of this tonight, but as soon as possible. Yes." The landlord agreed. "Knock on wood."

He knocked on the wall and I stiffened as it creaked, a hint of something brushing over my senses. _Blimey. My last body was all about getting into heads and fixing problems, but this one's like a bloody sonar. Doesn't have to be sentient for me to pick up on it. And I'm really starting to hate wood._

"Do what I can." The landlord repeated and the other girl spoke up.

"That's another thing. This house is really creaky. Everything you touch, it's like… urrr."

"It's unavoidable, my dear."

"How do you get into the tower?" Harry asked and I felt the man immediately get defensive.

"You don't. The tower is specifically excluded from the terms of our agreement."

Even Harry looked a little unnerved. "Oh, right. Well, thank you. No tower. Got it."

"Right." He made to leave, but turned towards the Doctor and I. "Oh, are you two staying here tonight?"

"Yes."

"Yeah." We both answered, though Bill argued against it.

"Uh, no. He's not."

"Well, I'm not sure."

"There's no reason to." Bill cut the Doctor off, as I added my bit.

"We probably will."

"There isn't a bed, so…"

"Alright." The landlord smiled, not really getting an answer, though this time, the Doctor stopped him from leaving.

"Sorry, excuse me. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Who, um, who's the Prime Minister?"

"I beg your pardon?" The man questioned and I hummed as the Doctor and I approached him.

"Margaret Thatcher? Harriet Jones? Wilson? Eden?" I rattled off, silently glad that I'd looked up Britain's history while in the library ages ago.

The landlord lowered his voice. "I think it's better to leave your granddaughter here with her friends. They seem respectable, and I'll keep an eye, of course."

_That's what we're afraid of._ I thought as he tapped a tuning fork on the wall, feeling that unnerving sense of something in the walls again.

"I'll attend to your requirements in the morning. In the meantime, sleep well."

He finally left then and the Asian girl behind us shivered.

"I take it back. You're fine. _He's_ weird."

"Oh! The washing machine!" The other young woman said, hurrying after the man to try and tell him the bit she'd forgotten.

I watched her go and got a mental prod from the Doctor.

"_What is it?"_

I frowned slightly. _It's almost… like he's gone. It's hard to sense him._ I glanced at the Doctor. _I doubt she'll find him._ He hummed softly and she came back.

"He's not there."

He exchanged a look with me, before there was a noise above us and Harry pointed at the ceiling.

"That's it. That's the noise I heard."

"Skittering." The Doctor mused, remembering what I'd said. "Fascinating."

He followed the sound across the room and then placed his hand on the wall where the noise ended up, only for it to stop and he locked eyes with the young Asian woman; unnerving her

"It's just pipes." The taller of the boys offered. "I'm going to bed."

"Yeah. Might go up as well." Bill agreed.

"Me too. Locking my door though."

"Uh, grandfather?" Bill called out, seeing that he was almost stuck staring. "Hello. Yeah, perhaps you and Alex should leave now."

"No, no. I'm fine." The Doctor said as I rubbed my temples, head aching.

"Or at least then, go and uh…" She lowered her voice. "Sleep outside, in the car."

The Doctor turned to Harry and the girl he'd been staring at. "Are you two tired?"

"Well, I was—"

The Doctor didn't let them argue. "Good. No, I'm going to hang about with Simon."

"Harry." Bill corrected.

"And Florence."

"Felicity." She corrected again. "Yeah, why?"

"Well, we're gonna… we're gonna chill. Yeah?"

"Yeah! Okay, yes!" Felicity cheered, clapping.

"Put some tunes on, yes?"

"Yes!"

"Alright." Harry agreed.

"See? I'm good at making friends." The Doctor smiled, holding out his hand. "Give me your phone."

"But why? There's no reception."

"Phone." He insisted and she handed it over as he started playing a song from it. "I love this."

"Do you know who this is?" Felicity questioned, looking dubious.

"Do I know who this is? Yes, I know who this is."

"Yeah. It's Spotify, so it's probably random." Bill cut in, giving the Doctor and me a look that I just shrugged at.

"Little Mix." The Doctor read from off the phone and the taller boy from before got excited.

"You like Little Mix?" He asked Bill, though the Doctor answered.

"Oh, clearly she does. Look, there's a whole playlist here."

"What else have you got on it?" The other girl asked, snatching the phone as Bill grabbed the back of my collar and shot the Doctor a nasty look.

"Can I have a word, please?"

"Depends." I choked out. "Will I be able to breathe?"

"No." She grumbled, hauling me into the hallway with the Doctor trailing behind. "Honestly, Doctor, there's nothing going on. Nothing weird, nothing alien. Just… an old house and a dodgy landlord, which is pretty standard for students. I'll see you later for more exciting Tardis action, but—basically—this is the bit of my life that you're not in. Do you know what I mean?"

"I know what you mean." The Doctor said, though I felt a bit upset at that.

While Clara and the Ponds had been similar to Bill in wanting to have lives outside the Tardis, none of them had ever mentioned this. Sure, there was minor complaining when either one of us popped up at random, but to straight out say 'get out of my life', seemed a bit much.

"Thanks."

"So, up the wooden hill you go. Sleep well."

"Okay."

"Maybe before you do, you should check on your friend who hasn't been seen for a day, and who has strange music coming out of his room."

"They said he just does that."

"Nobody just does anything."

"That…" I added. "…and what he's playing sounds an awful lot like a record stuck on a loop. The _same_ loop. As in ten seconds of the same few notes playing over and over again."

"You two aren't leaving, are you?" Bill concluded.

"No. Your friend will probably be fine." He raped his knuckles on the wall. "Knock on wood."

The two we'd left with her phone came out then, smiling.

"We need to have a talk about your taste in music." The girl smiled as the boy glanced at her.

"You coming up?"

"Yeah."

She headed up the stairs behind us as there was another skittering noise that set me on edge. The Doctor placed a hand on my shoulder and held out a familiar object on a chain.

"Here. I apparently never took it out of my pocket from back with the Master." He murmured, dropping the rigged Tardis key into my palm. "Keep an eye on her."

I grinned. "Will do, captain."

He scowled. "Don't call me 'captain'."

"Whatever you say, sarge."

"Nor that. Stop it." He chided me as I slipped the chain around my neck; kissing him briefly.

"Never."

* * *

"Oh, this freaky Scooby-doo house." Shireen muttered with a shiver as her, Paul and Bill headed to their rooms.

"Bill, if you get scared in the night, you know where I am, yeah?" Paul offered and she gave him an odd look.

"What?"

"Just if you need any, uh, of my help or my whatever, you know?"

It clicked in Bill's head then, what was happening, though she thought she heard a snicker from somewhere behind her.

"Yeah. Um, I get that you're into me but, um, sorry. You're not my type. It's just, um, I tend to go for girls, usually, so…"

"Oh. Oh, right! I was never in with a chance. Awesome." Paul grinned, taking the rejection rather well as Shireen laughed, only to jolt when the wood creaked under Paul.

"Jeez! Stop! This is what I'm talking about."

Paul bounced a little on the board. "This stuff really freaks you out, doesn't it?"

"No! It's just annoying." She argued.

"Ah."

"Go to bed." She chided him and he grinned.

"Sure." He bounced one more time though. "See you in the morning. Ah!"

He pretended to get dragged into his room by his hand and Shireen rolled her eyes.

"Night then."

Bill headed over to Shireen. "Why didn't you get the room next to me? Like we said?"

"What? I don't know. Doesn't mean anything."

"I'm not cool enough, is that it?" Bill teased.

"No, shut up. These are my mates too."

Paul made some odd noises then and Shireen scolded him.

"Paul, not funny!"

"Do you fancy him?" Bill challenged.

"No, who? Paul? Why? No." She spat out quickly, before Paul cried out and the door knob rattled. "Hey, it's not funny!"

There was wood cracking as Paul screamed some more and Bill and Shireen exchanged looks before hurrying over. Bill bumped into something and went to apologize, but Shireen was on her other side and her brows furrowed, until Shireen called out in concern.

"Paul? Are you okay?"

She tried the knob as well, but it wouldn't open.

"Mate, come on. We got the joke."

"_Unless it's not a joke._"

Bill whipped around at the near whisper, but again, saw no one; sending a chill down her spine and making her jump when there was a knock on the door. Her and Shireen laughed nervously, somewhat relieved that Paul was just pranking them again.

"See? He's fine. Okay, see you in the morning." Shireen called out, raping her knuckles on the door, only for the door behind them to knock back.

"What?"

"Um, what's going on? Paul?"

The knocking grew worse all over the hall and Bill groaned.

"Oh, we should get the Doctor."

"Why? What's go going to do? Lecture?"

"_Never know. Could be helpful._"

Bill whipped around again, upset. "Alright, now who's that?"

"Who's what?" Shireen questioned.

"I just keep hearing this whispering. Didn't you hear it?"

"I—"

She was cut off as the door at the end of the hall slammed shut.

"Just a normal day. Just a normal day." Bill chanted softly in a vain attempt to reassure herself, but then a shutter opened and slammed shut. "Up."

And they hurried up the stairs as quickly as they could; the door slamming shut behind them. Seeing no other choice, they headed over to Pavel's room to check up on him. Both were cautious as they slowly entered and room and Bill moved over towards the repeating record player to stop it, only for something to grab her hand and Shireen to cry out.

"Oh, God!" Bill cried out, not noticing the grip on her wrist releasing her as she moved over to Shireen. "Pavel…"

"Do you think he can hear us?" Shireen questioned.

"It'll be okay." Bill tried to reassure, though her voice cracked.

"Is this what happened to Paul? Do we call an ambulance?"

"No reception. Shireen, please sort the record out." Bill said, but Pavel suddenly began blinking. "Oh, no! Wait, wait, wait! Is it something to do with the music? Did someone do this to you?" She asked, hoping for some kind of response, but not the one she expected when the wood behind them creaked; announcing the appearance of the landlord.

"I have no desire to intrude, but I felt there was a problem."

"How did you get up here? It's sealed shut."

"Music can be pleasant, but a simple repetition like that, it's merely a distraction from the inevitable. Hope is its own form of cruelty." He reached for the record, but his eyes went wide when his hand was stopped. "W-What?"

"_Now, now. I really don't think he'd like that much_."

"Who—"

Alex grinned as she used her free hand to remove the chain around her neck and make herself visible to the group.

"Hello again, Mr. Creepy-Smile. Glad to know I wasn't wrong about you being friendly with whatever's in the walls."

"Alex! H-How did you do that?!" Bill asked.

"Perception filter." She hummed as the landlord struggled in her grip on his wrist. "Makes me practically invisible by forcing your eyes to look away from me and your mind to forget you saw me."

"It was you whispering then?"

"Oh, yes. Couldn't help myself." She smiled at Bill. "It's fun pretending to be a ghost."

"Let go of me!" The landlord called out, kicking out and bumping the table that the record was on, knocking the needle out of place.

"Pavel! Put it back!" Bill cried out and Alex quickly released the landlord to try and get the needle back on the record, but it was too late.

Pavel was absorbed into the wood and the landlord grinned as he went over and caressed the wall where he had been.

"Oh, look. He's released. Mercy at last. Beautiful, isn't it? Nature contained. He's preserved in the walls, in the very fabric of the building forever."

"So, this house is eating people?" Shireen questioned.

"We must all pay our dues."

"Yet you're still here." Alex mused. "Which means you have a way of controlling whatever is eating everyone. Something to do with sound. Explains the random tuning fork in your pocket. Tell me." She leaned forward into the man's personal space with a sickly sweet grin. "How right am I?"

"Aren't you _clever_?" He spat, pulling out said tuning fork and tapping it on the wall. "But it's time to pay."

He placed the tuning fork on the wall and Alex frowned as the skittering started up again.

"Run." She muttered and the trio hurried out of the room.

"What's that noise?" Shireen questioned as they hurried down the hall.

"Something in the walls." Alex answered. "So, might I suggest touching as little wood as possible?"

"That tower." Bill mentioned. "It was at the back of the building. Logically, the door should be at the end of this corridor. Look for a way in!"

"A bookshelf?" Alex commented, yanking books out of it.

"Indiana Jones." Bill added, doing the same. "Come on!"

Finally, she found the book and the bookcase moved.

"Yes! The tower!"

They hurried in and the bookcase closed behind them, shutting the trio in the tower.

* * *

"What if something's got into the wood? Into the lathes, behind the plaster, into the very fabric of the house? Wood nymphs, tree spirits, dryads. Anything's possible." The Doctor explained to a confused Harry in the kitchen, as the Doctor pushed on the wood to hear it creak.

"Doctor, what are you doing? We need to call the police!"

"Who's there?" The Doctor asked, pushing some more and the noise in the room grew.

"Doctor, you're provoking it. It's getting louder.

"Wake up! Wake up! Out you come!" The Doctor continued, before the wood cracked open and a small roly-polie type bug skittered out, making Harry step back. "Oh. I was expecting something quite different, you know, like a gaseous creature, or microscopic! Did you see it move through the wood? Interacting at a cellular level. This must be alien! Got to be alien! What are you doing here? On your holidays? Harry, get a matchbox."

"A matchbox?" Harry questioned in confusion.

"Alright, a shoebox. Don't let it get away!" He shouted as the bug fell to the floor and skittered past Harry.

"What do you mean, alien?"

"Oh, little one!" The Doctor grinned, but the creaking had grown louder and Harry was eyeing the cupboard.

"Doctor?"

"Oh, it can move fast. Come on, where's that box?"

"Doctor!"

"What?" The Doctor whipped around to see hundreds, _thousands_ of the bug-like creatures coming out from the wall. "Ah, now this starts to make sense. Yes. Dryads indeed. We need to get out."

"We can't!" Harry said when he tried the door.

The Doctor though, grabbed the closing pantry door. "Harry, in here!"

"What's the point of hiding in a cupboard?"

"It's not a cupboard!"

The Doctor moved a coat aside and pulled a lever as he closed the metal grating of the lift, they'd ended up in. Upon reaching the basement, the Doctor lit up his sonic and used it as a torch as they headed out.

"What are they?" Harry asked. "They look like insects but you're saying they can shut doors, trap us?"

"They're not just in the wood, they're becoming the wood itself. Total infestation. Infestation of the Dryads!"

"You're talking like you've seen things like this before."

"No, actually."

"But you said they were alien." Harry argued.

"Well, they could be native to this planet, but I've never seen them before. Have you?"

Harry, seeing he wasn't going to get a straight answer, changed topics slightly. "That's what they're called? Dryads?"

"Well, that's what I'm calling them, yes."

"You've gone crazy."

"Well, I can't just call them lice, can I?" The Doctor argued.

"What about your wife? Where's she gone then?"

"I sent her to keep an eye on Bill and the others. She's clever, so she's probably discovered something useful about this situation as well." He frowned though. "I can't contact her, however. There's too much interference and I doubt she'd be able to hear it."

"What? Have you got reception?"

"No. It's complicated. Forget I said anything." The Doctor grumbled, not wanting to get into the conversation of telepathic aliens with the child at the moment.

_And hopefully, they're all safe. As safe as they can be anyway, with an infestation of rather angry bugs in the walls._

* * *

I trailed after Bill and Shireen as we moved up the stairs to the door at the top of the tower, keeping an ear out for the landlord or the skittering behind us, but there was nothing but silence. _Hope the Doctor's alright. I have a right headache with all this noise, and trying to get into contact with his won't exactly be easy. I don't want to risk it when we're in danger._ They headed into a bedroom and I furrowed my brows at the assortment of women's furniture, flinching when Shireen opened a music box and snapped it shut again.

"What part of don't touch, don't you get?" I murmured under my breath, but there was more creaking behind a folding screen and I tucked her and Bill behind me as a voice spoke.

"Father? Is that you?"

"Uh, uh, re you okay?" Bill asked, stepping out from behind me slightly as I spotted the hand of someone coming out.

_And not a human hand neither. Is that… wood? Oh, dear._

"Oh, I haven't had visitors in such a long time. My name is Eliza."

"I'm Bill. This is Shireen and Alex."

"Hey." Shireen greeted and a wooden woman poked her head out with a smile.

"I'm pleased to meet you."

"Bill, look." Shireen breathed out, looking worried as a bug crawled out of the woman's mouth.

"What?" She questioned and Bill gestured to her chin.

"You've got something just… just there."

The bug was ignored and climbed into the woman's ear.

"I'm a celebrity. Get me out of here, yeah?" Shireen squeaked out, making to leave as another one of the bugs crossed the floor. "Bill?"

She lifted her foot, but I quickly grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Don't."

"But it's just a cockroach. Had them on my gap year in Morocco."

I handed her to Bill and gestured to the bug while looking at Eliza. "May I?"

She tipped her head, confused.

"I just wish to return him to you, though I would appreciate it if I didn't get eaten by the wood in the process. It would be hard to talk to such a beautiful woman if I was a part of the wood."

If trees could blush, I believed it would look very much like her as she turned away sheepishly and gave me a nod. I reached down towards the bug as Bill tried to stop me.

"Alex, you're not going to—"

"It's fine, Bill." I cut her off, picking it up and smiling at the bug as it walked in little circles on my palm. "They're rather cute, actually."

"Ugh, that's disgusting." Shireen groaned as I handed the bug to the woman, who accepted it and allowed it to sink into her arm.

"Thank you."

"Oh, my dear lady, thank _you_." I grinned as Bill complained behind me.

"Yeah, could you not?"

I ignored her and smiled at the woman, taking her hand and brushing my thumb over the back of her hand.

"May I ask… what happened? Why is this house absorbing people?"

"It's upsetting, I understand." She murmured. "But father says we have to survive."

My eyes widened in understanding. "You're dying."

She looked down at my hands sadly, before the door opened behind us and the Landlord returned with the Doctor behind him.

"Eliza, do not fear this man. He says he might be able to make you well, and—" He spotted me then and glared. "You! Release her this instant!"

He went to use his tuning fork, but Eliza stepped forward.

"Don't. He is…" She looked back at me. "He is kind to me. To the creatures. I won't allow you to hurt him, father."

The Doctor shot me a curious look and I smiled innocently; him getting the hint that I'd flirted my way into the woman's good graces. The Doctor turned to Bill and Shireen.

"Bill, how are you?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. Um, Alex stopped Shireen from… stepping on the bug."

"The lice?"

"Yeah." Shireen answered.

"Good. Unfortunately, Harry…"

"Oh, God." Shireen covered her mouth, eyes in tears and Bill hugged her as the Doctor cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Um, in brief, he's her dad. He's been keeping her alive with the bugs for about seventy years. Your friends are the food. I said that I could help. Now, you must be Eliza. How are you feeling? Rotten?"

"I am quite well." Eliza answered.

"Administer your treatment, Doctor." The landlord demanded and I shot him a look.

"Give him a minute. We're not miracle workers."

The Doctor agreed. "Well, what's the medical history here? What happened? Eliza, you were very ill?"

"Yes."

"Yes? The doctors had, um, given up on you, but then one day your father brings you a present. Where did you find them? What? On the roof? In the garden?"

The man nodded at the second and the Doctor continued.

"You find the insects. You bring them into the house because you want to show them to her, presumably just to just to amuse her. You couldn't have known what they were."

"Can you help her or not?" The man demanded.

"I _am_ helping. This is me helping. How did you find out their unique abilities? Did you bring them in here? You brought them in here, right, but what activated them? You use a tuning fork now, but—"

"Pavel had a record on. A violin?" Bill added and I hummed.

"High-pitched sounds."

The Doctor spotted the music box and opened it, the insects coming up from the floor. "Soothes her to sleep. High-pitched sound. You leave your daughter alone for the night, or so you believe. The music wakes them. They set to work, and in the morning, you find her revitalized, just slightly wooden. You realize there's a way she can survive."

"Enough." The landlord snapped and the Doctor rolled his eyes, snapping the music box closed as Bill spoke up from where she and Shireen climbed on top of a box to avoid the bugs that had been heading for her.

"No, wait. Doctor, that doesn't make sense."

"Can you not interrupt? I'm doing my thing here." The Doctor grumbled, but I agreed.

"Doctor, she's right."

He turned with a frown and I gave Bill the go-ahead to speak.

"Why would he pick up insects from the garden and bring them in to see his ill daughter?"

"Everyone loves insects." The Doctor answered.

"Most women don't, actually." I piped in and he frowned.

"They're fascinating."

"Perhaps, but who just brings them inside to show them?" I argued, mind working a mile a minute as I looked at the landlord; something niggling at the back of my mind. "You said… You said seventy years?"

He frowned, but the Doctor answered.

"Yes."

I nodded to the landlord. "He's not much older than that and she looks rather young. And grown men don't play in gardens, but—"

"But little boys do." The Doctor said, realizing the same thing I did.

"I do not understand." Eliza said, looking between us confused as the Doctor brought out his sonic and scanned the man.

"You. Oh, no flies on you, Bill, Alex. And no bugs in you." The Doctor mused, turning to Eliza. "I forget, you see. Your human lifespan. It's… It's not long, is it."

"Do not let them trouble you." The landlord said, growing nervous as the Doctor went on.

"What do you remember of the past, Eliza?"

"My father, he knows what's best."

"Yes, the lice preserve the appearance and the voice, but not so much the memories. He's not your father, am I right?"

"No! Stop talking!" The landlord demanded.

"Father, what's the matter? I don't understand."

I stepped forward then, placing a hand on the woman. "My dear, fathers don't go off and play in the gardens when their daughters are ill. However, a little boy would get sent away by the doctors if it was his _mother_ who was ill."

"His mother?" She questioned and I nodded.

"He is your son, Eliza."

"My son?"

The landlord was in tears and I stepped back to allow the two to have their moment; the woman reaching out towards him.

"Forgive me. Forgive me." The man cried softly as the Doctor explained.

"When you saw what the creatures had done, you understood, didn't you? The lice could keep your mother alive if you protected them, tamed them, fed them."

"If you could save the one who brought you into this world, wouldn't you?" He questioned and the Doctor and I remained silent, remembering a number of people we would have wished to save at all costs. "Your silence is a confirmation."

"I did what you told me because I thought you knew best. But I… I am your mother?" Eliza questioned.

"Yes." The landlord murmured.

"And you, all these children you've taken. You told me it was necessary, that we had no choice." She cried.

"That's right, it was. It meant we could stay together. Don't you understand? We were happy! I kept our lives a secret, and a secret we must remain." The man argued, turning to the Doctor and I angrily. "You have brought her nothing but misery and confusion! You will be taken, like the others!"

He slammed the door shut and used his tuning fork to call up the bugs, making the four of us back up.

"Okay, now's the time for the plan." Bill breathed out, tugging Shireen back.

"That was it. No plan. Info dump, then busk."

"Well, start busking." Bill hissed.

"Eliza, people have died and will continue to die unless you stop all this right now." The Doctor called out to her, but she looked confused.

"How can I stop it?"

"You're the parent. You're in charge!"

She looked over at us and I smiled.

"Eliza, you did it before. When he threatened me, remember? You stood up to him. You kept the bug I returned to you from hurting me. You are more than capable of stopping them. Of stopping your son. Be his mother."

She set her jaw and nodded, turning to the bugs and lifting her are, making them split into different groups.

"That's it!" The Doctor cheered.

"Do what _I_ say! I control you!" The landlord demanded, but Eliza had figured things out.

"No, it's me. I control them."

"Eliza, finish them now. Take them, or you'll die! They'll destroy you!" He said, trying to change tactics.

"Oh, my dear, I would hardly do such a thing." I countered, stepping forward despite the Doctor's worry and the bugs moved out of my way as I sighed softly. "Hiding up in a tower is no way to live. When have you even had the chance to look outside at the world? To see how things have changed, to _live_?"

Eliza turned and the shutters opened, revealing the fireworks that boomed out in the night sky.

"It's the freshers' party in the park." Bill murmured.

"Exactly." The Doctor nodded. "New friends, fireworks. That's what life should be."

"I remember." She murmured, turning to the landlord as I stepped back to the Doctor's side and he wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "My son, leave my side at last. Go and see the world."

"No, I don't want to!" He whined, very much like the little boy he should be before his mother. "If you won't finish them, I will!"

Eliza grabbed his wrist before he could do anything though. "John! My little boy, this has to end."

The bugs skittered down her arm and onto him as he squirmed.

"No, we mustn't end. We have to destroy them."

"It's our time." She argued."

"No, I don't want to! No, no!"

She pulled him into her arms though as he sobbed and turned to us. "Thank you."

The two dissolved into the floor and the house shook.

"We've got to get out of here."

"No need to tell us twice." Bill said, taking Shireen's hand. "Come on!"

"What about the others?!"

The group hurried out, finding a confused Pavel coming out of his room as well and Shireen grinned.

"Pavel!"

I grabbed Pavel and tugged him along behind me. "No time for reunions. We need to get out! Now!"

We got a bit further before nearly running into Paul, who Bill grabbed as we hurried outside and the Doctor steered Felicity away from the house.

"Wrong way! Wrong way!"

Everyone was outside and turned to watch the house slowly vanish; each of the students complaining.

"Bang goes our deposit."

"Oh, man. That's our house."

"Gone."

"Right, you lot." The Doctor announced, getting their attention. "Back to the estate agents. Better luck next time."

He took my hand and tugged me towards the Tardis where I smiled and kissed him.

"Miss me?"

"Hm, you had me worried for a moment there."

"When? With the bugs?"

He turned me around and leaned me back against the console. "They could have taken you."

"But they didn't. See? Flirting keeps me out of trouble." I teased and he growled as he wrapped his arms around my wrist.

"More like, gets you _in_ trouble."

I grinned. "Bedroom?"

"Bedroom."

* * *

"Oh, here they come." Nardole grumbled as the Doctor and Alex rounded the corner towards the vault.

"Are you being cheerful? I'm against cheerful." The Doctor grumbled, passing Alex one of the take-out bags.

"Bill told me you went on a little adventure. You see?"

"I see what?"

"Well, you don't have to go to outer space to find monsters. There's plenty of things that want to kill you right here on Earth." Nardole hummed and I rolled my eyes.

"Honestly, you could do a bit more on that personality of yours. It's no wonder I don't want to flirt with you."

"Oi!"

"Okay, you can take the rest of the night off." The Doctor cut in, waving at Nardole. "Go on. Go and do whatever it is you do. Actually, what do you do? No! Never tell me that."

"I just want to have a look at this. Our friend inside's been a little restive lately." Nardole argued, btu the Doctor persisted.

"Ah, we can sort that out."

"No, it's alright. I don't mind."

"_Goodnight_, Nardole." The Doctor said more seriously and Nardole finally gave in.

"Right. Goodnight, sir, ma'am. See you in the morning." He said, making to leave only for piano to start up in the vault; playing Fur Elise by Beethoven. "A piano? You've put a piano in there? Why?"

"Goodnight." The Doctor repeated and he sighed.

"Oh, you don't learn, do you, sir."

When he was finally gone, the Doctor knocked on the door to the vault.

"Hey! Do you want dinner? We've got Mexican."

The piano stopped and the Doctor worked on opening the door.

"Look, I know you miss it all, but I'm stuck here too, you know? We're both prisoners. So what do you say, dinner? And I've got a new story for you, too. There's a haunted house and woodlice from space. And lots of young people get eaten."

Still silence and the Doctor sighed.

"And the flirtatious Alex is here as well, if you must know."

I grinned as the piano started again, a shot bit of 'Pop Goes The Weasel' playing.

"We're coming in."


	109. The Lie of the Land

**Sorry this is so late! Fourth of July was crazy and i worked all week, so i didn't have much time to finish this chapter until this morning... but here it is! i hope you all enjoy her and Missy and i'll see about doing an episode with either the 5th or 7th Doctor next, though i'm not sure which just yet. let me know what you think though!**

* * *

It wouldn't have been the first time I'd popped off and woken up in an alleyway. Though, I _was_ the first time I'd ended up doing so in my bathing suit. _And I can't say it's totally unwanted. I look amazing._ I slicked my wet hair back and stood outside a television shop with the familiar name of 'Magpie' over the top of it, ignoring the chill of the London wind cutting through the thin flannel over my shoulders. The Twelfth Doctor was on the televisions in the window, smiling away like a moron as flickers of various historical images passed on screen to his speech.

"_The Monks have been with us from the beginning. They shepherded humanity through its formative years, gently guiding and encouraging, like a parent clapping their hands at a baby's first steps. They have been instrumental in all the advances of culture and technology. They watched proudly as man invented the light bulb, the telephone and the internet. They were even there to welcome the first men on the moon. And they have defended us too. Who can forget the time the Monks defeated the Daleks, the Cybermen, the Weeping Angels? Two species, sharing a history as happily as they share a planet, humanity and the Monks are a blissful and perfect partnership. So relax, do as you're told. Your future is taken care of_."

"Ooh, you naughty boy, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" I hummed, hearing murmurs and looking up to find a number of people looking at me. "Hm, I'd assume it's because of my looks, except everyone's in rather drab attire and my bright swim shorts and bikini top seem to stick out rather sorely… Or, they're just jealous of my looks."

I spotted a large armored car speeding over and grinned.

"Nope."

I didn't have much more to say on that and took off back down the alleyway I'd come from, digging through my short's pockets and tossing things out as I searched for my usual attire and a place to hide. I managed a quick shimmy up a fire escape and onto a roof, avoiding the armed men that hurried down the alley after me, and I scampered across the buildings until I spotted a familiar home.

"Oh, I'm brilliantly lucky today, aren't I?" I chuckled to myself, scurrying back down onto the streets and sneaking into the small yard in the back.

I managed to sneak around to the front then and caught my tongue between my teeth as I worked a few paperclips from my pocket into the lock of the door. It took only a moment before the satisfying click opened the door and I slipped in without anyone outside having noticed. A sigh of relief escaped me and I turned only to have to hold my hands up in surrender as I was pinned to the door between the legs of a stool.

"I-I'd say hello, but I actually don't mind being pinned by you, Bill."

The woman glared at me and I grinned back cheekily as she lowered the stool.

"What are you doing here?" Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh, my God. The Doctor! You're here because the Doctor sent you, right? He's got a plan to stop this!"

"Ah, actually, I'm not." I gestured to my clothing as we moved into the kitchen. "As you can see, I wasn't here until recently. I was swimming in the Zen Ocean with him on the planet of Ven Kyuk Nar. It was rather nice, though not many beaches to tan on. The native species there were quite—"

"You mean… you have no idea what's going on…"

I blinked and then held my hands up in a shrug. "Not in the slightest. Though the Doctor was on TV. That was pretty neat."

Bill slapped a hand to her forehead and sank into a chair in her kitchen; two mugs of hot tea sitting on the table.

"I'm stuck with the flirty, clueless one. Great."

I paid no mind to that comment and gestured to the mug. "You got company?"

She looked at it and quickly stood, attempting to gather it up and play innocent. "What? No. I did. Yeah. Just forgot to put the mug away."

"Hm, No, you didn't." I hummed, coming up beside her as she dumped the tea down the drain and I leaned on the counter. "That tea was hot, fresh. You just made it."

"Someone _was_ coming over." She tried again.

"Nah, you wouldn't have attacked me with a stool then, when I showed up." I mused, sauntering back to the table and plopping down in the empty chair. "It's fine to talk to yourself, you know. The Doctor and I do it all the time." I reached across the table and stole her mug, sipping at the tea as she watched me cautiously. "I imagine talking to him sometimes too."

"What? Seriously?" She questioned, relaxing a bit as she went to take her own spot at the table.

"Oh, sure. I've hit some rough patches. Doctor wasn't always there for them, but the thought of him helped keep me calm and in control." I nodded, leaning back. "Once had a near meltdown about my fear of snakes. Had a whole conversation with him all up in my head about it. Bit silly, but whatever helps." I gestured to the half-moon scar on my navel. "Again, rough times call for desperate measures."

Bill winced. "How'd… How'd you get that? If you don't mind me asking."

"Hm." I smiled. "Dalek."

She winced.

"I've got more, if you want a peak." I teased, wiggling my brows. "Or we could always discuss whatever's happening here. I've got a ripe headache now and don't appreciate it."

Bill nodded hastily. "Yes, please. Though, um… do you have some proper clothes? I mean, I think I have some you can borrow, but I don't know if they're your size…"

"Oh! Nearly forgot about that." I stood and rummaged through my pockets again, ignoring the surprise on Bill's face as I grinned triumphantly. "Ah-ha!"

I pulled out my dress-shirt, rust-colored skinny jeans and coat; draping them on the chair before digging a bit deeper and emerging with my boots and my feathered hat.

"Oh, how I missed you." I chirped, plopping the hat on my head as I turned to Bill. "Haven't had a chance to wear it since the whole woodlice house fiasco." I paused though. "You _have_ done that, yeah?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but… how did you pull all that from your pocket? You have another dimension in there or something?"

"I almost forgot you were a sci-fi nerd." I cooed. "But it's probably that. Ask the Doctor. He's got them too. Trans-dimensional pockets. Bigger on the inside and all that. I'm going to go change though, then we can get back to this whole… whatever it is outside."

"Right… yeah."

I grinned. "Perfect."

* * *

"So, let me get this right." I said, having gotten a fresh cup of tea and now properly dressed. "Some weird Monks showed up asking permission to take over the world. You said yes to help the Doctor live because he was stuck in a tight situation—that you refuse to discuss in detail thanks to my future self telling you not to—and now the Doctor's a prisoner of said Monks and doing television blogs?"

She nodded. "That's the gist of it."

"Right, and the whole Monks changing history bit is probably what's giving me a headache." I mused, rubbing my jaw. "My mind never takes kindly to things playing with my memories."

"You've had this happen before?"

"Sort of. The Doctor and I bumped into an alien that had embedded itself through human history and the moment people looked away, they forgot they saw them. I always remembered them and ended up rather sick every time a saw one. Not pleasant."

"What happened to them?"

"Ah, subliminal messaging. We recorded one giving the order to kill it and mass broadcasted it during the original moon landing video. Everyone else did the work after that." I shrugged, before we heard the lock turning and our backs stiffened. "I take it you didn't invite company?"

"No."

She grabbed the stool she used to threaten me and I trailed after her as she made for the door. We hid around the corner as the person entered and jumped out with a shout, only for a girlish scream to make us stop.

"What are you doing?! It's me! Nardie!" Nardole pulled off his beanie and I let out a snort as Bill hesitated.

"No, wait, wait. Shut up. Tell me something. That first time, with the Heather creature chasing us, where did we run away to?" She tested him.

"Australia."

"What noise should spaceship doors make?"

"Shuck-shuck, obviously." He answered and Bill lowered the stool and grabbed him in a hug, only to pull back and punch him in the shoulder. "Ow!"

"Where have you been?"

"That hurt me. That really hurt me!" He complained.

"I needed you!"

"Well, I got contaminated by that bacteria in the lab, didn't I? I was laid up for six weeks. If I was human, I would have died. Right now, you'd be talking to… Come to think of it, who were you talking to?" He leaned over and spotted me, eyes going wide as I waved.

"Hello, unattractive baldy." I drawled.

"Hey!" He turned to Bill. "How come you haven't hit her yet?!"

"We went over the whole thing already." I hummed. "I just popped up and got the run-down of what's happening from Bill. Other than that, I haven't the slightest what's going on. Time travel and all that. Better than Bill talking to imaginary people."

Bill hit me on the arm. "I told you not to say anything!"

"Oh, well, that's not that weird." Nardole shrugged. "I used to have an imaginary friend, 'til he left me for someone else. Huh. I know, charming."

Bill sighed, getting back on track with what we'd been talking about as Nardole and I took a seat.

"They're doing something to us. The Monks. I can't think straight. It's like they're saying they've been here forever, and I know they haven't, but part of me is starting to think that it's real. Every day I have to… I have to remind myself that everything that you, me, Alex and the Doctor did actually happened, and it wasn't just a dream. Why do it? That's what I don't get. They invade somewhere, take control. Why go to the trouble of changing the past?"

"Mass brainwashing." I sighed, dropping my chin in my hand. "Make them think it's for the best, they don't really argue and the ones who do, get chartered off. Keeps more from doing something about it."

Nardole agreed. "However bad a situation is, if people think that's how it's always been, they'll put up with it. That's ninety percent of the job done."

"Wait. You said you were ill for six weeks." Bill said, whipping around.

"Hm?"

"What have you been doing since then?"

"Looking for the Doctor."

"Have you found him?" Bill asked hopefully.

"Well, let's just say…" Nardole paused, before grinning. "Yes, yes, yes. I found him."

"Oh!"

He pulled out a map as Bill hurried over in excitement. "So, all anyone's seen of the Doctor in the last six months are those broadcasts he does."

"He's faking it. I'm positive. He hasn't joined the Monks. He's being held prisoner. He's just… He's just biding his time, waiting." Bill said confidently.

"The thing is, the Monks have got some kind of scrambler so no-one can trace the broadcasts. Lucky, then, that I have got this!" He pulled out a small box and I snatched it from him with a grin.

"Oh! I was looking for this ages ago." I grinned, rubbing a finger over the top of the screen. "The Doctor and I were trying to find decent cable and—"

"Yeah, yeah." Nardole cut me off, taking it back. "Anyway, it traces the source of the signal and gives a map coordinate."

"Cool. Where'd you get it?"

"Found it in the Tardis. Yeah, it was in one of the drawers with some old takeaway menus and fifty Danish krone."

"_That's_ where I left it." I muttered.

"Anyway, this is them." He said, gesturing to the 'X' on the map.

"So, he's at sea?"

"Mhmm. Yeah, yeah. The Monks have got him on one of the old prison boats. Hulks, they used to call them."

"So, how do we get to him?"

"Boat." I answered cheekily, earning a small glare.

"Every six weeks, all their food and fuel and stuff gets taken to them by a supply boat. The next delivery is in two days' time, off the coast of Scotland." He tapped the point on the map and Bill grinned, punching him again.

"That's our chance!"

"Yeah, that really has to stop." Nardole complained, whereas I hummed.

"I don't know, I kind of like it when she hits you."

"Alex!" He complained and I groaned.

"Well, _you_ deal with the lack of entertainment! There's not a hot soul in this room other than myself and Bill, but I promised the Doctor no flirting with his companions. I'm going through withdrawals!"

"You've only been here a few hours!" Bill argued and I groaned.

"That's _far_ too long."

* * *

The trio lifted heavy crates and worked hard to pass them from the small cargo boat onto the deck of the prison ship; Alex having begrudgingly dawned darker clothing and hiding her hat in her pocket once more. She wasn't in a good mood because of that and grumbled about not-cute shipmates and bossy bald men as she passed boxes over. The only downside to what they were doing would be a spot-check on their IDs—or lack thereof—and it was just their luck that a man clapped his hands and announced that they were going to do just that and check their papers. They all lined up with the other sailors and the guard went down the line until he got to Bill. She went to hand hers over, but a door nearby lit up and the guard panicked slightly.

"It's them."

He and the other hastily lined up themselves as a Monk exited the door and walked out; Bill tucking her ID away.

"Oh, they're not really cute either, are they? They could do with a bit of a nose job." Alex murmured under her breath and Bill elbowed her in the side as the Monk came over to them.

It looked them all over, before retreating back the way it came and the guard hastily got everyone working again without continuing the spot-check. Bill, Nardole, and Alex took the first chance they got to vanish behind a door and get onto the ship. They took the narrowed passages further into the belly of the ship, before Alex perked up.

"Did you find him?" Bill asked and she nodded with a grin.

"Oh, yes. Subtle, but there. Either he'd suppressed it a bit, or there's something going on in the walls that hides it, but I got a hint of him. This way."

She took the lead, ditching the rained-on coat she had and soon her shirt as well in order to replace her previous attire; making Bill and Nardole grimace. Then, they rounded a corner and heard him as he worked on another blog.

"Over the years, I have encountered innumerable civilizations, but never one as benevolent as the Monks. Their grace and humility. No, their grace and philanthropy is matched only by their—"

"Careful." Nardole warned Bill.

They found the door and Bill opened it, heading in with a relieved smile.

"Doctor."

The man turned around in his chair in the white room and Bill smiled.

"Doctor, it's me."

"Us." Alex added, smiling with a wave. "Hello."

The Doctor crumpled his paper though, and stood. "Guards!"

Alex's brows furrowed as a number of men in red came into the room with guns and the Doctor approached them.

"What are you doing here?"

Bill looked confused. "What does it look like? We've come to save you."

The Doctor turned to Nardole. "This is your doing, isn't it? You shouldn't _be_ here. I have to talk to the Monks now." He snapped, moving away.

"Doctor—" Bill started to follow him, but the Doctor held out a hand.

"Stop, don't. Don't move. They will kill you. Stay where you are." He demanded, lifting his gaze. "That goes for you too, Alex."

Alex's frown deepened. She hadn't missed Nardole being able to walk out of the ring of guards and was already suspicious, as the Doctor went and picked up a phone on the desk.

"Epsilon. Fire. Jupiter. Lily." He said, hanging it up. "The Monks are on their way. When they get here, let me do the talking."

"Wait, what was that? Did you actually just call them, you nutter?" Bill demanded to know.

"You deserve an explanation." He said and Bill nodded in agreement. "Human society is stagnating. You've stopped moving forward. In fact, you're regressing."

"This isn't exactly much better." She argued, looking around the room.

"It's safer."

"Not so much for the people the Monks are killing."

"The Romans killed people and saved billions more from disease, war, famine and barbarism." He countered.

"No, wait. What about free will? You believe in free will. Your whole thing is… You made me write a three-thousand-word _essay_ on free will." She snapped.

"Yes, well, I mean, you had free will, and look at what you did with it. Worse than that, you had history. History was saying to you, 'look, I've got some examples of fascism here for you to look at. No? Fundamentalism? No? Oh, okay, you carry on'. I had to stop you, or at least not stand in the way of someone else who wanted to, because the guns were getting bigger, the stakes were getting higher, and any minute now it was going to be goodnight, Vienna. By the way, you never delivered that essay, anyway."

"Because the world was invaded by zombie Monks!" She shouted at him.

"And who's fault was that, huh?" He demanded, before Alex stepped forward between them.

"Don't you start that." She growled, not looking pleased. "Don't you go about making the same damn mistake that you made on the moon with Clara, Doctor."

He frowned as well. "You're defending her? You don't even know what she did!"

"So, what?!" She roared. "I've forgiven you for _much_ more, so don't you start putting the blame on someone who did it to help you! Either way, the world would have been taken over by Monks, whether she asked for their help or not, except by asking for it, there's a future with you in it. A future with someone who could potentially get them out of this mess."

"No, she took it upon herself to ignore me, to do what she thought was best." He snapped back. "All I can say is that we are lucky it was a benevolent race like the Monks, not the Daleks. Yes, I know the Monks are ruthless. I get that. Yes, they play with history and I'm not exactly thrilled about that. But they bring peace and order."

Bill moved up beside Alex. "Okay. Yeah, yeah, I get it. I-It's like that time we discovered that huge fish creature in the, in the Seine in Paris."

"…That was a coded message. The big fish creature was under the Thames. If I'd played along, she'd have known that I was tricking you. Guns down." The Doctor told the guards who lowered their guns as Bill resisted the urge to cry at his betrayal. "I'm sorry, Bill. I just… I just… I really wanted to make you see."

"T-This is real? You… You're actually doing this?" Bill questioned, before steadily getting angrier. "Do you have _any_ idea how hard the past few months have been? How hard it's been to hold onto the truth? It would have been so easy to j-j-just give in and believe their lies. But I didn't. I fought against it, for _you_! For when _you_ came back. And now you're saying you've joined them? You're helping them?"

Bill suddenly reached out and grabbed the gun from the holster of the guard beside her, leveling it with the Doctor as the other guards all brought up their weapons.

"Bill, p-p-put the gun down." The Doctor said and Bill shook her head as Alex looked between the two uncertainly.

"I'm serious, Doctor. We'll think of something else. But you'd better tell me now, because if you help the Monks, then nothing will ever stop them. They'll be here forever."

Alex stepped between them then, eyes sharp. "Bill, put it down."

"No! No, you don't understand what he's done!" She shouted at Alex, but the woman didn't budge.

"I may not, but what is shooting him going to do? You'll do it and then you'll be upset you did. It won't fix anything."

"Then what do you want me to do?!" She demanded, hands shaking slightly. "What else am I supposed to do, because if he's on their side, then we don't stand a chance!"

"Ah, well, you see…" Alex grinned. "That's what I'm for."

She turned in a movement almost too quick to react to and snatched the large weapon from the guard closest to her; head butting him to the ground and aiming it at the Doctor.

"A-Alex?" He breathed out, looking worried as he held his hands up. "What are you doing? Alexander, just put the gun down."

"Oh, don't you Alexander me." She snipped, twisting the gun in her grip and emptying out the bullets. "I don't know what you're playing at, but I am _not_ pleased with you right now."

She tossed the gun aside, making the Doctor flinch as Bill watched in confusion; her gun still aimed at the back of Alex's head as she continued to block her shot.

"Yes, well, you see—"

"Oh, shut up." She turned to the guards. "The lot of you, put the guns down before I beat you with them."

The guards hesitated and Alex's eyes narrowed.

"_Now._"

They winced at her tone and did so, before she stomped over to the Doctor and grabbed his shirt, pushing him so that he was doubled over backwards onto his desk.

"A-Alex, please. Let's just think about this for a minute and—"

"Hm, you know, you're right. Give me a second to think." She hummed, before giving him an annoyed look. "Alright. Done thinking. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't get any enjoyment out of hurting you in the next few minutes, because this body seems to be slightly sadistic too."

"It's not a trick, it's not a plan. I have joined the Monks." He said.

"You're lying."

"I'm _not_." He pressed.

"Yeah, try saying that when your wife's not about to maim you for messing with your companions for fun." She answered. "Something's going on and I. Don't. Like. It."

"You don't like a lot of things I do." He grumbled.

"Yes, well, I might _actually_ be into the handcuffs in the bedroom thing in this body."

"A-Are you two _seriously_ doing this right now?" Bill asked, voice tight and still quivering with her emotions.

Alex rolled her eyes with a sigh, leaning back away from the Doctor for a minute. "Bill, please. Something's going on, obviously and I don't like it, but you have nothing to—"

Alex was cut off though, as something slammed across the back of her head and she fell to the ground, unconscious. The Doctor straightened with a wince, setting the miniature Monk statue back onto the desk.

"She's _definitely_ not going to be pleased about that."

Even Nardole was gaping at him for that as Bill breathed out.

"Y-You… You hit Alex."

He looked at Bill seriously. "This isn't up to her. This is between you and me, and I'm sorry Bill, but I'm serious. This is very real. This is what I've chosen to do."

"No… No, Alex is right. You're lying." She argued weakly, but the Doctor shook his head.

"I'm not lying. There's no plan. I'm not tricking you or joking. I've just knocked my wife unconscious to keep her from stopping me. I have joined the Monks. That's just the way it is now. Whatever it takes, I'm going to save you from yourselves."

Bill had had enough. _Alex_ couldn't even convince him. She had no choice. She pulled the trigger and the Doctor jolted back, leaning heavily onto the desk as his hands began to glow gold.

* * *

I shifted with a groan, head aching terribly as my mind fought to rearrange itself and everything came back. I pushed myself up onto my elbows, about ready to beat the Doctor for hitting me upside the head, only for my stomach to twist with nausea. Then, I saw the gold. My eyes went wide as I looked up to see the Doctor with his arms outstretched and gold shooting from him; the clatter of Bill dropping her pistol behind me. My hearts stopped. He was regenerating. Bill had shot him after I'd been knocked unconscious and he was going to become someone completely different. I hadn't been there for him. I could have prevented this. I could have saved him. It had been so long since I'd had those thoughts and tears slipped down my face, before the Doctor abruptly stopped and clapped his hands with a grin; completely fine.

"Good girl!"

The guards all chuckled and clapped as one nudged Bill and the Doctor headed over to Nardole with a smile.

"Regeneration a little bit too much?"

"No, I thought it was a nice touch. Too much was Richard asking for our identity papers." Nardole said, confirming that he was in on the joke.

"I couldn't resist it. Your face." 'Richard' grinned.

"Uh, hello? Could somebody tell me what the hell is going on?" Bill questioned.

"You did it. You did it!" the Doctor smiled, holding her face for a moment. "The Monks are using some kind of, you know, something, to control the population. They must be, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to hold on to power for this long. Now, they don't trust me yet, not completely, and I had to just check that you weren't under the influence and testing me." The Doctor explained, though I still half-lay on the floor in shock, unnoticed.

"So, y-y-you haven't… you haven't turned. You're not working for them."

The group laughed.

"No, of course not. I've spent the last six months planning, and also recruiting all these chaps. Deprogramming them one by one, talking some sense into them. And there's loads of them. I could do with a Strepsil."

"But I shot you."

"Yes, well, that was the plan, you see? Everyone exchanged their ammo for blanks."

"Uh…"

The Doctor turned to the man who Alex had snatched the gun from. "Did you forget, Dave? You forgot? Well, that would have really blown the plan, wouldn't it? Especially after Alex took your gun."

"But you called the Monks." Bill breathed out.

"I called the kitchen." He explained, turning to a guard. "Oh, could you pop down and explain it to them? They're going to be really confused."

Bill turned to Nardole then as the guard left. "And you were in on this too?"

"Oh, it was partly his idea."

Bill launched herself at him. "Oh. My. God. I am going to beat the sh—"

"No! No!" The Doctor stopped her before she could hit him. "Oh, come on, come on, we've got the band back together again."

"But you hit Alex!" Bill shouted and the Doctor winced.

"Right, yes, well she acted a bit differently than I planned. It was just a little knock about the head. She was suspicious and cleverly started to figure it out. I couldn't have her give it away before I got proof you weren't being controlled by the Monks."

Bill turned to me, about to say something, before she realized that I was awake and not exactly happy.

"U-Um, Doctor?"

"Hm?"

She pointed and he turned, only to pale as he caught sight of my teary-streaked face.

"Oh… O-Oh dear. You recovered from that sooner than expected." He murmured. "You saw the regeneration bit, didn't you?" He looked over at Nardole, who looked a bit concerned as well, before turning back. "Right. Right, um, here. I'll just—"

He reached out to help me up, but I slapped his hand away.

"D-Don't." I croaked out, pushing myself away from him. "Don't touch me."

He flinched, slowly clenching his hand into a fist and straightening with a small nod. "Yes… Yes, of course."

I pushed myself up, leaning heavily on the desk as my vision swam and my head pounded from being hit. _I can't believe him. Faking regeneration? What the hell? And he thinks it's so damn funny! God, for the first time in nearly a century, I'm questioning myself again. I'm blaming myself again. I thought he had _died_._ I breathed in deeply, trying to remain calm, when something lightly brushed my arm. I looked over to see the Doctor holding out my feathered hat, looking upset. The others were gone and I must have missed out on what our plan was, but I suddenly couldn't care less as I slowly took the hat from him and brushed my fingers over it.

"I'm sorry." He apologized, keeping his distance as I'd told him. "I didn't mean… I hadn't wanted to hit you."

I shot him a glare. "Do you honestly think I'm this upset about that?"

He winced. "No… No, probably not…"

I let out a long, annoyed sigh. "Doctor, you used your regeneration as a joke. You made me think you were dying. That Bill had shot you."

"But I didn't. I was just—"

"_Doctor_." I stopped him. "I thought you had died because I wasn't there to stop it."

He went silent, eyes cast downwards as I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"I haven't done that in ages. I haven't felt that helpless in… God, Doctor, I thought our companion had killed you. What the hell would you have expected me to do? Did you honestly think I wasn't going to try and stop her? Try and figure out what you were doing? How did you _think_ I would've reacted to your little joke?"

"I wasn't planning on doing it." He muttered. "And if it did come down to that, I was going to explain."

"Before or after the fact?" I snipped, giving him a glare. "Because you're trying right now and I've yet to see what made you think it'd be smart to coerce your companion to shoot you to prove her innocence."

"I needed to make sure it was her."

"And you didn't trust _me_?"

"You're partially human. I wasn't sure if it would affect you the same way or not."

"And you couldn't have found a better way to check than faking your death?!" I shouted, standing in front of him now as tears pooled up again. "I thought I'd killed you…"

He hesitated before brushing a tear off my face as I bowed my head and tucked it against his chest.

"I'm sorry." He apologized.

"I hate you." I choked out as I wrapped my arms around him and he did the same.

"I would understand if you did…"

"Shut up. You know I don't actually hate you." I grumbled, tipping my head back to give him an annoyed look. "I'm just not exactly pleased with you at the moment. Headache doesn't help."

He grimaced. "Apologies again."

He tipped my head back to his chest and kissed the top near where he'd hit me as I sighed.

"You really need to think through your plans a bit better." I muttered. "Your inner Eleven is coming out with how reckless you've been lately."

"That's what I have you for." He replied as we pulled apart; him plopping my hat back on my head.

"Yes, yes, alright. I forgive you for being an arse." I sighed with a roll of my eyes. "So, where to next?"

He looked down at me and grinned. "How would you like to drive a boat?"

"Depends." I purred, leaning against him with a smirk of my own. "Do I have to drive it well?"

"Hm, I was thinking we do something a bit more… _exciting_ with it."

I chuckled, kissing him briefly. "You had me at drive a boat."

* * *

The group stood outside the vault as the Doctor opened the multiple locks on it. Alex was right up beside him with her hand linked in his, though she wasn't cracking any jokes right now. The Doctor was serious. The Doctor was _nervous_. He had hoped it wouldn't come to this. A part of him was glad Alex was beside him, but he also knew she was still upset with him. That did not bode well for when the vault was finally opened and the trio walked inside to meet Missy. Said woman played lightly on the piano and the Doctor went and flopped down into an armchair as Bill glanced at the woman and then the Doctor in confusion.

"But, it's… it's just a woman."

Missy stopped playing and turned to glance at the group.

"God, the way you two and Nardole have been carrying on, I thought you had some kind of monster in here or something!"

"I do." The Doctor replied, doing introductions. "Missy, Bill. Bill, Missy. The other 'Last of the Time Lords'."

"Wait a sec. Why have you got a woman locked in a vault? Because even I think that's weird, and I've been attacked by a puddle." Bill commented after a small wave and Alex snorted.

"You should see what he does with me when I'm in trouble."

"She's going cold turkey from being bad." The Doctor commented, shooting Alex a look that said woman ignored as Missy chuckled softly. "I wanted to ask if you've had any dealing with the Monks before."

"Of course. I've had adventures too. My whole life doesn't revolve around you, you know." Missy smirked, giving Alex a once over. "Though I'd be glad to spend a majority of it with you, my dear."

"Oh, you flatter me, my lady." Alex smiled back, bowing with a flourish of her hat as the Doctor groaned.

"Did you defeat them?" Bill asked, trying to move past the two's flirting.

"I did."

"How?"

"Hm." Missy turned slightly. "I've got some requests. I want some new books, some toys, like a particle accelerator, a 3-D printer, a pony, and Alex."

"I don't think that you really grasp what's going on here. Nice people generally don't haggle over the fate of a planet."

"I once built a gun out of leaves. Do you think I couldn't get through a door if I wanted to? I'm here, all right? I'm engaging with the process." She said, standing and leaning on the piano.

Bill wasn't about to hesitate. "Okay. Yeah, yeah. We can… We can get those things for you."

"Minus my wife." The Doctor cut in and Missy pouted.

"Not even for a day? A few hours even? I had everything all planned out. We were going to have so much fun together."

"Well, I'm sure we can arrange something, sweetheart." Alex cooed, making the Doctor frown.

"_Alex_."

"Oh, shush you. You hit me with a paperweight and I'm still not pleased about that. You can go without a day of my amazingness. I'll even leave you my hat."

"I don't want your hat. How many times do I have to tell you—"

"C'est super." Missy cut in, lounging on the piano bench before the Doctor could complain further. "So, what have you got so far?"

The Doctor stood and paced. "They hold on to power by targeting the part of the brain specifically to do with memory and perception, correct? Right?"

Missy stood again and closed the lid of the piano. "Getting warm. Fingers tingling."

"But they target it with what, exactly? How do they sustain it?" He questioned as Missy hopped on top of the piano. "How do their lies infiltrate the brains of billions? Is it some kind of airborne psychoactive?"

"No, no, that's very cold, very cold." She hummed, lying down.

"Something that's constantly being fed to the populace, constantly consolidating its hold. Is it in the water?"

"Why would it be water?" Alex commented and Missy nodded.

"Listen to your wife. You're absolutely freezing. Couldn't be colder. Very, very, chilly. So, so chilly. Oh, come on. I'm bored! You haven't been to see me in six months. No-one has! Not even that bald bloke who looks like an egg."

"What? You left her alone in here for six months?" Bill questioned in shock and the Doctor gave her a bland look as Missy mouthed 'six months'.

"I was in prison for six months and Alex wasn't exactly around."

"I went swimming with his past self." Alex hummed, lying in the armchair the Doctor vacated with her feet over the arm.

"Start at the beginning." Missy said. "How do they get a foothold on the planet?"

"Some idi—"

Alex cleared her throat and Missy raised a brow as the Doctor stopped and corrected himself.

"Someone asks for their help."

"Well, not just any someone. It has to be a properly consenting human mind. A pure request, one without agenda or ulterior motive."

That made it click in the Doctor's head.

"It's them." He said as Missy stood and watched him. "That person creates a psychic link, which forms an anchor that keeps the Monks in power. They're the lynchpin."

"Scalding. Ow." She looked over at Alex, who had her brows furrowed in thought. "Something you want to say, dear? It's your party too."

"Well, one person can't be used to keep hold over every mind in the world and those stupid Monk statues are rather annoying. They're hideous, honestly, so I don't see why the Monks would bother with having their own image splashed about unless they had a purpose."

Missy smirked. "You're on fire, you're literally on fire you're so caliente. That's Spanish for hot, though you're always caliente, my dear."

Alex smirked. "I know."

The Doctor jumped in then, annoyed with the two women. "The statues are transmitters. They boost the signal and beam it out all around the world."

"Boom! You've exploded. Now, all you have to do is find whoever opened the door to the Monks in the first place."

"Say I already have."

"Oh! Well then, you're sorted. Just kill them. That weakens the Monks' grip on the world."

Immediately, the room grew tense as the trio exchanged looks.

"No, no. No, no, that can't be right. There are planets that the Monks have ruled for thousands of years." The Doctor said, trying to come up with an alternative.

"It's passed on through the bloodline. Usually the lynchpin goes on to lead a normal life, have their own family, and the link is passed down through the generations." Missy explained, eyes narrowed as she watched their suddenly lackluster expressions.

"But the Monks must have worked that out. They've been doing this for millennia."

"Why? If the link is passed on, the Monks stay in charge, through—they think—their ruthlessness and efficiency. But if the lynchpin dies and the link isn't passed on, and the Monks get booted off the planet, well, they just chalk it up to experience." Missy sat back down at the piano and lightly played 'The Entertainer'.

Bill stormed forward and the Doctor made a move to stop her, but she held out her hand.

"No, it's okay. I want to speak to her."

Miss stopped playing and raised a brow. "Yes?"

"So, when you defeated the Monks, that's how you did it?" Bill asked.

"Well, at this point, all that was left of the bloodline was a wee girl, and I just pushed her into a volcano." Missy said with a Scottish accent.

Bill winced, before holding her chin up as bravely as she could. "It's me. The lynchpin is me."

"Awkward." Missy sang, taping some keys on the piano.

"So, you're saying I have to die."

"No. If you were just to die, everyone's false memories would have to fade, and that could take ages. It's actually better if you keep breathing, if your brain just keeps transmitting, well, nothing. That would blot out the residue false memories." Missy mused, being honest.

"What would be left of me?"

"You'd be a husk. Completely and irrevocably brain-dead. You couldn't even get on 'Celebrity Love Island'." She stood and approached Bill, but the Doctor pulled her back and confronted Missy; making the shielding around her visible for a moment.

"Even if that was the truth, the fact that you're suggesting it shows there's been no change, no hope, no point. We don't sacrifice people. It's wrong, because it's easy."

"You know, back in the day, I'd burn an entire city to the ground just to see the pretty shapes the smoke made. I'm sorry your plus-one doesn't get a happy ending, but, like it or not, I just saved this world _because_ I wanted to change. Your version of good is not absolute. It's vain, arrogant and sentimental. If you're waiting for me to become all that, I'm going to be here for a long time yet."

The Doctor lifted his lips in a snarl, but Alex lightly tugged on his hand and pulled him back down.

"Doctor, she's just telling you the truth." Alex said softly, giving Missy a small look. "That was how she defeated the Monks. That wasn't a suggestion, but an option available to you. To us. That was how she went about it before she considered looking for other options. She had no reason to try and save that girl, so why look for another option when she found one that would work?" Alex turned away from Missy and placed her hands on the Doctor's arms. "We care about Bill, so we can try to find another way. You can't get mad at her for answering the question you asked."

He relaxed slightly, before turning to go, calling for them to hurry up after him. Alex sighed and gave Missy a small smile.

"Thanks, Missy. When this mess is over, I'll see about hanging out with you."

Missy narrowed her eyes though. "You're going to do something idiotic, aren't you?"

Alex chuckled a little. "Perhaps."

"It won't work." Missy frowned. "Why are you always so desperate to help people if you know it will cost you? You don't even know if whatever you're planning is going to work."

Alex shrugged. "It might. And if it does, it'll make him happy."

"Sacrificing yourself won't."

"Yes, well, I'll think up something. And maybe when you get around to helping people, you'll see why the Doctor and I do it."

Missy rolled her eyes. "You two are so convinced I'll turn good. What if I don't?"

"You never know. I think you could do it if you tried. Don't think I forgot about you catching me back on the Valiant."

Missy scoffed. "Please. You were going to roll into me."

"Oh, and what about that bit where you helped Clara and I find him when you got his confession dial?" Alex leaned in towards the shielding as Missy did the same.

"It was convenient. I was bored."

"Mm, I don't think so, sweetheart. I think you've got something deep down in you that's good. It's just a matter of whether you really want to get close to the Doctor or not."

"What if I'm doing this to get close to you?" Missy challenged and Alex raised a brow.

"Me? Sweetheart, you'll have to get in line then. The Doctor's got first dibs."

* * *

I knew what I was going to do. I had the plan ticking away in the back of my head as we approached the pyramid that the Monks used as their HQ of sorts. Of course, my plan meant keeping the Doctor away from the machine that was projecting propaganda to everyone. He may have acted confident that he could plug his mind in and be alright, but I knew there was a catch. Not just anyone would be able to change it and with as abrasive as the Doctor was, just trying to slam his thoughts over it wouldn't work. I doubted it. I was still partially human though. I would have a better chance of changing how it worked because I could connect with them as well as they were connecting with me. Their connection—however small it was—gave me easier access to get in and fix things. At least, that's what I hoped. Missy was right though. I would be stretching my mind thin trying to project my thoughts to billions of people through the Monks' machine. I didn't know how I would end up at the end of it. _But I'm not about to let that idiot fry his mind like…_ I took a deep breath through my nose. _Like River._

"Take cover!"

I grimaced as I felt two guards behind us have their lives snuffed out by the Monks; who'd caught on to our little invasion group. That was the one problem with the mind of this body. It was oversensitive to sensing people. I _felt_ when someone died. The goofy, flirty persona was just a front to hide it. I took a breath as we ducked behind pillars; the guards fighting back as best they could. My head ached though. Terribly. I was doing my best to hide it from the Doctor after having insisted on not needing headphones like the guards to keep the Monk's propaganda from my head. I couldn't get distracted when that pivotal moment came. That didn't mean I wasn't effected, however. Flickers of the Monk's lies passed before me, but I pushed them aside as best I could and tried to keep from alerting the Doctor by crushing the hand the hand wrapped around mine.

The Monks were taken down and we hurried further into the pyramid, quickly finding the main chamber, before I sensed something off. I looked around, trying to locate the uneasiness and spotted Alan—one of the guards—approaching with a serious expression and a pistol in his hand. _But the headphones…_ I spotted the broken tape player and not a second too late.

"It's in here."

Alan brought the pistol up, but I was between him and the Doctor in a split second, twisting the gun from his grip and pinning him to the floor with a sickly-sweet smile as I sat on his back; his arm locked in a painful position.

"Now, now, Alan. Please don't make this difficult. I have a bit of a temper at the moment and being around guns does not help the headache I'm dealing with."

"You tricked us." Alan accused. "You tried to make us believe the Monks were invaders. How could you say that? They've always been here. You know that."

I sighed heavily, but thankfully Nardole shut him up before I had to do it myself, and pinched the man's neck; knocking him unconscious.

"Tarovian Neck Pinch. Yeah, I um, I studied their martial arts for a while, actually. Yeah, reached the level of Brown Tabard. Can't do it with this hand though. Kind of bugs me. Course, this wasn't my original hand, as you know. I won this in a game of um…" He spotted the Doctor's annoyed look as I brushed myself off after getting up off Alan. "Yeah, let's crack on."

The Doctor sonicked the door open and we headed in to find a single Monk sitting in a chair surrounded by screens showing the history of the world and the Monks' effects on it.

"Fake news central." The Doctor murmured as Bill pulled her headphones off.

"I can think. They're not in my head. Why is that?"

"Eye of the storm." I answered idly as the Doctor hummed.

"Guard the doors. We can't be interrupted." He approached the seated Monk and jumped at him. "Boo!"

Nothing happened other than Bill and Nardole jumping and I leaned over to look at the Monk's face myself.

"Hm, not bad. Better than the others, but a bit more… decomposed than I'd like."

"Not necessary." Nardole complained as the Doctor waved a hand in front of the Monk's face with no reaction.

"Okay, he's out. Let's do this."

I shifted behind him as he placed his hands on the Monk's head, giving him a chance first as Bill grinned.

"It's working! The Monks are disappearing!" She exclaimed, but the Doctor abruptly let go with a scowl.

"Oh, I didn't agree to this."

"What's happening?" Bill asked as the Doctor scowled down at the Monk.

"He's fighting back. He's blocking me, countering every move."

He reached over to try again, but abruptly fell to the ground, shocking Bill.

"Doctor?!"

I scoffed, holding the very same paperweight he'd hit me with and tossing it aside. "Idiot."

"A-Alex?! What are you doing?!"

I grinned. "What's it look like? The Doctor can't do this. That much is obvious. He'll fry his brain to ashes if he kept trying to force it. That's the problem with this version of him. Never knows when to quit. Always thinks he has to be the one to save the day, be the hero. Might want to tie him up though, or he'll get right back up to try and do something about it."

I waved a guard over to pulled the Doctor to the side and propped him up; tying his wrists together.

"But what about—"

I cut Bill off with a wiggle of my fingers over the Monk's head. "No worries. I've got even better mental capabilities than the Doctor, though he'd be loath to admit it. And that little bit of human in me gives me a more direct link to the Monky-Monks. That, and the Doctor's not delicate enough. Something like this… needs a woman's touch."

I placed my hands on the Monk's head and immediately grimaced. It was stronger than I thought, and while my humanity gave me that edge to getting into its mind, it also gave the Monk an edge into pressing its image onto me. After a point, I couldn't hear Bill or Nardole, so I didn't even know if it was working. If I was doing anything or if I was simply being sucked into the propaganda myself. _God, it hurts. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!_ I could feel the Monk fighting back, tearing away at me as I was attempting to do the same to it. I was slipping though. My strength felt as though it was being zapped from me bit by bit. I might have fallen to my knees at this point, but I could hardly tell. _I-I need to stop this. I need to save everyone. I can't… I can't let the Doctor fall because of this. Because of some stupid Monks. Bill did this to save him, which means I wasn't there for him when he needed me, but I'm here now. I can help him now. Even if it means—_

"No!"

I was yanked back, away from the Monk and let out a cry of pain at the forceful disconnection. I clutched at my head and barely managed to crack open my eyes as Bill stood behind the Monk with a sad expression on her face.

"I'm sorry, Alex, but he needs you."

"Bill… No…"

Then, everything went black as images of Bill's mother saved the world.

* * *

The Doctor sighed heavily, heading into the vault and setting his eyes on the two women inside. Alex lay resting on a couch the Doctor placed inside; her head on Missy's lap as the ex-Master ran her fingers through her hair.

"Any changes?" The Doctor asked quietly and Missy glanced up at him briefly.

"No. Still sleeping, as she's been the last four days. These things take time, you know."

"Yes, well…" He sat down heavily in the arm chair nearby; taking in the heat from an electric heater nearby. "I hadn't expected her to do something so reckless."

"Really?" Missy accused him. "I knew she was going to do something stupid before you even walked out of here, and you know what excuse she gave? To see you happy. Honestly, the two of you would kill each other with how reckless you both are."

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair tiredly, looking as though he hadn't slept in ages. "It's my fault."

"Yes, it is." Missy agreed as he continued.

"I faked a regeneration and she saw. I had hoped… I knew she was angry about it, but… I never thought she was this concerned."

Missy raised a brow. "You never thought that she would try to keep you safe after you pretended to _die_ on her for laughs?"

"I never thought she would try and _kill_ herself to keep me safe." He snapped with a glare that quickly faded away. "She's older now. She's changed so much from how she used to be and I thought…"

"You thought she was different from her past selves?" Missy scoffed. "You really are an idiot then. She doesn't look at either of us as if we're any different than before. You're still the Doctor as much as I'm still the Master and she's still Alex. Why would you do that, to her?" Missy let out a long sigh herself, tears pooling in her eyes and slowly slipping down her face. "This is why I question myself. You two constantly do this to me, making me feel things. Already, I… I keep remembering all the people I've killed. Every day I think of more. Being bad, being bad drowned that out. I didn't know I even knew their names. You didn't tell me about this bit."

"I'm sorry, but this is good." The Doctor murmured softly and Missy turned away to hide her tears from him; gazing down at Alex as she slept.

"If you say so. I'd much rather hear that from her. She's better at explaining than you."

The Doctor nodded, standing up. "Yes. She is."

He reached down and picked Alex up, carrying her bridal-style and heading for the door.

"You'll bring her back once she's awake?" Missy asked and the Doctor paused, before giving her a small annoyed look from over his shoulder.

"She's _my_ wife."

Missy rolled her eyes. "Possessive freak…"

He rolled his eyes. "I'll think about it… It's all up to her."


End file.
